Welcome to Blissville

by Walker, Aimee Nicole

  “Fucknugget!” Savage squawked again.

  “That’s enough out of you, Savage,” Josh said firmly before turning on me. “I can’t have him talking like that when he’s down in my salon.”

  “Really, Josh? I seem to recall the ladies hysterically laughing when Savage confessed that he liked big cocks and couldn’t lie.” I looked at him pointedly, but he ignored me and turned his ire back to the bird.

  “Bad bird,” Josh said to Savage.

  “Up yours,” was Savage’s reply. Damn, I loved that dirty bird.

  My favorite part was the nights, of course. Josh curled into me, and I had never slept better in my life, except the first night when he was instructed to wake me every two hours. He didn’t exactly follow the script when he asked questions like, “Who’s your daddy?” or “How many cocks do you see?” as he pulled down his brightly colored bikini briefs to flash me.

  Josh seemed to enjoy sleeping next to me just as much, except the night when he woke us both from thrashing around in the bed. I recognized that he was having a terrible nightmare and carefully woke him up. His eyes had been wide with fright before he closed them in relief that it had only been a bad dream.

  “Do you have these often?” I asked him while holding his shaking body close.

  “I don’t have them as frequently as I did after it happened.” He looked up at me and clarified what he was talking about because my mind was spinning all kinds of terrible things that could’ve happened to him. “I was dreaming about Bianca’s killer and the night he tried to kill me too.”

  “It’s completely normal to have nightmares after a traumatic event like that,” I told Josh. I rubbed my cheek against the top of his head and breathed him in and tried not to think about how close I had come to losing him that night. “Have you talked to someone about them?”

  “No,” he said softly. “They are getting better though. I’m not sure what triggered it, maybe it was the thriller we watched tonight or maybe I can’t get closure until I know all the facts that led to him killing Bianca. Hell, I refused to learn his name thinking that I could shut out what he did to me by not giving it any attention.”

  “It didn’t work like you’d hoped, huh?”

  “No.” Josh got quiet, and I thought he’d drifted back to sleep, but then he said, “Tell me about him.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. I didn’t want to do anything to make things worse for him. I knew that everyone processed and healed from trauma differently.

  “I am.” He sounded certain, and I had to trust that he knew what was best for him.

  “His name was Oscar Davidson.” I ran my hand up and down Josh’s back and let my fingers bounce along the bones of his spine to soothe him. “According to his wife, he confessed to her that he’d purchased a love potion from Bianca that was supposed to make her fall in love with him again. She said they’d drifted apart the last few years of their marriage and it was his attempt to put things back together again.” I dropped a kiss on Josh’s head while hoping that we never drifted apart. I’d been down that road before, and it was a helpless feeling. “He apparently slipped the potion in her drink, and instead of falling all over him, she confessed to being in love with his friend. That’s when he lost his shit and told her about the love potion.”

  “Ouch,” Josh said. “Do you believe in that love potion stuff?”

  “I’m not sure I believe it, but Oscar was convinced,” I replied. “His wife said that he came back and raged at Bianca for selling him the wrong kind of potion. That was when he practically ran you over on the sidewalk.” I pulled him tighter to me. “She knew he was upset, but she had no idea he was planning to kill Bianca.”

  “Then he saw the media release that contained his police sketch and description of his car and knew it had been me who reported him.” He turned his face up to mine and asked, “How did he know where I lived?”

  “He remembered you from the incident and probably came to town looking for you. As small as this town is, it probably was easy for him to do. He probably staked out Bianca’s house and saw you running then followed to see where you lived.” A hard tremor shook Josh’s body. “He’s dead now and can’t hurt you. I’ll do my best to make sure no one ever hurts you again.”

  After several seconds of silence, Josh said sleepily, “You have the power to hurt me more than anyone.” It was a heartfelt confession that his feelings for me ran deeper than like and it warmed my heart.

