by Amber Nation
When his name popped up as an incoming call a tingle shot down my spine and I got all giddy. This feeling was much more pleasant when I wasn’t trying to keep it bottled up; I let it all flow freely. Would he still irritate me? I sure hoped so. Bantering back and forth with him was some of the most fun I’d had in a very long time. We could have the most heated argument, screaming and yelling, but then that would make the making up part that much more sweet.
Admitting to him that I missed him took a lot of courage on my part. I didn’t want to lay everything out on the line over the phone, but I needed to give him a sliver of hope. And while he said that he was overjoyed to hear me say that, it was almost as if he couldn’t get off the phone with me fast enough. And the bullshit about him calling me back later…he had to be lying.
It had been a slow-ass day at work with time seeming to drag on little by little, and it didn’t help that I kept staring at my phone, willing it to ring. That triggered something that my nanny always used to say, “A watched pot never boils.” But she never had to say that in the context of waiting for the love of her life to call her back. I sent everyone else home and stayed late to make sure everything was in place and cleaned for the new manager to officially take over in the morning.
It was my last day at Violet Salon & Spa. I’d made this place my entire life for the past twelve years, but now I had changed and it just didn’t feel right anymore. Maybe it was the location. Maybe it was because the people that I valued dearly weren’t there to enjoy life with.
Did I know what my next step would be? Not exactly, but the thought of not having to be up early every morning to open up the Salon was exhilarating. I could sleep in as long as I wanted to, hang around in my pajamas all day if I wanted to; I had an infinite amount of options.
The lights were dim in the Salon and I was just finishing up sweeping up all the remaining hair that lingered on the floor, when I caught my reflection in the mirror. The purple rings under my eyes weren’t as pronounced, and I guessed it was because I had a newfound energy to actually apply my makeup in the morning. I took in my new cut that Leila, one of my former employees, had done for me that afternoon. For as long as I could remember my hair had fallen down to the middle of my back, but I’d had a wild hair, a sudden impulse and wanted it cut. Now it fell to the tops of my shoulders in an angled bob with side-swept bangs. I let it dry naturally after my cut, so it curled around my face in soft waves. It was a drastic change, but one I felt I would become accustomed to in due time.
A new pop song filtered through the speakers we had installed into the ceiling and I found myself dancing a bit as I swept up the discarded hair.
Then suddenly the chime over the front door sounded, although I could have sworn that I had locked up after everyone left. The hair on the back of my neck stood up on alert and a sudden chill covered my exposed skin in goosebumps. I inched past my workstation where my purse was thrown on top of the counter and dug around until I found my phone.
Poised in my hand and ready to dial 9-1-1, I yelled out into the otherwise empty shop, “I’m sorry, but we’re closed.”
No answer.
I slowly crept around the partition that separated the front waiting area from the back of the Salon, with the numbers already dialed into my phone, just waiting on me to press that big green call button.
Once I took in the presence that was standing on the other side of the reception desk, my breath left my entire body in a rush. I squeezed my eyes shut really tightly, in case it was just a figment of my imagination. When I reopened my eyes, he was still there in all of his sexy glory.
Denim jeans that rested in the just the right position on his hips, and a black polo shirt that showcased his well-defined chest. He was clean-cut with his shirt tucked in and I felt the need to rush over and untuck it before tearing it completely off and dirtying him up a bit.
Dean.
He came for me.
I had just informed him yesterday that I missed him and today he totally showed up to surprise me. If that wasn’t love, then I didn’t want to be notified any different.
Tears of joy filled my eyes as my lips tipped up into the biggest smile I had ever shown to date.
I lingered at one end of the long oak reception desk, while he remained at the other. I noticed his eyes take their time roving up and down my body, making mine very aware at each part he landed on. He started with my feet, slowly traveling up my thighs, which tingled in his path. He seemed to pause for a moment on my abdomen, which made the butterflies flap around relentlessly. And I must admit, I was a little fuller in my midsection, due to my increased obsession with junk food and my decreased visits to Zumba, but he didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. He then made his way up to my face, only pausing a short moment on my breasts. But when he finally stopped on my eyes, his own flared with an intense fire slowly burning at the sight of me.
Neither of us had spoken; we just let the silence hang between us until a small smirk played on the very edge of his lips. His signature cocky smirk. I knew what that signified and I knew what was coming out of his mouth even before he said it.
“You like me,” he muttered, and crossed his arms in front of his chest as if he was finally triumphant, but there was also a hint of uncertainty as he held his breath.
I shook my head in response, making his smirk slide clean off of his face. But he hadn’t even let me speak. “Wrong,” I said, before quickly adding, “I love you.” I ran over to the other end of the desk, where my love was waiting, catching him off-guard by jumping into his arms. He took a step back to brace himself before curling one hand around my back and fisting the other deep into my hair.
When my lips met his, I kissed him with all of the pent-up passion that I had held back on for so long. I expressed my deep, soulful love for him through that kiss. Mingling our tongues together, never coming up for air until we were each completely breathless.
