Just Breathe Series (Trilogy Box Set)

by Martha Sweeney

  Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

  “Okay,” I mutter while pressing the button to have the outer gate unlock for her.

  “Thanks,” she offers.

  I bolt back into my bedroom, almost colliding into a topless Joe. “You need to go! Now!”

  “Why?” he nonchalantly inquires as I toss him his shirt and start to push him to the door. Joe pushes his weight back into me, slowing us down.

  “Maggie is on the way up! You need to go!” I shout.

  “What’s the big deal? She knows we hang out,” he rebuts.

  “Because you're topless, have a raging hard-on, I’m a sweaty mess and I’m not about to . . . ” I pause not wanting to finish the sentence.

  I don’t want my friends to know that there’s the potential of anything happening between Joe and me. Why? I’m not quite sure and now is not the time to speculate.

  Joe laughs at the start of my answer. “About to what?” he presses, more from amusement at me panicking rather than really needing to know, as if he already knows what I would say.

  Finally at the door, I open it and check the hallway. It’s clear. Shit. No, it’s not. I hear the elevator ding open. I shut the door but leave it unlocked.

  “I thought you wanted me to leave,” Joe sarcastically states.

  “Not funny,” I announce, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him towards the office through the hall that leads to the second bath and bedroom.

  He moves a little lighter this time, but not as fast as I would like.

  “Stay here! Do not say a word or come out. If you do, I will kill you. When I get Maggie to follow me into the bathroom, then you will quietly exit my apartment. Got it?” I order.

  Joe grabs my face and plants a sensual kiss on my lips. It takes me a few seconds to pull away.

  “I’m here,” Maggie shouts, opening the door.

  “Stay and hide,” I mouth to Joe.

  Running down the short hall, I almost collide into Maggie as she heads toward the guest bathroom. Shit! What the hell?!

  “Hey,” I greet. “Why don’t you use the master?” I direct.

  “This one is closer,” she replies, yanking her dress up and her underwear down, leaving the door wide open. “What took you so long?”

  “Sorry. I was in the bathroom when you buzzed,” I lie convincingly.

  “Ohh, sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” I remark. “Why are you here so early?”

  Maggie finishes relieving herself before answering, “Henry left early this morning for some business back in China. He’s going to be there for at least a week, maybe longer, and I figured since I was up, knew you are always up early and I’m starting to freak out about all of this while he’s gone, and that I need my best girlfriend.”

  “There’s no need to freak out,” I console as we head out to the kitchen. “Everything is getting done. Having Amelia is a godsend.”

  “I know, right?!” she agrees with a sigh. “It’s just my family and Henry’s family. It’s getting to be a little too much for me. I need a break from it all or else I’m going to snap.”

  “Don’t know why . . .” I sarcastically reply which gets her to smile.

  “So . . . before we get into wedding stuff, I want to know about the premier!” she discloses.

  I internally cringe before passively asking, “What about it?”

  “Nathan told me, but I want to hear it directly from you! Are you excited?” She bounces up and down on the bar stool.

  “Ahhh, sure,” I proclaim.

  “Why aren’t you excited?” she asks with a disappointed pucker. “You’ve got a hunky guy taking you out for a night in the spotlight.”

  “All of that,” I contend, taking out some fruit from the fridge for us to eat.

  “So, you really are just doing it to help Nathan?!” Maggie double checks, not that she didn’t believe Nathan when he told her.

  “Yes. It’s just a business transaction to get Nathan and his designs noticed,” I reinforce.

  “So you really aren’t into him anymore?”

  “Who? Chris?”

  “Yeah, Chris.”

  “No. And, I was never interested in the first place,” I disclose.

  “You were interested in him enough to have sex with him,” she reminds.

  I wince but fail to hide it.

  “Why don’t you sleep with him again,” Maggie suggests.

  “No! Hell no,” I rebut.

  “Was it that bad?” she searches.

  Maggie and I never actually talked about it that night after Ayana’s beyond the few details I disclosed at Nathan’s the next day. We were too busy getting each other off. I don’t want to say too much. God only knows Joe is enjoying overhearing this conversation. I know he is. I would be eagerly listening in if I was him right now.

  “He finished before me and it was Molly who got me off, remember,” I blurt loudly.

  Shit. I meant for that to be more of a whisper.

  “Well, thank God for Molly,” Maggie chuckles. “And, then me later that night!”

  I can’t help but join her in the amusement. “Yeah . . . .”

  “What’s up with you?” she accuses.

  “What?” I deny.

  “Don’t what me,” she declares. “You’ve been weird lately.”

  “No, I haven’t,” I try to deflect her statement.

  “Yes, you have and you are right now,” she stands her ground.

  I don’t say anything and we stare at each other for what feels like a minute in silence.

  “You need to get laid. When was the last time you had sex?”

  “I don’t need to get laid,” I proclaim, not wanting to talk about it.

  “Bullshit,” she yells and immediately clasps her hands over her mouth.

  We both giggle. Maggie never swears.

  “When was the last time you got laid?” she presses.

  “The other day,” I answer.

  “With who?” she pries, not believing me.

  We openly talk about sex, so she knows that something is up since I’m trying to avoid the whole thing.

