His Fair Lady (15 page)

“Kevin, honey, would you bring the cake in the kitchen, and we’ll cut it in there?” Carolyn followed her older son from the dining room, a stack of plates held in her hands.

“Sure thing.” Chris’s boyfriend rose, picked up the cake, and followed her.

“I’ll clear the table.” Josie half rose from her chair but got no farther before a chorus of “no no” and “stay where you are” had her sinking back down.

“Guests don’t help clear, and they don’t wash dishes either,” Mark said. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Enjoy for now, because next time you come, you’ll be put to work like the rest of the family.”

“You aren’t helping,” Josie pointed out.

“That’s because it’s my birthday. I get the day off from slave labor.”

“Next time you come,”
Mark had said. Would there be a next time? Josie found herself hoping there would.

“That was really good cake, Mrs. Talleo,” Josie said a while later, polishing off the last bit of chocolate from her plate and setting her fork down.

“Thank you, honey. But I must tell the truth, Kevin’s mother made it, not me.”

“My mom’s a terrific baker.” Kevin finished his cake, then sat back with a satisfied sigh. “And she loves Chris like he’s another one of her kids, so…”

Some wordless communication seemed to pass between the lovers; then Kevin nodded. “You tell.”

“You sure?” Chris picked up Kevin’s hand and interlaced their fingers.

“It’s your family. You should be the one who tells.”

Carolyn frowned. “Tell what? Is everything all right?”

“Everything’s perfect, Mom,” Chris said. “Kevin and I have decided to get married.”

* * * *

“Can I come up?” Mark took Josie’s keys, unlocked her front door, then handed them back.

He’d been hoping she would invite him upstairs, had been waiting for her to do it the whole drive to her house. But she hadn’t. In fact she’d said very little since leaving his house.

“Sure, if you want to. Kyle might be home.”

“That’s okay.”

It wasn’t really. He wanted to be alone with her. But Masterson was in their room with one of his legion of hookups. Mark had gotten a text from him just before he and Josie left his mom, still a bit weepy after Chris and Kevin’s announcement, and already Googling wedding coordinators on her smart phone.

Drv slo. Im busy.

So okay. Josie’s place it was. If Kyle was home, maybe he’d get a clue and make himself scarce.

“I guess he’s not here,” Josie said when they reached the apartment and found it empty. She closed the door, then looked around the living room as if unsure what they’d come there for or what to do next.

Mark knew just what he wanted to do next. He reached for her. “I’m glad he’s not here.”

She came easily into his arms, her body soft and pliant against his, her lips parting when his tongue probed for entrance.

The kiss went hot and deep so quickly it made Mark dizzy. Or maybe it was the taste of her that had his head spinning and his senses reeling.

Josie broke the kiss and leaned back in his arms. “I have something for you.”

“What?” He had everything, or nearly everything, he wanted right there.

“A present. Let me go get it.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything.” Reluctantly he let her go.

“But I did.” She spun away from him and disappeared down the hall, her hair fanning out behind her.

God, she had an amazing body. He admired the way the black sweaterdress hugged her slim hips and tight little ass. He entertained a brief fantasy of bending her over the back of the couch, pulling up the short skirt of that dress, and sliding balls-deep into that sexy ass.

Whoa, dude!

Mark caught himself. He closed the mental door on that image. He’d known only one girl who had expressed any interest in anal play, and her thing was she wanted to wear a strap-on and do it to him!

Not that he’d gone for it, or ever even considered it, not even for a minute. So what were the odds that Josie would—

“Are you ready? Close your eyes.”

He was so caught up he hadn’t even realized she was back. In fact he could see only her shadow cast by the hallway light. She held something large and rectangular, like a poster.

Obediently he closed his eyes.

“Ta-da! Open your eyes.”

Mark opened his eyes.

It was a poster, a framed poster, but at first he couldn’t make sense of it.

“What—”

“It’s
Romeo and Juliet
. It’s called a one-page Shakespeare. See? It’s the whole play on one page.”

Then he did see.

He walked to where she stood holding the poster up in front of her. It was a laminated and framed print and, yeah, it was the actual text of
R&J
, all on one poster.

