The Cover-Up Ch. 01

Hi, everyone! This is my first submission to the site, so I hope you all like it. Comments would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, and/or anything else you can think of to write down. I'm interested to know what you guys think of the story so far. 

DISCLAIMER: Any resemblances to real people or locations (with the exception of cities, states, etc.) are purely coincidental. I'm sure that some of the locations I use are in fact real, but for the sake of the story, pretend that they're not.

Thanks, and enjoy!

-M

Annalie had already fallen asleep by the time Rick slipped back into bed. He had something he needed to tell his sleeping girlfriend, but that could wait for the morning. She looked peaceful as she slept, and he didn't want to spoil that with bad news. She even looked somehow sexy the way she slept on his bed that night, he had to admit to himself. It probably had something to do with her mussed up light brown waves spread across her crisp white pillow, he thought. Well, that and the fact that she was wearing one of his shirts, only buttoned twice in a teasing manner. He turned to switch off the lamp next to the bed before pressing his chest into her back and planting a kiss on her forehead.

He tried to ignore the part of his brain that was telling him it was the last time he'd get to hold the much-younger woman he'd fallen for before slipping into a fitful sleep.

"Good morning, baby," Annalie whispered after waking up from a very satisfying dream. It used to startle her to see Rick watching her as she woke up, but now it was one of her favorite parts of the day. She couldn't describe the feeling she got when he did it, but she definitely couldn't get enough of it.

He answered her greeting with a brief smile and turned to his right to grab a cup of coffee he'd brewed after getting out of the shower half an hour earlier. "I couldn't sleep this morning, so I made you some of your favorite."

She mumbled a 'thank-you' before greedily drinking the not-quite-hot-anymore brew. He was right, this was her favorite. "Mmmm, Irish cream. I love it." She couldn't help but think she was going to have a great day. No day that started with Irish cream could be bad, right?

"No need to thank me."

"So, what's on the agenda today? You don't usually wear ties on Saturday, not that I'm complaining."

He ignored her flirtations before looking self-consciously at his blue and white striped neckwear.

"It looks great, hon. Don't worry," she assured him with a hand on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat quickening, as if he was nervous about something, which instinctively made her wonder if the events from her dream were really about to come true. It would certainly explain his attire. He knew suits were a turn-on for her, after all.

"Thank you," he replied softly before taking her hand in his. He squeezed it without thinking, trying to gain the courage to say what he needed to say. It certainly wouldn't be easy.

She had been staring at their hands, imagining what her ring would look like--a big diamond? a tastefully-sized family heirloom?--and was brought out of her admittedly-greedy daydream when Rick whispered her name.

"There's something I need to tell you, but let me start off by saying that I am incredibly, incredibly sorry."

"Rick, what's wrong?"

"I'm married."

She shook her head in defiant disbelief. "You're divorced."

"Separated," he eventually amended.

He silently unlocked his hand from hers before reaching into the drawer of his bedside table. She couldn't see what he was doing, but her breath caught in her throat when she saw the silver band glinting on his left hand.

"What is that?" she asked, still disbelieving. The fact that the wrong one of them now wore a ring did not go over her head. She couldn't stop the tears anymore.

"It's my wedding ring," he answered with his head hanging. "I haven't worn it for eight months. Eight long months. I miss my family, Anna. I'm so sorry."

She lifted her gaze to his, and through her tears, she could see that his dark brown eyes looked not only tired, but also sincere. She knew at that point that it would be a waste of her time an effort to fight for him. Whoever his wife was (She couldn't help but to imagine what she looked like. Every version she could imagine was perfect, though.), she had won.

"I can't believe this," she eventually said through an exasperated sigh.

"I know I should have said something soon-"

"No, I meant that I can't believe I wasted the last six months of my life on you. You're a fucking prick, you know that? Hell, your name even rhymes with it!" She knew it was a lame point, but she made it, anyway.

"Anna..." He made the mistake of grabbing her elbow with his left hand. She immediately pulled back angrily. Her baby blue eyes now held a fiery glint after her tears quickly went away. Her sadness had been replaced with a stubborn anger, one she was unfamiliar with.

