by DW Cee
And a happy new year it will be.
Both of us wanted to rush to the hotel, but we agreed to walk the seventeen blocks down to Times Square to see the ball drop. By the time we got there, we were nowhere near the ball, but we were able to do the countdown and engage in an intense make out session. All that controlled lust from the past few days turned into unbridled lust knowing what was going to happen tonight.
“Geez, you two. You already have a hotel room. Go use it rather than making us queasy.” Nick kidded.
Nick didn’t have to say much more. We practically ran the seventeen blocks back up to Columbus Circle and our clothes were half-off by the time we got on the bed. After almost two years of indecision and a few days of serious foreplay, we were gonna have sex. Fumbling with snaps, buttons, and zippers, it wasn’t easy getting undressed when your eyes were closed and your lips were locked.
Then it happened. Just like in the movies, our phones started ringing. First, mine rang and when we ignored it, Max’s rang. This kept going till the room phone rang. We couldn’t ignore it any longer.
“I think someone’s looking for us.” Max and I were breathing heavy.
“Somebody better be dying or I’m going to be seriously pissed.” I got off the bed and answered the phone. “Yes!” I shouted, frustrated.
“You and Max need to come over here right away and watch the twins. Emily is very sick. I need to take her to the emergency room.”
“Where’s Mom and Dad?” Did I really ask that selfish question?
“Get your ass over here, now!”
“We gotta go. Emily’s ill and needs to go to the emergency room.”
“What?” Max jumped off the bed and got dressed, faster than a New York minute. Familial love, my ass. He still loved her as a woman, whether or not he thought he did.
“You okay, Emily?” Max asked as soon as we got to their apartment. “What’s wrong with her?” He then turned the question to my brother.
“She’s been throwing up nonstop since we got home. She failed to tell me that she’s been throwing up all day.” My brother was unhappy!
“You had such a special day planned for me. I didn’t want to ruin it with whatever I caught from the kids.”
Shaking his head, Jake said, “I’m going to get her checked out and probably get some fluid in her. It may take a while.”
“No problem. Take as long as you like.” Max was a lot more understanding than I.
Why of all days did she have to pick today to get sick??? She never gets sick‼! I knew I was being a brat again, but I was unhappy as well.
Of course, as soon as Jake and Emily left, both kids got up, crying. We walked in and the twins wailed even louder because they wanted their parents, instead. I picked up James, the easier one, and Max picked up Ellie. After performing “surgery” on her nose again, he held her upright and quickly got her back to sleep.
“How’d you do that so fast? Good thing you’re going into pediatrics and not me. All this crying has James even more miserable. His snot is everywhere.”
“Give him to me and why don’t you go lay down. It’s late. You must be tired. I’ll get this little one down after I clean him up.”
I followed Max’s instructions and got to the sofa, and I must have fallen asleep. When I woke up, Max was nowhere to be found. I tiptoed over to the kids’ room, careful not to wake them up. The light was off but I heard the light squeaking of a rocking chair and Max’s soothing voice telling James a story. I got close enough to hear what he was saying.
“You know, James, you look just like your mother when you cry. Your mother has a tendency to cry often. I guess…I was the cause for a lot of those tears.” He was quiet for a while—possibly contemplating his sins. “I loved your mother for many, many years.” Now he made me want to cry. I didn’t want to hear about his love for Emily, but I couldn’t walk away. “She and I loved each other but when I let her go, she found your father and fell in love with him. It hurt a lot at first, but your father was the best thing to happen to her.” He rocked some more before continuing his confession. “Once I realized this, I was truly happy for your mom and just a little while ago, I realized that letting go of your mom was best thing that happened to me as well. I think I may have found love again, but your aunt is a difficult one. We fight all the time, and some days I wonder if she’s worth the trouble. But, as soon as I see your auntie Jane, I know she’s the best thing to happen to me. We may one day be family, little one. Would you be okay with me as your uncle? I’d sure be proud to have you two as my nephew and niece. Sleep, little one. I’ll rock you till your parents get home.”
Oh…my…gosh…
What a happy new year this will be…
Jan. 7, 2013 Back to the Same Hummm Drummm...
“Hey. Merry Christmas. How was New York?” Donovan popped into my cubicle of an office.
