by Katie Dowe
It was the day after New Year’s Day and she was on the early shift so she had come out to get her usual latte and as she was sipping the hot liquid she saw him come in. Her heartbeat quickened when he came in. He was wearing black dress pants, light pink shirt, and black and grey sweater with a pink and black tie. His eyes zeroed in on her as if he had been expecting to see her and he walked over to her.
“I have been waiting on your call,” he told her with a smile.
“I have been busy,” she said with a shrug. To her consternation he sat in front of her. She wished she had put on a little makeup but working as a nurse in a hospital was not designed for putting on artifice. Her hair was piled on top of her head and secured by a jeweled clip and she was wearing a dark blue sweater underneath her light blue scrubs.
“You are going to tell me that being a nurse you don’t have time for yourself,” he said in amusement. “But what are you on now? The morning shift? So how about dinner later after you have gone home and gotten some rest? Come on, help a brother out here. I have been thinking about you since I don’t know when and I want to get the chance to know you better if you will let me. I assure you I am not a stalker. I have a mother and a father who are very proud of me and two sisters who think the world of me. I do not have a baby mama or two living somewhere with a string of kids and I make a very good living. Oh, and I live on my own in a very nice apartment.”
“That’s quite a bit of information.” Leah could not help but laugh.
“See, I managed to do that,” he said softly, reaching for her hands. “I want the chance to be able to do that more often, please.”
Leah stared at him, feeling the warmth of his touch on her. “Okay,” she nodded. “Here is my card.” She handed it to him. “You may call me later and we can decide where to go.”
“Good.” He looked down at the card and looked back at her. “I will call you later.” He stood up as she got up from her seat. “And Leah, I do not give up easily and I am not going anywhere,” he told her quietly.
She stood there looking at him for a spell and then went on her way, a smile curving her lips.
*****
Janice was making the plans. It was David’s birthday on the 9th of January and he was turning twenty-eight. His mother had told her that he did not like the fuss of birthday parties, but she was going to change that. It was going to be a Saturday, and she was planning to get him out of the house on the pretext of taking him out to dinner and then she was going to take him back to the house where the real party was going to be.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Julia asked her uncertainly. They were in her suite where she was working on some tea mugs she had orders for and Janice had the list in front of her. Today was Tuesday, and she was planning a huge party for the weekend and everything was not in place yet.
“About what?” She looked up at her mother-in-law in surprise. She had just come home from the store and had just taken off her boots and was curled up on the sofa in Julia’s sitting room ready to discuss the party with her.
“About the party?”
“Of course I am sure,” she said a little impatiently. “My husband is not going to be mad at me for throwing him a party, he is in love with me.”
“Obviously,” her mother in law said in amusement, looking at the exquisitely beautiful girl who had changed her son’s life for the better. She had heard David laughing so often that she had to wonder if it was the same man who had been so taciturn and unapproachable several months ago. “He hates surprises, Janice.”
“He is going to love this one,” Janice said firmly. “There are going to be balloons, a clown, bounce about-“ She broke off as she saw Julia’s shocked expression. “I am just pulling your legs, Julia, relax,” she said with a laugh.
“You had me going there for a while,” Julia said, her hand on her chest. “Okay, what do you have so far?”
*****
She sounded him out when he came home that evening. He had been coming home earlier since they had gotten married and only when he had late meetings that he left the office a little late and he tried not to schedule meetings past office hours.
She was propped up on some pillows and was reading a book when he came inside the bedroom. They usually had dinner with his mother, but sometimes they ate in their suite. He jumped on the bed and put his head in her lap. “How is my wife?” he asked her softly.
“Your wife was here wondering when you were coming home,” she told him, putting aside the book and kissing him soundly on the mouth. “It’s seven-thirty, David,” she complained.
“I know baby, but the meeting ran over and I was chafing with impatience. A new shipment came in today and we had to strategize a plan to get them out of the various showrooms. We have a massive ad campaign to formulate and the sales team needed a pep talk.”
“So, all of that made my husband late in coming home to his eagerly waiting wife.” She pulled his tie open and started unbuttoning his shirt. “Have you eaten?”
“Pierre fed us, but if you were waiting to eat with me, I can eat something again,” he said swiftly.
“I ate with your mother.” She had finished unbuttoning his shirt revealing his white undershirt. “How about after you take a shower, we open up a bottle of wine and sit by the fire and just relax?”
“Sounds good.” He kissed her lingeringly on the mouth and then hopped off the bead to go to the bathroom.
*****
“So Saturday is your birthday.” She swirled the red liquid in her glass and watched as the flames played against it. He had showered and come out with only a towel wrapped loosely around his narrow waist and his hair was still damp. “What do you want to do?”
“Just have a quiet dinner with you.” She was between his open legs and was leaning back against him. “That’s enough.”
“So no excitement and opening of presents?” She asked looking up at him.
