When Love Calls (11 page)

 Josh pressed his lips to my ear. “So, now that we’re a couple, I suppose it’s ok if we engage in some
official
couple activities.”

“Oh yeah,” I gave him an inquisitive sideward glance. “Like what?” Josh pulled my naked body down onto his and kissed me as he palmed handfuls of my backside. 
Round two!
  This was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Chapter Seven

Josh and I had been going strong for three months and I was happier than I had been in what seemed like forever. I hadn’t given so much as a second thought to Mike, so when the text popped up on my phone from a mystery number, I was taken aback to say the least.

Hey Erin! I apologize for not getting back with you sooner but since I haven’t heard from you I thought I would try to touch base. On my end, things got hectic, then I lost your number. Thankfully I got it today. I thought about coming by, but I didn’t know how you would take it or what you might have going on. I’d still like to talk to you and clear up some things. Give me a call when you get a chance. I know I have some explaining to do.

Mike

“Seriously,” I shouted. I was completely thrown off.
Why the hell is he sending me a message after three months? What could he possibly need to say to me? Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter now.
I read the message again in disbelief. For a reason I couldn’t quite place, it made me feel uneasy. I couldn’t believe he was contacting me after all this time without so much as a note, a homing pigeon, nothing!
Who the hell does he think he is?! Better yet, who the hell does he think
I
am!
Surely he didn’t think my life had been on pause for him? Maybe he had me confused with someone else, or maybe it was his wife trying to bait me into a conversation? Either way, I wasn’t buying into any of his bullshit excuses. Things with Josh and I were good and I wanted to keep them that way. I looked at the message one last time before deleting it and any thoughts of Mike from my head.

I climbed the stairs and headed into my room and prepped to head out with Amber, Angie and Feliz. We were going shopping for our Vegas trip that was just a few weeks away. I was damned near giddy about the getaway. I couldn’t wait to have some time off, but I had to admit I’d gotten used to curling up with Josh at night. It would be the one thing I would truly miss when I went away. He’d done everything he said he would. He was there whenever and, however, I needed him to be and he’d even encouraged me to talk to someone about my past and how it had affected me up to now. So far I’d only been to a couple of sessions but having the chance to share my thoughts and feelings with a neutral person had really been helpful. So far we were still trying to work through my feelings associated with Emily’s death and how it had shaped my life. My therapist, Dr. Stephenson, had posed the question:
What would you have done with your life if your sister hadn’t died?
I hadn’t given her an answer right away because, truthfully, I didn’t know. I had no idea what else I would have become or done if I wasn’t in pediatrics. None the less, Dr. Stephenson had challenged me to think about it to discuss at a future session so I agreed to give it some thought.

A buzz from the cell phone gripped my attention. It was Angie. “C’mon girl! We’re outside! Let’s get this shopping spree rolling!” I peeked out my bedroom window and saw Angie waving to me with the phone still pressed to her ear.

  “Alright, I’m coming,” I laughed as I grabbed my black Dooney and Burke and hit the stairs. I hopped in the back seat of Angie’s black Mercedes next Feliz and we were off.

“So, you get a man and then you forget you have friends, huh Erin? I figured you were one of those chicks.” Angie was amusing herself at my expense.

“C’mon Angie, You ladies have been in relationships forever and I’m still new to all of this so I’ve been trying to take my time and make sure I’m doing this thing right. Plus, I spend a lot of my time recuperating from all of my extra-curricular activities,” I said with a wicked smirk. We all erupted in raucous laughter.

“Well, it’s about time you got yourself someone steady,” Amber chimed in with her usual practicality.

“Thank you Amber.” This time I was being sincere. I knew she was happy for me even if she did come off dictatorial sometimes.

“So now we can plan our little gathering! Don’t worry Erin, I’ll coordinate everything. The girls and I will make a good first impression on your new Mr. Wonderful!” I swear Amber was downright giddy about the idea of all the couples getting together and the other ladies didn’t protest. The rest of the ride she went on about the menu and when would be the best date and asking what kind of games Josh preferred.  You would have thought she was planning a wedding reception. The more I thought about it, I kind of liked finally being able to be included in my friends’ couple activities. It felt a bit like a social graduation. Before I hadn’t really known or even cared what I was missing out on but now that Amber was including me, I was actually excited.

