“Aww poor baby.” I take his face in my hands. He sets me on my feet and, we giggle as he slowly backs me up towards the stairs, while kissing me. Then he takes my purse off my arm, and slings it to the floor. He salaciously smiles, as he’s nipping at my bottom lip, softly muttering, “You won’t be needing that.” We make it all the way to the fourth step when he lays me back, eagerly groping at my clothes as I help him take them off. Looking down at my breast, he raises his eyebrow. “Ummm the girls sure look happy to see me.”
I’ve thought about him all day, and am tingling with desire. Consumed with the smell and feel of him, he gently plays with my nipples, which excites me and I’m aroused even more by his touch. Without missing a beat, he quickly kicks off his pants.
I’ve never had sex on stairs, but I think I’m gonna love this. He masterfully takes charge and my body is on fire. The cold from the wood stairs makes me shiver, and he places his pants behind my back to support me. “Better?”
“Much.” I reply, as I smile at him.
He hovers over me, swaying slowly back and forth, “I’m fixing to show you love on the stairs, and this is some good loving...” He winks as I succumb to him. We’ve worked our way up to the 10th step where I scream out my release. He turns me on my stomach, parts my legs with his knee, and works his way to his own climax.
Panting from our passionate tryst, we sit up and I laugh as he attempts to smooth my messed up hair. “We’re getting better by the day, Sunshine.” Looking down the stairs he remarks, “Count how many steps we did. I’m out of breath.”
I look down and with my fingers count. “I count ten - how bout you? I’ve never done it on the stairs before. Have you?”
He looks at me like he’s about to come clean, and I don’t know if I want to even know the answer.
“I have.” He replies nonchalantly.
I don’t know why I feel like I want to know about his past sexual experiences. It makes me mad, yet I still want to know. He sees the irritated look on my face, and tries to diffuse the situation.
“Look - I know you said that you and Alan didn’t have an adventurous sex life, and I’m sorry. One of the things I love most about you is that you’re open and willing to try new things. I love being the first one you screwed on the stairs.” He seductively winks.
“What I’ve done, and what you haven’t doesn’t mean a thing. All we need to do is concentrate on us in the present tense. The past is inconsequential.”
Realizing he’s right, my anger subsides, as I snuggle into him. He kisses me tenderly and rubs my arm.
He offers his hand, “Come on beautiful, let’s go to bed. Tomorrow morning I want to hear all about the wedding plans, but tonight I just want listen to music, and hold you in my arms.”
He carries me to bed and once we’re cuddled up together, his leg tenderly rubbing mine, my over thinking self can’t seem to let this go.
I whisper, “Ash, was it Anne you had sex on the stairs with?”
He breathes out slowly, “Liv please. I really don’t want to have this conversation. Let’s just go to sleep. Can you just drop it?”
He turns on the light, and I turn over to look at him. He inhales deeply, closes his eyes, and shakes his head. I’m confused; I feel like he’s trying to placate me, and once again I get angry. “No, I’d like to know. I think have a right to ask.”
Not having seen this side of me before, he looks perplexed.
“Look, I’m not comfortable going into my sex life with Anne. That’s not fair Liv.” He gets defensive, “Have I ever asked about Alan fucking you? Did I ask if he went down on you? Did I ask if he fucked you on my stairs the weekend I was gone? I know you had sex with him that weekend.” I’m shocked at his response, and it takes my breath away. I’m fuming mad and fighting tears, as my foot nervously shakes.
He frowns, as he continues, “The answer is no, because I don’t want to know. I know he probably did, but I don’t want the vision of him on top of you ingrained in my mind. It goddamn goes all over me to think of another man touching you Liv, and I don’t know why you’re so insecure about this.” The look on his face softens, as he lovingly splays soft kisses all over my face. “Honey, you’ve come so far from the night Alan destroyed your world. I was there remember? I saw what it did to you, and it broke my heart.” His voice cracks and he gets tears in his eyes. “It broke my goddamn heart, Liv.” He sits up and pulls my arms to raise me. Sitting face to face, with our legs crossed, he pulls me into him. “You’re just now getting your sense of security back. I see it every day and I’m your biggest fan. I want the tenacious, confident Liv, that I know exists. Just please don’t think about things that don’t matter. Don’t make me relive what I’ve put behind me. Someday, and soon enough, I promise I’ll tell you everything, just like I told you about the twins. I’m just not ready yet.” I can sense that there is something very emotional he can’t talk about.
