I played with your heart
Got lost in the game
Oh baby baby….
Annie had been blasting old school Britney Spears from the living room with Emma-Claire a few days later. It had happened two evenings in a row now, starting when Annie had put on her iPod while she was doing the dishes. Emma-Claire had stayed in the kitchen and watched as Annie began to playfully dance around while emptying the dishwasher. Watching her every move, Emma-Claire began to copy her and soon Annie was spinning Emma-Claire around in a circle. Emma-Claire had no idea what the song was and Annie assumed she was too young to know Britney Spears’ music anyway, but it was certainly fun watching the little girl jump from couch to couch and at one point stand up on the coffee table with a fake microphone. It wasn’t surprising. Her mother had been in show business and then there was JC who’d been in the most popular boy band in the world at one time.
On this particular night, Annie felt more giddy than before because tomorrow Doug would be arriving and JC had given her permission to get off work early on Friday and pick him up. She hadn’t planned much for his visit, figuring it would work itself out, but she’d also promised Megan that she’d see her cousin at least for brunch on Saturday. Tomorrow she would take Emma-Claire to a junior ballet class before noon, pick her up, eat lunch, and JC promised he’d be home before the child woke from her nap. She had ignored those feelings when she’d seen him earlier that week. Those feelings that brought her back to the park and oddly enough, that night that was weeks ago now when he’d nearly cornered her in the hallway. Instead, she replaced them with thoughts of Doug and reminded herself that everyone’s first time together never ended in fireworks. In fact, if Annie were honest with herself, she much preferred foreplay than sex. She’d never been with anyone who made her toes curl. But it didn’t matter because she and Doug were good at the other stuff and they’d eventually make it work.
She laughed as Emma-Claire bounced onto the couch again and put her hand in the air, then tried to twist in a circle as she spun off. Annie grabbed her little hands and began to dance around the room. The music was so loud that she didn’t hear the garage door open from the kitchen and in a minute they’d spun right into JC, who was laughing at the entrance to living room.
“Oh my god!” Annie couldn’t help but shriek from fright and embarrassment at what he’d seen.
“You’ve got moves,” he winked at Annie and went over to the stereo system to turn down the volume. “And you’ve got good genes.” He looked down at Emma-Claire, picking her up in his arms.
“I’m not wearing jeans, Daddy,” Emma-Claire told him with a straight face. “Shorts. See?” she pulled on the purple denim fabric.
“Right. Never mind,” JC kissed her cheek and put her down. “So, Britney huh? And not just Britney, old school Britney.”
“Well, I figured she should be introduced to the music I used to listen to,” Annie was still red in the face. Just how much had he seen? Not that it was a huge deal. It wasn’t as though she was doing anything provocative or even being serious about her lack of dancing skills. But being that free and loose and goofy in front of her boss made her suddenly feel vulnerable.
JC couldn’t help but laugh at that. He’d seen her dancing like she was a child all over again and before he’d interrupted she hadn’t seemed to have a care in the world about how she looked. He could tell she was embarrassed but couldn’t let it go.
“Nice. You’ll have to teach me your moves sometime,” he smirked at her.
“Shut up,” she rolled her eyes and looked at Emma-Claire. “Ok, time for your bath, girl.”
“I’ll give it to her,” JC offered, picking his daughter up once more. “You’ve got a big day tomorrow, right?” He was trying to be the bigger person here. He knew what tomorrow was and he knew that all week he’d been struggling with jealousy knowing that Annie would be with her boyfriend in the pool house most of the weekend. He’d even been generous enough to let her have Friday evening and Sunday morning off. But it still made his insides churn and he’d finally confessed to Jimmy what he’d been feeling.
“I’ll set you up with someone,” Jimmy had proposed.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll get over her,” JC hadn’t wasted time in responding.
Jimmy grabbed him by the shoulders and looked right into his friend’s eyes. “No, I’m going to set you up. You practically live with the girl you’re fantasizing about and-“
“I am not fantasizing!” JC lied. He’d definitely had visions of him and Annie in some precarious situations as of late. It was only getting worse and he wished he could shake it.
“Ok, fine, but I’m setting you up,” Jimmy replied.
“Yeah, I guess,” Annie shook JC from the flashback he’d had to earlier that day.
