by Ashley Blake
“I can’t wait to show you.”
"So are you going to take pictures of what they have painted, or how are you going to remember which artist painted what?”
"I'm going to ask them to paint sample pictures for me, but the whole taking pictures of their paintings thing is not a bad idea, Sophie. Maybe you have a future in art.”
I laughed when he said that.
“I don’t think so, I’ll leave that to you. So, a week from Tuesday, huh?”
“Yep, but I’m sure the week will fly by.”
I asked the question I was dying to ask but didn’t really want to know.
“When is Sophie moving back to Chicago?”
He hesitated before he answered me and that immediately made me nervous.
“She’s coming back Saturday.”
I raised my eyebrows in shock.
“Saturday? As in this coming Saturday?”
“Yes.”
“Wow, that was fast. Does she already have an apartment here?”
If he tells me that she is going to stay with him for a while I am going to lose it.
“No, she’s going to stay with a couple of girlfriends.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“When is she starting at the gallery?” I think I was actually holding my breath as I waited for his answer.
“Monday, my dad wants her to get familiar with everything as soon as possible.”
“Oh.”
I looked at my hand resting on the table and I couldn’t bring myself to raise my eyes to his. I felt like everything we had was going to be ruined by her.
“Sophie, please look at me. Please.” His voice was gentle.
I looked at him and he gave me a small smile.
“Please don’t think that this will change things between us. My relationship with Ellie is over; she will strictly be my co-worker. That’s it. Nothing more.”
My eyes searched his and I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“You have to understand how this is not easy for me, right?”
He grabbed my hand and looked at me intently.
“Yes, I do. But there is no need to worry, okay? I just want to focus on you and me and where we are going.”
I cocked my head to the side and gave him a sly smile. “Oh yeah? Where are we going?”
“Anywhere and everywhere, as long as it’s together.”
He leaned across the table and gave me a quick kiss and smiled at me.
“You make me happy, Sophie.”
“Ditto.”
Our food came and we enjoyed a lovely meal and a bunch of small talk. As we were waiting for the bill, Lucas jolted my world once again.
“Oh, just so you know, I’m picking Ellie up at the airport on Saturday.”
I could feel myself getting pissed as I looked at him.
“Seriously, Lucas? One of her friends can’t do it?”
“I am one of her friends. She asked and I said yes.”
“Oh, so if every one of your ex-girlfriends asked you to help them with something you would do it?”
“I don’t like your accusatory tone, Sophie.”
“Well maybe I don’t like that you are picking up your ex-girlfriend from the airport, Lucas.”
"Look, I'm not going to do this here, okay? I told you that nothing is going on, I meant it, so let's drop it. She's a friend and that’s it.”
“Fine, I’m ready to go.”
It was our first argument and we drove back to my apartment in silence. When we pulled up to my place, Lucas turned off the engine and turned to look at me.
“I don’t want to fight with you, I don’t want to ever fight with you, Sophie. Can we get past this?”
I looked at him.
“I don’t know, can we?”
He reached out and gently stroked my cheek.
“I’d like to. But you have to trust me. If we don’t have trust, we don’t have anything.”
I didn’t want to end things with Lucas so I really had no choice but to trust him. I let out a deep sigh.
“Okay, I’m sorry I got upset about Ellie. I do trust you, Lucas. I do.”
He gave me a small smile.
“Good, because I don’t want to lose you.”
He pulled me close and we held each other for a bit and then he walked me to the door.
“I’ll call you tomorrow. I love you, Abby.”
“I love you, too.”
Chapter 12
The company that was making the prototype for my bracelets told me they would have them ready for me to pick up by the end of the week, which was perfect because I had a meeting with Glitz that following Monday. I couldn’t wait to see my designs as actual bracelets; it was going to be so cool. Gigi had already told me that she was going to wear my bracelets everywhere.
Lucas and I had a date that Saturday night and we were doing a casual night in, which I loved. He was cooking for me and we were going to just veg out and listen to music. When he picked me up he was acting kind of weird but I just assumed he was distracted by his trip to Italy which was coming up in a couple of days.
When we got inside his place, I plopped down at the breakfast bar and chatted with him while he made dinner. I was in a really good mood because even though Ellie was back in Chicago, he didn’t talk about her and I didn’t bring her up which worked great for me. The happiness I was feeling in that moment? Yeah, that was about to go away.
“Do you want to see the prototypes for my bracelets?”
