Our Way

by Swan, T L

  “Hello.” He stands and walks to me.

  “Hi.” I kiss him, and he slides his hand down my behind to squeeze it.

  “How was the massage?” he asks.

  “Heavenly.” I take his beer from him and take a sip. “How was your afternoon?”

  “Good.” He smiles. “I got you a present.”

  “You did?”

  He lifts his shirt to reveal a tattoo of three birds with long wings flying across the side of his ribcage, toward the front of his body. There’s one bird at the back and two at the front. Its red and swollen but its beauty can’t be hidden.

  My eyes widen and rise to his.

  He points to the two birds at the front. “Those are the two birds in that story of yours.”

  I smile goofily. “You and me?”

  He kisses me softly. “Uh-huh, that’s us flying into the sunset.”

  My mouth falls open. “Nathe,” I whisper in awe. I point to the other swallow at the back. “Who’s this?”

  “The life I left behind.”

  My eyes rise to his, what does that mean? I stare at him for a moment as I process that statement. Does it bother him?

  “Is that okay… that you left that life behind?”

  “It’s like it never happened,” he whispers as he tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear.

  My heart freefalls. “I love you, Nathe,” I whisper. “So much.”

  He kisses me softly and hugs me tight. “I love you, too, baby.”

  We stand in each other’s arms for a long time. I feel so close to him… like he’s a part of me—two souls connected together by their hearts.

  “How haven’t I seen what’s between us before now?” I ask. “How did we live without this?”

  “I don’t know.” He chuckles and pulls me closer. “I think we always knew on some level, but we were just too dumb to read the signs.”

  His lips take mine, and his kiss is slow, tender, and erotic. His tongue slides through my open lips, and I smile against them as an idea comes to my head. “What happens if we smudge the tattoo?”

  “I don’t know but I’m happy to try.” He raises an eyebrow mischievously.

  I giggle, and in one sharp movement, he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. He stomps into the bedroom and I put my hands down to his lower back as I laugh.

  He throws me onto the bed, and I laugh out loud as I bounce. He lifts his shirt over his head, and my breath catches. His skin is olive and tanned from the sun. His muscles ripple his torso, and with the addition of the new art…

  I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything more…. “You’re so beautiful,” I whisper up at him in awe.

  He drops his pants. His thick cock hangs heavily between his legs, and my breath catches. No matter how many times I watch Nathan undress, I will never take it for granted.

  The fact that he is undressing for me is just beyond words.

  He takes his dick in his hand and slowly strokes it as his dark eyes hold mine.

  My back arches off the bed, and my legs instinctively open. Nathan bends and lifts my dress over my head, and his eyes drop to my gold bikini bottoms.

  “Do you know how many times I imagined you laid out on the bed for me like this?” He slips two fingers under the side of my panties and runs them through my sex. He then puts them in his mouth. His cheeks hollow as he sucks his fingers hard.

  My heart beats faster. Nathan’s naughty side is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

  “You taste fucking good, Eliza.”

  With my eyes locked on his, I spread my legs wider so that they rest on the mattress.

  He smiles darkly and, taking my cue, he slides my bikini bottoms off and tosses them to the side. His large hands hold my thighs apart, and he dips his head. His thick tongue slides through my sex, and his eyes close in pleasure.

  “You have no fucking idea how much I love doing this,” he murmurs into my sex.

  My back arches from the bed. “I’m pretty sure I do.” I smile as I run my fingers through his hair.

  Nathan’s new addiction is going down on me. I wake, and he’s there. I fall asleep, and he’s there. I don’t know how many times he’s made me come on his tongue, but holy fucking shit… he’s not the only one addicted.

  He flicks his tongue as he slides three thick fingers deep into my sex, and my legs lift to hang in the air as I let out a guttural moan.

  He pumps me hard with his hand, and the bed hits the wall.

  Here we go again.

