Promise Me (27 page)

I don't know how people do this long distance thing on a regular basis, but it's starting to work on my already frayed nerves. Even though the last three weeks have been wonderful getting to know Tyler, albeit over the phone, it's been agonizing not having him close enough to touch me, kiss me, or hold me.

At first, our conversations were learning simple things about each other, like a progression of twenty questions. In a way, our relationship is somewhat backwards. We were lucky enough to spend three and a half perfect nights together almost in a cocoon. No outside interruptions. No slowly easing your way into it. We went straight pass go and collected our two hundred dollars. And I'm not complaining because I loved every minute of it. But, there's something to be said for finding out all there is to know about the person you want to spend every waking moment with.

For instance, he has the most perfect middle name ever. It came to me a couple of days after I was home that I didn't know this information and that I needed to know it. So in the middle of a late night phone call, I asked what my inquiring mind had been thinking about.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," he answered.

"Is yours that bad?"

Tyler laughed at my very real assumption that his was pretty rough. "No, it's not bad at all. I actually really like it. I just don't tell anybody."

This had me even more curious. "Why don't you tell anyone?"

"No reason, I don't know… maybe because nobody's ever really asked me."

"Okay, now that is ridiculous," I said as seriously as I could without laughing.

"It's James."

"Tyler James," I said in a daze because I thought it sounded so lovely. "That's kind of perfect and I love it. I may have to call you that from now on."

A hearty chuckle escaped him before he said, "I'm glad you like it, but don't expect me to answer you."

"We'll see about that."

So ever since that conversation, whenever we talk on the phone late at night I always end the call with, "Sweet dreams, Tyler James".

And for the record, he hasn't complained once so it's stuck.

As for the phone calls we've worked out a schedule of sorts that seems to work for us. During my commute in the morning, I call him and we talk until I get to work. At night, he calls me when he gets in from the restaurant. That doesn't take into account all the texts during the day and night and everything in between. At first, I kind of felt terrible about waking him up so early, seeing as he puts in long hours at night. I discounted those concerns fairly quickly when he told me his reasons.

"Baby, if you haven't been able to tell yet, yours is the first voice I want to hear when I wake up and the very last thing I want to hear before I go to sleep."

My answer was pretty awesome. "Okay."

I was lucky to have gotten that one word out because I had literally swooned from hearing him say that to me. Most assuredly, the sisterhood would have revoked my privileges if they knew how I reacted after he told me that. But, do I really give a damn what the sisterhood thinks at this point? Nope, not really. They're not around to help navigate me through all of this... so screw them!

In the last couple of days the texts have been increasing because of Tyler's impending visit in four days. This visit is such a nice surprise because I had already resigned myself into thinking that I would probably not see him again until Thanksgiving. So when he brought it up late one night on the phone about a week ago, I jumped at the chance.

We had been discussing nothing of extreme importance when all of a sudden we both had gone quiet. Not an uncomfortable silence but enough that I thought perhaps that he was getting sleepy. I was about to tell him to go to bed when he spoke up and caught me by surprise.

"I want to see you," he said in such a way that my body almost fused to the mattress that I was lying down on.

I couldn't hide my reaction when I answered him. "I want to see you too."

I knew that his trademark sexy grin was in place without even seeing him in the flesh.

"What can we do about that?"

"Um…," I couldn't say much of anything. One, because I had just taken a week's vacation and two, his voice was driving me crazy in a really good way.

"Baby, I want to see you so bad that it's all I think about. I need to see your beautiful smile with my own eyes and I want to feel you in my arms."

"I want that too," I said in a hushed voice, "more than anything."

"Well, your wish is my command."

My body responded before my mouth did by knifing up in the bed. "What does that mean?"

"I'm coming to see you."

"When?"

"I'm thinking the weekend after this one coming up. How does that sound?"

It took all of me to not squeal into the phone at this news. In fact, I was trying so hard not to that I remained quiet.

"Baby, are you still there?"

"I'm here," I finally answered.

"So, what do you think?"

My heart beating so wildly in excitement, I quickly responded this time. "I think it's the best news ever. I can't wait to see you."

"That's my girl."

So, he bought his ticket and made plans to see each other in just over seven days. I'm so excited about it that I've been totally counting them down as if it was
Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve.
Today is no different, and as I sit at my desk looking over plans for a new exhibit in the fall, my phone vibrates and the lovesick grin that always accompanies that magical sound is starting to make my face hurt. I abandon my work, yet again, and read his latest text about ten times.

I'm sure Miami is great, but we may not leave your room.

Oh my.

The sex fog that's clouding my brain is pretty thick. I should respond but don't have an inkling as to what I should text back. I could go for the gusto and say something naughty but don't want to come off as cheesy. I give up and pick up my work phone and dial 911... or at least the closest thing to it.

Julia answers, "What's up?"

"So, just got a text from Tyler and not sure how I should answer him," I say excitedly.

"Hit me," she says all business like.

I read her off the text and she asks me to repeat it, and then repeat it again. When she asks a fourth time, I kind of lose it.

I grate my teeth in frustration, "I think you've got it by now."

"Relax," she says, "This is an easy one. The question is, do you want to be a bad girl or a good girl?"

The devil on my shoulder perks its head and looks around as if awoken from a deep sleep. I want to be bad. Hell yes, I want to be all kinds of
Jessica Rabbit
bad with him.

