21 Days

  I pulled Sasha to me and held her as we both tried to level out our breathing. I kissed the top of her head and stroked her back, bringing my hand around to pull her dress back up over her beautiful breasts. I reached around until I found a roll of paper towels, tore a bunch off, and handed them to Sasha, before getting some for myself and cleaning myself off. I helped her off the table and walked her over to the door, pausing to kiss her thoroughly then walking out.

  “I’m going to stop off in the bathroom,” she said with a grin when we got back out into the light.

  “You want me to wait?” I asked.

  “No, that’s okay, I’ll see you outside.”

  I walked back out toward my friends, trying, but failing, to keep the satisfied grin off my face. I’d never been with a woman like Sasha before. Someone whose sexual appetite was as vast and frequent as mine. Someone who accepted me for who I was, not who they wanted me to be. It was a crazy kind of cool that this woman who’d been an important part of my life for eight years was rocking my world on every level.

  I sat back down and grinned at the table.

  “Where’s Sasha?” Shelly asked.

  “The restroom,” I answered.

  The words were no sooner out of my mouth before both Shelly and Gaby jumped up and said, “Be right back.”

  I chuckled as the girls ran inside, then looked at the faces of my friends, who were looking at me with everything from confusion to envy.

  Chapter 18 – Sasha

  “Sasha?” I heard Shelly’s voice ask from the other side of the bathroom door.

  “In here,” I confirmed.

  “I might as well go too, while we’re waiting.” This came from Gaby.

  I was pretty sure I knew why they’d come looking for me in the bathroom … TJ and I were busted.

  I heard the door open again and my ears perked up when I heard Shelly say dryly, “Oh, hey, Melody.”

  Melody was the girl who TJ had slept with in the field all those years ago. The one who’d stalked him afterward, never getting the hint that he wasn’t interested in a relationship. I’d always felt kind of sorry for her. She always had seemed to want to fit in, but just went about it the wrong way. I was surprised at Shelly’s tone when greeting her. Shelly was always nice to everyone.

  “Um … Shelly,” I heard Melody stutter, and even though I was finished, I didn’t want to intrude. I had a feeling Gaby was in the next stall doing the same thing.

  “Yeah?”

  “I just want to say, that I’m sorry for the way I acted the last time we saw each other. You know, in the grocery store. It was really hateful of me to talk to you like that when you were going through a tough time, and I feel really bad about it. So … I’m sorry, and I’m glad everything is good with you and Cal.”

  I was dying to know what the hell Melody was talking about. Shelly hadn’t mentioned anything about a confrontation with her.

  “Thanks, I appreciate that,” Shelly responded. I’m sure she realized it took a lot of guts for Melody to apologize to her like that. Figuring it was safe to come out, I flushed the toilet and pulled down my dress.

  Melody’s eyes went round when she saw me walk out, but I just said, “Hi, Melody,” and walked past her to wash my hands. I chuckled when she scurried into the stall I’d just vacated, then turned to Shelly and mouthed, “What was that about?”

  “Later,” Shelly mouthed back.

  Gaby came out of her stall a minute later, and they ushered me out in the hall, presumably to give me the third degree without Melody hearing.

  “Did you just sneak away from dinner to have sex with TJ … in public?” Gaby asked in a loud whisper.

  I just looked at her and winked, then turned to lead them back to the party. I laughed when I heard Shelly whisper just as loudly to Gaby, “I want to be her when I grow up.” By the time we reached the deck, we were all laughing, and my stomach fluttered when TJ caught my eye and gave me a knowing grin. I leaned in to give him a soft kiss on the lips before taking my seat.

  Thrilled to see my dirty martini was waiting for me, I took a sip and turned to look at Shelly when she cleared her throat. “Well, before the waiter comes back for our order, I want to say I’m so excited we could all get together tonight. It seems like it’s been too long. As you know, Cal is thinking of opening a shop with TJ, and Scott … and maybe Sasha.” She looked at me and grinned. I smiled back, then checked to make sure TJ was alright. He was sitting back, smiling at Shelly as she spoke, so I hoped he was good. “But,” Shelly continued, “that’s not the only reason we wanted to celebrate with you all tonight.” She turned to Cal, who was beaming at her, then stated, “We’re pregnant!”

