Chapter 18

*Two Weeks Later*

    "Damn Jonathan, this place is great!" Darryl chuckled as he walked into the rented beach house with Sarah at his side. Jonathan and I walked in behind them carrying our bags, just like they were carrying their own. Sarah had come up with a plan just like she said she would. The funny thing was I really didn't think the plan would work, but Sarah insisted we try it. So, after much discussion with Jonathan and Darryl, who both said they'd be willing to rent a beach house for the week, we put the plan into action.

    Sarah's plan had been to ask my parents if I could spend Spring Break with her and her great aunt at the condo her aunt owned near the beach. Sarah had even gone so far as to ask her great aunt Tia, to call and talk to my parents herself. I couldn't believe that Tia agreed to go along with this plan. She even knew that Sarah and I were not going to really stay with her at all. Instead, we would be at the beach house that Jonathan and Darryl rented. Granted, we did stop by to see Tia before heading to the beach house since she lived just down the road.

    Sarah had picked me up and my parents had both been there to watch us leave.
    "Okay, Alex, now you've got everything you need right honey? And you have your cell phone and the charger?"

    I rolled my eyes, "Yes, dad. I checked and double checked. I have everything packed."

    "And you have all our phone numbers and all the emergency numbers?"

    "Dad! Really, I'm going to be okay."

    "Okay, well I will call Tia and let her know you two are on the way right now. Remember Alex you are to listen to everything she says and don't you dare disobey her or I will have you back home in an instant!"

    "I will, dad. Promise."

    So, guess you're wondering why my father actually let me go spend the week with Sarah and her aunt, especially since Sarah wasn't exactly one of his favorite people right now? You guessed it, money! See, Tia's late husband was the owner of several banks in the city and it's surrounding area. Yeah, he handled money every day of his life.

     Oh, but what really took the cake was the fact that he had also been a state senator, and one whom my father had supported. Tia had always been at her husband's side supporting him and being the perfect wife. My father, remembering all that was more than happy to fawn over the late senator's wife. And Tia had been the superb actress as usual when she talked to my father on the phone as they handled the details of my week with her.

    She had managed to convince my father that a week with her and I would change my ways. She told my father that Sarah had voiced her concern that I was changing and not being the good girl that I once was. After her talk with Sarah, she decided to try to help since she really cared about her favorite niece who seemed upset over the changes in her best friend. Of course my father jumped at the chance to find a way to 'fix' me and to rub elbows with another affluent person. So, the deal was made and we told the guys to go ahead and rent the house.

    The guys were waiting for us at Tia's condo. Our plan had been for Sarah to pick me up and take us to Tia's where we'd meet up with Jonathan and Darryl. From there, we would take separate cars to the beach house. Darryl and Sarah in her car and Jonathan and I in his.

    Jonathan had been the one to answer the door when Sarah had rang Tia's doorbell. He swung the door open and scooped me up into his arms, kissing me hard before holding me in a fierce hug. "I missed you beautiful."

    "I missed you too, Jonathan."

    Sarah had rolled her eyes, "Okay girlfriends, we can have many more lovey dovey moments when we get to the house so let's get rolling."

    Laughing, we all had gone inside to the kitchen where Darryl and Tia sat at a breakfast counter talking over Long Island Iced Teas. Like I said before, Tia could have been a great actress. She had my father eating out of her hand, but then again, she had known exactly what to say to get it. Of course, all those years of dealing with people like my father, either through her husbands many banking business events or through the many functions he'd had as a senator. Just like her husband, Tia had learned how to work a crowd. Imagine my surprise to meet her and find out how very similar to my quirky best friend she was. Tia had her public persona and her private one.

    It was there, sitting at the breakfast counter with everyone else that I got to really know her since she was more than willing to share stories about her life with the senator. And it was there that I began to see that there was a way to merge both what people expected me to be with what I really was. Tia had accomplished that well. She was a very funny, almost eccentric lady who loved her husband very much. He had been born into money unlike her. She came from a middle class working family, but that hadn't stopped the senator from falling in love with her spunkiness. She admitted that in the beginning it had been hard to be this perfect model wife everyone expected her to be. Until her husband finally had a talk with her and told her that he loved her for the way she really was. He had explained that like him, they could have their private lives and their public. The public knew him as a very conservative senator, Tia knew him as a fun loving, laid back, crazy kind of guy.

