| PART 23 After Michael leaves I break down. I feel so lost. I know it’s all my fault, but I didn’t think he’d walk away from me. I wipe the tears from my face and try to force myself from crying. I’m not going to do this anymore even when my heart feels heavy. I hear a knock at my door and softly yell, “Go away, Alex.” I rub my eyes and stand up. I take a deep breath and decide that a shower should be able to help me relax. I grab my robe, walk to the bathroom and strip. I turn the water on and wait for the temperature to be perfect. I step in when it’s warm enough. I allow the water to stream down my face and body. The soft stream of water penetrates my tense muscles and I can feel myself starting to relax. I turn the knob to increase the temperature and wait for the steam to envelope me. I turn around and let the droplets pound on my back. I grab my shampoo, pour some in my hand, and massage the lather into my hair. I carefully rinse it out and repeat. I then grab my loofah and squeeze some melon berry soap on it. I inhale the fragrance and sigh. This was a good idea. I’m feeling so much better now. I gently scrub my body and rinse off. I hear the door open, so I peak out behind the curtains and roll my eyes.“I’m in the shower, Alex.” He shrugs his shoulders and says, “I know and I figured this would be the perfect time to talk.” I shake my head. “Hey at least I know you’re not gonna run away.” I chuckle and say, “Whatever. So, you’re willing to risk seeing your baby sister naked.” He smirks and says, “Not like I haven’t seen you naked before.” I turn off the water and snatch up my robe without him seeing me. “Yeah, like when I was five.” He snickers and says, “Not like much has changed.” I throw a towel at him and laugh. He laughs too as he catches the towel before it hits him in the face. “I’m glad to see you laughing.” He becomes serious and asks, “What’s going on with you and Michael? I mean I saw him leave earlier.” I sigh and say, “After I told him what happened between me and Max he walked out on me.” I walk into my bedroom and pick up a bottle of lotion as I lazily rub it on my skin. “What happened?” I look at him and sigh. “I kissed him,” I say quietly. I can feel him staring at me and I swallow. “Can you blame him for not wanting to be with me. What’s wrong with me, Alex?” He pulls me into a hug and says, “Nothing’s wrong with you. What did Max do?” I snort and say, “Nothing. I broke down crying after I kissed him and all he did was ask if this involved Michael, then he drove me home. I feel so stupid. I only wanted to hurt Michael for being with Tess and all I did was hurt myself.” “Did you tell Michael this?” I shake my head. “Why? So it looks like I’m making up excuses. I’m not like that. I know I was wrong and I’m willing to accept that. I don’t run from my mistakes. I just run from my heart.” He lifts my chin and looks into my eyes. “What did he say exactly before he left?” I turn away from him and grab a brush. I brush through my tangled wet hair and say, “He said he needed some air.” Alex stands up and comes behind me. He looks at me through the mirror and says, “Maybe that’s all he needed. You know, to take in what you just told him. He’ll probably be back.” I grab a clip and put my hair up on top of my head. “What makes you so sure?” He smiles and says, “Because I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I don’t think he can walk away from you that easy.” “I wish you were right, Alex.” He hugs me and says, “Why don’t you come downstairs and I’ll make you some chamomile tea.” I give him a tight smile and nod. “I’ll be down in a minute.” He walks to the door to open it and turns around before he leaves to say, “I promise you that he hasn’t turned his back on you.” I nod as he closes the door behind him. ************************************************************************ I approach Liz’s house and slowly walk up the driveway. I knock on the door hoping she’s still awake. It’s pretty late, but I don’t want her to think I don’t want her. Alex answers the door and smiles. He grabs my arm and ushers me into the kitchen as the teapot whistles. “It’s about time you came back. I was about to think you weren’t,” he says while placing three mugs on the counter. I watch how he places teabags into each mug then three teaspoons of honey and pour in the hot water. He turns to me as if he’s waiting for me to speak. “How did you know I was coming back?” He smiles then shrugs. “I just knew, I guess you can say.” He turns back to the mugs and picks up two of them and places one in front of me and the other one next to me. “Where’s Liz?” He picks up the third mug and takes a sip. “She should be down in a minute. Have some tea.” I nod and put the mug to my lips. I breathe in the scent of chamomile from the steam as I drink a little. I look up when I hear someone stomp down the stairs. I watch as Liz comes plodding into to the kitchen. I smile because she looks so adorable wrapped in a baby blue terry cloth robe and a pair of Taz slippers. She’s busy braiding her hair oblivious to who’s in the room. She’s tying her braid on the top of her head after placing a clip to hold it in place her eyes lands on me and I smile. She stops short and stares at me. “What.. What.. are you doing here?” she stammers. I smile and answer, “To see you.” She wrinkles her brows and asks, “But why? After what I did, why would you still want to be around me?” Alex motions for Liz to sit down and says, “You guys can talk later. I just want to enjoy a nice cup of tea with my sister and her friend. Okay?” I glance over at Liz and see her nodding, so I nod as well. We sit in the kitchen for a while talking about school, Isabel, college and just about everything else. I don’t remember having this much fun in a long time. We even exchange jokes and stories that made us laugh. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this comfortable in my entire life. I glance over at Liz every so often and my heart swells when I see and hear her laugh. Alex suddenly gets to his feet and yawns. “I think I’ll be heading off to bed.” He kisses Liz on the forehead and shakes my hand before he retreats to his room leaving me alone with Liz. She picks up our mugs and carries them to the sink. I watch as her body stiffens. I walk up behind her and whisper, “I want to talk to you.” She nods, but she keeps her back to me. She dries her hands and leads me up to her room. She opens the door for me and I walk in waiting for her to close the door. I watch as she slowly shuts it and walk to her bed. She takes a deep breath and says, “I’m sorry, Michael.” I kneel in front of her and say, “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for.” She carefully reads my eyes. “Yeah you did kiss Max, but he explained everything.” She slowly shakes her head. I take her hands into mine and say, “For the first time in my life I agree with something Max told me. Do you want to know what that is?” I wait for her to answer and when I realize she isn’t going to I answer, “He told me I’d be stupid if I let you go. I don’t ever want to let you go.” A single tear slides down her cheek and I gently wipe it away. “I don’t want you to do that anymore especially over my sorry ass.” “What are you saying? That you don’t want to be a part of my life anymore?” I shake my head and say, “No, that’s the thing. I want you in my life. I know I’m about to sound like a cheesy movie, but you complete me.” I lean back on my heels and scratch my eyebrow. “You know because of you I’m finally starting to respect my brother. Not only that, but you make my sister feel like she finally has a real friend.” I look at our hands intertwined and say, “Isabel told me one day her mom… our mom had asked her what’s gotten into me. That I seem more delightful, more open. Isabel laughed and it was because of you.” I look into her eyes and continue, “She said mom looked confused and she told her my friend Liz. Do you know what my mom’s reaction was at the mention of your name?” She slowly shakes her head and I smile. “She said she saw something special in you and you making me act the way I am proves that. Not only did you open Isabel up, but you also opened me up. My mom and me are finally working on our relationship and I have to thank you for that.” She smirks and says, “I didn’t help you and your father’s relationship.” I roll my eyes and reply, “I don’t think anyone can do that.” She smiles at me and slides forward until our faces are inches apart. “So your mom thinks I’m special, but what about her son?” she asks seductively. “Well I can answer for her youngest son, but I have no idea about the oldest one.” She moves closer to me without touching me and whispers, “What does her youngest son think about me?” I swallow having trouble concentrating with her nearness. “You mean the world to him.” Her lips curl into a shy smile and she looks down. I lift her chin and whisper, “You mean everything to me, Liz. Everything.” She nuzzles her face in my neck. She raises her lips to my ear and in a sexy voice says, “Make love to me, Michael.” I swallow nervously. I don’t know why I’m nervous, but I am. She leans back and searches my eyes. As I sit back on my heels, she breaks eye contact. She leans her face in her hands and I mentally kick myself. “What’s wrong with me Michael?” How do I explain there’s nothing wrong with her, but it’s me? “This has something to do with Tess, right?” I sigh. “Not the way you think.” She meets my eyes and says, “You slept with her didn’t you. I mean Tess told me all the details when we broke up.” I bow my head. “Is the reason why you don’t want to sleep with me because Tess is sexier than me?” I snap my head up at that question. I caress her cheek with the back of my hand and slowly trail it down to her shoulder. “God, no Liz. You’re the sexiest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” I drop my hands into my lap and say, “I’m more afraid that you’ll regret it.” She grabs my face and says, “How can I regret bonding with you emotionally and physically? My feelings for you are so strong that they scare me. But do you know what scares me the most?” I shake my head slowly keeping my eyes glues to hers. “That you won’t be in my life. I’ve never felt this way about anyone and that’s why I want to be with you.” She pushes my hair off my forehead and says, “I know I’ve been pushing you before, but I’ll admit that it was more in fear than anything else.” “Fear of what?” She snorts and replies, “Of losing you, but when my feelings grew I just wanted to show you how much you mean to me. I’ve never been good with words.” I move from the floor to her bed and say, “Your words, your actions, the way you make me feel show me how much you care. Yeah Tess and I slept together, but I knew then it wasn’t for love and I regret it. I wish you were my first, Liz, I just don’t want you to have doubts about me or us.” She turns to face me and says, “It’s okay. You’re not going to be my first either.” I look down. That hurts because I want to be her first. “Look at me, Michael.” I raise my eyes to her beautiful face. “Either way it’ll be our first time…” “I know and that’s why I want it to be special. Not only for you, but for me as well.” She smiles and says, “As long as it’s with you it’ll be special.” She leans into me and gently bites my ear. “I want you, Michael. From the first time I saw you I knew I wanted you. Make love to me, baby,” she breathlessly whispers sending shivers down my spine. She brushes her lips against my neck; I close my eye reveling in the feel of her on me. I missed her so much. She trails her tongue lightly up and down my neck sucking every so often. She pulls away from me and presses her mouth to mine tracing my lips with her tongue, silently asking for access. I open for her as she plunges into my mouth. She