He continued to hold me in his arms as I took my time kissing every inch of his exposed face with my fingers shoved in his overgrown hair.
“I’m so sorry, Dean. I’ve been the biggest hypocrite, because here I haven’t been truthful. I said I never played games and it seemed as if I was stuck trying to lose the biggest game of my life, one that I should’ve been hell bent on winning from the beginning.”
“I’m just glad you came to your senses. I didn’t know how much longer I could’ve held off. I’ve missed this body of yours.” His hand smoothed down my back until he was cupping my ass, eliciting a moan to escape from my throat.
I pulled on his unruly strands again, “Jesus, you need a haircut,” I said in between kissing his lips again.
He smiled against my mouth, “Something tells me that I won’t ever have to pay for a cut again. Say it again.”
I bit his bottom lip, making him groan in appreciation. “What, that you need a haircut?” I joked, knowing exactly where he wanted this to go. “I love you. I love you. I love you, Dean Parker.”
With me still in his arms, he walked around the partition to the solid wall on the other side, pressing my back up against it. I recalled a similar scene such as this that took place at Baylor and Eden’s wedding, where we had our first kiss.
“You have a thing for walls, huh?”
He sat me down long enough to pull a condom out of his wallet, tore it open with his teeth as he pulled down his jeans and boxer briefs to his ankles before sliding it down his erect length. Taking the material of my flowy, bohemian skirt in his fist he bunched it up around my waist, and shifted my panties over to the side. “No, baby, if you haven’t already noticed, I have a thing for you.” In the next instant he lifted me up against the wall again and immediately thrust himself into me until he was fully seated, my silkiness expanding to accommodate his size.
His eyes never left mine as he continuously thrust himself in and out of me, finally claiming me as his. “I love you, Julia.”
I brought my hands up to cradle his cheeks, I kissed the c
enter of his forehead, the tip of his nose, then his lips, “I love you so much, Dean.”
His jerky movements picked up speed until I felt the all too familiar tingle as I was quickly nearing my orgasm. I closed my eyes, as my breathing came out in quicker pants, and leaned my head up against the wall, ready to succumb to the excitement. “Open your eyes,” he bit through his clenched teeth. I snapped them open, obeying his command, and looked back into his eyes. His taut jaw and even faster thrusts told me that he too had almost reached his tipping point. “I want your eyes on me as we come.”
One, two, three more thrusts and I moaned as my orgasm washed over me. Once he came down from his simultaneous high, he fell into me, bracing his arm on the wall while we each steadied our breathing.
“Wow,” I said as I smiled when I could finally find my voice.
“I’ll show you wow, I’m not done with you yet,” he replied as he finally brought me to my feet, letting me regain my bearings before he let me go.
Rolling my eyes in his direction, “Promises, promises.”
Later, after I had closed up the Salon for the night and made it back to my apartment, I found out just how much he wasn’t done with me.
Epilogue
Dean
I could now count waking up next to Julia as my favorite place on earth. I really hadn’t known what I was missing by not being able to sleep next to her, since last night was the first official night this had occurred between the two of us. And now that I had gotten a taste of it, there was no way I would ever go another night without her tucked into my side.
My right arm was thrown behind my head so I could get a better angle to look at her sleeping face. I’d been up for a while, and the tingling numbness in my left arm that she was laying on would say that it had been at least two hours. I didn’t want to move an inch in fear that it would wake her up. She looked so peaceful with her light blonde lashes fanned out against her flawless, creamy skin. Her left arm was flung across my torso and curling into my side. Every now and again her fingers would twitch, tickling my ribs. It was so hard trying to keep still and when her fingers rubbed up against my exposed flesh it was pure torture.
She also pouted in her sleep. The first time I watched her lips plump up as they curved down into a frown, I wanted to immediately kiss them until she smiled again. Her nose twitched also, like a bunny; it was the cutest thing and made me fall in love with her all over again.
Her arm tightened around me as she started stirring awake. She tucked her head further into me, hiding her face completely from my view, but I could finally get my arm free and hopefully soon get some feeling back in it.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” I said as I leaned forward and planted a kiss on top of her exposed head.
She leaned up to the sound of my voice, not yet opening her eyes for the day, “Mmm, good morning,” she said in her gruff morning voice, which I loved too. I was a damn sucker for this woman, there was no use even trying to deny it. She knew it, I knew it, and as soon as possible, all of Cottage Grove would know it.
Her eyes slowly fluttered open, trying to get used to the light that was peeking in through the curtains in her bedroom. The damn things were stylish, I supposed, but did nothing to keep the faintest glimmer of sunlight out, which was most likely the reason I was up so freaking early. Once her incandescent green eyes landed on mine, she smiled brightly before her expression turned to horror and she cupped her hand over her mouth.
Turning away from me, she allowed the blanket to fall to her waist, exposing her naked flesh. Damn, if I had remembered she was naked under the covers, I would’ve been staring at more than just her face for the past two hours. She tried lifting herself up with one arm to get out of bed, but I was having none of that. I curled my arm around the front of her stomach and hauled her ass back until she was tucked into my side once more. This time, her back to my front.
