Satellite of Love

by Christa Maurice

  “Fuck off.” Michael knocked on the door. “Baby, what’s the matter?”

  14

  Maureen yanked open the door. “I asked you to stop calling me that.”

  Michael and Marc both reeled back.

  “Okay,” Michael said. “You gonna come out of the bathroom now?”

  She clutched the door. Her lip started to tremble so she clenched her teeth hoping to make it stop.

  “I’m gonna go outside.” Marc strode down the hall as fast as his long legs would go.

  Michael stepped closer and put his hand on her cheek. “Maur, what’s the matter?”

  “How long is it going to take you to get bored with me?” Her stomach, unable to escape through her throat, started in the other direction.

  “I dunno. Never?” He slid his hand to the back of her neck. “I love you, Maureen.”

  “You’ve been in love before.”

  “So have you. How long is it going to take you to get bored with me?”

  An excellent question. Was he worried about the same thing? She let him pull her closer. “At the moment, I wouldn’t mind a little boredom.”

  “Me either.” He leaned his forehead on hers. “Remember when we talked about the pre-nup and you said you didn’t want to use it? I don’t either. I’m a ’til death do us part kinda guy.”

  “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too.”

  She kissed him, drawing him tight against her. The power of his broad shoulders fed her, making her stronger. Opening his mouth with her tongue, she explored him. The rich, exotic flavor and heat. He groaned, the sound vibrating through her.

  “We are not in my manager’s bathroom,” he murmured around her lips.

  “Marc is outside.” With the cold tile wall behind her and the hot man in front, she didn’t want to move.

  Michael slipped his hand under her shirt. “Where are your condoms?”

  “Bedroom, but I’m on the pill.”

  “I’m clean if you are.” His fingers worked between them, but she couldn’t tell if he was unbuttoning his jeans or hers.

  “I’m a second grade teacher.”

  He kissed her neck. His zipper opened. “I’ve heard what a wild bunch you second grade teachers can be.”

  She pushed out a breathy laugh. Her heart throbbed and her skin ached. She caught his mouth again. Drawing his lower lip between hers, she sucked until he shuddered.

  “Evil woman.” His hands twisted to open her jeans and the sensation of the heavy cloth tugging between her legs sent a shock through her.

  “Bad boy.”

  He laughed. “I live to serve.”

  “Maybe you should be serving me on your knees.”

  He dropped to his knees, pulling her jeans down with him.

  She squawked and tried to jump back, but only flattened herself against the wall.

  “Be careful what you ask for.” He grinned at her, lifting one foot to slip off her jeans.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” She searched for something hold onto. The towel rack was on the opposite wall. The door handle was too low. The shower curtain wasn’t strong enough. He kissed the inside of her thigh and her knees gave. His hands wrapped around her waist, holding her up. The whole relationship in a nutshell. In over her head with nothing to hang onto but him.

  As he trailed a line of kisses up the inside of her thigh, she closed her eyes. She didn’t need more support. Michael was enough. More than enough. His tongue delved into the crease at the top of her leg.

  “Michael,” she moaned. “Please.”

  He chuckled, sending a whisper of hot breath across her skin. “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?”

  “Bad boy.”

  He pressed his face between her legs, his tongue seeking her heated core. She drowned in the tide of sensation and emotion boiling within her. All her life she’d been looking for this. Someone who cared about her and wanted to take care of her. Someone who would worship her and play with her. Someone who loved her. She’d never expected that same person to set her into a raging conflagration. His lips and tongue teased her to a dizzying height and then slowed. She teetered on the edge, whimpering as he stood.

  “Baby? Maureen?” He kissed her lips softly. “I love you, Maureen.”

  “I love you too, Michael.” She opened her eyes.

  “Then why are you crying?”

  She hesitated, on the edge of the joke. It would have been easy to complain he’d left her unsatisfied, but that wouldn’t have been the truth. Right now, half naked in her bathroom, he needed the truth. “Because I love you and I miss you and I want you so much.”

  He sighed. Brushing his hand down her cheek, he said, “Me too.”

  Those two words carried more impact than all the times he’d said he loved her or any of the conversations that started “I miss you.”

  He lifted her off the floor, spreading her wide, and thrust into her.

  She clutched his shoulders. He filled her with long, easy strokes. The tiny room echoed with the sound of their breathing, but nothing more needed to be said. Nothing more could be said. She coiled and burst apart in his embrace, held together only by his arms. A moment later, he shuddered, squeezing her tight.

  He ran his fingers through her hair. “I’m serious, Maureen. I want what my mom and dad had. I want what Tony has. Everything in my life changes based on the season and the time of day and the band and the fans and the record company. I want some regular programming.”

  “Regular programming?”

  He shrugged, which she felt more than saw. “Discussions about dinner and where we’re going for vacation and if your car needs gas. I want to know someone somewhere is thinking more about what’s good for me than what I can do for them. I want you.”

  She closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder. That, she believed. She could also believe his family called him Flip-O-Matic when he was a kid. For a long time, she couldn’t think of anything to say at all and when she did, she was less than inspired. “Where is Marc?”

  “Outside.” Shifting back, he set her on the floor. “We have a system.”

