I didn’t want to think about what could have happened to Judy and me. I only wanted it to be tomorrow and have today’s confrontation a distant memory. Maybe there was something to Irish’s strange yearning for us never to be apart. What happened tonight at Judy’s would never have happened if Irish had been there with me, I thought.
* * *
I heard the alarm buzzing and I sat straight up in bed. Irish was lying flat on his back next to me sound asleep with a slight smile on his face. I tried gently reaching over him to turn off the alarm when he grabbed and held me to his chest.
“I heard it,” he smiled. “I was just waiting for you to climb on me” and I smacked his shoulder and reached for the button.
“We’d better get up, Rocky,” I smiled. I rolled back over to my side of the bed and felt Irish roll over on his side facing me.
“I’m really sorry about last night, Jurnee; I was totally wrong and I’ll apologize to John when I see him.”
Looking at the ceiling, I asked, “Why do you think he stood there letting you pummel him?” I didn’t look at his face but waited for his response.
“I thought about that all the way home last night and my best guess is he felt he had it coming. I know I’d have felt the same way.” He raised his finger to my face and touched my nose.
I took his hand and clutched it to my chest. “Tell me something,” and I continued to look at the ceiling. “Why were you crying last night?”
I’m sure it was only moments but seemed like minutes before he finally answered. “When Judy called my cell, I was at my mom’s, thirty minutes away from you. She said she left you with the guy who’d raped you and he had a knife. She was crying, Jurnee, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to see when I got there.”
We looked at each other for a moment. His blue eyes were big and intense, almost anxious and I had to look away. “Well it’s over now, everyone’s okay, and we have lots to do, so let’s get this party started, buddy,” I finally said.
We both rolled out of bed and I raced him to the bathroom. We both showered and ate breakfast before heading to the airport.
Chapter Twelve
As we passed Judy’s exit, I fished in my purse for my cell. It went straight to her voicemail: Judy, just calling to check on you. I love you and I’ll call you again when I get home tonight.
We were in San Francisco in no time at all, going straight to the condo that we’d previously shared, so Irish could retrieve some paperwork and make some calls.
He opened a laptop and pulled up a picture of a little white house sitting right on the beach. “That’s it,” he said. “Scroll through and you can see all of the rooms plus the backyard and garage. I’m going to make some calls and then we’ll be on our way.” He kissed me and disappeared into another room.
I sat there looking at the little white house. It was adorable, I thought. I scrolled through, counting the rooms and gasping at the kitchen. Irish will make some awesome meals in that room, I thought pleasantly with a grin. I could hear him still talking on the phone, so I picked up my purse and headed for the bathroom.
I brushed my hair and fished a scrunchy from my purse to put it up out of my face. My packet of birth control pills fell to the floor. I had three left. I hadn’t taken a pill since my birthday, which certainly wasn’t like me. I quickly popped one in my mouth and bent down under the faucet to drink some water. It will be fine, Jurnee, I assured myself. I saw Irish standing behind me now. I quickly tossed the pills back in my purse and turned around smiling at him.
“So, what do you think of the house?” he smiled.
“It has great architecture. I can’t wait to see it,” I said, reaching out to hug him. He stopped me, gently holding me back to look at my hair.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you wear your hair in a ponytail,” he said. “I really like it,” he added and gave me a sexy grin.
“You don’t think my ears look too small when my hair’s up?” and I giggled at him, feeling a little embarrassed. He chuckled and stared at me for a long moment with a frozen grin.
He pulled me in for a hug and whispered in my ear, “Jurnee, you’re perfect to me” as he wrapped me in protectiveness. Irish had rented a car to use for the day and although it wasn’t a Mustang, it was still a very cool, brand-new BMW. I felt like a kid checking out all of the buttons as well as opening and closing the sunroof.
When we finally arrived at the house, it looked huge compared to the pictures that I’d seen on the laptop. I followed Irish around to the back as he unlocked the door. It was a small room, separate from the house, almost resembling my aunt’s wet room, for hanging up damp clothes and peeling off soggy shoes.
