Chapter 9
“I got something for you.” He grins at me with his dimples; I’m helpless
against the dimples.
“An upgrade to first class?” I shoot back.
“Donnnnaaaaa…” He moans. He tried to get us first class tickets, but with
the flight getting delayed, and two others cancelled, there weren’t any first
class tickets available. “I tried. You KNOW I tried.”
“Yeah…” I grin too, so he knows I’m only teasing. “So… what did you get
me? Wait. I have to warn you that it’s too early in our relationship for you
to be buying me any more expensive pieces of clothing.” I finger the
University sweatshirt he bought me.
“Damn.” He snaps his fingers. “I’ll return this then.” He holds a small bag
next to his face and I make a grab for it. “Whoa! I think you’re getting
greedy, Donnatella.”
“It’s been a long, trying day, Joshua. Give me my present.” I hold my hand
out to him and he promptly places the bag in it. I open it up quickly to see
what he’s so excited about. I should have known; a cell phone battery.
“Wow. I really don’t know how to thank you.” I deadpan.
“We can now be connected with the rest of the world, Donna!” He’s says
excitedly. “And since you have one of the nice phones, I can even get my
email online with that thing!”
“So… really it’s more of a present for you than for me.”
“No, of course not.” He scoffs. “It’s definitely a present for you.”
“Just how do you figure that?” I put a hand on my hip and wait for his reply.
This ought to be good.
“Well… if I can use your cell phone, then you won’t have to listen to me
complain about how cut off I am from everyone and everything, and I can
probably keep myself entertained for the next 30 minutes before we board
the plane.”
“That is helpful yes, but once we board the plane and we have to shut off
the phone, then what?”
“Then… I was hoping to entertain you.” He grins again and plants a quick
kiss on my lips that shoots sparks straight to my toes.
“That could work.” I murmur and kiss him again. We find a pair of
unoccupied seats and Josh happily surfs the net on my phone after he
replies to a few of his more important emails and phone calls. Before long,
they announce they’re beginning boarding for our flight home; starting with
people who are traveling with small children and snobby first class people.
No, I’m not bitter; it’s just that I thought class warfare was over in this
country.
“Donna, you need to board now.” Toby holds out a boarding pass to me,
but I don’t even look up from the newspaper I’m reading.
“No, they’re just boarding first class now, Toby.”
“I know, and you’ve got a first class ticket, so you need to board now.” He
announces and I look over at Josh who appears equally puzzled.
Toby shrugs and then sighs deeply. “I got on the standby list and paid the
additional fee, and a seat opened up so…” He thrusts the boarding pass
at me again, a little more impatiently. “It’s the least I could do after
subjecting you to my filthy mood all day.” My heart melts just a little.
“Toby…” I coo and stand up to hug him. “That was SO sweet and
thoughtful.” I take the pass and do a little excited dance. “First class! I’ll
meet you two when we get off in D.C. Thanks so much, Toby!” I grab my
purse, give Josh a quick kiss on his mouth, which is hanging open, and
make my way to the gate.
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“What did you do?” I demand and Toby shrugs again.
“She deserves something nice.” He tells me.
“Yeah, but it was MY job to do something nice! Mine! You knew I was trying
to get a first class ticket for the trip back.” I complain.
“Not hard enough apparently. Besides, it was either this, or watch you two
play tonsil hockey all the way back to D.C.” Toby shakes his head and
puts his hands out in front of him like he’s warding off some kind of evil
spell. “I didn’t want a piece of that.”
“But…” I begin again but Toby interrupts me.
“Look, Donna is thrilled and if you don’t think that good mood will spill over
to your benefit at the end of this trip, you’re an idiot.”
Oh, yeah. Yeah, he’s right. My face forms into a smile again. Donna in a
thrilled mood when we land in D.C. could very easily spill over to my
benefit.
“You’re right.” I admit. “And it was a very nice thing for you to do for
Donna. Thanks Toby.”
“You’re welcome…and you owe me $150 for the upgrade.” He tacks on
right before he walks over to the gate to wait for our turn to board. I’m
about to protest when I remember the look on Donna’s face when she
accepted the boarding pass… it’s an awfully small price to pay.
