Take Me Home: Chapter Seven: Speak Easy

Speak Easy

Carefully opening his eyes and allowing a yawn to escape, Steven lay awake in his bed. Thinking back to the previous night, he looked down. Carrie was cuddled against him, her tanned skin showing she was not wearing any clothes. Her brown tresses of hair sprawled around her, and her rhythmic breathing indicated she was still asleep. Was last night what she wanted? I hope when she wakes up she won’t think it was all a mistake. Are things going too fast for her? Staring up at his ceiling, he contemplated what his girlfriend’s reaction would be to their first time sleeping together, and her thoughts about partying with Jay. For a man who always keeps his cool and is ready with a sarcastic remark at any given moment, Steven Canter was nervous. It was only a matter of time until she woke up. Even though he was nervous about her thoughts, he wanted to let her continue her slumber. She was warm, soft, and looked so peaceful when she was asleep. Trying his hardest not to wake her, he bent down and kissed her forehead.

          Steven occupied himself by looking around his room, and out the window at the golden sun. His room was very different from Jay’s. Instead of scarves and banners filling up space, his room had pictures. The only furniture he had was the large bed, two dressers, and a simple couch with a bookshelf. He didn’t like clutter. However, in addition to a TV, on the walls hung the many memories he wanted to cherish. Photographs ranging from extravagant parties in Florida, to exotic vacations to India covered the tan walls. Vacation. After the meeting with his father, a vacation sounded perfect. He wasn’t sure if this was all too much for Carrie though, figuring Michigan was much slower paced. He’d bring up the idea, and see what she said.

          Feeling a stir next to him, Carrie opened her eyes and smiled. Tearing him away from his thoughts, she said,

          “Morning, boyfriend.”

          “Morning. Sleep well?” he asked, looking her exposed skin glowing against the sunlight leaking through.

          “Very. But, I am really hungry and extremely hung-over. Breakfast time?” she asked, sitting up while holding the sheet close to her chest.

          “Of course.” He loved how comfortable she was with him, it eased his nerves.

          Because she couldn’t find her clothes, she used one of his t-shirts to walk down to the kitchen with. Together they ate bacon, eggs, and Steven even made hash browns. Steven was about to bring up last night, but was just trying to figure out how to word it. He didn’t want to seem too curious, but he really wanted to know her thoughts. Just as she shoveled the last bite of bacon into her mouth, they heard a knock at the back patio door. Saved by the knock?

          Craning her neck to see who was at the door, she saw their neighbor, Adele Fletcher. Steven went to the door, and allowed Adele to come in. Wearing a bright yellow sundress, she sauntered into the house behind Steven.

          “Well it looks like you had a good night,” she said, pointing to Steven’s t-shirt Carrie was wearing. Blushing, Carrie smirked and took a sip of her orange juice.

          “Good morning to you too Adele,” Steven said, trying to take the attention off of Carrie.

          “Oh I’m just teasing. I came over to see what your plans are this week. I know it’s really short notice, but Peter seems to leave everything until the last minute. Anyway, we’re planning on going to Vegas for a few days and the couple we were bringing backed out last minute. They had a nanny catastrophe, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask our dear neighbors! We have two suites booked at The Palms,” she rambled on, “so you two think about it alright? Just let us know by tonight because we fly out tomorrow morning. The rooms are booked for Sunday through Thursday.”

          “Wow, thanks for the offer! I think if we went, we’d probably fly out Sunday night, so I could settle some things for work,” he replied, suddenly realizing he didn’t know if Carrie would even want to go, “We’ll let you know, and thanks for stopping by,” he finished. For a petite person, she could talk an awful lot. Soon she exited the house, and made her way back over to Peter who was already busy with business calls.

          “Well that was a generous offer,” Carrie said, finishing her orange juice.

          “Yeah, it was. What do you think?” he replied. How convenient. He kept in mind that Carrie had probably never been anywhere besides Michigan and Florida. To him, it was a regular occurrence to hop on a plane and take off, and for the past few days he had that itching to get out of Florida.