    By the time she had seen us off and told us to have a wonderful spring break week, I was feeling more hopeful that Jonathan and I could make things work. The visit to Tia had seemed to energize everyone. As I sat next to Jonathan on the drive to the beach house, I talked about the things I'd been doing the past two weeks and how I couldn't wait to graduate so I could live my life the way I wanted to. Jonathan of course supported me in everything and once again let me know how he'd help me with anything I needed. I had returned the sentiment telling him that I'd be there for him too.

    When Jonathan had pulled into the driveway of our home for the week, we were both much more happy and ready to enjoy ourselves. Darryl parked Sarah's car next to Jonathan's and we'd all gotten out to survey the place. From the outside the white walled, blue roofed two bedroom, two bath house sat on stilts. Under the house was a car port and a storage room, plus an old fashioned wooden swing and a barbecue area with a white picnic bench near the back.

    We walked up the stairs on the side of the house that wrapped around to the back of the house. It led to a huge balcony or deck area that had several lounge chairs and end tables scattered around. From there, we could sit and enjoy the ocean view which was not too far away. There was a small trail leading from the house through the grassy lawn and back to the sandy beach.

    As we walked in through the two veranda doors, there was a living room to the right, a kitchen to the left and an open area in front of us. The living room contained an ivory queen sized sleeper sofa, an overstuffed blue arm chair, a blue recliner, a wicker coffee table, two wicker end tables and a huge walnut entertainment center complete with state of the art equipment.

    The kitchen also contained state of the art appliances, which Darryl was thrilled about. There were also plenty of cabinets and drawers along the walls and a breakfast counter that seated six. The open area between the kitchen and the living room actually contained a queen sized ivory colored futon with a long wooden coffee table that was positioned to face the veranda doors.

    Behind the futon was the door leading to the small hallway separating the two bedrooms. Darryl called dibs on the bedroom nearest the kitchen and proceeded to drag Sarah into the room. Laughing, Jonathan and I went into the other bedroom situated near the living room. In fact, there was an extra door in the bedroom that led directly into the living room. Darryl's room didn't have the luxury of a door to get him directly to the kitchen.

    As Jonathan put our bags into the closet, I looked around the room. The walls were painted a light blue with ivory trim. There was a king sized bed against the far wall with a tall chest of drawers on the left side and an end table on the right. Next to the end table was a door which led to the bathroom that ran the length of the wall behind the bed. There was a small picturesque window on the wall to the left of the bed and the door leading to the living room was on the wall to the right. The closet was on the left side of the living room door while a small desk was to the right of it. To the left of the hallway door was a long table which contained a television and DVD player.

    After tossing our bags in the closet and closing the door, Jonathan turned to me and grinned. "Good thing the bed is far away from their room huh? I'm only hoping their bed is on the other side of their room too."

    I laughed, "Jonathan! Are you saying you think we are all going to be loud?"

    With his trademark smirk, he walked to each door and made sure they were locked before turning back to me, "Want to test that theory?"

    I giggled as he grabbed me around the waist and steered us both towards the bed. We landed on the bed with Jonathan on top of me. I grinned up at him as he pushed the hair out of my face, "Now? You want to test it now?"

    He nodded, "Yeah." Before I could say anything else, he added, "I know that's probably what Darryl and Sarah are doing right now." As if in answer, we both heard several moans and then a television being turned on with the volume turned up.

    I looked up into Jonathan's eyes and we both burst out laughing. Yep, they hadn't wasted any time breaking in their room. When our laughter died down, I wrapped my arms around Jonathan's neck and pulled him down to me for a long kiss. One thing led to another and soon we were competing with the sounds coming from the other bedroom.

    Later that night, after we'd all napped, showered, and changed Darryl had made dinner for us with Sarah's help. The four of us sat at the breakfast counter eating dinner and discussing things we all wanted to do during the week there.

    "All I plan on doing is sleeping, sunning, and relaxing. I mean this is spring break after all. So, why would I want to do anything else? I already have too much to do during school." announced Sarah.

    "Really Sarah, your schedule is soooo crowded during school. It takes lots of time to go get your nails done." I replied sarcastically.

    "Hey! Don't hate me 'cause I'm beautiful."

    We all laughed as Darryl asked, "So, you don't want to check out any of the night life around here? Maybe go see if any of the restaurants are any good?"

    Sarah perked up, "Okay, yeah we could do that!" She turned to look at me, "What about you, chica?"

