chapter two

I wrap my arms around her body as I wake up. The lotion she insists on putting on before she gets into bed to make her skin even softer than it already is has left its aroma all over the sheets and her. Thank God it’s a scent that has the ability to send my testosterone flaring on certain occasions so I can live with it. Not like that damn vanilla shit she used to wear. I am not a vanilla guy. Now floral scents on Beth, that’s a whole different scenario which she has taken to quite well.

“Mmmm, don’t tell me it’s morning already.”

“Okay, I won’t tell you it’s morning already,” I respond, moving my face to her neck and sucking on it gently, nipping at her skin.

“I have to go to work. I wouldn’t get too worked up if I were you.”

I groan and she flips the covers off herself, shuffling her way into the bathroom and taking a shower. I rub my tired eyes and get out of bed myself, joining her in the shower. I open the glass door and step into the water, “What do you want for breakfast?”

“I don’t have time for breakfast this morning. I have to meet Lexi at eight to go over the charity event coming up.”

“I thought the reason I hired Lexi was to make sure that she could do without you,” I complain.

Beth turns around and throws me a dirty look, “She’s new and is doing her best. Besides, I always help with the planning of these kinds of things.”

“You were a born business woman,” I reply, massaging her shoulders gently.

“Thank you, but I have to run and no amount of sucking up will lead to you getting laid this morning.”

I reluctantly let go of her and she kisses me, getting out of the shower and quickly drying her hair before swirling it up into a bun. I turn off the shower and brush my teeth as I see her pull on her work clothes with a last wave before heading out the door.

I get dressed and go downstairs to see Gia already on the phone scheduling my appointments and Tyson sitting at the table with a straw, blowing bubbles into the milk in his cereal. I wink at him and hand him a spoon, which he takes and starts to eat his fruit loops. I pour myself some cereal and sit across from him, making faces at him while Tyson eats, causing him to crack up. He gets up from his chair and comes over to me, hoping into my lap.

“That would be great, thank you,” Gia says hanging up the phone and turning around to see Tyson comfortably sitting on my lap, helping me eat my breakfast.

“Tyson, could you please let Justin eat in peace please?”

Tyson starts to pout a little and looks up at me for help. I look down at him and match his face, “He’s fine. I like having him with me.”

“Are you sure?”

We both nod together and go back to our cereal. She smirks at us and cocks her head to the side, “You guys are like a hallmark commercial you know that?”

I tousle Tyson’s hair, “Well anything with this little guy in it would tug at anyone’s heart strings.”

Gia tries to stop from blushing, “Oh please.”

“Oh don’t be modest G, we all know where he gets his good looks.”

Tyson nods in agreement and Gia hands me a fruit by the foot to give to Tye, “Okay we have to go to the dance studio to meet with Marty. Come on Tyson,” she adds, holding out her hand. She looks back at me and smiles as she puts Tye in his car seat.

I retrieve my keys and put them in the ignition, revving it, “Who wants to have fun?”

Gia gives me a dirty look and Tyson squeals with delight, “Let’s ride.”

________________________________________________________________________

I find Lexi sitting in the conference room as I walk in, placing my purse on the table, “Morning.”

Lexi lifts her head up from the staring contest she was having with the piece of paper in front oh her, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder, “Hey, how’s it going?”

“It’s going. So how is the charity party coming?”

Lexi rummages through her briefcase and pulls out a list of people, “Most people have confirmed they are coming. Colin Farrell is going to be giving a large speech on alcohol and drug abuse.”

I chuckle, “Shouldn’t we be booking celebrities who are actually overcoming the sickness, not trying to stay sober for one night?”

Lexi giggles a little before taking a sip of her coffee, “We do what we can. He’s a huge figure and his extra large donation should make a nice padding in our fund for the new wing.”

I nod, “If you say so. I have found a contractor I really like so he can start work as soon as next month. That way we can have some of the patients on the waiting list in by the fall.”

Lexi pulls out a document and hands it to me, “You want to enlarge the kitchen as well?”

