Contemporary Nights Volume One

by C. J. Ellisson

  His phone sounded again, but he didn’t bother to look at the display. He had too much riding on a business meeting in the morning. He owed it to his partners Charlie and Jenny to be at his best. Once the week was over, he’d go to Amy Leigh.

  It was time he took care of the marriage and ended the farce once and for all. Then he could move forward.

  Two days later, his father’s deep voice much like his own, sounded in his ear. “So as you can see, I can understand why Amy Leigh could have misconstrued my comments as negative. I suppose I did nothing to make her think otherwise, but she assured me to act appropriately as your wife.”

  “It was not your place, Father. How could you have crossed the line and disrespected her like that?”

  “It was not how I meant to come across. I will apologize to the girl.”

  “My wife is not a ‘girl.’” He couldn’t help but correct him. “Don’t bother. Just know you have done more damage than not.” He ended the call and sat back at his desk. His new secretary, a pleasant woman about forty with a blond bob and sharp green eyes, entered his office. “Trent, the software engineers will be here at two tomorrow afternoon. They said everyone will have intranet access on their computers the next morning.” She placed several pieces of paper in front of him. “These are the resumes of the three candidates for the position of logistician, their references are attached.”

  He looked over the paperwork while his eyes went back to the woman who stood by with one last paper in her hand. “Thank you, Mara, is there anything else?”

  “Yes, your lawyer called just now.” She looked uncomfortable, but she held a polite smile. “He seemed angry. Said he’ll be by in thirty minutes and that he’s tired of you not returning his calls.”

  “Well, I certainly won’t move a muscle until he arrives.” Trent smiled at Mara. “He’s an old family friend who takes things much too seriously.”

  “I see,” Mara replied with a satisfied expression. Her eyebrows high, she nodded. “I will show him in when he arrives.”

  He sat back and thought about what the family lawyer called about. He had yet to sign the annulment papers. Once they were delivered, he’d take them to Amy Leigh and if things did not go well after they talked, he’d ask her to sign the paperwork. This was not something he wished to do via email or phone.

  He owed her that much and an apology too.

  Chapter Thirteen

  It was margarita night. Amy Leigh sat under the harsh lighting at Pablo’s Mexican Cantina, while being interrogated by her three friends. With a huge platter of nachos in the center of the table being shared, they took turns quizzing her on what happened in Vegas. She’d put them off several times. The only reason she was there tonight was because they’d come to her house and caught her mowing the lawn, after she’d lied and told them she had a cold.

  Amy Leigh held a finger up. “Let me remind, you bitches, of the fact you abandoned me in Vegas. I was alone and defenseless.” Since the word “bitches” sounded more like “bishes,” it was obvious she’d passed her limit.

  Nicole, the ringleader arched a newly waxed brow. “Not so defenseless. You landed Charleston’s most eligible bachelor.” The three high fived while Amy Leigh rolled her eyes.

  “Is he as hot in person?” Ashley usually the quiet one tapped a fingernail on a print out of Trent’s picture she’d downloaded. “How about in bed?” All three shrieked at the question and laughed until noticing she glared at them.

  “Oh come on, fess up. Tell us something and we’ll leave you alone.” Lynn, her cousin lifted a nacho and inspected it before taking a bite. “Spill it, sister.”

  “He’s super hot. Great in bed and soon to be my ex.” Amy Leigh couldn’t stop the words she told her best friends the entire story.

  By the time she finished, they’d all drank too much. “Oh, honey. You have to tell him how you feel.” Nicole shook her head and her eyes crossed.

  “Yes, the least you can do is talk to him, and who knows? Maybe he is sitting in some jazzy bar with his rich guy friends drinking expensive scotch and being pitiful too,” Lynn added.

  “I’m not pitiful.” Amy Leigh sighed. “Well, maybe a little bit.”

  They called Amy Leigh’s mom to pick them up and waited for Pablo to announce her arrival.

  Amy Leigh sighed. “Okay, maybe I will call and tell him.”

