Authors: Jessica Wilde
I shook off the anger and looked
back to where Jocelyn and Maddy were walking. I had to admit, I didn't blame
them for watching Jocelyn. She had curves in all the right places and the
shorts she had on enhanced some of those curves. I should have suggested she
bring her swim suit, but I hadn't thought about it at the time. She had always
worn a tank and board shorts when we took Liv to the pool and she had looked
amazing. But a bikini? My shorts got a little tight and I bent down pretending
to scratch my foot until I had it under control, then followed Madison and
Jocelyn up the sidewalk.
Keep it under control, man.
Olivia was comfortable in the
stroller and had a flap that shaded her from the hot sun. I knew the stroller
would be a hit and Jocelyn's reaction made me want to drain my savings to get
her everything she ever wanted or needed.
"What are we going to do,
Maddy, spray each other with the hose?" I asked sarcastically when we
reached the spot she was looking for.
"No, Andrew. If you don't want
to cool down, you can just go back to the stage. Joss and I are going to play
with the kids."
All of a sudden, a cold blast hit
me in the back of the head and made me duck down and run away. "What
the--"
Jocelyn was doubled over in
laughter and Madison was glaring at someone behind me. "Where the hell did
you get those?"
I turned around and found Ty
standing at the ready with a giant water gun in his hands and he was now
pointing it at Madison. Josh and his dad, Ethan, were on either side of him
with guns just as big and even bigger smiles.
"At a booth. And there are
kids around, Maddy, watch your tongue," Ty said to Madison. "I think
you need to be punished." He gave her a wicked smile.
"Tyler Taylor! If you even
think about shooting me with that water gun, you will be sleeping on the couch
for a month," she stated with a finger pointed firmly at him. He just kept
smiling at her and wiggling his eyebrows until she started to beg him.
"Please, baby, don't do this!"
Jocelyn was still laughing and I
was still trying to wipe the water off of my neck.
"What are
you
laughing at, Joss?" I asked with my own wicked smile.
She could hardly catch her breath
and Olivia was giggling along with her and pointing at me. "Wada!"
she shouted.
"The look on your
face…" she was trying to speak between her gasps for air but had to turn
away and try again. "Oh, Andrew, it was priceless!"
Her laugh was beautiful, but she
was asking for trouble. I glanced over at Ty and he was already holding the
water gun out to me. I snatched it out of his hands and made my way over to my
gorgeous best friend. She hadn't seen me coming yet, but Maddy did and she was
already carrying Liv away. Jocelyn looked up right as I lifted the water gun
with a smile on my face.
"Wait!" she shouted and
put her hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry, I promise I'll stop
laughing."
But even as she said it, she
couldn't hold back the giggles. I pumped the gun a few times while she tried to
stop.
"I think you need to cool
down, too," and I pulled the trigger. She shrieked and tried to run away
but she was already soaked before she could get very far.
"I can't believe you!"
she shouted. Olivia was running as fast as she could to get to her, giggling
and saying 'wada ah-den' over and over again. "Come protect me, Liv. Andrew
is trying to get me all wet."
Some thick strands of hair were
sticking to her neck and face and I immediately regretted spraying her because
I had no way to hide the strain on my zipper now. Her blue shirt was clinging
to her body and beads of water trickled down her neck, disappearing under the
neckline. All I could do was stare.
I didn't even notice Josh step up
beside me. He took the gun from my hands as I gazed at the most tempting woman
on earth and imagined stripping her wet clothes off and pulling her into my
arms.
Cut it out! There are kids around!
She wrapped her arms around
Olivia and hugged her tightly and Liv cried out with laughter and pushed out of
her arms to run away again.
"Hey, Andrew!"
I looked toward the sound and it
was Josh, now pointing the water gun at
me
. "I'll give you 2
seconds!" he shouted with an amused glare plastered over his face.
I took off toward Jocelyn and he
started spraying.
"Don't come over
here
!
He'll just get--" The water hit her arm and she yelped.
By the time I got closer to her,
I was drenched from head to toe. My shirt was stuck to every inch of my torso
and water was dripping down my face. I reached for Olivia who dodged me and
made her way over to Madison who was trying to refill one of the guns before Ty
could. Everyone was drenched at this point except for Catherine who had taken
off to the other side of the grass to stay dry. She was laughing at Ethan, who
was being bombarded by Josh now and lying on the grass in the fetal position.
Jocelyn lunged after Liv, but I
grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into me, her back to my front. She
was laughing hard again and was struggling to get out of my arms. I turned her
toward Josh and he sprayed her in the stomach. She tried to turn away and
crashed into my chest. Her warmth hit me for a split second, but she kept
trying to get away.
When she turned in my arms, her
chest collided with mine and the rest of her body pressed against me and the
breath was knocked out of my lungs. Our laughter died out as we locked eyes and
she stopped struggling. Her hands wrapped around my biceps as I pulled her
closer still and saw the flutter of her pulse at the base of her neck. The
chill of the water shifted to a hot steam on my skin.
I wiped the strands of hair off
her face and tucked them behind her ears feeling her damp, smooth skin under my
fingers along the way. I leaned forward automatically, realizing it was
impossible to not kiss her now.
"Daddy, Daddy, look! Andrew and
Jocelyn are going to kiss!" Ella's voice was high pitched and shocked.
"Ewww!" Josh said.
"Get a room!"
Ty covered Josh's mouth with a
laugh and turned him away.
Jocelyn immediately pulled out of
my hold and started laughing nervously. Madison had seen the display and was
smirking my way while Olivia was trying to get her wet with the hose.
