Barred

by Paisley Walker

  She walks into the reception area of the hotel, taking in the extravagant décor that makes the Plaza one of the greatest hotels on the planet. She looks around in awe as she makes her way to the front desk.

  “Hello there ma’am. How may I assist you today?”

  “Yes, I am here to see Mr. Phillips. He is expecting me.”

  “Yes, Ms. Weston, I presume?”

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “Here is your key ma’am, Mr. Stanley called about an hour ago to add you to the reservation. Enjoy your stay in New York, and if we can be of assistance, please don’t hesitate to call down here,” the man says, handing her the key.

  “Thank you, Stuart. I appreciate your kindness.”

  “Of course, ma’am.”

  Kimberly takes her key from the older man behind the desk and then turns toward the elevators. She lets out a deep breath as the elevator takes her to her designated floor. When she slides the key into the slot and the door opens, she breathes in a sigh of relief. She walks into the sitting room of the suite, setting the bag on the floor.

  “Baby?” She calls out, walking into the room.

  “Kimberly?” Jonathon yells out as he runs into the room, his body colliding with hers, grabbing her, his hands running all over her body, checking to make sure she was real. “You’re really here.” He whispers, his fingers tangling into her hair. His eyes wet with the moisture threatening to spill over.

  “I’m here baby, don’t worry. I’m here with you,” she whispers into his lips, leaning forward to kiss him. She lets out a sob as he wraps her into his arms and carries her to the chair in the room, just holding her to him, not even trying to be remotely sexual.

  “God, I was so scared something happened to you, it was… it was so real.”

  “I’m okay… it was only a dream,” Kimberly whispers into his chest while he rocks her in the chair. Her heart breaks for him as he tries to pull himself together. She knew he was shaken up, but she didn’t realize it was this bad. “Would you like to talk about it?”

  “He told you?”

  “Yes, he didn’t know how to explain it without telling me.”

  “I’m not mad, it just makes me look like a pussy,” he says and buries his head into her shoulder.

  “Baby, it does not. You lost your mother. I’d like to hear about it if you’d like to tell me.”

  “Okay, but can I just hold you for a bit now?” The look in his eyes will forever haunt her soul, it’s like he is broken and it is all her fault. Kimberly sighs, reaching for him and letting him just hold her in his strong arms. It never ceases to amaze her how the layers keep coming off of these two men. As each layer is peeled off, she falls harder for both of them. She just hopes that her heart isn’t going to need to be put back together after they are done with it.

  Kimberly stirs in the bed, her body on top of Jonathon’s as his heart beats strongly in her ear. She looks up at the peacefulness displayed on his sleeping face and wonders what her life would be like without him in it. She’d probably be in jail for a few years because she wouldn’t have the money or the means to pay that convenient store owner’s bill. She lays her head back down, shutting her eyes as she feels Jonathon slide his fingers through her unruly locks.

  “You’re awake?”

  “I am… and I’m ready to talk if you are ready to listen,” he whispers into the early light of the morning.

  “I’m always ready to listen to anything you have to say.”

  “My mom was murdered about five years ago. I was graduating law school the day she was killed,” he says, taking a deep breath as if in deep thought. Kimberly just lays there letting him tell her the story. “I kept scanning the crowd looking for her, but I only saw my father. I kept expecting her to come in the door right before they called my name. She didn’t.” Kimberly’s heart was literally breaking in her chest as he keeps telling her the story. “She was walking to her car in the parking garage of the hospital she worked in when some man came up behind her. He grabbed her from behind, took her purse and slit her throat,” he says in a whisper as his voice breaks.

  “Oh Jonathon,” Kimberly gasps sitting up, the cover falling off of her, exposing her naked body. He gives her a sad smile as he looks into her eyes.

