Follow the Signs

by Michele Imiola

  Maybe that something might be the man walking up to her.

  “Paige,” Mike said. He’d forgotten how beautiful she was. Her hair was down, cascading around her shoulders. She wore a short sleeve blouse, the white of the material almost looking see-through. Mike checked it and her out.

  “You work here?” she asked as she got a good look at his black suit and tie. He was even more handsome all dressed up.

  “Guilty as charged. I’m a physical therapist in the sports department and coach the swim team.” Paige raised a brow and Mike hoped she was impressed. There was a time he’d been in charge of drinking, fornicating and making an ass out of himself and his fraternity on a daily basis. He’d hopefully come a long way since then.

  “We’re catering your event,” Paige said and Mike nodded. “This place is gorgeous.” Mike looked around at the plants and glass and wanted to agree, showing Paige he wasn’t an insensitive bastard but truth be told they could have been in a cave and he wouldn’t have cared. He just wanted to get her alone.

  “There you are,” Maryann came up between them and Mike wanted to crush the older woman with his fist. “Here’s the agenda. The president is going to speak first and then we can eat. Some awards will be given out afterwards and there will be music later on. Have you two met?” Mike watched Maryann as her head moved like a tennis ball between him and Paige and he just wanted to push her off a cliff.

  “Yes,” they both said at the same time.

  “Mike’s the one who recommended your company to cater,” Maryann said, providing a tidbit of information Mike didn’t want known.

  Paige looked at him again, giving him a half turn as she said, “Oh really?” Mike tilted his head, trying to tell her, ‘no problem’.

  “Yes, he raved about some event you catered and practically demanded I call you.” Right now, Mike wanted to personally strangle Maryann. Paige smiled and looked at him. Mike felt heat creep up his neck to his cheeks. He’d hoped for Paige to never find out he put this together, just to see her again.

  “Everyone’s supposed to be here by seven. They know by now that the president is a timely man, so no one should be late.” Mike was all for punctual but Maryann was pushing the limit on his patience.

  “Did you check out the music yet, Maryann?” Mike asked. He didn’t care if she checked out the bathrooms, just as long as she left. Maryann quickly shuffled off, ready to handle anything she was tasked with. He turned back to Paige.

  “Well, haven’t you been a naughty boy?” she said. He liked how she said naughty and thought he couldn’t wait to show her what naughty really was.

  “Not really. I know you can cater and since I have to sit through this nightmare, I’d rather be eating your cooking that the crap that comes out of the cafeteria.” Paige laughed and her phone chirped. She grabbed it, checking the number and then put her finger up, asking for a minute. Mike said nothing, knowing Paige was working but he really wanted to talk to her, to get beyond the stage of asking her out and then being interrupted.

  Paige turned away and then turned back to Mike. She was listening to whoever had called her.

  “Okay, calm down,” Paige said quickly. “I’ll be right there…I’ll call him as soon as I leave…stay right there…” She shut her phone off and looked at Mike. He noticed all the color had drained from her face.

  “That was Marlene,” Paige said. “She’s bleeding and thinks she’s having contractions.” Paige gulped some air. “Her husband’s at work.”

  “What do you need me to do?” Mike thought he could drive Paige to the hospital. She looked in no condition to drive.

  “I’ve got to find her husband. He’s a fireman…Marlene is so scared. She’s not due for another month and….” Paige was rambling. She turned and looked at her guys moving setting up the tables. “I’ve got to…”

  “Go,” Mike said. “I can talk to whoever you want to handle stuff here. Just go to Marlene.” Mike didn’t know the first thing about contractions or catering but it couldn’t be too hard—just put the food out and tell them to eat. Seemed pretty simple to him.

  “I can’t just leave you to do this,” she said.

  “Piece of cake,” Mike said, knowing he was probably the worst person to leave in charge of something like this but he always had Maryann to fall back on. “Go to Marlene. She needs more help than we do here.” Paige nodded.