“You are the only gift I need.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“Ah, that’s so sweet.” She grinned at him. “If by any chance you are saying that to make me feel obligated to tell you the same thing in June when it’s my birthday, think again buddy,” she warned him.
“I would never expect that from you,” he told her in amusement. “I expect you will want the whole works: party, presents, clothes, money, possibly a new car and should I go on?” He lifted one heavy brow at her.
“I will make a list,” she said smugly. “What’s the sense of being married to a billionaire if I don’t get all of those?”
“No sense at all.”
She had set aside her wine glass and turned to face him, shrugging off her thin robe revealing her nakedness. “All this talk about birthdays and gifts has gotten me horny. How about you?”
“Same here, but you don’t need to say anything to get me hot and on fire for you,” he told her huskily, resting back as she pulled the loose knot of his towel. He was already hard and ready for her. She dipped her fingers into the bottom of the wine glass and wiped them over the tip of his penis.
“Jan,” he whispered.
“It’s a pre-birthday gift,” she told him huskily, rubbing her fingers all over him.
“I love it,” he said in a strangled voice as she bent her head to lick him off. “I love it very much!”
*****
“Will there be strippers?” Candace asked her. They were having lunch at the nearby restaurant where they had ordered beef stew to combat the freezing weather.
“The only stripper my husband needs to see is me,” Janice told her mildly.
“I totally agree with you,” Leah said with a laugh.
“What’s with you?” Janice asked her curiously. She had noticed that the girl was laughing more now and she looked happier.
“What do you mean?” she asked, bending her head to sip her stew.
“Yes, I noticed how happier you look these days,” Candace commented. “Oh Lord, give us peace! You met a man!”
“Not necessarily, but unless you tell us that you have received salvation then it is definitely a man,” Candace retorted. “So which is it?”
“Okay fine, I met someone!” she said, throwing up her hands in defeat.
“You met someone and we had to drag it out of you?” Janice asked her with a frown.
“I did not want to say anything yet because I was not sure,” Leah protested.
“So you are sure now?” Candace asked.
“We had dinner on Tuesday,” Leah said a smile bursting from her. “It was absolutely wonderful,” she said her eyes sparkling. “He is an investment banker and he is single and is very close to his family: his parents who have been married for thirty-five years and his two sisters: one is a lawyer and the other is a psychiatrist.”
Her friends stared at her in amazement. “You really like him,” Candace said slowly.
“He liked me first,” she said defensively. She told them how he had been checking her out for sometime at the coffee shop near the hospital and had worked up the courage to hand his card to her and invited her out.
“Did he kiss you?” Candace demanded.
“What?” Leah looked at her friend askance.
“Did your lips meet his, Leah?” she continued impatiently.
“We kissed when he dropped me off,” she admitted reluctantly. “It was unbelievably amazing!” she said in a rush. “I have never felt that way before and I had to fight not to ask him to come in.”
“Girl you are in trouble,” Candace murmured.
“Why do you say that?”
“Don’t listen to her.” Janice cast her friend a dry look. “I think that’s wonderful, honey.”
“You don’t think it’s too soon?” she asked anxiously.
“Of course not!” Candace said sharply. “After what that creep put you through, you deserve a break.”
“I still love him Candace,” Leah said soberly.
“Of course you do, honey.” Janice gave Candace an exasperated look. “He was your first, but that does not mean there is not room for someone else. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“I was planning on asking him to David’s birthday party, do you mind?”
“Of course not! I think that’s wonderful.”
“We are happy for you, honey,” Candace said soberly, reaching for her hands. “You deserve it.”
*****
“Would you zip me up?” Janet turned her back to her husband for him to pull up her zipper. They were getting ready for David’s party which was slated to officially begin at nine p.m.
“I would much prefer to zip you down,” Richard murmured, sliding the rich burgundy dress off her shoulders and placing several lingering kisses on her shoulder blades.
“Richard Langley, you need to stop at once, we cannot be late,” Janet warned him, her heartbeat quickening.
“We are not going to be late,” he murmured, sliding the dress further off her. He was already in his dress pants and his blue striped cotton shirt was open. “Just a little sugar for your husband.”
“I can’t believe you just said that,” Janet tried to sound stern but she failed miserably as he cupped her generous breasts in his big palms, his fingers rubbing the nipples.
“Give your husband something to sustain him through the night.” He stepped around to face her and slide the bra from her shoulders. “I need to suckle.” He bent his head and pulled a nipple inside his mouth causing her to sag against him boneless.
*****
“Where are we going?” David asked her as she dusted the foundation on her smooth cheeks. She was already dressed in a stunning black slinky dress that molded her figure and left nothing to the imagination. It came up high to her neck and plunged all the way down to the top of her bottom, making her not able to wear a stitch of underwear. Her hair was piled on top of her head and secured ruthlessly with pins and diamonds sparkled at her lobes and on her wrists. David wanted to ask her to take off the dress and wear something less seductive but he did not want to appear to be a jealous possessive husband.
