by Marie Harte
“Oh, Ms. Reeves. Come in.”
Joey walked in and carefully shut the door behind her. Then she dragged herself to the chair in front of Becky Oliver’s desk and sat. “It’s been the morning from hell. Please tell me Brandon is behaving.”
Her best friend laughed and pushed a cup of coffee she’d been holding for her. “Here. It’s a little cool since you’re…fifteen minutes late.”
“I’m sorry.” Joey chugged the caffeine. “My life is getting so weird.”
“Tell me about it. No, really. Tell me about it. You texted me about your promotion, and we have yet to celebrate! That is so awesome. What I have to tell you about your gifted son will fit into a five-minute bubble.”
“Gifted? Not heading toward a youth detention center?”
Becky laughed. “Not yet. I think he was acting out before because he was bored. We’re going to challenge him and keep him nice and busy. He’ll love it. Now, while you have the time, talk to me, woman. I can’t believe how long it’s been since we’ve gone out.”
At least four months, sadly. And that last time had been to celebrate Becky’s birthday. She loved Becky. Could tell her anything. They talked almost daily on the phone. But Joey was all too aware of their differences.
While Becky had partied in college and after, Joey had been raising her son. Last year, when Becky had started working at Brandon’s elementary school, the two friends had reconnected. A great thing, because now Joey had a friend her own age to hang with. Not that Stef and Tonya weren’t great, but they had a motherly feel to them that Becky didn’t. And she couldn’t see hitting the bars with the ladies, not that she did with Becky all that much either.
“I don’t know that I ever thanked you for standing by me in high school,” Joey admitted, missing those young and carefree years.
“Why wouldn’t I? Unlike most of our class, I knew I couldn’t get pregnant just by standing too close.” She laughed. “Our ‘friends.’ What a joke. They were like rabid sharks in a feeding frenzy to take as many people down as they could. Consider yourself lucky you didn’t graduate with us. But listen, that’s not why I called you in here today.”
“No, you wanted to talk about Brandon.”
“In a nutshell, we want to put him in the advanced program. You good with that?”
“Well, I don’t know, I—”
“Think about it. He’s a great kid.” Becky rubbed her hands together. “Now, for the big news. Did you know Miranda Layton just got divorced?”
Joey sipped the lukewarm coffee, needing the jolt. “Miranda? No way.”
“Yep. From prom queen to drag queen, apparently.”
“What?”
“Her husband. He’s gay. She found out when she saw a video of him online. He was wearing a Cher getup, singing at that place downtown in drag. He ended his performance by making out with a drag Madonna. Is that awesome, or what?”
“Holy crap. Seriously?” She drank more coffee.
“Seriously. And Mandy Hue is still engaged to Dave Applebaum. He doesn’t care what she spends his money on, and she doesn’t care who he sleeps with when he’s not with her.”
“Get out. Dave Applebaum is cheating on her?” She’d really missed out on the good gossip by not going to that mini-reunion, it seemed. “Dave. The guy with the buzz cut and big ears?”
“Yep. Same Dave. Except now he’s a big tech player and worth millions. I heard all this from Amelia Bladt, by the way. She’s back in town. She was in Portland for years. I pretended I forgot all about her calling me a beached whale during that football game. You remember the one.”
Joey cringed. “Oh yeah.”
“So now I have a new ‘friend’ and we caught up. Oh man, the stories I now have to tell you.”
Becky had always been a cute, perky blond. Back in high school, she’d worn an extra ten pounds of baby fat. But it had since worn off. Good for her for schmoozing Amelia, that mouthy skank of a hypocrite.
“Who else?” Joey checked her phone. She had a good hour before she needed to get into the shop.
Becky ran down the list of half a dozen more names. Some good news, some bad, but all of it interesting. Times like these made Joey realize she wasn’t the only one who’d had to grow up.
Becky gave her a strange look. “One more thing.”
