Miles for love series bo.., p.61
Miles for Love Series Box Set, page 61
In front of the couch is a huge fireplace with a big screen television above it. The vertical blinds are all open, showing off the whole load of glass that encompasses the room. Behind the living room is the open concept kitchen, which is a chef’s dream, by the way. The fridge looks larger than my dorm room, and everything is made of marble and butcher’s block, except for the face of the cupboards, which are etched glass. “Good God, Christopher. This is so beautiful.”
“Yeah…I know. That’s why I never bring girls here.”
My eyes dart to him. “You what?”
“It’s stupid. I know that everyone knows I have money.” He looks at me. “Which was a total accident, by the way. I’ll explain later.” He grabs a glass out of the cupboard and fills it with water, handing it to me. “This place is too much of a distraction. I don’t bring girls over.”
“They’re not called ‘chicks’ anymore?” my tone is facetious yet playful.
“I only say ‘chicks’ when guys are around.” He admits.
“So, you’re telling me that none of your conquests have ever been to your house? Doesn’t this place scream ‘I want to have sex with the homeowner’? Didn’t you design this place with the top feature being a ‘chick magnet’?”
Placing a finger on his chin in mock contemplation, he says. “Hmm…I never thought about it like that. Thanks.”
For that, I punch him in the shoulder. He chuckles. “Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the place.”
Taking a sip of my water, I leave the glass on the counter and follow him. The powder room is beside the kitchen, and it features touchless twin faucets, a waterfall-style sink, and a bidet. “Impressive.” I say.
“Need to go?” he jokes.
Opposite the living room is a games room with a pool table, a foosball table, dart board and wet bar, and that room spans the entire length of the house. A small study sits at the end of the games room, and the back of the house has a large set of glass double doors. “I’ll show you outside.” He says, opening the doors.
The large plank porch houses a king-sized patio table, large enough that the entire Lynch family and then some, could dine comfortably. A step down from the porch is a hot tub, and in the middle is a liver-shaped inground pool with pot lights illuminating it from the interior walls. “Wow.” I say and mean it. Beyond the pool is a firepit and a large wooden shed that resembles a small cottage. “You must have a lot of parties here.”
“Not really. But I have the Lynch clan over a lot. Come on. Let me show you upstairs.”
Following him up the winding staircase, I notice that the chandelier is just far enough away that it looks like it’s in reaching distance, but is about an inch too far. “Henry tries to play with this all the time. I have a basket full of toys downstairs and upstairs for when he comes over.”
“That’s so cute.”
At the top of the stairs is a skylight. “This is my only regret about this place.” He admits. “I have to get a contractor to come and install custom blinds. It gets so goddamn hot up here sometimes, my toes fry as I come up the stairs.”
“I’ll bet. It’s beautiful all the same.”
“Thanks. What do you want to see first?”
Looking around, I see a large room that looks like another games room, a room with double doors, and three other rooms where the doors are closed. “How does one need two game rooms?” I ask.
“When you have three brothers and a lot of guy friends, it comes in handy.” He’s matter-of-fact.
I cock my head. “You’ve got a point there.”
Two of the three closed doors are spare rooms, fully furnished, one even has a crib, which he explains was once for Henry, but he’s kept it around because of the new baby, Mitchell. The double doors hide a huge washroom, which has a soaker tub, double sinks, a glass-enclosed shower, and a large screen television. The last bedroom is, of course, the master bedroom. Christopher saves that for last. Before I can say it, he lifts his hand in the air, catching me, “I know…you’re not sleeping with me.” we both laugh.
His bedroom is the biggest I’ve ever seen. King-sized, four-poster bed, large screen television, an armoire and chest of drawers, walk-in closet, and an ensuite bathroom with another glass-enclosed shower and whirlpool bathtub.
I turn to him. “You seriously never brought a girl here?”
He shakes his head no.
“Man. And here I thought you were nothing but a showoff.”
“You ever hear about that kid that got a black eye and then got kicked out of school?”
