SECRETS OF THE PAST
Chapter Eighteen

Rated NC-17 for Content

Frank knew he was playing with fire. How could he let Erica touch him while he enjoyed it? He was afraid he was slipping. In fact, he knew it. He couldn't resist temptation. He needed release, and Erica was the only one who could satisfy that curiosity. Leah had never touched him there before, not ever. Well, not quite never. She had touched him when he had first met her. But she had never touched him with her mouth before. He had carried a hard-on most of the day. It bothered him that Erica had done that.

Leah was kissing him passionately. He touched her, looking at her, and stopped.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing. I just am preoccupied." He stared into the darkness of their tent.

"With what?" She was curious.

"Leah, would you touch me?" he asked her.

"Sure. Where?" She knew what he was asking, but she wanted to be sure.

"You know where." He looked at her, feeling unbelievably hot.

"Oh, there." She touched him.

She stroked him up and down. He loved the feeling.

He pulled her closer to him. She knew by his motions what he wanted.

"Frank, I can't do that." She continued her steady rhythm.

"Why?" He was ready for her, but he wanted her to do it to him badly.

"Because I can't. It's too disgusting." She looked at him and pulled away.

"Please, Leah," he begged her, but she wouldn't do it.

"No, Frank. I can't." She got up and stepped away.

He sat there and watched her.

"All right, then. It's okay," he said, giving up.

"You sure?" She knew what he wanted, but she couldn't do it.

"Yeah." He made love to her, but his need still ached.

He went for a smoke to calm his nerves, then saw Erica.

"Hey, Erica. What's up?" He was very tense.

"Nothing. Where's Leah?" she asked.

"Asleep." He stared at her, wanting her.

"Gosh, Frank. What do you do to her?" she teased.

He sat closer to her.

"Come with me and I will show you," he whispered into her ear.

Erica walked with him. Have I finally gotten to him? she wondered.

When they entered the darkness, it was quiet. She stood there, looking at him.

"Frank?" She was very nervous.

"It's all right, Erica. You'll be okay," he told her.

He began to kiss her, feeling the terrible guilt of cheating on Leah.

Erica was trembling. Never, in her wildest dreams, had she ever imagined Frank with her all alone.

He kissed her hard and urgently, then pulled away.

"Erica, why did you do what you did when I was teaching you to swim?" He had to know the truth.

"That was a thank you. I would have done it longer, but I couldn't breathe under water." She looked at him, wondering what he wanted from her.

"Would you mind doing it again?" he asked.

"You mean you would let me? What about Leah?" She wondered if she drove him so in need of release that he was willing to do anything.

"She doesn't have to know," he said.

"You're serious, huh?" She looked at him. It was unbelievable.

"Yes, Erica. I am." He pulled her to him, and kissed her. She pulled away.

"Wait a minute." She thought about it for a while. "Leah never did that to you, and now you want it from me. Why, Frank? Why would you cheat on Leah when you proclaim to love her so much?" She wanted to know.

"Because the man in me needs what only you can provide." He felt guilty. It showed.

"Tell me you love me, Frank. I wanna hear it." She would give him what he wanted, but only this once, because she knew he really didn't like her.

He stepped closer to her, kissing her and telling her he loved her.

She pushed him up against a tree, trailing down his body. He felt her do what only she could do to him. He held onto her, feeling the good sensation until he exploded.

Erica watched him with a smirk on her face. She had loved every minute of it, knowing that only she could make him so out of control.

She pulled back and sat on a tree stump. He looked at her, wondering why she had pulled back on him.

He got her hand, put it around his neck, and picked her up, holding her body against him.

She looked into his eyes and kissed his neck.

He let her down and took off his shirt, laying it down on the ground. He brought her down and laid her there. She could see the beautiful stars shining like jagged diamonds in the sky. She felt him relieve her of her clothing. She hadn't moved a muscle. She just let him do what he wanted. He looked at her. She was so unlike Leah. When he positioned himself into her, she gasped.

"You okay?" he asked, looking at her.

"Yeah. It's just that you are bigger than Danny. I didn't expect that." He smiled at her and proceeded onward.

He made her moan and scream at times, and when it was over, he lay there, feeling relieved and yet like a bastard that he had cheated on Leah.

Erica had been skilled and talented. She knew when and how to move her hips. He couldn't believe she was a virgin just a day ago.

Erica looked over at him and kissed his lips.

"Thank you, Frank. It was the best time I ever had. I will cherish it always." She searched for her clothes.

"Me, too." He lay there breathing, trying to calm himself.

When they went back to camp, they had a smoke, laughed a few times, and then headed to bed.

Frank had a hard time sleeping. He could feel someone staring at him.

He woke up.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Have a hard night?" She wondered why he was so tired.

"You could say that." He kissed her.

"So, we’ve stayed here for three days. Today we pack and leave?" She was happy to go back home.

"Yeah. The funeral is tomorrow, and I gotta get out my suit." He sat up, looking at her. She looked happy.

"I'm so sad to hear of your grandfather's passing." She had only met his grandfather once, and he had been very nice and kind to her.

"Yeah. It has been hard. He was fantastic. I will miss him dearly." He really would. "Is there anything to eat?" He needed to change the subject and get away from her.

"Yeah. Come on." She grabbed his hand and crawled out of the tent.

He followed, and when he looked over at Erica, he just couldn't forget what had happened between them.

"Hey, Frank. What's up?" Kyle asked.

"Nothing much. I feel absolutely great." He stared at Erica and smiled.

She stared back.

Danny noticed the stare. He knew something was up.

