|
|
|
Josh pulled into the parking lot of the studio and got out of the car. He made his way inside, not stopping to talk, determined to record and get it over with. He wanted this CD printed and in the stores like yesterday! What his father had said the day before haunted him and he knew that he had been playing lately, distracted by his new found love but Jack was right. He had to get this done, he had to make it good and he was in the mindset at that moment to make it happen. Especially since it meant that the sooner it was over with, the sooner he could be with Karen. He felt a dull ache spread throughout his being at the thought of her. He’d watched the plane take off and it was almost too much to bear. Odd though, he’d never felt this way about January when she would leave or he would leave her behind. It was as though he’d known she would always be there. Maybe he really wasn’t so worried if she was there or not, he reasoned. But with Karen, he sighed as he turned on equipment, she was vulnerable, she was easier to access by men other then himself. He shook his head as he thought about the fact that she hadn’t been swept away by some lucky man. Well, he prayed that he had such an impact on her now that any man that would come her way she would ignore or brush off without a thought. He went into the studio, cracked open a bottle of water and downed half of it in one swig. He then proceeded to warm up his voice with a series of exercises. Jake, one of the engineers Josh had called on his way to the studio snuck in while he was practicing and finished the set up Josh had begun moments earlier. When Josh paused to drink more water Jake made his presence known to Josh. Josh waved and then continued his exercise. He finished and then went to get more water.
“Whenever you’re ready, Josh.” Jake said. Josh waved to him and slipped on a pair of “cans” or headphones as non-musicians called them and let Jake know he was ready. He heard music stream into his ears and began to sing the song. He poured out his heart into it and when it was over Jake gave him a thumbs up. Yeah, Jake thought it was good but it was up to David as to whether or not it got printed. He decided to record it a couple more times to give David something to choose from. When that was finished he moved on to the next song and then went to the piano to lay down some musical tracks before calling it a night around 9:30. Josh and Jake walked out to the lot together.
“Hey, man, I saw your new girlfriend.” Jake said to Josh as they stood out in the parking lot, darkness enveloping them.
“Yeah?” Josh asked, afraid of what would come next and prepared for defense.
“Yeah, she’s really hot.” Josh smiled proudly. “There’s just something about an older woman …” Jake shook his head. “My wife is 8 years older then me and she’s so calm and less demanding than any of the women I ever dated who were younger. I don’t worry about the temper tantrums and the whining either. I know you’ll find that with your girl.” Josh felt his chest swell with confidence.
“You know, that really means a lot to me right now. I’ve had so many people frown on my relationship and it hurts, you know?” Jake nodded.
“I know. My own family criticized me constantly about it.” Josh leaned against his car.
“How long have you been married?” He asked.
“Just over two years now.”
“Excellent. And how does the family feel now?”
“They are fine with it now. It took a while but it’s over and she’s one of us.” Josh stuck out his hand for Jake to shake and then hugged him as well.
“Thanks, man, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” Jake smiled and climbed into his Explorer.
“Catch you later, man.” He said and drove off. Josh slipped onto the leather seat of the Porsche and sat silent a moment before starting the engine and driving off.
Karen set her suitcase down on her bed and dug through it. She found the packages Josh had gotten for the kids and called them all into the living room. First she gave Ryan his. He gasped in complete shock when he saw the IPOD.
“Woah!” He said. “This is freaking awesome!!” Karen smiled.
“It’s from Josh.” Karen said. “I never could have afforded to buy you that.” Ryan kissed her cheek.
“Make sure you thank him for me, Mom.” He said. Karen nodded then handed Kelly hers. She opened it gingerly and as she saw the necklace, her eyes opened wide and mouth dropped open.
“Oh wow!” She said pulling the necklace from the box and holding it up in front of her face.
“Now, Kelly, those are real diamonds. I don’t think you should wear it to school.” Kelly stared in disbelief at her mother.
“Diamonds?” She whispered. “No way!” Karen nodded.
“Yeah, diamonds. So don’t wear it to school.”
“How about just once?” Kelly clutched the necklace to her chest and danced around the room. Karen laughed.
“Maybe just once but not on a gym day where you’ll have to take it off.” Kelly hugged her mother tightly.
“This totally rocks!!” She gushed and kissed Karen. Karen turned to Carlie. She pulled out a handled bag and handed it to her. Carlie took it and explored the contents.
“Mom! Josh is totally awesome!! When do we get to meet him?” Carlie asked. Karen felt a twinge of loneliness in her chest that flooded throughout her being. As soon as she’d left him at the terminal she missed him immensely.