  “I don’t want to know.” She grinned. They would have a system. The whole band had systems and signals worked out for everything else. She pulled her clothes back on and splashed water on her face.

  “Hey, Maureen?” He stepped behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, studying her in the mirror. “This wasn’t exactly the welcome I had planned.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You’re here and that’s what counts.” She turned around. “You can make it up to me next time.”

  He kissed her cheek and led her outside.

  Marc sat at the picnic table in the backyard staring at her lilac bushes. He’d even brought out their coffee. “Tessa called. She knows a guy who knows a guy who knows one of your union lawyers. They’re gonna take a closer look. She said it sounded like a royal crock.” He turned to look at them. “The question on everybody’s lips is, why bother? Take their dismissal and relocate. You could get a job in LA in a heartbeat. Hell, you could get three jobs in LA in a heartbeat.”

  Maureen sat down at the picnic table and Michael settled next to her. The same question twice in an hour. Despite Michael’s assurances, she didn’t want to put all her eggs in his basket. Right now he thought he wanted regular programming, as he so eloquently put it, but next month? Next year? Yes, she could get a job in California, but she’d have to tear up the roots she’d so carefully cultivated here. And that regular programming he cherished so? How much of it was her second grade teacher lifestyle?

  All of that would go out the window when she wasn’t a second grade teacher anymore. How attractive would she be to him then? She licked her lips. “I have to fight for this job because if I just walk away, the people who have fought for me and all my former students will think I never really cared. If I leave, I have to go on my own terms.”

  Marc nodded like that made sense
. “Well, we’ll figure it out.” His phone started to ring. “It’s Tessa.” He flipped it open.

  Michael put his arm over her shoulders. “See, we’ll take care of everything.”

  She swallowed. That was what she was afraid of.

  * * * *

  Bear kept his arm tight around Maureen’s waist. Mama Lena’s was packed and most of the people who came up to talk to them supported her against the school board. How was her job even in danger? Most of the city wanted her to stay and saw through the phony baloney excuses the board was using to get rid of her.

  Marc had some plans. He knew how to bring all the firepower they had to keep her in her job.

  At least it’s a nice place, Bear thought. Since I’m going to be living here.

  She smiled up at him. For that, he’d live on the moon. Too bad he wasn’t as sure about her. Sex this afternoon had been—well, it was weird. For a while it looked like he was really gaining ground after she had her little snit and locked herself in the bathroom, but the more he thought about it, the weirder it got. When they were together she was his, but the moment a little air got between them she wasn’t. This woman had the ability to pull back to amazing distances without moving more than a few inches. One of these days he was going to call from some real, physical distance and she would be on the moon without him.

  “I think somebody’s here to see you.”

  “They’re all here to see me.” He glanced in the direction she gestured.

  Tony, Pam and Nicky stood by the door. Four or five hundred times, he’d reached for the phone to call Tony since he left town. His brother. The only family he had left and the best way to stay close to Maureen when he wasn’t in town.

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her across the crowded room. “Tony!”

  Nicky pulled away from Pam and ran to him screaming, “Uncle Bear.”

  He let go of her hand to scoop up his nephew. “Hey kid, how’s your summer?”

  “The school wants to fire Miss Donnelly and mom wants me to go to private school.”

  “Nicky!” Pam scolded.

  Bear set the boy down next to him. “Glad you guys could come.”

  Tony shook his hand. “Yeah. You’re my brother. Even when you’re an idiot.”

  “Same to you.” Bear put his arm back around Maureen’s waist.

  “This thing they’re trying to do to you at the school is ridiculous.” Pam scowled. “I don’t understand it. Everyone told us you were the best teacher in that school. Mrs. Farrinacci told us to get you for Nicky when he was in kindergarten.”

  “Angela Farrinacci?” Maureen asked. “Didn’t she retire?”

  “She lives two houses over. She used to sit for us.”

  “Really.” Maureen made a face. “I thought she hated me. I worked with her for four years and I don’t think she ever talked to me.”

  “She had nothing but nice things to say to us.”

  “Wow. Thanks. Why don’t you guys come get something to eat? Come on, Nicky.” Maureen guided Pam and Nicky to the buffet table.

  Bear caught Tony’s arm before he followed them. “Hey, about before...”

  “Whatever. Don’t sweat it. You still owe me for that door.” Tony shrugged.

  “You know where to send the bill. You planning to send Nicky to private school?”

  “Talking about it.”

  “I can foot that.” Bear stuck his hands in his pockets and watched Maureen and Pam get swallowed by the crowd. He should tell Tony what he was thinking. They were family and he never wanted to have an argument like that again. Ty circled past with one of the local girls, which reminded him he hadn’t apologized to the band for trying to quit back in April. He couldn’t even begin to tell Maureen how much he loved her. What good was the English language when it didn’t cover the important stuff?

  “Your funeral,” Tony said. “I was kinda surprised when Maureen showed up at the garage this morning. I mean, I wrote a letter to the paper for her. Well, Pam wrote it, I just signed it.”

  “Wait.” Bear turned from his observation of Maureen. “She went to the garage this morning? There something wrong with her car?”

