4There was no question in his mind; Eddie Latekka did not want to go to work today. Dripping wet, Eddie stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and pulled it around his waist. He wiped the steam from the mirror and examined his four o'clock shadow. It was easy for him to decide not to shave today. He knew Janet preferred him with a little stubble on his face and, truth be told, whatever Janet wanted, well, he discovered lately that he just really liked to make her happy.
What did Eddie want to do today? Simple. He wanted to climb back into his warm bed where he left his sleeping girlfriend. That was a thought that hadn't occurred to him many times during his previous dating life. Heck, he didn't like to spend the entire night with a girl and usually would escape as quickly as possible if the night led into morning. Had he changed? Or was it just that none of the other girls got to him this way. He decided it was most likely a little of both.
Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice but to continue getting ready to head out to work this morning. With the limited work Best Friends Windows had – he needed to come through on the Cumberland Farms front door and window replacement job today. Nicky wasn't quite up to doing a job like this on his own so Eddie had no choice but to get dressed and leave, even if that meant leaving Janet sleeping in his bed.
He remembered back to last night when he'd playfully begged Janet to come over after her shift at Sully's. Eddie had sat at his customary place at the bar and teased and flirted with her until she gave in. Eddie smiled when he recalled that they'd had fun with it, but she really didn't put up that much of a fight.
When Janet was ready to leave, Eddie had escorted her out of Sully's and back to his house. They would have gone to her house, as they had made a habit of doing, but he knew he'd have to be up and out early the next day for work. This time they agreed that it made more sense to spend the night at Eddie's. She didn't even mind that his bedroom looked more like a dorm room than a grown up's bedroom. His bedroom was very Eddie, and she liked all things Eddie.
He was quite pleased with himself to have accomplished his mission of seducing Janet into his bed last night. He and Janet hadn't been together in days and, although he didn't quite know how he felt about that, he just plain missed being with her. It didn't even matter if they had sex or not, he just really wanted to hold her in his arms. Eddie was amazed, and a bit unsettled, by how much he longed to be with Janet when she wasn't around.
They had ended up having the best time of their relationship thus far and after making love, and talking about everything and nothing for hours, and then making love again, they had fallen sound asleep in each other's arms. Life was good, Eddie thought, as he fell off to sleep. And that feeling continued into his dream state… that is until his alarm clock went off early the next morning. Janet barely stirred as Eddie kissed her cheek and reluctantly left the bed.
After he showered, Eddie went back to his bedroom and, to his surprise; Janet was no longer there. What confused him more was that the clothes, which they had strewn all over the bedroom in their haste to be together last night, were still there. He was not awake enough to even begin to think about what that meant, all he knew was that he really wanted to see her before he headed out to meet Nick.
Eddie got dressed and headed downstairs. When he reached the landing, it didn't take him long to spot her – staring out his living room window, seemingly entranced by the first signs of spring in Knights Ridge. She was holding a fresh cup of coffee in her hands and the morning light illuminated her. He thought she looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her before. And he noticed she was wearing … his robe. He didn't know why, but the sight of this woman, wearing his red and black plaid robe, took his breath away.
In the past, he'd had other women over, he was Eddie Latekka after all, and if they had actually stayed the night, some of them had worn his robe the next morning. He never found anything romantic or sexy about it. If he was honest with himself, it kind of annoyed him. But, this was different. This was kind of like coming home after a long vacation. Something just felt right about seeing her wearing something of his – knowing that after she'd worn the robe it would no longer be only his – in a way it would hers too. He couldn't help but smile at the thought. He also couldn't help but wonder what was happening to him. Sure, he loved her, but this just felt different. Deeper. He pushed the thought from his head and started towards the window.
He walked up behind her, startling her a bit when he placed his hands on her hips and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her backwards towards him.
He greeted her with a raspy voiced "Morning"… "Hey" Janet said as she turned around, staying within his tight grip, and arched her neck back so she could look into his eyes. Before she knew it he was kissing her soundly. She nearly dropped her coffee, because, truth be told, with one kiss he could turn her limbs into rubber.
When they both stopped to take a breath, she carefully put her coffee down, and greeted him warmly with a smile "Wow…. good morning to you too. We should definitely do this more often" she said as she broke into a blushing grin. They both just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.
In typical Janet style she was the one to break the moment and change the subject "I just made a pot of coffee – not quite Sully's finest sludge, but it'll do, can I get you some before you head out?"
Eddie looked down at her "Sounds good. I'd love some but, um, Janet." He paused for dramatic effect, leaned closer to her ear and said in almost a whisper "I couldn't help but notice that… you're wearing my robe."
As he expected, she began to blush a deeper shade of pink as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. She didn't even think about it when she had taken the robe off the hook on the back of his bedroom door and put it on. She assumed it would be okay. After all, it was a whole lot better than putting her beer-soaked clothes from the night before back on. Not knowing exactly what to think she began, "Oh… I'm sorry Eddie, I just thought… '
Eddie didn't let her finish the thought as he leaned down and kissed her again.
When he pulled back he continued, "All I'm saying is, you're wearing my robe … but the good news is that my robe definitely looks better on you than it ever did on me." He watched her face as she slowly began to realize that he had been teasing her, and she gave him a look that she had perfected over the past six months or so – she liked to think of it as her 'so you think you're all that? Eddie Latekka' look. Then, trying to match him tease for tease, Janet replied seductively "Oh, I don't know about that. You'll have to show me sometime and let me be the judge."
Then it was her turn to watch his face as he broke into the smile that he reserved only for her and his eyes began to seductively flirt with hers.
Eddie's mood changed slightly and he went on very deliberately "I actually have to admit that I love that you're wearing my robe. You know that I love you, Janet. " He seemed to remember himself and went back to his flirting ways, "What I hate is that you're in my robe and I can't take you back upstairs and, um, … take it off you"
Janet's face turned to an even deeper blush, she laughed and then buried her face in his shoulder for a few moments. When she looked back up at him she said, trying hard not to smile, "You really know how to make me blush, don't you Eddie Latekka? Here's the thing. I love you too, Eddie, and I really like wearing your robe. But, if you tease me like that one more time, I may have to rethink these mid-week sleepovers and there will definitely be a shortage of booty calls in your future"
They both laughed. And, of course, they both knew she didn't mean it ... at all. Janet continued, "Come on, let's get you that coffee and get you out of here before I lose my will power and don't let you leave."
As they walked hand in hand towards the kitchen, Eddie knew with certainty, no woman had ever gotten beneath his skin like this before. What that meant, he had no clue. All he knew was that they had plenty of time to figure that out.
More pressing in Eddie's mind was this thought: How could he convince her to stay here, wearing his robe, until he could get back home?