“You got any big plans with him?” he asked her, as she turned off the iPod and unplugged it from the speakers. Besides the obvious, he’d wanted to add but held his tongue.
“Um, not really. We’re meeting up with my friend Megan on Saturday for brunch,” Annie leaned against the wall as JC stood by the stairs, holding Emma-Claire. She loved watching his interactions with her now and he was even more attractive to her than he’d been before. She quickly transferred her thoughts to Doug and cleared her throat. “Megan likes this place around the corner called Dimitri’s so we’ll probably go there. Then I might take him to the Santa Monica pier.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a few good ideas,” JC nodded. She seemed nervous for some reason and he figured it was from his sneaking up on her. “Hey, don’t be embarrassed about tonight, okay? I’m glad you were dancing with my kid.”
Annie rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I wasn’t embarrassed,” she lied.
“You’re a good actress, too,” JC mused, then looked at Emma-Claire. “Tell Annie goodnight.”
Emma-Claire crawled out of JC’s arms and ran to Annie, hugging her around her legs. “Night, Annie. I love you.”
“How much?” Annie bent down and looked at her in the eyes. They’d recently read the book I Love You to the Moon and Back and it had been their way of saying goodnight to each other for the last few evenings.
“To the moon and back!” Emma-Claire giggled and kissed Annie’s cheek.
JC collected Emma-Claire once more, said goodnight to Annie, and headed up the stairs. Annie turned off the light in the kitchen before she went back to the pool house, suddenly not feeling as giddy as she’d been before JC had walked in on her and Emma-Claire dancing. Lately that week, she’d felt her heart and her stomach switch places whenever he’d walk into a room. She’d seen the glances he’d given her, the smiles he gave when he didn’t think she was looking, and there were several times that he’d say something to her that made her giggle with laughter when normally it wouldn’t have been nearly as funny. This was dumb. She hated being so “girly” around cute men and JC was most definitely cute. Doug was cute but in a different way. There had been several times when Annie had wanted to call her sister and ask her advice but when she remembered what she would be asking about, she immediately declined because her sister wouldn’t care about Doug. Maggie would tell her without hesitation to keep this little crush of hers with JC and see what happened. Annie was the more realistic one and knew there would be nothing on his end, even if he were stealing glances at her. She was enjoying being JC’s friend and getting to know him but above all else, he was her boss. That alone was reason enough to snap her back to reality and start to prepare her for seeing her boyfriend tomorrow.
“Did you have fun today with Annie?” JC asked Emma-Claire as he finished bathing her in the tub. He squeezed out the washcloth and hung it over the faucet. Emma-Claire stood up as the water began to swirl into the drain and JC grabbed her towel, wrapping her in it. He picked her up and placed her on the floor in front of the bathroom mirror.
“Yeah. We played five games of Candyland!” Emma-Claire exclaimed and held up five fingers to show her father. “And then we had macaroni and cheese and green beans for dinner and then we danced. Oh and Daddy I get to go to dance tomorrow!”
“I know,” JC grinned at her, as he began to brush out her wet hair. He grabbed her hair dryer from underneath the sink and turned it on low. Annie had given him a small lesson on drying her hair because at one point he’d turned it on much too high and it had made Emma-Claire cry from how hot the heat had been on her scalp. Now he felt like an expert at her bedtime. It was the little things that made him proud of himself for knowing what to do with this child who had showed up on his doorstep a mere three weeks ago. “You’ll have to show me what you learned in dance class tomorrow night. Remember, Annie’s friend is coming into town so I get to have you all to myself.”
“Annie’s friend Doug?” Emma-Claire looked at her father through the mirror.
“Uh huh,” JC turned the hair dryer off and brushed her hair back from her face. He took the toothbrush from the medicine cabinet and Emma-Claire squeezed the pink Disney Princess toothpaste onto it.
“Are they gonna get married?” Emma-Claire asked, as JC began to brush her teeth.
“I don’t know. I think they’re just really good friends right now,” JC didn’t want to think about that. “Open wider, babe. I need to get to your back teeth.”
Emma-Claire opened her mouth as wide as she could and JC gently brushed the back of her mouth. She spit into the sink, took a gulp of water, then jumped down from the step stool she’d been standing on and followed JC into her bedroom.
“What book?” he asked her, kneeling in front of the small bookcase. “You want I Love You to the Moon and Back?”
