“Like I said, you were using me to get over her? Silly me. Here I was holding out hope one day we would get back together. Be the perfect legal team with the perfect powerhouse family. The Sinclairs and the Alexanders. What’s her name, Nick?”
Exasperated I tell her hoping she’ll drop this conversation, which seems to be making her as irritated as I am. “Catherine. Her name’s Catherine.”
“It’s a nice name. Nicholas and Catherine, has a nice ring to it, regal. She must be drop- dead gorgeous to hold your attention. With all I have going on and I couldn’t keep you. What does she look like? Does your father like her, I know he likes me and he’s a hard man to please.”
She’s fishing and I’m not giving up any more information where Cat’s concerned. The more she knows the more trouble she’s going to be. I’m done with this talk. I’m about to tell her so when my body goes still with her hand on my face. She kisses me before I have time to react, catching me off-guard. Her tongue darts across my parted lips, slipping inside. The kiss lasts two seconds too long. My brain finally recovers, registering what’s happening. I push her back, wiping my hand across my mouth and jerking forward.
“What the hell was that, Paige?” At my anger, she stands up quickly and walks to her room out of my reach.
“Relax, Nick, it was one last kiss. It’s not a real kiss if you didn’t instigate it first, this time. You don’t have to tell your girl. Neither will I…but, I’m sure if you do decide to tell her...or she somehow finds out you were alone with me for days and nothing happened, she’ll believe you. Love is blind. See you in the morning.”
“Fucking bitch.”
As sweet as can be, she says, with a marred smile on her face, “Don’t worry. I’m not offended by that since you never loved me in the first place, right?” She tosses her hair back and smirks at me before going in the room and closing the door.
Needing to hear Cat’s voice, I go into the bathroom and lock the door. I sit on the chair and lean my head back against the wall dialing her number. When I hear her voice it’s music to my ears. I feel like shit for not telling her what’s going on. If I tell her she probably won’t believe me. I don’t want to go home to an empty house without her or my baby.
“You must miss me an awful lot. Didn’t we say goodnight already?”
“All right, fine, bye.”
“No! I’m playing. You can call me a hundred times for the night if you want.”
“I might have to do that, I miss you so much.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you did. The bed feels empty and cold without you next to me. I miss my occasional morning wakeup call.”
“I’ll be home soon to fill that empty space, tuck you in at night next to my heart, and give you an extra special wakeup call that will curl your toes and your hair.”
“I can’t wait. But what am I going to do till then? I’m all alone in this big bed—”
“Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Woman, stop questioning me, do as I say.”
“You missing me isn’t making you less bossy.”
“No, it’s not. Now close your damn eyes so I can give you something to look forward to.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s what I like to hear. Pretend I’m there with you in the bedroom standing up naked.”
“I like where this is going.”
“I thought you would, be quiet and let me finish. My hand is in your hair the other one’s lightly caressing your body. You’re wearing my white robe looking cute and sexy at the same time like only you can. Your robe falls open revealing your beautiful naked body to me. High firm breasts that are so sensitive I can make you come with one flick of my tongue across the very tip of your nipples. Can you see us, Cat?”
“Yes.” Her voice is low and husky and I know she’s turned-on.
“Take your shirt off.”
“It’s off.”
“Damn, that was fast. Now I want you to close your eyes again because I know they’re open.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know you. Follow directions and lick the palm of your hands.”
“What?”
“Just do it. Lick them in a slow circle making them as wet as I’m about to make you.”
She pauses for a minute. “Okay, I did it.”
“Rub them against your nipples in a circular motion just the way you like me to do it while fondling your breast. Tell me, how does that feel?”
“Good.” Her voice rasps.
“I wish I was there to see you when I make you come from my touch, my hand stroking up and down your beautiful body.”
“So do I. If you were here would you play with me until I begged you to stop?”
I smile to myself because if I was there she would be screaming my name already.
“Babe, If I were there I’d slam you up against the wall, rip your legs wide open, and slam my dick into your white hot tight little pussy and make you scream my name. I would ride you relentlessly hard and fast till you couldn’t take it anymore, begging me to stop breathlessly.”
“Mmm hmm. When exactly are you coming home?”
“Soon, babe, real soon. Now put your shirt back on, this fantasy is to be continued when I come home.”
“Nick, you can’t get me hot and bothered then tell me we can’t have phone sex.”
“I just did. I miss you and I’m saving it all for when I get home. Phone sex won’t do justice to the things I’m going to do to you.”
“Are you sure because it sounds to me like…you’re being a wet pussy tease.”
I burst out laughing. “That’s the first I ever heard that term.”
“Well, it’s true, you can’t tell me things like that and not deliver anything.”
“Don’t worry, tell your little cat to simmer down. It’ll be way better when I’m live in person, in the flesh, having you moan all over me.”
“I have no doubt you will,” she mutters disappointedly.
“I love you.”
“I know you do.”
“You better know. Go to sleep. Get my baby some rest.”