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“That’s tragic, really, it’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard.” I tell her but I
can’t keep the grin off my face. Maybe it’s from the lack of sleep. Mallory
has broken up with the hockey player! My day is finally starting to look up.
We banter back and forth for a few minutes before she offers to take my
tired ass home. Better and better. She really likes my writing.
“So have you heard from Josh? Are they close to home yet?” She asks me
once we’re in her car.
“He called right before they left from Chicago.” I tell her. “They’ve had
quite the adventure.”
“Sounds like it from what Dad told me. Donna must have been going up a
wall between Toby and Josh freaking out all day.”
“Maybe not… she had something good to look forward to tonight.” I hint.
“What was that?” She asks.
“A date… with Josh Lyman.” Wait for it…
“WHAT?!” She laughs.
“You heard right.” I nod. “Josh asked Donna out for a dinner date and she
accepted.”
“Oh, come on! I had after re-election in the pool. They couldn’t have
waited until after re-election?” Mallory complains.
“You’d rather win the bet than see our friends happy?” I shoot back.
“I want to see our friends happy!” She protests. “I just would rather they
were… happy after re-election.”
“Mallory!” I laugh.
“Well, they’ve waited this long already.” She explains and she’s right, they
have waited a long time, but… Hey, something just occurred to me.
“Wait a second.” I say out loud.
“What?” Mallory looks alarmed.
“No, not you… Toby. Toby had the fourth year in the betting pool. Toby
was on the plane today with them and… that little sneak!”
Now Mallory chuckles, “Did you have a clause about no encouragement?”
“No.” I mutter.
“Then I think we’re all paying up to Toby.” She shrugs. “Wouldn’t you
rather your friends were happy than have Toby lose the bet?”
“Well…”
“Sam?!” Now it’s Mallory’s turn to chastise me. Toby is always figuring the
angles on things. Then another thought occurs to me; Josh and Donna
have finally admitted their feelings about each other and Toby has been
stuck with them alone all day and night. Payback! Too funny!
“I’m very happy for my friends. They should have been let out of the box a
long time ago. Whatever happens between them isn’t going to change the
way they work together at the White House.”
“No.” Mallory agrees. “Dad wasn’t very happy about the timing though.”
“All due respect, Mallory, but your dad should stay completely out of this
unless it spills over into their work.”
“He’s not going to make a thing of it… well, he may hassle Josh a little bit,
but just for fun.”
“We’re all going to do that, aren’t we?” I ask and make her laugh again.
“Josh is like a brother to me, Sam.” She says with a straight face. “I’m
going to give him WAY more than just a little bit of a hassle about it.”
“Fair enough.”
“We have arrived.” She announces as she pulls up at my front door. “Go
get some sleep; you’ve earned it. The speech was outstanding.”
“Thanks, Mal.” I say sincerely. “We’re uh… going to the Rock the Vote
even tomorrow night. Would you be interested in coming with?”
“I think I would.” She nods.
“Great.” I smile at her and before I can second-guess myself, I plant a kiss
right on her adorable mouth. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. Thanks for the
ride.”
“Night, Sam.”
I get up to my apartment and drop onto the bed fully clothed except for my
shoes, which I toed off just inside the door. I can’t wait to talk to Josh so we
can compare our days,
Chapter 10
My feet hurt. My body aches. My eyes are dried open. My hair is a rat's
nest. And I'm all by myself.
This sucks.
I look over at my clock; 2 a.m. Then I look over at my bed waiting for me.
Nice, warm and empty. I should just crash into it and let it swallow me up
but I feel absolutely disgusting and as soon as I had the thought of a bath,
it just started calling me. I don't have any bubbles left, but the warmth of
the water surrounding me will be more than enough for tonight… or this
morning. And really, I work for the President of the United States who
frequently goes without sleep and continues to be brilliant, so who am I to
complain?
I change out of my grimy clothes and put on my bathrobe and turn on my
tub nice and hot. I smile as I put my new sweatshirt into the hamper. Josh
has no idea how sweet he can be. Did I really tell him tonight that I loved
him? That was something that I never thought was going to be allowed to
come out of my mouth… at least not to him.
While the tub fills, I run a brush through my hair to hack the tangles out. It
hurts. I think I'm going to have to buy a brush to carry in my tote bag, you
know, for the next time I get stuck in Indiana. Who would have thought it
would be so hard to get to an airport?
