raining_on_sunday

by Jodi Olson

“Wow!” Amelia tried to get her breathing back to normal.

  Mike, fell into the chair, sated, but exhausted. This had never happened before, when he’d shared a woman with Kevin This time it was different. He really wanted time alone with Amelia; he was falling for her and he needed to see if she felt something too.

  Kevin stood up and donned his robe, leaving it hang loose, exposing his semi-aroused cock. “I need to get a shower and get dressed, I’m meeting someone for dinner, its business and I can’t get out of it. So you two will be on your own for a few hours. I know Mike would like you to himself for a while.”

  It was as if Kevin was reading Mike’s mind. He didn’t know why he should have been surprised. Kevin gave him a big smile and a wink; then rushed upstairs to shower.

  Mike handed Amelia her robe, reaching over to brush some strands of red hair from her face. “Kevin usually makes most of our meals around here. How about we go out for a quick bite to eat, then come back here?”

  “Sounds good to me, I’m starving, give me half an hour to shower and dress up.”

  “I need to shower too, maybe we could shower together?” Mike winked at her.

  “If we did that we wouldn’t go out, I need to eat and rest. Don’t you two ever rest?”

  “Not when it comes to you, we seem to never get enough of you.”

  After Amelia had finished showering, she wrapped a large fluffy yellow towel around her torso. She walked into the bedroom and was moved to see clothes laid out for her on the bed. There was a gorgeous black dress accented with sequins on the hem; a black lace bra with matching thong; and a pair of exquisitely decorated black heels to finish the look.

  When she looked in the mirror Amelia knew she looked good. The looked wasn’t exactly how she had planned, as she had to opt for her low-heeled sandals instead of the beautiful black stilettos. Her ankle was still sore. She walked down the stairs as if her prince charming was waiting to take her to the ball.

  Mike stood at the bottom of the stairs smiling as she approached. “Looks like I guessed right on the sizes, you look great.”

  “Yes, it’s a perfect fit; I’ve never had anything this elegant before, thank you.”

  “I know if I stand her staring at you any longer we won’t ever leave. Since I’m starving we need to go…we need to go now.” Mike quickly took her hand and led her out of the house.

  Four

  Mike was concerned how Amelia would feel about where he planned to take her for dinner. He didn’t care much for fancy food, his favorite hangout, when there was time, was Sal’s bar. Not only did the place have great food, he knew many of the regulars who frequented the establishment. A lot of his friends came here after a hard day’s work, and he knew they’d be green with envy when they got a look at Amelia.

  He glanced at Amelia as he parked his truck. “Hope you don’t mind eating here, I know it’s probably not what you’re used to, but they have great food.”

  She put her hand on his, “it’s perfect; I’m not much for fancy dining either, but don’t you think I’m a little overdressed for a bar?”

  “No, you’re beautiful, the dress is perfect. The guys will be drooling over you.” Mike opened her door helped her down from the truck.

  “Your friends...are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Amelia wasn’t sure she wanted to go inside now. Would they be able to tell I had sex all day with two men?

  “Yea, hope you don’t mind, I wanted to show you off.”

  As her eyes adjusted to the interior, Amelia was shocked to see her ex-husband sitting in the corner. He was sitting with another man, a man dressed in an expensive black suit. She didn’t recognize the other man, but she guessed it didn’t really matter. It was a shock to see Brad in a place like this, as he was pretty adamant when they were married that he didn’t think spending time in a bar was his idea of fun. He never wanted to go when she wanted to play darts, something she enjoyed and excelled at. She noticed a dartboard right above his head and smiled to herself. Oh, this could be an interesting night after all.

  “Hey Mike,” a couple of the guys at the bar yelled as they walked in. One of them recognized Amelia, and acknowledged her by saluting coyly with two fingers, “How’s the ankle Amelia?”

  Amelia remembered him from the job site. “It’s alright, mending nicely,” she said.

  Mike couldn’t help but notice the way his friends looked at her, but he wasn’t sure their assessments actually pleased him. They were obvious in their infatuation with her and he didn’t care for their attention at all. “We’ll see you guys later,” Mike said as he abruptly took her hand and led her to their table.

