What He's Been Missing

“What’s that ringing?” Xavier asked as I pushed him into the bed, ready to show off my skills.

“It’s just my phone.” I hopped onto his waist and started kissing his chest, moving my hands up and down the muscles in his stomach.

“Ohh,” he moaned, but I could feel that he was distracted. The phone was still ringing. “Maybe you should get it. Maybe it’s your grandmother.”

“She wouldn’t call me so late.” I flipped my hair forward over my face and ran it down the center of his chest.

“Maybe it’s an emergency.”

“It’s not!”

The phone finally stopped again. I tried to focus Xavier by placing his hands on my hips. I ground seductively on top of him and twisted my feet in between his legs.

“I guess your toe is feeling better,” he said playfully.

“Yes, Daddy. All better.” I went down to kiss him, but then the ringing started again.

“Maybe you should check it out.” Xavier moved his hands to my shoulders to stop me.

I climbed off of him and fumbled around in the bedroom to find my purse and get the phone. I was so frustrated that I didn’t even look at the name on the screen.

“Hello?”

“What are you doing?” The voice on the other end of the phone sounded more frustrated than mine.

I looked at Xavier and he held up his hands.

“I’m—What do you want?”

“What do you mean, what do I want? I’ve texted you three times.” It was Ian.

“I was out. I didn’t see the texts.”

“I wanted to know if you asked X about coming over for dinner tomorrow,” he said. “And then I got so scared when you didn’t respond . . . I don’t know . . . I just rushed over.”

“Rushed over?”

“Everything OK?” Xavier asked.

I covered the phone with my hand. “It’s fine.” I backed out of the room and went to the window in the living room. “Rushed over where?” I looked outside into the lot and there, right beside my car, was Ian’s.

“I’m outside,” he said.

“Why?”

“I was afraid. I thought something happened to you. I just wanted to make sure you were OK.”

“I’m fine.”

“Well, you didn’t answer my texts. You always answer my texts. What did Xavier say about dinner at my place? I want to see you.”

“Ian,” I whispered, looking over my back to make sure Xavier hadn’t come out of the bedroom and could hear me. “It’s almost 1:00 AM. Can’t we discuss this in the morning? I’m going to bed.”

“What? You have a curfew now?” He laughed.

“No. I’m just busy,” I said.

“Well, are you busy or are you going to bed?” He laughed uneasily this time.