Everything's Better With Kimberly

by Lucy Eden

  “Renee and I…” I took a deep breath and blew it out. “We wanted two different things. She wanted something more serious and I just wasn’t there yet.”

  “How long were you together?”

  “We were never together.”

  Her eyes turned skyward and I could tell she was thinking. “How long have we been together?” Her voice was a whisper.

  “Kimberly,” I rolled on my side and stroked her face with the backs of my fingers. “I was yours the second I saw you on the plane. I didn’t stand a chance. No one else has ever come close.” Her eyes met mine. I tossed a leg over her waist and drew her close.

  “You are so smooth, aren’t you, Mr. Price?”

  “Only when it comes to you, Ms. Simmons.” She laughed and pressed her lips to mine. “So, why aren’t you taken?”

  She laughed again but a little less genuine. “I tried the whole relationship thing and it failed, so I also just focused on work.” That wasn’t exactly the answer I was looking for.

  “Okay. You’re still not ready to talk about it.” I kissed her forehead and rolled onto my back to stare at the sky, dragging my fingertips up and down her arm. She heaved a deep sigh and sat up.

  “I’ll tell you but on two conditions.” She faced me.

  “Princess, I wouldn’t expect anything else. Hit me.”

  “You can’t say anything until I’m finished. No interrupting.”

  I nodded.

  “And you have to rub my back the whole time.”

  “You drive a hard bargain, but I agree to your terms. Come here.” I wrapped an arm around her, drew her down on to my chest, and planted a kiss in her curls.

  “We met at Columbia as grad students. I’d never had a boyfriend before and he was nice. He was smart and he was interested in me. I’d never had that before.”

  This was why she told me I couldn’t interrupt her because I couldn’t believe that no one was ever interested in her and I had a lot to say on the subject. But I gave her my word so I kept my mouth shut and kept rubbing.

  “So we went on a few dates and then we went on a few more. He met my family and they seemed to really like him. I met his parents and they seemed to like me. In hindsight, I think I just wanted to feel normal and being in a relationship was the most normal thing, right?” She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts.

  “He started making passive aggressive comments about my anxiety disorder. He didn’t believe it was a real thing or I talked about it too much. Then he said I used it an excuse to avoid difficult situations. He was usually talking about sex, because he pressured me all the time. He told me that my family was making me worse by indulging me and I was lucky to find someone willing to put up with me.”

  My chest tightened. Not talking was getting harder and harder.

  Who the fuck was this asshole?

  “If our arguments got really bad, he would always apologize. He’d tell me that he really cared about me and wanted the best for me. Then he’d blame all of the stress we were under at school and I’d let it go. The last straw came when he was convinced that he could cure my anxiety by making me face my fears.”

  She paused again. My heart started to race and I wondered if Kimberly could feel it. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know what the final straw was.

  “He convinced me to go with him to the Empire State Building and I should’ve said no, but a part of me wanted to trust him and another part of me believed all of the shitty things he said to me. I started to feel sick on the way there. It got worse in the elevator. It was so small and so crowded. When it started to move I felt light headed and nauseous. I told him that I wanted to leave, but he just held me and told me everything was all in my head. He didn’t hold me the way you do. When you hold me, I feel safe. When he was holding me in that elevator, I felt trapped. When we got to the observation deck, I got hit by the wind and we were so high up. I couldn’t breath and my heart was pounding. I must have passed out because the next thing I remembered was waking up in the hospital and my parents were there…Hey, why’d you stop?”

  I wasn’t aware until she said something, but I’d stopped rubbing her back. Kimberly just told me some prick she used to date forced her to do something that caused her to have a panic attack so severe that she lost consciousness. I’d never heard of any one passing out from a panic attack and I’d seen some pretty bad ones.

  “Sorry,” I whispered. “I guess I got caught up listening to you.” I resumed rubbing her back.

  “Thank you.” She arched up and kissed me.

  “For what?”

