“Josh, what are these?”
Donna asked as she looked at the huge bouquet of mixed flowers on her desk.
“Flowers,” he
answered with a mischievous smile that he couldn’t quite hide..
“Why?”
“It’s our
anniversary, Donna. And as a man of occasion, I am celebrating by giving you
flowers.”
“It is *not* our
anniversary,” she whispered as she glared at him. “We didn’t… you know… until
February, and this is only April.”
“Ah, but that’s
not the anniversary I’m talking about,” he replied, trying to keep from
grinning outright.
“Then this would
be…?”
“This is the
anniversary of when you started working for me.”
“Correction,
Josh. I started working for you in February.”
“Maybe on your
calendar, but not mine. You started working for me in February, but then you
left and didn’t come back again until April. That’s the date I choose to
celebrate as our anniversary.”
“You’re insane,
you know that, don’t you?” she asked with a snort of derision.
“Possibly. I
choose to think of it as -”
Sam chose that
moment to walk by her desk. “Hey, Donna, nice flowers. Who are they from?”
“Josh,” she
answered curtly.
Sam blinked a
few times at her unexpected answer and then looked from one to the other. Donna
looked angry and Josh looked unusually pleased with himself. “Do I really want to
know?” he asked.
“We’re
celebrating our anniversary,” Josh told him.
“An-anniversary?”
Sam stuttered.
Josh answered,
“Yes” at the same time that Donna firmly stated, “No.”
“Maybe I should
just go over to CJ’s office,” Sam mumbled, not very happy at getting involved
in an argument between them. There had been some rumors lately that there was
something going on, but he wasn’t sure that these flowers had anything to do
with it. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out.
Donna saved him
from his indecision by answering his question. “Josh seems to think that I
started working for him in April and has chosen to celebrate the anniversary of
that date by bringing me flowers.”
“But you started
working on the campaign in February,” Sam said in confusion.
“Exactly,” she
said with a smug smile in Josh’s direction.
“But she left to
go back to that poor excuse of a proctologist –“
“Pediatrician,”
she corrected.
“Whatever. The
point is, you didn’t come back to me until April,” Josh corrected with a small
amount of scorn in his voice.
“He does have a
point there.”
“No, he doesn’t.
Our anniversary is in February. Both of them,” Donna claimed, only realizing
what she had said when it was too late.
Sam looked at
her with startled eyes. “Both of them? Ok, I’m definitely going to CJ’s now.”
He grabbed the folders he had set down on Donna’s desk and turned to go.
Josh looked at
Donna’s horrified face and quickly joined Sam on his way to CJ’s office. “Sam,
I’d appreciate it if you could keep quiet about what was just mentioned back
there.”
“Keep quiet?
About what?” Sam asked with a wink. “You may want to warn Leo or CJ, though,
before anyone else puts two and two together.”
“Thanks, pal.”
“You’re
welcome.”
**********
Josh casually walked
back to his office and sat behind the desk. It took Donna five seconds to
follow him. She closed the door with a thud and turned to him. “What did Sam
say?”
“He said not to
worry. He won’t say anything.”
“Joo-ossh,” she
whined. “This was supposed to be our secret, and now look what you’ve done.”
“What *I’ve*
done?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes, what
you’ve done. If you hadn’t gotten me those stupid flowers for our
non-anniversary, I wouldn’t have gotten mad. And if I hadn’t gotten mad, I
never would have blurted out something so stupid.”
“So it’s all my
fault?”
“Yes.” They both
stared at each other stubbornly until Josh broke the silence.
“I guess this is
our first fight,” he remarked calmly.
“I guess it is.”
“I’m sorry. I
was trying to do something nice for you.”
“I know. But I
don’t like to be reminded of that time.” She was quiet for a few minutes and
then asked, “Do you want to know why I left?”
“Honestly,
Donna, I’m just grateful you came back,” he admitted.
She continued as
if he hadn’t spoken. “I left because he asked me to. I spent 5 years with this
guy, Josh. I had to make sure I wasn’t throwing away a future with him on a
whim. As soon as I was back in Madison, I realized it was a mistake. And then
came the coup
de grâce. Remember when I
said I hurt my ankle slipping on the ice?” He nodded. She ducked her head and
then quietly added, “I didn’t. I hurt my ankle in a car accident, and he
stopped for a beer on the way to the hospital to get me.”
“You were in a
car accident?”