  “Talk to Greg; he does the set-up and take-down. He knows how I work. The foods in place and…”

  “Just go. I got it,” he said pushing her out the door. Paige looked back and then she was gone. He thought she looked scared.

  * * * *

  Several hours later the reception was over and the success couldn’t go to Mike or Paige’s man, Greg. It rested solely on the shoulders of Maryann, who, when she heard Paige had an emergency, went into overdrive, taking over the catering as if she was born to do it.

  Mike sat back, watching her direct Greg and the crew like a military general. She may be a pain in the ass but she knew how to organize. He decided not to strangle her as everyone raved about the food, the service and the catering in general.

  Paige…he wished the night had gone according to plan. He wanted to see her, to get to know her better and maybe take her for a walk around campus while her crew cleaned up. He wished he had her number to call and see how everything went. He wanted to call and just talk about anything. He really just wanted her to see that he had changed. More importantly, he wanted to prove to Paige that she didn’t need to follow her sun sign when it came to him. He thought she was short-changing herself by letting some mystical sign drive and control her life versus letting fate just play it’s part.

  And fate had been playing its part, for every time he saw her, something came up that just interrupted the action and he was getting nowhere. Granted, he could have hunted her down, gone to her place of business or called her there. He could have done a lot of things but he didn’t want to appear desperate, especially when the signs she kept saying told him ‘not interested’. He wasn’t obtuse but he felt she had cut the possibilities short of what they could have, if they could just get a moment and not be interrupted by everyone and their problems. He needed to just get her alone, to spend some quality time with her so she’d get to know him and not the ass he’s looked like every time they met.

  Mike drove slowly, towards Jason and Mia’s apartment, taking in the California evening. He knew he should call but he didn’t want to talk with Jason over the phone. He wanted help and Jason seemed like the best person to talk to, since he did manage to capture Mia’s heart, where Mike had not.

  Knocking on the door to the apartment, Mike wondered when the two of them were going to move into the house Jason’s construction company was building for them. He wondered if it was even ready. The door swung open and Jason stood there in his boxers. Mike suddenly felt funny, the only naked flesh he’d seen lately was men and that wasn’t his thing.

  “You always answer the door in your underwear?” He shouldn’t have mentioned it but he needed to see more naked male flesh like he needed a hole in his head.

  “I saw it was you,” Jason said as he stepped back. Mike entered, looking around for Mia and hoping she was wearing just as little as Jason. He’d rather have a glimpse of her naked body.

  “When are you guys moving?” he asked, taking in the small apartment he’d never visited before. It had a kitchen and living room and two doors which Mike assumed was the bedroom and bath. Jason had moved in a couple of months before the wedding while the house he was building for him and Mia got finished.

  “House will be ready next week,” Jason said excited. “It would have been ready when we got back but I wanted to surprise Mia with a hot tub and I redid the designs in the shower.” Mike looked at his friend, seeing the gleam he got every time he talked about building.

  “This place is tiny,” Mike mentioned.

  “Yeah, well, it’s fit our needs for a while but I can’t wait to move.”


  Mike nodded. He wasn’t sure how to start talking about his problem so he sat down on the couch, figuring Jason would recognize there was a problem, especially since his visit was unannounced.

  “Want a beer?” Jason asked as he moved towards the refrigerator. Mike nodded and Jason handed him a cold bottle which he twisted off the cap and took a drink. Jason plopped down on a chair, putting his feet on the coffee table and drank.

  “What’s up?” he asked after taking a long drink. Mike thought he must be thirsty.

  “Where’s Mia?” Mike asked. He didn’t want to start talking about women if Mia was going to pop in. Even if she was naked, her presence would halt all talk of women.

  “She’s in the bedroom.” Jason was nonchalant about it but Mike still worried she’d come out, even if it was in a tight little sexy wrap. Jason added, “Don’t worry; she’s tied up.” He took another drink.

