“I was wondering what you were up to tonight. Are you working?”
“I’m finishing my patrol right now, actually. Just heading back to the station to finish up some things, paperwork and that. Shift’s over in half an hour as long as no emergencies pop up.”
“And what are you doing after?”
“I was going to go home and go to bed, but I get the feeling you have a better idea.”
Malinda smiled. “Indeed I do. Why don’t you come by and have a drink with me? Laurel’s staying a friend’s tonight and I’m lonely and bored.”
“I could do that. Would you mind if I stopped home to change first?”
“I would mind, actually. I’d much rather see you in uniform. It’s hot.”
He laughed. “Okay, I can do that.”
“Good. Call me when you’re on your way. See you later.” When Malinda hung up the phone, she turned on the stereo and set it to a low volume, dimmed the lights in the living room, and walked to her room to change her clothes. She picked out a pair of satin pajamas: a blue camisole and short set. As she changed, she shook her head at herself, unable to believe that she was actually hoping something would happen, that she was going out of her way to make it happen.
Later, when she heard a vehicle pull up to the building, she knew who it was. She poured a glass of cabernet sauvignon while he was walking inside, so as soon as she heard him outside her door, she opened it, glass in hand.
There he stood in his crisp navy blue uniform, his eyebrows raised at the sight in front of him. “Hello,” he said, accepting the glass she held out to him.
“Come on in,” she spoke just above a whisper.
“Nice, um…nice…shirt?” he struggled to find the words.
“Thanks,” she poured herself a glass of wine and perched next to him on the couch where he’d already made himself at home. “How was work?”
He shrugged, staring at her, “Not too bad. I pulled over a few people, but nothing particularly exciting has happened yet today.” He reached across himself to tweak the hem of her shorts. “Some fancy duds you got here.”
Shifting in her seat, she stretched her legs straight out in front of her. “Yeah, I like them, they just feel nice.”
“I bet they do.”
“You’re touching ‘em, no need to bet. You wish you had pajamas like these.”
“And you always sleep in these?”
“Only on special occasions. Usually I don’t sleep in anything.”
“What’s the occasion today then?” Jerry smiled.
“Doesn’t matter, ‘cause I’m not planning on sleeping.”
“Really? And what exactly do you plan on doing?”
Maneuvering again, she slid one leg across his lap, “I guess that’s up to you.”
When he put his glass down on the coffee table and slid his palm from her ankle to her thigh, he told her his opinion. She put her own glass down on the end table, which was now behind her. To do so, she had to twist slightly and arch her back. When she turned back, his face was inches from hers.
“Hey there,” she whispered, before touching her lips to his, gripping his head by his black curls. His other hand slipped up her other leg, the first one had found its way to her hips.
The texture of Malinda’s cami set made sliding herself along the cushion very easy. Within moments she’d positioned herself underneath Jerry, and she began slowly undoing the buttons down his shirt. He responded to each button by pressing his pelvis harder into hers, ripping a tortured groan from somewhere low in her throat. His belt buckle jabbed her low in her stomach and she pushed him away. When he pulled back and sat up, she followed, pushing him flat onto his back while she crawled on top of him, pushing his shirt from his shoulders, unfastening the offending buckle and unzipping his pants. She boldly slipped her hand inside, and this time he was the one to groan out loud.
“Didn’t see that one coming, did ya?” she asked playfully as he lifted his hips.
“You’re evil,” he croaked out, and surprised her by suddenly sitting up and rising to his feet, taking her with him.
“Where are we going?” she asked when he started walking.
“Where do you think?”
“You don’t know the way.”
“Lady, I’m a cop. I’ll figure it out.”
“Okay, Officer. Don’t get it wrong.”
Jerry walked past the bathroom, his pants undone and slowly falling past his hips, Malinda’s legs wrapped around his waist, her arms around his shoulders, and her face buried in his neck, where she was alternately biting and licking at his flesh.
“See, I found it. Blue and green décor, butterflies on the walls, tiny white canopy bed.”
“Boy, they should pin a medal on you. Your detective skills – wow!”
“You know you really shouldn’t speak to an officer of the law like that.”