“This was built for surfers’ wet clothes,” Irish announced. We walked through all of the rooms and finally sat down on the living room floor. He had a measuring tape and a small pocket-sized notepad in his hands. We sat there looking around the room. All of the windows and doorways were trimmed in oak and the carpet was dark beige. The windows looked right out onto the beach and presented a breath-taking view. It’s perfect, I thought. Irish drew a floor plan of each room and we decided where we wanted to place the furniture. He measured the spaces where we wanted the sofa and other big items. When we were both satisfied with our plan, we took a walk on the beach.
This was so relaxing walking in the sun, down our beach holding hands with my husband, I thought.
Sticking with Irish’s schedule, we were on our way to some furniture stores. He’d googled five places in advance and we found everything we needed in the first two stores. I’d never bought furniture before, so I pointed to things that I liked but was more than happy to let Irish make the final call on our choices. He was great, and I could tell that he’d done this before and I was comfortable letting him take charge. As we walked out of the second furniture store, Irish announced that we had to make a quick stop at the company he’d soon be managing. I was excited to see his workplace, so we piled in the car and headed that way.
Irish said the distance from our new house to the construction company was about five miles, so I anxiously studied the landscape hoping to familiarize myself. Soon we pulled into a parking lot with a big sign on top of the building that read Thompsons’ Construction. Irish parked the car and turned off the engine. Staring at the building, he began nervously rubbing his thighs with both hands. Finally he turned to me and said, “Jurnee, before we go in I need to explain something,” and I felt myself freeze. He watched my face and began shaking his head no. He laughed at me, his eyes warm, almost oddly apologetic.
“No, I haven’t dated anyone in here,” and he gave me a little smile. I turned my body toward him, giving him my full attention and waited for him to continue. “I’m coming here to work because in the last six months this company has lost thousands of dollars in materials. I flew up here two months ago and installed hidden cameras while the site was closed,” he looked back at the building. I followed his stare. “Everyone in this office is going to see me as the bad guy because the thief thinks he has a good thing going right now. I’m not going to be well liked,” and he turned back to me. “I guess I’m trying to say that when we go in there and get less than a welcoming greeting, it’s not personal but purely business. Steve, the one I’m replacing isn’t the thief, but he’s had three months to find out who’s stealing and hasn’t been successful.”
I smiled at him. “I can handle it, Irish. Let’s do this,” I told him and he finally beamed. Irish held the door open and I walked into the well-lit room. There were eight desks, four on each side of the room with employees who appeared to be working. Irish pointed me toward a small waiting area and told me that he’d be right back. Curiosity made me scan the room looking for the hidden cameras. I could feel eyes on me and rather than look at anyone, I let myself follow Irish as he walked into a room with glass walls near the back of the office. I saw a man stand, extending his hand to Irish when we entered.
While he was standing, arms
crossed, talking, I looked to the left side of the room and the four females were now huddled together looking toward the office. I guessed they weren’t any older than eighteen, maybe twenty, and were all giggling and whispering. It was obvious they were admiring my husband. The employees on the right side of the room appeared to be older and either talked on the phone or worked on their computers. I scanned the walls again looking for any sign of a camera, seeing nothing. It wasn’t long before Irish and Steve exited the office.
Standing in the middle of the room, Steve looked around the area. “Can I get everyone’s attention,” he asked, turning to both sides of the room before looking back at Irish. “I’d like you all to meet Mr. Thompson. He’s going to be replacing me next week and will need your help and consideration to make this transition a smooth one.” Everyone’s eyes focused on Irish.