  Mike wasn’t sure if he heard him right. “Tied up?” What did that mean? Busy doing something and what was she going to do when she got done with it?

  “Yeah, like…” Jason said, his eyes all expressive, “…silk ties, to the bed.”

  Mike felt his cock stir. He could just imagine Mia and her sexy body, which months ago, he saw naked in the video. Granted the quality of the video wasn’t great but he’d seen enough to know he wanted some. Now she was tied up and damn…

  “She let you do that to her?” Mike asked. He’d dated his share of women and some where into that. He didn’t care; if some woman wanted to be tied up before he fucked her, he was game.

  “Yeah; she’s been working on a scene in one of her books and she felt she kept getting it wrong so she asked me to help her out. We talked about the scene and it came down to her wanting to know what it felt like to be tied up and left alone, something about the anticipation. I don’t know about all that shit…the ‘unknown of what’s to come’ or something like that. She’s the writer. Anyhow, I blindfolded her, tied her to the bed, talking quietly about what I was going to do to her when I got back and then I came out here.” He glanced at the clock. “She’s been alone for fifteen minutes so far.”

  “Shit,” Mike said, feeling his cock stir even more. Images of Mia came to mind when he knew he should be talking about Paige.

  “This is good, though,” Jason said with a smile. “She’ll hear me talking to you…this should get her creative juices going…thinking there’s two men out here that want to fuck her.” Jason couldn’t have been closer to the truth. Mike wouldn’t admit it to Jason but he wouldn’t mind sleeping with Mia and the primary reason was he hadn’t slept with anyone in months. And then he’d met Paige…

  “You’re sick, you know that?” Mike said. He wouldn’t share Mia with anyone. In fact, he didn’t want to share Paige with anyone and he didn’t even have her.

  “Yeah, living with a writer is great. She talks about some scene and we go do it and she writes about it and we go do some more. Man, my every fantasy is coming true.” Mike watched Jason who looked like he was in a dream world. It sounded pretty good to Mike, who right now, would take a hand job from Maryann just to get some sex.

  “I need some help,” Mike said, trying to steer the conversation away from the sexy tart in the other room and to his problem with Paige.

  “I’ve known that for years.” Jason laughed good-naturedly. Mike smiled. He missed times like this; bull-shitting about nothing.

  “Yeah, well…there’s this woman,” Mike started.

  “And she won’t sleep with you,” Jason answered, knowing Mike too well.

  “It’s not that she won’t sleep with me…she won’t have anything to do with me.”

  “Maybe you’re not what she wants.”

  “But she hasn’t even given me a chance,” Mike said in his defense. “She runs her life by her sun sign and said I’m not in the stars.”

  Jason stared at Mike, his brows pinching and then he broke out laughing.

  “Stars? What is she? One of those new-age hippies?”

  “Nah, I don’t think so. I think she got a reading about her business and I guess relationships are not on the horizon until some time next year.”

  “Then walk away.”

  “I don’t want to walk away.”

  “Then go after her.”

  “I do, but every time I see her, I’ve got some woman crawling up my ass and I can’t get a single moment alone with her.”

  “Now you know how I felt with Veronica hunting me at that party. I didn’t want to cause problems with Mia but one false move and my dick would have been cut off and it wouldn’t have been my fault.”

  “Not quite the same thing,” Mike answered. “You’ve got a wife.”

  “And I won’t keep her if I’ve got other women grabbing what’s hers and Veronica knows no bounds. Being Mia’s boss seemed to give her a license to grope.” Mike remembered those hands and feeling dirty as they roamed over his body in front of Paige.

  “Be glad Mia quit and you won’t have to see Veronica ever again.”

  “But let’s be honest,” Jason said, “There was a time when you and I would have both taken her up on her offer.”

  Mike couldn’t disagree with that but lately it was a type of offer he’d refused. Even better, it was an offer not offered because he’d stayed out of bars and sent out no signals to anyone that he was interested.

  “Yeah, well, those days are over,” Mike said.

