Our Time

by Jessica Wilde

  "I'll figure it out one day, so don't even think that this is over," he had said with an amused grin and moved to the passenger side while I strapped Olivia in, secretly glowing about his 'one day' comment.

  Then, after arguing for 5 minutes about the check, I finally gave in and let him pay. I only did it because he started making a scene and shouting, "No, Jocelyn! For the last time, I'm not going to just start making out with you in front of all these people!"

  I sank down into the booth with a face redder than the pizza sauce. He just laughed which in turn made me laugh and smack him on the shoulder.

  "This is what our friendship will be like," he said with a big smile. "I pay for meals and stuff when we go out and you can bake me cookies and anything else you feel like to pay me back."

  I tried to keep my glare on him, but failed miserably when he winked at me and just kept smiling that dazzling smile.

  When we got home, he invited us to go to the zoo this weekend with his sister and her husband. He said they were taking their niece and nephew and he thought it might be fun for Olivia. How could I say no to that? He seemed so nervous when he brought it up and I let him squirm for a few minutes before finally telling him we would love to go. He looked like a kid at Christmas.

  It was Saturday and I was anxious to meet Andrew's sister. Obviously, it wasn't a big deal. We were just friends/neighbors and this day was more for the kids than anything else. Olivia had been learning a lot of animal sounds and I was excited to see how she reacted to seeing the animals in real life instead of a book.

  I was just getting breakfast cleaned up when I heard a knock at the front door.

  I still had to get Liv dressed, but I was ready to go and fought the urge to run to a mirror and double check my hair and makeup. I opened the door after kicking Monty out of the way and there he was. Freshly showered in all his gorgeous man glory standing on my porch with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his cargo shorts. His ocean blue eyes widened just a smidgen when they traveled down to my legs and I smiled. That made me feel very… well, sexy.

  "Good morning," he greeted me a little breathlessly and then cleared his throat. "You look great, Jocelyn."

  I looked down at my clothes. I had on a casual looking pink sundress that went to the tops of my knees with a short sleeved jean jacket over it. Nothing too special. At least that's what I thought when I put it on this morning. I thought it was very practical.

  "Thanks. You look very nice yourself." I really tried to rip my eyes away from his chest, but the white t-shirt he was wearing left nothing to the imagination. His shoulders strained against the material as he shrugged.

  "We ready to head out?" he asked nervously as I waved him into my home.

  "Almost," I stated over my shoulder and lifted Liv out of her high chair. Her face was covered in yogurt and she had been squishing what was left of her banana between her fingers. "Just gotta clean Liv up and get her dressed."

  Monty was pretty much begging Andrew for a scratch and when he finally gave in, I swear I heard Andrew having a conversation with him about not bringing him along.

  "Mommy, nana," Olivia exclaimed.

  "Yep. You got the banana all over you, huh? Let's get you cleaned up." I carried her over to the sink and started to wash her hands off and wipe her face. I didn't realize Andrew had walked in until he was right next to me holding out a clean kitchen towel for me to dry her off. "Thanks."

  "Hey there, pretty girl. You ready to go see the lions?"

  "Raaaar!" Her little roar was adorable and she scrunched up her face so she looked angry when she did it.

  Andrew chuckled as I lifted her back into my arms and made my way to the stairs. "Just give me about five minutes."

  "No problem. Take your time, Jocelyn."

  Monty followed me up into Olivia's bedroom and sat in the doorway as I rummaged through her clothes. He looked at me like he was slightly bored and I tried to ignore him. After a quick diaper change and a short struggle to get all her clothes on, Olivia was sitting on the floor while I tried to do her hair. She kept moving which made the job difficult, but after Monty came and laid down in front of her with his ears back and his nose nudging her little feet, she held still and let me finish braiding her dark curls.

  "Thanks, Monty. You know just what to do every time don't you?"

  He didn't lift his head, but his eyes met mine and I swear he said, "Yeah, so why aren't you taking me with you?"

