Fighting Perfection (The Perfection Series Book 2) (23 page)

     I tightened around him and came with a loud cry.  My body was literally shaking, little shockwaves rippling through me over and over again.  It was the hardest I’d ever come from manual stimulation.  It felt so wicked and slightly dangerous to be doing this at who knew how many thousands of feet in the air we were.  I’m sure that added to the powerful sensations that had just overtaken me.

     I opened my eyes and looked at James as I tried to get my breathing under control.  He removed his hand from me and brought his fingers to his lips.  Sucking them into his mouth, he hummed in approval.  “You are so sweet,” he murmured.  “Inside and out.”

     I smiled softly, a little taken aback at how unrestrained I had been.  It was like I had thought earlier though.  With James, I felt like I could do anything.  He had taught me how to fly, figuratively speaking.

     I righted my clothing and fluffed my hair trying to bring myself back into a sense of normalcy.  I had to laugh though when James said, “For the first time in your life, Mimi, you came right on time.  We’re almost home.”

     Once we arrived back at my house, it was a complete free for all.  We had wound each other up so much on the flight home that we were ready to explode when we were finally on solid ground and alone.  As James predicted, I spent the rest of the night wearing nothing but my pearls and heels. 

     Once we were finally sated, we lay curled up in my bed, me with my head on his chest.  I had been drawing lazy circles around one of his nipples when I realized it was well after midnight. 

     “James, how are you going to manage driving home at this late hour?  It’s such a long way and I know you’re tired.”

     “Don’t worry, Kitten.  I don’t have to work tomorrow, and I still have my hotel room.”

     “In that case, I wish you’d told me earlier.  I would have told you to bring all your stuff here.  I don’t want you to leave.  Stay the night with me.”

     “I have no intention of going anywhere.  I’ll have to go grab my stuff from the hotel by ten, which is check out time, but other than that, I’m not in a hurry to get home.”

     I snuggled up to him wondering about my plans with Justin the next day.  I couldn’t cancel them.  I had to get that conversation out of the way and put my friendship with Justin back on track.  I didn’t know how I was going to manage it with James planning to stay like he was.  I decided to just wing it the following day.  I still didn’t like the idea of seeing both men on the same day even if nothing were to happen between Justin and me.  The idea just made me feel sleazy.

     My eyelids began to droop, and I realized there was no solution for my dilemma at that very moment.  Sleep was calling, and I had no choice but to succumb to its clutches.

     My problem was solved the next morning while James was at the hotel fetching his belongings.  Justin called and begged off our lunch date stating an issue had come up that he needed to deal with right away.  He offered to take me out for dinner instead.

     “It’s no trouble, Justin. I don’t have plans tonight.  What’s going on?  Is there anything I can help with?”

     “Thanks, Peaches, but it’s a personal matter.  I’m sure I’ll have it cleared up by this evening.”

     I was so astonished that he’d shut me out of something happening in his life that I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at the screen.  Since when did we not share what was going on in our personal lives, especially if one of us were having a problem?  I didn’t want to be nosey so I didn’t press for information, but I was completely nonplussed.

     “I’ll pick you up around seven p.m. if that’s okay?  Things here should be well in hand by then.”

     “That’s perfect.  Give me a call if you run into any difficulties.  I’m always here to help,” I said.

     “Thanks, Mimi.  As always, you’re the best.”

     I terminated the call and wondered what could be going on.  If it had been something with his family, I was certain he would have told me.  Honestly, I couldn’t imagine any scenario he wouldn’t be willing to share.  We were that close.  I didn’t have any more time to contemplate it because James had come back.  He dropped his duffel and garment bags by the door and came walking into the kitchen where I was standing.  He circled my waist with his arms and pulled me in close to his chest.  I went willingly, breathing in the woodsy cologne he used.  He’d obviously showered at the hotel while he was gone.

     “So, pretty lady, what would you like to do today?  I don’t need to get on the road until about three or four this afternoon.”

     “Hmmm,” I said, pulling on his t-shirt.  “I can think of a few things.  It’s really too bad you’ve already showered.”

