“I will file that away for future reference. All right, one thing, and then you sleep.”
Smiling, I typed a “Y.”
“Careful, I will start again with the first game.”
“One thing, and then I’ll leave you alone.”
“I can’t stand soggy cereal. So I pour the milk, take 3, maybe 4, bites and toss the rest.”
“Funny, thank you for humoring me, night.”
CHAPTER NINE
We had just arrived back into New York after the long plane ride from Hong Kong. We sat quietly in the back of his town car and I could feel his eyes on me.
“You’re blushing,” he noted quietly.
I couldn’t seem to stop, as I thought about our little game a mile high.
Josh hooked my pinky between us on the seat on the ride home from the airport and I could feel the heat already spreading from the anticipation of being alone with him.
It was late by the time we got back to the building. We walked in through the lobby and I waved hello to Rafael.
“Why don’t you go on up, while I grab the Thai food from the front desk and meet you in your place in a few minutes,” Josh suggested.
Proceeding to my apartment, I was grateful to be home. I opened the door and dragged my suitcase inside. It sure would be nice to sleep in tomorrow morning and have absolutely nothing on the agenda. Leaving my door open, I expected that I would go over to Josh’s place for food. Ten minutes later, I was surprised to see him come in to my place instead, holding the food and shutting the door behind him.
“Hungry?” he questioned suggestively.
I smiled and watched as he set the bag down on my counter.
After he crossed the room, he pulled me to him, then crushed me with his kiss.
“This is all I thought about the entire plane ride, these damn pants,” he muttered.
I giggled and he dragged them down while frantically moving me towards the bed. Making use of my hands, I unzipped his pants and took length into my hands.
“Christ, Haylee, you do this to me. I need you right now.”
The back of my knees hit the mattress and I took him down with me, guiding his hard length into me.
“God you’re so ready for me. The things I want to do to you, but right now.”
I understood his urgency and bucked up off the bed, anxious for him. He buried his cock even deeper, moving hard and fast. My breathing was staggered and each of his controlled thrusts made my cries louder as I met them. I felt my climax building and clenched around him. “Come with me,” I whispered.
He groaned my name, gripping my hips and holding me as his hot release found my core.
My own followed quickly. Lying there beside him, I realized that my underwear and pants were still around my knees and his were in much the same shape.
“So I take it that you don’t need the pills any longer?” I asked lightly, hoping he wouldn’t take offense.
Chuckling, he pushed up and searched my face. “It would appear not. If only I had known the cure was a twenty-two-year-old, I wouldn’t have wasted the last few years. It kind of irks me that Dr. Winters was right about it not being a physical condition caused by his surgery.”
“Hmm, well if you had known four years ago that a twenty-two-year-old was the answer, it wouldn’t have been me, and I don’t like that scenario. Unless maybe, in that case, an eighteen-year-old would have been the solution.”
“Oh god, twenty-two is bad enough. When do you turn twenty-three?”
“Hoping for a smaller age gap?” I questioned, teasing.
He nodded. “I’ll take anything I can get.”
“My birthday is in March and yours is in?”
“It’s in July. So I get four whole months when there is only a nine-year difference instead of ten.” He rolled off and pulled his pants up. “I’m going to run home and change, maybe take a quick shower. Then if you’re up for it, I can come back and we can eat?”
It didn’t make sense why he wasn’t inviting me to his place, but I was too happy to be back in my own space to argue tonight. “Sounds good.”
I dashed into the shower after watching the door close.
A short time later, I was taking down two plates when Josh came back in, not bothering with a knock. His hair was slightly damp and he smelled wonderful.
“I got the drunken noodle, some pad thai, peanut butter chicken stuff, and some pork dumpling things. Is there anything you don’t want?” He opened the bag and took out the boxes setting them on the counter.
“Nope, it all sounds great, thanks for thinking of dinner.”
Dishing up a little out of each box, I watched as he did the same. I walked over to the bed and sat cross legged with my plate in the middle of it. Considering I didn’t have any place to sit aside from this I wondered why weren’t at a table in his place.
Josh joined me and looked at me curiously “Do you wear that to bed?”
I glanced down at my oversized Stanford T-shirt and blue running shorts. “Yeah, why?”
His eyes twinkled with laughter.
“What? Why did you ask that?” I was totally lost on what was so funny.
Shrugging, he put his fork down. “Okay, don’t take this the wrong way, but you dress impeccably at work. So I had a different impression of what you might wear at night than what you actually do.”
I guess I’d never really thought about what to wear to bed as none of the guys I’d previously been with had ever spent the night with me. My eyes shifted from my attire to his and was fairly certain that his lounge pants and T-shirt cost more than what I made in a day. “Well I have my mom to thank for—”
Josh’s phone interrupted the rest of my admission about inheriting my work wardrobe.
Looking at the caller ID, he frowned. “I have to take this.” He stepped out of my apartment, closing the door behind him.
By the time I’d finished eating, he hadn’t returned. After clearing my plate, I packed up the boxes, and then left his plate on the counter. I was about ready to call it a night when he finally did come back, looking annoyed.
“I, uh, have a lot of work to do this evening, and I’ll probably be pretty busy tomorrow too.”
