Текст книги "That Wedding"

Автор книги: Jillian Dodd

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 25 страниц)

Couple's counseling again tonight. I tried to get out of it earlier. I sniffled and told Phillip I might be too sick to go. He said the same thing my parents used to when I wanted to stay home from school on a Friday. If you're too sick to go, that means you're too sick to go out tonight.

I really wanted go out, so here I am.

As we're walking down the hall to Pastor's office, I tell Phillip, "I talked to Amy earlier. Can you believe in exactly a month from today, we'll be at our wedding rehearsal?"

Phillip snakes his arms around my waist, pushes me gently against the wall outside Pastor's office, and kisses me. "It can't come soon enough."

I put my hands inside his coat, squeeze his sides, and press my body fully against his.

He can make me want him with just one kiss.

His hands slide under the back of my shirt. I swear, his hands feel like fire on my skin.

I'm about to say, You're needed in the bathroom, doctor. Stat!

"Ahem!"

I tear my lips away from Phillip and see Pastor John standing inside his office door. I didn't hear the door open. I think my sense of touch is so overwhelmed when Phillip kisses me that the rest of my senses don't function properly.

"S'up," I say to him with a nod.

Oh. My. Gosh.

I'm so incredibly lame.

Who says s'up to a pastor? I think the blood that normally flows to my brain is now congregating in other areas of my body. My dad once told me that boys think with their dicks. He said it's because the blood flows there and away from their brain. I was thoroughly mortified by that comment, but now I'm thinking it doesn't just happen to boys.

My insides are pounding with desire. And now that Pastor has seen us, I can't pull Phillip into the bathroom for a pre-counseling quickie, like I was considering.

Dammit!

Phillip and I sit in the stupid checkerboard chairs. Phillip looks at me with those eyes. I remember when Danny and Lori used to look at each other with those eyes. Like they had a secret no one knew but them. I remember wondering if I could ever look at Phillip that way. I can't see my eyes, but his definitely have that look. I have a feeling we'll be skipping Taco Tuesday tonight.

Pastor taps a pen on his desk loudly. I was gazing into Phillip's eyes and not really paying attention.

Pastor says, "So tonight, we're going to talk about sex."

Oh, great. Like my mind wasn't already consumed with thoughts of sex. I've been mentally calculating how many more minutes it'll be before I can attack Phillip. How many more minutes until I can strip him naked. How many more minutes until I can make him......

Pastor's grating voice interrupts what was just about to be a very hot daydream. "I'm sure it's hard to believe at this stage in your relationship, but many couples fight about sex."

Before I can stop it from coming out of my mouth, I stupidly say, "They do?"

I don't wanna talk about this.

I just wanna go home now and do it.

Phillip slips off his coat. He has on a cream long-sleeved thermal Abercrombie shirt that seems to be losing the fight to contain his muscles.

I imagine ripping the shirt off him, letting those muscles be free to roam wildly across my body.

Pastor drones on. "Yes, JJ, they do. Many couples go through a honeymoon stage. When it seems like sex is all that matters. There's a lot of desire, but eventually things simmer down."

I seriously can't imagine things simmering down with Phillip. But then I remember what his sister said the other day. They've only been married a few years, and I think they've simmered down.

"When does that usually happen? I think Phillip's sister might be going through that right now."

Phillip groans. "I don't wanna hear about my sister's sex life."

It's better than talking about our sex life, I would think.

Pastor says, "It varies with each couple. What matters is that you're able to discuss sex."

"Wouldn't it be better to just do it?" I ask. I mean, wouldn't it?

"Well of course, but as your marriage grows, you will have additional stresses. Time, money, self-esteem, children, and your relationship will all have an affect on your sex life."

"But if you love someone, wouldn't you always want them?" I ask because this has been bugging me. I seriously would die if Phillip ever turned me down.

I'd probably divorce him.

I mean if they don't want you, why bother staying married?

"It's not that simple, JJ. Imagine if you can, Phillip comes home one night and is tired from work. You've been home with the kids all day and are exhausted too. He still has to go out and mow the grass, and you still have to bathe the kids and put them to bed. By the time you eat dinner, do your chores, and get the kids to sleep, do you think you will want sex? Or will you just want to go to sleep?"

Aside from the fact that his example was riddled with stereotypical and chauvinistic things, I get what he's saying. I look at Phillip because I assume he's going to answer the question, but he shrugs his shoulders at me. He doesn't seem to know the answer.