          “I’ve never been to Vegas. I really want to go, but what about the money? I mean we agreed that I was just staying here until I got a job and was able to work something out for myself. It’s not that I don’t love living here, but I really do want to have a job. I feel like I’m having too much fun and neglecting the fact that I still don’t have a job,” she explained, furrowing her eyebrows together. As she got up to put her orange juice glass in the sink, she grabbed both plates to put in the dishwasher.

          “Carrie honey, I wasn’t lying when I told my father about Sandra. She’s an event planner, and I mentioned that you were looking for a job. I actually just emailed her back yesterday. She will come by and you two can talk. It sounds like a good job, and the pay is decent,” he said, and came up behind her to give her a comforting hug, “so don’t worry. You’ve basically got the job. She’s an old friend. I think we should go with Adele and Peter. It will be nice to get away for a few days, and I’m sure Jay would appreciate the house to himself.”

          “You think so?” she responded, putting her hands over his.

          “I do. No worries about my father, or Charlette, and I can take a few days off work.” He said Charlette like the word literally disgusted him. In the back of his mind, he knew it was only a matter of time before she asked about the real story regarding Charlette. No amount of distraction would make her forget all that tension at the dinner and the comments she made. It was a conversation he hoped she would save for a different day.

          “Okay,” she said with a smirk, “let’s go to Vegas.” Her ocean eyes lit up with excitement.

          “Good, we can leave on Sunday night. I’ll need tomorrow to sort out things with Dean and get work done. I’ll call Peter and tell him that we’re in,” Steven said, turning towards the living room. Before he had his phone out of his pocket, Carrie said,

          “Oh and Steven?”

          “Yes?” he answered.

          “Last night…was…impressive,” she explained, furiously blushing and smiling at him. Not giving him a chance to respond, she headed upstairs for a much needed shower.

          A tidal wave of relief washed over him as he saw her smile and walk upstairs. The previous night having been amazing in his eyes, and he was so happy she felt the same. Even though their relationship was moving rather fast, he thought it felt right. Still grinning, he found Peter Fletcher’s contact and called him.

          After her refreshing shower, Carrie went into her bedroom. In a robe with her hair still damp, she sat on the one chair in her room. Looking into her closet, she realized she only had one day to pack. Crap. Before starting what she was sure would be a long process of packing, she went to the desk on the other side of her room. Inside the middle drawer, she grabbed a notebook and pen. Taking them outside, she sat on her small patio and began to write.

Dear Allison,

        I know I said I would write. Please don’t be mad at me, I’ve been pretty busy. I’ve made my way down to Florida, and I LOVE it. I miss you though. Don’t worry; you’re still my best friend. How’s Rillmont? Hope everything is all good.

        Anyway, I suppose you deserve an update. I’m living with my new boyfriend, Steven. I know, I’ve only been gone a few months. It started out differently. First we were friends; I met him the day I got here. Then we became closer friends, and had gone out on a lot of dates. Offering to help me out, he allowed me to stay at his place instead of the motel. I started running out of money pretty quick (yes you were right, I should have brought more), and he let me stay at his house with his brother until I got back on my feet. Well, since then, we actually formed a relationship. He’s amazing Allison, NOTHING like Danny. Oh, yeah, that asshole apparently found me here! Yeah! He attacked me on the beach! Steven and his brother, Jay, came and chased him away. I had to talk to police and everything. There’s no need to worry about me though, everything’s fine.

        I won’t drag on this letter, but I want you to know that I am okay, and I happy. I’m happy for the first time in what seems like forever. Steven and I are traveling to Vegas tomorrow night with a few friends, and before packing I thought I’d write to you.

        A few more things, how is my sister? I miss her so much, but I refuse to contact her. If I do, you know damn well she will try to run down here too. She’s still in high school, and I don’t even have a real plan down here. At least she has some stability back home, even if it’s not much. And I know she has you. Please keep her safe, look after her for me Allison. Also, I love you to pieces, and please write me back soon. Hugs and kisses, and please keep this our secret.

Love,

Carrie.

