by Tyla Walker
"Hi," Sam warmly greets me, and he moves forward to plant a kiss on my cheek. "It's good to see you."
I momentarily blink at the familiar action. He used to do this whenever he came home back before he left me.
I smile in response. "Good to see you, too. Kaley's in the kitchen. She just finished having lunch."
He nods, and goes to the kitchen. Kaley is ecstatic when she sees her father. She motions that she wants to be picked up and Sam complies.
'They miss each other,' I realize. I look at my daughter, wishing that she would always smile and laugh like this. She really deserves a father who's always around. She'd been a bit lonely when Sam left, then when Johnathan came who's all gentle and fun, willing to play with her, she became happier. Now, I'm going back home, away from the two man she has come to recognize as her dads. I feel guilty.
"I'll be upstairs," I tell them both. "There's still a lot of stuff to pack."
"You need help?" Sam asks, looking up from his conversation with Kaley.
"No, you just watch over Kaley," I quickly deny. "You guys enjoy."
Sam brings Kaley to the living room—apparently, he has brought her a gift, a teddy bear—while I go upstairs where I continue my packing. From upstairs, I can hear them playing and giggling, and the sound helps distract me from thoughts of Johnathan.
After a while, when I have already made good progress, I decide to go down and have a break.
Before I fully descend the stairs, I chance to look at the father and daughter, and I pause, observing them both for a bit.
Sam is playing with Kaley. From what I understand from their talk, they're having a tea party with Kaley's toys. I look at them in amusement until I realize something. Before he left, Sam had always been too preoccupied to play with Samantha, and his actions just now remind of another person. Sam plays just as gently and patiently with Kaley as Johnathan does.
'I could always try to patch things up with Sam,' I suddenly think. 'It's not too late, unlike with Johnathan. I can do this for Kaley.'
I inhale sharply, a bit shaken. To distract myself, I silently enter the kitchen to get some cookies from the cookie jar for all of us to snack on, and I chide myself for my momentary weakness.
'No, I can't do that. I've made my decision. It's unfair for all of us if I force this relationship. I don't have feelings for Sam anymore.'
I pause at the last thought. 'Am I sure? Do I really not love Sam anymore?'
I'm carrying a plate of cookies to bring to the living room when, distracted by my thoughts, I bump into Sam. The cookies would've flown all over the place if it isn't for his fast reflexes. He holds my hand steady while his other grips my arm. I look up to him in surprise and our eyes met, our faces merely inches apart.
It's the closest I have been to him since the last kiss we shared before he left. Immediately, I have another realization.
I feel nothing but surprise. There's no racing heartbeat, no flushing of face and no desire to lean forward and connect our lips with a kiss. There certainly is no feeling of lust despite our closeness.
"Whoa, careful there," Sam exclaims, retracting his hands, and I don't miss his touch. "I see you're as clumsy as ever."
"I’m not!" I answer back, swatting his arm, and we laugh. "Between the two of us, you're definitely the clumsier one."
"I beg to differ," Sam scoffs, a mischievous look in his eyes. "I still remember how you tripped in front of everybody when you took that fancy award years ago."
"Yeah, well, that was one time," I reply, flustered. "But you, mister. You always knock your drinks on the table, drop your things at random times and slip suddenly on the bathroom. Who's the clumsier one now?"
"Okay, okay, you got me," Sam admits. "Promise you won't tell anybody about this?"
"I won't. Promise." I laugh, and we both go back to the living room. Kaley squeals when she sees the cookies we bring with us.
I'm wrong. I do feel something for Sam. It's not love like what I feel for Johnathan, but fondness that comes from a love that has long since died. It's something that I feel now that I have moved on past the hurt and the regret from our old relationship.
I spend some time with them, laughing and playing, letting Kaley experience even just for a moment the feeling of a complete family.
That night, when Sam's gone and Kaley has finally fallen asleep, I lay in my bed. For a few minutes, I allow myself to be weak, and the tears start to slip from my eyes. I cry as I remember his arms around me, the sound of his laughter and the brightness of his eyes when he looks at me.
