Full Circle

by Lynne, Donya

  She could actually see her and Mark here now. Feel his arms around her as they watched a movie in the living room. Feel his body on her as they made love in their new bed. Feel his hands on her swollen belly as his baby kicked and moved inside her. See his smile as he held their son or daughter for the first time. Hear the future giggles of their children. Hear their tiny bare feet thump against the hardwood floors as they raced into the kitchen for a treat. See them getting off the school bus and racing up the driveway as orange autumn leaves fell from the two large maple trees in the front yard. And always, Mark was right there. Beside her. Holding her. Loving her.

  Her whole life flashed before her eyes, but instead of the life she’d already known, it was her future. One she never thought she’d have two years ago but now seemed more real than the smooth, cool wood beneath her fingers as she skimmed her palm across the surface of her new desk.

  Everything was coming together. Finally, blessedly together.

  She spent the rest of the afternoon setting up her office.

  Then she went upstairs to finish unpacking the bedroom.

  After emptying the final box and placing the contents in their new bureau, she turned toward the medium-sized box sitting in the corner on one of the sheets she’d put down to protect the carpet.

  It was time.

  Time to finally unpack the goodies Daniel and Zach had ordered for her.

  She hefted the box onto the bed and grabbed the utility knife from the dresser, zipping it down the taped seam. Setting the knife down, she bent the two flaps back and peered inside, face flaming.

  Holy butt plugs, Batman.

  She hastily glanced toward the hallway as if Mark would pop in that very moment. Thank God he wasn’t due back until tomorrow. She wasn’t ready to unveil her bounty. She needed to read up on how to use these things, what precautions to take, what to expect, and anything else she could discover. And anal plugs and prostate vibrators were definitely things she wanted to learn more about before poking them around Mark’s backside. With knowledge comes confidence. So, yeah, until she had both, these little gems were going into the bottom of her panty drawer. All the way in the bottom, where she buried them under a mound of cotton and satin delicates.

  Dusting off her hands, she gave the room a satisfied glance then gathered the broken-down boxes and took them downstairs to the garage, where she piled them alongside the rest of the recycling.

  Then she went to the dinosaur-sized kitchen, heated up some chili for dinner, took it to the living room, and kicked her feet up while she watched the news on their new, extremely comfortable couch.

  As she ate, she felt like she sank deeper and deeper into the cushions. Her eyes grew heavy. Finishing her chili, she set the bowl on the coffee table then leaned back again, letting her head rest against the cushion. Maybe she would close her eyes for a few minutes. Just a few to rest them.

  Before she knew what hit her, she was asleep.

  Chapter 21

  Best friends. They know how crazy you are and still choose to be seen with you in public.

  -Author Unknown

  “I can’t believe it’s already April,” Lisa said, coming in and taking off her jacket.

  Karma hung it in the coat closet then did the same with Daniel’s and Zach’s.

  “It’s about time you invited us to your mansion.” Daniel’s gaze swept left to right as he nodded approvingly. “Very nice, Karma. You’ve moved up in the world.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m still little ol’ me.”

  “Honey,” Zach said, “there is nothing little or old about you or this fabulous house.” He shot Daniel a smirk. “Why don’t we live in a house like this. It’s not like we can’t afford it.”

  “If you remember correctly, babe, you’re the one who wanted to buy the house we’re living in now.”

  “Yes, but that was, like, five years ago. It’s time for an upgrade.”

  “We’ll discuss it.”

  As the two continued bantering as they wandered toward the hall, Lisa slid up beside Karma and hugged her.

  “How have you been? I haven’t heard much from you in a while.”

  “I’ve been so busy.” Karma’s shoulders wilted just from thinking about the whirlwind of the last month. “There’s so much to do, and no time for any of it.”

  Lisa’s eyes brightened and she sidled closer, her expression one of sly curiosity. “Wedding planning?”

  Daniel and Zach spun around at the word and rejoined them. “Did he finally agree to a date?” Daniel said.

  Karma exhaled impatiently. “No.” She gave Lisa a playful glare. “Thanks for getting everyone’s hopes up, Leese.”

