“Wow,” was all I could utter as she pulled back.
“Yes, wow,” she said as she slid down my body to suck my breast into her mouth.
I ran my fingers through her short brown hair as she sucked me into her. Oh, my god. The feeling was amazing. It felt like I might explode.
Her hand slipped between my legs. She began to explore me.
“Jody,” I moaned as her fingers touched that one spot that could send me into next year.
“Yes,” she answered.
Then her fingers glided inside me. I moved to get closer. Her teeth didn’t leave my nipple as her fingers continued their investigation. They touched just the right places as I felt myself start to quiver. I could feel my body getting tighter and tighter.
“That’s it,” I heard her whisper as she continued rubbing that spot. “Yes, that’s it.”
I felt myself explode as every muscle in my body released every tension it had ever held onto.
I curled up into her arms.
“Oh, Jody,” I moaned as I cuddled up close to her.
She leaned down and took my lips with hers. It was a long, soft, gentle kiss.
I reached up and ran my hand through her hair. I felt like purring.
“Very, very nice,” I said softly.
She smiled. “Yes, you are.”
I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. Then I rolled over on top of her and started down her body.
It was a long, lithe body. My mouth stopped at her small boyish breasts as my hand continued down. I drew her nipple into my mouth and started to massage it with my tongue. My fingers found that little orb between her legs.
I felt her hands pressing on me, whether to encourage me lower or faster, I couldn’t tell. Her hips were writhing back and forth. I moved to the other nipple.
“Amy,” she sighed. “So good.”
“It can get better,” I whispered as I placed two fingers inside her. I concentrated on what my hand was doing, finding just the right places to rub. Soon, she was pressing me tighter against her as I felt her body start to stiffen.
A long low moan erupted from her, and she tightened around me. I waited while she shook with the release.
“Yes,” I said softly. “That’s what I wanted.”
“Me, too,” was her breathless reply.
* * * *
After I had made love to Jody, we had lain there, cuddling onto each other for quite a long time.
“I need to go home,” I finally said.
“Why?” she’d asked.
“Well, first and foremost, I need clean clothes for work tomorrow. Second, if your uncle comes in and finds me here, he’ll think I was corrupting his niece. I do not want you to get a bad reputation.”
She had laughed. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
I smiled as I leaned forward to plant a kiss in her nose. “Yes. I’ll come by after work. I get off at four.”
I sat up to pull my clothes back on.
“I’ll still be here.” Jody smiled at me. She had a beautiful smile.
“I’m counting on it.” I gave her a log, hard kiss and went out to my car.
When I walked into the house, Mom was on the phone and Dad was watching TV. I blew Mom a kiss and went upstairs to my room.
What a night that had been!
Once in my bedroom, I gathered my clothes for tomorrow and set them over the chair. I crawled into bed. Of course, I couldn’t fall asleep, even though it had been a long, tiring day. I kept thinking about Jody and all she had told me. I couldn’t believe what she had gone through up there in Wyoming. How could someone treat a person who’d been her lover like that? Well, I guess I’d have to show her that not everyone acted like that. I’d have to be especially careful. She’d been hurt enough.
And how did I feel about her? She was sexy, with a good body, and tonight had been wonderful, in a first-date sort of way. I couldn’t imagine what it might be like if we got to really know each other, and our needs and desires. I guess we’d have to wait and see.
* * * *
Around midmorning, I came across a stack of receipts and bills that fell into where I’d finished yesterday, so by the end of the day I had everything arranged up until the beginning of the year. By the end of the week, I should have last year’s books completely in order. I felt pretty proud if myself as I pulled into a parking space in front of Wright’s.
“Hi, Mr. Wright,” I said as he handed a package to a customer who turned and left. “Jody around?”
“No, she’s not,” he answered. “Did she know you were coming by?”
“I thought so.”
“Well, she’s not here right now. She took the afternoon off. I figure she should because she’s been working almost non-stop. A friend of hers came down from Wyoming, so Jody wanted some time with her. She took her out to eat, I think. I guess she hadn’t seen Joanne in quite a while.”
“Joanne?” Oh, my god. That was the ex, the one who’d caused her so much grief.
“Yes, Joanne said she had a lot to tell her. Don’t know how long they’ll be gone. Should I have her call you when she gets back?”
“No, no,” I said. “It’s nothing important. She knows how to get in touch with me if she wants.”
“All right, then. Anything I can do for you?”
“Oh!” I remembered. “I didn’t pay you for the lamb yesterday.”
Mom had come into my room last night to leave her card and make me promise to pay today. I handed him her debit card.
“The meat looks wonderful, by the way. Mom says to tell you that you and Joseph run the best farm around. The meat is always perfect.”
“Tell your momma thank you. That’s always nice to hear.”
He ran the card through the machine, I signed, and he handed it back.
“I’ll see you later,” I said as I walked out of the store.
My head was in turmoil. Joanne had come all the way here? To apologize and make up? What was Jody’s reaction? Had she forgiven her? Were they in a hotel right now, making up for lost time? Damn! I guess it was luck that made me want to go home last night. It was a good thing I hadn’t let myself get closer.
