by Aj Harmon
Matt realized she was done.
“Yes you do,” he said quietly. “And if I could take it all back I would. And I know what you heard was horrible but Janie, you didn’t hear the whole conversation.” He looked into her eyes, willing her to believe him as he spoke. “Beth was a stupid mistake. I was miserable from day one and even after the divorce she continued to make me miserable. I just tried my best to avoid her. But when she came to see me that day she was there to get information about you. She wanted to know who had made me so obviously happy. Everyone had noticed, and commented on it. And it was you. And she had come to my office to try and pry any tidbits she could out of me and I wasn’t going to give her that satisfaction. I didn’t want her even speaking your name. I didn’t want her to tarnish what I felt about you. What you heard was crass and stupid and I told her I never wanted to see her again and she understood how angry I was and she left. And then when Angela said you had been outside, well…” Matt rubbed his fingers across his forehead and closed his eyes. “But you said you were sick and I was relieved to know that you hadn’t overheard me, but then Katy said you had, but it was too late to explain because you’d already gone home.”
Matt leaned back in his chair and hoped his explanation was enough to convince Janie that he really did not want nothing to do with Beth.
“She is my past, but I hope you are my future,” he added.
“So, you didn’t…?”
“No! Hell no!” Matt exclaimed. “Since the day I met you I have not wanted another woman. I have not looked at another woman. I have not even thought about another woman.”
Janie was overwhelmingly relieved to hear him say the words and a small smile escaped.
Matt exhaled, watching her fight the smile that was appearing across her lips. Okay, he thought. Maybe, just maybe I have a chance!
*****
Janie was proud of the fact that she had said it out loud. She was one to keep emotions and feelings bottled up and letting Matt know how she had been hurt was a huge step for her and she had done it without blubbering. Yes, she was very proud of herself. She had to trust her gut that told her he had spoken the truth. She had to forgive him and move forward. And if she was going in, she was going ALL in. She remembered Father Brian’s words of just a few days ago as she sat in his church. She should listen to her heart and let it tell her what to do. She did trust that he was telling her the truth. She did trust him when he said nothing was going on with his ex-wife. She saw it in his eyes. She did trust him.
“Matt?”
“Hmm?” he smiled.
“I love you too.”
A big toothy, beautiful smile appeared on Matt’s face and Janie couldn’t help but smile too. Matt jumped from his chair and in three quick strides was pulling her to him, enveloping her in his arms and planting a great big juicy kiss on her lips. She giggled and felt like a teenager, all giddy and excited at the possibility of a life with him.
“Am I forgiven?” He was serious as he pulled away and searched her eyes for absolution.
“Yes,” she whispered. “On one condition,” she added.
“Anything!”
“Tell me every day that you love me and can’t live without me,” she grinned.
“I will do that without ever being asked,” he whispered and lowered his lips to hers.
His lips were soft and wet and he tasted divine. Janie knew in that moment that she would never be able to satisfy her desire for him. Her whole body ached for him and with all of the pain and uncertainty of the past few weeks behind her she could now look forward to a future with Matt. How amazing it was that in just twenty-four hours, her life had begun a new course and the outlook was bright and welcomed.
The food spread over the table was getting cold, but that was the last thing on their minds. Matt pulled Janie to him as he devoured her lips with his. It felt as if it had been an eternity since he had held her in his arms and now that she was back where she belonged he was determined to never let her go. Their tongues danced together as she entwined her fingers in his thick dark hair. Although their bodies begged for more, Matt wanted to enjoy the moment of possessing her mouth.
After several minutes, Janie pulled back and gasped. “I need air,” she giggled.
A devilish grin appeared on Matt’s face and he grabbed her under the knees and swooped her into his arms. “I don’t need anything as long as I have you.” He held her close to his chest and carried her to the bedroom.
“Why Mr. Lathem,” Janie giggled. “Whatever do you have in mind?”
Matt threw her and she bounced a couple of times before resting in the middle of the king-sized bed. He stretched out beside her and moved a strand of hair from her forehead. He rested his head on his hand and gazed into her eyes.
“Damn, you’re beautiful,” he whispered. “I will never get tired of looking at you, or kissing you,” he added as he placed a chaste kiss on her lips.
“Ditto,” she grinned. “I must confess something.”
Matt’s eyebrows rose and Janie continued, almost whispering. “When I ran into you in the airport I thought you were the most beautiful man I had ever seen,” she lowered her eyes and blushed as she spoke.
Matt kissed her again, a soft sweet kiss on the corner of her mouth. “Janie? Why is it so hard for you to say how you feel? You don’t have to be embarrassed or shy with me. I want to hear whatever you have to say.”
Janie shrugged. “I guess I’m not used to that,” she admitted. Robert wasn’t the gushy, emotional, romantic type. He believed that mowing the lawn and fixing the washing machine were expressions of love and that he didn’t need to say it as well. Janie had always known and never doubted that her husband loved her, but all the touchy feely stuff was never said. Now, it was just a part of who she was; quiet and reserved.
“I don’t ever want you to feel that you can’t tell me what’s on your mind, how you feel, what you want. Okay?” Matt lifted her chin with his finger and made her look him in the eye. “Okay?”
