the one chapter 8
Jason and I continued to finish where we left off the night before for a while before we got dressed and played outside with Max. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. Jason fixed us a wonderful salad and we just relaxed on the couch to watch another movie while Max snoozed in his usual position in between us.
As evening approached, I felt a sense of regret that it would soon be time to head home. I’d had such a wonderful day the thought of leaving Jason depressed me.
"Jason, do you want to come over for dinner?” I asked. “Mom cooks enough to feed a small army."
"I’d love to, Linds, but I promised my Mom I’d stop by to her see and my sister. I can't wait for you to meet them."
"I think I might have met your sister a few years ago when she came with you to Becky's house one time."
Jason studied my expression. “Don’t worry. We’ll have many more nights together.”
I thought about what he said, and suddenly, the thought of going home no longer concerned me. Somehow, some way, I knew that Jason and I would spend our future together.
***
Sitting at the dinner table with my parents, it was impossible to wipe the smile from my face. My parents kept looking at me and exchanging curious glances.
"Lindsey, baby, why are you grinning like that?” Mom asked.
"No, I'm not," I said. “I’m just in a good mood, that’s all.”
"Well,” Dad said, “you really must be in a good mood. You’re smiling so much I’m afraid your cheeks are going to be stuck in that position.”
I thought about telling my parents about me and Jason, but afraid to jinx things, I kept things low key. There would be the right time and place to tell them, but not right now. I wanted Jason all to myself for a little longer before the world knew about us.
***
Over the months, my relationship with Jason flourished like a garden blooming in the spring, but we didn't spend as much time together as we would have like because of our jobs. Come the weekend, however, it was a different story and we were attach to the hip, going for rides on Jason 's motorcycle or taking his boat out fishing on the lake.
"If we catch anything decent this afternoon can we take it home and cook it for dinner?" I asked Jason one afternoon as I watch him cast out his line.
"You better believe it,” he said with a wink. “Otherwise we go hungry.”
We lounged on the lake for a few more hours and managed to catch enough catfish to make Jason proud. It was a beautiful day, and the sunlight sparkling on the calm surface of the lake rippled like diamonds. The temperature was cool but comfortable, and sitting companionably with Jason in the boat filled me with a happiness I could barely describe.
"So Linds, are you going to help clean them when we get back?” Jason asked as we drove home.
I vigorously shook my head. “I’ll leave that to the expert.”
"Oh, come on now. The best part of fishing is chopping off the heads and gutting the insides.”
I mock punched Jason. “Okay, enough with the gross-out factor,” I said. “Tell you what. You clean them, I’ll cook them. Deal?”
Jason grinned. “On the grill? Butter, garlic and lemon?”
***
Stationed by the barbecue grilling the catfish, I drizzled a mixture of butter, garlic and lemon juice over the sizzling fish. Beer in hand, Jason watched me until our feast was ready.
"I had so much fun today, Jason,” I said. “Thanks so much for taking me.”
“I really enjoyed your company,” Jason said. “Usually I fish alone, but with you there it just made the day perfect.”
We sat at the table and dug into the fish, baked potatoes and salad. Max patiently hovered by the table waiting for scraps. After we ate and cleaned up, we settled in front of the television to relax, or at least, that’s how it started. It didn’t take long before we were at it like the teenagers we seemed to revert to whenever we spent time with each other.
"Jason, babe,” I murmured, feeling a shiver as his lips traveled down my neck.
"What?”
"Does it bother you that we’ve been together almost seven months, but we haven’t ... you know ...”
Jason looked at me. “No, not all, Lindsey," he said, holding me tightly. "We’ve been busy getting to know each other again. That’s really important to me. Why? Does it bother you?"
"No, now that I know you’re okay with it."
“When we’re both ready then we'll have sex,” he said. “Until then I'm very happy with cuddling, kissing and just being close."
"Cuddling with you is really hot,” I said.
"No argument there,” Jason said, kissing the top of my head. “And when we do decide to take our relationship to that next level, whatever we’re able to do will be enough for me."
I gazed at Jason with gratitude and kissed him. Waiting to find the right guy has been totally worth it.
***
Not long after that we both had a really long, difficult week at work. Watching television after dinner one night, I noticed that Jason was dozing off on the couch.
“Long day?” I asked, not feeling that upbeat myself.
