Authors: P.A. Jones
Tristan
The same morning
She had been looking at me for some time now. Her blue, brilliant eyes were calling me, touching every inch of my skin. My erection was throbbing against my jeans. My need was loud and clear; I wanted her.
From the day I kissed her for the first time, I knew those were the lips I'd waited for my whole life. I could feel the taste of her tongue inside my mouth. Damn, she tasted too good to be true. The scent of her body occupied every inch of my senses.
Her lips parted slowly, like they were calling my name. A handful of hair rolled over her left eye; her hand moved it back gracefully. The tension was killing me every second I was away from her. I had’ to grab her and push my lips on her hard.
I moved forward, closer to her, inch by inch closing the distance between our faces. My eyes were fixed on those lush, red lips—the lips I'd waited for my whole life, the lips which gave me the thrill of one bottle of whiskey, the lips which kept me awake night after night. Finally they were closer to me. My hands lingered around her hips. Any moment, I could grab her ass and push my lips on her.
A moment before I could kiss her, I looked in her eyes. I could see someone else there. I wasn’t there to be found. She was no longer mine. How could I imprint on a girl who wasn’t mine? How could I kiss her? I turned around. I had’ to go back. I could no more have her in my life. That was her decision and I had’ to respect that.
My phone rang and I woke up from the so=called dream. My dick was hard as a rock. I really missed her.
“Hey, Tristan.” My agent was on the line.
“Hey, Christian. Wassup, buddy?”
“I need you to come here a day early. The team here wants to meet you a day in advance. They want to see you training first.”
“But my flight is booked for tomorrow.”
“Cancel it, I’ll send you the new tickets. Or give me the ticket number. I’ll schedule it early." he said.
“Okay,” I replied plainly. No emotions were there in those words and no regret as well.
I had’ nothing to do in NYC. Stephen was safe. Nikki was going to take care of him. Nikki had the money, so she was out of danger. They were thinking about having another child, as well. The sex might just remain a fling for her. But those were enough memories for me to live on and move to a new country.
Even Trisha was gone.
Wish you a great future ahead, dear
.
The past four days, I didn’t do anything. Just slept, watched some movies and trained hard. I just packed my bags and I was ready to move on to the future.
But the days I spent in the hospital were more memorable than anything else. Because I spent them with the woman I loved. I saw her vulnerable, I saw her desperate, I saw her in pain, but most of all I saw her happy when she held Stephen to her heart.
She was pretty annoyed around me, maybe because of the sex we’d had few days ago, but the time was worth every second I'd been around her. I could see every mood of hers.
I got up and opened my cupboard where I kept all the coffee mugs I'd grabbed. Every mug had some memory associated with it. I’d marked every moment on them. I don’t know why I started collecting them. Maybe because she loved coffee so much and I loved her more than anything.
I’d gotten ten coffee mugs from the hospital, which held her mark on them. I looked at one of my favorite mugs she’d used. It always remained near my head, as a memory of her reminding me of her existence in my life.
I’ll not be able to love again, but I’ll keep loving you, my babe.
I reached out—my handpicked that cup up to look it once more before I packed it away.
My cell flashed; my rescheduled ticket was already delivered to my mail box. I took a print out. The departure was only five hours away, so I had’ to quickly get to the airport. I packed the last cup in my bag, checked the house completely to lock it. But I kept one way open for her. If she ever needed to come here, she would have access to her favorite entry point.
“Love you, Nikki Jordan. Wish you a happy life ahead.” I closed the door behind me and I hailed a cab for the airport.
***
“Sorry, sir, but your flight is delayed by eleven hours. You can either use the business lounge or maybe go back in town and have some fun.” The flight attendant was apologizing to everyone waiting in line.
What the fuck.
I’d no choice but to wait. I didn’t want to go back at any cost. I might not be able to live in the town again. It was already hard to make my mind up to travel to another country when Nikki was here in NYC.
I checked my phone; there was no new call or text. Even Trisha would be out of the city. She’d never told me where she was traveling to, but I guess she had her own plans. I’d checked in my luggage so I had’ nothing but a laptop bag to carry with me.
I should check some magazines while I’m here.
I started walking towards the magazine store. When I was about to enter, a man banged on my shoulder.
“Fuck…” I howled in anger. I turned around to see that person; he was already in motion going away, but before that he looked at me. It was Gerome.
“Hey, Gerome…” I called, but he acted like he’d seen a ghost and ran away.
What the heck. Why the heck he was running away from me.
I went inside the magazine store, but my anxiety wouldn’t let me sit there. “Maybe I should check with Nikki, what really it going on.” My gut feeling was telling me to go and check on her. I remembered her face, when I asked about Gerome first. She’d struggled to answer me.
I should call her.
But instead I called Carrie.
“Tristan, you? Did you meet Nikki?”
“I saw Gerome running away at the airport. Wait what did you say, Nikki? Where is she? I didn’t meet her.” I couldn’t understand what she was saying at first.
