Intoxicated

by Stacey McCoy

  “So where is this dinner party for your sister and her husband going to be Friday night?”

  “It will be at Jeremy’s Bar actually. He’s giving us a great deal on grog and there’ll be finger food available all night.”

  “Oh okay. That sounds good, but I thought it might have been a sit down meal.”

  “Nah we want to keep it simple. Verno’s been going through a bit of a rough patch and we know she wouldn’t want a big thing so we’re keeping it as simple as possible. She thinks she’s meeting Matt and me for tea, but we reckon she’ll get a nice surprise when she gets to meet you and sees all her family and friends there.”

  “Sounds like you and Matt have a lot of respect for your sister and her husband.”

  “Yeah we do and even though it will be a bit sad without Mum and Dad there, it’ll still be a good night.”

  I wonder why Veronica has been going through a rough patch. I figure she’s found it difficult being a young adult who suddenly had to raise her two younger brothers as she grew into the woman she is today. At least she had Troy to lean on for support.

  Jake goes on to tell me that Veronica and Troy have been together for over twenty years now. They were never in a hurry to settle down as their careers kept them busy. Veronica is a professional photographer who has worked from home for nearly a year now. Jake tells me she used to work for a major newspaper in the city, but she decided on a different path around twelve months ago. Troy has his own mechanics business and specialises in rare vehicle parts. It sounds like Veronica is lucky she has had Troy by her side through it all. He sounds like a really great guy.

  Jake continues to tell me about his brother in law. “He’s forever ordering parts from overseas and shipping them off to people who need them. I’ll warn you now, once you ask him what he does for a living your knowledge of rare parts will increase dramatically by the time he’s through talking. So if you want a way out of a conversation just ask him about their kids. They’re his other obsession, beside Verno that is.”

  “They both sound lovely. Tell me about Matt.”

  “Ahh Matt. The forever bachelor.”

  “What do you mean by that?” We arrive back at work and I park the ute as Jake starts to explain what he means.

  “Matt reckons he’s God’s gift to women. I s’pose he’s probably considered a good looking guy, I don’t see it myself, but he does alright with the ladies and figures he will never settle down cause he’s too busy having a good time, if you know what I mean.”

  “Yeah I get your drift. If he’s as good looking as you are I can only imagine he must do more than alright with the ladies?”

  “Do you think I’m good looking Kat?”

  “Are you serious? Jake you are the most gorgeous, sexy, hunk of male I have ever seen in my life and I get to have sex with you.”

  “Keep talking like that and I’ll lift you up onto the bonnet of this ute right now.”

  “Calm down lover boy. There’ll be plenty of time for that when we get home.”

  “How much time?” Jake leans across his seat toward me and starts to run his fingers up my inner thigh.

  I catch his hand before he goes too far. “Well if I go and sign off now, we should get in at least two hours.”

  “Well what the hell are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

  We go in and I sign off for the day. Murray waves us both goodbye as we head back toward my car. Jake offers to drive. He’s becoming quite confident driving on country roads. I sit back and admire him as he drives. He looks comfortable. It’s as though he was born in the city, but meant to be living in the country.

  I let my mind wander as I daydream about waking up next to Jake every day. I can see him running around my backyard chasing the kids as they play a game of tiggy. I can see the two of us taking a midnight skinny dip while the kids sleep. I’m silently enjoying my little daydream when Jake interrupts me.

  “Are you coming?”

  “What. Where?”

  “Inside. We’re home, but I think you’re a million miles away.”

  “Oh sorry. Yeah I suppose I was.”

  “Was it nice where you were?”

  “Yeah it was actually, but not as nice as where I’m hoping I’ll be in five minutes.”

  “And where’s that Kat?”

  “In your arms.”

  “I can make that dream come true right now.”

  Jake jumps out of the car and in a flash is opening my door. He unbuckles my seatbelt and lifts me up into his arms and out of the car. We make our way through the back gate and across the backyard. It’s a warm day and I’m looking forward to going inside so I can open all of the windows to let the afternoon breeze flow through the house. I’m able to slide the backdoor open while remaining in Jake’s safe hold. I don’t ever want to leave these arms, I feel so safe and loved here. Once inside Jake stops and stands in the centre of my home. Maybe one day our home. He looks down at me with such passion in his eyes. I continue to hold on to Jake’s neck as I release one hand and run my fingers down the side of his face. Jake leans into my hand as he closes his eyes. He looks like he’s suffering all of a sudden.

  “Jake are you okay?”

  “Kat. I way I feel about you is unlike anything I have ever felt for anyone else before. I don’t ever want to leave you ever again, not even to go back to work. I want to be here with you always.”

  My heart melts as I hear Jake verbally express his love for me once more. When the subject of living together was mentioned before, I didn’t take Jake as seriously as perhaps I should have. Here he is, on the verge of tears as he claims his love for me once more. I can see now that Jake sees no other future for himself. He loves me unconditionally and I know in my heart that he would do anything, anything to make our future together to be nothing, but a happy one.

  “Jake. I didn’t realise earlier just how serious you were about living together.”

