Authors: Red Phoenix
“He wants to provide for you,” Dan said in his best friend’s defense.
“I don’t care about the money, I never have.”
He got up and collected her plate, taking them both to the sink to rinse. “So are you thinking about leaving him?” he asked as the water trickled slowly out of the faucet.
Jenny’s heart rate shot up. It was the million-dollar question. She finally understood that their lives were not compatible, even though she loved Ryan. It was clear to her now. “Ryan needs a woman who can appreciate his drive to succeed in the business world. The fact is I am not that woman.”
Dan turned towards her, his hair covering his eyes. He brushed it back all cute-like. “What does that mean for us?”
Jenny stood up and walked over to him. She put her hands on his chest and gazed into his dark brown eyes. “I love you, Dan. I want to be with you.”
He wrapped her in a tight embrace. “God, how I have wanted to hear you say that.” His voice was gruff with emotion.
Jenny rested her head against his firm chest and a feeling of peace enveloped her. She had found her home. This time there was no second-guessing her desire. She loved Dan
—
mind, body and soul.
He pulled away and grabbed her hand, heading towards the door. “Come with me.”
“But I don’t have shoes on,” she complained.
“You won’t need them. It’s not far.” Dan led her outside to the large pine that stood in front of the cabin. She tiptoed her way through the tiny rocks and pine needles, giggling as he smiled down at her. His eyes held a sparkle she only seen once before—the day she had shouted that she loved him in the cabin.
Dan pointed to the large Blue Spruce. “My great-grandparents planted this tree after they built the cabin. It has special significance to me because my dad proposed to my mom under its branches. He even carved their initials in the trunk.” Dan lovingly caressed the scars on the bark. She touched the outline of the heart with her finger.
Jenny felt a nervous tingling course through her body when he took her hand. “Jenny, I would like to continue that tradition.” She looked into his eyes, suddenly unable to breathe. He gently cupped her cheek. “Will you be my wife?”
Her whole body quivered at his touch. “Dan…”
“I love you, woman. I don’t want to share you anymore. I want you all to myself. Forever.”
She pressed her hand against his and said with tears in her eyes, “That sounds wonderful.”
He took a deep breath and asked, “Is that a yes then?”
She took his hand and kissed it tenderly. “Yes.”
Dan picked her up and lifted her high above him, turning in circles. “She said yes!” he shouted, and the mountains echoed back their reply. He brought her back to earth and kissed her fiercely. “
My
woman.”
She grabbed his waist, pressing herself against him. “
My
man.”
He smiled down at her and then pulled a pocketknife out from his jeans. Dan set to the task of marking the tree with their initials on the other side of the tree trunk. As she watched, she could just imagine one of their children doing the same years from now. It was surreal… and wonderful.
When he was finished, he stood back and asked, “What do you think, Jenny?”
She ran her finger over the fresh cuts. “It’s beautiful.”
He folded the pocketknife and then picked her up, carrying her back into the cabin. He set her on the couch and sat down beside her. “You realize this officially marks the beginning of our lives together.”
She snuggled up closer to him. “Funny that it took a blizzard to set us on the right path.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Nature seems to have a wisdom all her own.”
They sat there in pleasant silence. After a while, however, his closeness called to her. He must have felt it too because he leaned over and growled softly in her ear, “So Jenny, have you ever…”
Blissfully Taken
Jenny awoke, but kept her eyes closed. His hand was playing with her breast using feather-light caresses. When it started traveling south and tickled her stomach, she giggled and opened her eyes. His dark brown eyes smiled down at her. “Morning, Kumquat.”
“Ah… Dan, I like this.”
“What?”
“Waking up to your face.”
He chuckled. “More than just my face, my love.” Dan’s fingers moved between her legs and began the light caress of her dark mound. He started off slow, waking her body gently to his lust.
Jenny opened her legs to him and turned her head into his chest, breathing in his masculine scent. What a way to start the morning.
He spread her wetness over her sex so his fingers could slide easily over her clit. She pressed against his hand and moaned softly. The fire was starting deep within. When she tried to reposition to return the favor, he whispered, “Don’t move. Just enjoy.”
She lay back and let Dan weave his spell of passion. His fingers glided over her folds, flicking her clit, moving to her opening to tease the rim. She shifted as the tension grew; Dan knew her body so well it was uncanny.
He penetrated her with two fingers and began stroking her G-spot. Jenny groaned as her hips naturally tilted in response to the stimulation. His fingers swirled around that sweet spot, taking away any chance of control for her. Her clit started pulsing in pleasure. “Dan,” she breathed.
