Breaking Josephine (32 page)

As I moved my head
up and down on his shaft, Dex groaned, sitting up and pulling my head up to
meet his. We kissed, a long, deep kiss, our lips pressing into each other with
pent up emotion. As our lips parted, he took my breast in his hand and caressed
my naked skin. He took my nipple in his mouth and I felt my desire building
again with each stroke of his tongue. He stroked my free breast with his
fingers as he continued to gently suck and pull on my nipple in his mouth. I
started to feel the pull between my legs, feel myself ready for him, ready to
feel him inside me.

I laid down on the
bed, pulling him with me and slid my leg underneath his body. I pulled him over
me and he hovered there, still kissing my breast. He let me go and started to
pull off me to find a condom.

“Dex, stop. I want
to feel you, all of you, inside me. I want to feel you when you come,” I said,
tugging at his arm.

“Are you sure?”
Dex asked, looking at me.

“I’m sure. I’m on
the pill and you’ve been tested, and I want you, all of you, right now. I love
you Dex.”

“I love you too,
Josephine,” Dex said, kissing me gently and lowering himself back down on top of
me.

As he leaned over
me, his arms on either side of my body, I felt the velvet smoothness of his cock
gently pressing at my entrance. I opened my thighs further and lifted my hips
up to take him. He pressed into me gently, further and further, filling me
completely. He pressed his forehead into my shoulder and groaned softly, then
he pulled back and began gently thrusting, pulling out and diving in until our
thighs touched. I moved my hips in rhythm with his and his breathing became
labored and jagged. I wrapped my legs around his waist and grabbed his back
with my hands, my fingernails digging into his skin. He began thrusting harder
and faster and I felt the pleasure mounting in my body. The warm softness of
our skin touching sent waves of pleasure through my body and I moaned and
pressed myself into him as he responded, moving harder and faster still. I came
fast, crying out and digging my nails into his back. As I felt my body contract
around him, Dex came, and I felt his release for the first time. As he slowed
and came to a stop, he rested his weight on top of me, his face next to mine,
buried in the mattress.

We stayed there,
bound up in each other as our breathing slowed and our heartbeats returned to
normal. Dex lifted himself up on one elbow, kissed me gently on the lips, and
started to pull away. But I grabbed him and held him to me, not wanting him to
move. I loved how he felt, still inside me, his weight on top of me, in our
post-orgasmic bliss. We kissed until my thighs began to ache from the weight of
him and I found it difficult to breathe. Only then did I release him and let
him move, feeling him pull away, and come to rest next to me on the bed. Dex
pulled the covers up and we laid there together, looking at the stars through
the skylight over his bed until we fell asleep.

I woke in the
morning, naked in Dex’s bed, the sunlight filtering through the windows and the
skylight. I rolled over and reached for Dex, but felt only soft, empty sheets,
already cool to the touch. I rubbed my eyes and my face, stretched and headed
to the bathroom for a quick shower. Afterwards, I pulled on a tank top and
jeans, and walked downstairs. The smell of coffee and eggs hit my nose as I
walked into the kitchen. Dex stood at the stove, wearing a form fitting t-shirt
and a pair of flannel pants, his back muscles flexing as he worked over the
stove, and I smiled, savoring the sight of him as I pulled out a barstool and
sat down.

“That smells
delicious,” I said, as Dex turned around holding a cast iron skillet, filled
with a savory spinach, potato and egg hash.

Dex smiled, his
eyes shining beneath his thick lashes. “Thanks sleepyhead. How are you this
morning? Hungry?” He asked, as he spooned the hash onto two waiting plates.

“Starving,” I
said. Having skipped dinner the night before, my stomach growled as I looked at
the steaming plates. Dex walked over to the kitchen table, setting the plates
down and taking a seat. He poured me a cup of coffee and I walked over to the
table and joined him.

“Thank you for
making me breakfast,” I said, as I took a sip of coffee and forked a piece of
egg and potato.

“You’re welcome,”
Dex answered, smiling. We ate in silence for a few minutes, both of us
concentrating on feeding our very hungry stomachs.

