My Once and Future Love (22 page)

“Darling, the day I miss you having feelings
for a young lady is the day I’ve been struck blind and dumb.” The
car moved onto the street.

“I will miss the house.”

“Of course. So, fill me in on your two months
with Elizabeth.”

“Mother…”

While he didn’t want to give her details, it
was good for it not to be a secret. But he still didn’t say he was
in love. When he was ready for those words to be spoken aloud, they
would be for Beth first.

Coming back held a couple surprises—his
mother paid his rent so he wouldn’t lose the apartment, and the
band hadn’t replaced him with another singer. School had to come
first, but he’d try to make weekend gigs when he could. His L.A.
money went in an envelope hidden under his mattress at the manor
where he could lock his room and not be tempted to touch it. Mum
had a full supper prepared of his favorites for his return.

“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble. I
got a meal on the flight.”

“Jacob, I haven’t seen you in months. Let me
indulge.”

He grinned. “Fair enough. I may not say it
enough, but I’m glad to have you, Mum, especially over here.”

“Am I guessing correctly to think this year
will be harder on you than the last?” She rarely missed reading
between the lines.

“Could be.” He stuffed a large forkful in his
mouth so he didn’t have to say more.

“The third year class work, of course.”

“Right.” If she was going to bring up Beth
again, he was going to keep shoveling in food. They didn’t keep
much from each other, so when he was sparse with information she
didn’t give up until he spilled his guts

“Was Elizabeth nervous about starting
university for the first time?”

“Sure.”

“Did you give her some tips?”

“Didn’t ask.”

“Well, you’re allowed to use the house phone
to call California, as long as it’s not every time.”

“Thanks.”

She sighed. “For heavens sake, Jacob, supper
isn’t going to run away. Slow down and swallow. Did you eat on
vacation?”

“’Course.”

She frowned at another one-word answer and he
grinned. Riling up mothers was fun, too.

****

I sent e-mails during the week every time I
thought of something to tell him, but it wasn’t the same as hearing
his voice.

Meanwhile, I made a new friend.

“Damn…hey, Beth, do you have an extra
pencil?” Michelle stood at the easel next to mine in my drawing
class.

“Sure. Keep it, I have spares.”

“Thanks.”

I watched her go back to sketching the statue
we were copying. “You’re pressing too hard. That’s why the pencil
snapped.”

“Yeah. I can’t get the feel for the right
pressure standing like this. I usually have a pad on my lap.”

The teacher stopped to glare at us. We
lowered our voices.

“It is awkward. Yours is coming out better
than mine, though.”

“Thanks.” Michelle was a sculptor and
fabulous with clay. I…managed to make a turtle once in grade
school.

She had the most perfect blonde hair I’d ever
seen—straight, thick, always shiny, and never tangled. Princess
hair. Since this was L.A., I kept trying to convince her to try out
for hair product commercials to help pay the bills.

She had a bubbly, musical laugh and a passion
for Cary Grant movies. When my room got too lonely, I’d head over
to her apartment she shared with her boyfriend. They weren’t big on
public displays of affection, so I rarely felt like the third
wheel. It helped me not miss Jacob so much all the time.

“Movie night Friday?” she asked.

“Sure. Think it’s my turn to bring the
popcorn.”

The teacher shushed us, making us hide
giggles behind our hands and turn our eyes to our work. Don’t know
why, but this friend thing seemed easier in college.

There was a lot of homework, but freshman
year wasn’t hard so far, except, ironically, the art stuff.
Memorizing theory and history was easy, but I had little talent
outside of a camera in my hands. The longer I spent at UCLA, the
more I started to feel I chose the wrong school.

Don’t get me wrong—it was a great university,
just not best serving my needs.

Oh, well…every general education class I
passed would transfer anywhere else, so it wasn’t a total loss, and
I had a friendly community in which to learn being on my own. I
went home every Saturday and Sunday, though, which pleased my
parents, Mom especially. She had a bit of empty nest syndrome
going.

****

December

Jacob saw his angel standing by the Baggage
Claim conveyor for his plane and ran. He dropped his carry-on at
her feet, gathered her into his arms, and kissed her senseless.
Four long months of phone calls and being all too intimate with his
right hand were over.