          Putting the letter in an envelope, she addressed it to her good friend. Slipping it in her purse, she decided that later today she would run a few towns over to create a P.O. box. Realizing it was time to start packing, she walked down to Steven’s room.

          “Hey, can I borrow a suitcase?” she asked. Her boyfriend chuckled, and had been in the middle of making his bed.

          “Sure. Let me grab you a few,” he replied, disappearing into his closet. He had the biggest room, and his closet was huge. Returning with three different suitcases, he walked with her back to her room.

          “You know, I figured you would want to use this mini vacation as an excuse to go shopping. The Palms is a fancy place,” he said, raising his eyebrow and running his hand through that near jet black hair. It only looked really brown when he was in the sun, but indoors it appeared black. As always, this habit of his made Carrie stare for a minute, admiring his looks. After she didn’t reply, he started to chuckle again, which pulled Carrie out of her private inappropriate thoughts.

          “Shopping? I was thinking about picking up a few things, yeah. Do you want me to get you anything while I’m out? I want to finish packing what I do have before I go buy anything, but I’ll probably pick up a dress or something. I also need a few bathroom things,” she said, secretly pleased that she had an excuse to get out of the house. She would be able to mail her letter without his suspicion about who it was for. Carrie didn’t want to explain or talk about her past; she left all of it in Michigan for a reason.

          “No, I don’t need anything. If I think of something, I’ll tell you. Jay needs some help with a ‘booze crisis’, so I’ll be downstairs with him,” he replied, rolling his eyes. It’s 11am! Classy, Jay. She got to work, finding the few dresses she owned, some more casual clothes, lingerie, shoes, and toiletries. Sighing, she put her favorite turquoise cowboy boots back in her closet. They didn’t really coordinate with her other Vegas outfits. Since they were only going to be gone for four days, she didn’t think she needed that many clothes. However, since she wanted to mail her letter, she set off to get another dress.

          The driver put their bags in the trunk, while Steven was finishing up his lecture to Jay about not burning down his house. With a pat on the back, Steven said goodbye to Jay. Dressed in one of the sundresses she bought, she walked over to where Jay was standing.

          “See you in a few days,” she said, giving him a hug.

          “Yes you will, have fun, and win big. Oh, and safe flying” he replied. With a wave Jay waltzed back into the house, along with all his brewing party plans.

          The ride to the airport was pretty boring. Steven had been on the phone with work, finishing up his last few phone calls before we arrived to the RSW airport. He always had work to do, and Carrie was looking forward to a few days where she didn’t have to share him with his cell phone. She considered herself quite lucky though, considering how many other women surly wanted to be in her position. Smiling, she grabbed Steven’s hand and laced her fingers through his.

          The only time Carrie had ever been on a plane was her flight to Stonessa, so she was still slightly nervous about flying. However, this time they were flying first class, which made her feel a little more comfortable. Her flight down to Stonessa had her in coach packed between a large man who snored and a mother with her screaming baby. The plane took off on time, and they were on their way to Sin City. As soon as the plane was at the correct altitude, the flight attendants began to offer drinks. Ordering a brandy seven, Steven looked over at Carrie while his drink was poured. She met his gaze, and tried her best to snuggle closer to him. Soon, she drifted off to sleep, with the faint smell of citrus and vanilla from Steven’s drink.

          Peter and Adele had taken an earlier flight, and were already at the resort. By the time they had reached Nevada, the sky was dark and Carrie stirred awake.

          “Don’t know how you can sleep on a plane. I fly all the time and never manage to get comfortable enough,” Steven said, noticing that she was up. “I guess you were just worn out from last night, I know I put on quite the show.” Carrie blushed the deepest shade of pink, and looked around in wonder if anyone had heard that completely inappropriate comment. Steven just smirked at her, watching as she squealed in her seat.  She laughed, and stole a sip of his new drink he had ordered.

          Looking out the window to avoid anymore of his comments, she gasped. Out her small oval airplane window she saw Las Vegas, a clump of lights surrounded by darkness.

          “Welcome to Vegas sweetheart,” Steven said, raising his small plastic cup to her.