I finally fall asleep, but still, Johnathan follows me in my dreams. I dream of a wonderful future with him and Kaley. In the morning, when I wake up, I forget all about it.
Nineteen
Johnathan
"Sorry, Johnathan, this relationship between us won't work after all," Nikki says. "You broke my heart so I'm going away. For good."
"No!" I yell, my body automatically jerking forward to reach for her, to stop her from leaving, but I only lose balance and promptly fell off my couch.
"A dream...?" I wonder, still a bit groggy and at the same time relieved. "Damn."
I really won't be able to take it if Nikki and Kaley suddenly disappear from my life. They have become such important people to me that it scares me to think of a future where they are not in it. And a life without Nikki is just—fuck, this is so cliched but it's still so stupidly true—a life not worth living.
Thankfully, it's just a nightmare.
A nightmare which could still happen in real life if I don't do something about it!
Immediately, I get up and check my watch—I'm still in yesterday's clothes, ew. It's four o'clock in the morning, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
There's still time.
I promptly begin my morning primping, shucking out of my yesterday's clothes and entering the bathroom to shower. I spend a good enough time inside, getting clean while my mind works in overdrive. By the time I get out, there's a semblance of a plan of action inside my head, and it calms me that I go through the rest of my routine smoothly.
I brush my teeth because the taste in my mouth is just awful, wipe myself up, wander to the kitchen in my robe to have coffee and breakfast, then go back to the bathroom to brush my teeth again—if all goes to plan, Nikki will be kissing me, and I don't want her to taste eggs on my mouth, thank you very much. Then, I style my hair before I get dressed smartly.
I'm done and ready to act on my plan. But before I leave, I'm reminded of something, and I quickly go back to my room. In a drawer where my watches and jewelry are, I fetch a small box that contains my mother's ring.
Oh, my plan? Ask Nikki to marry me so she won't leave, so the damn nightmare will remain just that, a nightmare.
Hopefully, everything goes well.
My plan involves keeping watch of Nikki's apartment at six o'clock in the morning. I'm not at all enthusiastic about it, but there's no way, no how, is Nikki going to evade and escape me this time. I'm totally making sure of it.
Two hours pass by, and I'm slowly thinking that this might haven't been my most brilliant of ideas because people are sending wary looks my way. Thankfully, no one calls for a cop, and the door of Nikki's apartment soon opens.
She emerges out, and god, she's beautiful as always, even with her hair messed up, and even when she's wearing those yellow fluffy Tweety bird slippers of hers.
After a few seconds, I realize she only went out to look at the boxes full of my stuff that's still by the door. She sighs forlornly, and I'm reminded why I'm out here stalking like a creep.
I bound towards her and yell her name. So that may not also be a very smart thing to do because she jumps and looks at me wildly.
"Johnathan, what the fuck?!"
"Actually, I'd also like to say the same thing, because Nikki—you resigned, and you're moving away, aren't you?" I ask her while restraining myself from pulling her into my arms. God, I missed her so much!
"
Yes, I'm going home, back to my parents'," she says curtly.
"But what about us? What about that talk of trying to make this thing between us work out?"
"Johnathan, that's off the table now that you and Jessica are back together. You have made your choice. It's been made very clear to me at the cafe where I saw you kissing each other, having a mighty fun time in public," Nikki says bitterly before pausing. "Wait, are you planning to cheat on her with me? Because if you're really asking me that, I'll punch you so hard—"
"No, no! First of all, there's no cheating that's going to happen," I interject. "Second, Jessica and I didn't get back together. That kiss you saw was forced on me, completely one-sided. She wanted to make you jealous, and I already gave her a piece of my mind over what she did."
I pause to take a breath, and I see Nikki looking stunned. She still looks uncertain though as she bites her lips.
"Is that really true?"
