The morning after my phone call with Prince I was awakened by wet kisses being left on my shoulder blade. "Good morning." Janet whispered into my ear before taking my earlobe into her mouth.
"Morning." I stretched hard, pulling my ear out of her mouth. After glancing at the red numbers on my alarm clock, I realized I'd overslept by two hours. So I jumped out of bed and began scurrying for some clothes to put on so I could start working and hopefully be done in time for my evening with Prince. "Where you going? I thought we'd stay in bed for a while." Janet asked with a seductive voice, patting the bed where I just laid.
"I've got to get to work today. I'm way behind." I finally settled on the robe that hung from the bathroom door, slipping my arms through it, "Come on," I motioned with my head, "I'll put a pot on." I turned and walked out of my bedroom while tying the robe closed, not knowing if Janet followed behind.
The first thing I did every morning was brew a fresh pot of coffee and this day was no exception, even if I did get started two hours later. As soon as I turned the coffee maker on, I felt two hand grab my arm and turn me around. I jumped in fear, not knowing Janet had even made her way down stairs let alone crept up behind me without making a sound. "What's going on with you lately? Why can't I touch you?" Her eyes searched mine, looking for some sort of clues as to my behavior.
I let out an exasperated sigh, "I didn't know you were down here so it made me jump when you grabbed me. Damn you're a little dramatic this morning."
She rolled her eyes as her face reddened from anger. "That's not what I mean Viv. I'm talking about last night and this morning. Why won't you let me be intimate you?"
"Look, I've got a lot going on right now. I'm just stressed." I reached my hand out, caressing hers before intertwining our fingers. I tightened my grip signifying a plea for her to accept what I was telling her and end the discussion.
She reluctantly nodded her head in acceptance as the red porcelain cup holding her hot coffee hit her lips. Her green eyes continued to peer at me over her cup as she took a sip before bringing it back down, never wavering her gaze. She knew there was more to the story then what I was telling her and I could see deep suspicion building in her eyes. As hard as I tried to hold my will, her knowing stare minimized me to rubble. So I caved, unlocking our eyes then grabbing my coffee and a banana. I walked into the study, which also doubled as my home office to get started on work and to also avoid any questions that were undoubtedly on the tip of her tongue.
The flame being kept alive by guilt was steadily increasing within my stomach, making my anxiety about the whole situation reach my throat. My only solution to make that feeling go away was to focus on the task at hand. So my fingers busily hit the keys on the keyboard to my computer. The house was eerily quiet, except for my fingers clicking against the white plastic squares. Usually, Janet would have the TV blaring and she would be parked in front of it watching some mind numbing talk show, but not this morning. That quietness that settled within the walls of my house just exasperated my unease.
Minutes after I sat down to work, Janet's figure appeared in the doorway of my office. She leaned against the door jam, waiting for me to give her the attention she sought. I ignored her, hoping she'd just say what she wanted to say instead of picking at the chipped nail polish on her nails. After a minute of being ignored, Janet cleared her throat.
"What's up J?" I asked, never taking my eyes off of the computer screen in hopes she wouldn't bring up last night's phone call or any other suspicions I knew she had.
"I'm gonna take off."
"Oh ok." I tried not to let the relief show through my face. "So what are you gonna do today?" I asked, hoping she'd have plans for later this evening that didn't involve coming to my house since I was going to be with Prince.
She shrugged, "I don't know."
It was then that I remembered I'd circled potential jobs for her in the newspaper a few days earlier. So I leaned over to where I kept my mail and lifted out the folded piece of paper then handed it to her. "Here, I found some jobs you might like in the newspaper, I don't know if you maybe want to check them out."
"I don't have any gas, actually, I was gonna ask you about that $50 you said I could borrow."
"Oh yeah, I forgot." I got up and walked to the living room where I kept my purse. That's where I noticed Janet's bags packed and sitting by the door. Usually when she packed her bags, she wasn't going to be back at my house for a few days.
When I turned around to walk back after getting the money, she was standing right behind me, making me jump for the second time that morning. "Oh, you scared me. Here...here's $100, why don't you use the rest for gas and whatever else you need?" I smiled at her.
"Thanks, Viv." She paused, staring at the c-note she had in her tight grasp. "Are you sure everything's alright?"
"Yeah, everything fine. I'm just stressed out. But don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
"Ok. Well I'm gonna head out. I probably won't be back for a few days."
"Ok, no problem. See you later."
She looked at me, waiting for me to continue, waiting for me to say those three little words I haven't felt for a while. When I didn't say anything, she rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Ok, well bye then."
I watched her walk to her car before closing the door and heading back to the office. Once I got my stride, I sat clicking the keys on the keyboard for hours. That's usually how I worked, hours on end with no food or breaks. I would just work until I was done.
After a long day of faxes, phone calls and report typing, I was finally finished by 7:30. So it was a relief to be able to get up and stretch my body that had been stuck in a chair the whole day.
It was also a relief to know that Janet was out of my hair for at least the next couple of days. As guilty as I felt when she laid her eyes on me that morning, it quickly dissolved when I thought of my evening with Prince and what he had planned for us.
After getting mostly ready, I stood at my closet and stared inside for a long time trying to figure out what to wear. I wasn't too sure what Prince had planned for us so I just put on a flowing knee length summer dress. After I put the finishing touches on my look, I headed downstairs to wait for him to show up.
"You need to lock your doors." He leaned against the island in my kitchen, right next to the stairs that I was walking down.
