Bookish

by Olivia Hawthorne

  Chloe, predictably, got me nothing and Auntie Abby wanted to give me something at home later on.

  We left the restaurant, Auntie Abby picked up the tab, and everybody went their separate ways.

  Chloe decided to follow us home, so I reluctantly let her climb into the back seat of my shitty car.

  Back at the house, Chloe and I camped out in my bedroom like the good old days, talking about her latest conquest and ignoring the elephant in the room.

  Isaac James.

  Finally after an hour or so, I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “I saw the texts you’ve been sending him, by the way,” I said.

  “Who?” she asked.

  “Isaac. You’ve been texting my boyfriend some really inappropriate stuff, and I’d like it to stop.”

  “Oh my god, where did this come from? You never struck me as the jealous type.”

  “I’m not jealous, I’m territorial. There’s a difference. And I think it’s horribly disrespectful to send those kinds of things to somebody’s boyfriend. Especially when that somebody is supposed to be your friend.”

  “I was testing him,” she said but I could see right through her, she was lying. “I wanted to make sure he didn’t cheat on you, and surprise, he passed the test! He’s awesome and loyal to you.”

  “I know that, and I didn’t need you to send him anything to find out. Just stay away from him now,” I said, “and never contact him again, okay?”

  “Oh my god, Aubrey, rowr,” Chloe said and made a cat claw motion with her hand. She noticed my angry expression and said, “Okay, I swear I won’t send him another message.”

  “Thanks,” I said, “I was just surprised that you would do it, but if you were just testing him, that makes sense.” I obviously didn’t believe her, but thought I’d offer her the dignity of a way out.

  “Aubrey,” Auntie Abby called from down the hall, “could you come here?”

  “I’ll be right back,” I said to Chloe and left the room. She was working on the blog, and I had to admit, she was doing a really good job with it. Sometimes her stories leaned more into the gossip side of the book world more than pure reviews, but readers seemed to like it. Our total views were through the roof since she’d taken over.

  Auntie Abby had her hand in a fist when I walked in. She held it up and said, “open your hand,” when I walked in.

  I did and she dropped three absolutely stunning rings into my palm.

  “What are these?” I asked and turned them over and over again. There was a diamond encrusted wedding set along with an emerald and ruby ring with the biggest stones I’d ever seen.

  “They were your mother’s,” G said, “I had meant to give them to you a long time ago, but the time never seemed right. Your life is taking such a wonderful direction these days, I thought what the heck. I pulled them out of my jewellery box and took them in to have them cleaned. I think they turned out nice, don’t you?”

  “They’re beautiful,” I said quietly, in wonder. My mother had worn these rings. I had a sudden flashback of them on her fingers, long and elegant, caressing my hair while we cuddled up on the sofa reading a book.

  “Try them on,” Auntie Abby said, “I think they’ll fit perfectly.”

  “I don’t know,” I said, “they’re just too nice.”

  She insisted and I slipped them onto my fingers. They were a little too small and only made it to my second knuckle on all but my pinkie finger.

  “Darn it,” Auntie Abby said, I was sure they would be okay. Let’s take them back to my jeweller and have them resized.”

  “I don’t think I would wear them anyways, to be honest,” I said, but when I saw a flicker of disappointment flash across her face I added, “but let’s get them sized. You never know, right?”

  “Excellent, I’ll call him and we’ll do it on Monday.”

  I went back to my room and found Chloe finishing up an article about some male author being exposed as a fraud, her gossip story of the day.

  “Can I go make a sandwich or something?” she asked when I walked in, “I barely ate at dinner.”

  “Definitely, you know our house is basically yours,” I replied. She’d been here so much since we were teenagers, she knew where everything was.

  My phone buzzed and I picked it up. It was Isaac, my heart fluttered and my stomach flip flopped. I’d been on edge waiting for him to contact me and had done my best to not bother him while he was working.

