Welcome to Blissville

by Walker, Aimee Nicole

  I chose to buy my apples before heading to Willa’s because I knew she’d need plenty of time to fuss. While I was at the store, I looked into some bath oils and scented candles. Blissville was at least a good thirty minutes away from a decent mall, but we had some local ladies who made bath salts and oils, candles, and soaps. I loved to support my small community and buy local when I could. A thought came to me just then and I made a mental note to call Marabeth Adams to see if perhaps she wanted to sell her items in my salon. Better yet, maybe we could develop an exclusive fragrance for my clients.

  The thought had me practically dancing through the aisles until I came face to face with a person I had never wanted to see again, let alone twice within a few days. What the hell was he doing at the grocery store in the middle of the fucking day wearing that smug grin? Billy Sampson was about to find out just how much I had changed from the naïve boy he once knew.

  “Are you the rotten bastard who slashed my tires?” I demanded hotly.

  Billy threw his head back and laughed loudly. “As if I care enough about you to put forth the effort,” he said once he was done mocking me.

  “You know; I find it odd that you happen to turn up everywhere I go lately.” I was not convinced by his performance.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Billy replied.

  “You let yourself into my home uninvited and got belligerent when I asked you to leave. You just so happen to turn up at the same storage facility that Gabe uses, and now here you are in the grocery store the same time as me.” I shook my head sadly, as if he was the most pitiful creature on earth. “Lord help you if you were the one who slashed my tires.”

  Billy wore a cold sneer on his face by the time I was finished. I knew he was prepared to blast me with something cruel, but I was equally prepared to deflect it so that it didn’t penetrate my soul. That loser wasn’t penetrating anything on me ever again.

  He looked around and lowered his voice so that no one would hear what he said to me. “You think pretty highly of that tight little ass, don’t you? I have to say that I’ve had much better than yours and by guys who appreciated my attention more than you ever did. I have zero interest in resuming anything with your whiny ass. Our house here is quite a bit smaller than the one in Texas so we have a lot of items in storage until we can find a bigger place. My wife needed something from our unit and that’s why I was there yesterday. I’m here now to pick up diapers for my baby. It’s pure coincidence that we’re here at the same time. As for last night, I was on duty because I work nights. It was the only shift available in the department when we moved back.” He stepped closer and his voice took on a menacing tone when he said, “I came to your house on Saturday because I wanted to tell you to keep your mouth shut about what happened between us in high school. If you so much as breathe a word…”

  “You’ll what? Flatten my tires like a punk teenager?” I rolled my eyes and added, “As if I would want anyone to know I had your pencil dick in my ass. People think I have standards in this town and I don’t want to disappoint them.”

  Billy’s face turned as red as a fire engine and I worried that I’d gone too far. “Look at you all smug about your happy little relationship. How long do you think a guy like him is going to want you, Josh?”

  They’re just words, not truth. “I’d put my relationship with Gabe against yours with your wife. At least Gabe and I are completely honest with each other. Can you say that?”

  “You little shit, I should…” he paused then smiled over my shoulder. “Hi, Mrs. Burkett. How are you today?”

  I looked over my shoulder and saw my favorite neighbor pushing her cart in our direction. “Hello, Billy,” she said happily. “I’m doing wonderful. How are you doing?”

  Billy moved off to talk to her and I continued on my way. I just needed vanilla ice cream to complete Gabe’s dessert for the evening. I chose the gourmet vanilla bean because nothing was too good for him.

  I sighed a breath of relief when I saw Billy leave the store when I approached the self-scan checkout. Everything he said to me could’ve been the truth, but I didn’t believe him. The fact that he’d been living in Carter County for six months without approaching me gave validity to what he said, but it didn’t help his case when I saw that he didn’t have anything in his hands when he left the store. Maybe they were out of diapers or perhaps he could get them cheaper elsewhere, but I somehow doubted that either of those reasons were true. My gut told me he was there to intimidate me, although I wasn’t sure why.