  Fuck, yes…

  * * *

  We exit the plane in single file, and a sense of sadness rolls over me. No more Majorca. Our heavenly vacation has come to an end. But I have arrived home with a boyfriend who I am madly in love with. We have an exciting future together.

  We make it through customs and get our luggage before we make our way to the parking lot.

  “That flight is a killer.” I sigh.

  “Sure is.”

  We get to the car and Nathan puts his arm around me and pulls me in for a kiss. I look over and see Brooke’s friend from work walking toward us. I step back from Nathan immediately. Shit, I haven’t told the girls, and I don’t want anyone to know just yet.

  “What are you doing?” He frowns.

  “Amanda is just there.” I gesture to her with my chin. Amanda is the world’s biggest gossiper. We may as well put it on the front page of the New York Times if she finds out.

  “So?” He frowns.

  “Just—”

  “Eliza, Nathan, hi,” Amanda cuts me off as she approaches us.

  “Hi.” I smile. Shit, fuck off, busy body. I want to tell the girls myself. I don’t want them hearing this from her before I get a chance to tell them in person. “We just got home from Majorca.”

  Maybe she won’t ask questions.

  Nathan steps forward and puts his arm around me and pulls me toward him. “Hi, Amanda.” He smiles.

  Shit.

  “Hi, Nathan.” Amanda frowns as she looks between us. “Are you two together now?”

  “No,” I snap before Nathan has a chance to reply. “Still best friends just going on vacation and stuff together.” I fake a laugh. Oh, hell, lying is uncomfortable. “Nothing new here.”

  Nathan frowns over at me anyway. I splutter. Oh hell, this is the worst timing, bitch.

  “Good.” Amanda smiles as she looks between us as if sensing something is very off here.

  Nathan’s gaze drops to the ground, and his jaw ticks. He’s angry… fuck.

  “We’re in a really big rush. Bye, Amanda,” I say as I walk around to get in the car. “Nice to see you.”

  Amanda smiles as she waves. Her calculating eyes are still assessing us, and she finally walks off.

  Buzz off, mole.

  Nathan glares at me across the roof of the car.

  “I just told her that because I don’t want anyone to know we’re together yet,” I whisper.

  “Are you ashamed of me?”

  15

  Eliza

  “What? No.” I scoff. “I just… we haven’t told our friends yet, or our families. I want them to find out from us, not via the seedy grapevine.”

  He narrows his eyes, unimpressed with my answer. He throws the suitcases into the trunk and we get into the car. He pulls out, and we drive through the parking lot with his jaw ticking in anger.

  My eyes flick between him and the road. “Nathan, you can’t seriously be angry about that.”

  He stares at the road as he grips the steering wheel with both hands.

  “I just want to tell our friends first.”

  “And when will that be, Eliza?” He snaps. “I would have thought you would have called them from Majorca to do it, seeing how you all know when each other fucking fart.”

  I roll my eyes. “You’re being dramatic.”

  “Dramatic? Did you speak to April or your friends while we were in Majorca, Eliza?”

  “I did but I want to tell them in person.”

>   His eyes flick between me and the road. “Are you sure that’s the reason?”

  “Of course, it’s the reason,” I fire back, but it’s not. Not even close. The truth is that I’m not sure how they are going to take it, and I don’t want them to rain on my parade. I know April will be all for it, but last time we spoke about Nathan and me, I was telling her all about Stephanie. I didn’t want it to seem like Nathan railroaded me into going on vacation.

  “I’ll tell them tomorrow.” I cross my arms in a huff. “You sure do know how to ruin my post-holiday glow.”

  He screws up his face in disgust. “Oh, it’s all about you, isn’t it?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He wobbles his head around, all righteous like. “And I quote, I don’t want anyone to know we’re together.” He hits the steering wheel. “You want to talk about ruining someone’s post-holiday glow, let’s fucking talk about that sentence, shall we?”

  I roll my eyes. “You took it out of context, Nathan, and you know you did. I simply want to tell our friends and family first out of respect for them. Stop carrying on about this. You’re beginning to piss me off.”

