One Little Letter_A Bad Boy, Second Chance Romance

by Robin Edwards

  Daphne figured while she waited she might as well start taking off the clothes that were now making her ridiculously cold. She shut the door, but not before hearing Angela ask someone had they locked up. Her voice soon trailed off. Daphne figured she must have headed upstairs to change into dry clothes also.

  She was wondering what kind of underwear she must wear under her clothes, then was surprised at her own curiosity. In this one week, she had learned so much about Angela, her mind was dancing with all these thoughts of what any of likes and dislikes must be. What makes her tick? What gives her the blues? What...turns her on? Such intimate things, but things to Daphne that were worth the knowing. By now she had removed her blouse, bra, and was working on her wet pin stripped slacks. She had to sit on the edge of the claw foot tub that was too the far wall, and hope she could keep her balance.

  It was compelling enough. Rolling down one leg, then the other she was glad to feel the cool air of the bathroom on her skin, but definitely need a towel for her hair. She stood, crossing her arms over her breasts, and began looking around to see if there were any towel nearby. It was a bathroom after all. None were on the aged bronze towel rack near the shower. Seeing a mahogany chifferobe in the opposite wall, she opened both doors; no towel there either.

  Who in the hell has a bathroom with no towels in it? Her mind answered its own question, and she reminded herself this was the guest bathroom. Maybe, Angela only put linens in here when she knew there would be guests staying. Daphne let out an exacerbated sigh. As pleasant as the air on her skin was a few minutes ago, it was now causing goosebumps to rise across her skin. She wanted to dry, but not air day. Growing agitated, she walked to the bathroom door and called for Angela.

  If she couldn’t get a towel, she definitely was wondering where the robe was she had been offered. She opened the door a little further, peeking into the large guest room.

  “Angela?” Still, no answer and the guest room door was open so surely if Angela had returned downstairs she should be able to hear her.

  “Hello.” Still no reply.

  The now thoroughly cold young woman stepped out, her frustration building. Did she go get cozy upstairs and just forget I was here?! All she could picture was Angela going upstairs to what must certainly be a “queen suite” the size of a whole extra house; her luxuriating in some plush robe and matching slippers, concerned about her own comfort and completely forgetting someone else was in her fortress of solitude.

  “Angela, are you still down here?”

  She began stepping out the room and crossed her arms once again over her breasts for warmth. The rain was still pounding and pouring outside, and for a moment Daphne had an even bigger chill. Horror movies and suspense thrillers happen like this! Stupid damsel gets left in the huge house half naked, calling for the person she trusted to come help her or give her answers, then BAM! Now, she was having a mix of anger and fear.

  She quickly started walking across the room, quickly approaching the four poster bed, and passing by it. She was nearly to the door, her feet moving one right behind the other in a panicked pace, her arms crossing all the tighter over her chest. Immediately turning the corner around the left end post of the bed she nearly speed walked right into Angela. She let out a great yelping but short scream. The towels and robe that were in Angela’s arms hit the floor.

  “Holy shit! Why are you yelling and we’…” Angela’s words died.

  She saw rosy nipples on a heaving chest, rising and falling with welcoming rigid points. But most startling was the boldness with which Daphne just stood there, with no sense of shame. Her arms were now uncrossed and on her hips in a stance of aggravation. Angela glanced at the white lace panties that seemed as dainty as the young woman that wore them. They suited her, Angela thought. At that moment, she realized she had a naked employee in her house! In front of her. Whoa! We need to fix this situation, A.S.A.P she thought, as she quickly bent to pick up the towel and robe.

  Hurried and red-faced, with a mixture of arousal and embarrassment she didn’t even look when she practically shoved the white cotton items directly into Daphne’s face. “Wha..! What the hell?! Wait for just a second!”

  But Angela wasn’t waiting a second. She turned around and was making a quick walk through the formal dining room. She didn’t make it very far before feeling a tight grip around her left wrist. She hadn’t had any grab her like that since she was sixteen, and she immediately spun. What was initially just embarrassment, was now full frustration.

