More

by Lisa Shelby

  “Take good care of her, Mick.” My little sister orders as she gives me a hug. It’s a request and a threat all wrapped up in one. Message received loud and clear, sis.

  Sometime later, after all the crime scene pictures have been taken, cuts have been cleaned, questions have been asked and information has been given, we’re alone.

  Timidly she asks, “Mick, I’m gonna take a shower. Do you mind hanging out until I’m done?” She looks tired and still a little scared.

  “I’m not going anywhere. You take your shower and I’ll pick up the mess that everybody left behind. Take your time, I’ll be here when you get out. If you want to stay at my place tonight, it’s perfectly fine with me. No ulterior motive.”

  “Nah, that’s okay, Mick. I’d rather just stay here. Thanks though.”

  “Blazer sure seems to like you,” she says referring to the sleeping cat in my arms. Its thirty minutes later and she’s just joined me on the couch. Wet headed and blurry eyed.

  “Did you really name your cat after a Chevy?”

  Giggling she says, “Mick…hello…this is Portland…duh!”

  “Wow, I’m impressed. You named your cat after the Trailblazers. I didn’t know you were such a big basketball fan. We’ll have to get to a game sometime before the season’s over.”

  “Mick?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. I’m glad I got here when I did. Seeing you like that, Alex…I don’t even know what to say. I am so sorry you had to go through all of this. Not just today but the last weeks and when you were a kid. You’ve dealt with way too much. I’m just glad I could help today.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that today, Mick.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? I should have killed him!” Is she trying to protect this asshole? I feel myself getting pissed. So, does Blazer because he jumps out of my arms when I yell my objections.

  “Mick, what if he presses charges? You could lose your job.”

  And there it is. She’s thinking of me. Not herself, but me. Why does she not know how to put herself first?

  “Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be fine. He can press charges if he wants, but with the 911 recording and your statement I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that. I doubt you’ll be seeing him at work anymore either. I don’t think these kinds of charges work well in HR management.”

  “Shit! This means that everybody at work is going to find out! God Mick, this is all so humiliating.”

  She leans forward and puts her face in her hands. I rub her back and try to reassure her the best I can. “Hey, this doesn’t mean that your co-workers are going to find out. He works at corporate on the other side of the country. I doubt he’s going to advertise it. It’s going to be okay, Alex. And to be on the safe side, Monday we’re going down to the station to file a restraining order.” There’s no hiding the fear in her eyes at the thought of my last statement. “Alex, I’ll be with you every step of the way. You don’t have to do this alone.”

  “Thank you, Mick. For everything.”

  Just then there’s a knock at the door and she jumps. “Sorry, I should have told you that I ordered pizza. It’s all good. I’ll be right back.”

  I get the pizza, salad and soda all set up on the kitchen table and she joins me. I steer the conversation away from today and to the frivolous topics of Portland basketball, our mutual hatred of the Los Angeles Lakers, the latest Tarantino movie and of course her love of Ben & Jerry’s. She tells me about her favorite show, The People’s Couch, that is about watching other people watch TV. When I tell her that it sounds lame and I can’t believe she would watch that crap she makes me promise to watch 30 minutes of it and tell her if I still feel the same after watching it.

  Two hours later, I pick up our empty pints of ice cream and concede that she was right. Her show is hysterical, and in my head I’m thinking and if it distracted you that’s all that matters.

  I head to the kitchen and throw away our garbage and put our spoons in the dishwasher. When I return to the living room she stands and says, “Thanks for sticking around, Mick, but I’m exhausted. I think it’s time I turn in.”

  “No problem, lead the way.”

  “What do you mean lead the way? The way to the front door?”

  “Sweet thing, if you think that I am going to leave you tonight you are sorely mistaken. There is nothing that you can say that would get me to leave you right now. I know you don’t want more than friendship from me, and that is a hard pill to swallow, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still care. I know you’ve always taken care of yourself but you don’t have to. You don’t have to do everything on your own. Please know up front though…I am not even going to pretend to be chivalrous and sleep on the couch or the floor. I am sleeping in your bed, with you in my arms, where I know you are safe.”

