Heaven On Earth Ch. 08
Keywords: 08, Ch., Earth, Heaven, On,
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Ever the dutiful host, I packed a tray for him with sandwiches, fresh cookies, and milk. He thanked me with one of his warm smiles and headed back to his room. When the bread had finished baking and I had resorted all the items in my refrigerator, I went back to bed, stripping off my clothes and putting headphones and music on to drown out whatever round the squeaking bed springs above me happened to announce. For the first time since my grandfather"s funeral, I cried myself to sleep.
The next day I didn"t exactly feel better, but I felt more in control. I served Toby and Becca in the dining room coffee and cinnamon rolls, but it was the first time I actually gave a meal to Toby in the formal room except for Wednesday lunches when he would share in the weekly meeting of my grandfather"s cronies. I took advantage of the opportunity to go up and clean their room. It was the only time I actually wished I had someone else to clean for me. Not that they trashed it, but the evidence of the night they had shared was plentiful. I opened a window to air it out and changed the bedding. I even dumped the trash again to get rid of the tissue wrapped bundles of used condoms. Then I tackled the bathroom. Toby always kept it simple: one towel and no crap all over the place. I don"t think Becca could use one towel if she tried and she had lotions, make-up, and other such junk from one end of the counter to another. I cleaned up around it then went downstairs to see if they needed anything else.
The next night, Toby was down working in the kitchen again as I prepared for the next day. It was as if Becca wasn"t even there. And boy did she pout. She was absolutely incensed that he didn"t stop working and come to her when she snapped her fingers. Hell, even I understood what concentration he put in to every word and sentence. I never chatted with him or made him do anything. I quietly took care of him so he could work. It was all I could do for him when I would have gladly done so much more. I was cleaning up the last of the dinner dishes and had made a pot of coffee for him. I had filled his carafe and put it in front of him when he smiled at me. I leaned back against the counter and watched him work for a few minutes, letting the usual flush of arousal wash over me, feeling myself plump a little. But after a couple of minutes, I felt a presence behind me. I turned to see Becca looking at me. I could tell by the predatory gleam she got in her eye that she had my number. She knew that I was at least attracted to Toby if not head over heels in love. She gave me a smug look and sauntered over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing under his ear. I turned away from it and collected the kitchen towels, deciding on one more load of laundry. When I turned around, Toby was pushing Becca away, telling her "not now." I couldn"t help the slight grin. You don"t bother the man while he"s working. But she caught it and I could feel the claws come out. She was pissed. So I decided to retreat to the living room and a good book. She followed. She sat across from me, thumbing through a magazine, glaring at me from time to time. When the clothes washer was done, I got up to transfer the clothes to the dryer. When I headed back into the living room, I noticed my cat was curling itself around Becca"s legs. Now my cat is used to kids playing with it and pulling on its tail. She doesn"t mind. She keeps her claws in and is a very sweet natured creature.
I saw Becca try to brush the cat away. When it didn"t work, she pulled her foot back and kicked my cat, hard enough that she lifted off the ground and flew a few feet. She landed and scurried off. I don"t like to lose my temper. It happens so rarely that when I do lose it, it scares me in its ferocity. I walked right up to Becca; I know fire was shooting from my eyes. I don"t like to use my height or muscular frame to intimidate, but I did then. I stood over her and pushed forward and watched her retreat in fear.
"You are no longer welcome. Get out of my house." I was shaking with rage. How dare she attack a simple animal, a sweet, gentle cat? But inside her was a backbone of steel. She got right in my face and started yelling back.
"Who do you think you are? I don"t give a fuck about what you want. This is a pretty lame excuse to get me out of here."
I saw red. "Get out of my house. I will call the police. You have ten minutes to get your things and leave. NOW!" My usually soft voice rose to a roar on the last word and she actually jumped. She was momentarily cowed, but didn"t stay that way.
"Just because you want him, doesn"t mean he will stay if you kick me out. He will go with me."
I swallowed, my fear breaking down and fear taking its place. "I don"t care. Get out."
Scenting a weakness, she pounced. "You are so transparent and pathetic. Don"t even bother. He loves me. You won"t win." Every word hurt. I"ll give her this; the woman knew how to attack. The barbs stick and she could even twist the knife.