“So, I guess I can finally contribute to these relationship conversations now, huh? I’ve earned some ‘street cred,’” I joked. “So, I know we’re shopping for stuff to take to Vegas but I want to stop by Victoria’s Secret and get a little something special for tonight.”

“Oh Lord! It’s not enough that you forget about us, now you have us shopping for your little nasty lingerie too.” Angie’s eyes smiled at me through the reflection in the rearview mirror.

“It takes a nasty girl to know a nasty girl Nasty Angie!” We all cracked up laughing.

*****

As I stepped from the bathroom to the bedroom, I found Josh standing in the doorway wide-eyed. I darted for the bed and flung myself across it as I dove into the sea of bags, clothes and my new lingerie. I snatched the lacey fabric up and hid it behind my back as I made my way toward the bathroom. “Shoot! You’re early! I was planning a surprise for you.”

“Oh yeah,” Josh asked with a mischievous grin. He walked slowly in my direction and I backed away until I was pressed between him and the wall. “Show me what you have behind your back,” he said gruffly.

 “No, it’ll ruin the surprise,” I murmured, oozing seduction. Josh held my hands behind my back as he trailed kisses down from my lobe to my neck, then from my neck to my chest. Truthfully, he wasn’t gripping me hard enough, but I played along and pretended to try and wriggle free. Josh laid his body against me, pinning me more tightly between him and the wall. He grazed my ear with his lips and said, “So you’re sure you don’t want to share your little secret with me?” I felt his tongue flick against my lobe.

“Mmm, mmm,” was my only reply as I awaited what I hoped would be a bit of punishment. I wanted him to make me tell him all my secrets.

Josh was still teasing me with his staggered breath against my ear and just as I was about to give in, he pulled back nonchalantly and said, “Fine then. I have plans for us this evening anyway and
you
are about to make us late!”  He stood there looking at me with a smug-assed look of amusement on his face. I let out a frustrated sigh and even offered a pout as he backed away from me. He just smiled and said, “Get dressed! I’ll wait for you downstairs. That way we’ll both be safe.” He gave me a wink then  trotted down the stairs.

I resigned to the fact that Ms. Kitty would not be getting any playtime right now and turned on my heels to retrieve the new bra and panties I’d dropped behind me. I slipped off my robe and proceeded to step my foot into my underwear when Josh snuck up behind me. I let out a yelp as I turned to face him. “I changed my mind,” he rasped. “Who cares if we’re a little late?” His eyes scanned my naked body hungrily. “This is worth being late for.”

Josh cupped my breast in his hand and engulfed it with his mouth. He sucked ravenously only taking pause to tease my rock-hard nipple. He alternates from one to the other before licking his way down to my navel. I spread my feet apart as Josh pressed me against the wall and he took it as an invitation. “Mmm,” he moaned into my already dampened sweetness. I felt his tongue flick back and forth against my pleasure and in no time, rewarded him with sticky sap. My flavor seemed to drive him as he waged a relentless pursuit of my next downpour. His fingers danced nimbly across my swollen breasts until he found each pebbled peak and rubbed them between his fingers. Heated explosions overtook me as I climaxed again. I could feel my knees buckling as I gripped the wall to brace myself as Josh stood to his feet. “You’re not getting away that easy,” I commanded as I began unbuttoning his slacks and snatched them down. Before I could protest or even talk shit, he had me in the air and wrapped around him in one sweeping motion. I locked my arms around his neck and closed my eyes. The back of my head slid up and down the wall with every impassioned thrust. I thought my ass might peel the paint off the wall as he probed deeper and faster. I was perched at the edge of my undoing when Mike flashed into my head. It was unintentional and I couldn’t stop it. Even though I was there with Josh, Mike had me against the wall. Mike was unraveling me and it was his face I saw as I tumbled over the edge into a sea of rapture. I couldn’t stifle my cry and the sound of Josh’s end brought me back to my reality.

I turned away quickly and began putting on my underwear. I needed to get both my face and my thoughts together. “I guess I’d better hurry and get dressed,” I mumbled, still facing the wall.

