by Lauren Wood
“Yeah, I see you there. I didn’t think you would be by till later. I knew you would be though Angie, only person I ever knew that kept her word, even when she didn’t want to.”
He was speaking casually and even propped himself up against the wall. I thought he was just getting comfortable, but then it occurred to me that he was most likely doing it because standing up hurt. He was leaning towards the side that was hurt and it looked like he was trying to get his weight off of it.
“Let me get out of your way. Can I help you?”
Marcus looked down and we both glanced at his hardness that was swinging between his legs. It was twitching like it wanted to move towards me. A long time ago I wouldn’t have been able to refuse him, but I liked to think that I had changed a little bit, that I had gotten better but I wasn’t really sure if that was the case or not.
“There are lots of things that you could help me with Angie. Are you offering?”
I shook my head that I wasn’t giving him an open invitation. “Well I am here to offer you some lasagna and I will rewrap that bandage if you like.”
Marcus shrugged and said that he would take what he could get. “I will get dressed and be out in a minute.”
“Okay, I will go set the table. Do you feel up to sitting there or we can eat in the bed if you want?”
“There were a lot of times that we would stay in bed. I think that one summer that was all we did. Your parents were out and mine didn’t care.”
I smiled at him. I remember all of those nights very well. It was the things that I thought about when I had another breakup and I wished for the simplicity that had come with just being together. I wanted it back and even though I knew it would never work out, just like it hadn’t so long ago, I still hoped that it would.
Getting the plates down, I set the table and poured us a couple of drinks. Whether he had a girlfriend or not, it didn’t seem like he did by the state of the place. If she was his girlfriend, she didn’t come by very much. Melissa should have been there for this kind of thing, not me.
“Angie?”
“Yeah?” I moved to the hallway so that I could hear him through his door.
“Can you help me please?”
I didn’t know what to expect when I opened the door, but it wasn’t this.
Chapter 9
Marcus
I was so frustrated with it all and the shocked look on her face didn’t help. “Will you please help me? I can’t get this on and I can’t walk around naked. I don’t think that is the kind of visit that you were looking for.”
With the dress she had on, it was certainly the visit that I was thinking of. I was already ready in all ways. I just needed her to go for it. I could see her looking at me in the same way that she had before. It was awkward but the great thing about Angie was that she had to help. She was wired that way and I don’t think she could have told me no, even if she wanted to. How far could I push her good nature?
“Wow um Marcus. I guess I can help.”
She moved towards me indecisively and I had to laugh at the way she was blushing so prettily. I didn’t need bright lights to know that she was nervous and it didn’t take that much to know that she was turned on. Her breathing was faster and there was a hitch in her throat when she finally met my gaze.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Could you help pull up these shorts?”
The shorts in question were about to my knees. I couldn’t bend enough to get them up all of the way and I was out of breath from trying. “Sure, um that I can do.”
She didn’t sound so sure and I wasn’t so sure either. She was so close to me that it wouldn’t have taken much to make the contact that I needed. The good thing about me and Angela was that I knew exactly how she liked it. If I could just convince her to let me touch her for real, there would be no way that she could tell me no. Of that at least I was sure of. The fact that I may not be able to do much was very high on my mind. I would only get one shot with Angela again and I had a feeling that I was going to have to make it count. Right now I was not on top of my game, not even close.
When she moved to her knees in front of me, flashbacks made me hiss. Angie looked up at me and there was a moment that I thought she was going to lean in and lick the head of it like she used to. God, I missed that. I missed it more than I wanted to admit. I missed everything about Angie and everything that we used to do to each other. I just missed her, it was that simple.
She was deft with her hands and it took less time to get them up than I expected. Angie had me stand up to get them up my thighs and my need was even closer to her face. I could have sworn that the head brushed up against her lips for a few seconds and I held my breath. The moment passed without any kind of encore or any indication that she even realized it at all.
“Okay, let’s get that wound taken care of before you bleed all over the bed and your clean shorts. You told me earlier that it was no big deal.”
“It isn’t.”
“It doesn’t look like it’s nothing and it doesn’t look like you had it properly taken care of.”
“Doc took care of it. He is good at what he does.”
She didn’t seem to really believe me and though I was alive, the stitching could have been neater. I think Doc had too much of the alcohol he was pouring and that was why they were so cock-eyed. I wasn’t too worried about it though. It was all going to scar one way or another. Another one wasn’t going to matter all that much. It wasn’t the first time that I had been shot, it was one of many times someone had tried to end me. Sadly, I knew it wouldn’t be the last either.
“He may be, but you are infected and you need some antibiotics. I am going to take you to the hospital Marcus.”
I shook my head and told her that I was fine. “I have some antibiotics on the counter. Those will do just fine. I will take one in a minute.”
Angie mumbled something under her breath and then went into the other room. I was left standing there, waiting for her to come back. When she did she had towels, bandages, the bottle with no perscription on it and some water.
