Outside the Box (32 page)

Spencer

****

(2 months later)

The honeymoon in Australia was great, seeing Alexia smile nonstop and being able to relax was exactly what she needed.  Between working at the salon, going to college, and planning the wedding she was starting to exhaust herself.

The ‘Box 2’ in Los Angeles was booming with business, the waiting list was growing more and more each day.  Alexia wasn’t able to fly out with me for the grand opening or to L.A. with me for this trip because of school. I had to go out and straighten out the payout system because it kept locking up and not paying the employees.  The trip was only supposed to take a day or two but I ended up being there for a week because we had to order a new system and install it, that system had the same glitch, finally the third machine worked properly and I was able to go home. 

Alexia was still working at the salon, still going to college, and still tutoring on the side.  She only had a few months until college would be out for the summer, I was looking forward to it so we could actually spend more time together.  She would get home late, eat supper, watch TV, and usually fall asleep on the couch with Casper.  Casper had become her cat, Frank my cat, and Tiny was just the tornado of the three.  I didn’t know a dog could actually shred and entire leather sectional couch but he did, and he loved to shred shoes.  It took a trainer stepping in to finally get him to chill the fuck out. 

If Alexia would be late getting home she would always text me and let me know so I could take her supper.  The ladies at the salon always offered to give me a free shave, or haircut, I politely decline them.  No woman was going to do that to me except for my own wife.  Julie had let it slip one day that her and her boyfriend were clients at my club and that she had seen Alexia and I in “action”.  “I’m telling you ladies, these two could make a monk and mime so hot and bothered the only words they would be chanting is “Oh god…oh god!”  I had never seen Alexia blush the shade of dark red she did that evening. 

I couldn’t wait to start a family with her but she kept saying that she wasn’t ready yet, that she wanted to finish college, get
her career started, then we could start a family.  In my mind that seemed too far away.

“Why the hell do you need a job, there’s enough money in our bank account to support the twelve kids and their kid’s kids.” I asked.

“I’m not going through school just to say “Hey look at me I passed the accounting program.” She replied with a snarky tone.

“You don’t have to be a bitch about it, I just don’t understand why you think you need to work.”

“Now I’m a bitch because I want to have a career and not live off of
your
money?  Classy Spencer, real classy.” She rolled her eyes and walked out of the break area and into the salon. 

When she got home that night, she showered and went to bed.  I crawled in behind her and apologized but she was already asleep.  I didn’t like how tired she was, I was secretly hoping she was pregnant but that little bubble was popped when she started her period a few days later.  So I chalked the moodiness up to the hormones. 
Derrick and his girlfriend broke up so he was coming around more, “So how’s the married life?” he asked one evening while we lounged by the pool and watched Tiny chase is chew toy around the pool

“She’s so fucking busy between work and college she’s getting bitchy.  I’ve tried talking to her about starting a family, that backfired and started a fight instead.”

He was quiet for a few minutes, “But everything is still okay, right?”

“Yeah, when summer break is here we’ll be back to normal.”

“How many students is she tutoring can she quit doing that so you two have some time together?”

“I’m not sure, I’m going to go to the college tomorrow and talk to Professor German.  She’s going to have a breakdown if she doesn’t lessen her work load, I know that much.”

He told me all about his break up with Amber, “Man everything was going great, the whole distance thing didn’t bother her at all.  She watched one of my games on TV and seen the crowd rush the field after we won.  I hugged one of the female athletic trainers for too long I guess and that made her think I was cheating on her with that chic.” He shook his head.  “I wouldn’t do that to her, fuck I about went ape shit on you when all that shit went down between me and Lexi.”

I laughed, “That was so messed up, but I wasn’t going to give her up without a fight.  I even told her that.  I just didn’t think I’d be fighting my own brother.”

Alexia walked through the patio doors interrupting our conversation, she sat down on my lap.  “You boys up to no good?”

“We were just visiting, how was your day?  Are you hungry?” I asked and kissed her hand.

