The Gift
Chapter 13
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Lainie lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. She couldn't believe what she had done. She was embarrassed and ashamed of herself. Why had she let that happen? That just wasn't like her at all. She was a good person, not... a slut. God, she had never been that turned on in her life. She had to admit, it felt really, really good. NO, Lainie! Stop it! It was WRONG. She pulled the pillow over her face and tried to block out the mental image of AJ's head between her legs and the tingling that the thoughts brought along with them. She tried to sleep, but every time she would drift off, she would jolt awake... from guilt, she guessed. She sighed. It was gonna be a long night.
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"I think we fucked up, man," Nick sighed.
"Why do you say that? I think she enjoyed herself," AJ snorted.
"Yeah, but... you know... I don't think that was her deal. You know? The two of us..."
"Ahh you never know. Maybe she's up there wishing we'd come to bed with her," AJ laughed.
"I don't think so," Nick shook his head sadly. "I think we freaked her out. Bad."
"She'll get over it," AJ said. "Let's go to bed. You wanna sleep with me tonight?"
"Why the hell would I wanna sleep with you?" Nick asked disgustedly.
"I don't know. Maybe because I know you're scared of the weather and if you don't sleep with me, you'll be lying in your bed wide awake til this storm passes," AJ laughed. He rose from the chair and walked to the stairs.
Nick narrowed his eyes. But he knew AJ was right. As embarrassing as it was to admit, Nick was really afraid of storms. Nick reluctantly followed AJ to his room and climbed into bed with him.
"You stay on your own damned side of the bed, though," Nick muttered, pulling the covers up to his chin.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, doughboy," AJ laughed. "The last thing I wanna do is touch your big ass."
"Fuck you," Nick spat.
"You just wish you could fuck me," AJ snorted.
"Yeah, whatever. I like girls."
"Sure. Keep telling yourself that, Nicky. Maybe one day you'll believe it."
"Shut up, AJ," Nick snapped. "I do like girls."
"Yeah, but you like guys, too. Don't even try to tell me you don't, either."
"So do you," Nick mumbled.
"I never said I didn't," AJ laughed. "Now go to sleep."
"Ok, fine. GOODNIGHT."
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Just before dawn, or what would have been dawn if it hadn't been raining so hard, Lainie got up. She had lain awake in bed all night, unable to find rest. The last embers of the fire were still burning red in the fireplace from the night before. It was cold and dark in the house. The electricity was still off. She built the fire back up and sat on the couch, wrapped in her favorite blanket, and waited for the pot of water on the fire to get hot so she could have some cocoa. God, what had she done? She was a slut. How could she look at herself in the mirror now? She had... and with two guys?? Ugh... too much to think about. It would NEVER happen again. NEVER. She would just forget about it, and hopefully the guys would too. It was just a fluke. Something that was not to be discussed or repeated. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a soft knock on the door. She wrapped the blanket around herself and went to answer it. When she opened the heavy wooden door, she was greeted by three smiling faces...
"Hi," Brian said, smiling brightly. His blue eyes sparkled impishly. "I'm Brian. You must be Lainie." His southern twang, though different from her own, was endearing from the very first sentence he spoke.
"Hi Brian," Lainie said, smiling. "Yes, I'm Lainie."
"Great! Hey, I hope you don't mind that I brought Kevin and Howie with me. We've all been workin' pretty hard and we needed a little vacation. AJ said it would be ok," Brian said, still grinning.
"No problem," Lainie said, swallowing hard. Oh damn... all five of them... in her house... If she had known, she would have fixed up the other rooms. "We've got plenty of room. We have no power right now, though."
"That's ok," Kevin drawled. His eyes looked very tired. He looked like he needed a hug. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was definitely not right with Kevin.
"Oh shoot!" Lainie exclaimed, suddenly remembering her manners. "Y'all come on in out of the cold! I'm sorry. I just got out of bed, and I'm not thinking straight yet."
They all walked into the living room, and Howie stopped to introduce himself. "Hi, Lainie. I'm Howie. It's really nice of you to let us stay here," he said. She could tell he was kind of quiet.
"You guys are welcome. Stay as long as you like. Heck, I guess this is really Nick's place now that Edward's gone. I just live here. For now, that is," she said, suddenly realizing that she was going to have to look for a place to stay very soon.
"I was just about to make some hot chocolate. Do y'all want some?" she asked, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. She was shivering. From nerves or cold? It was hard to tell...
"Sure," Brian said, his ever present smile brightening the room.
"Yeah, that sounds great," Howie said, sitting down on the couch.
"Nah. If you could just point me to a bed, I'd be really appreciative," Kevin replied. He was polite, but she could see that he needed to sleep.
