Just One (Dangerously Dimpled) by Emily Hemmer Read Free Book Online Page A

irate. He took a swing at the guy but Jonesy hadn’t just
downed ten Coors Lights. He ducked and then, whamo, nailed the bastard right in
the kisser.” Alex laughs. Sadly. I wrap my arm around him.
    I imagine a dark-haired little boy with
Alex’s soulful eyes. He’s trying to laugh it off, trivialize what happened, but
his words are angry. My mother was taken from me too soon but I know she loved
me. I felt it in her hugs and kisses, in the stories she told Paige and me at
bedtime. The bitterness in Alex’s voice tells of a very different childhood and
I wonder how deep those wounds go. I snuggle in closer, placing my head beneath
his chin and kiss the spot on his chest that’s just above his heart. “Good for
Jonesy.”
    He again copies my movement, wrapping me tightly
against him.
    “It was one of the best moments of my
life,” he confides, then kisses the top of my head. “I can’t believe I told you
that. I’ve never told anyone.”
    “I reckon there are few subjects off the
table once you’ve done what we just did.”
    He chuckles. “You’re probably right. So
what about you? Tell me something about Charlie.”
    My mouth moves before my brain can stop
it, but my heart knows what it wants to unburden. “Mama died when I was twelve.
Paige was eight. She had breast cancer. It was too advanced to stop by the time
we found out and back then, it was a lot harder to stop at all.”
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
    “It happened a long time ago, too.”
    “It must’ve been hard.”
    “It was.” I sigh. “But I had Paige and Daddy
to look after.”
    “And who looked after you?”
    I let his question fall unanswered. I’ve
been looking after myself for fifteen years. It’s my burden and right now, all
I want is to fall asleep in Alex’s arms. I want to forget real life.
      The sun will rise soon but I wish it
wouldn’t. I have a terrible feeling that with those first pink rays of
sunshine, the spell will be broken. Alex will remember I’m no Cinderella. A
fancy dress and a pair of new shoes won’t be enough to keep him.
    “Charlie?” Alex’s voice is nothing but a
whisper. His heart beneath my ear slows considerably.
    “Yeah?”
    “I’m glad you fell.”
    I smile against his warm body, and allow
the dream of tonight to wash over me.

 

6:17 a.m.

 
    Alex’s arm is heavier than the
cinderblocks holding up the Dauphine’s pop-up camper, or the love lounge as
Teddy Dauphine called it. Teddy tried to feel me up there after the freshman
formal and I broke my hand politely refusing his advances.
      I use my oil-field muscles and lift,
sliding from beneath him. The carpeted floor muffles my footsteps as I tiptoe
across the room. Pushing Alex’s pants out of the way, I carefully close the
bathroom door. The clock on the nightstand confirmed I’ve only been asleep a
couple of hours, but a full bladder waits for no one. As I sit on the toilet,
bursting with three glasses of room service champagne, I catch a glimpse of
myself in the mirror. My light blond hair is a tangled mass and there are
smudges of black mascara beneath each tired eye. I flush the toilet and cringe
as the sound reverberates against the room’s marbled surfaces.
    “You’re a mess, Charlie,” I whisper to my
reflection.
    I wash my hands and violently rub away
the remnants of my party face. I pull the travel-sized toothbrush and
toothpaste from my bag on the vanity and close my lips around the brush, trying
to mask the noise. I want to slip back under the covers refreshed and fabulous,
without Alex being any the wiser. Spitting in the sink, I turn the faucet onto
a dribble and splash water around, cleaning up my mess.
    The deafening, loud vibration of a cell
phone on tiled floor makes me jump ten feet in the air. Heart thumping, I reach
down to find the offending device beneath Alex’s pants.
    *Cadence Spelling calling*
    I silence the volume on the side of the phone,
but there’s no getting rid of the thunder in my