“My head is spinning as it is. But hey, at least Autumn is still with Jeff. I always liked them as a couple.”
“Me too. Now shut up and listen.” Becky grew more animated, her hazel eyes flashing with impatience as she waved her arms around. “This is big, big news.”
“And?”
“Felix is back in Seattle. He moved back last month.”
Felix Rogers. Brandon’s father. A burst of…something…filled Joey. Then nothing. “So?”
“When’s the last time you two talked?”
“That would be a week after they admitted me to the hospital for Brandon’s birth. When Felix signed away his rights to be a father while his mother stood over his shoulder calling me a whore.”
“Oh, wow.” Becky’s eyes widened. “That’s something you never forget.”
Joey snorted.
“Now you know he’s back. Mitch ran into Jesse, who knows Felix, and get this.” Becky paused.
“Get what?” Just a faint curiosity about the father of her child.
“He asked about you.”
“Huh.” How should she feel about that? “Interesting.”
Becky looked disappointed. “That’s it?”
“What do you want me to say? Felix and I dated. He knocked me up, then tried to act like he didn’t. He wanted nothing to do with me after that. While he finished high school and went on to college, I had a baby and did my best to deal with everyone’s disappointment.” Whoa. Apparently she’d been festering some hostility for Felix after all. And she thought she’d gotten past that. “But now, nine years later, it’s all done. Felix and I are over. It’s normal he’d ask about me. If I knew he was around, I’d probably ask about him, just out of a sense of morbid curiosity.”
“Good point. But I got the impression he was interested in seeing if you and he had that same spark you used to.”
“That was no spark. That was me not understanding how bad my first time would be. Or how awful he would be at sex.”
“Ouch.” Becky grinned.
“As a matter of fact, I could care less about Felix.”
“Actually, it’s ‘couldn’t’ care less,” Becky corrected.
Joey frowned. “Whatever. There’s a new guy I’m kind of seeing.” See? I’m no longer the queen of lame-town. I too can have a social life.
Becky leaned over the desk, scattering a few folders. “Tell me.” She pushed one of the folders at Joey. “Before I forget, here are the details for the gifted program. Enroll Brandon. We good? Great. Now who’s this guy?”
Joey described Lou a little too well, because Becky started panting after him. “Does he have single friends? Are you into him? Because if not, I’ll check him out for you. You know, just to help a friend out.”
“How generous of you.”
They both laughed.
“I’m kidding, Joey. I’m kind of crushing on this guy who lives in my apartment complex. Don’t worry. He’s far enough away that it won’t be awkward if we break up but close enough I can easily dance back to my place in socks on my walk of shame.” Becky waggled her brows up and down. She’d always been more open and candid about her liaisons. Not like Joey.
Dating stories Joey had no problem swapping. But adding sex to the mix was adding an intimacy she didn’t share. Her time with Lou was fun and uncomplicated. On his part at least. She didn’t know how she felt about him other than she really liked him, she dreamed about having sex with him, and she didn’t like the thought of Becky thinking too hard about him.
&nbs
p; Time to change the subject. “So tell me more about…?”
Becky grinned. “His name is Trent. And he’s hot.”
“But does he have tattoos?” Joey teased.
“Not that I’ve seen yet. I mean, we haven’t been totally naked with each other. Not even half-naked. I’ve seen him a few times without his shirt on when he’s come back from a run.” Her expression turned sly. “But I dream about hand- and blow jobs while our clothes are mostly on. You know, for when we’re first dating. Later we’ll be naked and doing it.”
Joey sputtered on her coffee. “Ah, right.”
Becky laughed. “Still a prude, I see.”
“Not true.” Joey didn’t mind dirty talk in bed. She liked being bossed around and handled a little more roughly than the normal girl, as a matter of fact. Two things that rarely happened in her safe little world. The few guys she’d had sex with had never pushed all her buttons, probably because she still held herself back, her first experience with intimacy ending in a life-changing baby. Then too, she seemed to choose guys who weren’t a challenge.