How can he not know the answer!!?? The answer is quite obvious! "We'd have sex, and then we'd sleep."

Duh!

Pastor nods his head at me. And his nod is not agreeing with me.

I forget what else he says. He drones on about who will initiate it, keeping the spark, talking, talking, talking. I swear, his position on sex is that talk equals foreplay.

Ha!

Get it? His position on sex? I crack myself up.

I'd have to disagree on that. The last thing I wanna do is talk. I look at Phillip's lips, picture them kissing me, not talking. I can almost feel them on my neck. My eyes glaze over thinking about all the naughty things I'm gonna do to him tonight.

Maybe I'll make him go to Taco Tuesday. I'll flirt with him. Bat my eyelashes at him. Run my hand up his thigh under the table.

Or maybe I'll sit across from him. Slip my shoe off. Rub my foot between his legs. Drive him crazy.

He'll be begging to go home.

But we won't make it home.

We'll barely make it to the car because he wants me so badly. He throws me across the back seat, undoes his pants, and....

"So I guess that's it for today," Pastor says loudly with a clap of his hands.

The clap wakes me up. I still feel like I'm in the backseat with Phillip. It's slightly disorienting.

We get in the car, and Phillip says, "So, Taco Tuesday. Yay or nay?"

"Definitely, yay," I reply.

Nothing wrong with trying to make a few of my dreams come true.

We're driving to Kansas City to pick out office furniture. This is the lie Phillip told me.

Yes, Phillip told me a complete lie.

I know this because Danny told me that he talked Phillip into just looking at the house today.

So I'm not at all sure what that means!

And it's killing me!

I wanna talk about it!

I want him to tell me what he thinks. If he's considering it.

I'm going crazyyyyyy with wondering.

And he's sitting there driving, all calm and cool, and bobbing his head to Aerosmith.

I wanna pin his head to the back of the seat and threaten him with torture if he doesn't tell me what he's thinking. Why would he want to look at a house he thinks he can't afford?

No, be calm. Be cool.

Maintain the I know you don't want to buy it routine.

You planted the seeds, now let them grow.

And I'm trying to, but hey, plants need a little water, right?

Maybe it's not growing because I need to water it.

So I say, "I'm surprised the commercial office furniture place is open on a Saturday."

Phillip grins. "I lied. We're not really doing that. Danny told you about the house next door that's going on the market, right?"

"Yeah."

"We're gonna take a look at it today. See if it's really as nice as Danny has been going on about."

"But why would we do that?"

Phillip turns his head and gives me a confused look. "I wanted to surprise you with this. I thought you'd be really excited."

I sigh, a defeated, slightly pretend sigh. "It's hard to get excited about seeing something you can't have. Lori says it's gorgeous. All it's gonna do is depress me more when we go look at houses in our price range. It's like dangling Jimmy Choos in front of me then making me buy my shoes at Target."

Phillip squints his eyes at me. This is the part where he should say, Oh Princess, but now we can afford that house, and it would be so cool to live by Danny and Lori, and it would be amazing, and we'll happily ever after.

Or something like that.

Instead, he smiles and says, "Well, if nothing else, maybe we can get some ideas from it. Kinda like when my mom tours those dream homes."

"Yeah, I suppose," I say pathetically again. I'm really trying hard not to pout.

But all of a sudden, I totally am.

And I'm not faking it.

For real.

Because getting ideas was not the seeds that I planted.

We look at the house. Danny has been whispering in Phillip's ear about what he and Lori spent on their house, what the remodel is costing, and how this is a much better deal. Lori mentions how great it would be not to have the mess of a remodel.

And well, I gush to myself since I can't gush to anyone.

This house is IT!

Like Phillip was the ONE.

How my dress was the ONE.

This house is the ONE!

Even the house knows he's the one for me. The house is pleading to me like a hopeful lover. You know I'm the one for you, baby, let's live together.

The house has everything on Phillip's wish list. A big gorgeous kitchen with granite countertops and sparkling new appliances, a big island with six barstools, an open concept, and an incredible basement game room. If he wasn't already sold on the kitchen, the big master bedroom overlooking the lake with it's huge closets and a bathroom where I'd happily spend the rest of my life, the sweeping staircase, and the huge deck, he'd have to be sold the second he saw the walkout basement. It's like a boy's wet dream down here. Pool table, foosball, bar, poker table, three flatscreens, sound system, huge sectional couch, and a hot tub out on the patio.

I'm so sold.

