New Life

by Bonnie Dee

  I considered doing exactly that as I pushed aside her robe and reached for her bare skin underneath, but this was an apartment building with a lot of windows, other balconies, and no privacy. As hot as public sex sounded, we could probably be arrested. I stumbled backward through the sliding door into the house, pulling Anna with me.

  The moment we were inside, I tore off her robe and touched every inch of her. I wished I had more hands so I could feel more of her at once. Naturally, I was horny, but there was more to it than sex. It just felt so good to touch someone and to be touched, to feel the warmth of Anna’s body against mine.

  I tasted teriyaki on her tongue as I stroked my hands down the sleek line of her back to cup her rear. I would’ve liked to lift her up and pin her against the wall, but I didn’t know if my legs would support us both. Instead, we lurched across the living room to the couch, groping and grabbing all the way. I let go of her only long enough to strip off my jeans; then Anna pushed me onto the couch and straddled my lap. She ground against my straining erection, and I came close to losing it right then. I gritted my teeth and held back, determined to prolong the wonderful agony throbbing in my cock. But it was hard as she slid her body over mine. The curtain of her hair brushed my face, and her eyes burned into mine. I gripped her hips as she rose and fell, and the tension inside me grew unbearable.

  Clinging to her, I felt a wave of feeling rush over me, too intense to control. I’d experienced a lot of angry outbursts in the aftermath of the accident, but this time a surge of joy brought tears to my eyes. I blinked them away, damned if I’d let Anna see me as an overemotional, crying-during-sex kind of guy.

  Suddenly, Anna leaped off my lap, leaving me thrusting into the air.

  “Crap! Condom.”

  She ran to her bedroom to get the protection we needed, which gave me time to get myself under control. By the time she’d returned and was rolling the condom on my cock, I was pretty cool. I pulled her on top of me and guided myself into her, trembling only a little because it felt so amazing.

  Threading my fingers through her hair, I cradled her head and dragged her down for more kisses as our bodies moved together in an easy rhythm. It was a perfect moment, everything I wanted it to be—until the dog jumped on the couch to join in the fun.

  “Down, Baby!” Anna pushed the puppy off the couch, but she leaped right back up and stared at me, head cocked, while I pumped away.

  It was way too late to interrupt things to put the dog in her kennel, so we ignored her bright-eyed stare. I closed my eyes and strove for that peak, which seems elusive until all of a sudden it’s there. I tumbled down the far side, free-falling and clinging to Anna. A moment later, she clenched around me and gave a hoarse cry.

  Alarmed by all the noisy activity, Baby’s whimpers turned to barks. Anna collapsed against my shoulder, laughing. I held her close. This was a moment even my crappy memory would never forget—holding Anna, feeling her body shaking and the goofy dog pawing at my leg, trying to get between us.

  Had sex always been this great? I couldn’t remember the act with any clarity, but I somehow doubted I’d ever felt this way before.

  At last Anna pulled away, still laughing. She peeled herself off me, and gathered her clothes to dress. I did the same, going to the bathroom to dispose of the condom and wash up. I looked at myself in the mirror over the sink, expecting to look different somehow. But I didn’t. Same old face. Same old me.

  Now what? Was I supposed to hang around, maybe even spend the night, or should I leave before I outstayed my welcome? I felt wonderful and a little lost all at the same time. I decided to follow Anna’s cue. She’d let me know when it was time to leave.

  I returned to the living room to find she’d finished clearing the dishes from the patio and was turning on the TV. “Want to watch a movie?”

  “Sure.”

  I joined her on the couch, and she ran through the choices on the menu. She put on some political-intrigue flick, and I quickly lost track of the plot I couldn’t care less about. I’d watch anything just to be snuggled up on the couch with my arm around Anna. In fact, I spent more time watching her than the movie. The glow from the TV screen played over her face, etching every feature, and I thought she was about the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

  She finally noticed me staring. “What?”

  “Nothing. Just looking at you.”