"Yes, but before you say anything else, let me finish what I'm about to say first," I tell her gently, taking her hand. "Earlier, you mentioned about me having made my choice. You're right. I have."
I take a deep breath and look at those waiting, beautiful brown eyes. "I want to be with you, Nikki. I love you. So much that it's driving me crazy when I wasn't able to see you for more than a day. I mean, seriously, how crazy is that? You hold my heart, Nikki."
"Oh Johnathan," Nikki chokes out. "You don't know how much I wanted to hear those words. I was ready to leave if it means you could have your happiness. I would never get in your way. But to hear that you feel the same way I do...it's wonderful and just fucking perfect."
She launches herself at me. "I love you, too."
My heart soars, and unable to restrain myself anymore, I gather her in my arms and give her a passionate kiss. When the kiss ends, we laugh together in giddiness.
"This is great," I tell her, grinning like a goof. "I can now proceed to the next step of my plan."
"Plan?"
Once again, I take Nikki's hand before I kneel. She gasps when she sees me taking a small box from my right pocket.
"Nikki, I realized that you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with," I say as I open the box, revealing the beautiful ring inside. "Will you marry me?"
She smiles at me wetly and crouches down, bringing our foreheads together. She looks into my eyes and whispers. "Yes."
We remain there for a moment, lost in our own world, our lips sharing a sweet kiss,
When Nikki invites me inside the apartment, the last remaining bits of tension leave my body, and I'm struck at the sense of rightness that I feel by just being here. When Nikki brings me a giggling Kaley, I accept her in my arms. It feels like coming home.
That night, when Kaley is finally asleep, I bring Nikki to bed. Pleasured moans, hitching breaths, and whispers of adoration spill from our mouths as I make sure to show Nikki how much I love her.
Twenty
Nikki
I'm the happiest woman on earth right now.
I stare straight ahead, a bit breathless and quite giddy, at the man who's waiting for me by the altar. As usual, he looks devastatingly handsome and dashing. For a moment, I'm once again struck by how lucky I am that this man loves me back, and no, not because of his looks that I'm thinking this, but because of the man behind this gorgeous face—the man who's sweet, kind, talented, patient and witty who loves me for who I am, who also loves my daughter like she’s his own.
'I’m honored to become this man's wife,' I think to myself. 'And when this ceremony ends, I'll proudly call him my husband.'
Today's our wedding day, and everything couldn't be more perfect. Everywhere I look, every detail I notice, every genuinely happy face that I see, forms this beautiful moment that I'm sure to remember for the rest of my life.
The wedding march plays, and I take that as my cue to start my walk down the aisle with my father at my side. In my lace wedding dress, I like to think that I'm the most beautiful woman here—radiant and joyful—even if I'm sporting a mushy grin. It makes me giggle a bit when I see Johnathan wearing a similar expression.
When we're near, Johnathan greets my father with a firm hug, and my dad, with a happy and proud smile, entrusts me to him. My chest is bursting with so much emotion as Johnathan takes my hand and guides me to the altar.
"God, you look so beautiful, Nikki," my soon-to-be husband tells me, his voice in awe.
"You don't look so bad yourself, gorgeous," I reply in amusement, very pleased with what he said.
The ceremony proceeds on, and though I try to concentrate, my eyes keep flitting to the man beside me. Him practically staring at me all throughout the proceedings isn't helping at all.
Soon, we are to give our wedding vows, and I tell him mine first.
"Johnathan, you always come up with the craziest of ideas, and truthfully, they can be quite the nightmare to deal with. But there's this one particular idea you had, and you know which one it was, which had led us here today. And truly, I thank your beautiful, genius but still crazy mind for giving me my happily ever after. Johnathan, you saw me at my lowest, and still you have thought me beautiful and believed me worthy of so much more. You chose me, not out of obligation but love. You're patient with me when not everyone would. Today, I vow to be the one that lifts you up when you're feeling down. I vow to be on your side always, and support you on whatever endeavor you may have. I vow to communicate with you properly and without fear. I vow to be a caring wife. I vow to love you in any circumstance, now and forever. You will hold my heart always."