A nearby cough reminded them where they
were.

“Tell me I get you alone tonight.”

Beth’s cheeks were pink and her eyes bright.
“I haven’t gone home for the holiday, yet.”

He grinned and kissed her again. “Well, what
are we waiting for?”

They collected his rental car and sped to her
dorm room. The expected roommate had never come that semester and
they hadn’t assigned anyone else to her room. He tossed his luggage
on the empty bed and grabbed an armful of giggling brunette.

“I can’t believe your mother let you come for
Christmas.”

He stripped her sweater off. “It’s her gift
this year. Ooo, nice.” She wore a red push-up bra with white
snowflakes printed on it. “This for me?”

“No one else sees me naked,” she quipped.

“Better not. Do the knickers match?”

“Find out.” She held her arms out and stood
waiting.

He unbuttoned her jeans and slid the zipper
down. A peek of red fabric was revealed. He pulled her jeans down
her slender legs and smiled. A string bikini printed with
snowflakes. He helped her out of her shoes and pants.

“Turn for me, love.”

She made a three-sixty, showing off the
cheeky cut of her panties in the back. “Do I pass inspection, Mr.
Lindsey?”

“Thought about you the whole way here.” He
was so hard, they’d have to start slow, or he’d pop like a virgin.
He kissed her belly.

“I missed you.” Her hair was longer, and
free, almost falling to her waist. It framed her lovely face like
curtains.

He rose to his feet. “Missed you more.” He
slid the straps of her bra off her shoulders; she trembled.

Her head fell back when he pulled one bra cup
down and kissed her breast. “Not possible.”

He’d played their reunion in his mind a
thousand different ways, always ending with them sweaty and sated,
but nothing compared to having Real Live Beth available to his
fingertips and mouth. She tasted like sweetness and home, and the
feel of her hands in his hair…god, he’d missed that, too.

“Your hair is so long.”

“Busy term.” Two inches of growth had him
looking shaggier than he preferred. “I’ll visit a barber while I’m
here.”

“I like the front.” She raked her fingers
through his locks again. He felt like purring.

He unclasped the bra and tossed it away. She
was so pretty, her perky little tits saluting him in the
artificially heated room. He cupped them in his hands and rubbed
his face against their softness.

“Thought you were in a hurry,” she said,
though it didn’t sound like a complaint.

He looked up. “Was. Then I realized there’s
no rush.” He flicked her nipples with his thumbs, making her gasp.
“I’ve got four months of catching up to do and I’m gonna do it
right.”

“By teasing me?”

A sly grin formed on his lips. “If that’s
what it takes.” A few minutes of foreplay and she was already
clenching her thighs together.

God, he loved this girl. Loved her even more
when she took matters into her own hands and started stripping his
clothes off.

“Eager little bunny, aren’t you?”

“You aren’t the only one that’s been
frustrated for months.” She gripped his prick; he hissed. “Slow can
come later.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He’d never tell her, but he wrote lyrics
about this, naughty poems praising the feel of her and the way she
squeezed him when she came. They made music every time, never
clashing rhythms. And every time he stared into her eyes at her
most vulnerable, he wanted to tell her how he felt.

It was too soon, though…

Morning light shone on his face.

He stretched. She wasn’t in sight. He heard
water run in the bathroom, then the door opened. She wore a fuzzy
blue robe.

“Good morning.” She kissed him. Minty. “You
haven’t said where you’re staying in L.A.”

“Can I pitch a tent in your backyard?”

“You’re pitching one now.”

Ha, ha, cute
. “Wanna help me with
that?”

“Condoms have to be bought in bulk with you,
don’t they?”

He grinned. “You’ve had no complaints.”

She pulled the sheet back, exposing him.
“True…” She traced the veins on his prick with her finger. It
jumped at contact. “Then again, breakfast would be good.”

He grabbed her and rolled her under him. “You
are so evil.” He opened her robe and chewed on her side until she
begged for mercy.

They didn’t make it out of the dorm until
noon.

