Craving Her Curves (6 page)

“I can’t see you doing that,” I said. Janice scoffed.

“I love my husband, don’t get me wrong. But there are still things that he does that drive me up a wall after all of these years. And I know that there are things that I do that he can’t stand either. That’s why, when he says that he and some of the others are going out for a drink, I don’t argue about how he needs to come straight home,” she said.

I nodded. “Even after the kind of hours that he works? Being gone for fourteen hours, and then calling and saying that he’ll be late?” Jacinta asked. Janice turned and nodded.

“That’s exactly why I let him go, dear. He works long, hard hours. I want him to come home happy, having let go of all the stress of the day and ready to cuddle up with me to just relax. Sometimes, for him, that means coming home and telling me about it. Sometimes, that means going out for a few drinks with the other partners. Only he can fully know what he needs, and it’s just my job to provide it,” she said. I smiled.

“You should council young couples,” I said. Janice laughed and shook her head.

“Who would want to listen to an old bat like me?” she said. Jacinta, Isobel, and I all raised our hands. Janice’s face flushed and she giggled.

“I think your way of doing things makes way more sense than the way most women handle things,” Izzy said softly. Jacinta and I nodded out agreement.

“I’m flattered that you all feel that way,” Janice said. I took her hand in mine and gave it a little squeeze.

“I hope that when I choose to marry, we’re as happy as you and Mr. Kline seem to be,” I said. She smiled and hugged me again.

“You call me next week, okay? I want the three of you to come out and meet my circle of friends,” she said. I grinned and nodded, making a mental note to make sure that I remembered to call her.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said. Janice hugged all three of us again, then paid and left the shop.

“I adore that woman,” I said softly.

Jacinta nodded, “I love when she comes in; I know my afternoon is going to be fun,” she said.

“She’s a good role model for us, right?” Izzy said. Jacinta and I nodded.

“How to be a grown up,” I said with a laugh that the others joined me on.

“Alright, enough of that. We have a date to dress you for, Miss Charlotte,” Jacinta said. Izzy turned and picked up a pair of shoes from the display case behind her.

“Ooo, can we start with these?” she said.

I snickered. “I’m not wearing six inch stilettos to Cirque du Soleil.” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Oh. Well then, do you all have them in my size?” She asked. Jacinta laughed.

“Hang on, let me check,” she said, shaking her head.

“A
re you there yet?” Izzy’s voice said through the speakers in my car, usurping the music I’d been happily listening to before she called.

“I’m looking for a parking space, so stop yelling,” I said with a snicker.

“I’m so excited,” she exclaimed.

“Yes, I can tell.”

“You have to call me when you get home,” she said.

“What if we decide to go for coffee or something afterwards?” I asked, killing the engine and leaning up into the makeup mirror to do one last check.

“So, call me anyway, I’ll be up,” she said. I laughed.

“But I might be really tired when I get home. I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said. I could hear the pout over the phone.

“Tomorrow? You’re going to make me wait until then to find out how it went?” she whined.

“Yup. Good night, Izzy,” I said.

“You are so mean,” she replied.

“I love you, too,” I laughed, just before ending the call and climbing out of the car.

I hadn’t seen Joey on my way past the entrance just a bit ago, so I texted him since I was a few minutes behind schedule. And that way, if someone kidnapped me on my way through the parking lot, he’d know something was wrong once I didn’t show. But of course, that didn’t happen. I fluffed my hair a bit as I got to the entrance and finally spotted Joey off to the side, waiting and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Considering how tall he was and how muscular he was, I was rather impressed.

“The eagle has landed,” I whispered, slipping up beside him. He laughed.

“Hush, I’m trying not to be tackled to the ground by either a large group of women who want my clothes or a large group of men who want to see if they can take me down,” he said, offering his arm.

“Is that a common problem?” I said. He grinned as my hand came to rest on his arm and he pulled me tightly against him. He was warm and I felt my pulse speed a touch.

“More than you’d think, actually,” he said with a wink before he turned and walked us inside.