“Merry Christmas to you too. New York was fantastic. How was your Christmas? What did you do?” Regardless of my feelings for Max, Donovan still looked as yummy as ever in his sleekly tailored dark blue pinstriped suit. He reminded me of a cross between Bradley Cooper with the wavy hair and killer smile, and Henry Cavill with the sexy as hell aura. Looking at him hurt sometimes. It’s okay to just look, right?
“My Christmas was crazy. My four sisters with their families came into town and two stayed with my parents, one stayed with me, and one had the good sense to get a hotel room.”
“How are your sisters doing? I haven’t seen them in years. The last time I saw them was at Becky’s wedding, three years ago. I got a text from Becky right before she came into town, but this trip was so last minute, I didn’t get to meet up with her. I miss her.”
“Well, she and Al are staying at my place. Why don’t you come by after work, tonight? In fact, maybe we can all meet up after work, sans enfants. I’m sure all my sisters would like to see you.”
Donovan came from a huge family, but because he was the only boy in the family, he hung out at our house whenever he needed a testosterone recharge. His sisters ranged from ages twenty-seven to forty with Donovan being somewhere in the middle.
“Jane!” Someone yelled from right outside my door.
“Uh-oh...bitch alert.” I moaned.
“Where’s the Mitchell document? Why isn’t it done and on my desk for review? You know that we’re meeting with these clients in a few days and I need to make sure your work is without error...” Andrea bit out till she saw Donovan in my office. “Oh, hello Donovan. How was your Christmas? Your family got into town safely?” A total Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine ensued. “Whenever you can get it done, okay?” She winked at me in a malicious kind of way. Weird!
“What was that?” Donovan asked.
“I don’t know. I think she’s got the hots for you, and is jealous that we’re friends. She’s always a bitch to me.”
“Whatever. Lunch, later?”
“Sure.”
Should I not have been so friendly with Donovan, especially after having had such an intimate time with Max in New York? I supposed I could rationalize it and say that we’d been friends for so long that it’d be silly to give up our friendship because Max might be jealous. But, I should also remind myself that Max and I were starting again and life was so good between us, I shouldn’t rock the boat.
“Hello, my precious gem.” A phone call during the day from Max was a rarity.
“Hello! It’s 10:30am. How are you able to call me?”
“I missed you.” I felt that warm fuzziness again. “You busy?”
“Yeah. The head lawyer for a case I’m working on has decided to make my life a living hell. She yelled at me this morning till she realized Donovan was in my office.”
“Donovan...yeah...we never finished talking about him.”
“Before you forbid me to hang out with a guy I’ve known all my life and work in the same office with, I have to tell you I’m having lunch with him in about an hour and will probably be hanging out with him an
d his sisters tonight.”
There was a long silence on Max’s end.
“Max...?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“What do you say? Am I allowed to keep my friend?” The sarcasm was a bit heavy on my part.
“Max...we‘re all headed to the cafeteria for a late breakfast. Do you want to join us, or shall I bring something back for you?”
There was that nail-on-the-chalkboard voice, again.
“I’ll be right there.”
“I’ll save you a spot.”
“Sure.”
“Max? Shall I hang up so you and Alex Forrest can go have breakfast?”
“Yeah. Why don’t we hang up? We’ll talk more when we’re face to face. Bye.”
Just like that, without letting me say goodbye, he hung up on me. Jerk! What was his problem again? Aargh! How can things go so well and then go so far south again?
I hadn’t gotten any work done when Donovan stopped by to pick me up for lunch.
“An egg-salad sandwich?” God, he knew me so well.
“Yes.” My phone rang as I was picking up my purse.
“Hey, Laney. What’s up?”
“I brought your Kindle and I’m downstairs in the lobby. Can you come down?”
“Yep. See you in thirty seconds.”
“Laney is here with my Kindle that I left in New York. She’s downstairs.”
“Well then let’s go.”
Even in fifty-degree weather, Laney was dressed in a tight, short dress with thigh-high boots, a stylish scarf and a matching hat. She looked good.
“Isn’t that Emily’s Chanel outfit from Paris? Why are you wearing it?” That comment came out a bit snarky because I’d wanted to borrow it, but Jake wouldn’t let me.
“Yeah. Emily let me borrow it since I have a date tonight.”
“How’d you get it past Jake?”
“Jake said I looked good in this outfit—though never as good as his wife.”
Jerk! He had no issues with Laney borrowing this outfit, but wouldn’t let his own sister wear it. Wait until he asks me for a favor next time!
“Hello, Miss Delaney Reid. My, you’ve grown up. How old are you, now?”
“Old enough...” she retorted.
