Fools Rush in(56)

On the other hand…oh, damn. There was no getting around it. It hadn’t been perfect.

Of course, the first time can be awkward. I had felt pretty self-conscious…being na**d with someone as magnificent as Joe made me feel rather imperfect myself. At least the lights had been off and we could barely see. Not that I didn’t want to see him, of course.

That wasn’t the only thing, though. I mean, the kissing on the couch had been glorious. But as soon as I had flashed the green light, my body had tensed up. We’d gone into the bedroom, and everything had been fine, but I couldn’t seem to get out of my head and enjoy what Joe was doing to my body and what I was doing to his. I had been just too nervous to really be present. Instead, my brain had narrated the whole thing. “Joe is taking off his shirt. Joe’s neck is very smooth. Joe is a boxers man.”

Well, it was only the first time. If I had just sort of gone through the motions, that was to be expected, perhaps. And Joe hadn’t seemed to notice.

I turned so I could see Joe’s face. Awake, he was the most beautiful man on earth. Asleep, he was an angel. The moon had risen and now cast a white light that turned his skin marble. His eyelashes were so long, his lips full and generous, his cheekbones…everything about him was beautiful. His hair fell across his forehead, and I smoothed it away.

Yes, I reassured myself, things would be perfect between us. This first-time awkwardness would surely pass.

I HAD TO WORK IN THE MORNING, so I crept out of bed, grabbed some clothes and tiptoed to the bathroom. After I showered, I took Digger out, made coffee and peeked in on Joe. He lay on his back, half-covered by the white sheet, looking like an ad for Calvin Klein cologne.

I sat on the edge of the bed and put my hand on his warm chest. He didn’t stir. “Joe?” I said softly. He opened his eyes.

“Oh, hey,” he said huskily, pulling me in for a kiss, making me glad I had just brushed.

“I have to go to work,” I said regretfully, running my hand over his smooth shoulder.

“Okay,” he murmured, closing his eyes again.

Okay? Was that it? As if reading my mind, Joe opened his eyes again,

“See you later?”

“Sure,” I answered. “There’s coffee if you want it.” I kissed him on the cheek and left.

Things were going great, I thought as I drove to work. I hadn’t been overeager, hadn’t tried to pin him down for our next date. The mix-up in nights had actually worked out well, since it seemed as if I wasn’t fixated on Joe, when of course we all knew the truth. But it had fooled him, and I had actually come off looking pretty good.

I think I could now safely say that Joe Carpenter was my boyfriend.

THE CLINIC WAS ALWAYS SLOW on Sundays, and we had only a few patients that day. Jeff, our college-boy temp, greeted me sweetly and then immersed himself in his books, leaving me free to talk on the phone, starting with Curtis, who definitely deserved the first call. After filling him in on the mix-up and subsequent nooky, we giggled happily together like ninth graders.

“So when can we officially meet your new boy toy, princess?”

“I’ll let you know,” I said. “Soon, I hope. Maybe we can have drinks down here.”

“Oooh. Venture into Hetero-Land? Well, now, that could be fun. And we could see your house. What have you done on that lately?”

We chatted a while longer in the comfortable way of old friends, talking about trivial things like the new lantern that Curtis had found at the marine surplus store or the teak desk organizer that I had ordered from Target. Once again, I thanked him profusely for his moral support, undying friendship and wardrobe advice, all of which were of equal import, reminded him that he was due for a tetanus booster and blew kisses into the phone.

After hanging up with Curtis, I wandered into the reception area and chatted up Jeff for a few minutes. He handed me some insurance forms, and I went back to my office to fill them out. That took ten whole minutes. I picked up the phone and called Katie.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Katie, it’s—”

“Michael, get out of that cupboard right now! And don’t whine at me! I am on the phone! Hello?” she demanded in that schizophrenic way mothers of young children have.

“Having a bad day?” I asked.

“Oh, hi, Millie,” she said.

“Want me to call back?” I asked.

“You know, lately they just hate me talking on the phone,” she answered. I could hear the sound of a toy siren in the background, followed by a crash and then a wail. “I don’t want to hear it!” Katie tersely informed…me? No, the boys. “Okay, they’re locked out. How’s it going?”

“Oh, fine,” I said, smiling.

“Do I hear the purr of a satisfied woman?” Katie laughed. Her voice changed. “Stop banging!”

“I hope you’re not talking to me,” I giggled.

“No, you can bang all you like,” she answered. “Listen, you can hear that this really isn’t the best time. Do you want to have that overnight we talked about? I have a couple of days off this week.”

“Sure!” I said. “I’ll tell you all about some recent developments.” We consulted our calendars and made a date.

“Mil, I have to run,” Katie said. “But I can’t wait for our night out. Corey, do not hit the door with that thing! You’re making dents! I’ll call you tomorrow, Millie. Put that down! Bye!”