The Good Life

Joe and I woke up the next morning, it was a Friday, and we had the whole day to spend together, no one really expected Joe to work on Fridays anymore, since it was my day off he just stopped going on Fridays, so eventually, it became the boy’s day off too. I looked at the clock, 1:30, damn I guess I missed more sleep than I thought. I had to pee but I didn’t want to move, Joe’s arms were wrapped around me so tight, I didn’t want to move and wake him up, he seemed like he needed the sleep after this whole week. I laid there and fell back asleep, I woke up a while later because of my aching stomach, okay, I had to get up, I’m about to pee on myself, slowly moved out of his grasp and stood next to the bed watching him fidget and then took off for the bathroom.
I walked out stretching my arms above my head and saw Joe leaning against the headboard with his acoustic guitar, slightly strumming it, “Hi.” I said as I crawled in next to him. “He lazily returned my gaze, “Hi.” He yawned. “Whatcha doin’?” I asked eying his guitar. “Well,” he said. “I wrote something for you this past week and I just wanted to show you.” I smiled and shook my head as he picked up a pizza box off the floor with saw words scrawled on the bottom, “What? It’s all I had.” He laughed. I nodded, “So you wrote me…” He adjusted his guitar, “Right.” He began to strum a soft, slow tune; I locked my eyes to his refusing to blink for fear I’d lose it. Then, he started to sing and I was captivated by his words,

I like blue eyes, hers are green
Not like the woman of my dreams
And her hair's not quite as long as I had planned
Five foot three isn't tall
She's not the girl I pictured at all
In those paint by number fantasies I've had

So it took me by complete surprise
When my heart got lost in those deep green eyes
She's not at all what I was looking for
She's more

No, it wasn't at first sight
But the moment I looked twice
I saw the woman I was born to love
Her laughter fills my soul
And when I hold her I don't wanna let go
When it comes to her I can't get enough

So it took me by complete surprise
When my heart got lost in those deep green eyes
She's not at all what I was looking for
She's more

More than I dreamed of
More than any man deserves
I couldn't ask for more
Than a love like hers

So it took me by complete surprise
When my heart got lost in those deep green eyes
She's not at all what I was looking for
She's more

(SHE’S MORE – ANDY GRIGGS – I DO NOT OWN)

(And, it’s a country song, but that’s not how I picture him singing it, a little bit faster paced and not so much of a twang.)

He finished, and his eyes searched mine for a reaction, I felt myself tearing up, “Joe,” I said quietly, “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.” I saw that irresistible boyish grin slide onto his face. “What can I say? Its how I feel; you’re more than I could ever ask for.” I was leaning closer to him with every word he spoke and finally our lips connected, I let my lips thank his for the song he had just sung to me. I pulled back and looked at him, “Thank you.” He smiled at me somewhat confused, “For the song? No problem, it’s kind of what I do,” he said, his smile growing, “and it’s not like I didn’t have the inspiration, I could write a million songs about you, there’s not a minute that goes by that I don’t find something else that I fall in love with about you.” I smiled at him and set a peck on the corner of his lips and grabbed his hands, “Not just that, thanks for everything, for treating me so well, for actually listening to me, for caring, for being here for me, for never giving in, and for loving me, I know it gets hard sometimes, but you never back down. Just, thank you.”

He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me, we laid there in silence for a while until the calendar hanging on the wall behind him caught my, I stared at it trying to figure out what day it was. Joe looked down at me and then followed my gaze, “Something coming up?” he asked looking back at me. I nodded, “Well what is it?” I let out a sigh and scratched the back of my neck, “Um,mybirthday.” I said rather quickly. He looked confused before he realized what I said, “WHAT? Kay! Why didn’t you tell me?” I shrugged, “I don’t know, we weren’t exactly on speaking terms.” I drifted off remembering the week before. He lifted my chin, “Hey hey, we’re over that, so when is it?” I gave him a weak smile, “Um, May 28.” He nodded and looked at the calendar and then did a double take. “Kayden Alexis!” he said, I winced as he used my middle name too, “TOMORROW?!” I nodded my head ‘yes’. “Well,” he said pulling himself off the bed, “I’ve got some things to do.” He walked towards the bathroom, “First thing, shower.” He said with his back turned to me. He reached the bathroom door and turned to look at me sitting on the bed watching him, “You coming? He asked. My smile grew and I jumped off the bed and followed him into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me…