  “No. She wanted to make sure we were coming tonight. She said it bugged you that we weren’t talking.”

  Bear frowned. He didn’t remember saying anything about it to her. Well, once or twice. She must have read his mind. Maybe with Maureen around, he didn’t need English. “Yeah, it did.”

  “Bugged me too.” Tony folded his arms.

  “You gotta help me hang onto her. Between this mess with the school board and the tour, I’m to not going to get to see her enough.”

  “And enough would be…”

  “All the time, but there’s gonna be months when I can’t see her at all. I need somebody to take care of her car and make sure she’s okay.” Maureen’s head wove through the crowd, moving away from him. She’d stuck close to Pam, and he assumed, Nicky. Good, they were bonding like sisters-in-law should.

  “You know she’s been doing that just fine for a long time now.”

  “I know, but I want to be the one to do it now.” He clenched his teeth to keep the whine out of his voice. If she didn’t need him, she was going to slip away, bonds or no bonds. She wouldn’t even use the damn expense account. If she didn’t rely on him for money, what did he have to make her rely on him for?

  “You just want me to make sure no other guy moves into your territory.”

  “Duh.”

  “All right.” Tony sighed. “You’re going to ruin her life. This thing with the school board is just the beginning.”

  “I don’t want to ruin it. I want to change it for the better.” Since she was already doing that for him.

  * * * *

  Bear opened his eyes and looked around. Not a hotel room. Not his bedroom either. Maureen’s house, but no Maureen. He sat up and rubbed his hair off his face. “Maureen?” He threw his legs over the side of the mattress. “Maureen?” he called louder.

  Shuffling to the dresser, he found a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She’d made space for him so he could unpack his suitcase. Amazing, how nice it was to take clothes out of a drawer instead of a suitcase. Dressed, he wandered out to the kitchen. She wasn’t there either but she’d left a note on the table.

  Good afternoon, sleepyhead. Had a meeting with lawyers and school board. Lunch is in the fridge if you don’t sleep through that too. Then scrawled across the bottom, Car having snit. Took yours.

  Car having snit? He called the garage. “What’s wrong with Maureen’s car?”

  “I don’t know. What’s wrong with Maureen’s car?” Tony asked.

  He opened the refrigerator door. Lunch was a do it yourself sandwich. Room service it was not, but she had put everything on the same shelf for him. “Maureen had to take the Satellite today. She said something was wrong with her car.”

  “Did it not start again?”

  “What do you mean, again?” He relocated his lunch fixin’s to the counter for easier assembly.

  “Last fall she had trouble with it. It wouldn’t start and then by the time the tow truck got there it would. It’s an electrical problem.”

  “You didn’t fix it?”

  “It’s an electrical problem. Damn thing will probably start now.”

  Shoving the bread and meat back in the fridge, he slammed the door. “Why did you let her keep driving that junker?”

  “I know you haven’t known her long, but you did notice she’s a little independent? Plus there’s that stubborn streak.”

  “The one that’s three feet wide and runs up the middle of her back? I noticed that.” Bear slapped the cheese and the top slice of bread on his sandwich. She’d put out carrots for him too, but he skipped those in favor of the chips on top of the fridge. “It’s been doing this for a year?”

  “It started a year ago, but hasn’t done it much. At least, not that she’s called me.”

  “I’ll bring it down and put in on the diagnos
tic.”

  “Knock yourself out. I can’t find the problem.”

  “I know. Electrical,” he replied as he settled at the table with his sandwich and the chips. “What she really needs is a new car.”

  “No kidding, but try to talk her into it.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I found a guy to make the badge for the Satellite.”

  Badge? Oh, the name on the side of the car. “Great. Thanks. I’ll be in later.”

  “Okay, ’bye.”

  He hung up. Her car was serviceable enough, but soon it was going to be more expensive to keep on the road than getting another car. If it had an electrical problem, it wasn’t going to be reliable. What if she needed to get to school and couldn’t because it decided not to start? Or if she got stranded? Trying to run down an electrical problem was a nightmare. If he was here with her, between albums, he’d have the months needed to test things and wait for them to fail. In six days? Six days he’d planned to spend with her and not under her car? The first thing out of her mouth when he told her she needed a new car would be why?

  He needed to just go buy her a car.

  * * * *

  Maureen tried to be attentive to the meeting. It was her fate, after all. But it was dragging on forever with her lawyer insisting on full disclosure of everything the board had against her and the board refusing. Most of the board. Ginnie Labbe looked ill at the whole proceeding. She should. Maureen had taught Ginnie’s youngest son seven years ago before he’d been diagnosed ADHD. They’d had to work very closely to get Jeff into third grade and diagnosed.

  She’d much rather be home with Michael. Two weeks, she’d sat around with nothing to do but follow her own notoriety in the paper and the very week Michael had off, the school board decided to meet. For hours.

  Her lawyer stood up. Maureen jumped up with her. The guy who knew the guy who knew Tessa turned out to be a woman. Theresa Hanson had belonged to the same sorority as Tessa only several years earlier. “I’m very sorry to hear this, ladies and gentlemen.”

  That sounded bad. Maureen wished she’d been listening.