Emma-Claire vehemently shook her head. “No. That’s me and Annie’s book.”
JC winced. He didn’t want to admit that a four-year-old had hurt his feelings. “Oh. Okay. Um. Well, what about a book for Daddy and you?”
Emma-Claire looked thoughtful for a moment then said, “Cinderella.”
“Why that one?” he took out the book of fairy tales and walked over to her bed.
“Cause I watched it when I first got here,” she told him in a matter-of-fact tone. “Remember?”
Emma-Claire had a great memory of that first week with JC. It had been a blur for him and she’d continually bring up things from those first few days that she was sure her father had remembered her doing. But JC had been in a crisis mode and hadn’t really paid much attention until long after Emma-Claire had moved in.
“Um, sure,” JC didn’t want to disappoint her and so he pretended to remember what she had been talking about. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. She rested her head on his shoulder and JC began to read her the story that she’d deemed the story for her and her father. When he finished, he closed the book and leaned down to kiss her goodnight.
“I love you, Daddy,” she whispered and rolled over to her side.
“I love you, too, baby,” JC kissed her once more and Emma-Claire clutched onto the picture of her mother like she’d done every single night since she’d been with him. He pulled the covers over her and then walked out of the room, cracking the door as he left. Walking back downstairs he plopped down on the couch and turned on the television, chuckling to himself that it wasn’t even nine o’clock and he was already in for the night. Times had certainly changed.
His phone began to buzz and JC grabbed it from his pocket, smiling when he saw it was his mother.
“Did I already miss telling my granddaughter goodnight?” Karen asked, as JC lay back on the couch.
“Unfortunately. I just tucked her in,” he replied. “You want me to go wake her?”
“Heavens no, you’ll never get her to sleep again!” Karen chuckled. “So, how’s it going?”
“Really well. Annie’s been a great help around here. Emma-Claire really likes her.”
“I’m so glad you’re finally coming around to her, JC. I knew once you let go of your pride and let everything settle you’d see what a precious little girl she is.”
“Yeah. It was all Annie. She was the one who pretty much told me off and got me to see how awesome it was to have a kid.”
Karen detected a note of affection in his voice when he’d mentioned Annie’s name. She didn’t say anything, only continued to talk to her son as though she’d heard nothing. She could always tell when he was starting to find interest in the opposite sex. She’d seen it with all of his serious girlfriends. And although she’d worried about him with all of those flings he seemed to have, she knew he’d eventually find someone that he wanted to be with for longer than a few months. Karen had taken to Annie in the few days they’d spent together and it had crossed her mind once or twice that perhaps JC might find her attractive. She hadn’t said anything. He’d come to find it on his own if, in fact, that was what she’d heard in his voice. But it delighted her to know that he was at least getting along with his daughter and her nanny and there wasn’t that tension that had been there in the previous weeks.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Karen told him. “Now, when are you all coming out to see the grandparents?”
“Oh, geez, Mom, I have no idea. I’m really busy with the group and Emma-Claire loves her preschool and she starts dance tomorrow. Maybe on a weekend in the spring or something,” JC felt bad for making his mother wait that long. Just in the three weeks that she’d been gone, Emma-Claire had become a different child or at least had been more of herself than before. He wanted his parents to know the child he knew and he wanted his child to meet her grandfather and aunts and uncle.
“Well, maybe your dad and I can get out there first,” she suggested. “I don’t know if I can wait much longer to see her.”
“That would be great,” JC answered. “I know Emma-Claire would love that.”
Karen smiled through the phone. “Perfect. I’ll talk to your dad and see when we can make that happen. Tell her we love her and I’ll try to call over the weekend and talk to her. And tell Annie I said thank-you.”
“For?”
“For finally making you see the light!”
“Yeah,” he answered. “She really has.”
Karen bit her lip and heard his voice change once more at the mention of her name. She knew her son and she knew he was more stubborn than most and that if he did have something for Annie, then he’d possibly talk himself out of it until it was too late or he’d jump on it immediately. She was praying for the latter.
“I’ll talk to you later, honey,” Karen finally said. “Goodnight.”
“Night, Mom.”
Karen hung up and looked over at her husband who was still up in bed reading, even though it was nearing midnight. “I think our son might be falling in love with his nanny.”
