Mending the Soul (24 page)

Jenna laid her head on Nicholas's shoulder as they both tried to regain their breath.  After a few minutes, Jenna started giggling.  "Well, now every time you sit at your desk to do paperwork, you'll think of doing me."  She laughed and got up off of Nicholas, starting to gather her clothes.

Nicholas stood up and looked at his desk.  "Yeah, especially since you left an ass print right there."

"What!?  You're kidding right?"  Jenna asked, not believing him as she ran back around his desk to see.

"Look for yourself!"  Nicholas told her.

"Oh shit!  Will it come out if we clean it?"  Jenna asked.  She turned to look at his chair.  "Looks like you left one on your chair too."

"Ah, just some lovely souvenirs of our love."  Nicholas said, pulling her into an embrace.  "I'm sure they'll both come out when I clean them.  I have some furniture polish around here somewhere, though I don't know what to clean the leather with."

Jenna handed Nicholas his clothes and then got dressed herself.  After they were both presentable again, Jenna left to go to the ladies room, leaving Nicholas in his office to try to clean his desk.

As he sprayed the polish on the desk, he heard a soft knock on his door.  Thinking it was Jenna, he called for the person to come in.

"Hey boss, just wanted to let you know I'm back from lunch."  Zoey said as she walked into Nicholas's office.  "Damn, was there an earthquake or something?"  She asked when she saw all the papers on the floor, along with pens and pencils that were once together in a cup on the desk.

Nicholas could feel the blush rising up his face as Zoey surveyed the mess.  "Um, I was just cleaning…"  He stammered out as Jenna walked back through his open office door.  She stopped when she saw that there was someone else in the room with them, a woman of about 35, with short blonde hair and a curvy figure.  "Uh, Zoey, this is my girlfriend Jenna.  Jenna, this is Zoey."

Zoey turned around to where Jenna was standing and a knowing look spread across her face.  She smiled and said, "Hi Jenna.  Nice to meet you.  When we spoke this morning, I didn't think I'd get to meet you so soon."

Jenna turned the same color red as Nicholas was.  "Nice to meet you too.  I hadn't planned on coming over here today, we were just going to take the afternoon off and Nicholas said he needed to pick up some paperwork before we left."

"Oh, I see.  And he just thought he'd clean while you were here?"  Zoey teased.

"Yeah, I'm going to be moving in with her soon, and I just wanted to show her that I know how to clean."  Nicholas said, trying to sound believable.

Zoey just laughed and bent over to pick up some of the stuff from the floor.  "I guess I better help so that you two can get out of here and enjoy the rest of your day then."

"How about you show Jenna around the office and I'll finish cleaning up in here?"  Nicholas suggested.  He didn't want his assistant picking up after him and his girlfriend, who just had sex in his office.

"I can do that.  Besides, I'd like to get to know the woman who put a smile back on that sour puss face of yours."  Zoey said as she headed for the door.

Jenna followed behind, leaving Nicholas alone in his office.  Yes, he was embarrassed, but it was so worth it!

"You and Nicholas seem to have a great working relationship."  Jenna said as she walked with Zoey.

"Yeah, he's a great boss.  Very laid back and easy going.  It's not often that you can tease your boss without having to worry about crossing the line."  Zoey told her.  "So is it true that he's going to move in with you?"

"Yeah, we just decided today at lunch.  After things calm down with Leslie's mother, him and Emma are going to move in with me and my son."  Jenna smiled.

"Ah, so it was a celebration of sorts back there in the office."  Zoey teased.

"No…well, yes, but no.  I don't think we're going to actually celebrate until it happens.  Leslie's mom is being a thorn in our ass right now, so we're trying not to get too ahead of ourselves."  Jenna explained.

"Nicholas told me what she's threatening.  You know, if you want her taken care of, I know some people…"  Zoey offered.

"What!?"  Jenna was shocked.