I throw my head back and sigh, “Uhh. Can’t we just forget this?”
He takes my head into his hands, and his lip is quivering, “I’m trying Liv, but you make it really hard. You keep pressing for things I just can’t talk about right now. I want us to concentrate on our relationship, and we need to make progress, not regress.” He gets up on his knees, and puts his hands on his knees. “Sunshine, I’ve waited so long for someone like you to come into my life. I love you so fucking much.” His voice starts to crack.
I gasp at his show of emotion, and tearfully put my hand over my mouth.
“I love you too Ash, but when I ask questions you get offended and that bothers me. You’ve asked me to marry you, for God’s sake. We should be able to talk honestly. Yes, I realize you know what I went through with Alan. You know how insecure I’ve been. Hell, you saved my life that night.” I bite the inside of my lip nervously. “Sometimes your dismissive remarks make me feel so inadequate, and I know you don’t mean it like that, but you make me feel...subordinate.” I take a deep breath and aimlessly shake my head, running my hands through my hair. “Jesus! Does that even fucking make sense?” I sigh and drop my head. “I promised myself after Alan, that I would never be someone’s lower half ever again, and I’m not gonna be afraid to express my feelings, Ash. If you can’t accept that, then maybe we need to rethink…” I put my head in my hands and sob.
He scoots in closer to me, as tears fall from his eyes onto my leg. “Liv, you’re not subordinate, and I’m so sorry if I made you feel that way. God woman! Can’t you see how much you mean to me?” He throws his hands up and his head back. “If I ever lose you, I’ll die… I swear to God... I’ll die. I don’t want to lose you, Sunshine. Please…”
I take him into my arms, “I love you Ash. I love you so much.”
He smiles, tries to make light of things. “So was this our first fight?”
I laugh, as he wipes the tears from my face with his thumbs.
“Actually our first fight was the night you were drunk, and called me from your hotel room. You were pretty twisted.”
He strokes my face and laughs, “Ah yeah I remember that. The best night I’ll never remember.” He cackles.
He pulls me back onto the bed, with his arms on either side of me, and his eyes have a longing look. “Liv, from now on, let’s move forward. I don’t want to rehash the past, and I don’t want to fight. I just want you. Promise me? Pinky swear?”
With tears in my eyes, I nod my head. “I promise. Pinky swear.”
I’m giddy with excitement, as we drive to the airport for our flight to Houston. Ash looks at me laughing, and shakes his head. “You’re not gonna have a leg left, if you don’t quit shaking it, Sunshine.”
I giggle, as I look down at my leg. “I’m just anxious.”
He winks, “Ya think?”
To prepare for our flight, Ash and I each made playlists of our iTunes. Music’s such an important part of our lives, and I love how we create playlists for special occasions. He winks and puckers his lips, “Liv, you’re gonna love the
playlist I made for you.”
I tap his nose and banter back, “Well, I’m betting mine for you, will top yours for me.”
He raises his eyebrows, cocking his head to the side, “We’ll just have to see, Sunshine. I’m pretty competitive, ya know.”
***
We make it through the long line at security and settle into our seats. I’m excited, since I’ve never flown first class in my life, and find the service here to be pretty impressive. I guess I must look like Alice in Wonderland, because Ash looks over the top of his glasses smiling, and rolls his eyes. “Your first time in first class?”
I put my hands on my waist and look at him teasingly, as I stick out my tongue. “Yes this is my first time in first class. Forgive me, but I wasn’t born privileged.”
I reach into my bag and get out our phones and headphones. I smile, as Ash tilts his head allowing me to put the buds in his ears, and gives me a thumbs up. I’ve got my Beats headphones on and Ash comically remarks about them, as he pulls his ear buds out. “You look like one of those obsessive music lovers I’ve read about.” He points at my headphones and laughs. I pull my legs up in the seat, take out my book and readjust my headphones. I start listening to the playlist he made for me, appropriately called ‘Soon to be OH’. He looks over at me, cuddled up in my seat, and kisses the top of my head. I look down at my ring and marvel, shaking my head in amazement.
Ash lifts one side of my headphones off and asks, “Whatcha looking at?”