The rest of the day Joe went off to plan whatever it was he was doing for my birthday, that’s another reason I didn’t want to tell him, I didn’t want him to go all out on me like I knew he would. I just wanted to spend time with him. I let my mind wander to what he was planning and smiled at the ideas I thought he would come up with. Joe returned a few hours later with a huge grin on his face and a bag full of Chinese take-out. I kissed his lips and took the bag from him, “You’re going to love your present.” He said with the biggest, goofiest smile that kept growing on his face as we settled down to eat on the couch. We talked and laughed as we ate occasionally pausing to laugh at something on E! News, I set my empty contained on the coffee table and smiled over at Joe while I scooted closer to him. Then I attempted to ask the question I’d be burning to know ever since he got home.

“Joe,” I breathed into his ear, I felt him tense up and laid a hand on his thigh, “Hmm?” he managed to force out of his mouth, I smiled to myself, “What’d you get me?” I asked rubbing my hand across his thigh under the blanket. He snapped his attention to me and grabbed my hand, “Kaydennn.” He said warningly. I bit my lip and looked at him innocently, “What? I just asked you a question.” He shook his head at me, “My lips are sealed.” He said pushing his lips together.

I sat up and threw my leg on the other side of him, straddling his waist, his hands landed on my waist, “Oh really? So if I did this,” I said pecking his lips and bringing my head back to look at him, “you wouldn’t change your mind?” He cocked his eyebrow and looked at me and shook his head ‘no’ pushing his lips together harder. “Fine, what about this,” I said and then ran my hand up his chest to the side of his neck and pressed my lips to his, letting it linger. Once again he shook his head and I put my hands over his on my hips and huffed. I got a smirk on my face and watched his expression change. I moved close to his ear and breathed out, “How about this.” I leaned back and wrapped one hand to the back of his neck, grabbing the soft hairs at the nape of his neck and then rested my other hand on his jaw, I leaned in, pushing my chest against his and pushed my lips onto his, he stayed unresponsive so I softly grabbed his bottom lip with my teeth and slightly pulled his lips apart, slowly slipping my tongue into his mouth, well that got him, his hold on my waist tightened and he immediately returned the kiss, flipping me underneath him on the couch and hovering over me, I started laughing in the middle of the kiss, because once again, I won.

He pulled back and looked at me, “What is so funny?” he asked I propped myself up on my elbows, “Your lips are sealed?.” Iaskedhimand started laughing again. I don’t know why I found it so amusing, but I did. He pointed a finger at me, “Hey that was forced entry I believe.” I gave him an ‘are you serious, you know you loved it look’ causing him to laugh, “Hey, don’t look at me like that KB, you know I believe forced entry is a crime.”

I laughed at him, “Ooh and what are you going to do about it?” He got a mischievous smirk on his face and wiggled his fingers near my waist, “Joseph Adam, don’t you dare.” His fingers drifted closer and I pushed him off me and jumped over the back of the couch and ran up the stairs, I was half way up when I heard his thundering footsteps coming after me, I squealed and made it to the top and ran for my bedroom, I turned to see him jump up the last two steps and I turned back towards my room only to collide with the door frame. I immediately stopped and fell to the ground clutching my forehead, and I started to cry, it felt like my head was split in two. I heard Joe plop down next to me and take my head in his hands, “Oh man, K, I’m so sorry, oh shit Kayden, you’re bleeding.” I looked at my hands to see them covered in blood. I freaked out and stood up to go into the bathroom but I was so dizzy I began to sway back and forth, “Joooe.” I whined, “Help me.”

