Just Say Yes (Just Say Yes #2) (5 page)

“Hey, you practically live here, you know? You can sleep in whatever you want, even if it’s nothing. In fact, I’d prefer it,” I said with a smile. “I want you to be as comfortable here as you are at your place.”

Andy stuck his thumbs under his waistband, made a show of bending completely over at the waist, and pushed his boxers to his feet. Standing back up, he dangled them from his index finger, twirling them a few times before dropping them to the floor with a smirk.

“Whatever makes you feel better, Zoey.” He turned off his lamp and slipped under the covers. He faced me, but didn’t touch me.

“I’m not going to break. You can touch me.”

He leaned over and caressed my cheek with his thumb. “Someday I’ll comprehend that,” he whispered morosely before he kissed me goodnight, moving back to his position across the bed.

The next several days raced by much too fast. It was Friday and in two more days, Jess, Sasha, and I would be on our way to Cabo. My bruises were a lovely shade of greenish-yellow, with some purple mixed in on the worst of them.

Thankfully, I didn’t need the pain pills as much as before. They worked well, but they made me feel groggy and I found myself not remembering things that happened, or things I said. Andy was a big help during the week, but he was increasingly broodier the closer it came to Sunday, the day I was leaving for Cabo.

Because we’d both been so out of sorts, I’d made the decision that I needed to try to put us back in sync with each other before I left. The only way I thought we could do that was to be together intimately. Originally, I wanted it to be without the use of condoms, like we’d talked about at Christmas when we first got together. But, the accident screwed up my original plan because I’d missed a few days of my birth control pills. There was no way I was risking a pregnancy just to be with him, bare and uninhibited.

We needed our connection back before we were driven so far apart we couldn’t be repaired. I couldn’t lose him.

I had an appointment with my therapist, Dr. Jensen first thing that morning. Not being allowed to work, I was bored to death, so I went shopping afterward. The store at the top of my priority list was Victoria’s Secret, where I purchased an off-white, sheer, baby doll nightie with matching thong panties I knew would drive Andy wild. On the way home, I made another stop at the store and bought several candles of all shapes and sizes to set a romantic mood for us.

And even though I hated the thought of using them, I bought a box of condoms.

When I arrived at home, I quickly hand washed my new nightie and panties, then hung them up to dry near the heater vent in the spare bedroom. I arranged the candles on every level surface of my bedroom and changed the sheets on my bed. Once that was finished, I took a nice, long shower to ready myself for what I hoped would be an unforgettable night.

Andy would be off work soon so I texted him and asked him to go home to shower before coming to my place. I mentioned to him that I wanted to go out for dinner since I’d been cooped up in my apartment all week. As soon as I heard Andy’s key in the lock, I rushed to the bedroom as quickly as my still-sore hip allowed, sat back on my heels on the center of the bed, and waited for him to find me.

“Zoey?” he called out.

“Back here,” I responded as I arranged my tiny nightie over the large bruise on my hip. My hair fell in loose waves all around my shoulders and I’d put on a bit of makeup to enhance my eyes and lips. The box of condoms was tucked into the drawer of my nightstand next to my bed so I didn’t have to see the damn things. They were the only thing that would put a damper on the evening and I couldn’t even stand to look at them.

I’d lit every single candle I bought, letting them cast a romantic glow around my large bedroom. I closed all the curtains on the enormous windows for added privacy because I didn’t want Andy to see into my bedroom when he came over from his apartment. I’d never offered myself to a man before the way that I was giving myself to Andy. I didn’t know how he was going to take in the situation, especially as strained as our relationship had become.

His footsteps echoed down the hallway and he stopped dead in his tracks when he entered the bedroom. He glanced around, taking everything in before turning to face me. “What’s this all about, Zoey?” he asked coyly as he stepped over to the foot of the bed. He stared at me intently and let his eyes travel over my body, then back up to my eyes.

“You’re breathtaking,” he said in a low voice, but didn’t come any closer.

“So are you,” I replied anxiously. I couldn’t tell which way the situation was going to go, so I made the first move. I rose up on my knees and carefully made my way the few feet to the end of the bed. My hip was still very sore, but I wasn’t going to let it hinder my plans.

In typical Andy fashion, he was wearing a button up shirt, so I began undoing it from top to bottom. With each button I let loose, his breath quickened and he shifted in place. When the shirt was completely unfastened, I pushed it off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.

“Please, come to bed,” I whispered. “I want you to make love to me tonight.”

His eyes flickered with pure lust as he reached out and took hold of the silky fabric of my lingerie, running it between his thumb and forefinger. Andy wanted tonight to happen as much as I did. I fisted my hands into the T-shirt he was wearing under his button up and pulled him closer. In an instant, our mouths were devouring each other. My tongue dipped inside his mouth, seeking his, which he willingly gave me.

“Come to bed,” I whispered again. Slowly, I backed away from him, still holding his T-shirt. He had no choice but to follow me onto the bed. So there we were, on our knees in the middle of the bed, kissing like two people who had been starved of affection for years. His hands roamed around my body and he gave my bare ass a nice, gentle squeeze as he groaned against my lips. My heart swelled in my chest because we were finally taking our relationship to the next level.

