Elle reached both hands out to me, and they were trembling a little. “You made it!”
“You nervous or something?” I asked.
“A little. I’m just super excited to finally have you here. I hope you like it.”
“I’m happy to be here¸ Ellebell. There’s nothing to be nervous about.”
Lance came up behind her, causing me to instinctively let go of her hands. “How was the ride, son?”
“Long but uneventful.”
Wow, it only took two minutes until my first lie.
“Glad to hear,” he said.
Olga approached and gave me her hand. “The famous Sevin Montgomery. It’s wonderful to meet you. I feel like I already know you with how much Elle talks about you.”
“Likewise, ma’am.”
“Please call me Olga.”
I politely nodded. “Okay.”
Olga wasted no time heading to the back of my truck. “Let’s help move these things into the guesthouse.”
Elle and I looked at each other and smiled.
A younger girl ran out to join us. “Number seven!” She looked like a little version of Elle with pig tails. Elle was the middle of three daughters. She’d mentioned that one of her sisters was a year older, while the other was much younger—about eleven.
“You must be Emily.”
“How did you know?”
“Wild guess. Nice to meet you.”
“Same.” Emily looked over at her father. “Where’s Evangeline? She should be here to meet Seven Heaven, too.”
“Evangeline is off doing whatever it is Evangeline does,” Olga answered as she pulled one of my smaller suitcases out of the truck. “She’d better be home soon, though.”
Once we’d moved all of my things into the guesthouse, Lance and Olga left to go back to the main residence but asked Emily to stay with Elle and me. That was the protocol. Elle and I could be together as long as there was someone else with us.
“Take a look around the house. Do you like it?”
“It’s cozy, but it’s way more room than I’ve ever had to myself in my life.”
The guesthouse was small but perfect for one person. There was a tiny kitchenette, a living room with a fireplace and one bedroom with a small adjacent bathroom. With dark wood and plaid décor, the house had a rustic log cabin feel. It already felt way more like home than Lillian’s; that was for sure. More than anything, I was grateful to have my own space.
Emily was reading on the couch while Elle followed me into the bedroom where I started to hang up some of my clothes.
Glancing out the window, I noticed it was getting dark and couldn’t help thinking about Sienna, hoping she arrived safely to wherever she was headed.
“What’s next on the agenda tonight?” I asked.
“Dinner at the house in about a half-hour.”
“Sounds good. I guess I should change out of this ratty t-shirt then, huh?”
Elle looked rattled when I suddenly lifted my shirt over my head to put on a button-down. I hadn’t been using my brain and forgot that undressing in front of her was against the rules. She whipped her head to the side to look away from my bare chest, causing me to laugh inwardly.
“You can turn back around now.”
Her cheeks pinked up. “You must work out a lot.”
“I got a fair amount of exercise working at the stables. I’d do some weights and pull ups in my room back home, too, but I really like to run. That helps me burn off steam.”
“My sister runs, too. I can’t seem to do it for very long without having to stop.”
“Well, we can do it together, start off slow if you want.”
“I’d like that. They’ll make Evangeline come with us, though. You know that, right?”
“Whatever. It won’t be that way forever. As long as we can spend time together.”
“Right.” She smiled. “Hey…how did your brothers take your leaving?”
“They were pretty bummed when I drove off.”
“And your stepmother?”
“Lillian was real devastated.”
“She was?”
Elle knew that Lillian and I didn’t get along. It surprised me that she didn’t sense my sarcasm.
“Not because I was leaving. It’s a long story.” One I didn’t think Elle would appreciate.
“I made you a little homecoming gift. Come see. It’s on the couch.”
Lifting a throw blanket, she opened it up to show me what was stitched on it. It was an S and an E.
I smiled. “Our initials.”
“Yeah…I’ve been designing this logo that we could use for the wedding. I figured out how to stitch the design onto the blanket. Do you like it? The back says Montgomery.”
“Sweet. It’s really nice. Thank you. It’ll keep me warm at night.”
“Well…until we’re married. Then, I can be the one to do that.” She bit her lip and giggled.
That was the single most suggestive thing Elle had ever said to me. It was good to see her loosening up a little.
Before I could respond, Emily closed her book and said, “Yuck. I’m hungry. Can we go back to the house now?”
Poor kid, having to babysit two adults.
“Why don’t you ladies go ahead, help your mother. I’ll put away the last of my stuff and meet you up at the house in like ten minutes.”
When Elle and Emily left, I retreated to my bedroom, locked the door and let out a sigh of relief. I was still tense from this afternoon, unable to shake what happened with Sienna from my mind. I needed to do something to relax before having to sit through my first dinner with the Suttons. I grabbed some lotion from the bathroom and lay back on my new bed. Unzipping my pants, I knew it wasn’t going to take me long to finish. After squirting the white cream into my palm, I gripped my shaft, surprised at how fast I’d become hard as I pumped into my hand. Closing my eyes tightly, I tried to imagine Elle’s petite body naked, what it would feel like to be with her. I wanted to visualize it so badly. All I could see was the curve of Sienna’s ass through her long skirt, her messy black hair, her swollen lips wrapped around my cock. The image was clear as day and overpowering all other attempts by my feeble mind to envision anything else. I felt guilty but not enough to stop.