“Wait, we didn’t give them our tickets,” I said, halfway turning back towards the booths. Joey grinned and slipped off the sunglasses he’d been hiding behind.

“I’m Joey Parker, Miss Rivera: We don’t wait in lines to give tickets; they just know that I have them and let us through. There are perks to being well-known,” he said with a grin. I smiled and let him lead me inside, past all of the jealous glares once the women around us realized who he was and that I was with him.

“This is fun,” I said softly. Joey snickered.

The crowds inside seemed to part as we made our way through to the premium seats that Joey had gotten for the show. Every woman we passed seemed to stare and wonder how I’d landed THE Joey Parker on my arm. Especially the model skinny ones. They seemed to look angry, honestly. Me? My curves and I felt fantastic.

“M’lady,” Joey said with a flourish in the direction of two seats. I grinned and slipped into the inside as he settled himself in the seat beside me and smiled.

“These seats are awesome: you can see everything from here,” I said, glancing at the stage with a wide smile. Joey grinned and nodded.

“For how much they cost, they’d better be,” he said with a laugh that I joined him in as the lights dimmed and the audience quieted around us.

“Have you ever seen this show before?” Joey said, his lips almost against my ear. I shivered, but swallowed nothing and shook my head slightly.

“No, but I hear it’s good,” I replied. I felt the muscles in his arm flex against me as he turned back towards the stage, and I allowed myself just a moment to enjoy the warmth that I felt there beside him as the performers took to the stage and the announcer boomed through the speakers. We “ooo’d” and “ahh’d” our way through the first half of the show before settling back in our seats to wait out the intermission

“So, from what my manager tells me, you and a few friends of yours are often in the news around here, for frequenting popular events and even starting a few careers,” he said. I smiled.

“One of my friends, Isobel, is a writer at
Pinks
with me.  Sometimes, if we’re at a club or a wine bar and there is someone there who’s phenomenal, we write about them. That has led to a few people’s careers expanding faster than they would have without the exposure, yes,” I said with a grin.

“Uh huh,” he said.

“The other friend, Jacinta, works at 
Mia’s
.” I laughed. Joey gave me a questioning look.

“What is 
Mia’s
?”

“It’s a very high-end, rather exclusive boutique that women pay half their year’s salary for a dress in,” I said.

“But not you, I take it,” he joked. I shook my head.

“I love Mia’s clothes, but I can’t afford that price tag without a bit of planning. I’m not that affluent,” I said with a grin.

“Maybe I’ll take you there, let you pick out something that you’ve always wanted,” he said. I shot him a look.

“Don’t you dare spend that kind of money on me,” I said, which made him laugh. The lights began to flash, notifying those milling about that the second half was about to begin as Joey leaned in close again.