  “I’m okay now. It was the first case I ever won as a lawyer,” the quirkiness of his smile was back when he made that statement. No wonder the man was as good as he claimed—his first case was made and won with vengeance. Kimberly can’t help but look at him in wonder as he tells her about how he convicted the man of killing his mother. Turns out the man was a crack addict and robbed his mother who actually happened to be the nurse who had saved him from overdosing on said crack the night before.

  “You… are one of the most amazing people I have ever met,” Kimberly whispers against his neck, continuing to tell her the story. He looks at her and smiles as he wraps his fingers into her hair.

  “Not as amazing as the woman who stole my heart,” he whispers against her hair before his lips attack hers. He kisses her as if he is a man starved; his lips leaving no part of hers untouched. He flips them over to where his body is resting on top of hers. She opens her legs invitingly as he slides between them. Kimberly gasps, feeling his already hard cock against her thigh. “What? Just because I told you a sad story doesn’t mean I don’t want you. You’re a naked woman in my bed.” He says with a crooked grin, the dimple sticking out of his left cheek.

  Kimberly lets out a small giggle just before his lips crash down on hers again. Jonathon’s fingers intertwine with hers as he slides inside her. Her body arches under him, as he moves in and out of her at a slow pace. This is something different, something Kimberly hasn’t experienced with him before. This is what it felt like to be made love to. Her whole body being shaken to the core as his beautiful blue eyes stare into her hazel ones. His breathing labored as he tries to not rush the pace he’s set. His arms shaking against hers, but she can’t be sure if it’s from the pleasure racking his body or the tension of holding his strong body above hers.

  Jonathon leans down to nip her collarbone, pushing into her over and over again, his pace slightly increasing. He can hear her breathing becoming labored and her body gripping his as her release slowly rises inside of her. He doesn’t know the last time he made love to someone like this, maybe never. With her though, she makes him want to give her every part of him—his heart, his body, and his soul. Jonathon leans down to kiss her when he feels the tightening of his balls and the pulsing of his cock. Kimberly arches into him, kissing him like she may never get to do it again. Just as he thinks he isn’t going to be able to hold it, he feels her walls tightening around him. Her eyes shoot open and all he sees is the love shining through them while he explodes inside of her. He lays there for a few seconds, afraid of breaking the connection they just had.

  “I’m going to run us a bath, if you’d like that?” He asks, slowly pulling out of her, immediately feeling the emptiness of not being connected to her.

  “Yes, I’d love that. Then maybe we can go sight-seeing?”

  Seeing her eyes light up with that much joy, he’d do anything to keep that there. “Of course we can,” he smiles as he stands in front of her. Her eyes rake his body over while he stands with no shame. He watches her take in every curve and indention of his ab muscles before he turns, giving her a nice view of his derrière.

  “Tease,” she mutters, pulling the sheet over her naked body, stretching out the sore muscles. She looks up at the ceiling as she rethinks what just happened in this bed. She loved both Jonathon and Emerson, but the connections she had with both of them were so different. With Emerson she felt a stronger pull, a more emotional bond—or she had until today. Jonathon there was more of an attraction, more of a physical connection. She smiles as she gets out of the bed to walk toward the man standing in the middle of the bathroom drawing her bath water. She had two days to enjoy in New York City and she wasn’t going to waste them.

&n
bsp; “Your relaxation awaits you, Milady.”

  Kimberly lets out a snort as Jonathon bows, still in his birthday suit. “Thank you, kind sir,” she says through her laughter as he takes her hand, helping her into the huge tub. He slides in behind her, both lying in the water.

  “So, tell me about your childhood Kimberly,” he says as he runs his hands over her chest, leaving bubbles in their wake. He begins to think he may have hit a sore topic after a few moments of silence.

  “I had a rough childhood. My father left shortly after Sarah was born, and my mother wasn’t much of a mother. When I finally could get a job and graduated high school, I took Sarah with me,” Kimberly lets out a slow breath as she continues. “My mother was never right after he left, and with me being five years older than Sarah, I knew I needed to help her,” her voice starting to crack on the last part of the sentence. “I got an apartment and put myself through college. I swore to myself that we would never be like that again, and then I had to text and drive that night. I made one mistake, and I got punished for it.”

