Out of The Box Regifted (17 page)

***

Back in our room, Ash implores me to talk about my day.

“So did you gals have fun?”

“Yeah.” I casually say, as I go into the bathroom. By the tone in my voice, he knows there’s more to the story. He follows, turns me around to face him, and with a questioning look, asks, “Just yeah? That’s it? No details?”

I guess it’s time to reveal the truth, so I tell him my about lunch fiasco, and he looks angry.

“Wait - so you’re telling me she knew? And didn’t have the decency to tell you, Liv?” He shakes his head in disbelief.

I pick up my hairbrush, and start to brush my hair. “Yeah that pretty much sums it up. I was the fool. They all knew.” I take a deep breath and close my eyes, hoping the tears won’t fall.

He sits facing me on the vanity, and puts my hair behind my ear. “Honey, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Why didn’t you call me when it happened?”

I shake my head, and look up at him, “What could you have done? You were on the golf course anyway. It’s no big deal.”

“No big deal? Of course it is, Liv. Your best friend stabbed you in the back. Honey, I wish you would have shared this with me earlier.” He opens his arms, “Aww, come here. Liv, you did the right thing. You left on a high note, and that’s all that matters. Besides you don’t need friends like that. She hasn’t tried calling you, has she?”

“Right after I left, she kept calling, but I didn’t answer. She left voice mails, but I just deleted them.”

He takes the brush from me, and starts to slowly brush my hair. “That’s my girl. There’s no sense in hearing what she has to say anyway. Friends don’t do that to friends.” He kisses my forehead.

I tell him that Todd called, and told me the same thing.

He laughs, and points the brush at me, “Well if you don’t believe
me
, at least I know you’ll listen to Todd. You two are peas in a pod. He’s got your back, you know…”

I laugh, and take the brush from him. “Yeah, he told me he was gonna come to Houston and kick her bitch ass. Those were his words, not mine.”

He picks me up and wraps my legs around him, carrying me into the bedroom. “And he would, you know.”

“Yeah, I do. I have a lot of friends and family I can turn to. Not to mention a wonderful fiancé, whom I love to Mars and back.” I run my fingers through his perfectly styled gray hair and pull his face into mine. “I really do love you.”

“Aww honey, I love you too. More than you know. I can’t wait until you get our condo decorated, and ready for us to move into. Let’s just focus on that, the baby, Tommy and Emily, and our upcoming wedding. We’re all you need, Liv.”

I shake my head, “You’re so right.” I look at him and flirtatiously wink, “That and a little shaggin.”

He’s grinning from ear to ear, as he looks at me, “Why Olivia Petersen, you’re starting to sound like Todd.”

He seductively runs his finger around my belly button, and smirks, “I thought about you all damn day, Sunshine. I actually played one of my best games ever today.” He boasts, “I shot a 69.”

I innocently bat my eyes and ask, “So a 69 is good?”

He bites his bottom lip and traces my lip with his finger. “69 is great honey. It’s 3 under par, and I can show you just how good it is.”

“69 huh?” I flirtatiously ask.

With a raised eyebrow, he kisses me while speaking into my mouth, and whispers, “Oh so you know about 69?”

I move my hand between his legs, and feel his bulging erection, “Oh yeah, I know about 69.”

He takes me into his arms, and shows me that 69, is indeed fabulous.

After we’ve made love, we lie in bed listening to sensual soul music on the radio. The room is dark. I put my hand over my mouth and smile.

Ash reaches over, and puts his hand on my face. I softly laugh.

“Liv, are you smiling?”

I giggle, “Yes. Why do you always ask me if I’m smiling, when it’s dark and you can’t see my face?”

He snickers, “Because I can feel your smile. I love it when you smile.”

I put my head on his shoulder, “And I love it when you make me smile.”

He ruffles the top of my head and laughs, “Let’s get some sleep. You wear me out.

In spite of what’s happened today with Patti, Ash has made me realize that I don’t need to dwell on the bad things. We’ve got a great life and so much to be thankful for.

On the way to the airport the next day, I’m quiet and find myself staring blankly out the window of the car, as Ash rubs my leg. He knows how emotional leaving my kids is for me, and he tries his best to cheer me up. “Liv, honey, we’re gonna close on this condo within 30 days and you’ll be going back and forth decorating and renovating, sooner than you know. You can fly in whenever you want. Don’t be sad, be happy.”

“I know. I just
hate
leaving Lainey and Kel. I had such a good time, did you?” He’s got a happy look on his face, and I reply honestly, “I had a blast. In spite of what happened with Patti, I’d venture to say our weekend was perfect.” His eyes light up, “We found our second home, I had a great golf game, you had Lainey time, so yes—I’d say it was a successful weekend.”

***

Before long, our flight lands, and we’re in the car on the road home. While the skyline in Houston is beautiful, nothing compares to the magnificent Chicago skyline at night. It’s positively breathtaking. Green Eyes is playing on the stereo, and I smile. Ash has one hand on the steering wheel, and the other is rubbing my neck. “Whatcha smiling at, Sunshine?”

I close my eyes, as I reminisce, “Ummm, the music. This song was playing the first night I met you. It’s like déjà-vu.”

“Ah, I remember that night. That’s the night I saw the most beautiful woman in the world.”

He takes the exit for Lakeshore Drive, “So, you still wanna stay at the condo tonight?”

Feeling anxious to get home, I put my head back on the seat and stretch, “I think I’d rather go home. I just want to sleep in our bed tonight, if you don’t mind.”

He kisses my hand, “No problem, Angel. Your wish is my command.”