“I’m too tired, I’m going to go shower and head to bed.”

“Lexi, you’re overdoing yourself.  Why do you do that?”

She rolled her eyes, “Yes Derrick I’m hearing that very frequently in this house.  I know what my limits are, I’m fine.”  She stood and went into the house. 

Derrick looked over his shoulder, “Wow,
bitchy,
I’m glad it’s you dealing with that kind of attitude and not me.” He told me. 

I finished my beer, “I’m going to head inside, you’re welcome to stay if you want.”

“Nah, I’ll go back to my apartment.  If you two are going to have a bitch session I’m not going to witness it.”

“She’ll be asleep before I even get to the room.  Give me a call tomorrow maybe we can grab supper again.”

“Later.” He left so I shut the stereo off and went inside.  After I had all the doors locked and Tiny in his crate I jogged up the stairs.  I figured Alexia would be in the shower still but she wasn’t she was curled up on the bed asleep in the same clothes she had on when she got home.  I slipped her shoes off, covered her up, then went and showered. 

The following day she rushed through the shower, grabbed a bagel, kissed me and ran out the door.  “I’m going to be late, I’ll see you tonight.” She called out and shut the door before I could say two words to her.

“She too busy, tell her slow down.”  Jocee said while looking at the door.

“I’m going to go talk to her professor today.”  I put my suit coat on. 

“Good, you tell her I said she going to age twenty years if she not slow down.”

I waved before I walked out to the waiting car.  The first place I was going to go was the salon to see if Julie could give Alexia the evening off.  “She’s got one hair cut scheduled, the rest she is having a tutoring session this evening.
  I can stay and do the hair cut, that’s no problem.”

“Really?” I asked with a confused tone.

“I told her she needs to slow down so I cut back on her chair time.”  Julie told me.

“Good, I’ll see if I can get the session moved to a different night.  I want some down time with my wife.  Don’t you dare tell her that
I’m planning a romantic evening or I will ban you from my club.”

Julie turned her fingers in front of her mouth like a key, “Enjoy your evening!” she called out as I walked out of her salon. 
On the ride to the warehouse I called the college to set up an appointment with Professor German, he would be taking a break from class in an hour and a half so I would meet with him then. 

Peaches was on vacation for a week so I got busy listening to voicemails and returning phone calls for the next hour.  I arrived at the college, I was hoping to see Alexia but she wasn’t anywhere to be seen before I went into the classroom.

“Good morning Spencer, what can I do for you today?” Professor German asked while cleaning his glasses.

“I need to talk to you about Alexia, her schedule has her swamped.  How many students is she tutoring?”

He put his glasses back on, “You don’t even know how many she tutors?  Do you to ever talk or do you spend all of your time giving her a lesson between the sheets?” he leaned back in his chair. 

“She’s too fucking tired when she gets home, I was able to convince her boss to give her the evening off, can the sessions for this evening be moved?”

He opened a desk drawer and pulled a folder out, “She’s with Reed this evening, Jules and Jordan tomorrow, and all three on Friday.”

“Jesus Christ three students, are you slacking on your job or what?  Why the fuck is she helping so many?”

He shrugged his shoulder, “Because she asked, she’s very smart and very good at what she does.  Obviously she enjoys it and enjoys helping people.”

“Can the session be moved
to a different night?” I asked and pinched the bridge of my nose.  I had no clue that she had asked to take on three students, she sure as hell wasn’t going to do that for long if I had my say in the matter.

“I’ll have to talk to Reed and get back with you, there was a family matter that come up so it might be a session to get up to speed with Friday’s.”

“Just let me know so I can make reservations or if I need to bring her something to eat.” I told him and walked out. 

I went back to the warehouse and spent the rest of the day making more phone calls, going over spreadsheet after spreadsheet, approving time off, and filing applications for new clients.  I sent Peaches a text and told her she was never again going on vacation.  To which she replied with a picture of her toes buried in the sand, a cold beer in her hand, and the sun setting behind the ocean.

