Morning After (A Reynolds Security Novel) (10 page)

“Why don’t you guys come home with me for the night? I have plenty of room.” He said when he reentered the living room.

“You should go.” Zoe whispered and nudged Erica.

“No, I’m not leaving you here and besides. I am not going to let this creep drive me out of my home.”  Zoe looked at Ethan and then back at Erica.

“Okay well I am going to bed then.” She patted Erica’s hand gently before she left. Ethan sat down in the spot she had vacated.

“Thanks for bringing the video. Thanks for even finding the video.” She smiled at him. “I am fine. I will set the alarm. It certainly proved itself last night.”

“Remember when I said I wasn’t going to let you pull back just because you were freaked out?” he said softly. She blew out her breath on a sigh.

“Ethan, I know you’re an in charge guy but I don’t need you to save me. I really can take care of myself.”

“I know. But I don’t want you do be afraid or unhappy if there is anything I can do about it.”

“That’s very sweet. You’re very sweet.”

“It’s not sweet. It’s very selfish.”

“How so?”
She frowned. He leaned forward and kissed her softly.

“Because you make me happy.
Seeing you happy makes me feel… like I have never felt before.” Erica looked at him very wide-eyed. The wine had already made her feel pleasantly warm, now her heart was pounding and she felt almost giddy. He made her feel like she had never felt before too. Still in the back of her mind was a little nagging doubt. A fear that she was going to get her heart broken.

“Tell me what I can do. I won’t take charge. You just tell me what you need.” He held his breath hoping she wouldn’t tell him to go. He watched the indecision playing in her face and she bit lightly on her lower lip.

“Will you stay? Here, I mean. But not to, I mean I don’t want to… to lead you on.” He placed his finger over her lip to stop her stammering.

“I would love to. No strings, no insinuations, just sleep.” The relief in her face was obvious and he thought she must have known some real jerks.

He stood and pulled her to her feet. He led her into the bedroom. She crawled up on the bed on the far side from the window. He took off just the essentials, his belt, his shoes, emptied his pockets. He turned out the light and climbed onto the bed beside her. He could see her still wide eyed in the dim light. He knew she needed to close the gap so he waited.

“Your move, sweetheart.”
She smiled and moved closer snuggling against him up under his chin. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She felt empowered in the darkness. She wrapped her arms around him and inhaled deeply.

“You smell good.” She whispered.

“Thank you. So do you. Like strawberries."

"It's my shampoo." She was quiet for a moment and he felt her take a deep breath.

"You probably think I am a terrible tease. I kiss you like... like I do, but then tell you I am not ready to go any farther."

"I do not think you are a tease. I told you we can go as slow as you want. I don't mind."

"My last boyfriend said that, but then I caught him in bed with his neighbor."

"The Marco guy?"

"Yeah."

"He's a dumbass."

"Well that's true." She laughed.  "You have to use a condom." She blurted, "If we, when we... I'm not on birth control." He pulled back enough that he could see her face.

"Erica, relax.
When you're ready. When we're ready, together. Then we'll take that step and I promise I will make sure you're protected."

"Thank you." She said softly and kissed his lips. She cuddled up against his chest again and he squeezed her gently. After a few quiet moments his curiosity got the better of him.

"You have a pretty strict screening process."

"I guess."

"What happened with the ones that actually made it through?" He was gently stroking his hand up and down her back.

"Well," she sighed, "I guess no one has made it through."

"No one?" She felt his hand still on her back.

"There have been two. I guess you could say they are the reason for the screening." He began stroking her back again but didn't say anything. "I was a virgin when I went to college. It wasn't for any grand reason; it wasn't a religious thing or anything. There was just never anyone I wanted to... with. But my first year in the dorms it seemed like I was the only one who hadn't. So I decided to see what the fuss was all about. Stupid reason, I know." She sighed. "Anyway there was this guy in one of my classes. He was cute and I
kinda liked him. He invited me to this party and I thought it would be as good a time as any. The whole place smelled like stale beer. It was painful but thankfully it was over pretty quick. It was more embarrassing than anything else. I couldn't even look at that guy afterwards let alone talk to him." she laughed. "So I decided it was overrated." She laughed again.