  Happiness rushed through me, and everyone started talking at once. Scott got up to give Cal a hug, and I jumped up to go grab Shelly. Gaby and I reached her at the same time and we all squealed together.

  “Oh my gosh, this is so wonderful,” Gaby gushed, her eyes filling with tears.

  “I’m so happy for you,” I said, somewhat misty myself.

  “I can’t believe it,” Shelly said. “I’m going to be a mommy,” which made all of us really start crying.

  I broke from Shelly to go pull Cal into a bear hug.

  “Congratulations, Papa,” I sniffled into his shirt.

  “Thanks, Sash,” Cal responded happily. “We were totally surprised, but couldn’t be happier.”

  We all milled around, hugging, crying, and enjoying this joyous occasion, when the we noticed the waiter standing off to the side waiting to take our dinner order.

  “Sorry,” Cal said when the waiter caught his eye. “Does everyone know what they want to eat?”

  We all got the hint and found out way back to our chairs so that we could order our food.

  Once the waiter left to put in our orders, I relaxed into my chair, sipping on my martini and listening to my friends’ conversations.

  “So, how did your date go last night?” TJ was asking Brock and Gaby.

  They looked at each other and Gaby giggled before turning back to TJ and saying, “It was really good … although Brock might think differently.”

  Brock placed his hand over hers on the table and said, “I already told you, I had a great time.”

  “What happened?” I asked, intrigued.

  “Well,” Gaby began, “Brock showed up at my house to pick me up for dinner as planned. He even brought me flowers.”

  “She made me cupcakes,” Brock added, causing TJ to turn to me and say, “You all know the way to a man’s heart, don’t you,” referring to me bringing him cupcakes on his first night at my place.

  “But … we never made it to the restaurant,” Gaby said, drawing out her story. Gaby always did have a flair for the dramatic.

  “Why not?” I asked, indulging her.

  “Because my mom called from work and said that Gwen had missed her ride after play practice and was stuck at the school. She asked me to go and get her.” Gwen was Gaby’s younger sister; she was still in high school. “Brock was totally understanding, and we went to pick up Gwen. We ended up taking her out for burgers and then a movie. So, the night didn’t turn out quite as planned, but it was still a lot of fun.”

  “Gwen’s a good kid, we had a good time,” Brock replied sweetly. I liked him more and more every time I saw him. I looked around the table and saw that everyone was looking at him with approval. Well, everyone except for Scott. Scott looked like he wanted to stab Brock in the face with his dinner knife. Brock either didn’t notice, or didn’t care.

  “It was really sweet of you,” Gaby said, and I nodded in agreement.

  Brock smiled down at her, obviously smitten, then turned to TJ, as if he’d just remembered something.

  “Oh, TJ, I forgot to mention this before, one of my clients has a nice little one-bedroom, furnished place over his garage. His son used to live there, but has moved, and my client is out of town a lot, so he was thinking about renting it out. To have someone on the property. H
e said if I had someone I could trust, that he’d be willing to give him a deal on the rent. It would be month to month, but it’s a good little place,” Brock said as he laced his fingers with Gaby’s.

  “That sounds great, thanks,” TJ responded. “I’d love to check it out. Everything I’ve looked at within my price range has been in shitty locations.”

  My stomach clenched and the joy I’d been feeling suddenly left me at the thought of TJ moving out. We only had another week left before he said he’d be gone, but I couldn’t deny the fact that I was hoping he’d have to stay longer. In such a short amount of time I’d begun to look forward to coming home to him at the end of each day, and the thought of coming home to an empty house was no longer as appealing as it had been. Plus, I wasn’t ready for our new relationship to end. I enjoyed being with him, not just sexually, although there was no doubt that the sex was fantastic, but my favorite part of the day was laying in bed with him and talking.