“Wow, that is so…”

“Weird? Is it too weird? I knew it was too weird. I should have—”

“No, it’s great. I love it. I do. I love—I love that you got this for me.”

What had he almost said? Ugh, a slip of the tongue, that was all it was.

He took the poster from her, set it aside, and pulled her into his arms.

“I wanted to get you
My Fair Lady
or maybe
Pygmalion
, but they didn’t have either of those. If I was more artsy, I could have made one for you with
My Fair Lady
. But I’m not that artsy. I could have probably found somebody to help me do it, but I didn’t have that much time and you said you were in
R&J
a few years ago so—”

“Joes?”

“What?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

“Okay.”

She kissed him. Her mouth was warm and sweet. She tasted like coffee and chocolate and like herself. Her high firm breasts pressed against his chest, and her scent filled his head. He felt drunk on her, utterly intoxicated and hungry for more, so much more. He slid his hands down and cupped her ass. God, but he could not keep his hands off her gorgeous ass. He couldn’t remember ever being so obsessed with a girl’s ass. He ground his swiftly hardening cock against her and heard her moan.

He buried his face in her hair. He was crazy about her hair. “I want you, Joes. I want to strip you naked and lay down with you. I want to kiss every inch of your gorgeous skin. I want to spread your legs and make you come with my mouth.”

“Mark.” She sighed.

“Josie, please? I want you.”

“I know,” she whispered. Then she was pulling away.

“What’s wrong?” He felt bereft, deprived, abandoned.

“Nothing. But it’s time for the other part of your present.” She knelt and reached for his zipper.

“No!” He caught her wrist before she could unzip him.

“Why not?” She blinked up at him, her eyes filled with confusion and hurt.

“Because I want to do something for you. C’mon, get up. Let’s go in the bedroom and lie down. I want to—”

Josie shook her head. “No, this is your night. It’s your birthday. I want to do this for you.”

Holy shit! This beautiful sexy girl, this girl who was everything he wanted and more, was on her knees asking if she could blow him for his birthday, and he was about to say no. He must be out of his fucking mind.

She was still gazing up at him, still not understanding. Hell, he didn’t understand it himself. But he saw from her expression that even this brief hesitation was not making the situation better. He could hardly think over the blood roaring in his ears and pounding in his dick. But he had to tread carefully because there was rejection in her eyes, and he knew if he wasn’t careful, he could lose her, maybe not just for tonight but for good.

Instead of pulling her to her feet, Mark sank to his knees. He let go of her wrist and framed her face with his hands. For the next few moments, they stared at each other while he searched for the right words and didn’t find any that sounded even close.

“Josie, I want—”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No! God, no.”

She went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “I never did this before, so I don’t really know what I’m doing. If you could just tell me what you want, I’ll do it.”

How often did he get an offer like that? Try never.

Mark closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. She was killing him.

“Okay, Joes. But can we at least go in the bedroom? I’d rather not be sitting here with my dick hanging out if Kyle decides to come home.”

Although he was dead serious in his request, she smiled.

“That would probably not be good.” Josie got to her feet and held out a hand.

He could not refuse this girl anything, and wouldn’t ask her for more than she wanted to give. So where did that leave them?

Mark stood, took the offered hand, and walked with her into her bedroom.

Chapter Eleven

He was going to be late for rehearsal. Again.

Mark stood in the lobby of his dorm and fumed. He slammed the elevator button with the flat of his hand, then did it again just for the hell of it before heading for the stairs.

He pounded up to the third floor, then down the hall and through the suite at a jog. He ignored the repeated chiming of his phone as a series of texts arrived. The door wasn’t locked, and the knob turned easily under his hand. He burst into the room and nearly knocked Masterson off his feet.

“Jesus Christ, Talleo! What the fuck?”

“I’m late for rehearsal.” Mark tossed his bag on the bed, then grabbed his ethnography text and environmental science book from the shelf above his desk. He had a crapload of reading he could get done while he waited around. Tech week was like that, lots of starts and stops and sitting around.

“Dude, there’s something I have to tell you,” Masterson said.