“Yes, Jenny?” he growled into her ear.
“
Aaaah
—” Her voice cut off as she was overcome by the sweet climax he created. She pressed her lips against his chest as it rolled over her.
“Nothing sexier than watching you come,” he said as he pulled his fingers from her and lightly spread the wetness on his fingers over her skin. Dan had a way of making her feel sexy and perfect, as if every part of her was to be treasured.
“I love you.” She adored saying those little three words.
He kissed her on her forehead. “I love you too, woman.”
Jenny suddenly felt a stab in her heart. She buried her head in the pillow, willing it away -not wanting it to ruin the moment.
There was no hiding it from Dan, he knew her too well. “Yes. We have to tell Ryan today. He deserves to be told the truth as soon as possible.”
“This will crush him,” she whimpered into the pillow.
“Ryan has been pulling away for a while now, Jenny. I do not think this will come as a surprise.”
“I don’t know, Dan…”
“Do you want to tell him together?”
“No, I need to do this alone.”
“Well, I will have my cell phone with me. If at any point you want me there, just call.”
“It won’t be necessary.”
“Still, know I won’t be far away.”
She sighed miserably. A pit in her stomach was growing larger with each passing minute. “I’d better go after breakfast, I guess. The sooner the better.”
He brushed back a tendril of her black hair from her cheek. “I agree. It would be better for all of us.”
Jenny headed out as soon as breakfast was over. She might as well have skipped the meal since her stomach was tied in knots and she couldn’t eat a thing.
“I’m near if you need me,” Dan reminded her, before he got into his own car.
Jenny drove back to the city, trembling the entire drive. How would Ryan take the news that she was marrying Dan? That she was ending their relationship of almost four years? She hoped that Dan was right and that Ryan would see this coming. If not, it was going to be a heartbreaking confrontation.
Jenny stood at the door, afraid to announce her arrival. Normally she would just walk in, but now everything had changed. She held her breath as she rang the doorbell and waited. The door swung open as if he was expecting her.
Ryan pulled Jenny into his embrace and groaned, “You came back!”
“Rye…”
He ushered her inside and shut the door. “Sit down. Tell me what you are thinking.”
She looked into his jade-colored eyes. She hated that she was about to bring pain to those familiar eyes. “I’ve been with Dan.”
Ryan pushed away from her and sat on the other end of the couch. “Why would you do that?”
“It wasn’t planned, we both ended up at the cabin.”
Anguish clouded his gaze. “The cabin.”
“I came back today to tell you in person—”
He put his hand out to silence her, standing up abruptly. “I don’t want to hear it. You need some time to calm down. You aren’t thinking clearly right now.”
She stood up slowly and walked over to him. “Ryan, Dan and I—”
Ryan yelled at her, “I don’t want to hear it! That fucking Dan, as soon as he saw the chance…”
Jenny would not be swayed. “Ryan, we are getting married. Dan proposed yesterday.”
“Damn him to hell!” Ryan turned on her. “You take it back. You are not marrying that motherfucker. Do you hear me?”
She stepped away from him. “I’m sorry, Ryan, but—”
“Don’t say it. Don’t you fucking say that to me! You and Dan, all this time… playing me for a fool. Kelly was right.”
Jenny returned the fire. “Don’t you understand? Kelly did this! You let Kelly do this to us. It was perfect, the three of us together. But you let her ruin what we had.”
Ryan rammed his palm into her chest and pushed her up against the wall. His voice was deadly calm in its hatred. “You are to blame, not Kelly. I will never forgive you for this betrayal.”
“My betrayal? You’ve been siding up with Kelly for God knows how long, and you hurt me two days ago.” She added with a snarl, “Just like you are doing now.”
He did not loosen his grip, laughing angrily. “Oh, that’s it. Blame me. I bet you and Dan talked about me the whole time you were up at the cabin. Putting me down, laughing at my expense.”
“It’s not like that. It has never been like that. Dan’s your best friend.”
Ryan pressed harder against her, hissing, “Don’t… ever… call him that again.”
Jenny struggled to breathe until he finally let go and she gasped for air.
“I hate you, Jenny.”
She wanted to protest, to say something to preserve their relationship on some level, but there was nothing that could fix it. Jenny turned away from Ryan and headed towards the door.
“Don’t go.”
She hesitated when she put her hand on the doorknob.
“Stay, please.”
Jenny sighed. “Ryan, it won’t change anything.”
His voice cracked. “I need you.”
Jenny closed her eyes. This was Ryan, the man she had dated since college, the man she had planned to marry once—the man she still cared about. She turned around and sat down when he motioned her to the couch.
