Resilient (2) (29 page)

Her legs were getting cold. She pulled the covers, but they didn’t budge. Captain cover hog’s heavy body was keeping her from the warmth of her fluffy duvet. That’s what she got for falling asleep naked. Speaking of naked, Katrine leaned on her hand and took in the toned planes of his torso and the fabulous ass so graciously on display for her early morning perusal. Her tongue slid across her lips.
 

Yum.

Her bladder cut the ogling short. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she crawled back into bed. Watching him sleep naked might have broken into her smile list top five. He made a groaning sound and flipped onto his back. She waited for him to open his eyes. Nope, still asleep. But heeellllooo! Her eyes went wide when his very impressive morning wood came into view. A naughty idea popped into her head. She’d always wanted to give a guy an oral alarm clock. What better way for a man to start the day? Since he’d been so giving with his mouth the night before, she thought she’d return the favor. Katrine carefully straddled him, making sure not to touch him, not yet, anyway. She took a deep breath and eyed his unit, pondering the best way to go about it. Sometimes it was just intimidating.

Start down low, then work my way up? Start at the top and work my way down? Use my hands first? Oh for god’s sake, quit stalling
.

When all else fails, just go for it. So she decided to start slowly. Wake him gently with her licks. He groaned, this time with awareness. A smile touched her lips. Now for top to bottom, gradual and patient. Xander’s head pressed into the pillow and his hips rose slightly.

Now I have your attention.

She loved that right now, at this moment, she owned him. His knees fell open and he grabbed her hair. She yelped when he sat up suddenly, lifting her onto him. There was something liberating about being on top of a man when the room is bright, nothing between you but skin. There was a time when Katrine might have been a little self-conscious, but not with Xander. He made her feel beautiful. He made her feel sexy. He made her feel invincible. But as bliss took hold of her body, she didn’t want invincibility. In that moment she could die a happy woman.

The week after the party, Katrine had some follow-up conversations with her pals. The consensus was that Xander seemed like a good guy, despite his cheating episode. Of course they all thought he was good looking and charming, but the things that made the difference was how he was with her. Maddie told her that when he looked at her the love and adoration was blatant. “It wasn’t an act, I watched him when he thought no one was looking. Even Ian didn’t look at you like that, although it was close. That guy’s in love with you, so he’s off my list for now.”

“Thank you, Maddie. I’ve been holding my breath, waiting for your approval.”

“You know you want me to like him, so shut it!”

“You’re right. I do and everyone else, too. I just wanted you all to see what I see. He’s wonderful, and the more time I spend with him, the more I discover. He has layers, sis, that I haven’t even begun to peel.”

“I meant to ask you about your team at work. What do they think about you dating the head honcho?”

“I don’t think they know for sure. They were very suspicious after his surprise visit.”

“I still can’t believe he did that!”

“I know, right? But they don’t know I’m seeing him. I guess eventually it’ll come out.” She was sure Jaimie had her suspicions. The only thing that would keep her quiet was fear. Making an enemy of Xander would be detrimental to her career. No one knew about spy-gate and she wanted to keep it that way.

“What about that cutie from your class, Harry?”

“Hayden, and he’s great. He and his girlfriend are moving in together. I’m actually supposed to go to dinner with them soon. He wants me to meet her.”

“Nice. I just pulled up to my client’s house so I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah, I better get back to work. My lunch break ended five minutes ago. Bye!”

Katrine smiled as she made her way to the elevator. Relief swept over her. Her friends were on board and that took a tremendous weight off her back. But the biggest introduction had yet to occur. The mini man of her dreams needed to meet the other man of her dreams. Teddy was a sweet and loving kid, but this was going to be a big test. Ian he knew and liked before they dated. Xander was a complete stranger. But, she needed him to meet her son. Maybe she could call David and get some pointers about introducing randoms to their son?
 

Uh, so not happening, I’d rather have a decade long yeast infection.
 

She wasn’t that desperate…

“So Teddy, I want to talk to you about something,” Katrine said, rinsing off a dish and handing it to her son, who was holding a dish towel.

“Yeah, mom?”