  “From the moment I met Mia, those days were over. She’s what I wanted.”

  “How did you know?”

  Jason seemed surprised at the question. Though the two of them had talked about everything under the sun, talking about their feelings about women wasn’t one of them.

  “She made me feel alive. I don’t know how to explain it…but I couldn’t get enough. And I’m not just talking sex…the scavenger hunts… It didn’t matter what the target was. All that mattered was finding a way to do it with Mia. It was exciting and she didn’t make me feel stupid for doing them.” Jason smiled.

  “You did keep going back to her,” Mike added.

  “If I didn’t, you would have,” Jason answered.

  Mike had mentioned Mia a couple of times, hoping that Jason was interested in winning and not so serious about her. If Jason wasn’t planning to keep seeing Mia, Mike wanted to step in and have a chance. He certainly never expected them to get married. That came as a surprise and a shock and until he saw them at the reception together, he realized Jason was perfect for her where Mike wouldn’t be.

  “True, but only because I respected her,” Mike said.

  “Yeah and the fact you saw her naked,” Jason answered not seeming to care that Mike had.

  “You’re wife is hot,” Mike finally admitted.

  “That she is but she’s mine,” and the line had been drawn in the sand.

  “I know and I’ve got my eye on someone else anyways. If only she’d give me a chance.”

  “Do I know her?”

  “Paige,” Mike said, realizing he didn’t know her last name.

  “Paige, what?”

  “I don’t know…she catered your wedding.”

  “Paige? Paige Remington?”

  “If that’s her name, then yes.”

  “Oh man.”

  “Oh man, what?” It didn’t sound good.

  “Paige, oh man, she’s a sweetheart and that woman can cook. Did I tell you when Mia and I went to see her about catering for the wedding? She set us up in the room and had trays upon trays of food brought in for us to sample. It was the most amazing thing. I tried everything. Her food is to die for.”

  “She can cook,” Mike agreed.

  “And you want her…?”

  Mike stared at Jason, unsure of the answer himself. It wasn’t like Paige was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. In fact, he didn’t know a thing about her except that he wanted a chance to prove something.

  “I don’t know…” Mike said honestly. “It’s almost like I can�
��t stop wanting her, even though I know nothing about her.”

  “You haven’t slept with her, you don’t know anything about her except her job and she lives her life by astrology…so what’s the deal?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s like you with Mia…you know, how you kept finding her to do the hunts with.” Jason stared blankly as Mike talked. “You could have asked any woman in the bar to help you win but you kept going to Mia. Maybe I’m going to Paige to help me win.”

  “Win what?” Jason asked. “She said she wasn’t interested, so why bother? I mean, I like her, she did a great job with the wedding but she’s obviously more interested in her business than getting laid…not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

  “It’s not about sex,” Mike said adamantly, meaning every word. He’d love to sleep with her. She exuded an excitement that seemed genuine, not just for the moment but for longer. “I just want to know her and see where it goes. Maybe I’m not in her stars or whatever but to just say that without getting to know me…that is what pisses me off.”

  Jason said nothing as he drank his beer. He put the beer down and leaned forward. “Let me get this straight,” he said, trying to put everything into perspective. “I’ve known you for a lot of years and you’ve gone through women like I go through pencils on the drafting board and now, you meet a woman who won’t give you the time of day, let alone sleep with you, and you want her?”

  Mike thought for a second and then nodded.

  Jason smiled. “Then quit sitting here talking to me and go find her,” he said.

  “You got a phone number or know where she lives?” Mike asked hopefully.

  “No, maybe Mia does. I can go ask.”

  “No,” Mike said as he leaped up. He did not want the door to the bedroom opening. He didn’t need to see Mia’s naked flesh. He was done with his infatuation even if his cock was reacting. “How about a phone book?”

  Jason retrieved the Yellow Pages and handed it, open to the ‘R’s’ and Mike wrote the information down. “Thanks.”