“So, don’t take
this the wrong way,” Dex began, as he looked at me over the rim of his coffee
cup, “but, what did you do to your hair?”

I laughed and
reached up to touch my still-wet blonde bob. “Yeah, about that,” I began. I
swallowed a mouthful of coffee and continued, looking out at the ocean, “when I
left you that night, after you told me the truth, I came home in a daze and
passed out on the couch. I woke up a complete train wreck, and went into the
bathroom. When I looked in the mirror all I saw was my mother, her deception
and her lies about where I came from and who I was, her lies about everything.
I needed to distance myself from her, cut her out of my life, so I did. I found
a pair of scissors in my kitchen and attacked my hair. It’s strange,” I said,
tearing my eyes away from the ocean and looking at Dex, “cutting it all off was
actually cathartic in a way. I felt like so much of the anger that had been
building inside of me, from finding my mother’s photo, to your confession, was
released as my hair fell from my head.

“I had just
finished butchering my hair when Macy showed up, worried because I hadn’t
called her. She dropped her purse and almost screamed when she saw me, thinking
I’d been attacked. She drove me straight over to Michael’s Salon and I
basically let Michael do whatever he wanted, and I ended up like this. By the
time I left Michael’s my anger had dissipated, and instead I just felt empty
and lost. But at least when I looked in the mirror I didn’t see my mother
anymore, I saw me.”

Dex reached out
and found my hand, his fingers intertwining with mine. His eyes clouded with
compassion and regret as he thought over my explanation. “Well,” he began, “you’re
beautiful no matter what color your hair is—I’d love you even if you were
bald. But, Jo—Josephine,” he said, correcting himself, “I am so sorry I
put you through all of that. I’m sorry I hurt you so terribly that you felt
compelled to cut all your hair and dye it blonde to distance yourself from the
pain.”

“Shhh,” I said,
stopping him. “That’s enough apologizing. I know you regret lying to me. I wish
you hadn’t, but we’re here now, together, and I don’t want to dwell on what we
should have done, or could have done, in the past. I’m tired of being consumed
by the past, by choices other people made, and their mistakes. Let’s work on
moving forward instead—moving forward together.” I squeezed Dex’s hand
and we sat there looking at each other, thinking about everything we’d been
through, as the phone in Dex’s kitchen started to ring.

Dex pulled his
hand out of mine and walked into the kitchen to answer the phone.
“Oh, hello…. Yes, yes she’s
here…. Hold on, let me check.” Dex covered the phone with his hand and looked
at me. “It’s Macy Daugherty. She’s been looking for you and wants to see you. Do
you want to talk to her?”

I looked at Dex
and looked at the phone. I hadn’t seen Macy since I’d learned the truth and Colin,
her boyfriend’s brother—my brother—had tried to kill me. I took a
deep breath and nodded.

“Hold on, here she
is,” Dex said into the phone, handing it to me.

“Hi Macy,” I said.

“Oh, Jo, I’m so
glad you are okay. You are okay right?” Macy said.

“Yes, I’m okay,” I
said, tentatively.

“Look Jo,” Macy
said, “I understand if you’re feeling awkward, but I’d really like to see you
and talk to you. And William is here and he’d like to as well. Would you meet us
at my place? Dex can drive you over if you’d like, and he can stay if that
makes you more comfortable. What do you say?”

I looked at Dex and
held my hand over the phone, asking “Can you come with me to Macy’s? She wants
to talk, but I would feel better if you were there.”

“Of course,” Dex
said, “just let me shower. See if an hour is okay.”

I removed my hand
and responded, “Sure, if Dex can come I’ll be there. Is an hour okay?”

“Yes, that would
be perfect. Thank you Jo,” Macy said, sounding relieved.

“I’ll see you
then,” I said, hanging up the phone. I looked at Dex and let out a trapped
breath. He came to me and took the phone out of my hand, wrapping me in a huge
hug.

