Ajest, page 14
She still had hope for him. Someday, with a little prompting, she knew he’d admit to his love. And Drew was the type of person who, once outed, would never return to his old ways.
That resolved, Kesley jumped up from her desk and hotfooted after him down the hall. “Sorry about the flood,” she called at his wide shoulders. “Can I help?”
“That’s okay, sweetheart. No big. I can handle this alone.”
“Mind if I watch? I could use a break.”
Understatement. Before Drew’s arrival, she’d been pouring over the sketchy case history of the newest troubled teen to arrive at The Shelter, the non-profit agency where she worked as a social worker. The few details contained within the report were grim and all too familiar. God, what she wouldn’t give for a laugh.
The irreverent Drew was always good for a chuckle. Say what she would for his devil-may-care attitude towards life, the man did wonders for lightening her mood.
Drew hiked his stylish gray pleated dress pants to the knee. “You wanna watch? Watch away. I don’t mind voyeurs.”
Her downstairs neighbor did display certain exhibitionistic tendencies. However, as much as she needed an infusion of comedy, he offered nothing to laugh about here. She lusted after men with good-looking legs, and Drew’s muscled calves made her salivate, not chuckle.
Correction. More than his good-looking legs made her salivate. Everything about Drew was drool-worthy. Tall, even with his chronic slouch. Athletic, though he never appeared to tax himself. And blond, without the enhancement of any hair products. Drew was by far the most naturally attractive man she’d ever seen. When they first met, his male beauty had bowled her over, just about left her speechless. This in a woman who prided herself on her effective communication skills.
Ten years later, Drew’s male good looks still bowled her over. Fortunately, she’d long since recovered her ability to speak in his presence, especially about really important issues.
“New shoes?” she asked as he kicked off his loafers.
“Naw. I’ve had these a while. I like ‘em because they don’t need tying. Just slip ‘em off and on. You know me, Kes, I never do anything extra if I don’t have to.”
Those extras included the wearing of underwear and socks. Drew never bothered with those either. The lack of socks she’d already visually confirmed to her satisfaction. His going commando – well, that was what he said, anyway.
“Geez, sweetheart,” he shot over his shoulder as he waded barefoot across her flooded tile floor, “haven’t you read the signs posted in little girls’ rooms about the proper disposal of them there things? Flushing ‘em clogs up the works.”
“Wrong time of the month, pal. So, them there things are not causing the overflow. And I never flush ‘em,” Kesley said, not only defending herself but all of womanhood against the arrogance of male plumbing superiority.
She darted Drew a suspicious look. “And how do you know what’s posted inside ladies’ restrooms?”
“Direct observation.” Drew rolled up his shirtsleeves and got down to the business at hand, namely unplugging the lazy toilet trap.
Kesley had always secretly admired Drew’s outrageousness. She harbored no small curiosity herself about what went on inside the opposite sex’s restrooms. Like, why was there invariably a line inside the double “X” chromosome door but no waits inside the “XY”? Men were in and out in seconds flat, while women chatted with each other in polite agony until a stall vacated. Rather than wait, many a time she’d wanted to cross the gender barrier and enter that mysterious boys’ room door. Naturally, she never did. And here was Drew openly acknowledging he’d taken the daring leap into gender crossing territory. This was one story she had to hear.
She bit her lip in gleeful anticipation. “The ladies inside the restroom – what’d they say when you barged in on them?”
“Hey, Kes, I’m no perv. The direct observation happened after hours, during one of my away-from-home consultant jobs, when hardly anyone else was around. Only the two of us were in there.” He gave a phony shiver. “Brr. Scary places are women’s restrooms.” Drew removed the toilet lid and went in up to the elbow.
“Wait a minute. Don’t leave me hanging like this,” she whined. “What were you doing in there with a woman? Do you randomly offer your plumbing services to anyone and everyone, free of charge?”
Drew glanced over at her, a squinched look of male exasperation making his face all the more gorgeous. “Kes, sweetheart, whad’ya think I was doing in there with a woman?”
