Glass Ceilings

by A. m Madden

  She squirmed beneath me giggling. “I can’t breathe.”

  Groaning, I barely moved to my left to release her. I felt her slip out of bed and pad her way to the bathroom. It could have been a few minutes later or an hour when she straddled my back, planting affectionate kisses below my ear. “Time to get up.”

  “Mmm.”

  “Come on, babe. You fell asleep. I waited a bit to wake you, already showered, and I want to eat before we go.” She licked the shell of my ear before sucking on my lobe.

  “Be careful, wifey,” I said with my face still buried in the pillow.

  “Or?”

  “Or, I’ll make you even sore-er-er.”

  “Sore-er-er? Sounds fun.” While still sitting on the small of my back, she gyrated in such a way that my cock began to harden beneath me. It felt like she had a jolt collar attached to my dick and with the slightest touch could turn it on full blast.

  “Are you naked?” I asked, knowing her pussy was at least.

  “All I’m wearing is your T-shirt.”

  I flipped so quickly, she squealed with shock. The grin on her face morphed into a lip-biting simper when I lifted her and lowered her over my hard-on.

  “Told ya to be careful,” I said unapologetically.

  “Uh-huh.” She nodded, closing her eyes when I completely filled her. “You sure did.”

  It only took a few seconds for her to take over, and I placed my hands behind my head enjoying the show.

  It was an encore to the connection we had since stepping foot in that room, and a fucking fantastic encore at that…

  —

  Angela and I left The Plaza feeling a touch of melancholy that our wonderful night was over. It was just an incredible start to our lives together, and we really needed last night for so many reasons. A huge part of me didn’t want it to end.

  On our way to her apartment we ran over to mine to grab some more of my things. Before the wedding I spent some time cleaning out closets, emptying my spare room, and getting ready for the workers who would be transforming my place in the next few days.

  With Eve’s help, I arranged for a professional baby-proofer to come by in the morning. Once my place was safe for my son, a decorator would then begin painting his room.

  The last thing scheduled was the installation of my new security system. I had one in place already, but I was adding video surveillance as well. My current system wasn’t good enough to keep my family safe. With my new one, a tap on my cellphone could show me several views of my apartment, both inside and out.

  I knew it was unrealistic to think a few well-placed cameras were the answer to all my anxiety, but it fucking helped me feel a touch better while they were home at least. I still needed to figure out how I was going to deal with my issues whenever they left my sight.

  I was hoping to move Angela and Nicholas in by the end of the week. In the meantime, her place would have to suffice.

  “I wonder if they took Nicholas out for dinner somewhere and just didn’t hear my call,” Angela said as she unlocked her apartment door. She tried calling Eve a few times, and I could tell she was getting worried, which was making me worry.

  The moment we stepped into the apartment, Angela gasped, buried her face in my chest, and repeated over and over, “Eww…eww…eww!”

  Staring us in the face was Jase’s bare ass as he pounded his wife on the futon. Thank fuck she was dressed, with the skirt of her dress covering most of her naked half.

  “Seriously?” I asked, holding Angela’s head trying to protect her from seeing more than she already had.

  “Shit, I was so close.” Jase calmly grabbed his pants to cover his junk while Eve laughed. She fucking laughed out loud at what had just occurred!

  “Is he dressed? Please tell me he’s getting dressed.” Angela’s muffled voice asked while her face was still buried in the fabric of my T-shirt. “Where’s Nicholas? Please tell me he isn’t here!”

  “What kind of person do you think I am?” Eve asked with major attitude. “Your mom and dad still have him. They should be here soon. We just got here, and had a few minutes to kill. Besides, we’re always careful to wait until he’s either sleeping or not here.”

  Well thank Christ for that, I thought. “It’s okay now. He’s dressed,” I whispered into her ear.

  Angela turned to look at her cousin with her mouth gaping open. “What do you mean, always careful? You’ve had sex on my bed before?”

  “Oops,” Jase said with a raised brow.