     His eyes lit up.  “Is that right?  Well, I can think of a few things, myself.  Ways to get really, really dirty so I need another shower.”

     “What kinds of ways?” I asked, batting my eyelashes and backing out of the kitchen dragging him along with me.

     “Well, let’s see,” he said, as he leaned in to kiss my neck.  “I can mow your lawn.  I can take out the garbage.  I can make some mud puddles, and we both could roll around in them for a while.”

     “As delightful as all that sounds—especially the mud puddle—I have much better things in mind.” I said grabbing his hand and pulling him down the hallway toward my room.

     “Then lead the way, Kitten.”

     “Don’t call me Kitten,” I said as I yanked him into the bedroom and pushed him onto the bed.

     ”Oh, the lady is in charge this morning,” he observed with amusement.

     “That’s right, Lieutenant.  Now don’t move a muscle…”

     Eventually we came up for air and decided we needed some nourishment.  I had suggested we go to a local deli for something simple.  As we were walking to the front door, the doorbell rang.  I opened it to a trembling and crying Delia.  She looked a mess.  Her long hair was in tangles and her make-up was running down her face.  She had her arms wrapped around her waist and she was huddled in on herself.

      “Delia!” I exclaimed, walking out onto the porch and ushering her inside.  “What happened?  Come in, come in.”

     I ushered her to a seat on the sofa and asked James to bring me a bottle of water from the refrigerator.  I pulled her into my arms as she covered her face with her hands and started sobbing.  I shushed her softly as James returned with the water.  When her crying had dwindled down to little sniffles, I handed her the bottle.

     “Here, drink,” I said as I twisted the cap off the top and handed it to her.  She took a long sip before placing it down on the coffee table in front of her.  I looked to James who looked as disconcerted as I felt. 

     “Now, tell me what’s going on, Delia.  What happened?”

     She sighed loudly and sat back against the sofa.  Bracing her head in her hands, she looked down at the floor.  “I fucked up, Mimi.  I fucked up big time.”

     “What did you do?”

     She looked up at James, finally acknowledging his presence.  Her eyes flicked back to me, and then she let it all out in a rambling whoosh.

     “I showed up at Justin’s house this morning with breakfast.  We went out and had a great night last night.  I couldn’t wait to see him again, so when I woke up this morning I thought this would be the perfect way to surprise him.  I only wanted to show him how much last night meant to me, and…and…”

     James interjected with “Justin? Kitten, isn’t that the guy who…”  I shut him down with the universal hand gesture to shush and turned back to Delia.

     “Then what happened?” I asked.

     “He was really, really angry.  He told me I couldn’t just show up out of the blue like that, that I needed to call first.  I have to admit, my feelings were crushed, and I lashed out.  I threw the pastries I had bought at him, called him all kinds of ugly names, and then fled.  I didn’t mean to act like such a brat, and he’s probably right I should have called first, but I thought we had gone beyond that last night.  I mean, he’s my boyfriend, right?” She looked up at me with huge, red-rimmed and watery eyes begging me to reassure her.  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened the night before.

     “Delia,” I began gently, “I don’t know.  I haven’t really talked to Justin much in the last week so I can’t give you any insight to his feelings.  On the few occasions we’ve talked, he hasn’t mentioned anything to me.  That doesn’t necessarily mean anything though.  Our conversations have been very brief.

     “As to what happened this morning, I think you may have overreacted.  I know Justin, and I doubt he’d be…”

     “You didn’t see him!” she exclaimed.  “His jaw was set so hard it looked like granite.  He didn’t yell or anything, but I swear if steam could have come out of his ears, it would have.  And then my Latin temper got the better of me, and I just made a mess of everything.  He’ll never want to see me again!” she wailed.

     “You’d be surprised,” I said.  “Justin is a very forgiving man.  I’ve been irrational and ill-tempered with him before, and he has given me the chance to redeem myself every time.  Justin is a loyal friend.  If you two have grown close, and from what I think you’re telling me you have, he’s not going to turn his back on you just because you got mad.”

     She looked at me with unrestrained hope.  “Do you really think so?”

