In Anyone Else's Shoes (4 page)

‘Just a thought. So, what do you say? Show me around a little?’

‘I’m sorry, Jason, but I’m somewhat confused. You
are
my boss, and I’m not the insubordinate type, so, I guess in that context, sure I’ll help you find your way. But is that it? Is that what you’re asking? This is a business relationship – right?’ Emma exhaled a soothing breath, relieved to have laid her cards on the table.

‘You’re a great manager, Emma. I knew that before I even met you. Statistically, you rank right at the top, corporate wide. Once I met you, the reason for your success became clearer; you have a certain … presence. There’s something special about you. I feel it when I talk to you on the phone. I feel it when we’re together.’

Emma waited for more, but could only hear the distant whisper of air conditioning. She wasn’t looking for a new boyfriend. She didn’t need these games either. She had just scrapped a relationship founded on superficial attraction; one of those was enough. If Jason was looking for sex, or for someone to play with, fine. He wouldn’t have any trouble finding a willing partner; her name, however, would not be Emma Green.

‘I’m very flattered, Jason. I work hard, and I care about what I do, so, I guess that’s what you’re seeing. But what I …’

‘Stop – please.’ Jason stepped close to Emma, as did the scent of spicy ginger and rustic cedarwood. ‘I wasn’t finished.’

She waited, watching Jason’s strength and composure quickly tumble from his pockets and settle on the floor.

‘I find this very difficult to convey in the right way – us working together and all. I’m very … attracted to you.’ He looked up into her eyes, searching for a reaction. ‘We do have a business relationship, of course. But I’m hoping it might evolve into something more?’ Jason lifted his hands, placed them at the edges of Emma’s shoulders and floated them gently across her supple skin.

Emma appreciated his honesty and his soothing touch, but she did not want to go down this road. Still, she allowed Jason to continue his plea with determined hands sliding down her back and strong arms pulling her in, closer and closer. He sent magic fingers up to her head and ran them with a hungry perseverance through her thick locks. She peered into his intense, curious, amber eyes that were busy scanning her body for imperfections, or maybe they were scrutinising her imperfections – she wasn’t sure. He nuzzled her neck at a measured pace with seductive, shameless lips. Her body, disengaged from her common sense, responded with a rush of warmth and wetness. She could feel his stiffness pressing against her, and she closed her eyes to best remember the amazing sensations and incredible passion of the moment. Then, she pushed him away.

‘Nothing more, Jason. Not now.’ Emma latched the condo door firmly behind her, and drove home.

Chapter Five

A nearly empty bottle of beer dangled from Ty’s fingertips as he wriggled about the couch, hunting for his comfort zone; a scattering of muffled Diamondbacks pregame chatter flicked from the TV in pestering waves.

‘Hi, Em. Glad you’re home. How was work?’

‘Hey, Ty. Good. Haven’t seen you in for ever. How’s the ad biz?’ Emma wasn’t about to dish the day’s dirt with her ex. That’s what Alyssa was for – maybe.

‘Everything’s great. Hey, listen, I’m glad you’re home. I was hoping we could talk.’

Emma looked him over, wondering what was going on. Usually, if he’d polished off a box of Cocoa Krispies, he’d just leave a note, with a heads-up. But he had something more than cereal on his mind, she could tell.

‘Sure, what’s up?’ Emma slid next to Ty, wanting to put an end to his ceaseless finger-tapping on the adjacent cushion.

‘I wanted to talk about us.’

‘Problem?’

‘No, no, not at all. Actually, I was thinking maybe we should give it another go. You know – us.’

‘What? Us? Ty, you know that wouldn’t work. You know we
didn’t
work. What’s come over you all of a sudden?’

‘I’ve been thinking about all the good times, how we came so close to making
us
a permanent thing. You can’t deny we had some pretty good times, Em, huh?’

‘Ty … it’s not so simple.’ Emma’s eyes danced around his ruddy face, a living scrapbook of her last two years. He still had it, at least physically: the crowded tangle of blond strands, the rugged evening-stubble across his cheeks, and those eyes – as blue and inviting as the warm Caribbean. ‘Life isn’t just about a fun weekend to the coast, Ty. Yeah, we had some good times. There were some not so good times too, don’t forget. And hey, we’re still living together and we haven’t killed each other – yet. We should be grateful for what we’ve got, and leave it at that. OK, babe?’

‘I want this, Em. I want us again. Whatever broke before, we can fix it. Come on, I could go for a steamy shower – with you.’

‘Sorry, Ty. I can’t figure out where this came from, but I know where it’s not going. Let’s stay friends, OK?’ Emma leant into his pout with her lips, a casual gesture of friendship, a token of peace. Ty responded the way he would before, when they were more than friends. His hands embraced her head, and his tongue sought shelter between her lips. Emma allowed him access, and they wrestled atop the cushions for minutes, each grasping at familiar morsels that once provided so much comfort. Her hand slid below his waist, across his cotton shorts, and she could feel the warm, rhythmic pulse of his pleading erection. His long fingers responded in kind, combing the thin fabric of her skinny jeans and working them deliberately into her pliant slit. With their tongues engaged and their hands full of each other, they rushed close to the point of no return.