He chuckled when I moved to his side and gave him a little shove so he’d lie down. When I shifted, my hip strained, causing me to grimace. Andy didn’t notice since he was in the process of lying down. I scooted off the bed, took the box of condoms out of the drawer, and set them on top of the nightstand. Andy gave me a confused look when he realized what the box contained so I explained why we needed them.

“I missed taking some of my birth control pills because of the accident.” He gave me a curt nod of understanding when I eased myself back onto the bed. When I did, another twinge of pain shot through my hip. That time Andy saw me wince, but didn’t say anything. I lay on my side facing him and gently pulled his face to mine. The steady thump of my heart sped up when he finally touched me.

Within seconds, I had him on his back, pushing his T-shirt up his torso. He lifted himself so we could get his shirt off. I took my time kissing and licking every inch of his gorgeous, upper body, restoring to memory what I’d lost in the days since we’d last touched. His hands tangled in my hair as he kissed me with so much hunger, my body throbbed and hummed with anticipation.

With a groan, I sat up quickly, and worked the rest of his clothes off. He pulled me back on top of him and slipped his hand down the front of my panties as he kissed me. Andy massaged my clit then slid his fingers in and out of me as he whispered, “I love you so fucking much, Zoey. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

His words dulled the ache in my heart from the tension that had grown between us since my release from the hospital. I rocked my hips forward against his hand. The movement forced me into the throes of orgasm and I gently bit his neck as it subsided.

“I’ve missed your touch so much,” I breathed into the side of his neck as I reached down, taking his dick in my hand. He was hard and ready to go, so I grabbed a condom, ripped it open, and rolled it down the length of him.

“Zoey, are you sure it’s okay? I can tell you’re still in pain,” he said as I fumbled, trying to get my panties off without straining my hip. I decided to leave my baby doll nightie on to hide the bruising so he couldn’t see them and put a stop to my plans.

He was right. My hip was hurting because I’d been on my feet all day, but I didn’t care. I wanted to be with him. I eased down next to him, urging him to take the lead. Our hands roamed over one another’s bodies while we kissed and loved each other, making up for lost time. As soon as Andy lifted his body over me, positioning himself between my legs, my hip gave out and pain shot from my pelvis all the way to my knee. I tried to hold in the whimper the pain caused, but it was too late.

Andy scrambled off the bed, facing away from me. His shoulders slumped, then I heard the snap of the condom being pulled hastily from his body. He took in a sharp breath because it had to have hurt him. Shock and confusion filled my mind when he bent over, picked all his clothes up off the floor, and redressed himself.

“I’m sorry, but we’re not doing this until you’re fully healed. You’re covered in fucking bruises and I can’t touch you without hurting you. This never should’ve happened,” he muttered as he raked his hands through his hair. Not looking at me once, he stalked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Hot tears of rejection spilled down my cheeks as I went to my dresser, took out my pajamas, and pulled them on. After tossing my new lingerie set into the empty trashcan next to my small desk, I limped around the room blowing out all the candles I’d lit earlier. The room filled with smoke before I realized it would set off the alarm, so I opened all of my windows in an attempt to air it out. I flipped on a single lamp, sat on the edge of my bed, and waited for Andy to come out of the bathroom.

When he finally did, he looked more pissed than upset. I didn’t know if he was upset at me or at himself, but I couldn’t take it anymore. The emotional distance between us was too much for me to bear and I just wanted to be alone. I glanced up at the man I loved more than anything and said something I never thought I’d say to him.

“Please leave.”

“Zoey, I’m sorry, but I can’t—”

Tired of hearing those words from him, I put my hand over my mouth as a sob escaped it. “Andy, please go. I need to be alone right now. I…I need some time to think about things.”

“Think about what?” he asked quietly. He stood in the center of my bedroom, still as a statue while he waited for my answer.

“Us.”

“What do you mean by ‘us’, Zoey?” he asked and came to kneel in front of me. The alarm in his eyes revealed to me that he was clueless about what my words meant.

My hurt turned into anger at that point because he just didn’t get it. We were falling apart. How could he be so blind?

“Just fucking leave,” I cried. I couldn’t even look at him.

Andy stood and walked away, but stopped at the doorway. “I love you,” he said, just before turning on his heels, leaving me alone in my apartment.

An hour later, I was still perched at the edge of my bed, so very confused about my life with Andy. What had gone so horribly wrong? My mind was overwhelmed from the way the night turned out. All I wanted to do was sleep, so I went to the kitchen and took a pain pill for my throbbing hip.

The smoke was cleared from my bedroom, so I closed the windows. As I did, I noticed Andy sitting on the top step in front of his apartment. I stood at my window and watched him as he sat and watched me. Were we over? Was there still hope for us? More than anything, I wanted there to be. I closed all but one set of curtains, lit a single candle in a small holder, placing it on the wide, brick windowsill as a peace offering. I crawled into bed, shut off the lamp, and fell into a restless sleep.

The next morning when I woke up, I found my gorgeous man, fully clothed and lying behind me, his body molded to mine. He had come back while I was asleep.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” he whispered.

“I’m going to miss you, too. What are you going to do while I’m gone?” I asked, trying to give myself some time to wake up and figure out where we stood after what happened the night before.