Humping Her Hero

by Emmaline Wade

  “Oh, thank you all so much! I certainly appreciate everything.”

  Melly, the most adventurous of the group, grinned wickedly at her confidants. “You’ll love the peppermint candy panties and bra! Why just the other night Todd was nibbling them off me and-”

  “Too much information!” Holding up a hand, Lindsay waved erratically. “Too much information, Melly! Too much information.”

  Never one to be upset, Melly simply smiled confidently at her dear companions. “Well, the cop will love them!”

  Annie felt the need to set the record straight. “There’s nothing between us. John is a wonderful person and that’s all. He certainly is not interested in me.”

  Fern glanced at Annie, inspecting her dear friend carefully. “I wonder if you’re interested in him.”

  Before Annie could utter a response there was a knock on her door and she was grateful for the interruption. With her friends examining the provocative and sexy gifts, Annie excused herself. She opened the door… and nearly melted with both relief and dreaded embarrassment.

  John Connell stood in the entryway wearing an ancient pair of jeans, a black winter jacket, and a serious expression on his face. Annie swallowed and gazed into the dark blue eyes. An inner sense of peace began to shadow across her soul. John is here…

  John leaned on his cane and eyed the woman before him, wondering now if he should have come. Annie Perry looked absolutely adorable in her loungewear and pink slippers. Outwardly Annie appeared poised, and yet…John wondered what emotions were hidden just under the surface. Now, John rubbed a hand over his chin and knew he should have at least shaved.

  It was Annie that spoke first. “It’s wonderful to see you.”

  John hoped that Annie meant the sincere words, but then knew that Annie was the sweetest person that he had ever known. “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”

  For a brief moment it appeared as if John was going to turn and leave, but Annie grabbed his arm. “Please stay. I’d really like it if you’d stay and we could talk.”

  John nodded his head. “Sure.”

  Annie opened the door wider and John walked carefully into the apartment. She noticed that John did not limp as much, and she wanted to ask him about the physical therapy as well as his healing process. John heard the laughter coming from a different room and turned toward Annie. Obviously the woman was not alone this evening like Milt had suggested.

  “Look you have company so-”

  “We were just about to leave,” Melly said as she and the others quickly grabbed their winter jackets and purses. John noticed wine glasses and appetizers on the coffee table, as the women inspected him intently without trying hard to hide their curiosity. Wrapped packages were opened and John noticed the gifts lying on the beige couch. He hid his grin and glanced at Annie. She stood by his side as her friends scrambled to grab their belongings. The apartment was large and decorated early for the upcoming holiday season. John noticed nearly a dozen various Christmas trees displayed throughout the open floor plan, even though it wasn’t even time for Thanksgiving. The place smelled of gingerbread, making John feel immediately at home.

  “John, these are my friends,” Annie began to introduce. “That’s Melly, Lindsay, and Fern is in the corner grabbing her purse.”

  John nodded his head at the women. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.”

  Melly stepped forward and boldly glanced from John to Annie and then back to John. “Actually the pleasure is all ours. We wanted to meet the man that saved Annie. Be sure to ask her about the gifts she received this evening.”

  The three friends waved their farewells to John as Annie escorted the lively bunch to the door. After her friends left, Annie walked into the living room to see that John had picked up the fur trimmed handcuffs and was holding them in his hands.

  His gaze had not missed the Mrs. Claus inspired teddy or the peppermint candy panties and bra. With laughter etched on his face, John turned toward Annie and held up the handcuffs. “These cuffs are a little different than mine, Annie.”

  Shaking her head at her friends’ antics, Annie walked toward John and grabbed the cuffs from him. She could smell the scent of his cologne, causing her heart to grow warm. Annie glanced up and shook her head at the man that she cared so much about.

  “I, ah, my friends got these for me and, ah,-”

  “I didn’t know you were into the kinky stuff, Annie,” John grinned at her, his face becoming more relaxed.

  With a red tint of embarrassment sprouting onto her cheeks, Annie shook her head and held up her hands. “I’m not, I swear. It was just that my friends got me some gifts and, well this is embarrassing.”

  John gently laid his hand on Annie’s arm. “I’m just teasing. I like it when you smile.”

  Pleased by his words, Annie shyly grinned at the man that had saved her life. Annie motioned for John to sit on the sofa as she picked up the discarded wrapping paper and presents. John chuckled as Annie grabbed the teddy, edible panties and bra, as she tried to shield them from his view.

  “You can go ahead and hide the Mrs. Claus nighty thing and candy underwear and bra. I didn’t see them.”

  Annie threw a pillow at John and began to laugh. “Again, these were gag gifts. I didn’t purchase these items myself.”

  John relaxed on the couch and glanced around Annie’s apartment. It felt incredibly homey. The furniture was new, yet very comfortable. John could easily imagine taking a nap on the couch or watching a sporting event on Annie’s large television screen and then mentally kicked himself, knowing he had no right to think such a thought.

  Several pictures were prominently hung around the house of various family members in brightly colored picture frames. Dark green houseplants were situated throughout the room and John noticed three incredible paintings displayed against the far wall.

