Unlikely Lovers

by Anna Kristell

  All my love forever,

  Cody

  Jessica dropped the letter and collapsed into a sobbing heap on the floor.

  She showered, packed and drove home. She went straight to bed and not having to be back at work until Tuesday, remained in bed all day Monday.

  Chapter 32

  True to his word, Cody didn’t call. Nor did she call him. She worked every day, throwing herself into her work once again. Karen and Bruce did all they could to make her life easier. They were a couple now, for which Jessica was glad. It’s funny how everyone is getting what they want but me.

  One night, she even agreed to go out with Karen, Bruce, and one of Bruce’s friends, Dean. She had a good time in spite of herself and accepted Dean’s invitation to dinner when he called a few days later. He was a fellow officer and very handsome. Not Cody handsome, but not bad. He was of average height, with light hair and baby blue eyes. He had a pleasant personality and he was very attentive to her, something she needed right now.

  She began to see him regularly after that, but told him up front she wasn’t ready for a serious relationship. She explained, “I’m recovering from a bad break up and since I’ll be transferring soon, there’s no point in starting anything.”

  He was understanding and told her, “That’s fine. I’ll be happy to escort you to dinner or to the movies if you feel like going out. I’m not looking for anything heavy right now myself.”

  She had learned the hard that way honesty was the best policy in any relationship and vowed to herself if she ever had a chance at true love again she’d remember that.

  Thankfully, she hadn’t run into Cody. That would’ve surely been her undoing.

  She told Missy her sad story, but she and Andy had already heard it from Cody. There was really nothing left to say. It was over. This time there would be no working things out.

  Jessica had some issues with the holidays. She flew to Vancouver for Thanksgiving, again basking in some motherly spoiling. She regretted her favorite aunt was away on a cruise at the time. She would’ve loved to have been able to confide in her.

  “Darling, what are your plans for Christmas this year? I hate for you to be alone and depressed.”

  “I think I need to spend a quiet Christmas alone this year, Mom. Don’t worry about me. I’m doing all right. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it’s over.” She lovingly touched the diamond tennis bracelet Cody had given her last year.

  “That’s a lovely bracelet. Cody gave it to you, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, for Christmas last year. I rarely take it off, except at work.”

  Ginny Walsh shook her head as she watched her only daughter suffering from a broken heart.

  Jessica returned home and went about the business of living without Cody. Work kept her occupied most of the time and the rest of her time was spent at home. She did only the minimal amount of Christmas shopping and put up no tree or decorations. Christmas came and went. She was still seeing Dean on occasion and agreed to attend a party with him on New Year’s Eve.

  At midnight, he kissed her, but it had in no way compared to the kiss she’d shared with Cody the year before.

  A few months later, Jessica and Dean were coming out of the movie theatre when she saw Cody standing in line to buy tickets for the next show. There was a beautiful young girl with long blonde hair standing next to him and they were talking easily. He threw back his head to laugh heartily at something she’d said. Hurrying away so he wouldn’t see her, she didn’t let on to Dean what had happened.

  Dean asked Jessica to spend the night with him that night. “What do you say, Jessica. Isn’t it about time to move on with your life?”

  She was about to decline the offer, but on second thought decided it really was time to move on. Maybe if I sleep with someone else, I’ll get Cody out of my system once and for all. “Maybe you’re right, Dean. Maybe it’s time.”

  She stayed and even though Dean had proved to be a gentle and thorough lover, it just wasn’t the same as it had been with Cody. He kissed and caressed her, satisfying her needs, but it wasn’t the earth shattering ecstasy she experienced with Cody. I guess I’m doomed to a life without fireworks from now on. I’ll just have to take what I can get and go with it. That’s all there is for me now.

  Jessica continued to see Dean until he transferred to his next post. They said their goodbyes, knowing the relationship was never meant to be permanent.

  One night at the mall, Jessica was window-shopping and almost bumped into Cody. He was alone. When she had recovered from the shock of seeing him again, she spoke.

  “Hi, Cody,” she said as she looked into the chocolate drop eyes she loved so much.

  “Jessie, how are you?” he asked politely.

  “I’m good. Have you heard from Andy lately?”

  “If you mean, have I heard that he’s going to be a daddy, yes, I heard. The baby’s due in October. They certainly didn’t waste any time,” he answered. “Are you alone?”

  “Yeah, just doing a little window shopping. I thought I might buy some new clothes for spring.”

  “I’m sure whatever you buy will look great on you. Seeing anyone?”

  “Not at the moment. Dean, the guy that I was dating, got transferred. It wasn’t serious,” she told him quietly.

  “Whatever happened to uniform guy?” Cody asked curiously.

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Try me over a cup of coffee.” They found a small coffee shop and after ordering, he asked, “Did he break your heart?”

  “Cody, Bruce and I never dated. He was a good friend. We went to dinner a few times after work. They weren’t even real dates.”

  “What about the calls in Kansas?”

  “Those calls were rigged to make you jealous because I thought you were with Erin.”

  “Are you serious?” He looked at her in disbelief.