  “I would never joke about such a thing with you Kat. Our future is all I can think about and the sooner I can be here with you, wake up next to you every morning, do the dishes with you every night and play with the kids every chance we get, the better. You’re my life now Kat. I love you.”

  “I suppose having lost your parents at such a young age has made you realise just how quickly life can change.”

  “Yeah. And wouldn’t you agree that when an opportunity presents itself you should jump on it as soon as possible because you just don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”

  Jake puts me down and I stand to face him. With his arms still wrapped around me and mine around him, we stare into each other’s eyes as we express our honest sentiments to one another.

  “Jake I know as well as you do just how quickly life can change and even though I’m all for jumping in and just going for it, I’m so scared that I could lose you.”

  “What makes you think you would ever lose me?”

  “I’ve lost the greatest love of my life once before and even though I know I wouldn’t ever lose you to the same set of circumstances, I’m still scared you’ll get bored up here. I mean you can’t just sit around here and come to work with me a few days a week, you’re too active for that. I can tell you’d need something to occupy your time with. You’ll need to get your own job and they’re hard to find out here.”

  “We can figure all of that out in time. I would love to come to work with you every day, but I don’t think you would get much done. I know it all seems sudden, but I have given this a lot of thought and I want your opinion on a business idea that I have.”

  “What business idea?”

  “Well I thought if I sell everything I have in the city then maybe I could invest a little of the money into your gym in the backyard. I could extend it, add more equipment and run boot camp sessions from here a few times a week. What do you think?”

  With my head spinning I move into the kitchen and pop the kettle on.

  “Kat what are you thinking? I can see your mind must be spi
nning right now, please don’t leave me hanging babe. Talk to me.”

  “Well, actually…I think it’s a great idea.”

  “Really?” Jake sits at the kitchen bench, his eyes alight with surprise.

  “Yeah really. Coffee?” I’m surprised how calm I am all of a sudden.

  “Yes please. Wow I thought you might tell me there’s no way a business like that would last out here.”

  “With you as the instructor you’ll have women willing to travel from hundreds of kilometres away to come here to train with you. But I don’t understand the whole sell everything so you can extend the gym.”

  “Well I have a few investment properties in the city including the place I live in now. I’m getting a little tired of worrying about them all of the time. I’ve been thinking of selling them anyway, so I figure now would be as good as time as any.”

  “Couldn’t you rent them out and let a real estate agent deal with them for you.”

  “They do have tenants in them now and for some stupid reason I’ve been managing them by myself for some time now. I don’t trust a lot of agents to do as good of a job as I can do.”

  As I pass Jake his coffee I tell him that I know someone who might be able to help him. “You know my sister is a real-estate agent and she specialise in rentals. You should talk to her one day. Maybe she could help you regarding managing them. How many do you have?”

  “Do you think she would? I mean it’d be great to know someone who you trust to do it for me.” He sips his coffee, “I have two in the eastern suburbs, my place in the city, and three in the northern suburbs. Do you think your sister would be able to handle six properties? “

  “Six. Right, well aren’t you full of surprises. My sister, Josie has talked on and off over the years about moving to the city. I reckon she could be interested in talking to you about the opportunity to manage them for you.”

  “Sounds good. You need to know Kat I won’t ever be a financial burden on you and the kids. I can pay my own way and make my own money if that worries you.”

  “Oh no Jake, not at all. If you were to live here with me I would want you to understand that whatever is mine is yours.”

  “And whatever is mine, is also yours.” Jake leans over, takes my hand and kisses the back of it.

  “Thank you Kat, that means a lot to me that you would say that.”

  “I trust you Jake and I love you, so I guess it’s a bit of a no brainer isn’t it?” I drink my coffee as I watch Jake’s smile spread across his face from over the top of my mug.

  Jake gets off his seat and walks around to my side of the bench. With an effortless, natural, sensual presence in his stride, he stirs my inner sexual emotions.

  “Kat. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  “Yeah…I think I am.”

  Jake places my coffee cup on the bench in front of me and turns me around to face him. I barely have a chance to focus on him when his mouth is placed over mine. Jake kisses me passionately then pulls me up into his arms and spins me around the kitchen. I squeal in delight as I realise my daydream will come true.

  “Jake we need to talk to the kid’s first okay.” We stop spinning, but remain in each other’s arms.

  “Yeah sure, of course. Kat I want this to happen now, but I know it will all take time so we’ll take it slow. Would it be okay if I stay here for a few days each week in the meantime? I mean I’ll have to give notice at work. It’ll take time to replace me and teach a new guy the routines. It’ll also take time to get things sorted with my properties, so I would love to talk to your sister as soon as I can, so we can get the ball rolling. Then there’s the renovations on the gym I’ll have to do, plus start a business plan. Maybe you could help me with that?”

  “Yeah I’ll help you and I would love to have you stay here during the week. It’ll be a good way for the kids to get to know you better and get used to the idea of having you around.”

  “Do you think they’ll be okay with it all?”

  “Honestly I think they will love having you around. All you need to do is keep being yourself and they’ll grow to love you too.”