"You said there were two, so someone remedied the first bad experience right?"

"No, not really. It was still while I was in college. I started dating someone, and it was like it was expected. I've heard like third date or something. Anyway we'd been out more than that, he wanted to, so we did. It was better than the first time but not much. It wasn't as painful and there was no beer that time. But it was still over pretty quick."

"What about after you got used to each other?"

"There was no getting used to each other. It was awkward and uncomfortable and we broke up after that. Don't get me wrong I've learned a lot since then. I know what was missing, I just came to the conclusion that I should wait until it felt right; until I really wanted to."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Well truthfully I haven't wanted to."

"Okay."

"I am not saying I won't, but I am not saying I will, and boy this is really embarrassing."

"Hey," He pulled back to see her again, "Don't be embarrassed. I want to know; truthfully I want to know everything about you. I am not here because I am looking to get laid. I told you we have something special and I am willing to wait until we are in the same place. I think we should be in the same place when we take that step."

"Well it would be kind of hard to do if we weren't in the same place. Though I guess the video chat would come in handy." she giggled and he laughed.

"I thought you were tired."

"I thought I was too. Okay it's your turn."

"My turn for what?"

"I told you a really personal embarrassing story. Now it is your turn."

"Funny I don't remember hearing that rule beforehand."

"It was implied."

"Oh I see." He laughed and she giggled and squirmed closer to him.

"So you want to hear how I lost my virginity?"

"Not unless you want tell me that story."

"Not really. Talk about embarrassing. I
shoulda stuck with third base. I was better at that."

"What do you do on third base?"

"You don't know the bases?"

"No."

"Oh honey, don't worry I'll teach you all about the bases."

"I'll bet." She giggled again. "Don't change the subject, you owe me a story."

"What would you most like to know?"

"Tell me about your family. How long has it been since you saw your sister?"

"Um four or five years I guess."

"Wow, long time."

"Yeah," He sighed. "She came to see me just after I was discharged. She wanted to borrow money. I didn't have the money but I wouldn't have given it to her anyway. She was pretty strung out. I offered her a place to stay and get clean and sober. She stayed for a day or two then she took what she could carry and took off. I haven't heard from her since."

"I'm sorry. What about your parents?" He drew a deep breath.

"I haven't seen or spoken to them since I shipped out."

"Did you have a falling out?"

"Not exactly... My mother died when I was only three. It was just me and my dad for a while. He swore he was never going to marry again and he didn't for a long time. He dated a lot, and then my step mother got pregnant. He married her and she moved in. I was eight and I didn't really appreciate the new person trying to take over. She and I didn't get along. The older I got the worse she and I fought. I loved the baby and she took advantage of that. I babysat while she went out bar hoping. She and my dad fought all the time and he started drinking heavily. It went on that way through my teenage years. They were awful to each other. Neither of them was faithful. I overheard her admit to a friend that she'd gotten pregnant on purpose because she knew dad wouldn't have married her otherwise. That was kind of the last straw for me. I said some things I probably shouldn't have. Called her some things I probably shouldn't have. The last thing I told them was if they cared about Ariel at all they would divorce and spare her from having to witness the two of them. They didn't. It's funny there is a 60% divorce rate and these two people that never should have married in the first place are determined to stay together." She could feel the tension radiating from him. He shook his head in disgust as he spoke.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"I know; you didn't. I've evolved past it."

"So your sister's name is Ariel?" She changed the subject.

"Yep."

"That is still my favorite movie."

"The Little Mermaid?"

"Yeah, I love it, all Disney movies really but especially that one."

"It was Ariel's favorite too. She drove me crazy with it. Wore out two VHS tapes. I can sing those songs in my sleep."

