“Oh my god,” she says, walking into the bathroom and looking around. “I changed my mind. Let’s have a picnic in here.” She walks toward the elevated bathtub. One step up and you will see the sunken tub that sits right in front of a fireplace in the wall.
She approaches the shower where I open the door and set the temperature. “Your shower is the size of my closet,” she says, slipping the shirt off and stepping in. “Actually, it’s the size of my bedroom and closet,” she says, and I follow her. “Is the bench heated?” she asks me, and I just nod my head.
“Yeah, why?” I answer her, going to the wall and pressing the button.
“I want it to be warm when I have you sit down and ride you.” She winks at me over her shoulder. I walk to her, turning her around and pushing her back toward the bench. The back of her knees hits it first, and she uses her hands to sit down.
“Is it warm?” I ask her as she sits down.
“Yes,” she says.
“Are you comfortable?” I ask her, and when she nods, I get down on my knees in front of her. “I want you to be really, really comfortable.”
“I’m comfortable,” she says softly. I see her chest rising and falling, my hands coming up to pinch her perfectly pebbled nipples. Water drops trickle down her chest, and I push her softly till her shoulders are leaning on the back wall.
“I want you as comfortable as possible because,” I say, leaning forward and taking her nipple in my mouth, “I’m about to have my dessert.” Her breath hitches. I kiss her chest and slowly give her kisses till I get to her belly button. “I have to say, I saved my appetite for this right here,” I say, pushing her knees apart. “I think I see exactly what I want to eat,” I say, winking at her right before I bury my face between her legs. Her moans fill the shower, her knees opening even wider, and her hand grabs my hair as she pushes me deeper in her. I savor her till she comes on my tongue. Both of us take what we want from each other, and by the time we finally collapse in bed, I think the sun is coming up.
“What is that noise?” I hear mumbled from beside me as I sit up right away. “Stop the ringing.”
Looking around the room, I find the source of the ringing coming from my pants. I get out of bed, take it out of my pants, and leave the room so I don’t wake up Laney.
“Hello,” I say, and I hear Anthony’s voice, which is just as groggy as mine, and he’s whispering also.
“We have a situation,” he says, and I’m already alert and ready. All sleep is gone from me the minute I hear those four words.
“The package we delivered last month wants to come back and visit,” he says, and I turn to stare at the door, making sure that I’m still alone.
“Are you saying that Kelly Taylor is coming back? Why didn’t her people call us yesterday?” I ask him. Kelly is the biggest name in music. She is known to jump from guy to guy, but she wants to keep her latest romantic conquest quiet, so she comes to town and we sneak her around.
“She called me herself,” he says. “Coming on a private jet, arriving at three this afternoon. She’ll come straight to our office.”
“Okay,” I tell him. “I’ll meet you at the office at two, and we can go over a plan at the office.”
“See you then,” he says, hanging up the phone. I walk back into the room and see Laney in the middle of the bed on her stomach with the sheet to her neck. I smile as I head to my closet, slipping on my shorts and going downstairs to start the coffee. Grabbing my iPad, I walk back upstairs and see she hasn’t moved, so I walk to the living room side and the door opens right when I stand in front of it. I walk out onto the patio after putting my iPad on the couch and look out at the beach. Families have set up for the day, and the runners are already pounding up and down the beach. I look up and don’t see a cloud in sight, so it’s going to be a hot one. I turn and go to sit on the couch, picking up my iPad and coffee.
I scroll through the news on CNN and Fox, check my stocks, and look at some of the cases coming up in the next couple of weeks. It’s going to start to get busy; the music festival is going to kill us because they just added three more headliners, and the first daughter is coming to town also. “There you are.” I hear from the bedroom part as Laney walks out wearing my robe. “I was looking for you,” she says, walking to me and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“I got a phone call about work, and I didn’t go back to bed,” I tell her and hold out my arm to her. She comes and sits on my lap and leans back on me, kissing my neck. “Morning,” I say softly as I hug her, and we watch the water. I sit here, completely content with everything for once. My mind’s on work, but it’s not pushing me to get off the couch, and it’s not playing over and over in my mind. Instead, I live in this moment right here.