“I think maybe it’s a little true. But that’s okay, Joey.” Becky squeezed Joey’s hand resting on the desk. “You should never change who you are. I like you, and isn’t that what’s really important?”
“Ha.” Joey grinned.
“Plus, being you seems to have nabbed a hot mechanic, am I right?”
“Maybe. We just did coffee and dinner. That’s it. I mean, he’s sexy, and I like him. A lot. But Brandon complicates things.”
“Because you’re a good mom. You want to keep your baby boy safe. But are you really going to live in a vacuum until he’s eighteen? How healthy is that for your son to see, that Mom’s always alone, living under Grandma and Grandpa’s roof, with no boyfriend but her son for company? Oedipal much?”
“Ew. Okay. Stop. I get it.”
Becky nodded, her hair brushing over her eyes until she blew it aside. “You and this Lou. Have fun. Bang his brains out. You don’t have to make him Brandon’s new daddy or anything.”
“You have such a way with words.”
“I know. That’s why they pay me the big money and give me a huge office.”
They both stared at the tiny closet she called her home away from home.
“Anyhow,” Becky continued, “if it were me, I’d have fun with Lou. Do all the neat stuff, the dating, the kissing, the sex.” She sighed. “Oh, the sex. He doesn’t need to know Brandon even exists. Not if the relationship is just between you two. Now if it got serious, then sure. But you don’t even really know this guy, right? So why is he entitled to your life story after two dates?”
“You make some good points.”
“You don’t have to sound so surprised by it,” Becky grumbled.
Joey laughed, feeling better about things. “You’re a good counselor, Counselor. Let me see this gifted program.”
“So we’re shifting to talking about work now. Fine.” Becky leaned farther forward. “But don’t think we’re not going to discuss Lou again. I want to meet this tattooed paragon who wooed my bestie out of her moth-eaten, oppressive, dusty old virginity cloak. Such a wretched amalgam of desperation and seclusion.”
“You have got to stop taking those writing classes. You’re killing me, Mrs. Merriam-Webster.” Joey pretended to hang herself.
“Don’t be obstreperous.”
* * *
Lou figured it wouldn’t hurt if he swung by the flower shop at closing. He just wanted to say hi to Joey before hitting Ray’s with the guys. Plus he wanted to make sure she closed up okay. The girl worked harder than most people he knew. And since they’d texted a few times since last night, he knew her schedule.
All that small talk. It was…nice.
Not clingy or too demanding. He liked their dialogue.
Lucia would say he’d finally matured. Though he’d taken on the role of the family patriarch, she’d always been their pseudo-mother. While Renata had fallen in and out of love, introducing the kids to “this new daddy” or “that new daddy,” Lou and Lucia had kept the household on an even keel.
They’d been old enough to remember the awful years with their father. They’d all been better off without him around. But those memories made it difficult for adult Lou to accept just one special person in his life, knowing she could turn into a wreck. Lou didn’t want permanence. He also didn’t drag a new woman around his sisters every other week.
He could count on one hand the number of women he’d ever introduced to his family. Hell, or even his guy friends, for that matter. His family only knew his friends from Webster’s because he considered them honorary brothers. Men he would trust with his sisters, with his life. Tight, another kind of family.
And damn, but I am thinking way too deep for a Friday night. He parked and saw the hour had reached seven thirty. He didn’t see another car in the lot, but he assumed Joey typically parked in the back.
Lou arrived at the front door just as she did but from the inside.
She blinked and stepped back as he walked through the unlocked door.
“Hi, Joey.” He glanced around. “You alone?”
“Yes. I was just locking up.”
He frowned. “It’s after seven. Past closing time. You need to lock up and close the shop once you’re alone. It’s not secure.”
“Are you lecturing me on safety?”
He sighed. “Sorry. But you don’t want to be alone with some douche after hours.” At her look, he scowled. “I’m not talking about me, damn it. Don’t even.” Her chuckle made him smile. “Smart-ass.”
