by Johanna Bock
“Finished?“ the clerk asked. Nodding her head, she enclosed the card in the small envelope and sealed it. She handed him the card and the cash for the flowers. He handed her Jeff’s business card and her change. As she left the florist shop, she started humming their song.
***
When she got home, she went straight to the phone and called Leah. “You are not going to believe what I just did?“ she said before even saying hello. She talked to Leah for a good hour, sharing her experiences. After they disconnected, she decided to take a long hot bath. “I am going to take a bath,“ she yelled.
Entering the bathroom, she walked to the tub, inserted the stopper and turned on the water. As the tub filled, she stripped. Standing before the mirror, she saw the love bites Jeff had given the previous night. A warm feeling passed through and she was thankful the marks were in places which were covered by her clothes. She did not want to have to explain them to anyone. Noticing the rising water level, she turned off the faucets and lifted one leg to enter the warm, swirling water. As her toe hit the water, she heard the phone ring. Reversing her leg, she yelled, “I’ll get it.“ Grabbing her robe, she opened and dashed out the door.
“It is for you,“ she heard her mother call from the front of the house.
“I’ll get it back here,“ she cried, moving to the back bedroom and flying across the bed for the phone. “I got it,“ she said when she picked up the receiver. Hearing the extension click off, she said in the sexiest voice ever, “Hello.“
“Hello to you,“ Jeff said softly. Her body started to tingle when she heard his voice.
“You got them?“ she asked, keeping her voice low.
“Oh yeah,“ he replied. “You are just too . . ., “ he hesitated.
“Too?“
“Too wonderful,“ he whispered. “What are you doing?“
“About ready to take a long hot bath,“ she informed him. His answering chuckle told her volumes. “Why?“ she asked.
“Want me to come scrub you back?“ he asked softly.
“It is a lovely thought, but we both know that is not going to happen,” she sighed.
“Then, why not come down and keep me company?“ he asked her in a voice filled with innuendo.
“I don’t think that is a good idea,“ she purred to him. “You need to work.“
“It is hard to keep my mind on work,“ he told her. “I can’t stop thinking about you.“
“Ah, poor baby,“ she replied. “I’ll see you tonight. Just keep that thought in your mind.“
“I will do more than see you tonight. That I promise,“ he vowed.
She felt as giddy as a schoolgirl. “Don’t worry; I will remind you of that promise,“ she said softly.
“I leave you to your bath. Think of me,” he suggested. “I will see you later.“
“I love you,“ she whispered.
“Me, too,“ he said, disconnecting the line.
As the dial tone resounded in her ear, she realized that she still held the receiver to her ear. Did he just say, ’me, too’? Wow! He loved her. He didn’t say it outright, but it was more than ’I know.’ Returning the receiver to the cradle, she felt like she was on ’cloud nine’. Crawling off the bed, she returned to the bathroom, discarded her robe, and stepped into the now-tepid water. Crap, she thought, kicking the stopper out of the way to allow some of the water to drain. He loves me, her mind cried as she watch the receding water level. She vowed that he would not regret it.
Seeing that enough water was removed, she re-plugged the drain and turned the hot water value on full. Lying back, she closed her eyes and dreamed of Jeff. Feeling the water reach the correct level, she popped open one eye and leaned forward to turn off the faucet. My life is perfect, she thought, returning to her previous position. She continued her daydreaming, as her flesh memory recalled his every touch.
***
Chapter Sixteen
She looked at the clock; she still had fifteen minutes before he was to arrive. Would he look different to her now that she knew he loved her? she wondered. Too antsy to sit in the house, she grabbed her jacket and purse. “I am going to wait outside for Jeff,“ she yelled over her shoulder. Before exiting the house, she checked her appearance in the large mirror over the sofa. She had dressed warmly tonight, knowing they were going to South Mountain. It would be cold up there, she knew. Satisfied, that all was in place, she opened the door.
When she reached the curb of the street in front of her house, she spotted his car rounding the corner of her street. She boldly walked into the street and stuck out her thumb. Through the windshield she could see him smiling. He did appear different to her, or were her eyes only playing tricks on her? No matter, he just looked damn good to her. As he approached her, he slowed, but did not stop.
“Okay, buddy,” she said. “Two can play this game.” Walking into the road where his car had just traveled, she grabbed her jacket and opened it wide and called. “Hey, mister. I am looking for a ride.” She was able to see his eyes in his rearview mirror. At her call, she saw his eye open wide and the brake lights activate.
Jeff shook his head at her antics and put the car in reverse. He backed up until the car almost touched her and called, “It might help your case, lady, if you were not fully clothed.”
Laughing, she replied. “But, I made you stop!” She moved to the passenger side to enter the car. As she reached for the handle, she felt him beside her. “Wow, that was fast.”
“My lady does not open the door while her knight is near,” he said softly, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply. She knew that they were in the middle of the street, but she could have cared less. All she knew was his touch could drive her body crazy.
Jeff felt her quiver in his arms and pulled back to see her face. What he saw caused him to murmur, “We better not keep that up or we will be arrested for indecent exposure.”
“Who cares?” she said softly.
