Legal Briefs (Lawyers in Love) (10 page)

“Goodnight,” I said, trying not to stare. I wasn’t succeeding very well and the amused look on his face told me that he had noticed.

“Goodnight,” he said, trying not to look at my boobs bouncing around jauntily under McGruff as I moved. He wasn’t succeeding too well either, I might add.

“If you need anything I’ll be in there,” I said glancing off toward his bedroom.

“It’s my apartment, I’m sure I can find whatever I need.” He gave into temptation and let his eyes drop for a moment to my body. “Whatever I need that it would be appropriate for me to have tonight,” he added, sounding frustrated. He grabbed his iPad from the end table, and settled in to read.

“What are you reading?” I asked curiously.

“Espionage thriller.”

“Ah, I thought you wanted to read the rest of my…”

“I do want to read them, but I couldn’t handle that tonight with you here and half naked. I might forget my rules about women who have been drinking to excess. Now go get some sleep, because you’re getting me hard again, and if I practice any more self-love tonight, I might get carpal tunnel.”

“You mean you were…” I must have looked surprised.

“What did you think, I was just really hygienic?”

“I thought maybe you were taking cold showers,” I admitted.

“Hell, no. I don’t waste God’s gifts.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I just wished him goodnight again and headed off for the bedroom. I slid under the covers and snuggled down. I was just drifting off when I heard a knock at the door.

“Yes?” I called out in a thick, sleepy voice.

“Are you decent?”

“Depends on who you ask,” I replied. The door opened and Adam, pillow and blanket in hand, stood there.

“I can’t sleep out there either. I might as well not be able to sleep in my own bed.”

“So, what do you want, an engraved invitation?” I asked, stretching out languorously like a cat, and turning over on my side.

He came in and returned his pillow to the bed, tossing the blanket on a chair. He walked around to my side of the bed and shut out the light, as I obviously was starting to drowse. Then he slid in beside me and laid there quietly for a moment, before speaking out in the dark.

“Okay, here’s the deal, Adler, I want to put my arm around you. Am I going to sustain bodily injury?” he asked.

“Are you putting it around my neck? If not, then you’re probably safe.”

“Just for the record, I’ve never felt the urge to spoon with anyone before.”

“Just for the record, I’m tired.” I felt him move over and lay behind me, draping his arm around my waist. I snuggled back against him. It was the nicest way I had ever fallen asleep.

Against all odds, I slept soundly. At some point, I was having a very vivid erotic dream about Adam. We were making love slowly, and I was enjoying the feeling of his warmth and his weight on top of me. Suddenly a buzzer went off in my dream and we both stopped moving and looked around in confusion. I couldn’t figure out where the sound was coming from, but I wanted it to stop. It wouldn’t stop, though, and little by little, I began to shed the layers of sleep as consciousness rose to the surface. I sensed pressure and movement against my body, and as my eyes fluttered open, I realized that I was sleeping on my back with Adam draped over me like a blanket, one arm and one leg encompassing me protectively and his weight partially resting on me.

“Adam?” I said sleepily. “What’s that sound?”

“Door buzzer,” he answered, groggily. Suddenly, something must have occurred to him, because he shot up in bed and grabbed a bedside clock. “Oh fuck!” He vaulted out of bed just as I heard voices in his living room calling him.

“Adam! Are you still asleep? Get up! We’re going to be late!”

“Is that your sister, Sarah?” I asked, stunned.

“It’s probably my whole fucking family,” he answered, looking panicked. “My cousin’s Bar Mitzvah is today and they were stopping by to pick me up.”

“Oh God. This is awkward.”

“It’s more than awkward. I’ve never had a woman stay over here before, let alone a nice well-educated Jewish girl from my neighborhood. They’re going to start planning our wedding.”

“Adam, don’t worry,” I answered, trying to sound reassuring. “I can just wait until …”

“Adam, do you have company?” It was another of his sisters, Abby, the one closest to us in age. She sounded both amazed and amused.

“I’ll be right out. I’m running late. Hold on!” He started searching frantically through a closet and pulled out one of his suits. “Quick! Get dressed!” he ordered.

“Adam, just go and …”

“Too late. Abby knows you well enough to recognize your voice and she’s not stupid. I think you’re my date for a Bar Mitzvah.”

I got up quickly and immediately found my clothes. Without even thinking I grabbed my bra, turned my back to him and pulled his T-shirt over my head, thus giving him a clear shot of my ass in my pretty pink silk and lace undies. I wasn’t sure if he was looking, though. I heard a groan. He was looking.

“Mind your own business,” I chided over my shoulder and got my bra hooked, grabbing a stocking and sitting down on a chair to put it on.

“Just tell me when it’s okay to look,” he said, sounding stressed.

“Okay,” I answered and he turned around, giving him a clear shot of me sitting in my bra and panties easing a thigh high stocking up my leg.

“Oh fuck,” he moaned, sounding miserable.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

“You said okay.” His eyes were fixed on my legs and his appreciation was evident from across the room.

“I was acknowledging your request! Adam, you’ve got a, um, an issue,” I said, glancing down at the impressive bulge in his sweat pants.

“Oh shit, this isn’t happening,” he said, starting to pace.

“Adam, just get dressed and think about baseball or something,” I hissed.