  “What would you like us to do? It’s not like you have anywhere else we can in this tiny place. Since you prefer that we babysit here, we have needs.”

  “Here’s a suggestion. How about you only have sex at your place.”

  Eve’s eyes widened and her head snapped back like she’d been slapped across the face. “Are you insane?”

  “Okay, you two are never ever watching Nicholas at my place,” I said, before going into the kitchen to grab a beer.

  The couple exchanged a smirk between them, annoyance written all over their faces. “Whatever. Now that you’re married you’ll see the importance of taking advantage of every free moment that you can, especially when you have kids.”

  “You don’t have kids,” Angela retorted.

  “Yet. Doesn’t mean we can’t worry about such things already.”

  Angela walked over to where I leaned against her counter, took my beer, and helped herself to a long swig. “Thank you,” she said before rolling her eyes.

  “Grab me one,” Jase called out. “If I can’t finish off my wife I may as well get drunk.”

  I laughed at the jackass, earning a smack on my chest from my wife. Suddenly I had déjà vu, back to being at The Dump and Jase’s stupid-ass comments. I hadn’t allowed myself to think about him, but I did miss the son of a bitch. He always could make me laugh, usually at his own expense. He may be all polished up with his fancy toys and his expensive clothes, but the man-child I knew in Chicago was still prominent in every fiber of his being.

  Angela and I joined them in the small living room. She handed both Eve and Jase a beer, and sat on the only other available chair beside me.

  “So? How was the honeymoon?” Eve asked, eyeing us as if she were looking for evidence of some sort.

  “It was great. That room, Eve, holy crap, it was so gorgeous. The food, the view, it was a slice of heaven. Thank you for giving us that gift.”

  “So, all is forgiven?” Jase asked, making thrusting motions to remind us what we needed to forgive. “If it makes you feel better, Eve and I will lend you our place and you can have sex…” He looked toward his wife with a raised brow, adding, “What do you think, babe, about a dozen times to even the score?”

  “Please stop talking,” Angela said, rolling her eyes again. She turned to me adding, “I can sell that futon, right? Or put it to the curb?”

  “Absolutely. We can buy an air mattress to sleep on until we get to my place.” I put my hand out in the space between us. She took it in hers, allowing me to pull her onto my lap.

  “Aww, how cute are you guys? Marriage suits you,” Eve said with a saccharine grin. “Just don’t go having any more babies yet. I’m not ready to add another demon to our family.”

  “My son is not a demon.”

  “I was referring to Jase.”

  Jase looked at his wife with a leer on his face. “You love my demon.”

  Chapter 34

  Nick

  Together, Angela and I had packed some of the things she didn’t need to prepare her for the move. Boxes now took up most of her living room, piled neatly in the corner. It’d been a challenge to keep Nicholas from attempting to scale the pile every chance he got.

  Once they left to begin their day, I searched for the box labeled “photos.” Determinedly, I scoured the albums looking for any pictures of David I could find. Based on one of the most recent pictures Angela had of him I instantly concluded it had to have been her brother that I saw in Centra
l Park. The picture was taken at Nicholas’s birthday party and clearly showed David in the same stance he held at the park. His back was rigid, his head tilted up. It was the military stance that only those who were used to standing at attention would continue to do so, even when not on duty.

  I found some other photos, mostly of her family. Part of me felt I was invading her privacy, although knowing my wife she’d love that I was looking at them. Keeping to my promise to not withhold secrets from her, I planned on telling her I thought I might have seen David. The only reason why I held back mentioning it to her already was because I didn’t want to ruin our wedding weekend.

  For the rest of the day, I concentrated on rereading the files I stole from headquarters. When frustration hit because nothing stood out, I called Ben, anxious for something, anything, that could possibly open a door.

  Ben said he’d search the NYPD database for anything he could find regarding the Delarro-Pucci war that was raging in New York. Sometimes NYPD intelligence files picked up things the Feds may have missed, or vice versa. I also asked him to run David’s name through the system to see if anything came up.