“Well,” Karen sighed dropping her hands into her lap. “He’s got work to do right now. He’s making a new CD and when that’s done he will either come here or we’ll go there.”
“I want to go there.” Ryan said quickly. “Don’t they have lots of girls in bikini’s skating all around?” Karen burst out in giggles.
“You’re silly Ry!” She said. She hadn’t noticed any girls walking around much less skating around in bikinis but then again there wasn’t much else she’d noticed except Josh.
“I want to go there too, Mom.” Kelly said. “I need to go to a real beach, an ocean beach. I’ll bet you can find some cool shells there.” Karen nodded.
“I’ll see what I can do. But for right now you guys have to get ready for school.” They groaned but made their way towards their bedrooms. Karen tried calling Josh on his cell phone but got his voice mail. She left him a message and went to put away her clothes from her suitcase. She dumped the contents out onto her bed and began to sift through it. She ran across the DVDs he’d slid inside and set them on the nightstand. She tossed her dirty clothes into a pile and then found the shirt of Josh’s she’d slipped on Saturday morning during the argument with January. She held it up to her face and inhaled deeply his scent. It was the spice of his cologne mixed with the sport scent of his deodorant. Her body responded accordingly. She felt her nipples tighten and a tingling that radiated from her belly to her thighs. She felt his arms around her, his hands gently caressing, lingering longer in some places more then others. She could almost feel his mouth on hers, his tongue dancing inside. A moan escaped her as she went back to the last time they made love this very morning. He was so gentle, his movements precise. The wetness between her legs doubled and she flopped down on her bed, shirt still clutched to her chest. He had held her tightly in his arms afterward, lightly stroking her arm until it was time that they had to go.
“Mom.” Karen’s head jerked towards the door where Kelly stood, interrupting her reverie.
“What, Kel?” Karen said, standing up and setting the shirt down on her pillow. She would cuddle with that later.
“Dad didn’t make us do our homework and I didn’t do mine.” Karen sighed and planted a hand on her hip.
“Kelly Marie! You’d dad shouldn’t have had to make you do your homework, you should have done it on your own! What the hell did you do all weekend?” Karen continued to sift through the clothes on the bed.
“We went to the movies … twice, and to King’s Island on Saturday.”
“Jesus, Kelly, did you even go to school on Friday?” Kelly laughed.
“Yesssss … then we went out and had pizza and went to the movies. We didn’t get to bed until real late!”
“Well get in your room and get that homework done, now!” Kelly turned and stalked off to her room and Karen was once again left alone with her memories. She put her dirty clothes in the hamper and took a shower. She signed onto the Internet and then tried calling Josh again. He still had his phone turned off. She tried to distract herself with the Internet, checking email and looking at websites but it didn’t work. She found herself at Josh’s website, perusing the music section, watching videos of him. It wasn’t satisfactory, it made her miss him much more. She looked at the professional photographic pictures of him and decided they didn’t come close to doing him justice. He was way more handsome then they portrayed. It could have been his personality. He was such a kind and gentle person. Her heart suddenly ached with emptiness. Earlier today if she wanted she could wrap her arms around him and kiss his delicious lips. Now, she touched her lips without thinking, they felt cold and dismal. She groaned.
“Where are you, Josh?” She muttered and as if on cue the phone rang. She swept it up and answered it.
“Hi baby.” He said. A smile spread across her face and she giggled. “What’s so funny?” He asked, suspicious.
“Nothing, I’m just so happy to hear from you.” He sighed.
“I know, I got your messages, I had my phone off. I spent the whole afternoon in the studio. I want to get this done now so we can spend time together.” She was giddy at hearing his voice.
“Did you get anything accomplished?” She got up from the computer and lay down in her bed.
“Yeah, I think I did. Maybe just a few … it’s amazing how long it takes just for one song. And you can bet when David gets in tomorrow he’s gonna say it’s shit and make me re-do it.” Another sigh.
“Does that happen often?” Karen asked.
“More often then you would think. I think it sounds good, you’d think it sounds good, he says it’s shit.” She sighed. Josh was making grunting noises.
“What are you doing?” She teased. Josh laughed softly.
“Getting undressed.” He said in a low voice.
“Oh God, don’t do that to me.” She whispered. “I miss you so bad.” He chuckled.
“Tell me about it. How many times did we do it this weekend? And now I sit here all alone and missing you …” He trailed off. “Very, very much.” He said with a whisper.
“How much?” Karen wanted to know, her body on fire.
“So much that I’m big and hard for you.” She gasped, pain wracked through her, she wanted him so badly.
“Oh God, Josh, I want it.” He was breathing heavily into the phone.