“So I know you’ve asked why Ian hasn’t been around and I told you we decided to be friends, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“The reason we’re not boyfriend and girlfriend anymore is that I decided I liked someone else.” God that sounded stupid. She didn’t know how to explain this to an eleven-year-old. But she continued, hoping she wasn’t mucking it up too badly. “The truth is I met this man last summer and he’s come back into my life and I’m really happy. But Ian might be a little mad at me about it.”

“Are you still gonna to be friends, Momma?”

“I don’t know, sweetie. I want to, but there might be too many hurt feelings. I’m sorry if that upsets you. I know you like him a lot.”

“I do miss seeing him. And I miss Ruby and all, but I think I get it. But you’re happy with this new dude?”

“Yes, very.”

“Why haven’t I met him then, if you like him so much?”

Smart kid.

“Well, for one he lives in New York.”

“Whoa, Mom. We’re not gonna move, are we?”

“No, honey, of course not. But he and I will be going back and forth. It won’t be easy, but I would never move you away from your dad, no matter what. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with everything first.”

“Sure, mom. As long as he treats you good and you’re happy, then yeah, I’m cool with it.”

“His name is Xander.”

“What kind of name is Xander? It’s sounds kind of nerdy to me.”
 

She laughed. “It’s short for Alexander. And that nerd was the one who got you the signed baseball last summer. He knows all about you and is looking forward to taking you to a real live Yankees game.” Bribery? Maybe.

His face lit up.“Whoa, really? Awesome! Hey, is he the one that sent me my iPad?” Katrine wasn’t going to mention that. She didn’t want it to seem like Xander was trying to buy his affection, that wasn’t the case. He’d been trying to buy her affection at the time in a way.

“Yes, he’s the one I worked with last summer and he knew I was missing you. So he wanted us to be able to talk while you were at the beach.”

“I guess that’s pretty cool. Is he bigger than dad?”

She grinned to herself.

Yeah, he is, by about two inches…
 

“Yes, he’s a bit
taller
than your father. Why?”

“I was just wondering, ya know in case I need to have a talk with him.”

Katrine chuckled. “I’m in good hands. I know you’ll protect me… I love you, by the way.” She hugged him into her body and squeezed.

“I know that, Momma. Love you, too. Are we done with the dishes? I want to catch the end of the game.”

“Yeah we’re done, get out of here.” He beamed and threw the towel on the counter.
 

Her little man was so grown up.
 

Chapter 29

How many times had they done this? She’d lost count. The airport goodbye had become a more than familiar scene.
 

“I’m getting tired of saying goodbye to you.” Xander pressed his head to hers.

“I know, me too. You’ve been down so often I feel like I owe you a trip.”

“As soon as I know my schedule, we’ll make a plan, okay?” He pulled back and assured her with an intense stare. His eyes looked jade, they darkened sometimes when he was upset.
 

“Thank you for coming.
 
It made me very happy.”

“Making you happy is my top priority. I’m sorry I have so much time to make up for. The fact that I lost a whole year…ughhhh.” He mentioned that quite often.
 

“Don’t think about it. Let’s just focus on the fact that we have years to look forward to, God willing.” Katrine kissed his cheek and inhaled. She needed to get a hit before he left.
 

“It’s strange that I already miss you and I haven’t even left.” He gave her a half grin, one dimple.

“I know. You better get going or you’ll miss your plane. You know, on commercial flights they won’t wait on you.” She grabbed his shirt and pulled him into her, smashing her mouth onto his. She nibbled his lower lip before pulling away.
 

“Glad PDA isn’t a problem for either of us,” she teased.

“I’d pin you against that glass wall over there if you’d let me.”

“I think they’d call that PDF?” He gave her a look.
 

“Public displays of fornication.”
 

He laughed. “I love you.” The tenderness and honesty in his voice made her eyes water.

“I love you, too.” They kissed one last time and he was off.

 
Xander had been true to his word, he came down to see her as often as possible, sometimes for a few days, sometimes a few hours. It just depended on his schedule and Teddy’s. If one of the jets wasn’t available, he flew commercial, there were always flights from NYC to Dallas. For once she was glad of his upper-crustiness. Money sure made it easier to have a long distance relationship. It was working for now and that was enough for her. Although there had been many sad goodbyes, there had been many great times, too.
 