Professor German never called me back, so I sent Alexia a text asking her if she was available this evening.  Victoria had supper ready when I got home, I still hadn’t heard from Alexia so I ate by myself then went to my office grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels and made me a tall glass of Jack and Coke. 

Lexi

****

My busy schedule picked right back up when we returned, Spencer was getting irritated that we weren’t getting to spend much time together but there was only a few months of school left.  He had brought up wanting to start a family but I told him that I didn’t want to yet.  That conversation led to an argument, him telling me I didn’t need to work and that he didn’t understand why I thought I
needed to.  I just wanted to have my own career, he had his, I deserved to have mine so I wasn’t backing down.  I rarely spent his money, I know it was mine too but…I liked the cushion of knowing I could buy my own things without his help. 

Derrick and Amber had broken up, Amber had grown insecure and didn’t trust Derrick when he was out of town for soccer games.  “We can be friends but no
t lovers, I totally understand that saying now.” She told me one afternoon when she called.  I was going to remain friends with her no matter what, she was a sweet person, just because things didn’t work out between them didn’t mean I had to cut ties with her.  She was easy for me to talk to, when Spencer and I were having disagreements. 

“You know the one thing nobody ever told me before I got married?” I asked her.

She laughed, “Oh god…what’s that?”

“That when you’re dating, your arguments are just arguments.  It’s cute almost
, to see how they react.  But get married…the cuteness goes away and the arguments turn into a full blown war within seconds.”

She laughed harder, “Yep, I’m staying single.  I’ll just get me a cat and be the cat lady!”

It was me that laughing this time, “I thought the same thing but Destiney was not having any part of watching me and Frank grow old together.”

“Things will get better between you two,
summer is almost here you’ll have more free time to spend with him.  Then everything will be all hunky-dory again.”

I blew out a breath, “I know, I feel bad that I don’t get to go everywhere he goes, but I can’t miss any more school.  Julie has already cut down my chair time at the salon in attempt to give me some free time.”

“Are you happy Alexia?  I mean, do you regret getting married?”

“I’m very happy and don’t regret anything, I get so frustrated that Spencer thinks just because he
’s super rich that I should have to give up what I want to do and sit around the house.”

“I hear ya, he’s just trying to make things easier for you.  There’s no doubt he loves you, take it easy on the guy. 

We hung up and I went back to class, there was a joint tutoring session that evening so it was later than normal when I got home.  Derrick and Spencer were poolside, drinking beers and visiting when I walked out and sat down on Spencer’s lap. Spencer asked how my day had been and if I wanted something to eat.  When I told him I was going to shower and go to bed he sagged under me and shook his head.  That’s when Derrick threw his two cents in that he thinks I’m over working myself, so I went upstairs and laid down on the bed. 

The following morning I woke up with only forty five minutes before school would be starting.  I rushed through the shower, grabbed a bagel for breakfast kissed Spencer and ran out the door. 
Professor German was just closing the door when I grabbed the handle, “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to grace us with your presence today.” He laughed.

“Fat chance mister.  You’ve gotta see me every day!” I told him.

At break is when I realized that I had left my cell phone at home, Destiney had caught up with me and told me she tried to call to see if I wanted to go get a coffee with her.  “I must have left my phone on the dresser.” I told her as we walked towards Starbucks. 

On the way back she told me that things were going really good between her and William, “I’m not saying I’m all for marriage just yet but I hate not being around him.  I’m so ready for things to slow down for me so we can spend more time together.”

I laughed, “Me too, Spencer is getting impatient waiting for college to get out.”

“That doesn’t surprise me at all.  I’ll try to catch up with you this week okay?”

“Okay, I promise I won’t leave my phone at home again.” We hugged each other and went back to our classes.

About an hour into class Professor German started having chest pains, so an ambulance came and took him to the hospital.  Another Professor substituted for the rest of the day, we didn’t do much since he was from the science department.  I used that time to go over what I would be working on with Reed after school.