“I’m looking at this over the top amazing ring.” I matter of factly laugh.
“So, you still like it?” Ash asks, with a proud smirk on his face.
I giggle, “What’s not to like?” I blow him a kiss, as he fixes my headphones back to how they were before.
He’s tapping his fingers, listening to his music, while reading some material for work. I laugh to myself, thinking that he’s working, and I’m reading crotch novels. He holds my hand, rubbing it softly and I can’t wait to land, and land smack dab into bed with him.
Once we land in Houston, we quickly depart the plane, grab our bags and head to the rental car area. Lainey said she would pick us up, but Ash had insisted we needed a car to get around, and didn’t want to be dependent on Lainey for transportation. I call her, as we are leaving the car rental place, and I smile when I hear her excited voice.
“Mom I can’t wait to see you! We’ve got three places to look at today, and I hope one of them fits what y’all are looking for. If not, we’ll just keep looking until we do. Just hurry up and get here. I’m dying to see you.”
We hit a patch of traffic on the freeway and come to a complete stop. Ash chuckles, as he notices my leg shaking, and observes me nervously tapping on the arm rest. “Sunshine, tapping your nails and shaking your leg, isn’t gonna make the traffic move any faster. Just relax.”
I roll my eyes at him and mutter, “Damn Houston traffic.”
Soon enough, we pull up at Lainey’s office building and park in the garage. Ash leads us into the crowded elevator, and has his hand at the small of my back, rubbing it softly.
“You excited?”
“Oh I’m so excited. I can’t wait to see Lainey!” I put my arm through his and lean my head on his shoulder, whispering softly, “I hope we find the perfect place today. I want you to be happy with what we find.”
He nudges my chin and whispers in my ear, “Honey, if you’re happy, then I’m happy. Whatever you want, no matter the cost, we’ll do it.” It’s the end of lunch hour, and I’m getting annoyed with the elevator stopping on every floor. The ding of the elevator startles me, as the doors open on the 25th floor. I see the LPCI logo etched into sleek glass doors.
“Very impressive!” Ash remarks, as we enter the lobby. Contemporary and elegant dark wood furniture is strategically placed throughout the waiting area. The large custom reception desk is the same dark wood, with brushed stainless steel accents. The walls are a dark gray, with the same color carpet. Contemporary dimly lit sconces flank the walls, and there is alluring recessed lighting. I observe a long wall bearing numerous architectural renderings of all the LPCI projects, and I’m in awe. I’m so proud of Lainey. She’s accomplished so much in the little time she’s been in business. Ash is astonished, “Wow. Your little girl is one talented little lady.”
The receptionist walks into the lobby to greet us. She’s a tall slender young lady with jet black hair, that’s sleekly pulled back into a ponytail. She extends her hand and smiles. “Hello! You must be Ms. Petersen and Mr. Harper. Welcome to LPCI. I’m Hailey.” We each shake her hand, and she motions us to the chairs. “If you’d like to take a seat, I’ll let Lainey know you’re here. Can I get you something to drink? A coffee, water, or soda?”
I smile and speak for us both, “Oh no thanks, Hailey. We’re fine.”
We sit in the beautiful lobby and wait for Lainey to come out, as Hailey comes over to us. She holds up a finger, “She’s on the phone, and asked me to tell you she’ll be right out.”
In just a few minutes, I see my gal, with her bulging baby bump, smiling from ear to ear, as she comes out to greet us.
She covers her mouth with her hands, then claps, “Mom. Ash. You’re finally here!” She gives us both hugs and kisses.
“Let me give you a tour. We’ve expanded since you were last here Mom. Follow me.”
She proudly leads us into what she says is now 9,000 square feet of offices, and I’m floored. She has so many employees, and we observe everyone is working diligently on their projects. I spot Marcus immersed in his work, and I quietly pop my head in the door. “Boo!” I yell. It startles him, and he excitedly gets up from his desk. “Ahhhh Bonjour Belle! Finally!” He says in his beautiful French accent, as he swaggers over to hug and kiss me. I can tell Ash is a bit put off, by the show of affection. The look on his face tells me so. Hmmmm, a little jealous maybe? Ah ha! A side of Ash I haven’t seen. After all, Marcus is a very handsome man, tall, well built, dark hair, and beautiful dark eyes, with an ever so sexy French accent.