"Bad."

"Did you just say you want to be a bad girl?" Julia is almost as shocked as I am by my admission. "Can't say that I blame you, really. After seeing his picture I'd want to be a bad girl too. That man is one hot piece of ass."

"Julia, focus. And please do not refer to my boyfriend as a 'hot piece of ass'... at least not around me."

"Alright, alright. Well, you can't just jump in head first into the deep end, you know. Let's dip your foot in the shallow water and check the temperature."

I groan into the phone, "Listen up, Jacques Cousteau, enough with the diving analogies and just tell me what I should say."

Her wicked cackle makes me roll my eyes while I wait for her to come back down from her laughing high.

"Text him back something like... hmmm... I got it! Say this, '
But what will we do if we get hungry
?'"

"Huh? That's all you've got? That's not even close to being bad, that's just... sad." I start to giggle at my own rhyming capabilities when Julia gives an "ahem" loudly into the phone to get my attention.

"Oh ye, of little faith," she says, going all holier than thou. "Trust me."

So, I grab my cell phone and text him exactly that, verbatim. Julia stays on the line, gabbing about her day so far when my phone vibrates again a minute later. I gingerly pick it up and stare at it as if it was an alien device.

I finally find my voice long enough to interrupt Julia's current ramblings about somebody in her staff. "He texted back."

"What did he say?" She asks in stealth mode.

I open the screen and read it. My jaw dropping open while my panties start to feel too tight on my body in the process.

"I can't read it out loud to you," I say quickly.

"Oh, no you don't. I don't have anything going on in my sex life at the moment, so read that text to me this very instant, young lady!"

"Julia... um," I mumble, "it's embarrassing."

She chuckles, "Good, I hope so."

"Okay then, this is what he said back." I clear my throat and drop my voice so low that I can barely hear myself. "
Baby, after I get you in that bed, the last thing on my mind will be actual food
.
"

"She shoots, she scores!" Julia is as proud as a peacock and I can picture her bowing to a make-believe audience in the middle of her office.

"Should I text him back or leave it be?" I ask while she's still patting herself on the back.

"You damn well better. If you don't, I will." She's sounds almost appalled that I even would entertain the idea of not responding.

"Chill out. I'll text him in a minute when my brain is functioning properly."

She sighs before she says, "My work here is done. Enjoy your sexting. See you at home, girlie."

I hang up and for some reason I think back to when we were younger and specifically that one horrible night, when the only bright spot was him. You really couldn't take your eyes off him back then. His rough exterior would make you take pause but in a good way. A very good way. And now that I have the real thing in my life, it's even better than any dream I could have ever imagined.

I reread his text and think of how to answer as my body responds and pushes my mind to wander further on its own. My pulse quickening at the memory of my body welcoming his, being underneath him as his hands explore every inch of my skin. The taste of his lips and tongue flicking against mine and... this is crazy! If I keep this up, I'm going to go up in flames in my office just on a memory.

Drawing on my steamy daydream, I give in, handing over the reins to my inner bad girl and type out a text back to him.

Can I at least be dessert?

God bless modern technology. It takes him all of twenty three seconds to respond. I know, because yeah, I counted.

Baby, you have no idea...

Now, I'm the one patting myself on the back and kick back in my chair as a goofy grin covers my face. I relish in the moment for a minute or two before finally getting back to work.

The rest of the day goes by at a snail's pace, aided only slightly by the flirty text banter with Tyler. I did have to abandon it at one point and really concentrate. It was getting close to his time to go into work anyway. But, I'm thinking maybe a little foray into phone sex territory later might be in order. Yes, most definitely need to think about that later tonight when he calls. We've never done "it" over the phone. We've gotten pretty close to all gooey for each other occasionally but this would definitely be a first and not just for us, but for me in general.

I'm so tired by the time I get home from work that I head straight for a long hot shower. I collapse onto the couch alongside Julia to watch a movie, each of us with our respective favorite kind of Hot Pocket on opposite ends of the couch. The movie drags on and I should have known better than to agree to watch it with her since she got to pick tonight. All I know is that Gwyneth Paltrow better get her head out of her ass and just run on over to Ben Affleck's house pronto. Or at least in the next ten minutes since I'm starting to get a bit sleepy.

In the middle of a yawn, Julia smacks her lips in annoyance. "It's not that bad, quit the theatrics."

"I can't help it if I'm tired, although I will say this movie isn't doing it for me at all," I say then stretch my limbs and reposition myself on the couch.

"Well, it's almost over so shhh. Don't you know silence is golden," she says sarcastically.

I stick out my tongue at her then curl up more comfortably on the couch and go back to watching the movie. My eyelids grow heavy and before Gwyneth can figure out the mess that is her life, I fall asleep. A soft poke wakes me and I instantly regret falling asleep on the couch. My neck is achy and I go to rub it while I ask Julia what time it is.

"Almost one," she answers quietly.

"Why are you whispering?" I ask in a same hushed tone.

She giggles, "I have no idea. I'm going to bed girlie, have a good night."

"Good night."

While I'm still rubbing my neck with one hand, I grab my cell phone off the coffee table and scroll through it for missed calls or texts from Tyler. His nightly call usually comes around eleven thirty, midnight, the latest and if he's running late, he'll shoot me a text letting me know. Nothing. Not one message or phone call since his last text which was hours ago.