The sound of the water is soothing. I smile as the fresh memory of Josh
kissing me goodnight plays in my head. I'm disappointed that our date
didn't work out, but I guess in a sense we've had it all day, or over the past
four years. What do we need a "date" for? But still, I liked the idea of
hanging out alone with him without anyone else around. That virtually
never happens.
There's a soft knock on my front door and the anticipation builds in my
chest and I smile. It's got to be Josh. But I won't get my hopes up because
the crazy lady upstairs knocks on my door at all odd hours of the day and
night, too.
I move quickly through my small apartment and whip open the door. I am
not disappointed. Josh is there in jeans and a t-shirt. He looks tired and
hot. And by hot, I mean really good. I love casual Josh. I never get to see
it. He's leaning against the doorframe like he could happily sleep against it.
He smiles when he makes eye contact with me.
I tilt my head to the side and smile at him. "What are you doing here?"
Then, he holds up the most glorious of things.
Bubble bath.
I shriek in delight and grab it out of his hand.
"It's my favorite kind! How did you know?"
"It's been at my house." He shrugs. "When you mentioned the `longest
bath of your life,' I thought you could use it. And… I wasn't ready to say
goodnight." I pull him over the threshold and kiss him soundly in reward.
He really has no idea how sweet he can be.
"Thank you." I whisper. "You're not going back home now are you?"
"I don't want to." He says looking down. "I'm only going to get about three
hours of sleep tonight and I really want them to be with you."
"You can be really gooey when you want to be, can't you?" I smile as my
heart just melts.
"Believe me when I tell you I'm in uncharted territory right now." He
confesses. "It's pretty intimidating. "
"You get intimidated? " I ask surprised. "By me?" He nods. "Since when?"
"Since the day I met you, Donna."
"You've never shown it."
"Well… no, that would be bad."
"It's not bad." I smile. I wave the bubble around a bit. "Are you going to join
me?"
His eyes go wide and I honestly don't think he anticipated that. "I'm sorry?"
His voice takes on a high-pitched tone that tends to happen to him when
he gets nervous about what he's having to talk about.
"You've been saying that to me all day." I reply with an eye roll. I grab his
hand and drag him towards the bathroom.
"Donna, I don't know about this." He says quickly. "I really didn't, you know,
anticipate this and…"
"You've got to be as achy as I am, probably more." I reply. I drop some
dollops of bubbles into the water, let it run for a few more seconds to let
them rise and then shut off the water.
I turn to face him and his eyes are the size of half dollars. Is he nervous? I
pull the sash of my robe apart and let it fall open. My hands are shaking
and I take a deep breath. This is Josh here in my bathroom, who I'm trying
to entice into the tub with me. It's a moment that, quite frankly, I never
thought I'd have. His breathing is becoming a little shallow and faster and I
step forward and lightly kiss his neck.
"You can wait for me in the living room if you want." I say lightly.
"I don't want to do that at all." He says quickly. "I just don't want you to
think this is why I came over here. It's you and me, Donna, and…"
I bring my fingers up to his lips and cover his mouth. "I think you came over
to bring me bubbles because you've done little sweet things like that for
me all day, and I think you came over to spend the night with me. I know
the kind of guy you are, Josh. We don't have to do anything you're not
ready…"
"Oh, I'm ready, Donna. Believe me."
"I don't think you had any ulterior motives. You don't think I've spent four
years wanting this just as much?"
"That's really a concept that will make my head explode. No, I don't think
that. I prefer to think that you don't even know what that IS."
"Well believe me, buster, I know and I know I want it with YOU." I poke him
in the chest with my finger and then let the robe slide down my body and
hit the floor. His eyes, if possible, get wider then he slams them shut and
presses his palms against them.
"Warn a guy, Donna!"
"I thought you loved me." I pout.
His eyes fly open and connect directly with mine. "I do."
I step over the side of the tub and look at him expectantly. "Then get
naked and get into this tub with me, for crying out loud."
He immediately pulls off his shoes and I've never seen a man get
undressed so fast in my life. He has a beautiful body. My eyes are, of
course, drawn to the scars on his chest which are still pink, but fading into
his skin as we're approaching the anniversary.