  Upon hearing a key in the lock, I glanced at my watch and realized it was later than I thought. Angela was coming straight home after she left the store, and then we’d go pick up Nicholas together. She walked in to find me still looking at her photos.

  “Hey,” she said glancing at the open album on my lap.

  “Hey, baby,” I said distractedly.

  “Whatcha looking at?” Dropping her bag and keys on the small wooden table by the door, she then came over to kiss me chastely. I waited for her to sit beside me before showing her the photo I was studying.

  “I needed to check something out.”

  “David?”

  “Right after the ceremony on Saturday, I was scanning the crowd that gathered and somebody caught my eye. He was standing off in the distance watching us. He didn’t look the type to be interested in a wedding, kind of stuck out from the rest.”

  Her eyes widened immediately. “You think he was there?”

  “I’m not positive. He wore a hoodie and dark glasses, making it impossible to see his hair or his eyes.” My eyes cut to the picture of David that I’d been staring at for a good part of the day. “But now after seeing this picture, it could have been him. They have the same build, same posture.”

  “So, he’s okay.” She wasn’t asking, more so validating.

  “Baby, don’t get your hopes up. It might not have been him.”

  “Why didn’t you say something Saturday?” I could hear the hurt in her voice.

  “As quick as he was there, he was gone. I didn’t want to ruin our weekend. When was the last time you called or texted his number?”

  “Um…right before the wedding. I left the usual message I’ve been leaving every day for the past week. I asked him to please call us, that we just wanted to make sure he was okay.”

  “Did you mention we were getting married in the park?”

  “I did. I rambled on for longer than usual, saying how Eve, being Eve, took our original plans and threw them out the window. I told him about us going out to see my parents, and then mentioned the time and place of where the ceremony would be. I really had no idea if he was even hearing my messages, so it was a long shot.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Even if he was listening, I had no expectations that he’d actually show up.”

  “Well, if it was him, at least we now know he is listening to your voicemails.”

  “How will we ever know?”

  “I don’t know, baby. I’m working on it.” Skimming my gaze over her face, I leaned in to kiss her, wanting nothing more than to remove the stress that had settled around her eyes. “Ready to pick up our son?”

  She nodded saying, “Yep, I’m ready.” But the look in her eyes had her somewhere far away, no doubt with her brother.

  —

  As a workaholic bachelor, I used to consider my apartment just a well-decorated space that served its purpose. The glass furniture and cold, impersonal touches that I’d once hidden behind were now replaced with real life. My leather couches along with her walnut tables and fun, colorful pillows complemented each other perfectly. My son’s toys now occupied a corner of the living room. His clunky high chair replaced the center stool at the kitchen island. My tub was filled with bath toys and waterproof books. His freshly painted room was a perfect duplicate of his old one. From the position of his crib to the placement of his toy box, it was exactly the same as it had been at Angela’s place.

  He had taken over my world, and I couldn’t be happier.

  His mother, my wife, had taken over my world in her own way. Yes, her clothes hung beside mine in our closet, and pictures that had decorated her small living room now decorated mine. The fridge and cabinets had food in it, real food. Her coffeemaker sat on the countertop. Every single thing that she added to our apartment made it a home. But the real way they took over couldn’t be seen.

  Deep in my chest, with every breath I took, I knew they controlled my heartbeat. My love for them overwhelmed me.

  As a welcome-home present, I ran out and got a new train set for Nicholas, and set it up so it was waiting for him when he arrived. I also surprised Angela by duplicating the bed linens from The Plaza as best I could. It wasn’t hard to do. One phone call to Eve and handing over my Amex card number was all it took to have the same linens, duvet, pillows, and mattress topper that we both fell in love with delivered to my doorstep. I even told Eve to purchase one of their robes for Angela as well. I couldn’t wait to get her in that bed once our son fell asleep.