“Am I out of beer?”
“You aren’t supposed to drink with these. It would say it on the bottle if you had gone to an actual doctor.”
She was giving me a hard time, but I knew that it was because she cared. That was worth being shot as far as I was concerned.
“It is fine. You don’t have to fuss over me.”
“I wouldn’t have to if your girlfriend would take care of you properly. You really went downhill from me, huh?”
Her cockiness was a trait that came out sometimes and it made me smile. All of her little quirks were the things that I had missed the most, the things that I had tried to find in others or create even if I had to.
“Never could replace you. I tried for a long time, but there is only one Angie.”
Her face was pink and I was going to take that as a good sign. There was a part of me that felt like I should just go for it. Kiss her and let everything else works itself out. She was close to me, her small hands touching me. I couldn’t have a casual conversation with her, I didn’t want to. I wanted to talk about things that mattered when she was here. I didn’t know if I would get another chance.
“There you go with all of that smooth talking again Marcus. That is what gets you in trouble.”
“No, men with guns get me in trouble.”
“What were you out there doing with guys like that anyways?”
I shrugged. I wasn’t going to tell her about what I did now. She wouldn’t have gone for it back when it was just pot in school. She would never understand now. No matter how much she thought she liked a bad boy, Angie had always been a good girl at heart. That much I knew for sure.
“Just hanging with the wrong crowd I guess.”
“So who is this other Angie that you got tattooed on your back?”
“Come on, you know that it was for you. That is what I always used to say to you.”
“I know, but that was a long time ago. We were young.”
“I wasn’t that young and neither were you. I loved you Angie.”
She was taping the bandage on and she stopped. “We didn’t even know what love was.”
“Bullshit Angie. I knew that I loved you and after all of this time, that hasn’t changed. I will always love you.”
She giggled a little like what I said was funny. “How many pain pills have you had today? I don’t think you know what it is you’re saying.”
I wasn’t joking and I wouldn’t be in so much pain if I was still taking the pills that I was given. No, my head was as clear as it had been since I was shot and the shower had helped dust off any cobwebs that were left. I needed her to know that, but at the same time I was an opportunist and I could always use that thought to my advantage. If she thought I had a buzz, then maybe she wouldn’t be so mad if I took liberties.
“I know that I miss you Angela.”
She was pulling away to give me some space to stand back up. I had went to sit on the side of the bed when started bandaging me up. Now I wanted her down there with me and I jerked her arm enough to unsettle her on top of me. It was quick and she went with it. I would have stopped if Angie would have resisted, but she was in my arms and it felt right. I could tell that she wanted to be there and even the sharp pain in my side wasn’t enough to stop me from leaning in and kissing her.
It had been so long, but everything was the same. The way I felt when our lips touched, as well as the feel of her body in my arms. Everything was perfect and I had pulled her onto my lap before I even knew what I was doing. I had to have her and the need inside of me was consuming.
“Wait Marcus.”
Her words came from far away and I shook my head that I didn’t want to. I wanted to push past the brain of hers that said this wasn’t right. It was right. It was as right as it was ever going to be.
“Does this not feel good?”
“You are hurt Marcus”
“You leaving me hurt worse than any bullet could ever do. I don’t think you will ever get it.”
Angie looked at me like I was three sheets to the wind, but I wasn’t. I had never been this sure of anything in my life. Did she really not know how I felt about her? If that was the case, I had failed back then to show her. I never thought that our relationship was anything but amazing. For a time I thought that was the way it would always be, imagine my surprise when it came to me that there was really nothing that I could do about it. There was no replacing Angela, no matter how hard I tried.
“I am sorry Marcus. I never knew that you really felt that way about me.”
“What do you think ‘always loved’ means Angie? It meant that I was always going to love you and I still do. I have for a very long time.”
I moved into kiss her again and I wasn’t sure if she was going to stop me this time. When she didn’t, I pulled her down further with me onto the bed. I could feel her lithe body on top of mine and it drove me crazy. She felt so good, too good if I was honest with myself. Fuck, I wanted her, but at the same time my side was killing any ardor that I could muster. I just couldn’t and it was me that had to stop.
“What’s wrong?”
Her lips were still pursed and she had the look in her eyes that I had seen before. It was the one that told me she wanted me, right now and right here. It was a call that I wasn’t able to answer and the frustration of it all got the best of me again.
“Nothing, but you are right. I am hurt and what I can manage wouldn’t be much at this point. I want you the way it used to be with us. I can’t settle for any less.”
It was not what she wanted to hear and truthfully it is the very last thing that I wanted to say. I wanted her, hell I needed her, but not like this.
“Are you sure Marcus?”
Her eyes batted and so help me I thought I was going to lose it. I almost didn’t care about the pain and the chance of bleeding out, if the rest of me would have cooperated, I would have died happy.
“I think I am going to regret this for the rest of my life Angie, but I am sure that I can’t.”
