Twenty-One

The one thing Faith truly loved about Florida is that even at its coldest, it wasn’t ever really cold. Oh, it had its below freezing moments, but they came and went with the breeze, never lasting long. That Sunday afternoon was no different as she walked hand-in-hand with Selby along the sands of the Atlantic shore. The wind blew in over the white-crested waves, pulling at her light jacket and her quickly tangling hair. The music of the persistent waves drummed its cadence just a few feet away from the path they made in the sand. It was peaceful, just the way she preferred her Sundays.

Selby and she had both arrived back home before dinner the previous night, and he had treated her to a meal out. Back home, with glasses of wine and a fire flickering in the fireplace, she told him about her time with Edwin. It had been intense. He had ordered her around and even taken her out into his backyard and fucked her in the grass. There was no privacy fence. He seemed to enjoy the daring aspects of their play. They showered together, and then he sent her back to her truck just as naked as he made her enter his home. He sent her a text that morning saying he was staring at the piece of ground where he had taken her and couldn’t wait until he saw her again on Monday.

Selby had been open about his time with Tracey, but close-lipped about what they talked about. All he would say was that she had shared some of her past with him and she had wished Faith had joined them. Faith laughed as she said, “Maybe another time,” with a look that really said, “No way in hell.”

She made love to Selby in front of the fire, and then the two of them made it to their bed and drifted off to sleep. They slept in and ate breakfast on the deck while deciding against planning out their day, choosing instead to just go with whatever popped into their head. So far, nothing had popped into their head besides a walk on the beach, and Faith was fine with that.

“Isn’t that your father?” Selby pointed at a set of rickety stairs that led to one of the small access ways to the beach. Arni Driscoll sat there, the wind pulling at his hair as he stared out at the water, a cigarette dangling from his fingers as his arms rested on his knees. A notepad dangled from the hand that didn’t hold the cigarette, a typical accessory for Faith’s father. “I never pictured him as a beach-goer.”

Faith changed course as they walked, making her way to her father. “He’s not.”

As they drew closer, Arni turned and got a glimpse of them. He smiled, his cheeks pushing upward brightening his eyes, as he waved at them.

“Dad, you okay? Where’s Mom?”

“Oh, she’s at that church. I decided to let her do it on her own this morning and came over here for a smoke.” He gestured to the waves breaking on the shore. “I can see why you two like it. Very peaceful out here in the morning.”

“You should have stopped by the house,” Selby said. “I could have offered you coffee to go with the morning.”

“Yeah, why didn’t you stop by?” Faith asked, her brows pinched in worry.

Arni waved their statements off. “I didn’t want to disturb your morning. Besides, sometimes, it’s nice to be alone when it’s quiet.”

“I bet Mom wasn’t too happy you skipped church. How did you swing that?”

He flashed a devilish smile at them. “I waited until she was out of the car and then told her I wasn’t going. She stood there fuming a moment, but you know your mother, didn’t want to make a scene where people could see. And then I drove off.”

Faith rolled her eyes. “A scene that makes her look bad, you mean. She doesn’t care what she does to make others look bad.”

Arni reached out and squeezed Faith’s hand. “She doesn’t mean to. Your mother just has her ways about her.”

Faith chose not to say anything more about the issue. Her mother’s ways were quite often mean and selfish, but for some reason, Arni loved her and always stood by her, even when he avoided her. “And what is on your agenda today besides ducking church?”

He shrugged. “Not much. Probably take your mom out to lunch and then just piddle around the house. How about you two?”

Selby moved so he could lean against the railing as another couple started descending the steps. “A whole lot of laziness.”

Arni smiled before taking another drag from his cigarette. “Now, you see,” he said as he blew the smoke out in a small stream, “that’s the kind of life to be living. At your own pace, doing what you enjoy doing.” He squeezed Faith’s hand again. “I’m proud of you for doing what you want to do, sweetie. Don’t allow anyone, not even your mother, cause you to not follow your own path. You only get one shot at this life. Live it your way.”

Faith blushed at the compliment. She had never heard her father sound so sentimental before. “Thank you. I don’t think Selby would allow me to live any other way.”

“Good for him.” Arni took another hit off his cigarette and then tossed it in the sand dune as he blew out the smoke. “Now, I better go pick up your mother. You know how she hates standing around. Any other day, she’d be yakking everyone’s ear off, making me wait around, but since I left her, she’ll be waiting at the curb as soon as the final amen is said.” He stood and leaned down and gave Faith a hug, squeezing her tight. “I love you,” he whispered. He then shook Selby’s hand as he wished him a lazy day and then turned and headed back up the steps.

Faith watched her father leave. He put up with quite a bit from his family, Cherish’s wild side, Dennis’ snobbery, her mother’s cantankerous ways, and even her own distance at times. Yet, no matter what, Arni Driscoll stood by his family. She never wanted to disappoint him or give him a reason to shake his head at her. That had always been the hardest part of being disciplined by him as she grew up. It wasn’t the spankings or the groundings; it was that tone that told his children they disappointed him, and that hurt more than anything else.