"Really?
Sing it for me."

"Ha, no way!"

"Ah come on please."

He sighed again but then he began to sing softly. "There you see her, sitting there across the way..." He sang the whole verse and the hair on her arms stood up. She stared at him wide eyed when he stopped singing.

"Wow." She whispered. "That was amazing. I have goose bumps."

"You have to promise never to tell anyone I did that." He laughed.

"I promise not to tell anyone. As long as you promise to do it for me again."

"Anytime you want sweetheart." He whispered. She closed the gap kissing him softly. “This is first base.” He whispered into her mouth and she laughed.

Chapter 11

Erica woke just before her alarm went off. Ethan was spooned against her back his arm was wrapped around her waist and he was softly snoring. She turned off the alarm so it wouldn't go off and wake him. She tried to ease away from him but as soon as she moved his arm he woke.

"Shh, go back to sleep. It's early." She whispered and kissed him. He lightly cupped her cheek holding her close while he returned the kiss.

"I should get up, I need to go home and change."

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have made you stay."

"I wanted to. Have lunch with me today?"

"I'd like to but lunch is always really busy in the shop. I usually can't get away."

"Dinner then?"

"Like a real date?"

"No."

"No?"

"Not tonight. Tonight you can be comfortable. No makeup or heels. Tomorrow I have a work thing at the Camden in the city. I'd like you to be my date. Like a real date." He smiled up at her and she thought she would agree to just about anything.   

“What am I going to wear?” Erica lamented in between customers and Zoe laughed at her.

“I can’t remember the last time you worried about what you were going to wear. But since you are worried about it we should take advantage and go shopping.” Zoe grinned and Erica realized with a pang of guilt that it was the first time she had seen Zoe truly smile since her father passed away She jumped on the opportunity.

“We definitely should. Do you think we should go into the city?”

“Why not? It’ll be fun.”

Erica texted Ethan to reschedule
.“Can I have a rain check for tonight?”

It only took a moment for his reply. “Sure, what’s up?”

“Going shopping in the city with Zoe.”

His next reply took longer and in her mind she could see him writing and erasing all the reasons she shouldn’t be outside his personal protection comfort zone. When the reply finally came in it made her smile. “Be careful.” Her in-charge man was trying hard to curb himself and she appreciated it.

Her man, she had never thought of anyone as hers before. She really shouldn’t be thinking of Ethan that way given the short time they had known each other but she couldn’t help it. He made it hard not to when he kept telling her what they had was special. He made her feel like this was long term and despite the fact that her five year plan always had her thinking long term, this was the first time she had ever been really excited about long term.

“Oh my God Zoe, look at those boots. You have to try them on.” Erica drug her friend toward the entrance of her favorite shoe store and Zoe pulled back.

“I shouldn’t. I don’t need them.”

“Since when does need have anything to do with shoes?” Erica laughed. Zoe was a total shoe hound. It was really her one true vice. They browsed through the displays ooing and ahing and looking for shoes to match the dress that Erica had bought. Finally Erica found some to try on and told the sales woman to bring her the boots in Zoe’s size.

“Don’t you like them? They are so cute!” Erica said watching Zoe model the shoes.

“They are cute.” Zoe said but she didn’t have the enthusiasm she once did.

“Come on Zoe that's what credit cards are for.” Erica laughed but Zoe sighed and sank down in the chair. The sales woman seemed to take the hint and wandered off. Erica watched her for a minute and realized it had been a long time since she had seen her buy shoes, or really anything, for herself. They shared the expenses of the apartment and she was never late but Erica knew something was up.

“Zoe,” she whispered, “what have you been putting on your credit cards?”

“Am I that obvious?” she asked.

“Only to me.” She looked into Zoe's eyes and saw a lot of emotion that wasn’t usually there. “It’s the shelter isn’t it?” Zoe nodded.

“We lost the Hartman grant and then the roof had to be fixed after that storm and then the water heater.”