  "I'm sorry, buddy. No dogs allowed at the zoo. Plus, you'll scare off all the animals with your wolf side."

  He scoffed at me and kept his eyes on Olivia as I finished up.

  "How about this?" I helped Liv to her feet and lifted his head so he would look at me. "When we get back, I'll let you eat a whole burger patty tonight for dinner. How does that sound?"

  His ears perked and his head tilted in that way that let me know he was listening, but he didn't make any other move.

  "Okay, fine. I'll let you have two, but that's my final offer. Take it or leave it."

  He stood with his head still in my hands and put his ears back as he moved into my body and nudged me excitedly as if to say, "Deal." I could be wrong though.

  I made sure he had plenty of food and water in the kitchen and then we were off. Andrew didn't complain too much this time about not being able to switch over the car seat and as a reward, I let him drive my car. Olivia bounced in her chair when we played her favorite song from Mumford & Sons and giggled when Andrew tried to hit the high notes to the newest Kelly Clarkson song on the radio.

  By the time we got to the zoo, my cheeks were aching from all the smiling I had done already. This is going to be a great day.

  Andrew

  I was pretty nervous about Maddy meeting Jocelyn. I knew there was nothing to really worry about since I knew both of them would get along, but they were women. Unpredictable.

  I called Maddy as soon as we got to the ticket booth and she was already inside at the gift shop. I had thought about buying a stroller to carry Olivia, but Maddy said that Josh would probably walk most of the time and they had a double seated one. I worried about the two little girls getting along and hoped that Ella wouldn't be too upset sharing with Olivia. We made our way into the gift shop with Olivia holding onto Jocelyn's hand tightly and when she saw all the stuffed animals her eyes widened and she said "Oh wow!" That's when I knew I was done for. I was going to buy her whatever she asked for and there was nothing Jocelyn could say about it. Maddy and Ty were going to tease me relentlessly. What is wrong with you? Chill out. Be cool.

  "Drew! I'm so glad you guys made it!" Maddy ran over to us and threw her arms around my neck. I hadn't seen her for a while and she was obviously having withdrawals.

  Her hair was the same dark color as mine and fell just above her shoulders, her eyes were blue with flecks of gray, a lot like our mother's eyes, and she had a firm jaw and laugh lines even though she was only 26. Every time I looked at Maddy, I remembered our mom and the way she was always trying to get us to laugh. Maddy was so much like her it hurt sometimes. When they first died, it was difficult just to talk to her. Now, I welcomed the memories. She was not just my sister, but a good friend.

  "Introduce me to her."

  I felt my face flush and gave her a warning look. She could be really blunt and couldn't give a rat's ass about it.

  I placed my hand at the small of Jocelyn's back and splayed my fingers out. I may not be able to touch her like I want, but I was going to take any opportunity that was given to me. I felt her flinch a little as my hand connected with the back of her dress, but the small shudder that ran through her immediately after made my grin even wider. "Maddy, this is Jocelyn White. Jocelyn, this is my sister Madison Bennett Taylor."

  Jocelyn reached her hand out to shake Maddy's hand while my sister glared at me for sharing her hated middle name, but then she brushed her hand away and gave her a big hug instead.

  "Oh, it's so nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you." />
  "Maddy," I warned.

  Jocelyn had a shocked expression on her beautiful face as she turned to face me. "Well, I hope he didn't say anything too awful."

  "Ha! I'm sure he doesn't think there is an awful bone in your body! No, it was all very wonderful things." Maddy winked at me and I just shook my head, annoyed that she was throwing me under the bus, but not complaining because Jocelyn stepped a little closer to me as I returned my hand to the small of her back.

  "And this gorgeous little girl must be Olivia!" She crouched down in front of her and gasped as she took in Jocelyn's daughter. "You are so pretty! I'm Maddy and we are going to have a blast today."

