Addictive Collision (6 page)

After that difficult conversation, my busy morning went on as usual. I jumped in the shower, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and fixed breakfast. The kids and I ate alone at the dining room table while my husband tapped away on his laptop in the living room, checking his gradebooks or his stocks or whatever it was he was always staring at. He certainly didn’t seem worried or distraught by the fact that it might be the last morning he would spend with his wife and daughters. He just ignored me like he did every other morning.

I looked at the clock and realized we were late.

“Oh no. Tom, we are officially late for work!” I yelled into the next room as I grabbed the bowls off the table and tossed them into the sink. “We’ve gotta go...now!”

“Shit!”‘

“Hey! Not in front of the kids,” I said. Yes, my husband was the college professor, but sometimes he was also the one who needed to be lectured.

Rushing into the kitchen, he shot the kids an apologetic glance. “Sorry.” He then looked at me. “I’ll see you later. I’ve got an exam to give this morning, and now I’m late. This has been one helluva morning already.”

“Dad!” Anna said. “Mom said not to swear.”

“Hell’s not a swear, honey. It’s a place,” he said, staring at me briefly before he bolted off.

I
rushed the kids to school, drove to work, and parked. Just as I walked inside, I bumped into somebody. “I’m so sorry,” I said, without even looking up. When I finally pulled my eyes up from the concrete, I found myself staring into those mesmerizing blue eyes I would have recognized from a mile away. Again, I’d made a klutz out of myself in front of the hunky mailman.

“Are you kidding me? Bumping into a pretty girl is the highlight of my day,” he said. “Sorry I missed you.”

I raised a brow. “Missed me?”

“You usually sign for the packages.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m running late. I guess I’m just in too much of a hurry, and...” My voice trailed off, and I found myself at a loss for words.

“Well, I hope the rest of your day gets better.”

“It already has,” I said, grinning.

He smiled wide, those gleaming white teeth making me wonder why he was carrying mail instead of modeling; Marky Mark’s Calvin Klein ad had nothing on the delivery guy. Personally, I would have rather seen the mailman’s funky bunch.

“Well, I guess I’ll catch you later,” I said.

“Hey, speaking of that, would you, uh... Well, I’ve got these tickets for, um...”

I smiled, flattered by his sudden bout of schoolboy-like shyness. I couldn’t believe he had any trouble trying to pick up women. I was sure they were lining up by the dozens, falling at his feet. “Are you asking me out?” I finished, stunned.

His blue eyes twinkled in the bright sunshine, and the wind tossed his black hair around. “Yes, Wednesday. It’s for seven p.m. at the comedy club. I’m a little rusty at this, in case you didn’t notice.”

“No, I—”

“Okay. Well, maybe another time then,” he said, turning to leave, little beads of nervous sweat forming on his forehead.

I quickly grabbed his python of an arm. “I meant no, I don’t think you’re rusty.” Just a tad nervous.

“Well, I get a little nervous around...beautiful women,” he said, looking me up and down.

I smiled, and now it was my turn to blush. “Well, to answer your other question, yes, I’d love to go out with you.”

“Really? I-I haven’t dated much since my wife died five years ago.”

“I haven’t been out myself, not in, uh...years. If anyone’s gonna have to apologize for being rusty, it’s gonna be me.”

“Let’s take some pressure off then,” he said. “Instead of a date, let’s just call it...two friends going out for some laughs.”

I grinned. “I like that. We can even put some rules into play.”

“Such as?”

“Hmm. Rule number one, we’ll save the ex files for another time,” I said, as I had no intention of bring up Tom, the ultimate buzz-kill. I didn’t even have the guts to tell him I was still married, if only on paper.

“The ex files?” he said, grinning. “That’s hilarious.”

“Rule number two, no sex, no kissing, and no getting smashed so we end up passing out in bed together. I think we need to spend some time getting to know each other—like friends, like you said.”

“No drunk hookups? Got it,” he said. “But just for the record, sober sex can feel Jack Daniels crazy too.”

“So...no drunk fucking,” a male colleague clarified as he walked past, wearing a wolf-like smile.

“Mike!” I said.

“What? I was just warnin’ the poor guy. If you ever do decide to get your drink on, though, make sure to throw a little porn in for inspiration,” he said, winking at me and walking off.

