Change My Ways

The next few days go by in a flash. I still haven’t spoken to Zach. Brian called earlier, while I was at work, just to check up, I guess. He told me he went to apologize to Zach, but he wasn’t home, no one has seen him since Saturday, and it’s Wednesday. The band was supposed to get together yesterday for rehearsal, but he never showed. I’m starting to really worry about him. I drove by his place on the way home, but his car wasn’t there. He’s not answering the phone whenever I call or text.

I decide that maybe it’s time to just forget this place, and leave it all behind. Thanksgiving will be here soon, and I’ve been thinking more and more of going back home. I want to go by all of the places that I knew growing up, and just reminisce. It will be nice to have sometime all to myself. I’ve been saving up money anyway, what better way to use it. I already talked to my boss, Shawna, about it earlier, and she thinks it’s a great idea. She’s agreed to let me take a leave of absence, until I want to come back. Thank the Lord for such a wonderful boss. I decide to get online and get a ticket for air fare. I book a flight that leaves tomorrow morning. I better get to packing. My phone rings, however, interrupting me.

“Hello?” I say, closing my lap top, after confirming my purchase.

“Elody! What’s up?” Val cheerfully says.

“Not much.” I say, walking to my room, and finding my suit case. I don’t know yet if I want to tell anyone I’m leaving. I decide to just tell Val, but make her promise not to tell anyone. “Actually… I’m packing.”

“Packing? For where?”

“Are you alone right now?”

“Yeah, I’m on my way home from work. Why?”

“Good. I only want you to know, so promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

“What’s going on, Elody? Is everything okay?”

“Yes. Everything is fine. I just want to get away for a while.”

“How long is a while? Where are you going?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m going home.”

“Don’t do anything yet, I’m coming over.”

“Val… you don’t have to…”

“I’ll see you soon!” She hangs up, not letting me finish my sentence. A short time later, the doorbell rings. “What’s going on?” She asks, as soon as I open the door.

“Come in.” I say, opening the door to let her in, and closing it behind her. She follows me, as I walk back to my room. “I’m going to go to Orange Beach, it’s where I grew up. I’m going to lay on the beach, and just relax for a while, not have to worry about Zach for a while.”

“I told you he’d come around…”

“No one has seen him in days.”

“I’m sure he’s fine, he has a tendency to be gone for days at a time, anyway.” As if on cue, her phone rings from her pocket. She answers. “Hey, babe. I’m at Elody’s place. I’ll be home soon… Oh, he’s back now? Well what a coincidence… we were just talking about him. Is he over at our place right now? Okay. I’ll see you soon. Love you.” She hangs up the phone. “Zach is back, now. He’s over at my place, if you want to come over, maybe you guys could talk.”

“If he wanted to talk to me, he would’ve answered my phone call yesterday, or came by the apartment.”

“How long are you planning on being gone?”She says, realizing she can’t sway me.

“Several weeks, at least.”

“Are you going to come back for Thanksgiving?”

“I wasn’t planning on it…”

“C’mon. I want you to be there with us. The band always gets together for dinner that night.”

“Good thing I’m not part of the band then.”

“Oh, please, Elody. You’re family to those guys, and me now, too. Please come back for Thanksgiving.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“We’re going to miss you, while you’re away.”

“Maybe you will.”

“The rest of the guys will, too, and you know it.”

“Not Zach.”

“That’s his loss, then. However, with you leaving for a while, and no one knowing where you are, he’ll probably come around. He’ll be worried about you.” She smiles.

“You really think that me disappearing will change his mind?”

“Yes, I do. I know it will. You’ll see at Thanksgiving dinner.”

“If I come home.”

“You will. You have to! Promise me you’ll come back for Thanksgiving. After all, I’m promising to keep you leaving a secret.”

“Fine, fine, you got me. I promise.”