“Zoe, you can’t take that all on yourself!”

“I know but the donations barely cover operating expenses. We have applied for several grants, this is only temporary. I couldn’t let it close Erica, not even temporarily.”

“How much do you need?”

“No.”

“Zoe let me make a donation it’s tax deductible.”

“No. It's not a big deal Erica I just have to carry the balance on my credit cards until the grants come through."

"Zoe are you okay, really?" Erica asked softly. "You seem to be very stressed." Zoe sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Zoe you're my best friend. You know you can tell me anything."

"You're right, but can we get out of here? I don't want to have a break down in the shoe store."

"All right, but I am buying you these boots."

Erica drove to one of their favorite cafes. Once they were seated in the in the back at a somewhat secluded table she leveled her gaze at her friend.

"I was adopted. Sort of." Zoe blurted. Erica could only stare.

"Sort of?"

"Apparently my dad is... was my dad but my mom is not my mom." She had no idea what to say she just stared at her friend until she continued.  "They lied about when they met. They lied about how they met. My dad paid off my birth mother."

"Wow. I don't know what to say."

"Yeah neither did I. This is actually the first time I have said it out loud."

"What does your mom have to say about all this?"

"Well she's the one who had to tell me the whole story but... I haven't talked to her since I came back."

"Why not?
Are you angry with her?" Zoe normally talked to her mom every couple of days. The fact that she wasn't talking to her while they were both grieving worried Erica.

"I don't know, maybe. To tell you the truth I just feel numb. They lied to me about everything. My dad kept everything in his will separate. Like he assumed after he was gone we would go our separate ways. It's just... Weird and uncomfortable and... I just don't know." Erica reached across the table and patted her friend's hand.

"You know I am here for you. Whatever you need."

"I know, thanks Erica."

Ethan tugged on his bow tie one last time before he stepped out of the limo. He was having second thoughts. He hated these work things. They were always long and boring that wasn't really the kind of thing he wanted to subject Erica too. Of course he hadn't been thinking about that. He'd only
been thinking about the fact that he wanted to spend every waking moment with her. Zoe opened the door when he knocked and flashed him a quick smile.

"You clean up nice GQ."

"Thanks."

"Erica will be right out."

"Thanks."

"Did you bring a corsage?"

"No." He frowned, "Should I have?"

"No." She laughed, "I was kidding." He followed her to the living room and sat down. "You just
kinda look like you're going to the prom." He didn't go to the prom but he doubted he would have been this nervous then.

Zoe looked at him long enough to make him squirm a bit. "I am going to break one of my personal rules. In general I don't get involved. I usually don't need to. Erica doesn't get attached and so when she ends things she does it clean. However, I sense that this time is different, for both of you I think."

"It is." Ethan confirmed.

"I am not going to make any threats about hunting you down and removing your fun parts if you hurt her, though I will. Instead, I am just going to say Erica is the most important person in the world to me. She is one of a kind and if you want her you need to take care of her."

"I fully intend to," he said seriously.

"Good." She turned and headed toward the bedroom but then she stopped and turned back. "Compliment her shoes."

"Excuse me?"

"Compliment her shoes. Shoes are an important detail to a woman and guys never notice them." Zoe Explained Ethan smiled and nodded.

When Erica emerged Ethan rose and his jaw fell. He was speechless. She was wearing a black sheath dress with thin straps that crisscrossed across the back. The fabric seemed to mold around her curvy hour glass figure rather than straitening it out. She had pearl studs in her ears and a silver choker around her neck. Her shiny honey brown hair was down and fell around her shoulders in big bouncy curls. She was wearing makeup, she usually didn’t and looked fantastic but she looked good with the makeup too. It was subtle but made her eyes look large and dark. Her lips were shiny and he really wanted to kiss the shine.

"Is this okay? You said black tie..." Erica bit her lip and he realized he hadn't said anything at all. He was just staring at her.