“Sure! Do you have them here?”
“Yep, let me go grab them, they’re in my purse.”
I pulled them out of my purse and went back over to him, and held out my hand, leaning against the counter.
“Sophie, those are really cool! What color metal are you going to use?”
“Thanks. I'm going to offer them in silver and gold, to start. I was thinking of adding bronze also but I have to do some experimenting to see if people really want that color too.”
He looked at me and smiled. “Very cool. I am so proud of you. I’d love to give my sisters and mom some of your bracelets when they’re ready.”
“Definitely! I hope they like them.”
“I’m sure they will.”
“Can I help with anything?”
“No, I think I have it all under control. I’m almost done here so we can eat pretty soon.”
I went back over to the breakfast bar and watched him stir the pasta.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving Tuesday. I’m going to miss you, Lucas.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute and I noticed that he stopped stirring the pasta. Before he even said anything, I knew that I was about to hear something that I would not like. Lucas turned to me and apprehension was written all over his face as his eyes carefully searched mine.
“Ellie is coming with me to Italy.”
Any appetite I had was completely gone, and my heart plummeted into my toes.
“What?” The word was barely a whisper.
"I know what you're probably thinking but please don't let your mind go there. My dad insisted that she come with me because he thinks that we will be able to find twice as many artists if there are two of us traveling around Italy.”
I let that sink in for a minute.
“Oh, so then you won’t be traveling together?”
"Well, we will but I'll search certain neighborhoods in Florence while she is searching other neighborhoods in Florence, etc., and then we can kind of compare notes afterwards. Sophie, it’s all for work and that’s it.”
I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and realized I had been doing that way too much lately.
“I don’t know what to say, Lucas. I mean, obviously I’m not happy about it.”
He came over to me and put his arms around me.
“I know, but just trust me, that’s all I ask. It will be a quick trip and I’ll be back before you know it.”
I looked at him, put my ar
ms around his neck and held him close.
I let out a soft sigh. “I do trust you.”
I tried really hard not to let the news ruin the rest of our night but it was hard. I decided that I was going to have to really trust him and just focus on what we had. I couldn’t get paranoid that something was going to happen with Ellie because that would have been the end of us. I pushed those thoughts way down deep and refused to even entertain them. We made love softly and sensually that night, I wanted to really connect with Lucas, and by the end of the night I did feel like we were one.
Monday I had a meeting with Glitz and they were really happy with the prototypes and gave the green light to have them made. They said I would be able to see the final product in three weeks and depending on how well they sold, I would possibly be asked to design other pieces. That was good news I needed to hear because my stomach was in knots thinking about Lucas’s trip the following day.
Gigi was with Dex that night so Lucas came over and we ordered a pizza. I was totally casual in jeans and a tank top and Lucas looked super sexy in just jeans and a white t-shirt with a cool logo on it.
“Are you all packed?”
“Yes, I’m all ready to go. You’ll have to come with me on my next trip to Italy, I want to be there with someone I love.”
That made me feel good and it was subtle gestures like that that made me love him even more.
“I would love to go there with you.”
“Yeah, we’ll have to make a big trip of it and go visit a few other countries while we’re there. Let’s plan something when I get back.”
I totally brightened up. “Okay, I’m up for that!”
We finished our pizza and went to my room so that I could show Lucas my new jewelry designs.
“Glitz told me that if my bracelets do well they want me to design more pieces. Look at these. What do you think?”
He was standing right next to me, and his body heat made it difficult for me to think straight. He put his hand on my lower back as he looked at my designs.
“Oh, wow, Sophie, these are cool. You’re so talented. I know your stuff is going to sell, there’s no question.”
It felt good to have his support and I gently nudged him with my hip, looked up and smiled at him.
“Thanks.”
He gently glided his fingers through my hair as he studied my designs and I almost dropped them, my ability to concentrate getting worse. His hand slowly ran down my arm and he turned me so that I was facing him. I dropped the designs on my desk and looked up at him.
