56 Days (Black) (9 page)

He hiked my right leg and sent it over his shoulder, pu
lling me in closer, his movements accelerating.  I gripped the back of his head and moved my hips.

“Jack…” I moaned.  “Yes… oh, fuck.”

He pushed me back onto the mattress and continued his actions, never losing a beat.  I shifted up on my elbows, biting at my lip until I thought it would bleed.

“Aaah… please… fuck me, Jack.”

He quickly opened the pristine, bedside table and produced a condom, ripping back the foil and rolling it on in record time.

I almost felt bad that we were about to ruffle his beautiful, pressed
coverlet.  Almost.

He shifted me to the center of the bed and slid in between my legs.

“Now, Jack… please.”

He pushed in hard, causing me to let out a squeal.

“Too hard?” he asked, slowing his pace.

“No!” I screamed.  “Go.”

He laughed.  “Yes, ma’am.  So bossy.”

*
****

I had three (loud) orgasms that afternoon
, with Jack finishing (also loudly) approximately 55 minutes after we started.  55 minutes.  My legs were rubber bands; I couldn’t even imagine what fresh hell he had to be suffering.  Just as I was lying down to take a rest; he smacked my ass, expecting me to get up.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Oh, God, Jack.  How is it that you are moving right now?”

He kissed my shoulder blade.  “Spend the night with me… here.”

“No,” I grumbled.  “I can’t go to work from here.  It would take me three buses and a cab.”

“I’ll take you.  At 4 in the morning, there won’t be any traffic.  It would take the same time as you walking from your place.”

“Hmm, no,” I answered, craning my neck to face him.

“No?  That’s it?”  He was smiling.

“Yep.  I like my place.”

He smacked my backside again, just before placing a kiss on top of its mark.  “I like your place too.  Let’s go there
instead.”

I sat up in bed.  “I didn’t invite you.”

He looked crushed.  “Okay… well, whenever you want to go home, let me know.  I’ll take you.”

“Jack
, honey, I just meant that I’m not used to having slumber parties and we’ve been together every night.”

“Two nights, Elsa.  Two.  Saturday and last night.  It’s not like I’m moving in with you.  Can’t you see that I’m crazy about you?”

He stood and pulled on his jeans, turning his back to me.

“Jack, I’m sorry.  You’re right.  Come home with me.”

He faced me, now buttoning his shirt.  “That’s okay.  You want your alone time.  It’s fine.”

“Don’t be a weirdo.  Come home with me.  I mean it.”

He smiled.  “You sure?”

“Yep,” I said, popping out of bed and reaching for my underwear.  “Now, let’s eat something.  I’m starving.”

“I’ve got to work for a little bit.  Help yourself to whatever you want.  Come meet me out back when you’re done, okay?”  He leaned in, kissing me softly before heading out the door.

I sat
at the dark butcher block counter and looked around at my surroundings.  Jack had to have built all of these cabinets.  Put in the flooring.  Installed the countertops.  All of it was cared for with great detail.  There were no handles.  Just clean lines and invisible hinges.  He had a coffee maker but, other than that, his counters were empty and polished.  He must have been in hell
at my apartment.

I fumbled around for a plate, finally finding one and retrieving the pizza from the refrigerator.  The shelves were stocked with fruit, vegetables, natural foods, soy.  Once again, he must have laughed at my fridge, lined with processed
crap and junk food.

Just as I took my first bite
(heaven), his phone vibrated on the counter.  I didn’t want to snoop in his business, but… it was just lying there.  I pulled it closer to me, reading the text.  It was from Lana.

We need to talk.

Those four words made my chest constrict. 

Should
I tell him that I saw the text? 

Did I just eat and let him find it later? 

What if he read it and didn’t tell me about it? 

Would I be able to trust him?

God, I needed to get perspective.  He and I had literally been “together” for three days.  Yet, I knew what I was feeling.  I knew he felt the same about me.  Didn’t he?

Honesty
:  the best policy, right?  That expression wouldn’t be in place if there wasn’t some merit to it.  So, I grabbed my pizza and his phone and headed out to the studio.

“Jack!” I yelled over
the loud hand tool.

He turned it off and faced me.  “
Well, that was fast.”

“Well, I just took one bite and then your phone vibrated.  I didn’t mean to look at it,” I lied.  “It’s from Lana.”

He took the phone from my hand and pulled his safety glasses off, reading the message and then placing the phone in his back pocket.  He put the glasses back in place and turned the sander back on.

“Jack,” I yelled again. 

He stared at me for a second and then turned it back off.  “What?” he clipped.

“Well, aren’t you going to answer that?”

“No, Elsa.  I’m gonna try to finish this section and then I’m going to pack a bag so that we can go to your place.  Is that cool?”

But… what did she want to talk to him about?  I mean, they were divorced! 
What would she need from him? 
This was high stress.

“I guess, but…”

He cut me off.  “She’s a manipulative bitch.  I can’t even imagine what she wants and I don’t want to know.  So, give me five minutes with this and I’ll meet you inside.  I’ll tell you what… I’ll call her from your place.  Will that make you feel better?” he asked, his voice softening.

“Yeah,” I breathed.  “I’m sorry.  I’m not trying to be a freak, but
I just want to find out what’s up.”

“Okay, babe.  Go inside and hang out with Buster or something.  Maybe you can grab a few cans of his food
from the pantry and throw it in my duffle.” 

“I’m sorry… about the phone.  I really wasn’t trying to
be nosy.”

