Something So Right (15 page)

“So we do this without condoms from here on out. You okay with that?”

I laugh at him. “A little too late to ask that now, with you all in me.”

“Glad we got that settled.”

He gets up with me still attached to him, then locks the door, creeping all the way to my room where he shuts the door and showers with me.

“What the fuck is that?” I look up from my desk to see a furious Cooper all sweaty from his workout. He is talking about the huge bouquet of roses sitting on my desk. I know where his thoughts are going, but he is very, very wrong.

“Hello, Cooper,” I say sarcastically. “What has got your panties all in a twist today?”

He makes his way over to my desk, squeezing the shit out of the water bottle in his right hand. When he gets to the desk, he looks for a card in the middle of the arrangement. When he finally snatches it, he opens and reads it, then I see his face turn white. Before he says anything, I beat him to it.

“Feel better now that you know they are from my dad?” I say, looking at him with a full smile on my face.

“It’s your birthday?” he whispers, still looking at the card.

“It is. My dad always sends me flowers. I think he does it because he knows how much I fucking loathe them.” I sit back in my chair, gasping when his eyes finally meet mine. They’re cloudy blue, like he’s going through a war. I’m just not sure if he’s going through it with me in mind or something else.

“Parker, what the fuck?” he hisses at me.

I am at a loss for words. I don’t really understand what is going on. He must see the confusion on my face because in a matter of seconds he tells me exactly why he’s upset. Okay, upset is a soft word, he’s fucking pissed.

“Parker, did we not wake up together this morning? Did I not fuck you this morning in the kitchen before you had your coffee? Did you not scream out my name? Did you not think it would be something you share with me that today is your fucking birthday?”

I always read about the vein in the forehead pulsing out, but I’ve never really had a chance to see it. Except now, that is.

“Are you really mad because I didn’t tell you it was my birthday? Surely this is not happening right now,” I say in surprise.

“No, you’re wrong. I’m not mad, I’m fucking pissed. How could you not tell me that today is your birthday? Did it not occur to you that maybe I would want to do something special for you? Did it not occur to you that maybe I should have known?”

“I didn’t want to make a big deal about it,” I mumble. I really wanted to forget about today altogether. Yes, birthdays should rock, but when you’re older than the guy you’re dating you don’t really like to focus on it. I mean, he’s thirty. Fucking thirty. I’m five years older than him. That is big. Maybe not too many, but to me it’s fucking huge.

“Why?”

I can feel his stare on me. I know he sees right through me. I’m a really confident person. I’m happy in my skin. I love myself, but when you think about all the young twenty something women throwing themselves at him, who would keep track of their birthday?

“I just don’t want to think about it.”

“What did you do last year?” He’s fishing. I know this, he knows this.

“Um, we had a huge party at Meghan and Tom’s.” I look down at my hands, pretending to pick a piece of invisible lint off my leg.

“The year before that?”

“We had family day at the rink. Rented some inflatables, BBQ in the parking lot. Kids skating on the ice.”

“So what’s the secret with this year? Why isn’t there anything planned?”

“I didn’t want anything. I wanted to just forget it.”

“Bullshit. Babe, you’re going to give me a reason or I’ll just have to think of something.”

“I didn’t want anything, okay?” My voice gets louder. “I don’t really want to celebrate this year. So I told everyone that we are to do nothing.”

“Change of plans. Dinner tonight. I’ll call Tom and Meghan then pack a bag. We are going away on Thursday.”

I open my mouth to say something, anything, but I’m cut off.

“And if you think you’re going to give me any shit, I’ll smack your ass so hard, you won’t sit for a week, we clear?” He has now rounded my desk, leaning back on it, pulling me into his arms, tilting my head up before kissing my nose.

“I have the kids this week.” I look at him.

“Ask Meghan to watch them. It’s only till Saturday. We come back Monday.”

“Wait a second. We are going away? Like away away?” I’m so confused. When he said pack a bag, I assumed I was just sleeping at his house.

“Away away.” He kisses me on the lips, slowly sliding his tongue in, giving me a deep kiss and making me wish for more.

“Babe, be ready at six.”

And with that he is gone, out the door, leaving me speechless. Goddamn it, that man just bulldozed his way through my life, without even stopping.

did the only thing I could do. I got on the phone and made arrangements with Meghan to watch Matthew and Allison so I can go away away with the man who has stolen my heart.

We’re sitting in the plane, first class, of course, because those are the only seats you can get when booking a trip to Mexico two days before.

We attended my birthday “celebration.” I’m still not calling it a party, because I’m stubborn like that. The kids were excited that I decided to celebrate, making me feel crazy for trying to hide it.

Meghan of course sided with Cooper, calling me plain old ridiculous for thinking like that. She was also the only one who knew where I was going, so she helped me pack. The only problem with that is that she just made me pack one dress, seven lingerie pieces, and two bikinis. Although I didn’t know where we were going, I assumed somewhere hot, so I also added some shorts, four shirts, and nine pairs of shoes. I know that nine was excessive for four days, but I don’t know what I’m going to wear, and it’s better to have more than not enough.

Once we collect our bags, we walk out to a man holding a sign for Mr. and Mrs. Stone. Without having a minute to freak out, Cooper grabs my hand, knowing that I’m going to bail.

“Welcome to Mexico, Mr. and Mrs. Stone. My name is Luis, and I will be taking you to your villa today.”

“Thank you so much, Luis, we are very excited to get there. I hope the pictures do this place justice,” Cooper says, following the man to the car that has been sent to collect us.

A villa. What the fuck did he do? I mean, the Sheraton would have been great at this point, but a villa? Once the bags are in the trunk and we have settled in the car, I look over at this man who is just too much sometimes.

“A villa, really, like seriously, what happened to staying at a hotel?”