  The next day Amy Leigh was at work at a party she’d planned. Although her mind was elsewhere the entire time and her head felt like it had a woodpecker perched on it, she did her best to maintain a professional appearance. Parties were a special time for her clients, and Amy Leigh could not bear to ever let anyone down.

  She made up her mind. Tomorrow she’d drive to Columbia and talk to Trent. Not sure what she’d say yet.

  “That’s a beautiful setting. The paper lanterns are just the right touch.” The party hostess smiled broadly at Amy Leigh, interrupting her reverie. “Your talents are wasted in this small town. You should consider moving to Greenville. I can think of quite a few friends that have events coming up this year and would not hesitate to hire you.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Leonard,” Amy Leigh replied. She scanned the tables with a critical eye, making a note to ask her helpers to move one table further to the side to allow for better traffic flow. “I can go to Greenville, if someone wants to hire me. It’s not so far that I can’t do an event there. As a matter of fact, I’ve been thinking a lot about moving out of my comfort zone. Expanding.”

  “Good,” the woman said. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket when it buzzed. “Oh goodness. It looks like the guests from Atlanta are almost here.” She hurried away, her long skirt swaying to and fro.

  The Leonard’s owned a large beautiful plantation home in Sweetgum they used mainly for entertaining during the spring and early summer.

  The huge home reminded her of the Mulherin’s. She pushed the thought away when her mother approached.

  “Everything’s set up inside. The caterer is here and the food is ready to be set out once the guests arrive. Harold Leonard is already half-drunk so he’s definitely ready to party.”

  Jane Paisley squinted. “Who knows what those musicians are doing, plucking at those strange looking instruments.” Amy Leigh looked to where the mandolin players sat. “It was almost impossible to find them. I don’t know why Mrs. Leonard is so set upon mandolins.” The notes of their soft music transported her back two weeks to that night in Charleston.

  “You look tired.” Her mother’s words snapped her back to the present. “I can take it from here. You’ve done most of the work for this party, so it’s only fair I stay and ensure all goes well. Go on, now. Leave early to go see your husband.”

  Lying was becoming a chore. “I am, but not until tomorrow. He’s not home. Trent’s gone on a business trip today.”

  “He needs to come here and meet me. We need to discuss the wedding details. His mother hasn’t as much as called me yet.” Her mother narrowed her eyes. “Rich people are so annoying.”

  Laughter came from the doorway the first guests filtered in. “Yes, I think I better rest. I have a slight headache.” It was the truth. Her temples pounded and her throat was dry. “Hope I’m not getting sick,” she muttered and headed to her Jeep.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Light poured from the front windows of her small house and Amy Leigh paused trying to remember if she’d left them on. Too tired to care, she dragged her business tote and purse out of the Jeep and trudged to the front door. If there were an ax murderer in her living room, she’d make it easy for him. She would lie down, hold her chin up, and wait for the ax to fall. A giggle escaped at the thought and she lifted her hand to her forehead when it throbbed in response. “Ouch. Shit.”

  “Hello, babe.”

  Jay, her ex-boyfriend and stalker, put down the beer he’d obviously taken from her refrigerator. He stood by the kitchen island and smiled brightly. “Bet you weren’t expecting me tonight.”

&nbs
p; She ignored him and walked past to open a cabinet to grab a glass. She poured water into the glass, opened a bottle of aspirin, and shook three of them onto her palm. After popping the meds into her mouth, she watched him over the rim while drinking.

  He was a good-looking guy, not as handsome as Trent, but certainly held his own. His tussled brown hair had blond highlights from days spent working as a roofer, which also kept his arms and chest toned. He wore a torn pair of jeans, flip-flops, and a tank top ripped on the side. Probably on purpose to show off his abs.

  “You didn’t have to dress up on my account,” she told him and kicked her heels off before turning to rummage in her freezer for a bag of frozen peas, carrots, or anything she could slap on her head.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m doing here? Shove me out the door or tell me to leave you alone.” Jay actually looked dejected at her not kicking him out.

  “I am too tired to argue with you and my head explodes when I talk, so if I yell I’m pretty sure it will shoot off my neck.” She pulled the bag of frozen mixed vegetables out and plopped it on her head. “Leave the key on the counter and get out.”