  The table he’d picked was close to where Amelia’s ex-husband was seated. As Mike pulled out her chair, she was pleased that she had full view of her ex and his friend. I couldn’t have planned it better myself.

  Mike turned to order their food and drinks. “I’ll be right back, hey Joe, could we get a couple of cheese burgers, fries and two beers?”

  “Sure Mike, I’ll have Sue bring them over.” Joe wrote down the order and whistled for Sue. “Get Mike and the lady a beer.” Joe’s hair was beginning to gray. He was a big man, a former wrestler weighing in at two hundred forty pounds easy. Joe ran the place his own way and nobody messed with him, but he’d known Mike a long time and they’d always got along great.

  Joe eyed Amelia appreciatively. “Your tastes are getting expensive Mike.”

  Mike looked back at the table, appreciating Joe’s assessment. Mike turned to Joe and gave a wink, “Yes, I think it’s time for a change of pace.”

  Amelia smiled at Mike as he took his seat. She had a great view of Brad and the guy he was with, and it was obvious he was shocked to see her in a bar. Who is the guy he’s with? What business does he have with Brad?

  “Amelia, are you feeling okay, you look pale.” Mike followed her stare to the men in the booth.

  “I’m fine Mike, really.”

  “Do you know that guy?” He didn’t like the way the bastard was looking at her, in fact he felt as well as saw the anger in the man’s cold eyes.

  Lowering her head, she replied, “I’m sorry Mike, that guy staring at me is my ex husband. I just find it odd that he’s here. When we were married he’d never be caught in a place like this. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  So that was Brad Larson. Mike had only seen him once and talked to him a few dozen times. He’d met him but hadn’t made the connection when he sat down.

  “Why is that? Doesn’t he like bars?” Mike stood, straddled his chair and at the same time faced the table across from him.

  “No, he hates bars. At least he did when we were married. I tried to get him to take me out bar hopping a few times, but he never wanted to hang around with my friends.”

  “Why, what did you and your friends do at these bars?” he teased.

  She focused her full attention on Mike, loving all the attention he gave her. “We’d play pool, shoot darts, and have some laughs, but he never wanted to go.”

  “Was he open to playing with your friends?’ he asked with a wink and mischievous smile.

  Mike’s insinuation was well taken. Amelia smiled in spite of her growing concern for her ex- husband’s presence. “Are you kidding, he didn’t even play with me. Another thing...the guy he’s with, I’ve never seen him before. Do you know him?”

  Mike looked closer at the man, “Actually yes, his name is Andy Squires. He’s the one that I dealt with when there were issues with your house.”

  She drummed her fingers on the table, “I just find it odd.”

  Mike moved his seat closer to her putting his arm possessively around the back of her chair. ”Maybe he’s gay,” Mike jested making Amelia laugh out loud. I don’t like the way this creep looks at her. He had his chance and now it’s my turn. He leaned over so his lips brushed against hers as he spoke. ”You taste so good Amelia.” Raising his mouth from hers, he gazed into her eyes.

  She felt a warm glow flow
through her, forgetting her ex-husband and everyone else in the place. She felt a presence as someone approached the table.

  Brad stood over her, “Hello Amelia, nice dress. What are you doing with this guy? Isn’t he the guy who…”

  She didn’t let him finish. “Yes he’s the guy who was building our house. His name is Mike Radford. Who’s that guy you’re with Brad, your new lover?”

  Mike spit out his beer as he laughed at her insult. She’s good. Hell, maybe what I said about the guy is the truth.

  “Shut up, Amelia! You’re embarrassing us by your inappropriate comments. Besides,” Brad looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching, “you know I’m not that way.”

  “Well Brad, I really don’t know if that’s true or not, since you and I only had sex one time. As I recall, you were a lousy lover. No, that would mean you were in love with me at one time and that wasn’t the case, so let me clarify that by saying you had no idea how to properly fuck a woman,” she spat, making sure everyone heard.