  “Hey, honest mistake. I just thought that was why you’ve been so busy.”

  “I wish.” She gestured for them to follow her. “Come on. I’ll give you the tour.” She figured they’d start upstairs and work their way to the basement before ending in the kitchen, where they were going to make homemade, single-serving pizzas then have a movie night.

  “So, what’s been keeping you so busy?” Daniel said.

  “Work. School. Moving.” She paused halfway up the stairs to look over her shoulder. “And Andrea the tyrannical interior designer.”

  “Who?” Zach laughed, falling back in step beside her.

  “Andrea is the interior designer Mark hired. She stops in every few days to check on things and suggest more furniture.” She waved to the walls. “See this lovely shade of taupe? This was Andrea’s idea.” She came to the top of the stairs and pointed to a narrow glass table along the wall. “That table? Andrea.” She stopped and did a Vanna White between two landscape paintings hanging on the wall. “And these?”

  “Let me guess,” Daniel said. “Andrea.”

  Karma gave him the wink and a gun. “Bingo.” She started down the hall to the bedroom.

  “You don’t like her suggestions?” Lisa said.

  She pushed open the bedroom door and flipped on the light. “Oh no, I love them.” Andrea had done a superb job incorporating her style with Mark’s to give them both what they wanted.

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  Karma welcomed them into the master suite. “The woman just doesn’t know when to stop.” Everyone laughed at the way she opened her eyes and pretended to choke herself. “At this rate, she’s going to burn through Mark’s entire inheritance before summer.”

  “Wow, Karma. This is . . .” Lisa gaped when she finally turned her attention to the room.

  Karma had to admit, their bedroom was impressive. It was one of her favorite rooms in the whole house. Lots of natural light came through the large windows and French doors leading to the private balcony. And the cream-colored carpet reminded Karma of vanilla ice cream.

  Which reminded her.

  “Shoes off.” She waved at their feet. “No shoes in the bedroom.” She’d never had to worry about such things before, but with this luxurious layer of clouds on her floor, she wasn’t letting anything that could stain, maim, discolor, or otherwise dirty it into its midst. She needed a sign on the door that said, “No shoes, wine, or tomato sauce beyond this point.”

  Everyone dutifully took off their shoes then wandered the bedroom like they were viewing a museum exhibit.

  “Jesus, Karma!” Zach called from the bathroom, followed immediately by, “Daniel! Get in here. You’ve gotta see this.”

  Lisa disappeared inside the walk-in closet. A few seconds later, as Daniel entered the bathroom, Lisa poked her head out, her face the picture of impressed.

  “My whole apartment can fit in here, Karma,” she said at the same time Zach said, “This is the kind of master bathroom I want in our next house. Check out that showerhead. And the tub. And . . . what? A refrigerator? Karma!” He came to the door and looked from her to Lisa and back again. “You have a refrigerator and coffee bar in your bathroom? Seriously?”

  “What?” Lisa abandoned the closet and hustled into the master bath. “Holy shit
, Karma!”

  Karma propped herself against the doorframe. “And the towel racks are heated, too.”

  “No way.” Zach ran his fingers over one of the racks.

  It was comical watching her friends marvel the way she had the first time she viewed the place with Mark. Now it felt like she was finally getting used to it. Something she never thought would happen.

  After a couple more minutes of ooing and ahing, Karma said, “Okay, so are you guys ready to see the rest of the house?”

  “I don’t know,” Lisa said. “I might never want to go home. This is kind of depressing.” She walked out into the hall and picked up her shoes. “Do you and Mark need a roomie?”

  Everyone laughed as she led them through the hall in the opposite direction to a wing of bedrooms and another hall that extended like a mini-catwalk to an empty room she and Mark hadn’t decided what to do with, yet. It was over the garage and large enough to be a bedroom, but not laid out as one. It could be a home office . . . or a playroom for the kids someday . . . or maybe even an adult playroom. Mark had hinted at converting it into something they could use just for them. A place where he could put the Tantra chair he still planned on ordering

  “See,” Lisa said as they peered inside the first bedroom on their way back through. “It’s already got a bed and everything. You’d never even know I was here. I promise.”