I looked at my sexy mailman and suddenly realized I didn’t even know his name. “Sorry about that. Mike’s...well, he’s just Mike.”

“It’s okay. I know how some guys can be.”

“Do you even know my name?” I asked.

He winked. “Of course, I do, Megan. You sign for those packages every day.”

I smiled, too smitten to correct him. After all, I couldn’t blame him for my horrible handwriting. Still, I laughed inwardly.

He ripped off a piece of paper and jotted down his name and number.

I glanced at it and smiled as I read “Forrest Gregory.” I shook his hand and grinned. “It’s nice to meet you...well, officially.”

“I’ve gotta go,” he said. “Call me, and we’ll fine tune the details.”

“Will do.”

I
opened the door and went to clock in. I felt like I was walking on air. No man had shown me that kind of attention in years. I felt like a schoolgirl, being asked out by the quarterback. I wondered if it was wrong to feel so good, so happy on the very day when I planned to leave my husband. I didn’t know quite what to make of the unexpected surprise.
Maybe fate is finally paying me back for all the bullshit I’ve put up with over the last few years
, I thought.

A short while later, our boss came out and surprised me even more. “Girls,” he said, “I’m gonna have to send you home for the day. I’ve got a bit of a...family emergency, so I’m closin’ up shop.”

Happy for the time off, we all headed up to the bar where my sister worked. My circle of friends mostly consisted of my sister, Alexis, and the three girls I’d grown up with, Sophie, Juliet, and Lori. I got married and had kids, while the rest of them just went on to college. Even though I was working full time, I did get to see them sometimes in the few classes I could squeeze in, and they were a great bunch of gals.

Sophie had an eye for fashion and beauty, and she seemed to see the good in everyone. She would go out of her way to help anyone. Juliet was somewhat of a dreamer. Sometimes her judgment was clouded by her heart. She had a huge crush on our childhood friend, Kyle, a handsome guy but definitely a heartbreaker. He was sexy as hell, with all that bad-boy persona: tattoos, guitar, and motorcycle included. I thought it too bad that she hadn’t fallen for his brother Jasper, the sweetest guy in the world. He and his girlfriend had just broken up, but Juliet only had eyes for Kyle. Lori had a colder edge to her and was far more cynical when it came to men. She swore she’d never fall in love, and she was happy with casual dating. There was also Erin. I’d met her on campus, and we had become fast friends. We all hung out together when we could. I had the family life going on, but I tried to catch up with them as often as I could between all the demands of work, motherhood, marriage, and classes.

Art came over and said hello.

“Hi Art,” I said.

“Hey, ladies, what’s up?”

“What’s up?” I said.

“Alexis is coming over to get your drink orders but I wanted to say hi to everyone.”

“I hope that girl is treating you good,” Lori said.

Alexis wrapped her arm around him. “I am.”

He grinned. “Yeah, I couldn’t ask for a better girlfriend.”

She slapped his butt. “Damn straight.”

He smiled and walked off to take care of some customers at the bar. My sister and Art made the cutest couple. I was so glad everything worked out between them.

Alexis came to my table and sat next to me. “Well? How did Tom take it?” she asked.

“Very...nonchalantly.”

“Go figure. An ass acting like one. He’s been ignoring you all these years, so it really should come as no surprise.”

“When he loses me, maybe he’ll see that,” I said.

“Damn straight.” Her gaze darted to all of us. “Ladies, the first round of drinks is on me.”

“Woo-hoo!” I said. “Free drinks and the rest of the day off. What more could a girl want?”

Sophie nudged me. “Tell Alexis about Mr. Special Delivery, the one you’re going on a date with.”

“Yeah. From what I heard, he’s got one hell of a package to deliver,” Lori said.

My sister smiled. “Yeah, I heard about this guy over lunch. Tell me more, Morgan.”

“It’s Megan.” Erin laughed. “Her name has been officially changed.”

Alexis cocked a brow. “And why’s that?”

“The hot delivery guy thinks that’s her name.”

“And why would he think that?” my sister asked, obviously confused.

“Because of my sloppy-ass handwriting,” I answered. “You know how it is, now that everyone types everything these days.”

“You shoulda been a doctor, sis.”

I laughed.

She continued, “Why didn’t you correct him?”

I cringed. “Because...well, he’s just so hot. I kinda froze and didn’t have the nerve.”