  Sorry love, the shoot went longer than expected. Did you have a good birthday party? he wrote.

  It was okay, I missed you.

  I miss you too, so much I could barely concentrate. I love you, he wrote.

  I love you too, can we skype?

  I tried, its glitching tonight for some reason.

  I wanted to tell you something.

  Can you tell me here?

  It’s about my parents. I wanted to share their story with you.

  You don’t have to if it’s too painful.

  After you opened up about your tattoos, about baby Charlie, I want to.

  Only if you feel the need. I wanted to share everything with you, to keep anything back feels like a lie, he replied.

  I feel the same way. We’ll talk when you get back, I wrote, deciding that I could wait a day or so to share everything about my past. The sorrow that connected us.

  I have a huge surprise for your birthday, don’t think I forgot, he wrote.

  What is it?

  I’ll tell you when I see you. I can’t wait.

  We went back and forth a little more, I tried skype from my end, but it wouldn’t go through. Chloe came back so Isaac and I wrapped it up.

  He’d be back in a day, I wasn’t too worried although I missed him like mad.

  Chloe and I chatted until we fell asleep, me on my narrow bed and her on the blow up mattress on my floor, just like old times.

  I was glad I’d confronted her, and I was glad she’d opened up to me. I felt like she and I were going to be all right, our friendship would survive.

  The last thing I thought about before falling asleep was how much I hoped I was right. How much I hoped the little nagging voice was wrong, and she wasn’t trying to ruin my life.

  ***

  “You want me to make you some eggs?” Chloe asked first thing in the morning, “a late birthday present?”

  “Sounds great,” I replied and headed to the shower. Isaac would be catching a late afternoon flight and arriving at the airport at three. I was going to pick him up and was already almost trembling at the thought of being in his arms again.

  We’d made plans to go for dinner with friends, but I had cancelled them, begging off that I was tired or something when in reality I was dying to get him alone and show him how much I’d missed him.

  I spent a little too long in the shower, thinking about him touching me, kissing me, doing all those illicit thrilling little things to me. The water started to go luke warm and I jumped out, hoping there’d be enough for Auntie Abby and Chloe.

  I towelled off and pulled on my comfiest yoga pants and loose top. I was determined to have a down day until I had to get Isaac.

  I walked into my bedroom humming a little tune and stopped short.

  Chloe was sitting on my bed, hunched over.

  “No time for eggs?” I asked and she jumped. She slid across the bed and dropped something over the side.

  “No, I just got a text from work, I have to get in early, cover somebody’s shift.”

  Chloe worked at American Apparel. She loved being able to pick up the guys who shopped there.

  “Okay, maybe next time,” I said and hugged her before she left.

  I went downstairs to have my usual toast and tea with Auntie Abby. She was chattering away about the other jewellery she might have cleaned, but she needed to get it from the safe deposit box at her bank. I hadn’t even known she had a safe deposit box, let alone one full of jewellery.

  Sometimes lately I felt as though
I had been living the last half of my life in a fog, and it wasn’t until I met Isaac that things really started to clear up for me.

  I decided to kill some time before picking him up from the airport, so I had a nap. When I laid down, I reached into my pocket for my phone and was alarmed to find it missing.

  I searched all around the blankets and found it tucked just under the side of the bed, it must have fallen off when I climbed in for my nap.

  I curled up under the covers and read the texts from Isaac that I’d missed. I replied to let him know I’d see him soon, and fell asleep thinking of his lips on my body.

  I had fabulous dreams.

  Chapter Twenty One

  “Oh my god, is that Isaac James?” a girl whispered from behind me. I was in the Arrivals section at SeaTac airport. I smiled to myself when I saw him walking down the long hall behind the glass, his thick legs carrying him with a sexy swagger.

  Yes, that was Isaac James and he was coming home to me.