  “Yeah, but then you’d have to listen to Mark and me having sex,” she teased. “We can be pretty loud.”

  Daniel chuckled. “Sounds like you’ve been using your new toys.” He exchanged glances with Zach.

  “Toys?” Lisa said, perking up. “What kind of toys?” She arched one eyebrow.

  “We bought Karma a few toys as an early bridal shower gift,” Zach said. “Special toys she can use with Mark. Man toys.”

  “Really now.” Lisa eyed her.

  She shook her head. “Sorry to disappoint you guys, but we haven’t used them yet.”

  “What?” Daniel’s mouth fell open. “Doesn’t he like them?”

  She turned for the stairs. “Come on. You still have to see the main floor and the basement.”

  “Oh, no you don’t.” Daniel caught up to her and grabbed her hand. “Haven’t you even shown them to him? Does he even know you have them?”

  “We’ve just been so busy,” she said, trying to break away.

  “Excuses, excuses. Now you’re starting to sound like him putting off the wedding date.”

  Lisa crossed her arms. “Would someone please tell me what kinds of toys we’re talking about so I can catch up.”

  At the same time, Zach and Daniel said, “Butt plugs and cock rings.”

  “Excuse me?” Lisa’s forehead wrinkled as a dumbfounded expression overtook her face. “Butt whats and cock rings?”

  “Plugs,” Daniel grinned and let go of Karma’s hand. “Mark has a thing for having his prostate stimulated.”

  “You weren’t supposed to say anything,” Karma said, huffing at them.

  Daniel held up his hands as if warding off further scorn. “Sorry, but I figured she knew already. You usually tell her everything.”

  Lisa cocked her head to the side. “I’m lost.”

  “Oh, God. Not you, too.” Zach glanced from Lisa to Karma. “Do women simply not understand the power of the prostate?”

  Karma started down the stairs, thinking of Nina, who had likely been the one to introduce Mark to the power of his prostate. “I’m sure some do.”

  “Well, men need to do a better job cluing you ladies in. Everyone says the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but they’re wrong. The prostate is the gateway to keeping a man satisfied, honey. Tickle him right, and he’ll never leave you.”

  Lisa brought up the rear, no pun intended. “What do butt plugs, or whatever you called them, have to do with a man’s prostate?”

  At the bottom of the stairs, Daniel and Zach stopped and looked at her. “We’ll show you later.”

  The way Daniel spoke with a hint of mischief prickled Karma’s awareness. “What do you mean, you’ll show her later?” she asked suspiciously. “What have you two done now?”

  Zach laughed and reached out his hand. “Give me the keys, babe. I’ll go get it.”

  Daniel smirked and nodded then handed over his keys. “Might as well.”

  “Get what?” Karma watched Zach dart out the front door.

  “You’ll see.” Daniel motioned for her to continue the tour.

  Reluctantly, she took them to the basement. Zach showed back up as they peeked into the workout room, where Karma’s stationary bike and treadmill were already set up, along with a combination of his-and-her-free weights.

  He handed her a gift-wrapped box.

  “What’s this?”

  “Just another early bridal shower gift.”

  She and Mark didn’t even have a wedding date, and already she was receiving bridal shower gifts.

  “Go ahead. Open it,” Daniel took Zach’s hand, and the two watched like proud, gay Jedi Masters as their apprentice finished building her first light saber.

  She sliced the paper with her fingernail then ripped it back to reveal a black and red box. Actually, it was two black and red boxes. As the paper tore away, the boxes tumbled out and nearly fell to the floor before she secured them in her hands with a little help from Lisa.

  “What is it?” Lisa said, peering closer.

  On one box, in bold red letter, was the word ADAM. On the other was the same red font, only it read EVE. On both packages, in small, clean script, were the words, From Eve’s temptation came Adam’s desire.