  “Baby…” Jonathon interrupts but she turns in the tub to face him.

  “Don’t, because now I know it was all part of the greater picture,” she says, looking up at the ceiling. Jonathon really doesn’t understand what she is doing until the next sentence comes from her mouth. “I got you and Emerson out of the deal.”

  “I love you,” he says as he kisses her deeply. He slowly pulls away and looks down at her. “We better quit or we will never make it out of this hotel.

  “One more quickie won’t hurt anything,” she says with a wink while she straddles him.

  Two hours later, Kimberly and Jonathon are standing in Times Square. For someone who is always in New York, it’s nothing new to Jonathon, but seeing it all through Kimberly’s eyes makes him rethink it. The lights flashing everywhere are extraordinary to Kimberly, her body spinning as she looks at everything trying to take it all in.

  “It’s amazing,” she breathes out in a puff of smoke due to the cold.

  “Yes, yes you are.” Jonathon smiles as he looks at her, totally different than the normal weather of Louisiana. She has on a cream sweater, a black pea coat, a gray scarf and a bonnet on top of her curls and a pair of black boots that come right above her knees over her jeans. It never ceases to amaze him as he sees the different sides of her.

  She turns and wraps her arms around his neck, smiling as she takes in his handsome features. He wraps his arms around her waist as he picks her up, spinning her in a circle. She laughs a carefree laugh while he sets her back down on the ground. He leans in, kissing her lips, not caring who is around to see. They walk hand in hand as Kimberly takes in all the sights that make Times Square what it is.

  “How far is Central Park from here?” Kimberly asks with an eagerness to her face.

  “It’s about a twenty minute walk or we can hail a taxi,” Jonathon says with a chuckle.

  “Oh my God! It’s the Naked Cowboy!” She squeals as the man stands on the corner with a jacket and his legendary tightie whities. “Hi! Can I take a picture with you?” She asks the man with a look of sheer excitement on her face.

  “Sure,” the man says, posing with her for the picture. Jonathon laughs as he sends the picture to Emerson.

  Jonathon: We might have some competition. He laughs when he gets a response immediately.

  Emerson: Fuck that, I already have to share with you.

  “Can we walk instead? I’d really like to see everything.”

  “You sure? We might even be able to hail the Cash Cab,” he says trying to keep a straight face.

  “Not funny!” She yells as she playfully slaps him. He lets out an “oomph” as he walks with her. “So, tell me about how you met Emerson.”

  He smiles as she asks. He’d always wondered when this conversation was going to come up. “Well, when we first met, I hated the bastard. He was top in the class at Harvard Law and let me tell you, his attitude was far more uppity than it is now,” he says with a chuckle.

  “Really?”

  “Yep. The man stayed in his room studying at all hours but we shared the same floor at our fraternity. One night we decided to drag his ass out of his room and to a party. I found out that night, he was from Breaux Bridge and I had grown up in Baton Rouge so since I felt like such an outsider there, we kind of bonded. Now, I still didn’t like his arrogant ass because, well, all the girls liked him but he wasn’t interested. Which is why he is probably the best lawyer. I, on the other hand, was the party man.”

  “I can totally see that,” Kimberly says, trying to stifle her laugh. “You remind me of Stifler on American Pie,” she laughs.

  “Come on! He’s not even remotely attractive!” He whines making her giggle even more. “But, anyway… we kind of became joined at the hip after that. We did everything together and when we got tired of the fraternity, we rented an apartment together. From there on out, we were inseparable. Then mom died, and his grandfather as well. We went through a lot together…” After he says that, he walks in silence for a few minutes. “Then of course there was Mallory.”

  “How did that come about?”

  “You really want to know that Kimberly?”