“Not as bad as I want to give it to you. You are so sweet inside, soft and wet …” He trailed off and his breathing was getting heavier. Karen slid off the bed and tiptoed over to the bedroom door where she closed it and turned the lock. She slipped off her pajama pants and crawled back into bed.
“I’m touching myself Josh.” She said as she slid her fingers between her legs and found herself quite slick.
“Oh Karen, baby, imagine that’s me, my fingers touching you, slipping inside you.” She dipped one finger inside her and moaned. “I love to kiss you down there, to slide my tongue inside you, licking you … I love the way you moan and hold my head while I’m doing it.” She found her special spot and rubbed a slippery finger over it. She shivered and then did it again.
“Oh Josh, baby, are you touching yourself?” He sighed.
“Yes. I’m holding it tightly, pretending it’s your mouth on me, the way you were this morning, sucking it.” He gasped and moaned into the phone. The sounds he made while pleasuring himself was bringing Karen’s excitement to a peak.
“Josh, oh Josh, I’m almost there.” She panted. He groaned.
“Me too, baby, me too, hang on another minute …” They were both silent save for light gasps and moans. “Okay, Karen, are you ready?” Josh asked. Karen bit her lip, she was almost past go.
“Yes.” She breathed and as she released, she slid her fingers deep inside herself feeling the contractions. Josh moaned as he came on the other end, calling her name over and over. She relaxed and grabbed for the box of tissues next to the bed. “Oh Josh, damn.” She sighed.
“Not quite as good as this morning but I needed you so bad right now.” She took a deep breath.
“I know. Me too.” She lay back on the bed and imagined he was doing the same thing.
“I miss you, Karen.” He whispered.
“I miss you too, Josh.” She said back, a little choked up.
“When are you coming back?”
The color-filled Maple leaves blew off the trees and drifted past Karen as she walked down the street towards the school. The wind whipped around her legs flattening her pants on her knees and shins. The sky was a slate gray and threatening to rain. Another fall day in Ohio … Karen pulled her jacket closer around her as she rounded the corner and entered the high school. The heavy glass door nearly slammed closed on her behind. She squeaked and jumped as it banged against the jamb. She frowned glancing back at it and then headed down the hallway towards the Dean’s office, heels clicking on the floor. She pushed the door open and went inside. It was comfortably warm and bustling with secretaries and students with passes, anxiously waiting to visit with counselors, their advice muchly needed. Karen stood at the counter and waited to be noticed. Finally a white haired woman with a name tag that identified her as Janet asked if she could be of assistance.
“Yes.” Karen began. “I have an appointment with Mr. Bentley.” She resisted the urge to add, like the car. The woman nodded and pressed a button on the phone.
“Your appointment is here.” She heard her say and then she looked up at Karen. “You can have a seat, it’ll be a few minutes.” Karen sighed and sat down in one of the most uncomfortable chairs she’d ever put her bottom on. She decided after a minute that they probably put those chairs there on purpose to discourage the kids from hanging out in the office.
“Mrs. Tucker.” A male voice called. “I’m Thomas Bentley.” She stood straight up and stared up at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed man who smiled at her. He held a large arm outward for her to shake. She took it gingerly and shook his hand.
“Nice to meet you.” She muttered. He swept his arm backwards.
“Please come in.” He said indicating his office in the back of the room. A wooden plaque with ‘Thomas Bentley, Dean of Students’ adorned the door. She wasn’t impressed. This wasn’t a friendly visit and she wished he’d stop leering at her and get on with it. Once she had entered the office he closed the door behind her and indicated towards a chair in front of a large desk that took up more then ¾ of the space in the room. She sat down on cold leather and set her purse on her lap. Thomas Bentley sat across from her and folded his hands in front of him.
“How are you today Mrs. Tucker?” He asked. She’d had enough of him already.
“It’s Ms. Tucker, Mr. Bentley.” She said, accentuating the ‘miz’ and the ‘mister.’ “Can I just have my son’s toy back now?”
“We have rules in the school to protect the children, ma’am, not to upset them and cause trouble.” She sighed. She’d heard all this crap before and was in no mood to hear it all again.
“Mr. Bentley …”
“Thomas.” He interjected.
“Thomas, I had to leave work early for this meeting, the fact that my son was involved in a fight here in the school has upset me greatly. I understand the whole basic idea of rules and regulations …” She waved her arms in the air illustrating her knowledge. “And I will deal with him appropriately but I need the IPOD back.” She held her hand out to him expectantly. Karen suddenly noticed she was breathing heavily, nearly panting and focused on calming herself before she started to yell and throw things at this imperious bastard who took the IPOD Josh gave to Ryan and is now threatening to keep it. It was bad enough when Ryan was expelled for a day for fighting in the cafeteria with some Junior who wanted to play ‘keep away’ with it. From the day Karen had given it to him, Ryan treated it as if it were made of gold and never, ever let it leave his sight. Never mind that it cost around $500, it had been given to him by Josh and meant more then the outlandish price. Now Karen wanted it back and she wanted it now.