“Later.” Mark yanked open the zipper on his bag, stuffed the books in alongside his laptop, then zipped it up again.

“Now, Talleo. It’s important.”

“What part of I’m late didn’t you get?” Mark hefted his bag and slung it over one shoulder, then started for the door.

Masterson grabbed the strap and jerked the bag off Mark’s shoulder.
Bam!
It hit the floor at Mark’s feet. From inside the bag came a weird crack.

Shit, his laptop!

With no thought at all, Mark swung. His fist connected with Masterson’s jaw. The skin split, and blood flowed. Suddenly Mark found himself on his back on the carpet with his roommate on top of him. Mark balled his fist and landed a glancing blow off Masterson’s left ear. Masterson’s fist smashed into Mark’s jaw, making him bite his tongue. He tasted blood.

For what felt like a long time but was probably no more than a minute, they beat on each other. Finally Masterson pinned Mark.

“Get off me, you douche bag! What the fuck is your problem?”

“Your girlfriend’s a guy.”

“Fuck you. Get off me.”

“Did you hear me, Talleo? Josie is a guy.”

Mark froze in midswing, his fist hanging in the air. “What— What?”

“You didn’t know, did you.” Masterson rolled off Mark. He sat up and dragged his hands down his face. They came away bloody. “Fuck!”

“What are you talking about, asswipe? Who told you that?”

“Vi.”

“That bitch!” Mark sat up, then rolled to his feet in a single motion, energized by fury. “She’s just jealous of Josie because—”

“No, man, listen. She said somebody saw Josie in the bathroom. Pushed open the door by accident when she was in the stall, and they said she had… You know. The wrong parts, for a girl, I mean. Shit, Talleo, you had no idea?”

“Who was it?”

“I told you. Vi.”

“No, who told her?”

Masterson got up from the floor, then plopped down on the edge of his bed and stared at his shoes. “She wouldn’t say.”

Mark sat as well. “Hah, that’s because it’s bullshit. And why’s she telling you anyway?”

“Because you won’t answer her texts or calls. She said she’s been trying for days to talk to you, but you keep blowing her off.”

That was true. He’d gotten five calls from Vi over the past four days and two texts before he blocked her number.

“When did she tell you this?”

“Uh…”

“Uh what?”

“The night you and Josie went to dinner at your mom’s.”

“On my birthday? But I thought you hooked up with somebody that night.”

“I did,” Masterson muttered.

“Holy shit! You hooked up with Vi.”

Masterson shrugged. “You were done with her, weren’t you?”

“No. I mean, yeah, I don’t care. It’s just…” Mark let the sentence go unfinished. It was just weird imagining Masterson and Vi bumping uglies. Quickly Mark scrubbed that mental picture. He did not want that in his head. Besides, he had more important stuff to deal with, like who was spreading these fucked-up rumors about Josie.

“You’re not mad, are you?” Masterson asked. He wiped the blood from his face with a balled-up T-shirt.

“About Vi? No, I told you.”

“No, about Josie. I just thought you should know what people are saying.”

Mark considered, then shook his head. “I’m not mad at you. I’m kind of pissed at Vi, though, and when I find out who started this bullshit, I’m going to kick their ass.”

“You’ve seen her, right?”

“Who? Vi?”

“No, Josie. You’ve been going out for a while. Have you ever seen her, you know…naked?” Masterson gestured to himself as if to illustrate nakedness even though he was fully clothed.

“Sure I have,” Mark said.

But had he?

He’d seen her without her shirt on several occasions. He remembered those perfect breasts that fit in his palms like peaches. He remembered the scent and the taste of her skin and how she liked to be bitten on the back of her neck. How she squirmed when he did that.

He remembered too the myriad reasons she had for not taking off her jeans. She was shy. She liked watching him. And, oh yeah, she had her period. That one she’d said with a blush so deep it had to be the truth. No one got that embarrassed by a lie. Or did they?

He was going to get to the bottom of this bullshit, and for that he needed to talk to Vi.

“I have to go to rehearsal.” Mark got to his feet and picked up his bag from the bed.

“Don’t be too hard on Vi, man. She was really upset about all this. She started crying when she told me.”