“You’ll have to instruct me on the proper way to address you then.”
“Well, you can start with things like ‘more’ and ‘don’t stop’. Think along those lines and you’re all set,” when he reached her bedroom he stepped just inside and let her feet fall to the floor, pinning her against the wall, leaving a trail of kisses along her jawline and trailing down along her throat.
She gasped, “Oh God.”
“Those aren’t the words I gave you.”
“Shut up and keep doing what you’re doing.”
Laughing against her collarbone, he lifted her camisole up, pulling it over her head and throwing it over his shoulder, across the room. She arched her back, shamelessly pressing her breasts against his bare chest. They fumbled with each other’s waistbands, and with only a few breaks in the tangled dance their lips and tongues were doing, were both completely disrobed, hands everywhere. Malinda took charge and pushed him backwards, directing him towards the bed. Just before his calves hit the side of the bed, Jerry spun Malinda around so she fell back onto the comforter. He crawled over her, his mouth leading the way up her body. She gasped and writhed under his touch, her hands going to the back of his head. As he aligned his body with hers, she moaned aloud.
He slid one hand between them, testing the waters. She was ready, wantonly desperate for him. He gazed down at her, his gray eyes questioning her one last time before gently pushing himself inside her. He slid in and out of Malinda, slowly, tenderly, intimately. She sighed against his throat as he began to thrust faster. She matched the movements of his hips, stroke by stroke, until she began to peak. Brazenly, Malinda pushed her pelvis up towards him, encouraging, demanding, begging him to go faster. He complied willingly. Their movements reached a frantic, desperate point. Malinda hooked one leg around Jerry’s waist, her hands clinging to his shoulders, whimpering against his throat, his jawbone. Words escaped her lips without her brain informing her they were approaching.
“Oh my God…Don’t stop…Please don’t stop…Oh…God!”
He pushed harder, faster, deeper, pressing his lips to her temple. Her whole body started to quiver and her nails made indentations in his skin as sensation after sensation took control of Malinda’s body, and she buried her face in his neck, muffling her cries of ecstasy. He gave a grunt of his own when he felt her tighten around him, and he filled her, cursing softly in her ear.
When she finally regained control of her own limbs, Malinda looked up at him. “Hi,” she said quietly,
“Hello.”
“So your night – still boring?”
“Most definitely not,” he sighed and kissed her before moving, lying beside her. She curled up onto her side and he aligned himself with her.
“You know, I tried to convince myself you were too old for me.”
“I’m not that much older than you.”
“It wasn’t just about the actual number, it’s just life in general. I used to babysit your son, you know?”
“I do know. But he’s a grown man now. And so are you. Not the man part, I can surely attest to that, but you’re not someone’s babysitter anymore.”
“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way when I say this might have only been a one time thing.”
“I don’t.”
“But then again, it might not. I don’t know.”
They were both silent for a minute. Jerry spoke again first.
“You’ve been seeing someone.”
“I was. But he walked out. I found out from a mutual friend that he thought I was kicking him out, and so that’s what he was doing. I guess I realize it was just a misunderstanding, but what we were fighting about was serious…the bastard.”
“No upset about it anymore, I see,” he remarked with humored sarcasm.
“It’s complicated.”
“It always is,” he sighed, and Malinda assumed he was referring to his own divorce.
“So, since that was pretty recent, I’m not sure what I want right now.”
“I don’t have any expectations, if that helps.”
“It does. A little. I suppose. I’m not sure how I’d fit this in Laurel’s life. If we keep doing this, this is pretty much all it’s going to be.”
He smiled and slid his hand along her naked form, from her shoulder down to her hip. “Why is that a problem?”
“You’re such a male,” she swatted at his hand, slightly alarmed by the intense heat down below his slight touch caused her. “It’s a problem because I don’t want you to just be coming over here during the night, like we’re kids sneaking around on their parents. I mean, sure, she’s in bed by ten, eleven at the very latest, you’d come by after work at midnight, so that’s fine, but you could never spend the night, unless I get another night like this and she’s at a friend’s house.”
“Malinda.”
“What?”
“Relax. Whatever happens, happens. Why worry about it?” he sounded drowsy.