“Good,” he stated. “We’ve been here before. You get mixed up when you are around Dan. It takes distance away from him for you to think straight.”
She was about to disagree, but he put his finger to her lips. “No, don’t say anything. Listen.” He put his hand down and continued, “I have loved you longer than Dan. I have loved you through good times and bad. You will never find someone as loyal as I am. I forgave your transgression with Dan. I misspoke out of anger earlier, I
will
forgive you now. However, this has to stop. You are not allowed to see that asshole again. Ever.”
She shook her head. “You aren’t listening to me. I’m marrying Dan. I already said yes and nothing you say will change that.”
Ryan growled under his breath. “You are an idiot. He will leave you high and dry like he left Kelly. He doesn’t love you. He is incapable of love, or friendship for that matter.”
“Dan loves me, Ryan, and I love him. I wish it was different. I wish the three of us could have made it work. But you pushed us away.”
“I didn’t change. You did.”
Jenny looked down at her lap and fiddled with the hem of her skirt. “Maybe we both did.”
“We’ll go back to the way it was. I am willing to start over, just the two of us.”
Silence dragged on for an uncomfortably long time before she finally braved an answer. “Well, I’m not.”
Ryan shot off the couch. “Damn you to hell, Jenny! I have given you everything. Everything! How can you treat me so callously when all I have ever been is kind? Are you a fucking whore? Is Kelly right about you?”
Jenny narrowed her eyes. “Kelly. It always comes back to Kelly. She is playing you like a puppet and you don’t even see it.”
“No!” he screamed. “You played me, Dan played me.” Ryan paced around the room in a state of rage Jenny had never thought he was capable of. “God, I hate you! But fuck it all…” His face crumpled. “I still love you.”
Jenny’s heart broke for Ryan. He loved her, he always had. He’d proven it at the cabin when he took her back, then later when he brought Dan into their relationship, but if she had to make a choice it would always be Dan.
“Rye…” She saw the hope rise in his eyes and realized she had to release him now. It would hurt both of them, but it was necessary to move forward. “I care about you. I always will, but I am marrying Dan.”
He fell to his knees. It shocked Jenny. She moved to comfort him and had to stop herself.
Ryan looked at her in desperation. “Don’t.”
Her lips trembled as she turned towards the door. There was nothing more to say. She needed to get out of there.
“Boo.”
Jenny looked back at him with tears in her eyes.
He held his hand out to her. “Don’t leave me.”
She opened the door and rushed out, her heart breaking into a million pieces. She ran to her car and took off, but she pulled over a block away and cried. She howled in pain—hating herself, hating what she had done.
It wasn’t until she heard her cell phone that she came back to reality. She sobbed several times before answering Dan’s call.
“Jenny, are you all right?”
She could barely gasp out the words. “No, Dan. I am not.”
“Did anything happen? Are you hurt?” he asked in concern.
“Yes, something happened. I broke Ryan’s heart. He didn’t see it coming. I feel awful.”
“I’m sorry, Jenny. I’m sorry he took it so hard, but it had to be done. He deserved to hear it first from you.”
Jenny remained silent as tears cascaded down her cheeks.
“Do you need me to come get you? Where are you?”
“No, I’ll be fine. I’m just a block away from my
pl
… Ryan’s apartment,” she answered listlessly.
“Do you want to meet somewhere?”
“I think I need some time alone. I’ll call when I’m ready.”
“Whatever you need, Jenny, just know I’ll be waiting for your call.”
She was glad Dan wasn’t pushing himself on her or treating her like a breakable doll. She sat in her car replaying the last six months. The innocent trip up to the cabin, the blizzard… Dan’s seduction of her. The realization she loved him. Ryan’s eventual acceptance and the threesome that formed from that mutual love.
Why couldn’t it last?
Kelly.
Why did Kelly have to ruin it all? What did she gain by driving them apart? Revenge, sure… but what benefit was that to her? Was there comfort in knowing that Ryan was hurting as much as she’d been hurt? How shallow and cruel of the bitch. Ryan hadn’t done anything wrong. It seemed odd that Jenny had been friends with her for years and not been aware of the heartless creature underneath that energetic personality.
Jenny wiped away the tears and drove to a cheap hotel near her work. Until she knew what she was doing, she needed a place to stay—where didn’t matter. She lay down on the hard bed and stared up at the ceiling. She was getting married to Dan. The reality of it was slowly sinking in and helped to soften the blow. She dug out her phone and called him. “If you want to meet me over at the Continental, I’m in room 142.”
“Excellent. I’ll be there soon.”