    I grinned, "I'm up for that."

    Jonathan nodded, "Yeah, and I thought we could go to the movies at least once and there's the boardwalk a couple of miles from here with lots of shops and entertainment."

    "Ooooh! Shopping! Alex, let's go there tomorrow." Sarah squealed as she clapped her hands together.

    I rolled my eyes, "I'd rather not Sarah. I just want to relax and have fun. Besides, I'm sure Darryl can keep you entertained this week."

    Jonathan laughed at the pained expression on Darryl's face as Sarah batted her eyes at him, "What do you say Darryl? Shopping tomorrow?"

    Darryl sighed, "If I take you shopping, you gotta promise me that we can check out a few restaurants too."

    Sarah eagerly nodded, "Of course, that would be fun!"

    After dinner, Jonathan and I did the dishes since Darryl and Sarah had cooked. Then all four of us sat out on the deck enjoying the clear night. Jonathan and I decided to spend the following day just sunning and swimming while Sarah and Darryl said they'd spend the day at the boardwalk. We made plans to meet back at the house to go out to dinner and dancing at seven.

    When Sarah started to yawn, Darryl took that as the cue to say good night to us before gathering Sarah in his arms and going to their bedroom.

    After they had disappeared, Jonathan leaned into me and buried his face against my neck, "Alone at last."

    I chuckled, "If you'd wanted to be alone, you could have said something."

    "I know, but I didn't want to be selfish. After all, I have a feeling we won't be seeing much of Darryl and Sarah this week."

    I arched an eyebrow at him, "Is that so? And what makes you say that?"

    He grinned, "Darryl already told me how much he was looking forward to spending this time with Sarah. He thinks this will help them get closer. Plus, I have you for a week. Why wouldn't I try to keep you all to myself?"

    Smiling, I leaned in and nuzzled his cheek, "Hmm, now that sounds good."

    Jonathan turned his head and took my lips into his, kissing me deeply. When he finally moved away, I was breathless.

    He licked his lips with a smirk, "How about we continue this conversation in the bed?"

    As I started to remove my clothes, Jonathan closed and locked the bedroom door. "Wait, beautiful."

    I turned to look at him with a puzzled look.

    He walked up to me and caressed my cheek, "I want to undress you."

    I smiled as he backed me up until I felt the bed against the back of my thighs. He lifted his hands and released the catch to the barrette holding my hair back. As my hair fell around my shoulders, Jonathan dropped the barrette and began to run his fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes, enjoying the way it felt until Jonathan leaned in and took my lips in his for a soft, sweet kiss.

    When he pulled away, he trailed his hands down to my shirt and lifted it up over my head. Tossing the shirt aside, his gaze swept over my bra covered breasts. My own breath caught as I watched him lick his lips in anticipation.

     He wrapped his arms around me, slowly undid the clasp of the bra, stepped back, and trailed the straps down my arms slowly revealing my breasts to his view. I lifted my arms slightly so that he could completely remove the bra and drop that to the floor too. Then he went down to his knees, lifted one foot and removed my sandal before removing the other sandal.

     Reaching up, he began to undo the buttons of my shorts while looking up into my eyes. I smiled down at him as he curled his fingers over my shorts and underwear and slid them down my legs at the same time. I placed my hands on his shoulders to balance myself as I stepped out of the last of my clothes.

    Jonathan dropped my clothes on the floor before sliding his hands up my legs and looking up my body. He sighed, "You are so beautiful to me."

    I gave him a shy smile as I shifted my fingers through his hair.

    He leaned in and kissed my stomach before swirling his tongue over my skin. I moaned as he dipped his tongue into my navel, his hands traveling up my sides until they cupped my breasts and began kneading them. Closing my eyes, I enjoyed the feel of his hands on my breasts, his lips and tongue on my stomach and hips, and his soft hair brushing over my skin and through my fingers.

    Soon Jonathan glided his hands down to my waist to hold me as I suddenly felt his tongue flick against my folds. I gasped as a shiver traveled up my spine. Jonathan slid his tongue farther along my folds before gently caressing my clit. I moaned his name as he lifted my right leg to drape over his shoulder before he went back to tasting me.

     Now that I was more open to him, he pressed his face to my core and sucked my clit into his mouth. I cried out, clutching his head to keep from falling. As Jonathan alternated between tonguing my folds and sucking on my clit, I could feel how hard it was for me to remain standing.