“Yes, but –“
“Seriously, you
were in a car accident?” His face registered shock. “And that dumb-ass stopped
for a beer? I would never –“ Josh
started.
“Yes, I know,”
she agreed softly. “You are better than my old boyfriend, Joshua.”
“I’m glad you came
back. I don’t want to know what my life would be like without you in it.”
“Lucky for you,
you won’t have to find out.” She broke the emotional situation by getting back
to business. “You’ve got staff in twenty minutes. That gives you plenty of time
to read up on the gun control stats.” She plucked a bright blue file folder
from the stack on his desk, handed it to him and then left the office.
**********
The day passed
with relatively few problems. Several people approached Donna to ask her about
the flowers, but she just smiled mysteriously and changed the subject. At the
end of the day, when she was packing up her belongings, Josh came up behind her
and gave her a soft kiss on the back of her neck.
She whirled
around and looked at him. “Josh! Anyone could be watching.”
He smiled at her
tiredly. “Nah, it’s after 11. Everyone else has gone home. You ready?”
“Almost. I just
have to get these flowers that my passive-aggressive boss got me.”
“Funny. Here,
let me take them for you.” He shouldered his backpack and lifted the heavy vase
into his arms. She gathered up her things and they walked out to the parking
garage together. She unlocked her car door and was about to get in when he
stopped her. “Are you coming over tonight?” he asked hesitantly.
“Yes,” she
answered. “I just have to stop home to get a few things. I’ll meet you at your
place, ok?”
“I’ll be
waiting.”
**********
40 minutes
later, she let herself into his apartment and noticed that it was dark, except
for a soft glow coming from the bedroom. She walked in and saw Josh standing in
shadows of a small bedside lamp. He was still dressed in his shirt and slacks,
though he had removed his tie and jacket. In his hand, he held a single red
rose. He gestured at her with the flower and remarked, “I wanted to give you
roses.” He held out the rose to her and she took it. She noticed a full bouquet
sitting on the dresser and placed the single bloom in the vase with the others.
Smiling, she
silently closed the small space between them and kissed him. She unbuttoned his
shirt and smoothed it from his shoulders. He worked her blouse free from her
skirt and his hands roamed her bare back beneath the silk. They broke their
kiss only to help each other undress. When they were naked, she lay across the
bed and he knelt beside her. His hands skimmed along her flesh, pausing to
caress her breast, her naval, the juncture of her thighs. He leaned down and
kissed her, his tongue teasing all her crevices, before finally returning to
her lips. Her hands eagerly explored him, touching everything. When they were
both full of need, he moved above her, parting her thighs in anticipation of
completing their union.
He looked down
and saw her flushed skin, slightly parted lips and dreamy expression. He
thought about her confession from earlier and about all the things he would
have missed if she had decided to stay in Wisconsin, and his emotions
overwhelmed him. The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them.
“I love you, Donnatella.”
Her blue eyes
flew open and stared into his terrified brown ones. In a panic, he crushed his
mouth to hers, cutting off any words she might have spoken. His tongue swept
inside to taste her. He rocked his body against her, distracting her with the
feel of his erection pressing into her soft flesh. She moaned at the contact and arched her hips up into him. He
slammed into her and they both cried out. The sex was primal and needy and not
at all gentle. He felt her fingernails rake against his back and his fingers
left bruises where they clutched at her hips. He pumped into her over and over
again, until they both came, shuddering with the intensity of their feelings.
Panting,
physically satisfied but emotionally unsure, he pulled out of her and rolled to
his back. He reached out his arm and gathered her snug against his side. He
felt a hot, wet tear splash against his chest and he hugged her a little
tighter. “I’m sorry… I didn’t… it was too rough,” he began apologetically.
“No… it’s fine…
it was… I’m not sure what to say,” she admitted. “You said… and I –“ she
stopped mid-sentence and her tears started flowing freely. He felt her body
tremble against his.
“I’m so sorry…
I’m not good at relationships. It’s like I missed something. Every – everybody
seems to know what to do when they’re in a relationship. A lot of other people,
anyway. But I don’t know how….” His voice trailed away and then he started to
speak again. “I’m sorry if what I said bothered you… or if it was too soon… or
if you don’t feel -"
She raised
herself up on an elbow and stopped his words with a small kiss. “Joshua… you
really don’t get it, do you?” she said, and he could see that she was smiling
through her tears. “I love you, too.”
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