I wanna run outside, cheer, do cartwheels, and stab a big SOLD sign in the front yard.

The sign would say, SOLD TO ME, and it'd have a picture of me hugging the front door.

Phillip and Danny are grinning like maniacs in the basement, which you'd think might be a good sign, but Phillip has said nothing to me to indicate this is any more than a dream tour.

Shit.

Speaking of shit, maybe I forgot to fertilize the plant, and that's why it's not growing! I try to think of all the bullshit things I could say to make Phillip fall in love with this house.

But, I can't.

Truth is, I want him to love it for all the reasons I do. And yes, I planted seeds and that sounds sort of manipulative, but I don't want him to get talked into doing something he doesn't want to do. I don't want him to be unhappy.

Even if that means passing up this amazing house.

You know, love kinda sucks sometimes.

It makes you do stupid stuff, like care more about the person you love than you do about yourself.

I watch him grin at Danny. I notice how sexily his forearm flexes when he runs his hand down the bar.

I'm pretty sure I could live in a shack with him and be happy. As long as he's there, it would feel like home.

I'm just so in love with that boy.

After our tour, we meet with the couple that owns the home. Phillip tells them the house is beautiful, what a great job they did on the remodel, and how they must be sad to leave it.

They agree as they grab us beers from the outdoor kitchen's frig.

An outdoor beer frig?

Seriously? Is there anything this house doesn't have?

Phillip discusses pricing with them. What they are going to list it for. What they'd take for it now. When they'd like to close.

I can see the corner of Phillip's jaw twitching slightly. Usually, he does that when he's trying to play it cool. When he doesn't want to smile. It's like his poker face.

But what does that mean? Does it mean he's considering it?

No.

Not going to get my hopes up.

Because I don't think so. I think he'd love it, but he's convinced we can't. I still don't even understand why he agreed to look at it.

Nothing like setting yourself up for disappointment.

Or well, setting me up for disappointment.

Phillip says to everyone. "Do you guys mind if Jadyn and I take a quick walk and talk about it?"

And I'm thinking, talk about what?

Talk about how the house is great, but we can't afford it?

Talk about which great ideas we should file away in our brains for someday?

Phillip nods for me to get up.

As we walk down toward the lake, he grabs my hand. "So what'd you think? You didn't say much in there. I thought you'd be oohing and aahing over everything. Didn't you like it?"

"Well, Phillip, I think it's a gorgeous, perfect, amazing house. It has everything I could possibly want. The kitchen is a dream, the master bath is to die for, but I'd love it for the basement alone."

His eyes light up. "The basement is totally tricked out. Can you imagine the parties we could throw down there?"

"Well, yeah." I look really pathetic, I'm sure. I'm totally pouting and not because I'm trying to get my way, but because I feel sad about this. I knew looking at something I couldn't have was a bad idea. It's depressing. "Maybe someday we can have a house like that." I nod my head and put on my best fake smile.

Phillip pulls me into his arms. He softly runs his hand across my cheek and into my hair. I look deeply into his adorable brown eyes and feel bolstered with confidence.

It'll be okay.

There will be other houses, but there's not another Phillip.

I mentally stomp on the stupid seeds.

I want Phillip, and nothing else matters.

Phillip nuzzles his face into mine and says, "I was thinking maybe today should be someday."

My eyes get big. I back away from him and barely whisper, "What do you mean?"

"I think we should start someday today and buy it. I thought you'd be more excited about this."

OMG. I might start hyperventilating.

"Really? Are you serious? I didn't think you were interested. I didn't wanna get excited because I knew you were against spending that kind of money."

"Well, that was before I had that kind of money sitting in the bank."

I smile. BIG.

"So Princess, is that a yes?"

I fling myself on Phillip, jump into his arms, and wrap my legs around his waist. He twirls me around while I kiss him.

"That's a yes," I finally say. "In case you couldn't tell."

"I figured. Hell, I didn't get this much excitement out of the ring. Should we go tell them we'll take it?"

"Not just yet," I say. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him some more.

Phillip was looking much like Cooper tonight after work. He was laying across the couch with the remote control glued to his hand.

I laid across him and started doing some things he likes, usually a surefire way to get him into bed with me. All of a sudden, this annoyed him. "I'm trying to watch this," he told me and sort of pushed me aside.

Now I'm sorry, but you could have a two-hour romp in bed, come back, and the golf game would be going pretty much the same. And excuse me, but isn't this why they created highlights and DVRs?

I probably should have jumped up and down naked. I probably should have screamed, I need some attention here!

