BRONWYN
The blizzard became worse over the next three days. There was no sign of it letting up. I and Trenton used it to our advantage. There was really nothing for us to do so we made love everywhere.
On the morning of the third day, I woke up alone in his bed and pulled on his shirt from the night before. Power had been restored the night before, so the whole house was warm now. It also meant that we could both charge our phones.
I went down the stairs to make breakfast for the both of us. I found eggs in the fridge and started cracking them into a bowl when strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind. I giggled as he spun me around a little and put me down back. His mouth kissed that sensitive spot on my neck and I groaned as I leaned backwards to give him access.
"Goodmorning," he murmured against my skin.
I leaned back into him, smiling as his hands slid under the shirt I wore, and grabbed my soft breasts.
"I could get used to this," he said.
"Mh...hmm" I murmured.
His phone buzzed on the counter where it had been dead for days and must have finally charged. I felt his entire body go rigid behind me as he reached for it with one hand while the other hand was around my waist.
"What's wrong?" I turned to look at his face. I saw that his jaw was clenched and his eyes were dark.
"It's Eudora."
My stomach dropped."What did she say?"
"The storm's breaking and the roads will be clear by tomorrow," he looked at me with panic in his eyes, "so she's coming home tomorrow night."
His words made me step back from his hold. This fantasy of being his and sleeping with him had just abruptly ended and the real world was coming back.
"We knew this had to end," I said, my voice hollow.
His eyes flashed with anger, "Did we?"
I stared at him, confused, "What are you asking?"
"This wasn't just a minor fling, no?"
I couldn't look up at him. "this was just something that happened because we were trapped here together."
"Bullshit," he moved closer while I backed away.
I shook my head as I abandoned the eggs in the frying pan and retreated toward the stairs, "she's your daughter and my best friend. We don't know how she will take this. She is still grieving her mother. Gosh, I shouldn't have down this."
"I'm not sorry we did."
"You will be when she finds out," I turned and ran upstairs before he could see my tears.
In the guest room, I grabbed my bag and started throwing clothes into it with shaking hands.
The door opened behind me but I didn't turn around.
"What are you doing?" Trenton's voice was tight.
"I'm packing, I need to leave before she gets here."
"No."
I spun to face him, "No?"
"Stay through Christmas like you originally planned," he stepped into the room, "we can be adults about this and keep things normal for Eudora."
I laughed but it came out bitter, "Normal? You think we can pretend nothing happened?"
"We can try."
"I can't," I shoved more clothes into my bag, "I can't look her in the eye knowing what we did and that I betrayed her."
He gripped my shoulders and turned me to face him, "Look at me, you didn't betray her. This is more than a betrayal or a fling...we both found love, real love."
"It doesn't matter if it's real," tears spilled down my cheeks, "it's wrong."
"Says who?" His grip tightened, "We're both adults, and we are both single. Heck...we wanted this, for the longest time."
"She's going to hate us." And one thing I absolutely didn't want was my best friend to hate me.
"Maybe," his thumb brushed away my tears, "but I'm not ready to give you up, not yet."
I closed my eyes as he pressed closer, "Trenton."
"Stay, please," he backed me against the wall with his forehead pressed to mine, "just through Christmas, give me that much."
I closed my eyes,while I sighed. "I don't think I can do this."
"Yes you can," he kissed me softly. "we both can."
I kissed him back because the thought of leaving him hurt more than the guilt, "Okay, I'll stay."
"Thank you," he pulled back to look at me, "but we need rules, no touching when she's around, no looking at each other too long, we act like before."
"Before I knew how you tasted?" I tried to smile, "Before I memorized every inch of your body?"
His eyes darkened, "Don't make this harder."
"Too late." I giggled.
He kissed me possessively one more time and I couldn't stop the moan that uttered from my lips.
"Help me get the house ready, she'll be here by dinner tomorrow."
We spent the rest of the day erasing evidence of what happened as I moved my things back to the guest room.
Every surface we'd made love on got scrubbed clean.
By evening, the house looked perfect and normal like nothing had changed.
The next morning I got woken up by sounds in the driveway. My eyes flipped open as I heard her joyous voice calling out for her father. My heart stopped because she wasn't supposed to be here yet. I rushed to the window and saw Eudora getting out of her car with her bags.
"She's early," I called down to Trenton whose footsteps thundered up the stairs.
"Shit," he ran a hand through his hair, "are you ready?"
I shook my head. "But it doesn't matter."
The front door opened and Eudora's voice rang through the house, "Dad? Bronwyn? Anyone home?"
We both headed downstairs where Eudora stood in the entrance hall looking tired but happy.
"You're here!" She dropped her bags and rushed over, pulling me into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry I left you with the old man for so long."
I hugged her back but it was forced. "It's fine, we managed."
I didn't know why I wasn't happy to see her. I guess I just wanted to be trapped in a snowstorm, indoors, with her 'old man' forever.
She pulled back to look at me, then at her father, "You both look different, did something happen?"
My heart stopped, Trenton's face was perfectly calm as he moved to hug his daughter, "Just the storm, we were trapped here for days."
"That must have been boring," Eudora laughed, "what did you guys do?"
Everything, I thought, we did everything, but I smiled instead, "Well, I was just inside my room, watching movies, y'know."
She accepted this easily and she leaned on my arm as she ranted about the surgery and the patient, and also about how exhausted she was, oblivious to the glances that I and Trenton were exchanging over her head. We all moved to the kitchen where Trenton started pulling out food for breakfast.
I sat across from Trenton while Eudora sat between us, she reached over and squeezed my hand. "I'm so glad you're here, it wouldn't be Christmas without you."
"Me too," I managed to say.
Under the table Trenton's foot brushed mine, and when I looked up, I felt the heat from his eyes, but it was so brief as we instantly looked away.
This was going to be impossible.
After dinner Eudora yawned and announced she was exhausted, "I'm going to bed early, that surgery wiped me out."
She hugged us both goodnight then headed upstairs, leaving Trenton and me alone in the kitchen with dishes to clean.
"That went well," he said quietly.
"She suspects something."
"She suspects nothing," he moved closer but didn't touch me, "she's just tired."
"We can't do this," I whispered, "I can't lie to her every day."
"Then don't think of it as lying," his voice dropped low, "think of it as protecting her from something she doesn't need to know."
"That's the same thing."
"Bronwyn," he muttered, but I backed away before he could reach for me.
"Goodnight Trenton," I said, then practically ran upstairs to the guest room where I closed the door and leaned against it with my heart pounding.
I changed into pajamas and climbed into bed, staring at the ceiling while listening to the house settle around me.
I couldn't sleep, whenever I closed my eyes, I saw his sexy face, I felt his fingers on my clit and his lips on mine.
Finally, sometime close to midnight, I heard footsteps in the hallway that stopped outside my door. I sat up quickly to see Trenton's form slipping inside my room.
"You can't be in here, Eudora—"
"—is asleep down the hall," he crossed to the bed, "I checked."
He sat on the edge of my bed, "I couldn't stay away, one night and I already need—"
I put my hand over his mouth to stop the words. I removed my hand slowly and he leaned forward with his voice rough, "Tell me to leave and I will."
But I didn't want to leave. He was in my dreams, his smell was locked in my sheets. Instead, I grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to me, my mouth finding his as he groaned and crawled into bed beside me.
"We can't," I whispered against his lips even as my hands pulled him closer.
"I know," he kissed down my neck, "but I'm here anyway."
His hands slid under my shirt and over a breast. I moaned and he covered my mouth with his to muffle any sounds.
This was dangerous. Eudora was sleeping just down the hall. But try as I might, I didn't want him to stop.