I couldn't speak for Andrea, but I know I was getting frustrated. This was only made worse by coming here to Aubrey's and seeing the rest of my family so happy to be with their loved ones.
"How did the interview go?" I ask her, sitting down on a little stone bench that bordered the garden.
"It went fine. They actually seemed interested in me. Talked about the Keyes bust a great deal."
"I'm sure it went more than fine," I tell her. "Because you are the most amazing woman ever, and the most complete, badass FBI chick around, I bet they are going to beg you to join them."
She's silent a moment, and I wonder if I said something wrong. Then she has me smiling.
"Oh, Wyatt," she sighs into the phone. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"
I close my eyes, let her words seep into me, and clear my throat. When I open them, I'm looking at my family sitting at the tables … laughing and eating good food. I want Andrea to sit there.
"I miss you," I tell her.
"And I miss you," she says simply, but those words hold a wealth of emotion in them.
"Listen … I better get going. We're in the middle of dinner."
"Okay," she says wistfully. "Talk tonight?"
"Skype tonight," I correct her. "Want to see that face."
She laughs huskily. "You play your cards right, you'll see more than just my face."
Yeah … didn't need to hear that as my cock jumps at the thought of Andrea's naked body on Skype. We've done some pretty dirty things the last few weeks over the Internet and while not as satisfying as having my hands on her, there's definitely something to be said about watching each other get ourselves off while we whisper filthy words.
"Thanks, babe," I mutter. "Nothing like attending a family dinner with a hard-on."
She laughs into the phone, makes a purring sort of noise, and then tells me good-bye. I stare at the phone for a moment after she disconnects, immediately feeling the loss of her.
Making a surreptitious adjustment on myself and mentally telling my cock to go back into hiding, I head back over to the group.
"Was that Andrea?" my mom asks in her sweet, southern accent. Glenna Banks is a beautiful woman at sixty-two. She wears her silvering, blonde hair in a sleek bob and her skin still looks as smooth as porcelain. She knows about Andrea because I told her one night when I stopped by her house after work. I just laid it all out to her, knowing that my mom would always be a good sounding board for me.
"Yeah … she just got back to Pittsburgh."
"Where was she?" Aubrey asked, and while I have not talked to my sisters about Andrea, I also know that my mom dutifully filled them in.
"She had an interview with the Behavioral Research and Instruction Unit of the FBI in Quantico. She's hoping to get a position there."
"Now that sounds impressive," Jillian says.
"I don't know," Frank says. "A woman like that scares me a bit."
Jillian smacks him on the arm. "Why? Because she carries a gun?"
"No, because she's probably way smarter than I am." Frank taps his finger against his temple. "I bet she could probably read minds. Isn't that what they do in that Behavioral unit place?"
We all start laughing, and my father tells Frank he watches too much Criminal Minds on TV.
Dessert is served and I have a cup of coffee with mine. After the sun sets, the fireflies come out and the kids start winding down, I know it's time to head back home. I have to get up early for work tomorrow.
My mom walks me out to my car, her arm looped through mine.
"So how are you really doing, sweetheart?" she asks, her voice worried. I know this is a direct question regarding Andrea, because while my mom will always worry over her youngest child and only son who is a police officer, she's also come to accept that part of my life and keeps her worries hidden.
"I'm okay," I tell her as we step through the gate. "Sucks she lives so far away, is all."
"I bet," she says with a squeeze to my arm. We round the front of my Suburban and she releases me so I can get my keys out of my pocket.
"Have you given any thought to maybe moving … to Pittsburgh?" she asks hesitantly.
My head snaps her way, surprise lighting through me. "No … why?"
"No special reason. It's just … when two people love each other, it's not good to be away. It causes hurt and loneliness."
Love? Where did she get love from?