Acting professional, he looked around the room at each face and said, “Thank you, Steve, I look forward to working with all of you and I’ll see you first thing next week,” and he turned and followed Steve back into the glassed-in office. I looked at Irish now, and his tight white tee shirt, faded blue jeans, and flip flops didn’t make him look much like a boss. He was standing with his arms crossed and one stem of his sunglasses in his mouth while he listened to what Steve was saying. His gorgeous blue eyes, sandy hair, and awesome physique made him yummy-looking to any woman staring at him.
I sat there basking in my secret thoughts of what he and I had shared. Just then Irish turned and gave a slight wave to Steve and started toward me. Before he even took six steps out of the office, two of the girls from the huddle scurried over, standing directly in front of him leaving him no other option but to stop. I watched him push his sunglasses through his hair, resting them on top of his head.
He turned his face to them a little, appearing to be listening to one of the gals who must have been talking quietly. I saw him smile and answer yes to whatever question the girl must have asked. I groaned internally and I crossed my legs, watching the gals flirt with their new boss. I felt my foot start bouncing as they continued talking. Now the other girl was laughing and I watched Irish take a small step back from them as they’d slyly moved closer to him while talking. This was difficult to watch, but I wasn’t looking away for one second. I felt a sharp tinge of jealousy course through my veins. This was the first time I had even really thought about Irish with other women since I’d met him at the airport. Finally one of the girls walked back to her desk and wrote something on a piece of paper. When she returned to Irish, she handed the paper to him and he accepted it. I was now feeling hot under the collar.
I could feel an ugly expression flowing over my face and I quickly tried to change it. “Smile, Jurnee, they’re just silly teens,” I whispered under my breath. At that moment Irish pointed at me. Both female heads whipped around, looking at me as if they’d totally forgotten I was there. I smiled and prayed Irish was finishing up. Touching one gal on the shoulder attempting to get by her, he finally headed toward me. I stood up and quickly moved toward the door. Irish followed me out to the car, opening my door before going around to his side. One of the girls actually came to the front door and waved to him as he climbed into the driver’s seat. I stared at her in disbelief. I didn’t look at him as he turned the key and started the ignition.
I pulled my seatbelt harder and faster than I needed to and looked out the front window. “I guess they all liked you?” I finally huffed. Irish had begun to back out but stopped the car.
“Jurnee,” but I still wasn’t looking at him, “is something wrong?”
“Nope, nothing’s wrong, Irish,” and I reached down to the floorboard to grab my purse. From the corner of my eye, I saw him put the car in park.
He put his hand on my knee. “Jurnee, please look at me,” he asked confused and although I didn’t mean to, I felt myself roll my eyes before turning to face him.
”Yes,” I said, focusing on the steering wheel rather than him.
“Please tell me that you’re not jealous,” he said sarcastically and I heard him almost snicker. His tone made me look.
I flashed my eyes to his face and staring into his said, “Heavens no, why would I be jealous?” He looked at me and I held his eyes. His face was confused and almost frozen, but after several moments of holding my stare, he began to smile slowly. I watched his face change.
“You’re not jealous of those girls, are you? Tell me you you’re not” and he squeezed my leg, leaning toward me. I turned away from his smirking face and looked back out the front window. He squeezed my leg again. “Jurnee, please look at me,” but I couldn’t. He took his hand from my knee and unlatched his seatbelt.
Before I realized what he was doing, he was out his door and came around to my side, opening the door and holding his hand out for mine. I looked up at him. We were still in the parking lot and right in front of an office window. I could see several people standing there watching us. I looked back at him and reluctantly reached for his hand. He helped me out of the car and backed me up against the passenger door. I searched his face, waiting to understand what he was doing.
He reached for my hips and lined himself in front of me, holding me in place with his body. He then touched each side of my face and forcefully pressed his lips to mine. My mouth opened involuntarily and he slowed his intensity to a more passionate pace. I felt my hands grab both sides of his chest and squeeze him hard in reaction to his kiss. He finally stopped and pulled away, looking in my face and gently kissing my cheek. Then he kissed my other cheek and my forehead. I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself and slow my breathing.
