ChapterFifteen
Joyce
I double check to make sure I have everything in my spend the night bag and head to Joseph’s house. This will be the first time staying over since he called me a few days ago. When I left his house that day, I had every intention of going back to N. C., and work on getting over Solo. He asked me to come over the next day so we could talk. When I got there, he apologized for his behavior, but I assured him no apology was necessary and we agreed to finally get to know each other. We talked that day until it was time for me to go back to the hotel. As I was on my way out the door, he asked me if I would be comfortable spending the night and of course I said yes. So here I am. Joseph gave me his SUV to drive, and I throw my bags in and head to the compound.
It is a particularly hot evening and when I make it to his suite, he has left me a note letting me know he is upstairs at his deep dive pool. When I get up there, he is in the pool, sitting in an aquatic wheelchair relaxing.
“I think I am part fish. I have always loved being in water. My mother told me she used to have to bribe me to get me out of the bathtub and once she put me in swim class it was over. I was thoroughly in love. Get in, Joyce.”
“I don’t have a swimsuit,” I declare.
“You have on a bra and panties; get in. No one will come up here until I call for them.”
I don’t think about it anymore and remove the sundress and slip in the pool. I go where he is sitting, and he pulls me into his lap.
“How deep is this pool, Joseph?”
“This side of the pool is a regular pool starting at three feet to seven feet on the other side. Past the divider is my deep dive side and that is fifteen feet deep. Asher had to be extra creative when I added this to my suites. It required special support to accommodate not only the weight of the pool but the water. And then if that wasn’t enough of a challenge for him, I asked for this,” he says and reaches over and pushes a button that is built into the wall of the pool, and right before my eyes the glass ceiling opens up to the sky.
“That’s amazing.”
“Hmm it is,” he says and he’s looking at me and not the sky. “Can I kiss you, Joyce?”
“Yes,” I whisper, and he takes my mouth in the most erotic and sensual kiss I have ever had in my life.
“You taste better than I remember. Joy, despite your best efforts we got to know each other a lot since we met, and even though we both made it hard on each other I have no doubt what I want with you, and I am tired of wasting time.”
“And what’s that?”
“To be with you. I don’t have as much to offer you anymore and if you do not want to be with a man who could possibly be paralyzed long term, I understand that too. I know it’s a lot to ask of anyone.”
“First of all, what does your walking have to do with what you can offer me? You are no less of a man because you can’t walk, and what matters to me is not wrapped up in you being able to walk or not. Love, trust, consistency, honesty, security and family, that’s what’s important. If you can give me that plus a few other things, we’ll be just fine.”
He closes the retractable roof as I get out of the pool, towel off and put my dress back on. As soon as I am dressed, he calls for one of his brothers to help him back out of the pool. Asher gets him out and into his regular wheelchair. I assure him between me and Joseph we’ll be ok, and he leaves us alone. We take the elevator back to his floor and straight into the shower to wash off the chlorine. Once we are in our pajamas, we get in the bed to watch a movie but we both end up falling asleep before the movie gets started good. The next morning, we wake up starving; thank God his brothers brought breakfast up and left it in his kitchen. We scarf down the breakfast, shower, run through our morning routine and get downstairs for his PT. I stay down there with him and watch him go through his routine. Just watching him makes me feel like a slacker. When he did pull ups and then did them with the wheelchair strapped to his lower half, I knew I was no match for him. I can’t do a pull up with help let alone a heavy ass wheelchair attached to my body. Once PT was over, we headed up for lunch and while he takes a nap, I do some work.
“Oh, you remember I exist finally, you hussy!” T says when she answers.
“Stop it. I've been working my ass off right beside you, so stop it.” We talk about the marketing and strategy for the release of the body care line and the new hair line. It’s not really new; it just has some additions for different hair conditions. We work until I notice Joseph is awake and watching me work. The look on his face makes me unconsciously hold my breath.
“Um, T, I am going to have to call you back,” I say and hang up before she can say anything.
“Come here,” he commands me and I do just that. I get on the bed and crawl over to him. As soon as I am in touching distance, he drags me the rest of the way to him and takes my mouth before I can blink. I am done for as soon as his lips touch mine. It has been months since I have been with him, and I am feenin for him in a bad way. We were trying to get to know each other without mixing sex back into it to distract us but knowing what I’m missing is making it harder to deny myself from having him inside me. He plays with my nipples that are hard enough to cut through my shirt, and I arch my back, pressing them further into his hand. Next thing I know, I am getting thrown to the other side of the bed and I am trying to figure out what the hell happened.
“You’re killing me, Joy, I am going to take an ice bath. You stay away from me.” He hefts himself out of bed and wheels himself in the bathroom where he closes and locks the door. I do not want to have to resort to taking what I want but I might have to. I blow out a breath as I flop on my back. Tease.
This becomes our routine: breakfast, PT, swimming, a nap and Netflix and chill, repeat. I barely go back to the hotel and Joseph suggests I check out and stay there with him. I really hate that I took so long to give us a real chance. Now that I am in the middle of this relationship, all the fears I had previously are gone. The peace he brings me is unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life. He has brought up the possibility of never having the use of his legs again and how I would feel about it, and honestly the only reason I would care is because I know it would eventually get to him. He has taken everything in stride and has not let this get to him, but I know this is not something he wants to have to deal with for the rest of his life. Lennox came to the house to talk about the results of his x-rays, and she is suggesting another surgery to relieve the pressure on his vertebrae. He does not want another surgery but the desire to regain his mobility back is outweighing that.
Joseph
Tonight is supposed to be date night, but I do not feel like going out at all. Today is not a good day and I would rather stay in the house, and I hope Joy is ok with that. We have been doing great since I called her, and we discussed our relationship. We cleared the air about what happened in the past between us and what each of our expectations was going forward. I also wanted to reassure her that Bree and I are just friends. They even had the chance to talk to each other and seem to get along. Atlas was right; I was playing games. I wasn’t doing it intentionally but at the end of the day that is what I was doing, and I didn’t want Joyce to feel any animosity or that I was playing games concerning Bree. So, them talking was really an important step for us to be completely open and honest and starting our relationship out on the right footing.
“Baby,” I call her. She is in the office on a video chat with T.
“Yes, baby?” I hear filter from down the hall.
“Can you come here, please?”
“What is it, Joseph?” she says as she hurries into the room, looking concerned.