  “Well, don’t. It’s freaky.” But she smiled as she said it.

  I grinned. “Sorry.”

  I turned my attention back to the screen on which a guy was trying to break into someplace to diffuse something or steal information or maybe track down the person behind the plot. The quick edits and shaky-cam were giving me a headache, so I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, the final credits were rolling and Anna had turned on a couple of lights. She shut off the TV.

  I rose stiffly and stretched. “I’d better be going.”

  “I’ll give you a ride home.”

  I would’ve preferred to hear, Why don’t you spend the night? but her smile was warm, and she didn’t sound as if she wished I’d disappear.

  “I’d ask you to stay, but I’ve got to get up early,” she said.

  “No problem. You don’t have to give me a ride. I’m used to taking COTA.” I sat tying my shoes and wishing I had a car like a normal person.

  “No way. I’m not sending you out in the middle of the night. Do the busses even run this late?”

  In the end, I swallowed my pride and took the ride she offered. It wasn’t as if I was dragging her out into snow or rain. It was a nice evening, and the trip to my house was fairly short, plus it was a chance to hang out just a little longer.

  “I had a really nice time today,” she said as she stopped the car in front of my apartment building. “We’ll have to do it again soon.”

  “I’d like that.” Words were too small to encompass how very much I’d like that. I was afraid we were just making polite talk and wouldn’t see each other again. It was too difficult to juggle our schedules. She wasn’t really interested. This had been a one-nighter, as far as she was concerned. Worries skittered around in my head like nervous mice.

  Fuck it. I was a man, not a mouse. I’d show her what she’d be missing if she blew me off. I leaned over and wrapped my arms around her. My mouth found hers in the darkness of the car, and I kissed her hard enough to make her gasp when I let her go. Whether we saw each other again or not, it was a kiss she wouldn’t forget.

  “I’ll text you,” I said before I got out of the car.

  “Me too.” Her voice sounded a little breathless, which was very satisfying.

  I went into the building, but before the door closed behind me, I watched her drive away. Something was starting here, the first really good thing in my life in a long time. Now, if I could just keep from screwing it up. Excitement and happiness mingled with dread as I envisioned a hundred different ways that might happen.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Work got extremely busy during the days following my date with Jason. My hours grew longer, and I had literally no time for a social life, but I didn’t want Jason to think I was brushing him off. I wanted to see him. It just seemed both our lives conspired to make sure that didn’t happen.

  So I texted like crazy, telling him little bits about my day, asking about his, reiterating what a great time I’d had, and promising to see him again as soon as I could.

  I finished late enough one evening that Jason was already starting his shift. It was easy to find where he was working in the building and steal a few minutes alone. Some frantic groping and kissing was about all we had time for though, since he was officially working and had a job to get through.

  All right. That’s a lie. We went well beyond kissing and groping. In the days that followed, I stopped to see him many nights before leaving the building. A quick fuck in a deserted stairwell or on a break room table happened more often than not. Sordid and hasty, but exciting too. Unfortunately, seizin
g moments of quick release wasn’t the same as going on real dates, and I feared Jason might feel I was using him as some sort of stress reliever at the end of a long day.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been so busy. I even had to go in on the weekend,” I told him one night. “Poor Baby is at day care more than she’s at home. It’s not good for her, having me gone this much.”

  Jason buttoned his shirt post-make-out session. His hair was sticking out in crazy swirls from me running my hands through it. “I could spend some time with her if you want. My days aren’t that busy. I know it’s not the same as her being with you, but she might like some one-on-one attention.”

  “Really? You’d do that?” I swiftly considered the proposition. It would be nice for Baby to have more personal care than she probably got at day care, but it seemed a big favor to ask of Jason. A huge favor considering the time and effort it would take for him to get to my house, or the day care, to pick up Baby. “I couldn’t ask you to.”

  “You don’t have to. I’m offering.”

  “I suppose I could drop her off with you some days rather than take her to day care, but then I’d have to pick her up before you leave for work. It would be a lot of juggling for both of us.”