"Don't look at them." He says quickly.
"Don't be paranoid. Not with me." I shoot back. I tug him down into the
water with me. He leans back against the tub and I settle down against him,
wrapping my arms around him and pressing my cheek to his chest. I close
my eyes and sigh. "This is heavenly."
"This is incredibly surreal."
"It's been that kind of day." I chuckle, repeating his words. His fingers start
stroking my hair and it isn't until I feel him nudge me and notice the cold
water that I realize I fell asleep right there in the tub with him.
"Come on, Donna." He's whispering. "Let's get out of here, we're pruning."
"No, let's stay right here forever."
"You're not going to think that in a few minutes when this water is icy."
"Kay."
I let him tug me up and we go through the motions of drying off and putting
clothes back on. I put on pajamas and he puts on boxers and a t-shirt and
we crawl, finally, into my bed. I curl up against him and sigh. I don't know
about him, but I'm out like a light.
CHAPTER 11
I wake up to the feel of Josh’s fingers running through my hair. When I
open my eyes I see him just staring at me in a way that’s kind of
disconcerting. Before I can say anything about it though, his fingers move
past my hair and barely skim my back as they continue their journey south.
The Harvard T shirt I’m wearing barely skims my thighs and his fingers
tickle me there and I giggle. I close my eyes again to revel in the
sensations his fingers are causing in my body so it’s a complete surprise
when I feel his lips on my neck and along my collarbone. I have died and
gone to heaven.
“I love you, Donnatella.” He whispers in my ear and goose bumps appear
all over my body. It makes him chuckle. I’m okay with that. His hands move
under my t-shirt and stroke my bare back. It is at this point that I actually
moan out loud. “I want to make love with you.”
“On our first date? What kind of woman do you take me for?” I toss back
with my eyes still closed. “I didn’t even get the dinner you promised me.”
“Yeah, but I brought you the bubble bath.” He reminds me.
“True.” I acknowledge and turn over so that we’re facing each other and
his hands are just under my breasts. I don’t think I can get another word
out right now.
“And this wasn’t our first date; it was just our first ‘formal’ date.” He argues
and his hands stray a little closer to my breasts. I think I’m holding my
breath now. “Think about it. We’ve done dinners, movies, taken trips
together…” His fingers glide over the slopes of my breasts and tease my
nipples; my breath comes out in a hiss. “We’ve been dating for years,
don’t you think?”
“I think I see your point.” I admit and pull him by his hair until I can fuse my
lips to his. When I imagined making love to Josh Lyman, and let’s be
honest here, he’s been the star of more than one fantasy, it’s always been
this languorous, sensual experience that would take hours. This is much
too fast and furious to be confused with those fantasies. But I’m not
complaining. Josh explores every inch of my body with his fingers and
mouth in between telling me how much he loves me and how much this
means to him. I’m floored.
He only pauses briefly to ask if we need to use any birth control and I
assure him that I’m both on the pill and clean. His grin broadens and mine
does too. He doesn’t wait another second before he joins our bodies
together and it doesn’t take many more seconds after that before we’ve
both climaxed and are recovering in each other’s arms. I could stay right
here forever but…
“What time is it?” I ask him.
“6:30.” He answers while he nuzzles my neck.
“Okay… then… 6:30?!” I sit up in a panic and nearly send Josh to the
floor. “We have to be at the White House at 7:30!”
“What for? The President isn’t in the building.” He tries to pull me back
down on the bed with him.
“We were AWOL yesterday. Do you not think there are a few things we
need to catch up on before he gets back?” I remind him.
“Nothing more important than this.” He disputes.
“Many things more important than this. We need to shower and change
first too!”
“Shower…yes, we should shower…right now.” His eyes light up and he
pulls me by the hand, naked, toward the bathroom.
“No!” I try, and fail, to keep a straight face while I admonish him. “We are
not taking a shower together.”
“Donna…” And I swear to God he stomps one of his feet like a 6 year old.
“We need to get clean and dressed and get to our work at the White
House.” I state. “I’m going to shower here, and you’re going to shower at
your place, where you will also change into appropriate clothing before
meeting me at the White House for work.”
“Really?” He asks. “Are you sure…?” He leans in and kisses me and I melt.
