Page 34 of The Hand That Holds Me
“Yes, baby. I love you. I know it may be early in our relationship, but I know what I feel in my heart. I was taught if you want something in life, you strive to achieve it. The biggest goal in my life is getting you to love me as much as I love you.”
She leaned into me and kissed me with a passion I only suspected she possessed. It was an intense battle of tongues and lips, fighting for control and willing to submit all at the same time.
I pulled back and gasped for air. She had literally taken my breath away.
“I love you too, Lucas. I don’t care how long we have know each other, I know this is real. What I feel for you is real.”
She placed my hand over her heart and I could feel its rapid beat inside her chest. I placed her hand over my heart and leaned in to put my forehead to hers, seeking a connection that could relay the feelings I was experiencing.
We sat in silence for a few moments and I pulled back to give her a chaste kiss. Anything more and I would be pulling her out of the office and taking her straight to my bed.
It was definitely time for us to connect on the next level and I was aching to be inside of her, knowing it will be the best sexual experience of my life.
The start of my future with Maddie.
By Thursday afternoon, I felt like we’d accomplished significant work on the literacy program and I was ready to get out into the field to get the final contracts signed. Within a few weeks, the pilot program was set to start and I was excited to see all the parts finally coming together. This unique program MSJ Media was allowing me to create made me feel honored to be spearheading the campaign for literacy and senior development.
Often times, seniors go long periods of time without seeing family, for various reasons, or don’t have many activities to keep them sharp and thinking. Teens, on the other hand, are often left to their own devices to stay occupied, for a variety of reasons. Without parents to champion for them at home, their ability to read, or possibly their desire to read for enjoyment, decreases, resulting in fewer graduates and less opportunities in the future. This program would bring youth with reading deficiencies together with seniors who have the desire to tutor youth and assist with reading skills.
My hope was that both groups will stimulate imaginations, spark and foster connections between the groups, and maybe a few friendships may develop out of it. I still go to my hometown library with a few of the seniors from assisted living when I am back visiting, sometimes sitting in on a reading or, more times than not, reading to a group of kids visiting the library. The librarians and volunteers give so much to encourage children to use their imagination and explore the world that a book can open for you.
I probably should have gone into library sciences or the equivalent when I went to college but I always felt like I could do more with a business degree. There would be better career choices and more job openings. I hoped that I could do this program and its participants justice.
The opening door brought me out of the daze that I had allowed myself to slip into. I had all the details of the program, along with the intense feelings of love for Lucas, swimming around in my head and I kept finding myself zoning out.
“You ready to head home? We can pick up dinner on the way in if you want. I was thinking take-out and a movie on the couch. I wanted to talk to you about something.”
I immediately got a sick feeling in my stomach and had a bad feeling overtake me.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breath out.
“Is everything okay?” I managed to get out without my voice breaking.
I don’t know why I had a feeling of doom, but I was hoping it was these new emotions I was feeling that were the root of the problem. I had never told anyone I loved them before I and I was feeling vulnerable. Scared.Weak.
He drew me into his arms and kissed me with passion and desire, his hand wrapped in my hair and his arm pulling by body tight against his. I felt his thickness pressed between us and he was definitely hard.And very large!
“Everything is perfect, baby. Please don’t worry. I saw the look on your face and I want you to know I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. I. Love. You.” Punctuating each word with a kiss on my lips.
“I love you too. Let’s get out of here. I’m starved” I laughed, trying to deflect my weirdness and move past this slightly awkward conversation.
He had told me he loved me multiple times each day since he first uttered the words to me. Each time, another piece of the armor I had encased my heart in fell away, leaving our newly formed love to grow and blossom.
Every kiss healed me. Every touch, every caress, every uttered word gave me the strength to face my preconceived notion of love and sacrifice. I was willing to walk through hell and back for Lucas.
As we held hands on the drive home, we chatted about the expectations for next week and any areas we may have neglected so it could be addressed the following week. We had a three-day weekend because the company was closed the fourth Friday of each month.
Family Time is what the company called it and it was one of the major perks of working at MSJ Media. Not only do the employees get paid for the day but they also have the opportunity to get tickets for dozens of attractions and events all over the state. I heard that last summer they were tickets for the Panama City Beach Music Festival, condos included.
They company invests back into its employees to the tune of $5 million each year, according to their financial statements. The morale within the company is unlike anything I have ever seen. Everyone genuinely enjoys working here and the turn-over rate was very low.
In the few weeks since I had been employed here, I had begun to feel like I was part of a team that was not only investing in the company but the families behind the people who made the company run. I was amazed that no one had cross words and negative thoughts about MSJ Media. They didn’t walk around singing praises about it, but everyone did seem to enjoy their jobs and working environments. People went out of their way to make me feel welcome and a part of the family from the first day. Even if Lucas did manage to steal my lunch breaks, I was getting to know the other staff and would miss them when I spent less time in the office.
I asked Lucas about whose idea it was to start Family Time and he dodged the question with a vague response of some board member suggested it a few years back and it was a success so they kept it in place. I didn’t push on the who because, truth be known, I was not excited to meet the Board of Directors quite yet.
I had an internship my last year of college that had me interacting with their BOD and I was not impressed with them in the least. A group of individuals who wrote checks or shuffled paperwork, patting each other on the back for a job well done,while the people who did the work got no recognition and more demands heaped on them. That was a major part of my decision to wait for a career instead of settling on a job.
I think MSJ Media was worth the wait.