Roy snorted. “Now don’t get carried away. You know how he is when it comes to women and I certainly don’t want him getting involved with a woman that he’s employed to take care of our granddaughter.”
Karen sighed and shook her head. “No, I don’t either,” she turned off the lamp next to her bed. “But I also know she’d be perfect for him if he’d be willing to actually stay in a relationship.”
“I’ve been waiting for this day since Sunday,” Doug whispered in Annie’s ear after they’d made love. “You’re so amazing, baby.”
Annie smiled and gently dragged her nails up and down his chest. This time had been a little better than their first, but she still felt as though he had gotten more pleasure from it than she had. It didn’t matter. Here they were curled up in her bed and locked away from the outside world. Dinner had been at a hole in the wall Italian place near the beach and they’d both been so anxious to get back to Annie’s that they’d scarfed down a pizza and wine and now Annie was hungry again.
“Me too,” she said, kissing his arm that was draped around her front. “I thought about you all week.”
Doug turned on his side and pulled her to him. “What did you think about?”
“This,” she grinned at him and leaned in for a lingering kiss.
“Yeah? Was it this good?” he mumbled against her lips.
Annie tried not to show her disappointment. Clearly it really had been better for him. “Uh huh,” she answered, glad that his eyes were still closed and he couldn’t see the uncertainty written all over her face.
“Let’s not leave your apartment all weekend,” Doug pulled her on top of him. “Let’s just be like this okay?”
Annie giggled. “You know we’re meeting up with Megan tomorrow.”
“Fine. Then after that, we’ll come back here,” his hands rested on her backside and he gazed into her eyes. “I want you so bad, Annie.”
She looked down at him and grinned, leaning in so that his lips met hers. “I want you, too.”
“Please me, baby,” he grunted, his hand gently pushing her down towards his pelvis.
Annie tried to suppress her disappointment. He’d barely given her anything a few minutes ago. But she’d chalked it up to the fact that he was tired and jet lagged and tomorrow she’d get her turn. Forgetting her frustration, she forced a grin and began to kiss her way down his body.
“We’re going out to breakfast,” JC announced to Emma-Claire the next morning. He didn’t tell her it was because he didn’t feel like making pancakes, no matter how easy they seemed. He also didn’t tell her that it was because there was a possibility that he could spy on Annie and Doug at Dimitri’s. Partly because he didn’t want to admit to himself that that’s what he was doing.
“Really?” Emma-Claire asked. “Where are we gonna go?” She was grabbing onto his hands and climbing up his legs with her little feet. JC flipped her over and she giggled with delight. He’d decided it was fun being a human jungle gym for his daughter.
“Oh, I don’t know. It’ll be a surprise,” he winked at her. “Let’s go get dressed.”
A half hour later they were both in JC’s Mercedes convertible and JC had put the top down especially for Emma-Claire. The temperature was a warm and balmy 75 degrees, perfect for a January day in California. JC had to admit that he felt a little guilty for what he was doing. Spying on a girl that he knew was with another man and possibly seeing things he didn’t want to see, but he had to eat, Emma-Claire had to eat, and Dimitri’s was pretty close to the house anyway. He saw Annie’s car in a parking spot down from the restaurant and parked across the street. Emma-Claire was already bounding across the street, her hand in her father’s, excited to be going out for a meal, especially at breakfast. Upon entering the restaurant, JC looked over and immediately spotted Annie, Doug, and Megan. Annie was sitting next to Doug, his arm draped around her shoulder and her hand on his thigh. They were laughing heartily about something Megan had said to them and occasionally, Doug would lean over and peck Annie’s cheek. JC pretended not to notice them and waited for the hostess to come to the hostess stand and seat him and Emma-Claire.
“Daddy, look! It’s Annie!” Emma-Claire pointed and before JC could stop her, she’d run over to the threesome’s table. “Hi Annie!”
Annie looked up from her scrambled eggs and did a double take at Emma-Claire standing in front of her. She looked over to see JC guiltily waving, coming to retrieve her.
“Hi! What are you guys doing here?” Annie held her arms out to Emma-Claire, who ran into them and jumped in Annie’s lap.
“Didn’t feel like cooking,” JC shrugged. He looked at Megan and then at Doug. “Hi, guys. I’m JC. Sorry for interrupting your breakfast.”