“I suppose a few more minutes…” I start to give in when I imagine Leo
McGarry’s face when we arrive late after not arriving at all yesterday. “No.
No, we can’t. Josh, please. We need to show Leo that this change in our
relationship isn’t going to affect our work.”
“Yeah, but I’m afraid it might.” Josh admits.
“Why?”
“Because now that I know how exquisite your naked body is, I’m afraid I’m
going to be very distracted at work.”
“Exquisite?” I repeat. He just nods and moves his hands appreciably over
said body. He has skills, my Joshua. “Josh… Believe me I hate to be the
one to say this right now, but…”
He lets out a long sigh and drops his forehead against mine. “I have to
shower and change at my place?”
I nod sadly.
“Maybe we could shower after work?” He suggests and I chuckle. “It’s not
funny. The White House is very old and dirty. We will certainly need to
shower when we get done.”
“I think that’s very wise.” I tell him. “Now, go get your shower, get dressed
and get to work so we can get back here as soon as possible.” I give him
a quick kiss before ducking into the bathroom and locking the door. I
wouldn’t put it past him to try to sneak back in here.
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I get dressed but on my way to the front door, I decide to just go in the
bathroom to give her one last kiss goodbye but the door is locked! Does
she know me, or what?
Resigned, I hurry to my place in order to get showered dressed and back
in the White House with Donna again as soon as humanly possible. Out of
habit I pick up the paper outside my front door and start skimming it as I
run the water for the shower and start the coffeemaker. Jesus! They’re
giving Wadkins a 35 million retention bonus? For his crappy work at
Redstar? This is such bullshit. Wadkins runs his company into the ground
and gets a 35 million dollar retention bonus, which is probably tax
deductible thanks to the Republicans, while Matt Kelly is struggling to send
his oldest child to college. It’s simply bullshit. Donna and I will never have
to worry about sending our kids to college thanks to a trio of family trust
funds, but…
Wait a second… No, not the part about Donna and I having kids. Of
course we’re going to have kids! We’re going to have a family and be
together for the rest of our lives now. I just had to get past the hard part…
asking her out… The rest is gravy, believe me. No, I was thinking about
why Wadkins money is tax deductible when Matt Kelly’s is not. And more
importantly, why we couldn’t make Matt Kelly’s college payments tax
deductible. Why couldn’t we???
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“There are some 120 news outlets covering the hour-to-hour movements
of the President. Only the cream of the crop ride here with me. The rest
are consigned to the zoo plane where they do not have moist towelettes.
This is why I'm so disappointed that with the exceptions of Terry, Mike,
Mark and Rachel, you all misspelled Muhzriabolah.” I sigh.
“I'm on television.” Tom calls out.
“It was misspelled in your copy. I could tell.” I toss back.
“Speaking of copy - is there an advance on the speech to the teachers?”
Tom follows up.
“An advance copy of text? You must be new.”
“I have a question!” Danny calls out. Of course he does.
“Yes, Daniel.”
“Does the White House have a comment on the relationship between
Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman and his senior assistant Donna Moss?”
“Excuse me?” I stall for time as several reporter’s heads come up in
surprise and interest in this possible news. Damn it, Danny!
“I asked if you, as the representative of the White House, have a comment
about the fact that Josh Lyman is now dating his senior assistant Donna
Moss.”
“The…uh…White House…does not comment on the personal lives of it’s
staffers.” I roll out the tired old clichéd line.
“Really?” Danny asks all innocently. As. If.
“Really.”
“That’s funny. Josh had a lot to say about it.” Danny smiles.
“You mean off the record.” I remind him. “As a personal friend.”
“Nope.” He just keeps smiling and I want to wipe that smile off with… “He
said how thrilled he was that such a bright, beautiful woman like Donna
Moss would give him the time of day.”
“Uh-huh.” I mutter.
“He also said how much it meant to him that the White House was treating
them both like grownups; trusting them to do their jobs professionally even
as they explore a more personal relationship romantically.”
“O-kay.” I bite off. Is he really doing this to them? Then I take a breath and
look at his face. He’s not trying to hurt them. He’s trying to help them by
making it a non story. “Well, yes, of course, the White House trusts all of
the people working there to make responsible choices in their personal
life. We realize that everyone here has a life, and is entitled to a life,
outside the White House.”
