The Surrogate

I would have constellations painted on the ceiling, and that would be cool at any age. I mean, I’m kind of hoping for a boy anyway, but I won’t be disappointed either way.”

“Really? I’m hoping it’s a girl,” Archie admitted. “I don’t want a reason to pass on my name. James Archibald is a name that should have died in the nineteenth century. I’ve always wanted a daughter I could spoil and cherish, and maybe raise her to a badass CEO.”

“You technically have one, remember?”

He nodded. “How could I forget? Speaking of Grace, have you got everything packed for the flight out? I have my plane ready to leave at ten in the morning tomorrow.”

“I have my suitcase packed, and I got your duffel together too. I had the housekeeper help me pick out your suit for the concert, and there a few options for your other outfits when we are there.”

“Oh, outfits!” Archie joked in a high-pitched tone. “We should have a fashion show when we get to the hotel!”

“Okay! You try on the suit, and I will stay in my parka!” Esther mocked back, ruining the teasing moment for Archie.

“I’m hoping that I will see in you much, much less, Miss Boudreaux.”

Archibald referring to her in such formal terms took Esther aback, and she hated to admit how much she was into it. Her hormones had started to settle down, but everything with Archibald was so new that she felt like an over-eager teenager when feelings like this were broached. From the look he gave her, Archie knew she felt flustered, and he relished taking back the moment. She bit into her upper lip, looking away from his intent expression that drove her a bit wild.

“We could do that tonight, maybe… if you would like to,” Esther said as she took his spare hand from the table and intertwined her fingers with his.

“I would like to, but would you like to go out for dinner first?”

“Oh my god, yes!” Esther exclaimed, the idea of romance and s*x quickly leaving her brain as she continued admitting, “I’m starving!”

****

After a bit of turbulence on the flight over and some delays in departing from New York, the made it to the middle of nowhere Michigan where the arts academy took over the mass of the hamlet that bore its name. The students did support a small downtown, which seemed the only place for students to go if they wanted to get off of campus grounds. It was there that Archie had insisted on staying at the only independently-owned accommodations that had a musically-themed cafe on the main floor. Archibald had refused to stay in any cheap commercial motel or inn that sat outside of the town’s limits off the highway like most parents visiting this weekend. Instead, their hotel was relatively quiet with only a few other guests to create noise down the halls of the tall brick building in the center of the main street.

Esther and Archie only had a few hours before they had to get ready and head over to the concert hall, but neither of them wanted to go anywhere. They instead loitered around their room, which was tiny room just big enough to be a full suite. The pale blue wallpaper and ivory comforter made the small space look more comfortable, and mimicked the tiled bathroom with old-fashioned toile wallpaper. Hanging up her garment bag, Esther could see from the corner of her gaze that Archie was twiddling his thumbs as he stared up at the ceiling, while his body lay perfectly still on the bed.

“What are thinking about, Archie?” she asked him.

“Nothing really, but I am a bit nervous about tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m going to see her for the first time.”

Her.

Esther shook her head, stepping away from the tiny closet to where Archie lay still. He smiled at her, but his expression was not really focused on her.

“She’s no different than she was before. Grace is still Grace, and that did not change.”

“I guess that’s all I focus on right now.”

Esther smirked with a wicked little idea coming to her mind and whispered, “I can think of a couple things that could distract us both and kill a bit of time.”

Archie sat up, his expression reflecting Esther’s as he got closer. She could feel his hands against her waist pressing against her skin and slowly losing their anxiousness as Archibald’s body became more focused on her. In the previous times they had been together, eagerness and newness got acted as inhibitors to the experience, but Archie was now learning just where to kiss Esther to set her off.

In the dark room, Esther crawled back into Archibald’s arms to relish in the familiarity of it all. She could not get over how good it felt to be next to him or how good he smelled even when he was sweaty. Something primal ignited inside Esther, and she relished it.

“Damn, Ess, I hate you!” he whispered. “No matter what I do, I can’t seem to get enough of you. You’re like the worst drug ever made.”

“I guess if you hate me, I can go get another room,” Esther teased, pulling away, but he locked his arm around her waist.

“Oh, you aren’t going anywhere!”