“It’ll be okay,”
he said, hugging me to him and running his hand through my hair. “And I’ll be
there with you. We can leave whenever you want.” I wrapped my arms around him
and held him to me, savoring the feel of his body pressed next to mine. Then I
reluctantly let him go shower. I sat down with my coffee and thought about Macy
and what I would say when she opened the door.

An hour later,
there I was, ringing Macy’s doorbell, Dex holding my hand next to me. Macy
opened the door and smiled, letting us in. “Hi,” she said, backing away and walking
towards the living room. William stood up from the couch as we entered, looking
awkward and a bit unsure.

“Hey Jo, … Dex,” he
said, nodding at each of us. Macy went to William’s side and we all sat down, Dex
and I on the couch across from them.

“So, um, Jo,” Macy
started, “I know this seems awkward, but I wanted you to come, and see William,
and well, I guess meet your brother for the first time, officially at least.”

I looked at her
and then at William, not really knowing what to say. Finally Dex broke the
tension. “I’m sorry I hit Colin in the head with a golf club,” he said to
everyone. “It sounds so surreal saying it out loud, but I am sorry. If there
had been any other way, I would have tried it. But he was pointing a gun at
Josephine and I had to do something or he would have killed her.” Dex squeezed
my hand and looked down, his face grim.

“Josephine?” Macy
asked, breaking the tension and looking first at Dex and then at me.

“Yes,” I answered,
“Josephine is my given name. I started going by Jo when my mother died, not
because I didn’t like Josephine, but because I was angry at her and angry she
had left me alone. But she named me after her mother, and now that I know the
truth, I’ve decided to switch back to my given name. I’ve always liked it better
anyway.” I smiled a small, tentative smile at Macy, who turned and looked at
William as I fidgeted on the couch, unsure what to do. Then William spoke.

“Look Jo—Josephine—I
don’t really know what to say other than I’m sorry,” William began. “I’m sorry Colin
is such a bastard and that he lost his mind and tried to kill you. I’ve been at
odds with him for years, especially after father died, but I had no idea he
would do something like this. And believe me when I say I had no idea who you
were or may be. If I had known you might be my sister, I would have told you
immediately and we would have seen the family lawyer together. I have no
interest in keeping you out of the family, or taking your rightful inheritance.
Besides, I’ve always wanted a sister. And I can’t think of a better one than
you, Macy adores you, you know.” William smiled a small, sideways smile and
looked at Macy and then back at me.

“Wow, well, thank
you, I guess,” I said. “And I’m sorry about Colin too. And I’m sorry I broke
into your mother’s house, I wasn’t really in the right frame of mind and I
should have just come to you.” I paused and looked at William. “Is Colin going
to be alright?” I asked.

William looked
down at his hands and then back up at me. “Yes and no,” he replied. “He suffered
a serious concussion and is still hospitalized, but he will recover physically.
Mentally, he seems to be a bit unstable—he seems to have had mental
breakdown of some sort. And he’s been charged with attempted murder. He’ll be
evaluated by a state psychiatrist and either arraigned for trial or declared
unfit. If it’s the latter, he’ll be institutionalized until he’s deemed fit,
whenever that might occur.” William exhaled sharply and wrung his hands in his
lap. “I just wish I’d been more observant and noticed his obsession and
discovered your connection to the family before everything happened.”

Macy patted
William on the arm. “You aren’t responsible for your brother’s actions,” she
said to him. “No one could have predicted what happened. I’m just thankful that
Jo is alive and finally knows the truth about who she is and where she comes
from. And Colin will get the help he needs and will serve whatever sentence the
justice system imposes.”

“I suppose you’re
right,” William said, “but I still can’t help but feel responsible.”

I looked at
William and saw for the first time what Macy saw in him: his kindness, caring,
and ownership of his life and his actions. “Thank you for being so
understanding,” I said, looking at William.

“Well, it turns out
you probably are my sister,” William said, looking at me and then at Macy. “And
that brings me to the other reason Macy called you. As you know after reading
my father’s will, if you are in fact my half sister, you are entitled to a
third of the estate. You’ll need to see a lab to have a cheek swab for DNA
testing to confirm your identity.... I hope you don’t mind.”