"Come away with me in the night. Come away with me. And I will write you a song."- Norah Jones
Prelud 1: Come Away With Me to listen the theme song please click here.
Written By: Kelly Zollo
June 12, 2003
Scene 1: 1962 Parkview Ln., West Lake, NY; Pool Area
The waiters and guests are in attendance at the Donovan Estate for the annual start of the summer celebration, music is filtering through the house, the sun setting on the horizon. It’s the perfect weather outside on the lawn by the pool, where various guests have gone mainly the young and under thirty. Fresh out of high school, or halfway through college the conversation inside with the older group not fitting to their evening.
Hannah Donovan is outside by the pool enjoying the annual party for the first time in years, her mother was shockingly sober and her dather wasn’t out whoring around. Instead they were a family at a family party, thanks to her brother. Jake being home had changed a lot of things over the last few weeks, for the better. She would even venture to say normal, if it wasn’t for her friend making puppy dog love eyes at her brother.
“Really?” Hannah finally asks, looking at her best friend and raising her eyebrows at Vanessa.
“What?” Vanessa replies, shrugging her shoulders.
Hannah taps her fingers against her glass at her friends attempt to not even admit it, that she has been eyeing her brother for weeks now with Jake eyeing her right back. Ever since Jake had come home from college for the summer in May, they had been looking at each other. Not that they hadn’t look at each other before they had, they had grown up with each other. This time it was different, this time it was that awkward do we or don’t we looking.
Sighing Hannah looks at her again before speaking wishing that she would just own up to it before she had to do something to make it happen.
“You know what.”
Vanessa turns around to ready to retort when her brother Cade appears, wrapping his arms around Hannah’s waist and handing her the small gold bracelet. Hannah returns the gesture, grinning at him from ear to ear before kissing him. When they both hear Vanessa behind them at an attempt to break up the display of affection Cade speaks.
“You should be used to it by now Vanessa,” he says grinning at his twin.
“Ignore her babe, she’s just being temper mental about her and my brother. Denying that there is even a hint of something going on...,” Hannah says, intertwining her hand with Cade’s.
“Yeah, still right here guys you don’t have to talk about me as if I am not standing right in front of you.” Vanessa attempts, failing miserably.
Cade sees his sister’s expression and can’t help but goad her along with Hannah, “You’re sweet on Jacob Donovan, dad is going to have a field day with this one isn’t he?”
She knows that her hand has been caught in the cookie jar by both her brother and Hanna,h as the two of them stare at her declaration before bursting into laughter. She can’t help the small flash of disbelief that she shows, before her own grin breaks out as Hannah move towards her and gives her a hug. Pulling back and taking Cade’s hand to walk inside the house, no doubt going to her room. That thought alone sends her head shaking the last thing she wants to think about is her brother’s sex like with Hannah. Looking back up for her eyes to meet Jake’s briefly before turning on her heel to go find a long and cool drink.
Scene 2: 1962 Parkview Ln., West Lake, NY; Guest Bathroom
Spotting Jake head into the bathroom from outside by the pool Austin kisses Kate Porter before excusing himself to follow his friend. Determined to find out the story about what was going on so that he could tell Kate. Jake had assured him and everyone else for weeks that nothing was going, but the way his friend was looking at Vanessa was just sad. Kate had said it best when she stated that Jacob Donovan looked at Vanessa Harvell like he had found a cute fuzzy teddy bear that he couldn’t wait to show off to the world.
“So you want to talk about what is going on?” Austin asks, as he approaches his friend inside of the many bathrooms inside of the Donovan house.
Jake can barely hear what he is saying as he splashes the water on his face replaying the scene from the other side of the pool between his sister, Cade and Vanessa before turing around to look at Austin. He has only been home a few weeks and already he can feel change with being home. His mother is no longer drinking, his father is watching his back with his affairs and his siblings seem happier now that he is home. He also has been dealing with many sleepless nights thinking of something that he shouldn’t be thinking about Vanessa Harvell.
“Meaning?” Jake asks, drying his hands before adjusting his tie.
“Meaning the serious unfinished business between you and Vanessa. Kate pointed out something pretty interesting the other day,” Austin says, looking in the mirror before adjusting his own tie.
“What’s interesting is that you guys really never look at each other at the same time. You look at her when she’s not looking. She checks you out when you look away.”
He can’t help but just look at Austin like has grown two heads of an evil monster that should be shot down with lasers from his eyes. It couldn’t be that obvious to everyone around him but him, it just couldn’t. It was a phase, he hadn’t seen her in a few years and it was natural to be attracted to a beautiful girl. He wasn’t in love with her, he wasn’t in love like his friend was with Kate Porter.
Half grinning he turns to Jake’s glare before continuing, “It’s just an interesting observation in a you know, observationally interesting way.”
Jake finishes with his tie to look at him unable to really do anything other than shrug.
“Hey, if I’m hitting a nerve.” Austin begins.
Only to be cut off when Jake leaves following him out of the bathroom and grabbing a glass of champagne from waiter on the way, before handing one to Jake.
“For the record I don’t think there is a soul in our group of friends that doesn’t know that you have been eyeing Vanessa for years. I gotta go find Kate.” Austin offers, patting his friend on the shoulders for support before leaving.
Jake can do nothing but stare at his friend as Austin walks away taking his glass to his lips and downing the liquid. Before seeing Vanessa wander through the grounds on the way to the pool house.
Scene 3: 1962 Parkview Ln., West Lake, NY; Alan's Office
Her hands are gripping his shoulders in her father’s leather office chair and his lips are devouring her cries in order to not be caught. They had made it up the stairs before his hands were all over her, sliding over the silk of her dress. Eventually she took a risk, leading him to her father’s office as payback for her father bringing his recent secretary home a few weeks back and using the same room. Every time she would try and break her lips from his, they found her and she gave up after a few moments.