  I shook off all thoughts about him as I scanned and paid for my groceries because none of them were pleasant or productive for a happy life. I refused to let his scorn and hatefulness ruin my good mood or cast doubt on my relationship with Gabe. He knew next to nothing about me and absolutely nothing about Gabe. I didn’t have a motherfucking crystal ball to know that everything would work out perfectly between me and Gabe; I was fine with that. The beauty was in the journey as we grew as individuals and as a couple; I wouldn’t trade that for all the certainty in the world.

  It wasn’t until I arrived back home after my visit with Willa, who let me store my ice cream in her freezer while we visited, dealt with the adjuster, and signed paperwork for my rental car that a huge realization dawned on me. I had spoken the word “relationship” out loud and the world didn’t come to an end. It was just unfortunate that I used it when speaking about Gabe to Billy Sampson and not said directly to Gabe. I couldn’t take back what I said to Billy, nor did I regret it, but I did wish I had used the word while talking to Gabe first. I decided I would pull up my big boy jock strap and make Gabe aware that I had upgraded our status from a something to a relationship.

  Captain Reardon had learned that the IA interviews wouldn’t be happening until the next day, but that didn’t stop him from seeking out some information for himself. He was shocked and very worried about Josh when he found out about the tire slashing and subsequent photos being dropped off at the station. None of us were surprised when the envelope didn’t turn up any fingerprints other than O’Malley’s and the photos were free from any prints. The only differences between Josh and Nate’s initial photos were in the method of delivery, lack of message in Josh’s situation, and Nate only received one picture of him checking out his tires on the first contact where Josh, through me, received several. I wasn’t sure what that meant beyond the person responsible had to be found and fast.

  “The threat has come to us so we can’t just sit back and wait for IA to do their thing,” Captain Reardon had said, echoing my thoughts. “I’m going to reach out to someone I know and trust in the CPD and hopefully get some answers for us. I want to know about the detectives that were assigned to Nate’s case and I want to know what he told them. I’d rather not try to protect Josh blind.”

  By the end of the work day, I hadn’t learned anything new. I wasn’t operating on the theory that no news was good news. I needed cold hard facts so I could make sure that not a single precious platinum blond hair on Josh’s head was harmed. The stress of the situation wore me down quicker than any physical excursion I had ever experienced.

  I stopped at my house long enough to grab a few more suits and Buddy’s things. I wasn’t asking Josh for permission, nor was I waiting to be invited. He wanted me there, I wanted to be there, and I hoped he would cooperate when he heard about the photos. I didn’t want to ride roughshod over him anywhere except the bedroom. I wanted him to drop the change of address slip at the post office on his own, not feel pressured to do so by circumstance.

  I unhooked Buddy’s leash and let him run up the stairs while I followed behind at a more leisurely pace while trying not to get angry at finding the back door unlocked again. The truth was, I was nervous about seeing Josh. I was worried that I would do something or react in a way that would scare him on multiple levels for a few reasons. I didn’t want him terrorized over the photos or my feelings for him.

  “You’re such a good boy,” I heard
Josh say to Buddy followed by, “you’re such a slut for a belly rub.”

  I’m not sure what prompted my next move; perhaps it was to lighten my own mood or make Josh smile. I ran the rest of the way up the steps, tossed my stuff on the couch, and threw myself down next to Buddy on the floor to present my belly to Josh too. Buddy looked completely confused, but Josh threw his head back and howled with laughter over my theatrics. Then he dropped down to his knees and began rubbing my belly. As if someone flipped a switch, my thoughts went from lightening the mood to sexy time as soon as I felt the heat of Josh’s hand through my dress shirt.

  “You’re such a good boy,” Josh said to me as he straddled my hips and pressed his ass against my crotch. The voice he used wasn’t high pitched like he used on Buddy; it was low and sexy. He rocked against me and said, “You’re kind of slutty for an entirely different kind of rub.” Josh lowered his upper body over me until his lips were just a hairsbreadth away from mine. “I like it.”