"Don't touch me with that thing."

His entire body slumped, making him resemble a kicked puppy. He felt like shit, and part of him--a small, yet growing part--wished he could restart the morning and take everything back. He knew he wouldn't even if he could, though. He was still in love with his wife, after all, and pretending not to be hurt him more than the look on Annalie's face did.

"I'm sorry."

"Save it, Rick. I'm leaving."

It was then that she remembered that she had on his shirt, which gave her an idea. She buttoned it up most of the way before ripping fiercely down the middle. They could hear the buttons land loudly on the oak wood floors in various places.

"Here you go," she said with a sarcastically cheerful tone, "Thanks for letting me borrow it."

Without the shirt on, she was left only with her matching black lace bra and panty set. The sight caused a stirring in Rick's slacks that he unfortunately couldn't stop, though not for a lack of mentally scolding his growing erection.

Meanwhile, Annalie was quickly putting her clothes from the day before--a dark blue v-neck shirt and gray khaki shorts. The cool tones contrasted her nice summer tan well, and her sex hair from the previous night only added to the outfit's simple, yet sexy appeal. Even when feeling like utter crap, the 21-year-old looked gorgeous.

As she left Rick's bedroom, she laughed silently at his predicament.Serves you right, Prick.

She slipped on her black sandals at the front door to his apartment and left after saying a few parting words to the man she wished to be over very soon. "Sorry about your shirt!"

She slammed the door shut, signifying what she hoped would be the last time she ever had to see him in her life.Goodbye, Rick Atford.

***

After hastily, and loudly, leaving Rick's apartment and letting herself cry for a few minutes in her car, Annalie drove to her childhood home, which was a good three hours away from the city in which she attended college at Mountain View University. She arrived early in the afternoon, much to the surprise of her mother, father, and 18-year-old brother, Ian. She explained her impromptu visit with a dismissive wave of her hand, while saying, "I just missed my family." Her poor word choice immediately caused her to think of her ex and how he was probably already spending time with his own family.

She shook the thought from her head and asked her mom if she needed any help with cooking lunch. Her mother wordlessly answered by smiling and tossing her daughter an apron.

"So, how's school treating you? Getting good grades?"

"Yeah, I'm doing well so far," she said with a quick nod, "I like my new classes."

"Are there any boys you like in your new classes? You haven't mentioned anything in the way of your love life since you broke up with Alex in January."

Annalie coughed conspicuously on some water before casually cracking an egg in a bowl. "Nope, not really. I've been focusing more on the lectures, I guess."

"Oh, come on! I may be getting old, but I know what it's like in college, sweetie. There has to be one guy that's caught your eye."

"Well..." Annalie caved for her mother's benefit.

"Spill!"

"There's one guy, but he's kind of, umm, attached at the moment."

Her mom wiped her hands off on her apron and brought her daughter in for a hug. "Do you really like him, hon?"

Annalie's only response was a nod against her mother's shoulder. She bit back her tears, thankful for the fact that her mother couldn't see her face.

"If that's the case, then be patient. Most college romances end before you can blink your eye."

Too bad he wasn't in college. Although, Annalie reminded herself that relationships with men who are almost twice her age should probably have shorter shelf lives than the college flings her mother spoke about. She and Rick lasted longer than they should have, anyway.

"Thanks, mom."

"You're welcome, sweetie. Now, let's get back to work on those meatballs!"

Annalie decided to take advantage of the extra set of clothes in her trunk and stayed the night at her parents home. The familiarity was comforting, and if she was being honest, she really did miss her family. She found that it was hard to go from seeing them almost every day during the summer to seeing them only occasionally while she was studying at school. At least her brother would be joining her at MVU the following year, if he chose to accept his baseball scholarship.

Ian was glad to see his sister at home, too, even if it was only a brief visit. His sister's absence always made him feel sorry for his friends who didn't have siblings, mostly because his parents, though he loved them, tended to drive him a little crazy. He couldn't imagine having to grow up without his sister there to keep him sane.

He poked his head in his sister's room after she told him he could open the door, and she quickly noticed that he looked ready for a day on the beach.