Erica and Crystal chatted while Leah fixed him something to eat.

Frank waited, got some water from the stream, and put it on his face.

He reached over for a towel. When he looked up, there was Erica.

"Thanks." He took it from her hand and dried himself off.

"You're welcome." She liked the way he smiled at her.

Danny had seen everything, so he went over to talk to him.

"Hey, Frank. Can I talk to you?" Danny was very suspicious.

"Sure, man. What's on your mind?" Frank wondered what he wanted.

"Did you and Erica just become closer or something?" He looked him in the eye.

"Sort of. Why?" Frank wondered if he knew what had happened.

"You fucking her?" He was angry, but understood that Erica was a slut.

"No. Why would you ask that?" he lied.

"Because she looks at you like you're the meal on her plate." Danny knew he was lying. He could smell it.

"She does not." Frank looked at her.

"No? Come on, Frank. Level with me." Danny stared at Erica.

"Danny, you wanna know the truth?" Frank was sweating.

"Yeah. That would be nice." Danny wanted to hear what he had to say.

"The only thing between Erica and I is that I saved her life and she saved mine, so of course I like her. I owe her my depth of gratitude." It was true. He did owe her after saving his life.

"Jesus, Frank. Since when did you become a liar? You are fucking her, huh? What about Leah?" He was waiting for his answer.

"Look, we only did it once. All right? But she started it." He walked toward a rock to sit down.

"How did she start it, Frank?" He wanted to know.

"She put her mouth on me." He didn't look at him at all.

"Frank, after all the times you and Leah have been together, you never did that?" He tried to make things easy for Frank, but the guilt of his deed was showing.

"Nope. Not once, and when I wanted to, she turned me down." He looked at him and hated that Danny knew he was lying.

"So, you turned to Erica," Danny said.

"Yeah. Look, I am sorry for touching your property." He looked down.

"Frank, Erica was never mine. She just used me that night. I think she is playing with both of us, so let's play with her." He was willing to play the play if Erica wanted it that way.

"No, I could never do that." He truly couldn't. He wouldn't treat Erica like the other woman. She wasn't a secret.

"Well, hell. I am. See you, Frank." Danny clapped him on the back.

Leah brought the meal she had fixed to him.

"Thank you." He took her hand and kissed it.

"You're welcome." She looked at him, and he looked like he was sick or something.

"Frank, are you all right?" She was worried.

"Yeah, Leah. I have something to tell you, and you'll probably kill me, but I have to be straight with you." He wanted to tell her the truth before anyone else did.

"What is it?" She looked at him, puzzled as to what he had to say.

He thought about it, and he really didn't want to lose Leah, so he told her something else.

"I have a present for you, and I have been saving it for a while." He hated lying to her.

"What is it, and why do you think I would be mad at you?" She knew something was going on.

"Because when I tell you, you will. I know your birthday is not too far away, and you already have your driver's license. I wanna buy you a car for your birthday." He hated to buy his way out of his lie. It was burning everything he had ever said to her. It was tearing him apart.

"Really, Frank?" She was happy.

"Yeah." He smiled at her, but was very hurt.

She hugged him so tightly he felt guilty. He didn't know how to tell her he had slept with another girl.

They all packed up, and he watched Erica from afar.

When he finally said good-bye, he winked at Erica. Why he did that, he didn't know.

He dropped off Leah at home, drove away, and went home himself. When he got inside the door, he saw his father.

"Hey, Dad." Frank sat near the fire with him.

"Hey, Frank. How was camping?" He looked up at him.

"Good, Dad. I got a problem." He took off his jacket and sat next to his father.

"What is it, Franklin?" Jack had wondered what was going on with his son lately.

"I cheated on Leah." He stared into the fire.

"Did you tell her?" Jack remembered when he had betrayed his heart.

"No, I didn't, and I love her, but this other girl, Erica, did something only she could do to me that Leah can't. Dad, what am I gonna do?" He sat there, waiting for an answer, but he knew what he had to do. It was inevitable.

"You're gonna have to make a choice," Jack told him.

"I know, but it's so hard. I love Leah, but Erica is so different." He had mixed feelings. He had never been so confused in his life.

"They always are, Frank. When your mother went to Harvard, we split up, and she met someone else. I ended up dating, too, and when I found Rose again, we fell in love and got married shortly thereafter. The only regret I have is that Monique had to suffer." He got up and walked around.

"Monique?" Frank had never heard of a Monique before.

"She was the woman I almost married." Jack looked at his son. He wished he could help him make the decision, but he couldn't. It was something that he would have to figure out for himself.

"So, how did you and Mom get back together?" He was anxious to hear the story.

"We loved each other, and it was that love that brought us back together." He loved Rose still, to this day.

"So, what are you trying to tell me?" Frank knew there was a point somewhere in his father's tale.

"If your love is strong, then you two were meant to be. If not, then it never was." Jack said it plain and simple.

"Thanks, Dad. I am gonna go to my room to think about that." Frank had so much to think about that his head was spinning.

"All right. Have a good night, son." Jack put out the fire and went to bed.

"Yeah. Night, Dad." He went upstairs to his room and looked up at the ceiling, thinking about everything that had happened in the last few days. Tomorrow, he vowed to tell Leah the truth, whether it hurt their relationship or not. He could never lie to her for too long. He loved her, but he wondered what had made him cheat. Then, he finally figured it out. He needed to see if Leah really was the one for him. He had to break up with Leah, even if he didn't want to. He knew that he had to. He closed his eyes and dreamt into the night.

Chapter Nineteen
Stories