by Mimi Grace
“Hi.”
“Hey.”
Jessica and Carmen left their own vehicle. A hushed but tense conversation between the two women unfolded.
“Thank you again for doing this,” Jolene said.
“Don’t mention it.”
It was a flippant response some people used as an alternative to “you’re welcome,” but the way he said it, it was as if he desperately wanted her to view this not as a favor but as a mea culpa.
Jolene didn’t know how long they stood there looking at each other, the electricity jumping and sparking between them. They probably looked like two glaciers daring the other to melt. If it hadn’t been for the rude grunt that came from Jessica, Jolene wasn’t sure they would have moved.
“Dr. Akana, this is Jessica. You’ll be working on her today. And this is her business partner, Carmen.”
The three of them exchanged handshakes, and Jessica gave Jason a scrutinizing once-over.
“Nice to meet the both of you,” Jason said as he guided all three women toward the entrance of the clinic. He turned off the security alarm and motioned to the waiting room seats. “Once I finish preparing my station, I’ll come get you, Jessica. The procedure will take ninety minutes, then you can be on your way.”
Jason looked at Jolene, then, and the final bits of anger and frustration she’d held onto in an attempt to keep regret at bay, vanished.
Jason had cancelled his date with Mrs. Bayuk’s granddaughter Bailey. He felt kind of guilty. But after seeing Jolene this morning, he didn’t know if he could be present or not compare Bailey to Jolene. That fact alone bothered him because Jolene and he weren’t dating. They weren’t even doing their “just sex” thing anymore. He placed his keys on the hook near the door and slung his work backpack behind his kitchen chair. The current heavy, summer rains raging outside his window would prevent him from going on his run.
His cancelled date and the downpour would also keep him near his phone where he hoped Jolene would at least text him. She had left early in the morning after he’d brightened Jessica’s teeth. The woman had been a prickly patient. But her attitude had been mild compared to what he’d dealt with over the years. As long as he kept his tone even and his responses succinct, difficult patients had nothing to latch on to and usually became a little less irritable.
His phone rang and he looked at the caller ID to prevent yesterday’s gaffe, then he tempered down his glee when he saw it was Jolene. He hadn’t summoned her like a genie in a bottle; she was probably just calling to thank him again. Even though she had done enough of that through text message.
“How did the TV appearance go?”
“It went smoothly. No more hiccups.” There was silence, then. “But I want to thank you again for everything you did today…I’m currently in the parking lot of an Indian restaurant with enough rice, butter chicken, naan, and tikka masala to put two grown adults into a food coma. Do you want to share?”
It would the best unexpected development to his schedule that day. “Yes.”
Jason’s place didn’t look exactly what she’d thought it would look like. It was obviously very neat and organized. The umbrella he’d met her with in the parking lot had a cradle it belonged in and so did his house keys, mail, and shoes. But his place was also warm and full of life and his quirks.
“Number one son, eh?” she asked, holding up the bright blue and yellow mug with the bubble letter text.
“Would you believe me if I told you I bought it for myself?”
“Yes, because you’re an arrogant bastard.”
He smirked and took a sip from his own mug decorated with some comic book superhero Jolene knew she should’ve known the name of. Jason had handed her a cup of tea once he’d set their dinner on the kitchen counter. He gave her a quick tour of his apartment. She tried not to show too much interest in his bedroom, and she immediately chased away the thought about how nice it would be to bury her face in Jason’s sheets. She took note of his 1950s German radio record player.
“It was my dad’s,” he said.
She ran a finger across the low, vintage sound box, wanting to ask more questions about his dad, but settled on saying, “It’s really beautiful.”
They got comfortable at his small kitchen table, digging into the food she had brought.
She knew they should discuss their argument and misunderstanding the night of the opera, but she liked the easy, breezy conversation they were having over bomb-ass food.
Later.
“You have a large collection of pots and pans.” She looked at the dozen stainless steel equipment that hung on a metal pot rack.
“Some of them I’ve had since my college years.”
A man liking and knowing how to cook shouldn’t impress her so much. She could’ve sworn her bar sat a little higher than that, but here she was impressed. “So, you weren’t the ramen-eating college student?” She took a bite of her naan. “Must’ve been nice.”
He laughed a little. “No, I was definitely too poor and didn’t have a safety net to eat anything really fancy in college. But previous students left that pot”—he pointed to a small pot that looked out of place next to the newer more shiny pans—“in my freshman dorm room. I’ve had it ever since.”
They finished their meals in companionable silence, listening to the heavy rains hitting the windows. Once they were done, they cleared their plates, and she stood beside him holding a dishcloth as he scrubbed their dishes clean.
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said.
No time like the present to broach uncomfortable conversations. “At first, I was annoyed that you believed Fuck Face Mark’s lies, but I can’t fault you too much because I probably would’ve too. So, no apologies needed.” She smiled at Jason, then. “Thanks for answering the phone when I needed you, though.”
He let out an audible exhale and returned the smile. “Would it screw up the moment to know that I didn’t see the caller ID before answering?”