“Great.” She smiles, and hugs me. “Do you need any help packing? When are you leaving? Where are you going to stay? Is there even an airport near there?” I laugh at all her questions, she’s being so protective. “I’m sorry, I just want to know what’s going on while you’re going on, so you’ll have to stay in touch.”

“It’ll have to be a secret.”

“We’ll only talk when I’m alone, promise.” I smile at her.

“Good. I don’t know where I’m going to stay, I’ll find something when I get there, I guess. My flight leaves tomorrow morning, it’ll take me to the closest airport, I’ll find my way from there. And if you want to help me pack, you can, but you don’t have to.”

--

-Two days later-

Val and I have talked twice, since I’ve arrived, once for each day I’ve been here. She’s vowed to call at least once a day, until I come home. I can tell she’s worried, and it’s hard for her to keep this a secret from everyone. Yesterday, when we talked, she said that Jimmy asked about me, but she just told him I was busy with work.

In the short time I’ve been here, so far, I’ve been so relaxed. I’m currently at the beach, lying on my towel, soaking up the sun, in my bathing suit. It feels so good, not to have anything to worry about, really, while I’m here. I can’t say, I’m not slightly worried about Zach, though. I can’t stop thinking about him. I wish he could be with me here.Suddenly the sun disappears, behind a shadow, and I sit up, removing my sunglasses, to see what’s going on. I’m greeted by a familiar face.

“Elody, is that you?” He asks me.

“Jackson?” I ask, standing up.

“Yes! It is you!” He wraps me in a hug. “I can’t believe it. Where have you been? It’s been forever!”

“Indeed it has! I live in Huntington Beach, California, now, actually, I’m just here for a little vacation.”

“You left one beach, to come to another… makes sense.” He laughs.

“Still a smart ass, I see.” I laugh.

“Always, you know I don’t change for anyone or anything.”

“Oh, I know.”

“So how have you been?”

“I’ve been doing well, I guess. How about you?”

“I’ve been great! Would you maybe want to catch up over dinner, while you’re here? I’d love to sit down and talk to you.”

“That sounds awesome.” I smile. “I’m free pretty much whenever. I have no plans, really.” I laugh.

“I see. Well then how about tonight?”

“That sounds perfect.” I tell him where I am staying, and he agrees to pick me up at five tonight. After he leaves, I head back to the hotel, although it’s nice running into Jackson, I don’t really feel like seeing anyone else from my past today.

-Hours later-

At four o’ clock, I start getting ready for dinner with Jackson. I cannot believe I ran into him. I never even thought about seeing anyone from high school, while I was here. It’s been seven years since graduation, and the last time I saw Jackson. I decided the five year high school reunion wasn’t for me, my father had just passed away, and I wanted to get out of Orange Beach. I also didn’t know how I’d react to seeing anyone, then. It’s nice seeing Jackson, again, although it brings back lots of memories. Way back when, we were an item, but we broke up just before graduation, deciding it was for the best, since we were planning on going in different directions, with college and what not.

“Wow. You look great, Elody.” Jackson says, as I answer the door later.
“You don’t look too bad yourself.” I laugh, as he escorts me downstairs, and out to his car.

Over dinner we talk about pretty much anything and everything that’s happened over the past seven years. He tells me that his mom has recently passed, and his father didn’t want to stay in Orange Beach, anymore, so he moved away. I tell him how sorry I am for his loss, I can understand how it is to lose a parent, both of them, actually. He tells me about how he’s living in his family’s house still, and how he’s remodeling the place, hoping to someday start a family of his own there. We laugh so hard we cry, and exchange all the memories from us dating in high school.

“Do you remember the time that I crashed my dads car on the way home from Aidan’s party?” He asks, whilst laughing.

“Oh my gosh. That was a great night. Although, I have to admit how surprised I am that you’re still living to this day, since your dad loved that car so.”

“Believe it or not, my mom was so happy when that car was gone. She hated how much money my dad spent on fixing that thing up. Dad was pissed, sure, but he got over it, eventually.” We both laugh, remembering the night. The waiter soon brings the check, and Jackson insists that I let him pay.