  “That’s not going to happen,” I told Josh confidently. “I’m going to fuck up, and you’re going to set me straight. We’re going to figure this out because the alternative is unacceptable to me.”

  “To me too,” Josh confessed, his voice fading as he was on the verge of falling back to sleep.

  Sleep didn’t come to me as quickly. I held Josh tight and continued to run my hand up and down his back, but it was more for my peace of mind at that point. I thought about the words we exchanged and realized just how much I meant what I said. Josh was quickly coming to mean so much to me in a frighteningly short amount of time. I expected to be alarmed by the swift changes in my life, but instead, I embraced them wholeheartedly.

  As I lay there, another pressing thought occurred to me. Christmas was around the corner, and I had no idea what the hell to get Josh. I wanted his gift to be poignant and meaningful on our first Christmas together, not something frivolous. I smiled in the darkness of Josh’s bedroom when the idea of his perfect gift came to me. It was going to be a Christmas he’d never forget.

  Just like the song said, it was the most wonderful time of the year. It was Christmas Eve, and I was surrounded by people that I loved, great food, and a festive feel in the air. I sat quietly sipping a glass of wine and watched Gabe interact with Meredith and Chaz, who honestly adored that man. It was almost gross how they hero-worshipped him. Okay, so the man saved my life and probably my heart, but I thought it was best to keep him grounded rather than inflate his ego too much.

  Gabe and Buddy had moved back to his house, and I missed them more than I was ready to acknowledge. I still saw them nearly every day, and we slept over at one another’s homes a few nights a week. I missed them when they weren’t with me, but I knew it was important to do things right and not rush into a situation that neither one of us were ready for yet.

  I learned new, adorable things about him every day, such as his love for all things Christmas. I thought I was Christmas crazy, but Gabe took the cake and ate the whole damn thing without sharing. He sang along with the music, made a list of the shows he wanted to watch then searched to see when they were airing, and woofed down cookies faster than I baked them. He even bought us matching Henley pajama shirts and flannel bottoms with snowmen on them. Then there was the date to Cincinnati to ice skate, which was the sweetest thing since he hated being cold. I kept him as warm as I could with hot chocolate, and later, my body when we returned home.

  As was our tradition, Meredith and Chaz came over for dinner and a gift exchange on Christmas Eve. I loved every minute of having them there, but I was ready for them to go home so I could be alone with Gabe. I had already decided that we would exchange our gifts that night rather than wait for Christmas morning. I knew I would be too excited to sleep. Still, I didn’t rudely push my friends out the door after we ate. I cherished every second we had together; near-death experiences made a person appreciate things more. Even so, I got a little anxious as the clock ticked closer and closer to midnight.

  Gabe decided that Chaz and Meredith had too much to drink to drive, so he drove them home while I tidied up things. He was back before I finished and immediately jumped in to help me. After we had finished, Gabe tugged me close and cupped my face in his hands.

  “I thought they’d never leave,” he confessed. “You know how much I adore them, but I’ve been dying to do this.” He started to lower his head for a kiss that I knew would put the jolly in “Holly Jolly Christmas,” so I stopped him. “What?” he asked in confusion.

>   “I want you to open your gifts first,” I told him. “If you kiss me now then we won’t get to them for hours.”

  “It’s not Christmas yet,” he said.

  I pointed to the digital clock on the microwave that read 12:01. “It is now.”

  I could tell that Gabe was trying to play off that he wasn’t excited to exchange gifts, but I knew better. He hurried to the tree and began pulling out wrapped gifts and sorting them into two piles, one for him and one for me. “Let’s do this,” he said.

  I walked to the tree at a more leisurely pace, even though I felt like a five-year-old again on the inside. Gabe reached for my hand and tugged me down to sit beside him. “You open your gifts first,” I told him.

  “No way.” Gabe shook his head. “We take turns.”