Jolene laughed, and Jason handed her a newly cleaned plate to dry. They let the remaining tension fizzle away, and she felt lighter and grateful that she hadn’t lost his friendship.
“‘Fuck Face Mark’ is a lovely name, by the way,” he said.
“I tried to find words to make it a three-word alliteration, but Yvonne convinced me ‘Fuck Face Mark’ was just fine.”
Suddenly a heavy flash of lightning brightened the window, and loud, obnoxious thunder followed several seconds after.
“You should probably wait out this storm,” he said, turning the running water off.
She looked outside the window. “You’re probably right.”
“You can even stay here overnight, if you want.”
She felt her body shiver like one of those lightning bolts connected with her core. Mother Nature: her wing woman.
“Is this your not-so-subtle way of getting back to our fuck buddy status?” She emphasized the words, knowing he hated it.
He dramatically shuddered, letting her know he knew what she had just done. But he didn’t respond beyond a small smile. While he continued to wipe down the area around the sink, Jolene took a step away from the counter and attempted to land the sponge in the caddy attached to the sink like she was making a free throw on a basketball court. She missed the intended mark. Jason retrieved the sponge and similarly tried to throw it into the caddy. He missed as well. They turned to one another with smiles and a lighthearted game followed. After several more attempts, Jolene proved victorious.
She raised two fists in the air. “I knew my beer pong skills would be useful one day.” She’d missed their silly competitiveness, and her body relaxed with the familiarity of it.
“And what will you take as your prize?” he asked as he inched closer to her.
She looked around his small kitchen, ignoring how dark his eyes had turned. “What do you have to offer?”
“You can take whatever you like.” The muscle in his strong jaw ticked. “But I’m not going to lie
, all I can think about right now is how much I’ve missed your body and fucking you.”
Such simple words, and yet she felt a pulsing between her legs and saw stars like he’d just quoted some renowned poet. Her body moved toward his on its own volition, and she grabbed him by the T-shirt and brought his mouth to hers, warmth emanated from them both. Their tongues danced, and she bit his lip. He returned the favor, and she felt him wrap his arms around her middle and knead the flesh he found there. Drawing her flush to his body, her nipples hardened against him. She needed to get out of her clothes.
Another lightning-and-thunder combo interrupted their make out in front of the sink, but Jason used it as an opportunity to hoist her off the kitchen’s tile floor. She gasped at the sudden levitation. She wasn’t a small or a necessarily short woman.
“Oh my God, put me down.”
“No. Wrap your legs around me.”
She planned on protesting, but she recognized the stubborn glint in his eye. He would just stand there holding her until she did so. She wrapped her legs around his torso, and he shifted to readjust her position. All she could think about while he walked them toward his bedroom was what she would tell the 911 operator when his back gave out. But her anxiety amounted to nothing because they arrived at his bed without any catastrophic incident, and Jason dumped her onto it and resumed giving her long and brain-muddling kisses.
They found their way out of their clothes, and the thunder couldn’t stop them once they were delirious with need. Jolene lightly bit and licked Jason’s shoulders and neck as he played with her clit with his thumb. She threw her head back, oscillating between moaning his name and saying “yes.”
“You look stunning when you’re turned on,” he whispered. He kissed the side of her mouth before quickly retrieving a condom.
He placed the condom on himself before settling on his back. Without prompt, Jolene straddled his hips, and before he could appreciate the view of her on top of him, she pressed herself down onto his cock. She stayed still for a few beats, adjusting to the new position. Refusing to do what his body wanted him to do, he took calming breaths. He wanted to roughly and aggressively pull her up and bring her back down to his cock’s hilt, but he’d let her set the pace. Before long, she moved up and down his length at an intoxicating rhythm. She whimpered and moaned, and suddenly, as if a switch went off, she planted her hands on his chest and looked him dead in his eyes and sped up her movements.
However, it wasn’t fast enough. Not hard enough. Jason grasped her hips and pitched his own hips up, forcing her to abandon her rhythm and just hold on as he planted his feet into the mattress and thrust up into her pussy. God, he’d missed the feeling of her. He was so close, but he couldn’t let himself come till she had her release. He put his thumb in his mouth then reached for her clit, pressing and rubbing it until her mouth opened on a silent scream, and he felt her clench around him.
“That’s it, baby,” he said.
Her body convulsed on top of him. At that point she collapsed onto his chest, and he moved to wrap his arms around her waist. Her breath tickled the side of his face as he took several more pumps and reached his peak.
“Jolene!”
He continued to say her name. In whispered, barely there sounds against her throat. He was content to keep her on top of him, her weight a reassurance that she was still with him. With the sound of the rain slowing its torrent path, she fell asleep against him, and he knew that there wasn’t any other place he’d rather be.
Chapter 20
“Did you get the email I sent you about the food vendors for the launch?” Yvonne asked the second she entered Jolene’s office.
Jolene looked up from her screen where she’d been focused on some detailed work. She stared at Yvonne for a moment and mentally ran through the number of emails she had lying in her inbox, trying to recall which one she referred to.