About halfway through, I decided to stop fighting the thoughts. To get the mysterious girl out of my system, I would allow myself to think about her just this once while she was still fresh in my mind. As the days passed, her image would slowly fade from my memory anyway. So, this would be the first and last time. Now, my imagination had her completely naked and riding me on the back of my truck as I pounded into her with all my might. My hand became her wet pussy wrapped around my cock. Tears nearly sprang to my eyes as I came so hard into my hand. Fuck. It felt so good to just let go.
The orgasm had knocked me onto my ass, and all I wanted to do was sleep. Deciding to take a shower to wake myself up, I washed my impurities away and reaffirmed my stance to never let that happen again.
***
“Hope you like chicken and dumplings,” Olga said as I entered their spacious kitchen.
“That sounds awesome. I’m starving.”
“Well, one thing we won’t ever let you do is starve around here.”
“Can I help with anything?”
“No.” Olga smiled as she took a pan out of the oven. “The ladies have it covered. Just sit down and relax. You had a long drive.”
Elle took notice of my wet hair. “You showered?”
“Yeah. I was in the truck for so long. I didn’t want to gross you out on my very first night here.”
“Elle’s quite taken with you. I don’t think that would be possible.”
“Mama!” Elle whined, rolling her eyes and looking embarrassed.
One thing was for sure; they all made me feel very comfortable and wanted here. That wasn’t something I was used to.
“What’s your favorite meal in the whole world, Sevin?” Olga asked.
&
nbsp; “You mean, besides chicken and dumplings?” I joked.
“Yes.”
“Probably ribeye steak with garlic mashed potatoes.”
“You hear that, Elle? You’ll have to learn how to make it.”
After helping them set the table in the dining room, we were just about ready to sit down to dinner when the front door slammed shut. Lance rushed down the hall, and I could hear him yelling.
“You’ve got some nerve coming home this late, Evangeline! Your mother and Elle could have used your help with dinner, you know.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy. Please just don’t yell. Not tonight. I had a mishap. It wasn’t intentional.”
“You have us worried sick that you’re gonna get yourself killed riding that bike in the dark. Well, get on in here now and meet your sister’s fiancé.”
“I just need to use the bathroom. I’ll be right there.”
Elle, Emily and I were already seated when Lance came in and took his place at the head of the table. When Olga sat down, Lance said, “Sevin, you want to lead us in prayer?”
“Yes, sir.” I closed my eyes and took Elle’s hand. “Dear Lord, Heavenly Father, we thank you for this food. Feed our souls on the bread of life and help us to do our part in kind words and loving deeds. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.”
“Amen,” they all said in unison.
When I opened my eyes, for a quick second, I seriously thought I was hallucinating. That was the only possible explanation because before I’d closed them, she wasn’t there. Now, she was standing before me, looking exactly the way I’d left her, frazzled, disheveled and more beautiful if that were even possible. I blinked. She was still there. I blinked again.
What the fuck was going on?
My heart pounded out of my chest as I silently mouthed, “Sienna?”
She quickly shook her head frantically, a silent message for me not to say anything further.
Lance was the first to speak. “Sevin, this is our other daughter, Evangeline. She’s very sorry she’s late.”
Her hand trembled as she reached it out to me. “Pleasure to meet you.”
“Evangeline.” It came out more like a question. I took her hand and squeezed it in an attempt to communicate my anger and confusion—a silent what the fuck? I wasn’t even sure if I was angry at her or at the sick joke life was playing on me right now.
“Why are you so late?” Elle asked her.
Unable to look at her anymore, I stared down at my plate.
“A friend needed help,” I heard Evangeline say.
My chest tightened. Evangeline. There was no Sienna. I was still processing everything, trying to figure out why she even lied about her name. At first, I wondered if maybe she did it because she knew who I was. But that made no sense because she’d freaked out when I told her my name was Sevin.
Emily was talking to Lance about some of the American history she learned in class. Elle and her mother were discussing a recipe. The sounds of their conversations, and the clanking of silverware all blended together. What was most deafening, though, was that which was unspoken. At one point, I looked up at her across the table from me, and we made eye contact before she looked down in shame.
The dinner went by in a blur. Managing to force myself to eat the chicken and dumplings, I wasn’t able to stomach the lemon merengue pie for dessert. I mashed it up so that it looked eaten.
Unable to take any more of this, I needed to process it alone. My chair skidded against the wood floor as I got up. “I think I’d better turn in early tonight. Tomorrow is my first day at the plant, and I want to be alert.”
“Looking forward to showing you around, Sevin,” Lance said.
“Thank you so much for dinner.”
Elle stood up. “Can I walk him back to the guesthouse?”
“Sure, honey,” Olga said. “Evangeline, go on ahead with them.”
She’d been looking down and lifted her head. “Excuse me?”