"I'm just kidding.  I just wanted to see if you were a moral person or not."  Zoey said laughing.  She showed Jenna to the break room where they got a couple of sodas and sat down for a minute.  "You know, I meant what I said this morning.  I've worked for Nicholas for a long time and I've never seen him this happy."

"Can I ask you a question then?"  Jenna asked.

"Absolutely.  And anything you ask will stay between us, as long as whatever I answer will stay between us."  Zoey said.

"What was Nicholas's relationship with Leslie like?  Did she make him happy?"  Jenna asked, almost feeling guilty as the words poured out of her mouth.

Zoey sat there for a minute, trying to decide on how to say what she was thinking.  "Nicholas and Leslie had a different relationship.  The only way I can describe it was that they were like best friends who weren't really in love, but were too afraid to not have each other there.  You know, like they both knew that their love for each other wasn't the normal type of love that a husband and wife share.  I think that she made him happy in some respect, but not in the way I've seen him happy in the past few months.  They did fight a lot, and there was one time when they almost divorced, but Leslie found out she was pregnant, so they decided to stay married.  I think that the only reason Nicholas has held onto the memories of Leslie for so long is because he feels guilty that he didn't love her the way that he should have.  I know he's felt a lot of guilt since her death, for one reason or another, and it's kept him for truly living his life…until now."

"Wow.  You know, I've been so hung up on worrying that I'll never be as good for Nicholas as Leslie was.  I was worried that I'd never make him as happy as she did, and that I'd constantly be living in her shadow."  Jenna confessed.

"Well, it's time you stopped worrying.  The relationship that you have with Nicholas is so different than the one he had with Leslie that it's like comparing grapes and watermelons.  Trust me, you make him happy.  If you didn't, then he wouldn't be with you.  He's been single for three years since Leslie died, he wouldn't exactly attach himself all of a sudden to someone that doesn't make him happy."  Zoey reasoned.

Jenna smiled.  "I guess you're right.  Thank you so much for talking to me about this.  You have no idea how much weight you just lifted off my shoulders!"

"Glad I could help.  Now, let’s go see if my boss has cleaned up from his little romp that he had in his office with his girlfriend."  Zoey said as Jenna's face got red again.  Both girls laughed, enjoying the new camaraderie.

When the girls returned to the office, Nicholas was sitting in his chair, gathering some papers to take home with him.  Everything seemed to be in order, just like it was when Jenna had first entered the office earlier in the day.  She handed him a Pepsi that she bought for him in the break room when she and Zoey were in there.  "I thought you might be thirsty."

"I am, thanks."  Nicholas said as he opened his soda and took a long drink.

"Must have been some workout in here earlier.  Jenna just about drank hers all on one sip earlier."  Zoey teased.  As she watched their faces get red again, she turned to leave the office.  "I'll leave you two alone now.  You want me to close the door and lock it on the way out?"

"No!"  Jenna and Nicholas said at the same time.  Zoey snickered as she walked out to her desk.

"So, are we ever going to live that down?"  Jenna asked.

"Probably not.  At least I got most of it cleaned.  You can still see a little outline of our butts on the desk and chair though, but only if you look close enough."  Nicholas told her.

"Hey, don't blame me, it was your idea!"  Jenna laughed.

"And what a good idea it was too."  He kissed her softly.  "Let's go home."

"Sounds good to me."  Jenna said as they gathered their stuff.  They waved goodbye to Zoey on the way out, letting her know that they were leaving.  Jenna mouthed a silent 'Thank you' to her and Zoey gave her a smile and a nod of her head, knowing exactly what Jenna was thanking her for.

As Nicholas drove Jenna back to their houses, Jenna replayed her conversation with Zoey over in her head.  She felt like she was in a whole new place in her relationship with Nicholas, and was finally going to be able to move past her insecure thoughts of Leslie.

When Nicholas and Jenna got home, both of them were tired and decided to use the time alone to relax, rather than get in another 'workout'.  The kids and babysitter would be back from the zoo shortly anyways, so they decided to just sit in the hot tub and unwind.

Jenna brought out some wine along with cheese and crackers for them to enjoy as they sat in the steamy water, trading back massages and talking.