  “You were right. It does feel good to talk about it. It feels good to talk to you about it.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” I continued to smooth my palm over her back.

  “I shouldn’t have compared you to him yesterday. You’re nothing like him.” She arched up to kiss me again and I wrapped my arms around her, holding her in place to make the kiss last longer.

  “I’m really glad to hear that,” I said when our lips finally separated.

  “So, do you have any questions?”

  I had so many questions, mainly, I wanted her ex-boyfriend’s name, maybe an address and phone number, but a name would be enough to start. “How long ago was this?”

  “About two years ago.”

  “Have you talked to, um, what did say his name was?”

  She chuckled and patted my chest. “I didn’t tell you his name and yes, I’ve talked to him once, but it was a long time ago. He tried to apologize for leaving me, but I didn’t think he meant it.”

  “He left you at the hospital?”

  “No, he left before that.”

  “He left you unconscious at the top of The Empire State Building?” I sat up.

  “He said he panicked.” She pushed me back down and repositioned herself on my chest. “Rub,” she commanded.

  “What a piece of shit. Anything could’ve happened to you up there.”

  “Yes, I know, but it didn’t. I was lucky and with a lot of therapy and support from my family, I got through it.”

  “So what happened to him? Nothing?”

  “I wouldn’t say nothing. He ended up having to leave school when someone attacked him. He had to spend a month in the hospital.”

  “Did they ever find out who did it?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know who did it?”

  “I have my suspicions but no proof.”

  “So,” I turned to face her, “who do you suspect did it?”

  “Everyone in my family is sure my brother, Cole, had something to do with it but he denies it and he wasn’t in New York at the time. My ex claims he didn’t see anything, so…” she shrugged. “Can we talk about something else?”

  “Of course,” I said. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Are there anymore grapes?” she yawned.

  “Do you want to talk about whether or not there are more grapes or do you want me to get you some more grapes?”

  She laughed and poked me until I jumped out of bed and jogged to the fridge. By the time I returned with the bowl of grapes she had fallen asleep.

  Her beautiful body was draped across the mattress and she was hugging a pillow. A curl wafted across her face as she inhaled and exhaled. I put the grapes on the table, rolled the portable gazebo over the bed and undid the curtains before sliding into bed beside her. She sighed and curved her body around mine.

  “Goodnight, Adam,” she whispered.

  “Goodnight, Princess,” I replied.

  I covered us with a blanket and I watched her sleep for a while before turning my attention to the night sky visible through the small clear vinyl window.

  I wondered how I'd be able to keep my promise to find a way to make things work when got back to New York. My father and Nate could throw money at their problems. I couldn't afford to quit my job or turn down the project. Seeing Kimberly every day at work knowing I couldn’t be with her was something I knew I couldn’t
handle. I'd spent the better part of my week fantasizing about spending my life with her. The thought of spending my life without her wasn’t a possibility I wanted to entertain.

  I grabbed the sleep masks the resort staff left hanging on bed post and fastened Kimberly's over her eyes. I looked at the moonlit sky one last time, pulled the mask over my eyes. I drifted off to sleep with Kimberly in my arms and the waves crashing against the cliffs below.

  twenty two

  Kimberly

  I woke up in complete darkness. I put my hands over my eyes and realized that I was wearing a sleep mask. Adam must’ve put it on me after I fell asleep. The last thing I remember was wanting grapes and watching the perfectly chiseled muscles in Adam’s back ripple as he went to get them.

  “Good morning, Princess,” he whispered. Did he just say good morning? I pushed the mask onto my forehead and winced as the light nearly blinded me.

  “It’s morning?” I asked. I hadn’t slept through the night in months. “Did I wake up? I don’t remember waking up.”

  “So, to answer your first question, it’s technically the afternoon. And for your second question, yes, you did wake up. You asked me for cheese. I went to go get it and when I got back you were out again.”