“Nothing wrong with staying at a hotel, but I’d much rather have privacy, and not only does this house have it, they even have their own private beach.” Cooper is very matter-of-fact about this. I have no idea what to say, so I do what I know best. I huff, roll my eyes, and sigh. A fucking villa.

When we pull up to the house, sorry, villa, I can do nothing but stare open-mouthed. This isn’t a house by any means. It is a two-story home with a circular driveway. The terracotta walls are light beige. The upstairs part of the house has only two windows with a huge terrace sticking out on the left side. It is covered with a roof held up by two pillars. From the front of the house you can see that the terrace has a sofa set with a bar on the side. The front door is a dark wood color with a brass knocker.

There are four windows in the front. Luis asks us to follow him. When I enter the home, I’m met with a mahogany staircase, with an iron banister on the left curving toward upstairs. The floor looks like a shiny brown marble. Upstairs straight ahead is a huge window, letting the sun come in, making the room bright. The right side is a sitting room, also in beige and gray tones, making it feel homey. We walk past the staircase to the kitchen, which has an island in the middle with a sink and bar stools all around. There are two stainless steel refrigerators. The cabinets are also beige, with dark brown and black granite counters as well as the backsplash.

The range oven has eight burners. But the kitchen isn’t what my eye is on, it’s on the back wall. It’s a wall full of windows. Half the windows are open, allowing you to hear the waves crashing onto the beach. When you look out onto the patio, it is covered with a cement roof held up by pillars. In the middle is a black cast iron sofa set with white thick cushions. A wooden table in the middle holds a fruit platter with a bucket of champagne and two glasses.

Down two steps you are met with two cast iron long chairs and an infinity pool. Along the pool there are six more lounge chairs. The turquoise color of the ocean makes you want to sit and watch it for hours.

I’m staring out into the ocean when I feel him at my back. He hugs my waist, kissing my head.

“Happy Birthday, babe.”

“Cooper, this is amazing. This house is out of this world. It’s huge and it’s just ours?”

“Just ours.”

“Excuse me, sir, I placed your bags in your room. If you need anything, my number is by the phone.”

“Thank you so much for all you have done.” Cooper shakes Luis’s hand, locking the door after him. He turns and looks at me. “What would you like to do first?”

“I would really like to go sit on the beach,” I say, smiling. I’m a beach bum. I love the beach. If it were my choice, I would live on a beach.

“Okay, let’s go change.” He pulls me toward the stairs.

When we walk into the bedroom, my breath hitches. This room has floor-to-ceiling windows, showing you the endless view of the ocean. Two of the windows are open, making the sheer white drapes fly with the wind. The huge king-sized bed sits in the middle of the room. Canopy style, all linens are white with white drapes around the canopy poles. The hardwood floor is stained a dark brown. The two windows open up to a balcony with a sitting area and a hot tub. I am in love with this view and this house. I turn to look at Cooper, who is leaning against the doorjamb.

“Babe, I really want to fuck you right now. How much do you want to go to the beach?”

His question makes my body quiver. “I would like nothing more than you to fuck me right now, but I bought a new bikini I want to show you, and I was thinking maybe we can perhaps go make out in the ocean. It’s on my bucket list,” I say, winking at him, then grab my bag to walk into the bathroom to change. Before I close the door I look at him. “Meghan helped me pick out a new bikini. I think you will like it.” I close the door, watching his mouth hang open.

I turn to take in the bathroom. It is all white with all windows. The bathtub sits in the middle of the room, the walk-in shower in the corner. There are no cabinets in this room but a door in the corner, which holds the toilet and sink. I quickly open my bag, taking out my new red bikini. I shake my head thinking about the argument I had with Meghan. This is a bikini that a twenty-year-old wears. Not someone my age. After she hit me upside the head, I looked in the mirror, happy with what I saw.

Yes, I’m not twenty something. But I’m me, and I rock this fucker.

I finish tying the top. Not having a full-length mirror in the bathroom, I have no idea how I look. I guess Cooper’s reaction will be the test.

I open the door, walking out in my new bikini, waiting for him to look. His eyes take me in. The top of the bikini is a triangle with frills running down. The bikini bottoms are a new style for me. It’s called Brazilian, which means barely there. The little triangle in the front is very low cut, but the back is smaller than the front, not a thong, but not a full ass cover. I do a full turn to show him the back. His chest heaving is a sign that I did good, or at least Meghan did.

“Babe, I don’t know if I can wait for the beach if you don’t leave now.” His eyes hood over with lust.

“Then let’s go, babe.” I walk past him but not far enough for him to smack my ass, making it sting, but giving me another zing.

“You’re going to pay for that, buddy,” I say over my shoulder, walking ahead of him.

Once we make it outside by the pool, we notice a pitcher of Sangria waiting on the outside bar. Taking two plastic cups with us, we walk past the pool toward the stairs going down to the beach. Once my feet hit the sand, I look over at the two lawn chairs set up under a tiki hut. I place my towel and walk down toward the water.

Once my feet hit the wet sand, I can’t wait to walk in. The ocean is a warm oasis. Finishing my drink, I turn back over to take in my man. He is just staring at me. Although he’s wearing his glasses, I know exactly where he is looking. His board shorts lie low on his hips. His body is insane, and I love every single inch of it.

“So you ready to get me wet? Oh, I mean us wet?” I giggle at him, walking into the crystal blue lukewarm water, knowing he is following me. I feel him at my back before his hands grab my hips. He pulls me to him, pressing me against his erection. We continue walking forward till he turns me around, reaching down, and taking my mouth in a scorching kiss. His tongue tangles with mine while his hand cups my ass, lifting me just enough to wrap my legs around his waist. He continues walking forward till we are both in the water up to our necks.