Reed was a transfer from Ohio, we had a lot in common and got along great.  She was struggling with depression because her mom passed away a few months back.  Her dad was an alcoholic that didn’t even know her most of the time.  So she confided in me as a friend during our tutoring sessions. 

“I wish life didn’t have to throw such harsh curve balls, I hate it.  If my dad would just put the bottle down and be there for me I wouldn’t be so stressed.  I can’t lose him too.” She told me as we walked into the college library.

She knew about my parent’s and knew that I was adopted, “I’ve thought about trying to find my biological dad but the way I see it, he would have found me by now if he cared.  Unless he doesn’t know about me but I doubt that’s the case.”

“Can we go for a shorter session, my brain is about fried.” She asked.

I laughed, “I was thinking the same thing, plus my husband would probably enjoy a night where I actually stay awake for more than a few minutes.  Our sex life has gone from all the time to practically nonexistent.”

“I can’t wait until I meet mister right, I’m going to let him spoil me and pamper me all the time.”

I didn’t tell her that I’m married to a man that would do all of that if I would just let him, we spent the next couple of hours going over the points that she was having trouble on.  “I can’t believe you, this all comes so natural for you.  I’m over here like an idiot wanting to say Unicorn or gummy bear is the answer!” she said causing me to laugh. 

“I think this is good enough for the week, when you start putting unicorns and gummy bears in the equation your brain is giving you one last sizzle before it explodes.”

“Thank God!” she breathed out. 

I waved before I got in the waiting car, Joe looked at me in the mirror, "The Salon?” he asked and smiled.

“You got it.” I replied.  When we got to the salon there was note on the door from Julie letting me know she had done the haircut for me that I had to take the evening off. 

I got back in the car, “This must be my lucky day, please take me home.” I sagged with relief in the seat. 

“There still some daylight left, are you sure you don’t want to drive around until dark I’d hate for you to get confused.” Joe said with a laugh. 

“Nope, take me to my castle please.”

We both laughed, on the drive home we talked about my honeymoon and how busy life was for me since we had been back.  “Hopefully Spencer will be home shortly so we can have an evening together!”

Joe smiled and nodded his head. 

I walked in the door, kicked my shoes off, went to the kitchen grabbed bottle of water and started to walk to the living room to sit down and watch TV while I waited for Spencer to get home. 

Spencer’s office door slammed shut, h
e came out of his office with my cell phone in his hand, and pure raging anger in his eyes. 

“You and
I are going to fucking talk.” He yelled.  I flinched at his tone.

“Okay.” I shrugged a shoulder and walked over to the couch, he followed but never sat down.  He turned and braced his hands on the back of the couch blocking me in. 

“Who the fuck is he?” he growled out.

“Huh?  Are
you drunk?” I asked, because I could smell alcohol on his breath.  The only time he drank was when he was stressed out.

“Don’t play fucking stupid, who is Reed?  You’re little fucking college aged boy toy that you tutor?”  He held up two fingers, “I’ve had two fucking drinks, and two shots because of the god damn text messages my
wife
has been getting from Reed.”  There was a vein on the side of his neck that was bulging and pulsating.  “Answer the fucking question Alexia!” he stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. 

I shook my head, “You don’t trust me do you?  You think that I’m just like your ex that I’m going to cheat on you.  Thanks Spencer.”

He shrugged a shoulder, “You
were
fucking my brother the same time you and I were fucking.  Now answer the fucking question…WHO.IS.REED.?!” he yelled.

“One of the students I tutor obviously.”

He laughed, shook his head, then leaned his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose.  “Well Reed and I quote, (he looked at my phone) Thank you so much Lexi for helping me I don’t know how I will ever repay you.  I’m so glad we met, I really enjoy spending time with you.  You’re an amazing, strong, beautiful, smart woman.  I think the right answer is Unicorn?  Am I right LOL?  See you next week XOXO Reed.” He finished reading the text then looked at me again, “I have an idea, how about you go find your little fucking boy toy and bring him to meet your husband.  You can once again have the choice of who you want to get tangled up with between the sheets.  At least this time I
know
I won’t be fighting my own god damn family.”