  Daphne saw the equally angry look on Angela’s face when she turned back and around.

  “Look, sorry I grabbed you,” she said as she let go, but she didn’t lower her volume. “First of all, I was coming to see where you were because I was naked, and cold and freezing. You didn’t even come back for me to give you my clothes to go in the dryer!”

  She now stood in the doorway of the bedroom, one hand on her hip, the other down by her side leaving Angela no choice but to get the full view of her nudity. Angela took a deep breath because now she was more than frustrated, she was pissed.

  “That call was more important than your freezing ass! We sold the Ipswich house, and I had to open emails and print things, and sign things and then fax them. I wasn’t thinking about your wet and frail ass!” Which wasn’t true at all. She had in fact been thinking.

  Nearly fantasizing about actually walking back in on Daphne. But definitely not like this.

  “Great,” Daphne snapped, “that’s just ideal for you and your retirement, but you didn’t have to throw the damn things at me just now! What?! Did I disrupt your celebratory glass of whatever the hell overpriced crap you like to sip on? Sorry, I’m a human being who doesn’t like being naked and cold for fun!”

  Angela stepped closer to Daphne, nostrils flaring. “That’s not why I threw them, for God sake you’re standing in my damn house naked! That doesn’t bother you just being naked in front of your boss, little ‘Mrs. The Sunshine?”

  “You have a problem with tits and ass, Angela?!” Daphne realized she was nearly yelling, and couldn’t explain where all her fury was coming from. Perhaps, it was latent anger at finding out she was going to unemployed in two months or slight jealousy at seeing all the beautiful things Angela had that she was willing to just walk away from to go lay up on a beach in St. Croix. Either way, she was now looking into a set of dark green eyes, unflinching and unmoving. What followed immediately after was what she couldn’t have seen coming. A kiss.

  Angela just wanted to shut her up. She pressed her mouth into Daphne’s. This was probably the single most foolish thing she’d ever done, but it was the rush of emotions. The anger. The desire that had been building all week. All the two years she had to watch Daphne dance around her business. She envied her joy. She wasn’t annoyed by it in the least. With her interests in anyone, she had always decided to play it “close to the vest.”

  The cold disinterest was simply a front. A good one, considering her professional career could be at stake if it were known she fraternized with any of her staff. So, she never mixed business and pleasure. But damn the professionalism right now. She had her last property in the bank, and shutting down shop on Briar Homes Real Estate could get underway.

  Her mouth indulged in Daphne’s lips. Her Ramone’s t-shirt she had put on pressed against Daphne’s naked chest, and her hands had found their way to her small waist. However, she was waiting for the push, the slap, the words of disgust. And she’d take them. She’d take them and walk away; walk away from all the way to the dryer with her clothes, to the car to drop her off at home, to the bank in a few weeks, and up the airstrip to board the plane to paradise. But, no. There was no hesitation. She instead felt hands, then arms wrap around her neck as Daphne separated her lips wider. Her tongue careened its way into Angela’s mouth.

  A combination of relief and rapture washed over Angela. The delight of it all took her off balance for a moment until she could feel the dining table against her backside.
She leaned into it, not breaking her lips from Daphne’s. Her hands went up to feel those soft caramel colored curls she had secretly admired all day. The rain and all the humidity had brought them back to life, and they were now as untamed and sumptuous as the woman they crowned. Angela’s hands made their way to the waist of Daphne’s panties and across her round cheeks. She pulled Daphne’s closer to her until her hips were perfectly wedged between hers. A kiss. A lick across the lips.

  They were nearly breathing the same air between breaths now; mouth to mouth, and suddenly chest to chest, as Daphne removed Angela’s t-shirt up and over her head. Their movements became rushed and excited. Yes, this was happening. Angela turned Daphne around and urged to remove her lace panties as she kissed up and down her neck. Daphne shimmied them down just below her hips, and before she could make any move to bend over and drop them further, she felt one of Angela’s hands reach around and between.

