Distractions (40 page)

discuss, Violet?”

Chapter 36 - Can

You Hear Me Now?

I was unsure how late it was when I

finally crawled into bed. Shepard had a

small night light on, anticipating I would

be too intoxicated to find the bed in the

dark. I knew I wasn’t being quiet,

because I kept telling myself to stop

giggling. I swore at one point, I told

Shepard to shut up and go back to sleep,

but I can’t be for sure. I remember

watching him sleep for a while – how

his face twitched while he dreamed, and

how wonderful his perfect skin smelled.

I was sure if he were to wake and catch

me with my face in his elbow, he would

think I really did lose it.

Within my wine induced bubble, I

pushed as far as I could without waking

him. The day old growth along his chin

tickled my nose as I held my breath to

drag it down his neck. My fingers raked

delicately, back and forth inside his

forearm, drawing out goose pimples.

Finally, I could no longer stand it and

lightly kissed along the dark trail

beneath his navel, leading into his black

trunks. If I didn’t stop now, I never

would. Crawling back up to my side of

the bed, I rolled to my side and closed

my eyes. Just before I went to sleep, I

felt Shepard reach over and pull me

snugly against his chest and breathing out

a sigh.

I awoke the next morning, still

secure in Shepard’s vice grip embrace. I

must have let him hold me all night,

which kind of frightened me. Even if I

was drunk, I normally never slept well

with anything touching me, much less

someone else. I felt his erection pressing

into my back, so I decided to be a little

naughty and innocently wiggled against

him.

Tightening his grip even more, he

murmured into my ear, “If you’re not

going to finish what you start, you are

not allowed to do that.” Quickly flipping

me over, he used his knee to open my

legs and pressed his hips deeply,

instantly making me hot. As he twisted

side to side a little, he began to chuckle,

“It’s not nice, is it?”

Rolling off the bed and leaving me

flustered, he walked away into the

bathroom, whistling. Getting dressed

quickly, I tied my hair into a knot and

held up the stragglers with my

sunglasses. My aunt and uncle were

already awake with a light breakfast on

the table and fresh coffee made. Shepard

strolled down the stairs, looking

cheerful and mischievous. He walked

over to the fire place and picked up a

piece of a log from the small pile.

“Hey, I noticed you have a lot of

wood still. Was the winter not that bad

here?”

He then looked to me and winked

where I mouthed back, “I am going to

kill you.”

Coming up behind me, he leaned

down and whispered into my ear, “Not if

I kill you first.”

The stab in my chest momentarily

took my breath away, but I shook it off.

Our interactions had become nearly

effortless, as if we had never been apart.

I could tell by the way he was treated

here that my aunt adored him. As we

were saying our good-byes, she hugged

Shepard once again and told him he

needed to convince me to stay – that she

would like having family close by.

Smiling, he hugged my shoulder and

said, “I’m trying.”

Without hesitation, she looked at

him point blank and told him, “Try

harder.”

Both of us allowed the tears to flow

freely at the short time we were given.

Even being here for only a day, I could

see myself coming over often for coffee,

or having them over to Ingrid’s for

dinner someday. Shaking my head once

again, the thoughts were not allowed

room to grow today. As Shepard was

starting the car, I had the sudden urge to

drive and focus my mind on something

else. I had nothing to lose by asking, so I

did.

“May I take the wheel for a little

while?”

He looked at me briefly as though I

had three heads, and then turned the

ignition off. Letting out an exaggerated

breath, he held the door handle for a

moment before opening it and stepping

out. I hopped in the driver’s seat and

began adjusting the mirrors and seat to

be more comfortable. I suddenly felt like

a teenager as he began to explain things

to me.

“Okay, Violet, this is a
Maserati

MC Gran Tourismo, not a Honda. This

car tops out at three hundred kilometers

per hour. It goes from zero to sixty in

four point eight seconds flat. You have

to be careful.”

I smiled and played innocent,

knowing full well what this car was

capable of. I had never driven anything

as nice as this, yet when I was younger,

Connor used to drive his dad’s BMW

M3, and he would let me speed along I-

25 after parties. I followed his

directions and drove exactly the speed

limit until we reached the Autobahn. The

moment I saw the sign indicating there

were no restrictions on that portion of

the road, I hit the gas and began to

weave around the slower cars.

“Damn, Violet, slow down!” His

hand was gripping the dashboard while I

drove, laughing recklessly.

“Simmer down, don’t you trust

me?” Keeping my eyes focused on the

road, I could feel his eyes boring into

me, yet he didn’t say a word. Leaning

back, he watched as I maneuvered

through traffic with precision. I knew he

had had enough, so I pulled off at an exit

and handed him the keys before going to

the bathroom. By the time we reached

Interlaken, I could feel the fight between

us brewing even stronger. It was

temporarily subdued after arriving at the

base of the Alps in Lauterbrunnen.