***

We pull into the drive, and I feel so happy to be home. Ash dutifully opens my door. “Go inside honey, I’ll unload everything.” He carries our suitcases to our room, and I fall onto the bed. With my arms behind my head, I stare up at the ceiling, in an attempt to unwind from the events of the weekend. I’m still on cloud nine.

Ash changes into some sweatpants, and plops himself down beside me.

He caresses my cheek. “You tired?”

“Ummm, kind of…but you know what I want to do?” I bat my eyes.

Hesitantly, he looks at me, “Nope. Tell me.”

“I’d like to change into something comfy, grab a glass of wine, and go to the music room.”

He looks at me with a wicked grin.

I roll my eyes, and shake my head, “Not for
that,
Ash. I want you to play for me...and sing. I’ve missed that. It’s been so long...”

He gives me a soft smile. “That sounds mavry, and you’re right... It has been a long time. You
sure
you want me to sing, though?”

I anxiously shake my head.

I quickly change, as he grabs our wine and leads me to his sanctuary.

I curl up on the couch, as he leans over me with a twinkle in his eye. “Name your poison… guitar or piano?”

I look into his eyes, and kiss him. “Both. I want both.”

With guitar in hand, he sits on the couch opposite me, with his legs stretched out. Our feet are touching and I playfully tickle his foot with my toe, watching him squirm. “Okay Sunshine. Remember though, you asked for it.” He winks, as he meticulously tunes his guitar. “You may be sorry.”

I giggle. “Never. You know I love to hear you play, and your voice is amazing.”

He starts strumming, “You like Bonnie Raitt?”

My eyes light up. “I love Bonnie Raitt!”

“Then this is for you.” He plays
Not the Only One,
and I look at him approvingly and clap.

As he’s singing to me, I can’t help but smile. “I’ve never heard that sung by a guy before.”

Not missing a chord he stops singing, chortles and replies, “Guys can feel this way too. Listen to the words. It’s me.”

I sing along with him, and think of how much I’ve missed music nights. After several songs with his guitar, we cuddle on the couch. He softly rubs my arms and kisses my shoulder, giving me chills. “This was a great idea, Liv. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed my music.”

I turn my head, and look up at him. “Now I want the piano.”

“The piano?”

“
Yes. please.”

He bends in, and nudges my neck with his nose “No rest for me tonight, I guess. Whatcha wanna hear?”

“Classical. Something soothing.”

He sits at the piano, and motions for me to go sit beside him on the bench, as he begins to play. His long fingers dance gracefully over the keys, and his face lights up. It’s a beautiful soothing song. He smiles, and looks lovingly into my eyes, “You like?”

I smile, “Umm, I love it.”

“It’s called Sonata Pathetique...one of my favorites.”

“It’s beautiful.” I rest my head on his shoulder, and close my eyes as I listen. When he’s finished, I whisper, “Don’t stop. Please… keep playing.”

“
I’ll play for you, my Sunshine.”

I fall asleep leaning on his arm, and I feel him pick me up, turn out the lights, and carry me to bed. I feel Ash kiss me goodnight, and his arms wrap snugly around me, as I drift off to sleep.

I wake the next morning, to find him not in bed. Assuming he’s gone to make coffee, I lay in bed anxiously waiting to inhale the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

I hear the front door open. Curious, I get out of bed and discreetly peek from the bedroom door, watching as Ash greets our morning guest.

I hear the sound of keys hitting the marble floor, followed by Todd’s high pitched voice. “Jesus H Christ Mr. H.! You scared the fucking crap out of me. What the hell are you doing here?”

I laugh to myself, as I see Todd’s face. He’s caught off guard and embarrassed, as he looks off to the side.

Ash cracks up laughing, “Well Todd, I guess I should ask you the same thing. What may I ask, are
you
doing here?”

Todd stammers for words, not wanting to acknowledge the fact that Ash is buck naked. Looking at the ceiling, he attempts an explanation. “Well, I came by to get a damn amp out of the music room. Tommy said you and Olivia were staying at the condo last night. Holy shit!” Todd covers his eyes with his hand in embarrassment, and shakes his head as Ash calmly and without reserve, explains.

“Well, if you really need to know, we were gonna stay there, but Liv wanted to come back home, since she has to go to work at noon.”

With an uneasy look on his face, Todd looks down and responds, “So, what’s up with the fuckin birthday suit?” He’s discombobulated, which is a rarity for Todd. I put my hand over my mouth to muffle my laugh. This is great. Seeing Todd caught off guard, is priceless.

Ash playfully puts his hands behind his head, and looks at Todd. “Nothing, I’m enormously comfortable with
my
manhood!”

Todd scrunches his face and squints his eyes, gritting his teeth. “Yeah, I guess so. Damn you’re packing a fuckin weapon of mass destruction there, Mr. H. You could fucking inflict some major pleasure with that.”

Hearing them talking, I grab my robe and tie it securely around my waist. I bravely prepare to venture into the kitchen, when it suddenly dawns on me that this would be the perfect opportunity to pay Todd back for his phone sex prank call. I clear my throat, and have to pinch myself to keep from laughing. Pretending I don’t know he’s there, I sashay into the entryway. “Ash? When are you coming back? I’ve been waiting, and I’m not finished with you yet!” I whine with a pouty face. “I got the toys out and…” I gasp, and pretend to be horrified when I see Todd.

Todd’s mouth drops open, as he looks at me totally embarrassed, “Jeeeezus! This just keeps gettin fuckin better by the minute! I couldn’t even write this shit!” He holds his arms out, with a confused look on his face, “Any other surprises gonna come thru that door?”