He scrambled to his feet and grabbed me and picked me up, “Come on.” He brought me and sat me on the bathroom counter. The tears still poured from my eyes as he pulled out the first aid kit my dad insisted I bought and pulled out an alcohol wipe. He positioned himself in between my legs and unwrapped the wipe, he barely made contact with the cut and I yelped and grabbed his wrist, “Don’t! It burns!” He looked at me, “Kay, I gotta do it, we have to clean it.” My lip started to quiver, he wipedthe cut andtears pushed their way out of my eyes that were squeezed shut. His free hand grabbed mine and he gave it a squeeze, “Almost done babe.” I slightly nodded I felt him dabbing the cut dry from the alcohol and rub some Neosporin on it. He tore the paper off a band-aid and placed it on the cut and softly kissed it, “There.” He said throwing the paper in the garbage and returning to his spot between my legs.

I finally opened my eyes and looked up at him. He laid his hands on either side of my face and dabbed at the tear stains from under my eyes with his thumbs and kissed me under each eye, my forehead, then my nose, "I'm so sorry." he said and then pecked my lips, pushing his hands into my hair, I turned my head asking him to deepen the kiss, he did, trailing his tongue along my bottom lip, I slightly opened my mouth and tangled my hands into his thick hair. He grabbed the small of my back and pulled me closer to the edge of the counter. He moved his hands to the tops of my thighs and ran his hands up and down, going higher each time, he finally rested his hands on the tops of my thighs, the tips of his fingers in my shorts, we continued demanding kisses from the other and then I felt his hands slide down and start rubbing small circles on the insides of my thighs. My breath hitched in my throat and I pulled away from him leaning my head back, he wasted no time making his way down my neck and to my collarbone, his hands still rubbing at my thighs, he was applying more pressure now and it was making me squirm, he was teasing me, “Joe, please.” I breathed out.

He lifted his head and looked into my eyes, I tried to read his eyes, they were darker than usual, and full of…lust, oh he so wanted me, just as bad as I wanted him. He looked down at his hands then back to me, “Please, Joe.” I moaned into his ear. He gulped and moved his hands up, his fingers running along my panty line, I started to breathe heavier in anticipation and then his fingers slipped inside, I bit my lip and laid my head on his shoulder, running my hands down his back, “Kayden, look at me.” He said I pushed myself off his shoulder and looked at his eyes, he moved his fingers slow at first and then began to quicken the pace, I wrapped a leg around his waist and dug my fingers into his back, my eyes never leaving his as he drove me to pleasure I’d never experienced before.

Joe and I laid in the bed neither of us able to go to sleep, we just stared at each other, Joe wore a worried and confused look, his eyes burning into mine, it was like he was trying to read my thoughts. “Joe—what’s the matter?” He laid his hand on mine that lay in between us and played with my fingers. “Nothing, I’m just wondering what you’re thinking.” He said in almost a whisper. “Welllll,” I said averting his eyes, but not before I saw a look of panic flash across his face, I returned my eyes to his, “I’m just thinking how much I love and adore you and how happy you make me.” I smiled at him. He returned it with a weak smile. “Joe, what’s the matter?” I asked again stroking his cheek, “I just—I just don’t want it to be weird in between us.” He looked so guilty, and hurt. “Joe, why would it be weird?” I paused for a moment and he gave me a ‘you know’ look. “Babe,” I said scooting closer to him, “It will never be weird between us, I love you too much.”

A small smiled played on his lips but slowly turned back to his serious one, “That’s the first time I’ve ever done that, you know,” he paused and interlaced our fingers, “I just wanted to let you know—show you—let you feel how much I loved you, I don’t know…” he trailed off, slightly blushing from the words he just spoke to me. I absentmindedly ran my finger across his jaw, “Joe, I know how much you love me, what you did…it was amazing,” I leaned in and laid my head on his shoulder and whispered into his ear, “I felt it too.” I smiled remembering the new feelings he introduced me to earlier and he slid his arms around me, “I love you so much.” He whispered into my hair, “I love you too.” I said running my hands up and down his back and kissing his shoulder.