"Sure," Lainie said. "Follow me. You can have your pick of the bedrooms."
Kevin grabbed his suitcase and followed her up the stairs. He told her the first room they came to was fine. He needed to lie down. She showed him to a room and he flopped down on the bed, letting out a long sigh.
"Long trip?" Lainie asked.
"Yeah. It's been a rough week," he replied, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands.
"Sorry," she said. "Well, I'll leave you alone now. Just let me know if you need anything. There's a bathroom adjoining this room. I'll get you some fresh towels."
"Thanks, Lainie. I really appreciate this. Listen, if you could tell the guys not to wake me up, that would be great. I need about 30 hours of uninterrupted sleep," he said, not looking at her.
"Sure. No problem. I'll make them keep the noise level down, too," she replied, leaning against the door frame. "Listen, I know I don't know you or anything, but are you ok?"
"Yeah. I will be," Kevin replied, sitting up on his elbows. He smiled a tired smile. She smiled back.
"Well, I'll see you in about 30 hours," she said.
"Thanks."
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Lainie went to her room and changed into some sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She went back downstairs and sat in the chair across from Howie and Brian.
"So... you guys needed a vacation, huh?" she said, smiling.
"Yeah. We've been rode hard and put up wet lately," Brian laughed.
"Sorry," she said. "Nick didn't mention anything about that."
"We'll survive," Howie said.
"Oh, I forgot about the water!" Lainie exclaimed. She ran to the fire and pulled the pot off just in time. The water was hot, but not quite boiling. She went to the kitchen and made 3 big mugs of hot chocolate, and carried them into the living room.
"Here ya go," she said, handing each of them a cup.
"So, you guys had a big storm last night?" Brian asked.
"Yeah. Pretty bad. Lots of lightning and stuff. We probably won't have power until late this afternoon, as slow as the power company works around here."
"Let me guess," Brian laughed, "Nick's probably piled up in the bed with AJ, right?"
"Huh?" Lainie asked, confused.
"Yeah," Howie said, shaking his head, "Nick's terrified of storms. If you guys had a storm last night, I can guarantee you he didn't sleep alone. It's pretty pathetic, you know. A grown man as big as Nick, scared of thunder."
"You're kidding, right?" Lainie laughed.
"Uh uh," Brian said, smiling. "Go look."
Lainie giggled, but walked up the stairs. She quietly opened the door to AJ's room, and sure enough... Nick was cuddled up beside AJ, who was forced all the way edge of the bed. Lainie snickered and went back downstairs.
"Were we right, or were we right?" Brian laughed, sipping his hot chocolate.
"I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Lainie said, shaking her head. "That's just ridiculous. He's got AJ crowded all the way on the edge of the bed."
"Yeah. Nick's a snuggler. AJ's not," Howie said, nodding.
"And you would know this how?" Lainie asked, her eyebrows raised.
"Oh we've all had to share beds at one time or another. Nothing strange," Howie laughed.
"Well, ok," Lainie said, shaking her head again.
"I'm starving," Brian said. "Is there anywhere to get breakfast around here?"
"Hmmm... Well, there's Waffle House. And there's Rita's Kitchen. I'd suggest Waffle House, though. The service is better, and, as Nick said, the ambiance is good," Lainie laughed.
"Waffle House... mmmm I can feel my arteries hardening already," Brian said, smiling. "D, you wanna grab some breakfast?"
"Nah," Howie answered. "I think I'm gonna get some sleep. That was a long drive."
"Who're you kiddin'? Brian laughed. "Kev and I drove. You slept the whole way you lazy bum."
"Well, I'm still tired," Howie said. "I'm going to bed. Lainie, is there a specific room you want me to take?"
"Oh, just pick one that's not occupied," Lainie said.
"Thanks, sweetheart," Howie said, kissing her cheek. He dragged his huge suitcase up the stairs. Lainie absentmindedly put her hand on her cheek where Howie had kissed her. He smells nice, she thought, smiling to herself.
"So..." Brian said, "You gonna make me to go the Waffle House by myself?"
Lainie smiled. Brian was so cute. She liked him immediately. "No way. I wouldn't do that to you. I hate eating alone myself," she said. "Just let me change clothes. I'm sure you don't wanna be seen with me in sweats."
"You look fine," Brian said. "Come on. I'm starving. You drive. I've been driving all night."
"Why didn't you guys fly?" Lainie asked, grabbing her keys from the counter.
"Ahh Howie thought it would be a good bonding thing if we drove. Yeah right. He slept the whole way. Kevin drove half the time, then puked the other half. Must have been something he ate. So, I ended up driving and singing to keep myself awake. I actually got though the whole 100 Bottles of Beer On the Wall song. Got all the way down to no beers left."