  “Love!” he exclaimed when he saw me, “God how I’ve missed you!” He swept me up in his arms and twirled me around, my legs out behind me. I’d never been a fan of leaving the earth, as clumsy as I was, but in his arms I felt safe and wonderful, like I was flying.

  “Holy shit, that must be his girlfriend,” one of the girls said as we walked past. I flashed her a smug little grin, I couldn’t help it, and had to laugh when she gasped and said, “I would die if I was her!”

  We made it to the car before he was all over me, touching me and kissing me until I was breathless. I dropped my keys and he backed me against the driver’s door, pressing against me.

  “Fuck I’ve missed this,” he whispered against my ear, and nibbled my neck until I was shivering and ready to get naked right then and there.

  “It’s them,” I heard somebody say behind us, “from arrivals. Why is Isaac James driving such a shitty car?”

  I assumed it was one of the girls from the terminal. My first thought was damn it, I hated getting caught making out in public. My second thought was, come on, the car wasn’t that bad, was it?

  Okay, yeah, it was a pretty shitty car.

  I pushed at him and said, “We should get going before people assume your career is on the rocks, I think this car is bad for your image.”

  He laughed and leaned back in for a kiss. His tongue swirled around mine and my brain started to exit my body again. He pulled back and said, “David will love your thinking, he’s always on about my image.”

  “I’m just watching out for you,” I said and looked around, “now could we find my keys and get somewhere private? I’ve cleared your schedule for the evening, Mr. James, so we can spend some time together.”

  “Oh Ms. Britton,” he said and bent down for my keys, he handed them to me and I admired his gorgeous body as he moved. “You are a naughty minx, aren’t you? You know what happens to you when you’re naughty around me,” he added and grabbed me in a tight hug, tickling me and nipping at my neck.

  I squealed and giggled and struggled to free myself.

  Well, I didn’t struggle that hard to be honest. I swear I would have let him take me in the parking garage, in front of anyone who happened to be departing or arriving that day, they would have seen me coming.

  Stupid pun, I know, but that’s how crazy Isaac James made me.

  “I need to get you home and fuck you,” he said with a growl, “let’s go before we get arrested for public indecency. Now that would be bad for my image.”

  We made it back to his place in record time. He navigated the traffic like he was in one of his low, sleek sports cars instead of my rusty old hatchback.

  We parked in the visitor space, he grabbed his carry on bag, and we rushed to the elevator like two thieves in the night. The urgency I felt was insane, the control he had over my, whether conscious or not, was almost frightening…if it hadn’t been so liberating and delicious.

  We kissed our way up the elevator and I couldn’t help but think of Fifty Shades. I’d always pined over the love story in that book, and always assumed it was beyond my reach.

  And yet here I was, living it out in real life. It was happening to me.

  Inside the apartment I surprised him by losing my inhibitions and stripping him at the doorway.

  “I have something for you,” he said and reached for his bag.

  I kicked it to the side and said, “You certainly do, Mr. James,” and grabbed his hard cock, gave it a squeeze and bit my lower lip.

  Part of me wondered who I was anymore, where had this girl come from.

  But most of me told that part to shut the hell up, I was in love and I was on fire.

  “What’s gotten into you, Ms. Britton,” he asked with a grin. He started to unbutton my shirt, got half way and tore it open. Buttons flew off everywhere.

  “I know what I want in me,” I said and giggled at my lame joke. He smiled though and I dropped to my knees in front of him, as if in worship. I looked up at him, aware of how sharply angled and sexy my face looked from this view. I added, “I want it in me any way I can get it.”

  He grabbed a fistful of my hair and guided my face to his pants, I unzipped them and tugged at his underwear. They came down and his amazing cock sprung out, already glistening with the evidence of his arousal.

  I teased him and taunted him with my tongue, worked it around the head until he groaned and wrapped his fingers tighter in my hair.

  “Ms. Britton, Aubrey,” he said, “you are a delightful little tart, did you know that? If you keep that up, I’m not going to last much longer.”