"So, how do you like Zoey?  Did you ladies hit it off?"  Nicholas asked her as he worked his magic fingers on her tense shoulder muscles.

"Yeah, we hit it off.  She seems really nice.  We had a pretty good conversation and she made me feel a lot better about some stuff."  Jenna told him, trying not to give him too much information about their private conversation.

"Oh yeah?  What pearls of wisdom did she pass along to you?  She's a really insightful woman."  Nicholas said.

"That's for me to know and you to never find out."  Jenna laughed.  "She just helped me with some ghosts that were following me around.  You know, you're lucky to have an assistant as good as she is.  You better hope no one else snatches her away from you."

"I'm guessing it was a private conversation about me then?"  Nicholas asked when Jenna didn't give him the details of what the girls talked about.

"In a way.  Nothing you need to worry about though.  But that reminds me, I want to take her to lunch soon to thank her."  Jenna said, making a mental note for herself.  "So, did you take Emma out shopping for school clothes yet?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

Nicholas grimaced at her question and moved to the other side of the hot tub to sit facing her.  "Oh, shit!  I knew there was something I was forgetting."  He groaned.  "You know how much I hate shopping.  I guess it just slipped my mind."

Jenna rolled her eyes at him.  "Well, whether you hate it or not, we are taking her shopping tonight.  She isn't going back to school tomorrow wearing last year’s clothes.  I bet she's grown out of most of them anyways."

"Are you making me go with you?"  Nicholas asked.

"Hell yeah.  You're buying after all.  We'll make it as quick and painless as possible, maybe just getting her a few outfits, then we can shop for some clothes on the internet this weekend.  The poor girl!"  Jenna said.

"See, that's why Emma needs you around.  You are so much better with the girl things than I am.  She really does look up to you as a mother, you know."  Nicholas told Jenna.

"Well, I look to her as a daughter too.  I love Colby, but I've always wanted a little girl too.  Emma is my little girl that I never got to have."

"Speaking of, I just realized we didn't use a condom again when we were in my office.  What if you get pregnant?  What if you already are?"  Nicholas pointed out, trying not to freak out.

"I'll go to my doctor this week and get back on the pill.  Until that kicks in, we just need to start being more careful.  I'm sure that the kids are going to have a hard enough time adjusting to us living together without adding a new baby into the mix."  Jenna said.  "I doubt I am now, I just don't feel like I am."

"I'm sorry to put you in this position.  I know that I should be more careful, but I lose all sense when I am that close to you.  You might want to get a pregnancy test when you go to the doctor, just to be on the safe side though."  Nicholas suggested.

"You're right.  I'll have her give me a test before she give me the prescription for the pill, but I know what the results will be already.  You know, it isn't totally your fault that you forget the condom because I know that I forget too."  Jenna said.

"It's not that I'm totally closed on the idea of having more kids in the future, it's just that I think if we do decide to have more kids together, then we should wait a while."  He told her.

"I understand.  I'm not exactly ready to pop another one out right now anyways.  I think we need some time to adjust to the idea of us before we add anything more to the equation."  Jenna said.

"Well, I'm glad we agree on that then.  Now, how would my beautiful girlfriend like to go up and take a shower with me before the kids get home?"  Nicholas asked, pulling Jenna across the hot tub into his arms.

"I think you might be able to talk her into it."  Jenna said playfully as she stood up.  She led Nicholas out of the hot tub and put the cover back on it before they went in the house.  Nicholas trailed behind Jenna slowly, aching to reach out and grab her bikini-clad ass in his hands.

When they finally reached the bathroom in Jenna's bedroom, Nicholas couldn't resist any longer.  He reached out and pulled her into his arms, and as he planted a hot kiss on her lips, his hands wandered down to her bikini bottoms.

Jenna broke the kiss before it got too heated.  "Now, now.  None of that, the kids will be home soon.  All you asked me was to take a shower with you.  I didn't agree to any nookie."  Jenna teased.