“You do,” he responded, chuckling and stepping away from her. “Especially in front of your house. Let’s go.”
As they drove away, Annie looked back to see if anyone had seen them. Seeing her mother standing on the walkway to her house, she waved. “Well, it will be interesting chat when I get home,” she said. “Mom was watching us.”
“Sorry, Annie,” Jeff said. “I just can’t help kissing you.”
“No worries. I will handle it,” she assured him.
“Food?”
“I am not hungry for food,” she said, placing her hand on his leg.
“Same here. How about you scoot over?” he requested meaningfully.
Annie looked at him. “And?”
“And, what?” he asked innocently.
“I am not dressed for it,” she said shyly.
“For what?” he asked. “I just want you near.”
“Yeah, right,” she laughed, scooting over to sit in the middle of the front seat. “Now what?”
“I just want to put my arm around you,” he said, swinging his right arm around her shoulders. Annie was somewhat disappointed. She had come to expect his hand on her leg. Somehow, it wasn’t right; she felt cheated. Holding back her thoughts, she leaned forward to turn on the stereo. As the cassette started, she sat back and felt Jeff’s arm had shifted lower on the seat. Turning to him, she saw his eyes twinkle.
“What are you up to?”
“Me? Nothing,” he replied as his right hand captured her right breast.
“You’re tricky,” she gasped as her body responded to his intimate touch. “What are you really? Are you a breast man or a thigh man?”
“Oh, a thigh man, without a doubt,” he answered, giving her breast a gentle squeeze.
“Then, you certainly are with the right girl,” Annie said, looking down at her oversized thigh.
“I know,” he replied. “Speaking of breasts and thighs, I am in the mood for chicken. We could grab some on our way up the mountain,” he suggested.
“Fine with me,�
� she volunteered. “We could share a dinner.”
Jeff pulled into the next KFC they spotted and secured a three-piece dinner-to-go. Annie placed the box on the seat next to her as they pulled back onto the street in the direction of the park.
The rich aroma of the chicken beside her triggered her to recall another heady smell. Roses. “What did your co-workers think about your roses?” she asked, looking at his face.
“They thought I got lucky,” he laughed. “Boy, was it a surprise. A bunch of us were gathered around outside awaiting potential buyers when the florist’s van arrived. I hate to admit it, but I was the first to offer up a crude comment, seeing the red roses being carried out of the van to the showroom,” he continued with merriment in his tone.
“What did you say?” she asked, sliding her hand on his thigh between his legs.
“Stop that. I cannot concentrate,” he ordered, shifting his weight.
“What did you say?” she repeated, stroking his inner thigh.
Clearing his throat, he answered, “I don’t recall.”
“Come on, Jeff. You remember,” she pressed, seeing him blush.
“You know guys. It was just talk,” he offered.
“You can tell me. I won’t hold it against you; I promise. I do not have virginal ears. I have heard and said the ’F’ word. I don’t like it, but I can handle it,” she said in a purr.
“I don’t remember the exact words,” he began and hesitated, looking at her. Seeing her intense expression, he took a deep breath and continued, “I know teachers; they have a way of remembering details. They say they can handle it, but they could turn and hand you a bar of soap to wash out your mouth or grab their paddle and order you to grab your ankles,” he said, winking at her. “All I will confess is it had something to do with someone having a great night.”
“Yeah, right, I bet,” she said, smiling. “Come on ’fess up. I am waiting. I don’t have soap nor a paddle on me. I am really interested to hear what guys actually say in a moment like you found yourself.”
“No, Annie. I am not going to give you the exact words. Sorry, but I do have my self-interest in mind. How about I give you the nouns and you can fill-in the rest of the sentence?” he offered.
“Okay, I can do that, but remember you are leaving a huge window for interpretation. I am a teacher, like you said. My ability to supply verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phases is vast. What my mind deduces could be far worse than the actual sentence. Fair warning. Let’s hear the nouns. I will grade you,” she said with mirth.
Jeff laughed. “Okay. You ready?” Jeff recalled his comment. “I will give you the nouns in alphabetical order, not in the order of sequence in the sentence. Brains, Night and Someone.”
Annie repeated the three words, “Brains, Night and Someone. Let me think,” she said as the words tumbled in her head. She loved word puzzles. This one was an easy one for her, but she didn’t want him to know it. “Could you at least tell me how many words are in the sentence so I may narrow down the possibilities and make sure you named all the nouns?”
“No. That was not one of the conditions. But, I can tell you that I did provide you with all the nouns. Sorry,” he replied, chuckling.
“That is not fair,” she pouted playfully.
“Live with it,” he countered, smiling. “Life is not fair. It won’t do you any good to pout, even though it is cute when you pucker out your bottom lip.”
“Can’t blame a girl for trying,” she giggled. “Okay, I got the idea now. You got an ’A.’ What happened next?”
“As you can imagine, my comment set the rest of the guys into a competition to try and top my remark. Compared to the others, my comment was mild. Needless to say, it turned rather raunchy,” he said, blushing again. “We became so boisterous that we barely heard Steph’s amused voice announce my name and to ’come to the showroom’.”