The hills on the way in were dotted

with cows and small farms. A large train

station greeted us as we first entered the

small town before pulling off to the left

into our hotel. The side of the large

yellow building with red shutters read

Hotel Staubbach. Dark wood paneling

and floors lined the reception area and

led to the dining area and commons

room. They gave us one of the heavy,

old-style, metal skeleton keys for our

room. After dropping off our luggage,

we peeked around and walked by a

small ice maker and tea stand.

“I bet you did this on purpose!” I

slapped the side of his arm after

“casually” passing by the refreshment

table.

“What? I thought you would be

thrilled with an ice machine, one of

those American luxuries people take for

granted.” He opened the small lid and

popped one of the cubes in his mouth,

smiling.

I slapped him again, making the

cube fall out of his mouth and onto the

floor. “You are so full of it, but you’re

lucky because I do like this place.”

Bending over into mock bow, he

swept his arm across the expanse of the

room, “I’m glad princess approves of

her sleeping quarters for the night.

Heaven forbid it be some place beneath

her standards.”

I gave him a scornful look and

walked outside to look at the waterfalls

in more detail. The sky was crystal blue

without a cloud marring the view.

Majestic snow covered mountains

peeked through the valley opening, so

grand that it appeared fake. Everything

looked so perfect. Distracted by the

beauty, I was startled when Shepard

came up behind me and whispered in my

ear, “I’m glad you like it, I hoped you

would.” Wrapping his arms around my

waist, he rested his chin on my shoulder,

looking at the view with me.

“I do, thank you.” I nuzzled a little

against his cheeks in appreciation.

“Good, because you haven’t seen

anything, yet!” His arm tugged me

towards the car and we drove a short

distance away to a large parking lot.

Light shone brilliantly in his eyes.

He couldn’t contain how excited he was

– similar to how I felt in Ettal. He pulled

our coats from the trunk and a few

bottles of water, then led me to a ticket

booth where he chose two passes to the

Piz Gloria. Movie advertisements were

everywhere, indicating a portion was

filmed at the top where we were headed.

As we waited in line to board the tram,

Shepard opened one of the small

brochures and talked a little about each

of the stops. We would first go to the

small town of Gimmelwald, and then

Murren, before traveling all the way up

to the top of the Schilthorn Peak where

the Piz Gloria was.

As we slowly ascended the

mountain, the larger peaks came into

better view. “Oh my God, this is

indescribable.” My eyes were not big

enough to absorb everything they were

taking in. I couldn’t stop snapping

pictures with my phone so I could hope

to capture a fraction of how incredible

this sight was…the charm of the small

wooden buildings and the farmers who

sold their cheeses, and the quaint shops

that carried souvenirs. The farther up we

traveled

and

walked,

the

more

breathtaking it was. Although we were

up high, we didn’t need our jackets until

we left Murren. It was fascinating seeing

towns where there were no cars,

perched precariously on the sides of the

mountain, yet bustling with life. I was

convinced it would be impossible to

live there and be miserable. If there

were a heaven, I was right on its

doorstep.

Shepard was humored by my

delight. I couldn’t get over it all. I was

that annoying gawking tourist, moving at

a snail’s pace. He eventually had to

convince me to get back onto the tram so

we could make the last seating for

dinner. As we climbed even higher into

the snow, I rested my back against his

chest, sedated by wonder. I spent so

much time peering into a microscope; it

was nice to feel small for once. Our

dinner was relatively quiet as we

enjoyed each other’s company and the

stunning vistas.

“This is the kind of place you bring

someone when you want to ask them to

marry you.” While I was taking a bite of

chicken, right on cue, a man dropped to

his knees at the table next to us and

asked his girlfriend to be his bride.

I set my fork down to clap with the

rest of the other patrons while staring

blankly at the plate in front of me, no

longer hungry. Sensing my sudden

discomfort, Shepard asked for the check

and pulled his coat on. I stepped out onto

the overlook while he settled the bill and

waited for him to join me. He leaned

over the rail without speaking for a few

minutes.

“Violet, why did that bother you

back there?”

Rocking back and forth on my

heels, I just shook my head. “I don’t

know; it just did.”

I heard the audible exhale as he

debated on how to reply. “I know you

are not going to take the job, no matter

what they offer you.”

Turning to face him, I tilted my

head curiously. “Oh, how do you

know?”

Laughing under his breath, he

looked out again towards the east. “You

haven’t mentioned it once this week,

except briefly last night. You might be

here physically, but mentally you are a

million miles away. I feel like you are

going to walk out of my life and I never

stood a chance. At least I know it’s

genetic now.”

My blood started to boil in my

veins; I could feel my lips starting to turn

up into a snarl, ready to attack. “How

dare you! My grandma did what she