  “I’m afraid so. Actually Karen and Bruce are a couple now. She was in on the ruse.”

  “So you planned to seduce me away from Erin, my supposed lover, and I planned to seduce you away from Bruce, your supposed lover, and actually we were both free and weren’t cheating on anyone?”

  “That about sums it up, I think. We were both insanely jealous for no reason that weekend.”

  “That’s wild.”

  “But the thought of cheating sure made it exciting, didn’t it?” she asked, remembering the nights they’d spent in each other’s arms.

  “I thought I was king of the hill that first night in Kansas, stealing you away from him like that.”

  “And I thought I was so smart when you were on the phone with Erin. Did she ever know what I was doing to you?”

  “No, I never told her, but she’d have gotten a good laugh out of it.”

  “I was praying Karen and Bruce didn’t realize what you were doing to me.”

  “I’m glad we had this chat, Jessie, but I’ve got to get going. I have a date and I just stopped by the mall to pick up a gift for Ellie, my girlfriend. And yes, she’s a real girlfriend.”

  “Is it serious?” she asked softly.

  He looked at her, thought for a minute and quietly replied, “She’s not you.” Then he walked away, leaving her to wonder what he meant.

  Chapter 33

  Cody broke up with Ellie the week after he ran into Jessie at the mall. He realized it was probably a stupid thing to do, but after seeing Jessie again he also realized what he’d told her was true. Ellie wasn’t her and never would be.

  For kicks, he sent Jessie a text message one balmy Saturday night. He regretted it as soon as he’d done it, but it was done and he couldn’t stop it from going through.

  Want to go bowling?

  Seriously?, she replied.

  Got anything better to do?

  Meet you there in 30 minutes

  It’s a date

  “Hi, Jessie. You look really good,” he greeted, with one of his sexy smiles when she pulled into the bowli
ng alley lot and parked next to him.

  “Thanks. You look pretty good yourself.”

  “Did I take you away from anything important?” he asked as they walked into the bowling alley, the same one where they’d met nearly two years before.

  “I was reading a romance novel, nothing important.”

  “Don’t those make you horny?” he teased her as he pushed a loose lock of hair off her forehead.

  “You’re still terrible, aren’t you?” She laughed easily with him.

  “Come on, let’s go tear up the lanes.”

  “You’re on.”

  They bowled several games, competing good naturedly. Finally, he said, “How about we get out of here and go grab a bite to eat?”

  They chose Denny’s as it was open all night and she agreed to meet him in the parking lot. After they were seated and had ordered, she asked, “Why did you text me after all this time?”

  “I didn’t want to leave things unsaid. I know you’ll probably be moving soon and I wanted a chance to tell you how sorry I am that things worked out the way they did. I know you’ve suffered as much as I have,” he told her sadly as he took a sip of hot, black coffee.

  “Are you still with Ellie?”

  “No, I broke up with her not long after I saw you at the mall that night last spring. My heart just wasn’t in it. It’s like I told you. She’s not you.”

  As they ate, they talked about her work, his work, Missy, Andy and the baby, her transfer and her upcoming promotion and finally the weekend in Kansas. They laid it all out on the table finally.

  “If nothing else comes of this night, I’m glad we’ve been able to have this talk,” she told him as the night went on.

  When it was time to leave, they spent a few awkward moments standing beside her car, neither of them knowing what to say or do next.

  Finally, she spoke, “Would you like to come to my place? As I recall, you’ve never been there.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m not asking you to come over for sex, Cody. I think we’ve gone far beyond those days. I just thought it might be nice for you to come to my place for a change.”

  “I’ll follow you there,” he accepted the invitation. “I’d like to see where you spend your nights.”

  When they arrived, she unlocked the door and led him into her living room.

  “This is it, home sweet home, for a little while longer, anyway,” she told him as she offered him a seat.

  He looked around, taking it all in. This is her space, where she lives and breathes and sleeps. “It’s nice, Jessie.”

  “It’s homey. I’m in a bit of a mess, though. I’ve been going through some of my things getting ready for my move. If I ever go, that is. My transfer keeps getting put on hold because the project I stayed for isn’t completed yet.”

  She offered him a Coke and they talked for hours about everything imaginable. She popped a movie into the DVD player and they snuggled together on the couch to watch it. Ironically, it was Oceans Twelve, the same movie she’d rented that night so long ago that they’d never gotten around to watching. She’d rented it again the day before and had wondered later why she’d done so.

  He picked up the paperback novel she’d been reading. Flipping through the pages, he found a steamy part and began to read it out loud. “How can you read this stuff and then go to bed alone?” he teased.

  “Give me that.” She playfully grabbed the book from his hands.

  “You know, we could probably write our own love story. I bet it would be a best seller,” he told her as he looked into her saucy green eyes.

  “No, Cody, it wouldn’t, we didn’t have a happy ending,” she reminded him with a hint of sadness in her voice.

  “You never know. Who would’ve thought we’d be here, in your house, talking for hours like this, after all this time?”

  “And who would have thought we’d go out, bowl, have dinner, watch a movie, and talk for hours without hitting the sheets the minute we walked through the door?”

