Page 15 of Until Presley

I sit here, watching as the storm rolls across the water, heading our way. I’ve been checking the weather reports for days because we need to go out tomorrow to retrieve the transmitters from the sharks and dolphins we tagged last month. I know this is just a passing storm for the night, nothing major coming in.

Memories wash over me. With her birthday last Monday, and then Ham bringing me her favorite tea today, I’ve never felt closer to her. I don’t know why. It’s like lately something is telling me that I’m missing something important. She was a little younger than I am now when she had me. I know that when I’m with Griff, I feel whole, and I was starting to feel that with Ham, even though it’s only been a couple of days.

Ham

I’m pissed by the time I pull up to her house. I can’t believe she jumped out of Walker’s truck when I was on my way back to her. I stomp up the gravel walk and knock on the door, but no one answers. I don’t see anyone inside, but her car is here. I spot her purse and cell phone on the counter. I enter the code to her door, but it doesn’t work. It just beeps at me. I stop and glance around, trying to come up with a plan. I’m about to walk around the deck and try the back door when I see a lone person sitting on the beach. The wind is picking up with the incoming storm.

Her hair whips around her, coming loose from the braid it was in earlier. She’s just staring out at the water. I head toward her, my feet sinking into the sand. She doesn’t acknowledge me when I get close, and I slowly lower to my butt and pull her into my body.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her, my anger gone. All I can think about are the tears rolling down her face. The quiet pain she’s going through.

“What’s wrong with me?” she says, her voice tiny, and it’s like a knife to my chest. The pain is instant.

“There is nothing wrong with you, sprite.” I take a deep breath, ready to tell her everything.

“Then why does everyone choose everything else over me?” She doesn’t stop there, the barbs come flying. “Every day of my life, my father has either chosen my mother, the ocean, or whales over me. When she died, I thought things would change. He took me everywhere with him, but he didn’t make me a priority. He just made me a part of his team. I was the youngest researcher. If I was sick, he’d leave me behind. When I broke my arm, he left me with myau pair.” She pauses, her voice quivering. “Do you know I hadau pairsand tutors? I had no idea how to interact with kids my own age. It was awful when my stepmother insisted I go to boarding school with my stepsister. I’m awkward most days, but put me amongst my peers, and I have no clue what I’m doing. Even now, according to my stepsister, I have this weird obsession and can’t interact with her or anyone else. I hate bullies, especially when they’re family.” Her voice softens, and my heart aches for her.

“Tell me about your mother.” My words are soft against the top of her head.

“She was amazing. She danced, enjoyed music, gardening, and teaching me. She loved that I was advanced for my age. Told me all the time that I was special. I could read and write before all the other kids.” She takes a big breath. “The day she died, I was so mad because my father left us again to go on a charter. I yelled at her. Told her I wished I had a different life. Different parents.” Her voice grows quiet, and I know she’s back there in that moment, reliving the memory, as her body shivers.

She leans her head against my chest. “I heard her fall. At first, I didn’t know what it was, but then I walked into the kitchen when she didn’t answer me. She was lying on the floor, thrashing around. I called for an ambulance as I begged her not to leave me, to stay in my life. I hadn’t meant what I said. I hate the ocean some days.”

Her sobs intensify, and I’m to blame for this too. Her father and I have both pushed her away.

“She told me that I would miss this life if I had a different one. It was so true. I regretted those words for years until I spoke to a counselor.” She continues to cry as we sit here, looking out as the storm draws closer.

“Win is short for Winslow,” I say once she quiets. “He’s my younger brother by about five years. I was in the military when he was hurt. He was riding his bike home from work when a drunk driver hit him.” I swallow hard as I remember the phone call I got. “Winslow went airborne over the car. He wasn’t expected to make it, but he survived. Every surgery he had and every time he has a seizure, they tell us to say goodbye because they don’t expect him to live through it.” I moisten my lips, trying to prolong getting to the reality of the situation. “He was in a coma for so long, and then he woke up. But he wasn’t Winslow anymore. He was a different person. He’s paralyzed from mid back down. Most days he lies in his bed, watching television. He can’t be in a normal wheelchair because his hips had to be fused due to his injuries. His brain will never be the same again.”

“Oh my God,” she says and pulls away from me.

I’m afraid she’s going to run, so I keep a hold of her, but she fights until she can twist around and straddle me. She wraps her whole body around me.

“A year later, my mother was diagnosed with MS. She can’t take care of Win, so I pay to have him in a home close enoughwhere we can go see him. I swear I’ve never been with Julia. She wanted to go out with me, and obviously still wants to, but I’m not interested in her. I told her today I have a girlfriend.”

She tips her head back and looks up at me. Her eyes are filled with emotion once again, and I settle. I shift, then stand up as the first drops of rain begin to fall. By the time we make it to the house, it’s a full-on downpour, and we’re both soaked. She enters the code into the French doors that open into her kitchen.

I walk toward the bathroom, and together we strip off our clothes, making sure we don’t let go of each other except when we have to. With her naked body wrapped around me, I reach into the shower and flip on the water before stepping in with her. I take the brunt of the cold spray against my back until it warms, then I turn her into it. She softly kisses my neck, and I kiss her neck too. I bite and gently suck, leaving a mark where others won’t see unless they are too close.

She leans back and looks into my eyes. “I’ll give you another chance. But you need to understand that becoming a doctor is very important to me.”

“Presley, you are my priority. My mom and brother are going to have to understand. You will get all of me, because I’m going to push you to do this. I’m not going to interfere with your doctoral studies. I understand how important that is to you. But I will be here, making sure we keep moving forward. I won’t give up on us.”

“Thank you.” Her pupils dilate as she shifts against my cock. “Now, can we discuss this?” She rocks along my length, and I drop my head back.

“Sprite, you know if I get my cock inside you, I’m never letting you go, no matter what.”

“We’ll see about that.” She smirks and leans forward to kiss me.

I press her back against the shower wall and shift her up. I kiss down her neck to her breasts, where I take a nipple deep in my mouth. She starts rocking against me, and it takes everything in me not to shift and slide into her heat. I can feel it, and it’s making me lose my mind.

“Fuck this. I don’t have a condom.” I reach behind us and turn off the water. I step out of the shower and grab a towel to wrap around both of us. Then I reach for the bag I left here this morning.

“Put me down before you drop me.” Presley giggles, and I press her to my body tighter.

“Not letting you go.” I pull out several condoms and then stomp to her room.

I drop her and the towel on the bed and take her all in. Her skin is flushed from the hot shower and from desire.

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