     “Yes, I do.  Give this situation some time to calm down, a day or two, and then try to give him a call if he hasn’t called you first.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how willing he’ll be to talk it out.”

     She grabbed me and hugged me tightly.  “Thank you so much, Mimi.  I knew you were the person I needed to talk to.  I don’t know any of his other friends yet, but he did say you were his best friend so I just knew you’d know what to do.”

     Her eyes strayed to James again.  “Is this him?” she asked.

     James extended his hand to her and introduced himself.  “I’m Jim Calloway.  I’m a good friend of Mimi’s.”

     A sly smile spread across her blotchy face.  “I hear you’re much more than that.”

     I cleared my throat not wanting this line of conversation to go any further.  Delia was unpredictable.  Who knew what would come out of her mouth if I allowed it to continue?

     “Delia, James and I were just about to go grab some lunch at Canter’s.  Would you like to join us?”

     “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean to interrupt your plans.  No, no.  You two go ahead.  I’m feeling much better now.  I’ll just go home and try to study or something.”

    “Are you, sure Delia?” James asked, looking completely befuddled at the woman.  “You were awfully upset when you walked in here.  I don’t think Mimi is comfortable with you being alone right now.”

     She shook her head as she stood.  “No, I’ll be fine.  I’m sorry that I’ve worried you.  Mimi has helped a lot, and I’m going to follow her advice.”

     “Call me if you need anything,” I said, walking her to the door.

     “I definitely will,” she replied, opening the front door and stepping out onto the porch.  She turned and gave me a little wave before bouncing down the walkway, very much changed from her demeanor when she arrived.

     I turned to James and said, “Is it just me or do you find that as weird as I did?”

     “I do find it odd, but probably not for the same reasons you did.  Let’s head out before she comes back, and we can discuss it over lunch.”

     After we were seated and had ordered at the deli, James looked at me.   “So, I’m totally lost with this Justin and Delia thing.  Isn’t Justin the guy you had told me about before?  Your friend that you had started seeing?”

     “Yes, he is.”

     “Then you’re caught up in some other love triangle I don’t know about?” he asked, looking confused, and pissed off.

     “I wouldn’t say that exactly.  It’s kind of a convoluted story.  I don’t even understand it.  Justin had made this declaration about his feelings for me, then we ran into Delia one day—she’s my friend from school—and the next thing I knew, she was telling me they were seeing each other, too.”

     “So, why are you still involved with him?”

     “I haven’t really seen or talked to him since the day I introduced them.  I had planned to ask him about it tonight.”

     “I don’t understand why you’d want to continue seeing someone who isn’t being straight with you,” he said.  “What gives, Mimi?  You deserve better than that.”

     “I had also planned to tell him tonight that we needed to just be friends, but mainly for reasons that don’t concern Delia.  Obviously, her sudden presence in his life doesn’t make sense to me or make me want to continue, but I have other reasons as well.”

     James leaned back in his seat and studied me.  “Let me know where I stand, Mimi.  You know how I feel.  I have no intention nor desire to see anyone else.  I want you and only you.  You need to know that.”

     I smiled in response.  “I hadn’t presumed that you were or were not seeing someone else.  I’ve just been enjoying the time we spend together, operating under the assumption I had mentioned before.  When or if we decide to be exclusive, it is something that will happen naturally.  Something that occurs because we enjoy each other’s company so much and so often that there really isn’t any room for anyone else.”

     He nodded at me.  “I understand why you feel that way, and I’m still going along with that plan.  However, I can’t tell you it doesn’t please me greatly to hear that you’re going to tell Justin that you just want to be friends.  Now I just have to ensure that your head doesn’t get turned by someone else.”

     “I am not the type to go out seeking other situations when I’m already involved with someone.  This thing with Justin had just happened to occur simultaneously with meeting you.  Don’t get me wrong, I will always adore him and he will always be a part of my life.  He’s still my best friend.”

     “I won’t lie and say that doesn’t make me uneasy, but I trust in what you’re telling me.  I’m still fine with taking this at your pace because I believe we’re good together and you’ll eventually see that we belong together.  I intend to keep proving it to you until you do.”