“Alright, I’ll leave you to it.” I heard the clink of Josh’s belt buckle as he fastened his pants. Then there was the sound of his footsteps as he walked down the stairs. Still, I peeked over my shoulder to be sure he was gone then grabbed my sweater and jeans from the bed and went back into the bathroom.
What the fuck was that?!
Guilt blanketed me and my body felt like lead as I struggled to decipher what the hell just happened. I sat on the edge of the tub and stared at the linoleum floor as I flashed back to the night Mike had me pressed against the wall much like I had just been with Josh. It should have been the furthest thing from my mind, but he had managed somehow to work his way back into my psyche.  
This has to be because of that stupid text message!
It was the only logical reason I could think of so I went with it, got dressed and vowed to block Mike and the incident from my mind.

Twenty minutes later I met Josh in the living room where he sat waiting patiently watching television on the sofa. The fall temperature had replaced flowing sundresses with jeans and sweaters so tonight I opted for dark denim skinny jeans, brown leather riding boots and a chocolate brown cowl-necked sweater. Beneath my sweater, I wore a decorative bustier that propped up my breasts with just enough invitation to keep Josh’s eyes on nothing but me. When he turned in my direction, I knew from the way he devoured me with his eyes that I’d made the right decision.  “Let’s go now because if I mess with you we won’t just be late, we’ll miss the event all together! By the way, I haven’t forgotten you owe me a surprise!”  He smacked my ass playfully as we headed to the door.   

“So where are we going?” I posed with an inquisitive eyebrow raise.

“You’ll see,” Josh said through a smile.  “I hope you like it!” He gave my hand a squeeze as we rode off to the sounds of Neyo’s
Closer
.
We
rode for about half an hour before he pulled up in front of an art gallery. I perked up instantly as I looked in the window at the works on display.

“What’s this?” I was barely able to stifle my enthusiasm. I loved art shows and galleries and had actually gone to several shows alone just to survey the independent works of local artists. I had several pictures I’d taken of sculpture’s downtown displayed in my house. I couldn’t believe Josh had brought me here.
How did he know?

“I bought us tickets to this silent art auction. There’s live music, wine and some heavy hors devours, but we can get real food after this if you want. I got the idea from all the framed portraits of artwork around your house.  Do you like your surprise?” He stared at me hopefully.

“Yes, Josh, I do. You really pay close attention to me, huh?” 

“You’ll learn one day,” was all he said as he shook his head, got out of the car and came to open my door.

Once inside we checked our coats and moved around the room viewing artwork and pricing pieces. I was seriously interested in a couple. “Everything is so beautiful. You can really see the passion behind each stroke in this piece. This artist has a fire.” I said. I was engaged in every aspect of painting. There weren’t many people who knew how much art moved me. I was still blown away that Josh had noticed my interest and brought me here. Not only was the art amazing, the music was great too. As I overviewed each piece, I realized I had subconsciously gravitated toward the live music that was coming from the next room. I loved live music. The energy was so much more powerful than anything I could ever hear on a CD. I was excited to hear the live band and maybe get in a dance with Josh so I grabbed his hand and pulled him in that direction.  My heart damn near stopped when I entered the room. I felt heat rise on the back of my neck as my eyes scanned the banner draped across the stage. It read
Epiphany. Shit!!!
It was Mike’s band. “Come on Josh, let’s go get something to eat.” I pulled him persistently toward the room where refreshments were being served.
Did he see me?
I hoped I’d moved fast enough to be undetected and I was already working on a plan to stage a discreet exit. I was literally in the middle of orchestrating my plan when I thought about it.
Why am I running? I’m here with Josh and we are together so who gives a shit about what Mike thinks?
My mini pep talk worked and I felt brave enough to venture back into the room and onto the dance floor with Josh. I gazed at Josh intently as we swayed to the music. “Thank you. This was a wonderful surprise. I’ve loved every moment.” I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes as we moved to the music. After three songs, I excused myself to the ladies’ room and sauntered off in that direction after planting a delicate kiss on Josh’s cheek. When I came out, he was standing there, looking me up and down with his thoughts and intentions clear. “Woman you look… delicious.” He growled as he arrogantly licked his lips. I couldn’t believe it!  “Hello Mike.” I held my breath and put on my best stone face. I needed him to know that his heated gaze had no effect on me. I could feel my nipples hardening beneath my sweater, betraying the ideas in my head.
He’s not what you want!!
I mentally scolded as I began making a beeline down the corridor. Mike stepped directly in my path and blocked my escape.