Midnight Rain by Jettie Woodruff
Midnight Rain
Jettie Woodruff
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, dead or alive are a figment of my imagination and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s mind's eye and are not to be interpreted as real.
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2015 Jettie Woodruff
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author.
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY TWO FAVORITE GIRLS
I LOVE YOU BABY GIRLS
BRISTAL AND DALLAS
One million thanks to Nikki Reeves, Brandi Pearson, Sheila Howell, Jennifer Mitchell, Jillian Toth, Rebecca Maria, Jenna Dixon, the Dirty Girls, and Team J.
You guys are all
PRINCESSES LIKE A BOSS
I LOVE YOU
Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
One
Blake held me tight to his chest the entire night. I didn’t know what was going to happen to us now, maybe we would stay at the house in Staten Island for a while. I missed my mom. God, I wished I had her to talk to. Refraining from creating more artwork on my arm, I lay perfectly still and listened to the rise and fall of Blake’s chest. Maybe it was nothing, maybe it was just a cyst. I moved my fingers and touched it again; it was still there.
Lying awake for hours and hours I thought about what this meant. Everything Blake said was never going to happen; I wasn’t going to live happily ever after with him and Pea. We weren’t going to be the joyful little family Blake made it out to be. We weren’t going to open up a little theater and teach kids how to play anything. We weren’t going to do any of that. I was going to follow in my mother’s footsteps. I was going to die.
By the time I heard voices coming from the other side of the door, daylight had crept into the room. Blake was gone and Pea was sound asleep beside me, exhaustion must have set in some time in the wee hours of the morning, I didn’t even feel her crawl into bed with us. Maybe it was gone. My hand slid up my shirt and to my left breast, I cupped it, feeling for anything abnormal and sat up. It was gone, I didn’t feel anything at all. And then I did; right where it was the night before. It was close to my armpit, so I was guessing it had already spread to my lymph nodes, just like my mom. Assuming that was my fate; my destiny, and what God put me on this earth for, I got up with a heavy sigh. It was there and it wasn’t going away.
I kissed Pea’s head and tossed the covers over her white undies with purple something’s, I think they were supposed to be monsters from Monster Inc. but they looked more like fuzzy balls with feet. Walking across the hall I listened to what sounded like an argument, and then voices. I entered the bathroom and closed the door quietly; I moved to the right of the open window and listened.
“No, I’m getting them out of here today. I’ve already called my mom. I’m not letting them deal with that,” Blake said, holding his own. Deal with what? What did he mean by that?
“Blake, you kept our granddaughter away from us for five years. Mikki is Barry’s daughter. You can’t deny us the right to know them.”
“Don’t pretend like you didn’t know, Sarah. You knew. You knew all about Makayla. Where were you when she needed you? Where were you Holden? Do you have any idea what she went through?”
“Don’t you patronize me, boy.”
“Stop it!” I loud whispered, coming down the hall toward the conversation. I stopped and turned toward the window. It was the same noise I’d heard from the bathroom window. Everyone stopped and looked at me with pity, Sarah’s hand rubbed my back, and Barry smiled at me. Did they already know I was dying? “Oh my God! Who are all these people?”
“The press, but don’t worry, we’re getting the hell out of here. Larry is on his way to pick me up. I’m going to the penthouse to pack some clothes and head out. We’ll go to my mom’s for a while,” Blake explained. Without looking, I knew that Sarah’s hand was replaced with his. I knew that touch. It burned my skin and not from heat.
“Nashville?” I questioned.
Blake turned his attention from the split in the curtains, to the Holden’s. I felt sorry for Sarah, Blake was taking Pea from her again. Barry’s arm seemed to be holding her up.
Blake’s thumb brushed over the small of my back. He smiled when I looked over at him. This was going to hurt. Damn. Why did he have to be so right? “For now. We’ll talk about it later?”
Ugh! Now what? I didn’t want Blake to stay in the city. I wanted Pea to have a house like I had on Begonia Drive with neighbors and a sidewalk to ride her bike on. On the other hand; I wanted Sarah to know Pea and I wanted Pea to know Sarah. Janie would have wanted that. I couldn’t believe the street in front of the house. This was stuff you watched on television, not in real life. I watched one guy shove a cameraman out of his way and turned back to the Holden’s. Deep furrows bracketed Barry’s eyebrows, but I didn’t think it was from age. He was worried about his wife, and about Blake taking Pea from her. Why did everything have to fight me? Why couldn’t this be easy for everyone? One thing was for sure, Pea had a mesmerizing pull that impacted everyone she came in contact with and somebody was going to get hurt.
“Is there coffee?” I asked, needing to step away. This was too much. I needed to walk away and regroup. How could I take care of things and make everyone around me happy? How could I keep everyone together?
“Yes, come with me,” Sarah smiled a motherly smile. I know it all sounds crazy. Sarah was nothing to me; none of her blood flowed through my veins, but yet I felt a powerful pull to her too. She cared about me, she smiled at me the way my mom used to. It warmed my heart.