  He shrugged. “Up to you.”

  I hesitated. This was the kind of favor a person might ask of a boyfriend, not somebody she was having a casual affair with. Did I want our relationship to turn that corner into something more?

  “If you really don’t mind, I could drop her off with you some mornings. Or…maybe…you could come to my place after work and sleep there.”

  “I could do that.” His eyes crinkled at the corners and grooves cut on either side of his mouth.

  We seemed to be bypassing casual dating and going straight to spending the night, which wasn’t what I’d intended. Or maybe it was. The thought of Jason joining me in bed in the middle of the night was arousing, exciting, and way too much too soon. All I knew was that I wanted it. I wanted him for more than brief snatches of furtive coupling in an empty office building.

  And then what? You’re not thinking ahead. My mother’s voice nagged. All the years I’d lived on my own and I still couldn’t crowbar her out of me. She’d trained me to consider possible consequences of every action. She didn’t act without planning ahead, and I’d inherited that quality in spades. Life mapping, Mom called it.

  Life mapping right down to every excruciating detail. Except Baby. I’d chosen to bring the dog into my life on a whim, and so far that had turned out fine. What was a little mess and trouble compared with all the joy and love I got in return?

  Jason stood looking at me, and I realized I’d remained silent, considering pros and cons, for too long. “What about tomorrow night?”

  His smile went a long way toward erasing my doubts. “I can do that,” he repeated.

  ****

  One night of staying over at Anna’s turned into several times a week. It wasn’t hard to change my pattern to accommodate sleeping in a different bed—not when the incentive was so great. But sometimes I’ll admit I got a little confused trying to remember whether it was an “Anna night” or a home night. At the end of a particularly tiring night of work, I’d have to check my planner to assure myself I was going to the right destination.

  When I reached Anna’s apartment building and let myself in—she’d given me my own key—it was like reaching heaven to climb into bed with her. She was soft, warm, and sleepy, and smelled so good. Sometimes she woke up and we made love. Other times, she grunted and rolled over, and I spooned up behind her and fell right to sleep.

  I’d stay in bed for several hours after Anna left for work. When Baby decided I’d slept long enough, she’d start whimpering and pawing at me. I got up, dressed, and took her out on a long walk, then made myself breakfast and ate it, sprawled on the couch in front of Anna’s massive TV. I quickly adapted to the luxurious new routine.

  But Anna’s fancy apartment pointed out the poverty of my place in sharp relief. For some time, I’d been too busy recovering and generally keeping my shit together to set any long-term goals. Leaving the safety of my parents’ house to get an apartment and job had been enough of a challenge. Now I knew I couldn’t stop there. I needed to set bigger goals. But what was I fit for? What did I want to do? Hell, I hadn’t known that when I was drinking my way through college. It wasn’t going to be any easier to figure out now.

  One day, I hooked a leash on Baby and took her for a walk after breakfast in a nearby park. As I looked up at the blue sky through gold leaves, I felt pretty damn happy, something I wasn’t used to feeling, but anxious too, because whenever something really great happens, you can bet an anvil’s going to drop.

  Baby squatted to pee about a half-dozen times. When she stopped to drop a load, I realized I hadn’t brought the poop paraphernalia Anna had instructed me to bring on walks. I looked around for anyone watching. An old woman sitting on a bench scowled as I kicked dirt and dog shit underneath the nearest bush. I shrugged and smiled at her. What’d she want me to do, pick it up with my bare hands?

  My sister’s ringtone, a pop hit she’d programmed in, jangled on my cell phone. I wrapped Baby’s leash around my wrist and answered. “Hey, what’s up? Aren’t you in school?”

  “Yeah. I’m on lunch. Did you remember Mom’s birthday is coming up? We need to buy something.”

  “Right. I remember.” Crap. Mom’s birthday being right on the heels of Dad’s should’ve been easy to remember, but my new relationship with Anna had pushed everything else out of my mind.