Emma wanted to stop. Her mind fought against her body, reason against nature. She cared for Ty, but she could never love him as she once did. A hair’s breadth of light filtered through her narrowed lids, and she could see the shadow of a man above her; she wasn’t sure who she wanted him to be. Jason was still fresh in her memory, but Ty was here – and so were his capable fingers.

Love was out of the equation. Ty was history – her history – not her future. Jason was a craving best left on the table. They both, however, were amazing, sexually attractive men, capable of erasing common sense from even the most rational of women.

Emma did not protest when Ty freed her from the snug jeans and token strip of lingerie, which, up until this point, had protected her from her own impetuous thoughts. He turned square towards her and lowered his head between her thighs. His strong hands held her in place while his tongue dashed between her warm folds and into her sweet-scented wetness. He lapped her up – every inch, every drop of her. Emma tried to squirm, but he would not allow her to move. Her release was just around the corner, and her whimpers had grown into a low, steady howl. Ty moved his hands below to her ass, and his strong fingers worked her cheeks – kneading, squeezing, and pulling. His tongue circled to her clit, and then, with his mouth open wide, he sucked in all of her he could at once. The small swells of ecstasy Emma had been riding grew to towering, impossible-to-hold-on-to waves, and her orgasm pulsed over her, in her, through her.

Ty lifted his head, hoping to find a different Emma than the one who had shut him down minutes earlier. Her eyes were closed and her body was still. She looked to be pleasantly spent, well loved.

‘That was amazing, Ty. Thanks.’ Emma squinted below heavy lids just enough to notice her ex-boyfriend’s deep blue eyes and tilted, bright smile. So gorgeous – so sad. She propped herself on wobbly elbows and looked down at Ty’s tented boxers. She grinned while admiring the volume of space he’d created under the stretched-out fabric. ‘Let’s do something about this.’

Ty pushed himself back on the couch, his head comfortable on the armrest. Emma pulled his boxers to his feet, rubbing the muscles of his legs with smooth palms as she worked her way down. His eyes were closed now, and she wondered briefly what, or who, he was imagining as she massaged his powerful thighs. It didn’t matter, though, not to Emma, because it wasn’t complicated any more. They’d moved beyond their unshakable, yet fragile, relationship, and even past their buds with benefits relationship. They were down now to their lust-driven needs – the immodest, physical yearning for release. If anything was left of them as a couple, it was the feeling of safety they had with one another.

Emma reached for his hard, quivering cock, and began stroking his length. She loved the contradiction of his erection: soft, yielding skin over a stiff, iron-willed rod. She moved in closer and pumped his thick shaft with a firm grip and measured pace, mesmerised by its suppleness and strength. A bead of precome worked its way outside the tip and Emma instinctively reached for it with her lips. The salty-sweet appetiser emboldened her chase for more. She took the head of his cock in, past her heedful teeth, bathing the swollen crown with her rolling tongue. Ty’s eyes clenched, and his shy moans became untethered, emphatic cries of pleasure. Emma sensed how close he was to his orgasm and sucked his beating shaft to the back of her mouth. She found her rhythm, drawing him in then letting him out. Sliding her fist to the base of his cock, she gripped firm and tugged fast. His hands grasped for her head, his long fingers raking through her muddled tresses. She sensed him thickening further, one notch beyond possible, and then he came, jets of milky cream lacing her mouth, slaking her thirst for him.

Their hearts pulsed conspicuously against their skin, but they were otherwise still, loosely spread across the couch. They looked at each other with appraising eyes, remembering what they had once – knowing what they had now.

‘I should leave,’ Emma said lethargically, almost humming the words.

‘What do you mean? Why?’ Ty responded, his voice just as lifeless.

‘I mean move. Would you be OK with that?’

‘No. There’s no reason for you to be thinking like that. Stop it.’

‘I don’t know, Ty. We can’t keep using each other this way. It’s my way of kicking the crutches away from you – from us. We’ll be better off.’

‘You mean you’ll be better off, huh.’

‘Yeah, probably … I don’t know. Who knows?’

‘Listen, I want what’s best for you. You know that. If you want out, OK. But you don’t have to leave, Em. This is your home too.’

Emma gathered her clothes, clutching the bundle to her chest, as if immodesty suddenly had some consequence. She leant over Ty, swept loving fingers through his blond mop, and then headed to her room.

Lying face up in bed, scanning shadowy images on the ceiling, Emma contemplated her next move. She needed to put Ty behind her, which meant packing up and heading out. He was a bandage on her heart that had to be peeled with a quick tug; the longer it was there, the more painful it would be to remove. She laid out her options in her head with the same efficiency she employed when merchandising her store. Unfortunately, her life wasn’t as easily arranged as a pair of stiletto heels.

She considered getting her own apartment – definitely the least complicated of her options. It had been a while since she’d lived by herself, and it wasn’t a horrible experience, as she recalled. There were lots of nice places in, or near, her current neighbourhood. That’s where she’d want to be – she thought. But what if there was suddenly a great new job on the other side of the valley? A lease is a lease, and she didn’t want to screw with all the potential costs and legal implications should it be necessary to move.