  “The night’s not over yet, Jessie.” He looked at her with a question in his brown eyes.

  “Cody, kiss me.”

  He took her in his arms and kissed her, not gently, but not roughly. It was a sweet kiss, one that lovers shared after they’ve been a couple for a long time. Then he held her close for what seemed an eternity.

  “I need to go…” he started to get up.

  “Do you have to? You can stay here with me, we don’t have to do anything, Cody. Just stay with me.”

  “Do you actually think we could make it through an entire night together and not do anything? Really, Jessie?”

  “We could try, and if we slip up and something happens, so what?”

  “Oh, my pretty lady, what am I going to do about you?” He sat back down and looked at her in earnest.

  “I don’t know, Cody. I just don’t know.”

  They snuggled and talked until the wee hours of the morning. They fell asleep in each other’s arms on her old navy blue couch. When she awoke a few hours later, she gently woke him and led him into her bedroom. Fully dressed, they crawled into her antique iron bed and slept the rest of the night contentedly in each other’s arms.

  When they awoke the next morning, she smiled and said, “We made it through the night.”

  “And we’re both still dressed. Maybe there’s hope for us, yet, pretty lady.”

  He cleaned up in her bathroom while she made coffee. After her turn in the bathroom, she asked if he wanted her to cook breakfast.

  “No, I think I need to go.”

  “Okay.”

  He kissed her goodbye and left.

  Chapter 34

  He didn’t call or text again after that night and so one sunshiny Saturday afternoon later in the summer, Jessica decided to do something daring. She drove to Cody’s. When he answered the door, she didn’t speak, just pushed him inside then told him, “I want one more time with you.”

  “Jessie, I thought we talked about this,” he argued.

  “I don’t care. I know what I want.”

  “Jessie.”

  “If you want me to beg, I will. I seem to remember a few nights when you told me I had to beg for it.”

  “One last time for old times’ sake?” he asked as he searched her face.

  “One last time for old times’ sake,” she replied as she took his hand and lifted it to her cheek.

  He looked into her eyes and said, “One more time, Jessie, but this time, no games, no angry words, no rough, jealous sex and no broken hearts, just one more time, for old times’ sake.”

  “That’s all I ask, baby, that’s all I ask,” she replied solemnly.

  He slowly led her into his once familiar bedroom. He pushed her hair back and gently caressed her face as he looked deeply into her eyes, two dark pools of emerald filled with desire for him. Without a word, he leaned down to kiss her. Her hands found their way to the shock of wavy brown hair that she loved so much. The kiss deepened as his passion grew.

  She looked into his eyes, the beautiful big brown eyes she had fallen in love with on that night so long ago. The eyes of the man she dreamt of before she even met him. Leading her to the bed, he gently laid her down, kissing her again. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, the tip of her nose, and the lobes of her ears. Moving to her neck and down, when he reached her breasts, he took one nipple into mouth, slowly circling it with his magic tongue then treating the other to the same pleasures. She gasped as he moved slowly down her body, caressing her, tantalizing her with his hands and his tongue. He continued to tease her as he’d done so many times in the past. He loved her as only he could do. It was as beautiful as she’d known it would be.

  He whispered in her ear, “Jessie, you are mine forever. I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she whispered through tear filled eyes.

  And when it was over, she dressed silently, kissed him goodbye for what would probably be the last time, and drove home, crying
the entire way.

  Sleep finally came, but she had the dream again. She hadn’t had it in a long while, but it was back and it was as clear as day. She was watching a wedding. The bride walked up the aisle with a veil covering her face. She couldn’t quite see the bride’s face because of the veil. The dream progressed a little further this time. The bride actually got to the front of the church to take her place beside Cody. He lifted her veil and looked at her with love in his eyes. But she still couldn’t quite see the face of the bride.

  Chapter 35

  Several weeks later Jessica’s orders finally came through. She would report to Fort Riley in December, a few months after Missy’s baby was due to be born.

  When she called Missy to tell her the news, she was ecstatic and couldn’t wait for Jess to get there. “I’ve missed working with you and having you around. It would’ve been nice for Andy to have Cody here, as well. If you guys had gotten together, he could’ve moved with you. They’re hiring where Andy works.”

  Her project at work was near completion and she had begun to plan her move. She’d gone to Kansas to find a place to live over Labor Day weekend, the same weekend she’d visited the year before. She decided to rent a house this time instead of living on post and was lucky to find one in the same neighborhood as the Reed’s that would be available by the time she was ready for it in December. It was a cute two-bedroom bungalow with an extra room that could be used as an extra bedroom or an office. Her antique furniture would work well with the décor and she was anxious to get settled. She had an ulterior motive in mind when she’d chosen the house.

  Missy was at the uncomfortable stage of her pregnancy during her visit with only about a month to go until delivery. Jessica enjoyed watching Andy pamper her and envisioned herself heavy with child being catered to by a doting Cody.

  The evening before Jessica was to go back to Oklahoma, she told Missy and Andy her plan. “I know you two don’t approve of the schemes Cody and I have pulled with each other in the past, but this is different.”