"Everything is amazing," I replied with a smile. I pressed the elevator button and waited for it to arrive, whistling a tune while I waited.
When I arrived at my own floor, I went right to my office and closed the door behind me.
It was sure good to be back home.
I spent the rest of the day catching up on business that had piled up while I was away. I should have stayed late and worked until nine to make up for it, but I planned on taking Ella out for a nice dinner somewhere, so we could spend some quality time together. While our encounter in the photocopy room was very sexually satisfying, I needed more. I wanted to hear about her parent's visit and how she managed while I was away. For the past month since we started seeing each other, I'd grown used to falling asleep with her in my arms and talking to her every evening and I missed it.
JOSH: I need a good steak and baked potato for supper. I think they also make the most delicious crème brûlée. Care to come join me? There's a great steak and chop house on Lexington.
Ella responded soon after.
ELLA: You had me at good steak. What time?
JOSH: How about six thirty? Come up to the apartment and we can go from there.
ELLA: Okay. See you then.
I called the Cedars Second Chances rehab facility to talk with the intake coordinator about the best way to approach Penny. We spoke about how an addict had to be ready for help and I said I would call back when I had more of an idea whether Penny actually wanted to get sober.
She had to. How could she be happy living that way?
I pushed Penny to the back of my mind and at just after six o'clock, I cleaned off my desktop and left my office, taking the elevator up to the apartment. Once there, I freshened up a bit, brushing my teeth and hair. Once I was ready, I stood at the kitchen island and checked my cell for news from David.
There was a message from him waiting for me.
DAVID: Hey, bro. What's up? How are you doing being back in the Big Apple?
I sent him a response right away.
JOSH: Glad to be back but miss you. Hope Christian's looking after you. Let me know if you need anything.
DAVID: We're good. Send me a pic of you with your new woman. I can't wait to meet her.
JOSH: Will do. I know she'd love to meet you, too.
DAVID: Thanks for coming out to LA and being there when I needed you.
JOSH: I was glad to be with you. Make sure you get some counseling for the PTSD.
DAVID: I'm fine. Seriously. I know I'm lucky to be alive. I just hope we can pull together and keep the band going. It's going to be a while before we can find another drummer like Terry.
JOSH: Take it slow. You need to look after yourself first. Your fans will still be there when you're ready to go back onstage.
DAVID: Hope so.
JOSH: Take care. Love you.
DAVID: Love you back, bro.
I closed the thread and sat back, rubbing my eyes, wondering if David was as good as he was making out to be. At least Christian was with him. I didn't want David to be alone. After a personal loss like that, after a trauma which he felt responsible for causing, David was vulnerable. I wished he was living in Manhattan instead of LA, so we could all be together. But LA was David's home and where his band mates lived.
I could hop on a plane at any time if needed to go out there and spend time with him, so I tried to put it out of my mind.
The door to the apartment opened and in walked Ella, looking beautiful as usual. She was wearing the same black dress, prim but still form fitting, showing off her delicious curves. She had a coy smile on her face and came right over to me where I stood at the kitchen island and slipped her arms around my neck.
"I missed you while you were gone," she said and pressed her lips against mine.
"We fucked only two hours ago in the photocopy room," I said with a laugh. "But I could tell how much you missed me by how fast you came today."