I can’t wait to go home to her. I would have gladly had phone sex with Cat but not with Paige in the next room, it doesn’t seem right; bad enough I’m not telling her the whole truth. I should have done what my instincts told me when I saw Paige lying on my couch. Kicked her rosy peach-colored ass out. I already told her to keep her mouth shut about us sharing a room. She agreed, that was before she got disgruntled and stuck her tongue down my throat.
In the middle of the night I wake up with another damn panic attack. My dream is the same except for the end. Blood everywhere, Kate screaming holding her swollen stomach but when she looks at me it’s Cat. This time it ends with her screaming at me calling me a liar and she says she’s leaving me, this time she won’t be back.
I try to calm myself down by getting my breathing under control with one of my arms slung over my eyes. My heart rate is almost at a steady beat until something brushes against my arm. I look to the side and see Paige kneeling next to me beside the couch. This is all I need; why the fuck is she watching me sleep, going through a damn panic attack.
“You were talking in your sleep, I couldn’t make out what you were saying but you seemed agitated, and you said her name. Are you okay?” she asks me, moving her hands across the back of my arm in what I would consider a caress.
Her touch is making my blood boil over. So is the concern in her voice, which she should have had when I told her I had a girlfriend, and she stuck her tongue down my throat to fuck with me. “Get your goddamn hand off me.” Her hand falls away from me as I get up. Grabbing my phone off the table, my leg brushes past her shoulder. I make my way out of the room at a brisk pace into the bathroom locking the door. The first thing I do is call Cat. I slide down the back of the door needing to hear her voice, the only thing I want and need is her. To hear her say she loves me as much as I love her and she won’t le
ave me again.
Cat
I reach for my phone and see Nick’s face on the screen. “Hey, babe, what’s up?” I say, rubbing my eyes trying to keep them open.
“Sorry, I’m waking you up.”
“Don’t worry about it, what’s wrong?” I say sleepily, trying to wake up to talk.
“I wanted to hear your voice and to tell you I miss you.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about you and the baby. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine.”
“Okay,” I say, not sure if I believe he’s fine but going along with it.
“How’s the baby? Did he move?”
“No, she didn’t move yet, still flutters.”
“Maybe we should go back to the doctor to make sure everything’s fine.”
“Stop worrying so much. The baby’s fine. I have another checkup in two weeks. Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
“Yeah. I just wanted to hear your voice. Go back to sleep, I’ll call you in the morning.”
“Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“The baby is fine. We’re fine. I can’t wait till you’re home. I miss you.”
“I love you, baby. Go back to sleep, sweet dreams, bye.”
“Bye.” What was that about?
The next day I go shopping with Ava and we end up at an upscale lingerie boutique.
“I don’t know, Ava, something’s off.”
“Maybe he really just misses you a lot. You haven’t been apart for a day in months.”
“I don’t know. He called me three times in one night, and the last time it was three in the morning. He didn’t sound like himself.”
“What did he sound like if not himself? Did he sound like he was going through withdrawal?”
“What kind of withdrawal? He’s not an addict.”
“Pussy-whipped withdrawal, he’s addicted to that.”
“Shut up.” I smile and give her a playful shove. “I’m serious, Ava.”
“I’m serious too. The guy’s crazy about you. He’s never been in a relationship like this and he has another baby on the way after, you know…no need for me to say.”
“I think that’s part of the problem. He doesn’t say anything to me about that.”
“You think it has something to do with him and Kate losing their baby?”
I nod my head yes and look at a hot pink pleather cat suit. I promptly put it back on the rack when Ava shakes her head, laughs, and says no. “I wake up during the night with him wrapped so tight around me I can hardly breathe. It happened the first time about four weeks ago.”
“You need to talk to him, Cat.”
“He doesn’t want to talk with me about losing the baby. I brought it up once and he brushed it off. I’m hoping he will open up to me about it on his own. I don’t want to push him.”
“Then you don’t want to find out what’s going on with him. You need to push, girl, push, I would.”
“I feel like I’m crossing a line if I ask too much.”
“Don’t be silly, that’s your job as his girlfriend, to pry and meddle and get all up in his business until you get the answers you need. But subtly, with a smile and the right lingerie.”
“I don’t want to be that girlfriend. I don’t want to nag him to death. Ava, you know he doesn’t like that. I want him to trust me and be comfortable with me enough to be able to tell me if he’s having issues dealing with the loss of his baby or whatever it is that’s wrong.”
“Like with most men, that might not happen. I suggest you be honest and straightforward with him. Say, ‘what’s wrong with you, I don’t have time to play guessing games. I have a shitload of family drama, I’m five months pregnant, and I have to work with a bunch of noisy rug rats all day, what the hell is wrong with you?’”
“You know I would never say that to him. Nick would look at me like I’ve lost my mind.”
“Then you’re going to be the strong silent worrying type and wait for him to talk to you. Good luck with that. If he’s as worried about you as you think he is, he’s not going to tell you a thing.”
“Maybe I’m overthinking. You might be right, he really did miss me. I know I sure miss him. It’s hard sleeping in his bed all by myself; I’ve been sleeping with him next to me every night for three months.”
“I’m sure sleeping’s not the only thing you’ve been doing. I’m positive when he comes back you won’t be getting much sleep for days.”