  Shit. I chewed my bottom lip as I realized the direction my thoughts and feelings were heading. Will I be able to go back to being just friends with TJ once this last week is over?

  I was startled out of my thoughts when TJ said gruffly in my ear, “I can’t wait to chew on that later.” I scraped my teeth across my lips one more time, then licked it slowly with my tongue, smiling when I heard TJ’s sharp intake of breath.

  I was going to have to make sure I soaked up every last moment I had with TJ, before our time was over.

  Chapter 19 – TJ

  I laid quietly in Sasha’s bed, my eyes roving over her sleeping form. She was laying on her stomach, with the sheet covering her from the waist down, leaving the top half of her body bare. Her creamy skin was on full display, causing my fingers to tingle and my lips to ache, but I contained those urges, allowing only my eyes to caress her body. Her hair was strewn about, half covering her face, so I could only see her full and pretty lips.

  I looked over at the clock and decided that I was going to have to wake her up. We were quickly running out of time, and I wanted to do something fun today. Just the two of us.

  I eased up onto my knees, throwing one over the side, so I was straddling Sasha. I didn’t want to crush her, so I hovered slightly over her, bearing the weight on my shins. I ran my hands lightly up her back, stopping at her shoulders, then slowly began kneading her back. She shifted slightly, then grunted, alerting me to the fact that my plan was working. I continued to massage her neck and shoulders, moving down her back, rubbing and adding pressure when I felt knots. When Sasha moaned loudly, I knew she was awake. I stilled my hands and leaned down to kiss her on the back. “Good morning.”

  “Don’t stop,” was her answer.

  I chuckled softly and continued her massage. “You don’t have to work today, right?”

  “No, I’m off,” she grunted in reply.

  “I’m off too. Let’s do something fun. If you could go anywhere, where would you want to go?”

  “Water,” she mumbled.

  I knew that. Sasha loved the water. Ocean, lake, river, creek, pool … It didn’t matter. Sasha loved being around the water, and swam like a fish.

  “Okay, where do you want to go today? Lake or ocean?”

  She lifted her head a bit and peered at me through a layer of hair. “The ocean’s two hours away.”

  “So?” I asked, raising my eyebrow in challenge.

  She squealed and bucked, so I moved to the side and almost fell off the bed when she threw herself into my arms. I didn’t get the chance to hug her back, because in a flash she was off the bed and running to her dresser. “Just give me five minutes to get my bathing suit and get dressed.”

  I laughed at her exuberance and pleasure filled me. I was happy I’d brought it up; seeing Sasha so excited made me eager to continue to please her. I loved seeing her so carefree.

  Within ten minutes we were packed, loaded in the car, and headed to the ocean. Within twenty, we were leaving Dunkin’ Donuts, coffee and breakfast in hand.

  “This was a great idea,” Sasha turned her head toward me and said with a grin. She turned up the radio when Staind came on, and I knew she did it because I loved them. There was something to be said about hanging out and traveling with someone who knew you so well. It seemed like the last two weeks had been too easy. Even when things were hard, or one of us was having a bad day, we hadn’t freaked out on each other or gotten all sensitive about things. We knew how to relate and react to each other. It was like we were on the same wavelength. It was actually kind of freaky, but really nice at the same time. I’d never had a sexual relationship that was … more.

  I reached my hand out to take hers as I sang along to the lyrics. The weather was perfect, the company was even better; add in a great song on the radio, and you had the makings of a great road trip.

  Sasha dozed during the last half of the trip, but I was content to drive and sing along to the radio. I followed all of the signs to the beach, then followed the road to the spot that our gang had found about four years ago. We came here a few times a year, sometimes all together, sometimes in different groups, and it was the perfect little spot to enjoy the beach. Not a lot of traffic or tourists, and beautiful clear water.

