An Open Sky

Chapter Eighteen ~Alexa~

He opened the door and gestured for me to go in. I kicked my flip flops off behind the door after he did and followed him into the living room. There was a cozy-looking fireplace and a few beanbag chairs scattered on the floor, some more flat than others, along with a large brown couch that took up the rest of the empty space. There was a TV on top of a bookshelf that was layered with various sizes of books. One wall was painted a deep gold that tied all the shades of tan and brown in the room together.

                I heard a deep growling come from behind me. I spun around to find that I’d come face to face with a large dog, a Siberian husky, I think. Not that I was ever much of an expert on dogs. It was a few feet from me and low to the ground, teeth bared, blue eyes watching me, daring me to move. It was like I was being dared to try and escape.  

                “Um, Jay?” I said, trying to stay as still as possible. He turned to see the dog standing. His hand twitched slightly at his side and the dog relaxed immediately. He turned to me.

                “That’s just Juneau, he’s all bark no bite, don’t worry,” he said grinning and giving the dog another hand signal. It immediately trotted off back down the hall.

                “How did you…never mind.” I shook my head, grinning at him. He laughed.

                “I should let my dad know you’re here. My mom’s out working on someone’s lawn,” he paused, “she has a gardening business.”

                “Oh, where’s your dad?” I asked. I hoped he’d explain a little about him before we actually met; I wanted to make a good impression despite the fact that I was wrapped in a towel wearing a bikini because we’d just swam in the freezing lake.

                “He’s in his study,” he said gesturing with his head to the closed door to our left. “He’s an author, nothing published yet, but he’s trying.”

                “Cool, I love reading,” I lied. The last time I’d read a full book was when I had to read Insomnia for school. He smiled and opened the door to the study.

                “Jay is that you?” said a deep voice from the study.

                “Yeah dad, Alexa’s here.”

                “Who?”

                “You know, Alexa, the girl I was telling you about,” he said turning to me and throwing his hands over his face, obviously irritated that his dad forgot who I was even though we’d never met.

                “Oh, yeah, yeah, I see. Well, have fun,” he said between rustles of paper. Jay smiled and closed the door.

                “You’ll have to excuse him; he’s kind of…focused on his story.”

                “No worries,” I said, relieved that there was no talking necessary.

                “If you don’t mind, I’d like to bring you up to my room,” he said walking around me, dragging his fingers across my waist. His soft touch tickled me. He stopped behind me and stayed glued to my back. I rested my head on his shoulder. “This way,” he said, kissing my neck. He took my hand and led me up the stairs. As we walked down the hallway, my eyes faintly scanned the pictures on the walls, the bookshelves that were lining them, and the fancy computer that was accompanied by a printer next to his room. Most of my focus was on his back as he led me around the house.

                He opened a dark-stained wooden door and walked through, keeping me against him the whole time. His walls were a deep blue to match his carpet, and his bed sheets were an ominous black. Similar to his dad, he had bookshelves all along one wall and a dusty TV on the other. He had clothes scattered all over the floor, but it didn’t bother me like it normally would. I turned around and rested my arms on his chest, letting the towel around my waist become part of his collection on the floor.

                “What do you think?” he asked, spanning his arms out around the room.

                “It’s nice,” I said, leaning up to kiss him. He pressed his lips back against mine and wrapped his arms around me. He slid his hands down to my legs and picked me up, wrapping my legs around him. He carried me over and tossed me on the mattress, sitting down next to me. He leaned over, propping himself up on his elbow. He pressed his lips harder against mine and started to lean over me. I let him, inviting his heat to swarm my body and make my pulse race. I invited the rush back into my body. I let it control me, fill me, make me, me again. I felt right being with him; I felt like I did back at Melrose, back home. I felt safe.