17. Mabel

Mabel

I woke up to the feeling that someone was watching me. Rolling over, I opened one eye to see Esmerelda standing by the bed, giving me her most earnest ‘I have to pee’ face. With a soft groan I sat up, looking around.

I’d been too tired and freaked out to pay attention to Joshua’s bedroom last night but in the daylight I could see it was exactly what I would have expected. Clean. Masculine. Utilitarian. This place could seriously stand to have a pop of color.

When I reached for my phone I found a key and the note Joshua left me.

Mabel,

I hope you slept well. I have to head to the clinic, I’m on shift until five today. I’ll put in a call to someone I know at the pest control company and see if they can get you in today. Someone will call you. In the meantime, make yourself at home. I’m leaving you a key so you can come and go. There’s coffee on the counter, food in the refrigerator, and Esmerelda can use the backyard for her business, none of the other tenants have dogs. If you want to work here, the Wi-Fi password is DoggyDoc74. Text me and let me know how things are going.

J.

For some reason Joshua’s note made me feel warm and fuzzy. I’d always been an independent woman, but it was still nice having someone taking care of me for a change. I padded out to the kitchen, let Esmerelda outside to do her business, then I got myself a cup of coffee and scrolled through my emails on my phone.

The pest control company called a few minutes later, giving me the good news that they could come out that morning and do an assessment, so Esmerelda and I headed over to the house on foot. When we got there I opened my front door cautiously, as if I’d find a giant colony of rats hanging out in my living room watching TV and eating my good snacks, but the house was quiet and there was no sign of my furry guests.

An hour later I felt less optimistic about getting this problem resolved quickly.

Mabel: The exterminator was here. There are more than the two rats you saw living up there. He says unless I want to deal with dead rats in my walls we need to trap them and wait them out, not just poison them. He thinks it’ll take a week.

Joshua: Y ou’ll stay with me until it’s done.

Mabel: I’ll be OK. I think. Jimmy said it’s unlikely that they’ll eat through the drywall, unless they can’t find food elsewhere. Then they might.

Joshua: I can feel you freaking out from here. Stay at my place. I don’t mind. Really.

Mabel: OK. I really appreciate it. How about I make you dinner tonight when you get home? I make a mean pasta sauce.

Joshua: Sounds good. I’ll be home between five thirty and six unless there’s an emergency.

I packed a few more things, then took the car over to Joshua’s house so we’d have it when we needed it. After taking inventory in his kitchen, Esmerelda and I headed to the grocery store to get what we needed for dinner. On impulse I stopped at the Rise & Shine Bakery to grab something sweet for dessert. The shop was known for their delicious cakes and heavenly apple fritters. It had already become one of my favorite places in Starlight Bay.

While I was waiting in line I ran into a woman who looked kind of familiar. I didn’t know her name, but I was pretty sure she was the realtor I’d seen on a billboard just outside of town. She was in her mid-thirties, slim and blonde, a little too dressed up for a weekday in Starlight Bay.

“Is it true?” she asked.

I looked around, realizing that she was talking to me.

“Is what true?” I asked in confusion.

“You’re dating Dr. Joshua Martin?”

I looked around, realizing that several people were listening to our conversation with unabashed curiosity.

“Um, we’ve been on a few dates,” I hedged.

“I heard you slept over at his house last night,” another woman interjected.

I felt my face heat up. How on Earth did they know that? Small towns really were different than the big city I’d come from. I didn’t even know my neighbors’ names back in Chicago, let alone who they had sleep over at their house.

“I’m just staying at his place while I get some extermination work done at my house,” I rushed to correct her.

“Oh my God, you’re living with him?” the blonde lady asked.

“Staying with him,” I emphasized.

“Well good luck with that, honey. Many have tried to catch that man but he’s a slippery one. I don’t think he’s dated anyone for more than a month or two the entire time he’s lived in Starlight Bay.”

“I’m not trying to catch him,” I replied.

“Well why not?” This was from an older lady sitting at a nearby table. “He’s a handsome doctor, and nice to boot. You think you could do better?”

I felt a little insulted.

“I just got out of a long relationship a year ago.”

I didn’t know why I was explaining myself to these people, other than the fact that they’d caught me off guard.

“So I’m really not looking for anything serious right now.”

“Sure honey,” the blonde lady replied, clearly not believing that I didn’t want to put a ring on it with Josh.

As she walked away I heard her say something under her breath that sounded like, “Lucky bitch.”

When Joshua got back from work I had pasta sauce simmering on the stove and garlic bread in the oven. He looked tired, poor guy. I had a strong urge to take care of him the way he’d taken care of me last night.

“Hard day?” I asked.

He nodded. “We had an unusual number of emergencies today and running on less sleep than usual made it harder.”

“And you weren’t even up late doing something fun,” I said without thinking.

My eyes flew to his and Joshua’s darkened. When I bit my lip, he groaned. We flew together, our kiss immediately hot. Joshua cupped both sides of my face with his hands, holding me in place as he kissed me like he’d just gotten back from war or something.

By the time we separated, we were both breathing a little heavier, and when I glanced down, I could see a nice bulge in Joshua’s pants.

“Let me just make the noodles,” I said, striving to act unaffected. “Then dinner will be ready.”

“I’ll go wash up.”

We ate dinner, with Joshua complimenting my homemade sauce and the variety of vegetables in the giant salad I made. After we were finished, I served us each an apple fritter for dessert, which we ate with a cup of herbal tea.

Through it all, I couldn’t help but think about that kiss we’d shared earlier.

“Mabel.” Joshua got my attention with the rough tone in his voice.

“Yeah?”

“I think I should sleep on the couch tonight,” he said, his face filled with regret.

“Why?”

“Because if I sleep in my bed with you, there’s no way I’m not going to want to make love to you.”

My heart tripped a little at his phrasing, but then I was distracted by my panties incinerating.

“What if I’m okay with it? What if I want to have sex too?” I asked, choosing my words deliberately.

He stared at me for a long, charged moment.

“I don’t want you to feel obligated to sleep with me just because you’re staying here,” he said. “I know we were taking things slow.”

I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing.

“Do you remember the way you went down on me and made me come so hard on your desk that I forgot my own name?”

“Yeah that was just last night,” he reminded me wryly.

“I’m done taking things slow and I don’t feel obligated, Joshua. I feel desperate for more.”

“It’s just that… I don’t know if I can have you just once, Mabel.” His eyes darkened with intent. “I may never get enough of you. I’ve never felt this way about someone before. Everything with you is different. Everything.”

My mind went back to the catty comments from the woman at the bakery. I guess he could be more than a one and done guy if the person was right. Then again…

“I’m not really looking for a relationship right now Joshua,” I said.

I held up my hand when he started to respond.

“But I would be up for us having some fun together and seeing where things go from there.”

I paused, then added. “To be clear, I mean sexy fun.”

I thought he might argue with me, but instead he said, “How about we clean up and head to the bedroom then? I think I want more than an apple fritter for dessert tonight.”