Page 111 of The Fed Sex Man

Tyson

In my mind,the solution was simple.

Provide a detailed description of everything, stopping along the way to apologize any time Jo’s eyebrows raised in wonder. Knowing neither life – nor women – were that easy, I opted to heed the shared advice of my brutally honest best friend and an orange-haired shopping mall jewelry clerk.

Just in case.

I drew a breath, paused, and then pressed the doorbell.

The door opened. John’s mouth twisted into a smirk. “You’ve got your work cut out for you.”

I gazed beyond him. From what I could see, the room was empty. “What do you mean?” I whispered.

“She’s as stubborn as a mule, operatin’ on about two hours sleep, and nuttier than a squirrel turd when it comes to understandin’ men. Hell, the day’s damned near shot to hell, and she’s still wearin’ the pajamas her mother gave her.” He nodded toward my hand. “Those flowers might not hurt matters, though.”

“Can I come in?”

He stepped to the side. “Sorry. I haven’t got my wits about me this afternoon. It was a long night.”

Jo stepped into the doorway that led into the living room. Wearing a pair of green and red plaid pajamas that were three sizes too small, she looked like utter hell. She glanced at the flowers I held, and then looked at me.

“What are you doing here?”

“Five minutes,” I said. “That’s all I want. Five minutes to explain. When I get done, you can either let me join you for dinner, or ask me to leave.”

She twisted her wild hair into a bun and nodded toward the loveseat. “Okay.”

John gestured to the couch. “Mind if I—”

“Yes, I do,” she said, stepping aside as she spoke. “Go help Mother, please.”

“Fine.” He reached for the vase of flowers I held. “May I?”

I doubted Jo would accept them. I gave him a nod of appreciation. “Sure.”

Flowers in hand, he stomped in Jo’s direction, pausing as he reached her. “Man’s got taste,” he said, eyeing the flowers. “It’s not every day you see an arrangement with hyacinth, jasmine, and lilies. A simpleton would have brought roses.”

Jo’s eyes followed the vase of flowers as he walked past her. After he was gone, she sat at the couch and fixed her eyes on the floor between us.

I sat across the room from her. “I saw Miss Garber as beautiful, because she was beautiful. Anyone that met her would agree. Every boy in school had a crush on her. It just so happened that you read one of many comments that were written in a yearbook that I made no effort to hide from you, because I have nothing to hide from you.” I cleared my throat. “For the sake of clarification, she and I never shared one physical moment together.”

Her pursed lips parted slightly. “Okay…”

“The similarities you share with Miss Garber are merely coincidental. Did I think you looked like her when I met you? Absolutely. Is that why we’re together? Absolutely not. At first, I thought you’d be like every other girl in my life. We’d hang out for a while, we’d have sex, and then we’d go our separate ways. That was my modus operandi. That is, until you.”

“From the moment my father died until the moment I realized I loved you, all I’ve done is exist. After realizing I loved you, I opened my eyes to the world around me and began living life for the first time. I now have an unobstructed view of the world, of you, and of our future. I want different things out of life since realizing I love you.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“A different job. A new pair of boots. Sunday dinners. Marriage. An opportunity to prove to my children that a relationship can last a lifetime. I guess when you get right down to it, I want to start living a life that I’m sharing with you.”

She pulled a strand of hair from her bun and began twisting it around her finger. “When did you realize you loved me?”

“Remember when I said we needed to begin and end with a kiss?”

She smiled. “I do.”

“It was then,” I said. “At that exact minute, I think.”