“You are kidding?” she laughed. “Tell me.”
“Well, dead silence descended on all. I must admit; I was surprised and deeply moved by the announcement. When I turned to make my way into the showroom, I heard one of the guys yell after me. ’Hey Mills, does she have a sister?’ I did not stop. I gave him the single salute behind my back,” he shared.
“Oh Jeff, I am sorry,” she offered.
He looked at her and saw her amusement written on her face. “No, you’re not,” he stated plainly.
“You’re right; I am not,” she laughed loudly.
When her laughter died, he turned to her. “When I picked up the roses and read the card, I knew that my first thought at seeing the roses was true. You did succeed in doing that to me last night,” he said, turning to her and kissing her soundly.
Annie pushed him away roughly. “Jeff, don’t. You are driving,” she said, looking around.
“No, I am not,” he said lightly. “We are here.”
“Wow, I have to pay more attention,” Annie said, seeing the parking lot. “When I am with you, all things become background noise. I didn’t even realize that we had entered the park or had made the ascent to the top of the mountain. The drive up the switchback-winding road is half the experience. Remind me to pay attention on the way down the mountain.”
“Then, I am real glad you are not driving,” he said, laughing and pulling her back into his arms. “Where were we?”
She settled against him. “Right here,” she said, kissing him.
“Do you want the rest of the story?” he asked as they broke the kiss.
“There is more?” she asked, looking into his eyes.
“I saved the best for last,” he said with a devilish grin.
“Okay, give,” she said, sitting up straight.
“Well, I endured the rest of the day. I was on the receiving end of quite a few comments as I proudly displayed the roses on my desk. What topped off the story was when I carried them into the house. My mother asked me who the roses were for. When I told her they were for me, the expression on her face was priceless,” he chuckled. Withdrawing his arm from around her, he reached into the back seat and brought up six, long-stem, red roses, encircled in sprays of baby’s breath.
“Oh, Jeff. You broke up the dozen,” she remarked softly, taking the roses.
“Yes,” he replied. “It only seems right. It took both of us to invoke the magic of last night.”
“Words Man. It was magically, wasn’t it?” she sighed. “I have the bruises to prove it.”
“Annie, are you kidding?” he asked softly.
“No, I am not kidding. We were in tight quarters,” she replied, shaking her head.
“Bruises?” he asked concerned. She only nodded in response. “Where do I need to kiss to make them better?”
“Yeah, like that is going to happen here,” she said, eyeing the crowded parking lot. “I may be blinded in your presence, but I am not that unaware. Besides, over half are love bites, and the others were partly my fault when we got playful,” she admitted, blushing and recalling her aggressiveness.
“I am sorry,” he said, reaching out with his left hand to caress her face. “I promise to be more careful from now on. I told you I would never hurt you.”
Annie’s heart flipped at the sight of the now ring-less hand, reaching for her. “Don’t get all apologetic. I bruise easily,” she offered, picking up the dinner box. “Let’s go look at the view.”
“Alright,” he said, opening his door and climbing out.
“Hold on. Don’t close the door,” Annie called, sliding over to the driver’s door and handing him the dinner box. “Why waste the energy to go around the car? I have to slide one way or the other,” she said, reaching for his empty hand.
“Smart girl,” he chuckled. “Never thought of it that way.”
***
Chapter Seventeen
As Jeff and Annie walked to the picnic area, overlooking the city, they held hands. Annie’s thoughts returned to his ring-less finger. Realizing his left hand was now intertwined with her righ
t hand, she inserted her right thumb between their joined palms and rubbed the tip of her thumb on the base of his ring finger.
Jeff felt the gentle searching of her thumb and sighed deeply. “You want to know, don’t you?” he asked.
“Guilty,” she said, looking into his eyes.
“Are you sure?” he pushed.
“It is part of what you are today,” she repeated his words from the night before. “I have the same drive in me as you. I want to know all about you. Your wife is part of that. I just do not understand how or why in the world she let you out of her sight.”
“Annie,” he said, placing the dinner box down on the picnic table and pulling her into his arms. “It is a long story.”
“We have all night. Well, evening that is,” she said into his neck.
He leaned back to see her face. Looking deeply into her eyes, he saw that she was genuinely interested. Kissing the tip of her nose, he spun her around, propped himself on the edge of the table, and pulled her back into his arms. “You might as well enjoy the view of the city as you hear my sad story.”
Annie settled back into Jeff’s chest and placed her arms across his on the front of her jacket. “I am ready.”
“Oil your ears, and remember you asked for it,” he directed. Feeling her nod, he began, “I have never shared with anyone what I am about to share with you, not even Pam. To fully understand what happened, I need to go back before I met her,” he hesitated, debating where to begin.
Annie felt him begin to shake. Sensing his discomfort at his thoughts, she offered, “Jeff, I am not here to judge you. I just want to know how you became the incredible man that you are.”
“Incredible?” he choked. “You might change that adjective after you hear my words.”
“I really doubt it,” she replied, chuckling. “Unless you tell me that you have killed someone.” Annie’s merriment died as she felt him tense. Instantly fearful, Annie tried to pull out of his arms. Her words had struck a chord.