Where Would I Be Without You (5 page)

"We do... however, Steve is O. V. E. R."  I spelled it out.  "I should have known better, seen the signs, figured
out the what's up situation."  I said what's up like I was a gangster.  I was going to have to quit acting all party gangster after Wednesday.  It was part of my twenty or so step plan to mature and grow up.  However, whenever I did talk gangster, Marion and I always got a good laugh.

She held doubt in her voice.  "Really?  Because the day of your family birthday party you were hoping he might step it up a notch.  I didn't think you were thinking ring, but some type of
commitment; sounded like you wanted it to reach the horizon.  You can't be over him that quick."

I bit the inside of my mouth while thinking. "I suppose.  I am still a bit hurt and confused.  It was all so surreal.  Him being late.  My cousin saying something about why is he wearing a ring and then his wife.  Ack.  That was scary.  I hope she doesn't plan on hunting me down
, driving me over with her car or worse."  I shivered at the thought.

"I doubt it.  And
hey, I hate to say it, but you probably weren't his first.  The reason the wife figured it out so quickly.  Look.  Guys like Steve are a dime a dozen.  If they think they can get away with it, they will.  They look good, say the right things and plan appropriately by having an excuse for everything.  Now this Mason guy, you did say his name was Mason, right?"

"Yeah.  Montahue."  I paused and looked at her, waiting to see if she recognized the last name.

"The Montahue.  Like as in the one that manages this building, has the billboards all over town, you make your rent check out to?"  Her last word hung in the air.  If I wasn't certain, we both were thinking how awkward to write a rent check to your lover that manages the building.  Although, he wasn't managing right now, he was being the super.  And super kisser was more what I was thinking.

It did not take Marion and
me long to be deep into a retake of my family birthday party.  She mentioned that it wasn't really all that bad, but she was an awful liar, and deep down, I knew I would not be going back to that expensive Italian restaurant anytime soon.  At least not in this decade, too bad as it was a really romantic restaurant for couples or small parties, and I could easily envision Mason and Carl drinking from a cut glass as Marion and I giggled over, just about anything as we liked to.  I could easily see Carl and Mason having drinks, talking business, hitting the golf course together, which was scary for me, because I was basically envisioning marrying the guy and having his kids.  I needed to apply some breaks to my mental race.

A knock at my apartment door drew both of our attention to stare at
the door.  As if we could see right through to who was standing there.  For a fleeting second, I held my breath thinking what if?  What if Steve's wife decided I was worth the kill after all?  Then we both looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and I was about to call out 'who's there' when his Latin bad boy voice practically sang out.  Well, at least to me, it did.

"Amber?  It's Mason.  I've got your laundry.  I saw you come in with someone while I was working on Mr.
Cather's door hinge.  Hey, Mrs. Hatley had an issue with you monopolizing the laundry room..."

He didn't have time to finish.  I swung my door open so fast, the air behind it got sliced in half.  "Hey!"  No lack of excitement on my part.  Then I noticed it.  My laundry basket with my three loads of laundry.  Washed, dried and oh my
garsh... did he fold it too?

"Can I come in?"  He asked in a way as if I could never say no. 
He produced a sex-laden appeal that even got a smile out of Marion.

I stepped aside and let him in as I watched him walk over and set my laundry on the very hard window bench from which I first caught
sight of him.  When he turned to look at me, he gave my body a quick grazing that sent a nice warm happy feeling to the core of my, well you know.  Then he looked at Marion with his inquisitive sexy mysterious eyes and smiled.

I stumbled on the first part with laughter.  "Mason."  I pointed to Marion.  "Marion meet Mason."  Then I pointed to Mason.  Out of my
silliness, I just introduced the wrong name to the wrong person.  Marion bailed me out fast.

"Hi Mason.  I'm Marion.  Amber's best friend.  I heard she put on quite a show for you."  She
laughed, and I glared.  She should not have reminded him.  Then she smiled at me with raised eyebrows to say 'what?' and all was forgiven.  I could never stay mad at her or think her intentions were ill wished.