  “I do,” she replies honestly. She already knew the guys loved her and that was all she needed. The woman was also married and not coming back anytime soon. Or at least she hoped not.

  “Mallory was one of our client’s daughters,” he starts to say as he takes her hand, leading her down the next block. “Instantly I wanted her, she was an enigma. She lit up the room when she walked into it. But, she had other plans. She wanted us both. In the end, we decided instead of fighting over her and one of us losing her, we would embark on a relationship of sharing her. At first it was hard, jealousy overtook us. We almost lost ourselves because of it. We finally realized we had to stop, we were going to lose everything.”

  “Oh my God,” Kimberly says quietly.

  “We finally made the arrangement work, and just when we thought things would get serious… I paid her to leave. I found out she was trying to turn us against each other. I’d hear her saying things to Emerson when she thought I wasn’t around. That was the final straw for me, I loved her but I wasn’t in love with her. Emerson, well, he was far more invested.”

  “I’m sorry that was how it worked out.” Kimberly utters as they make the final block to Central Park.

  “Don’t be. That path led us to this moment. It couldn’t be more perfect with you,” Jonathon adds before kissing her gloved hand.

  Once they reach Central Park, he knows his attention is the least of Kimberly’s priorities. She is busy snapping pictures with her cell phone and admiring all the scenery around her. Jonathon can’t believe how content he is with letting her do just that. Having her standing there in front of him, not even paying the slightest attention to him like most women do, doesn’t even phase him. Most women fought for his attention, fought to be the person to bed him, but Kimberly, she never did that. She knew she had his attention, even when she didn’t ask for it. It was the aura around her that sought him out. When that damn light reflected from somewhere and hit her, that’s when he realized she was his angel. She was the woman that he was meant to have, even if it meant sharing her with his best friend. She was the woman he wanted swollen with his children. The woman he wanted to put his ring on her finger, and the woman he wanted to bear his last name. The realization nearly knocks him to his feet as he watches her admiring things he always takes for granted. He makes a promise to himself as he watches her—to never ever take her for granted. She was and is too precious for that.

  Emerson is sitting behind his desk when Jonathon storms into this office. This used to piss him off more than anything else, but lately he’s become used to it. Five years of it, you eventually learn to get over it. “Can I assist you?” He asks with a frown.

  “We need to discuss some things.”

  “Oh, so serious? A case or are you wanting to discus
s Kimberly?”

  “Emerson, this is serious.”

  “I can see that on your face Jonathon.”

  Jonathon really just wanted to rear back and punch the shit out of his best friend. This was very serious and he needed someone to talk to. He didn’t know what to do and this was the only person he could talk to about it. “This girl, she e-mailed me. The condom I used must have broken a couple weeks before I met Kimberly. She claims she’s pregnant and it’s mine.”

  “Oh shit…” Emerson says, finally getting the severity of the situation.

  “I know, I mean I didn’t think anything of it, I wrapped that shit,” he says as he runs his fingers through his hair.

  “Did she know who you were?”

  “What do you mean? Yeah, I told her my name.”

  “No imbecile, did she know you were THE Jonathon Phillips.”

  “She didn’t act like it. I didn’t say I was either. She was a bartender at the place dad and I went and ate.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “That’s the thing, I don’t know. I guess I’ll have a test done,” he says as he stands, walking over to the bar Emerson keeps stocked with aged scotch. He grabs a tumbler off the counter before scooping ice out of the small fridge that has been built in. He pours a generous amount, swirling the liquid in the glass then gulping down a third of it.

  “It’s not even ten in the morning,” Emerson states.

  “You find out you knocked some woman you banged within two hours of meeting her and you’ll be slamming it back too,” he snaps.

  “I was merely…”

  “I know what the fuck you mean! I don’t care Emerson. Are you going to fire me for drinking? I pay half the fucking staff!”

  “God, calm down. Drink the whole bottle. You’re a fucking lawyer, you can fix this shit, even if it is yours.”