“You really didn’t have to pay for me, too.” I say, watching him hand the money to the waiter.

“Keep the change.” He says, winking at the waitress, and she blushes, walking away.

“You’re such a flirt. You always have been.”

“I’m just charming, what can I say?” He laughs. “Don’t worry about dinner. I wanted to pay.”

“Well thank you so much for taking me out, and reminiscing with me over a wonderful meal.”

“It was quite amazing, wasn’t it?” He smiles. “Ready to go home?”

“Yes, I’m ready.” On the way back to the hotel, we make small talk about all the renovations he’s done to his family’s house. “Take me by there, I want to see what you’ve done with the place.” I say, as he’s telling me about his craftsmanship.

“Really?”

“If you don’t mind having me. I’d love to see just how crafty you are.”

“Oh… you know how crafty I am.” He winks.

“I’m not talking about that.” I playfully hit his arm, as he drives to his house. When we pull in the drive way, I’m in shock, he really has done so much with the place, and I haven’t even seen the inside yet. “Wow. It looks amazing, Jack.”

“Just wait until you see the interior, this is only part of it.” He gets out of the car, and comes around to my side, opening the door for me.

“Why thank you, kind sir.” I laugh, getting out of the car.

“You’re welcome, my lady.” He laughs, as well, escorting me inside the house. I admire all of the work he’s done, and tell him how amazing all of it is.

“I love everything you’ve done. It looks great. I’m sure your mother would love it.” I smile at him.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He says, rubbing the back of his neck, nervously.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“No, it’s fine.”

“You look nervous.”

“There’s just something I’ve been wanting to do.”

“What’s that?” He steps closer to me, putting a hand at the back of my neck, bringing me in for a kiss. We pull away, and just look at each other for several moments, before saying anything.

“I’m sorry.” He finally says, breaking the silence. He takes a step away from me. “Would you like me to take you home now?” Not answering, I close the distance between us, and kiss him again. It’s been a while since I’ve had sex, and my hormones are going crazy right now. I start to pull away from the kiss, but he pulls me back in, replacing his hand behind my neck. He deepens the kiss, and picks me up. I wrap my legs around him, as he carries me into a bedroom down the hall. He lays me down on the bed, and stands back up, taking his shirt off. I take in the sight of him, as he undoes his pants, slipping them off, along with his shoes. He’s left in his boxers, as I stare at him. “Like what you see?” He asks me, seductively, and I smile.

“You’ve always had such an amazing figure.” I admire. He gets on the bed, parting my legs, and taking his place between them. I take in a sharp breath, as his hands slide up my shirt. I lean up, allowing him time to remove my shirt and bra. I lay back down, as he works on undoing my pants, and sliding them off, along with my panties. He stands back up, long enough to take his boxers off, then lays back down on top of me. He caresses my chest, sucking on each of my nipples. He works his way down, kissing my body, as he goes. I can’t take this anymore. I need him inside of me.“Please…” I beg him to hurry up. He kisses back up my stomach.

“Your body is still amazing, too. Just so you know.” He whispers in my ear, and kisses my neck. I suck in another breath, as he finds my sweet spot. I squirm under him, as he works his magic. He stops suddenly, and pulls back, causing me to whimper. He flips me over, and pulls my hips up to meet him, easing himself inside me, and starting a steady pace.

I moan out in pleasure, feeling myself release for the first time tonight. I’ve forgotten, almost, how good it feels. The last time I had sex was in a car with Zach, weeks ago. I’ve missed this feeling of sweet release. Jackson releases inside me, sometime later, and lies beside me. I nestle into the side of him, pulling the covers over us.

“How many times was that?” He asks, referring to how many times I came, as opposed to his one.

“At least three.” I laugh. He wraps his arm around me, and kisses my forehead.

“Now, are you ready to go back to the hotel?” He laughs.

“Actually, I’m comfortable right here.”

“I won’t argue with that.” He says, kissing me.

Notes