Jo Leigh - Arm Candy

When she lifted her chin to look at him, she realized he was singing, very softly. That he knew every word. Not just that, oh, no. She knew that every word was meant as a promise from him to her. For this dance. For this night. For…

Why Men Are Happy To Be Men

1) Phone conversations are over in thirty seconds flat.

2) A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.

3) You can open all your own jars.

4) If you are thirty-four and single, nobody notices.

5) Same work…more pay.

Source: PLiG “Being a Bloke”

http://plig.org/things/beingabloke.html

TOO TIRED TO MAKE LOVE when they got back to the hotel at three, Jessica did pull him with her into the bedroom. “Is this okay?”

He nodded. “More than okay.” He kissed her, then brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. “Go do your stuff,” he said. “I’ll wait.”

She smiled with an effort, not because she didn’t appreciate his gentlemanly behavior, but because she was just too exhausted.

When she got back from the bathroom, Dan had stripped down to his shorts, a nice silk plaid. She thought about the last time she’d seen him in boxers. They certainly hadn’t fit him that loosely.

How was it possible to feel so aroused when she was ready to drop. Strange, strange.

By the time he got back to the bedroom, she was tucked beneath the comforter, wearing nothing at all. Normally, she slept in a nightshirt, but she wanted to feel Dan next to her.

God, how he’d made her feel tonight. Like a princess. Like the luckiest person in the world.

She’d seen how the women at the party had looked at him. Enviously. Greedily. Even the most glamorous and celebrated of the party guests had coveted her.

In one way, it made her feel smug, powerful. But the attention was also a bit intimidating. When people looked at them, she wasn’t who they were looking at.

“Hey,” he said as he crawled in beside her. “Did I mention how much fun I had with you tonight?”

She nodded. “A few times.”

“Did I forget to say that you were the most beautiful woman there?”

“Uh, nope.”

He turned on his side, putting his arm around her waist. “How about that I’ll never forget dancing with you? That you made me feel like Fred Astaire?”

“Me? You’re the one who can dance. I can’t believe I didn’t step all over your feet.”

“Nonsense. You were an angel with wings.”

“And you’re full of baloney.”

He got that shocked look on his face. “You wound me.”

“You’ll survive.”

His eyes softened as he leaned forward to kiss her chin. “You should probably know that if I had an ounce of energy left in my body, I’d be ravaging you about now.”

“And you should know if I could stay awake, I’d be letting you.”

“Okay, then.”

“Right.”

He kissed her again, but not on the chin. This one lasted a lot longer, too. But finally, he pulled back, she settled down, and they slept, their bodies nestled together like spoons.

MARLA WALKED into the hotel pressroom to find Jessica talking with the editor in chief of Glamour . Listening without looking like an eavesdropper, she couldn’t help admiring Jessica’s aplomb, her ease, her wit. Marla still wanted to grow up to be just like her. But before she got all adult and stuff, she was champing at the bit to tell her boss everything that had happened in the last few days. Not the work stuff, because Jessica knew all that, but the Shawn stuff.

In the meantime, Marla checked in with Cord Wilson, who, with his team, staffed the press booth. They were in charge of tonight’s shindig, a press party aboard a boat that would cruise along the Hudson River. Marla was going, of course, and so was Shawn.

Just thinking his name made her sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

Marla spun around to find Jessica right behind her. “Oh, I thought you were with the Glamour editor in chief.”

“We’re finished. Why did you sigh like that? Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Very, very okay.”

Jessica smiled. “I gathered that last night.”

“Really? You saw us? I mean, you saw he was, like, talking to me, and we were kinda together. Like a date?”

“Yes, I saw. Now, we must go to the bar and discuss this situation, yes?”

Marla nodded. “Oh, yes. Definitely.”

DAN FINISHED checking his phone messages, then turned on his computer to retrieve his e-mail. He’d have a ton of it, but most was probably spam.

As his computer downloaded, he got the phone and called his mother.

She answered with her typical cheer.

“Hi, Mom. How’s it going?”

“Your cat peed in my shoes.”

“Really? I’ve been training her for months. Be sure and give her an extra treat.”

“Ha, ha. Now, how are you, and how is the big experiment going?”

“Great and great.”

“No kidding? I figured she’d get tired of you and throw you out after the second night.”

“Gee, your faith in me is touching.”

“Only you would think prying into some strange girl’s private thoughts is a romp in the park. Private thoughts are private for a reason. Wasn’t it Oscar Wilde who said, ‘There is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were broadcast, would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror’?”

“No. It was Somerset Maugham. However, I don’t find anything Jessica does horrible. Surprising, yes, but not horrible.”

“Oh, my.”

Dan realized he couldn’t do the e-mail and talk at the same time, so he brought up his solitaire game. That he could practically do with his eyes closed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ve fallen for her. Three days out of the gate, and you’re in love.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not in love.”

“You are. And she’s going to break your heart.”

“She is not.”

“Aha!”

“Don’t aha me. She’s a very bright, very insightful woman, and she’s illuminating the subject in a way I never anticipated.”

“Which means,” his mother said, her voice dropping an octave, “that you’ve stopped asking questions and are just having sex as often as humanly possible.”

Dan opened his mouth to protest, when it occurred to him that his mother was right. He hadn’t asked Jessica anything for what, twenty-four hours? “Shit.”

“Oh, honey. What can I tell you? Your intentions are always so good, but when it comes to women…”

“What?”

“Let’s just say that famous scientific detachment comes unglued.”

The solitaire game forgotten, Dan leaned forward in his chair. “You don’t understand, Mom, she’s different.”

“Right.”

“No, really. She’s doing a bang-up job on this marketing campaign. She’s focused but not obsessive, and she’s been unbelievably honest with me. That’s why it seems like it’s moving so fast, because we’re smashing through all the typical getting-to-know-each-other bullshit.”

“I understand.”

“I know that tone of voice,” he said, getting a little fed up. “You’re assuming a hell of a lot.”

Silence on the other end of the line. Then finally, just as he was going to apologize, his mother did.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I have no business judging you like this. For what it’s worth, sweetheart, I hope she’s everything you ever dreamt of.”

“I’m not saying she’s that,” he said, hating the defensiveness he heard in his voice. “I’m just saying she’s, you know, great.”

“Good. And when am I going to see you?”

“After it’s all over. Next weekend, I guess.”

“So your cat will have every opportunity to pee in all the rest of my shoes.”