  I handed him one of his gifts, and he handed me one of mine. We argued about who went first and then we ripped into them at the same time. I pulled out a dress shirt like the one he destroyed the day of Georgia’s funeral. He opened a box set of the Lethal Weapon movies he adored. Next, I opened a stuffed, purple hippopotamus because I loved to sing that song as loud as I could just to irritate him.

  “There,” he said triumphantly, “you received a hippo for Christmas so you can stop singing about it.” That didn’t stop me from humming the melody of the song for a few seconds.

  Gabe’s funny gift from me was a coffee cup with a giant rooster on it that said: I got a big cock! I thought it went well with his collection and his laughter told me he agreed. “I’m going to use this one at work,” he proclaimed, causing me to groan.

  Gabe looked nervous when he handed me my final gift, which made me feel a little better because I felt the same about the one last gift he had yet to unwrap. “I hope you like it,” he said.

  “I’m sure I will.” I unwrapped the gift and sat staring at it for a second. He gave me the movie Meet the Parents. It was a great movie, but I didn’t understand why he was nervous. Unless… I looked up at him and found him grinning at me.

  “Open it.”

  I gasped when I saw that two airline tickets to Miami were inside. “Chaz has always wanted to go to Miami,” I said, using humor to cover the overwhelming joy I felt in my heart. Gabe was taking me home to meet his parents, and by doing so, he showed me how much I meant to him.

  “Ha ha,” Gabe replied. “I figured February would be enough notice to plan time away.”

  “It’s perfect.” Then I thanked him with a kiss. “I’m worried my gift is a letdown after yours.”

  “Not a chance.” Gabe ripped the paper off excitedly before opening the small box. He slipped his hand beneath the medallion hanging from a leather cord so that it sat in his palm. “Saint Michael, the patron saint of police officers.” He looked up, and his eyes were soft with affection when they locked on mine.

  “For the next time you piss off a seventy-year-old woman.” Again with the humor.

  “I love this, Josh.” He accepted my smartass remarks for what they were and moved on. “It’s beautiful, and I’ll wear it every day.” He gave me a crooked grin. “I never know when those seventy-year-old women will strike.” It was his turn to show me with lips and tongue how much he liked my gift.

  Our presents were soon forgotten, just as I knew they would be, and our clothes went flying. I had never once in my life thought about making love next to a Christmas tree, but it was beyond romantic. So much so, that I didn’t realize I had thought about our sexy time as making love until I was lying beside him as he slept in my bed. I started to panic at first, but then I pushed it aside. The guys who had hurt me in the past and made me feel unworthy of love were not Gabe. How we met no longer mattered to me, only our future did.

  I wanted to think that our future, as the Christmas season, looked merry and bright.

  One month later…

  My phone ringing brought me out of a deep sleep. I had to untangle myself from Josh to roll over and pick it up from the night table. I squinted sleepily at the display, which said it was an unknown caller.

  “Detective Wyatt,” I said into the phone.

  “Sorry to wake you, Detective,” said a voice I vaguely recognized. “This is Sheriff Arless Tucker with the Carter County police department.”

  I sat up straight, going on high alert. I knew that the sheriff of our county wasn’t calling me in the middle of the night for good reasons. “What can I do for you, Sheriff?”

  “I’m at the scene of what appears to be a homicide on highway twenty-two, and I was hoping to get your assistance,” Sheriff Tucker said.

  I was confused about why he’d be calling me because our jurisdiction didn’t extend out to the county highways. “Sure, Sheriff Tucker, but can I ask why you’re calling me?”

  “The victim has been run off the road and then shot in the head.” Again, I wasn’t sure where I came into play in any of it. “There was no ID on the victim, but we did find your business card in his wallet. Can you come down and ID the body?”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” A sick feeling came over me as I realized who the victim most likely was.

  To be continued…

  To Amy Keating Casey,

  If I thought of you while writing certain parts of this book, then it stands to reason that you should get the book dedication. I crazy love your enthusiasm for your favorite teams. #GoBucks #Who-Dey #Redlegs

  My ringing cellphone brought me out of a deep sleep. I had to untangle myself from Josh in order to roll over and pick it up from the night table. I squinted sleepily at the display, which said it was an unknown caller.