  She let out a slight gasp as fingers searched for her most sensitive spot just atop her valley, and Angela’s free hand cupped her right breasts. Before things to go faster, she wanted to savor all that Angela apparently wanted to show her. She turned back around to face her with a grin and stepped back just enough to let Angela watch her drop her panties the rest of the way to the floor. They both were breathing heavy but smiling. She reached out her hand and took Angela by hers.

  Taking perfect steps backward and through the guest room door, she was leading Angela right into what would promise to be a night worth remembering. She had to hand it to this new assistant. She had just the right amount of heat and sweet to keep her interested. And it seems like she was going to bring that to guest room bed. She stepped in and shut gently shut the door. She did plan on pouring herself a glass of “some expensive crap,” but maybe for a change, she could start pouring it up for two, starting tonight.

  Chapter Four

  Three weeks had passed since their rainy day play in Angela’s guest room. Their lunch dates, became regular occurrences, though they both made it a point to try and hide their giddiness about their time away from the office together. Every now and then, Angela would give Daphne some small token of her affections: a signed book by her favorite author, flowers delivered to the office with a card signed “secret admirer,” and a new tablet when her older one finally bit the dust.

  It wasn’t long after that Daphne had finally seen the infamous queen suite of Angela’s sprawling house. Even plusher and comforting than the downstairs it was a room that heard more moans, sighs, and giggles in the past three weeks than it had heard in the whole ten years Angela had lived in the house. There was a day, however when Chris noticed Daphne’s car was still parked across the street from the agency.

  He asked her the following day had it broke down the day before. “No. Why?”

  “Oh, I just noticed it was still there this morning in the same spot, and you got a ride with Angela. Was gonna let you know I know a good bit about cars and could look at it for you.”

  Daphne was stunned. She wondered how many other people had paid attention to how often she did or didn’t drive her own vehicle home after hours. Not to mention she no longer met up with them for drinks like she used to, as another coworker, Cara, had pointed out.

  “We miss you down at SoWashEbottoms. Karaoke isn’t the same without you, ya know.”

  Daphne replied as nonchalantly as she could, considering how uncomfortable she was with anyone even asking about her normal comings-and-goings.

  It was nearing October, and Angela had already reprised everyone about the changes that were taking place to close the doors on the agency for good. Some people had already talked about leads they had for jobs at other organizations, others were actually switching careers altogether. Daphne, however, hadn’t shared with anyone her plans. She didn’t really have any, which was a topic that Angela breached one night at Daphne’s apartment over dinner. She had taken the time to hunt down a recipe similar to the red snapper Angela had enjoyed their first lunch date.

  Her place wasn’t nearly the size of her lover and newfound friend’s, but it was comfortable and tastefully furnished. These past few weeks had seemed to fly by, and the moments in between like this one were a refuge in the midst of city chaos that they didn’t realize they were missing. Tonight, was her way of showing Angela how much she appreciated not only her giving her a chance as an assistant but being brave enough to let someone into her life and her world. They had much more talks over the weeks they had spent together now to speak of the past, the present, but they both steered far from the future things. Until tonight.

  “Daph, it's incredible,” Angela said, tasting the first bite of the red snapper she had before her.

  Taking the modest road, Daphne insisted “Nah. It’s alright. My first time making it. It could use a little more sea salt.”

  Before she could cut down her own cooking any further, Angela reassured her it was nothing short of a culinary masterpiece.

  “I bet you could grill a mean mahi-mahi or Tuna fresh out the bay.” She then sipped her white wine, but stared down the glass across the table to see did Daphne pick up on what she was eluding to. Unfortunately, she got it loud and clear and stared down blankly at her own plate. Then, a slow frown appeared across her face.

  “Have you considered what you are going to do after Briar Homes, Daphne? You haven’t talked about the closure or anything after that.”

