I think I might need one too. That or a date with my battery operated boyfriend.
Chapter 4
Crew
My head aches with tension. That's what sleeping two hours and then getting up at the crack of dawn will do to me.
After I dropped Adley off at her apartment last night with a kiss to the back of her hand, I ran through the messages on my phone, laughing when I got to the thread from the woman I stood up so I could hang out with Ad. Messages that began with the promise of her naked and waiting ended with a charming ' Fuck You Asshole.' Patience tends to be in short order when a woman is hungry for a skilled mouth and cock.
I deleted it all and I asked the taxi driver to take me to Veil East. I was prepared to go inside, grab another drink and find a woman to take home with me. I'm not a guy who sees the need to have a separate place for fucking. I do it in my bed, with the nightstand full of condoms next to me and my shower just a few feet away in the luxurious bathroom I recently had redesigned.
I don't care if a woman I screw knows where I live. I'm not an unknown in this town. I don't need to hide behind a wall of mystery. I'm young, unattached and I love sex. I should be able to enjoy it where I want. Preferably that's my apartment although I'm not opposed to a semi-public rendezvous. I've done it before and if the opportunity presented itself, I'd be all-in again.
Last night I didn't take anyone home and my pants stayed zipped.
I was adjusting my suit jacket after the driver pulled up to the club when my thumb ran over that damn ketchup stain. I lifted my forearm and inhaled, drowning in the scent of Adley's perfume. I didn't want another woman after that, so I told the driver to take me to the Matiz tower.
My night was spent going over the launch for our winter line. I got a jump on it and when I show the product lineup to Nolan tomorrow morning, he'll flip his shit.
If he weren't married with kids, I'd drag him down to the office now to go over it, but Sundays are reserved for his family. Often that includes Adley and me when dinner is about to be served. That's the reason I'm standing at the door to his apartment, dressed in jeans and a green polo with a bouquet of flowers for his wife in one hand and a kite for his kids in the other.
"Captain Crew," Ellie and Nolan's daughter, May, screams as she swings open the door. The nickname she blessed me with when she was a toddler has always stuck. "You're finally here."
It's the same reaction every time I see her. I cradled her in my arms when she was a day old. I love this kid like she's my own. Her brother, Jonas, holds an equal piece of my heart in his chubby little hands.
"I got you a kite." I hand it off to her as I close the door behind me. "You're going to share that with your brother. You can show him the ropes."
"I've never flown a kite before." She studies the package that contains everything a bright seven-year-old needs to assemble it. Her blonde ponytail bounces as she skips in place. "Are you going to take me to Central Park to fly it after we eat?"
"I'll take you and Jonas to the park. We can stop to pick up a bag of candy too. Don't tell your mom. She'll ruin everything."
"I'll ruin what?" Ellie, the redheaded firecracker Nolan married, comes into view. "What are you promising my daughter now?"
Fuck, I love that.
I know it's just a simple statement but I love hearing that. Ellie legally adopted May right after she and Nolan adopted Jonas. It was a technicality that she wanted in place since the woman who gave birth to May abandoned her. She's the best mom I've ever met and in five months, she's going to be a mother of three.
She's pregnant with a little boy. I'm holding out hope that he'll be named Crew but it's not looking good.
"Kite flying and candy." May wraps her arm around Ellie's waist. "You can come too, Mom."
"You're welcome to tag along if you can waddle fast enough to keep up with us." I hand the bouquet of daffodils to Ellie. "Ad can come too. She's the one who gave me the idea for the kite. She told me a couple of weeks ago that she was an expert kite pilot when she was a kid."
"I'm barely showing." Ellie lovingly runs her hand over her stomach. "Adley's not coming. It looks like we'll have to figure out the kite flying on our own."
Work is the only reason Adley misses these things. I can't say the same for myself. I've bowed out more than a few times because of a random woman I couldn't tear myself away from.
Disappointment ripples through me. I've been looking forward to seeing her since I got out of bed. We ended last night on a different note than we normally do. She sat closer to me in the taxi, our legs brushing when the driver took a corner too sharply.
I've felt a new bond forming between us the past few months. It might be because we're sharing in the joy of Ellie and Nolan expanding their family, but it feels deeper than that to me.
"She's not on call." I sigh as I glance over Ellie's shoulder to where Nolan is sitting on the floor with his son in his lap, a toy train set in front of them. "Why would she stand us up?"
May lets out a laugh. "You don't know how to fly a kite, do you?"
I look down at her. "I can fly a kite better than Aunt Adley any day of the week."
"Go wash up for dinner." Ellie tugs playfully on May's ponytail. "I'm going to talk to Crew and we'll eat as soon as I'm done."