“Great.” Danny nods. “We all know those two. It’s about time they see
what all the rest of us do. That people can work together during the day,
even against one another during the day but manage to keep it
professional while still having a personal relationship when the work day is
done.”
“Exactly.” I agree. Maybe Danny’s not as much of a rabble-rouser as I
thought. “We whole heartedly endorse everyone’s right to a personal life.”
“No matter where they work in the White House?” He presses.
“Yes, no matter where they work in the White House.” I confirm. “And for
your information, Leo does Donna’s performance reviews and raise
requests, not Josh.”
“I did know that but thanks for clearing that up for the rest of us.” He smiles
“You’re welcome.” I smile back and head for the staff cabin.
“Oh, CJ! One more thing?”
“Yes, Danny.”
“Since the White House has no problem with it’s staffers having personal
relationships with people who may be considered adversaries during the
day, how about you finally accepting my invitation to dinner?”
There are cat-calls and snickers throughout the cabin - I am taking names,
believe me.
“I’ve gone to dinner with you, Danny. I’m hurt that you’ve already
forgotten.” I try for a humorous response, but he’s having none of it. He
gets out of his seat and walks down the aisle closer to me, but still a good
ten feet away.
“That was about business… or so you told me.” Danny tells the entire
contingent. I think my entire body is bright red. “Come on, Claudia Jean.
Josh grew a pair and finally asked Donna. Are you really going to let him
get one up on you? Call you chicken? You and me. Dinner at the location
of your choice. If it’s a really great date you may or may not get written up
about in the Post afterward.”
“Danny…” I nearly growl.
“Go out on a date with me.” Danny pouts a little. He’s so damn cute. Josh
was behind this whole thing. Of that I have no doubt. But I also don’t doubt
Danny’s sincerity here and he’s taking a risk asking in front of all his
colleagues too.
“One date.” I point my finger at him to illustrate the number ‘one’. “And if
one word of it ends up in the Post, so will you… in the obituary section.” I
turn and leave before the clapping breaks out. Josh is a dead man.
CHAPTER 12
"Come on."
"No."
"Just for a little while."
"Impossible. "
"Please?"
"No."
"You said I could pick what we did this morning."
"I didn't know you were going to pick an aquarium."
"Josh!"
"There's NOTHING else you want to go see?"
"They have a whale!"
"Underwater things are creepy Donna."
"Not the penguins."
"Pick something else."
"You're no fun."
"I can be plenty fun."
"What creeps you out?"
"Octopuses."
"Isn't it Octopi?"
"I could care less. They're creepy."
"How about Fenway?"
"You're not going to tease me with that Donna, it's the Yankees that hate
the Red Sox."
"A whole whale!"
"As opposed to?"
"No whale at all."
"I was hoping you'd say a half whale."
"And lobster."
"Lobsters are for eating, not staring at in a tank."
"How about a harbor duck tour?"
"What's with the water theme?"
"I've spent 20 hours stuck in, you know, land. Water will be a nice change
of pace."
"Pick something else."
"You're no fun."
"All evidence to the contrary."
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"Okay, when I said pick something else, I didn't think you'd pick The
Freedom Trail."
"What'd you think I was going to pick?"
"Food! A bar! Staying in the hotel and doing, you know, other things."
"I want to see Boston."
"It's Harvard, Fenway, and a bunch of old buildings."
"And I want to see the old buildings. This is the Old State House, Josh; the
Declaration of Independence was read from here."
"Come back to the hotel with me and I will arrange a private reading of the
Declaration of Independence by the current President of the United
States."
"That's tempting, but I don't think he'll do it."
"Are you kidding me? That's just the geeklike stuff he loves!"
"And what's that say about me then that you think I'd be interested in
hearing that?"
"mpffhf."
"What was that, Josh? I didn't quite make that out."
"You're my beautiful geek."
"Lovely."
"I said beautiful."
"Uh-huh. Don't huff like that. Fanueil Hall is next!"
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"This is incredible!"
"It's Paul Revere's House."
"Paul Revere Josh!"
"He only did the one thing, Donna."
"Not true, he joined the military. He was an officer with the Penobscot
Expedition."