The breeze picked up, and Faith felt a shiver go down her spine. Selby grabbed her arm and led her away from the staircase, back the way they came. “Come on, I’ll make you some hot cocoa.”

She leaned into him as they walked, her head on his shoulder, her hands wrapped around his arm. Her father had been right. Living your life your way was truly the only way to live it. She was lucky in the fact she not only could live her life that way, but that she married a man who made sure she did. She squeezed his arm as they walked. “I love you.”

He kissed the side of her head. “I love you too, princess.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Edwin texted Faith several times throughout the day. Selby hadn’t asked, and Faith didn’t offer. He could have asked, he knew, but for whatever reason, he just didn’t feel like hearing about it. Faith’s reaction was probably the reason. Whenever a text came in, she giggled. Giggled! It was beyond annoying. It was as if Edwin’s text made her entire day.

Tracey sent him a couple of texts but told him she wouldn’t intrude on Faith’s time with him. If he wanted to talk to her, he was free to text or call her. She would answer; she just would not initiate. Edwin needed that restraint.

Selby sat on the back deck, a Terry Brooks’ novel resting on his lap and a mug of coffee in front of him. He tried to read inside, but Faith’s phone distracted him again. She had agreed to keep their time, their time. Edwin had supposedly agreed as well, but it seemed the newness of their little adventure was too much for either of them to keep their word. He found Faith making excuses to go into another room for whatever reason she could come up with just so she could check her phone without being caught. Selby finally told her to just talk to Edwin, grabbed his book, and escaped to his sanctuary on the deck.

He reached down and pulled his cell phone from his pocket, tempted to text Tracey since Edwin occupied Faith, but decided not to do it. He wouldn’t get annoyed at Faith’s behavior and then copy it out of revenge. Tracey deserved better.

He did, however, flip it open and browse through the pictures. Before he left her apartment the other day, he took a picture of her curled up on the couch with nothing on but a thin throw blanket. You couldn’t see any vital body parts, but the image of her bare shoulder peeking out of the blanket, her red hair cascading down her back, was extremely sexy. She could come across harsh at times, but when she did show her soft side, it took his breath away. He smiled down at the picture, wondering if she giggled when he texted her. He somehow doubted it. Tracey Williams was not the giggling sort, not by a long shot.

Selby closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. He picked up his book and held it in his hands but didn’t open it. Instead, he stared at the sea grape that blew along his deck railing, his mind somewhere other than that back deck.

The sliding glass door opened, and Faith stepped through the doorway. “You about ready for dinner?”

He turned and smiled as he noticed her cell phone was no longer in her hand. “The fun over for a while?”

She walked over and knelt down between his legs. “For the night.” She leaned forward and kissed his hand. “I’m all yours for the rest of the evening.”

He could feel his smile grow. “That makes me happy.”

She pulled on his arm, and he allowed her to drag him out of the chair. “Come on. Let’s go inside, and I’ll fix you something to eat.” She cocked her head over her shoulder, a devilish gleam in her eye. “Any idea what you’d like to eat?”

He reached out and tugged her hair. He had plenty of ideas.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She watched him brooding through the sliding glass doors. It was then she put her cell phone away and told Edwin she would be his tomorrow. Tonight, she had to make sure Selby did not fall back into his mood from Thursday. It was up to her to make sure the game did not interfere with her home life.

Still, it was hard. She could still feel Edwin’s hands on her body, his breath against her flesh, his commands in her ears. Yesterday had hooked her to the game. She wanted more. Wanted Edwin. He had made her scream with ecstasy. She wanted to scream some more.

But not tonight. Well, not from Edwin anyway. Selby could make her scream pretty well, too. And she was ready for it. Hungry for it, actually.

They trapped her between them. Edwin showed her a soft side she didn’t expect. He had been tender. Loving. She didn’t want or expect loving from him, just sex. She relished every soft stroke, however.

Yet, she had to admit, it confused her. He knew what she wanted. For someone to take her. Use her. Force her. She didn’t want them to make love to her. No, she had Selby for that. Selby was for love while Edwin was for fucking, pure and simple.

It wasn’t simple anymore.

It wasn’t pure fucking, either.

Edwin had reached out with a soft hand and touched her in places she didn’t expect him to touch. She wanted more of it. For him to take her deeper into his bed as well as into his heart. Could she have both worlds with him and, if she did, what would she do with it? And where would that leave Selby? Selby was her life, her world, while Edwin seemed like another world entirely. She never knew the strength he showed her during sex. Selby was playful, fun. Edwin was forceful, demanding. She needed both, wanted both, but now she had to figure out how to make it all work without destroying either one.

Together, Faith and Selby fixed a steak and potatoes dinner, and opened a bottle of Merlot. Music filtered through the house as they teased each other, their fingers brushing against each other with light touches and gentle caresses. She watched as Selby smiled at her, his eyes sparkling, and yet, she couldn’t get Edwin out of her vision. She forced a smile upon her face and kissed Selby’s cheek as he made some crack about her cooking. It was going to be a long night.