Page 91 of Meet Me in the Valley
Her breaths come even over the phone, almost as if she’s asleep. Concern marks my face at her silence. I go to open my mouth when she finally whispers, “Please come home.”
Thick, fat tears fall from my eyes, landing in a splash against the tops of my thighs. I’m naked, shivering on the carpet from the moment my mom called out to Nora and not me. After a night that brought me to the highest of highs, one phone call throws everything off-kilter, sending me plummeting face first toward Earth at a shattering speed.
When the overwhelming weight of helplessness takes over, you’re a prisoner to it. It’s like no matter which direction you go to find any bit of solace, the heartache is still there. It lingers, sitting like an elephant on top of your heart and you can barely breathe or find any sort of reprieve. I’m running in circles, trying to find an escape route that could get me toward relief, but it never comes.
I’m stuck.
Nibbling hard on my bottom lip, I calculate my response in my head, praying I can at least give my mother an escape—even if it’s impossible for me.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to come home, Mama. Go back to sleep. I love you.”
A quiet hum is the only response I get before the line goes dead. I stare at the screen on my phone with an emptiness in my gaze.
It’s a photo of Logan sitting in my lap with Audrey’s veil on his head from the engagement party. We’re mid-laugh with smiles stretched so wide our eyes are barely visible. I can’t ignore the tiny spark of life igniting in me when I look at it. The warmth it causes in my chest. The love that permeates.
All I know is the man currently in the bed twenty feet away makes the pain go away. When I don’t know where to turn, I can count on him to help me find the way. I don’t have to be lost with him. Logan will always find me.
I don’t know what our future holds, but I have no doubts Logan will be part of it. We can’t take back this weekend. I can’t take back my mom’s illness. And I can’t take back the night Nora left us.
But I can do the right thing, and the realization of what I need to do has me standing on shaky legs. I find a bathrobe draped over the back of the couch that took out my knee. Wrapping the plush material around my body, I sink into the cushions and make a phone call.
“Sweetheart? Is everything okay?”
With tears in my eyes and a faint smile on my lips, I answer without an ounce of doubt in me.
“Daddy, I’m moving back home.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
LOGAN
No more gaunt-faced lady. No more slanted rain pelting me in the face. And finally, my feet aren’t dragging through soaked grass as I chase a mirage who reaches for me like I’m the only thing keeping her alive.
Now, it’s silky hair. Soft skin and supple curves. Luscious lips and a warm body that fits perfectly against mine.
But I still wake to the soothing sounds of waves crashing from my phone, along with Tia’s even breathing in my ear and her leg slung over my hips.
She remembered.
My eyes open slowly, taking in the early morning sunlight filtering through the window. The calm that blankets the room comforts me. It’s busy and chaotic outside these walls, but when we’re here, just us two, there’s peace.
We’re naked, having no reason to clothe ourselves after our night of endless love-making.
Bed sex. Shower sex. Against the window sex. We defiled every inch of our hotel room in a marathon session that went on for hours on end, wringing each other’s bodies dry until we had absolutely nothing left in us. I’ve never slept better in my life.
My fingers absentmindedly trace the length of her spine, starting from the dimples right above her ass and up to the slender slope of her neck. I’ve spent the better part of this weekend memorizing every curve and detail of Tia’s body, burning it into my mind so that even when I close my eyes, I can see her. All of her.
Pressing my lips to her forehead, Tia stirs, stretching her naked limbs against me as her eyes lazily open.
“Hi,” she hums, kissing the space below my ear. Just that small touch sends goosebumps trailing down my skin. Reaching over, I turn off the ocean sounds playing from my phone.
“Hey.” I roll on top of her, pinning her beneath me with my hips as her arms loop around the back of my neck.
It feels perfect like this. The warmth of our bodies from sleep radiates between us. Skin on skin, my heart to hers. When our mouths seek each other, it’s slow and unhurried. Here in this room, we’re free to get lost in each other where time has no concept.
This weekend unfolded like a slow dance of give and take, rich with taste, touch, and unfiltered exploration. At times I have to stop myself and catch my breath when I’m hit with the sensation of falling. Literally falling—like I’ve taken a step off the edge of Mount Everest as my stomach plummets and flips and my heart beats hard in my chest. It feels as if it’s going to break my ribs.
Our bodies impatiently roll against each other, creating hot friction as our breaths grow heavier and the beast of desire takes over.