“Do you want me to make breakfast?” she asks from my neck, kissing me again.
“Sure,” I say to her. She gets off my lap, and we make our way downstairs. “I made myself a coffee when I woke up before; do you want me to make you one?”
“Yes, please,” she says and pins her hair up on top of her head.
I lean over and kiss her lips, bringing my hand to her face. “I love when you tie your hair,” I tell her. “It makes it easy for me to do this.” I lean in, biting her neck and then kissing it. “How do you take your coffee?”
“Just black,” she answers me, and I turn to start her coffee with the Keurig. “How do you like your eggs?” she asks me, going to the fridge to open it and look inside. “We got some turkey bacon, regular bacon, some sausage.” She looks up from the fridge. “Someone really expected a sleepover,” she says, laughing.
I shrug. “I was hoping anyway.”
“How do you want your eggs?” she says, opening the cupboard till she finds what she’s looking for and pulls out a frying pan. She places it on the burner and then goes to the drawers for a spatula.
“I don’t really have a preference as long as they’re cooked.” She grabs the bacon, then turns and gets things started. I sit at the island, watching her make me breakfast. “I could get used to this.”
“What?” she asks, turning to look at me as she scrambles the eggs.
“You cooking for me.” I smirk at her.
“I owe you,” she says, shrugging.
“For what?” I ask her.
“For about twelve orgasms last night,” she says, smiling. “And for the visit down under,” she says, pointing the spatula to her vagina. “Gives new meaning to thunder down under.”
I laugh at her. “Good to know, and by the way”—I pick up my own coffee, bringing it to my lips—“fourteen,” I say, “but hey, who’s counting.”
“I’m pretty sure it was twelve,” she says, looking up and counting. I see her moving her lips as she counts and then her fingers. “Yup, fourteen.”
“See,” I tell her with a wink. I’m about to take a drink of my coffee when my phone starts ringing. I look down at it, see it’s Anthony, and then I look up at her again as she watches me.
“I’ll be right back,” I say, grabbing the phone and walking outside to the back deck.
“Hey, it’s me. Change of plans. She got an earlier flight.”
“What?” I ask. “How is that possible?”
“Well, when you have a private jet at your disposal, you don’t have to really wait. Meet me in ninety,” he says.
“Fuck, fine. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I say, disconnect, and then look inside at Laney who is still cooking. I walk back in, and she looks at me.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, and I look down and then up again.
“Yeah, it’s just a change of plans actually. I have to go. It shouldn’t take long, and we can meet up after,” I say to her and something in her eyes changes, but I can’t pinpoint it.
She puts the spatula down. “Oh, yeah. I’m sorry.” She shakes her head. “I’ll get out of your way.” She puts all the eggs on a plate and then looks at me, giving me a fake as fuck smile. “Yeah, okay. I have stuff to do at home
anyway.”
I walk to the island, and she puts the plate of eggs in front of me and then turns to me. I notice the change in her right away.
“Eat.” She smiles, pointing at the eggs. “I’m going to go and shower, and then I can get an Uber.” She walks to the stairs almost as if she’s running to get out of here.
“Like fuck you will,” I tell her, and she stops on the steps, looking over at me and then away. “I’ll drive you home.”
She just walks upstairs, and I hear the shower turn on. I don’t bother even eating the food. Instead, I go upstairs, taking the steps two at a time. I walk into the bedroom to the bathroom, and seeing that the door is closed, I reach out to turn the handle and find it locked. “What just happened?” I ask myself and then go to sit on the bed with my phone in my hand. My leg starts moving up and down, and the water finally turns off. I don’t have to wait long before she comes out of the bathroom fully dressed. Her hair is still piled on the top of her head. “Is something going on?” I ask her, and she just shakes her head.