  His eyes bulge from the sockets as they flick between the road and me. “Well, I’m already pissed off, Eliza. Don’t fucking talk to me.”

  “Good!” I fire back. “I won’t. Don’t talk to me.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m not.”

  I cross my arms, and he takes a corner fast.

  “Slow down!” I snap as I hold on. “You’re driving like a maniac.”

  “Don’t tell me how to fucking drive.” He growls.

  “Well, I can’t tell the girls about us tomorrow if I’m dead, now, can I?”

  He screws up his face, and I can see he’s muttering something to himself.

  “What?” I say.

  He stays silent as he glares at the road.

  “Go on, say it.”

  “I’m just wondering if you think our relationship is all about you.”

  “What?” I screw my face up, fuck he’s still on that, what’s he going on about now?

  “I’ve already told Alex that we’re together. I called him, all excited from our vacation. I have nothing to be ashamed of. You spoke to your friends and purposely didn’t tell them.”

  I roll my eyes and I snuggle back into the seat. “Shut up, you’re supposed to not be talking to me. Do it.”

  “Watch it,” he warns.

  “You’re just looking for a fight and you’re not getting one. I told you the reason, now drop it. I’ve just been in transit for fifteen hours, Nathan, and the last thing I want to deal with is your dramatics.”

  He narrows his eyes as he watches the road.

  I bite my lip to stifle my smile. There he is… my cranky Nathan. I wondered how long he would take to show up.

  Goodbye, holiday love bubble. Welcome back to reality, Eliza.

  * * *

  I wake to the sound of the shower on, and I stretch out wide. Oh man… the gym.

  I glance at the clock and see it’s 5:30 a.m.

  I don’t want to go back to routine.

  Nathan didn’t talk to me at all last night, and we slept with our backs to each other.

  Two weeks joined at the hip have taken their toll.

  I smile sleepily at the ceiling. Reality bites.

  I hear the shower turn off, and moments later, he walks in with a towel around his waist. When he gets his suit from the wardrobe, his eyes glance to me.

  “Hi.” I smile.

  “Good morning, Eliza,” he says coolly.

  “Still hate me?” I ask playfully.

  “I do, actually.” He unzips his suit bag and takes the suit out before he walks out into the living area.

  Great, he’s going to make me grovel. I lie for a moment, listening to him move around as he dresses, and then I hear the coffee machine switch on. That’s it. I’m up. I walk out into the living room naked to see Dr. Mercer in all his glory, wearing perfect-fit navy suit, a crisp white shirt, and a striped tie, as well as his usual expensive shoes and designer chunky watch. His hair has a bit of a curl to it and is messed to perfection. He smells delicious. The aftershave Nathan wears to work must hypnotise all his female patients. Who am I kidding? It would hypnotise everyone who came into contact with him.

  I slide my hands around under his suit as I cuddle up to him. “Nathe, I’m sorry about last night.”

  He stares down at me but doesn’t put his arms around me.

  “I didn’t mean for that to sound the way it did. It came out wrong.” I go up onto my tippy toes and kiss his big, beautiful lips. “I love you.”

  “I didn’t like it.”

  I kiss him again as I run my fingers through his stubble and stare into his big blue eyes. “I’m sorry. I realize how it must have sounded. I’m going to tell everyone about us today. I can’t wait to see them.”

  He gives me a lopsided smile, and his hands slide around to my behind and he bends and kisses me, our lips linger over each other’s. “Okay.”

  I straighten his tie and dust off his shoulders. “I’m going to make it up to you tonight.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  I put my lips to his ear. “I’m going to suck your dick so fucking good,” I breathe.

  He smirks as his eyes darken. His hand slides up my body and cups my breast. He tweaks my nipple hard, and he grabs my face and turns it to the side. Then he bites my ear. Goosebumps scatter up my arms. “I look forward to it.”