"Hey, sis, wanna hang out today? It's still warm enough to go swimming at the lake, if you wanna come with me."

"Sure! That sounds like fun. Just let me put my suit on first, and I'll meet you downstairs."

"Great!" he answered excitedly, "I'll go throw some stuff in the car, then."

After about fifteen minutes, they were both ready for a day at their favorite summertime spot, Ketterman Lake. The drive to the lake only took a few minutes, and they quickly had spots picked out on the hot sandy beach.

"I can't believe it's still in the 90s in September," he commented while they both covered themselves with sunscreen.

"I can't remember the last time it was this hot this time of year."

"It's a good thing we remembered the umbrella!" he joked, smirking at his sister for forgetting to grab it on their way out the door.

She simply stuck her tongue out at him before he took off for the water, splashing obnoxiously upon his entrance.

"Damn, that felt good!" he howled from the lake after getting drenched from head to toe. The water had caused his dark brown hair to look almost black in the sunlight, which was a stark contrast to his white trunks.

"I'll stay over here for now!" She didn't feel like being splashed just yet, and she knew that's what would happen if she joined him right away.

"Suit yourself!" he hollered before turning his full attention to a scantily clad classmate who swam past him playfully.

Annalie pulled her sunglasses from her bag and put them on before deciding she wanted to build a sandcastle.At least we remembered the shovels and buckets!She quickly set to work on her castle, constructing the first tower.

"Hey, you should put in a moat. Keep out the thieves and common folk, y'know?"

The voice caught her off-guard, and forced her to abandon Chateau de Moyer. She looked up and saw that the voice belonged to a classmate from her creative writing class, Eric Whitley. She smiled up at him before handing him a shovel.

"I'm hiring you as my executive assistant digger. Do you accept the position?" she asked, giggling.

"What an honor!" He smirked at her before plopping next to her and sitting cross-legged in the sand. "Damn, you'd think this stuff would be softer, but it isn't."

"It's pretty itchy, but it gets better. Or maybe my shins are just numb."

"I'm a master moat digger, just so you know. You made a great decision," he told her with a wink.

She blushed slightly, reminding herself that her cheeks were just hot, that's all. They both went to work on their castle after that, with him digging a four-inch-deep moat and her constructing a third tower. They worked quietly and amiably for around fifteen minutes before thoughts of Rick washed over her yet again. She needed to start a conversation to distract herself.

"So, who are you here with today? Your girlfriend?"

"Nope, no girlfriend. I've been single since late last year," he said nonchalantly, as if it didn't bother him at all. "I came with a buddy of mine from high school, actually, but he got called into work, and that's when I decided to take a little stroll down the beach and saw you sitting here all alone, you poor thing!"

She shot him a glare before slinging some sand playfully, yet somewhat forcefully, at his tanned torso, an act which caused them both to wear matching mischievous smiles.

"Oh, it's on!" he warned her as he stood from the drawbridge he'd just finished constructing.

Annalie took off running in the opposite direction and nearly tripped over a woman who was reading on a Kindle. She hollered an apology to the woman as she continued to try to get away from Eric, who was quickly gaining ground on her. It only took another thirty seconds or so before he grabbed her, making them both tumble to the ground.

"I caught you," he said triumphantly with a wink that made Annalie's blood boil for reasons she couldn't put a finger on. It was probably something to do with Rick. Yeah, it was definitely Rick.

"Sorry about the sand back there. It just, y'know, fell out of my hands in a weird way."

"Oh, is that right?"

She began to roll over, and he complied, so he was now laying beneath her, enjoying the view. He'd never gotten the chance to know her very well in the first few weeks of their class together, but he never expected her to be this much fun. Most girls he knew were more worried about their tans than anything else at the lake, and a quick look down the beach proved his theory right. To him, her sandcastle--and the fact that her pretty face was a familiar one--seemed to draw him into her more so than anyone or anything else did that day, and he was thankful for it.

"Mhmm, it is right. I wouldn't lie about that, Eric."