  I glanced at Baby, who was tugging on the leash in a hurry to get on with her walk. “I don’t know when I can get together to shop with you. Can’t you pick something and put both our names on it? I’ll pay you back.”

  There was a long silence. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll take care of it. What are you so busy with anyway?”

  “I’m taking care of a friend’s pet for her.”

  “Her? Is this the girl you went out with before?” Katie’s annoyed tone turned eager as she sniffed out gossip.

  “Yeah.” A warm feeling oozed through me like the sun soaking into my skin. “Her name’s Anna.”

  “Is it serious?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I can hear you smiling. You’re in love, aren’t you?” Katie sounded excited, which was kind of sweet but also made me wish I hadn’t said anything.

  “I don’t know about love, but I like her a lot. Keep this to yourself, okay? I’m not ready to hear Mom list all the reasons this is a bad idea.”

  “Why would she do that? She wants you to date people and be happy. Jeez, Jason, give her some credit. I mean, Mom drives me nuts too, but she’s not horrible. And you’re not as defective as you think you are.”

  There was some background noise, lunchroom chatter and loud laughter, before Katie spoke again. “Gotta go. I’ll buy Mom’s gift, loser, but don’t forget you owe me.”

  The phone went silent. I put it away and gave in to Baby’s desire to lunge forward. We were near a small pond where geese were gathered, and as we got close, she jerked the leash out of my hand. She tore off, yapping and sending geese scattering in all directions, honking and hissing.

  The bench-sitting old woman called out, “Keep that dog under control.”

  Yeah, thanks, lady, because I wasn’t trying to. I ran after Baby, dove for the trailing leash, and ended up flat on the ground, driving the air from my lungs. I pushed up on my hands to see Baby in the distance running after a goose that kept just out of reach, flapping its wings but not bothering to fly.

  I yelled for her as I climbed to my feet and hurried after her. She ignored me, too thrilled to be free and chasing live game to pay any attention. I called and ran till my hip gave out and I crumpled to my knees. Baby had nearly reached the edge of the park and beyond that was a busy street. If she got hit…

  Just then the goose got tired of its little game, spread its wings, and took off with a mocking honk. Baby
leaped into the air a couple of times as if she might follow it, then gave up and ran back to me.

  “Stupid bitch,” I cursed as she jumped on me. I hugged her and slipped my hand through the loop of the leash so I wouldn’t lose her again.

  We made it back to Anna’s apartment. The pup was so filthy from romping in the mud at the edge of the pond that I had to wash her. I started filling the tub and spread a towel beside it. It wasn’t easy to kneel and get the struggling dog into the water. My leg hated bending. By the time the bath was finished, water was all over the floor.

  I dried Baby as best I could before she squirmed away and streaked through the apartment, leaving wet paw prints on the carpet. On Anna’s pristine floor, the slight muddiness—since I hadn’t cleaned between Baby’s toes—looked disastrous.

  Gritting my teeth, I captured Baby and put her in her kennel to dry while I cleaned the bathroom, including the ring around the tub, and wiped up the paw prints throughout the apartment. With everything as close to clean as I could make it, I pulled a beer from the fridge and collapsed on the couch to drink it. I’d just popped the top and taken one swallow when the doorbell buzzed.

  I couldn’t imagine anyone coming to Anna’s apartment in the middle of the day expecting to find her there. Maybe it was a package that had to be signed for. I pressed the button and spoke into the intercom. “Yeah?”

  “Is this Anna’s apartment?” a woman’s voice asked.

  “Yes, it is. Who’s this?”

  “Her mother. Who are you?”

  My mind went completely blank. Had Anna told me to expect her mom and I’d somehow forgotten? I grabbed my phone from my pocket and checked for missed messages.

  “Hello?” Anna’s mom sounded impatient.

  “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you. I’m Anna’s friend, Jason. I’m pet-sitting today.”

  “Pet-sitting what pet?”

  “Her dog, Baby.”

  “When did Anna get a dog?” a man’s voice chimed in.