“Oh, um,” I snap my fingers together. “They called him ‘Spike’, right?”
“Yeah, that’s him.” he clears his throat. “Well, as you know, I don’t drive a fancy car or anything, and I kept my money to myself. This asshole follows me home one day and starts harassing me, finding out that…well…that I’m…”
“Rich.”
“Yeah,” he licks his lips. “I made a point of keeping my business to myself, and this asshole decides to take it upon himself to tell the whole damn school about me. Only I didn’t know anything about it until my credit card gets stolen and it leads the cops right to him. I punched him out and he got booted out of school.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah,” he rakes a hand through his hair. “And that’s why I don’t bring girls here, ever. Never have. I’m thinking that somehow it’ll blow over and become some kind of urban legend or something. I mean, I don’t want everyone to know that I have money.”
“I don’t blame you. It’s hard to trust someone when you know that they know you have money.”
“My guy friends are cool, but, I like to keep the other part of my life separate.”
“I understand.”
I want desperately to ask him what he would do if he found out he just came into three million dollars. But I’m so afraid to ask. Will he even believe me? Hell, I don’t even believe it’s true yet.
“Oh, I should grab your backpack.” He says, breaking the silence. “Unless you want to stay and watch a movie or something?” he smiles, and I can read his mind. “I know…”
We say simultaneously. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
We’re both laughing when he takes my hand and pulls me out of his bedroom, which I’m thankful for. I’ve never been inside a guy’s room before and it’s kind of awkward. He releases my hand as we walk down the stairs. “It’s nice, because all my spare rooms have king-sized beds and one even has one of those hideaway beds, so if I have my whole family over, there is somewhere for everyone to sleep.”
“You have enough room to house a small army, Christopher.” I say matter-of-factly.
He chuckles. “True. Hey, stay and watch a movie.” He says, giving my arm a playful punch. “That’s one thing about living in a huge house. It gets kind of lonely sometimes.”
“Next time I come over, I’ll bring my bathing suit and test out your hot tub.”
“Absolutely. I swim every morning, too.”
“I love to swim. Haven’t done that in a long time.”
“Anytime you want. Come on over.” He says. “Let me go grab a bowl of chips. Make yourself at home.” He says, even though I haven’t consented to a movie yet.
I sit on his couch and fall instantly in love. The only couch I get to sit on, besides the old beat up one at dad’s house when I visit, is the one in the common area…and it smells. This couch is soft leather, and it hugs my body as I sit. “Oh…my…God.” I mewl as the couch swallows me up.
“Seriously…bring chicks here.” I say with closed eyes when he returns.
He laughs. “Should I put your name on one of the doors upstairs? You wanna move in?”
“Oh…can I? My dorm room will never be the same.”
A chuckle.
“I’m glad I didn’t invite you to lay on any of the beds then.” He says, munching on a chip. “They’re all state-of-the-art memory foam. Custom-made.”
“Shut…up.”
He makes a noise from his nose that is sort of a laugh.
“I’ve died and gone to heaven.” I say, before trying to get up. He sees me struggle. “Forget it. I’m not getting up.”
He laughs out loud. Rising, he switches the fireplace on. I lift my head enough so I can see it. “Are you trying to kill me?”
A snuffled laugh. “And I didn’t even show you the basement yet. There’s a woodburning fireplace down there.”
“You’re the devil in disguise.”
He wiggles his eyebrows playfully, pushing the chip bowl towards me.
“You allow eating in your living room when your living room looks like this?”
“I have a vacuum.”
“You don’t have a maid?”
He scoffs. “No. Are you kidding me?”
“With a place like this, I figured you’d need a team of maids and butlers.”
“No. This place is considerably low maintenance.” He points out. “Besides, I have three brothers and a sister. If I need help around here, they come over. I help them, too. It’s the way us Lynches are.”
“So that’s how you keep your womanly figure.” I tease.
He pops another chip into his mouth. “I have a gym in the basement.”
I give him a look. “I haven’t been able to work out since I started school. You suck.”