"Yeah" he blurted, "You look great, gorgeous!" Erica smiled and he wished he were a little more eloquent. "You always look gorgeous." He glanced down at her shoes they were black heels and had straps that crisscrossed over her foot the way the dress did over her back. They showed off a set of bright red toenails. "Those are great shoes." Erica beamed and lifted one foot.

"Thank you. Aren't they cute? They look like they were made for this gown." Ethan met Zoe’s eyes and silently thanked her for the tip about the shoes. He offered Erica his arm as he led her out the door.

"A limo?" Erica gasped when he escorted her down to the parking lot.

"It's part of the ambiance. Plus we don't have to worry about drinking too much champagne." She laughed and slid across the black leather seat of the stretched car.  He slid in beside her.

“I have to admit to an ulterior motive. I would much rather sit back here and enjoy the ride with you than drive.”

“Oh really, you want to make out in the back of a limo?”

“Ha, of course I do.” He grinned. She scooted closer so her side was pressed against him.

“You want to know a secret?” She whispered. He reached over and pressed a button raising the privacy partition between them and the driver.

“You know I do. I love your secrets.” He whispered back.

“I’ve never made out in the back seat of a car. I always wondered if I had missed something important.”

“Let’s find out.” He leaned in and kissed her. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and ran his tongue over the plump softness. She sighed and parted her lips her tongue slipping out to meet his.

“You taste like cherries.” He said against her lips without truly breaking the kiss.

“It’s flavored lip gloss.” She giggled.

“I like it.”

“That’s good because I have twelve flavors.”

“I can hardly wait to guess the flavors.” He groaned. He kissed along her jaw line to her neck. She sighed and tilted her head in invitation. He licked and nibbled up to her ear lobe carefully avoiding the pearl stud in her ear. He heard her breathing hitch as he nibbled her ear and mentally marked the place. “Are you ready for another base lesson?” He whispered into her ear.

“Yes.” She breathed. She felt his thumb stroke the side of her breast. She had fairly large breasts, they often drew male attention. She had men bump into her on purpose or accidentally brush her. Most of the men she dated tried to cop a feel at one time or another. None of those experiences compared to this. Ethan’s thumb swept along the underside of her breast then moved in a wide circle over the tip. Even though there were layers of clothes between his thumb and her skin she could feel the heat of his hand. She wanted to press against him but she couldn’t find the courage so she simply held still waiting to see what he would do next. The circles he was making grew smaller until he rubbed his thumb across her nipple. Her nipples were already hard from the anticipation and she was a little embarrassed. As the pleasure shot from her nipples to her core, her embarrassment melted away. His thumb stopped moving and she huffed a slight sigh of disappointment. He bent his head and ran his tongue down the sweep of her cleavage along the neckline of the gown. She moaned softly under the torment.

She squirmed against him a throbbing need low in her belly.

“Ethan I want you,” she said breathless and he chuckled.

“I want you too sweetheart, so much.” She lifted his head with her hands and kissed him fiercely, her passion
amping his, as his arms tightened around her.

“Easy sweetheart, you are testing my resolve and I’ll be damned if I will make love to you for the first time in the back of a car.”

“But I want you Ethan, I want you right now,” she said surprised at her own boldness. He eased her down onto the seat. Kissing her as he slid his hand up the inside of her leg.

“Oh God, are those garters and stockings?” He groaned.

“I like them, they make me feel sexy.”

“You are sexy.” His hand was resting on the bare skin of her inner thigh and she wanted to squirm against it but again she waited for him. Instead she kissed along his neck and nibbled his ear lobe the way he had been doing to her moments before. She felt his finger rub along the seam of her panties and whimpered slightly. When he gently moved them to the side and touched her she moaned softly. He continued to kiss her as he slipped one finger deep inside her. She couldn’t force herself to hold still. She squirmed and held tight to him as he stroked his finger along her inner wall. She could feel the liquid heat and wondered if that was okay, before her brain fully formed the question he was answering.