by Joey Bush
“Um….”
“I’m kidding. He’s a pushover. Don’t worry. His bark is worse than his bite.”
“He barks and bites?” I asked jokingly.
“You’ll be fine. Bring a present for them, it will help. I always buy them horrible things. It’s sort of a running joke between us that I’m the worst Christmas shopper ever.”
“You buy your parents bad gifts on purpose?”
“Yeah, you know, like ugly sweaters and stuff like that. The funny thing is it all started with me buying them matching jogging suits that I actually thought they would like.”
“What do your parents do for work?” I asked as we both took a seat on the stairs and stayed a few feet away from one another. “I’m sorry if you told me before, but I don’t remember.”
“They run a ski resort in town here.”
“That’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah, growing up I always had free skiing. But they want me to work with them and I’ve never really been that into skiing. I always just wipe out and hurt myself.”
“I understand.”
Being part of the family business was certainly something that I understood. It wasn’t for Cassidy and it wasn’t for me. We were free thinkers who had our own paths to follow.
“Should we try out the hot tub?”
“Sure,” I replied with zero self-control to deny her.
BILLIONAIRE IN REHAB PART III
Chapter 13
Cassidy
I had given up on avoiding Erik. There was no use. I couldn’t avoid him, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to anymore. As we climbed into the hot tub, it felt more like we were on a date than he was in a treatment center.
He sat on the other side of the hot tub from me, and I appreciated him giving me the space. When I invited him to come home with me for Christmas, it was out of pity. He had a sad look on his face when I told him about my family and I had always been a sucker for puppy dog eyes.
My family enjoyed Christmas, and I was happy to bring anyone home with me if they could have an enjoyable day with us. Over the years, I had brought home some shady characters, my family really was used to dealing with my invites and the randomness of who would walk through the doors.
But I still wasn’t planning on letting my family find out that Erik was really a patient at the Paradise Peak. It was wrong, and I knew it. Well, to be exact, I hadn’t specifically heard that we weren’t allowed to bring patients home for Christmas. So technically, I could claim ignorance if it was ever brought up at work.
“It’s quiet around here, though, I like it,” Erik said as he closed his eyes and looked up at the stars.
“I know. It’s weird how peaceful it seems here, yet just over that hill there are thousands of people squeezing in a family skiing vacation with their holiday.”
“You and your family have lived here your whole life?”
“Well, my family has. I tried living other places while I was drinking. I always ended up back at home when some random alcoholic boyfriend would leave me stranded someplace.”
“I know you are being honest with your past and drinking, but I have to say, I just don’t see you as a drunk. Every time I look at you, I see you as working as a daycare worker or something else sweet like that.”
I burst into laughter at the idea I could ever work with children. Erik obviously didn’t know me all that well. I didn’t have patience for children; there was no way I could ever work with them. And, I certainly didn’t plan on having any of my own anytime soon. I had a hard enough time taking care of myself.
“It’s the tongue piercing, isn’t it? All those daycare workers have tongue piercings,” I joked.
“That piercing is really hot,” he said as he lifted his head and looked over at me.
I had just narrowly escaped his grip while we were in the pool and I suspected I was going to have to fend him off again really soon. My defenses were weakening, though. His touch felt good. His skin against mine felt almost like we were meant for each other.
When he grabbed my ass, I didn’t pull away right away because it honestly didn’t bother me. Which was weird. Throughout my history as a dating woman, I never remembered feeling all that comfortable with men.
Sure, I enjoyed a good roll in the hay like anyone else. But I always felt like my body wasn’t good enough. I had an underlying narrative that told me they weren’t interested in me and didn’t like my body. Men never specifically said those things to me, yet I said them and felt them when I was with a guy.
Things were different with Erik. I felt different. When his hands had been on me, I didn’t think about myself consciousness at all. I only thought about how much I wanted to kiss him.
Kissing Erik was quickly occupying my thoughts and before I realized what was going on, he had slid across the hot tub and landed himself right next to me. My heart quickened with anticipation as I tried to contain my excitement. I wanted to feel his hand touch my leg. I practically willed it to happen as I looked over at him and then quickly away.
Erik Levy was damn hot.
I couldn’t help but adore his new, clean-shaven look. As I looked over again toward him, I saw that he was admiring me, as well. Although he kept a reasonable distance away from me, I felt the sexual power between us.
The grinding electricity of our two bodies in the warm chlorinated water filled the space between us. We wanted to touch. Both of us stopped the urge and controlled our own desires, but we wanted to touch each other.
I wanted to let my hand slide down into the water and feel the soft skin of his hard body. My imagination had my hand sliding into his swim shorts and pulling him out so I could play with him a little. Oh, how he would be so shocked if I just slid under the water and took his hardness in my mouth. Would he be able to keep from moaning out with pleasure? I didn’t think so.