He
stepped forward and shook her hand hello, and then he turned back to me.  "Sorry.  Mrs. Hatley apparently does not like your Monday morning laundry routine as she called it.  And since I am new here, and she seems to think I give a dang about who monopolizes the laundry room, not saying that you are; I figured it would just be easier to take your things out of the dryers."

"So?"  I stood there looking at my perfectly folded clothes wondering
if all my lacy things like bras were at the bottom or did he fold those too?  "It wasn't Mrs. Hatley that folded them?"

He laughed and looked
at me straight in the face.  "No.  That would be me."

The room grew suddenly quiet and in less than two
seconds, Marion was out the door hollering, she will call me later.  She has never left without a hug good bye.  I think she felt the same storm brewing that I did, and it wasn't the kind that you cursed at; it was the kind where you hunker down with a naked sexy man and do things to pass the time.  When a man folds laundry for a woman - that is like porn for women.  Gulp.

I finally got the nerve to look up into his eyes.  Those gorgeous bluish greenish eyes that captivated me with their mere brightness and invitation to just jump right on in and take a swim. 
His eyes were smiling but they were also singing Latin love songs to my heart.  He finally broke the trance and walked over and closed my apartment door, all while turning his ringer on his phone to mute.  When he turned to me, I wanted to melt into the floorboards.

He started off with 'it's no big deal'.  I laughed lightly.  Then he continued on explaining.  "I have three sisters and don't think that I didn't have to deal with their laundry a time or two.  I just felt it was easier and perhaps nicer being it's your birthday and all
, so I folded them for you."

I stumbled out.  "Actually Wednesday is my birthday."

"I know that.  But someone as special as you should celebrate all week long."  He said it like his tongue just ran up and down my body giving me the shivers, or perhaps; I just imagined that.

I let my hands slowly stroke up his
arm, and over his shoulder until my wrist draped over it, and my hips moved in close to him within inches.  I tilted my head while looking up at him with bedroom eyes and realized that I was not in control of my body.  My body was in control of my mind, which I was feeling completely out of control.  I had such a sexual desire standing next to this man.  The man who just folded my laundry and brought it up to me.  Not only was he incredibly sexy naked, although I only got to see it from a separation of an alley way, guessing twenty thirty feet between buildings, give or take a few feet.  I was drawn in by his eyes.  It was as if they could look at me and undress me with a sensual stroke.  I could look into his eyes and declare that I found euphoria.  "I don't normally do this kind of thing."

His voice stroked my skin when he replied with something so very unexpected.  "Well I guess that just makes me a very lucky man."

I didn't have to finish with my seduction that I was planning in my head.  Mr. sexy super, Mason soon to be CEO Montahue, naked or dressed, slowly lowered his lips to mine as his strong hands wrapped themselves up onto places on my body that had me reeling for more.  I felt his right hand slip behind my head, touching my neck and entangling his fingers into my hair.  I felt his other hand glide onto my hip and to the lower of my back pulling me in closer to him.  I let my lips open just a bit as his pursued mine that held a tingling sensation to them.  I had never felt that vibe with another man before, not in the way his lips were pressing against mine.  Just as his hot tongue dipped into my mouth a loud easy moan exited as I felt my body press itself hard against his, almost pushing him backward.  If it wasn't for his strength of his body, I was pretty sure I could have knocked him back onto the couch with my passionate bravado.  I was feeling pretty dang passionate right now, all this from just this kiss.  This kiss, which far surpassed the little surprise he dropped on me earlier right before he left me reeling in the laundry room.

When his lips
pulled back, his hand on my lower back started stroking my back, as his hand on the back of my head pulled my head back a bit so he could look down into my eyes, he spoke while I felt like a melting mess right there on my hardwood floors.