“I’ve got nothing to hide from you.” 
He smiled and placed his safety glasses back on.  “Oh, and Elsa, if you come into the studio, grab a pair of glasses from the wall.  I don’t want anything happening to those beautiful, blue eyes.”

He flipped the sander back on and I gave him a wink before closing the door behind me.

*****

The ride to my place was quiet.  I wanted to talk about Lana.  He didn’t want to talk about anything.  I could tell that the text had stressed him out too
; he was detached.  Void of emotion.

I rubbed his hand in mine.  “Hey, we should play video games tonight
or something, right?  Order in Chinese… have wild… loud… sex.”  I nibbled at his ear, licking the lobe.

He smiled, but didn’t give me any feedback. 

Ugh.  What did I have to do?  Take off my top?

We pulled into a spot a few doors down from my stoop.  He grabbed
his bag and I collected Buster.  He always held my hand.  This time, he just walked alongside me quietly.  It was unnerving.

“Jack,” I said,
closing the door behind us, “what’s going on with you?  You’ve hardly said two words since we left the house and that’s a long fucking drive to be silent, especially for me.  I like to talk, you know.”

He smiled.  “I know, baby.  I’m sorry.  I’m just stressed about this whole stupid Lana thing.  It’s not her that stresses me out.  It’s that I want to be here with you and she interrupted that.  Her stupid fucking phone call made me think about something else other than you.
  I waited for you to come all day.  I checked the clock every thirty minutes.  I thought about nothing other than taking you inside and making love to you.”

Making love?  Whoa. 
After
three
days?

“But instead,” he continued, “she had to go fuck it up by sending me that dumb text.  I can only imagine what she wants.  The money’s probably all gone and she’s looking for round two.”

My heart beat faster.  I didn’t know this woman.  He had already said that she was a master of manipulation.  What if she could push his buttons?  Make him come back?

“Call her,” I blurted.  “Just… do it.  I can’t wait any longer.”

He laughed.  “Let me just get settled and take my boots off.  I need to call Heather and see if there are any orders from today.”

Heather.  There it was again.  The green-eyed monster rears her ugly head.  What was with me today?  My blood pressure had to have been through the roof.  I watched him hit a number on speed dial.

I sat on one end of the couch; Jack sat on the opposite end, taking my foot in his hands.  He kneaded carefully.

Hey, Heather, it’s me.  How’d today go?

Uh huh.

Uh huh.

That
weird guy?

Same color?

Same wood?

Dressing chest?

Did you get the dimensions?

Alright.

How’d you do today?

Get any studying done?

Eh, you’ll pass that part.  You’re a smart girl.

Okay.

Okay.

Well,
I’ll see you tomorrow. 

I’ll pop in around noon.

Okay.

Okay.

Bye.

He hung up.  I stared at him, trying to hide my nerves by smiling.  “Was that Heather?”

“Yep,” he replied, taking my other foot and giving it the same attention.

“Oh, okay.  What test is she taking?”

“CPA exam.  She’s passed a few parts, but she’s got one left.”

“Oh,” I said again.  “So, she’s in college then?”

“
No, she’s an independent accountant.  She does my books and works at the shop from 10 to 3 usually and then goes home.  She does light prep and monthly bookkeeping out of an office at her house.  She just works at the store to help me out.  She doesn’t really need the money.”

Goddamn it.  I bet she was blonde and beautiful
with huge tits and amazing in bed.  Why wouldn’t she be?  Fucking
Heather
.

“How do you know her?”

“She bought a piece of furniture from me a few years ago.  She lives in the neighborhood, so she started stopping in more and more.  We hit it off right away.  I knew she was an accountant and I needed a new one, so I asked her if she wanted a job.”

“Oh
.  Is she married?”  I knew I probably sounded like a psycho, but I couldn’t help it.

“She is, or as married as she can be.  She has a partner.  Her name’s Kate.”

Oh, thank God. 
I loved Heather more by the second.

“That’s great,” I said, my voice lifting. 

He smiled and picked up the phone.  He scrolled to another number and put the receiver to his ear. 
Lana
, he mouthed.

He moved close to me on the couch, running his hand up the length of my thigh.
  When he reached my underwear, he moved it to the side, pushing one finger inside.

Holy shit.

I heard a woman’s voice answer.

“Lana, it’s me.  What do you want?”

He faced me, licking a slow line down my neck while he continued to push in and out, adding another finger.  I arched my neck and let out a quiet moan.

He
pulled his hand out of my skirt slowly and sat on the edge of the couch.  He stared blankly for a few minutes, listening, clutching the phone until I thought it would break.

Finally, he spoke.

“What the fuck are you talking about?  You specifically told me that there was no way that your fucking demon spawn was mine.  Talk to my lawyer,” he growled, hitting the end button and tossing the phone on the coffee table.

That was what I was afraid of. 

That. Exact. Thing.
 

What other reason could she need for calling him?

My stomach sank.  “The baby is yours?” I asked, quietly.

“
I highly doubt it.  I told you, the condom never broke.  I’m sure of it.  But I’m sure her fucking boyfriend jumped ship, so she needs a cash cow.”

“You need a DNA test, Jack.”

“I know.  She said something about one, but with it being so late in the pregnancy, she would have to wait for the baby to be born... something about an amnio being dangerous at this point.  I don’t know what the fuck she said, honestly.  I blacked out for a second.” 

He put his elbows on his knees and scrubbed his face with his hands.