“No problem. I’m Doug,” Doug stood to his feet and gave JC a firm handshake. JC eyed him and the jealousy he felt only grew. He managed to give a tight smile, then turned to Megan.
“And you must be Megan,” he stretched out his hand and Megan shook it, smiling at him.
“Ok, I know I am going to sound like a complete idiot but I went to about four of your concerts in 2001!” Megan blurted and Annie rolled her eyes at her friend.
“Really, Megan?” she scoffed and caught JC’s eye. “So, you didn’t feel like cooking? Even though I gave you a lesson last weekend?” Her eyes were dancing and he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I know, I know,” he grinned. “I’m a lazy ass.”
Annie looked down at Emma-Claire. “So, what else are you and Daddy doing today?”
“Daddy says we’re gonna go to the park and then we might get ice cream,” Emma-Claire began to play with one of Annie’s curls. “When are you coming back home, Annie?”
“I get to play with you tomorrow night,” Annie promised her. “But remember my friend is in town so I’m playing with him right now.”
“Oh is that what you’re calling it?” Megan taunted Annie. She looked over at Doug. “Bet all that playtime’s gonna make you really tired, huh?”
“I don’t care,” Doug squeezed Annie’s shoulder. “She can tire me out all she wants.”
Annie was blushing, especially because JC seemed to be hanging onto every word of the conversation.
“Okay, drop it!” she looked from Megan to Doug, then back at JC. “I hope you guys have fun today. And thanks again for giving me off tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Doug looked up at JC and smiled. “Don’t know if I’ll be able to move after tonight but-“
“Oh my god, shut up!” Annie groaned, and buried her face in her hands.
“No problem,” JC ignored Doug’s comment and looked at Emma-Claire. “Come on, honey. Let’s go get breakfast.”
Emma-Claire kissed Annie’s cheek before hopping off of her lap and running to her father. JC said goodbye once more and he and Emma-Claire were seated at a booth on the other side of the restaurant. He could only catch a small glimpse of Annie from where they were sitting and he realized that was fine with him. After hearing the suggestive conversation, he wished he’d never decided to come to Dimitri’s in the first place. It served him right. He should’ve thought twice before deciding to spy on Annie and her boyfriend. He was thankful that Jimmy was setting him up with someone because the desire he had for his nanny was only getting stronger.
Annie crawled out of bed later that night and walked down the steps from the loft to the kitchen. She and Doug had had sex once that evening after spending most of the day at the Santa Monica Pier and then going for dinner at a seafood restaurant nearby. The sex had been great for Doug, but mediocre for Annie. He hadn’t seemed to care at all that she wasn’t enjoying herself. She’d tried to tell him what turned her on, where to touch her, how to touch her, but he was more interested in her pleasing him. In fact, most of the day had been about what he wanted and where he wanted to go. Granted, he’d only been out to LA a few times, but when Annie suggested going to the Guggenheim, he’d looked at her as though she were crazy and then told her museums made him tired. Instead, they’d gone to the pier, ridden the Ferris wheel, and he’d tried to convince her to go down on him in the photo booth. She’d declined and told him she would save it for when they got home and he hadn’t forgotten. In fact, it was all he’d wanted from her. Finally, she’d coerced him into having sex but she’d barely gotten into it when he decided he was tired and rolled over and went to sleep.
She looked outside across the pool to the main house. She saw the kitchen light on and the light from the living room reflecting against the water. It was just 10:30 and she was bored and wide-awake. She glanced up to the loft and heard Doug snoring, then went into the bathroom and grabbed her bra that was hanging on the back of the door. Before she knew it, she was passing the pool and walking to the sliding glass doors, wondering if they’d still be unlocked. When she yanked on the door, it easily opened and she walked into the kitchen.
“Annie?” she heard JC calling from the living room.
“Hi,” Annie replied softly, walking quietly from the kitchen to the entrance of the living room.
JC was laying on the couch, a rerun of The Simpsons on the television, and was texting on his phone. He looked up and gave her a quizzical look. “What are you doing here?”
Annie shrugged and went over to the couch that faced JC. She sat down and played with her hands before looking at him. “I was, um, not tired and Doug’s asleep and I saw your light on so I figured I’d just come over here and see what was up.”