“Bold words from such a youngin. Sassiness must run in the Reid family.”
“Do I know you?”
“Laney, this is Donovan Taylor. He’s Jake’s best friend and he used to hang out at our house a lot when we were younger. You might be too young to remember.”
“I don’t remember, but hello Mr. Taylor. It’s nice to meet you again.” Our gentle Laney was unnecessarily hostile towards Donovan. Maybe she got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
“Here,” she said handing me my Kindle. “I’ve got to go.”
“Would you like to have lunch with us, Miss Delaney?”
“No thank you, Mr. Taylor. Bye Jane.” Just like Max, earlier, she left without listening to me say goodbye. Brat!
“She’s cute! Independent, spunky, and no fear...gotta love youth.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“I texted all four Taylor sisters along with the two Reid brothers and we are all are meeting tonight at Jake’s house. Why are Jake and Emily back from New York so soon? I thought they were staying there for a while.”
“Jake didn’t tell you?”
“No...what was he supposed to tell me?”
“I’m sure he’ll tell you tonight. This news...it’s HUGE!”
“Can’t wait to hear it, then.”
Jan 10, 2013 Unexpected Flight Plans
We had the best time the other night at Jake’s house. It was like being a kid again and having a huge slumber party. Emily got along well with all of Donovan’s sisters, even Kelley, Jake’s one time long-standing girlfriend. But, before I rehash our fantastic night...the BIG news.
Jake and Emily are expecting! Yes, only after nine months, she is pregnant, again. That was why she was throwing up New Year’s Eve, and that was why she ended up in the hospital. Jake and the rest of the Reids are ecstatic! Emily is in a bit of shock, but once that wears off, I’m sure she’ll be happier than the Reid lot, combined. Though I was bitter the night Max and I didn’t get to finish what we started in the hotel room, I could never trade what I heard outside James’ bedroom—even if the jerk hasn’t called me since our last conversation concerning Donovan. Max had such a chick side to him sometimes.
“Whatcha daydreaming about?” Hot man in another perfect suit, alert.
“Hey Donovan. I was just thinking about the other night at Jake’s house. I had so much fun! I can’t believe we all stayed up till the sun came out. I was so exhausted yesterday. I went home from work and conked out.”
“Me too. I had a great time, but I can’t do those all-nighters anymore. Emily was a good sport. Even as she was yawning away, she played the perfect hostess. I’m sure it was miserable for her to get up to the twins, only after a few hours of sleep.”
“Yeah, but Jake called my parents right before he left for work and asked them to come over and help her. There’s no better husband than my brother.”
“I think Kelley was floored and jealous at the same time when she saw your brother in action. She couldn’t stop mentioning how attentive he was to your sister-in-law. She said he was more attentive to Emily in those few hours of the night, than he was their entire relationship. I think she was a bit pissed.”
“Funny. Yeah, Jake is a bit ridiculous where his wife and family are concerned. It’s no wonder she’s pregnant again.”
“With their speed of progress, they may be at half a dozen kids before I even have one.”
“I just hope it’s not twins again. However, if Emily has twins, again, we’ll all have a baby to hold. As you can tell, we are all a bit obsessed with those kids.”
“I’ve noticed. I, too, find them adorable—especially that Elizabeth. She’s quite a charmer, even at her young age. She must get it from her aunt.”
Dear God, he was giving me one of those flirtatious, gorgeous smiles. What kind of defense can a girl have against such perfection like that? I ignored his comment and changed subjects.
“I was super glad we had the reunion. We need to get together more often.”
“Yeah, I agree. By the way, when’s your flight tonight?”
“Jane!” Ms. Biatch Lawyer was calling. “Oh, hello, Donovan. I just needed to make sure Jane was ready for our meeting with the Mitchell Group. She can be a bit messy with her work. You can’t believe all the mistakes I have to correct whenever she sends me her finished documents...” While the Biatch was going on about my flaws, I stood behind her mimicking her witchy ways. Donovan did his best to hold back his laugh. “I’ll see you on the 8:00p.m. flight!” She said whatever she needed to say, and walked out.
“Boy, you gonna be okay being with her for a few days?”
“No, but do I have a choice? I’m going to stay at the apartment rather than at the hotel with her, Mark, and Andrew. I don’t even know why I’m attending this meeting. They really don’t need me. Ms. Biatch is the head of patent law. She’s only making me go so I can be her personal assistant and do all her grunt work.”
