69. Chapter 69
Chapter 69
“Sorry I’m late,” Paige apologized when David opened the door to the loft. “Is he here?”
“No.” David pulled her in for a kiss, then closed the door behind her. “He texted and said he wouldn’t be here until 8 p.m.”
She couldn’t help but be disappointed. She’d been looking forward to meeting Dick for so long, that now any delay was annoying. “Okay.”
“You really want to meet him,” David mused.
“Of course I do. He’s your Jules.”
“He’s not my Jules. For one thing, he’s not crazy.”
“She’s not crazy, either.”
“Oh? Has she started taking meds since the last time I saw her?”
Paige thumped his chest. “That’s not funny. Some people actually do have to take meds—”
“I know. She’s one of them,” he insisted. “And you’re trying not to laugh, so quit pretending I’m wrong.”
When she just continued to look at him with fake indignation, he took her overnight bag and set it down. Then he helped her out of her coat, and after hanging it up, looked her up and down, taking in the outfit she was wearing. It was understated, but sexy, and since he hadn’t seen it before, he wondered if it was new.
Crowding her a bit, he maneuvered her until she had her back to the door. “I like this,” he said, running a finger along the deep neckline of her cashmere wrap-around dress. It was a pretty wine color, with long sleeves and a fitted bodice that showcased her breasts. The slightly flared skirt fell to just above her knees, with her black Louboutin boots completing the look.
His finger dipped down into her cleavage, before moving to the side to reveal the lacy edge of a black bra. “And I really like this.”
“I got it with my gift card. Along with matching panties.”
“Hmm, I might have to check those out, too.”
He quickly untied the bow at her waist, then unhooked the inside snap on the opposite side that held the dress together and pushed the material aside so he could get the full visual of her rocking the matching bra and panties. A few seconds later, he pushed the dress off, onto the floor.
“What are you doing?” she asked, even though it seemed pretty obvious.
“I’m taking advantage of the hour we have to ring in the new year a little early.”
“Are you serious?” She glanced down at his groin, and saw that he was, indeed, serious. “Never mind.”
With quick efficiency, he removed her bra, then kneeled to slide her panties off. He ran his hands up the outer leather of her boots and murmured, “These need to stay on.”
Once he’d divested himself of his own clothes, they began kissing again, with her back now pressed to a wall. When he gripped the backs of her thighs and lifted her, Paige’s breath caught.
“Here?” she asked.
“Yes, unless you want to take it somewhere else.”
Paige remembered the conversation she’d had with Jules about walking into David’s place and then being pushed against a wall and fucked … and Paige decided she was totally on board with experiencing that. Locking her ankles behind him, she murmured, “Here’s fine.”
“I was hoping you’d say that, because I’ve always wanted to try this.”
His admission that he’d never had sex up against a wall (likely for her benefit), thrilled her and ramped up her desire, but before Paige could tell him she’d recently given it some thought as well, he was tilting his hips down to put a little space between them. “Now why don’t you help me out?”
It was easy to see what he was asking for so she reached for his stiff length and guided it to her eager entrance. He pushed inside her in one long thrust, making them both groan.
“Jesus Christ, nothing feels as good as this,” David said as he established an easy rhythm, his hands gripping her ass.
“Agreed,” she managed to get out, because the angle of their bodies was such that her clit was rubbing against his slightly rough manscaped pubic hair, giving her pre-orgasm tingles. “This … I think I might actually be able to come like this.”
“Really?”
“Really.” A strong wave of tingles washed up her spine. “Oh, my God.”
Her almost surprised words galvanized him into action, with one mission: to make her orgasm a reality. He decided the best way to do that was just stick to what he was doing, rather than get fancy, since that seemed to be the magic ticket, so he continued to rock into her at a steady pace. It wasn’t long before she was breathing hard and moaning in his ear, “Don’t stop, don’t stop,” as she met him thrust for thrust, eyes closed and her forehead creased in concentration.
He knew the exact second she came because her entire body shuddered, and her head fell back against the wall with a soft thump. It triggered his own intense orgasm, and for a very real moment, he didn’t think he was going to stay upright because he went weak in the knees; the only thing that kept him from going down was the fact that he was leaning forward a little bit, with Paige taking the brunt of his weight.
As his heart rate slowly returned to normal, David straightened up, only to freeze as he registered the faint sound of footsteps on the stairs outside.
Still slightly out if it, Paige looked at him with hazy eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“No, it’s something. What is it?”
He sighed, before telling her, “Okay, so, I think Dick was here.”
“What do you mean, you think he was here? Here, where?”
“Just outside on the landing.”
Shaking off the last remnants of orgasmic bliss, she grabbed his wrist so she could read the time on his watch. “You said he wasn’t going to be here for an hour, and it’s barely been thirty minutes.”
“I know.”
“But you think he was out there?”
“Yes.”
“Well, do you think he’s still out there?”
“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I heard him heading down the stairs.”
“It’s too bad you didn’t hear him coming up the stairs.”
“In my defense, I was a little busy.” He gave her a Duh look. “And you can be a little loud.”
“You’re loud, too!”
“Maybe, but you’re the reason people in the Starbucks next door know my name.”
She exhaled loudly. “Jesus. Do you think he … heard us?”
“I don’t know. Probably. I mean, I heard him going down the stairs, so …”
“Well, why don’t you find out? Because I need to know.”