  “Mick, you don’t need to do that. I’ll be fine.”

  “You might be, but I won’t. This isn’t for you, Alex, it’s for me.”

  Reluctantly, she relents. “Okay.”

  I turn off the lights and follow her to her bedroom. She turns on the bedside lamp and then heads into the master bathroom. I stay back to give her some privacy and a few seconds later she calls me into the bathroom.

  She hands me a brand-new toothbrush and as I take it out of its plastic container, she puts toothpaste on her toothbrush and then hands the tube to me.

  “Thanks,” I say as we both go about our business, like it’s something we do together every night. I watch her go through her routine in the mirror but she doesn’t look my way.

  Once she finishes she heads out to the bedroom and crawls under the covers. I take my time and let her settle before I join her. I turn off the light and take everything but my t-shirt and boxer briefs off. I join her under the covers and say, “Come here, Alex.”

  “What?” she asks with her back to me.

  “Alex, I told you that I needed to sleep with you in my arms. Please don’t make this difficult.”

  She rolls over and puts her head on my chest and her arm around my waist as I pull her as close to me as I can get her.

  “Thank you,” I say into her hair.

  “Thanks for staying, Mick. I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Me too, Alex.”

  Lying in her bed, with her in my arms…I take in the day. How I went from pacing my family room and talking to my dog to finding Alex being attacked to lying here with her in my arms…it’s a lot to take in.

  I deal with domestic abuse regularly at work, but today was different. Today, it was somebody I care about. Today it was Alex. My Alex. My Sweet Thing. I called her that years ago when we had our night together and it stuck. In my mind that is what I’ve always called her. And just like the song says, she’s my everything. It took me awhile to figure it out but there is no doubt in my mind. She’s it for me.

  I hear her breathing even out and realize that she’s sound asleep. I’m sure with everything that’s happened she’s exhausted. As for me, I’m not sure I’ll sleep at all tonight worrying about her concussion. Not to mention the fact that I hate every second that I’m in this bed where I know he violated her. It’s almost too much to take. Besides that, I’m not sure I could forgive myself if I were to miss a minute of having her here, in my arms.

  She stirs, and nuzzles even closer to me as her long leg weaves around me. Nothing has ever felt so right. If I was unsure before, this moment has solidified everything for me. She’s not just my Sweet Thing. She’s my more.

  CHAPTER

  TWELVE

  Sweet Thing

  Alex

  “I don’t know why I care so much, I just do!” I say to Blazer as he weaves around my ankles meowing.

  “I know it’s just Mick. And I’ve known him forever, but he does something to me, Blaze.” Moving the hangers back and forth in my closet nothing seems good enough for a day of shopping. “I wish he wasn’t Mick and he wasn’
t being so perfect lately. He’s making it extremely hard to keep my distance.” Blazer lets out one last meow and then curls up amongst my shoes and falls asleep.

  “Okay, good talk.” I can’t believe I’ve been dismissed by my own cat.

  Finally, I settle on a cream sweater, dark jeans, and tall brown boots. As I touch up my hair and make-up one last time I can’t help but recap this past week in my mind as I sing along to Marian Hill.

  Waking up in Mick’s arms on Sunday morning was like a dream. It was a dream that only existed because of the nightmare that was Kevin, but it was worth it to end up there. Mick’s arms, and waking up in them, are stuff that dreams are made of. In fact, every day since that horrific Saturday has been better than the last.

  On Sunday, Mick made me breakfast and hung out at my place most of the day. We binge watched the first season of Orange Is the New Black and ate left over pizza. I sat on one end of the couch and he sat on the other with my feet in his lap. He was always touching me somehow and it felt so natural. I think I missed half of what was happening on the show. Every time his hand would lightly glide up my leg or he would gently rub my feet, it was all I could focus on.

