“ Yes, that was him. I hadn’t heard from him in about six months, so was pretty freaked out when he called. And I’ll definitely let you and Ash know if it gets to where I need the law involved.”
I’m really leery about this guy. He was good-looking, but mean, and definitely had a very, very dark side to him. I just hope he leaves her alone.
Emily tells me that she is done with finals, and thinks she aced her final today. To lighten up the subject, I divert the conversation.
“So, now that finals are over, what are you doing tonight?”
“Chilling, for sure! Tommy’s bringing Chinese takeout tonight and we’re gonna hang out at my apartment and watch movies. I’m so looking forward to doing nothing.”
“Well, since you’re done with school, we’ll have do double-date one night and go to dinner.”
“Sounds wonderful. I’m down! I’m sure Tommy will be, too.”
Ash and I go to dinner after work. We have an intimate, romantic dinner, and once we get home we get a glass of wine and sit in the living room by the Christmas tree.
“This is heaven, Olivia. It’s so nice to just have nothing to do!”
We sit on the couch for a while, just cuddling and looking at the beautiful tree.
“So, you up for some play time?” he asks.
“Well, since you put it that way, yes, I am. I love play time!”
We head to his room and he gets the bath running. I just love our bath time! We sit in the tub, wrapped around each other, enjoying the peace and music.
“Uhhhh, you need to shave your legs, honey!”
“Really? Are you kidding?”
“Nope! Feels pretty hairy to me.”
“Well, Mr. Smarty pants, then get me the shaving cream and my razor please.”
He gets out of the tub and I eye his beautiful backside. He gets my razor out of the drawer and his shaving cream and gets back into the tub. “Here allow me.”
“Ash, you’ll cut me…have you ever done this before?”
“No, but there is a first time for everything. I’ll tell you what, if I cut you; you can do anything you want to me. Deal? Come on, just prop your legs up.”
I am reluctant to let him shave me, but he assures me he can do a better job than I do. He puts shaving cream on my legs and begins to shave, being ever so careful. Actually, he does do a better job than I would do. I am duly impressed! He takes some shaving cream and dots it on my nose.
“Oh, so you want to play with shaving cream?” I squirt it on him and it’s game on!
We splash in the water, smearing shaving cream all over ourselves, just like two kids. I make a beard with shaving cream on his face.
“Oh, now you look sexy!”
He takes the shaving cream and covers each of my breasts.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m making you a bra. Gotta cover those things up! They’re driving me wild!” When he has shaved both legs and my underarms, he asks… “Okay, what can I shave next?”
“Don’t even go there Ash Harper! What can I shave on you?”
“Not a damn thing! You’re not touching me with a razor, ever!”
I love this!
Just when we’re totally covered in shaving cream and have water all over the floor, the phone rings. We look at each other and start laughing. Of course, we don’t answer. Who would we want to talk to at this hour anyway?
“Do you think you should see who that is?”
“Nope, there’s no one I want to talk to right now. You?”
“Nope! No one!”
He rinses off my “bra” and I rinse off his beard. We turn on the whirlpool and relax in each other’s arms.
The phone rings again and again. “Dammit! Guess I’ll see who that is” He gets out of the tub and goes to the vanity to pick up the phone. His backside is looking so damn good! I could just sit and look at it forever!
“It’s Brady….Hmmmm wonder what he wants? He hardly ever calls.” Ash answers. “Hello? Yes? No, no problem, son, we’re just getting ready for bed, why what’s up? What? When? Are you there now? And he what? Are you kidding? Is he okay? What about Emily, where is she? Okay. Who else is there with you? Okay. All right. Good. Have you called the police? Good. Let me call my friend Dominic. He’s a captain on the force. Is he out cold? Listen; just make sure you tie him up or something. Make sure he can’t get up. And keep Tommy away from him. I mean it, Brady. Don’t let him do anything foolish! I’ll call Dominic now. Yeah, I’m on the way. Call you from the car. Okay. Be there in twenty.”
“Ash, what’s wrong?”