He extends his hands, “Olivia! Tue s Tres Jolie! Ravissant! Let me see you… Turn around... You look so happy.” He spins me around, and takes me into his arms.
I give him a hug, as he kisses me on the cheek.
With a flirty grin on his face, he notices Ash, “And who may I ask is this handsome man with you?”
I introduce him to Ash, and proudly display my left hand, indicating that we are engaged.
He gasps, “Your fiancé, Belle? Félicitations et meilleurs voeux !”
I have no idea what Marcus just said, but Ash sure does. Of course he knows French. Why would I think he didn’t? He knows everything. He confidently reaches out for Marcus’ hand, and gives him a firm handshake.
“Merci beaucoup, nous sommes très heureux ainsi!”
I put my hand on my hip and think, ‘Okay, whatever that means’. I have no idea, but the two seem to be entertaining each other with this banter.
Marcus throws his head back, laughs and the two of them continue to communicate. Lainey and I look puzzled, and have no clue what they’re saying, but Ash is smiling so I can only assume its pleasant dialogue. Marcus is disporting, testing Ash, and Ash is testing him right back. Male testosterone is dominant at this very moment, and it has suddenly become war of the words. I sense that Ash isn’t quite sure how to take Marcus, and thankfully Lainey quickly diffuses the situation. She holds her hand up signaling a time out. “Marcus, Ash, Mom—I was thinking we could all do lunch, and head out to look at the condos I’ve got scheduled for us. Kellan let me use the Suburban today, so we’ll all ride together if that’s okay…”
“Parfait!” Marcus exclaims.
Lainey’s made reservations for us at a nice Galleria area restaurant. Driving past the Galleria, I think back to when I lived in Houston. I would take the kids ice skating there, and we had so much fun. I would laugh until I cried, as we would ice skate - me holding onto the wall for dear life!
At lunch
, Marcus and Ash immediately resume their conversation. Marcus seems to be interested in what Ash has to say, but I can tell by Marcus’ body language that he’s guarded. He’s reserving his opinion of Ash for later. Lainey and I are talking nonstop about the units she’s got lined up for us to see, and I can’t wait to get started. I’m not very hungry, and find myself just picking at my food, moving it around the plate, just hoping everyone will hurry and finish.
The first two units we look at are nice, but very contemporary, and are in the popular upper Kirby area. The first one is very small, and I can tell Ash isn’t impressed by the blank look on his face. I giggle, and whisper in his ear, “I don’t think this is us…do you?” He puts his arm around me, and suggestively remarks in a hushed voice, “Definitely not. It’s too cramped, and everyone would hear us.” I laugh, and suggest to Lainey we go on to the next stop. As we walk the second unit, Ash pulls me to the side with the same uncertain look on his face.
“Liv, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I definitely think this loft thing isn’t gonna work for us. Much too small, and too damn contemporary. I don’t like it at all, but what do you think?”
In my mind, I’m thinking I’d be happy just to stay in a hotel when we come to Houston, or stay with Lainey and Kel, but what the hell do I know? I’m simple minded and budget conscious.
I affectionately put my arm through his, as we walk towards Lainey and Marcus. “I’m sorry but these lofts aren’t us. Call me old fashioned, but these are not doing it for me.” Ash shakes his head, laughs and agrees. “I agree with Olivia, contemporary and lofts suck. They’re okay for you kids, but for us old geezers… Don’t think so.”
She smiles and reassuringly gives us a thumbs up, “No problemo guys. I actually think the next one is going to be the one you fall in love with. The price is considerably more, but I think it’s more in line with what you guys want.”
With a twinkle in his eye, Ash ushers us all out the door, “Let’s get going then.”
We arrive at the next place, and I gasp as we pull into the circular drive. I feel this is it. The unit is on the 39th floor of this classic building, with phenomenal curb appeal, and Lainey says it has a breathtaking view of the city. Beautiful mature trees adorn the property, and there are large lush abundant flowers in beds, lining the exterior. It’s truly a welcoming atmosphere, located in the posh medical center area. As soon as I walk into the lobby, I feel at home. Something about it just feels right. We take the quick elevator ride up to floor 39 and as we get off, I start getting excited. Lainey puts the key in the door and pushes it open. I gasp as I enter. It’s beautiful, and elegantly decorated. As we meander about the place, Marcus takes my hand.
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