Chapter 7

“So what did Kim say?” Joanne twirled the swizzle stick in her drink and then pulled it out and licked the sweet liquor off of it. It had been almost a week since the photo ordeal and Angela had done her best to put it out of her mind and remain positive. It was becoming harder every day however as she became more and more exhausted and more confused about what was happening to her body.

“She said a lot of things, insinuating I’d done it myself for some kind of cheap thrill and making catty remarks about what Steve must think. She’s frustrated I think because there’s nothing she really can do. I have a pretty tight contract and she could write me up for this and even dock pay, but she’s scared to death to fire me. She has a fear of litigation and I know that she thinks I’d sue her.”

“Good, let her be afraid. I’m still pissed at her for those photos she sent Steve.”

Angela smiled at her friend. She loved having Joanne in her corner. “Thanks,” she said. She took a sip of her drink then and yawned. Joanne frowned and said,

“When is your doctor’s appointment?”

“On Monday finally,” she said.

“Good, because honey you know how gorgeous I think you are…but lately, you’ve looked like hell.”

“Gee Joanne, thanks,” Angela was smiling. She knew what she meant.

“You look so tired all the time. Are you still not sleeping?”

“I sleep…too much, I think. I just feel so weird most of the time when I wake up. I know you don’t like hearing this, but thank God for Thomas.”

“You’re right,” she said, “I don’t like hearing it. I still think he’s responsible for those photos somehow.”

“Jo…”

“Who else, Ang? He’s the only one who both had access to you to take those photos and access to your files at work. And, he’s turned into a big fucking weirdo.”

Angela rolled her eyes and said, “He’s really been helping me out a lot lately. He’s been doing my laundry and when I’m home he cooks dinner every night…”

“He’s trying to keep you roped in,” she said.

“Why won’t you even consider that you’re wrong about this?”

“Because I’m not. If you didn’t have a place to go and soon, I might have come and moved you out myself.”

“You sound so much like Steve. Are you sure Ana’s his only sister?”

Joanne laughed and sipped her drink. “Steve and I both just have good instincts…and they’re screaming out all over the place whenever Thomas is around lately. You only have a week to go, be wary of him, okay?”

Thomas had been her savior the past week. He insisted she take a nap when she got home from work every day and when she got up he’d have a bath drawn for her with her bath salts and oils already in it. He would lay out her towel and then sweetly retreat and then have her favorite tea ready before bed. He hadn’t looked at her lustfully or made any kind of mean comments about her and Steve in awhile. She felt like he was finally moving on with his grief and that made him more comfortable again, just being her friend.

He’d really washed, dried and folded all of her laundry too, and if he didn’t cook, he’d order something in for them to eat every night and then insist that she rested while he cleaned up. He told her it was just until she saw the doctor and he told her what to do to start feeling better. Knowing now how he feels about her, she knew doing all of that for a person you’re attracted to and getting nothing in return had to be so hard. She had a new-found respect for him, even if Jo and Steve didn’t.

Joanne and Angela changed subjects and Joanne passed on some gossip she’d heard about people they’d known in college. It felt good to just talk and laugh with no pressure put on her to try and explain the things that had been going on in her life. Something kept telling her that once she had her own place, things would get better. She hoped she was right.

That evening when Joanne dropped her off at the loft, Thomas was still up watching television. He looked up at her and smiled when she came in. “Hey there! How was it?”

“Good, she told him, taking a seat in the chair opposite from him. Joanne always makes me feel better.”

He frowned and said, “She doesn’t care much for me lately…what’s up with that?”

“She still cares about you,” Angela lied. “This has all just been a lot for everyone, you know? There for a while you were kind of in a mood all the time. You know how Jo is. She’s a happy party girl. She wants everyone to be happy all the time and she doesn’t trust you if you’re not.”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” he said.

“Sure, what is it?”

“You want something to drink first? How about I make us some tea?”

“Sounds good,” she said. “Only I hope it just helps me not dream so that I can actually get some rest.” Thomas went into the kitchen and prepped her tea bag first. A minute later she got up and joined him. She rested back into the counter as she watched him fill the tea kettle and sit it in the stove. He turned on the burner and then turned to look at her.

“What is it that you dream about?”