He was hedging, and my eyes rolled of their own volition. Tomorrow was Saturday and I was looking forward to do anything I wanted. “I have plans tomorrow too. Let me know if you need anything workwise, otherwise I will see you Sunday afternoon when we leave for Charlotte. The car will be here at two o’clock.”
“Wait. What plans do you have?”
Glad my back was to him, I turned slowly, and smiled. “You first.” I said it sweetly enough that he knew the point I was making.
“Touché. I will see you Sunday, Haylee. Sweet dreams.” He kissed me long and slow, before sighing with regret and leaving.
I puttered across the room and plugged in my phone to charge. As an afterthought, I plugged in the iPad and logged into messenger. I was pathetic, already missing him.
Looking through some of the apps, I realized I had FaceTime. I went back to my laptop and emailed my Aunt Jeanine, or Aunt J, as I termed her. We’d be able to use FaceTime instead of doing our traditional Saturday phone call tomorrow. It would be nice to see my only living family member face to face.
It was tempting to go straight to bed, but I glanced at the suitcases I’d had shipped from San Fran and knew they weren’t going to unpack themselves. At the very least, I needed to take out my mom’s coats and dresses which had trekked across the country.
***
The next morning I felt quite accomplished, having gotten a run, laundry, and a manicure out of the way all before ten o’clock. I had finished up my FaceTime call with my aunt and uncle when Josh stopped by.
His brow arched at my fancy black and white ball gown and flute of champagne. “What’s the occasion?”
I was momentarily confused until he pointed to my dress, and then I giggled. “Right, sorry. I’ve had a few glasses of champagne.
It’s my mom’s birthday today. She loved fancy ball gowns and I was FaceTiming my Aunt—”
His phone rang, and he winced. “Shit, hold on.” Taking it, he said tersely, “Yes.” He stepped back out to the hall to have the conversation, shutting my door and the ability to hear anything he was saying.
Once I had undressed carefully, I hung my dress back up in the closet. Slipping on a large T-shirt and nothing else, I puttered around and was about to give up on Josh when a soft knock came at the door and he stepped in not waiting for me to answer.
“I came by to tell you that we need to leave earlier than planned tomorrow for Charlotte. I’d like to have the car pick us up by noon instead of two o’clock.”
I wanted to point out that he could have sent me an email, but calling him out for his excuse to see me seemed a little counterproductive.
“All right, I’ll call Maria and the car service.”
“Another oversized T-shirt for bed?” he teased.
On hold with the phone to my ear, I shrugged. Then I lifted my shirt up ever so slightly, revealing there was nothing on underneath. I got the satisfaction of his intake of breath. “Not so unsexy now is it?” I retorted.
He gave me a wicked smile, lifting me up onto the countertop and inching my shirt up to my waist. “Sexiest shirt ever,” he muttered, diving into my center.
Maria came back on the line and I tried unsuccessfully to keep him from attaining his goal. “Uh huh, no, that’s great Maria. You’re the best. I— Oh, sorry, I stubbed my toe.”
His lips trailed kisses down the insides of my thighs.
“All right, got it. Let me call the car service for the airport pickup.” I hung up and he grinned. “You’re naughty, Mr. Singer. I’m trying to get something done for my boss and—” My breath hissed when his finger dipped into my entrance.
“You were the one with no panties. Matter of fact, I think that you should go without them every night from now on,” he stated, suckling my hypersensitive nub with his mouth.
I was about combust on the countertop. “Hmm, I will take that under advisement. Now I have another call to make. Are you going to behave?”
He looked up at me with a wicked gleam in his eyes.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Give me five minutes.” I dialed the car company and gritted my teeth as he slipped his finger back inside of me. “Yes, we have a pickup that I need to change to noon tomorrow. For Joshua Singer.” Oh, Lord, he was moving his finger, and now there were two. “Yes, yes, sounds good. Thank you.” The last word was on a squeak as I disconnected and let him take me over the edge, shamelessly coming on my countertop.
“Come here.” He lifted me as I wrapped my legs around him. Once we were settled like that, he carried me to the bed. He slipped my shirt over my head and ran his hands down my entire length.
Once I stripped him of his polo shirt, I made quick work of his belt and zipper and pulled his erection free. “Ahhh…” I closed both hands around him and enjoyed it when he threw his head back in pleasure.
He stepped away from my reach and kicked off his pants and boxers. He grinned at himself in his white socks. “Sorry, but there is no way I can do this with just these on.”
Laughing at the picture he made, I helped him with his last sock.
He kissed me deeply while my hands found his arousal again. “I can’t seem to get enough of you, Haylee.”
His honey voice saying my name had me shivering. I gasped when his fingers parted me and he spread my wetness lower. “Easy now, not tonight, but we need to break you in slowly.” He slipped a finger in a place I never dreamed I’d find pleasure. In and out, spreading my liquid desire back further as his eyes locked on mine. “Tell me you want it here.”
“I—” I was embarrassed to say it, and he seemed to sense it.
“It’s all right. It’s only me and you. You only have to ask yourself if it feels good. It’s okay to tell me. I want to have you everywhere, but only if you like it.”