  “Afternoon?” My eyes had adjusted to the light at this point so I sat up and faced him. We were still lying in the bed Adam had brought up to the roof deck but it was covered by a gazebo tent.

  “Yes, afternoon. You’ve been asleep for almost twelve hours. I had to keep putting a mirror under your nose to make sure you were still breathing.” The corners of his mouth twitched in amusement and I laughed. “I was so prepared too. I had a tablet, a laptop, mugs and tea bags.” He rolled on top of me and peppered my neck with kisses until I couldn’t stop laughing.

  “I’m hungry.” I sighed between chuckles and I wrapped my arms around his barrel chest and kissed him. Yesterday was the best day of my life. Followed by the best night of sleep I’d had in months.

  “You hibernated like a grizzly bear. I’d expect you to be starving.” I hit him with a pillow. “I’d stay away from those grapes, though.” He pointed to the bowl on the table. “The birds were picking at them earlier.” I looked around the deck and let the realization that we had slept outside sink in.

  “This is like a fairytale.” I snuggled next to him and watched the large cargo ships sail across the horizon line. “What did you do all morning?”

  “Stuff.” He gave me a sly smile and I furrowed my brow in suspicion. “Don’t worry about it, Sleeping Beauty.”

  “What time does our flight leave?” Adam insisted on booking our tickets home and keeping the details to himself.

  “Six.”

  I looked at my wrist but my watch was gone. My forearm bore the pale outline of my most trusted companion. Adam laughed at my slightly panicked expression. “I took it off so you could get some rest. It’s charging downstairs.” He held up my wrist and kissed my tan lines. “It looks like somebody got some sun this week.”

  “I need to know what time it is.”

  “It’s one thirty.”

  “Adam, our flight leaves in four and half hours. I have to pack, clean, shower. We need to get to the airport two hours before our flight leaves. I’m still hungry—” He grabbed me and kissed me, causing me to melt in his arms. “I have to brush my teeth,” I whispered.

  “Yes, you do.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Go brush your teeth and come right back. I’ll order lunch. Then we’ll figure everything else out. The plane won’t leave without us, I promise.”

  I shrugged into the robe, cinched it around my waist, and made my way downstairs. I looked over my shoulder as I descended the staircase and saw Adam watching me. I grinned at him and he smiled back.

  My watch was charging on the nightstand. I dismissed the alerts: my 8:00 am alarm, a few emails and a couple of missed calls from my mom. After replacing the watch on my wrist, I brushed my teeth. My hair was a mess. I grabbed my pouch from under the sink and with the help of a brush, water, smoothing lotion and a hair tie I styled it into a bun until it could be washed it in the shower.

  If I was going to return my mom’s call, I definitely didn’t want her to see me with you had sex all night and fell asleep without tying up your hair hair. The tablet rang and she answered it before it had a chance to chime.

  “Kimberly.”

  “Hey, Mom.”

  “I’ve been calling you all day.”

  I rolled my eyes. She called twice.

  “My watch died. It was charging.”

  She gave me a skeptical look.

  “What time is your flight?”

  “Six.”

  “Six on the dot? That’s an odd time for a flight. Which airline?”

  “I’m not sure. Adam booked our tickets.”

  Her face softened at the mention of Adam. “How is Mr. Adam?” She grinned and waggled her eyebrows.

  “Mr. Adam is fine.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know.” She laughed.

  I rolled my eyes again and grinned.

  “Is that Kimberly?”

  It was Sunday so I knew there was a good chance that my aunt was nearby. She might have actually screamed if she saw my hair before I called.

  My mother held up her tablet so I could see Auntie Patrice standing behind her waving a comb.

  “Hey, girl. I’m glad you finally washed your hair. Do not ask me to straighten it for at least a year.”

  “Okay.” I laughed.

  “So, Adam. Spill the tea,” she said as she resumed doing whatever she was doing to Mom’s hair. If I had to guess I would say she was covering the grays that my mother would never admit to having.