“We’re so going to hell,” Cade whispers against her ear, his hips slowing his release a few moments later.
Hannah can only nod her head at him, as her orgasm overtakes her, the soft whimper she is sure being lost among the music of the party. She has been with Cade for well over three years now, they know each other inside and out, they were the prom king and queen. She is certain that he is the man that her parents expect her to marry, leaving her suddenly feeling very trapped and very suffocated at a young age. She hasn’t really even told anyone about her current feeling instead she has let things continue on normally.
“You all right?” Cade asks, kissing her forehead.
He is certain that Hannah has always driven him wild, with her vibrant personality, her ability to push the envelope when she needed too. She’s perfect red shinning hair, that glistens when the sun hits it the right way, a body that he knows God made for sin. She has been different over the past few weeks, withdrawing a bit more than normal. He is worried about her, things at home have been rough for her over the years with her mother’s drinking, her father bringing his mistresses’ home.
“I’m good,” she promises kissing him before standing up, her legs a bit unsteady from the love making.
Getting up from the chair Cade adjusts his pants, his hands redoing the buttons on his shirt while she adjusts her dress. Their recent love making places being one of the many reasons why he was worried, usually they kept it to her room or his. Instead she was pushing the limits her father’s office being one of the many that he worried out, it wasn’t like her. Instead choosing not to fight about it, a fight that he feels would be better served to be had later.
“Good. Why the office?” he asks, helping her with the zipper on her dress.
“It was closer than my room,” she lies.
Cade knows better than to take that answer from her and instead looks at her, tilting her chin up to look at him.
“Why the office?”
Hannah can feel herself start to break down biting her lip before looking at him, “He brought his secretary here last week. My mom was out Tyler and I were home, I heard them.”
Cade can feel himself get slightly ill at the thought of having sex in the same chair that Alan Donovan had most recently brought his recent lover. His skin is crawling at the thought and he has to repress it when he looks at her. She looks fragile and alone, Alan has never exactly been shy of parading his women around or his affairs but it has to hurt her. He knows that her mother has tired to repair the marriage to make it work for years, for the family.
“Ew, they didn’t...well you know with the chair did they?” he asks.
She shakes her head no at him stifling a laugh and he can feel the relief wash over him for a moment before chuckling himself.
“I’m sorry.” Cade says, reaching out and pulling her to him.
Hannah nods her head at him before burying her head in his shoulder, after a moment she pulls back. Grabbing his hand and leading him out of the office.
“Maybe with Jake being home things will be different now.”
Scene 4: 1962 Parkview Ln., West Lake, NY; Pool Guest House
Getting away from Hannah, Cade and the rest of the group with their eyes and their questions, had been Vanessa's goal. Eventually heading inside the party to grab a glass of champagne and then head back outside, making her way to the pool house. Finding the door open to her surprise, normally they kept it locked at parties instead she was greeted with an open door and a quiet bedroom where she could just sit and think. She didn’t bother to turn on the light in the room, the moonlight and the reflection of the pool cascading the room into a soft light.
She wasn’t sweet on Jacob Donovan, she just wasn’t he wasn’t her type he liked to party, he had numerous women around him. He just interested her at the moment, he had gotten older and she wasn’t going to deny it better looking. College had been good to him, but she didn’t understand why now she was feeling this way about him, thinking about him all the time. They had known each other since they were kids and it had never existed, well maybe it did in high school for a whole three weeks until Jessica Robbins threw herself at him but since then nothing.
“We normally keep this locked during parties.”
The voice startles her enough to spin around and look at Jake leaning against the doorway.
“It was unlocked. Sorry, I should go,” she mumbles, rising from the edge of the bed.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been staring at her from the doorway, admiring those long legs underneath that short dress. Admiring the way the light reflected off her hair, the way her eyes scrunched together when she was thinking. He didn’t say anything just imply watched, realizing that the only way he was going to get her out of his head was to just make a move. He nods his head at her response, stepping forward so his body brushed against hers in the dark when she rose from the edge of the bed.
He is too close for her comfort when his body brushes against hers and she can feel the heat rise in her, as her breath begins quickening, “I should go.”
He doesn’t bother to say anything to her, taking he champagne glass from her and sitting it down on his night stand. He had asked to move into the pool house when he came home a few weeks ago, needing the space from his family. His hand moves to her bare arm, moving from her wrist up to her shoulder blade stopping at the string on her dress. She intrigues him when she doesn’t push him or his hand away and he can’t help the lopsided grin that surfaces.
“We shouldn’t do this, it would only complicate things,” she manages to stutter.
Even with the statement her hands are saying something entirely different in removing his tie from his shirt and quickly undoing the buttons. She can feel the shivers on her spine, as soon as his hand touches her skin to caress her back and involuntarily she returns the favor by undoing his shirt from his pants. If they act on their attraction it will only serve to complicate things for their friendship and the friendship she shares with Hannah.
Jake looks at her his hand gently tugging at the string on her dress before wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her to him, “You’re probably right and I don’t care.”
She doesn’t get a chance to protest as his lips are crushing against hers, fighting for control all while her hands are fisting into his hair. She isn’t sure which is more important breathing or exploring him by the time her knees hit the back of the mattress, as her hands work on freeing the pants from his waist. His hands are already working at tugging the material of her dress off her body, his breathing is ragged against her lips. Even if it is wrong, he doesn’t want it to end, it is exactly how he has been picturing being with her for weeks on end.
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