boldness. I wasn't used to
laying bare my feelings. I wondered if I felt freer to express myself because I
knew this wouldn't be a long-term relationship.
Call me when you get home from work, even if it's late.
Okay. Talk to you later.
I forced myself to put
my cell phone back in my desk. I didn't need to be tittering like an idiot all
day, checking my phone constantly to see if I had a text message from Jackson.
Fortunately, the day
was busy and I didn't have a moment to spare to think about Jackson. As I had
anticipated, I worked late and didn't get home until nine-thirty. The apartment
was empty when I got home and I changed quickly into shorts and a t-shirt.
Janet and I had ordered dinner delivered while we worked so the only thing left
to do was call Jackson.
As I lay in bed,
listening to the phone ringing, I started getting nervous. Even though I had
done the most intimate of things with Jackson, we had only met a few days ago.
I still felt jittery just thinking about his face above me, looking at me with
passion and desire.
"Emma."
Jackson's voice was bright, as if he were happy to hear from me.
"Hi,
Jackson." I paused, unsure what to say next. "How was your day?"
"It was okay,
nothing earth-shattering. That was reserved for last night."
I laughed, feeling some
of the tension drain away from me. "You're going to give me an inflated
ego if you keep saying things like that to me."
I could practically
hear Jackson grinning through the telephone. "That's not the only thing
inflating when we're together."
I groaned. "That's
so corny."
"Okay, enough of
my lame come-ons," Jackson said laughing. "How was work? Did you just
get home?"
"Yeah, it was
tiring but I'm still enjoying it. Fortunately, we got a lot done today so I
don't have to work late tomorrow."
"Great! Can I pick
you up tomorrow at six-thirty? That way, we'll have enough time for dinner
before the play. It doesn't start until nine."
"That should be
fine, but don't you need to rehearse or something beforehand?"
"Nah. We still
have rehearsals every now and then during the weekdays, but it's pretty
sporadic since the show is running now."
"Before I forget,
did I leave my skirt at your place?"
"Yup. I liked the
way it looked on my floor."
"There you go
again," I said laughing. Jackson was irrepressible. "Can you bring it
tomorrow?"
"Why would I do
that?" Jackson asked slyly. "It's an excuse to get you over to my
apartment again."
I rolled my eyes even
though he couldn't see me. "I don't need an excuse to want to come over to
your place again."
"Ah, I'm happy to
hear that. Let's just say I'm holding onto your skirt as leverage."
I smiled at Jackson's
playfulness. "If you say so. How many people did you train today?"
Jackson regaled me with
funny stories about his day, from the client who refused to ride the stationery
bike because it was against her vow of chastity to another client who spritzed
perfume on herself every five minutes to dilute the smell of sweat, giving
everyone a headache around her.
Jackson seemed
genuinely interested as he asked me about the details of my day, and about what
I was working on at Mass. It was easy to talk to him. He was a good listener
and made me laugh. It felt good to have someone to tell the details of my day
to, from what I ate for lunch to the scandalous things Celeste said to me. It
had been a while since I had someone to talk to like this. Sean and I had
stopped sharing details long before we broke up, seemingly just living side by
side without much interaction.
I looked at my alarm
clock, surprised that we had been on the phone for almost two hours.
"It's almost
midnight," I said. "I need to go to sleep or I'm going to be the
walking dead tomorrow."
"Alright. I'll be
at your place tomorrow at six-thirty. See you tomorrow."
"See you
tomorrow," I echoed. I waited for Jackson to hang up but there was just
silence. I wasn't sure if he was still on the line.
"Hello?"
"Hi," he
answered back with a
laying bare my feelings. I wondered if I felt freer to express myself because I
knew this wouldn't be a long-term relationship.
Call me when you get home from work, even if it's late.
Okay. Talk to you later.
I forced myself to put
my cell phone back in my desk. I didn't need to be tittering like an idiot all
day, checking my phone constantly to see if I had a text message from Jackson.
Fortunately, the day
was busy and I didn't have a moment to spare to think about Jackson. As I had
anticipated, I worked late and didn't get home until nine-thirty. The apartment
was empty when I got home and I changed quickly into shorts and a t-shirt.
Janet and I had ordered dinner delivered while we worked so the only thing left
to do was call Jackson.
As I lay in bed,
listening to the phone ringing, I started getting nervous. Even though I had
done the most intimate of things with Jackson, we had only met a few days ago.
I still felt jittery just thinking about his face above me, looking at me with
passion and desire.
"Emma."
Jackson's voice was bright, as if he were happy to hear from me.
"Hi,
Jackson." I paused, unsure what to say next. "How was your day?"
"It was okay,
nothing earth-shattering. That was reserved for last night."
I laughed, feeling some
of the tension drain away from me. "You're going to give me an inflated
ego if you keep saying things like that to me."
I could practically
hear Jackson grinning through the telephone. "That's not the only thing
inflating when we're together."
I groaned. "That's
so corny."
"Okay, enough of
my lame come-ons," Jackson said laughing. "How was work? Did you just
get home?"
"Yeah, it was
tiring but I'm still enjoying it. Fortunately, we got a lot done today so I
don't have to work late tomorrow."
"Great! Can I pick
you up tomorrow at six-thirty? That way, we'll have enough time for dinner
before the play. It doesn't start until nine."
"That should be
fine, but don't you need to rehearse or something beforehand?"
"Nah. We still
have rehearsals every now and then during the weekdays, but it's pretty
sporadic since the show is running now."
"Before I forget,
did I leave my skirt at your place?"
"Yup. I liked the
way it looked on my floor."
"There you go
again," I said laughing. Jackson was irrepressible. "Can you bring it
tomorrow?"
"Why would I do
that?" Jackson asked slyly. "It's an excuse to get you over to my
apartment again."
I rolled my eyes even
though he couldn't see me. "I don't need an excuse to want to come over to
your place again."
"Ah, I'm happy to
hear that. Let's just say I'm holding onto your skirt as leverage."
I smiled at Jackson's
playfulness. "If you say so. How many people did you train today?"
Jackson regaled me with
funny stories about his day, from the client who refused to ride the stationery
bike because it was against her vow of chastity to another client who spritzed
perfume on herself every five minutes to dilute the smell of sweat, giving
everyone a headache around her.
Jackson seemed
genuinely interested as he asked me about the details of my day, and about what
I was working on at Mass. It was easy to talk to him. He was a good listener
and made me laugh. It felt good to have someone to tell the details of my day
to, from what I ate for lunch to the scandalous things Celeste said to me. It
had been a while since I had someone to talk to like this. Sean and I had
stopped sharing details long before we broke up, seemingly just living side by
side without much interaction.
I looked at my alarm
clock, surprised that we had been on the phone for almost two hours.
"It's almost
midnight," I said. "I need to go to sleep or I'm going to be the
walking dead tomorrow."
"Alright. I'll be
at your place tomorrow at six-thirty. See you tomorrow."
"See you
tomorrow," I echoed. I waited for Jackson to hang up but there was just
silence. I wasn't sure if he was still on the line.
"Hello?"
"Hi," he
answered back with a
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