  “These paintings are amazing,” John told Annie as he stood up from the couch and ambled his way across the room. After putting her gifts away, she walked toward John with a bright smile on her face.

  “You really mean that? You like these paintings?”

  John continued to gaze at the vivid colors on the canvas. The paintings of the morning sun were unlike anything he had ever seen. The vivid sense of color was purely magnificent. John whistled and turned his attention to Annie.

  “I’m not a huge art person, but whoever painted these obviously has a lot of talent. They’re exceptional.”

  Pleased by his words, Annie nodded her head in agreement. “I’ve always enjoyed the paintings. Would you care for something to drink, John? Or something to eat?”

  “I feel like a Scotch, but could use a glass of water.”

  “Well, I don’t have any Scotch, so water it is.”

  John took a seat as Annie walked toward the kitchen. It was pleasant to be around her and John was relieved the other women had left for the evening.

  “How’s your body doing, John?”

  A pair of eyes turned in Annie’s direction and she noticed the humor. “Excuse me?”

  Annie handed John a glass of water and sat near the end of the couch. “That came out wrong. I meant to ask how you’re feeling. Your physical therapy.”

  “I’m doing just fine, Annie. I’m at the precinct every day doing desk work and will be glad once I’m on active duty again.”

  Annie digested that information. “Do you get hurt often?”

  John heard the concern in the woman’s voice and his chest tightened. “I’ve always just gotten a few bumps and bruises, Annie. Nothing you need to worry about.”

  Annie heard the words and nodded her head. “Is that your polite way of telling me to mind my own business?”

  “Not at all. Normally I’m not a very polite person, but you can ask me anything.”

  “You’ve always been polite to me,” Annie insisted and looked directly into the hardened face. “Always…”

  “I wasn’t very nice to you when you brought food to the station,�
� John reminded her. “I was an ass. Plain and simple.”

  Immediately, Annie was shaking her head in protest. “You had just gotten hurt and I was the cause of it. I can certainly understand if you were upset with me.”

  John swore and eyed the beautiful woman. “You were never the cause of getting attacked or me getting hurt, Annie. The asshole that attacked you was the cause of it. You were merely walking out of the office building and trying to hail a cab when that jackass decided to pounce on you.”

  Remembering the attack was sometimes therapeutic…but also haunting. Tears streamed down Annie’s cheeks as she focused her attention on the man near her. John had taken off his black winter jacket earlier and was now sitting in a t-shirt that was tucked into his faded jeans. Annie had been around several men from work, but none of them had ever looked so masculine. None of them had ever captured her attention ....not like John.

  “You came here tonight to check on me, didn’t you?”

  John heard the soft-spoken words and saw no need to lie to the woman. “Yes. Milt expressed some concern and-”

  “Ah!” Annie bounced to her feet and grabbed the fuzzy blanket where it had been tossed earlier, near the chair. She wrapped it around her slim shoulders and tucked her feet under herself as she resumed sitting on the couch. “Oh, I can’t believe my father asked you to come here. I-”

  “Listen to me, Annie. This isn’t about your father asking me to do anything. I asked him how you were doing and he expressed a few concerns. It was my idea to come here tonight.”

  Annie didn’t say anything for several seconds and John continued to stare at her. The truth needed to be spoken. “I wanted to come here tonight, Annie. I needed an excuse to see you.”

  “You did?”

  John nodded his head and grinned. “Yeah. I’ve gotten used to seeing you around and-”

  “Look, I’m not some little girl who needs protecting. I was attacked and I fought back,” Annie’s voice was low. “That’s all that happened.”

  John shifted his body and reclined further into the sofa. “Okay.”

  “What do you mean ‘okay’? You’re not going to ask me to talk about my feelings like everyone else has?”

  Shaking his head, John directly met her gaze. There was fire and passion within Annie, and he admired her for it.

  “No. Your feelings are your feelings and you’re entitled to feel however you want to about the situation.”

  Annie shook her head in agreement and John noticed tears gathering in her eyes. Unable to speak, Annie’s tears streamed down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away and hoped John hadn’t noticed that her composure was slipping.

  “I’m so sorry that you got hurt, John,” Annie sobbed as her body shook with outrage. John knew the feelings that Annie had kept hidden were now bubbling to the surface. He held his arms open and Annie maneuvered her body near his. Still wrapped tightly in the cozy blanket, Annie cuddled by John’s side. He placed a protective arm around her slender shoulders and let her cry.

  “I’m just so sorry that you got hurt.” It was the unfortunate essence of guilt that ransacked her body. John had gotten hurt… because of her…and nothing had changed that.

  John gently began rubbing her back and let Annie free her emotions. “Everything is going to be okay, Annie.”

  Annie sighed and wanted to believe John. “Can you hold me for awhile? Just for a moment…”

  John tightened his grip on Annie and brought her closer to his body. He wanted so desperately to heal Annie’s pain and protect her. It felt so right to gather her in his strong arms. “Of course, I will hold you. I’ll be with you for as long as you need me.”

  5

  Melly Jones waved her arms in the air. “Guess who’s back in town? Guess! Guess!”