     When Jonathan buried two fingers inside of me and began pumping hard, I nearly collapsed right there. The support of his shoulders and the arm he had wrapped around me kept me from becoming a puddle on the floor. I gripped his head harder, holding on for dear life as I began to ride his fingers. He moaned against my clit sending vibrations through my body, as he continued to enjoy the taste of me.

    "Jonathan," I gasped, "I can't hold on any more."

    Without stopping what he was doing, he guided me back until I was leaning back on the edge of the bed. While one leg was still draped over him, he lifted the other with his free hand and continued to fuck me with his fingers and mouth. Two heartbeats later I was crying out his name in ecstasy as my orgasm rippled through me.

    Jonathan continued to lap up my juices as my body shuddered with aftershocks. With a low growl, he stood up and gripped my ankles in his hands and I noticed that he'd somehow removed his shorts while I had been preoccupied. Widening my legs in the air, he thrust into me in one swift motion. My body arched off the bed, still sensitive from his earlier ministrations. He stood there for a few breaths before he slowly slid out of me until just the tip of him remained inside.

    I looked up at him and whimpered as he slowly slid back inside of me once more. He continued to move in and out of me in that tormenting, slow way for a while. My legs began to tremble with need as I whispered to him, "Jonathan, please, I need more."

    He gave me a smile as he slid out of me once more. I could feel him as he brushed against my opening, adjusted his stance to rub my clit with his tip making me shudder in pleasure. "Jonathan! Please!" I begged.

   He entered me again, thrusting deep and hard while letting go of my ankles and wrapping his hands around my hips to hold me still as he began picking up the pace. Still, it wasn't enough for me. I writhed on the bed, trying to lift my hips to meet his thrusts, but his hands held me firmly in place. He continued to thrust into me, his eyes closed, enjoying the way I felt around him.

    He groaned, "I love the way you feel, beautiful. So tight and wet." Opening his eyes to look at me, he smiled, "I could stay inside you forever."

    Shivers traveled down my spine and made my toes curl with his words. "I could keep you inside me forever, too Jonathan." I moaned.

    He leaned over me and kissed me deeply before withdrawing completely from me. Before I had a chance to protest, he lifted me to the center of the bed, removed the rest of his clothes, and laid his body over mine, entering me again.

    Immediately I wrapped my legs around his and slid my hands down to his ass. Holding on to him, I lifted my hips to meet his hard thrusts. Jonathan buried his face in my neck and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close as he continued to pound into me. I clutched at his ass, driving him farther into my body as I felt my toes beginning to curl against the back of his thighs. Three hard stokes later, I arched my back and screamed his name, "Jooonathan!"

    He continued to pound into me relentlessly as I went over the edge, clinging to him. Panting, I milked him with my body and caressed his ass, feeling him begin to tremble. With a shout of his own, Jonathan finally released himself into me. "Oh God, Alex!"

    I continued to hold him until I felt him relax against me. I ran my fingers through his hair as he breathed against my neck and I could feel his heart beating against mine. With a sigh, Jonathan rolled off me and pulled me against his side. I rested my head against his shoulder while he wrapped an arm around my waist.

    We lay there in silence for a while, letting our bodies cool down until I felt him kiss the top of my head, "I love you, beautiful."

    I smiled and lightly kissed his shoulder before settling down against him again. There was another moment of silence before Jonathan spoke once more, "You okay?"

   "Mm hm." I replied.

    More silence before Jonathan sighed, "Let's get under the covers and get some sleep okay?"

    As I lay there in the dark, wrapped in Jonathan's arms, I let my thoughts drift back over the last few weeks. My parents were now talking to Mark's parents about the wedding in June and Mark had been pestering me about the Prom. I had told him that I wasn't going to the prom at all this year and even told Sarah I had no intention of going. She had told me to ask Jonathan, but I said I wasn't going to ask Jonathan to go back to high school with me for a silly dance.

     It wasn't the prom that occupied my mind anyway. It was the wedding. I knew I wasn't going to go through with it. No matter what, I wasn't marrying Mark. But the wedding was already being planned and I knew I had to tell Jonathan about this. I just didn't know how, plus I didn't know how I was going to get out of it. With a sigh, I set it aside and forced myself to get some sleep. I knew I would talk to Jonathan about it during the week, I just prayed he wouldn't freak and we could find a way to get past it. With that prayer in my mind, I finally drifted off to sleep.