wraps her arms around my neck pulling me closer to her. I separate our lips while our tongues continue to dance with each other and sucking her tongue into my mouth. I hear a moan come from her and pull her flush against me as I return my lips to hers. She pushes away from me to remove her robe. I groan when I see she isn’t wearing anything underneath it. She tugs at my shirt bringing it up over my head. She attaches her mouth to my neck biting and sucking. God she’s incredible at that. I don’t think I could stop this even if I wanted to. She trails open mouth kisses down my chest until she reached my nipples. *********************************************************************** I growl in frustration when I can’t get a good grip on his belt buckle, so I slide off of him and the bed standing in front of him. He looks up at me with eyes half-mast and I smile, happy that he’s finally allowing this to happen. I move towards my door and lock it. Slowly sauntering back to him, I push him flat on my bed and straddle him. I remove his jeans and slide them down his legs, stopping when I realize I haven’t taken his shoes off. I slowly untie his sneakers, keeping my eyes on him, and remove his shoes, socks and pants. I drag my nails up his legs and slowly glide his boxers down. I smile when I hear him moan. I slither up his body returning to his sexy mouth while slowly stroking his erection. He arches his back and squeezes his eyes shut tightly. He opens his eyes and smiles. He grabs me by the neck and pulls me to his lips. We kiss passionately and with such force, but all it’s doing is turning me on more. ************************************************************************ I can’t think straight because her small hands are everywhere. I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want her. I gaze at her marveling at how beautiful she is until she slides her hand up and down my shaft. I groan at the feel. I flip her over and cup her breast. I trail my tongue down her body until I reach her nest of curls. I massage her legs and slowly spread them apart. I search her eyes for any hesitation or doubt, but I don’t see any so I flick my tongue across her most sensitive area. She grabs onto to her sheets breathing heavy as I continue my assault on her. When her legs start to tense up I increase the speed and pressure until her body shakes. I return to her lips sucking her lower one until she opens her mouth to me. ************************************************************************ He’s driving me crazy with every kiss and touch. He moves lower leaving no skin untouched. When he reaches my center, I begin to breathe harder. I never thought it would feel this good. I feel myself close to the edge and he quickens the pace. I grip the side of the bed until I explode. He crawls back up to my lips and kisses me fervently. I reach for my night table and pull out a small foil wrapped package and hand it to him. He smiles seductively as he opens up the package. I watch him slide it on and he returns to me. Nervousness and fear washes over me as he nears my entrance. ************************************************************************ I position myself in front of her. Before I penetrate her, I look deeply into her eyes and see fear. “We don’t have to do this.” She shakes her head and a tear slips from her eyes. “Baby, what’s wrong? Talk to me.” She wipes at her eyes and softly says, “I’m sorry for ruining the mood.” I move off her and say, “No, if you want to stop. I’ll understand.” She cries into my chest and whispers, “I want this, I do. It’s just… I lied. I’ve never done this before. I’m sorry.” I smile and lift her head to gently kiss her lips. “You didn’t have to lie to me.” “I know, I was afraid…. I am afraid that I can’t, you know, satisfy you,” she whispers. I chuckle. “You’re trying to compete with Tess and there’s no reason to. You have something that she’ll never have and that’s my heart. So you’ve already won.” I tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear and say, “If you’re not ready we have all the time in the world to wait until you are.” She shakes her head and whispers, “I’m ready.” She rolls me over and straddles me. I shake my head gently placing her underneath me. She looks at me expectantly and opens her legs wider to me. I slowly enter her keeping eye contact with her. I stop when I reach her barrier and wait for her consent. She wraps her legs around my waist and slowly nods. I push into her and again wait until she meets my eyes. I slowly pump into her and feel her move with me. She feels incredible. I don’t know how much longer I can hold on. I want her to reach her to climax first. Her walls tighten around me and I know she’s about to tumble over the edge. I thrust into her faster and we both fall into the abyss together moaning each other’s name. ************************************************************************ He rolls off me when our bodies calm down. He pulls me to him holding me tightly against him. “Baby,” he says hoarsely. “Hmmm…” I answers. I snuggle into his chest wanting to be as close as possible to him. “I love you,” he says so softly that I barely hear him. I gaze into his eyes and for the first time I realize that’s what is shining in them every time he looks at me. I lean down and brush my lips to his. *********************************************************************** I never thought I could love anyone, but Liz comes into my life and changes everything. Her eyes are glistening with unshed tears and she whispers, “Oh baby, I love you so much.” My heart soars. She loves me too. Not only did I finally found someone that I love, but she loves me back. I’ve never been so happy in my life. She nestle her head under my chin and in a sleepy voice she says, “Promise me you’ll always be in my life.” I stroke her hair and reply, “Always. I could never be with out you.” The end. |