Authors: Vi Keeland
“I don’t know, I’m afraid if I go back with
him to Oregon, I’ll turn into Old Hope and he will realize that I am not the
person he thinks I am and take off running for the hills.”
“That statement requires another
margarita.” She gulped down what was left in her glass and literally grabbed
our waiter as he passed by. “We need two more margaritas quick.” She batted
her eyelashes to the poor nineteen year old waiter who was putty in her hands.
Then she released her grip on his waist to go fetch them for her.
I felt my phone vibrate and looked down to
check my texts. Kennedy wasn’t a big texter, but if I was at work or out with
Shauna he would send a text, rather than call. It was one of the things that I
adored about him.
Charles will be outside in an hour and will wait until
whenever you are ready. I don’t want you ladies walking home in the dark after
drinks. K.
“Now, where were we? I’m going to say
this once and for all Hope Marie York. And you better get it through that thick
skull of yours. You are gorgeous, inside and out. That piece of shit step
monster of yours was jealous of you all those years, that’s why she always put
you down. Do NOT let that little lying cheating bitch win. Kennedy wants
you, not Old Hope or New Hope – just you!”
We looked at each other seriously for a
moment, and then proceeded to crack up for the next five minutes. The
combination of margaritas and Shauna trying to be the adult in our twosome made
her lecture seem hysterical.
***
Charles pulled up outside of Shauna’s
apartment and she gave me a hug. “I could really get used to having a limo
drive us around after a night of drinking.” She winked and I watched as
Charles walked her to the door. I saw Charles watching her swaying ass as it
disappeared into the elevator.
“So how are things between you and Hope
going?” Franklin asked almost as soon as dinner was on the table.
“Hope? Is she cute? Does she have a friend
for me?” Garrett was the youngest of the three Jenner brothers and made no
attempt to hide his confirmed bachelorhood. At twenty seven he was named
number two on Chicago’s most eligible bachelor list this year. The notoriety
caused a lot of family teasing but Garrett didn’t care. He bragged he kept
extra copies around and let them slip on the floor if a woman was initially
resistant to his boyish charms.
Kennedy deadpanned to his brother. “You
will go nowhere near Hope or any of her friends.”
Garrett whistled. “Oh boy, big brother’s
got it bad, doesn’t he?” He smiled to Franklin.
Franklin smiled back. “If you met this one
Garrett, you’d understand. As beautiful on the inside as on the out.”
Garrett pushed his luck. “I don’t care what
they look like on the inside, but I do care what they taste like on the
inside.” He raised and lowered his eyebrows a few times and smiled widely
revealing smaller versions of his big brother’s sexy dimples.
Kennedy ran his fingers through his hair and
looked to Franklin for support, completely ignoring Garrett. “It’s driving me
crazy that she is so far away. Last week I watched some drunk asshole put his
hands on her and I nearly lost my mind. “
“So move her out here.” Franklin shrugged
his shoulders like it was a simple solution.
Garrett arched an eyebrow at his brother.
“Are you in love with her?”
Words weren’t necessary. Garrett and
Franklin smiled and watched Kennedy toss his drink back and blow out a deep
breath. How had he not realized that he had fallen in love with Hope until
now?
Wednesday morning I was halfway to work when
I started to have the feeling that someone was watching me. It wasn’t the
first time that I had felt it lately. Today it just seemed closer. I looked
around as I quickened my pace and saw a typical New York City morning. Masses
of people walking in all directions at twice the speed that people moved back
in Oregon. People alone with headphones, people talking on the phone, cars
trying to turn while people filled the walkway. I scanned the crowd again
when I reached the final block to work and slowed to really look at the people
around me. No one in particular seemed to be watching me.
Now that I was done training on the general
hotel positions, my days were caught up in event planning. Most days I spent
half the day meeting with potential new clients who were interested in planning
an event at The Monet, and the other half working on planning events that had
been booked. Today I spent the morning with a woman that I had vaguely
recognized from the society pages, who was interested in booking her daughter’s
first birthday in the Grand Ballroom. While it was great for business, I had
to wonder what the woman would do for the little girl’s second or third
birthday to top such an exaggerated first party. Lunchtime came quickly and
I decided to have lunch in the park before making my way over to Park Avenue
for an afternoon meeting with a party planner I would be working with on an
upcoming charity event held at The Monet.
The leaves in the park were almost all on
the ground and the ground was filled with vibrant autumn color. Deep orange
and reds lined the path though the park and I decided to sit on a park bench
close to the dog park. I loved to watch the owners interact with their dogs
when they thought no one was looking. I wasn’t sure if it was the feeling of
being watched this morning, seeing dogs run around in an open area, or the
beautiful fall colors that made me want to call my dad to check in. We hadn’t
spoken in a while and I knew that he was expecting me home for Thanksgiving.
“Hi Candace, is my dad around?” I knew she
hated it when I called her Candace. Everyone else called her Candy. To me,
Candy was a woman in five inch stilettos wearing blue tassels on her nipples as
she danced around the stripper pole. I thought Candace was a beautiful name,
but I had once overheard her tell someone that Candace made her sound old.
Ever since that day, she was Candace to me. I couldn’t overtly disparage her
without hurting daddy, so I had come to enjoy the little things I could
silently do to bother her.
He must have been sitting within hearing
distance, because her feigned excitement and bubbly questions were certainly
not a performance she would put on for just me. Dad and I talked about
Thanksgiving, one of his service buddies retiring and Coy, my golden
retriever. I told Dad that I met someone and was considering asking him to
come home with me for Thanksgiving, and he gave me the third degree, but
sounded pleased. I didn’t mention that he lived in Chicago and we had been
traveling back and forth, I knew it would only make him worry more.
