Page 62 of The Deadbeat Next Door

“I was only fourteen and I couldn’t drive. I could walk to just every shop or restaurant I might want, but I spent most of my time at a park not too far from the hotel. I wasn’t as easygoing as Jenna and Jared, and I got in more fights than I made new friends.”

“I can’t imagine.” I glanced at her and saw a smile tickling her lips. “You’re not abrasive in the least.”

I laughed and hopped off the interstate and onto a downtown street that would take us past some beautiful Atlanta buildings. “Where do you want to go? Do you want to see Margaret Mitchell’s house? The Martin Luther King Jr historic site? The zoo? Little Five Points?”

“I want to see it all,” she said. “Is that possible? I’ve just never really been anywhere and I…I want to see everything I can.”

I glanced over to see her looking at me, her eyes bright, her smile wide. Beautiful. Her excitement was contagious and I couldn’t help my smile. “It’s already after ten, Carrie. You have to pick just one for today. But we can come back. As many times as it takes, until we’ve seen it all.”

“Right.” Her tone had lost some of its happy vibrancy and her smile had faded. I realized then what I’d said. I’d spoken like we had a lifetime together, not just three more weekends. “I guess I was being unrealistic,” she said. “What’s your favorite place?”

If I was being honest, I would pick one of the parks, but Carrie could see all the nature she wanted in Catalpa Creek. So, I considered what would be best for her, and I lied. “My favorite is the zoo. And you should definitely see the Martin Luther King Jr Historic site. We’ll have dinner in Little Five Points. If we go fast, we can do it all in one day.”

“I’ve never been to a zoo before,” she said, her earlier enthusiasm back.

We were already on the right end of the city for the zoo, so I made good time there. Carrie was excited about everything we saw. Even the birds fascinated her. Her love of animals and of learning was obvious in the way she read every educational plaque we passed. She didn’t linger, clearly conscious of our time restraints, but I saw the regret in her expression each time she turned away from another animal. She could have easily spent an entire day there, and I felt guilty, like I’d screwed up yet again by being too hungover to get out of the house earlier.

She didn’t complain once, in fact she laced her fingers through mine and walked with me like we were a real couple. I’d never really dated and I’d often looked at couples at tourist sites with disdain and smugness. I’d loved the freedom of being single and figured the poor schmucks with a woman on their arm were probably counting the minutes until they could get back to all the things they’d rather be doing. With Carrie, I hated the passing of the minutes that would end our day together, would end our relationship. I didn’t have a place in my life for a girlfriend or for weekends spent doing tourist things but, for the first time, I wished I did have more time to spend exploring new places with Carrie, showing her all the things she hadn’t seen before.

We had lunch next to the giant pandas and took our time walking back through the zoo to the parking lot. We made the short drive to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site. Carrie showed no less interest in this site than she had in the zoo and we took our time exploring the visitor center, the Baptist church where King had been reverend, the King center, the great man’s tomb, and the eternal flame. We walked down the street where he’d grown up and saw the house where he was born. We didn’t have time to schedule a tour of the inside of his home and again I wished for more time, because Carrie seemed fascinated with everything. We were really cutting it close, but we drove to midtown and got to the Margaret Mitchell house just in time to catch the last tour of the day.

As we drove to Little Five Points, Carrie chattered happily about everything we’d seen. “This is such a beautiful city,” she said.

“Would you rather live in a big city like this?”

She chewed on her bottom lip, considering. “I don’t think so. I’d love to visit, but Catalpa Creek is my home and I wouldn’t know what to do without the gossips and the busybodies. Life must be very boring without someone dissecting and sharing everything you do with the whole town.”

“Boring isn’t the word I’d use. What are you in the mood to eat?”

We ended up getting burgers at a locally owned place and then we walked the streets and explored until Carrie declared that she couldn’t take another step.

I took her back to my mother’s home and we snuck up the steps to our room, too tired to face family. At least, I was too tired and Carrie didn’t try and force me to spend more time with my family. I closed the door and had her naked and spread out before me in quick order. I made up for falling asleep on her the night before, several times over, and I fell asleep with my arms wrapped around her. I didn’t think about how good she felt in my arms or how there was nowhere else I’d rather be, even with my family just down the hall. Our time together was a fun interlude, I reminded myself, but it didn’t mean anything.

***

The next morning, I was awakened by a warm mouth pressing kisses to my chest and neck and face. It was the best way I’d been woken up, maybe ever. I rolled toward the exploring mouth and wrapped my arms around Carrie, pulling her tight against me. My eyes popped open. Carrie was dressed and her hair was pinned back. “Why are you dressed?” I asked. “I don’t like you dressed.”

She shivered against me. “Your mother has fixed a huge breakfast to see us off. It’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”

I stretched and sat up. According to the clock next to the bed, it was after eight. I never slept that late, unless I was hungover, of course. “How long have you been up?”

She glanced at the clock. “Two hours. I went for a run around the neighborhood. It’s lovely.”

“You should have woken me.” I scrubbed a hand down my face and tried to wake up. “How are you so chipper? You couldn’t have gotten more than five hours of sleep.”

She frowned and I noticed the dark circles under her eyes. “It doesn’t matter how late I go to bed, I always wake up early. It’s a curse.”

“Another one?” I drew a finger along the neckline of her blouse. I unbuttoned the top and then the second and then the third buttons, my other hand tight on her waist. I just wanted a peek. I needed a peek, and maybe a taste, just enough to get me through the morning and the long drive back to Catalpa Creek.

I slid a hand inside her blouse and pushed her bra aside. I lowered my mouth and tasted and licked and loved her beautiful breast until she moaned. That moan made me want another moan. I unbuttoned two more buttons and paid equal attention to the other breast. “Breakfast,” Carrie said, her voice breathy. “Everyone will be waiting.”

“I don’t need a shower. I can be ready in five minutes. That gives us fifteen. Think you can come for me in fifteen minutes?”

“Uh-huh.” She softened and melted against me as I continued to work her breast with my hand. I loved the way she gave into me. She was in such control in every other aspect of her life, always put together and making the right choices. I loved that I could make her bad, make her hand the reins to me.

She reached to undo the rest of the buttons on her blouse, but I stopped her. “Leave them,” I said. “This is a quickie between the…Um, the naked…” I was enjoying Carrie’s role-playing games more than I’d ever imagined I would. I had always been a fairly straight-forward lover, but I loved this game, loved the way it excited her, involving her mind and her body. The only problem was that when the blood left my brain and fled to my cock, I had a really hard time coming up with a story I thought she might like.

“You’re a debauched rock star.” She pressed her breast farther into my hand. “And I’m your manager. I’ve found you naked in bed when you’re supposed to be at an interview. You agree to go to the interview, but only if I let you…”

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