Chapter Five – NOW

 

“Morning, Liv. How was your weekend?”  My co-worker and good friend, Meg, asks as she pops her head inside my cubicle.

“Hey, Meg.  Good thanks. How was yours?  You had your cousin’s wedding, right?”

She rolls her eyes dramatically.  “Oh yeah.  The bride busted the groom in the restroom with the maid of honor at the rehearsal dinner.”

My jaw drops.  “Oh, my god!”

“Yup. Safe to say the wedding was cancelled, and I spent the weekend drinking the free booze and consoling my cousin, the jilted bride.”

“Wow.”  I’m lost for words.

“Oh, here comes the boss man,” she whispers.  “I better get to work.  Lunch?”

“Sounds great.”

She walks away and I resume responding to the emails in my inbox.  I work as head of email communications for a large chain store, and my days consist of answering the questions and placating the complaints of customers right across the country.  The work is generally monotonous, and I often wish I had a job more exciting, but my boss is flexible when it comes to me needing time off if Matilda is sick, and the pay is great.  In rare cases, I can even log onto our server from home and work on the couch, which I much prefer, rather than my stuffy cubicle surrounded by the mindless chatter of my co-workers. 

I spend my lunch hour with Meg, and she fills me in on all sordid details of the failed wedding, and even though it’s an awful situation, Meg’s dramatic flair has me giggling uncontrollably. 

“Peter burst out of the bathroom after Michelle with his pants still around his ankles.  We all caught sight of his tiny dick before he tripped and fell face-first!”

“That’s too funny,” I manage through my laughter.

“Silver lining is, she can now find a guy with a bigger dick, which shouldn’t be hard, considering Peter’s was smaller than my pinky.”  She holds up her little finger and wiggles it.

“You lie!” I gasp.

She shakes her head emphatically.  “Not even a little bit.”

“That’s unfortunate,” I mutter.

We chat for a while longer before walking the short distance back to the office.

“Check out the hottie,” she mumbles out the side of her mouth right before we turn to enter the large glass doors.

I look up and my steps falter as Kyle walks toward us.

“Liv,” he states, pinning me to the spot with his gaze.

“Uh, hey, Kyle.”

“You know him?” Meg gapes.

“Yeah. Um, Meg, this is Kyle. Kyle, my friend and co-worker, Meg.”

He flicks a quick chin lift in her direction before his eyes come back to me.

“You’ve eaten,” he states.  Is that resignation I can hear in his tone?  Surely not.

“Yeah, we just finished,” I admit.  “Sorry,” I add lamely.

“No problem.  I’ll swing by tonight.”

Before I can deny him, he quickly adds, “Matilda asked me to read her a bedtime story again.”

“Oh.  Well, uh, sure.  I’ll see you then.”  I give him a tight smile before scurrying into the office, with Meg hot on my heels, peppering me with questions about Kyle. 

“He’s my daughter’s uncle,” I say dismissively, hoping she’ll let it go.  Of course she doesn’t.

“He wants you.  Bad.  I swear to all that’s holy, Liv, my panties almost disintegrated with the heated look he was giving you.”

“Now you’re just being dramatic.”  I roll my eyes.

“I only speak the truth,” she calls out as we go our separate ways.

 

I finish work at five and drive the short distance to Matilda’s afterschool care.  Just like every other day, she spots me walking through the doors and runs to me, launching her petite body into my arms.  I hug her tight and breathe her in.

“Missed you, sweetie. Did you have a good day?”

“Yep.  Miss Matheson let us do a craft, and I made you a princess crown,” she tells me proudly.

“I can’t wait to try it on.  Grab your bag.”

It takes thirty minutes for us to get home in the afternoon traffic.  Prior to when we moved here three years ago, the trip home would have taken us over an hour.  I got lucky when this place came up for lease.  It’s smaller than I would have liked, but the quiet street and the close proximity to my work and Matilda’s school and care made it a no-brainer.  Our neighbors are nice, family-orientated, working class.  Matilda always has friends to play with, whether it’s the twin boys on our left or the little girl on our right, or Miss Gerty’s grandkids when they visit one weekend a month.  She’s never short of playmates and I love that she gets to experience that.

“Uncle Kyle!” she cheers, scrambling out of the car and racing up to our front porch, where Kyle is sitting.  His large frame makes my small porch look miniscule.

“Hey, squirt.”

“Is that pizza?” Matilda gushes, her eyes wide.

“Yeah, I ate it before you got here.  Sorry.”  He’s smiling.

“No you didn’t.” Matilda giggles, as she reaches out and grips his nose, wiggling it gently.

“You got me.  I didn’t.  Let’s eat it before it gets cold.”

I unlock the door and they follow me inside.  Matilda and Kyle go directly to the table while I grab some napkins for the pizza. 

“Beer?” Kyle asks, holding a bottle in my direction.

“Why not?” I shrug.  He pops the cap and hands it to me, placing the remaining beers he brought in the refrigerator.  I serve Matilda up a slice and grab one for myself as well, studiously avoiding eye contact with Kyle.  I tell myself if I don’t look at him, he won’t have any effect on my body.  I’m failing miserably, though, if the vibrations pulsing through my veins are any indication. 

He is so incredibly attractive.  Tonight he is wearing jeans with a black tee.  He had a jacket on as well, but he took that off when he came inside.  My heart flips in my chest as he leans forward and I catch sight of his denim-clad ass.  The fabric molds perfectly to his rear and I can’t stop staring.  Damn it.  Why do I find his thighs hot?  I’m going insane.  I need to snap out of it.

Rather than sit at our tiny four-person table, I decide to lean against the counter, putting as much distance between Kyle and me as possible. 

Maybe it’s the universe’s way of telling me I need to get laid… but if that were the case, I’d be attracted to any male with a working dick.  But unfortunately for me, Kyle’s the only man who seems to evoke these lascivious feelings inside me.