My voice is shaking by the end, but I determinedly look into Johnathan's face, earnest that he knows the depth of my love for him. By the way he's nodding at me slightly and smiling so brightly, he does understand. He too looks in my eyes when he gives me his vows.
"Nikki, my love, even before we saw each other romantically, you already had a special place in my heart. Back then, I've always admired your spirit, your determination and your passion. We've both gone through awful times, and because we have each other, we've managed to overcome pain and obstacles. Amazingly, we also even managed to find love. Thank you, Nikki, for appreciating my good qualities and accepting my imperfect side. You raise me up and make me happy like no one else. I promise to do the same for you. I vow to make you smile and laugh always. I vow to be patient and understanding when the drama queen in you rears her head again. I vow to be a wonderful husband to you and a great dad to Kaley. I vow to love you always, 'til the end of time."
My heart's thudding fast, and I feel like I've fallen even more in love with this man.
The officiating priest finally announces us man and wife, and Johnathan wastes no time in lifting my veil and planting a wonderful kiss on my lips.
This day is perfect.
After pulling away from Johnathan's hard cock, I look up at him through my eyelashes as I zip down my white bridal corset from the front. My movements are agonizingly slow which frustrates my husband.
"Damn, quit teasing me, Nikki! Don't be mean to your husband!" He whines, face scrunching up a bit.
I giggle before I pull the rest of the zipper down and my breasts spill out. I toss the corset away somewhere in the hotel room, and my actions cause my tits to move and jerk which entices Johnathan. He reaches with both of his hands to grab my mounds, squeezing them a bit before pinching my nipples.
I moan loudly as my sensitive buds are being pleasured— he's tweaking and twisting them—and I want him to feel good too. My hand seeks for his cock, and it closes around hard flesh.
"Fuck, that feels so good," he sighs as I pump his large man meat up and down. "Hey, bring your tits together. Mmm, yeah, just like that."
Understanding what my husband wants, I push my large tits against each other. Shifting from my position on the floor in between Johnathan's legs, I insert his hard dick between my mounds and I proceed to give a kinky tit job. Johnathan's large cock is hot against my skin. To slick things up a bit, I dribble drool
down his clock, spread it all over and continue rubbing the rod against me.
Daring to tease the man a bit more, whenever his cock slides up, my tongue reaches down to lick his tip.
"Shit, Nikki! You drive me crazy!" He exclaims between pants. "I want to fuck you so much."
"Go ahead," I tell him as I crawl on top of his lap. "I already even fingered myself loose for you."
"Damn, you should've let me do that," Johnathan laments, a small pout on his lips. "I would've eaten you out."
"Next time, babe. You do it all the time anyways," I say, gasping at the end as Johnathan's swollen man meat enters my pussy. I grab onto his shoulders as we start to move.
"As usual, you're so tight, darling," he says as he start to thrust into me harder. "Your pussy is fucking perfect."
"And your cock is as lovely as always. So hard and so long and so thick!" I say in between my moans. "Fuck me harder, Johnathan! Faster too!"
Giving me a quick kiss, my husband pulls out and helps me on my hands and knees. He caresses my back for a moment before gripping my hips tight. With a big thrust, he enters me roughly and begins fucking me to oblivion.
With my thoughts leaving me, I'm incoherent from pleasure. I'm a moaning mess as my husband plunges into me again and again, faster and deeper. I sense his thrusts becoming erratic, and I know he's close.
"I fucking love it. I love your cock! Hah, it feels so good," I gasp and whimper, words just spilling from my mouth in ecstasy. "I'm close, Johnathan!"
Johnathan curses when my walls clench around him, and together we moan as we achieve our climax together. His cum is hot, and it drips a bit when he pulls out.
"That was amazing," Johnathan says as we cuddle together. "I love you, Nikki. I'm so excited to spend the rest of my life with you."
