by Mia Sheridan
I disconnect and roll over, staring at the ceiling, wondering if Evie is going to be able to forgive me when she knows the truth.
**********
My morning meeting is wrapped up quickly and I’m able to get a flight back to Cincinnati that leaves an hour earlier than my originally scheduled flight. After picking up my car in the long-term lot, I have plenty of time to head to the mall. I’m going to buy Evie a laptop. She’s going to fight me on it but I’m doing it anyway. The need to make her life better in any way I possibly can is burning through me. Maybe it’s the foresight that my time in her life is temporary. I hope to God not and just the thought of that sends panic racing to my gut. I’d fight it tooth and nail but if that unthinkable scenario does in fact come to pass, I’m going to know I did what I could to put her in a position to make her dreams come true.
I drop it off at my condo and then go to pick Evie up at work. I wait for her outside my car and when she comes out, she sees me and halts, a beautiful smile spreading over her face. My whole body relaxes. I didn’t even realize how tense I was until I saw her. And now my pulse is strong and even in her presence.
"Hi," she says.
"Hi," I say back, still goofily grinning. We both burst out laughing and I can’t not touch her for a minute longer. I swoop her up and breathe her in. "God, I missed you. I missed your smile and," I stick my nose in the sweet crook of her neck, "your smell, your body against mine at night."
"I missed you too," she whispers back.
"You hungry?"
"Yeah, starving."
"Do you like sushi?" I ask.
"I do like sushi, but I can't go out dressed in my uniform."
"How about if we pick it up to go and bring it home?"
"Sounds great."
I drive to a little sushi place near my condo and run in and pick up dinner while she waits for me in the car.
When we walk into my condo, Evie halts, immediately spotting the MacBook I left open on my dining table with a red bow on top.
My heart picks up speed as I watch her take in the computer, finally looking up at me with a wary look on her face.
"Jake, you didn't–" she exclaims.
"Evie," I say, putting my hand up in a ‘stop’ gesture, "don't say anything until you hear me out. I know your first thought is going to be to say no to accepting this gift but please, just listen."
She raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say anything.
"I want to do this but not because it's just for you, but because I think you're amazing, and I think that making your dreams come true will spread far and wide and not only affect you, but would affect me, too, and many, many people beyond that. Please let me do this for you, Evie, and all those people out there who will be changed when they read the beautiful words that are in your soul."
She takes a deep breath, her eyes tearing up and says on a small laugh, "No pressure, right?"
When she walks over to the computer and starts looking it over, I know she’s going to accept it. I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face.
"You make it really, really hard to say no to you, do you know that Jake Madsen?" She takes a deep breath and I know what she’s feeling. I’ve been there, too. It can be a hit to your self-esteem to accept gifts from those who have more than you. I’m hoping like hell that her accepting this from me means she gets how much she gives me in return. Not monetarily, obviously, but in every way that really counts. She makes me happy. Unbelievably happy. And that’s worth all the MacBooks at Apple headquarters.
"Thank you," she finally says, looking me in the eye. I smile back.
**********
It’s a chilly night and so I flick on the gas fireplace, pour a couple glasses of wine and set them on the coffee table, and then lay our food out on a blanket on the floor. "Sushi picnic?" she asks, smiling and sitting down.
"Yup. When eating sushi, do like the Japanese do." I smile, kneeling down on the blanket across from her. I put my palms together in front of my face and bow slightly to her. She giggles and bows back. Then I grab our glasses and hand one to her. "To what?" she asks.
I consider. "To dreams." I say, clinking my glass to hers.
She takes a drink and then says, "Thank you again for the laptop, Jake." I just smile at her. That’s not the dream I was talking about but I let her think it is.
I open up all the containers – I got a little bit of everything since she told me to surprise her. She picks up her chopsticks and I unwrap a plastic fork. "Really, Jake?" she asks, inclining her head toward my fork. "When eating sushi, eat like the Japanese do."