  “I only have two left. Jeff at Hayne’s Hardware won’t make me any more copies. Said you threatened to cut his pecker off,” Jay complained.

  Wonderful coldness seeped through her hair and she sighed. “Jay, I am not in the mood for company tonight.”

  “We can watch a movie.” His hopeful expression made her want to smack the selfish man. They had the same argument every time he ‘broke’ in. They’d stopped dating almost two years earlier and he always stopped by when in between girlfriends. Truthfully sometimes they did hang out and watch television, he was more of a friend now.

  “See you later, Jay, I’m lying down.” She went to her bedroom and closed the door.

  “Do you need me to get you anything?” Jay asked from the other side. “I can stay here tonight just to be sure you don’t die or something.”

  “No thanks, I’m pretty sure I’ll live.”

  “Hey, it’s nice to know you don’t hate me.”

  “No, but I’m not sure I like you.”

  “Why?”

  “’Cause you’re a man-whore.”

  “Well, all right. I’ll call you tomorrow to make sure you’re alive and all.”

  “Bye, Jay.”

  “Bye.”

  She heard the front door close, followed by Jay’s noisy diesel truck pulling away. How had she not noticed the monstrosity with oversized tires and bright yellow racing numbers on both doors when she’d arrived? Maybe she was dying.

  Ding. Dong.

  Amy Leigh sighed. If Jay had come back, she was going to slap him with the now thawed mushy mixed vegetable pack. He called once already this morning and now he was ringing the doorbell.

  He meant well, or maybe he just wanted in her pants until the next girlfriend came along. Either way, he was annoying. She trudged to the door glad she looked horrible. After her shower, she’d pulled on droopy sweatpants and a paint-stained UGA tank top. Her bare feet slapped on the wooden floor. She held the vegetable bag up and hauled the door open. “Go away, Jay.”

  Trent stood on her porch. “Hi,” he said eyeing the vegetable pack that sagged pitifully in her raised hand. “Were you going to hit someone with that?”

  “Oh.” She lowered her arm and with her other hand attempted to straighten the waistband of her sweatpants, and then gave up. “I…um…well, yes I was. My ex-boyfriend. Nothing like frozen vegetables to the side of the head.”

  “They haven’t been frozen in a long, long time.” His eyes danced over her body and instantly her entire figure tingled. “I miss you.”

  The bag hit the floor as the door closed behind him. Amy Leigh found herself slammed against the wall, not so much because he’d thrust her there as much as she grabbed him and yanked him in.

  Their mouths connected, his strong hands heaved her up and her legs automatically wrapped around his hips. She didn’t care why he was there. By the cute, happy grunts he made while pressing his rock hard cock against her center, he was not thinking about much either.

  He walked her to the couch, where they collapsed and began to tear each other’s clothes off. “God, I missed you so much,” Trent told her yanking the thankfully oversized sweatpants off. She pushed her panties off before he saw the hole in them. She hesitated when he pulled his shirt over his head exposing the hills and valleys of his abs for only a second before she pulled off her tank top. When she could see again, he was gloriously naked and wasted no time climbing over her.

  His condom on in seconds, Trent took hold of his length to guide himself to her. With one thrust he was inside her and both of them grunted at the connection. His mouth covered hers with so much hunger, it took away what was left of her breath. She grabbed his butt helping to propel him deeper. The man was no fool; he knew when a woman just needed to be ridden. No talky-talky shit. What she needed was him. Fucking her brains out.

  The pace at which his hips moved amazed her. The precision of how the slight curve of his cock hit her in the perfect spot sent her flying almost immediately. “Oh yeah!” Her hands slid from his ass to his hips and back to the center. “Harder.”

  He panted, and his glazed eyes met hers. He took her by the hips and lifted her, pushing in deeper. Amy Leigh lost focus when she came with so much force it made her legs shake. Once she began to get her bearings again, it was to become mesmerized in his movements. The muscles of his chest and shoulders bunched from his exertions. Just when she thought she couldn’t take much more, her emotions spiraled out of control. He jerked, losing control and hoarse groans came from deep within his throat.