  I could tell he didn’t want to leave me Sunday night. I think I was recovering from the day before better than he was. Standing at my front door he gently cupped my face in his strong hands and said, “If you need anything at all you call me. I don’t care how big or small, you call. If your headache gets worse…call. If you get scared…call. If you can’t sleep…call. I’m here for you, Alex. No more secrets, deal?”

  I can barely make an audible sound when I reply. “Deal.”

  Letting go of me he opened the door to leave but still had his eyes trained on mine. “Lock the door behind me, Alex. I’ll call or text you later.” And with that he shuts the door behind him and I know he won’t leave until I lock it. So, I lock the door and then try to calm my giddiness, but it’s impossible. I feel like pulling a ‘Tom Cruise’ and jumping up and down on my couch, but I digress. Sorda. Instead I run down the hall and throw myself on my bed and drown in his sent. I don’t even care that my face hurts from yesterday and that jumping face first into my bed was probably not the best decision. The giddiness releases itself in the form of a squeal when ten minutes later I get a text from him that includes a picture of him pouting.

  Sexy Beast: Do I have to go to work?

  Sweet Thing: You do. Just be sure to tuck your cape in nice and tight.

  Sexy Beast: My cape?

  Sweet Thing: Yes, your superhero cape. The one with the big SB on it. You’ve rescued me twice now. Thank you.

  Sexy Beast: I wish I had known you needed rescuing when we were kids, but I’m glad I could be there yesterday. I’m no superhero though.

  Sweet Thing: Well, we will have to agree to disagree.

  Sexy Beast: Just curious…SB??

  Sweet Thing: Sexy Beast, of course!

  Sexy Beast: LOL! I’m never gonna live that down am I?

  Sweet Thing: Nope. ;)

  Sexy Beast: Well, I better suck it up and get ready for work. Get some rest and if your headache gets worse we’re going to the hospital. I’ll leave work if you need me. Do not hesitate to call!

  Sweet Thing: Yes, sir, Dr. Jacobs.

  Sexy Beast: Don’t be a smart ass, Alex.

  Sweet Thing: Hey, I gotta stick to what I’m good at.

  Sexy Beast: From what I remember…you happen to be good at some other things too. Very good. If my memory serves me correctly???

  Shocked at his change in conversation, I don’t know how to reply. Minutes go by and I’m still just staring at my phone like it will bite me if my thumbs touch the screen. Finally, another message appears.

  Sexy Beast: Alex…DO. NOT. FREAK. OUT.

  Sexy Beast: I know you don’t want to go there, but give a guy a break! You just spent the night in my arms and I didn’t cross any lines. I will always want to cross those lines with you, but if you aren’t on the same page, I get it. That doesn’t mean that I don’t hope that you’ll skip a couple chapters and catch up to me. I would love to be on the same page because I think my place in the story is better than yours, and I’m hoping you’ll catch up. If you’re a slow reader, that’s okay. I’ll wait.

  Sweet Thing: Mick…

  Sexy Beast: I’ll wait.

  Sweet Thing: What if I never catch up?

  Sexy Beast: I’ll wait.

  Sexy Beast: Gotta go to work. I’ll check in later.

  True to his word, he did check in later. He also showed up at my office the next day just in time for lunch. It wasn’t just a social visit though. He went with me to file my restraining order and then took me to lunch. There was no talk of pages or chapters or books of any kind.

  He worked Monday and Tuesday night but there were text messages throughout the day and night just like after he left on Sunday.

  Wednesday night he took me to Legend. Not only did I get to sit next to Mick at the theater, but I got two versions of Tom Hardy up on the screen. Mick gave me a hard time when I confessed that I chose that movie because Tom Hardy happens to be my celebrity crush. He did admit that he thought he was pretty badass, so he was fine with my selection. It was a great movie, but there was a lot of violence and one scene that depicted domestic violence. As soon as the scene started, Mick grabbed my hand and didn’t let go the rest of the movie.

  He has surprised me every day.

  He has been present every day.