  Daphne propped an elbow up on the table and rested her chin in hand. Her soft eyes looked to the person she had come to care for, and in even trust. But for some reason at this moment, she was gripped with uncertainty. How do you tell someone you’ve been so wrapped up in them, you didn’t think of yourself anymore?

  “No. I haven’t thought about it.”

  And she let her answer lie there between them. Flat. Dead. She wanted to leave the floor open for questions, or a kind of scolding, whichever Angela was about to dish out. It was at times like this she was reminded of the gap in their age. Often, she felt reprimanded almost like an insolent child by Angela, and then there were times where she was allowed to feel more woman than she had ever felt in her life, and allowed to spread her wings wide. What this conversation was about to become was unknown. But she felt they might as well get it over with.

  “You know, you can always come with me to St. Croi..” she was cut off right then with a quick “why” from Daphne. It was sharp. Abrupt.

  Angela was taken aback that this wasn’t going to be a conversation, but the precursor to an interrogation of some sort. Why wouldn’t she want to go? What would be left here for her once I was gone? For a few seconds that felt like an eternity, the two women watched one another’s face as if looking for signs of life.

  “Why not? Obviously, you don’t have a backup plan. Otherwise, we would’ve discussed it by now.”

  “What I’m going to do when I get there with you, Angela? Be your trophy girlfriend you tote around, or am I still going as your lifetime personal assistant to keep track of your sightseeing itinerary?”

  Although Daphne didn’t say it with malice in her voice, the question itself hurt more than Angela could ever admit. She didn’t have to admit because it showed on her face.

  “Wow. So,” she stammered, “is that what feel I want. That I found the perfect little helper so now I want you to trek behind me while I water ski across the islands? I mean, damn. Do you really sell yourself that short?”

  “No, but what are your getting out of me going with you? Maybe, I just want to hear you say it. That this,” as she motioned with her hands back and forth between them,” is ‘us,' and not just another bullet point on your retirement to-do list.”

  That statement was the last insult for Angela, and her body language made it perfectly clear as she sat up straight in her seat, resting her elbows on the table and clasping her hands in front just behind her barely eaten the plate.

  “Is this about the closing of the agency? Yeah, I’ve been rattling on and crossing ‘T's a
nd dotting ‘I’s and putting you and me and everyone through the ringer, but because I have to. I know I haven’t been the most pleasant person, but when have I ever been that pleasant in the damn office?! Is that what this is about, Daph?”

  “NO! It’s about when this, here is done what do we do. Great to know you have it all figured out. You always have it all figured out! I feel like I’m not in this with you, that I’m just…along for the ride. It’s a great ride, but is it our car? Is that why you want me to go, or is it you feel like I just came into your life at the right time? Am I convenient or am I…more than to you?”

  With that, Angela stood up and so did Daphne. She wasn’t backing down, and she wasn’t going to stay seated like some good little “fetch girl,” not on this topic. She wanted and answer. Looking at Angela, she felt she had finally hit the nail on the head. Maybe, she had finally outed the wolf in sexy sheep’s clothing. For all these years, she didn’t want to believe this woman suddenly had grown soft, sweet on her even.

  “Well? Tell me something. Anything, Angela.”

  There was that tight lip scowl Daphne was waiting for, but this time she saw something she hadn’t before. It was surrender and not the right kind.

  “I’m leaving in two weeks. I was going to let everyone know when we got back to work on Monday, including you. I didn’t want to press the issue on what you were or weren’t doing because I just thought you might need more time to wrap your mind around everything. And it may sound really pansy assed too, but I didn’t want to get hurt with a downright ‘no’ and then spend the next God knows how long moping in my office and trying to still work with you without being a complete bitch.”

  Daphne couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She felt her fist clench, her jaw tightened and then the tears came.

  “Oh,” she said, her voice quivering. “Oh, I see. You wanted to spare you, tell me when you got ready and you could handle it; like with everything else you wanted to have it figured out first.”