A Wedding Affair (The Wedding Affair) (38 page)

“
Gotta love Anita Baker.” He is as bad as me, that song talks of ‘
have I told you lately I love you
.’

“Here is the ticket for your car, I gave it to your valet”
he takes my hand and holds it to his lips.

“S
eems mistakes are always bringing us together”

“
Maybe we are the big mistake?”

“
I think you’ve mistaken your old friend from high school as the one for you!”
Oh shit shit shit, change the subject or this dress will come off in record time.

“Didn’t you notice the rosary han
ging from the rear-view?”

“No not really, it did smell of you, that was nice” as his finger traces my lips.

“Interesting photo in your visor.”

“Checking your lipstick for me?” he makes me blush, and kisses me gently

“Nice shade on you by the way”

He pull
s me in front of him with his arms around my waist, his face against my cheek.

“
This is a nice way to end a work day you back in my arms” Is it ok to love him with I’m with him?

Then
the music starts.

I turn around and w
e watch the ships and boats sail up and down the river, in the cool night air. His deep voice warms my heart.

“C
ome dance with me” I go willingly

‘
COME RAIN OR COME SHINE
Bobby Caldwell’
107.3 the wave is our jazz station here in town and they are broadcasting live on the river. There is a crowd on the dance floor, as we blend in amongst the other couples, we are in our own world as we gaze into one another’s eyes as the music carries us to our own special place where we can be together.

“I’ve missed you today” as he kisses my neck. He hold
s me tight and looks down at me.

“I could say the same, How was your day?” I look up at him.

“Good, busy, very busy, you?” He caresses my curls through his fingers

“The same” I love when he plays in my hair.

“Can you stay for a drink?” I know I should go home.

“I really should go?”

“I’ll make you calamari!”

“You just made me stay
!” He kisses my hand.

“I hope
that’s not the only thing I made you?” as he raises his eyebrows and kisses my cheek, yes he just made me wet and if he keeps it up I will come while we are dancing, or is he talking about making me sore? I don’t know, he makes me a lot of things these days. The one thing I don’t know is if I can make him mine.

The song ends and Tristan and I sit at a secluded table on the deck, s
ip white wine from his private stock that is his vineyard and we feast on his famous calamari with a cashews sauce that is like no other. I look over at him and this is how it always has been with us, we have always shared a meal at midnight ever since we met, I guess some things never change.

The bar dies down, the kitchen staff
ers all come over to meet me and we all sit and talk. They all joke with me about Tristan, they all know who I am, how embarrassing.

I meet Aimee, she is
the one who messed up the purchasing orders, so she is the cause of all my dismay, I really don’t know how I feel about the fare Aimee…hmm

They are a great group
of people, all from different walks of life, and they all think the world of Tristan, it was nice to see that, considering his reputation with my friends is not as favorable.

T
hey all break away and leave us.

“A
lone at last” It’s late.

“I should go Tristan”

“Are you ok to drive?”

“Yes I am fine, I don’t drink like that anymore?”

“Really I beg to differ! You were the old Aria Friday night drunk and quite verbal”

“That was different!”
I balk at him

“Different
how?”

“You drove me to drink!”

He grabs me and holds me close as my lips are at his neck his lips are at my ear

“S
tay with me tonight” why does he say what I always want to hear? 

“I can’t, I can’t, I ca
n’t” I whisper into his neck and he lets out a moan like he is fighting my words.

M
y head tells me it’s time to go, but my heart, oh my heart would have him in the backseat of my Cadillac.

“I kn
ow, I know, I know”  He looks down at me pressing his forehead to mine and I don’t want to go, ask me again, tell me what to do, make me stay, and he says the right thing.

“Aria I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I think that can be arranged” he kisses my forehead and he walks me out.

Harry brings my car around, I glance at the rear-view mirror and my rosary is hanging proudly where it should.

He kisses me, good night? Good-bye? We both don’t know if we will see one another again, both breathless just looking at each other. I caress his cheek as his stubble makes him sexy as hell, I push his hair off his forehead, how I adore him so, he smiles under my gentle touch.

“W
HY DIDN’T YOU FIND ME SOONER?” I am wining like a petulant child and he senses my insecurity as that statement lingers between us and haunts us both; the key to our happiness is that simple statement, ouch.

“I guess I didn’t try hard enough
…” he takes full blame in a consoling way, his humble answer warms my heart as he kisses my forehead, he blames himself, my poor baby, and Tristan blames himself for all of this I pout.

“We’ve wasted
so much time, we live and learn and moved on I guess”

“
No more wasted time Aria, I promise you baby” I kiss him and run my fingers through his hair, he deepens the kiss with his tongue in my mouth. People and passers-by heckle us

“GET
A ROOM!” whistles and shouts fill the night air. We laugh as Tristan yells back

“I’m trying”

My jaw drops, I hit him playfully on his chest.