He’s quickly pulling on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He grabs his flip-flops, his keys, his phone, and his wallet
“Some ex of Emily’s broke into her apartment. From what Brady said, Tommy beat the shit out of him. I gotta go, honey. You stay here and I’ll call you when I get there.”
“Ash, wait! I’m coming too…let me get dressed!”
“Olivia, you are not coming with me. I have no idea what this guy is capable of. You don’t need to come.”
“Yes, I do! And I’m coming!”
He looks down his nose at me, dead serious and a bit angry. “Olivia, please don’t argue with me. I’m telling you that you are absolutely positively not coming. End of story. I don’t usually tell you what to do, but in this case, I am. You are not coming. Stay here and I’ll call you.”
I grab a robe and throw it on. “Can you at least tell me what Brady said?”
“Not much, except that this guy broke in and started some shit. That’s all I know, hon. Let me get on the road and I’ll call you, I promise. The sooner you let me go, the sooner I can call and give you an update. Just have your phone on. Call you soon. Love you!”
He kisses me and is out the door. I’m worried sick! I just knew this guy was bad news. Poor Emily, I hope she’s okay. I wait and wait for a call from Ash. I don’t want to bother him while he’s driving, but the waiting is just killing me! I decide to call Todd. I figure Brady would have called him as well.
“Todd? It’s Olivia. Where are you?”
“ Hey, Olivia. I’m with Brady at Emily’s apartment. This goddamn guinea motherfucker broke into her apartment and went postal. Tommy beat the fuck out of him! He’s fuckin’ out cold. He’s in bad shape.”
“How is Emily, where is she?”
“She’s fine. She was in the shower when he broke in. He tried to fight Tommy, but that was a mistake. Tommy’s a black belt and he whooped the shit out of him! Big mistake for that motherfucker!” I had no idea Tommy was a black belt, but it makes sense. Ash probably is as well. I do know they both work out a lot.
“Listen, I gotta go, Olivia. I think Mr. H. just pulled up. He called his cop buddy, so I think they’re on the way too. We’ll call you! Promise. Don’t worry.”
“Todd, will you at least have Emily call me in a few minutes? I’m worried sick.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty freaked out, but yeah, I’ll ask her to call. Just give us a little bit. It’s kinda chaotic around here now. She’s fine, Olivia. Just shaken up. He didn’t touch her, thank God. Tommy’s fine, too. The guinea? Not so sure.”
Ash calls when he gets there. “Olivia, I’m here. Dominic and the police just pulled up. Everything’s okay. Tommy’s fine…Emily too. She’s just badly shaken up. Boy! Tommy did a number on this guy. He’s beaten up pretty bad. I didn’t know he had it in him. Pretty proud of my boy! Those karate lessons paid off!”
“Oh, Ash! I wish I was there…can I talk to Emily?”
“Yeah…here she is.” He gives her the phone.
“Honey, are you okay? What the hell happened?”
“Olivia, I’m fine, really. I was in the shower. Tony broke in and was pissed that Tommy was there. Apparently he’s been following us for a while, and that’s how he knew about Tommy. He pulled a knife and Tommy just went off on him! Oh, my God! I never thought Tony would do this. I’m so sorry! I never would have intentionally put Tommy in
that situation. I feel so bad. I just hope you all don’t hate me.”
“Nothing to be sorry for, Emily. It certainly wasn’t your fault. But are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, Olivia, I’m fine. When the police are done, Mr. Harper thinks Tommy and I need to go stay at his condo. I’ll be at work tomorrow, though, I promise.”
“Well, I have to agree with Ash… the condo is where y’all need to go. Just let Ash handle everything. Who else is there?”
“All the guys are here. Brady got here first, and then Todd brought the rest of them. I think they were rehearsing, so that’s why they were together. They gave Tommy the night off to be with me. Oh, if only he hadn’t been here, and had been rehearsing, this never would have happened!”
“Emily, look, if he hadn’t been with you that creep might have killed you! You should thank your lucky stars that he was there tonight. You know that Ash wouldn’t let me come, or I would have been there.”
