A Year in His Life

by Eunice Hart

  “You taste a lot better than I do,” Justin said, pretending to look jealous.

  Elena giggled. “I second that. She reached down and curled her fingers around his cock, and he grew even harder. “Enough with the foreplay, Justin. Now I want the main course.”

  “As you wish, milady.” Justin let her position him at her entrance. Then, keeping his eyes locked on hers, he slid into her.

  He couldn’t help groaning with pleasure. She was wonderfully tight around him. For a moment, they just lay there, their bodies joined together, her muscles clenching around him, their harsh breaths filling the bedroom. And then Justin began to move. He began slowly, wanting this to last as long as possible. Beneath him, Elena arched her back and let out a light purr, her eyes fluttering shut. She wrapped her legs around him to keep him there. Justin timed his strokes carefully, reveling the way she made him feel. He could go on like this forever.

  Justin swiveled his hips once, twice, and she let out a sharp cry, her eyes flying wide open. He grinned down at her and continued to pump. Maybe he was just imagining things, but it seemed to him that she was growing tighter with each time he re-entered her.

  “Yes!” she yelled, her quivering body urging him to go faster. “Give it to me, baby! Oh, God!”

  It wasn’t very long before he felt his orgasm hovering near. He slammed harder into her and her legs tightened around his waist. The cries in the bedroom rose at a rapid crescendo; so did the sensations building up inside them. Justin looked down at the woman that was to be his wife.

  Elena was perfect. He would have no one else.

  Suddenly, light exploded behind his eyes and he cried out as he came, shooting his seed inside her like machine gun in rapid-fire. Justin didn’t stop pumping until he felt Elena contract around him – and then she, too, reached her orgasm, screaming out his name as her entire body began to convulse.

  And then, quite unsurprisingly, she passed out.

  ***

  Elena really needed to stop doing that.

  She wasn’t sure when exactly she woke up from her slumber, but somehow she knew she hadn’t been asleep for long. That meant she still had time to spare before she had to get Madison from school. She opened her eyes and instinctively closed them again. Forcing them back open, she looked around, taking in her surroundings. She was still lying in bed – the bed they’d had sex in. Justin’s arm was draped over her body, his fingertips touching her belly. The room smelled of steamy, sweaty sex. Ah, wonderful.

  Elena turned her head to look at Justin. He was still asleep, his dark curls falling over his closed eyes. He looked so gorgeous when he slept, practically angelic. Elena had told him that more times than necessary. She could just imagine how wonderful he would look if he suddenly began to glow.

  It was a wonderful thing, watching her fiancé sleep, and Elena would have loved to remain where she was and listen to his deep breaths. But that could wait till another time. Maybe she should do something else.

  Like what? Prepare dinner and bring it to him in bed, perhaps. But that would probably take more time than she had, and she still had to pick Madison up from school. Elena sighed. There had to be something else she could do.

  Suddenly a thought occurred to her: why not go exploring this place?

  It wasn’t such a bad idea, when she pondered about it. After all, she’d never really seen this house as much as she would have loved to. Justin’s place was pretty big – no surprises there; the guy was a billionaire.

  Slipping under Justin’s outstretched arm, Elena climbed out of bed, pulled on a robe and began roaming about, ignoring the parts of the house she was already familiar with. As it turned out, she barely knew the place. Elena hoped she wouldn’t get lost. She could already imagine the smirk in Justin’s face when he found her trying to dial 911 from the basement.

  She soon reached his study. Standing in front of the door, she nearly laughed at herself. She had been living here for over a month and she hadn’t even stepped foot in this place, even though she’d walked past it several times. Tsk-tsking at herself, Elena turned the doorknob and walked into the study.

  She’d been expecting something extremely classy, but it was just like any other study, with shelves filled with books and a desk and chair sitting the center of the room. Elena slowly walked towards it, craning her neck to get a view of everything around her. She came to a stop at the desk at the chair and kicked back, resting her legs on the desk surface. It had a thin layer of dust on it, but she didn’t particularly mind.

  All of a sudden, something caught her eye. It was a piece of paper, sticking out of one of the desk drawers. A part of Elena wanted to ignore it and continue exploring the house, but her curiosity got the better of her. Without any more hesitation, she pulled open the drawer. The piece of paper was a small part of a larger sheet – a letter, she realized, noticing the handwriting on the paper. It was Justin’s handwriting, she realized. He must’ve written a letter to someone and forgotten to mail it. Frowning, she peered at the letter, reading the words slowly, carefully.

  And then all the hairs on her arms shot up.

  Chapter 12

  ‘Not Today!’

  Justin let out a scream and flipped the entire desk over, sending several objects cascading to the floor of the study. His heart still thudding loudly, he began kicking the desk with both feet, ignoring the pain that flared in his toes. He was already in more pain, and it wasn’t physical. No, this was worse, way worse.

  She had found it. Elena had found the letter he’d written to her at Christmas and left in his drawer. Justin gave himself a hard smack on his head, groaning loudly. Why hadn’t he just gotten rid of that goddamned letter once and for all? He could have carefully disposed of it, perhaps by burning or ripping it into a million pieces. But nooo. He’d just had to do the one thing that would come back to bite him much later, when he was least expecting it.