She looked over her shoulder at him. His forehead was pressed against her back, between her shoulder blades, and his eyes were closed. She shook her head and lowered her own head to the pillow, closing her eyes, just thinking about how Tyler was going to salivate all over this story later at work.
“Hey Madison, it’s Malinda. What’s this voicemail crap? Like your phone isn’t permanently attached to your ear. Anyway – wait – that’s you calling me back. Bye,” Malinda switched lines. “Hey.”
“What’s up?”
“Not too much. Okay, that’s a lie, but I’ll get to it. Anything exciting on your end?”
“Met a new guy, but don’t get too happy; who knows how far this will last? Like JC said, I get bored easily,” Madison was unable to mask the disdain in her voice.
“Uh-oh.”
“That man is so…so…ugh. I don’t even understand why you – just – ugh.”
“Hmm. I don’t know if I want to ask for details.”
“You don’t. He’s being a dick, let’s just leave it at that. Joe and I both had it out with him. I can’t stand him right now. I haven’t even talked to him in like three or four days.”
“Wow. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. If anything, it should make you feel awesome. Without you, he’s a total fucktard.”
Malinda only laughed. “Okay then. Well then, let me fill you in on what’s happening on the East Coast.”
“Yes, please.”
“Well, we caught the girl that’s been stealing from us. And in order to do so, I had to call in some reinforcements, some cops I’ve known for awhile.”
“Mmm, policemen.”
“You sound like Tyler. Anyway, Mr. Gill – Jerry – invited me out for a drink. Then dinner. And we kissed after dinner. Then…the other night…I invited him over.”
“You didn’t!”
“Oh. I did.”
“And?”
“Yeah.”
Madison squealed. “Oh wow. Okay, so tell me more about him.”
“Well, he’s forty-three, he’s a lieutenant, and he’s recently divorced. And, get this, I used to baby-sit his son, who is now twenty-one.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“And it’s…?”
“He’s had lots of practice. And he totally understands that I’m not in it for anything long-term, that I kind of just need the physical companionship.”
“Maybe that’s where I’m going wrong. I need to look to the older men.”
“That’s something Gina would say.”
“And what does Gina have to say about this?”
“Actually, she doesn’t know. I don’t call her Big Mouth for nothing. I trust that girl with my life, but there are some things I just don’t tell her. This is one of them.”
“So am I the only one who knows?”
“You and Tyler.”
“Ooh, I feel special. Like I’ve got privileged information. Ah shit, I gotta go,” Madison said. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” She hung up and Malinda continued lying on the couch.
That morning, the thing in her belly had decided to make its presence known. Hard. Everything Malinda consumed, including water, found itself in the toilet. She stayed home from work and kept herself on the couch. Every hour or so, her stomach would growl and she’d experience hunger pangs, and she’d reluctantly eat something, all the time wondering why she even bothered.
She was beginning to feel the familiar hollow feeling of being famished, and she slowly got up from her cushions. At the same time, someone knocked on her door. It was Rhett.
“Are you okay?” he rushed in. “I stopped by the store, Tyler said you didn’t come in, you weren’t feeling well.”
“I’m fine. Just puking a lot.”
“All day?”
“All day.”
“Is that…normal? You look so pale. I thought that only happened in the morning.”
“Nope. It is all day long. I had it with Laurel too, this same time, in the early months like this. It’s actually how my mom found out.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
Malinda smiled and hugged Rhett. “You’re too sweet to me. I love you. I’m fine, really. I eat, I throw up, I eat, I throw up. It sucks something bad, but I’ll get through the day.”
“Mind if I hang out here with you?”
“As long as you don’t mind me running to the bathroom every hour. And that the sound of me throwing up doesn’t make you sick.”
Rhett laughed and sat down. “If you knew how much hurling goes on during games…”
“I’m not sure I want to.”
“So listen. I wanted to ask you something about this whole thing. I know you said if JC were to call after it was over, then oh well, but what if he called before that? For example, what happens if he calls today or tomorrow?”
“Well, since I doubt he will, then I don’t care.”
“I’m serious. If he called you today, if the phone rang right now and he was on the other end, what would you do? Would you tell him?”