“I know, Olivia! Really, everything is fine. There’s nothing you can do anyway. Tommy said he’d call you once we get to the condo. Mr. Harper is gonna follow us over there. God! This is so embarrassing. I promise, I’ll explain everything tomorrow.”
“Okay, Emily. You’re in good hands. Talk to you tomorrow, sweetie!”
Ash finally gets home around three in the morning. He looks dead tired. He tells me that Tony was taken into custody, and that he tested positive for drugs and was over the legal limit for alcohol as well. In addition, he had a knife and a gun on him. He didn’t have a license to carry the gun, and it wasn’t registered, so he’ll be in big trouble for that. Ash said that the gun is probably a stolen gun, so he’ll be in jail for awhile.
I tell him about Tony being in our parking lot today, and that he’s the one who called Emily when we were at Grammy’s. I tell him that I recorded the whole ordeal in the parking lot on my phone.
“Good girl. That could come in handy. We’ll email that to Dominic”
He says that he got Tommy and Emily settled at the condo, and that they’ll stay there for a few days until things settle down. Brady and Brian will drop Emily’s car off at the condo so she can get to work. Tommy calls to let us know they’re going to bed, and Ash gives me the phone.
“Olivia, Emily wanted me to call you and let you know that we’re settled in and going to bed. She’s almost asleep and just forgot to call you. Sorry about that!”
“Oh, Tommy, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, but I tore that son of a bitch a new ass! He won’t be bothering Emily again.”
“Well, Tommy, y’all go to bed and sleep good. Geez! This is crazy!”
“Yeah, pretty crazy! He’s a real nut case!”
“Hey, can I talk to my dad again?”
I give the phone to Ash.
“Okay, son, Dominic will call me tomorrow. Just keep the doors locked. You know where the gun is, right? Bullets are in the safe. You should probably get it loaded and keep it by the bed just in case. I let the guard downstairs know and security is tight. This kid hopefully won’t get bailed out, and Dominic will let us know if anything changes. Ok. Love you, too, son. Take care of Emily and call me tomorrow.”
The next few days are a blur. We are super-busy at work. Tommy has been driving Emily to work and picking her up every day, since he doesn’t want her driving her car. He tells me they are still staying at the condo, and that he’s trying to get her to stay for a while longer and not go back to her apartment.
On Wednesday, the guys come in to take Emily and me to lunch. A young college-aged girl who is in the shop with her mom screams when she sees Tommy with his arm around Emily.
“Oh, my God! You’re Tommy, the guy from Avenue, aren’t you?”
“Yep, that would be me!”
“Is that your girlfriend?”
Emily, embarrassed starts to answer, “He’s a good—” She’s immediately cut off by Tommy.
“Yeah, she’s my girlfriend. Pretty, isn’t she?” Tommy tells the girl in a friendly way.
Emily rolls her eyes and Tommy plants a big kiss on her. I can sense that Emily is pretty embarrassed at Tommy’s PDA, especially since she’s at work. The young girl is stunned and staring at Tommy like he’s a rock star. Todd is leaning on the counter shaking his head.
“Geez! Enough already, Tommy. Can’t you keep your lips off of her?”
I ask Todd what’s going on with Tommy and Emily. He tells me that they are pretty much inseparable. She goes to practice with him, and they stay together every night at the condo.
“Don’t know how much longer they’ll stay there. I think Mr. H. wants her to stay until they know exactly what’s gonna happen to the guinea. Has he said anything to you about it? Oh, and I definitely think they’ve done it by now, don’t you? Still not sure about the blow job though…“
“Todd, you are too much!” I whisper in his ear. “Do you really think they have?”
“Yeah, I do. She looks totally satisfied. Remember how I told you that I could tell you look sexually satisfied?”
Okay, that made me blush. My face feels blood red.
“Don’t go gettin’ all embarrassed. You remember when I told you that don’t you? Well, she’s definitely got ‘the look’!”