“Ms. Tucker, usually when we take something away it doesn’t get returned.” He smiled and showed his teeth. At that very moment she had a strong urge to knock them right out of his head.
“And if you keep this IPOD you will be answering to my lawyer. That CD player or whatever it is was given to him by someone special and had quite a hefty price tag. I suggest you give it to me now while I’m still being polite.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair obviously weighing the choices. He closed his eyes and blew air out of his mouth. Karen turned her head as the smell of his breath drifted towards her. Had he never heard of minty gum or breath mints? It was especially pungent in that contained space. She glanced down at her watch nervously, the kids were already home, waiting, and Josh was supposed to be on Entertainment Tonight for a short interview. She certainly didn’t want to miss that. He finally reached down into his drawer and retrieved the small IPOD Nano along with a series of cords and a set of headphones and plopped it down on the desk in front of her. She stood and went to grab it but he stopped her.
“If I see this in school again Mrs. Tucker, I’m taking it and bringing it home to one of my kids. God knows we can’t afford this stuff, I don’t know how you can.” Karen snatched it up from the desk and flashed her angry green eyes at him.
“I told you before it was a gift. And if I hadn’t insisted you give it back you were going to do that anyway. You are something else.” She said, stuffed the IPOD in her purse and stormed out slamming the door behind her leaving a trail of blowing papers in her wake. She left the office and left the building hurriedly. Getting into her van, Karen sat trembling on the seat. She hated confrontations, she hated when the kids got into trouble at school and mixing the two together was bad medicine. She went to put the key into the ignition and found her hands trembling. “Oh, Karen stop it!” She chastised herself. She shoved the key in the hole and turned on the van. She cautiously backed out of the parking space and headed home. She was almost there when her cell phone rang. Absently she answered it and the sound of Josh’s voice was calming to her soul.
“Thank you for calling.” She said after taking a deep breath. He chuckled.
“Well you’re welcome but what for?”
“Because Ryan got into trouble at school today and I had to go there for a meeting. I was so angry.” She debated whether or not to tell him about the IPOD.
“What did he do?”
“He got into a fight.” Karen sighed and headed down her block towards the house. Josh sucked in air, not quite a gasp but close.
“Ooooo …” He said. “Not good. Why? Did he say?” Karen parked in the drive and got out of the van.
“Yeah, he said. And it really wasn’t his fault but he did earn a day off of school.” She headed up to the house, all was quiet. She hoped it was a good sign.
“Oh, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars …” Karen chuckled.
“Yeah, something like that.” She went inside and the smell of baking potatoes was in the air. She inhaled deeply. It smelled heavenly. Her belly growled, she had been hungry but until she smelled the food, didn’t realize it. She wondered who was baking them.
“Did he give it to you?” Ryan called from the kitchen after hearing Karen come in. She made her way quickly into the kitchen and shushed him. She nodded to let him know that she had gotten it. He made a “whew” face and pretended to wipe his brow.
“You won’t believe this Josh, but Ryan is making dinner tonight.” Ryan smiled at her and showed his teeth.
“What?” Josh asked, incredulous. “Your Ryan or some alien who has swapped bodies with Ryan and calls himself Ryan?” Karen giggled and leaned forward to kiss her son who was puckered up in front of her.
“It’s my Ryan, at least I think it is, and my Ryan needs a shower!” Josh laughed.
“Very funny, Mom.” Ryan said, sarcastically.
“Don’t forget sweetie,” Josh said. “Turn on ET at 6.” Karen peeked into a pot on the stove and smelled what she identified as chili.
“Oh, Josh, I would not forget that!!! I’d forget to wipe my ass before I’d forget to turn you on.” He snickered. “Now that’s not what I meant.” She said with a smile.
“Yeah, but it’s what you said so obviously your Freudian slip is showing!” She laughed as she headed into her room to change from her work clothes to her jeans.
“Joshua!” She said.
“What?” He said, feigning innocence. “Can I help it every time I think about you and hear your voice I get a stiffy?” Karen sighed. She had the same reaction when it came to him.
“And speaking of which, Josh, when can I see you again?” She slipped easily into her jeans then buttoned and zipped them. He sighed heavily.
“I was going to come this weekend but fucking Brian goes and schedules me for this frigging benefit thing in New York.” She could tell by the way he was talking he was gritting his teeth in frustration.
