Essentialism (Bridgette & Troy's Story) (13 page)

My desk phones rings and the screen says it’s Autumn from reception. “This is Bridgette,” I answer in a professional tone.

“Bridgette, I have a Troy Sorano here in reception for you.”

My heart rate jumps to Mach speed. “All right, I’ll be right out.”

I go to hang up and miss the base of the receiver. The phone clangs on my desk and Max asks, “Everything okay over there?”

“Uhh…yeah…no. I don’t know.” I get the damn phone hung up and Max is staring at me over the wall.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“My boyfriend’s early for lunch and he’s
in
reception.”

I don’t know why I’m nervous, it’s just Troy. Fuck, that’s why I’m nervous,
it’s Troy
. I pop a stick of gum in my mouth and stand brushing my fingers through my hair and over my clothes.

“You look beautiful, honey.”

In the next moment, Troy’s standing in front of me. “Yes, I agree with the man, you look beautiful, babe.”

He has a huge vase of lilies and is in his work clothes. Mmmm, I love him dressed in uniform. Although he’s not in his full fire gear, it’s close enough. “I hope you don’t mind me bringing him back,” Alexa says. “But I just came in from Starbucks and saw him waiting.”

“Of course not,” I say hugging him. He hands me the flowers and I set them on my desk. “These are for your first day.”

“Thank you, baby. Troy, this is Max. He’s my cube mate.”

The two guys shake hands and I’m so grateful Max is gay. “Are you ready to go?” he asks.

“Yup, let me grab my purse.”

As Troy and I walk out hand in hand, he makes a point to kiss me as we walk by Autumn’s desk. As the elevator doors are closing, I can see her staring at us. He shows no mercy kissing me while he presses me against the wall. My eyes close and I forget everything except for him on our journey down the twenty-nine floors. As we emerge and walk to his Jeep, I ask, “What was that all about?”

“What? I miss you.”

“Troy, be honest.”

He growls a little and then says, “That chick in reception was eye fucking me; I wanted her to know that I wasn’t interested. You would think the flowers were a clue, but some women are ruthless and she looked desperate.”

I laugh out loud. “In that case, you can mark your territory anytime. Thank you for surprising me by coming early and for the flowers.”

“My pleasure. How’s the day so far?”

“It’s been amazing.” I ramble on and Troy asks if Subway is all right for lunch. I’ll eat anything at this point because I skipped my breakfast and Max got me zinging on two Caramel Macchiatos. Since there aren’t many seats left inside, we grab our subs to-go and opt to eat them in his Jeep.

We find a nice little spot under a tree in the shade to enjoy our food. “So how’s work for you?” I ask, enjoying my sandwich.

“Boring. Abel’s babying me, like someone I know,” he teases.

“Troy, I’m not babying you, I’m just worried; that’s all. There’s a big difference.”

“I’m only joking, babe.”

“I’m actually glad you asked about work. I talked to Abel about getting the entire weekend off so we could go four-wheeling and he agreed. What do you think?”

“Yeah, I would love to.”

“Great, we can leave on Friday night if that works for you?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect,” I agree and move my hand over the center console. “You know what else is perfect?”

“Hmm?” he asks.

“This,” I say massaging his cock through his pants.

“Yeah? You like him, don’t you?”

“Mmm. You have no idea. I’m going to miss him tonight,” I say unzipping his pants. Troy reaches over and caresses my breast through my shirt. Leaning in, I kiss him while I remove him from his underwear. He unbuttons my shirt and slides his hand into the cup of my bra pinching my nipple between two of his fingers, then uses his thumbs to tantalize it.

I whine and pull away from his mouth going straight for what I want – his cock. Taking my time I flick my tongue over the end and wrap my lips around his plump head. With my hand, I keep a firm grip on the base and continuously stroke him. I know to get him to come I’m going to have to work hard. As I sink all the way down, I keep my breathing even and begin to move. “Oh yeah, Bridge, you suck a good dick.”