“I will if I want to. And I’m pretty sure you can’t do anything but sit back and enjoy it,” he said softly. I shivered.

~~~

“T
hat was amazing: I didn’t even know people could move like that,” Joey said as we walked through the lamp-lit parking lot towards my car, our arms still linked.

“Me either. I want to see the other shows that they do now,” I said with a grin. Joey laughed.

“They’re in Vegas pretty frequently. Maybe I should check out what shows they have there. Possibly buy two tickets and book a nice suite for two, hmm?” he said, his lips turned up into a teasing smile.

“Hey, don’t think that just because you’re some famous football player, I’m going to just let you whisk me away to Nevada for a week,” I said. He looked down at me with a smirk.

“You won’t?” he asked. I snickered.

“Maybe. Let’s just start with spending some time together,” I said with a shrug as he opened the driver side door for me.

“Does that mean I should hop into the car with you?” he asked with a teasing grin. I giggled.

“Sure, what the hell,” I said. Joey smiled and walked around to the other side of the car.

“Okay, it’s my turn to interview you, Miss Rivera. Tell me about your family,” Joey said, holding a fake microphone up to my lips as I laughed.

“Well, I’m an only child. My mother is Wilma and my father is Bruce. We talk at least once a week and they are both still married to each other, and still happy together.”

“Pets?” He asked. I shook my head.

“Expensive shoes and purses strewn about my apartment means no pets,” I said. Joey laughed.

“Best friend?” he said.

“I have two. Isobel and Jacinta,” I said.

“Ah, from the photos,” he said. I nodded.

“How much digging into me have you been doing?” I asked.

“Enough,” Joey said, looking a little sheepish. I gave him a look.

“Mmhmm,” I said.

“Any crazy ex’s I need to know about?” he asked. I snorted a laugh.

“I’m actually still friends with most of my ex’s, and the ones that I’m not are sufficiently scared of approaching me or anyone I know. So no, you’re safe,” I said. Joey looked at me, amused.

“Scared?” he asked. I nodded.

“I apparently intimidate people without meaning to,” I said. Joey laughed.

“I could see that. You’re very self-sufficient, and not at all interested in someone telling you what to think or how to do what you do... That is intimidating to a lot of people, especially men who are used to women who just do what they say without acting like they have a brain of their own,” he said. I smiled and glanced at him across the front seat.

“What about you? Does who I am intimidate you without me meaning for it to?” I asked. Joey shook his head.

“I’m on the road a lot during football season. I don’t want or need a woman who has to call me for every little thing. I need someone who can take care of at least some of our life when I am not available. I need a woman with a brain,” he said. I giggled.

“I take it you meet a lot of women without one?” I asked. Joey grinned.

“Some just don’t know how to use it, or think that I really don’t want them to. Women that I can’t hold an intelligent conversation with turn me way off,” he said. There was something that we had in common.

“What do you like to do with your free time?” I asked.

Joey grinned. “Planning a date for us, hmm?” he asked with a wink. I giggled.

“Just answer the question,” I said, making a face that made him laugh.

“Mostly, things that let me sit. A good movie... going to sit in the park and read is one of my favorites, dinner with some friends, maybe. Something like that,” he said.

“Reading in the park? That’s surprising,” I said. Joey smiled.

“What? The big burly football guy can’t like to be intellectual every once in a while?” he said. I laughed.

“That depends on what you’re reading,” I said.

“Currently,
The Great Gatsby
for the umpteenth time. I love that book, and I always seem to get something new from it when I reread it again,” he said. Well, color me impressed.

“Nice,” I said. Joey smiled.

“Your turn. What’s your favorite movie?” he asked.

I sighed. “
Casino
,” I replied after a bit of thought. Joey laughed.

“You like gangster movies?” he asked. I grinned.

“No, I love gangster movies,” I said.

“
Goodfellas
?” he asked.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it,” I said.

“What about
Donnie Brasco
?” he asked.

“Love that movie, and I’ve seen the interviews of the man that was actually Donnie Brasco, too. Fascinating man,” I said. Joey nodded and made an impressed face.

“Of course, the
Godfather
movies,” he said. I laughed.

“Of course,” I replied.

“The violence doesn’t bother you?” he asked. I shrugged.

“Some of it. Joe Pesci putting that guy’s head in a vice made me cover my face,” I said. Joey snickered.

“You missed the eyeball popping,” he said. I shivered and giggled.

“Yeah, I know.
Eww
,” I said, which just made Joey laugh harder.

“You are so cute,” he said. I blushed and cleared my throat.

“I am not,” I said softly, embarrassed.

His arm was against mine on the arm rest as we sat there, talking and laughing. It was so warm, so hard and yet soft at the same time. It made me wonder what it would feel like wrapped around me, tight around my waist as he pulled me closer. I shook my head, trying to dispel that thought from my head and listen to what he was telling me. It was the first date, so I was getting a bit ahead of myself, wasn’t I?

“So If you choose to grace me with your presence a second time, oh beautiful lady of the lake, what should we do for date number two?” he asked. I laughed.

“I kind of want to see a movie now,” I said with a grin. Joey smiled and took my hand gently in his. His hands were warm and strong, softer than I’d thought they’d be considering what he did for a living. It made me smile, the way his big hands enveloped mine like they were so small and fragile.

“I will totally find something mafia and violent for us to go see,” he said. I laughed as his fingertips traveled gently over the back of my hand.