  “Detective Wyatt,” I said into the phone.

  “Sorry to wake you, Detective,” said a voice I vaguely recognized. “This is Sheriff Arless Tucker with the Carter County Sheriff’s Department.”

  I sat up straight, going instantly on high alert. I knew that the sheriff of our county wasn’t calling me in the middle of the night just to say howdy. “What can I do for you, Sheriff?”

  “I’m at the scene of what appears to be a homicide on highway twenty-two and I was hoping to get your assistance,” Sheriff Tucker said.

  I was confused about why he’d be calling me because our jurisdiction didn’t extend out to the county roads and highways. “Sure, Sheriff Tucker, but can I ask why you’re calling me?”

  “The man has been run off the road then shot in the head.” Again, I wasn’t sure where I came into play. “There was no driver’s license on the victim, but we did find your business card in his wallet. Can you come down and ID the body?”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” A sick feeling came over me as I realized who the victim most likely was. I disconnected the call and just sat there for a few minutes. If it was indeed Nate Turner, then what the hell was he doing in my county? I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was coming to find me and had brought hell with him.

  Josh let out a sweet sigh and the sound made me want to say fuck it and snuggle back down in the blankets with him. My conscience wouldn’t let me ignore the request for help from Sheriff Tucker though. Besides, all he was asking me for was an identification, even though I found it odd that Nate didn’t have his license in his wallet, but he had my business card.

  I hated to wake Josh when he was sleeping so soundly in my bed, but I didn’t want him to wake up and wonder where I had gone. I slid my hand beneath the cover and placed it at the small of his back while I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

  “Hey,” I said softly.

  “Gabe,” he said sleepily, “I adore your cock, but I’m too tired to ride your joystick.” He never lost his snark, not even in his sleep.

  “Oh, come on, baby,” I whispered huskily in his ear.

  Josh’s hand snaked out from where it had been tucked beneath his chest and grabbed my dick then squeezed. “Just give me a few hours to rest my asshole and my mouth. Then I’ll be all over this hunk of meat.” His mouth opened wide for a yawn before he said, “Go do what you need
to, but be careful. Wear extra layers so you don’t become Detective Numb Nuts. I do have many plans for them.”

  I was quickly learning that Josh used humor and sarcasm to cover just about every emotion he had, especially when he wanted to mask affection and concern. My heart pinched tight in my chest and I wanted to tell him that I loved him, but he wasn’t ready to hear it yet. He would only admit that he liked me. I was willing to accept that L word for the time being.

  I pressed my lips to his ear and whispered, “I really like you.” His only acknowledgment of my words was another sweet sigh as he returned to the land of dreams.

  I threw back the covers and hustled my naked ass to my dresser to throw on clothes. I loved sleeping naked beside Josh whenever one of us slept over at the other’s place, but the moments between leaving the bed and getting dressed felt like days in the drafty house I rented. Flannel and long johns were things I never expected to own when I lived in Florida, but I was a proud owner of several pair of long johns and a variety of flannel shirts. I could’ve moved back to Florida when the relationship that brought me to southern Ohio ended, but something kept me here. I glanced back over at the bed and saw the sleeping form of the man who touched me in ways I had never experienced or even expected. I altered my thinking from something kept me there to someone kept me there.

  Josh Roman was worth freezing my nuts off.

  Buddy moved from the foot of the bed to take my spot beside Josh, as if to tell me that he’d take watch over my guy. Whoever abandoned Buddy on a cold, rainy night in November did me a solid. I could’ve looked the world over and never found a dog as wonderful as him. “Atta boy,” I said softly before I left my bedroom.

  I remote started my car and made myself a cup of coffee while it warmed up. My chattering teeth was the only sound I heard in my silent neighborhood on the way to my car. I had learned not to let the sleepy town fool me; evil and depravity lived everywhere and Blissville was no exception.