I moan in agreement and don’t let up. I want this. I need this. I’m not going to have Troy for the next three days while he works and he deserves this. No man should ever go through life without experiencing oral sex to the fullest. “Baby, stop,” he orders.

I pull away and look at him confused. “Why?”

“I don’t want to come in your—”

I cut him off and begin to jerk his cock and sink my mouth around him. “Oh fuck.” His words are barely a mumble and he weaves his hand into the back of my hair helping to guide me. Having him agree to this and let go of his worries is such a turn on. “Ahhh…baby…I’m…” He starts just before he explodes deep in my throat, repaying me with his warm cum. Jesus, he tastes good. I pull every last drop from his shaft and enjoy the satisfaction. I’m his first. “Christ, you’re fucking talented.”

“Why, thank you, and you, my dear, taste delicious.”

“Thank you for that, Bridge, for real. I’ve never had a girl who could get me there and then when you just did, I didn’t want to let go. You know how I am. I like to take my time. But fuck, babe, I think I just found my new favorite pastime.”

“Anytime you need it, I’m your girl.”

“And I’m one lucky son of a bitch. Let’s get you back to work.”

“Sounds good, same time tomorrow?”

“Sure thing, just wear a skirt so I can finger the fuck out of you and return the favor.”

“How has the week been so far?” Troy asks me, taking a swig of his beer.

“It’s been great. How ‘bout you?”

“Eh, Abel doesn’t let me do shit so that kinda blows.”

“Well, you do need to take better care of yourself.”

Cocking his head to the side he says, “I have been, thank you very much.”

“I mean it.”

“What? I think I’ve been doing a damn good job of thoroughly enjoying being inside of you. It’s the best medicine there is.”

“Troy, you know what I mean,” I argue back. “When are you going to the doctor anyways?”

“Tomorrow. Maybe after they clear me, Abel will let up a bit.”

“What time?”

“You’re not coming with me.”

“Tell me or I won’t have sex with you,” I say dipping a fry in ketchup.

“You wouldn’t,” he dares me.

“Oh, I would,” I challenge back.

“Motherfucker! You’re evil, you know that?” he says chewing a bite of his burger. “I think it’s at nine.”

“I’ll see if I can go in late.”

“No way! Not on your first week. I promise I’ll do whatever the doctor says.”

“You promise? Because I know you’ve been pushing yourself.”

“I told you, baby, I’m fine. Honestly, I barely hurt. I guess I have a high pain tolerance or something.”

“Please take care of yourself. I can’t get another call that you’re in the hospital, I mean it.”

“Scouts honor, babe. Are you ready to get going?”

“Yep,” I say, as Troy leaves some cash on the table and we head out into the warm sun. We decided to head up to Golden after I got off of work. It’s an old historical town outside of Denver with a river running through it. Tons of people love to wade and tube in the river, but Troy and I went for a hike then grabbed a bite to eat. Now we’re going to explore the small shops before heading back to my place.

Walking hand in hand with Troy makes me feel so secure. He has such a confidence about him; I can tell others quickly notice. He’s always touching me and I love it. Looking into the window of an old antiques shop, his hands are in the back pockets of my shorts and his chin is resting on top of my head. “Wanna go in?” he asks.

“Nah. I’m just looking.” We begin to move and my cell phone rings. I pull it out glancing at the screen. Right away my stomach knots and a queasy sensation creeps up my throat.

“Who is it?” he asks.

I show the phone to him and he sees David’s name and picture. “Let me answer it; he’s been calling a lot lately.”

I don’t know what to do. I’m not sure what’s right or wrong. Unfortunately, there are no rulebooks or guides to follow in these kinds of situations. My instincts decide for me and I hand my phone to Troy. He hits the answer button and brings it to his ear. “Hello,” he says in a cool, even tone. “Hello,” he says again.

As I watch, his reaction is blank. “David, I know you’re there. If you care about what’s best for Bridgette you’ll leave her alone.”

He hands my phone back to me. “He hung up.”

“Thank you for trying. Hopefully he’ll stop calling.”

“I hope so, babe. If he continues, let’s get you another phone, okay?”