Malinda was silent while she pondered it. “Probably not,” she finally pronounced. “And I’d go through with my plan.”
“You would? Really?”
“Most likely. I guess it would depend on the conversation. If I felt that we were going to be getting back together, I might tell him, and tell him what I want to do, and ask his opinion. I don’t know if his opinion would matter much though. I don’t think it should at all. He’s not here. And even if there is chance of us getting back together, we’re not going to be jumping right back to where we left off. We’re going to start off slow again, and with a baby is not exactly what I call slow.”
“What if he wants to keep it and then gets mad if you don’t.”
“That’s too bad. I’m not going to keep it just to keep him.”
“Oh. Okay. Fair enough,” Rhett first looked at his feet, then at the phone, then at the television, where an episode of Gilmore Girls was playing in ABC Family. Then he got up and went into the kitchen. It took a minute for Malinda to follow him.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” she demanded angrily. “He called? And you chose not to tell me?”
“He told me not to!”
“So he did call! When?” She answered her own question, “That was him that called from the blocked number, that night I went out after we caught Lindsay.”
“He told me not to,” he repeated.
“What are we, in middle school? You’re a grown-ass man, and the last time I checked, the only person you’ve taken any orders from in the past few years is Coach Ruff.”
“Look,” Rhett said gently. “I’m not trying to ruffle any feathers here. You and him were at each other’s throats about me, and I almost knocked him out myself once. I wasn’t about to get in the middle of things again. If he asks me not to tell you, I’m not going to tell you.”
She only stared at him, still irritated, before opening the refrigerator with a harsh yank. Rummaging around inside, she retrieved some half-eaten chicken parmesan and stuck it in the microwave.
“I’m sorry,” Rhett began, “but he insisted.”
“Shut up, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“Fine.”
“It’s just…my mind was made up, but you’re right, what if he does want to keep it?”
“I thought you wanted to drop the subject.”
“And while I’m still sure this is the right decision for me, I don’t want to hurt him.”
“Okay.”
“I should call him back.”
“Okay.”
“But wait, I’m not supposed to know he called. So if I call, it looks like I caved in and called him first.”
“Don’t you think this is more important than your pride?”
The microwave beeped. “Didn’t I tell you I didn’t want to talk about this anymore?” she slammed the little door.
Rhett rolled his eyes behind her back and followed her back into the living room. “Are you sure you’re down for company?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Malinda was cheerful again.
“Sheesh, pregnant women.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” the angry voice.
“Nothing at all.”
“Laurel’s home!” her excited voice was back when the bus passed the complex.
Laurel burst through the door and ran to Rhett, whom she hadn’t seen since the night JC called. He spun her around and ruffled her hair. She asked him for help with her homework after seeing that her mother was ill and begged to be allowed to go to that night’s game, when Malinda firmly denied her request, she pouted and continued her homework at the kitchen table, Rhett sitting across from her.
Keeping her voice muted, she complained to Rhett, “Momma’s been kind of cranky lately. I don’t know what her problem is.”
“She’s been sick, and under a lot of stress.”
“But why? I know she was worried about that girl from work, but they got her.”
“How did you know about that?”
“That’s what Momma asked. And I know everything.”
He shook his head, smiling, “No, you know too much. And yes, she was worried about that, but there’s other stuff too.”
“JC?”
Hesitating, Rhett nodded.
“He didn’t call yet?”
“Again, you know too much, and no.”
Laurel sighed. “You two should just get married. Everything would be much easier.”
“Why’s that?”
“You wouldn’t have to fight over everything, and you don’t live on the other side of the country. You’re always doing stuff for each other. You practically live here, you have your own key and everything.”
“So does Gina.”
“That’s not even the same.”
Rhett shook his head and suddenly looked up, concern in his eyes at the rapid footsteps headed for the bathroom.
In response to the sounds of regurgitation, Laurel asked, “Does she have the flu or something?”
“Something like that. Keep working, I’ll be right back,” he rose from the table and rapped lightly on the bathroom door.
“What?” Malinda sounded awful. Rhett let himself in.
“How’re you doin’?”