“What, Gerome, that son of a bitch? Where did you see him?”
“At the airport. I don’t know why he ran off after seeing me. Did anything happen, Carrie? Tell me the truth.” My senses were on alert now; something was wrong.
“Hell, then, where is Nikki?”she asked.
“How would I know?”
“She went to meet you.”
“What? When did she start?” I asked; my mind was warning me of some danger.
“I think she would have gone to your house. Where are you now?”
“Airport. I’ll catch her at my house. If she comes back, call me right away.”
I ran out of there.
“Taxi.” I hailed. A taxi stopped in front of me. I jumped in and told him the address.
“Quick, man, I’m in hurry,” I said him.
***
“Ten minutes later, I was standing in front of my house I wondered if Nikki was really there inside, waiting for me. But why did she come here? I thought she didn’t want to see my face anymore. I thought she was happy with Gerome and that one night was just a crazy night. But everything got changed in one phone call. Gerome must have hurt her somehow.
I’m gonna kill you, bastard, and this time for sure.
I cursed him and opened the door; my heartbeat stopped for a second.
Nikki was sitting on my couch, looking at the horizon.
“Nikki.” I called her name, soft and slow.
“Tristan.” She looked at me. She ran towards me and the first thing she did was to slap me hard on my face and then kissed me hard on my lips. I stood there, frozen in pain and surprise.
“Why did you do this to me, Tristan?” She kept hitting me on my chest.
I grabbed her hands and pulled them behind her. I pushed her on the nearby wall. “I don’t know what you are talking about, but I love you more than anything.” I knew it was the right time to admit it. I wouldn’t be able to ever again if I’ missed that moment.
I kissed her neck and then her cheeks and then her eyes. Finally, I locked her lips inside mine. The lips I'd waited for. But this time, it wasn’t a dream; it was real, like sun rays. I was kissing her, I was loving her. She was in front of me.
“I don’t know if you love me, too, but I’ll keep loving you no matter what,” I whispered in her ear.
“It’s hurting, Tristan," she cried.
I released her hands, but not her lips. I sucked them until I was satisfied. But then I rolled my tongue inside her. I wasn’t going let her go like that.
She pushed me away.
“Jerk, at least let me tell you, I love you, too.” She grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer, licking my lips and then inserting her tongue inside my mouth..
Tristan
“I love you, Tristan, from the wholeness of my soul.” Her words flew like a musical note, sending tingles across my whole body. Those were the words I’d lived to hear. Those words made my living meaningful.
“Thank you, New York Airline,” I muttered, pushing my hands through her hair and pulling her closer to me. “Say it again, say it again.”
“I love you, baby. I’ve been hiding it in my heart for so long, but no one can stop me now from saying this to the whole world. I’ll love you until my last breath, even after that breath is taken away.”
I kissed her again and again, sucking the skin all over her neck. I was biting her all over. Her scent was driving me crazy. I’d had sex with her just few days ago, but it was like rediscovering a woman’s body for the first time. Her body always amazed me with new things. “Say it, you won’t go away from me, never ever,” I whispered. I wanted to pinch myself, it surely felt like a dream.
Is it a dream, Tristan?
But her lush lips were true and calling me. I sucked her lower lip and then left it for her earlobe. I was overwhelmed and didn’t know where I should be kissing her next.
“I won’t leave you, it ain’t happening again. I’ll be there with you, to kiss you after every MMA fight, to raise your hand for the winning strike.” Her fingers filled the gap between mine and lifted my hand to kiss it. “And to massage your body whenever you need me.” She pulled her other hand and traced over the second scar on my face. She brushed her lips over it slowly. “And patching you up every time you get one like this.”
I closed my eyes. There was nothing more peaceful than being in her arms. I felt like I reached the end of my life and I could die in her arms right that moment. Those three words, I craved them. My life was dragged to every corner of the country, to find what they meant. But now as I heard them, they were imprinted on the walls of my heart. The fight, the bloodshed, nothing was important than hearing ‘I love you’ from the girl you would die for.
“What happened, baby?” Her fingers darted to my cheek, touching my eyes.
“Nothing. Just making sure it’s real.” I tried to smile. But I was too overwhelmed to react. I never thought I would find her in my own house. I'd dreamed about saying I love you to her in many ways, on a date, just before sex, on a mountain. But this was more memorable than anything. I'd never imagined that would happen in my own home in this condition. The love of my life, Nikki, was sitting there, waiting for me. It was life’s best gift.
“It’s real, babe. How can I prove it to you?” Her face twisted in pain, her eyes rolling everywhere, searching for something.
“I imagined, how would I say,' I love you,’ to you in a thousand different ways.”
“You had already said it to me, when you were drunk having sex in the bathtub.” She winked mischievously.
“Did I? Oh, damn, I never knew I said it first.” I brushed my lips on her forehead. “It’s just something unusual for me to get you back. You know...” I couldn’t say anything more. “Don’t worry. I know it’s real, it’s just that I’m incapable of handling the joy.” From the moment she went away, the joy of my life was gone.