"Babe, I don’t eat with sticks. I want to get the food in my mouth."
She frowns. "Oh, come on, what’s easier than picking up a big piece of sushi? It’s not like you’re trying to pick up individual pieces of rice. Look." And she reaches down with her chopsticks and expertly picks up a piece of Alaska roll, popping it in her mouth.
I look down at the food in front of us and then down at my fork and sigh. Then I pick up my chopsticks, break them in half and position them in my fingers. I reach down and position a piece of sushi between them and bring it toward my face. Inches away, it falls out and lands in my crotch.
My brows snap down as I hear Evie let out a very unladylike snort.
"Oh, that’s funny, is it?"
She’s looking down, clearly holding back laughter as she snags another piece of sushi with her chopsticks and pops it into her mouth, chewing and swallowing before saying, "Noooo, not funny at all. They take a little practice. Try again."
I fake glare at her, but pick my chopsticks back up and this time try a piece of tempura shrimp. I have it about halfway between the container and my open mouth when it too, drops into my crotch.
Evie lets out a loud giggle.
"Okay, that’s it. A fork it is." I pluck the food out of my crotch, noting my stained suit pants and toss it into a napkin sitting next to the containers.
"Oh, come on, it’s like, bad luck or something to eat Japanese food with a fork. Okay, if you won’t eat with chopsticks, I’ll feed you. Open your mouth." She picks up another piece of the Alaska roll and lifts it toward me. I open and she feeds it to me, her eyes glued to my mouth as I take it from her. My heart picks up speed.
Her eyes lift to mine and I see the desire there. In just moments, the atmosphere has changed, humming with something thick and electric. She looks down quickly, picking up a piece of shrimp and bringing that to my mouth too. This time, she lingers at my mouth with the chopsticks, sliding them out slowly after I’ve taken the food. I feel arousal swirling through my belly. Who knew sushi could be so sexy?
She feeds me several more bites and then takes a couple herself as I watch her chew. Focusing on her mouth is unbelievably erotic and I can’t help leaning forward and tasting her lips. "You taste salty, like soy sauce," I say, smiling right up against her mouth. "Sweet and salty."
"Mmmm…" she murmurs, smiling back and leaning closer for more.
We lick and taste each other’s mouths for a couple minutes, and then I pull back, going up on my knees and moving around the food to where she’s kneeling. I take her hand and move us both toward the fireplace, several feet away from the sushi picnic. We can finish that in a little bit. Right now, I’m craving something else.
I lean toward her, kissing her softly before leaning back and zipping her uniform dress down. Neither one of us had bothered to change yet. I keep eye contact with her as I bring it down her shoulders. Her dark eyes are wide and searching mine. She smiles gently as if she’s happy with what she sees reflecting back at her.
I slide her bra straps down her arms and reach behind her to unhook it, kissing her down her neck as I lean back. She sighs with pleasure.
"You’re so beautiful."
She looks down shyly. "You think?"
"Yeah. I think."
I take her face in my hands and return to her mouth, sliding my tongue in, kissing her deeply until we both pull away, panti
ng.
When she spreads her hand over my erection, I suck in a ragged breath. I look into her eyes and the desire there almost undoes me.
She stands up and lets her dress fall to the floor. She’s wearing nothing now but a small pair of white cotton underwear with lace on the edges. Something about them is so pure, yet so sexy that I feel myself unbelievably, grow even harder. She turns and starts walking away.
"Where are you going?"
She looks over her shoulder, smiling slightly. "I just remembered that I have somewhere else to be. I’ll see you around?"
I chuckle as she switches off the light and walks back toward me.
She kneels back down in front of me and puts her palm on my cheek. I lean into her. "I wanted it to be you and me and the firelight," she whispers.
I nod, leaning toward her to kiss her again. I can’t get enough of her mouth. I can’t get enough of her.