I smile and look down at the lingerie on the table. She’s so right.
“Yeah, you know what I’m talking about. Your man’s coming home and you got to show him how much you missed him.” She moves around the other side of the table and holds up a black leather dominatrix outfit with what looks like a chain and whip attached at the hip.
“Are you serious, how am I going to pull that off, Ava? That’s for you. Think more Cat, less Ava.”
She holds the whip up over her head like a true cowgirl, rotating her shoulders back, and pushing her chest out. “Yeah, you’re right, I can see myself rocking this. Bow down bitch, whoosh, whoosh.”
I laugh at her dominatrix cowgirl act. I feel sorry for the man who lets her try that whip out on them. I move over to a rack and pick up a crotchless red feather slingshot-looking thing and hold it up to my body to show Ava.
“Feathers, no, put that back. That’s not you. When buying lingerie you have to stay true to yourself. You can’t pull that off, I might be able to. You, not so much in your condition, you’re going to look like a stuffed turkey trussed up with all the fixin’s.”
“You wanted to put me in that thing over there!”
“Leather is hot, this is not. You don’t want to look like a cheap street walker unless you’re role playing and going for that look.” She looks around the store and comes back with a lavender see-through chiffon and Chantilly lace stretch chemise with diamonds on the thin straps sprinkled around the sweet heart top. “What do you think?”
“I love it.” I take the hanger from her and hold it up in front of me in the mirrors.
“I knew you would. You won’t be able to wear it a second time when he rips it off you. It’s going to be well worth the money.”
I look at her through the mirror at the mention of how much it costs. “How much is it?” I look down at the tag when she doesn’t answer and turn around, handing it back to her. “I am not spending that much money on one piece of lingerie I won’t be able to wear after I have this baby. I want to show him how much I missed him not take advantage of him and spend all his money.” She hands it back to me and I look at it. It is pretty…I shake my head no. “This is too much to spend.” Ava puts her hands on her hips and brings on the accent.
“My cousin gave you his card, let that man see you appreciate his money. By spending an obscene amount, you are thanking him. You’re letting him know how much you want to please him and turn him on.”
I walk over to the rack and put the twelve-hundred-dollar chemise back. Nick says his money is mine, but I wouldn’t spend this much of my own money on this. I’m only using the card he gave me so he can see I used it. If I don’t buy something he’s going to want to know why I’m not using it. I turn around and Ava’s so close I almost bump into her. I put my hand on my stomach and say, “What?” She puts her hand on my shoulder.
“You want to turn Nick on and keep him guessing from time to time? Spend some fucking money in this store.” She smiles and points at the chemise. “That will turn him the fuck on. Drop some money in this house of delights and fantasy, and when you’re done, he’ll be thanking you.”
“Ava, I don’t know about this.”
“You don’t want to spend his money but I’m sure the other women he’s been with wouldn’t think twice spending the damn money. He gave you his card because he wants you to spend his money, he can afford it.” She straightens up and looks around the store. “Let’s do this, since you’re not used to spending hi
s money we’ll take it slow. I’m going to help you get over this. I see a lot of lace over there. You can’t go wrong with lace, but whatever you pick out can’t be less than a hundred. You can get decent lingerie for less than a hundred in here. If the tag says less than ninety-nine we’re going to have a problem. You know how I can get, let’s go.”
“Yes, sir!” I mock salute her.
She tosses her hair over her shoulder and walks me over to the other side of the store. “Attitude now, you’re going to be thanking me later, darling.”
Twenty minutes later I find something we can both agree is not over the top expensive. I hold it up in the air like a victory prize. Now we can get out of this damn shop.
“Yes, that’s you. Lace tank matching string bikini panties, yeah that’ll work, sweet yet sexy. You’re five months, you look like you’re three and a half months in—” she leans her head back to assess me then continues, “—yeah, you can get it in this. Your body is still good, it’s holding up pretty good.”
What is she trying to say? I hand the cashier the card and the tank set before I turn around to Ava with one hand on my hip. “Excuse you, I will have you know this body is as hot as it was pre-pregnancy and your cousin, my man, is well satisfied. I do not need the lingerie to turn him on.” I point to myself with the hand I have resting on the counter. “This already has him turned-on.”
Ava pops her lips and looks at the cashier who’s smiling. “Well excuse me, I hear that. You’re putting it down bump and all. I aspire to be like you one day when I’m old and knocked up.”
“You should be so lucky.”
“Yes I should, especially if you can still bend over and touch your toes while he’s giving it to you like a battering ram smashing through your walls of love.”
Oh my God! She always has to take it to the next level. How embarrassing is she. I take my bag from the cashier who is barely looking at me now and say thank you. I take Ava’s arm and hustle her out the store before she says anything else to embarrass me or someone else. We get outside where the clouds are covering the sun and it’s starting to drizzle. The weather forecast didn’t say it was going to rain today. They’re not always accurate, are they? We walk down the block and Ava and I try to get a cab. Rush hour is the worst time of day to get a cab.
Imperfections Come To Light (The Imperfection Series Book 2) Page 15