  Not wanting to make this any worse than it already was, Brad turned to leave. “Good night, Amelia.”

  “Leaving so soon, home to the little lady?” she teased, laughing as he stormed away.

  Mike was grinning, big time, as he watched Brad slink back to his table. He didn’t realize she was so feisty. When he’d first met her she looked like a scared rabbit but now she was ready to take on the world. Day after that she’d be gone and he definitely didn’t want to think about that other than coming up with a reason for her to stay.

  “So Amelia, tell me what you ever saw in that jerk?”

  Remembering fondly, she explained, “He used to come in every morning and have coffee at the bakery where I worked. We’d talk about anything and everything. He seemed sweet at the time, and then one day he brought me flowers with the card inside asking me to marry him; so I did.”

  “What happened? Why did you kick him out?” Mike began to move his hand up her thigh and inside her dress. He knew Brad was watching them and intended to give him a real show.

  “Well it’s a long story, but a common one I’m sure. Brad started to come home late almost every night, then the phone calls at all hours asking for Brad with no explanation. One time this woman called and said she was his sister. He’d told me before that he didn’t have any family and I guess that is what started it. A week later I got a call saying Brad was already married. When I questioned him about it he wouldn’t deny it... exactly. He told me I was imagining things. Finally it just got to be too much, so I kicked him out.”

  “So...did you ever find out if he was already married?” Mike was really beginning to hate this jerk.

  “Yes, my lawyer said that he was.” She fidgeted with her napkin, looked up and smiled, “That’s quite enough about him okay?” Amelia paled as the bitterness of the entire experience seeped through her. She hated talking about Brad, as it always made her feel like she’d been the one who failed. Amelia needed to change the subject. “So, Mike, do you play darts?”

  “No, I don’t play. Usually I just come here, have a beer, and talk with friends. On Sundays Kevin and I stop in here once in a while, maybe the next time we come you can show me how to play, what do you say?”

  “I don’t want to wait until then, let me show you a few tricks now. It’s been a while but I’m sure I can still hit the mark.” Amelia rose and took the darts off the board beside Brad. She began to throw one, two, and three; all on the mark. She didn’t miss Brad’s attempt to move out of her way. He had the most terrified look on his face, as if she threw one at him directly or something. Amelia looked directly at Brad before she took aim with the next one. One more inch to the left and his hair would be pinned to the board.

  Mike laughed; this was better than watching sports on TV.

  Amelia looked over her shoulder at Mike. “I’m ready to leave, if you’re ready to go Mike?”

  “Anytime you are, baby.” Mike took her hand as they left the bar.

  The drive home was quiet, neither of them saying a word. Mike hoped she was okay after the run-in with her ex. The rain was coming down even harder than it had been if that was possible; Mike was having a hard time seeing the road. He was also worried about Kevin being out in the weather on his motorcycle. Hopefully Kevin had taken refuge at some friend’s house in town. Mike didn’t want him driving in this mess. I hope the idiot is wearing his helmet.

  Five

  On entering the house Mike called Kevin’s name, but there was only silence. He was worried; it was late and Kevin was always good at calling if he was going to be late. Mike looked at Amelia, but she was in her own zone.

  She sat on the sofa, a blank look on her face, staring out the window at the rain. Mike lightly touched her hand, bringing her attention back to him. “Amelia, I know this sex slave thing was a fluke, and short term in nature, but I was wondering if you’d be interested in coming to work for me in my office. I could definitely use the help, and I know Kevin would like you to stay as much as I would. We both have a lot of problems keeping all the red balls in the air when we have to monitor multiple job sites. You could work in the office and help keep us organized. I can’t tell you the number of things I’ve misplaced over the past few weeks. What do you say, would you consider it?”

  “I can tell you I’m honestly much better at office work then carpenter work,” she laughed. “I do need a job, that’s for sure. Can I think about it for a while? Really, I’m interested, and it sure would help me pay the bills Brad stuck me with. But what if that doesn’t work out...then what’ll I do?”