"Becca?" Toby"s voice was very distinct because of its deep baritone. He came up to us and I sat down, the emotions ebbing and now that the adrenaline was wearing down, I started to shake. I hate when I lose control like that. I never know how far I will go. Toby knelt down in front of me.
"Jack, what happened?"
Because she stomped me into dirt his turning to me was a bitter victory. "Toby, he"s trying to kick us out."
Toby snapped his head around. "Shut up Becca." He turned back and his eyes were filled with concern. If I didn"t focus on something else, I"d have told him how I felt. "Jack?"
I chickened out, giving him a truthful explanation. "No one kicks my cat. I hate losing my temper."
Toby turned from me and towered over Becca. He told her to go pack her things. When she left after a few sputtered arguments, Toby turned to me and asked if he had to go too.
"I like working here Jack. I"ve gotten a lot done. But I will leave if you need me too."
I felt myself weaken. I looked into his eyes and saw the pleading in them. He really wanted to stay. And like the lovesick fool I am, I couldn"t deny him anything. "You don"t have to go." Then I looked away from him. "If it would help you work, Becca can stay too."
With that he went upstairs and I went to the kitchen to fold the laundry. I heard them come downstairs and out the front door. After a couple of minutes, Toby came back inside and sat down at the kitchen table in front of his laptop. I waited for him to say something, anything.
"Toby?"
He didn"t even look up. "Yeah Jack?"
"Where is Becca?"
He pushed a few keys then looked at me, a grin on his face. "On her way back to New York."
I felt bad, petty and jealous, because of my feelings. "I told you she could stay if you wanted."
He smiled at me. "I didn"t want her to stay. She knows I hate it when she interrupts me. I can"t stand it when she shows up in the middle of writing."
Now I was confused. "But she is your fiancée. She probably will expect you—"
Toby"s confusion had him snapping. "Who said she was my fiancée?"
"She did."
He tilted his head back and roared. "No wonder she was so pissed when I sent her away. She has been trying to get me to ask her for a couple of months now." It was with an amused grin and a wink that he said, "I told her it was just casual."
I actually smiled at that. I left Toby alone at the table to continue working, refilling his carafe with fresh coffee and leaving a plate of cookies within reach. I turned in and slept better than I had in a good long time.
His work progressed over the next few weeks as spring arrived. I started getting more and more guests and Toby would talk with them and joke around, signing copies of his books and generally enjoying meeting a wide variety of people. He told me it was what helped him create characters, the social interaction. One night I was babysitting for some of my guests when Toby joined me in playing and entertaining the three-year-old. I had a lot of fun. The next day, I was planting flowers in the beds lining my driveway and walkways. Toby helped me. We worked for a couple of hours in companionable silence. I really was going to miss him when he finished his book.
One of my regulars, Mrs. Stein, came for her yearly visit during the first week of April. After dinner one night, I served her a cup of tea in the study across the hall from Toby"s room and she asked that I join her for a minute. We were sitting, talking about the weather and other generalities when she asked me a question that just floored me.
"How long have you been in love with Toby?"
I stammered for a minute then answered truthfully. "From the first day."
She smiled warmly at me, nodding in a way that told me she thought I was being silly. "Does he know?"
I swallowed. "No."
She patted my leg. "Are you going to tell him?"
Wasn"t that a pointed question? My heart wanted to scream it from the rooftops. But my heart… "Probably not."
Just then, I saw Toby standing in his doorway, looking shocked. Mrs. Stein stood up and kissed my cheek before walking past Toby to her room. I sat there, knowing my face was on fire. I couldn"t meet his eyes. But I saw his feet as he moved closer. He knelt in front of me.
"Why didn"t you say anything Jack?"
I still couldn"t look at him. "After the few days with Becca, I knew you weren"t interested. Sometimes it"s better to never know. You know?"
"No, Jack, I don"t know."
I looked up at him then, his answer was curious. There was actually something interesting in his eyes. My limited experience not withstanding, I could have sworn it was desire. Just that simple, fiery look had me trembling and hard. Hope flared up inside me. And it burst through me when he lowered his lips to mine and brushed against them for a minute. Then he deepened his kiss, begging me to join his motions. I did. I moved my tongue against his, playing and dodging, enjoying this simple contact more than all my other previous experiences combined.
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Keywords: 08, Ch., Earth, Heaven, On,