“Dean, let me go, I need to go brush my teeth. Morning breath is so fucking disgusting.”
“Ah, I love a dirty mouth in the morning,” I whispered into her ear. She wasn’t going to leave this bed until I was ready for her to, and I knew she needed a little coercion to stay put. So I slowly slid the arm that was around her stomach down until my hand met the apex juncture of her thighs. Having her totally at my mercy wouldn’t hurt for my next topic of conversation, either. Her breath hitched as I brought my fingers through her curls and she even opened her legs a bit for easier access on my end. Most likely it wasn’t to help me out, but rather for her own greedy needs.
I found her opening, which was already ready with hot, slick desire, and she moaned then whimpered when I pressed one digit, then two deep into her pussy.
“I’m keeping you in bed forever. Although, I’d much rather us be in my bed back in Cottage Grove.” I curved my fingers and felt around until I found the one spot that made her tense up. Massaging it a bit, she quickly relaxed and as I opened my mouth to say something else, she surprisingly interrupted me.
“Ok…”
I stilled my fingers inside of her, “Wait, what?”
She tried wiggling around, grinding her ass into my fully erect cock, trying to get me to move my fingers again. “O-k. I’m on board, let’s go. But you have to finish what you started first.”
I removed my fingers from her pussy completely because I had to make sure she was fully coherent with what she just agreed to. She pouted and released an annoyed whimper, as I moved to sit up and roll her completely onto her back. “Just like that?”
Her eyes narrowed on me before she replied, “What do you mean, just like that? We’ve been going back and forth with this same song and dance since mid-December.”
“Actually it was September when I first saw you, at your Salon before Eden moved to Oregon. My heart whispered, she’s the one.”
She brought her hand up and smacked my upper arm, harder than I’d like to admit. Which wasn’t the exact reaction I was looking for. “You are so full of shit. Why I love you, I’ll never know,” she pretended to be mad, crossing her arms over her chest, which just lifted her breasts, exposing those pink-dusted nipples of hers.
I licked my lips and brought my hand to my chest, acting as if she wounded me. “Why do you?” I shrugged my shoulders, then to just clarify, “love me?”
“Because you forced me to. Never let up. Made me see the error of my ways.” She was completely blowing smoke up my ass, but I would let it slide for now.
“I quit my job, so I’m free to do anything I wish.”
“Quit your job, rather presumptuous aren’t we?” I relished the fact that I could throw her statement back in her direction.
She shrugged a shoulder, acting extremely nonchalant about the entire conversation, but I knew she was just as nervous as I was, “I guess I can suffer the permanent frizz ball my head will become because of the rain and gloom. Maybe my presence will add some flair to the otherwise desolate town.” She looked down, before looking straight back into my eyes. And this time I could see completely into her soul, nothing standing in her way. “And besides, I’m ready to start my life with you.”
That was it, she said the words, now it was time to put things into motion. I jerked up off of the bed, still completely naked, and intertwined our fingers together, trying to pry her from the mattress.
“What are you doing?” She muttered, surprised by my actions.
“Come on. We’ve got work to do. We need to pack your bags, it’s time for us to go home.” My smile shown so brightly, I couldn’t even contain how happy I was that I finally got the girl.
I had Julia Caldwell right where I wanted her and we had the rest of our lives to express all of the ways we loved each other. Our official life together could finally begin…once we landed back on Cottage Grove soil. I for one, couldn’t wait.
Julia
It was now Saturday night and we, along with Baylor and Eden, decided to head over to Tillie’s for a few drinks. I seemed to be settling in fine over the past se
veral days; the hardest part was just trying to get used to living with a man again. Luckily for me, Dean made it fairly easy.
I never thought I would ever let that happen again after what I went through with Logan and Paul. But Dean opened my eyes to how good it could be and so far, it was actually going really great. Now, mind you it’d only been a handful of days, but I was hopeful for what was to come.
We kind of had a routine going the past few days. I would cook dinner and have it ready by the time he came home from work, and since I cooked, he would clean up the dishes. Each time he would be elbows deep in soap suds, I would remember back to that time in Eden and Baylor’s kitchen. A knowing smile would form on my lips and Dean would just wink, telling me that his thoughts didn’t stray far from my own.
I liked that he wasn’t a slob, actually relished in the fact that I wasn’t always trailing after him picking up empty beer bottles or discarded socks, so keeping the house picked up and clean wasn’t a real chore. Then normally after dinner we would try to maul one another and see who could get out of their clothes the quickest. The funny thing was, I would always win. He’d come in with his discarded suit jacket and already have his cufflinks off, but he still had the matter of his buttoned-up dress shirt, under shirt, plus his slacks. Me, I would find different ways to cheat. I never claimed to play fair. Since I had been home most, if not all day, I would flaunt around in a pair of leggings, and a T-shirt without a bra, so it was pretty easy for me to shimmy out of my clothing. Then there was the day where I met him at the door with nothing but my bathrobe on…yeah, dinner had to be reheated that night.