As the Wicked Watch(52)

Wow! It’s come to this. Breaking my own rule not to wake up with alcohol on the nightstand.

I stripped down to nothing but my skin and dissolved into the cool cotton sheets. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and forced myself from the depths of despair as I struggled against the inevitability of sleep. I thought sleep wouldn’t come easy, but I was wrong. It came so quickly that when the phone rang, just for a second I felt disoriented as I fought against sleep paralysis. I clumsily reached over onto the nightstand for my cell phone. It wasn’t there, but the ringing persisted. It took a moment for me to realize the ring was coming from my house phone on the dresser by the window. Only a handful of people have that number. It truly is my “in case of emergency” line.

I got out of bed and felt my way over to where the ring was coming from, my movement stilted and clumsy. Half present, my brain finally registered that it was probably Bass calling to let me know my parking space was open.

“Mmm . . . hello?” I cleared my throat.

“Hey, Jordie. It’s Bass.”

“Hey, is this about the parking space?”

He laughed uncomfortably. “No, not that. You have a visitor.”

I turned around to look at the clock by the bed. It was after one a.m. “A visitor? Who?” I said, getting my bearings.

I heard a voice in the background say, “Let me talk to her.”

“I’ll let him tell you,” Bass said.

“Hey, babe, it’s Thomas. I’m in the lobby.”

I rubbed my eyes and checked the time again. “What’s wrong? Why are you here?” I asked.

I heard a throat clearing in the background and muffled voices. Why was HE covering up the receiver?

“What are you doing? What’s going on down there?”

“Sorry, I’m back, babe. Listen, I know you had a tough, I mean a really difficult day. Oh, and I heard about the long walk from the roof.”

“Bass told you that,” I said. Why is Bass in my business?

“My buddy’s looking out for me, that’s all,” Thomas said. “And you, too.”

In the background, I heard Bass say, “Uh-uh. I’m Bennett and I ain’t in it!”

I laughed.

“What’re you laughing about?” Thomas asked.

“I’m laughing at you two co-conspirators,” I said.

“Guilty as charged,” Thomas said. “But I would love to come up and see you, and maybe even a foot massage?” he said, his voice rising an octave in a rare display of insecurity for fear I’ll say no from a man who usually displays confidence.

“Please, baby, baby, please,” Bass chimed in, giving his best Spike Lee impersonation while managing to control his laughter.

I’ll deal with you later, Bass.

I sighed heavily, letting go of skepticism and giving myself permission to want to see him. “Okay, fine. Come on up.”

Bass hit the buzzer, and it dawned on me that he was playing coy about Thomas the way I tease him about Sabrina. I could imagine him giving Thomas a thumbs-up with a big smile on his face.

Before I hung up, Bass came back on the line. “Don’t disown me. But you would’ve killed me for sure if I didn’t let you know he was here,” he said.

I laughed. “Yeah, you might be right. Good night, Bass Man.”

What did he expect me to look like at one o’clock in the morning? Vanity kicked in, but there wasn’t time to rifle through my lingerie drawer to find something more in line with how I was suddenly feeling. I don’t know if it was mixing the sake and red wine, or the urge to be transported to another place, to be someone and something else just for a little while, but I had put my Cowboys sweatshirt back on and pulled on a pair of fitted boy shorts before I heard knocking. By the time I reached the door, I’d made up my mind what was going to happen.

“You look beautiful.”

Something seemed different about him. I wanted to say, “This is quite bold of you showing up unannounced,” but the creaminess of his flawless skin set off a chemical reaction, a tingling sensation I felt in the top layer of my skin and fingertips. Clearly, we were on the same page about the rest of the night. I wanted to melt into him and him into me. I didn’t say a word. I just smiled, took his hand, and led him to my bed.

*

I awoke in a red wine/sake fog the next morning, which was regrettable knowing the day that lay ahead. Thomas was still asleep. For a second I had to remind myself that he was still here. Creeping at one o’clock in the morning was nothing new for us, though I’d always had a heads-up before. Last night was the first time he had spent the night. All night. Though I was glad he took the lead, because he was exactly what I needed last night, his surprise visit would have to be addressed. This isn’t the lane we’re living in. This is not a monogamous relationship by any stretch. This is a situation-ship. I don’t want him to stumble upon something one night that he doesn’t want to see and I haven’t shared.

My mind turned to the conversations I would need to have in the newsroom today to get what I’m aiming for—a special assignment designation that will anoint me untouchable for general assignment stories.

I turned away from Thomas to check the calendar and then my emails on my cell phone. I’d been scrolling through for a good three minutes when Thomas said, “Good morning.” I returned my phone to the nightstand and turned to face him.