“Oh, that.”
“Yes, that. The men’s room didn’t have a lock on the door and the women’s room did, so we went in there. And for your information, I never offer my – ” he paused theatrically, “ – plumbing services randomly. I have to at least like the woman. And I never charge. A simple thank you is more than sufficient.”
“Generous of you.”
“I think so,” he said loftily.
Same as always, Kesley couldn’t tell whether or not Drew was teasing her, but she laughed anyway. God, but laughing felt good.
Startling blue eyes, bluer than even the toilet bowl tablets, twinkled at her. “I consider what I do a public service. In this instance, the woman was a fellow consultant, away from home on her birthday. She was lonely, and I was available.” He shrugged. “What the hell? I couldn’t very well turn her down. Not on her special day. That would have been heartless. As it was, we had some fun and it didn’t mean anything to either of us.”
“Could’ve bought her a cake instead,” she grumbled.
“Birthday candles are so not what this lady had in mind to blow.”
No need for Kesley to ask what the woman had wished for – she knew Drew was any woman’s wish come true. If he were aware of his impact on the opposite sex, he never acknowledged it. A conceited ass about his sexual prowess, he had no vanity at all about his appearance. He never looked in a mirror and, like everything else, did personal grooming while doing something else. He combed his hair on the fly, shaved perusing the newspaper, brushed his teeth watching the morning sports on TV – done without leaving toothpaste trails on the floor she could later sanctimoniously point to and say, “See those globs? Those globs are the reason you should brush your teeth over the bathroom sink like everybody else!”
But Drew never left globs. He did everything with effortless grace.
The classy guy offered, “A toilet stall’s ambience isn’t exactly conducive to romance.”
“Could’ve taken her back to your motel room.”
“I did, smarty-pants. Afterwards.” He shook his head ruefully. “I tell you, I was not up to my usual high standards in that tiny cubicle. Why, I could barely perform.”
A first for Drew. The man performed with greater frequency than a jackrabbit on Viagra, or so the stories went.
Leaning a denim-encased hip against the doorjamb, the raised threshold damming the room’s wet interior, Kesley offered a not-so-spontaneous aside to Drew’s salacious restroom story. “I haven’t gone out on a date in over a year.”
“What about me?” Drew looked over at her again. “Don’t I count? We go out all the time. Last time I looked, I still had all the right working parts. And, I can fix your plumbing too.”
Kesley smiled. She was counting on it.
About the Author
Louisa Trent has been published in ebook format since 2001. Her erotic romances have been with Ellora's Cave, Liquid Silver, Samhain and LooseId. Presently, her books are available from multiple distributors through Trent Publications. Refusing to be "branded" ( Louisa has a rebellious streak ) she writes across the genres – contemporary, historical, paranormal, multi-cultural, and sci-fi. Basically, she writes whatever piques her interest, and she is a writer of many passionate interests. Readers can reach Louisa through her website - www.louisatrent.com.
OTHER BOOKS BY LOUISA TRENT
Contemporary
multi-cultural
BITTERSWEET
BRING IT
JOHARI GOES KINKY
SOME ROUGH EDGE SMOOTHIN’
Contemporaries
LOST ANGEL
SCREWING WITH PERFECT
SEX STINGS
THE PICKUP LINE
Futuristic/Paranormal
ISLET ABANDONED
TEMPEST
Historicals
THE ACQUISITION
CAPTIVE
COURTESAN
HIS DARLING
ICON
ON MOORSTEAD
ONLY LOVE
SPOILED
TOUCH ME
WHORE
(Anarchy Tales)
BLADEKYLL
DEATHSTROKE
(Anarchy Tales series)
DEVIL OF NETTLEWOOD
OUTLAW OF IRONGUARD
(Blooming Collection)
LILAC
ROSE
THYME
VERONICA
(Tainted Love Series)
TAINTED LOVE
BLEEDING LOVE
BAD LOVE
Louisa Trent, Ajest