“Blinded by his beauty, huh?” Sophie asked.

“We’re talking Greek god beauty,” I said. “I’m talking Adonis-hot.”

“So my sister is finally going to get some,” Alexis said with a big smile.

“We’re just friends.”

“But it’s a date,” Erin said.

“Yeah, I believe we all got that text.” Sophie laughed.

I sipped my drink. “It’s not what you think.”

“Let’s see,” Lori said. “You fantasized about ripping his clothes off in the rain when you ran into him, so please tell me how you’re just gonna be friends when you two are alone together. I’d love to hear how you’re gonna pull that off.”

“Yeah, I think we all know what she’s gonna pull off,” Sophie chimed in, still laughing.

“You’re right. I can’t just be friends with somebody like him. But I’m still married, and I shouldn’t even be going on this date.”

“Yes you should,” Erin said. “Your marriage ended ages ago. You need to quit grieving the loss of something that’s already dead. It’s not like this is a fresh wound. Technically, the mailman’s not even a rebound guy.”

Sophie, always the more compassionate one, looked at me and mugged out her bottom lip in a pout. “Aw. Look, things mighta been over with Tom a long time ago, but it still hurts, huh?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. It’s hard breaking up a family. I feel like a hundred different emotions are running through me,” I said.

“So, anyway, what’s this new guy’s name?” Alexis asked curiously.

I grinned. “Forrest.”

“As in...Forrest Gump?”

I slugged her. “No! Far from that. Think more along the lines of Hercules, all that cool, crisp, long, loose hair blowing in the wind.”

Lori glanced down at her iPad. “Do you know the first ancient Greek translation of
forest
was ‘large penis.’”?

We all burst into laughter.

“I’d love to get into his forest,” Lori said. “Suck his dick like a candy cane on Christmas morning and give ‘im some real porn-worthy head. Mm-hmm. I’d like to get into his box of chocolates!”

“You did not just say that,” I said.

“I can’t help it. How often is a guy like that even available?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t get past his name,” Alexis said. “You need to snap a picture of him, while you’re at work or something, just so I can make sure he doesn’t look like Tom Hanks in that weird little suit.”

“And look like a total stalker? I don’t think so.”

“Are you gonna call him tonight?” she asked.

“And look totally desperate?” I retorted.

“Why not? You kinda are, sis,” she teased.

I laughed. “Okay, maybe I am, but I have a lot on my plate right now. I mean, tonight, I have to get my things and the girls out. In fact, I think I’m gonna cancel the date and see if we can hook up in a few months, when things settle down. I need to be there for my kids during this confusing time. I guess I just got swept up in the moment of a good-looking guy showing me some attention.”

“What!? You can’t just toss a fish like that back in the ocean, girl,” Erin said. “You might never see him again. Some other girl’ll snag him right up.”

I sighed. “If it was meant to be, then it will be.”

“I’ll tell you one thing,” Juliet said. “It’s definitely an ego booster to snag a hottie. Where can I get some arm candy like that? Maybe a guy like that would make Kyle jealous enough to—”

“Oh, my goodness,” Erin interrupted. “With a boyfriend like that, why would you need Kyle?” Then she looked over at me. “If you’re on the arm of a guy who looks like that, you’ll get the VIP treatment wherever you go.”

Juliet laughed. “Yeah, but on the flipside, Morgan will turn into a jealous, territorial, possessive lunatic. I mean, who wouldn’t, with every woman checking out his gorgeous body?”

“I think you guys are getting a little ahead of yourselves,” I said.

“He’s the perfect guy to date after a bad divorce,” Lori said. She then cleared her throat. “No, scratch that. Let me rephrase. He’s the perfect guy to
fuck
after a bad divorce.”

I playfully slugged her.

“So, tell me more about this Forrest. For starters, he wasn’t ever on leg braces was he? And are you sure he’s not already in love with some girl named Jenny?”

“Not that I know of,” I said with a smile.

“He’s so masculine, yet he has these, Bambi-like eyelashes and these gorgeous blue eyes,” Sophie said, as if she’d memorized his every feature as well as I had.

“His face looks like it was chiseled by some Italian sculptor,” I added.

Sophie smiled. “Yeah, and he’s got that mouth, those full lips, perfect for smooching the night away.”

I laughed. “He has a sweet, boyish, charming grin with a perfect movie star smile.”