Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Emerson
I finished getting ready, and while I was waiting for Alex to return from his meeting, I poured myself a glass of wine and sat out on the balcony. Leaving Alex was probably going to be the hardest thing I’d ever done, but he’d be okay, and so would I. Never stay in one place too long.
I had just entered the room when the door opened, and Alex walked in.
“How did your meeting go?”
“It went great. Are you ready?” He asked as he kissed my lips.
“Yes.”
“Great. Just give me a second to go change,” he spoke as he walked into the bedroom.
As we walked through the zoo, Alex had a smile on his face. He enjoyed seeing the animals, and I found it to be quite a turn-on.
“OMG! It’s the lemurs. It’s King Julian!” I exclaimed.
“Who?” he asked.
I gave him a perplexed look. “King Julian. You know, from Madagascar ?”
He slowly shook his head. “From what?”
“You have never seen Madagascar ?” I asked in shock.
“I have no clue what Madagascar or King Julian is.”
I placed my hands on each side of his face. “You have lived a very deprived and boring life, Parker.”
He chuckled and hooked his arm around me.
After a fun day at the zoo, I felt pretty tired, so I asked Alex if we could have dinner back in our room. Once we returned, he handed me the room service menu and asked what I wanted while he poured us some wine.
“I want a pizza.”
“Pizza? You don’t want a nice steak or maybe some fish?”
Climbing on the bed, I shook my head. “Nope. You order that for yourself if you want, but I’m having pizza.”
“Okay. Then we’ll both have pizza. What do you want on it?”
“Anything but anchovies. You pick.” I smiled.
“How about pepperoni, mushrooms, and green peppers?”
“Sounds good to me. Could you also order some of that lemon cheesecake I saw on the menu?”
“Of course.” He grinned.
He placed the order for dinner, and I patted his side of the bed. He smiled as he sat down next to me.
“Don’t you think we should wait to have sex after the pizza comes? I would hate to be in the middle of it, and there’s a knock on the door.”
“We aren’t having sex, Parker. We’re going to watch Madagascar. ”
“Seriously?” His playful look turned serious.
“Yes. It’s such a cute movie. You need to let out the inner child in you. Now make yourself comfy.” I pointed the remote to the TV and searched for Madagascar on the pay channels.
We sat on the bed, our backs propped up against pillows while we ate pizza, drank wine, and laughed at Madagascar . Whenever I looked at Alex, I could tell he was enjoying it. I shoulder bumped him, and he looked over at me.
“What?”
“You’re loving King Julian.” I smiled.
“Actually, the penguins are my favorite.”
“Yeah. They’re pretty cool, but King Julian rules!”
“King Julian is great, but I’m a sucker for the penguins.” He grinned.
When the movie was over, Alex noticed there was a second one.
“Rent the second one,” he spoke.
“Don’t you think we should get some sleep since we’re leaving in the morning?”
“Go ahead and lie down, then, but I’m going to watch the second movie.”
“And sex?” I asked as I ran my finger down his chest.
“Sex can wait, Emerson. The penguins can’t.”
I sighed. I think I had just created a Madagascar monster. I set my wine glass on the nightstand and rolled over, secretly smiling while I listened to him laugh as he watched Madagascar 2.
Alex
When we arrived home, I went to my office and did some much-needed work. I had been taking way too much time away from my company, and surprisingly, it didn’t fall apart. As I was sitting at my desk, the reality of Adam coming home this week set in, and suddenly, my mood changed. After a few hours, I went downstairs and saw Emerson doing laps in the pool.
“I’m going to the office for a while. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay. I’ll cook us dinner.”
I gave her a nod and drove myself to a bar instead of the office. I just needed to think over a couple of drinks, and I couldn’t do that with Emerson in the house.
“What can I get you, friend?” the bartender named Alan asked.
“Scotch on the rocks. Make it a double.”
“Coming right up.”
He poured the scotch and set the glass down in front of me. I drank it faster than he set it down.
“Another,” I said.
“You okay, man? You slammed that pretty fast.”
“Actually, I’m not okay. The woman I’m in love with will be leaving California soon, and I don’t think there’s a damn thing I can do to stop her.”
“Sorry to hear that. Have you told her that you love her?”
“Not yet, and even if I did, it wouldn’t matter. She hates it here. This place holds too many bad memories for her.”
He handed me another glass of scotch. “Maybe you can show her what the good memories used to be. Make her forget about the bad,” he spoke.
“She lost her parents and twin sister in an accident several years ago. She’ll never be able to forget that. Pour me another.” I threw a hundred-dollar bill on the counter.
“Nah. That would be hard to forget. I’m sorry, bro, but there had to be good memories before that.”
I kept drinking and before I knew it, Alan cut me off.
“Did you drive here?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, you aren’t driving home. Can I call someone for you?”
“No.”
“Then I’m calling you a cab.”
“No. Call Phillip. His number is in my phone.” I slid my phone to him.
About a half hour had passed, and as I laid my head down on the bar, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“What the hell are you doing, Parker?”
Lifting my head, I looked up to see Emerson standing next to me.
“I thought I told you to call Phillip?” I drunkenly spoke to Alan.
“He didn’t answer, and she kept calling. You need to go home, friend, and sleep the alcohol off.”
“Let’s go, Alex.” She grabbed my arm and helped me up.
As I stumbled out the door, Emerson began to yell at me.
“I thought you were going to the office. I made this nice dinner for us. I sat there alone, waiting for you to come home, and you were sitting in this bar, getting drunk. Why?”
I didn’t say a word as she shoved me into the passenger seat of Adam’s car.
“I swear to God, Parker, if you puke in this car, you’re buying Adam a new one.”
I moaned as I lay my head against the window, and she drove me home. She opened the door and grabbed my arm.
“Come on. Give me a little help here, Parker. I may be strong, but I’m not strong enough to hold up your dumb drunk ass.”
“I’m going to be sick.”
“Not on me, you’re not. You are to wait until we get into the house. If you throw up on me, you’re buying me all new clothes, and I’ll make sure they’re high-end designer and cost you thousands of dollars. No, make that millions.”
I stumbled through the door, and she took me to the bathroom off the foyer.
“There. Now you can throw up, you stupid man.”
Once I was done, I sat up against the wall as she wiped my mouth with a washcloth.
“Can you get up the stairs?” she asked in irritation.
I moaned as I fell over.
“I guess that’s a no.”
She helped me up, took me to her room, stripped me naked, and helped me into bed. As she climbed in next to me, I remember her saying, “Throw up on me, and I’ll stab you in your sleep.” I silently smiled because her mouth never stopped, and I loved it.