Taking my face into his hands, he whispered calmly, “Jurnee, I love you. I told you that you’d never have to worry about another woman. I promised you that, remember?” and I nodded my head affirmatively.
“I meant it; I am so in love with you I could never let anything ruin our relationship. Please don’t ever forget that,” and I reached out to hug him, but mostly to hide my face in his chest. I didn’t want to start crying. I stood there trying to straighten myself up before leaving his embrace.
“Let’s go home now,” I heard him say. I slowly released my hold and gave him a little smile before climbing back into the car, avoiding the front of the building, afraid to see how many people might be watching. Irish started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. At the first stop sign, he reached for my knee and gently squeezed it.
I looked at him sheepishly. “Was everyone looking?” I asked.
He raised an eyebrow and gave me a devilish grin but paused before answering. “I don’t think Steve was there, but everyone else was,” and he laughed. I threw my hands up over my face, but also smiled a little, taking great pleasure in knowing those girls were watching.
When we arrived in La Jolla, I left Irish in the living room talking on his cell and went upstairs to take a shower. I’d pretty much silently beaten myself up the entire ride home about how stupid I’d acted about those gals. That wasn’t like me and I knew that Irish loved me. I had been jealous and I didn’t like the way it made me feel or look. Deciding never to let myself go there again, I released the energy.
Standing in the bathroom, I glanced at the tub and decided to take a bath rather than a shower. I hadn’t taken a bubble bath since before my vacation while still living in North Carolina. I turned the knobs and regulated the temperature before plugging the tub. I walked back into the bedroom and opened my suitcase, grabbing my bubble bath and a baby doll nightgown. Stripping off my clothes, I poured the remainder of the bubble bath under the cascading water. I slowly dipped my right foot into the steaming bath, letting it adjust to the temperature. Once I felt I could handle the heat, I placed my other foot in and eased my body down into the tub. I let the bubbles completely cover my body, allowing the water to soothe me and let my jealous-female actions from today disappear. My eyes were closed and I was about to drift off when I heard a soft tap on the door.
“Jurnee, can I come i
n?” I heard Irish ask quietly.
“Yes, baby,” I said shaking myself out of a relaxing coma.
He opened the door and stood there smiling at me. I smiled back, realizing that this was really the first time anyone had ever come in while I was taking a bath. I sat up a little, unconsciously, using some bubbles to cover my breasts.
Irish continued to stare at me. “You don’t know how awesome it is to see you in the bathtub, do you? I’ve had so many dreams about you, Jurnee, but this is better than anything I ever imagined. You’re so flipping beautiful. I could stand here and stare at you for hours,” and he had a serious look on his face.
“I’d be a shriveled-up prune if you did that, Irish,” and I blew some bubbles at him. He smiled and gave me the sweetest look. It continuously felt as though he had me up on some pedestal on which I didn’t feel I belonged.
He sat down on the toilet seat and with both hands under his chin asked, “What do you want to do for dinner?” And his eyes never left the bubbles in the tub.
I smiled and giggled, “Is there something that you’d like? Aren’t you hungry?” I looked at his face.
He quickly brought his eyes to mine and smiled. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am hungry but not for food,” he said. “There’s actually something else I’d really like to eat right now.” I felt my whole body quiver. He looked so serious that his words made everything about him feel sexier.
“Well maybe you could order something for us to eat...you know, for dessert,” and I gave him my sexiest grin. “I’ll meet you downstairs in ten minutes for dinner” and I stared dreamily into his eyes. He stood up and raised an eyebrow with his mischievous grin on his face. When the door closed, I lowered myself down into the water until my hair was completely covered. I quickly finished bathing and shaved my legs.
Remembering an article in Cosmos, I decided to try something new. I quickly shaved an area I’d never shaved before. I smiled to myself thinking about Irish’s reaction to my adventurousness. I rinsed myself and wrapped a towel around me. I towel-dried my hair and left it down to dry.
I Made You My First Page 17