Breaking Josephine (12 page)

“Come with me,” he
said, scooping me up and carrying me into the bathroom. He pushed open the
shower door with his foot and set me down in an expansive marble enclosure with
dual rain showers pouring like a summer rain out of the ceiling. He pulled me
under the warm rain, and I let the water soak my skin. We stood there,
together, under the water, washing each other clean. I let my fear of rejection
and fear of losing control wash down the drain with the soap and the water,
letting my feelings of contentment, safety, and pleasure fill the void.

As I rinsed my
hair in the pouring water, Dex’s fingers chasing the shampoo bubbles down my
back, I felt him harden again behind me. I reached back and took him in my
hands, gently rubbing back and forth. He moaned and leaned into me. I turned
around and planted kisses on his chest, tickling his flat nipples. I kneeled in
front of him and took his pulsing cock in my mouth. I sucked as he moaned in
pleasure. I grabbed the base of him in my hands and traced his head with my
tongue, kissing his throbbing veins and licking the sides of his erection till
his breathing labored. “Jo,” he said, his voice thick with longing, “Jo,
please.” He tried to pull me up but I pushed his hands away, taking him in my
mouth again, sucking him hard, moving up and down his shaft as he filled my
mouth. The water poured over him, running in rivulets down his chest, his
stomach, around my mouth as he cried out. “Jo, god, I’m going to come, Jo, I’m
coming.” I pulled off of him at the last minute, letting him come on my chest,
watching him release as the water washed us clean again.

I stood up and he
grabbed me, wrapping his powerful arms around me. He held me there, tight to
him, as the water continued to fall.

Muse’s Madness filtered
through my consciousness the next morning as it played on the radio, the lead
singer crooning that “I tried so hard to let you go, but some kind of madness
is eating me whole….” I smiled and hit the alarm clock off. Although Dex had
almost insisted I stay the night last night, I needed to work this morning and
didn’t want the awkward drive home at 5:00 am. So after the shower which I will
probably never forget, I toweled off in an enormous fluffy white towel, got
dressed and Dex drove me home. He walked me to my front door and kissed me,
pulling me close to him, reminding me what I was missing by going inside. I
waved him good bye, threw my clothes on a chair and passed out in bed,
blissfully content.

As I swung my legs
out of bed I winced, slightly sore from the previous night’s adventure, but I
didn’t mind, smiling to myself again and remembering all the details. I dressed
quickly and walked to work, arriving just in time to open the restaurant. Sam
greeted me from the kitchen as usual and I tied my apron on as Macy dragged
herself through the door, coffee in hand.

“I can’t wait for
these early mornings to be over,” she grumbled, pushing the door shut. She
turned to look at me and stopped in her tracks. “What’s got you smiling that
goofy ear-to-ear grin this morning?”

I blushed and
shrugged my shoulders.

“Oh my god,” she
said, looking at me. “You had your date with Dex last night. And look at you,
you’re practically screaming, I had mind-blowing sex all night long!”

“Shhh! Seriously,
Macy you need to learn how to whisper,” I said. “Is it that obvious?” I
laughed, as her jaw hit the floor.

“I can’t believe
it!” she exclaimed. “You are going to have to fill me in on all the details
this afternoon after work. No excuses!” I rolled my eyes and started the coffee
pot, ready to distract myself with the day’s work ahead.

When
our shifts ended, Macy and I headed to our usual afternoon spot at Mable’s
opting to sit at a secluded table outside, away from the crowd.
“So, I’m dying, tell me all
about it,” Macy asked as we sat down, her eager eyes looking at me over her
cup.

“There’s not much
to tell, really. Dex picked me up for our date and took me back to his place. He
cooked me dinner and we had a bottle of wine and walked on the beach, and well,
you can pretty much figure out the rest.”

“He cooked you
dinner?” she asked, surprised. “Really? Was it any good?”

I laughed. “It was
delicious. It was so good I made an ass out of myself eating the whole plate
without even talking to him. He must have thought I hadn’t eaten in days.”