  As a father, a husband, I now had a home. We were finally living in our home as a family. Spending the time at Angela’s felt temporary. In my heart I knew I wanted them here to finally feel complete. That didn’t mean that I felt calm or settled.

  Waiting for Ben to get what I requested had been killing me. Little had been accomplished this past week regarding Ronnie’s case due to the melding of my and Angela’s lives. It made me antsy and anxious. My leave of absence sat heavy on my mind, all the facts I didn’t know or hadn’t discovered consumed my thoughts. I guess it was a good thing my heart was in a good place since my head was all sorts of fucked up.

  Angela misinterpreted my anxiousness for unhappiness. Part of me wanted to spare her the reasons, but that would contradict what I’d been preaching regarding complete honesty between us. I assured her that even though my mind was elsewhere, my heart was in her hands.

  I never wanted her to feel insecure regarding my feelings for her. It took almost two years for me to have what I desperately wanted. Put aside the heartbreak she caused or the many days when I felt so lost I couldn’t process my purpose any longer. Subconsciously, I only now realized that I always hoped and maybe even knew we’d reunite some day. Looking back, everything I did in my life was a temporary fix. Even my relationship with Stacie was kept at arm’s length, using our careers as the reason it never progressed. Personally, I was stuck in a state of limbo, and this now was what I was waiting for. I literally felt like I’d been given a second chance, and no way was I letting her go ever again.

  Tonight was our first night at home. Nicholas was happily moving around the room, exploring his new surroundings. He adorably suffered from new-toy ADD, moving from the train set that stretched across my rug to the toy box holding a new assortment of trucks and back to the train set.

  Angela poured herself a glass of wine and grabbed me a Heineken.

  “Thanks, baby,” I said raising my arm so she could fit up against me.

  “Ella called today to invite us to their beach house this weekend. Would you like to go?”

  “Sure, sounds great.”

  “Okay, I’ll call her in the morning.” She pointed to our son and voiced out loud, “And you were worried he wouldn’t be happy here.”

  “Yeah, he looks pretty happy, doesn’t he?” I said smugly.

  “Well, you did bribe h
im with all this new stuff.”

  “Not a bribe, simply a negotiation.” I kissed the top of her head, and Nicholas only then realized we were both on the couch watching him. He walked over and handed me one of his trains. “Thanks, buddy. What color is this?”

  “Wed.”

  “Good boy.” I leaned over him to kiss the top of his head. He snatched the train from my hand and wobbled back to his train set.

  “Is this how you imagined your life would be?” Angela asked quietly.

  “Honestly?” She met my stare and nodded solemnly. “It’s more than I could have imagined.”

  Chapter 35

  Nick

  I could feel the weight of her stare as I navigated my black Mustang through the seaside streets of Long Beach.

  “What?” I asked, amused by the smirk on her face.

  “Those aviators make you look like such a badass.”

  I chuckled at her statement. “I am a badass.”

  “A hot one.” Her simple declaration immediately affected me.

  “How hot?”

  She leaned in placing her lips on my ear, and whispered, “Promise me you’ll wear them later, and nothing else.”

  “That can be arranged.” I turned my head just enough to capture her lips before she sat back into her seat. In spite of all I had going on in my mind she sucked me into her infectious good mood.

  “It’s so pretty here,” Angela said, staring at the view as we coasted down Oceanview Avenue. Visiting Ben and Ella’s place didn’t happen often enough, yet whenever I did I could feel the stress leave my body and waft away, right out my opened sunroof.

  The air was cool but the sun warmed it enough to make it comfortable. “We’ll have to come here this summer with Nicholas. Has he ever been in the ocean?”

  “No, he hasn’t,” she admitted with a smile. “Maybe I was waiting for you to take him.”

  Suddenly I didn’t want to wait until summer to witness my son splashing around in a warm sea. “Maybe we’ll take him on a real honeymoon with us this winter in the Caribbean. It’ll give us something to look forward to during the season that I despise so much.”