  “Let’s just take it one day at a time, okay? The job is yours if you want it.” Mike’s ringing cell phone rang interrupted the moment. He took out the cell phone, keeping his eyes on Amelia. “Hello, yes, this is Mike Radford - yes I know Kevin - is he all right? Which hospital? Was he wearing a helmet? Is he conscious? Hello, is anyone there?” Mike realized the connection was broken and he slammed it shut, “Shit!”

  By the look on Mike’s face, Amelia knew there was something seriously wrong. “What happening, Mike?”

  “It’s the hospital, Kevin’s been hurt. They didn’t tell me anything else, just that he got hurt. I need to go; they said he’s ready to come home. Do you want to stay, or come with me?”

  “I’ll come with you, but how bad is it, did they say what happened?”

  Mike’s cell phone rang again. “Hello.”

  “Yes, Is this Mr. Mike Radford?” a female voice asked.

  “This is he.”

  “My name is Sylvia Smooth; I’m the charge nurse at Northwest Wound Center. Your friend Kevin needs to be picked up. He’ll be in the lobby waiting for you.” Then she clicked off not giving Mike a chance to say a word.

  *****

  Neither of them spoke on the drive to the hospital. The rain was still falling, a continuous drone, like a long train on the railroad tracks. It came in sheets, almost sideways due to the strength of the wind. Mike had a hard time seeing the road markings, and it seemed to take forever to get to the hospital even though Mike knew he’d only been driving a few minutes.

  Amelia spotted Kevin sitting in a chair, with his head against the wall. He sat alone in the corner, his ankles crossed in front of him. If the dried blood on his jacket wasn’t so evident, anyone would think he was simply waiting for someone, and not an accident victim. As she stepped closer, she noticed the right side of his head was a mess. Even with the bandages, there was evidence of an accident from his right temple to his ear. At the edges of the bandages she saw where he’d had stitches shaped like a half moon running along his face. His ear was a pretty shade of purple, one of her favorite colors, but not an appealing shade on Kevin. She put her hand on his sleeve, letting him know he wasn’t alone. He looked at her and she could tell he was heavily medicated. She wanted to hold him and comfort him, but was afraid she’d hurt him even more. He didn’t say a word.

  Mike looked at his friend, and tried to lighten the mood, �
��Hey, buddy I told you that motorcycle was a bad idea in this rain. One of these days you’re going to get yourself killed. You need to listen to me more often.”

  Kevin could see Mike was shaking. He knew he’d scared him. In many ways it lightened the pain to know Mike cared so much about him. “Mike, it wasn’t my motorcycle that did this to me. Some men jumped me outside of Sal’s tonight. They said Brad Larson paid them to take care of me. My problem is who the fuck is Brad Larson? Do we know a Brad Larson?”

  Amelia shuddered and clutched her throat. “I’m so sorry Kevin, Brad is my ex. I don’t...”

  Mike couldn’t believe this was happening. “That’s right; you haven’t had the pleasure because every time Andy Squires showed up, you were out of the office. The goons must’ve figured you were an easy way to get to me.”

  Amelia sat clenching her hands until her nails dimpled her palms. “I don’t understand, why would these men jump you? When Mike and I were at dinner earlier we ran into Brad. He wasn’t very pleasant, but I didn’t think he’d do anything like this.”

  “I was told to tell you to quit harassing Brad. He wants it stopped, or you’ll be next.” Kevin looked directly at Mike, trying to tell him without saying anything that there was more but he couldn’t discuss it in front of Amelia.

  Mike looked around, uneasy with the sounds and smells of the hospital, “Let’s get out of here. We’ll get you home and to bed.”

  Amelia got in the truck, and helped Mike ease Kevin in the back seat, his head resting on her lap. As Mike pulled out of the parking lot he watched Amelia in the rear view mirror. She looked worried, he knew she was afraid. She kept whispering to Kevin that she was sorry this happened, it was all her fault.

  Kevin was out and never heard her concerns. When they got to the house Mike and Amelia struggled to get him out of the truck and into the house. They knew they weren’t going to be able to get him up the stairs to his room, besides being heavily medicated he was no small man. They got him into the living room and Kevin collapsed on the sofa.