  Olivia giggled shyly and hugged her mother's leg tightly. "Oh, Liv you are just fine. No need to be shy, love," Jocelyn crooned as she tucked some loose strands of hair behind her little ears.

  Just then, Ty came barreling across the store with Ella on his back and Josh chasing behind him. "Hey, man, glad you made it." He slapped me on the back and then wrapped his arm around Madison's shoulders. "Hi, I'm Tyler, Maddy's better half."

  He was actually, truly, her other half. Blonde hair, brown eyes, and he was taller than me, which was pretty damn tall, while my sister was short and curvy. They were complete opposites in every way, but the longer they had been together, the more Ty started to show us all who he truly was. 'The love of a good woman' he always said. I was starting to believe him.

  "Oh, shut it!" Maddy slapped him on the chest and laughed.

  Jocelyn looked like she was beaming and got a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

  "So, your name is Tyler Taylor?" she asked with a grin.

  Tyler frowned at her, but his eyes were filled with amusement. I used to tease him about his name so much, we almost didn't stay friends. Over the years, he had gotten used to it.

  I couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing.

  Tyler stared at Jocelyn a little longer, trying to make her squirm, but she kept the grin on her face. Probably because Maddy looked like she wanted to hug her again.

  "I like you," Tyler smiled.

  I knew then that this was going to be a day to remember.

  We walked around the whole place twice because the kids kept asking to go back and see the monkeys. Olivia was amazed with all the animals and Jocelyn could hardly keep her from trying to climb over the barrier when we got to the elephants.

  We had been there about two hours before we stopped for a break and had some ice cream. Ella and Olivia had been great together and were sharing their ice cream cones back and forth before Liv dropped hers on the ground. She looked to her mother with her bottom lip sticking out and tears welling up in her eyes. It broke my heart into a million pieces.

  Jocelyn immediately hugged her and wiped her tears, then gave her the rest of her barely touched ice cream which halted both her tears and her sadness. She smiled and giggled at Jocelyn and quickly started to smear the sweet treat all over her face.

  I watched the whole thing in fascination, amazed at how quickly the little broken heart was put back together. Jocelyn watched Liv with a smile on her face as she made a huge mess and I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

  When she turned to look at me, I couldn't think of what to say or do other than hand her my ice cream cone with a wink.

  "Oh, I'm fine, thank you," she laughed and waved dismissively.

  "You sure?"

  "Yeah."

  "But it's really good. Chocolate," I sang and waved the heaping cone in front of her.

  She laughed again and shook her head in amusement. "Okay, fine."

  She grabbed the cone out of my hand, brushing my fingers in the process and making my stomach clench, then brought it to her lips and wrapped them around the cold cream.

  I watched, hypnotized, as she licked her lips and moaned quietly.

  "Mmmm, that's delicious."

  A part of me grew anxious to get the ice cream back from her so I could put my lips where hers had been, but another part of me never wanted her to stop darting her tongue out to lick the melting drips of chocolate.

  I heard Maddy snicker from across the picnic table and finally moved my eyes away from the most arousing thing I had ever seen. She was smiling and waggling her eyebrows at me, obviously aware that I had been ogling Jocelyn with my tongue practically hanging out of my mouth.

  Before she or I could say anything, Jocelyn handed the ice cream back to me and excused herself to go clean Liv up who had demolished her treat.

  I took a few deep cleansing breaths, clearing my head of the fog that had overwhelmed me.

  Just friends…

  Just… friends.

  Jocelyn

  After that first week, Andrew and I saw a lot more of each other. The zoo was a blast and the kids got along really well. Andrew couldn't get enough of Olivia's expressions every time she saw one of the animals up close. When we got to the reptile house, I pretty much had to drag him in with us. Who would have known that a man as big and strong as he is could be terrified of a tiny snake. I'm not saying I like the creepy creatures, but he was constantly latched onto the back of me when I lifted Liv to see inside the cages, thinking I could protect him. It made Olivia giggle so who was I to say anything?