"Yeah, that was nothing to be proud of. That was a total disaster."
"The President has a carving knife made by Paul Revere."
"Really?"
"Well, now Charlie has it."
"How'd Charlie get it?"
"I don't really know."
"Can we move on now?"
"Josh! This is where it all started!"
"Yes, I know. Hey! I got a better idea."
"Really? What?"
"Newberry Street! You can't come to Boston and not go to Newberry Street
and it's right by my favorite deli in Beacon Hill."
"What's on Newberry Street?"
"Stores."
"Good stores?"
"It's, like, famous."
"I'm a girl on a budget."
"My treat."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you said yes."
"That's sweet. What's in it for you?"
"You!"
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Are you trying to buy my love?"
"Didn't I have it before today?"
"Yes."
"When's the last time I took you on a shopping spree?"
"Fair point - You are shockingly falling down on the job in that department."
"I wouldn't say shockingly."
"What's the last thing you bought me?"
"A sweatshirt and a cell phone battery."
"I mean before all the kissing started."
"I would have bought you that anyway."
"Possibly. We'll never know."
"I think you need more sleep."
"I do. After lunch, let's go back to the hotel so I can take a nap."
"YES!"
"By myself."
"What the hell?"
"Josh, if you come into my hotel room with me, I will not be able to sleep."
"Are you saying you won't be able to control yourself around me if there's
a bed in the vicinity?"
"I would never say something like that to you. I'm saying you'll complain
about being bored and won't be able to sleep."
"I got just as little sleep as you last night. I'm tired too."
"Yeah, but you operate on some high octane fuel. You guzzle a pot of
coffee and you're good to go for days."
"Are you saying I'm high strung?"
"You? High strung? That doesn't sound like you, does it?"
"See, you think you're cute…"
"When, in fact, I'm adorable."
"You are, and it makes it very hard to be annoyed with you."
"Progress!"
"I said annoyed WITH you, not BY you, my dear."
"That's not designed to make me feel good."
"You are beautiful and brilliant and cunning."
"Cunning?"
"Yes."
"I kinda like that."
"I figured you would."
"CJ said I have a criminal mind."
"You and I probably shouldn't go there."
"Right. Shopping. Lunch. Nap."
"Sounds heavenly."
"You'll let me sleep?"
"Sure… eventually. "
"I should have known."
"Hey, you're the one that finds me irresistible. "
"I do… as long as you are not speaking at the time."
"That's for the annoyed with thing?"
"Yes, my dear."
"Touché!"
Chapter 13.
“I thought you were taking Donna out for the thing.” Toby leans toward me.
“I am.”
“You can go now.” He tells me, like I need his permission.
“Gee Dad, thanks.”
“Where were you all afternoon?” He asks me.
“You really don’t want to know.” I assure him as Sam comes over to join us.
“I thought you were taking Donna out now.” He mentions. Does everybody
think I need help with this? I do not. I’m just biding my time… waiting for…
there it is. I get up from my seat and wander over to the edge of the dance
floor so I can get a better view of the proceedings as CJ finishes up her
inspirational speech about why these college kids need to rock the vote. I
literally rub my hands in anticipation.
A young man carrying a rose jumps up on the stage and takes the mic
from a confused Press Secretary.
“Ms. Cregg, Danny Concannon requests the presence of your company
for dinner.” He presents the rose with a flourish and CJ’s eyes start darting
around the room. The young man holds his arm out to CJ who reluctantly
takes it and leads her to a table in the back corner where Danny is waiting
for her at a table distinctly out of place for this establishment; set with a
white linen tablecloth and a pair of candlesticks. CJ takes her seat across
from Danny amid flashes from all the news outlets covering the event. Oh
yeah, my work here is done. Donna and I might have had our first ‘date’
stranded in Indiana but at least there were no cameras flashing and a
large group of people watching us all the time.
Now, I can go find Donna and get the hell out of here. Shit. Amy Gardner.
“Hey, J.”
“Amy.” I nod and stop to have the conversation I know is coming.
“Read some interesting press on you today.”
“I can imagine.” I chuckle but she doesn’t seem to see the humor. Imagine
that! Amy Gardner is humorless.
“I asked you that first time you came to my office. I asked you if you were
dating your assistant.”