“Don’t say that. I know I made you go through the worst in the life, but we will work together now to make our dream life come true.” Her face sparkled with a sweet smile. The shades of blue in her eyes were throwing joy my way.
“Where is Stephen?” I asked.
“He is playing with Carrie, and Trisha.”
“Trisha? What is she doing here? I thought she left for some town.”
“Well, about that. First, sorry, and then...” Her hands darted above her head and came back fast, hitting on my chest.
“Ouch…for what?”
“For making me believe that you were with Trisha.” She frowned.
I smiled at her. She looked so sexy when she was angry. I couldn’t resist lowering my mouth and tasting those red lips I was craving all along.
“Did I tell you, your lips are so sweet? I could eat them all day.”
“Why did you lie to me about Trisha? Why did you say that she is your girlfriend?” She pushed me back.
I looked in her eyes. They were pissed, really pissed.”Well…”
“Tell me, Tristan.” She pushed my chest with her soft hands.
I pulled them up, kissed them slowly. “Well, you were happy with Gerome, and you were planning to have a second baby as well, weren’t you?” Suddenly, I felt wrong. I felt like I'd broken their marriage.
“Damn, no, it can’t be. I broke up your marriage, didn’t’ I? Is that why Gerome was flying somewhere away from here?” I pushed my hair back. It was a devastating feeling. In the end, I ended up being evil, by consent or by chance.
“What?” Her eyes widened. She stepped back a bit.
“I’m so sorry, Nikki, I really didn’t want this to happen.” I could feel the evil inside me scratching the surface of my mind. The devil residing inside me had came on the surface, and destroyed a marriage. Taking a child’s father away was the worst deed I could do.
“Did you say Gerome?” Her shoulders tensed.
“Yes, I did, and he ran away when he saw me at the airport. Now I understand why.” I punched the wall near me. it was made up of glass. The glass broke by the impact. The water ran like a flood, dripping our legs in the flow. My hand started dripping blood, but it was nothing compared to what I’d done with Nikki and her marriage.
“Are you crazy, Tristan?” Nikki shouted, lifting my wounded hand and putting her handkerchief on it. “Why in the hell did you do that?” Her eyes were wet. She was looking at my hand like it was her heart, broken in front of her eyes.
“I shouldn’t have come back, but heck, I wanted to save Stephen. But I didn’t mean to throw Gerome away from your life.” I didn’t know what to do next.
“Who the hell said you did that.”She sobbed.”You men, you never understand a woman’s heart.” She held the edge of the couch for stability.”You never knew that I loved you from the first day. I tried hard to get back with Gerome, by looking at Stephen, but it never worked out. I trusted him and he ran off with the money.” She fell on the couch and started crying hard.
“He ran…”That came across as a shock to me.
“Yes, that bastard ran off with the money.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before? Did he run before Stephen’s accident? Or today when I saw him at the airport?”
“I thought you were happy with Trisha, and I didn’t want to bother you anymore.”
“Fucking crazy confusion…” I couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Thanks to Trisha. She came to tell me everything. And that’s why I’m here and you, you second jerk, always pushing forward without asking anything. Why do you men always act first and never talk?” Her words were heavy.
The pieces were coming together. “So, when Gerome told me you were thinking of the second child, it was all a freakin; lie?” I pushed my left hand through my hair. I couldn’t fucking believe it. He was the master manipulator.
Damn you, Gerome, I’m gonna kill you once I find you.
“I didn’t even let him touch me, you bastard. Why would we think of a second child? I loved you and I wanted to be with you.” She stood up and hugged me tightly. “If I ever want a second child, it would be from you, jerk.” She sobbed, resting her head on my chest.
“Mother…fucker, he manipulated both of us all along, and we fell for it. Bastard, I’m gonna find him and kill him by choking him with the money he stole from you.” I cursed him. I could only do that at that moment. The last eight months, all were spent in agony, because of that mother fucker. “Oh, God. I swear to you, God, that I’ll kill that bastard once I meet him.” I punched my head with my left hand.
“We need to get you to the doctor first and then look at the whole mess you did here. You and your force.”
“I want to hit someone right now, Nikki. I’m unable to control my anger.” My fingers were pulled into a fist.
“I think we have bigger things to worry about as of now,” she said in a serious tone.
“What now?” I couldn’t think of any trouble bigger than that jerk.
“Shaun has moved to court against me. The company is doomed and we don’t have money.” Her face darted down.
“Damn.” She was right. I had’ to find a way to get her out of this. I couldn’t think of a life without Stephen with us. Without Stephen, it was a torn-up picture. “Don’t worry. You said Trisha is there, isn’t she? We will find some way. I have’ many things I can sell to get the money.”
“I hope we can find a way.” Her voice was shaking; she looked helpless.
Heck, I felt helpless, too.