Macy laughed. “Obviously
it couldn’t have bothered him that much! How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

Macy knew from the
little I’d talked about past boyfriends that this was a huge step for me. “I’m
great actually,” I said. “Dex is great, and I can’t wait to see where this is
going.”

“Wow, Jo, I’m
impressed.” Macy said. “You seem very rational and level headed. I wish I was
more like you when it came to men! But seriously, now, you all were safe right?
I mean, I know you’re not the kind to be stupid, but still.”

“Of course we
were. But, I was wondering, you have a doctor here in town right? I think if
I’m going to keep seeing Dex I should probably be on birth control. I
definitely am not ready for a baby at this point in my life!”

“Of course I do. She’s
here in town and fantastic. I’ll give her office a call right now.”

“Thanks, Macy,” I
replied. Macy called her doctor’s office and her doctor happened to be
available with a last minute cancellation that afternoon. Since the office was
in the medical center next door to one of Macy’s favorite boutiques in Cannon
Beach, she gave me a ride, and we spent the drive chit chatting about Macy’s
friends who were trickling back in town after college, and what the next party
Macy was planning would look like.

After meeting Macy’s
doctor and filling my new prescription in the first floor pharmacy, I found
Macy in the dressing room of the boutique trying to decide between two dresses
for her date with William later that night. “Which one?” she said, turning to
me as I walked up. “This one is lovely, and girly with all the ruffles at the
hem, but this one is so soft and feels like I’m wearing pajamas.” Macy sighed
as she held both up in the mirror.

I laughed. “I vote
for the pajama dress. You can wear it to sleep in and not even change when you
roll out of bed!”

“Pajama dress? Okay,
that settles it. It’s the ruffled one for sure!” Macy laughed and we headed
over to the sales counter to check out.

As Macy drove me
home before her date with William, I thought about how different we were and
how small things she took for granted were luxuries for me. “Thank you Macy,
for calling your doctor and giving me a ride,” I said, trying to hide the
emotion in my voice.

“Oh, of course,
what are friends for? Besides, it gave me a great excuse to get a new dress for
tonight. Wish me luck on my date! If all goes well, maybe by the time I head
back to school in August I won’t be single!” she laughed, not noticing my
change in mood.

Macy dropped me
off in front of Eileen’s and I walked around back to my apartment.
As I came around the edge of the house, I saw Dex
leaning against the door jamb of my apartment, waiting for me. All of a sudden
shy and slightly intimidated, I smiled a small, nervous smile as I walked up to
him.

“Hi,” I said, my
fingers curling around themselves in front of me.

“Hi to you too,”
Dex said as he took my face in his hands and kissed me deeply, his barely
noticeable stubble pressing on my skin. “I’ve missed you. Please tell me you
aren’t busy this weekend.”

“Well, I have two
shifts at the Red Barn, but both are the morning shift and end at two, so after
that I’m all yours,” I replied, kissing him again on the lips.

“What time does
your shift start tomorrow?” he asked.

“Six in the
morning, why?”

“Well,” said Dex,
smiling, his hands wrapping around my waist, “Does that mean I have you until
six tomorrow morning too?”

I smiled back,
forgetting my momentary shyness. “I suppose it does, although I have a very
busy morning tomorrow so I have to get my beauty sleep.”

“You could never
sleep again and still be exquisitely beautiful, Jo. I can’t promise you that
you’ll get plenty of sleep tonight, but I’ll promise you get to spend all night
in bed. How’s that?” he said, laughing and picking me up. I laughed too, as he
twirled me around and set me back down in front of my door. I unlocked the door
and let us both in to my tiny apartment.

“So,” I said,
motioning for him to sit down on the couch, “let me change and we can go out if
you’d like. I’m sure you don’t want to spend more time than you have to here in
my tiny place.”

“What’s wrong with
your apartment?” he asked. “It’s lovely. And it’s yours, so of course I want to
spend time in it.” Dex grinned at me and I rolled my eyes, laughing. He pulled
me onto the couch, and I landed half on him and half on the cushions. He pulled
me onto his lap and kissed me, gently pushing his tongue past my lips, and I
kissed him back, our tongues chasing each other with pent up desire. Reading
each other’s thoughts and wishes, I stood up, pulling him into my bedroom.

