TITAN (22 page)

“Ahh,” she said, tossing her head
to the side. He
teethed
her neck and carried his kiss
to her mouth. He entered her and they both cried out. It was too much for
either of them. They let go almost immediately and lay back, gasping for air.

He looked at her with a smile and
started chuckling again.

“What?”

“Nothing, I just keep seeing you
with that huge Styrofoam ass,” he said, bursting into laughter. “And Jessie,
man, I wonder what the hell he is thinking on the drive home.”

“Just what a girl wants to hear
after sex,” Jordy rolled her eyes.

“You brought it on yourself.”

Jordy pulled herself up on top of
him and said, “Do you think you can get it together for a minute? I am not done
with you.”

He was instantly game and she
slowly eased herself down on him. He leaned up to kiss her but she wasn’t
having it. She showed him just how much she missed him and collapsed to the
side of him.

“Okay, I am done with you,” she
said, looking as serious as she could.

“Good. I am hungry,” he said,
knowing he would never tire of her. After they were dressed, he grabbed her
hand and took her down to the kitchen.

“Two years,” he said matter of
fact. They had finished two bottles of wine and had made small talk at dinner. They
were dancing around the one thing they had left to talk about. It was if there
was an invisible wall between them.

“Yeah,” she said, carefully
avoiding the subject.

“Are there any Tonys I need to
worry about?”

“No.”

“Traceys?” she fired back.

“No.”

“Tite, I know we have to talk about
it, but does it have to be now?” she asked, scared of his response.

“Just tell me why after all those
years together you wouldn’t talk to me,” he said, almost angry.

“I don’t want to fight, please.”

“We have to talk about it,” he
said, getting a little angrier. “Can I say I am sorry now? For hurting you, for
pushing you down?”

“You don’t have to, it was just a
fight. It doesn’t matter.”

“Jordy, after what you went
through? You never told me.”

“Don’t. I am not that fragile girl
that left here. It’s different now.”

“How?”

“I won’t faint, I promise you
that.”

He looked at her eyes. They were
colder and her jaw was firm. She had a spark in her that he knew he had
ignited.

“You never told me that stuff.”

“You never really asked.”

“I thought I knew, I guess”

“Now you know. I hate this. Can we
drop it?”

“Not yet.”

“Serious much? It’s your birthday.
Let me get your present.”

She walked around the table, kissed
him quickly and walked out of the room.

I never asked. I told her it was
a mistake. She’s here now. Just leave it alone, Tite! Fuck.
He had to know.
He couldn’t keep pretending she hadn’t ruined him by walking out and refusing
to talk to him. He wouldn’t go through that again.

Jordy walked back in, carrying a
shoe box.

“You don’t have these, I checked
your closet. All three hundred pairs,” she said, poking fun of him for his
ridiculous Nike shoe collection. “Cowboys edition.  I figured I would keep
our theme going.”

“Fucking ridiculous,” he said,
holding them up as a new prize.

“Yeah, I love them,” she said,
proud of herself. “You are worse than a woman.”

“Well, you did
good
.”

“I know,” she chuckled.

“Nothing like a huge piece of ass
and new shoes,” he said, kissing her a thank you.

“You’re welcome”

“Now what?”

“I baked you a cake, gave you some
ass and a present, this isn’t a national holiday, Tite.”

“No, I mean what are you going to
do, now that you graduated? You said you were moving.”

“In a year. I took a job with a
marketing office. I start Monday. I have enrolled early for my classes to get
my masters and that’s the plan.”

“So this is just… what Jordy?”

“I don’t know, you tell me?”

“I can’t. Apparently I have no idea
who I am talking to.”

“Damn it, Tite,” she yelled,
walking out of the kitchen.

“Damn you, Jordy,” he said, raising
his voice, challenging her.

She reeled on him. “You know what?
You hot-headed bastard, I am sorry I hurt your ego. I am sorry I wouldn’t talk
to you. I was ashamed of what I told you. I was ashamed of being that basket
case you claim you loved. I had to get my shit together. I know I was loyal and
faithful and by your side for four years before I left. It was the hardest
thing I have ever done. I loved you more than my sanity and it was too much.”

“Loved?”

 “Tite, you know damn well I
still love you,” she said, giving him a hard glance.

“I just want to know if you are
going to stick around this time.”

“And you have to know this right
now? We can’t ease back into this?”

“No,” he said, his mind made up.
“If you are back, Jordy, I want to hear you say it.”

“I am just as scared as you are, if
you’d admit it. You know we can’t stay away from each other.”

“But, you can,” he said, more anger
in his voice.

She turned around to face the
elevator.

“After what you said to me?” she
whispered.

“It was stupid,” he said, softly.

She noticed his tone had changed
and turned around, curious to see why it had softened. She saw him standing
there, his hand open. She saw the necklace and immediately her anger disappeared.
He had gotten her again. It was her Cowboys necklace, the one she had ripped
from her neck two years ago.

“Now, you know that I am not the
marrying type. I want you to stay, for good. I want you to be mine. If you want
marriage, I want marriage. If you’re going to marry anyone, it’s going to be
me. But all I really want is a promise you will stay.”

“I…I,” she started crying
immediately. She grabbed the necklace out of his hand and threw her arms around
him. “I knew you were acting too much like a damn needy woman!” she laughed.

“I know. I had no idea how to start
this fight,” he chuckled.

“Only you would piss me off to
propose, or whatever the hell that was.”

She laughed at him, punching his
chest.

“It was whatever you want it to be,
Jordy. I want you for good.”

“God, I missed this,” she said,
beaming at the necklace.

“Good. Welcome home, baby.”

He grabbed it out of her hand and
clasped it around her neck.

They walked back into the kitchen
to eat some of his cake.

“And you are getting so old anyway.
Forty-three? You might as well settle with me.”

 She eyed him, seeing his face
fall when she poked at him. “Oh…sensitive too.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

He grabbed his cake off of his
plate and smashed it into her mouth, following it with his lips. Jordy shouted
out, cursing him, with a mouth full of frosting, refusing his kiss.

“Mutha Fuckew,” she said, pushing
him away from her.

“You aren’t any spring chicken
either,” he said, walking away toward the fridge.

He felt the cake smack the back of
his head and slide down his back. He smiled.

She was back.