JC couldn’t help but smile at her, then raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you don’t want to spend every last second with him. Isn’t he leaving tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” Annie sighed and crossed her arms across her chest, leaning against the couch. “But he was tired so he didn’t really feel like staying up I guess.”
“Huh,” JC nodded slowly. “Well, can I get you anything? I’m not doing much. Just watching TV and catching up on some email,” he showed her his phone and then gestured towards the television with his head.
“No, I can go back if I’m keeping you awake,” Annie suddenly felt as though she were imposing. Imposing on what she had no idea, since JC was doing a lot of nothing right then and there.
“Don’t be silly, you’re fine,” he assured her. “Hey, I’ve got a bottle of wine in the frig. Wanna pop it open?”
Annie smiled. “Sure, why not?” she replied and followed him into the kitchen.
“So my mom called last night. She was really excited to hear how well you’re working out with Emma-Claire,” JC said as he put the corkscrew into the bottle. “She and my dad might be coming out here sooner or later. Since I can’t really get Emma out to Orlando to see them, they decided they would just come out here and see her themselves.”
“Cool,” Annie replied, taking a seat at the breakfast nook. “I bet your dad will be excited to finally meet his granddaughter.”
JC popped the cork and pulled down two wine glasses. “Yeah. I think my mom will be pleasantly surprised at what Emma-Claire’s like now.”
“Mmhm,” Annie agreed. “She’s certainly coming into her own.”
JC smiled at her and then poured two glasses of Pinot Gris. He walked over to the table where Annie was sitting and handed her a glass. “Cheers,” he clinked his glass with hers and sat across from her. “So, what did you and Doug today? No kinky details, please.” He was teasing but also somewhat serious. He didn’t want to know the dirt on what had gone on behind closed doors. It would only make him even crazier for her.
Annie giggled and sipped on her wine. “Um, we went to the Pier in Santa Monica and then had seafood for dinner at Gladstone’s.”
“Can’t go wrong with Gladstone’s. I should take Emma to the Pier sometime. I bet she’d love it,” JC said thoughtfully. “So then what?”
Annie sighed and looked down at her glass of wine. “So then we came back here. And hung out…” she trailed off, thinking of how Doug hadn’t wanted to do anything else but hop into bed and have her please him.
“Gotcha,” JC replied, trying to gauge the expression on her face. She looked almost forlorn and in some aspects, a little angry. “You okay?”
Annie looked up from her wine and forced a smile. “Yeah.”
“Really?” JC leaned toward her. “Look, I’m not a complete idiot. I know what you and Doug spent most of the weekend doing. Are you sad that he’s leaving tomorrow?”
Annie exhaled a sigh and wondered if she should confide in him. She couldn’t really confide in Megan and after Megan she guessed she could call Carey or Jamie, but JC was right in front of her and she was supremely frustrated about her weekend with Doug. It was supposed to have been great and she had really been looking forward to seeing him, but all it had turned into was Doug seeing how many times Annie could get him off or so it seemed to her.
“I didn’t have such a great time,” she admitted, biting on her lower lip.
JC tried his best not to smile at that revelation. He almost wondered if he’d heard her wrong. “What do you mean?”
Annie sighed again and shifted in her seat. “I mean that I don’t want to be with someone who’s only out for himself.” The words were out before she could stop them. “Sorry, I probably just gave you more than you wanted to hear.”
“Wait, out for himself…you mean in bed?” JC ventured. Annie nodded slowly, looking up to meet the surprised expression on his face. “Oh damn. That sucks.”
“Tell me about it,” Annie groaned. “I mean, would it be too much to ask if I were pleased for once? Or if I was even given a chance for that to happen? It’s all about him and what he wants and I never once-“ she stopped herself before she finished that sentence. “Well, let’s just say, I didn’t get mine if you know what I mean.”
JC sat there trying not to let his mouth hang open. He watched as Annie circled the rim of her wine glass with her finger, noting the frustration on her face. Doug sounded like a self-centered ass and JC felt sorry for Annie because she’d only been used to get him off.
“You know not all guys are like that, right?” he said softly. He wanted to reach across and put his hand on top of Annie’s but refrained. “I’m sure you know that. You just happened to end up with an egotistical jerk.”
Annie nodded her head slowly. “Yeah, well, sex isn’t all it’s cracked up to be anyway,” she muttered. “I don’t know why people make such a big deal out of it.”
