Fervent Desires

Chapter 19 - An almost Perfect Day

I woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. Erica was busy in the kitchen making breakfast. She smiled at me when I walked in and placed a cup of coffee in my hand.

“Hmmm that smells good," I said, taking a sip from my mug.

“I figured you’d have an appetite from last night,” she smiled.

“Is that so?” I leaned against the counter and watched her over the rim of my mug.

She noticed me watching and blushed immediately. “What?”

“Do you need help?” I asked, pushing off from the counter.

“Help with what? You don’t cook,” her tone was patronizing.

“I can do dishes,” I defended, putting on my best offended expression.

“I’ve got it, just have a seat and let me pamper you,” she smiled sweetly.

“I like the sound of that,” 

There was knock at the door and I abandoned my chair to answer it. “What are you doing here?” asked Vaughn, when I yanked the door open.

“Are you forgetting that my girlfriend lives here?” I rolled my eyes.

“Your girlfriend? I didn’t know that we were defining the relationship,” he teased.

“Shut up Vaughn!” I yelled, before leaving the door open for him and heading back to the kitchen.

I returned to the kitchen with Vaughn close behind me. “Good Morning Erica,” he had the brightest smile on his face and I immediately knew he was up to no good.

“Oh hey Vaughn,” she smiled before turning back to the bacon. “Cindy’s getting ready, do you want something to eat while you wait?” she added over her shoulder.

“Sure,” he replied, quickly shrugging off his jacket and taking a seat at the counter.

I glared at him out of the corner of my eye. The bastard was enjoying this; being served by my woman and right in front of me at that. I watched as Erica brought two plates over and set them in front of Vaughn and I. Can I get you anything else? Coffee or Juice?” she was being the perfect host.

“Sur-,”

“He can get his own damn juice,” I cut in.

Erica looked at me stunned; while Vaughn looked utterly amused “Fine,” he said getting up from his chair “chill”.

By that time Cindy was done getting ready and had emerged from her bedroom. “Vaughnny,” she squeaked, throwing her arms around him and crushing her lips against his.

Erica chuckled at the face I made as I dodged out of the way. I hadn’t spent much time around Cindy, but from what I could see she was a bit annoying. Her voice was high pitched and she hung on to Vaughn every chance she got. It was as if she was afraid he might run away. Cindy prattled on incessantly, moving seamlessly from one topic to the other. I nodded my head pretending to be interested; while allowing my mind to trail off.

“Hey you guys should come to Coney Island with us,” she suggested, bringing me out of my daze.

“Sounds like fun,” Erica answered before I could respond.

I shot her a horrified look but she didn’t notice; since when was she so comfortable being in public together? I looked over at Vaughn who was trying to hide his amusement by looking down at his phone. I suppose I didn't have a choice in the matter. Before I knew it both girls were already grabbing their purses and heading through the door.

“Let’s go Vaughnny,” I tried mimicking Cindy’s high pitched voice.

He looked exasperated and I loved every minute of it. He was the one always busting my chaps and now I finally had him on the receiving end. The drive to Coney Island was excruciating; Cindy talked the whole way there. Erica and I stole glances at each other and she giggled knowingly at the tortured expression on my face. I sent up a silent prayer of thanks when we finally got to our destination.

“Quite the talker isn’t she?” I murmured when they were out of earshot.

“She grows on you,” she smiled, linking her arm through mine “like a new haircut,”

“Like a rash,” I amended placing a kiss on her cheek.

“Taylor!” she yelled “Be nice,” I could see her fighting the urge to laugh.

“C’mon, let’s go to the coasters,” I said, knowing full well Vaughn hated roller coasters. I could never get him to ride the damn things when we were in college; but to my surprise he joined the line with very little protest. He must really like Cindy I thought. We picked the roller coaster with the shortest line and before long it was our turn.

I sat in anticipation as the car pulled away slowly from the station. I looked over at Erica who smiled at me widely which only made the butterflies in my stomach even worse. My anticipation rose with every click and clack up the lift, my palms grew sweaty, my body grew tense and my heart raced. I always loved roller coasters, they provide an unparalleled experience. The feeling of being both scared and thrilled at the same time isn't one you encounter often. We finally made our way to the peak, where we felt like we were on top of the world. There was a ten second stand still before, whoosh, the car rushed downward. I could hear Erica’s elated screams next to me, my own blood rushing through my veins and my heart pounding out of my chest. I stifled an exhilarated scream as we rounded a bend. I threw my arms into the air excitedly when the car made a sudden and rapid dip. My arms were still in the air when we felt the sudden scraping of the brakes. As the coaster slowed on its return to the station Erica looked at me, her smile grew even wider. I smiled and looked back at Vaughn; he looked like he was about to throw up and I couldn’t suppress my giggle.

“Where to next?” I asked as we climbed out of the coaster.

“How about some food?” suggested Cindy.

Vaughn groaned at the mention of food and I quickly put some distance between us. I was not about to have him throw up on me. We made our way through the crowd and stopped by a stand. Vaughn and Cindy went to find seats for us and we soon joined them; our arms loaded with corn dogs, French fries, corn on the cob, funnel cakes and a couple of sodas to wash it all down.

“Want some?” I asked shoving a corndog at Vaughn. I grinned when he turned away holding his stomach.

“I can’t believe I let you convince me,” he said to Cindy.

“Oh come on Vaughnny, I couldn’t ride alone,” she whined. “I’ll make it up to you later,” she trailed her fingers up his shoulder.

I rolled my eyes and took my seat next to Erica who had already began devouring her funnel cake. She tore a piece and popped it into my mouth. I held her hand to my lips and slowly sucked the remaining powdered sugar from her fingers. I felt her shudder at the intimate gesture and a smile spread across my lips.

“You’re such a tease,” she gave me a lighthearted shove.

Erica kept glancing at me while we ate and by the time the meal was over I wanted to be alone with her. I jumped at the opportunity when she said she wanted to take a stroll on the boardwalk. Cindy and Vaughn had declined going and I was ecstatic. We strolled leisurely along the boardwalk her hand in mine, finally we were alone. As we neared the end of the boardwalk I pulled her up against me; taking both her hands in mine I placed my lips softly against hers. She smiled and a blush quickly rose up to her cheeks. There wasn’t really anyone close by, all the other patrons were either gathering at the theater or at the water park.

“I really enjoy being with you,” I said quietly.

Erica beamed up at me.

“Being with you has been the most fun I’ve had in ages. I can’t remember the last time I took a week day off and it’s been such a peaceful one at that, my phone hasn’t even-,” I froze, grabbing my pockets as realization struck, I had left my phone at the apartment.

We hurried back to the apartment as fast as we could. I grabbed my phone off the side table. I had eighty missed calls, all of which were work related. I opened my messages to see that I had thirty unread messages the majority of which were from Anna, asking where I was and telling me I needed to get there quick. I had one in particular from Vincent Hayle, my boss, “Where the hell are you? The FBI are here and they need to speak with you”.

I was in deep s**t.