Erik had been at the treatment facility for almost a month. Surely, his body was near explosion simply from the desire that had built up for the days he was celibate. I could be the first woman he was with as a sober man. He’d remember me always. Having sober sex after struggling with addiction was an erotic experience, and I wanted to be the one to share it with Erik.
There had been one man, right after my treatment, but he wasn’t a good lover at all. When my friends told me about their first sober sex experiences, I was greatly disappointed that mine had not been as fulfilling. I even broke up with the guy over it. Although, technically, I shouldn’t have been dating so close to getting out of treatment.
“Let me see your tongue piercing,” Erik said as he turned toward me.
Dutifully, I opened my mouth and stuck my tongue out at him. He examined it from where he was and then let his fingers gently touch the metal ball that I had attached to a rod going through the middle of my tongue.
“Yes, it hurt when I got it,” I laughed as I tried to talk with my tongue out.
“That’s not what I was thinking about.”
“What then?”
“Did you get it because some guy wanted you to have it while you gave him head?”
It was the first time anyone had asked me that specific question. Typically, people avoided the sexual reference to the tongue piercing and just concentrated on the pain it must have caused me. But Erik wasn’t just asking if I could give good head with the piercing – he asked if a man had made me do it.
“No, I don’t think a man made me do it. I think I just got it on my own in a drunken stupor. But I really don’t remember.”
“It seems very erotic.”
“I think we should stop this conversation right here,” I said as I moved away from him a little.
The desire I had for him to touch me rushed through my body totally uncontrolled. My chest heaved as I pulled in a deep breath and tried not to think about Erik or what his hands could do to my body.
“You’re trying to behave, aren’t you?” he asked mischievously.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I sa
id with a totally fake tone in my voice.
Obviously, I was trying to behave. Every time we were alone together, the sexual tension was huge. I wanted Erik to come home with me to my family’s house. I wanted him to get a break and have a real Christmas, but I didn’t want those things just because I found him incredibly attractive.
And, man oh man, did I find him attractive. My thoughts were stuck on him, especially since he had become nicer and friendlier in recent days. He seemed like a genuinely good guy now and that was even sexier than before. I certainly wasn’t into the whole bad boy thing, at all.
“You do what you need to do, boo.” He laughed and put his arms up on the back of the hot tub.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I understand if you have to pretend like you don’t like me. I get it. It’s cool.”
Now he was just becoming infuriating. I wasn’t pretending. Okay, maybe I was. But who was he to call me out on it? Erik was the issue here. Him and his romantic touching and seductive eyes. If he would just stay away from me with all of that, then there wouldn’t be any issues, at all.
“Oh, don’t you start with me.”
“I get it. You’re not into good-looking rich guys. It’s cool. Not all girls like the same things. I’m sure I’ll find a girl that’s into me sooner or later.”
He was hamming it up and as much as I tried not to laugh, I felt myself slipping into a hidden giggle. Then, I started to play along, just for the fun of it. Our conversations flowed so casually that I almost felt like I could do or say anything I wanted. He was funny and easy to get along with and definitely someone I wanted to get to know more.
“Yeah, I’m not really into guys with money and looks. I prefer men who live at home and don’t necessarily have all of their teeth. I’m sorry, it’s just my thing.”
“Totally understand. You’re not really my cup of tea, either. If I’m being totally honest.”
“What? Shut up,” I said as I stood up.
“No, I’m serious. You’re freakishly beautiful. I could never date a woman like you. Man, I’d be freaked out all the time that people were looking at you and then wondering why you stooped so low to date a wretch like me. I couldn’t handle it.”
“You’re seriously crazy,” I laughed.
“Actually, I’m pretty sure they cleared me of being crazy.”
He was funny. I loved that. I had my own sarcastic wit that was sometimes hard for people to understand, so it felt good that he got it. I hated when I was being sarcastic and someone just looked at me with a blank stare like I had just said the most horrible thing ever. Sarcasm was definitely an acquired taste.
“I’m going to get dried off and finish up my charting here. You need to get dried off and pack. I’ll leave my address on a piece of paper in your room later.”
“This is so clandestine. I feel like you’d make a good CIA agent. Wait, maybe you already are an agent and this is all some ploy to get me over to your house so you can have your way with me.”
“Why would a CIA agent want you?” I laughed.
“Hey, they might. I’m really good with technology.”
“For now, I don’t want you. Let’s just have a good holiday. Okay?”
I really did want him. I knew he knew that. But I wasn’t ready to go for it. There were damn morals still in my way. Maybe it was perfectly okay to date a patient, or maybe it wasn’t. But I knew as a recovering alcoholic that having any sort of relationship with someone wasn’t recommended when you were first in recovery. All your time needed to be spent on yourself and that was it. I would be a hypocrite if I tried to get Erik to pay attention to me.
As we walked through the frigid air and back into the building, our little date night was over and we were flush with reality again. Guilt was the driving emotion as we walked back onto the unit. I saw how Kaitlin looked at me and I wanted to tell her what was going on, but certainly couldn’t do that after our night out on the town.