"Amber Jones.  You are one sweet surprise I was not expecting with this job."  He let out a light flirty laughter that made me realize that this attraction had just taken two to tango.

I wanted to find my voice and talk, yet for once, I could not babble.  I could not interject my goofy sense of humor that could talk its way out of a crowded room.  I could not speak, nor could I move.  My body was humming from toenails to hair follicles on the tip of my head.  I was a humming strumming neon sign that was flashing the word 'GO'.  There was no word that remotely meant stop that was going to exit my mouth, nor was I going to do anything that might be interpreted in the least bit as 'not tonight dear'.  I just stood there with my lips slightly parted, wet from our kiss, my breath hitched and my eyes staring into his wondering if this was one wicked wet dream I would wake up from and kick myself for not following through.  Then his voice held question as if he needed a go ahead.

"Amber?"
  I felt his fingers stroke my face as he repeated my name in question, just as I felt the distance between us may have only increased by inches but felt like a mile.  I wanted to be wrapped back up in his arms.

I had been mentally undressing and seducing my neighbor
slash hot super all while, he stood in my front room telling me a story about something that had to do with his sister's laundry or was it, he asked me if it bothered me.  Either way, I did not remember.

"Uh.  Sorry."  It
was the only answer I could supply.  My body was an internal molten mess from my own internal visioning that I had no words to describe my lack of interest in his conversation.  I glanced at my laundry basket, and back to him while spurting out a comment.  "Hey thanks by the way.  In case, I didn't say it earlier.  You didn't need to fold my stuff.  Maybe next time I leave one washer and dryer open."  I let the last part come out in laughter as he took a step closer, back within the parameters that had put us in that last memorable sensual kiss.

"You could or we could put a
maintenance sign on the door and do our laundry together.  I'm sure we could think of something to do while the wash and spin cycle complete."

Oh my garsh.  Did he just
insinuate where my mind had just been?  I guess my raised eyebrows caused him some caution on the 'you took it too far Latin lover' level.

"I'm just kidding with you."  He let his hand
stroke my arm as he took that final step closer.  This put him within my 'this is going to go somewhere naked' space.  The space that is only reserved for lovers.  Then before I could say a word, I watched his hand come up and softly stroke the side of my face as his fingers weaved into my hair and found themselves on the back of my neck.  He took the last and final step it takes for a man to get ready to kiss a woman.  His thumb tilted my chin up and his other hand landed on my back as our mouths met.  This was sensual kiss number two, all in less than five minutes.  I had to wonder, who was pursuing who, Latin lover?

The feel of his lips
was suburb.  He had a sexy manly mouth that took my mouth and made it feel safe, secure and about to - oh my.  He's leaning into my body, and if I am not mistaken as my hands have made their way to any part of his body I can touch and pull him closer; he's very happy to have folded my laundry.

When he pulled back just a step, not that I wanted him to, I let out a deep 'ah' sound.  I wanted to jump up acrobatically, wrap my legs around his body and proceed to take this kiss to an entirely different level.

"Amber?"  His voice was in question and there was no stroke of the fingers this time.  His voice was real time; not imaginary play date time.  "Amber, I guess I wanted to stop by and see if this attraction I'm feeling is somewhat real.  I guess since we barely know each other."

I don't know if I could agree with that.  He was the super, and had access to the management records.  He could probably find out that my first year
renting, I was late three times.  Not so long ago I lapsed in the required renter's insurance out of sheer inability to remember to pay the bill.  Now that I am on auto pay, grouped on the same policy as my car insurance, so there will be no lapsing now as I was learning to grow up in the bill-paying department.  He knew my name, first and last.  Well, I guess we both did now.  However, most importantly, he knew what I looked like naked and in a roundabout fair play sort of way, he let me see him naked too.  We were just a level higher than mere acquaintances; we could easily be friends with benefits.  However, something in me knocked on my brain.  'You want more now, don't you?'  And that, I was sure, that I did.