“Adam, honey, it’s getting late.” It was his mom. Apparently, hearing your mom’s voice can work even better than thinking about baseball.

“We’re coming!” he called back.

“Did he say we?” his mom asked someone in a quieter voice.

“I knew he wasn’t alone!” Abby said. “I could swear I heard Lily Adler.” I felt my face turn crimson as I slid my dress over my head.

“Lily? Really?” His mom sounded like someone had just told her that she had won the Powerball drawing. I saw Adam roll his eyes.

“You have to admit, there is something kind of humorous about this,” I said, sliding on my heels while Adam tied his tie in the mirror.

“Yeah, for the first time in my life, I’m getting caught by my sisters and I didn’t even get laid. That’s just fucking hilarious. Where do you want to go on our honeymoon by the way?”

He gave his suit jacket a final tug and finger combed his hair. I grabbed my purse and ran over to the mirror beside him and quickly dug out some lipstick.

“I just have to throw some make-up on.”

“We don’t have time for that.”

“I’m an expert. Watch.” He stood there and watched with fascination as I managed to apply my make-up in three minutes flat.

“That was amazing. I will point out, though, that you look hot even without make-up.” I paused and looked at him, feeling inordinately pleased.

“Thank you,” I said and smiled. He smiled back and we shared a quick moment.

“We had better go.”

Adam threw open the door and I tried to not look like I was doing the walk of shame through his living room. He strode out of his bedroom like nothing was amiss and I followed apprehensively in his wake with a friendly smile fixed on my face.

“Mom, Dad, Hannah, Sarah, Abby, you remember Lily Adler.”

“Hi, how are you all?” I asked, trying to sound casually upbeat. The Roth family looked at me like they were witnessing a miracle. Maybe they were.

“You’re in Adam’s apartment. Where he lives,” Sarah began, looking dumbfounded.

“Oh my God, Adam’s having an adult relationship with a woman,” Hannah added.

“Didn’t the two of you used to fight all the time?” Abby asked with a look of delighted confusion. “Don’t you remember? They used to fight all the time. That’s so cute!”

“We’re going to be late,” Adam said, ignoring his sisters. Suddenly, his mother seemed to recover from a state of shock.

“David, it’s Lily Adler!” she said urgently to Adam’s father. “From our neighborhood. From our
synagogue
. Lily is here in Adam’s apartment and he’s taking her to the Bar Mitzvah.”

“I see that, Deb,” Adam’s dad answered and put his arm around his wife – possibly to hold her up. He seemed to take all of this in stride. Dave Roth was a very easy-going guy.

“I remember the ‘caution, oversized ego’ sign you put on Adam’s back that one time.” Abby laughed. “That was so funny.”

“Yeah, that was hilarious,” Adam said, grabbing our coats out of the closet.

“I’m so happy to see you, Lily,” Mrs. Roth said, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

“It’s nice to see you too, Mrs. Roth.” I wasn’t sure what else to say.

“I think Mom’s going to be working the room with this news,” Sarah said with a smile.

“I think she’ll just have the rabbi make a formal announcement,” Hannah added. “A reception sponsored by the family will be taking place back at the Sheraton and Debra Roth would like everyone to know that her son is dating a nice Jewish lawyer.”

“Okay, who’s driving us?” Adam asked.

The Bar Mitzvah was, well, a Bar Mitzvah. In other words, we spent our time listening to a thirteen-year-old talk about ‘being a man’ just before thanking every person he had ever met. Then we went to a party, ate rubbery chicken and talked to strangers who Adam might possibly have been related to. After lunch we watched paid dancers in ugly leotards boogieing down with middle-aged Jews to the entire catalogue of The Village People and a fake Spanish version of the Macarena. Then we drove home. Just like every Bar Mitzvah.

“At least your parents didn’t try to book the rabbi for our wedding.”

“That we know of. Don’t accept any invitations from my mother without getting all the details upfront. I noticed that she managed to get your cell number.”

“Your Aunt Grace is not aptly named. I think she was body-spelling YMCA wrong.”

“She was spelling it in Hebrew,” he joked.

“Thanks again for not making me do the limbo, by the way.”

“I’m going to make you do it naked later.”

“Oh, you think so, huh?”

“Hell, yeah. You and I are going to have some real fun tonight, Adler.” Butterflies took flight in my tummy when he said that and I had to concentrate to keep my breathing even.

“One step at a time, Romeo.” I laughed nervously. “So far our great romance has included me getting drunk and us going to a Bar Mitzvah together.”

“Hey, I’ve been doing a very good job, if I must say so myself. I brought you to my apartment. I cooked for you. And I respected you enough to not touch you, even though I had to take three showers.”

“Three?” I asked, confused.

“You were asleep.”

“It’s still light out. You can just drop me off,” I said as we approached my building. He pulled over and parked. “And you have been doing a good job, Adam,” I added. He turned to me, and suddenly the air was thick with sexual tension. His demeanor was as calm as ever, but I was aware that he was breathing more rapidly than usual. I, in turn, could feel my skin becoming flushed and my mouth becoming dry. His fingers tightened on the gearshift, as I maintained a death grip on my purse, and I knew then that we were both struggling with the urge to touch each other.