I had to force my arms to stay
firmly at my side at the loss of her touch. I wanted to pull her back into me
and devour her. Her full pink lips were too tempting…
she
was too
tempting and I was losing it.
"I'm sorry," Jocelyn
whispered beside me. Her cheeks were flushed and she was looking down at her
feet.
I turned my head and leaned in as
close as I could to her beautiful face, my voice was huskier than I intended,
but it caused her to tremble, "I'm not."
Jocelyn
My nerves stayed on alert for the
rest of the day. I was rattled beyond belief and was acutely aware of every
movement Andrew made from that point on. I wanted him to kiss me, so badly. I
love that Ella, but it was terrible timing.
I was losing it.
Maybe it wasn't what I thought it
was. It happened so fast, maybe he wasn't going to kiss me. I rolled my eyes
and shook my head.
Good reasoning, Joss.
Andrew kept us moving all morning
and early afternoon. He rode some of the kiddy rides with Liv and bought her
cotton candy and ice cream and lots of other really sugary stuff. I couldn't
complain because he bought some for me as well and she was loving it. After
eating yet another ice cream cone, he pulled us both into a photo booth and
must have spent twenty dollars on pictures of the three of us.
Madison took Olivia and Ella to
get all the ice cream cleaned off of them and he yanked me back into the booth.
We were both laughing for the first few pictures and then tried to keep a
straight smile for the others. Right before the last picture, Andrew wrapped
his arms around my waist tightly and moved me onto his lap. He kissed my cheek
just as the last picture was taken.
"Oh, that will be a good
one," he said softly.
My legs were so wobbly when we
stepped out of the booth that I had to lean on the stroller to be able to stay
standing. He made me forget how to breathe sometimes and I was enjoying it too
much. He was the man I began to trust most in this world, he was my best friend
- human friend - but I wanted more.
Where did that come from, Joss?
Oh, Monty is going to lecture me tonight, I know it.
We were back at the heart of the
fair and sitting in front of the stage eating Churros and waiting for the next
band to come out and play. Olivia was having a blast but she was also getting
pretty tired and I told Andrew that after we finished up our food, we should
probably get her home for a nap and out of the sun for a while.
Olivia was sitting in between us
and Andrew's arm was resting over the back of her chair with his hand on my
shoulder. Every touch sent a current through me and I could only imagine what
kissing him would do to me. He just smiled that breath taking smile and nodded
in agreement.
We were following the rest of our
group toward the exit when a voluptuous blonde woman approached us wearing four
inch heels and a skirt that made a ruler look like the Eiffel Tower. She eyed
me nastily and moved toward Andrew. He was bent over trying to get the
butterfly bracelet he had just bought on Liv's tiny wrist and wasn't paying
attention to much of anything else. She ran the palm of her hand up his back
and his head jerked up as he spun around and glared at her. My blood was
boiling inside, but I kept my face neutral.
"Megan? What the--" he
quickly glanced down at Olivia and then stepped in front of her and lowered his
voice. He was always careful around her because she was starting to repeat
everything. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"
"Oh Andrew, you are sexy as
hell. I just can't help myself," she sneered and ran her hand across his
chest. Her voice was high and squeaky and it made me want to claw her nasty
poop green eyes out. That and break each one of the fingers touching Andrew,
one by one. Slowly.
"Leave me alone, Megan. I
thought I made myself clear last time."
"What are you talking about?
I just came over to say hi, that's all. I thought we had a good time last
Thursday," she whined, but glanced over at me for a split second.
Last Thursday? What did they do
last Thursday?
I
knew he was working at one of the clubs that night. He had watched Olivia that
afternoon while I did some work and had stayed until the last minute before he
had to leave. I know he didn't get home until after one in the morning, but
that was the norm. Was she there with him?
"Megan, you came to the club
and
harassed
me while I was
working
."
"Whatever you want to tell
yourself. Who is
she
?" She gave me a disgusted look and flipped her
hair. My fingers itched to pull that blonde mane out of her stupid, fat head.
Wow, too many kid shows, Joss.
Olivia started to gripe and I
turned my attention to her. "I know, sweetie. We are going home."
I felt Andrew's gaze on us, but I
didn't look back. I wanted to get away from this snobby witch and I wanted to
do it right now. I felt sick with the thought of them together. I had no claim
on him, but still. Her? Had he been with her these last several weeks while
we
had been spending time together? I suddenly felt a flush run up my neck and
face. How could I be so stupid? Of course he would be dating. It wasn't like I
was fulfilling his needs. We were just friends.
No, stop thinking about it. No
need to get upset.
"Mommy, home," Olivia cried
and started to wriggle in her seat.
"Okay, love. Let's go."
I forced myself to look at Andrew who was now back at my side looking concerned
and a little embarrassed. "Don't worry, we can just walk home. She will
fall asleep on the way anyway, I'm sure. You can take your time if you
want."
He looked shocked, but I didn't
linger on his face for long. Madison called out to us and I started pushing the
stroller toward her. Andrew gently grasped my elbow and stopped me.
"I'm coming with you."
"Who is she, Andrew?"
Ugh, that awful voice. I swear, a pack of hyenas sucking helium balloons would
have been more pleasant to listen to. "Can't believe you have moved on to
women with whiny kids."
I whirled around at the same time
Andrew did and we both took a menacing step toward the bitch. My hands shook
with anger and my face flushed even redder. I was ready to strangle her for
jabbing at my daughter. No one did that and got away--
Andrew's voice was low and harsh,
"I have never disrespected a woman before, never even thought of violence
toward a woman before, Megan, but I find myself wanting to make an exception
for you."