Dad and I had been through a lot together
since my mom died in a car accident so many years ago. We both protected each
other from things that would worry the other as much as we could. That was why
I never told him about how Candace treated me after he found about her affair.
I was 15 the day that I saw Candace walking
with the young football coach from his car into a house on Maiden Lane. She
saw me too, but I didn’t realize it at the time. I was young, innocent and
trusting, so the thought never crossed my mind that she could be doing anything
wrong. I guess I just assumed she was discussing something about cheerleading,
since both of her girls were hoping to make the cheer squad and follow in their
mother’s footsteps from cheer captain to beauty queen.
Dad didn’t flinch when I mentioned I saw
Candace with Coach Fitzsimmons that afternoon, and it wouldn’t be until two
months later that I’d learn the truth while I eavesdropped on their argument
one night. All of the years in the service had trained Dad well. He knew
when to dig around when something didn’t sit right with him. After my innocent
comment, Dad had begun to follow Candace and found out she was having an affair
with the young high school football coach.
For months after that, they fought a lot.
But in the end, they decided to stay together and work it out. She blamed him
for working too much and not giving her the attention she needed. He blamed
her for breaking their vows and climbing into another man’s bed. I didn’t
think any one man had the time or strength to give Candace the attention she
thought she needed. But Dad had been through enough and who was I to judge.
After a year or so, they went back to normal
and the fights about Coach seemed fewer and further between. Dad had begun to
forgive her, but I’d already realized that Candace would never forgive me. I
know down deep he forgave Candace because he didn’t want to be alone again. He
didn’t want to experience the loss he felt when mom died. But Candace blamed
me for their problems, because I was the one who first told Dad about the
affair. She never believed that I acted innocently; she thought I wanted to
sabotage her marriage. Life became hell for me at home at 15.
Candace had always favored her two
daughters, but she was polite and friendly before. After the Coach incident,
she began her verbal assaults on me. Her brand of cruelty may not have been
physical, but it was no less scaring. At a time when girls needed their mother
most, I was inflicted with relentless assaults of how ugly and unwanted I was
and that I would never find a man.
I didn’t tell dad and she didn’t do it in
front of him. At least not overtly. By the time it was unbearable to be in
my own house with her, Dad was starting to heal from the torture she had put
him through and I couldn’t bear to see him hurt again. So I took it all, and
after a while, she convinced me her words were true. If it weren’t for Shauna,
I don’t know how I would have gotten through those years. She was my light in
the darkness and the best friend anyone could have.
“So does this Kennedy have a last name?” I
thought about making one up, because I knew he would be calling a buddy to run
a background check that afternoon if I didn’t.
“His last name is Jenner Dad, but please
don’t send all your buddies on a mission to find dirt.”
“Now would I do that baby girl?” Yes, dad
you most certainly would.
“Okay dad, I have to get going back to work
now. Be good and I’ll see you on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.”
“I love you baby girl.” I could hear him
sigh through the phone. He missed me and I knew it.
“I love you too Dad.”
Kennedy surprised me with a new dress for
the Charity event we were going to Saturday night. “Did you really pick this
out all by yourself? It is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen.” The
dress was obviously antique couture. The style was far removed from the harsh
angles and lines of the current art deco fashion and was instead designed to
show beauty and grace. The entire dress was decorated in light shades of pearls
and iridescent beads. It looked like something out of a 1920’s flapper movie,
without the over the top flapper fringe. The pearls were set in a way to give
the appearance of lace and then the dark beading appeared to shadow the lace.
It was dusty rose and something I would have never picked out for myself. The
neckline was low, but had layers of sheer fabric that made it appear romantic
instead of overly sexy.
“You are killing me Hope, do you think I
can’t pick out something beautiful?” He arched one eyebrow and I saw the hint
of a smile beneath the pretense of his hurt feelings.
“I didn’t mean that, it’s just so unique and
beautiful, you must have had to spend a lot of time looking.”
He took a sip of his wine with that sexy
mouth. “You are right, I did. You really have to keep your eyes open for
something that unique and beautiful.” I could tell he wasn’t talking about the
dress anymore and I flushed. This man has seen me naked and in some pretty
compromising positions, yet his words could still make me blush like a school
girl.
“Why don’t I put it on for you?” I smiled a
devious smile. I had already put on the lingerie I had purchased for this
weekend and was feeling confident at what his reaction would be. I kept my
eyes locked on his and slowly untied the long green silk robe I was wearing. I
let it hang open for a minute so he can see a hint of lace, before shaking my
shoulders a few times to cause the robe to slowly slip down my shoulders and
form a puddle at my feet.
His eyes darkened and bore into me. My
breasts were pushed up and barely contained by the nude colored lace half demi
cup bra. On the bottom, I wore matching lace boy short panties that fit me
like a second skin. My thin shapely legs were covered by thigh high sheer
stockings with a ribbon of satin and lace at the top. When I saw the lingerie
on display I knew it was the perfect mix of innocent and sexy that Kennedy
would love. I stood there for a moment and watched him drink me in.
“You are fucking killing me Hope. I’m going
to have to be near you all night knowing that you have that on underneath your
dress.”
I smiled innocently. “What this? You like
it?”
He took two long strides and gripped my
waist forcefully. “Or we can be late and I can rip it off of you and fuck you
from behind with that innocent look on your face, so I can remember that
instead.” His lips covered mine and he took my bottom lip between his teeth
and nipped hard.