"Okay, I guess I can forgive you, then," he told her as he ran his thumbs along the straps of her red-and-white striped bikini top. He continued to do so as he leaned up to whisper something in her ear. "But you've gotta do something for me first."

Annalie's heart was thumping in her chest rapidly at that point. He was definitely coming onto her, but she wasn't ready for that yet. She needed time from Rick and from dating in general, but she couldn't get the right words to form in her suddenly-very-confused mind.

"Okay, what do I have to do?" She silently cursed each word as it exited her mouth.Oh, God, what the fuck was I thinking?!

He nudged her off of him and stood up, brushing sand off his legs as she stared up at him with uncertainty. He gave her his hand and pulled her up to her feet. His mischievous smile crept back onto his face as he thought about what he was gonna do.This oughta be good!

As she was ridding herself of the sand on her legs, he quickly bent down and scooped her off the ground. "Here, I'll help you with that!" he joked as he took off for the lake.

"Eric! Put me down! Eric!" After only a few times of repeating them, her pleas were silenced by her own laughter. She had to admit she was having fun with him. Her smile was undeniable.

When he reached the edge of the lake, he slowed down to a walk, careful not to be tripped up by the water. As he edged his way through the bright blue water, her anger was reduced to a few small, playful shoves to his left shoulder.

"Eric?" Her voice came out quieter than she'd anticipated it would. He had to admit to himself that he loved the sound of her whispering his name. He groaned internally as certain thoughts of her doing just that in a more private setting popped into his head.

"Hmm?"

"You suck." Her tongue was sticking out at him, and he was thankful that his cock was obeying his silent orders to stay soft. What the hell was she doing to him?

He had no idea how, but he was able to maintain his composure, despite the feeling he got when he first saw her tongue poking out of her mouth. Oh, the things he'd wanted to do with that tongue.

"I may suck, but you're all wet!" he retorted as he tossed her a few feet in front of himself, successfully drenching her from head-to-toe.

She shot up from the water with a playful glint in her eyes that matched the look in his deep blue ones.

She immediately began to splash him as furiously as she could. By the time she was done, he was completely drenched, just like her. He shook the water from his black curls before getting the courage to ask Annalie something he'd wanted to for at least an hour.

"Annalie, are you single?"

"Yeah, I've been single since, uhh, January." She almost forgot when she'd broken up with Alex earlier in the year.

"You have?" He looked and sounded genuinely confused as he spoke. "But what about the guy that took you to my aunt's restaurant a few times this summer? You guys were too friendly to be related to each other, I know that much."

"You...you saw us?"

"Well, yeah, you guys weren't very shy any of the times you were there." He chuckled to himself as he thought about her dates.

"Damnit!" she yelled, clearly shaken by the news that someone at her school knew about her and Rick. "Does anyone else know about this?"

"I didn't say anything to anyone, if that's what you're getting at," he said while scratching his head, "Annalie, I'm confused here. What's the big deal if someone saw you on a date?"

"I thought nobody knew about us, that's all." Her harsh tone caught him off-guard.

"Well, that's a little silly, don't you think? Of course somebody knew."

"I'm just embarrassed, I guess. I didn't mean to snap at you."

He pulled her into what he hoped was a comforting hug when he saw that her eyes were welling up. "I know it's none of my business, but what's the matter? I wanna help if I can."

She sniffled against his chest before confessing the truth to him about everything. How she met Rick when they were in the waiting room at their dentist's office, how they both agreed it was better if their friends and family were kept in the dark, how Rick broke up with her the day before, and a few other details about their relationship without embarrassing herself further with the graphic details of her sex life.

"Well, now I feel like an ass for coming onto you. I'm sorry. Though, I have today that he definitely doesn't deserve you after yesterday. It's probably best for both of you that he goes back to his wife."

"I know, but it's still difficult, y'know? Thanks for cheering me up today, though. I'd forgotten about him until you inadvertently brought him up," she said, laughing solemnly.

He squeezed her into his chest again and murmured, "you're welcome," into the top of her head.

It was then that Annalie got an idea. It was probably a horrible idea, but she hoped to God that Eric would go along with it.

"Eric, can you do something for me when we get back on campus?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, this will sound weird..."