“I’m just tired,” she says and then looks at me. “I’m going to go get my shoes outside.” She walks out of the room and heads downstairs. I look at the time and curse that I have to fucking go, which means I can’t stay here and find out what the hell just fucking happened.
I grab some jeans, a T-shirt, and my running shoes. I walk down the stairs, and I know even before my foot hits the living room floor that she isn’t here. “Laney.” I call her name, and she isn’t anywhere. I look outside and then see the paper on the table under the lantern.
Hey, didn’t want to bother you. Thanks for last night. See you around.
“See you around? What the fuck is this?” I say and pick up my phone to call her, but she sends me straight to voice mail. I wait for her beep before talking, and when I do, it’s with clenched teeth.
“Laney, you better have a good excuse for ditching me and walking out and not saying anything. I’ll be at your house as soon as I can,” I say and then stop for a second. “Please call me.” My voice goes soft at the end, and I toss my phone on the couch and sit down, running my hands through my hair. I get up, grab my keys and sunglasses, and head out, the only thing running through my head is going to see Laney.
Chapter Eleven
Laney
When I walked out of the bathroom and saw him sitting on the bed, I was almost tempted to go to him, but I didn’t. I made a run for it. I ran out to get my shoes, and luckily, the Uber driver was waiting for me. I knew I was only getting a couple of minutes head start, but the faster I got away from him, the better my head would feel. The blurriness of the truth would be there.
When my phone rings four minutes later, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know who it could be. I look down and see his name pop up “serial killer,” but my finger doesn’t linger over the green button before pressing the red one right away. I send him straight to voice mail as I look out the window. My phone rings again, and this time, it’s Sandy.
“Hello,” I answer right away.
“Where are you?” she whispers.
“I’m in an Uber, why?” I tell her and then ask, “Why are you whispering?”
“I’m,” she says, “I’m hiding in Anthony’s bathroom.”
“Is he home?” I ask, all confused.
“Yes,” she says, “but I think he’s going on a date with someone else.”
“What?” Now, I’m really confused. “Aren’t you at his house at this moment?” Then I hear Anthony in the background yell her name. “Oh my god, does he know you’re even there?”
“Hey,” she says in a normal voice. “Are you leaving?” She must ask him, and I hear him tell her that he will be back as soon as he can. “Okay, bye.”
“That motherfucker,” she says, coming back on the phone, and I hear her rushing around the room. “He thinks he can cheat on me.”
“Sandy!” I yell, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I can’t talk now. I have to go follow him.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh, Jesus, woman, can you calm down before you go off half-cocked?”
“I will not calm down,” she says, and I hear the car door slam, and the tires squeal. “I have to go. I have to see where he is.”
“How are you going to do that?” I ask her.
“I put a tracker on his phone,” she tells me, and I shriek.
“Are you crazy?”
“I don’t even know why you would ask me this question. You know me. Of course, I’m crazy. You act like this is news to you.”
“Okay, listen to me. I’m going to go home and then come to you. Please, please for the love of god, don’t do anything that will get you arrested again.”
“That was not my fault!” she yells. “That cyclist didn’t obey her stop sign. How was I supposed to know I would hit her?” I put my hand on my forehead, thinking of the time I got a phone call to come bail her out. Not only did she hit the cyclist, but she then also kicked her bike.
“Whatever. Can you just calm down?”
“I can’t guarantee anything,” she says, disconnecting. As soon as the Uber pulls up in front of my condo, I run inside to grab my car keys and then call her back.
“Where are you?” I ask her, getting into the car.
“I’m parked in front of a townhouse. He was already inside when I got here, then a lady got here with a big hat and glasses. She kept her head down when she walked in.”
“Oh my god,” I say, mapping her location. “I should be there in seven minutes. Whatever you do, don’t get out of the car.”
I hang up and rush over there, making it in five. I park behind her across the street from the townhouse. I get out, walking to her car, and see her crouched down in the driver’s seat using binoculars. “Sandy,” I say, and she turns and yelps.