Although I was surprised to hear his voice, that deep tone made me smile from ear to ear. "Yeah, it's a bad habit I have. You're early." I stepped up to him, not knowing how we should greet each other. So I decided to play it safe and stretched out my arm to give him a side hug. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to contain his laughter. "So you're just gonna give me one of those?"
I started laughing as my face heated up from embarrassment. "I don't really know how this works, so I decided to play it safe."
"Well, what was your first instinct when you saw me?"
"Hmm... to kiss you." My eyes were drawn down to his pink lips when he licked them just enough to cause a shimmer.
"Then do it."
I took a step closer to him and brought my face close to his. My eyes closed right before our lips connected. The peck I intended to give him quickly escalated when his tongue grazed my bottom lip, hoping to make entry. I yielded and soon we were making out against my kitchen island.
He pulled away, breathless, "Let's save all this for later. I don't want to ruin the night I have planned by fucking you right here in your kitchen."
"Uh, ok." I couldn't really see how him fucking me in my kitchen would ruin the evening, but I agreed to save it for later.
"Plus, I brought dinner." He walked over to the other side of the kitchen where he had two to-go boxes sitting on the counter. "It's spinach and sun dried tomato pasta."
I made my way over to him and looked through the clear plastic top. "Mmm, looks good. You made it?" I asked, knowing there was no way he made it.
He laughed, "No, my chef did though. Let's eat, I'm starving."
We sat and ate the delicious pasta dish before heading out the door and to his car. "So where are we going?" I asked as he gunned it away from my house.
"Just for a drive." My eyes gazed out into the darkness ahead. The frequency of the passing cars dwindled until we were the only ones driving down this lonely country road.
Although I was viewing these street signs and little roadside farms for the first time, Prince seemed to know exactly where we were going. Our car ride soon ended down a gravel path just wide enough for his car to drive down.
He followed the path until it ended in a little clearing surrounded by humongous pine trees. "Here we are." Prince said, a smile laced across his face.
He got out of the car and ran around to open the passenger door before I did. "What is this place?" I asked as I looked up at the imposing trees that towered over us while stepping out of the car.
"Oh, this is just one of my spots. When I was younger and got my first car, I used to love to drive around. I found this spot on one of my drives and I've been coming here ever since." He said, going to the trunk and pulling a blanket out then tucking it under his arm.
"It's...dark." I said, as trepidation started to consume me.
"Yeah, that usually happens after the sun goes down." He laughed for a few seconds before realizing that I wasn't as amused as him. "Ok, well come on." My trembling hand fell into his as he led me down the darkened path to the center of the clearing.
The sounds coming from the trees in the distance made me squeeze tightly onto his hand. "You scared?"
"A little. I hate the noises coming from the forest at night."
"Well, you're safe here." He stopped and laid the blanket down. "Go ahead and lay down."
His body laid down close to mine as we listened to the tall grass sway in the cool summer breeze. Once my eyes fixed on the stars above, I felt a sense of comfort. The clearing really was a nice, relaxing place once I could get my mind off of the random forest noises.
"Isn't this peaceful?" He asked, as we looked up at the starry night together.
"Yes. It's really nice."
"Yeah, this is the spot I go to when I want to be all alone. Sometimes everything can get so overwhelming."
I turned onto my side and stared at the side of his face until his eyes traveled from the stars above to meet mine. "Do you like being Prince? I mean like the famous Prince."
He was silent for a while, thinking about his answer, "Yes and no. I've wanted to make music for a living ever since I could remember. When I was younger, of course, I wanted to be rich and famous. But it's not all it's cracked up to be."
"I could imagine it would be a hard life."
His gaze left mine and fell onto my dress as he seemingly put all of his focus into the strap that had been misplaced. "Yeah, people think just because I have money and cars and whatever else that life's easy. It's actually kinda lonely."
"Well, do you talk to your family or anybody that knew you before? Someone that doesn't just want to be around you for your money or because you're famous?"
He started laughing, mostly to himself, then rolled back onto his back and looked up at the twinkling sky above once more, "My family was the first ones asking for money and everything else once I made it. Nobody cared to talk to me or ask me how I was doing, I think they just assumed I was good since I was rich and famous."
I scooted closer to him and rested my hand on his upper arm that lay beside him. "Well, why don't you talk to them, maybe let them know how you feel?"
"No, they don't care." He scoffed. "Like my dad, he always used to tell me I wasn't half as good as him and I would never make it. Then once I made it, he was real proud of me then. Trying to be the doting father and shit." He shook his head and sighed, "I don't know... whatever."
I could tell he didn't want to talk about it anymore, so I didn't press on.
"Oh. Well, I don't know if it means anything, but you can always talk to me. And I don't need any money from you. Well, except for my paycheck."
We chuckled together for a little while until he shot up quickly. "Oh, I'll be right back. I forgot something in the car."
He left me in the middle of this clearing with animal sounds making their way towards me. I sat up, trying to get a visual of him as he disappeared into the darkness.
"Prince?" I called out to him.
"I'm right here, don't worry." His voice sounded closer than I thought he was. I heard his trunk close before his footsteps soon returned in earshot of me.
When he was close enough, I looked up to see him smiling with two champagne glasses in his hand. "I brought some champagne."
"Oh, wow, that's really sweet of you." I reached out and held the two glasses as he poured the champagne into the flutes. "So, what's the occasion?"
"Uh..." He scrambled to find an occasion, "To sexy summer dresses." He laughed, looking down at my exposed cleavage.
"Cheers." We said simultaneously, hitting our glasses together.