“Don’t fight,” I quietly told Blake. My eyes shifted to Sarah and Barry when he snickered and kissed the corner of my mouth. Gah! My face turned an instant barn-door red. Blake squeezed my hand and I gave him a stern look. He couldn’t do that around people. Oh my God.
“Mikki,” Pea called from the hall in a loud whisper. I felt the color return to my cheeks when I saw her head.
“Do you drink cream?” Sarah asked.
“Yes, I’ll be right in.”
Pea opened the door and let me through the crack. “I don’t have any pants.”
“I know. Your dad is going to the house to get us some clothes. You’ll have to wear the same shorts. Grandma Sarah washed them for you.”
“Go get them. I have to pee.”
“You’re going right across the hall. You can’t pee without shorts?”
“No. Someone will see my monsters,” she giggled, turning her butt and shaking the little creatures at me.
“Oh, right. Don’t worry. I’ve got your back. Hang on,” I said, fully understanding. My face just went from white to cardinal-red over an innocent kiss. I got her.
After retrieving the shorts that were going in the trash as soon as we had clothes, I walked across the hall and pasted her brush while she peed and peed and peed. Geesh.
“Are we going to live here?”
“No, we’re going to visit Grandma Grace for a little bit.”
“Like we did at Christmas?”
“Yes, here. Wash your hands.”
“Wait. What is that?” I didn’t try to stop her from looking out the window. They were loud. Pea heard it too.
I laughed and held the soap over her hands. The excitement on her face assured me that she was happy to be famous. Silly little girl. “Only you are. Come on. I need coffee.”
“Yuck, it tastes like charcoal.”
“How would you know what charcoal tastes like?”
“I licked it when we lived in the house by the woods.”
Shoving her toothbrush in her hand I frowned at my own reflection through the mirror more than hers. “Why?”
“It smelled good.”
“And it tasted?”
“Like coffee.”
“Brush. I’m going to the kitchen. Don’t be licking anything else that smells good,” I warned opening the door to Blake. And there went my face again. The smirk on his lips and the glimmer in his eyes assured me where his mind was.
“Will you stop being embarrassed around me?” Blake asked, trying to take my hand. I pulled it away and opened the door to our room.
“No, will you stop kissing me in front of people,” I countered, yanking the covers to the end of the bed. Blake held the smile and grabbed the sheet to help, or so I thought. He pulled it toward him, trying to jerk me to the bed. I let go.
“Blake, stop. Pea’s going to come in here,” I warned when he lunged and tackled me to the bed. He towered over me and his hand instantly went up my shirt.
“I can’t,” he confessed, kissing my lips. “I never want to stop.”
Thank God I brushed my teeth. For real? Holy shitz! Before I knew what was happening, Blake was between my legs and I was moaning in his mouth. His hands slid behind my back and I forgot about everything on earth; everything except for the feelings this man caused me to have. My legs wrapped around his, and my hips thrust with his. The clothing between us did little to conceal the desire felt amidst us. There’s no doubt in my mind that I could have come from the erection pressing through Blake’s jeans, but I stopped him before that happened.
“Jesus, Blake,” I panted, turning my head from his but he didn’t stop. His hands continued to explore my body beneath him while his lips sustained warm, wet kisses to my neck and chest. I almost lost myself again. My eyes closed fleetingly and my hips thrust to his again. My clitoris demanded more, and for a brief second, I almost let it happen. That is until Pea interrupted. I sputtered a laugh on Blake’s lips.
Knock. Knock.
“Penny.”
Knock. Knock.
“Penny.”
Knock. Knock.
“Penny.”
“Who the hell is Penny?” Blake questioned with a one slanted eyebrow. God I loved that kid.
“Shhh,” I whispered, lightly kissing his lips. I pulled myself out from under him and tip-toed to the door pulling Blake with me. My hand held the cold door knob and I waited.
Knock. Knock.
“Penny.”
“GRARRRRRR!!!” I screamed, grabbing Pea up as she shrieked. I laughed and the Holden’s came running.
Crap.
“Good lord. What happened?” Sarah asked with Barry hot on her heels.
I slid Pea down my body and apologized, “Oh, sorry, we were just playing.”
Barry smiled a ridiculous, all teeth smile. I shifted my eyes. I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t ready to smile back at him.
Sarah reached her open hand toward us, “Pea do you want to help me make pancakes?”
Of course Pea skipped off and took her hand. “Yeah! Can you make a Giraffe? Mikki can, but she always breaks his neck. Then we put syrup on him and his blood all falls out.” I shook my head at the blood explanation and turned to Blake, still standing inside the bedroom. She just had to go and say that part. Both her grandparents laughed. Thank God, I wasn’t the unfit nanny yet.
“Come on, let’s get coffee.”
“I can’t.”
Please don’t look. Please don’t look. My brain screamed at my eyes like it knew what was about to happen. I looked.
Damn.