“Get down,” she says. “I don’t want him to see you.” I stay crouched down and get into the passenger seat. She looks over at me confused. “You came to a stakeout in a dress and heels?”
“I was on my way home from my date when you called,” I tell her, and she smiles at me.
“You got the D, didn’t you?” she asks, and I roll my eyes. “Was he as big as I told you he was? I bet he was.”
“I’m not discussing this with you,” I tell her, and then we hear a voice, and she looks out, and I’m shocked for her. Anthony is coming out of the house, and he’s holding hands with a woman with a big straw hat and glasses. “Oh, fuck no.” I hear Sandy say as she storms out of the car, not giving me a second to think of the next step before she’s in the middle of the street yelling.
“You cheating motherfucker!” she yells across the street, and Anthony and the woman stop in their tracks. Anthony’s face shows complete shock. I get out of the car and run across the street while Anthony puts his hands up.
“What are you doing here?” he asks her, and Sandy tries to go around him to the woman—to snatch the hat off her head, no doubt—but Anthony protects her, which infuriates Sandy even more.
“You’re protecting her?” Sandy yells. “You’re protecting that bitch?”
“Excuse me,” the woman says. I finally look over at her, and she looks familiar, but I don’t think of it anymore. I walk to Sandy, grabbing her arm.
“Sandy,” I say to her, hoping I get through to her.
“This …” she says, now bouncing on her feet, knocking my hand off her. “This woman is who you’re cheating on me with?” She points at her. “Miss big hat and sunglasses, it’s fucking cloudy, bitch,” she says, and the woman puts her hand on her hips.
“I am not cheating on you,” he says again and again, and I look behind him and see Hunter coming out of the house.
“What is going on out here?” he says and then looks at everyone and stops at me. “Laney, what are you doing here?”
“She’s here with me,” Sandy says to him and then looks at Anthony. “I followed this two-timing scumbag here. And what is this, a threesome?”
“I told you before. I’m not cheating on you,” Anthony says again, grabbing her arms in his hands.
“Liar!” Sandy yells. “You’re a liar.”
“I swear to Christ, woman, I am not cheating on you,” he says, shaking his head and then bending to look into her eyes, his voice going soft, “I swear to you, baby. I am not cheating on you.”
“Then why didn’t you want me to suck your dick this morning, eh?” she asks him, shaking his hands off her arms, and I open my mouth. “Last night, we only had sex for two hours,” she says, looking at me. “Two.”
“Holy shit,” the woman says, and Sandy turns to glare at her.
“Yeah, bitch, our longest was six hours,” Sandy says, folding her arms over her chest, proud of that fact. “Bet you can’t top that? Can you?”
“Enough!” Hunter yells, and then Anthony cuts in.
“I didn’t want you to blow me this morning because I’m pretty sure my dick has no more skin left on it,” he says, throwing his hands up.
I roll my lips together before I laugh, and Sandy uncrosses her arms and looks at him. “What?” she asks softly.
“My dick is raw, baby,” he tells her while she goes to him and touches his hand. “Honestly, we’ve had more sex than I thought was humanly possible.”
I roll my eyes, and the woman standing there puts her hand to her mouth. “I’m dry, baby,” he tells her, taking her in his arms. “There is honestly not a drop of fluid left in me. Hulkster needs a rest.”
“Okay,” Hunter finally says. “That is more information than we need to know,” he says, then looks at the woman. “Kelly, I’m really sorry about all this.”
“It’s okay,” she says, smiling, then looks at Anthony. “Six hours?”
“Watch it,” Sandy says at the same time it comes to me.
“You’re Kelly Taylor.” I point at her, and Sandy’s mouth opens in shock and then jumps up and down.
“Holy shit. Holy shit, holy shit,” Sandy says, laughing.
“I am,” she says and then looks at Hunter and Anthony. “Think you can get me to my guy now, so we can try to beat six hours?”
Mixed Up Love Page 10