An alternative would be to live someplace shorter term, less commitment. Like Alyssa’s? Emma recalled the offer her best friend had laid on the table the night of the Jake and Cal debacle. Something about an escape pad always being available. Some escape pad. Beautiful home, beautiful pool, beautiful men – all available 24/7. What’s not to like? Although the atmosphere was picture perfect, Emma knew it would be tantamount to living at one of those questionably legitimate, hedonistic island resorts advertised in the back of
Cosmopolitan
: fun for a quick, suitcase-full-of-pseudonyms vacation – not so much fun when family dropped by.

Then Emma remembered the Tucson offer. Maybe a new city could provide the fresh start she needed. Maybe the stars were trying to tell her something. It was worth considering. She loved her job; it just wasn’t taking her anywhere – except, perhaps, to Tucson. There was a decent possibility that, down the road, the move would pan out. If she stayed in the Phoenix market, there was no telling when a better opportunity would come along – at least with Untamed Soles. Tucson was looking pretty damn good.

Having worked her conundrum down to a satisfactory resolution, Emma was able to close her eyes and drift off to a pleasingly exhausted, comfortable sleep.

‘Emma, I’m so glad you called.’ Jason swallowed hard before continuing. ‘Listen, I wanted to talk to you about yesterday. Maybe I should start by explaining how …’

‘Jason, it’s OK. This is just a business call – if you don’t mind.’

‘Of course, Emma. What can I do for you?’

‘I’ve considered the Tucson offer, and … I’d like to take the new store. I know I could do a great job with it, get it up and going in the right direction. I actually helped set up the Santa Barbara store – I’m not sure if you knew that. Anyway, what I’m most excited about is growing the market, and being in on the ground floor. And, hopefully, you’ll think enough of my abilities to want me as the group manager one day – in the not too distant future?’

‘That’s great, Emma. There is no doubt in my mind that you’ll be the perfect manager for Tucson. And, so you know, I already think enough of your talents to want you as a group manager. We just need to create the opening, and the job’s yours.’

‘Thank you, Jason. I really appreciate this.’

‘Hey, you’re doing the company a favour. So, we’ll want you to get started with the store maybe a month out from the opening. That should give you plenty of time to take care of your personal business here and find a place in Tucson.’

‘Yeah. That’s kind of an important question I have. When would you want me there?’

‘The store is on line to open in six months. I’d like you to be available in five. OK?’

Emma tried to collect her thoughts, quickly calculating the days, the weeks,
the months
, before she could move. She knew there’d be some time before she’d be needed in Tucson; she just hadn’t really placed a number on it. Five months was a long time – about five months longer than she wanted it to be.

‘Sure – I suppose.’

‘What’s wrong, Emma? Do you need more time?’

‘Actually, I was hoping for less. But that’s OK, I’ll figure something out.’

‘Does your lease run out before then?’

‘No, I’m just anxious to get started, I guess.’

‘It’s Ty, isn’t it? Listen, Emma, I know we had what might generously be labelled as an awkward day yesterday. And I would really hate to add to all that mess by sticking my nose somewhere it shouldn’t be, but I want you to always feel comfortable talking to me about things – even non-shoe related things. I do care about you, Emma. I hope you know that.’

‘Thanks, Jason. I’d rather not get into this now, though. I’ll be fine.’

‘I’m sure you will,’ Jason replied, in front of an uncomfortable gap in the conversation. ‘I do have a spare bedroom in my condo. I don’t think you had a chance to see it, but it’s not bad, really. There’s a queen-size bed, dressers, everything you’d need. And, obviously, it’s not being used. I had the furniture anyway, so it needed to go somewhere …’

‘Jason?’

‘What is it, Emma?’

‘You’re very sweet. You really are. And before you officially ask me to move in with you, I think I need to cut you off. I do appreciate the offer, and maybe I’m being a little presumptuous about that, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t move in with you. You’re a great guy, but you’re also my boss – my very smart, very understanding –’
very young and hot
‘– boss. I love that we get to work together. And I am so grateful for everything you’ve done for me.’

‘I understand, Emma. Please, let me just say one more thing if I could, and this is off the record, or off the clock, or whatever allows you to not think of me as your boss. I find you … fascinating, Emma Green. I really like you very much, and it’s hard, this allure you hold over me. I don’t know what to do about it, except to tell you. I think you’re adorable. If you want me to go away – as a friend – I will. But, until you tell me officially, I will always hold out hope. Oh, and when I say officially, it doesn’t have to be on company letterhead, OK?’

It was the second time Jason had come clean regarding his desire for more than a working relationship with Emma; she did note, with only a splash of scepticism, his sincerity.

‘No letterhead, I promise. And Jason – thanks again for everything.’

As much as Emma had hoped to break free from Ty and his alluring semi-availability, she realised her smartest move was no move. She could stand on her head for five months if she had to. Her childhood summers spent enduring gymnastics camp were about to pay off.