  Annie Perry placed her coffee cup on the clean, modern looking table and focused her attention on her best friend. The coffee shop was bustling on this early Saturday morning, and Annie noticed that several patrons were busy purchasing a variety of pastries. For a moment, she thought of buying a box of assorted breakfast goodies and surprising the Connell brothers with the special treat.

  Melly Jones was waving her hands in the air with exaggerated excitement. “Guess who’s back in town?”

  “Let me guess, one of your former boyfriends is back in Arlington.”

  Melly shook her head and scrunched her nose, a habit she had done since she was a small child. Melly leaned forward in her chair as if whispering top-secret information. “Nick Station! The Nick Station is back in town.”

  Annie smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “That’s exciting. I haven’t seen Nick in years.” Melly smirked because she had loads of information to share with her best friend. The medium sized brunette pursed her lips and looked pointedly at Annie.

  “He’s single! And Nick has always had a crush on you.”

  Annie chuckled at her good friend and ran a hand through her long, unruly hair. “I don’t remember him ever having a crush on me.”

  “He did,” Melly insisted. “Plus he’s single now and he asked about you the other day when I saw him. He’s into real estate and his office is only a few blocks from the hospital. He saw me in my nurse’s scrubs the other day and struck up a conversation.”

  Clearly, Melly was more excited about Nick Station moving back to the area than Annie was.

  “I think you should go out with him,” Melly persisted and took a sip of her flavored coffee.

  Annie’s mind was beginning to whirl at the prospect of going on a date with Nick Station and she shook her head. “I have no desire to go on a date with Nick.”

  Melly rolled her eyes. “It’s Nick Station! I mean the Nick Station! He was gorgeous in grade school and is still great looking.”

  Annie shook her head at her much loved friend. Leave it to Melly to mention the man’s looks. “Look I highly doubt that Nick Station would ever ask me out and even if he did, I would have to decline.”

  “This is about the cop, “ Melly proclaimed. “I just knew it.”

  “John has nothing to do with me not wanting to go on a date with Nick,” Annie informed her dear friend.

  “John has everything to do with that,” Melly argued. “You’re so grateful to the man for saving you that you have some warped sense that you can’t be with anyone else.”

  Annie leaned forward in her chair so their conversation would become more private. “It’s nothing like that. John and I have a very unique friendship.”

  Melly pursed her lips. “So you guys are friends now?”

  “Of sorts,” Annie hedged. “I believe that John will always be a part of my life now, after the circumstances that we’ve been through.”

  “You’re attracted to him, aren’t you?”

  Annie took a sip of her coffee and nodded her head. “Yes. I’m very attracted to him.”

  Melly sat up square in her seat and folded her arms across her chest. “I wish you wouldn’t be. I think that John Connell will only break your heart.”

  “How can you say that? The man saved my life.”

  Melly wished for a cigarette at the moment, but stuck a straw in the side of her mouth to chew on. “I think John’s a nice man and I’ll always be thankful that he helped you, but I don’t think he’s a good match for you.”

  The words stung, but Annie was thankful for Melly’s insight and friendship. “You did buy me the sexy gifts and-”

  “Those were gag gifts!” Melly threw her head back and laughed. “Gag gifts!”

  With a large amount of female pride, Annie ruefully eyed her best friend. “Well, maybe I’ll just use the gifts on John.”

  “Who brought the muffins and rolls?”

  John strolled into the kitchen and saw a medium sized box full of assorted pastries on the counter. Sam was watching sports highlights on television and answered over his shoulder, “I’ll give you one guess.”

  “So my little redhead was here to visit,” John murmured and grabbed a large cho
colate muffin.

  Sam took a bite from his lemon bar and nodded his head. “That would be her. Annie just dropped the box off, asked if you were okay, and left about five minutes ago.”

  John scratched the scruff of hair on his chin and strolled toward the refrigerator. “I wish you would have woken me up.”

  Sam hid his grin and focused his attention on the television screen. “The doctor told you to rest and I didn’t know how long you’d be asleep.”

  After taking a long gulp of orange juice from the jug, John took the container and his over-sized muffin into the living room. “Well, in the future if Annie shows up could you wake me up?”

  “Certainly big brother,” Sam insisted and rotated his dark eyes mischievously. “What if anyone else shows up? Did you want me to wake you up?”

  John flipped his brother off and Sam laughed.

  There was grin on Sam’s face when he said, “Your relationship with Annie is starting to sound like, Will Miss Perry marry?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” John asked.

  “I thought it was a catchy little joke…but maybe I’ll work on it some more, maybe….I’ll tease you with Who will Miss Perry marry?”

  “I have no idea what in the hell you’re talking about,” John stated, knowing that he did not want to ask his brother any further questions.

  Sam let the subject drop…for now. “All kidding aside I do like her, John.” The detective remained silent and Sam glanced at his older brother. “So what’s the deal with Annie? Does she have a boyfriend or is she seeing anyone?”

  Shaking his head, John glared at the twenty-two year old. “You’re not asking her out.”

  Pleased with the response, Sam chuckled. “I have no intention of asking her out. Annie is clearly interested in you.”