Instead, I asked if he wanted to grab a drink with some friends.

He said, "Naw, you go, I'm tired."

So now, I'm headed to the bar. Talk about looking for attention in all the wrong places. I'm also wondering if Pastor John is prophetic.

Is Phillip getting sick of me already?

Is he going to stop wanting me?

I'm sort of embarrassed to admit it, but this bar is like my second home. Not quite the home Keggers was down in Lincoln, but it's where we all hang out here in Omaha. It's rare that I don't see lots of people I know.

But tonight is different. There are a lot of guys here that I don't recognize.

It's like they dropped off a busload from the hot guy's home.

I mean seriously, Phillip is hot.

We know that.

And most guys don't even come close in my opinion. A guy has to like have it all for me to even give him a second glance. I'm not into skinny guys, and if they wear skinny jeans or have a skater kind of look, they're not for me. The only time I've ever really strayed from that is with the guitar player I dated this summer. He did have great guitar playing arm muscles though, and at the time, I kinda felt like I needed to try something different. Evidently, I did not learn my lesson with the sex video guy.

Normally, my typical guy is like a real man. He could be a mechanic, or a cowboy, or a linebacker, whatever, but he has to have good muscles and an adorable smile.

Oh, and good teeth.

Danny always used to tease me about how I love teeth. Like I was shopping for a horse or something.

But I do like a perfect smile.

And tonight, it's like someone is holding a casting call for Jadyn's Perfect Type. Cuz as I'm scanning the crowd while walking back to our usual table, there are like four guys that literally turn my head.

Later, when I walk back to use the restroom, four guys hit on me. Even after I said I was engaged, they kept trying.

I swear, I didn't even flirt back. I was too shocked to flirt.

When I get back from the bathroom and sit down next to Joey, Katie, Lisa, and Neil, I realize a cosmic shift has occurred.

Is it because it's the first time I've been here alone since we got engaged?

Does an engagement ring make a girl more attractive?

Do all the boys realize I'm serious about settling down, and so now I'm a more attractive mate?

Or am I more attractive to them because I'm committed, and it could just be a no strings attached fling?

Or has the shift changed me and how I look at guys? Like you want what you can't have.

Do I really wanna be stuck with the same guy for the rest of my life?

Phillip is so structured, and there is security in that. But what if I want something different? Like, I love desserts. My very favorite is chocolate cheesecake, but if I had to eat it every night, wouldn't I get sick of it?

What's so wrong with wanting to have like a piece of apple pie one night and maybe a nice poundcake with strawberries the next?

I think Barbie may have been on to something.

A really hot guy sits down next to me. He was one of the guys I turned down on the way to the bathroom.

And he's hot.

Not the Phillip, sweet dreamy kind of hot, but more the Danny Diamond, all blonde and attitude kind of hot.

Like he's really hot. Did I say that already?

But the more he talks, well, the more bored I get.

I guess I do like a little brain behind the brawn. If a guy can't get my very witty and amazingly intelligent sarcasm, then he's a dud.

I want this guy to leave, so I flash the engagement ring his way again, but I think he might be too dense to know what it means.

Normally, Joey and Neil would be all over it. Like they'd just tell the guy to leave. That I'm taken. But Neil is busy fawning over Katie, and Joey is trying to pick up some chick. Lisa is drooling over the guy, but she's trying to act disinterested.

I touch her arm and say, "I'm going to the bar." I said it in a way that let her know the guy was all hers, and I would take my time coming back.

I grab the two empty pitchers off our table, say something vague about being back, and head to the bar for refills.

The bar is super busy, so I squeeze between two guys sitting at the bar, swing the pitchers onto the bar, stick my boobs out, and flash a big grin in the bartender's direction.

The guy sitting to my right spins his barstool around, and I find myself standing between Jason O'Connor's legs.

Jason purrs, "Jadyn James, look at you all gorgeous and shiny."

Jason has always called me Jadyn James because his name is Jason James O'Connor. He thought it was cool we liked matched. And shiny, from anyone else, I would think my makeup got greasy looking, and my face need to be powdered. But shiny is a Jason word. And shiny equals perfect to Jason. He loves shiny new toys of all kinds.

"I hear you got engaged."

"How did you hear that?"

"My parents told me. They also told me I should've never let you get away. They always ask me about you, how your doing and stuff. They thought you were smart, funny, and down to earth."

"Aw, that's so nice. I liked your parents too."

"What about me?"