  “It’s a his-and-her gift,” Zach said, stepping forward and taking the boxes. “See, this is for the man.” He lifted the Adam box, displaying the image of the black probe-looking thing with two slender, curly-Q handles at the base. “And this is for you.” He handed her the Eve box and pointed. “See, it’s for Kegels. And this . . .” He lifted the Adam box again. “Well, this will blow Mark’s world. I’m telling you. Guaranteed.”

  Daniel nodded so aggressively she knew they were speaking from experience.

  Lisa took the box from Zach. “So, are you telling me this . . .” She pointed at the black thing that looked a bit like a large, swollen thumb, bigger on the end than at the base. “This goes inside his . . . his . . .”

  “His ass,” Zach said, ever the blunt one.

  Lisa covered her mouth, eyes wide. “Oh my God. Seriously? Mark likes that. He actually wants you to do this to him?”

  Daniel nudged Lisa’s shoulder. “Trust me, she wants to do this to him.” He turned his attention to Karma. “Karma, even if he had never told you he liked this sort of thing, he would be forever grateful to you for giving him this. Trust me, he will never come harder or longer or as many times in a row as this little baby will allow him to do. Just . . .” He exchanged eager glances with Zach. “Yeah, this one is a keeper. Absolutely. It takes a bit to get used to if he’s never used one, but once he hits the spot . . ” He rolled his eyes and raised his hands in front of him as if praising Jesus. “Wow, Karma. All I can say is wow.”

  “And thank you,” Zach added. “Because if you hadn’t shared with us what Mark told you, Danny and I never would have done a little shopping for ourselves, and we never would have discovered this precious little darling. So, yeeesssss, Karma.” He grabbed her hands and practically bowed fealty. “Thank you, thank you, dear God, thank you.”

  Okay then. Apparently, the Adam was a must-try. “You’re welcome, I think.” She giggled at the way Daniel and Zach gushed over themselves to convince her of the Adam’s potential.

  Lisa handed the box back to Karma. “Well, I’m sold. Next time I’ve got a man in my life, I’m making him try one of those.”

  “You won’t regret it,” Zach said. “Danny and I did a lot of reading on the website about it, and while men who’ve used it raved about how they could walk around with it in, they rarely made it past an hour, because the thing just set
s them off. Just, like, in a blink.” Zach snapped his fingers. “It would move a certain way, and then it was orgasm city, just out of nowhere. One testimonial said the guy sprayed his cabinets and didn’t even get an erection. He said that his wife tried to get him to the bedroom, but that every few steps, it would start over. He just kept coming. And then I guess the sex was off the charts, even for her. When he finally full-on ejaculated, it lasted for five minutes, and his wife just kept coming with him. And Danny and I can vouch for the accuracy, because—”

  Karma and Lisa held up their hands at the same time, cringing. “We get the idea.”

  “Yeah,” Lisa added. “TMI. Way TMI.”

  “Sorry.” Zach grinned as if he was anything but sorry. “Just got carried away.”

  “Obviously.” Karma glanced down at mankind’s greatest sexual secret.

  And was it hot in the basement or what? She couldn’t listen to Zach carry on any more about how the Adam could send Mark’s ejaculatory reflex into outer space without wanting to excuse herself to relieve a little of her own frustration. Mark had been gone a week, and he’d only been home ten days out of the last thirty. After what they’d done to each other in Chicago, that wasn’t enough. She was seriously Jonesing for a repeat performance.

  As if reading her mind, Lisa said, “When does Mark get home?”

  “Tomorrow.” He’d flown to Florida Monday, then to Minnesota Wednesday morning, and then into Chicago Thursday night. He’d spent Friday with a client, and then had dinner with his parents. Today, he was visiting with Rob and Holly, who had recently announced she was pregnant.

  When Mark got home tomorrow, she was determined to corner him for a little private time.

  She glanced at the boxes in her hands.

  Okay, make that a lot of private time.

  Chapter 22

  Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

  -Neale Donald Walsch

  Mark shook Rob’s hand then gave him the tissue-wrapped gift he’d bought last night at Tiffany’s. Nothing big, just a silver picture frame. Something to put their first baby picture in.