“The Italian food vendor,” Yvonne prompted.
“Yes. I’ll email them about what promotional things they can bring.”
Yvonne had flippantly suggested that the Italian restaurant from Jessica’s scandal should cater Essential Essence’s launch party, and Jolene had seized on the idea. They would be able to mend a relationship between two local businesses and continue to improve the public outlook on Jessica.
Yvonne pursed her lips.
“I know. I know. Jessica is going to flip, but I’ll talk to her first. Don’t let her get wind of it till then.”
“All right, boss.”
Jolene stood and stacked her binders and folders into her gigantic bag. “I want you to know I love you for calling me boss.”
“I know. That’s why I do it.”
Yvonne moved out of Jolene’s way as she grabbed a file on a shelf behind her.
“Where are you going? Don’t tell me Jolene Baxter is leaving the office before six.”
Jolene fluffed her hair a bit. “I’ve got a hair appointment.”
“Wow. I’m shocked.”
“You’re making it seem as if I neglect myself and walk around with limp curls and dull hair.”
“No. You always look great. It’s just knowing you as I do, you would have cancelled it to spend one more hour at the office.”
Jolene shrugged. She had been feeling really content with where she was in life and things were going great. Why not pamper herself?
“It’s good. You deserve good things, that’s all.”
Jolene mouthed thank you to her friend as they made their way to the elevator.
“Oh, I literally cackled listening to Di’s podcast debut. Jason’s mom and aunt are adorable.”
“They’ve already recorded and posted?” Jolene pressed the elevator button.
“Sure did.”
“I’ll listen to it on my commute.”
The elevator door opened.
“Remember to send me pictures of your hair.”
“Always.”
The elevator doors closed between the friends, and Jolene pulled out her phone as she descended.
Jolene: The article I was talking about last night.
She included a link to the piece in a following text.
Jason: I’m at the gym. You just interrupted my music.
Jolene smiled. Someone was feeling sassy. She sent him an eye roll emoji.
Jolene: You could’ve ignored me then. No need to respond.
Jason: Ha!
Jason: I’ll read it when I get home, thank you ❤
Jolene stared at the heart emoji for a bit too long and felt her own heart stop and start at its presence. It was just a casual way to end of a sentence. She littered her own texts with them when she texted her family and friends. No need to over analyze. Preoccupied with trying to decide whether to respond to Jason’s text, Jolene barely registered that someone had entered the elevator with her.
“Hey, Jolene.”
She tensed and looked up at the man she’d been avoiding.
“Hello, Mark.”
“You haven’t been returning my emails.”
She looked straight at the elevator buttons and slipped her phone back into her purse. She could feel him leisurely leaning against the side of the back wall of the elevator looking at her.
“I’m positive that one of my colleagues has responded to all your requests and questions,” she said. She’d debated for days on how to rebuke and interrogate Mark about his blatant lies about the nature of their relationship, but each scenario ended with him making their working relationship miserable. She didn’t know if it was worth it to make things awkward when so much of the success in her career so far was because of the access she had to different media outlets.
“You seem pissed.”
She spared him a glance and feigned obliviousness. “Nope.”
“All right, in that case do you want to grab drinks tonight?”
“No, I have somewhere to be.”
“What about sometime when you don’t?”
The anger she tried
to contain for the sake of cordiality surged to the surface, and she turned to him, clutching her purse in front of her. “Why? So, you can legitimize the lie about us dating?”
He had the gall to look amused. “Are you actually angry that I want to take you out?”
The elevator door opened to the ground level and she walked out. Mark did too.
“That’s a compliment where I’m from.”
“There’s no relationship, and it’s rude and unprofessional of you to insinuate that to anyone,” Jolene hissed, taking care not to draw attention from the security at the front desk and the lingering people in the foyer.
“Jojo—”
She hated the way he used her nickname.
“We’ve been doing this flirty game for years. I thought that you’d appreciate the bold move,” he said.
God. The man had taken niceties and tolerance and spun it into something it clearly wasn’t.
“Let me be clear here and now. I am not interested in any sort of relationship with you apart from the professional one we share.” She gave him a curt nod and didn’t wait for him to respond. She could feel the pressure building up in the base of her neck with every step she took. She felt lightheaded, but she continued until she got into the safe confines of her car.
She had the impulse to cancel her appointment, but she forced herself, with shaky hands, to pull up Ms. Elizabeth and Ms. Nadine’s podcast and let their intro music and fast chatter drown out any anxiety she felt.
Yvonne was right, she deserved to treat herself, and Mark wasn’t going to screw that up for her today.
“That’s a new one?” Jason asked as he pointed to a dress that hung on the edge of Jolene’s wardrobe.
They’d just spent the better part of the afternoon giving one another orgasms. She inwardly smiled at the memory of her going down on him. Just thinking about wrapping her mouth around his dick got her wet, and the way he had fisted her hair and made noises that she wished she could make into a soundtrack.