  Eyes closed, he lay beside her on the floor. Somehow they’d fallen off the couch and were on the rug. She studied his handsome face and traced his nose with her finger.

  In the last few days, she received five texts from him. Each one telling her he needed to talk to her. She ignored them as well as the three phone calls. She did not want to discuss the annulment and was not ready to face their final breakup.

  Of course seeing him in person, would lead to mind blowing sex. Their chemistry was off the charts after all. Now that it was over, they’d be polite. He’d be his usual charming self and they’d discuss it.

  His eyes opened and he leaned over and kissed her at the same time his hip pressed into her leg. “I take it you missed me too.”

  “Oh. My. God!” Her mother’s shriek made Trent jump up and grab a throw pillow, which he slammed against his groin.

  Amy Leigh grabbed the couch throw and gave it to him and then stood in front of him to block her mother from seeing any more. “For goodness sakes, Mama, what are you doing here?”

  Her mother was against the hallway wall, with her hands over her face. She peeked at Trent through her fingers. Amy Leigh turned to see he’d wrapped the throw around his waist. She grabbed his shirt and jerked it on, then took her mother’s hand and dragged her toward the kitchen.

  “Is that him?” Jane Paisley whispered and looked back toward the living room.

  Face flushed, Trent walked past the doorway toward her bedroom, with his pants and t-shirt in hand.

  “Why are you whispering?” Amy Leigh wanted to shove her mother out the door and follow him. “Yes, of course it’s him. Who else would I be having monkey sex with on the floor?” Her cheeks burned at what she’d just admitted to her mother. “Mama, forget I said that.”

  A wide smile split her mother’s face. “He’s a hottie. Great butt.”

  “Mama!”

  “Hello, Mrs. Paisley,” Trent said behind her mother, who jumped at his voice.

  “Hello there. Nice to finally meet this mystery man my girl married.” Amy Leigh rolled her eyes at her mother’s precise pronunciation of each word. “She’s not been herself since the nupticals.”

  “Nuptials,” she corrected and sighed. “Mama, Trent and I haven’t seen each other in several...days. I hate to cut this vi
sit short, but we need to talk.”

  “Oh, of course, I understand.” She didn’t move.

  “I’d love to take you out to dinner and get to know you better soon, Mrs. Paisley.”

  “Please call me Jane, or mom if you want.” Her mother giggled at Trent’s lazy smile and Amy Leigh wanted to throw up.

  “Mama?”

  “Oh yes, yes. I better let you kids get back to what you were doing. Oh, I mean to talk, of course.” She gave Amy Leigh a silent “Go get ‘em” look and practically danced out the front door.

  “Augh.” Amy Leigh leaned on the kitchen island and put her head in her hands. “Sorry about that. I didn’t expect you and shouldn’t have attacked you.”

  “I was a willing victim,” Trent replied and pulled out a stool and sat. “The limp vegetables were quite scary.”

  She looked into his eyes and attempted to smile. “I suppose you came to see me about the annulment and the last thing you expected was sex.”

  “I hoped.”

  “I wonder how many people have sex when discuss ending things.”

  “Probably more then we’d think.”

  “Well,” she said and shrugged. “Did you bring the papers?”

  “Yes...no.”

  “Huh?” A shaky sigh escaped and she bit her bottom lip. Time to be honest and put her heart out there to get trampled. “Trent I—I am not sure I want to sign them.”

  “Neither am I,” he admitted pushing her hair away from her face. “I don’t want to break up, Amy Leigh. I can’t stop thinking about you. I want you in my life. You make me laugh. It’s only with you that I feel comfortable in my skin. Its only when you’re sleeping next to me that I can truly rest.”

  “Do you understand the ramifications of you marrying my son?” Amy Leigh recalled the words of his father.

  “I can’t.”

  His face fell. “Is it because you think I lost all my money, or because my father is a vicious snob? Is it that my ex is a pretentious bitch? Or maybe that whatever it is you feel for me is not strong enough.”