  When we got home, we were all exhausted and Olivia wasn't going to wake up for anything. He carried in the 2 giant stuffed animals, a giraffe and an elephant, and the 5 other small stuffed animals that he insisted on buying for her while I carried her up to her room and laid her in the crib.

  We said our goodbyes with a promise of hanging out again soon and the most perfect day I had experienced in a long time came to an end.

  He made sure he was around a lot after that. If we didn't have plans for a day, he would stop by before leaving for work and make sure I had everything I needed and if not, he would make sure to stop and pick up anything for me. He was still a little hesitant around me, probably because I was trying to stay guarded around him, but I decided that if we were going to be friends, I could ease up on him. I was extremely comfortable around him and found myself gravitating to him whenever we were together.

  It helped that he always smelled so incredible and his warmth was so inviting and calming.

  Ben was really the only good guy friend I had ever had. His friendship had always been more of a brotherly thing, though, so spending time with Andrew could have been extremely awkward. I didn't want to see him as a brother, but I didn't really want to think of him as anything else. Too bad my mind and my heart were on completely different pages. Was I attracted to him? Yes. Could I have a platonic relationship with him? Of course. Did my heart feel like slapping me in the face because of that? Yep.

  We found out that we liked a lot of the same TV shows and since I didn't have a television, yet, he said I was expected to be over to his place in time to watch them with him.

  "I feel stupid sitting there laughing all by myself or yelling at the TV because someone did something stupid. You would do me a great service by joining me," he had pleaded.

  Of course, I gave in, but only because I was tired of keeping up on the shows by watching them on my computer. My internet made the download take forever. That's the only reason. I swear.

  "Plus," he added, "you are the only person I know, besides me, that actually gets excited about watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory. We are perfect TV show buddies."

  Again, I didn't argue.

  I did, however, want to jump in his lap every time we sat down to watch a show and ended up asking way too many questions about what the hell was going on because I couldn't concentrate on anything else.

  Just friends? Joss, you dumbass.

  I had been concentrating on my friendship with him so much that my frequent headaches had started to taper off. That or I just didn't notice them as much.

  After the third week, he offered to start coming over to watch Olivia for me while I put in a few hours of work here and there. The first day made me a little nervous. I barely got anything done because
I was straining to listen for Olivia and hear that she was alright. When Andrew came into my office holding a giggling Olivia out in front of him, as far away as possible, with Monty nowhere to be seen, I could smell her diaper before he even said anything.

  "Someone has a present for you," he said, his nose scrunched up and his face turned away from the offending gift.

  I told him I was busy and he would just have to do it by himself, knowing that would make him squirm.

  "I-I don't know what to do," he finally admitted with a desperate look on his face.

  I almost died laughing.

  That's when I started noticing the sweet kisses they gave each other on each cheek anytime she was in his arms. I ended up embarrassing myself even more when I couldn't take my eyes away from his arms, wishing they would wrap around me, too. He had to call my name a few times to snap me out of it, but he never said anything else about it, just smiled and winked. Winked! He had no clue what that did to me. Or did he?

  He found out a little more about me after some well placed questions, but I still skirted around the questions that I didn't want to answer. He was very patient and didn't seem to get too upset about my reservations. One more reason to wonder why I said I only wanted to be friends. I should have just changed my name to Dumbass because that's what I kept calling myself anytime he was nearby.

  After the fourth week, we had gotten into a routine and were practically inseparable. Neither one of us knocked anymore. Every Monday had been pasta night, every Wednesday Olivia and I went to his place to make cookies - only allowing him to do it himself once with disastrous results - and every Friday Andrew took us out for pizza. Saturdays that he wasn't working were spent at the pool attempting to teaching Liv how to swim - and occasionally wiping the drool off my face due to his shirtless form - or the park playing in the sandbox and wearing Monty out or just staying home and having a barbeque with Madison - my new gossip queen friend - and Ty.