“Okay,” she smiled.
Matt lowered his head and sealed it with a passionate kiss, pouring every ounce of love and desire he felt for her into it. She responded immediately and threw her arms around his neck and pulled him on to her, bearing his full weight. She could feel his erection on her thigh through his khaki pants and that awareness set her on fire with a desire so strong she didn’t think she could last another minute without him inside her.
“Make love to me,” she begged, and thrust her hips upwards.
Matt responded and pressed his hand between her thighs and a moan escaped her lips into his mouth.
“With pleasure.”
*****
It was after two o’clock and Janie’s head rested on Matt’s chest after making love. He was caressing the side of her breast.
“It’s better isn’t it?” she asked.
“What’s better?” he replied slightly confused.
“Making love, rather than having sex.”
Matt grinned and kissed the top of her head. “Yes, it is. Much better.”
Janie snuggled in under his arm and pulled her leg up over his thigh.
“So why did you have to come back to Portland?” she asked.
Matt’s hand froze and he pulled away so he could look at her face. “Are you serious? You think I’m back here on business?”
Janie looked wide-eyed at him as he frowned at her.
“I came here for you Janie. No other reason.”
“Oh,” she mouthed. Then a huge grin spread across her face. “Oh,” she said.
Matt chuckled and pulled her back to him, hugging her tight. “You have no idea how miserable I have been the last couple of weeks. In fact, if I hadn’t asked Angela to book my ticket for me I think she was about to quit!”
Janie laughed and played with the hair on his chest. “So you were miserable, huh?”
“Totally! Mark must have told me a hundred times to come and get you, but I was stubborn.
And of course there was Andrew.”
“Oh, of course!” Janie pushed back and sat up. “He got married!”
Matt openly ogled Janie as she sat there, gloriously naked. Suddenly self-conscious, Janie grabbed for the sheet, but Matt slapped at her hand.
“Don’t do that!” he ordered. His tone was sharp and Janie’s head whipped to look at him, eyes wide.
He grinned and grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “I love your body. Don’t try to cover it. Please?”
Janie blushed. She couldn’t help it. “I’m not used to…to this,” she said and waved her hand through the air. “Being naked is…it’s hard for me,” she admitted.
“Well, if you sit there, just like that, I will tell you all about the wedding,” he grinned that devilish grin again.
Janie agreed, although hesitantly, and Matt continued.
“It was at City Hall and Andrew and Rory wrote their own vows. Mom was still upset it wasn’t in the church, but I don’t think the Catholic Church is ready to perform gay marriages,” he chuckled. “There was a big family dinner that night and then they went to Niagara Falls for a couple of days and today is their big party with all their friends.”
“Oh Matt! And you’re here!?” Janie was horrified.
“Actually, I wasn’t invited,” he laughed. “Andrew uninvited me when Mark told him I was being an ass. He said you were far more important than a stupid party. And he was so right.”
Matt pulled her down so she was lying on top of him, bringing her mouth to his. She lifted herself up on her elbows and straddled his hips, his growing erection pressing into her. Instant desire rushed through her and she pressed down onto his penis, glorying in the feel of him.
“Damn woman!” he breathed into her lips. “What you do to me!”
She pushed her tongue into his mouth and swirled and tasted him completely. Her hardened nipples grazed his chest and her hips ground into his. Matt grabbed at the nightstand for another condom and Janie sat up and took it from him. She slid down his thighs, exposing his rock hard manhood and slipped the condom over its head and rolled it gently down his length. Then she lifted herself onto him and slid slowly down and down engulfing him inside her. She sat up straight and she could feel him go further and further in and Matt groaned and arched his back as he thrust upwards. His hands cupped her breasts and he gently squeezed as he bucked again. Janie leaned back, bracing her hands behind her on his thighs and lifted up and down, creating a rhythm that drove them both wild.
Matt was an expert lover and knew exactly how to bring her to orgasm. He put his two fingers over her clitoris and rubbed as she kept her rhythm of up and down. Janie’s eyes squeezed shut and she held her breath as he pushed her over the edge and she cried out as she came. He could feel her muscles clenching around him, spasms and squeezing him till he couldn’t control it any longer and he came right along with her. Panting and spent, Janie collapsed on his chest and they were content to stay like that forever.
But the ringing of Janie’s cell phone disturbed their blissful afterglow. Janie jumped from the bed and ran to the living room to grab her purse where she had left it. She missed the call and was curious what Amanda wanted. She jumped back on the bed, phone in hand.
“Who was that?” Matt asked, looking at Janie’s expression.
“My realtor.”
“Ah,” Matt grimaced.
“Oh, you would have met her yesterday,” Janie remembered.
“That I did,” he replied.
“You didn’t like her?” questioned Janie.
Matt frowned and the light bulb went off in Janie’s head. “She hit on you!”
“Eh,” he closed his eyes and nodded.
Janie was visibly livid. She gritted her teeth and pursed her lips and Matt couldn’t help but grin.
“You’re jealous!” he laughed.
“I…Well…I…,” she mumbled.