  It was her screech that had woken him up from sleep. He’d come running into the study, fearing that something gruesome had happened to her, and right as he burst in and began dialing 911 he spotted her standing behind his desk, clutching a letter in her trembling hand.

  The letter.

  The rest of it had happened almost in a blur, but Justin could still remember most of it. He had tried – quite lamely, for that matter – to explain to her that the letter had been written a long time ago, but she would hear nothing from him. Everything he said just seemed to make matters worse. Elena had burst into tears, screaming at him to stay away from her when he tried to comfort her.

  And then, the final blow: she’d thrown the engagement ring at him.

  All that had happened two days ago. Elena had already moved back into her house with Madison. She’d made it clear that she was never coming back to him. She never even wanted to lay her eyes on him, even down at her bar.

  Justin had never felt so broken in his entire life.

  He sank to his knees, tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes and tracing a path down his cheeks. His vision grew blurry, but he made no move to wipe the tears away. What was the point anyway? He’d lost the most valuable thing in his life – the woman he loved more than life itself. What was he to do now? Continue with his old life as a playboy billionaire? For the first time in many years, the very idea sounded ludicrous.

  It wasn’t too hard to imagine Alicia laughing at him, the words I told you so spewing out of her mouth. Good thing he’d already stopped her from getting into his office or coming to visit him at home. If he had to listen to her mock him on account of his failed relationship, he was going to snap really bad. That would make the headlines. Justin chuckled mirthlessly at the thought.

  He lifted his head and swept his gaze around. All the shelves had been pulled down, hundreds of books scattered across the floor. Why he had refrained from hurling the books out the window one after the other, Justin had no idea. Right now, nothing of the sort really mattered. All he could think about was Elena.

  He
had to get her back. He just had to.

  ***

  She sat on a stool in the center of the bar that night and strummed her guitar, her gaze sweeping about the bar, landing on the multitude that had gathered there to watch her performance, her eyes never really seeing them. At the moment, not even Martha and Giselle were on her mind. All she could think of was Justin.

  He wasn’t here.

  Elena felt a twinge of sadness, then scolded herself for feeling that way. What was wrong with her? The man had practically stomped her heart into a billion pieces. She should be thanking the heavens that he was nowhere to be seen. Only God knew how she’d react if she suddenly saw him. With her luck, she’d very likely faint.

  She shook her mind free of the thought and began to sing. Her voice was clear as usual, but tonight the pain in it was more obvious than neon sign in darkness.

  “I loved you more than everything,

  I could never live without you,

  But you took my heart and stomped it hard,

  ’Cause boy, that’s all you love to do.

  I should have known when I let you in,

  But I stood still when you touched my skin,

  You’ve brought all my joy to an end,

  And I can only pretend…”

  She felt a tear form in her eye, but made no attempt to get rid of it. So much for getting Justin out of her mind. The song was literally about him. As she sang, Elena blinked and continued to gaze around. Everyone else in the bar was watching silently, many leaning forward in interest. Over at the counter, Martha and Giselle stood watching, their faces devoid of expressions. She could tell what was going on in their minds.

  Martha and Giselle were the first people Elena had run to after she left Jake. Being her friends, they’d tried her best to get her to cheer up. They’d had a couple of drinks at the bar and talked about what a jerk Justin Chan was, making sure not to bring up the subject of their boyfriends. But none of that had done anything to ameliorate Elena’s spirits.

  She knew how much they despised Justin now. They wouldn’t tell her – at least, not for the time being – but Elena knew. If they ever managed to get their hands on him…she didn’t think he would be leaving without more than a few cuts and scratches. Elena liked that her friends had come to her side in her time of need, but she didn’t think all that was necessary.

  Granny Pat had been less respondent on the matter than Elena thought she would. When Elena told her what had happened in the study that afternoon, she frowned, but didn’t say anything until her daughter was through with her story.

  “I see,” she muttered, nodding slowly. “I see.”

  Elena had been tapping her feet in rapid succession. When she heard her mother’s words, she exploded. “You see? That’s all you can say? Really, Mom? You’re the one who told me to go on that date with him in the first place. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for you!”

  She’d expected her mother to be offended, or at least taken aback, but Granny Pat sat unfazed, staring at her daughter for a minute. The older woman’s lips curved into a smile and she said, “None of what would have happened, Elena? He didn’t cheat on you. He didn’t walk out on you. All he did was write a letter –”

  “ABOUT WALKING OUT ON ME!” Elena screeched, and all of Granny Pat’s cats fled from the living room in one accord.

  Granny Pat pressed her lips together into a thin line. “I see what you’re getting at. But something doesn’t quite fit right. Why would he write a message about leaving you when he already put a ring on your finger? Does that make sense to you?”

  “My eyes don’t deceive me, Mom, Elena said. And she would say no more on the subject.

  “I don’t want any more tears

  From seeing you walk away,

  So what do I say to the god of love?

  ‘Not today!’

  I don’t want to see you smile,

  I don’t want looks that beguile,

  So what do I say to the god of love?