  I grabbed his hips and rocked his ass against my growing erection until my engine was at full throttle and ready to ride. “I could get used to this kind of greeting,” I told him honestly as I pulled his sweater over his head.

  “I could get used to giving it,” Josh said as he made quick work with my tie.

  We only separated long enough to get undressed and for Josh to retrieve a condom and lube from his bedroom. His modern glass coffee table didn’t have any nifty little drawers in it like my old one did. I learned to keep those hidey holes stocked for when Josh came over because he liked being my halftime show. I lost track of how many third quarters I missed on football games because I honestly couldn’t have cared less.

  Josh suited me up and lubed my cock before he reached around and stretched his own ass for me and fuck if that wasn’t a sexy sight to behold. Just when I worried he was enjoying it too much and didn’t need me, he removed his fingers and lined the broad head of my dick to his hole. He sank down on my rod until his ass rested on my pelvis.

  I dug my fingers in his hips in my attempt to get him to move, but I could tell he was in the mood to draw out my pleasure. It was a wonderful problem to have and I lay there and watched the beautiful, graceful way his hips moved as he rocked back and forth slowly. His movements were fluid and effortless; I knew that I’d lose my mind once I finally saw him on his pole.

  No matter how many times I was inside him, it still felt new and amazing to me. I mentally promised to make sure I paid him back with sexy surprises of my own rather than let him be the one to always surprise me. I let Josh have his fun teasing me until I couldn’t take it anymore then I rolled him onto his back and fucked him hard enough to scoot us both across the floor. I could feel the burn of the hardwood rubbing raw spots on my knees but didn’t care about anything but making him come so I could empty myself inside him.

  I made sure to peg his prostate in a way that guaranteed he’d happily blast his spunk all over his stomach and give up his little challenge to see who came first. There would be nights when he won, but that wasn’t one of them. My restraint wasn’t much to brag about because I unloaded inside the condom as soon as his greedy ass clamped down on my cock during his orgasm.

  I carefully pulled out of his ass and rolled over onto my back so I didn’t squish him on the hard floors with my weight. The floor was a lot less forgiving than a bed, as my knees could attest. I doubted the tender skin on his ass fared any better. I was just about to say something about the unlocked door when I became aware of a delicious smell wafting in from the kitchen. It short-circuited my brain and I could only think about one thing.

  “I smell baking apples,” I said.

  “Uh huh,” he replied.

  I looked over and smiled at the blissed-out expression on his face. “Are you baking a pie?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “It’s my favorite,” I told him.

  “Uh huh.”

  I reached over and lightly pinched his nipple to snap him out of his orgasmic coma. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at me. “I never told you that apple pie was my favorite dessert.”

  “Not with words,” Josh replied softly. He chuckled at the confused look on my face. “The first time I ever laid eyes on you was at Edson and Emma’s diner. I had stopped in to pick up my carryout order and you and Kyle were there eating. You bit into a piece of apple pie and this orgasmic look spread across your face.” He got quiet for a second and I thought he was finished with his story, but then he spoke again. “I had never been as envious as I was of that stupid piece of pie. I figured I would live my entire life and never incite that kind of passion from another person.” Josh reached over and laid his hand over my heart. “I was wrong.”

  I captured his hand and brought it to my lips for a kiss. “You were.” I don’t know what my pie-eating face looked like, but I was certain it paled in comparison to the one I made when I was with him–whether it involved sex or not. There was never going to be a piece of pie I enjoyed more than him.

  “Oh my God. I think I just came in my pants,” I said after I had my first bite of pie an hour later. “I might be a fool for telling you this because your arrogance when it comes to cooking is already off the charts, but this… It’s the best thing I’ve ever had.” I poked the crust with my fork and saw it flake up. “The crust is perfection and the pie has the right amount of sweetness without being too much. This ice cream is just ridiculous.”