“You know what? I’ll find out.”
He eased out of her and set her down, then bent down to grab his phone from the pocket of his jeans while she snatched his shirt off the floor, wondering what kind of a picture she made, wearing only her boots as she cleaned herself off.
Realizing his phone was dead, David plugged it into the charger on the entryway table and waited for it to power up. The second it did, he saw a missed call and voicemail from Evan, and David cleared his throat before announcing, “Missed call and voicemail from Dick about fifteen minutes ago.”
Her response was to slap a palm to her forehead.
After hearing the voicemail, he gave her a sheepish look. “He called to say he was on his way,” he said, ignoring Paige’s annoyed look as he fired off a text to Evan.
DAVID: I just got your voicemail saying you were on your way.
DAVID: I mean, I got it fifteen minutes ago when you sent it, but my phone was dead, so I just now listened to it.
DAVID: Did you happen to hear us preemptively ringing in the new year?
DICK: Yes.
DAVID: What, exactly, did you hear?
DICK: Well, it sounded like you were banging Cat Lady up against the door, followed by dueling orgasms.
David turned to Paige. “He heard a little bit.”
She gave him a look of disbelief and began picking up her clothes. “Only a little bit?”
“Okay, maybe more than a little bit.”
“You mean like, everything?”
“Yeah.”
“You should’ve led off with that.”
“I was trying to … soften the blow.”
Paige shook her head. “There’s no softening that blow.”
“You don’t seem very upset.”
“I don’t know what I am, to be honest. This is the first time I’ve had someone hear me having sex, so it’s a novel feeling. And the alleged people at Starbucks don’t count.”
David turned back to his phone and continued texting.
DAVID: It was up against a wall, but … close enough.
DICK: Thanks for the clarification.
DAVID: You’re welcome.
DAVID: Now … why don’t you come back?
DICK: Seriously?
DAVID: Yes.
DICK: I don’t know, man. I was really looking forward to meeting her, but I’m thinking another time would be better—you know, like when I haven’t just heard you banging Cat Lady up against a wall?
DAVID: I know, but waiting a few days won’t make it any less awkward for any of us, so let’s just rip the band-aid off.
DICK: Fuck.
DAVID: It’s fine, really. So, come back already.
DICK: All right.
DICK: I’ll be there in fifteen.
David set his phone down. “He’s coming back. He’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”
“This is going to be so awkward.”
“Probably. But it could be worse. He could’ve seen us.”
They headed into the master bathroom to clean up with a quick shower, and Paige was careful not to get her hair wet. When they were done, he got dressed in a clean shirt and patted her on the ass, just as a knock was heard at the front door. “Come on out when you’re ready.”
David then went to let Evan in, who immediately apologized. “I’m really sorry.”
“Everything’s fine, man.”
“Really?”
“Really. And it’s totally my fault,” David told Evan, as they headed to the kitchen. Evan sat at the island while David began assembling everything he needed to make margaritas on the counter—blender, large cocktail shaker, Casamigos Blanco Tequila, fresh lime juice, mango liqueur, and Triple Sec. “I mean, obviously it would’ve been better for you two to meet under different circumstances, but it’s okay.” When Evan looked around pointedly, drawing attention to Paige’s absence, David assured him, “She’ll be out in a minute.”
“Is she upset?”
“She’s not upset. A little embarrassed maybe, but not upset. And … a lot annoyed with me for missing your call because my phone was dead.”
Evan chuckled as David asked, “Original or mango?”
“Original.”
“Blended or shaken?”
“Shaken.”
“Salt or sugar?” David asked, indicating the two options for rimming the glass in their respective containers.
“Salt.”
After taking his first drink—and declaring it not bad for a non-bartender—Evan said, “So, give me the skinny on Cat Lady before she comes out.”
David took a drink of his own Margarita before answering. “Well, the skinny is that she’s my … ex-wife.”
Evan almost choked, and set his glass down on the granite countertop with a loud clink. “Wait a fucking second. Cat Lady is your ex-wife?”
David nodded.
“So, Cat Lady, who you’ve been secretly seeing for the past four months, that you wouldn’t tell me anything about, is your ex-wife?”
David nodded again.
“Holy fuck. No wonder you said it was complicated,” Evan muttered. “So how did that happen? I have to hear this. Wait, does she have anything to do with you breaking up with Ashley?”
“It’s sort of related, but that’s a long story, and part of that is her story,” David said. “But the short story is that we reconnected and it’s fucking amazing. Better than before.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing? Do you remember how fucked up you were when your marriage ended? Because I do.”
“I remember, too. But it’s different now. It really is.”
“Jesus … you and your ex-wife. Well, congratulations, I guess.”
A satisfied expression settled over David’s face. “Thanks.”
Comfortable silence settled over them and David decided to use the moment to get the guacamole dip from the fridge and open a bag of tortilla chips. As he emptied them into a bowl, he saw Paige hovering just outside the kitchen doorway. She’d gotten dressed and fixed her hair and make-up, but still looked like she’d just had sex up against a wall.
With a smile, he went to take her hand and bring her forward. “Paige, this is—”
“Holy shit,” Evan said, his mouth falling open as he turned and recognized her from the bar. “You’re … David’s ex-wife?”
Paige’s mouth fell open, too, as she found herself gazing at the hot bartender from Three Amigos. “You’re … Dick?”