"What do you mean, what about me?"

"Did you like me?" He gives me an adorably sweet little curve of his textbook lips and a flash of expensive and perfect teeth. "Did you love me?"

I think about how to answer that.

"At the time, I thought I was in love with you."

"I was in love with you," he says sweetly. "I think I'm still in love with you."

I ignore the still in love with you part and say, "It felt like we were in love, but you never told me."

"Remember your winter formal?"

"How could I forget that? You ruined it!"

"No, before that, before I got drunk. How did you feel about the night, about me?"

"I felt great. Had a hot date, loved my dress, loved my hair. Honestly, before you got drunk, the night felt kinda special. I mean, it seemed like it was gonna be special, you know, until it wasn't."

"Here's a little secret for you, Jadyn James. I was going to tell you I loved you that night. You would've been the first girl I ever said it to that I felt like I really meant it. Like I wasn't just saying it for sex. I was also going to give you my fraternity pin. Make it official."

"You wanted to pin me? I would've passed my candle, got serenaded, and everything?"

"Yeah, you would have."

"So why didn't you ask?"

"I was kinda nervous. I wasn't sure how you felt. It bothered me how tight you and Phillip were. Danny too. I'd heard rumors about you and Danny. Even asked you about them."

"And I told you Danny and I were never together."

"I know, but you lived with them both. You never once invited me to stay with you. You always stayed at the frat house, and I don't know, I was nervous, then I got drunk, then things got all fucked up. You know the rest."

"The rest. As in I left."

"I felt so bad the next day that I called my mom. She told me to send you the prettiest roses I could find and to send lots of them. I said I was really sorry on the card. I even signed it love Jason, but it didn't work."

"The problem was, it seemed like it wasn't just that one time. Like you were always looking for a fight. I was used to being around guys that avoided fights. That didn't need to prove their worth by fighting. I realized that wasn't the kind of guy I wanted to be with."

"I'm not like that anymore. I've grown up, graduated, got a good job, and I know what I want. I think it's fate I ran into you tonight."

"I'm glad you got your life together, Jason. I'm happy for you. So what is it you want?"

"You."

"Me? I'm engaged!"

"Yeah, but you're ONLY engaged. You aren't married yet. Officially, you're still single."

"But I wanna marry Philip."

"I think you should marry me."

"Marry you?"

"You have to admit, we had fun together. And this summer when we hooked up, it was amazing. We have amazing chemistry."

"We were both drunk, and you never called. I wouldn't call that amazing chemistry."

"I got the feeling you didn't want me to call. Like you were maybe sorta dating someone."

"Oh, so my maybe sorta dating someone scared you away, but my being freaking engaged doesn't?"

"Let me see the ring."

I proudly show him all two gorgeous carats of it. Even in the dark bar, you can see how it catches the light. I love my ring.

Jason holds my hand and studies it. "I could do way better than that."

I know that's his way of slamming Phillip. Like the ring isn't big enough or something. What he doesn't realize is that it's the ring of my dreams, so he totally just slammed my taste too.

He gets off the barstool and wraps his arm around my waist. "Marry me instead."

I open my mouth to say something, but he's like, "I'm not done. Don't settle for marrying your friend. That's what people do when they can't find anyone else. Like if we're not married by the time we're thirty, we marry each other.

"It's not like that with Phillip."

"I think it is. I think if you and Phillip were that amazing together, you would've gotten together in college. I'm serious, marry me. We'll call Phillip afterwards and break it to him gently. Tell him the wedding's off, that we got married. We'll fly to Vegas tonight, get a suite at the Four Seasons, and buy you a new ring. A ring that will put this one to shame. I'm talking massive. Five or six carats, all for you. Then we'll find you a sexy white dress and get married."

"Your parents would kill you."

"Not once I told them who I ran away with. You'd have anything your heart desires. Always. That's what I can give you, Jadyn James."

With Phillip's coldness tonight and my total insaneness (even if it's happy insaneness) with the wedding planning right now, running away to Vegas does sound sorta freeing.

I look at Jason.

Jason is adorable and sexy, and I'm kinda flattered by this.

I mean, now I have two guys who wanna marry me. I feel sort of unstoppable. This must be how Danny feels when he scores a game-winning touchdown.

"Jadyn James, I do love you. Marry me, and I promise you a great life. What do you say?"

"I say you should've told me you loved me and pinned me back then, instead of getting drunk. I'm also saying that after we hooked up this summer, you should've called. But you didn't."