“That doesn’t even begin to describe it,” he said. “Today someone puked all over me before I could get a bowl to them. I had to go home to shower and change because the hospital was out of my size scrubs. Something that should have taken no more than half an hour took most of the day. What about you?”
"Good but busy,” I said, sighing tiredly. “One of the girls called in sick so I ended up stocking as well as working in customer service.”
"Lindsey, what's wrong?" Jason asked. “Are you just tired or is there something else?”
"It’s nothing. I'm fine."
"Liar."
I couldn’t help but smile. There was no hiding my feelings from Jason.
"Okay. You know my mother’s friend, Stacy?”
"Tell me she’s not causing problems as well,” Jason said, shaking his head.
“We had a few words. She can’t seem to keep her nose out of anyone’s business. When she started asking about you, I told her my relationships are my business. Of course she got all bent out of shape after that.”
“Bravo, Lindsey,” Jason said, clapping his hands. “I mean, I love your mother but she’s really got to pick her friends more carefully.”
“Anyway, Mom said Stacy might be coming over for dinner tonight.”
“You want to hang out at my place?” Jason asked, noticing my expression. “I’m not looking to see you get upset. We can order a pizza, pretend to watch a movie and then continue where we keep leaving off.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Continuing where we left off had become another catch phrase, but it was also our favorite activity.
“Sounds like a plan,” I said.
Unfortunately, getting away from Stacy for that evening was like putting a band aid on a crack in a dam. Sooner or later, all that water was going to come bursting out ...
***
A couple of months later, I had the house all to myself for a full week. My father had taken my mother to Las Vegas as a surprise vacation. It had been some time since my parents had gone anywhere together so I hoped they were enjoying themselves.
I was looking forward to some quiet time for myself and had just gotten home from work. Jason and Max were coming by later for dinner then ice cream at the local Dairy Queen. I wasn’t really expecting anyone to knock at the back door while I was in the kitchen, so I was hesitant to answer the door until I heard Stacy’s voice calling out.
My heart instantly sank. My mother had mentioned she might stop by to check on me while they were away, but I was an adult and didn’t need someone keeping an eye on me, especially Stacy. I reluctantly opened the door.
Half an hour later, I was fuming and on the verge of tears. It was more than clear that Stacy’s intention was to stir things up, whether it was because she was jealous my parents had gone on the trip, or because she had some twisted agenda to cause trouble between myself and my mother. After she told me that my father was trapped in a loveless marriage because he wouldn’t leave me, I told her to go. I didn’t care about the repercussions, I only knew that I wanted nothing more to do with that woman.
Not long after Stacy left, Jason arrived with Max waddling behind. Jason only had to take one look at my red face and bloodshot eyes to know I was upset.
"That bitch!” I cried. “I'm going to kill her!"
"Calm down, Linds,” Jason said, giving me a hug. “Just take a deep breath and tell me what happened.”
I followed his advice until I felt calm enough to speak and told him what Stacy had said.
“That woman’s nothing but trouble,” Jason said, looking at me with concern. “I may have to have a word with your mother about this. Maybe if she hears it from someone else she’ll listen.”
“You were working the weekend Dad surprised Mom with the trip,” I said. “No one was supposed to know about Vegas since it was supposed to be a getaway for my parents, but aunt Tracy wasn't thinking and just blurted it out, I guess."
I sipped at the water bottle Jason handed me. While I was still upset, I at least felt calmer.
“So you think Stacy found out about the trip?”
I nodded. “Maybe she overheard something, maybe she just asked and someone told her ... I don’t know. Whatever happened, she decided to come here and take it out on me.”
“Well,” Jason said, kissing my forehead, “you did good kicking her out. That should teach her not to mess with you again. That she would say something so cruel is inexcusable.”
The thought of those hurtful words brought me to tears once again.
“Come here,” Jason said, unbuckling my seat belt and picking me up. He paused to whistle to Max, who followed us.
I wrapped my arms around Jason’s neck and lay against his chest as he carried me to my bed and lay me down against the pillows. He snuggled up beside me held me close to him, gently stroking my hair until the last of my stress eased away. Max took his place at the foot of the bed and curled up for a nap.
I turned to face Jason and for a moment we just looked at each other.
“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"Jason softly asked.
Without thinking, I kissed Jason hard on the mouth. He responded with equal passion and we began fumbling to remove our clothes. We didn’t speak, only kissed and touched, and within a few heated moments we moved together in slow, sensual movement, our bodies and hearts locked together.