Page 59 of Somewhere Only We Know
“I know. Pretty soon we’ll be wishing for the structure of a class schedule,” I tease.
Her body shakes with a laugh. “No way.”
I kiss the top of her head and pull her closer than she already is. “I am ready for the future with you.”
“Yeah,” she whispers. “Me too.”
I zipup my suitcase and turn to the brown-eyed beauty with sleep-filled eyes watching me get ready to leave. This is our last school break separation and if we can survive this, then baseball season and what comes after will be a breeze. I crawl back up on the bed and lay out on Jax. Her legs wrap around my waist and her arms loop around my shoulders as she lays kisses all over my face.
“Last break.” I say and lean up on my elbows. I wrap a curl around my finger and let it slowly unravel.
“These few weeks better go by faster than light.”
I know Jax still gets nervous when I head home. But she plays it off because she knows how important it is for me to spend time with family.
“I’ll be back before you know it,” I say to ease her worry. “Now kiss me so I have something to hold me over for the next few weeks.”
Jax lifts her head and erases the bit of distance between us. I breathe into this kiss, letting it fuel me. Her tongue licks at my bottom lip and pulls it between her teeth, sucking it between her lips and then plunging her tongue into my mouth. A groan travels up my throat and I hook an arm under her leg, opening her up to me and rolling my hips into her clothed center. We kiss and roll our bodies into each other until we’re panting and moaning. Jax claws at my clothes, pushing her hands under my shirt, signaling she wants this to go further.
But it can’t. And not before I’m about to leave.
I break the kiss and trail kisses down her neck, bringing us both down. Because I don’t want us to part like this.Dropping her leg from my arm, I wrap my arms around her and sit up, flipping our positions so she’s in my lap.
“You’re good at that,” Jax says breathlessly. Her curly hair is wild from my fingers and her lips are swollen from my kiss. It’s a picture every man loves to see. It’s a picture I’d love to look at everyday: Jax ruined by me.
“Soon you’ll know what else I’m good at.” I tell her. With baseball and then midterms and then finals, that part of our relationship did not progress. It could have. But I wanted more than a quick session with Jax.
“You are the biggest tease ever.”
A smile spreads across my face. It’s not that I enjoyed waiting, far from it. But I am all about timing and it has never been right for us.
Jax looks over my shoulder and her body deflates. I know that means it’s time for me to head out. She kisses me one last time and crawls off her bed.
“Three weeks and then I’m back.” I say when we’re standing next to my car. The snow disappeared the next day but it was good for me to see it as the beach doesn’t get a ton.
“I love you.”
I kiss her on the top of her head and wrap my arms tighter around her. “I love you too, Bee.”
Jax winds her arms tightly around me and I do my best to soothe her when I feel her body tremble from the sobs she’s suppressing. With a final kiss, I hop in the car and drive away from the curb.
I madegood time on my drive and pull into the driveway just after five. Grabbing my suitcase from the trunk, I head in through the front door and set my bag by the stairs.
“Dad?” I call out as I walk through the foyer and towards the kitchen for something to eat. The TV is blaring which is normal because Dad always has the TV volume up to an obscene level. I don’t see anyone in the living room, so I move to the remote when I see him face down on the floor. “Dad!”
I curse gravity as it slows me from slamming into the floor. Carefully, I flip him onto his back and check his pulse. It’s there, but weak.
Fumbling for my phone and almost dropping it in the process, I dial 911 and tell them what happened and our address.
I give him chest compressions, because that’s the only thing I can think to do. In all of the preparation my parents gave me for Kayla, they never prepared me to have to use life-saving measures on them.
I hear the sirens pull up but I don’t stop.
“Hello?” I hear someone, I’m assuming a paramedic, call out.
“In here!” I yell. “Come on, Dad. Wake up.”
Footsteps coming closer alert me that help is here. A hand touches my shoulder and I flinch. Not pulling away until someone drags me away. My body feels like it’s no longer mine. Like I’m no longer tethered to this space. That gut feeling I had over the summer was right. Why? Why would he hide this from me?