“I think it’s necessary as well as hiring a few more cooks so ours aren’t overloaded.”

“Okay, just sign along the dotted lines and I’ll give it to Tim so he can process it and send it out.”

I scribble my signature onto the paper and hand it back to her, “So what time does the event start?”

“I was thinking eight? That way it’s not too late to an appetizer and a casual cocktail, since it is a charity for drinking problems after all. I figures we had to have some liquor but keep it at a minimum.”

A smile pulls at my lips, “Yeah, loosen them up before asking for money.”

“The caterer was called and is ready, he’s just waiting for a head count. Which reminds me, you never told me whether Justin is coming or not.”

I rub my temples in an effort to remember if he had some sort of thing he had to do that night, “I totally forgot to ask. I’ll ask him when I get home.”

“I can’t believe you were once a personal assistant. Talk about a step up,” she says in disbelief.

I put my pen down and smile, “You wouldn’t believe what it took to be here.”

Lexi bites the tip of her pen, “Really?”

“Mmmm, we have been on a roller coaster that I wasn’t sure I was going to live through. And then, we just came to this…. place where we stopped fighting for two minutes and realized that underneath, we were what each other needed.”

“Is it hard being with him?”

I shake my head, “Not him, others try to fuck with us but so far we have been able to rise above it.”

Lexi listens as though she believed me but was curious as to if I was glossing over some details. I turn to her, “You have never met Justin have you?”

She pauses for a moment to recall her last month here, “No, not yet.”

“You have to meet him. He’s just this wonderful guy, you know?” I gush. I don’t care though, I’m proud of him. He overcame all his shit to be with me. That and he has the hottest ass this side of the Mississippi.

“Don’t make me vomit, I’m not dating anyone right now.”

“Call Gia, she’s good at that kind of thing. Or at least that’s what she proclaims.”

Lexi hands me come coffee, “Gia who?”

“Justin’s personal assistant.”

She raises her eyebrows, “You mean your replacement? Was that hard for you, especially since it was a female?”

Gia wouldn’t consider sleeping with Justin if he was the last male on earth. If I remember correctly when she was asked the question during some dare night, her response was, “Are there sheep?” Yeah I love that girl, “Gia and I were friends long before she ever got the job. Besides, if I had to handpick someone out of every person on this earth, it would be Gia.”

“You guys must have a lot of trust. I’m not sure I would trust a girl alone with my boyfriend all day long.”

I pour some cream into the burnt coffee in hopes to make it halfway decent, “She’s married with the cutest two and a half year old. The kid could be the Gerber baby I swear.”

“Good for you.”

“That’s what I tell myself every day,” I laugh.

________________________________________________________________________

The doorbell rings and I take off my headphones and place my guitar on the stand, making my way into the living room to discover Gia asleep on the couch. I know Tyson has been keeping her up all night for some reason so I quickly jog to the door to keep the person from knocking and waking her up. I open the door to see a very tall Sam waiting on the other side. I immediately pull him into a hug, “Wow man, you got tall,” I say, taking a step back to take a good look at him.

“I grew a foot and a half in the last year,” he says as I realize that he is taller than I am when he steps into the hall.

“What are you doing here?”

Sam rubs the back of his neck, “I wanted to see my sister and my favorite almost brother in law. If that’s alright with you, I don’t want to impose.”

I laugh, “Of course you’re not imposing. Come on in. And while we are at it why don’t we just chalk it up to brother in law.”

Sam nods, “I read that article you gave with Rolling Stone. It’s a lot better than your last one.”

“I was a little high last time I sat in the same room with them. I wasn’t exactly thinking strait.”

He starts to laugh, “Hey I just remember her picturing your head on a chopping block over the whole boob thing.”

I feel my cheeks burn, “You knew about the breast comment?”

“Oh yeah, she made it clear that if I ever did that to a girl, I wouldn’t live to see another day. Of course, that was before she was sleeping with you so maybe she has a different perspective now.”