  To know that I will one day soon have the pleasure of going to bed each night and waking up in Jake’s arms each and every morning, truly makes me happy.

  Jake shakes his head and then pinches his own arm.

  Curious I ask, “What are you doing?”

  “Just checking. Honestly Kat I don’t know what I’ve done to be this lucky. I am so thankful to have you in my life. You truly have no idea just how happy you’ve made me.”

  “Oh Jake.”

  Jake lifts me up into his arms once more and this time takes me to our bedroom. Even though I’m so deliriously happy I’m still completely shocked as to how quickly this relationship has developed. It was only weeks ago that my life was simple, but sad. It was Ash, Aiden and I living each day as it came. My children make me happy every day, but the love Jake gives me burns a bright flame in my heart. Never have I ever consider how quickly our situation would change.

  I’m so grateful to my friends for taking me to the city for my birthday. I’m so grateful to have a man as gorgeous and as loving as Jake in my life now and I am so grateful to have ever had the chance to love someone as wonderful as Sam.

  Through great tragedy a great new love has been born and I don’t plan on ever letting him go.

  Chapter TWENTY ONE

  The next couple of days are much the same as the last. Jake comes to work with me during the day and he’s there with me to greet the kids when they get home from school each afternoon. Today is Thursday and Jake needs to get back to the city so he can prepare for Veronica and Troy’s wedding anniversary celebrations. He’s already organised to have Saturday night off work, so he can spend the night with me and Jake’s boss has already organised a fill-in dancer to cover for him.

  Jake tells me that if the other guys think the fill-in guy is good on stage then Jake will let them know of his intentions to leave the city to come and live with the kids and me on the farm. I too am curious to see how the rookie pans out. If he has potential it’ll mean Jake can move a lot sooner.

  Jake plans on leaving as soon as Ash and Aiden return home from school. He wants to wait so he can say goodbye properly. The kids are excited to see him as they run up the driveway, but are instantly sad when he says he has to go. Ashley asks Jake if he would like to stay with us forever because we all have a lot of fun together.

  Jake replies, “Well I think that’s something that your mum and I, and you guys of course, are going to have to talk about.”

  “What’s there to talk about? You like us don’t you?” Ashley could melt hearts with her sweet innocent look.

  It’s hard to say no to her when she gazes up at you with her beautiful, clear-blue eyes.

  “Ashley, sweetheart, I’m sure when the time is right Jake and I, along with you two, will talk about Jake moving in, but for now Jake needs to head back to the city.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s organising a surprise party for his sister. Tomorrow I’m going to head down there for the weekend. Aunty Simone and uncle Johnno are going to look after you two for me while I’m gone.”

  “Yay that will be awesome. But I still think Jake should live with us.”

  “What do you think Aiden?” I ask.

  Jake and I hold our breath as we both wait anxiously for Aiden’s answer.

  “I think it would be good if Jake were here all the time cause then he could teach me how to get big like him.”

  Ash and Aiden have always had the ability to adapt quickly to changes in their lives, but losing their dad and welcoming a new father figure into their lives is a more significant change than accepting that the packaging of their favourite cereal box has altered. They’re not mature enough yet to envision the bigger picture regarding Jake, after all they are only 9 and 7 years of age. Nevertheless, for the time being they both seem to approve of Jake coming to live with u
s, but I will still give them plenty of time to let the idea sink in. This is a big decision for them to make. We won’t make any definite plans yet, just in case.

  Ashley and Aiden both hug Jake goodbye and give him a high five. They head off inside with intentions of raiding the fridge. Jake and I wander out beyond the backyard were his car is parked.

  Jake’s car suits him to a tee. I stand back and admire Jake as he places his bag into the boot. He notices the look in my eye.

  “What are you thinking about Kat?”

  “I’m thinking how good it’s going to be when I fuck you in the back of this bad boy.”

  Instantly Jake’s arms surround me and he kisses me deeply and passionately. I struggle to control myself. I would quite happily have sex with him on the back seat of his car now if I knew we were completely alone, but I know that we aren’t.

  Jake lifts me up so I can wrap my legs around his waist. I can feel his thick, luscious cock pulsating inside his tight black jeans. He turns and I can feel the car pressed up against my back. Jake’s lips begin to travel from my mouth down my neck.

  “Oh Kat. What you do to me.”

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “You’re right. You didn’t. But you did make a bloody good suggestion and I can tell you right now, as soon as we can we’re going to fuck everywhere inside and outside of this car.”

  “That would have to be the best idea you’ve had yet Jake.”

  “Better than living with you?”

  Just when I thought my smile couldn’t get any bigger, it does, simply by the thought of our future together.

  “Jake. I love you so much.”

  “Kat I hate to leave you wound up like this. Do you think the kids would notice if we parked around the back of the shed for a little while.”

  “Yeah unfortunately they would.”

  Jake places me safely onto the ground. As my feet are planted firmly back on solid ground I rise up onto my tippy toes, wrap my arms around Jake’s neck and kiss him sweetly.