  ‘Not today!’”

  She played a few more notes and was about to launch into the next verse of her song when the door swung open and he walked in. Elena sucked in a breath.

  He looked like he hadn’t slept in days, with bags under his reddening eyes. His five-o-clock shadow didn’t make him look any better. His hair looked tousled and his clothes, though obviously expensive, looked like they’d been thrown on him instead of smoothed on. As Elena watched, nearly paralyzed with shock, Justin made his way towards the nearest table and stood watching her, his hands not in the pockets of his jean shorts, but hanging, rather lifelessly, at his sides.

  A loud crash made the audience jump and snapped Elena out of her daze. She lowered her gaze and saw the guitar lying on the floor. It suddenly dawned on her that she must’ve stopped performing the moment she laid her eyes on this man.

  This man, who had made her feel like the queen of the universe.

  This man, who had made her feel like she could have a chance with another man.

  This man, who had made her feel like Darrel was the only one with issues.

  This man, who had taken her heart in his hands and ripped it apart, leaving her to pick at the pieces.

  Everyone in the bar seemed to realize what was going on. Heads were turning in every direction, trying to get a good look at Justin. The bar was filled with murmurs. Elena could only watch, dazed, as Justin continued to make his way towards her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Giselle and Martha move after him in unison, murderous glares on their faces. Elena didn’t want to know what they were going to do; she slid off her stool and shook her head at her friends, who backed up reluctantly.

  “What do you want?” she said, facing Justin, who had come to a stop a couple of feet away. “I told you not to come here.”

  The crowd had formed a circle around them, so it looked they were in a ring, about to battle to the death. Except Justin already looked dead.

  “I know,” he replied, not meeting her eyes. His lips curved into a mirthless smile. “But I’m not very good at following orders.” Before she could say a word, he held up his hands, effectively silencing her. “Look, I came here to say that I’m sorry, and that there was a complete misunderstanding.”

  Misunderstanding! Elena nearly snorted with derision. He said it like she hadn’t read the letter several times before flinging it at him along with the ring. Elena was just about to start yelling at him when he fished out the sheet of paper from his pocket.

  “I know you think you’re right, Elena, but you’re not. Look at the date this letter was written.”

  He held it up in front of her face. Elena glanced at it and did a double-take. In a corner of the paper, Justin had written the date – last December, the same day Madison had performed in her school play. Elena suspected that he might have written the date recently, but soon realized that wasn’t possible. Something about the way it looked…almost as if someone had written in ink months ago…

  “You’re telling the truth,” she said, taking a step backwards. The tear streaked her face, but she made no attempt to swipe it away. “You really did write this latter last year.”

  A look of relief came over his face. “I’m so glad you believe me. Will you take me back, please? We can forget this ever happened.”

  Elena regarded him for a moment. His words had a lot of sense in them. But was she willing to accept him so readily, after all the pain she’d been through? Martha and Giselle would be very disappointed in her. She could see them watching her, waiting for her reply.

  “No,” she said.

  Another wave of murmurs swept through the bar. Justin’s face reddened. “What? Why not?”

  “Because the fact that you wrote that letter last year doesn’t set you free of the fact that you wrote at all. Why would you write a letter like that unless you didn’t want anything to do with me?”

  His face regained its normal colour, but Justin still looked uncomfortable. He let out a sig
h. “I was afraid, Elena. I had a feeling I was going to hurt you and I didn’t want that to happen.”

  “So you decided that hurting me and my daughter was the best way not to hurt,” Elena said, strangely calm. “I see.”

  “Look, Elena – there’s something I need to tell you about myself.”

  Elena gave him a once-over and wrinkled her nose. “What’s that?”

  “I have…I have attachment issues. I’ve never been able to remain in a relationship with anyone for up to a month. That is, until I met you. You changed me, Elena. Trust me, I know what I’m saying. I never truly was in love with anybody until I met you.”

  Not too far away, Martha and Giselle shook their heads in unison, as if to say, Don’t listen to this fraud, girl.

  But something about the way he was talking made her know he was telling the truth. This man loved her with everything he had. He had loved her for a long time. Why else had he decided to marry someone like her?

  Justin surprised her by going down on one knee and fishing out the engagement ring she’d thrown at him. All of a sudden, oohs and aahs spread across the bar. Justin bit his lip and spoke.

  “Elena Matthews, I know I have done you a great wrong and done things to question my worth. But I need you to give me one more chance. Will you…marry me?”

  The entire bar went deathly silent. Elena stared at Justin and her breath hitched in her throat.

  Epilogue

  She had tears in her eyes, but she was all smiles as she made her way down the aisle, bouquet in hand, white wedding gown trailing behind her. She could hear the flash and clicks of cameras, but she paid no attention to them. She had eyes for only one person, and he was waiting for her at the altar, near the priest.

  Elena had gone over this entire day in her head and this was an even greater success than what she had imagined. The wedding was perfect. The gown was perfect, the guest list was perfect – only their close loved ones were invited to the wedding. Martha and Giselle sat in the front row, their eyes glistening as they watched their friend. When she walked past them, Elena heard Giselle blow her nose into a handkerchief.