“How do you think?” she was in a full squat in front of the toilet, one hand on the edge of the counter, the other braced against the wall. Rhett crouched behind her, gently rubbing her back. “This sucks,” she moaned. “I can’t wait till it’s over.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, moving his hand up to massage her neck. He got up and dampened a towel with cold water before pressing it to her face between heaves.
“Ugh, Rhett, just leave me alone,” she swatted at his hand, whimpering.
“No, I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving until I have to get to the Arena.”
“Just go.”
“No.”
“Rhe-ett!”
“I’m not leaving.”
Malinda closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her arm. “I hate this. This is the worst thing ever, knowing that I’m not getting anything at the end of it.”
“You’re getting the comfort of having one less thing to worry about,” Rhett suggested.
“That’s not even worth it.”
“Mindy,” Rhett sighed, and resumed rubbing her back. Once the entire contents of her stomach were again down the drain, she rose unsteadily to her feet, with his assistance. He walked her past Laurel’s inquisitive gaze to the living room, where she collapsed on the couch again. When Rhett returned to the kitchen to check Laurel’s progress, her eyes were wide.
“Is she okay?”
“She’ll be fine. Some kind of stomach bug. It’ll clear up soon, and in a couple weeks she’ll be right back to normal. She’ll just be tired for awhile,” Rhett was quiet while he plotted for a minute. He went to Malinda and offered her a proposition. When he returned to Laurel, he informed her that if Gina was free and wanted to go, Laurel had permission to go to the game, to give Malinda more time to rest. They called Gina and made their plans, stopping to kiss Malinda good-bye on their way out.
“But Tyler, it’s awful,” Malinda whined one morning. The pair of them were opening the store for the day, and as always when they were alone in the mornings, they discussed the most torrid details of each other’s love lives.
“It most certainly can not be awful, look at the man.”
“He’s turning me into some kind of sex addict. I can’t keep doing this.”
“Please don’t expect me to feel bad for you. We should be so lucky.”
“But… but he’s…I shouldn’t.”
“Look, dearie, you’re pregnant right now. So you’ve got a million and a half hormones going all crazy in your body. You’re hornier than a teenage boy. And you’ve got some sexy, hot-for-your-ass, older gentlemen, who’s got lots of experience and knows his way around your parts better than anyone else. I bet he shows up in uniform, doesn’t he?”
Malinda kept her mouth closed.
“Oh, you bitch,” Tyler said. “No, I really don’t have any sympathy for you. Most people would not complain in your position at all. I can’t even believe you’re whining about this.”
“But I’m addicted. I tell him to stop coming over, but I know I’d go crazy if he didn’t.”
“You’re not addicted. You’re hormonal. In a week, you probably won’t be as into it as you are now.” He paused. “But then again, if I were in your position, I would never be bored of him. Especially if he’s coming over in uniform all the time. Good God.”
“You are really not helping me right now. You should be telling me that I should stop this right now before it goes any further. You should be telling me that we’re just two adults who are lonely and horny due to finding ourselves suddenly single and that it shouldn’t go on for much longer or else we’ll find ourselves in a heap of trouble.”
“Sounds like you got the lecture under control. Although, I really don’t see what’s wrong with your situation. I’d give anything to be in your position. Tell me, please, don’t change the subject like last time – tell me he knows what he’s doing with his mouth.”
“Tyler!”
“Oh please say that’s a hell yes.”
“I’ve already told you far too much.”
“Oh that’s a yes. I think we need to find some sticky-fingered crooks and hire them so that we need police assistance again.”
“You’re enjoying this far more than I am, I think.”
“Oh sweetheart, if only I was.”
“I still don’t know. I feel…somehow…guilty or something.”
“Are you still hung up on JC?” Tyler’s arm froze in mid-air, halfway to loading a new set of books onto a shelf.
“No, it’s not JC, it’s the part of him that I still have.”
“Oh honey. I’d never try to talk you out of or into any decision, but I’m gonna ask you again if you’re sure about the one you’ve made.”
“Yes. I am. He doesn’t want me to know he called, he hasn’t called again, he doesn’t care, and I’m not gonna be like that chick in Florida who claims to have Joe’s love-child.”