  I simply looked up at him, smiled the best I could with his dick in my mouth, and took him in as far as I could. I fought the gag reflex and took immense pride in the intense look on his face. I was the only thing in the world for him at that moment, I was his earth and sky and stars and mountains…as he was for me.

  As I sucked him harder, I knew this love went deeper than anything I’d read about or anything I’d seen between my friends and their lovers.

  This was real, almost too real to be contained inside of me. As I heard him pant my name and pin my head with his hands so he could fuck my face, I felt as though my heart would surely burst.

  I was waxing poetic, more poetic than I thought my secretive, protective self could ever manage, but there I was on the end of his cock feeling my love rise up like the tide against the shore.

  He tensed and I knew he was going to come, I wanted to drink him in, to taste him and show him how much I wanted every part of him. My love knew no bounds, and if he wanted to come in my mouth, I would take it and love it as much as everything else about him.

  He exhaled and said, “Fuck, love, that mouth…” and he came. I felt him fill the back of my throat, I looked up at his face and swallowed, eager to bring him the joy he’d given me.

  He grunted and thrust one last time and relaxed, his entire body softened and he looked down at me and smiled. He loosened my hair and stroked my cheek with one hand.

  “I love you,” he said and cupped my cheek in his hand, “I love you so much, I can’t imagine my life before you, and I can’t imagine a life without you in it.”

  I pulled back, swallowed the last of him and he helped me stand. He wrapped his arms around me and he held me. I was almost shaking over the intensity of such a small thing, but to me it had been everything.

  “I don’t know how I lived without you,” I told him, admitting it for the first time out loud, “I think back on it and I feel like I was living underwater, barely existing before I knew your love. How did this happen?”

  He tilted my face to hiss and kissed me, pulled away and whispered, “Because we’re meant to be together, it’s as simple as that, love.”

  “We really are,” I replied, “I love you too.”

  He moved to pull his pants up and almost fell over his carry on bag. “That reminds me, my gift,” he said and flipped it over, unzipped it and produced something in a small, brightly coloured box with t
he prettiest bow tied on top.

  “What is it?” I asked, it was too big for a ring and let’s face it, as much love as we felt, it really was too early for that.

  “Open it,” he said and stood beside me, zipping himself up. “I can’t wait to see what you think.”

  I pulled the box off and inside was a beautiful little silver Eiffel Tower figurine encrusted with what appeared to be diamonds. I took it out and looked at it, then looked at him, confused. “It’s gorgeous, but I thought you went to New York.”

  “We’re going to Paris,” he said, unable to contain his excitement, “I’m taking you to Paris, love.”

  “When?” I asked, almost unable to comprehend what was happening.

  “In two days,” he said, “I’ve already spoken to Marta, she’s covering your shifts. Auntie Abby said she’d be fine seeing how I basically have stolen you away already, according to her.”

  “Oh my god,” I said breathlessly, “I’m going to Paris!”

  “Yes, love, Ms. Britton, you are. We are.”

  I kissed him, standing on my tippy toes to reach his gorgeous mouth. His five o’clock stubble rubbed my sensitive skin and I clung to the box with my gift like it was an anchor keeping me from floating away on a cloud of excitement.

  I’d always wanted to go to Paris, my father had proposed to my mother in front of Notre Dame, and they’d spent a lot of time there. I even had some old photographs of me on the Pont Neuf over the Seine, holding my mom and dad’s hands, my pouty little face about to crinkle into a fit over some long forgotten slight.

  To actually go to the city known for love, where my parents had fallen in love, with the great love of my life.

  It was a dream come true. I’d even had a passport for the last couple years just in case I ever had a chance. I never thought it would happen though.

  If only I’d known how a few days could turn your world upside down, I might have stayed behind.

  But I didn’t, so I packed and we were away, to the city of lights, love and hopefully happiness.

  Chapter Twenty Two