I unbutton my shirt and pull it off, tossing it to the side. The flickering firelight is making shadows dance all around us, adding to the feeling of being alone with her in another world.
I lay down on the rug on my side and she lays down, too, facing me. Our fronts are pressed together as we continue kissing, the fire behind her.
I bring one hand to her breast and tweak and tease the hardened nipple as she moans and rubs her lower body against mine.
I pull back as I feel her unbuttoning my pants, and roll slightly onto my back so that I can pull them down and kick them off as she removes hers as well. We both lay back down and face each other again, now completely naked.
We stare at each other silently for several moments, something tender and beautiful in her expression. She brings her hand up to my face again and traces my lips with her thumb, whispering, "Can I ask you something?"
I nod.
"You said you never dated, never had a relationship with anyone." She’s silent for a moment. "Why me?"
I stare into her eyes, searching them, wanting so much to tell her about all the reasons I’ll never love anyone except for her, but knowing I can’t, yet.
"Because you’re everything I ever wanted," I whisper back. "Because to me, you’re perfect."
She stares at me silently again before smiling and whispering, "Even this mole on my shoulder?"
I look down, barely able to see the tiny beauty mark she’s pointing at in the dim light. "Especially that mole. I was on the fence about you before I saw it. That mole sealed the deal for me."
She laughs softly. "Okay, good. Thank you, little mole."
I smile and bring my lips back to hers. I reach down between us and slip my finger between her legs. Oh, Jesus, she’s so wet. I moan into her mouth and she presses against me, wanting more of my hand. I slip my finger deeper into her warm wetness and use my thumb to dance lightly over her swollen bundle of nerves. She jerks slightly and whimpers into my mouth.
She brings her hand down to my rock hard erection and slides her hand gently up and down. I pull away from her mouth, groaning out, "Evie," as she continues to stroke me. We stare into each other’s eyes, hers wide with desire, her lips parted, as our hands pleasure each other for several minutes. We watch each other’s expressions change as the arousal rises. It’s intimate and intense and I can already feel an orgasm circling through my abdomen. I close my eyes and clench my muscles until I feel it fade away. For the moment.
"Jake," she exhales, "I’m close. I want to come with you inside me." As she says this, she squeezes me lightly and rubs the pre-cum on my tip with her thumb.
"Ahhhhhh."
"Does that translate to, ‘Okay, Evie?’" she laughs softly.
"Yes," I say, removing my hand from between her legs and hitching her top leg over my hip and scooting even closer to her.
I lean up over her to position myself at her entrance and push inside. Her tight heat surrounds me and the feel of her without a condom is beyond description. I’m afraid to move. But my body apparently isn’t as my hips start thrusting practically of their own accord. I groan, "Oh God, baby, you feel so good."
She moans back, clutching me tighter to her. We move together, moaning and gasping and watching each other’s faces in the dim glow of the fire. There’s something primal and beautiful about making love in the glow of the flames, as if we could be in another era entirely and it would still be me and her, clasped together in this timeless dance of passion.
As her breathing becomes faster, I reach my hand down between her legs again and move my finger over her clit. I’m on a hair trigger here and I need her to come.
After only a couple seconds, she arches her back and presses into me and she’s gasping through her orgasm. Watching her and feeling her spasming around me, tips me over the edge and I jerk inside of her as wave after wave of pleasure spike through me. We’re coming together.
**********
After we’ve cleaned up and changed, we finish our dinner. It tastes even better now after our mini workout. Evie even allows me to use a fork.
We pick up our picnic and then I move to the couch and switch on the t.v. I feel satiated and happy and some mindless television sounds good.
Evie goes over to the Mac and turns it on, sitting down at the dining room table. "Checking it out? Ever used a Mac?" I ask, looking over my shoulder.
"No, but I've always been pretty good with computers. I'll probably get the hang of it pretty quickly."