****

It was a relief when Jacob said his mother
arranged a hotel room for him. Mom probably would’ve let him bunk
in the darkroom with a sleeping bag, but Dad would’ve had a cow. A
quiet cow behind closed doors, but a cow nonetheless.

We got some cheap decorations for his room
since he was staying through Christmas.

“The Art major classes are drier than I
expected, especially my Art History teacher. Oh my god, he just
drones and drones… I don’t mind the practical classes, creating
stuff, though I’m terrible at drawing or painting. I know I have
A’s in all my gen ed., though,” I said, filling him in on my first
semester.

“I’d be shocked if you didn’t. You like it
here? In general?”

“Yeah… It’s fine for general ed., if nothing
else. I’m going to try to get into some classes at a local
photography school for summer session. If I like it, I can transfer
my credits.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He finished wrapping
garland around the plastic table-top tree.

“Hope so. What about you? Did that advance
studying help?”

“Some. Further I get, the more memorization
is required, and I’m a bloody performance major. It’s frustrating
that only my individual lessons focus on that at all. Wonder if I’m
wastin’ my time, sometimes.”

“
Why?
Education enriches who you
are.”

“I can see the argument in that, but a degree
won’t get me one bit closer to a recording contract…not when new
acts are takin’ my place while I sit over there in a classroom day
after day. It’s youth oriented, right? The freshest and most
beautiful get the chance. If I don’t fall behind, I’ll be
twenty-three when I’m just
starting
to knock on doors. Don’t
know if that’ll be good enough.”

I went to him where he sat on the bed.
“Jacob, unless they find someone who looks and sounds exactly like
you first, two years are not going to kill your chances. And
there’s no one who looks and sounds
and
writes like you.
Have you heard what’s on pop radio? They’re not real. They can’t
stay on tune live and everything’s written for them. Think of these
last two years as honing your skills, okay? You’ll have an edge
because you know what you’re friggin’ doing.”

“Why have you never thought my dream was
crazy?”

Oh, so many answers to that… “You’ll just get
a big head. To sum it up: I believe, okay?”

“But why? Even my own mum would rather I
teach or be a classical pianist.”

“That’s just her generation talking. You know
she’ll be happy for you.”

“Still didn’t answer my question.”

I sighed. “Because you’re gorgeous and your
work moves people. Happy?”

He beamed. “Gorgeous, eh?”

“See,
that’s
why I didn’t want to say
it.” I pulled away to set up more decorations, but he caught my
hand.

“Beth. Thank you.” His face was dead serious
and the words sincere.

Melting, I moved closer for a hug. “You’re
welcome.”

I went home after dinner for my temporary
move-back-in. With nearly a month off school, I had time to relax
and a reason to be in my old bedroom for a while.

It startled me to see the bigger bed when I
opened the door, though I don’t know why…I’d come home several
times over the term. His sheets weren’t on it anymore, of course.
That was too weird to try to get away with even in front of my
oblivious parents. I bought a set in sky blue to match my décor the
first weekend I visited.

“Hope you’re ready to shop ‘til you drop
tomorrow!” My mother went a little nuts at Christmastime.

“Mommm… Every year you drag me to the mall
and every year you say I’m a drag during it. Can’t we just get Dad
and Andrew’s presents and leave?” Never mind that
my
shopping was already done thanks to tutoring money.

“But--”

“Please? Just this once?”

She sighed. “Alright…you’re an adult, I can’t
force you. You can leave early.”

“Thanks, Mom. Really, you’ll thank me later
when you have more fun.”

She smiled; there was a touch of sadness to
it. “Honey, I have fun spending time with you. Are you going to do
laundry tonight?”

“No.”

“Good, I’ll take my shower, then. ‘Night,
Beth.”

“Goodnight, Mom.”

Good job—I just stomped all over her bonding
thing
.
Sometimes, I really didn’t think. It was hard giving
equal time to my parents and my boyfriend. Especially around the
holidays, I worried about short-changing somebody.

At least no one expected me to keep them
entertained…in truth, I was the only one with nothing to do. Jacob
was seeing old friends and stuff, Dad worked, and Mom had a social
schedule she’d always done. But with everyone being free in the
evening, the timing was a constant potential for conflict.