She blushed. She couldn’t tell him she dreamt about making love to him. Or not really making love…it was more like she was dreaming that he was forcing himself on her…and she wasn’t really resisting. It was all so sordid. She’d been doing her damnedest to discourage him. She felt like telling him that would either be leading him on or blaming him for something that couldn’t possibly be his fault, so she lied. “I can’t really remember them, clearly,” she said, “They’re just really intense and there’s a lot of….”

“A lot of what?”

“Sex…I’m having sex dreams.”

“Oh, well that doesn’t sound so bad,” he said with a grin.

“Shut up! It’s bad.”

He looked at her seriously then and said, “Maybe your dreams are trying to tell you something.”

She furrowed her brow. “Like what?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know exactly who or what you’re dreaming about so I can’t really say, but I have this book about dreams. It’s really interesting. When you’re up to it, you can read it for yourself and see what you think.”

She nodded, “Sure, it couldn’t hurt. I have to figure something out. I’m going to look fifty before I turn twenty-five if I don’t start getting some kind of rest.”

As if on cue, the tea-kettle whistled and she watched him pour her a cup. They sat on the couch and drank them in silence. About 15 minutes later they were done and Thomas grabbed her cup and put them in the kitchen sink. He watched Angela get up and yawn and then she said, “I think I’m going to hit the sack.”

“Yeah, maybe I’ll hit the sack too. Is it okay if I give you a hug?” He asked.

She smiled. “Of course.” Thomas opened his arms and she moved into them. He gave her a very appropriate, friendship hug. As long as she chose to ignore the way he inhaled the scent of her hair…and she did. When she pulled back she said, “Sleep well.”

“You too,” he told her.

*****

Thomas watched Angela go with a smile. His plan was working. They were growing closer, he could feel it. Yes, she’d been spending more time with Steve, but he had a plan in place for that too. As a matter of fact, he needed to call Kim and check in on where they were with that. He went into his own room to ensure Angela wouldn’t overhear him and he pushed in Kim’s number.

“It’s a little late,” she said when she picked up the phone.

“It’s Friday night. I figured you would still be up.”

“You got lucky, I just got in. What’s up?”

“This is the weekend…I need you to make your move.”

“I’m have a lunch meeting with Ana tomorrow. I have a friend who is going to make sure she doesn’t make it. She’ll send him in her place…but I need to be sure he won’t be with Angela when she calls him. Are you going to be keeping her occupied?”

“I’ll take care of Angela. You use what I gave you and get Steve-O in bed. Take lots of pretty pictures.”

“I’ll do my best….”

“You better do better than that,” he told her. “Once she moves out of here, the next step is moving in with him. Then, you’re screwed.”

“And so are you.”

“That’s right, so don’t screw this up. Remember what I told you and get him somewhere quickly after you give him the “GHB.” Once he is out, you won’t be able to move him. Then make sure you’re out of there before he wakes up. I know for a fact they have plans tomorrow night. They have tickets to Phantom of the Opera tomorrow night. She’s been talking about it all week. I don’t want either of them to figure out he screwed you until it’s time. Hey, maybe you could try and make a baby…”

Kim laughed and then she paused and said, “You’re serious aren’t you?”

“Why not? You want this guy, what better way to get him.”

“And if it doesn’t work, I’m stuck raising a kid alone.”

“A kid with a millionaire for a father…that shouldn’t be too painful.”

Kim didn’t say anything else, but Thomas knew he’d planted the seed. He disconnected the call and went down the hall to Angela’s room. He listened at the door and there was no sound coming from within. He had just oiled the hinges to make sure they didn’t squeak. He slipped the door open and looked in. She was already out cold from ‘Versed’ he had add to her tea bag earlier. She was wearing a pair of blue satin booty-shorts and a blue tank. He could see her nipples through it. He’d planned to leave her alone tonight…but was it his fault she was so damned sexy? He could already feel himself getting hard. He thought about what he told Kim and smiled again. Wouldn’t it be fun if they were pregnant at the same time? He’d replaced Angela’s birth control pills with placebos he got from his pharmacist friend almost two weeks ago and he’d had sex with her nearly every night since. If he could give her a baby, it would be the one thing that Blake was never able to. He slid off his jeans and pulled off his shirt as he climbed on the bed. “I hope you’re ready tonight baby, Daddy’s horny as hell.”