  He kisses me aggressively. His tongue is full of power, and want, and oh… let’s go back to bed.

  “Goodbye, Eliza.” He picks up his briefcase, and without another word, he walks out. The door clicks shut behind him. I stand and stare at the back of it for a moment with a goofy smile on my face.

  I love that man.

  * * *

  I walk into the hospital at 7:00 a.m.. Henry is in surgery today so I work out of his office here at the private hospital. I take the lift up to my level and make my way down to the office. Henry is sitting at his desk with his laptop open.

  “Hey, there she is.” He smiles happily. “Thank fuck you’re back.”

  “Hi.” I laugh at his excited reaction.

  “How was the trip?”

  “Oh, so good. Majorca is beautiful. You should go one day.”

  He turns back to his laptop and types something. “I think it’s more of a romantic getaway, isn’t it?”

  “No, singles, too.” I frown. Hang on, the girls mentioned he has a girlfriend, “Aren’t you with your girlfriend anymore?”

  “No.” He twists his lips, as if frustrated. “While you were on the other side of the world being a love bird, I was back here breaking up with my girlfriend of four years. It’s been a rough two weeks.”

  “Oh, no.” I slump into the seat beside him. “What happened?”

  “Well.” He shrugs. “She was pressuring me to get married and I figured that if getting married to someone feels so wrong, maybe she isn’t the right one.”

  “That sucks. I’m sorry.”

  He smiles sadly. “That’s okay. Shit happens, right?”

  “It does.” I look through the surgery sheet for the day.

  “Well, at least you get to break someone’s nose today.” I smile.

  He chuckles. “This is true, I do. It’s going to feel good to smash that fucker.”

  I laugh. “Do you want a coffee from the cafeteria?”

  “Only if you’re getting yourself one. But go to the café downstairs, though. The one on this level is shit.”

  “I know, I remember from last time. Why didn’t you warn me? Back in a minute.”

  I make my way down to level one and through to the cafeteria. I order our coffees and stand and wait. I glance up and see Nathan with his four interns walking down the corridor. He’s talking as they all listen and hang on his every word. I smile as I watch him. He’s explaining something in great depth, using anima
ted hand gestures as he talks. He directs them into a room and they all file in. He catches sight of someone in the hall and then stops.

  I watch on as a woman approaches him. He says something to her, and they both laugh. Oh, I’ve met her before. She’s a doctor. Pretty, too. She’s at some of the balls we go to. I forget her name, though. They continue to laugh and talk for a few minutes. Nathan says something, and she rubs his upper arm. Her body languages seems flirty.

  I watch on for a moment, my eyes fixed on them, and then he says something and she laughs out loud. He steps into the elevator, he says something else, and she laughs out loud again. What’s so funny, bitch?

  I begin to hear my jealous heartbeat in my ears.

  I’m snapped out of my daydream by the words, “Coffee for Eliza.”

  I get my coffee and turn to look up the hall. The same flirty woman is now talking to another doctor, and she’s laughing with him, too. That must be just her personality. I shrug my shoulders and make my way back upstairs.

  This jealousy thing is new. Now that I know he’s attracted to women, the goalposts have been moved again. Every relationship with his friends is new, and it makes me wary of everyone now. I know I need to cut this jealousy out; nothing good could ever come from it. I make my way back upstairs to find that Henry is still working on his computer.

  “We only have three surgeries this morning and then we will call it a day. Early mark.”

  I say as I sit down at my desk. “I have to start packing. I’m moving this week.”

  “Where to?”

  “The other side of town. Nathan just bought a new place.”

  “Nice.”

  “Not the moving part.” I sigh. “I’m dreading it.”

  “True. Do you want to go grab some Italian for lunch? I’m craving carbs.”

  “I can’t, I’m meeting my friends for lunch.” I open my computer. “And besides, I’m all carbed out. Operation slimdown starts today or else I’m not going to fit in this chair for much longer.”