3. 3
3
Bvvvvvvvvrrrrrrrrrrrr.
The sound of the phone’s vibrations awoke them.
“You need to get that?”
He looked at the caller ID and flopped the phone back down. “Ugh. Let it ring,” he grumbled.
Bvvvvvvvvrrrrrrrrrrrr.
He turned and grasped her bare hips, pulling her close. She wrapped a leg around his waist, feeling his half-hard shaft graze the area between her thighs. Her lips found his in the darkness, his tongue seeking the wet comforts of her mouth.
Barrett grabbed her bare ass and swatted it with a playful thwap.
Bvvvvvvvvrrrrrrrrrrrr.
As their kiss deepened, her hands wandered, tracing his biceps with her fingertips. “Who would call you this late?”
He traced one of her breasts with an index finger.
Her body stiffened. “You should pick up. It could be important.”
He nodded, catching her lower lip with his teeth and giving it a rough nibble.
Bvvvvvvvvrrrrrrrrrrrr.
The sound doused him with a cold wave of reality. He crawled out of the bed with an apologetic look.
“Don’t… move.”
She watched pale moonlight paint the edges of his firm ass and muscular thighs.
Snatching his cell phone from somewhere on the floor, the screen lit up his strong jawline. He slammed his finger against the answer button and spoke. “What?” The voice on the other end sounded angry. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just late,” he said, glancing at his phone to see the time. “Or super early, I guess. Did you sleep at all?”
A woman’s voice seeped through the other end. Aphrodite sat up, covering her tits with a thin sheet.
“No,” he mumbled, “It’s okay. Did you need something?”
There was a pause, and his shoulders visibly sagged. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. “You want me to go?”
Her smile fell with the sudden realization that Barrett might be attached. His being in a relationship had never even occurred to her. She’d never even asked. She barely knew anything about him.
She searched for her bra and panties in the dark, eavesdropping.
Who was on the phone with him? Another booty call?
A girlfriend?
A wife ?
She glanced around the apartment. Even in the moonlit darkness, there wasn’t a feminine touch to be found. No throw pillows. No candles. No blankets hanging from the couch. Not a hint of perfume or women’s clothes in the floor piles. There wasn’t one piece of wall art with positive affirmations or a single meaningless decoration on his coffee table.
“Of course he does.” Barrett grimaced, hanging his head in defeat. “Alright! Fine! I’ll lay off. Just sayin’ that of the two of us, I got the brains and the brawn, and Dusty got nothin’ but a weak spine.”
Dusty?
“Yeah, I’ll take you. What time am I picking you up?”
He threw his head back, exasperated. “ Seven?! Can we go to a later service?”
Service ?
Oh, God.
Aphrodite felt a chill run through her as she clasped her bra. She hurriedly put on her underwear inside-out and searched for the rest of her clothes.
“I’m just saying, you don’t always have to go to the early one just because Susan’s there. It’s not high school. I promise you get the same amount of talking snakes and pestilence at the later service, too.”
In less than a minute, Aphrodite was dressed and creeping toward the front door.
Barrett silently waved her away from it.
She pointed to it and mouthed, ‘ I’m gonna go .’
“No,” he whispered, holding up a finger for Aphrodite to wait. “Fine, Gam-Gam. I gotta go. I’ll see you… in,” he looked at his watch, “three hours.”
Aphrodite exhaled hard.
Gam-Gam?
That certainly didn’t seem like the kind of pet name for a lover.
“Alright, Grandma. No problem. I love you, too.”
He pressed the ’end call’ button, tired eyes turning back to the woman in his doorway. “Jesus Christ. Sorry about that. She doesn’t sleep much ever since my grandfather died. I think she forgets the rest of us do sleep sometimes.”
“That’s okay. I should go.”
“No,” he said, quiet and firm, approaching her.
Her eyes studied his nude body, feet frozen in place like her shoes were made of concrete.
He pressed her against the door slowly, teasing her with lips held an inch away. “You should stay.”
She tilted her chin up, tongue aching to taste him once more before the nagging question burst from her throat. “What church do you attend?”
He studied her for a moment. “She goes to New Hope . I go, too, sometimes. You know, when her ride shits out.”
She swallowed so hard Barrett could feel it in his own body.
“Why? What about you?”
“I’m… not big on church,” she lied.
He traced her bottom lip with his finger and leaned in closer. “So why are we wasting precious time talking about it?”
“You have to get up in a few hours, and so do I. We should try to get some sleep.”
Barrett pulled his hands away and offered her space. “Yeah. Fine. You might be right.”
She took a deep breath and opened the door a crack.
“Wait a second, Cinderella.” He unlocked his phone and handed it to her. “Can I at least get your number? I’d like to do this again sometime.”
She grabbed his cell quickly and entered a number and the name Aphrodite before handing it back.
“Maybe I’ll call, and sometime you’ll let me take you out on a proper date.”
“We’ll see.” She rose on her toes and kissed him softly on the lips. “G’night, Barrett.”
“Night, Aphrodite.”
He lingered at the open door, even after she was out of sight, before finally closing it.