“Yes, you did. And I wasn’t.”
“But you wanted to, right?”
This seems like a trick question, so I go with honesty. “I’ve always wanted
to; I just didn’t think she did, or that Leo wouldn’t kill me for it.”
“I see.” She grimaces. “You should know… I’ve accepted a position helping
Senator Stackhouse with debate prep.”
“Of course you did.” I chuckle again.
“What is that supposed to mean?” She asks.
“I think it’s perfect for you. There’s no chance in hell he’ll win; he doesn’t
even want to. It will be all about issues and that’s your forte.” She thinks
about my statement for a few seconds and decides to accept it as the
compliment it was intended to be. She’s quite a woman, Amy Gardner.
She’s smart, accomplished, and beautiful… but she certainly isn’t for me.
“I’ve got to be going now, but I’m sure I’ll be seeing you and the Senator
very soon. Bye Amy.”
“Bye Joshua.” She kisses my cheek and we walk off in opposite directions.
It takes me a couple minutes to find Donna off in a dark corner drinking a
whiskey sour by herself.
“I’ve been looking for you.” I tell her and she shrugs dismissively. What the
hell? We had a great afternoon… at least I thought we did. What gives?
“Funny, you were looking for me, but found Amy Gardner,” She snarks. I
think she’s jealous! Although this pleases me immensely, I’m not stupid
enough to show it.
“Amy Gardner found me and I lost no time in losing her again.” I point out
but Donna just shrugs again and throws back the last of her whiskey sour.
That woman can drink, I tell you. “Come dance with me.” I tug on her arm
and she reluctantly follows me to the dance floor. I pull her into my arms so
I can hold her tight to me while we sway to the music. I’ve waited so long to
hold her like this in front of people.
“When Amy was talking to me? All I could think about was finding you so
we could do this.” I whisper in her ear.
“That’s all you were thinking about?” She says skeptically.
“I was also thinking a little about our date later, but mostly it was about this
right here.” I tell her and a couple more flashes go off in the corner.
“What’s all the commotion?” She asks and I can’t hold back a chuckle.
“CJ and Danny are having their first date.” I twirl her around so she can
see the media tagging along on CJ’s date with Danny. She turns back to
face me.
“Did YOU do that?” She accuses.
“Donna, you know how disorganized I am without you. How could I possibly
put together a media frenzy for their date?” I ask all innocently.
“She’s looking pretty red over there, Joshua. I’m thinking whoever IS
responsible is going to get an earful all the way home at the very least.”
“Then good thing we’re not going home with CJ.” I announce and her face
turns puzzled. I pull out two first class tickets from Boston to DC for
tomorrow. “Leo’s giving us the day off tomorrow. As… unique as our first
official date was, I thought we could try for a do over.”
“These tickets are first class… and they’re for tomorrow night?”
“I’ve got plans for us Donnatella.” I kiss her, “Big, beautiful, romantic plans.”
“Really?” Her eyes get big and kind of misty. I’ve decided it’s my goal in life
to put that look in her eyes as often as humanly possible.
“Really,” I confirm. “We’re going to start with an evening at a bed and
breakfast, followed by a trip tomorrow to the damn aquarium.”
“A whole whale Josh,” She repeats and I laugh.
“I think I heard something about that.” I confess. “20 hours just for us
Donnatella. Then after the aquarium, a romantic dinner alone before
boarding our first class seats to go home where I hope to entice you to
spend the night with me.”
“At this point, I’d say your odds are pretty good, but it’s early yet and you
know how long 20 hours can last.” She warns me.
“20 hours is just the beginning, Donnatella. Are you ready to go?”
“More than,” She smiles and it nearly blinds me. I throw my arm around her
shoulders and lead her out of the event. We walk past the CJ and Danny
show where Danny makes a point of waving goodbye to us. CJ’s eyes
narrow on me, but when I wink at her, she winks back so while she may be
a teensy bit embarrassed by all the hoopla, she’ll be over it by the time
Donna and I get back to D.C… I’m almost sure of it.
I help Donna into a cab and jump in after her. The kiss she gives me when
I join her is absolutely combustible. Yeah… 20 hours isn’t going to be
nearly enough time to spend with her. Looks like my days of being
stranded and striking out are over.
The End.