A Wild Ride (Jessica Brodie Diaries #3) (15 page)

Lump was teaching Lady a new drink and William went to use the restroom. I was alone with that loose lipped land lubber, Adam.

I needed to stop reading nautical fiction.

“Adam, why did you tell William I had doubts?”

“I didn’t. In so many words.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Jess, look, the fella’s got a right to know. Ain’t
me
that should be doin’ the tellin’.”

“I needed a second to figure it out, Adam. Not everything is cut and dry.”

“Willie is a level-headed guy. Too level-headed sometimes. He would understand. Just tell him.”

“He
doesn’t
understand, actually. Some things men just don’t understand. It is because women can be cracked sometimes, just as dudes can be dimwitted. But, we know we are cracked, and if we are keeping it to ourselves and putting on a brave face, that means we are trying to figure shit out. So...let me, Adam. Butt out.”

“I will help you with anything, except pushing my buddy away. Ain’t never seen him like this. He’s lost his senses over you. I said to him once ‘make it right’, talkin’ ‘bout you. Well, Jessie, make it right.”

“Adam, I would love to punch you in the mouth right now. Look, you seem to have forgotten a moment ago when I said
men
were dimwitted. I didn’t mention women in that mix. It is
my
issue and I was making it right—starting with
me.
Now I am backpedaling and trying to sooth him while figuring out me. Too much. It is too much for me to handle at once. Just....seriously, Adam, just butt the fuck out. About this at least.”

I could tell I was making Adam mad. His jaw clenched and his body was tense. William walked in as Adam was about to say something else. Thankfully, Adam kept his trap shut.

“Let’s eat, boys and girls. The cooks have outdone themselves tonight!” Gladis said merrily, following right behind William.

The table was set as if royalty were eating. All the best China, best cutlery, high dollar wine and champagne, the works! Better than the high dollar restaurant William loved. Every bite melted in my mouth. Chatter around the table was sporadic as people stopped talking to eat each new course.

Half-way through I noticed Gladis was hardly touching her plate. “Gladis, aren’t you hungry? It is
so
delicious!”

“I have nibbled so often tonight that I’m afraid my appetite has left me.” She laughed. “This is a good time, though, Jessica my dear, to give you something.”

“No.”

“It is a house warming gift.”

“You already gave me one.”

“Your returned rent wasn’t a gift for you, it was a gift for Willie. It’ll make the transition easier, thus making his life easier. For you, I have something else.”

I sighed. “I don’t want it, Gladis.” But I didn’t have a choice. Lady was bringing it in.

It was the painting! It was the painting I’d admired from the day I moved here. It was an abstract piece with exquisite coloring. The eye never wanted to rest when looking at it, taken through the swishes and dips of brush stroke and color. I could just sit and stare at it for hours. And had once, during that three month period when I was trying to forget about William.

“I’m only going to accept it because I covet it,” I muttered.

Gladis laughed. “I knew you wouldn’t say no! I’ve seen how much you look at that painting!”

“Living room?” William asked, resting his hand on my leg.

I nodded.

“Anything to replace that weird picture of the gold piglet,” Lump said.

“I liked that picture,” Adam mumbled.

“You can have it!” William chortled. “I’ve hated that picture since I first saw it.”

“Then why did you let the decorator put it up?” Lump was forever mystified that William not only allowed the assortment of crap to exist in his house, but also that he actually paid for it.

“If I took it down, I would just have to find something to put up in its place.”

“Why didn’t you just have your mom decorate?” I asked.

Denise had a subtle and sophisticated touch. The ranch house showed it, with a ranch-type theme, and while I was basically out-to-lunch when I stayed with them in their normal residence, I could see, just in the small bit I walked through, that everything was artful and classy. Each room had a pleasing layout; a person felt the homey vibe while noticing all the fine things around them.

“The last thing I needed was my mom getting a firmer toe-hold into my stuff. Can you imagine explaining to her why you completely redecorated?” William looked at me.