  “B.O.B.”

  “Battery operated boyfriends don’t count,” she declares.

  “B.O.B. counts,” I retort, defending my statement. “I can always count on B.O.B. to do his job.”

  “Self-satisfaction never counts.” Maggie studies me for a moment. “Oh my God!”

  “What?” I reply with a mouth fully of strawberry.

  “Oh my God!”

  “What!” I repeat.

  She’s starting to freak me out.

  “Did you? Yep! You totally did!” she shouts.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” I search.

  I’m so confused by what she’s implying.

  “You slept with Joe!”

  “What?! No! No, no, no, no, no!” I rebut.

  “Yes, you did,” she continues. “Jared said . . . .”

  “What did Jared say?” I explore trying to keep calm.

  “Nothing,” Maggie denies.

  “What did Jared say,” I enunciate each word.

  “Jared said you two were acting weird the other day when you agreed to be Chris’ date.”

  “How were we acting?”

  “Okay, it was more Joe than you,” she express.

  “I did not have sex with Joe,” I stand firm.

  I haven’t. A few minutes ago, I might have, but I’m telling the truth; at least about the sex topic.

  She watches me closely. “Okay. I believe you,” Maggie says with conviction. “Then with who?”

  “You are the last person I’ve slept with,” I announce.

  “Seriously?!”

  “Yes, seriously.”

  “We definitely need to get you laid. Why not Joe. He’s available and you’re . . . .”

  I quickly cut her off, “No!”

  “Why not? He’s totally into you. Nathan said that he looked heartbroken when you agre
ed to do the premier with Chris,” she continues.

  “I’m not talking about this with you again . . .” I declare shaking my head.

  “Why not?” she pushes.

  I glare at her because she knows why. Plus, I don’t want to talk about it with Joe in the other room.

  “It might do you good,” she expresses.

  “What?”

  “To sleep with Joe.”

  “Why is that?” I giggle nervously.

  “You clearly haven’t been with a guy since Chris, which was . . . back in February, and you’ve never gone this long . . . .”

  I jump on her train of thought, “We’ve trolled and I’ve trolled since then.”

  “That may be true, but you’ve obviously been picky . . . picky enough not to sleep with anyone other than me.” After a moment of silence, she asks, “Why don’t we go trolling tonight?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because . . .” I return, trying to avoid the reason.

  She studies me again before taking out her phone.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Checking.”

  “Checking what?”

  “That explains it,” she affirms.

  “What?”

  “You. Your mood. Aside from not getting laid in a while you’re menstruating.”

  I don’t freak out when Maggie announces it because we’re practically on the same schedule. Then I remember that Joe is in the other room. Crap.

  “You know what . . .” she begins.

  “What?” I place the forks and empty fruit bowl in the dishwasher.

  “I’m a day or two late . . . must be the stress of the wedding,” she speculates.

  “Probably,” I agree.

  “You don’t mind if I crash here until Henry gets back, do you?”

  “Not at all,” I confirm.

  “Okay. After we’re done menstruating, we’re going trolling . . . for you, of course,” she asserts.

  “Don’t have time,” I contend.

  “There’s always time to get my best friend laid. You know you should seriously reconsider being with a guy more than just a few times . . .” she suggests.

  “Why is that?”

  “Because by the third time Henry and I . . . .”

  “Ahhhhhh! La la la la la! I don’t want to hear about you and Henry,” I scream plugging my ears. “It’s bad enough that you already tried to talk me into having a three-way with you two. La la la la la la.”

  Maggie’s mouth finally stops moving and I take my fingers out of my ears.

  Maggie grabs my hands and holds them down while she blurts, “By the third time we got into really knowing each other. I orgasm a minimum of two or three times each time . . . .”

  I fight her to get my arms back. Maggie can be really strong when she wants to, but I break free a little too late. I quickly plug my ears and scream again. “Ahhhhhh!”

  I watch her face to make sure she’s done. Maggie laughs at me and after a minute of making sure she won’t continue, I drop my hands from my ears and begin to laugh as well.

  “We still need to find you a man who can really satisfy you,” she insists.

  “Drop it,” I urge.

  “I can’t believe with all the men you’ve slept with that not one of them has been able to get you to orgasm without you having to . . . .”

  “Drop it,” I repeat a little more sternly.

  A thud sound comes from the floor by Sadie. Maggie and I laugh. “It’s okay Sadie. I wasn’t talking to you,” I inform, picking up her bone and giving it back to her. “I was talking to Aunt Maggie.”

  “Now you know why Jared, Nathan and I say that song is your theme song,” Maggie throws in and sticks out her tongue when she’s finished.

  Maggie is right. I have yet to find a man who can satisfy my sexual needs, a real man, that is, who isn’t named B.O.B..

  “If we’re going to get out of here anytime soon, I need to shower,” I announce.

  “We should hit the spa sometime this week,” she says graciously dropping my sex life from the current topic list. “I think we could both use it.”

  “Definitely!” I agree.

  “Oooh, do you mind if I borrow some jewelry?”

  “No, not at all,” I offer, heading towards my bedroom with Maggie close behind. “You know where they are.”