  I filled them in on what happened after I left the airport omitting key events.

  “Mom, don’t you think falling love so fast is weird? How long did it take you to fall in love with Dad?”

  “That’s a hard question to answer. I knew after one date that your father was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but falling in love? I’m still falling in love with your father. Love changes and evolves. The reasons I love your father are different today than they were almost thirty years ago, but the love is still there. So, I guess my answer is no. It’s not weird. Remember what Common said: ‘It don’t take a whole day to recognize sunshine.’”

  My mom and aunt broke into the chorus of Common’s, The Light which were also the lyrics to Bobby Caldwell’s, Open Your Eyes and I was reminded of dancing in the kitchen with Adam the day before.

  I cleared my throat loudly and they laughed.

  “Are you sure, Mom? Maybe my emotions are just all over the place because of…” I searched for a delicate way to phrase my next thought.

  “All the sex?” My aunt interjected. “Kimberly, what do you think, you got dicknotized?”

  “What?” my mother screamed and howled with laughter. Auntie Patrice joined in.

  “What?” I repeated, though I didn’t find it as amusing as my mother, who had yet to regain the power of speech. She was rocking back and forth cackling.

  “DICK-NO-TIZED, Kimberly.” She enunciated every syllable loudly as if my hearing was the issue. “It’s when the sex is so good you get hypnotized by the dick—”

  “Stop,” My mother wheezed, and it sounded like staaaahp. “I can’t take it! Dicknotized.”

  “Girl, it happens to the best of us, if you’re lucky.” She grabbed my mother’s shoulder. “Bev, remember that back up dancer for JoDeCi in Houston? Dicknotized.” She sang the last word. My mother’s face was now streaked with tears and to my horror, she was nodding. They started singing JoDeCi’s “Feenin’,” for which neither of them had the vocal range.

  “Please, stop saying the word dicknotized.” I pleaded.

  They both laughed harder. How was I the most mature person in this group?

  “Patrice,” my mother gasped. “If you make me pee in this chair, I will kill you
. Oh, my God!”

  “Girl, that good dick will make you cluck like a chicken and quack like a duck. Just don’t give it your social security number.”

  My mother lost it again. She started slapping her knees and making a squealing sound. She jumped up and ran out of the frame. My aunt picked up her tablet.

  “Your mother’s getting old, girl,” she said between chuckles. “Kimmy, are you happy?”

  “Are you going to stop saying dicknotized? That would make me very happy.”

  “There’s no shame in having good sex, but seriously…does Adam make you happy?”

  “Yes, he does.”

  “Then stop looking for a reason to be unhappy and live your life.”

  My mother returned to her chair.

  “Did you make it?” my aunt asked her.

  “Yes, no thanks to your silly behind. What did I miss?”

  “We’ve established that Kimberly is happy and in love but also definitely dicknotized.”

  They both cracked up again and I shook my head trying not to join in. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adam leaning against the door frame covering his mouth. I felt the blood drain from my face and I died of embarrassment. My ghost turned her attention to my tablet.

  “Um, I have to go. I’ll call you when I land.” I pressed the red button to end the video call among a chorus of laughter with a few bye Kimmys, I love yous, have a safe flights and dicknotizeds.

  Adam’s face was flushed and he was grinning. If he tried any harder not to laugh he might have passed out. I put my hands on my hips and glared at him.

  “I wasn’t eavesdropping, I swear.” He pushed himself off of the door frame and put his hands up as he walked into the bathroom. “I just came to check on you because I thought you were coming right back upstairs.”

  “How much of that did you hear?” His resolve was cracking and I had my answer.

  “Are you asking me if I just learned an awesome new vocabulary word?”

  “Don’t say it. I mean it.” Adam was now biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing.

  “Okay.” He shrugged. “But I’ll definitely be thinking it.” He pulled the box of condoms out of my robe pocket and started swinging it back and forth in front of my eyes like a magician’s pendulum.