  When I pulled into the parking spot and turned off the Camino, I turned to Sasha and ran my fingers down her arm. “Hey, Red, we’re here.”

  She blinked her eyes open and her face lit up when she saw the ocean view through the windshield. “We’re here!” Sasha shifted toward me and leaned in to kiss me quickly on the lips before scooting backward and exiting the car.

  I got out and walked around back to get the items we’d brought out of the trunk. By the time I walked out onto the sand, Sasha was already running toward the water, her hands outstretched as she yelled out loud. I set up the blanket and stuck an umbrella in the corner by the sand. Sasha loved the water like she was a fish, but her fair skin couldn’t take the sun.

  I put the cooler off to the side and pulled out the sunscreen, then called out to Sasha, “Come here, Red.” I waved the sunscreen at her and she nodded then sprinted back to me, plopping down onto the blanket beside me.

  “Hey.” She leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose.

  “Strip,” I demanded. Her eyes widened and then she laughed as she stood up. She began to pull the spaghetti straps of her dress down slowly, teasing me, as it slowly drifted down her body, revealing the emerald green string bikini that had been hidden beneath it. Like a sexy little present.

  “Come here,” I said huskily, pouring the SPF 80 into my hands. I wasn’t lying when I said she had delicate skin. Sasha laid down on the blanket beside me and I took my time rubbing the lotion all of her exposed skin. By the time I’d finished, I may have made sure some undisclosed parts of her were rubbed down as well, just in case.

  Sasha brought her lips to mine, rubbing her bottom lip seductively against mine, until I opened my mouth to her with a groan. She delved in and deepened the kiss, pushing her lush breasts against my chest, before she broke away and grinned at me wickedly. “C’mon, lover boy, let’s get wet.”

  She was off like a shot. I stood up and quickly tried to rid myself of my T-shirt as I ran off after her down the beach, her laughter drifting to me on the wind. I kicked up my speed and grabbed her by the waist, spinning her and holding her tightly. Her laughter turned to screams as she saw me carrying her toward the water. “No, TJ!”

  I brought my lips to her ear and said, “I thought you wanted to get wet,” and then I ran straight into the waves and dunked us both.

  It was game on after that. We played in the water. Splashing each other, jumping over the surf, and diving under the salty waves. And then we were in each other’s arms, her legs wrapped around my waist as I ran my hands over her wet hair and kissed her everywhere my lips would reach.

  “You hungry?” I asked when I broke away from her succulent mouth to take a breath.

  “Mmmm-hmmmm,” she replied dreamily.

  I kept her
in my arms and walked us back out toward our blanket, the beach still blissfully empty. I didn’t set her down until we reached our destination, then I reached for our bag and handed her a towel. I grabbed on for myself and toweled off quickly, wrapping it around my waist and sitting down. I sat there unmoving, watching as Sasha ran the towel over her body, trying to catch each drip of water and erase it from her skin. She stopped and looked down at me. “What?”

  “Just enjoying the view,” I admitted, then added truthfully, “I’ve never seen you look more beautiful.”

  Sasha’s face lit with pleasure, and I was thrilled to be the person that had put it there.

  She wrapped her towel around herself and joined me on the blanket. “Thank you,” she whispered, bringing her chilled lips to mine.

  I indulged the both of us by deepening the kiss, then laughed when my stomach growled. “How about that food?” Sasha nodded her consent and I reached into the cooler to bring out the sandwiches. I handed one to her before going back in for the bag of celery and carrots for her, and a large bag of Doritos for me. “Water or coke?” I asked her.

  “Water, please.”

  We ate quickly. Well, I ate quickly, then laid back with my hands behind my head and watched Sasha finish her food.

  “You want some music?” Sasha asked. When I said that I did, she pulled out her phone and searched until she found what she was looking for, then set the phone down. When she finished eating, she laid down next to me, ensuring most of her body was shaded by the umbrella. She covered the lower half of her still exposed to the sun with her towel, and I scooted over so she could lay her head on the crook of my arm.