“To the new restaurant opened a few blocks away called Memories.” She took up her black clutch and turned to face him. She was unbelievably beautiful and sexy.
“Will we be staying long?” He wanted to tear the dress off her and plunge inside her. And the fact that she was not wearing any underwear was making it worse.
“Why? Do you have somewhere to be?” She was staring up at him mischievously.
“Yes, inside you,” he growled.
Janice felt her breath catch and held at the look on his face. “In that case my totally insatiable husband, the sooner we get there the sooner we can leave.” They had made love in the early hours of the morning when she had woke him up with her lips on his body and her hand pumping his penis, and they had spent the most of the morning in bed making love. She had insisted he stay in bed and had gone down to the kitchen to supervise his breakfast and had it brought up and had joined him in bed where they had eaten the wheat toast, blueberry pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries, coffee and orange juice, and a small cupcake.
After that, they had taken a shower together and that had turned into them exploring each other’s bodies and then they had gone downstairs where his mother had handed him a ceramic cup with their wedding pictures on it.
*****
The restaurant was far from crowded and they were seated in a corner booth where they placed their order. “Happy birthday darling, I hope that you will have many more of these and I will always be there to celebrate with you,” she murmured, lifting her glass of champagne to his.
He clinked his glass to hers and noticed that she was attracting the eyes of most of the men in the room. “Remind me next time to lock you up in our suite and throw away the keys,” he told her dryly.
“Whatever for?” she asked him her eyes twinkling.
“Jan, every male eyes in this room are looking at you,” he told her stiffly. “Couldn’t you have worn something less revealing?”
“Baby, this is not revealing, and you were the one who bought this, remember?” she asked him.
“I did not!” he retorted.
“You ordered a batch of clothes for me and this was one of them,” she reminded him, trying not to laugh at his expression.
“You are not wearing it again, unless we are going to be alone,” he told her darkly. “I am going to fire that personal shopper.”
“You are not,” she told him firmly. “She has good taste.” She leaned forward and took his lips with hers, nibbling on his bottom lip. “You are going to have fun taking it off me later,” she told him softly.
“Janice,” he groaned. Her tinkling laugh rang out bringing more attention to them as the men stared at her exquisite face.
*****
“I am glad we are out of there,” he said with relief as he negotiated the car through traffic on their way home. It had started to snow and the white droplets clung to every surface, giving it a faint ghostly appearance. “Even the Maitre D who brought your coat was staring at you.”
“You sound paranoid,” she told him mildly.
“I am not,” he muttered. He had been in a constant state of arousal all through the dinner and it was only the thought of entering her when they reached home was comforting him. “It’s good to be home,” he said with a sigh as he drove the car around the circular driveway. She had instructed the guests to park in the neighboring lot and some of them were parked all the way around. It was a good thing that the grounds were so massive.
He had wanted to go around to the back, but she had insisted they walked at the main door. “Why is it so dark?” he wondered as he opened the door.
Shouts of happy birthday had him stepping back and his eyes narrowed as the lights came on and he noticed the amount of people with wine glasses in their hands. “Janice,” he murmured
in an undertone, turning to look at her, seeing the plans of ravishing her disappearing through the window.
“Happy birthday, darling.” She closed her hands around his neck. “Be nice, we went through a lot to pull this off,” she whispered in his ear.
“I will deal with you later,” he warned her.
“Looking forward to it,” she told him, blowing in his ear causing the desire to spiral inside him. She was definitely going to pay big!
*****
It was a lively party with a live band playing the music and the food was exceptional. The chef including Pierre from the office had done a terrific job. The cake was a towering red velvet with his picture on the top and they all gathered to sing happy birthday to him. He kept her firmly beside him, his hand closing around hers as if he was afraid she would be taken away from him.
She met Jason and had to admit that he was everything Leah said he was and to her amusement she saw how he could not take his eyes off her friend.
She greeted her parents and had a laugh with Julia about how surprised David was and mingled with the rest of the guests, most of them from his office. Maggie and her family were there and also Jake along with a date. Candace had come with a guy she had met a week ago. The meal was buffet style and people heaped their plates with the delicious food.
It was a little bit later that the three girls had a chance to talk.
“So what do you think?” Leah asked her friends anxiously as they stood in one corner of the massive room sipping champagne. Janice glanced over to where her husband was talking to some of his board members. He looked up just then and their eyes met and held, causing a shiver to run up her spine.
“I think he is a keeper,” Janice told her dragging her eyes away from her husband.
“I agree, he is gorgeous girl,” Candace told her.
“Good,” Leah said with a sigh, looking over to where Jason was talking to several of the males at the party. He looked up and saw her and excusing himself he headed over.
“Have fun,” Janice told her going back to her husband.
It was after twelve when the party broke up and they waited until every guest had drove off exclaiming how much fun they had had.