“I’m sorry.” She said softly. She really was. Her body and her soul ached to be with him.
“On the upside honey, I’m almost done recording.” She smiled for him and for herself.
“Yay!” She said, turning on her computer. She sat down on her bed and sighed.
“What was that for?” Josh asked.
“I miss you so much.” She whined and flopped back on her bed. Josh groaned.
“I miss you more.” He whined back. “I really do!”
“But you’re busy making music and doing interviews and you don’t have time to miss me, I have lots of time to miss you.”
“Oh that’s not true!” He said quickly. “Karen, everywhere I go I see your face, I see something that reminds me of you and our short time together. I am dying, literally dying to hold you!!” She felt an ache in her belly that spread to her chest, engulfing her heart.
“Then get your hot ass out here and hold me, I’m all yours.”
“I’m going to try.” He said, sounding a little choked up. “Trust me.”
“I do trust you, Josh. I know that if you could be here, you would be here.”
“That’s right and I would be holding you and kissing you and …” Karen sat up quickly.
“No! Josh, stop! Don’t do that to me now! I still have to get through dinner!!” He laughed.
“What?” He tried that ‘innocent’ tone that hadn’t worked before. “I was just telling you what I would do if I was there!” She sighed.
“I know and while you were telling me I’d have to close my bedroom door and …” He groaned.
“Let’s.”
“Let’s not.”
“Let’s later then.” She smiled.
“Later is fine.” She could hear, rather then see him smile.
“It’s a date then! Hey, honey, you go finish dinner then turn on E.T.” He said. Karen agreed. She couldn’t finish fixing dinner and hold a cell phone to her ear at the same time, she just couldn’t contort like that and she was getting a pain in her neck.
“That would be great, I’ll call you after I see you.”
“Okay babe.” He said.
“Josh?” Karen said softly.
“Yes?” He replied in the same soft tone.
“I … love you.” He sighed.
“I love you too mi querida.” He whispered and they hung up.
“Holy crap, mom, he said your name!!!” Kelly leaped up off the couch and jumped up and down pointing at the TV. Karen beamed, her face ached from the grin that spread across it. Josh was being interviewed and when asked about January, Josh had stated that he and January were history and he had a new love in his life, Karen and that she was a “beautiful, intelligent, mature, and fun person with whom I love to spend time and as soon as I finish this CD we will be inseparable!” She felt a feeling of love that began in her belly and swelled all the way up to the top of her head.
“Woah, Mom. You’re somebody now. I can’t believe it.” Ryan said. Karen shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. Instinctively she reached over and pinched herself to see if she would wake up. Never in her life did she think she would be the love of anyone’s life much less a famous, multi-talented, very handsome young man named Josh Groban. Carlie leaped into her arms and kissed her.
“You can forget about Dad now, Mom.” Carlie said innocently. Karen squeezed her daughter. It was almost frightening how much kids knew about their parents without their knowledge, like they had a sixth sense or something.
“I could never forget about him, baby.” Karen said and kissed her little girl. “I wouldn’t have you three if it wasn’t for him.”
“Awwww …” Carlie said and wrapped her arms tightly around her mom’s neck.
Karen called Josh as soon as the show was over and after the phone was passed around from kid to kid and they all got to talk to him, she finally settled on the couch.
“You are so sweet.” She said.
“No, I’m honest. I don’t say anything that isn’t true. And Karen …” He paused. “It’s time you know something about me.” She took a deep breath.
“What?” She couldn’t imagine what he was going to say.
“I never lie.” She laughed.
“Yes you do, everyone lies.”
“No, no I don’t.” He adamantly denied.
“Not even little white lies?”
“No. I don’t believe in lying.” She sighed.
“You’re lying now.” He laughed.
“Okay … I may not be rude or tell the whole truth but I don’t lie.”
“Whatever you say Mr. Honest.” He laughed again. Josh and Karen hung up a short time after so she could get the kids into bed and then called him again once they were safely tucked away.
“Are you naked?” He asked. She looked down at the over sized tee shirt she wore.
“No.” She said.
“Tell me you are …” He whispered.
“Oh, so it’s okay if I lie to you but you won’t lie to me?” He laughed. “Are you naked?” She asked him.
“Yes.” He breathed. “And I want you … bad!” She felt heat grip her chest.
“Okay, yeah, I’m naked …” She said anxiously.
“Are you ready for me?” She ran her hand down her belly to her mound and then slipped her finger between her lips.
“Oh God yes!” She said. “I’m ready for you 24/7!” He sighed.
“The let’s get it on ….”