Blake pulled me back to the room and closed the door. Holding me captive between the door and his erection, I mean his body, he kissed me again. “We need to do this. I can’t stand it.”
“No. You should have done it last night.”
“You were upset.”
“I’m not doing that in here with Sarah and Barry out there!”
“Do you think it’s the first time I’ve had sex in this bed with them out there? I was going to marry their daughter. We spent a lot of time here.” Blake’s tone was pleading, but his words were like ice water.
The will I was just about to handover slapped me right across the face. “You had sex with Janie in here?” I questioned, moving away from him. I didn’t have to turn to know that the loud thump came from the contact his head had with the door. My eyes stared at the unmade bed. I just slept with Blake like he had with Janie in the same bed. Why did that enthrall me so?
“What, Makayla?”
“What? Why do you say like that?”
“Like what? I missed you. I just want to be with you, and you’re making it so difficult,” Blake said sweetly, pulling me to him. It wasn’t the wild hungry grasp anymore. It was tender; like he was trying to do what I wanted.
“I don’t want our first time to be here with them out there.”
I felt Blake’s exasperated breath on my forehead when he kissed me. “It’s not our first time. It’s fine. Go ahead. I’m going to go across the hall and take care of this in the shower,” he explained letting me go.
My eyes glanced down and right back up. Why couldn’t I be comfortable with all of this? I knew what he was saying, he was going to jerk off. I couldn’t comment. No way. I was turning red just thinking about it. The thump between my legs went haywire and the wetness was instantly felt. I may need to take a shower for that too.
“Don’t do that, Blake. I’ll go with you. We’ll go to the penthouse together. You don’t know what to pack anyway.”
“No. Stay here. I’m only getting clothes. We’ll come back for the rest. I don’t want you around the press. They’re not nice people.”
“We’re not the bad guys.”
“You can go if you really want to, but we’re not doing anything there. Holden is coming too.”
“I’ll stay here,” I said retreating.
That thing that I knew he was going to go do in the shower wouldn’t leave my mind. Damn. I wanted to see that.
Blake kissed me and started to lead me out. I am the one that made the advance that time. My hands slid up his shirt and to his ribs. “Please don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“You know what I’m talking about. I don’t want you to do that. We’ll have time tonight, won’t we?” I questioned. I didn’t even know what the hell was going on.
“I hope so. Does that bother you?”
“A little. I don’t want you to think I don’t want you. I do. A lot. I just don’t want to do it here.”
Blake kissed my lips with a soft tender tap, “You’re so innocent.”
“You’re making fun of me.”
“I am not. How am I making fun of you?” he smirked.
He was making fun of me. I could tell. “You think I’m immature.”
“Oh, I don’t think that. I know that. You just scared the hell out of everyone in the house.”
“Hmm, good point. We better get out of here before they think we’re in here doing something.”
“Good God girl, they don’t care! Do you really think they don’t do the same thing?”
“Yuck. Come on.” Although I was sure they did, I didn’t want to think about it and I couldn’t really argue the immature comment. I did just scare the living daylights out of Pea. I loved it. I adored how her eyes got huge, how her gut reaction scream added new decimals to the chart, and how she backed away, crouching at the knees. It was epic and I was sure I’d do it again.
I watched Blake and Holden being whisked away by Larry while Sarah kept Pea occupied. I didn’t want her to see Lar
I’d seen photos of Janie on her Facebook page, but they were everyday photos, jeans and a messy bun. These photos were professionally done and gorgeous. Wow. Janie was beautiful; I would never play on that level. I couldn’t even look like that with plastic surgery and all the makeup in the world.
“Pea, come here,” I said, reaching for her hand. It wasn’t my place to tell her anything, but the girl was almost five and she had no clue. It was time somebody told her.
“Huh?” she questioned, looking away from the lightshow Sarah was putting on for her in the grand aquarium. Jesus. I bet I could buy a car for what that thing cost. I didn’t look at Sarah, afraid of seeing the look that would tell me I was walking on her toes. She had the entire day with her the day before; she could have talked to her. I lifted Pea to my hip, bringing eyes level with her mother. The portrait was of a young Janie, maybe twelve or so. She was standing in front of a Zazen Resort sign in a beautiful blue crush velvet dress. The lights surrounding the front of the magnificent hotel illuminated a golden glow over her creamy skin.
“Do you know who this is?” I asked, shifting her weight a little. I swear she gained a pound a day.
“Yes, it’s my mom.”
Sarah was already looking at me with a small smile when my head turned to her. “She saw this picture here,” Sarah explained, showing me the family portrait on Barry’s desk.
“Her looks like me,” Pea told me.
“Her?” I questioned, dropping her to the floor. “What are you, three again?”
“Sorry, I mean, she looks like me.”
Pea went back to the light show. I watched her play with the remote, creating a lightshow around the fish. The tiny, white rocks changed colors, illuminating brilliant colors.
“Has Blake seen this?” I asked, holding the replica of Pea in my hands. The same colored teal eyes stared back at me.
“Not since Pea. Amazing, isn’t it?”