After Katrine returned from the airport, she put on some comfy clothes and made some tea. On her hands and knees, she reached under the bed. She sat cross legged on the covers and placed a box onto her lap. She lifted each item inside and smiled at the memories they triggered.

On the top of
 
the pile was a map of the zoo, opened to the African Savannah…

A long dark tongue came towards Katrine’s face and she screamed.

“Ahhh, it’s huge!” She laughed like a kid. She felt like one at that moment and it felt good.

The biggest pair of brown eyes she’d ever seen blinked by her face. “She’s going to eat it. Look Xander, she’s eating it!” He smiled and kissed Katrine’s head. He loved when she got like this. So open and enthusiastic. It was one of his favorite things about her. He needed to get more paper because the list was getting long.

Katrine held the large piece of lettuce in shaky fingers, nervous and excited. The beautiful animal munched on her proffered snack. They were about fifty feet above the ground in a hut like structure, so the giraffe’s head was just even with her arm.
 

“I can’t believe they let you feed the giraffes! This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. You want to try?”

“No, you go ahead. It’s more fun watching you, anyway. Best five bucks I’ve ever spent.” Her supply of lettuce ran out so she decided to let someone else have their turn, even though she could have stood there for hours. Being that close to a wild animal was exhilarating. It didn’t hurt that the wild animal in question was absolutely adorable.

“That was amazing. Did you see those eye lashes?” She grabbed his arm and bounced a little. He chuckled and slung his arm around her shoulders.“The last time I went to the zoo I was like, eight. This was a great idea.” He kissed her cheek and stuck his nose in her hair for a few seconds. He loved the smell of her shampoo. “So where to next?”

“The gorillas habitat, I just love them.”

“You’ve said that about every animal so far.” He shook his head and smiled. She was being cute again.

“Not true, I walked right past the vultures…Ooooh let’s get an ice cream.” His face lit up, so she pulled him towards the refreshment stand. They grabbed a cone, double scoop for Xander, and made their way to the primates pavilion. It was a perfect day. The only thing that would have made it better was Teddy.
 

Under a match book and a playbill was a ticket stub. She chuckled and touched her lips…

“What do you mean you haven’t gone to the movies in over a decade?”

“I mean I never go to the movies.”

“What a sad, sheltered existence you’ve had.” She gave him a sad look of pity. “Do you remember how to do it?”

“Excuse me?”

“You know, how to get the tickets, then there’s the popcorn and soda. It’s imperative to get the jumbo bag of Reece’s pieces or the Kit Kat as big as your head. Also you sit towards the end of the aisle, high up. That gives you better odds that a stranger won’t sit beside you. That is movie 101.” She was teasing him and enjoying every second.

“Why don’t you want a stranger by you?”

“Oh, Xander, Xander, Xander, you’re so used to your cramped Manhattan lifestyle that you don’t even know about the beauty of personal space. The beauty of not having a mouth breathing arm rest stealer interfering with your movie watching enjoyment.”

“Okay, so what if someone does decide to sit by you?”

“Then you switch me seats.”

“Okay, but I want Twizzlers.”

“That’s fine, the other stuff was all for me, anyway. But you’re so cute I’ll let you put your hand in my bucket.” She wiggled her brows. “Okay, we’re here. Apply all of the things we talked about and you’ll be fine,” she said, putting her car into park. This was one of the rare occasions he let her drive. He had control issues. Driving was no exception.

They got out and Xander stopped. “What the hell? All of the titles are in foreign languages!” He started back towards the car.

“Wait! Did I forget to mention that this theater only plays foreign films?”

“Yes, you failed to mention that. I was wondering why you were wearing your glasses. Not that I’m complaining, you’ve got that sexy professor thing going.” She smiled and pulled him by the hand. “Come on, in the spirit of trying new things. Besides, if it’s too boring we can make out like teenagers.” He cocked his head, mulling over her proposition. He looked at the movie posters and said, “Deal. Let’s go see that one.”