JC was quite aware that if he wasn’t careful his mouth might hang open from shock and he’d look like he was catching flies. “Um, Annie, sex is awesome.”
“Sex is overrated,” she countered. “It’s fine for guys because you can get off whenever you want. For women it’s different. Like how hard is it to do what someone tells you that they like?”
“It’s not,” he answered her.
“Well, it is for him,” she cocked her head towards the pool house. “It’s just stupid. People make such a big deal about sex and how awesome and amazing it is.”
JC cleared his throat and looked down at his wine glass then up at Annie. “So, you’ve not had good experiences with sex I take it? Like, ever?”
Annie blushed, realizing she’d probably said enough but it was too late now. He knew she’d spent the majority of the weekend lying in bed with a man who had no idea how to make her want him again. “No,” she nearly whispered. “I mean, ok, there’ve been times that were good but I’ve never been with anyone who made me, I mean…you know..” she trailed off and took a sip of wine. “Let’s just say no one’s ever made me scream.” There. She’d said it. She took another sip of wine, this time gulping it down.
JC chuckled softly and ran a hand through his hair. “Wow. Poor you. That’s a shame, Annie. How many if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Four,” she sighed. “I guess I thought by now I’d have found someone that would make me get what all my friends were talking about.”
“That really sucks, Annie. Cause sex is great. I mean, it’s really, really great. And to hear you talking about it like this is sad,” JC looked at her. “Are you gonna stay with him?”
Annie snorted. “Are you kidding me? I gave him all weekend to see if he’d turn it around. I’m about done with giving head.” She realized what she’d just said and put her hand over her mouth. “Oh shit. Sorry, JC!” she giggled into her hand and took another swig of wine.
JC laughed out loud. “You don’t have to apologize. I mean, did you….you know…get it in return?”
“Nope,” Annie tipped back her wine glass and finished her drink. She stood to go over to the island and retrieve the bottle of wine, bringing it back to the table. “I tried to tell him but he refused.”
“He refused?!” JC was flabbergasted.
“Yeah. He said he was too tired from the flight on the first night he was here. And then tonight he said he wanted to wait until tomorrow morning before he left to give me something to remember him by when he was back in Dallas.”
“You know that’s a line, right?” JC took the bottle of wine from her and poured more of it into his glass.
“Of course I knew it was a line,” Annie scoffed. “But whatever. I’m gonna break up with him tomorrow and maybe see if Megan will take him back to the airport or I can drop him at the Fly Away station.”
“I’m really sorry, Annie,” JC grimaced and shook his head. “I know you were looking forward to this.”
“I’m just tired of being with guys who have no clue how to please a woman. How hard is it to just do what someone asks of you?”
JC looked at her and wished he wasn’t her boss. If he wasn’t her boss, he’d tell her in very explicit terms exactly what he’d do to her and where and when and if she wanted to, he’d take her upstairs to show her just how much he could make her scream his name. He shook himself out of that thought and smiled at her. “It’s not,” he told her softly. “Trust me. It’s really easy and it’s a lot of fun to please someone who makes you crazy.”
Annie felt tingly all over and wondered if it was the wine or JC that was making her feel this way. She’d only had one glass and although she was working on her second one, she knew she could hold her alcohol better than that. No, it was most definitely JC and she knew she was crazy to think he was looking at her the way she wanted him to look at her. “Well, good, then. I guess there’s still hope for me,” she sipped her wine quickly and then stood to her feet. “Thanks for the wine. I’m gonna go back to bed now.”
JC almost asked her to stay a little longer. He’d wanted to move into the living room and continue this conversation. It was making him want her even more and he was beyond caring now that he had it bad for this woman. He held his tongue and simply nodded his head, walking her to the sliding glass doors.
“Sleep well,” he said above a whisper. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Annie tried her best not to gaze into his eyes and was quite aware of just how fast her heart was beating right then. “Yeah. See you,” she smiled and turned away, walking out onto the patio. He watched her cross by the pool and slip into the pool house, shutting the door behind her. Turning around he looked at the two wine glasses still sitting on the table and regretted not asking her to stay longer. He dumped the glasses into the sink, shut off the kitchen light, and decided it was probably best if he went straight to sleep. No sense in thinking about something that would never be.
