Still Fine at Forty (10 page)

“That sounds great. I don’t mind cooking,”

I grimaced. “You just spent two hours in the car to get down here. I can’t let you cook.”

He grinned. “But I love to cook. It relaxes me.”

“How about we cook together?” I suggested.

He nodded.

I removed all of the salad vegetables from the refrigerator for slicing, as well as the tortellini. From the pantry, I removed cans of tomato paste and pureed tomatoes as the base for the sauce.

“How good are you at making pasta sauce?” I asked.

“Almost an expert,” he said with a glimmer in his eyes.

“Okay, I’ll make the salad, if you can handle the pasta and sauce,” I said.

He nodded. “What kinds of spices do you have?”

I pointed to the cabinet above the counter where he stood. He opened the cabinet and inspected the contents carefully then nodded. “These will do,” he said.

“I’m glad you approve,” I said as I kissed his cheek. He turned and pulled me close to him. He kissed me forcefully and I could feel the bulge in his pants grow.

“I just can’t keep my hands off of you, Jenny,” he whispered into my ear. “You don’t know how badly I want to take you right here in the kitchen.”

I gulped as a wave of heat coursed through me.

My heart skipped a few beats as he continued to assault my mouth with his. His tongue entwined with mine and I moaned with desire.

He took a step back and gave me a sly grin. “We’d better stop if we actually want to eat tonight.”

I was so turned on I could barely think straight. I just nodded and looked down at the vegetables.

Cody grabbed some spices from the cabinet and got to work on the sauce while I began to slice and dice cucumbers, carrots, celery, fresh mushrooms, cauliflower and broccoli. I planned to throw them over the romaine and fresh spinach I had as the base.

Cody found the pots and readied them for cooking the pasta and sauce.

Twenty minutes later, the house was filled with the lovely scents of oregano and garlic.

“I want you to try this,” Cody said as he dipped a wooden spoon into the sauce pot. He made sure to blow on it before he put the spoon up to my mouth.

When I tasted the sauce, it was delicious. The man knew how to cook. I could add that to his growing list of talents.

“Good?” he asked lifting an eyebrow.

“It’s fantastic,” I said.

He grinned.

As Cody drained the tortellini and added the sauce, I set the small dinette that sat between my kitchen and living room. My home was modest but I tried to make it homey. I had purchased new place settings and lit a white candle for the occasion.

When Cody brought our pasta dishes over to the table, he smiled. “This is lovely. The candle is a great touch.”

We both sat down at our places.

“This looks delicious,” I said.
“Smells great, too. I’m starving.”

Cody grinned. “Dig in.”

As soon as I lifted the fork to my mouth, there was a knock at the door. I returned the utensil to my plate without taking the bite.

Cody was staring at me with a questioning look in his eyes. I shrugged. I had no idea who could be at the door.

“No one ever knocks on my door,” I admitted. “Except for my neighbor, Bill.”

Cody raised an eyebrow.

“He’s a recent widow,” I explained. “He and Marg had been married fifty years, so I think he’s having trouble adjusting. He stops by a few times a week to tell me about a weed he pulled from my lawn or one of the sprinklers he repaired.”

Cody smiled then looked grim. “It’s nearly eight and dark outside. Would he come over this late?”

I shook my head. The knocking continued. When I made a move to stand, Cody put up a hand to stop me.

He rose and walked over to the door. He slowly opened it. Rob was standing on the threshold.

The two men stared at each other. Finally, Rob spoke. “Who are you?”

Cody folded his arms and glared at my ex-husband. “Who are you?” he challenged.

Rob looked uncomfortable and took a slight step back. He was clearly intimidated by Cody. I liked it.

“I-is Jen here?” he stammered.

“Jenny’s busy. Who are you?” Cody asked pointedly.

“Jenny?” Rob blurted.

At that point, I got up and walked over to the door. Cody was oozing testosterone. I put my hand on his arm to bring him down a bit. “It’s okay,” I said. “This is my ex-husband, Rob.”

Cody backed away from the door slightly, just enough for Rob to slither through. Cody made sure to stand between Rob and me. It was a protective gesture that I appreciated but was completely unnecessary. Rob was an asshole but he was never violent. As a professor, he always used words, never fists.

Rob hesitated for a moment then looked at me and asked, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Cody glared at Rob. I whispered to Cody, “
It’s okay. I don’t want the food to get cold. Why don’t you start?”

Cody nodded and took his place back at the dinette. He wasn’t looking at his food, though. He still had his gaze trained on Rob.

Rob fished a folded stack of papers from his jacket pocket. He handed them to me. “These are the documents we talked about,” he said as he handed them to me.

I didn’t know what to say. Rob just stood there. There was a moment of awkward silence. Finally, Rob said, “Do you have a pen?”

I was a bit taken aback. “You want me to sign them now?”

Rob looked down like he couldn’t face me. “Megan’s anxious to get the annulment process started.”

I glanced over at Cody and I could see his jaw tense. I swallowed. “I have a pen in my purse,” I said softly.

As I headed over toward my purse on the counter, I passed by Cody. He grabbed me and placed me in his lap. Then he gave me one of the most passionate kisses I had ever had. Time froze as I enjoyed the ecstasy of his desire for me.

When Rob cleared his throat, it broke the moment. Cody had so much longing in his eyes, it made my body weak. He was hungry but not for the meal. I appreciated Cody’s gesture so much. I knew he wanted to make sure Rob understood I was his but I thought he also did it to show Rob how desirable I was. I mouthed a “Thank you,” to Cody that Rob couldn’t see and he winked at me. It was so damn sexy. I grinned.