Kaitlin had tried to fix me up with a guy, and I had refused her. We went around and around over Erik, also. I told her it was because I wasn’t ready. I went on and on how my sobriety was a priority in my life and I wasn’t going to mess that up. I had made such a big scene of the issue that she would certainly have been pissed if I came out an admitted to actually liking him.
I gathered my things, finished my work, changed, and dropped off my address in Erik’s room as he ate out in the main area with the other patients. I had to get home and explain my made up story for why Erik would be coming over to the house for Christmas and why he’d need to spend the night.
Most of the people in my AA group were local, so surely they wouldn’t need to stay the night with me. I hadn’t exactly figured that part of the lie out yet. I hoped it would come to me as I went home.
I tried to seem nonchalant about what I was about to ask my parents. Lying to them had never been my thing. I actually hated to have to lie to them, but I knew if I told them the truth, my father would totally freak out. He didn’t like that I was an addict, and he would be very disappointed if I brought a boy home that was also an addict.
It was only because he loved me and wanted the best for me, I knew that. My mother wouldn’t be happy, either, but at least she would try to be happy if she knew it was important to me. My father, on the other hand, was stubborn and wouldn’t bend very easily to the idea.
“Mom, I’ve got a friend coming over from AA tonight. He didn’t have a place to go.”
“Where’s he from?”
The dreaded question that I knew was coming up. She was such a smart woman. There really was no getting things past her at all.
“He’s been living in New York and his cousin is vacationing here. He didn’t want to intrude in their small hotel room for the holiday.”
“And he’s your friend?”
Damn, my mother and her logic. Surely, I could have friends from other parts of the country, it was the twenty-first century. But I had to think of a reasonable expectation of how we could be friends.
“Yes, Mom. People meet online and know each other now. It’s weird, I know,” I said as I dramatically rolled my eyes. “He had posted in a forum I’m in and said he was going to be in town and needed the AA times. When he showed up a couple of days ago, we got to know each other.”
“Okay, honey, he can come over. He’ll have to sleep on the couch, though. Your father started painting the spare bedroom.”
“All right. Thanks, Mom.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as my mother bought into the story. If she liked Erik, then it would be all over. She wouldn’t ask another question about how we met and we would be in the clear. But if she didn’t like him, if my mother thought something strange was going on, then she would grill Erik throughout our meal until he eventually caved in and admitted who he was. My relief would only last as long as dinner that evening.
Once my mom was well enough informed, I hustled to my room to take a shower and get ready before Erik arrived. I didn’t want to be wearing my scrubs and looking like a hot mess when he showed up at the house. I actually wanted to look pretty.
Working at the rehab center, I had never really cared what I looked like. I often kept my hair in a ponytail and didn’t do my makeup. The required uniform kept me from worrying too much about what I wore and I liked it like that.
Actually, the fact that Erik was flirting with me at all was pretty remarkable considering I didn’t have any of the usual ways a woman impressed her man. No makeup, no cute clothes, and he was still flirting with me. I knew that should have given me a little more confidence, but it actually made me wonder more about him. Why was he flirting with me?
For a second, I let my mind think the worst. Maybe he was just flirting with me as a way of passing the time. He might not have any intention of actually getting to know me or anything like that when he was out of the facility. The thought sickened me.
He didn’t seem like that kind of guy. Erik certainly didn�
�t seem like a guy who would just want sex and then move on, especially now that he was sober. Maybe he had been like that in the past, but he wasn’t like that now.
The two of us had talked and gotten to know each other a little, but there were still a lot of things about Erik that I wanted to know more about. I wanted to know about his business and what it was and how he made money. It was clear to me that he hadn’t inherited his money like I had originally thought, but what else was there to the story?
The doorbell rang just as I was pulling on my dress. I had labored over which one to choose for nearly twenty minutes before finally sliding into a little, emerald green dress. My hair was pulled up and I had put on a touch of makeup to cover my dark circles from going dancing with Kaitlin the night before.
I slowly descended the stairs just as Erik was welcomed into our house by my mother and father. I hoped he hadn’t been standing there too long, alone with them. I hadn’t agonized over my outfit as much as I wanted to, but it had been a difficult decision to pick something that I wouldn’t feel totally useless in.
As his eyes looked up at me, I felt like I had made the right decision. He smiled and gazed at me like I was the last woman on earth. It made me feel amazing.
Chapter 14
Erik
Every cliché about meeting a girl’s parents ran through my head as I got in the taxi to head to Cassidy’s house. I even imagined her father with a shotgun sitting on the front porch. So when I arrived and there was no shotgun and Cassidy’s mother greeted me with a friendly smile, I was very much relieved.
“Hello, I’m Erik. Cassidy invited me over.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Bob!” she hollered into the other room. “Cassidy’s friend is here.”
“Does he look like an asshole?” the man asked loudly from the other room.
“Bob, he’s in the house. He can hear you.”