I woke up in the
morning to my alarm clock going off, yelling at me that I would soon be late
for work. I rolled over and hit it off, realizing my bed was empty. I turned on
the bedside lamp and saw a note next to the clock.

Didn’t want to interrupt your morning routine
before work. There’s fresh coffee in the kitchen. See you at 2!

Dex

I smiled, and took
a deep breath, smelling the wonderful aroma of the coffee waiting for me.

Work dragged by
and I found myself idly staring out the window instead of paying attention to
my customers. When my shift ended at two, I pulled my bag out from under the
counter and went to the bathroom to change. I took off my jeans and Red Barn
t-shirt and pulled on a gray short-sleeved jersey knit dress. I stuffed my work
clothes and apron into my bag, said goodbye to Sam, and walked out into the
comfortable summer air. It was the first day of June and the day was pleasantly
warm, but not hot, and I enjoyed being out in the sun. I closed my eyes, tilted
my head back and smiled, letting my face soak up the warmth of the sun’s rays.

“So are you going
to stand there like that all afternoon, or can I convince you to hop in my
car?”

I opened my eyes
and saw Dex leaning on the hood of his Ferrari, waiting for me. His ripped
cargo shorts, flip-flops and faded t-shirt made him look like the
quintessential beach bum, and I would have forgotten his wealth and status
completely were it not for the ridiculously expensive car he used as a
supporting wall. He pushed his sunglasses up into his ruffled, unkempt hair and
smiled, his eyes sparkling with light and life as he looked at me, filling me
with giddy happiness. I still couldn’t believe any of this was real. “I suppose
I don’t have to stand here all afternoon,” I said, smiling back and walking
over to him. “How about we go down to the beach and enjoy the afternoon sun?
Any interest in a picnic?”

“With you? I’d go
anywhere,” Dex said, wrapping his arms around my waist and picking me up. He
kissed me and set me back down, opening the passenger side door. I hopped in
and we drove off to Hartley Manor.

After gathering up
bread, cheese, an armful of fruit, and a bottle of wine, we headed out to the
beach behind Hartley Manor and spread out a blanket. We settled down, and I
went about cutting apples, pears, and slices of cheese. Dex opened the wine,
poured us each a glass, and we relaxed, curled up together and soaking up the
afternoon sun.

“So what was
boarding school like?” I asked, before popping a piece of cheese in my mouth.

“Hmm?” Dex said,
running his fingers through my hair.

“Boarding school. What
was it like to go away to boarding school every year? Whenever Macy introduces
me to someone around here, more often than not they went to boarding school. I’ve
never even seen a boarding school. What is it like?” I asked, full of
curiosity.

“Well,” Dex said,
pausing and thinking, “it’s boarding school. It’s where rich kids and
troublemakers go to school to get out of their parents’ hair during the year
and supposedly have an excellent education.”

I could see him
thinking, lost in memories of the past. But my curiosity kept me going. “Do
kids enjoy it? Do kids actually want to go?”

“Some do,” he
replied. “Some need to because they are running amok at home with no
supervision and unlimited funds. Some go to get away from their families and
the dysfunction that they live with at home. And some go to study and get into
a prestigious college.”

“Which reason was
yours?” I asked, putting my hand up to my face and shielding my eyes from the
sun so I could see his face.

“Oh, I didn’t have
a choice in the matter,” he said. “My father demanded that I go, thought it was
the best education money could buy. If I’d had my way back then, I never would
have left Portland or Cannon Beach. This is where I felt at home, at peace,
here on the beach, the house looking out for me while I explored the ocean and
the shore.” Dex’s expression was grim, and he stared out into the ocean waves,
as if looking at the ghost of his father. “And if I had more time with my
mother, maybe I would have noticed her getting sick, would have seen the signs,
and made her go to a doctor in time to save her.”