“Okay so you suffer now with this rock in case some day you need it. I’m not sure about you, but that doesn’t make any sense to me. The hospital sent me home with some crutches. Would you like those too?”
Seth ran his fingers up the bottom of her sock covered foot and she pulled back. He hoped he hadn’t hurt her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Just very…ticklish. And before you do it again, I’m warning you. Connor is hired to protect me. I can’t be held responsible for what he does if I start screaming,” she giggled, shaking her finger in the air.
“I don’t think this would be considered putting you in any danger,” he said running his finger up her foot again.
She giggled again and added, “I’m warning you Seth. It won’t end well for you.”
“I’m not afraid of Connor,” he said raising his hand a third time.
Charlene pulled her feet off him and quickly tucked them beneath her as she lunged at him. Her fingers ran up the sides of his ribs. He wasn’t ticklish but no way was he about to tell her that. She straddled him and continued her attack.
“I warned you Mr. Lawson. You were messing with the wrong person,” Charlene laughed.
He grabbed hold of her hands and said in a husky voice, “My turn to warn you, you’re not getting the reaction you might have thought you were.”
She stopped and looked at him, wide-eyed, as though she just realized what he was saying. All that grinding on his lap, made things…hard.
Charlene moved to get off him, but the hands that rested on her hips, held her in place. “Are you sure I’ve been punished enough?” he teased. “If not, I think I might need to have Connor wait outside.”
Charlene looked around the room and was blushing when she turned back to him. “You can let go now.”
“Can I expect this type of reaction every time I tickle you?” I can only hope.
“No. I went gentle on you this time. You won’t get off so lucky next time,” she said sliding back onto her side of the couch. She put her feet back up onto his lap. “And I’m trusting you not to tickle me again.”
“You have my word. I’ll keep my hands to myself.” Even if it kills me. “Since we’re finished with TV and tickle time, is there anything else you’d like to do?”
Charlene asked, “Yes. Tell me about this place.”
“You mean my home?” he asked. She nodded. “What do you want to know?”
“It doesn’t seem to represent you. I mean, unless you’re old and boring, which I highly doubt.”
“Pushing forty, and I would like to think I’m not boring. I can see how my décor might not reflect that. But each piece represents a different generation.”
“You mean your family’s history?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m the keeper of what was once important.” It wasn’t any longer. At least not in the way it used to be.
“Tell me more.”
At one time, he’d have walked proudly through this room explaining each painting or statue. Now all he wanted was to box them up and put them in storage. But not saying anything would only pique her interest more.
He pointed to the largest painting. “That is the first sky scrapper my family built in the early 1800’s. Still standing by the way. And over there,” he pointed to a bridge, “that was the first time Lawson Steel was used to make a lift bridge for trains. My family worked very closely with the designer on that one.”
“Very impressive. And what about the statue? Unless you tell me Lawson Steel was used in her corset, I can’t picture what she represents.”
Seth loved how she could bring humor into everything. “That was my great-grandmother. She was known throughout New York City for her volunteer work during the war. She would gather all the women up and have them cook and bring food to the wounded soldiers who had returned from the war.”
“The Lawson name really is rooted deeply in New York. I can see why you never left.”
“That was a long time ago. Things change,” he said.
“From what I see, you’re still very much involved in the community. Maybe not in the same way, and definitely not so…publicly either.”
He looked down at her. “I didn’t realize you were so interested in the Lawsons.”