Nodding, I swallowed hard. “I like it,” I whispered.
He flipped me so that I was now on top of him and lowered me onto his burgeoning erection. “Haylee, you feel so tight, so unbelievably wet. Ride me, gorgeous.”
I started to move and felt his fingers dance over my backside again and massage me there.
“That’s it, feel it, I’m going to fill you completely,” he teased, inserting his finger.
I felt myself in a frenzy of absolute overstimulation and came harder and faster than I ever had before while he thrust up and found release of his own.
After tucking me in beside him, he turned off the side lamp, and then brought the comforter up to cover us.
I reached over to set my alarm before I forgot, and then burrowed back into his arms.
“You undo me,” he confided.
Playing with his strong hands, I traced the lines. “How so?”
“You are so trusting of me with your body and then honor me with such pure and unfiltered pleasure. It’s a potent thing.”
“You make me feel safe enough to trust you that way.”
His kisses floated down my neck, and then his hands skimmed down the length of my legs as if he couldn’t touch me enough. “I interrupted you when you were telling me that today was your mom’s birthday.”
The bubble of post sex popped as I exhaled heavily. “Yeah, it’s a silly thing, but my mom liked to dress up and have champagne on her birthdays. So my aunt and I did that today via FaceTime, which is thanks to the new iPad.”
“Where does your aunt live?”
“She and my Uncle Paul live in Perth, Australia. They own a restaurant and are chefs there. I’ve heard it’s fabulous.”
“You should go someday to visit.”
“I was thinking of taking a few weeks before starting law school, actually. It’s tough for them to get away in that kind of business, and I don’t know when I’d get another opportunity once I’m back in student mode.”
“I think it’s nice that you do these things for your mom.”
Sighing, I figured I’d keep quiet else I’d feel guilty for my voicing my thoughts.
“What?” He asked, not accepting my silence.
“Nothing. It’s what she would have wanted,” I replied, hoping he’d leave it alone.
“And what about what you want?”
I fought my irritation. “I want to honor her and it was nice talking with my Aunt J. It made my mother happy to know that we were going to do this every year.”
He seemed to absorb this. “So dressing up and drinking champagne today was at your mother’s request?”
“She had this thing about birthdays and special events she was going to miss. She planned out a lot of things. I think I told you about the bucket list, but I also have a card for every one of my birthdays for the next forty of them.”
“Wait. She wrote you out forty birthday cards?”
“Yeah, she detailed out all of the major holidays and events. I have a letter for my wedding, for my first born, and so forth. She wanted to make sure she was a part of it, I guess.”
“I see,” he murmured.
Turning towards him, I could tell he wanted to say more. “What?”
He looked thoughtful and then spoke with measured words. “I think it’s wonderful that you have something to remember your mom by, but I wonder if, for instance, on your birthday, knowing you will open that card and be sad would make it tough.”
In one sentence he had managed to sum up everything I’d been feeling. “I would feel so guilty not to. I promised her, and sometimes I love that I will be able to read what she wrote and know that she was thinking of me. But then other times I get overwhelmed to know that it’s coming,” I whispered.
He stroked my face. “Can I offer some advice?”
I was eager to hear it and nodded while fighting my tears.
“Nothing says it has to be done on that day. If you are dreading the very happy occasion on which she wanted you to think of he
r, then what is the point? Instead, maybe read it when you’re ready. If it is close to Christmas, maybe you open the card for it on the twenty-third instead, for example. Then you can spend Christmas knowing how she felt but not anticipating the pain of reading the letter. Or open it after the holiday. The point is I think you should try to pick when you want to have those moments instead of letting the calendar dictate them.”
I really liked his idea. “You’re right, that would be better maybe. It’s just that I know she never intended these letters to make me sad. She wanted me to know that she was thinking of me, it made her feel at peace to know I would have a part of her.”
“I think you’re right. But, Haylee, it’s only been a matter of months. The pain is fresh and until it dulls, you need to do what you can for you. She would want that.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, drying my eyes.
He kissed my nose. “When my dad died ten years ago, I felt so cheated that it was sudden. I kept thinking, if only I’d had more time or known it was coming. If only he had imparted more wisdom to me, it would hurt less. But turns out, it doesn’t. I see you honoring your mom, and her death still hurts you. It still robbed you of time with her.”
“How did your father die?” I inquired.
“Massive heart attack. Second day of vacation. Go figure.”
“I’m sorry. It’s never easy. How is your mom?”
“I’d say she is resilient. If she wasn’t, she would still make me think she was. So where in this plan of your mother’s did you go to law school and become a prominent lawyer?”
“Ha, you are very perceptive, Mr. Singer.”
He smiled, and I enjoyed being able to share this with him.
“My mom had a lot of amazing qualities, but believing in equality for women and wanting me to be independent and successful were not on the list. In her mind, I should instead be looking for a man to take care of me. Luckily, though, she didn’t fight me on Stanford, as where better to meet a successful man than an Ivy league school? But law school? Oh, man, did she not want me to go. In her old world view, the man was supposed to be the lawyer. I was to be purely eye candy.”
Tell Me Something (The Something Series Book 1) Page 12