I get involved in the show, some real crime news show about a woman who disappeared and –
The sound of Evie’s computer snapping down jolts me out of the story and I look over at Evie, whose face has gone pale. I stand up immediately.
"What's wrong, baby?" I ask. Shit, what happened?
She ignores me, walking to the door and starting to put her shoes on.
What the hell? "Evie! What happened? Why are you leaving?" My heart starts pounding.
"That woman in your hotel room was Gwen, wasn't it, Jake?"
"What?" I’m thrown. Where did this come from? My mind reaches back for the lie I told Evie after Lauren answered my phone. "No. Of course it wasn't. Do you think I would invite Gwen to my hotel room for drinks after the way she treated you?"
"Well, I wasn't exactly thinking you brought her to your hotel room for drinks, Jake. All I know is that you sure did look cozy whispering in her ear in the pictures from the benefit you were at Tuesday night."
It takes only seconds for me to connect the dots. Ah, God, she Googled me and saw that damn picture of Gwen and me at the dinner in San Diego. Fucking Google. I hadn’t thought of that picture once since it was snapped. I run my hand through my hair. How is it that Gwen of all people keeps coming between Evie and me? It’s so ludicrous, I would laugh if Evie wasn’t wearing that wounded expression.
"Evie, that was a company benefit. Gwen was there with her father. She tried to talk to me several times and I wouldn't have much to do with her. When she cornered me in front of a photographer, I leaned in and told her she was lucky that I wasn't the type to want to air my dislike for someone on film. She laughed as if I was joking, which I wasn't. That was that. I didn't talk to her again all evening."
She just keeps looking at me, searching my face. Finally, she takes a deep breath. "I want to believe you, Jake, I just… I don't want to… "
"Evie, listen, God, if you only knew… " I laugh a humorless laugh.
"If I only knew what?"
"If you only knew how ridiculous it is for you to think that I would ever betray you, much less with Gwen. Really, if you could get inside my brain, you'd be laughing too."
"Jake–"
"Please, just trust me. Please don't go."
She continues to search my face, finally giving a very small nod of her head. I release my breath and lead her away from the door, throwing her coat back on the bench in my foyer.
CHAPTER 21
Evie works a catering job the next night and tells me she’s going to get a ride home afterwards. I want her to come home to me, but I’m trying
to balance making her feel comfortable in our "new" relationship. This is the hard part for me because I’m so far beyond her emotionally, I think, but sometimes I see a look on her face that tells me her feelings for me are more intense than would make sense for a new relationship. I wonder if she finds it strange. I wonder if she’s been questioning it at all. Then again, she doesn’t have a lot of experience with relationships, so maybe she’s not.
After a meeting at work that day, Preston takes me aside, a look of concern on his face.
"What’s up? Everything okay?" I ask.
"Well, yeah, but I think you should know that Lauren has been making calls to the board. She’s been asking to set up a meeting but she won’t say why."
Ah, shit.
I pause for a minute, considering what she could want with the board and wondering if this is simply because I kicked her out of my hotel room a few nights ago. Is this her new tactic to get at me? I hold the majority of shares, so realistically, there’s not much she’d be able to do. But because I’m the director of the board, I won’t be part of the meeting and I won’t know what she wants until after she’s met with them.
"Okay, well thanks for letting me know, Preston. I’m sorry that family drama is affecting the company."
"It’s doing no such thing. The company is doing great. It’s you I’m worried about."
He pauses for a minute, looking at me, seeming to consider whether to go on.
"You know, I worked very closely with your father. When I visited him in the hospital after his heart attack, he obviously didn’t know that you would be taking over the company as soon as you did, but he made it very, very clear to me that when that time came, he didn’t want Lauren to have anything to do with this company. He asked that if there came a time when I was still here but he wasn’t, that I look out for you. I hope that doesn’t sound condescending. He didn’t mean it that way. I just think that he felt like he had failed you in some way and he wanted to make sure that you knew you had someone on your side under any future circumstances."