I could hear Rob clear his throat again so I removed myself from Cody’s lap and grabbed the pen from my purse. I placed the documents on the counter then took a deep breath as I tried to prepare myself mentally and emotionally for what I was about to do. I wanted to get it over with and not cry. It’s the one thing I didn’t want to do in front of either of these men but for different reasons.

I felt Cody walk up behind me. He whispered in my ear. “You don’t have to do this. Don’t let him bully you into anything.”

“It’s okay,” I said softly.

I placed the pen on the signature line and signed my name. I sighed and folded the paper back the way Rob had handed it to me.

I walked back over to Rob and handed him the document. He took it from my hands. When I looked up at him, I saw a look of tenderness in his eyes that I hadn’t seen in years. “Thank you,” he said. “This means a lot to Megan.”

“I know,” I said.

And with that, Rob turned and walked out.

As soon as the door shut behind Rob, Cody came up to me and gave me a hug. “Are you okay?” he asked as he gazed deeply into my eyes.

I nodded.

“Are you still hungry?”

I shook my head.

“How about we skip dinner, then, and go right into dessert?” he suggested. The lustful look had returned to his eyes. He bent down to kiss me. As our kisses became more intense, he scooped me into his arms and carried me into the bedroom.

***

The next day, I had planned to run some errands and Cody said he would love to come with me. I had to stop by the school to pick up a few books from the library that I wanted to work on over the summer. The school had updated and renewed the reading list for the school year and there were a few books I wasn’t that familiar with. 

I asked Cody if he would like to drive my car and he readily agreed. I didn’t feel comfortable driving around the city in his Jeep. When we stopped by the school, he looked a bit unco
mfortable. I asked him if he wanted to come in with me and see where I worked and he shook his head, avoiding my gaze. I tried to hide my disappointment as I exited the car and hurried into the school.

Summer school was just letting out for the day as I walked in. I had been offered a summer school teaching gig but now was happy I had declined. I headed to the library and waved at Marilyn Alder, the librarian, as I walked in.

“Hey, Jennifer,” Marilyn said. “Anything I can help you with?”

“I thought I’d get a start on some of the new reading sele
ctions for the upcoming year. I heard they’re adding
The Hunger Games
to the list recommended reading list.”

Marilyn shook her head. “That would have never been su
ggested reading when we were kids. I have a copy here if you’d like to borrow it.”

She reached under the counter and grabbed a copy of the p
aperback. “Have fun,” she said as she handed me the book.

I hurried back to the car as quickly as I could. With the look Cody had given me, I didn’t think I should keep him waiting. I wasn’t sure what had dampened his mood so quickly.

When I got back into the car, I felt something was still off. There was an uneasiness in the air that I didn’t like. When I sat down in the passenger seat, Cody was still staring straight ahead. He didn’t turn to look at me.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said but still didn’t meet my gaze. “Can we get out of here?”

I wanted desperately to look into his eyes but they were masked by his sunglasses.

“Please tell me what’s going on,” I pleaded as I touched his arm. I guessed this is the intense and moody artist he had warned me about when we first met.

The muscles of his arm tensed on my touch. I suddenly felt awkward with my hand on him, so I removed it.

When he turned to face me, his expression was grim. “Can we please leave now?” he asked through clenched teeth.

I didn’t know whether to be angry or hurt. I didn’t know what I had done wrong. “Can you please remove your sunglasses so I can see your eyes?” I spat out with more pain in my voice than I wanted.

He flipped up his sunglasses so they rested on the top of his head. His looked at me with such intensity it shook me to the core.

I could feel a lump welling up in my throat. I tried to hold back the emotion but it was too overwhelming. “Please tell me what’s wrong.” I was barely able to squeak the words out before my voice broke.

I could tell he wasn’t being completely honest with me and I hated it. It reminded me of Rob and his lies. The last thing I wanted was another relationship with a man who was hiding something.

He didn’t look at me as he spoke. “I told you there were things in my past that I’d rather not talk about. Being here reminds me of those things.”

I turned away because I didn’t want him to see that I was starting to cry. “Drive,” I said trying not to show the emotion in my voice. I wanted for him to open up to me but he wouldn’t. Why didn’t he trust me? What was he hiding?

Cody flipped his sunglasses over his eyes and put the car in drive. He left so quickly the tires squealed out of the parking lot.
He still wouldn’t look in my direction. Tears were now streaming down my face, so I turned to face the window.

I did my best to stifle the sobs that were catching in my chest. Maybe Mel and Lizzie were right. Maybe Cody was too young for me. Every doubt that I had about our relationship now flooded to the surface. What was I doing with a man who would reveal so little of his past to me? I didn’t want to set myself up to be hurt again. I had just mended my heart from Rob’s breaking it.

I cleared my throat in an effort to stop myself from crying but it didn’t work. I started weeping.

I could see Cody glance in my direction. “Damn it!” he said as slapped his hand against the wheel. He pulled the car over to the side of the road and parked.

He turned to face me and lifted his sunglasses so I could see his eyes. “What’s going on, Jenny?” His stare was laser intense.

I balled. I couldn’t contain my emotion. I felt too vulnerable and insecure.

“It’s okay,” Cody said as he took me into his strong arms and cradled me. He kissed my forehead then wiped the tears from my eyes. “Don’t cry.”

I nestled my face into his chest and heaved a few more time trying to control the sobbing. He stroked my hair and tried to sooth me. “I love you so much,” he whispered so softly, I wondered if I had heard him correctly.

“Then why won’t you talk to me about your past?” I asked.

He gently sat me up and stroked my cheek with his thumb. “Is that what the tears are about?”