“Please accompany Elle and Sevin to the guesthouse.”
“I’m really not feeling well. Can Emily go?”
“No. You’ve been extremely rude tonight. I think you need to go and apologize to them for your behavior while you’re at it.”
She looked humiliated, and my heart clenched. She reluctantly got up and followed us out the door. Elle grabbed my hand as Evangeline quietly walked alongside us.
Elle turned to her sister. “Did something happen to Lorraine? Is that why you’re acting like this?”
“No. She’s not doing well, but nothing’s changed.”
“Then, what is it?”
“It’s nothing, okay? Please just drop it. I promise, nothing is wrong.”
Feeling compelled to rescue her from an inquisition, I said, “People are allowed to have bad days, Elle.”
Evangeline looked over at me for the first time since we started walking, and our eyes met briefly. Her expression softened as if to thank me for deterring any further prying.
We arrived at my doorstep, and I intentionally didn’t invite them in because the walk itself was already too much stress for one night. “Thanks for walking me. I appreciate it.”
Elle was still holding my hand and swung it playfully. “See you in the morning for breakfast.”
“Alright. Good night.” I stayed in my doorway watching them walk away. Elle ran ahead of her, and Evangeline surprised me when she briefly turned around to meet my stare.
Goodbye, Sienna.
CHAPTER 7
EVANGELINE
Three days had gone by, and I’d managed to avoid Sevin almost completely with the exception of dinnertime. It was like a sport—dodge Sevin—instead of dodgeball or something.
Luckily, Daddy had him in training a good chunk of the day. They usually didn’t return from the plant until after seven-thirty at night. The most challenging part, though, had been attempting to act normal around Elle. Over the past several months, I’d listened intently as she boasted to me about the man courting her. I’d shared in her enthusiasm and participated in endless conversations about the wedding.
Elle and I both worked upstairs in the business offices of Sutton Provisions. While I would typically sneak over to Adelaide’s after work, Elle would often ride her horse, Magdalene, in the late afternoons. But we were together almost all day until our shifts ended at three-thirty. Having to maintain the same attitude now was hard. Even harder was figuring out why I was making this so difficult. Nothing had really happened between Sevin and me. My attraction to him was my own issue. In reality, we’d just had an interesting conversation after I’d helped him with his car. Neither of us knew the other’s identity at the time. It was all one big innocent misunderstanding. So, why did I feel so guilty?
It was early evening. Elle had gone with Daddy to pick up Mama’s Aunt Imogene, who would be staying with us temporarily after being evicted from her apartment about an hour away.
I was in the kitchen when my mother emerged from the adjacent laundry room with some freshly-washed towels.
“Honey, I need you to take these over to Sevin’s. Here’s the key if he’s not there.”
I opened my mouth in an attempt to come up with an excuse, but honestly, I was going to have to face him at some point. The sooner this awkward phase ended, the better. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the towels and headed across the open field to the guesthouse, secretly hoping he wasn’t there.
The front door creaked as I slowly opened it. “Hello?”
There was no answer. He wasn’t home. My heart rate immediately slowed. Unsure of where to put the towels, I walked through the bedroom to the small bathroom. There was no space in the cabinet under the sink, so I ended up placing them on the shelf at the top of the closet in his room. The smell of his woodsy cologne was everywhere. It immediately took me back to our first encounter on the road when the wind blew it in my direction. I grabbed the sleeve of one of his hanging shirts and sniffed it nice and slowly, closing my eyes to relish the scent.
&
nbsp; “What do I smell like?”
I jumped.
Sevin removed his earbuds. He was shirtless. Sweat was dripping down his bare chest, slowly travelling down to the carved V of his abdomen. His breathing was ragged.
Dear Lord.
His body was so cut that it seemed almost obscene to be looking at it. But I couldn’t look away.
Barely able to get the words out, I said, “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I went out for a quick run. You left the front door open.”
“I’m sorry…I was just…I brought you some towels. I don’t know why I was smel—”
“It’s alright, Evangeline.” His eyes were intense. “I don’t care if you smell my fucking shirt. Smell all of them if it means you’ll stop pretending I don’t exist.”
“Smelling your shirt was not okay. It was weird and—”
“You are a little weird, but it’s what I like about you.”
“Gee, thanks.” I smiled.
“I was beginning to think I’d never see that smile again. I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’ve been avoiding you.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed. I just thought you had really bad incontinence during dinner.” He grabbed a towel to wipe his face then rubbed it over his chest. I was looking down at the floor to keep from staring at him when he asked, “Will you stay for a few minutes?”
“No. I really shouldn’t be here.” I walked past him toward the door to his room.
His voice stopped me in my tracks. “You think you’re the only one who’s freaked out? After you took off on your bike that day, it was impossible to get you out of my head, even though I was certain I’d never see you again. Then, I thought I was imagining you when you walked into the dining room that first night. But, of course, you already knew what you’d be walking in on.”
I turned around to face him again. “I didn’t want to come home. I was so embarrassed.”