I couldn’t stop what I did next, I grabbed the TV remote and threw it at his head, he tried to dodge out of the way but it hit him above his eye, then crashed to the floor. “Fuck you!  REED, is a woman you asshole.  She transferred in to this accounting department.  REED is a friend, a girlfriend.” I wiped tears from my face, turned away from Spencer and went upstairs.  I locked the bedroom door behind me, sat on the bed and cried. 
So much for a relaxing, romantic evening with my husband I thought to myself.

There was a tap on the door, “Alexia, open the door so we can talk.  I’m sorry okay.”

“I don’t think I have anything nice to say to you right now, you’ve made it more than clear what you think of me Spencer.  I’m going to go stay with Destiney for a few days…”

“No you’re fucking not, open the door or I’m kicking it in.”

“I…I don’t want to talk to you.  Please, leave me alone.” I yelled back.  There was a few seconds of silence before the door splintered next to the door handle and Spencer was walking towards me.  I climbed off the other side of the bed, “I’m not going to talk to you, we are both mad…”

“I said I was fucking sorry!  Christ Alexia, I’ve been doing everything in my god damn power to get just a little time with you, but you fucking take on more students, work all the god damn time…then I read texts from somebody named Reed.  What the fuck would you have thought?” He said trying not to yell.

“I definitely have more trust in you obviously, this marriage isn’t going to work if you never trust me.  I would
never
throw what you did in my face back at you.”

He ran his hand through his hair, “I’m sorry…fuck Alexia.  I miss my wife, I miss my best
friend.” He walked slowly around the bed, “I miss the woman that would light up any room when she smiled, I miss the woman that could make me forget my own name with her kiss, her touch.  I miss her body, I miss you.” He traced his finger across my bottom lip.  When he lowered his mouth to mine we were both shaking, his thumbs ran across the bare skin from where he place them on my hips above my jeans.  “I miss this beauty mark that I know drives you crazy (he kissed the freckle on my cheek bone), I miss these tiny goose bumps that cover your body when I touch you.” He pulled my shirt over my head and kissed my neck, “I miss getting to feel this pulse point against my lips as your heart beats faster and faster with each touch of my lips.” His finger dipped inside of my bra brushing my hardened nipples, “I miss the feel of these beautiful nipples against my tongue…” he lowered his head and circled my nipple through my black lace bra. 

I unbuttoned his shirt while we kissed leaving him in his suit pants.  I tried to unbutton them but he shook his head at me, “Slow down baby, I’m not even close to being done with you.” He whispered as he pushed my jeans down so I could step out of them.  I was left in my black bra and matching thong, he reached behind me and slowly unfastened my bra.  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry that I said what I did.  You mean everything to me, you are my everything.  I’ll do anything to be with you, the thought of another man spending time with you, being near you, when I can’t…I wanted to hunt him down.  I’m so sorry Alexia.” He said as he
lay down with me on the bed, covering my body with his. 

He finally took his clothes off, then slid my thong off, “Please Spencer…” I moaned as he ran his hand up my legs, hips, across each breast until he was again covering my body with his.  When our skin touched the familiar sizzle of passion jolted us and within seconds he was pushing inside of me. 

“Christ I missed this, the way our bodies react.  That fire building between us, that sizzle in our blood.” He brushed my hair away from my face.  “I don’t ever want to be the cause of these again.” He wiped tears away from the corners of my eyes.  I couldn’t speak, so I pulled his face to mine and kissed him with every ounce of passion and love I had.  I wrapped my legs around him as he rocked his body against mine, his moans, his breath against my skin.  “Cum for me Alexia.” He whispered against my lips then pushed slowly deeper inside of me until no more of him could fit inside of me.  His cum filled me, his muscles tensed, and flexed.  “I’m so sorry.” He said again, his cock still shooting ribbons of cum inside of me.  “I love you.”