She stood up and moved away from me. Angie wouldn’t meet my gaze, but instead took her time to fuss with herself and her hair. “Well I have the food on the table. When you are ready, I will be in there waiting for you.”
“I’m sorry Angie.”
“It’s okay, really.”
It wasn’t okay. Hell, I knew that. I knew that the last thing that I wanted was to walk away from her. It physically hurt to see her walk out of the room. I guess I was left to fend for myself and after a few more failed attempts I gave up and went to the dining room with just the shorts on. This was going to be a long dinner and I was already wiped out. I was more determined then than ever to get my strength back. I needed to make it up to Angie, even though I still didn’t have an answer as to why she left. I would get it, I knew that. Soon.
Chapter 10
Angela
I rode the bus the next morning in a daze. I didn’t leave Marcus’ house until early in the morning and I was beat. We had stayed up and talked about everything. I had offered myself to him, I had basically thrown myself at him and he hadn’t taken the bait. Instead of doing what I wanted, Marcus had given excuses. They were good excuses, but it didn’t help the aggravation that it had left with me. I was way too bothered to go to work.
Most of the morning I wasn’t paying much attention. I was thinking about Marcus and I wanted to call him, but I knew that I shouldn’t. While he said a lot of things that I wanted to believe about us being meant to be, there was still the question of if it was real. He said I hurt him and I am starting to think I did. So where did that leave me? If he wanted me so bad, why didn’t he take what it was I was offering to him? The whole scenario left me confused and I wasn’t sure if I was coming or going.
“Are you okay Angela?”
I turned to see my boss standing there. Ever since that first day, Mark had been far nicer than he should have been. He watched me more than I liked to think about. I caught him doing it a lot and though he hadn’t come on to me directly, I could tell that he was testing the waters. I wasn’t going to be able to hide how I was feeling from someone that was far too interested in what I did on a daily basis.
“Yeah I am fine Mark. Just been a long day.”
“It’s only three Angie.”
I didn’t like him calling me that name. Hearing it come out of Marcus’ mouth was so much better and I didn’t want anyone else to call me that.
“Angela.”
“Right, sorry. I didn’t know that you cared.”
I shrugged and bit my lip for saying such a thing out loud. I wasn’t paying too much attention and I shouldn’t have been short with him. He didn’t seem to mind too much and even got a little closer to me. “I like what you are doing around here Angela. I knew that it was the right choice to hire you.”
His eyes were filled with a need that I didn’t want to have anything to do with. Even if Marcus wasn’t next door and whatever was going on with us wasn’t happening, I wouldn’t be with Mark. He just wasn’t my type and that was the end of it. He was nice, cute and rich, but there was something that he just didn’t have. Maybe it was the tattoos and need for danger. Whatever it was, the ‘it’ factor wasn’t there, beyond perfectly legitimate reasons. Maybe I just wanted all of the things that were bad for my health. I should grow up and stop that, but there was a draw to a man like Marcus. Mark just didn’t have that.
“There you go again. I feel like you are not really here. You are here, but not all of you is present with me.”
He was put off in a way because I was not fawning over him like I had seen other women in the office do. His ego was far too big and I didn’t want to be one of many that stroked it to that level.
“I am sorry Mark. I just have a lot going on. I didn’t mean to bring it to work with me.”
My apology made him smile and I could tell
that he felt like he was in the right again. He was in control and the grin made me a little uneasy. He looked a little too happy about all of it and I almost wanted to take it back. What the heck did he want?
“Was there something that I could do for you Sir?”
It was an innocent question not meant the way it was taken. I didn’t even justify it by correcting it. I didn’t care where his mind went. Mine was a million miles from all of that.
“No, but if you want to get out of here early, all of the work is basically done. I wouldn’t be offended if you took off a little early.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I was thinking about….”
I thanked him and turned around to get my things. I had a feeling he was going to ask me to go somewhere with him to have a drink. Maybe he was going to say it was nothing but drinks. I knew that it wouldn’t turn out that way or at least he would try to make it turn out another way.
“See you tomorrow Mark.
I heard him mutter something to himself and I felt a sigh of relief when I got out of the building. Mark was a nice guy, but the fact of the matter was that he wasn’t for me. I could see that this was going to escalate. It already was as Mark got bolder with his moves. I should start looking for something else before Mark did something that I wasn’t going to be able to handle. I had a feeling that it was going to get complicated to a point that I didn’t want it to be at.
My mind was once again thinking of everything else but what it was I was doing. The law firm was only a couple of blocks from the bus stop, but I was moving slow. It was going to be almost twenty minutes before the next bus ran and that gave me time to really think. It wasn’t about my job and how long I was going to have it and it certainly wasn’t about the ex that wouldn’t stop calling me. I was thinking about the man from long ago. Marcus was on my mind and I didn’t even see the guy coming out of the alleyway to my right. I should have seen him, but I wasn’t paying attention and I didn’t even know he was there until I literally ran into him.