As soon as I heard his voice, I wanted to hitDISCONNECT. “Mick—”
“No, please don’t say anything. I owe you an apology. Is this okay, my calling?”
Inhaling harshly, I said, “If you mean to ask if I’m alone, I am. If you mean because you were rude last night, then no. I’m not sure what I did, but I didn’t deserve that from you.”
“So, she’s got a little bite to go along with her bark. I knew I liked you, Margo.”
“Mick, seriously. What do you want? I appreciate the compliments, but I hardly think a few drinks and a lunch warrant this amount of introspection.”
I spoke my mind to Mick in a way I never would have dreamed of talking to Tommy. Okay, maybe I did once or twice when we were dating, but we’d quickly fallen into the routine of him demanding and me acquiescing.
Mick chuckled. “I’m just kidding about the bite, but I do like it. You should never let anyone make you feel bad about yourself, which is why I’m calling. I did a bang-up job last night of mucking things up.”
Standing, I paced, holding the phone to my ear. “Listen, I’m going to be brutally honest since you seem to be familiar with the type of domestic situation I’m in. I don’t do this. Extracurricular relationships, I mean. I take care of my daughter and keep my head down, but that’s changing. I’m going to start taking care of me. I apologize if I used you to figure that out—”
“Don’t ever apologize for saying you’re going to put yourself first. I’m fucking ecstatic to hear it, and I want to see it.”
“That’s the thing. I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“I know. That’s why I’m calling to apologize and say I won’t do anything like that again. I like you, Margo, and I’m going to wait for you to straighten things out.”
Swallowing some unidentified emotion, I fumbled over my words. “Mick ... that’s not what you should do. Or what you deserve.”
“Tell me, when is the next time you can escape for a cocktail or coffee? Casual. No expectations.”
I wanted to shoutSaturday, but instead, I said, “I’ll have to see.”
“Fair enough. Do you want to text me when you know?”
“Okay,” I said, giving in without much argument.
I’d never been apologized to before. Fifteen years with Tommy, and he’d never said he was sorry. He’d often saidit’s a new dayandwe’ll figure it out, but neverI’m sorry.
“I’ll be waiting,” Mick said, drawing me out of the dark and into the light. “One more thing. If we can find a quiet corner, I’d like to lean in and whisper how stunning you are into your ear while nibbling on your earlobe. They would be words just for you, and you would tumble into me, running your lips along my neck until our mouths met.”
Such simple words, nothing special or out of the ordinary. A PG fantasy, likely stolen from a made-for-TV movie.
Yet, I could almost feel Mick leaning close and whispering words to me I’d never heard before.Shivers ran down my spine and gooseflesh broke out under my silk blouse. I imagined how his lips might feel, tickling my earlobe.
To say my few minutes of resolve were wrecked would be putting it lightly. It had been a while since I’d had companionship, let alone affection.
“You know the ears and the nape of the neck are both sensitive areas with hundreds of sensory receptors, right?” Mick asked.
“I can imagine,” I said.
“But I’m guessing you don’t know firsthand?”
“How did the conversation end up here?” I plopped back down in the chair, trying to control my breathing.
If we were in a boxing ring, I’d throw in the towel.
“Wouldn’t you like to know? Because I can’t stop thinking about you,” Mick told me.
I’d never admit to falling down this rabbit hole to him, but I was a complete Alice in this situation.
Speechless, I could only say, “Oh.”
“I’d like to try,” he said matter-of-factly, and sweat beaded at the nape of my neck.