The next morning I woke up to something itching my nose, I swatted at it with my hand and a few moments later, it returned, I let my eyes slowly flutter open and saw Joe leaning over me, with a lock of my hair in between his fingers running it along my nose. “Joe.” I said annoyed and swatted his hand away. “Happy Birthday!” he yelled to me. I winced at the loudness of his voice seeing that it was only, 11:30. Okay, it was late, I sat up and saw a box of Dunkin’ Donuts and a tray of Starbucks setting on a lap table on the bed. I smiled. “Mmm, Breakfast.” He smiled triumphantly and nodded, “Just for you.” It was hard to enjoy each other’s company when my phone rang every 2 minutes with people telling me happy birthday, my dad, my uncle, Nick, Kevin, Frankie, Mrs. Denise & Mr. Paul, all calling at different times I might add, and random friends and family from back home. But it was nice. Joe seemed to be over his awkward stage from last night and that made me feel better, I’ve never seen him so worried about something. We finished our breakfast, and he told me to go get ready for our day.

I rushed through a shower and blow-dried my hair into waves. I put some more Neosporin on my cut and put a new band-aid and brushed my bangs over it and applied some foundation, mascara and a little eyeliner and shook my hair out before making my way to my closet and chose a purple sundress with a band of white outlining the sleeves, the neckline and a band around the bottom that fell a few inches above my knees. I threw on a pair of sliver flip flops and my silver bangles, I sprayed myself with my Light Blue perfume and walked down the stairs to see Joe watching reruns of Boy Meets World and muttering to himself, “Cory, your so stupid, Topanga loves you, dude.” I bit my lip holding back my laughter and he laughed out loud to something Shawn said.

I clumped down the last few steps, letting him know I was there, and stood at the foot of the stairs, “Ready babe?” I asked him. He leaned his head back on the couch looking at me upside down and his mouth hung open, he slowly turned his head and body over and propped himself on his elbows on the back of the couch and curled his finger at me motioning for me to come to him. I walked to him and he laid as head into my neck and leaned his mouth towards my ear, “You look amazing.” He said I pulled back and smiled at him widely and looked at him expectedly. “What?” he asked. “Well, number one, I want to know what we’re doing, and number two, I don’t believe I’ve gotten a birthday kiss yet.” I answered smirking at him, he made his was around the couch, “Well, I’m taking you shopping, that’s all I can tell you for right now, and as for that kiss…” he trailed off running his hand up my neck and rested his thumb on my ear and his other fingers behind it playing with my hair, he smiled at me and brought me closer, rubbing his other hand up and down my arm, then he kissed me, he pressed his soft lips into mine and slowly moved his lips, he pulled back and I kept my eyes closed hoping he would lean in, he did and this time pushed my head to the side a little deepening the kiss but keeping it slow and sweet. He pulled back, yet again and I took a second to open my eyes, “How was that for a birthday kiss?” he asked. I just stood there staring up at him dreamily and smiled, “Mmhmm.” Was all I said before he let out a hearty laugh and draped his arm around my shoulders. I grabbed my bag off the table next to the door and slipped on my oversized aviators and we made our way to his car.