  When Maggie and I get back to the kitchen for a small bite before continuing with the rest of our day, I notice writing on the notepad attached to the side of my fridge. It says;

  Glad to know you talk about me. See you soon, beautiful!

  xoxo Joe

  It quickly rip it off before Maggie can see it and shove it into my wallet.

  The rest of the day, it’s just Maggie, Sadie and me until we head over to Nathan’s for dinner with him, Jared and Pop-Pop. I decide that it’s time to fill them in on the business deal that I’m working on with Joe and his parents.

  “So, that’s why you two have been spending so much extra time together,” Nathan states.

  “Yes. For business and planning the joint bachelor-bachelorette weekend.”

  “And, getting Pop-Pop here for Jared’s party,” adds Maggie.

  “Well, that explains a lot,” Nathan confesses. “And, here we thought you two were having sex.”

  So the truth comes out. That’s what they’ve been talking about.

  “Makes sense,” Jared adds with an expression like he’s still not completely convinced.

  I don’t want to lie to my friends, but I don’t want to admit to them either that there is something, what I’m not exactly sure, happening with Joe. I’d rather use him for his body to satisfy my itch and once I’m ready to move on, like I do with all men, I’ll eventually admit to it — maybe. All I know is that Joe and I want to fuck each other, and I desperately need to fuck him so I can get back into my regular trolling routine.

  “So what does this all mean for us?” Maggie searches.

  “It means that you’ll still be COO, you’ll have more staff to run everything and you’ll be making a lot more money . . . that is, if you still want the job.”

  “Of course I do. Wow! I’m so excited. This is so much fun,” she beams.

  I smile at Maggie, happy and relieved to hear that she’s still on board. Turning my attention to Jared, I continue with more explanation. “Jared.”

  “Yeah, Kitten,” he says.

  “Because this expansion is going to take up more of my time . . .” I start.

  “Yeah?” he replies.

  “That means I’ll have less time to work and focus on Naturally Me,” I explain.

  “What do you need from me? I can easily do more if you need. I’d be happy to,” he eagerly supports.

  I take a moment to think about how I want to phrase my next statement. “I was thinking about more than that.”

  Jared cocks his head to the side, showing that his interest is piqued.

  “I was thinking of turning over fifty percent of the company’s ownerships over to you. You ultimately do what I do, but we can . . . .”

  “Oh my God! Are you serious?!” he shouts, almost on the verge of tears.

  Nodding, I continue, “We can hire some more staff, maybe even find a place for Pop-Pop if he’d like.”

  “Of course!” Jared shouts, jumping up and hugging me. “Thank you for believing that I can . . . I love you!”

  “I wouldn’t trust anyone else,” I return, fighting back tears. “I love you too!”

  “Looks like you’re going to be my sugar daddy!” Nathan teases.

  “Hell yeah!” Jared confirms. “I don’t mind being one.”

  Pop-Pop is emotional too, especially after hearing how determined Jared and I are to find a place for him as well.

  Once we get settled with our emotions, Nathan grabs two bottles of wine and we pop them open to celebrate. Our conversation for the rest of the night turns into questions and ideas for both
companies and eventually over to incidentals where we are laughing into the night.

  Back at my apartment and laying in bed with Maggie, who is already asleep next to me, I stare at the ceiling with contentedness surrounding my heart. I knew my friends would be excited and happy for me, but I didn’t expect them to be this enamored with how things are changing, let alone myself. This is one point in my life where I don’t mind the change. The pride and love I have for Maggie and Jared is at a level I can’t even describe. I’m even more thankful and grateful for them being in my life.

  Thirty Nine

  Come Monday night, Maggie is still sleeping over, working and conducting wedding stuff as Henry has yet to return from China. She’s needing more down time in between being around family and checks with Amelia for wedding needs and details. Maggie reports that business is going very well for Henry, he’s just really busy. I don’t doubt that he’s trying to get additional things done prior to the wedding.

  Jared joins Maggie and me for the night so all three of us can discuss and schedule needed steps for both businesses this week. With tomorrow being the start of June, the three of us have a lot of things to take care of regarding business and Maggie’s wedding. The wedding is less than two months away and almost every weekend is booked with some kind of event — Father’s Day with Fŭqīn and Pop-Pop, the bridal shower, 4th of July, the bachelor-bachelorette weekend Joe and I have to finish planning and then the rehearsal dinner and wedding. There are only one or two weekends that have yet to be booked for some kind of a party or gathering.

  Just after dinner, Maggie inquires, “Who are you texting?”

  “No one,” I reply, focused on the conversation.

  “Is it a man?” she playfully pries.

  “How long have you known me to know that I wouldn’t give my phone number out to a man, let alone any straight man,” I remind.

  She pauses for a moment. “Well, Joe is a man and I know he has your number.”

  Jared and her snicker.

  “If you must know, I’m talking with Amy and Kim.” I show her my phone’s screen just long enough for her to see who’s in the conversation.

  “Why?” she searches.

  I look up at Maggie to answer. “I talk to them regularly, not just when the family is together.”

  “And, she’s finalizing bridal shower arrangements,” Jared interjects.