“On that note I am leaving Mr. Bach.”

He puts me in my car, I look at him one last time, suddenly nothing is funny anymore.

“
Aria I will see you tomorrow!” He says very reaffirming, I nod and drive off.

-------<>-------

I’m home in seven minutes, as I pull up to my home it is well lit outside, Ian always leaves the lights on for me so I don’t come into a dark house. He is kind and considerate as he remembers that I am afraid of the dark, what a sweetie he is, and I am out all night with my ex doing things that I should not be doing. I sigh and try and clear my head. I leave my things on the table in the dining room, but grab my cell phone. I shut off the lights and head upstairs.

I open the door
and I am touched, I walk over to the bed and the lamp on my side of the bed is still on, Ian is sound asleep, he has an early class tomorrow I think, I lean over and kiss his forehead he stirs as his hair flops over his forehead he is so cute any women would kill to have this man in her bed. I go to kiss him and suddenly

BLEEP, BLIN
G

My cellphone goes off
shit! Who is texting me this late? It could only be the dark night himself, I run into the bathroom and fill the tub. I need to soak and relax. I get undressed and notice wow this dress does come off pretty easy, good thing I came home like a good girl, yeah good girl with bad intentions. I’m even more sarcastic to myself as I roll my eyes at my behavior.

I sit in a mound of bubbles that is Ralph Lauren Romance.
A grab my phone and it is from Tristan. I smile as I sink into luxury, the hot water is soothing, the aroma is tantalizing and I just want to relax and unwind.

Tristan

Are you home safe and sound?

Aria

I’m home the rest is questionable!

Tristan

Are you ok!

Aria

N
o

Tristan

What’s wrong?

Aria

You have to ask?

Tristan

You
say when and I will pull you out of the mess you are in.

Aria

You are the mess I am in!

Tristan

Glad to hear I’m still in the running!

He makes me smile, he is wonderful
.

Aria

Tonight was fun

Tristan

This morning was tops for me!

Aria

You are
an acquired taste.

Tristan

Am I now?

Aria

You were very handsome tonight.

Tristan

You took my breath away when you walked in

Aria

You look happy

Tristan

You
make me happy

Aria

It’s
almost 1:30am I gotta get to bed.

Tristan

Mine is
empty without you

Aria

Goodnight

Tristan

Are you wet

Aria

Yes actually I am soaking wet

Tristan

I’m hard!

Aria

I’m soaking in the tub goodnight

Tristan

Ok so naked and wet, you’re gonna

Make me come

Aria

you know I would have had you in my car

Tristan

You just made me
come all over myself, next time

I’m coming inside you

Aria

You said ladies first

Tristan

Touch yourself baby and come for me now

Aria

I need you I can’t come without you

Tristan

Aria I love you

Aria

Goodnight

Tris
tan

Goodnight

He is not going to
let me go, I’m not sure I want him too, Going over today’s events I spent more time with Tristan then Ian. Something to ponder tonight, while I can’t sleep. I finish my bath and go back in my bedroom.

Ian is sleeping, he is out to
the world, sleeps like a log. Gosh even in high-school he was napping after school then we would stay up all night talking on the phone watching Friday Night Videos. He and I have great memories. He has never hurt me, abused me or betrayed me, I on the other…well let’s not go there.

I lay next to him, a thought crosses my mind, Tristan was concern that I made it
home safe, shouldn’t my fiancé have worried about that too? Tristan’s world is so similar to mine, it’s almost like we have lived the same life but apart. We keep the same hours, we are both workaholic’s, driven, motivated and successful.

Ian’s world is far more subdued, confined, and less hours. Ian does love me, he has altered his whole universe to be with me. I mean what man do you know would leave his career and seniori
ty to start a new and take on a wife and all that goes with marriage. I think Ian has laid his world at my feet, he knows my career is here and I can’t relocate or I would never think of it, but in retrospect I have to say Ian has always been the safe route. Calm, cool, and collected, he is the professor with morals, values and a fondness for me.

I would have to say Tristan’s transformation is much greater in scale then Ian’s
, I mean Ian was always a success, Tristan was the bad boy from a broken home who left at sixteen because his mom left his father. He stayed with that slut-bag-ugly-whore, just to spite his mother. What is shocking is that he would have stayed with her if it wasn’t for us meeting at work. There was something that drew us together, I fell for him hard, he fought it at first but then when he realized how I fell in love with him he got scared and ran back to the whore, I was so innocent and naïve I took him back again and again, he hurt me, over and over, he has shown me what pain is, what heart ache is and now what love is.