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, we started off at Urban Outfitters, most of my purchases came from there and American Apparel, Joe insisted he bought because it was my birthday so I let him. We went to two malls and then down Rodeo, more to look, not much was bought there, I wasn’t into all of the ‘pay 2,000 bucks for a pair of shoes’ deal, I though it was overrated. Our last stop was the Nike’ Shoe Factory, I walked out with 5 pairs, Joe with 7. What can I say? We were obsessed. We now had a shoe to match every outfit. We stuffed the huge Nike’ bags into the back seat and the ‘trunk space’ behind the seat and got in the front seats. “Well that was productive.” He said grabbing my hand and interlacing our fingers. I shook my head and smiled at him, “Thank you so much, Joe, this has been the best birthday ever.” I said. “Oh, it’s not over yet.” He scoffed. I looked at him, “There’s more?” He shook his head, “Oh yeah, K, you should know by now, Joe Jonas does it big.” He said while flexing his muscle and attempting to kiss it as we stopped at a red light. I stared at him for a few minutes and busted out laughing, “Are you serious right now?” I sputtered, “Don’t ever do that again.” I said tears welling up from laughing so hard. He looked at me and couldn’t contain his own laughs either.

We got back to the house and made a few trips in and out hauling all of our purchases up to my room and creating a huge pile on the floor, “Okay,” he looked at me. “Go change.” I looked at him, “Into what?” He walked into my closet, me following behind him, he dug around all the hangers and pulled out a black strapless dress that had a synched waist and a little tulle underneath filling out the bottom and giving it a small flare. I grabbed it from him and picked up my black peep toe Jimmy Choo slingback pumps, the only pair of expensive shoes I owned, they were my Christmas present from my grandmother, and I adored them. I motioned for him to get out, “Fine, fine, I have to go change anyway he said walking out the door and down the hall. I quickly changed into the dress and walked into the bathroom to touch up my make-up, I added more mascara and a little more eyeliner for a more ‘evening look’ I turned my head over and shook my hair out and smoothing it out with my hands giving it more body, I looked in the mirror and nodded at my appearance spraying on some more perfume and turning out the lights. I made my way down the hall and saw Joe in the guest room wearing his boxers, a black tank top, and a black button up that he was beginning to button.

I cleared my throat and he turned and looked at me, “Wow, Kay.” He said making his way over to me and settling his hands on my waist, “You look…” he trailed off letting his eyes wonder all over me. I giggled and hit his shoulder, “Joe, get ready, I wanna know where we’re going." “Alright, alright.” He disappeared into the closet and returned a few minutes later wearing his black skinny jeans, his silver dress shoes, a black button up and blazer and a silver tie that hung loosely around his neck. I let my eyes take him in and sauntered over to him plating a kiss on his lips. “Well, don’t you look handsome?” I said into his ear. He smiled and grabbed my hand, “Let’s go.”

We climbed in the car and Joe took, we drove for a while just talking and I had no idea where we were going, I didn’t recognize anything around me, but he obviously knew where he was going. We sat in comfortable silence, my hand laid on his thigh right above his knee and his hand was on top of mine, our fingers interlocked together. I just stared at his profile as he sang along to the songs on the radio. Every now and then he would look over to me and smile. I thought about everything, how we met, when we met, how he became my best friend, how I trusted him with my life, how I never wanted to leave him, and most of all, how much I loved him. My thoughts were broken we I felt the car come to a stop. He locked his eyes on mine that were still staring at him, “We’re here.” He said letting go of my hand to undo his seatbelt, I undid mine and leaned in the back to grab my purse, he made his way to my door and opened it. “Leave it, he said referring to my purse, no distractions, just me and you he said.”

I smiled and nodded, “Good.” I got out the car and looked around we were in a deserted parking lot next to a building with no lights on, “Joe, what is this?” He grabbed my hand, “Come on.” We walked through the door and winded down a couple hallways in the dimly lit building, “Is this where we’re going?” I asked looking around. “Nope.” He stated simply, I let my shoulders fall and then we stopped. He slung open another door, “That is where we’re going.” he said as he slung open the door and pointed to the right, I felt a light, salty breeze hit me and looked in the direction of where his finger was pointing, I let out a small gasp, “Oh my God, Joe.” I said looking at him with a small smile on my face, “I told you,” he said returning my huge smile, “I do it big.”