I stopped on the way home and got Dad a quart of banana-pecan concrete. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I noticed two women sitting at one of the picnic benches, eating concrete and having a serious conversation. One was a pretty woman with shoulder-length light brown hair. The other was Jody.
So that was what her old lover looked like. A part of me wanted to stomp right over there and introduce myself, but I knew I couldn’t. I’d have to wait and see if Jody wanted to say anything about it. I had to mind my own business. I couldn’t interfere.
* * * *
I didn’t hear a word from Jody the next day, and I didn’t go back to Wright’s after work. This was in her hands. If there was something to tell me, she’d have to make the effort to find me. If she had something to tell me.
Damn! She didn’t have to tell me anything if she didn’t want to.
We had dated once and gone to bed together once. That wasn’t even a relationship. She didn’t owe me an explanation. It would have been nice, but it wasn’t mandatory, was it?
But, damn! What had happened? Was this now a dead end for me? Had Jody gone back to her first love? Would I have gone back to Kelly if she had come down here?
No, I would never go back to Kelly, ever again.
I’d fought with myself all last night. My mind was going crazy, imagining what she was doing, and what she was thinking. Was she going back to Joanne? To Wyoming? Was Joann moving here? I finally went downstairs and got a shot of Dad’s whiskey to calm my mind.
This was ridiculous. Jody didn’t owe me anything. We weren’t a couple. It had started to look like it could become that way, but it hadn’t been confirmed. We’d never said anything about it to each other. We had never even mentioned a word like commitment.
Come on, Gilbert, don’t take this personally. It was nice wh
ile it lasted. Relax this weekend. Rest. Go look for new shoes. But don’t you dare obsess about Jody Wright.
* * * *
Midway through the afternoon on Friday, as I was just finishing a final tally on some accounts, I felt someone come into the office. That wasn’t unusual. The coffee pot was in here, and the refrigerator where everyone kept their lunch was, too. People were in and out all the time.
“Amy?”
I looked up. It was Jody.
“Hi,” I said.
“You didn’t stop in last night,” she said.
“Your uncle had said you had company. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
She nodded. “Yes, Joanne came down to tell me how sorry she was.”
I waited.
“She’s gone back home,” Jody explained. “I was alone at the shop last night. I wanted to tell you.”
“You don’t have to,” I said. She’d had my number if she’d really wanted to talk.
“It feels like I do. I didn’t call because I wanted to talk to you face to face.”
My heart stopped. Was she going to tell me that she was getting back with Joanne?
“I don’t want any misunderstandings to come between us. When are you done here? Want to go someplace where we can talk? Where I can talk?”
“Let me finish up here, and I can leave. It might take about twenty minutes or so.”
“All right. I’ll go back to the shop and tell Uncle Marv where I’ll be. I’ll come back in a little bit.”
I smiled. “Fine.”
“Half hour?”
“Perfect.”
She turned and walked out. My stomach knotted. Why couldn’t she just spit it out? Why was she being so dramatic about it? It must be something she thought earth-shattering.
I looked at my work. I couldn’t continue on it with my mind going in fifty different directions. I started to pile everything up.
“Buzz?” I said as I walked down into the store. “I’m almost caught up to the first of this year. I’ll have it completed on Monday morning.”
“Already?”
I nodded. “Is it okay if I leave early? Everything is put away so I can start on this year on Monday.”
“That’s fantastic, Amy. You’re doing a miraculous job. I’m glad Marv recommended you. But…you didn’t take lunch today.” He frowned at me. “I was watching. I keep telling ya, you gotta eat and keep your strength up. Take lunch next time, y’hear?”
“Okay. I’ll take a lunch break, but I wanted to get last year done today.”
“No excuses.”
Jody walked back into the store. “Ready?” she asked me.
Buzz looked at her, then back at me, then at her again. He broke out in laughter. “Marv was right, huh? Go! Go have a good time. Have a great weekend!”
I broke out into a big smile. “We’ll try. See you Monday morning.” I guess the two of them had been discussing us. It might be a shame to disappoint them.
We left and went out to Jody’s car. She had a Ford that must have been ten years old. It was a little dented in places but obviously ran well, if it had made it all the way here from Wyoming.
“Want a concrete?” Jody asked as she started the engine.
“A drink might be better.” No, I didn’t want to go where she’d been with Joanne.
“A Bellini?”
“If you want.”
The car started toward Restaurant Row. We didn’t say a word to each other all the way there.
Olive Garden was busy. It was a Friday night, but we got a small table in the bar area and ordered Bellinis. We sat there for a moment and took a first sip.
Jody took a deep breath. “Okay,” she started, “Joanne came down on Wednesday to tell me she’d seen the error of what she’d done and to say she was sorry. She said she was going to move out of her mother’s house and wanted me to come back.”
I waited. Jody seemed to have a problem saying what she wanted to say. My stomach was roiling. Even the Bellini didn’t seem to be helping.
“I asked her why she hadn’t moved out yet. She couldn’t answer that.” Jody took a deep breath. “I asked if she knew all that had happened, what I’d gone through. She said she didn’t, so I told her everything.”