“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Precisely. Anything is better than what I have, except for nothing at all. So if you do the bare minimum, it’ll still be much better than current.”

“But still not quite good enough,” Lump said with a smirk.

“Speaking of toe-holds,” Gladis said, changing the subject. “I hear Adam was happy to see Jessica go.”

“Now, that ain’t fair—“ Adam said as Lump and I laughed. “There are things I’ll miss.”

“Like what?” I doubted it was true. “All you did was glare at me for a week solid.”

“Well, like the coffee service, for one.”

“Coffee service?” Lump asked, quirking her eyebrow at me.

I shrugged—I didn’t know what he was talking about, either.

“I got out of the shower about when Jess was going in—different showers Willie.” William snorted. “She’d pass me in the kitchen, hair every which way, her eyes more closed than open, and she’d had me a cup of coffee. First day it had cream and sugar, which I drank because I was surprised she weren’t yellin’ at me for somethin’—I didn’t wanna go messin’ that up. Second day it was black, like I like. And she bought good tastin’ coffee, too. Six out of seven days she’d hand me a cup, first thing.”

“What about the seventh day?” Gladis asked.

“Betsy got there first. Snooze ya loose on that one. Jess has one cup to hand out and one to drink, then shower. Every day.”

“I trained her well.” William puffed up and made a shoe of checking his nails.

“Yeah right. You can’t train a cat,” Adam shot back.

“Why do you think she made the first day with cream and sugar?”

“You
programmed
me well, not trained,” I amended.

Adam smiled and shook his head. “I guess you can train a cat.”

“
Program
Adam; as in robot.”

“Another thing is the cooking," Adam went on. "She made me dinner every night—“

“I was bored. He wouldn’t let me go out,” I interjected.

“Every night a different meal. And plenty to go around. All fresh. I was eatin’ like a king!”

“I made him clean up,” I moderated.

“She’s a good cook when she wants to be,” William said, squeezing my knee.

“Thank you Lady and Gladis for helping me learn those few months.” I laughed. I hadn’t forgotten my roots. After William snubbed me all I did was work out and learn to cook. Well, let’s be honest, I learned how to read and follow directions (recipes).

“And the last thing, the biggest thing, I’ll miss is the nights when Jess, Betz and I would all just hang out in the living room together, chatting and watchin’ TV. No going out, no need to get all snazzed up, nothin’. Just hanging out. Same as when we was all here, with Gladis and Lady. Except, less alcohol and more TV.”

“One thing I
won’t
miss is how often that damn TV was on,” I said dryly. It was seriously on every second Adam was home, if he was in front of it or not.

“Yeah, I certainly won’t miss her makin’ me eat at the dinner table,” Adam conceded.

“What did you think about the intrusion?” Gladis asked Lump.

Lump shrugged. “I mean, it’s Jess. She does cook a mean meal. And she makes Adam jump around, so that’s funny.” She shrugged again. “I don’t know. It’s Jess. She’s a quiet roommate. She wasn’t really an intrusion.”

“I would have loved to be a fly on the wall.” William smirked. “Betsy doesn’t push Adam around all that much, but if I know Jessica, she was pushing at every single thing Adam said, even if he was agreeing, just to see what she could get away with it.”

“
Yes!
How do you deal with it, Willie? Damned ex
haus
ting!” Adam sighed.

William laughed. “It’s easy once you learn the tells. Plus, it keeps it interesting.”

“I don’t know about interesting, but I had to eat my Wheaties in the morning!” Adam sighed again, totally put-out. “That’s another thing I’ll miss. The fresh fruit bowls. Or the fruit smoothies. First day I helped myself—“

“And ate all my breakfast!” I interrupted.

Adam laughed. “
Well
, she handed me coffee, I thought she was making me breakfast, too. Second day she set aside a portion for me. Healthy, but a good start. Willie’s got you trained right, girl!”

“Ask William what he does to coincide with my programming…” I gave Lump a smug look.

“I make eggs and hash browns to offset her fruit and coffee,” William said as if he were reciting a confession. “But I started the practice.”