He looks embarrassed. "I tried to tell you, after."

"What do you mean?"

"I went to your house after I sent the flowers, but you weren't there. Phillip answered the door, told me it'd probably be best if I left you alone. Danny and two massive football players walked up behind him, all nodding, letting me know if I didn't leave you alone, I'd have to answer to them. Plus, you ignored my calls. I'm sorry. I should've tried harder. I promise, I'll make you happy."

Well, shoot. Now I feel sorry for Jason. I feel bad I didn't thank him for the flowers, and that I didn't hear what he had to say. I got mad, and hurt, and I walked away. Someday, I'm gonna grow up and realize that people screw up, and you need to at least listen to what they have to say. Let them explain before you convict them of whatever you think they did. I didn't give Jason a chance to explain, and it could've maybe made a difference. If I would've listened back then, would I be with him now? Or would I have still ended up with Phillip?

I remember after Phillip picked me up from the dance. I ate ice cream and whined on his shoulder. I really liked Jason, but Phillip told me I shouldn't be with a boy who didn't treat me with respect. He told me I deserved better. He sounded just like my dad did when he used to talk about Jake, and for the first time ever, I took Phillip's advice concerning a boy.

"Jason, I'm sorry I didn't thank you for the flowers."

"It's okay," he says, and seeing a flicker of hope, he wraps me in a hug. I don't mind the hug because it feels like one of those closing-a-chapter-of-your-life hugs.

Well, it does until Jason starts hugging my ass. "I'm serious, Jadyn. Vegas tonight? Happily ever after?"

Happily ever after.

I can't help it. Whenever those words cross my mind, I see Phillip's face. I know he's my happily ever after even if he did ignore me tonight. I sure hope I'm right about Phillip.

"I can't. I love Phillip. I wouldn't want to hurt him."

Jason gets his haughty look. "He'd get over it."

"Maybe I'm not that easy to get over, Jason," I say in a smart ass tone. The thought of Phillip getting over me easily makes me mad.

Jason snarls back. "Fine, but when you divorce your friend in six months because you were wrong, don't come looking for me. This is a one-time offer."

"Then you don't really love me, and I definitely made the right decision. Good to see you, Jason."

He's like, "Whatever."

I grab the full pitchers off the bar, yell at the bartender to put it on my tab, and hurry back to the safety of my friends.

Even though I know I did the right thing, my encounter with Jason has my mind spinning. I sipped on my beer like it was poison and finally went home.

Phillip waited up for me. "So did ya have fun? Who all was there?"

"Katie, Lisa, Joey, Neil, and, um, Jason O'Connor."

"I hate that guy."

"So I heard. He told me how he came to the house to apologize and what you said to him."

"Oh." Phillip tilts his head and looks at me. "It was for your own good, you know."

"Wanna know what else he told me?"

"Not really."

"The night of formal, he was going to tell me he loved me and ask me to wear his fraternity pin. That's what he came to tell me that day."

"I didn't know that."

"Yeah, I know. I liked him a lot. He came to apologize, and you had no right to interfere."

"Danny and I were watching out for you. That guy was an ass."

"That ass asked me to go to Vegas with him tonight and marry him."

"He what?!!! Did he not see the rock? Did he not know that we're engaged?"

"Yeah, he knew. Saw the ring. Told me I deserved better, at least five or six carats."

Phillip slowly sits back down. He kinda looks like I just punched him in the gut. "It sounds like you actually considered it."

"I'll be honest, there was a part of me that considered it. Before I left tonight, I tried to kiss you, and I did stuff you normally love. You practically pushed me off you. Do you even like me anymore? I don't wanna marry someone who's already sick of me."

Phillip runs his hand through his hair and sighs. "Princess, I just needed a few minutes to relax and unwind. I had a busy day. I just wanted to sit, watch golf, and not think for a few minutes."

"Well, I'm just saying, that's not the send off your girlfriend..."

Phillip interrupts me. "Fiancee."

".......should get when she's headed off to a bar full of hot temptations."

Phillip looks irritated at me for saying that, but I usually say what's on my mind. And my mind is a little pissed off at Phillip.

"I'm serious, Phillip. You chose TV golf over a romp on the couch with me. And sent me to the bar all horny on top of it."

He considers that. "Probably not a smart move on my part, huh?"

"I'm thinking not so much."

Phillip grabs my ass and kisses the spot just below my ear that gets me every time. He puts his lips on my ear and whispers, "So does that mean you're still horny?"