I waited. How could she not have known what she’d caused?
“She said she hadn’t heard any of that.” Jody took a big sip of her drink. “I got so angry! How could she not know what everyone else in town knew?” Another bigger gulp. “We talked for almost two hours. I had to tell her it was totally over between us, that I couldn’t believe her.”
She finally looked at me. I waited.
“She swore she loved me and couldn’t live without me.” Jody shook her head. “I didn’t believe her.” She took another sip of her drink. She was tense, almost shaking. “Then she actually asked me if I was becoming a butcher so I’d know how to chop her heart in pieces!”
I wanted to laugh, but Jody didn’t seem amused by it. I put my hand on hers. “Didn’t she realize how many pieces your heart had been chopped into?”
Jody shook her head. “She didn’t have a clue. She thought I came here just because I had a job waiting.”
Somehow, I couldn’t believe that either, but I waited for Jody to continue.
“Anyway, she was upset and even pleaded for me to come back to her. But, no, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.”
I squeezed her hand. Jody shook her head.
“She expected to stay with me, but I helped her get a room at Motel 6. She wasn’t too happy with that. I was going to drive her back to the airport this morning, but when I got to the motel, she’d already checked out. So I guess she’s gone.”
“How do you feel about that?” I asked.
“Good riddance?” Jody finished her drink. “I couldn’t have gone through that again. I’d always be wondering when the next time would be that she’d turn on me.”
“She really thought you’d go back to her?”
Jody nodded. I couldn’t read her expression, but then it turned to determination. “I’m glad she came, though. It gave me a chance to reevaluate everything. I’ve got it all a lot clearer in my mind now. I’m glad it’s over. Totally over. There’s no doubt.”
I smiled and nodded.
She reached for my hand. “Amy, I realized that I’ve really enjoyed our last two weeks. I especially enjoyed Tuesday. I’d like to see where it will go.”
My face must have lit up. “I would, too,” I said softly.
She turned and looked around the room. Then she turned to me. “Are you hungry?”
I shook my head. No, I wasn’t hungry for food. The Bellini had warmed my belly just enough to heighten my appetite for something else.
“Good.” She signaled to the waitress, who brought the bill. Jody gave her credit card, and we waited for it to be rung up. Jody signed the slip and looked at me.
“Let’s go.” She started to get up. “Whoa!” she said, sinking back into her chair. “I think I drank that too fast.” She chuckled. “I may be a little tipsy.”
“I’ll drive.” I took the keys from her hand. We walked outside…slowly…and got into her car.
“But I’ll decide where we’re going.” There was a new determination in her. “I saw a Holiday Inn down the street.”
“Holiday Inn?”
“Yes, please? Tuesday night was much too short. I want to get to know you better.” She stared into my eyes. “A whole lot better.”
“Your place is less expensive.”
“But the bed is too small. We’d never be comfortable.”
“You’re sure?”
“Very. Uncle Marv paid me today for the last two weeks. I want to spend it getting to know you.”
“Then let me call my mother so she won’t be expecting me.” I took out my phone and pressed my home number.
“Hi, Mom,” I said when she answered. “Listen, I’m out with Jody Wright, so don’t worry about me.”
“All right, sweetheart.
I’ll look for you later.”
“Well…” I’ve never had to tell my mother this. “I probably won’t be home tonight.”
There was silence for a few seconds.
“Really? Oh.”
“Don’t worry about me. Everything is fine.”
“All right,” she said slowly. “Will you be home in the morning?”
I smiled to myself. “I don’t know.”
“Okay, just be careful.”
“We will.”
“Oh, and I like Jody Wright. “
I had to chuckle. “That’s good. So do I. Night, Mom.”
“Good night, sweetheart.”
“What did she say?” Jody asked as I disconnected the phone.
“She said it was all right. She likes you.”
Jody leaned over to kiss me. “Not as much as I like you!”
I kissed her, too, and then grinned. I sat back, turned the key, and started out of the parking lot.
“Hurry,” Jody mumbled under her breath. “I can’t wait much longer.”
I drove down the street and into the Holiday Inn lot.
“Are you okay to walk now?” I asked.
“Yes, but only as far as the room.”
We started to get out of the car.
“Don’t forget your registration. You’ll need it to check in.”
She nodded and reached into the glove compartment for the papers.
* * * *
“This is an awful long ways away,” Jody noted as I opened the door to the room. It was on the second floor, toward the back of the Inn. We had rented it for two nights so we wouldn’t have to rush to get up in the morning…at least that was the rationale.
Jody strode into the room and immediately flung the bedspread off the bed and turned down the sheet and blanket. She held her hand out to me.
“Wait,” I said, as I placed the do-not-disturb sign on the outer doorknob and locked the door.
She walked up behind me and wrapped her arms around me to start unbuttoning my shirt.
“I’m sorry if I’m rushing you, but I want you so badly. I have since you left Tuesday night.”
I turned in her arms to face her. I drew her face to mine and kissed her long and hard. “And I have been thinking of you, too. I’ve had a hard time sleeping since then.”
The New Butcher in Town Page 4