To Adam’s groan I said, “It’s true. He did start it. He was already making the eggs and hash browns, so I let him dictate what I needed to contribute.”

“Well, thanks Willie—it was a hotel in the mornings for a week.”

“Do you want her to move in forever?” Lump asked, eyeing Adam. Thank God I could tell she was just trying to get his goat.

“
God
no! No offense Jess, Willie—I love ya, but no. Please no. I like the simple life.”

“Are you calling me simple?” Lump asked in mock anger.

“
Yes!
” Adam grinned, smiling with soft eyes at Lump. “And I love you every second for it!”

Lump shared a minute with him while the rest of us smiled and sipped our wine. It was good to see them happy. Even better to see them happy with each other.

As William and I entered his—
our
house, he stepped me in the entryway as he closed the door. He then stepped in front of me, bracing his strong arms to either side of me, and doing a wall push-up, lowering his body against mine. He pushed his body into me as he opened my mouth and probed with his tongue. He deepened the kiss as I ran my hands up those muscular arms to his outstanding shoulders. I let go of my worry, of the “what if’s”, of the stress of furniture shopping and how it would all work, and focused on William’s soft lips; on his hard cock rubbing against me through his jeans; on his playful tongue, swirling and flicking me into a fervent desire.

He backed off the kiss slightly, leaving his body firmly pressed against me. “Welcome home, baby.”

In that moment I decided to forget all my moaning and make it work. William was sharing his home with me;
eager
to share his home with me. What’s more, I wanted this. I wanted to unite our lives more firmly. Granted, it wasn’t optimal, what with everything being in his name, but I’d worry about that down the road. Right now I would make this place habitable—no more statues and pictures of live stalk—and I’d see how I felt after that.

In the week to come I wanted to get a start on furniture shopping, now having a need to fit in to my new home, but with William and I having different, and equally crazy schedules, it was impossible. Work was keeping me insanely busy because they were dangling another promotion in my face. I wanted to show them what I was made of, but there was so much dang work to get finished that a normal work day just wasn’t enough. Then I had the dance lessons, gym, and self-defense. Half the people in my dance class thought I was getting abused by William because of the hands-on self-defense I was learning, and the other half thought I was having great sex. 50% were correct, though it had nothing to do with the bruises.

After a particularly exhausting day, I arrived home ready for a glass of wine and a thrilling movie that didn’t require brainpower. I walked into the house in a daze. And then stopped abruptly.

What the...?

Everything was gone. All furniture, all pictures, all decorations...everything! The kitchen was devoid of decorations, glasses and plates, but did have the cookware.

In the bedroom there was a futon, my paintings and my pictures, and a couple paintings of Williams. There was also the big flat screen TV that used to be in the living room. Oh, and clothes. Dresser, night stands, everything else was gone.

I heard the door open and rushed out to meet William wandering in the door looking tired and haggard. He saw me and smiled, then looked past me to the living room and sagged.

"Forgot about that," he muttered.

"What is going on?" I asked, incredulous.

"Well," he said heading toward the kitchen for a beer. I waited for him to open it, have a minute to himself to have a sip, then head out to me.

“You wanted to be on equal footing, right? We go 50/50 on furniture as if we were just getting out of college and moving in to a place together. You have nothing, so I donated all my stuff except what I couldn't part with. You're welcome."

It wasn't often I got this wry humor. But then, we usually didn't see each other right away after one of us had a hard day. Welcome to living together...

Must tread lightly.

"Thank you, William!" I stepped to him and hugged him. He put his arms around me tiredly.

"Only problem is that I had a shit day today and now I have no couch to sit on."

I followed him into the bedroom where we sat on the uncomfortable futon together.

"Oh," he continued, "and I left all the cookware. It is top quality so I figured you could just deal with it."

Yikes. Someone needed some alone time.

"Do you want me to run to Target and get you a chair?" I asked, faking genuine.

Often times if you feigned going the extra mile you were rewarded by a better disposition. Occasionally, you were also rewarded with having to follow through. Which sucked.