  Always checking in or just sending a picture of Frank and pretending that he wanted to say hi.

  On Friday night, he met me at On Deck after work, for happy hour. We spent another night playing our little game of make-believe. Mick is surprisingly good at creating alternate universes for strangers. He gets pretty creative too. My favorite has to be the elderly couple that looked to be in their eighties and a bit out of their element. According to Mick, they have a sex dungeon at home. She’s the dom and he’s the sub and they still get their groove on regularly.

  He makes me laugh.

  He makes me feel safe.

  He makes me happy.

  Checking my watch, I see that it’s time to hit the road. I need to be at the mall in twenty minutes so I do one last check of my appearance before I leave. I can’t help but notice the smile that’s smiling back at me as I take one last look in the mirror. It’s new. I like it. Happy looks good on me.

  I’m not sure that I’ll be this happy down the road, but I’ll take the happy while it’s here. Besides, I didn’t stand a chance after spending the night in his arms. Follow that night up with every day this week and the deal was sealed.

  Mick

  Well, this is a first.

  I’ve never taken a date to the mall before.

  But then again I guess this isn’t really a ‘date’.

  I made it clear Sunday night that I want more than friendship. I’m not sure if she thinks I just want sex or if she realizes I want more. It’s only been a week since I told her I would wait. It feels like an eternity. But I told her I would wait, and I will. If she doesn’t catch up, I’ll have to grow a pair and bring the topic up again. This time not like a pussy via text, but in person. I have a feeling I can be a bit more persuasive up close and personal. God, I want to be up close and personal with Alex.

  This whole shopping thing isn’t my style. I know I could have just shopped online, but it was an excuse to spend time with her.

  Holiday music is playing; the mall is lit up with decorations and people are rushing by in every direction. All of that evaporates the minute I see her walking across the parking lot. Sweet Jesus, she is beautiful. She’s wearing tight jeans and sexy as hell high boots. I can’t see what’s going on under her jacket, but I know it’s hot.

  She lifts her head and sees me waiting for her. She gives me a little wave and practically skips the rest of the way to me. Without hesitation, she slips her arm through mine and says, “Let’s shop!” Does she realize what she’s doing to me? Ha
ving her body against mine is already making this whole shopping thing a much more pleasurable experience. This kind of shopping I can do.

  “Well, good morning to you too!”

  “Sorry, I’m excited! I love to shop and I am determined to make this fun for you!”

  “How exactly do you plan on making this fun?” I ask as I hold the door open for her.

  “You’re with me, how could this not be fun?” She says with a wink as she knocks her shoulder into mine.

  “No truer words have ever been spoken. Lead the way, sweet thing,”

  “Stop it Mick,” she sighs.

  “Stop what?” I ask genuinely confused.

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “Call you what? What did I say?”

  “You called me, sweet thing. You did it that night at Lola’s and you did it Saturday night when you were taking care of me.” She’s no longer walking with her arm in mine. She’s pulled away and has her arms wrapped around waist, almost like she’s trying to soothe herself.

  “Shit, sorry it upsets you. Is there a reason I can’t call you that?”

  “I don’t want to be like all the rest, Mick. I don’t want you to use your charming little names on me. Please don’t treat me like everybody else. We’re friends, Mick. I’m not one of your ‘girls’ and I hate that I’m on your list of Sweet Things. I don’t need the reminder.”

  What the hell?

  Stopping in the middle of the crowded mall I turn and face her, pull my phone out of my back pocket and hand it to her.

  “Alex, there are no other Sweet Things. I called you that at Lola’s all those years ago and in my mind, it stuck. Check my phone. Look for your name. I don’t have an Alex or an Alexandra in my phone…but I do have a Sweet Thing. It may sound cheesy, and it may sound like a line, but in my head, that’s what you’ve been to me since that night.” She’s still holding my phone in her hand, but she isn’t looking at it. She’s looking right at me and I can tell that there’s something she wants to say. I think she may be stunned silent. “Here, let me show you,” I say taking the phone back.