“Come over and use mine anytime you want. Seriously.” He says, as a chip lands on his chest. He picks it up and pops it into his mouth.
“Sounds to me like you need a roommate.”
“I was hoping that my brothers would live with me, but Ty and Grant got a place so fast it was too late. And Daniel met Kayla and she moved in with him so fast. I was kind of left in the dust. This house was never really intended to be just for me. I even offered to have Mallorie and Henry live here when Henry was first born, but she and Brent bought a place.”
“And you never asked any of your classmates or your buddies to live with you?”
“I did. But they all live in a house just off campus. It’s party central there. Then I was glad none of them decided to move in here. After spending a night with them at their place, I realized that they’re all pigs.”
I look around. “And I can see that you are the furthest thing from a pig.”
“I was in the military. It kind of goes with the territory.”
“Ah, I forgot about that.” I take a chip from the bowl. “I did, however, notice that your bed is very tightly made.
“Military style, baby.” He says, giving me a wink. It gives me a little shiver. He takes it as me being cold, so he rises and turns a knob on the fireplace. The heat is so comforting. The couch is so comforting. For a fleeting moment, I actually consider living here, pretending like he actually offered. Would it be so bad? This place would spoil me forever. I’d never be able to return to domestic life.
“I could so get used to this.” I sigh, feeling the heat, listening to the crackle, watching the trees sway off in the distance from the open windows. It feels like we’re far away from civilization, but we’re not. It’s so nice.
“Sure beats the dorm, huh.” He says.
“That’s putting it mildly.” I agree. “I’ve never even been in a fancy hotel that measured up to this. I feel like I’m in the foyer of the Hilton or something.”
“Casa Christopher.” He jokes. “It’s pretty easy to keep clean, too, because it’s just me. Which is another reason why I vetoed the idea of having one of my buddies live here. I’d never trust anyone but family to treat this place the way that I do.
“I hear you there.” I say, taking another chip from the bowl. “Fortunately, Darlene is pretty clean, like me. There are never any clothes on the floor, or food hanging around. For a small place it stays clean.”
“That’s good. Hey, let me go grab you your water.”
“Thanks. Seriously, I’m not getting up.”
He pats my leg as he gets up. I let myself watch his rear end as he walks into the kitchen. I never noticed how nice of a caboose he has. In fact, his whole body is something to be admired. When he comes back into the living room with my water, I make sure that my eyes are on the fireplace, not him. “I threw some ice in there for you. It got a little warm.”
“Thanks.” I say, as he places the glass on the coffee table in front of the couch.
“Are you up for a movie? I’ve got everything, you name it.”
“You’re not restricted to your unlimited porn collection?” I tease.
He snuffles a laugh. “I have one porn movie that my brother bought me as a joke for my twenty-first birthday. I’ve only watched it once. Why? You wanna watch porn?”
“I was kidding!” I bark.
“Damn…because I was just going to say, ‘holy shit, you’re so cool’!” he chuckles.
I smack him, but I’m smiling. “I am cool!”
He taps me back. “You’re right, you are pretty cool. You’d be cooler if you slept with me.” he says but he can barely get it out without laughing. I catch him and smack him harder. He feigns hurt and starts tickling my stomach.
“Oh, you’re in trouble now, Lynch!” I giggle, tickling him back. It starts out as him getting me in the stomach, but he’s too good at blocking me from getting him in the stomach, so I get brave and straddle him.
“I used to beat the crap out of my sister when we were kids, Ash! Look out!” he plays along.
“Or your sister beat the crap out of you?” I tease, finally getting his belly. He barks out a laugh. “Haha!”
He gets a spot on my back that makes me freeze it tickles so bad. He lifts up and forces me down onto the couch, taking full advantage. “You suck!” I laugh, trying to get his stomach again, but I can’t reach, so instead, I grab hold of his shirt and pull on it, hoping for some traction so I can inch my way to his belly. His head is on my shoulder as he crunches himself into a semi-ball, so I can’t get to his gut.