“You are! How adorable!” Matt sat up and gave her a kiss on the tip of her nose. “But you don’t need to be jealous, my sweet Janie. There isn’t a woman in the world that could hold a candle to you. I am yours forever!”
Janie was about to say something when the voicemail sound dinged on her phone. She pushed the button and listened to the message, her eyes getting big and her jaw dropping. Matt watched her slowly pull the phone from her ear and push the OFF button.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“My house…it’s sold,” she whispered.
“Well congratulations,” he smiled. When Janie didn’t respond he added, “Isn’t this good news?”
“Yes, I suppose it is. I just never imagined it would sell this quickly. All I have to do is accept their offer, which is exactly what we were asking. They are pre-approved and can close in less than thirty days.” Janie was stunned.
Matt watched her, trying to gauge the reaction, not sure if he should ask the question that was on the tip of his tongue.
“Where am I going to go? I haven’t looked at anything. I just didn’t think it would sell this fast.”
He smiled; relieved she had brought up the subject first. “Live with me,” he whispered.
“You live in New York,” she scoffed. You live in New York! How was this going to work when he lived in New York?
“I can live anywhere,” he said. “I will live anywhere you are.”
Janie couldn’t believe her good fortune in stumbling into the back of him in the Portland airport just a few short weeks ago. He was her future and she loved him.
“Let’s not think about that now,” she said as she snuggled back down with him on the bed. “If you aren’t here for work and you are here just for me, then let’s not waste our time on anything else right now.”
So Matt kissed her again.
*****
As dusk fell over Portland, Tyler and Adam unloaded the trunks of their cars, carrying piles of laundry into their grandmother’s house. Tyler was only home for a few weeks before camp started for football, it was his final year at the University of Oregon, but Adam would be at his grandmother’s house for most of the summer. He had an internship at the hospital where Katy worked and where Janie used to work before Robert got ill. And the only reason Adam was home at all was because the baseball season had ended suddenly after four uncharacteristic losses in a row.
Patty held the door open as they hauled in bag after bag and she wondered if her house would survive.
“Only fifteen more,” joked Tyler as he carried in a large backpack.
“Good grief!” she replied. “Did you leave anything back in Eugene?”
Adam kissed his grandmother on the cheek as he walked past her. “All done, Grandma.”
Patty shut the door and ordered the boys to put all laundry in the laundry room. “Novel idea, huh?” she laughed, as they picked up bags and carried them down the hall.
Heading for the kitchen, Patty had made dinner and began laying it all out for her grandsons. It was going to cost her a fortune in groceries having them stay with her, for which Janie had offered to pay, but Patty was thrilled for the chance to spend some time with the boys before they would no longer be around. Janie had shared with her their desire for continued education and she was extremely proud of them and their commitment to school. An opportunity like this would not come again so she had jumped all over it.
“After dinner you should let your mother know you’re here,” she told them as they scooped massive amounts of meat and potatoes onto their plates.
“Will do,” they chimed together as they headed to the TV to find any sport to watch.
Patty chuckled as she dished up her dinner and sat looking around her house, already in total disarray after only ten minutes. And she completely understood how having them at Janie’s would have been a total disaster.
*****
Katy finished her shift at the hospital tired and ready to go home and enjoy a bubble bath. She only lived a few minutes away and traffic was light on a Sunday evening. She dead-bolted
the door behind her as she threw her purse on the hall table and headed for her bedroom. Stripping off her clothes she ran the water in the tub and dumped some bath salts in and clipped her long blonde hair up in a claw. She pulled a rolled towel off the shelf and slid into the hot water catching the towel behind her neck.
Katy closed her eyes and relaxed as the steaming water washed the cares of the day away. Her shift had been long and busy; it always was on the weekends and she just had to keep reminding herself that the extra money was worth it. Since her ex had stopped paying child support a couple of years ago, it had been harder and harder to make ends meet. Helping Derek, her son, with school was a priority. She didn’t want him ending up like his father, a grocery store assistant manager with no education and not much of a future, so she scrimped and cut where she could. He still had two more years of college, so that meant she had two more years of working extra shifts on the weekends.
Katy pushed all thought from her mind and tried to think about nothing at all, just the hot water relaxing her aching muscles.
*****
Danny stood outside Katy’s bedroom window at the perfect angle to watch her in the bath. He had broken in to her house earlier in the day and had found her calendar on the kitchen wall. He now had her schedule for the next two weeks. He could come and go as he pleased while she was at work and this row of bushes in the backyard was the perfect place to watch her in her bedroom and bathroom, just as long as she didn’t shut the door, which she rarely did.
His tongue licked his bottom lip as he watched her sink into the water and he unzipped his jeans and grabbed himself, jerking off to the image in front of him.
“I’m gonna fuck you soon, Katy. Very soon.”
*****
Monday morning started off perfectly. Janie awoke in Matt’s arms. He was already awake and watching her sleep.
“Did I drool?” she smirked.
“Not that I saw,” he smiled back.
Janie rolled over onto her pillow and stretched her arms just as Matt was leaning in to kiss her.
“OW!” he yelped as her elbow connected with his cheek.
“I’m so sorry Matt.” She sat up and reached for him.