“Okay,” I agree.

“Now are you going to go into one of these shops so I can buy you something?”

“I don’t need anything.”

“Oh yes, you do,” he says grabbing my hand and dragging me into a toy shop.

“Troy, this place is for children.” He waves me off and keeps pulling me through the aisles of toys. Finally he stops in the back corner in front of a huge shelf packed with an assortment of stuffed animals.

“Pick one,” he requests.

“Troy.”

“What? Pick one.”

Scanning over the selection of soft and cuddly items, I’m a little unsure. I mean, I am a grown woman right, why do I have to pick one out? Nothing sticks out to me. Well, nothing except an ugly rhinoceros. “This one,” I say, grabbing the sad, gray animal.

“I’ll take that one, thank you very much,” he says, snatching the animal out of my hand. “Now which one should I pick for you?” He doesn’t take but half a second to skim over the items and hands me a tan lion with a huge mane of hair.

“This is what you picked for me?”

“Yeah, why? It reminds me of you.”

“Uhh, I don’t know about that and what’s with the hair? It’s a lot, don’t—”

He cuts me off, “And so is yours. We’re buying it! Come on, let’s go.”

Following Troy to the register I can’t help but laugh. He’s got his ugly, grey rhino in hand and I’m holding this ridiculous lion. “Just these two for today?” the cashier asks Troy as we set down our stuffed animals.

“Yup, unless my girl wants anything else?”

I don’t know why my checks flush, but I feel all the blood rush to them and shake my head.

“Yup, just these.”

Troy pays and we head outside. The walk to his Jeep is short since we parked close by. He took the doors and top off before he picked me up from work and driving it completely open like this is so much fun.

“In you go, baby,” Troy says, handing me the bag with our stuffed animals.

Then he walks around and slides behind the wheel. “Do you need to stop anywhere on the way to your place?”

“Nope. Just get me home.”

“That I can do,” he says backing out of the parking spot. Once we’re on the freeway, I close my eyes, letting the wind whip through me. I feel Troy’s hand creep over and grip my thigh, holding it like he likes and I relax in that moment feeling so safe. I know being with him, he’ll never let anything happen to me. He’s shown me nothing, but care and protection since the day I met him. I wish I’d ended things with David when I moved. Something in my gut was telling me to, and I ignored it. Then when I showed up and Troy was waiting outside of the condo sitting on the steps, with his huge smile and sincerity, I should have followed my heart that very moment. Regardless of the past, I’m so thankful to be where I am now.

When we pull into my neighborhood, I can’t believe the sun is starting to set.
Where oh where has the day gone?
Troy enters the gate code and we drive through.

“I’m glad we get to stay together tonight. I’ve been tempted to make you stay at the station with me to ensure you’re safe.”

“David might be a little out there, but he would never hurt me.”

“Bridge, he already forced himself on you. Please don’t push it. I know how guys think. We’re sick bastards, and now that I’ve answered your phone, he… I can’t go there, I won’t. I’m here to protect you, and I promise I will.”

“I know you will, thank you.”

I open the front door and notice a piece of mail hit the ground. The moment I see the handwriting on the envelope, I know it’s not mail.

Troy picks it up and asks, “What’s this?”

“It just fell out of the door. I think it’s from David.”

“Fuck, babe.”

I shake my head and Troy hugs me, kissing me hard on the top of my hair. “Are you gonna open it?”

“No,” I whisper. That’s the last thing I want to do. “I don’t care what David has to say, we are finished and he needs to accept that.”

“I know, baby. Listen, it’s just a note. Don’t waste a second on it or him.”

I nod my head staring into Troy’s beautiful face and know I have to let this go. He’s not going to let anything happen to me.

“What do you say we shower and then go to bed?”

I nod my head and follow him into the bathroom. We both get in the shower and stay until the water is cold. I love how attentive and gentle he is with me. He makes me forget everything bad in this world. I’ve never had a man treat me like Troy does. As I stand in my bathroom shivering, Troy removes his towel and helps me dry. “Thank you,” I say.