“But the difference is that you’re actually legit.”
“Not the point.”
“Okay. Well as long as you’re sure about all that, then you shouldn’t worry about you and mister officer. You should just enjoy it. And I know you do, because for the past week, you’ve come into work looking like you’ve just had some deep tissue massage or something, looking all glassy-eyed, like somebody just fucked you stupid.”
“Well…I do feel a little loopy when I wake up in the morning.” Malinda hid a grin by pretending to examine a list she found in box. “The shit is good.”
“I knew it was. Oh, I am so jealous of you.”
“Okay, well try to keep that jealousy to yourself. You’re still the only one who knows.”
“You haven’t even told Gina? Or Rhett?”
“Gina has a big mouth and you know it. Jerry’s son doesn’t know about all this, and since we all know the same people, all she has to do is tell that one wrong person, and bam! Everyone that doesn’t need to know, knows. I don’t even know if his divorce is completely final yet, and I can only imagine what his ex-wife would do with that kind of information, especially knowing that he sneaks in and out while there’s an eleven-year-old girl sleeping in the next room.”
“Fair enough. But not Rhett?”
“Rhett is too protective. I’ve already seen him and JC butt heads over me, I really don’t need to see him go up against Jerry.”
“I don’t know, Mindy,” Tyler mused, “I think that would be pretty hot to witness.”
“Shut up Ty. Focus on your shelf there. The number four bestseller from last week is number three now, last week’s three is down to seven, and there’s a new number six.”
“Oh, so all this slutting it up is giving you fresh mental clarity.”
Malinda just shook her head and laughed, consulting another list she’d come across, and tried to push the wanton memories from her mind so she could concentrate on the day ahead of her, knowing it would end with another night of orgasmic bliss.
“Okay so here’s the deal,” Joe spoke sternly into the phone. “You’re going to call her back, and you’re going to do it before the month is over. I refuse to let you throw the best thing that’s ever happened to you away.”
“I already did,” JC replied sullenly.
“No, you haven’t. You’re just a complete idiot so far. You can still save what’s left. The only problem is, at this point, you have to realize you’re starting over, don’t think you can just jump right in there. You’re going to have to work to get back what you had.”
“I don’t need the lecture, Joe. I already know. It’s gonna be like we just met all over again. But how do you go backwards? I could have – and would have – married that woman today if the subject came up. I’ve never felt that way before, and I’ve never acted so stupidly before. I won’t even know where to begin. How far backwards do I really need to go? Do we really start over completely, or do we work to get back to where we left off? This is so confusing. I can’t handle this. Now I know why Madison avoids getting too serious.”
“Speaking of, have you apologized to her yet?”
“No,” came JC grunted reply.
“Why the hell not? She’s your best ally when it comes to Malinda. You’re going to need her to say the things you can’t. They still talk, regularly. If you want to get back together with Malinda, you don’t want Madison turning against you. I know she’s not the type of person to do something like this intentionally, but what if her anger towards you influences Malinda’s feelings as well? What if she says something nasty about you to Malinda?”
“Malinda wouldn’t be affected by anything like that.”
“Kind of like you weren’t affected by her relationship with her friend?”
“Not the same thing.”
“So? It’s the same basic idea. You let all those little nagging doubts get to you until you pushed her away. How do you know she won’t listen to Madison complain about you until she sees all the same things?”
“She won’t.”
“So you’re gonna call her back?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You don’t have to. I know you want to. And if you don’t make up with Madison, you’re screwed. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth. And she’s your closest friend out there, man, you’ve got to suck it up.”
“We’ll see.”
“Yeah?”
“I said we’ll see.”
“You wanna see soon?”
JC groaned. “Why are you rushing me?”
“Because you’re being stupid.”
“We’ll see, Joe. I still need more time. At least I called her once.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that. Too bad you almost got in a fight with her friend and didn’t want to leave a message.”
“Shut up.”
Joe just laughed. “Listen, I have to take Brianna to dance class, so I’ll talk to you later. And please make at least one of your phone calls.”
JC hung up the phone and stared at it. He took a deep breath and dialed her number.