“Okay. You made a good point. I promise I’ll be more careful.”
“Good.” She smelled like flowers. Trite but true. Except the floral scent mixed with that unique feminine essence that was all Josephine Reeves. And like that, he wanted to do her. Bad. He bit back a groan. “So, ah, why are you still here?”
“Want to see?”
He nodded.
“Follow me.”
He walked deeper into the shop and toward the front counter. “Wait. I’m not allowed back there, remember?”
She nodded. “Good point. I’ll check with the manager.” She paused. “Oh right. That’s me. Come on back.”
He grinned and followed her into the back, where they housed their cuttings and did their arranging and cutting on the worktables. Several bunches of flowers sat in vases or in Styrofoam-balled contraptions propped up by wire.
“Oh, those aren’t done yet. I’m just keeping them in place until we finish fitting the rest of the greenery and filler in them.” She motioned to the grand centerpieces, two of them, filled with bold color and big flowers. “These are what took so long. Aren’t they beautiful?” She sighed.
He wanted to sigh with her. Because the sight of her satisfaction did something to him.
He had to clear his throat. “Yeah, great.”
She spotted a rose that had come loose and tried to grab it from the center of the wide table. She rose on tiptoe to reach it. “I love these. They’re fragrant.”
“Let me smell.” He moved behind her and tried to catch a whiff as she held it up. “I can’t smell it.”
She held it closer at the same time as he leaned into her, pressing his front to her back.
They both froze. The scent of soft rose petals hit him at the same time as his body woke to full arousal. Joey must have felt it as well because she let out a shuddery breath.
Lou tingled everywhere they touched. He sniffed her neck then nuzzled the side of her smooth skin. “You smell good too. Like the rose and something else.” Something uniquely her.
“Lavender,” she whispered, then groaned and leaned back, effectively pressing him fully against her. “It’s floral.”
Lou couldn’t mistake that signal, especially when she sighed and arched her n
eck to the side, giving him more access. He felt light-headed, all the blood pooling in his lower body.
He lightly kissed her neck, needing more.
“Lou,” she breathed.
“Fuck,” he whispered, totally done in. A few grinds against her and he’d come, which was crazy. He had stamina, patience, seduction down to a science. But not with Joey apparently. Rushing but unable to stop himself, he ran his hands up her sides and around to her front, cupping her breasts.
He bit back a curse when she moaned and ground her ass against him. Her breasts easily fit into his large palms, and the stiff nipples begged him to touch. To squeeze.
He pinched one, and her hand moved behind his head, pulling his lips closer to her throat.
“Turn your head,” he managed, barely able to speak past the roaring in his ears.
She did, and they kissed. An explosion of heat and electricity that filled him from head to toe. She tasted like chocolate, a sweet lust that glided over his tongue and stayed there. So much smaller than he was, she stood, pliant, while he kissed her.
She responded beautifully, and he didn’t think. He acted.
Pinching her breasts then molding them in his hand, he continued to play with her, loving the way her body moved against his. With his other hand, he reached down her front and eased beneath the waistband of her pants, moving slowly, giving her every chance to stop him.
Half hoping she’d put an end to this sweet torment, half praying she’d let him go as deep as he could.
The kiss ended so they could breathe, and she whispered his name like a prayer.
“Yes, cariña. Let me inside. God, let me in.” He sucked her throat and reached between her folds, stroking through her silky hair to the slick cream of her arousal. “So hot.” He moaned and slid a finger inside her, nearly coming at the feel of her extremely tight flesh sucking his digit deep.
The knowledge that she’d be that tight around his cock nearly set him off.
“Oh, yes. Yes.” She writhed in his arms, and he was lost. Unable to stop. He removed his hand and unbuttoned her blouse, keeping her pinned between the table and him, her back still to him. Then he parted the blouse before moving to the front clasp—thank you, Jesus—of her bra. He unfastened it and waited.