  “Arrogance?” Josh asked. “It’s not arrogance when it’s the truth, babe.”

  I wasn’t about to get into a debate with him and risk my ice cream melting and making my pie soggy. I hated soggy pie crust. I’d take his word for it and save any argument I might have for a day that I didn’t have pie in front of me, or after I got to see his studio.

  “That’s what I thought,” he said when no argument was forthcoming from me.

  I listened to Josh tell me about the conversation with his insurance agent, Chaz and Meredith, Mama Richmond, and someone named Marabeth who makes soaps, oils, and bath stuff. As talkative as he was, I could tell there was something he wasn’t telling me.

  “Spill it,” I told him.

  “I ran into Deputy Small Dick at the grocery store.” He bit his lip and I couldn’t tell if he was worried that I would be upset that he ran into him or what was said. Turned out it was both.

  “He’s a dumb bastard who doesn’t know a damn thing about us,” I told Josh.

  “I know.”

  “Then why are you upset?” I asked. Then I realized he had used the R word when he rebutted what Deputy Small Dick said. “You said the R word.”

  “To him and not you,” Josh said quietly.

  My heart about melted when I realized what had him upset. It wasn’t that he saw Billy or the things he said, it was that Billy was the first to hear that Josh and I had a relationship and not just a something. “Josh, I’ve known for quite some time that what we have is way more than just something, it’s the thing.” I tugged his hand and pulled him closer. “Although it’s nice to hear that you know it too.”

  This kiss we shared was long and sweet. I was sure it was going to lead to something even longer and sweeter, but his cellphone rang and interrupted us. Josh looked down at his phone and groaned. “Someone must’ve called her.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “My mother.” He let out a long sigh and said, “You might as well get settled in for football. This won’t be a brief conversation.”

  He wasn’t kidding either. It took him until halftime to calm his mother down, but I couldn’t blame her. Listening to him reassure his mom made me feel guilty because I hadn’t told him about the photos yet and because I let me dick’s demands sidetrack me from the conversation we needed to have about leaving his door unlocked.

  “What’s with the scowl?” Josh asked when he got off the phone with his mom.

  I reached up and snagged his hand as he approached the couch and tugged him down to sit in my lap. “There’s b
een a recent development that I probably should’ve told you about the minute I came home.”

  “But I went and distracted you with my hot body, my amazing dinner, and then pie,” he said, running his hand through my hair.

  I hoped he was as forgiving when I told him what happened. “An envelope was dropped through our mail slot for me at the police station today. Inside were pictures of you that were taken this past week and early this morning when you discovered your tires had been slashed.”

  Josh’s skin paled and he blinked rapidly. “Like Nate,” he said.

  “Yes and no,” I replied, then told him about the differences.

  “So, it could be a copycat,” Josh said, narrowing his eyes.

  It wasn’t a working theory in my mind, but I would’ve been foolish not to consider everything. “It could be, but who here knows about Nate and his connection to me?” I asked.

  “Billy knows,” Josh said.

  “True.” I couldn’t dispute what he said.

  “I didn’t believe him when he said he just happened to be at the same places as me these past few days, nor do I believe his excuse for wanting to talk to me. Plus, he left the store without buying the diapers he said he was there to pick up.”

  I wished it could be as simple as Billy being a complete dickhead and taking advantage of circumstance to cause trouble for us, but I suspected it was a lot more complicated than what Josh said. Instead of voicing my fears, I said, “Maybe.”

  I kept going back to the email that Nate sent me, specifically the possible implication that the CPD could be involved. There was nothing worse in my book than a dirty cop. I wished that I could believe that they didn’t exist, but I had seen the truth with my own eyes in Miami.

  “Miami Vice,” Josh said, snapping his fingers to get my attention. My scowl hardly fazed him. “I need to know something very important from you and I need you to be completely honest with me.”

  “Okay.”

  “How’d I look in the pictures?”