"You poor thing," Lainie laughed. "But I'm sure it was really funny to hear you singing about bottles of beer on the wall."
"Why does everybody say that?" Brian laughed, shaking his head. "People have to know that I drink beer. Heck, I drink liquor if the mood strikes me. I just don't flaunt it like the other guys do."
"Ok, I get it. First impressions aren't always correct impressions, huh?"
"Right. Now let's go eat before I eat a cushion off your couch," Brian said, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the door.
"Oh, uh... do you wanna take your car?" Lainie asked, still embarrassed by her car."I'll be happy to drive yours."
"Nah. We can take yours. My poor car needs a rest," Brian replied. He hopped into the front seat of Lainie's car and buckled his seatbelt.
Lainie drove to the Waffle House. It was crowded for a Monday morning, especially a rainy one. They walked in and surveyed the room. Truck drivers, police officers, construction workers sat around, smoking and drinking coffee.
"We can go somewhere else if you want," Lainie whispered into Brian's ear.
"Nah. I like Waffle House. We can wait for a table," Brian said, smiling. Lainie noticed how it was impossible not to smile when Brian smiled.
"Hey Laine!" Charlotte yelled. Charlotte had been one of Lainie's mother's friends for years, and she was also the head waitress at the Waffle House.
"Hey Aunt Charlotte!" Lainie called. "How long do you think it'll be before we get a seat?"
"For you, hon, I'll have one cleared off in just a minute," Charlotte said, cracking her gum. Within just a few minutes, Lainie and Brian found themselves at a table in the corner. They chit chatted about all kinds of things. Lainie felt like she'd known Brian all her life. He was so funny, but she could see that there was a pretty big shy streak in him, too.
"Excuse me for just a minute," Brian said, "I've gotta hit the little boy's room."
Lainie smiled up at him. As soon as he left the table, Charlotte ran over and sat down.
"Now I like that one, hon," Charlotte said, nodding her head vigorously.
"Who? Brian? Oh, he's a friend of Nick's. You met Nick the other day."
"I know who he is, Laine. I haven't been livin' under a rock for the past three years, ya know? I just like this one. He seems like more your type than that Nick fella," Charlotte said, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.
"Charlotte, don't smoke that nasty thing around me," Lainie chastised. "I don't want to see you inhaling that lung dart."
"Alright, alright. But you mark my words. That Brian boy would do you right. I'm just not sure about that ol' Nick."
"Thank you for your unsolicited advice, Miss Cleo," Lainie laughed. "But I can handle my own matters of the heart, thank you."
"Honey, you got no love life. You need one. Bad. You need a man to take care of you."
"No I don't," Lainie laughed. "I've done just fine thus far, haven't I?"
"Hell no. You went from your mama's house to Old Edward's house, and now you're alone. I just think you need to find you a good man and settle down," Charlotte said, grinding out her cigarette in the ashtray on the table.
"Again, thank you for your advice, but I don't need it," Lainie said, raising her eyebrows.
"But Laine..."
"No buts, Miss Charlotte. I mean it. Stop it, ok? I barely even know Brian. And I like Nick. Even if you don't."
"Now I didn't say I didn't like him. I just say this Brian fella would be better for ya. I like his smile. He's got an honest smile. You can see it clear as day."
"But you forgot one important thing," Lainie laughed. "What if he doesn't like me?"
"Just give him time, sugar. Anybody who takes the time to get to know you always loves you. You're a loveable girl." Charlotte patted Lainie's cheek.
"Thanks Charlotte."
Brian returned to the table, and Charlotte stood up. "Well, guess my smoke break's over," Charlotte laughed. "You two kids have a good day."
"Thanks," Brian said, smiling brightly. He sat down across from Lainie and drank the last of his orange juice. "You ready to go?"
"Yep. But there's nowhere to go," Lainie laughed. "This is a really small town."
"I like small towns. Let's just ride around. It looks like the rain has stopped. You can show me around or something. I had too much caffeine last night, so I'm pretty much wired. I couldn't sleep if you paid me."
"Well, alright," Lainie said, reaching for the check.
"Now I know you're not gonna buy my breakfast," Brian laughed.
"Well, I was going to. You're my guest and all," Lainie smiled.
"Uh, Lainie, my mama didn't raise me to be a heel. I don't let girls buy me stuff, ok?" Brian said, placing his hand on top of hers. "Now give me the check."
"Well, ok. If you insist," she said, looking down at his hand on top of hers. She pulled her hand out from under his, and he picked up the check. He left Charlotte a $50 tip and paid for breakfast.
"Ok, let's hit it," Brian said, grabbing her hand and pulling her out the door.
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14