I take a magazine and smack him upside the head, “Okay smart ass, you want something to eat or what?”

“I could use something to eat if it’s cool with you.”

I open the fridge and pull out some sandwich meat, “So how did you get here anyway?”

“I drove.”

I close the fridge and look at him again, “You’re sixteen already?”

Sam takes some turkey and puts it on a roll, “That’s what they tell me.”

He takes a peek into the living room, “Gia’s sleeping? Is she sick?”

I put some mustard on my sandwich, “No, Tye has just been keeping her up at night because he can’t fall asleep for some reason.”

“Ah, the joys of motherhood.”

“They do it because they love their children, or in your case siblings.”

Sam nods, “Beth must love having Tyson around.”

“That is the understatement of the year,” I answer, putting some chips on my plate and handing him the bag. He takes some for himself and I wrap up the bag, “We can go sit on the porch.”

He follows me out to the table on the porch and takes a seat, “So what have you been up to?”

“Not too much. Recording some material, doing a few interviews. I did get to do some recording with Pharell which I always find inspiring.”

“And Belle?” he asks, his face lighting up.

“Beth has been busy. We just opened the third rehab location in California so she’s setting people up to run it there. She’s actually arranging a charity event for it next week.”

Sam squints as the sun almost blinds us, “Good, she’s so happy doing that job. All she talks about are the people who she’s helping and the recovery stories. I’ve never seen her happier.”

“That’s all I want for her. If she’s happy, then I’m happy.”

“I know, that’s why I trust you with her. I know you would do anything for her. I hope I’ll do the same when I find a girl I care about that much.”

I hand him a water bottle, “You already did.”

Sam laughs, “Yeah I guess I have. Now I’m just looking for my number two.”

“And might you have her lined up already?” I ask already knowing the answer as he blushes slightly.

“I might have my eye on a certain girl.”

“What’s her name?” I ask, remembering what it felt like to have feelings for someone when I was younger,

“Rachel.”

I shake my head, “You might as well know now, they are going to rule your life from now until the end of time.”

I see a certain brunette come through the kitchen and out onto the patio, spotting Sam and doing a jog until she reaches him, “Sam!” she cries, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing until I’m quite sure he can’t breathe.

“Hey sis.”

“What are you doing here?” she asks, pulling away the few strands of hair that are stuck to her lipgloss.

“I thought I would drop by for a visit. Justin said it was cool.”

For the first time, Beth has to look up to him to meet his eyes, “Of course it’s okay.”

She moves to sit in my lap and I uncross my legs to accommodate her, “So how was work?”

Beth holds up one finger as she finishes chewing on a bite of my sandwich, “It was good. Were trying to coordinate the construction and the party all at once with no place to hold the event. The place we normally held it at, you remember Nino’s, are closed from a gas leak. That leaves only Lexi and I to come up with a solution before next Friday.”

“So in other words you were busy.” Sam says, simplifying the previous statement.

“Thank you Sam.”

I rub her back affectionately, “Why don’t we hold it here?”

She looks back at me, “You would be okay with that?”

“Sure, it’s not like we don’t have the room to host a party.”

Beth leans back and kisses me, holding my face in her hand and turning it to Sam, “This is why I’m with him.”

Sam nods, “That and the sex.”

I crack up and Beth throws him a look that can only be described like the first time your mother hears you swear, “Samuel Joseph Addison. You know I liked it better when you couldn’t talk.”

He rolls his eyes but takes her hand, planting a kiss on it, “You know I’m only kidding.”

“You better watch out because the next time I’ll wash your mouth out with soap.”

He just rubs his thumb over her knuckle and smiles, “Whatever you want.”

“Come on and I’ll show you where you can crash tonight. Then you can tell me what it is with guys and the fact that sex is always on their mind.”

I watch Beth and Sam walk away and it reminds me of the subject I want to talk about with Beth. It’s one I’ll wait until Sam in gone to discuss but I pretty anxious to tell her. Hopefully everything will settle down and we can talk on vacation.

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