Chapter Five #2
Putting the pork chops on the grill plate, she grabbed some vegetables from the fridge and quickly chopped them up. The pork was nearly cooked, and she had the wok in place, and began to quickly put together a stir-fry.
She already had the pre-cooked packaged noodles that needed to be used, and she added them to the wok. Once all the vegetables had just a bite to them, she had a quick bean sauce from the cupboard again. Her daughter loved stir-fry, and anything with noodles was a winner. She also loved pasta.
With the stir-fry cooked, she carried it through to the table, and Adeline was already there. For the next hour as she ate her dinner, she listened to Adeline talk nonstop about her trip. Her daughter was so happy and excited, and she loved seeing that excitement in her eyes.
“Did you have fun, Mommy?” Adeline asked.
She had flashes of Axel wrapped around her. A quick memory of him taking her in front of the mirror, and she quickly squashed it, forced a smile to her lips, and nodded. “Yes, I had a good time. I missed you, though.”
“I missed you too, Mommy.” She let out a yawn.
“I think it is time for you to have a bath.”
Adeline nodded, grabbed her plate, and carried it to the dining room. Joey followed her, but while her daughter made her way upstairs, Joey stayed in the kitchen to clean up.
That was when her cell phone rang, and she saw it was her sister, Ashley, calling.
“Hey,” Joey said. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, really. I was just wondering what you were up to.”
“Cleaning. Nothing thrilling.” She had her hands in the sink, and had the cell phone on “speaker” so she could hear her sister.
“So, how did you spend your weekend?” Ashley asked. “I tried calling you a few times and figured you were busy.”
Joey had no idea how to answer that, and she went completely silent, because what should she say? Should she tell her sister the truth? Should she lie? What was she supposed to do? She nibbled her lip.
“Joey, are you there?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m here.”
“You were with someone, weren’t you?”
“Uh...”
She heard Ashley squeal over the line, and it sounded like she was clapping her hands. “Okay, you have to give me all the dirty details. I need to know everything. Do I know him? Do our parents know him? What was it like? Was it just a weekend romp? What was it?”
“Wow, you are way too excited about this.”
“I was worried you were still hung up on George, and let’s face it, that guy is a fucking loser. You’ve not been with anyone since Adeline came around. Now you have, and I need to know the dirty deets. Tell me.”
Joey blew out a breath. “Okay, this is ... I don’t know what it is.”
“Just tell me who you were with.”
“Axel Rules,” she said.
There was silence.
At first Joey wondered if her sister had even heard her, and she looked to see if she was still there, and yes, Ashley was still on the call.
“Have I shocked you into silence?” Joey asked.
“Axel Rules? The guy that lives by his own rules and keeps every woman at arm’s length. You’re telling me that is the guy you spent the night with?”
“The weekend.”
“What?”
“Yeah, the whole weekend. It was ... well, I don’t know what it was. I mean, I went to his place Friday night. I did sneak out Saturday morning because I didn’t know what the protocol was. Then he picked me up from work Saturday night, and then he brought me back to my place Monday morning.”
“You stayed overnight?”
“Yes.”
“That is ... unheard of for Axel.”
“What?”
“Axel follows rules, Joey. Most of the women that go with him know these rules.”
“Have you ever gone with him?” She knew Ashley and Axel were close in age.
“Hell, no, I did not want anything to do with him, but I had a few friends that used to, and he doesn’t kiss, and he doesn’t do sleepovers, and he doesn’t have anything to do with single mothers.”
“Oh,” Joey said.
She had heard of these mysterious rules, but she didn’t know about them firsthand. This was a surprise, especially as he had broken all three rules.
“He’s kissed me, and I stayed over at his place, and he knows about Adeline,” Joey said.
“Wow,” Ashley said.
Joey didn’t know if she should panic. “He might not ... come back?” Joey asked.
“You mean he’s scheduled you in to return?”
“Yeah, he is coming over tonight when Adeline is in bed. Do you think I should end things with him?” She didn’t have a clue what to do.
Ashely groaned. “You know what, are you having fun?”
“Yeah, I mean, I think so.”
“Then, no, you don’t need to end anything, but you also know that it’s not going to last. Axel is never with anyone for too long. He tends to get bored easily.”
“This is not making me feel any better. I’m not ... I don’t ... what if I fall for him?” Joey asked. “I’m not a woman who likes to do anything casually.”
“Do you want the sex to stop?” Ashley asked.
She hoped Adeline was still getting ready for bed. She finished the dishes and grabbed a towel to start drying up.
“No, I’m not ready for it to end,” she said. Did that make her selfish?
“Then enjoy it, and know that it is not going to last. There is nothing wrong with just enjoying a guy. If you’re both having fun, then I don’t see the harm in it.”
Joey did. She had never just enjoyed sex.
This was the first time she was acting differently.
She had gone to that bar hoping to have some fun, not have sex, but there was something about Axel, and she couldn’t deny it.
It made her want to do ... stupid stuff.
Stuff she had never done, like have sex in front of a mirror, or spend most of the day with a damn butt plug up her ass.
It was exciting and different, and she wasn’t ready for it to end just yet.
“I need to go and check on Adeline,” Joey said. “Talk to you soon.”
“I can’t wait to hear more.”
Ashley sounded way too excited about that, and she was not sure what the fuck was going on in her head.
Making her way upstairs, she found that Adeline was done in the bathtub and had changed into pajamas, and much to her surprise, she had also climbed into bed. She looked close to sleep.
“You don’t want to come down and watch a movie with me?” she asked.
“I’m so tired. Tomorrow night?”
“Yeah, honey, tomorrow.”
Her mother had said it had been a pretty intense and full weekend.
She stroked her daughter’s cheek, pulled some of her hair back, and kissed her. Making her way out, she pulled the door, but not closed—Adeline didn’t like it too dark. Then, she turned out the light.