“Bree?!”
She laughs. “Yes, Bree. She was partying pretty hardcore, from what I heard. Also heard she slept with half of the Delta Omega Psi frat her freshman year. Had a baby too. The dad’s not in the picture as far as I know. Uncle Vic cut her off financially. She’s waiting tables now and taking night classes.”
“Jesus. Didn’t see that coming.”
“But, yeah, I hear from Vic and Tab from time to time. They always invite me over for Thanksgiving dinner each year. I think they feel bad about sending me away like that, but honestly, it was harder on them than it was on me. And it all worked out in the end. I can set a fancy table like no one’s business, my posture is amazing, and I know how to make an entrance.”
“I noticed.” I kiss the top of her head, her hair silky soft and smelling of honey and almonds.
“My mom passed away a few years ago,” she says.
My smile wanes. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It was an overdose. And it was only a matter of time. Dad took it pretty hard though. He’s been getting treatment,” she says. “He wants to reconnect, but I’m not really there yet. Maybe with time? But he did some … pretty terrible things.”
“I read your case file,” I confess. “Back at Rosefield. I was curious about you.”
She glances up at me. “I kind of figured you did.”
“Why’d you figure that?”
“Because one day you were looking at me like you wanted to devour me, and the next day you were acting like I was some fragile china dove, afraid to touch me,” she says. “People catch wind of all the shit I’ve been through and they start treating me like I’m made of tissue paper.”
“You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever known.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“It’s true,” I say. “And it takes a strong woman to put up with me.”
“Okay, that I believe.” She nudges my arm. “You’re kind of a pain in the ass, but you’re worth it.”
Halston pulls me toward a park bench up ahead, and we watch a fleet of sailboats racing across the open waters.
“So where are you going after this?” she asks.
“Prague,” I say. “I leave Friday.”
“Can I come?”
Glancing down at her, I cup her face in my hand and press my mouth against hers. “Like you have a choice.”
She smiles, her mouth still pressed against mine.
“I love you, Halston,” I whisper. “I’ve loved you since the very beginning. And I’ll love you until the very end.”
Chapter 56
Halston
I trace my fingers against his biceps, my thighs wrapped around his hips as his cock thrusts, quelling the throbbing ache between my legs.
We may be in Prague, physically, but I’m also in heaven.
Studying his face, he brings his mouth onto mine every few seconds, whispering the occasional “I love you” here and there, and fucking me harder when he hears my soft moan in his ear and his name on my lips.
“Missionary’s not so bad, is it?” I tease, lifting my fingers to his chiseled, beautiful face. Someone should make a statue out of him, immortalize this gorgeous man so the rest of the world can enjoy a piece of him.
His full lips turn at the corners, and he fucks me harder.
“You can try all you want to make missionary sex erotic, but it’s still romantic,” I tease, bucking my hips against his and relishing in the weight of his body pinning me down, anchoring me to the bed we haven’t left since we got here on Friday.
I can’t get enough of him, finding excuses to touch him and kiss him and make love to him every chance I get. For a while, I worried he was getting annoyed by it, sure that sooner or later he’s going to want space, and then he woke me up in the middle of the night because he missed me. He missed this.
But to be fair, we’ve got five years to make up for.
We’re only getting started.
Ford fills me with his cock, pushing himself deeper inside me, his hips bucking faster as we inch closer to the brink. My body relaxes, surrendering to him as I ride the wave and he fills me with his hot seed.
When we’re finished, he collapses on the bed and pulls me into his arms, running his fingers through my hair as we wait for our breaths to steady.
“So what’s with you ditching the blonde hair?” he asks a moment later.
“That’s random.”
“Don’t get me wrong. You’re sexy as hell as a brunette, and this whole classy charm school thing you have going on is top notch. But I miss my wild girl. The one with the wavy blonde hair, the one who was a little less restrained, a little more undone.”
“I’m still that girl,” I say, rolling to my side and resting my chin on his shoulder as I look up at him. Visually tracing his perfect profile, I rest my hand over his beating heart. I smirk. “That said, I have nothing against bringing the blonde back for old times’ sake. Maybe we can even do a little roleplaying? You can be the big, bad principal, and I can be the naughty school girl, and you can call me into your office and punish me.”
Ford almost chokes on his spit. “Oh, god.”
“What?” I play dumb. “You know it’d be really fucking hot.”
He’s speechless.
“Too soon?” I ask. “Too close to home? What?”
Ford sits up against a propped pillow, pulling me over top of him and resting his hands at the small of my back.
“It was never about the student-teacher dynamic,” he says. “It was only ever about you. All I ever wanted was the smart-mouthed girl who quoted Great Gatsby in a world where everyone else quoted Nickelback.”
I laugh. “Can I at least call you Principal Hawthorne next time?”
“No.”
“What if it accidentally slips out?” I fight a giggle. “Are you going to punish me? Put me in detention? Oh! You could spank me with a ruler. That’d be kind of hot.”
Ford tries not to laugh. “All right, smart ass. Meet me in the shower in two minutes. I’m showing you the sights today. Thought we’d see the Kafka Museum first.”
“A man after my own heart.” I kiss him, my hand sliding up his muscled neck and stopping at his chiseled jaw. I’d let him take me all over again if he asked.
Ford climbs out of our bed, and I keep my gaze shamelessly trained on his exquisite derrière which officially belongs to me, a fact I’m content to bask in for the rest of my existence.
Chapter 57
Ford
“So this is him?” Halston’s roommate, Lila, leans against the kitchen island in the San Francisco apartment they share, her pale blue eyes studying me from head to toe.
“Yep. This is Ford,” Halston says, squeezing my hand. “Or as you knew of him … Kerouac.”
Lila ambles toward us. “I mean, I guess he does all right in the looks department.”
Halston chuckles, resting her cheek against my arm.
“Just don’t fuck this up.” Her roommate points at me. “Halston might do second chances, but I don’t.”
“Lila.” Halston chuckles. “I don’t think you intimidate him in the least bit, but good try.”
Lila’s hardened expression morphs into a giggle. “You knew I was messing with you, right?”
I nod. “The whole time.”
“Damn it.” Lila lifts her fist in the air. “This is why I could never be an actress. Anyway, come on in. It’s good to finally meet you. Halston’s always spoken fondly of you.”
Moving toward a wine fridge, Lila chooses a bottle of Riesling and retrieves three pieces of stemware from a cabinet. “Figured you guys might want a drink after a day of intercontinental travel. How was Prague?”
“Beautiful,” Halston says. “Bridges everywhere, cobblestone streets … the architecture, the food … it was all incredible.” She turns my way. “Best. Trip. Ever.”
I’d have to agree.
“How’d it go with Mason?” Halston asks.
She mentioned before we left the States that she was going to sever her professional relationship with him after Sag Harbor, and apparently Lila offered to do the honors because she never could stand him.