As much as I don’t want to listen to Todd, I have to admit that I do think Tommy and Emily have had sex, and I agree about ‘the look.’ It’s a look and a feeling that I have, too. It’s the best feeling in the world. They both seem so comfortable together, and without over-thinking things, as I am prone to do, I have to say honestly that I think they have ‘done it.’ Not that that’s a bad thing, I think it’s good. I just hope these two can keep a good thing going.
“So, Todd, what do you guys think about Emily?”
“We all agree that she’s good for Tommy. Basically, we love her, Olivia. She just kinda fits into our family, and it’s hard to explain. There aren’t many girls we let into our family, but Emily’s different. I got a good feeling about them. I gotta tell you, though, we don’t like her ex. He’s pretty much a scumbag. Hopefully, he won’t bail out, ‘cause I’d hate to see what would happen to him if he showed up around her again. Tommy pretty much let him know that would be a mistake. Anyways, we’d probably all get thrown in the can. Did you know Tommy was a black belt?”
“ I had no idea! Does Ash have a black belt too? Because I’d kind of like to know... we haven’t talked about it.”
“Yeah, they all do. They are a kickass family! You have nothing to worry about. Your man can take care of you!”
I think to myself, Oh, yes, he can and does take care of me! Okay, Olivia, get your head out of the gutter.
That afternoon, before we leave work, I get the courage to ask Emily about her relationship with Tony.
“Ok, Emily, time to spill the beans. I want to know all about Tony.”
“Okay, I guess I do owe you that. So here goes… I met Tony at an art gallery in the city. I was by myself at a showing for a local artist I follow. Tony is an artist, too, and was also there by himself. We met at the wine table and I was just taken by his looks, and he was so nice to me. He swept me away. He was so attentive and complimentary. He loves art, as I do, so that was a definite attraction for me. He took me for coffee after the showing and we talked for hours. For the first few months, we were together literally every single day.
“Being insecure by nature, I couldn’t believe someone that good-looking was actually interested in me. I was flattered, and happy, and I guess I overlooked the fact that he began to get controlling. He’d show up at school every day, and was outside the door when I got out of class. Not in a romantic way. It got to where I felt like he was checking up on me, that he didn’t trust me for some reason, more like stalking me. It really creeped me out, but I kept telling myself that it was just because he cared for me and was just looking out for me.
“Then, there were his mood swings…they were horrible and only got worse! Sometimes the littlest things I would say t
otally set him off and he became angry. I just figured it was me. No one had ever cared for me as intensely as this, so I thought it was because he loved me.”
“Did he ever physically hurt you?”
“No, not really…not physically, anyway. Emotionally, though, he took everything out of me. He talked mean to me sometimes, and I just thought it was me or something I said. He was always criticizing me and putting me down. Anyway, after a year or so I literally couldn’t go anywhere without him either going with me, or following me and yelling at me for one reason or another.
“The last straw came one day after class, when I went to his apartment to surprise him with lunch. I brought sushi, his favorite. When I knocked on the door it opened, and three really sketchy black guys were in his apartment. Once he saw it was me, he got really mad that I had stopped by without calling first. He yelled at me like I was a piece of garbage and told me to go to my car and wait for him. As I left the apartment, I saw little baggies with white powder on the coffee table. I put two and two together and finally realized that Tony was on drugs. That was the reason for his mood swings.
“I was mad at myself for not seeing it sooner. How did I miss it? For my safety and sanity, I just had to get out of there. I had worked too hard to get where I was, and I didn’t want any part of drugs. I never even so much as drank or smoked in high school or college, and definitely never even thought about doing drugs! So, I got into my car and left. I drove around for hours, just trying to decide what to do.
“He came to my apartment that night and I wouldn’t answer the door. He just stood outside and hollered such mean and ugly things to me. My neighbor finally ran him off. I had a good friend who fortunately let me stay at her house outside of the city for a while so I could get my head in the right place. She had never met Tony and he didn’t know about her, so I felt safe staying there. But, I couldn’t stay there forever. When I finally did go back to my apartment, he had used his key to get in and had stolen some things from me, I guess to get money for drugs. My TV, laptop, camera, and some jewelry I had from my grandmother were gone.”
Out of The Box Awakening Page 23