“Give up?” he asks in a muffled voice, since his head is on my shoulder.
“Never!” I growl, reaching further down, until I realize I’ve reached too far down and I’ve grabbed his bathing suit area.
“Bad form. That’s not my tickle spot.” He says with a high-pitched voice, as if I’ve grabbed his balls.
“Shit. Sorry.” I laugh, moving my hand back up. I get a spot on his back, and he buckles down a little, laughing into my shoulder. He tries to move my hand, but instead he grazes my breast.
“Damn, sorry.” He laughs. “In my defence, I can’t see.”
I can feel my nipple bead from his touch, and I try to ignore it. Pulling his shirt, I accidentally force it all the way out from his pants. Now I can’t see where my hand is, and it slips, as I bag him right in the crotch.
“Ah, fuck.” He grunts.
I gasp. “Oh, shit! I’m so sorry!”
He’s leaning over me, and he buckles down until he’s at my feet, where he lays on his back, chest heaving.
“Are you okay?” I ask, hovering over him.
“Yeah…just…just give me a minute.” He grunts again. I almost knee him in the groin as I try to get to eye level with him. “Shit, be careful.” He half-giggles, giving me a feeling of relief.
“I’m so sorry. I never had a brother. I’m not very good at playing with boys, obviously.”
“It’s okay.” His eyes are closed. His hand finds my back, and he starts stroking it. It feels so good I don’t want him to stop.
“Can you move?” I whisper, feeling so guilty I almost want to cry.
“Not if you don’t want me to puke.” He murmurs.
“Is there anything I can do?” My hand finds the side of his face, and I skate my finger down it.
“Na, I’m okay. Just…give me a minute. It goes right to your stomach, that’s all. Makes you feel nauseous.”
“Okay. Can I get you some ice?”
“No, just…don’t talk. I’m okay.”
His hand is still stroking my back. His eyes are still closed. The intimacy is so surreal, it’s almost too much. I watch his Adam’s Apple bob up and down as he swallows, and something about it makes me want to kiss him. His lips are full and soft-looking. I look down at his bathing suit area; for what reason, I don’t know. But I notice that his is standing up pretty high; like he’s…hard. “Are you swollen?” I ask.
He shakes his head no. Jesus Christ. He must be huge. I can feel my heartbeat between my legs, and it takes everything in me not to kiss him.
“Do you want me to go?” I whisper, secretly wishing he says no.
He shakes his head no again. “Just…lay here if you want. Unless you want to leave. I can’t get up to see you out though.” His voice is a mere whisper.
I can feel tears prick the backs of my eyes. I didn’t realize I hurt him that badly. “God, I’m so sorry, Christopher. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
His hand strokes faster. “It’s okay.”
Laying my head down on his chest, I mirror his strokes over his chest.
What I don’t realize is what I’ve done has opened up a can of worms.
What I also don’t realize is that I do end up sleeping with him…all night.
Chapter 10
Christopher
The cookie that was there an hour ago has disappeared. Tyler had been in a while ago, dropping off his school bag. He must have taken it. But she won’t see it that way. She’ll think I did it. As I search the cupboards quickly, while she finishes cleaning the bathroom, I can feel the sweat dripping down my back. The whistle coming from her lips tells me that she’s in a good mood, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. Unable to find a cookie to replace the one missing in the empty bag, I throw the bag deep inside the garbage pail, hoping that she won’t suspect anything.
When she finishes in the bathroom, she comes to the kitchen, calling for me, but I’m in my bedroom…hiding. “Christopher? Christopher?”
Knowing if I don’t answer, my hiding will be for naught, I find my voice. Scratchy with pre-teen hormones, I respond. “Yes, Missus Grainger?”
“Are you cleaning your room? Your mother is going to be home late tonight. We wouldn’t want her to see your room messy, would we?”
Except for a baseball cap hanging on my doorknob instead of hanging in the closet where it belongs, my room is immaculate. Quickly scooting over to the cap, I put it away. “Yes, my room is clean, Missus Grainger.”