He pulled me onto the bed and kissed me, his tongue probing mine in a slow and sensual way. Lucas slowly moved his lips from mine and began to trail kisses along the delicate skin of my neck down to the middle of my chest above my tank top. My breathing was getting heavier and I could feel my core begin to ache. Without any hesitation, he ran his hands under my tank top, over my stomach and up to my breasts. He then lifted my tank over my head and let it fall to the floor. I was lost in the ecstasy. After my tank top lay abandoned on the floor, Lucas unbuttoned my jeans and I stepped out of them as they crumpled to the floor. With one swift movement he unhooked my bra and pulled my panties down to my ankles, and I quickly stepped out of them. He once again started trailing kisses down my neck. He found one of my taught nipples with his mouth and softly sucking, he made circles around the hardened bud with his tongue, teasing it to attention. I laced my fingers through his hair, let out a soft moan as waves of pleasure washed over me and he moved to the other nipple teasing it in the same manner.
Lucas trailed kisses down to my stomach while his hands roamed down to my hips. He moved down, gently spread my legs and started kissing the inside of my thighs. I knew what was coming next and I spread my legs letting him have better access to my throbbing core. His tongue flicked my sensitive bud and a loud moan escaped my lips as I raised my hips off of the bed. Lucas took his time moving his tongue with long, sensual strokes, bringing me to the brink of explosion. His tongue flicked my sensitive bud repeatedly causing me to writhe around uncontrollably. Just when I thought I couldn’t take much more, he inserted two fingers inside of me, slowly moving his fingers in and out of me. My body started to tense up, my orgasm at the brink and Lucas pulled his fingers out of me. A small whimper escaped my lips.
“Please don’t stop!”
Lucas buried his face between my legs again slipping one finger inside of me and playing at the back with the other finger. I had never experienced that kind of pleasure and I was surprised that I liked it so much. I never imagined that back door play could be so erotic. His tongue flicked my tender bud one more time and it was all I needed to send me over the edge. My fingers dug into Lucas’s shoulders as my orgasm consumed me, the ecstatic spasms of my core taking over, my body trembling uncontrollably. My body jerked with every pulse of pleasure as Lucas watched me.
I was panting, filled with ragged emotions and before I could finish catching my breath, Lucas unzipped his jeans, rolled on a condom, and was climbing on top of me. I could feel his hard, thick member pressing at my opening and I opened my legs and raised my hips to take in all of him. He pushed all the way in filling me up, a guttural groan escaping his lips. I grabbed his buttocks and pushed him in deeper, my body rippling around him. He started moving with long, slow strokes, my orgasm building again with each slide of his hard, thick member into my aching core. He started to move faster and quickly pulled out of me and told me to sit on him with my back to him. He lay down on the bed and I lowered myself, taking him in, gasping at the new sensations of feeling him inside of me in a different way. He grabbed my hips and my carnal instincts went wild as I moved up and down on him, feeling him stroke inside me just under my belly. Sweat glistened on my skin as I grabbed my hair and let out a scream as I felt him stroke me for the fourth time in my ultra sensitive spot. It didn’t take a lot for my orgasm to shoot to the surface, and it was easily the most powerful orgasm I had ever had.
I panted heavily as I started to come down from my erotic high and Lucas held my hips tighter as he thrust into me, pounding his hips up into me, yanking my hips down to meet his. He was growing harder and thicker inside of me and with one last thrust his orgasm exploded and he grunted and shook violently, collapsing and panting for air.
I got off of him and curled up next to him as he tossed the condom in the trash next to the bed. He put his arm around me and held me close and kissed me.
“You are incredible, Sophie.”
I giggled and cuddled even closer.
“So are you. I had to leave you with something so you wouldn’t forget about me.”
“Forget you? Are you crazy? I can’t wait to get back to see you. We’re definitely going to plan our trip when I get back. Vacation with you is going to be amazing.”
“I can’t wait.”
I looked at him and I could feel the tears coming. I didn’t want to cry but I couldn’t help it. I was really going to miss him.
“Hey, don’t cry, please. I won’t be gone that long.”
“I know, I’m just being silly and emotional.” My tear stained eyes searched his. “I love you , Lucas.”
“I love you too, baby. I’ll call you Wednesday because with the time change it will be the middle of the night here when I arrive there.”
“Okay.”
I rolled even closer to him and he held me tight. We lay like that for a few minutes and then he had to go home.
“I wish I could sleep over but I have to get up pretty early. I have to go to the gallery before I leave to do a couple of last minute things.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, well I’m glad we were able to spend tonight together.”
When he left a few minutes later I curled up in a ball on my bed, thinking about him being alone with Ellie in one of the most romantic places in the world, and cried myself to sleep.
Chapter 13
I was a frazzled mess the next day. All I could thin
k about every second of the day was that Lucas was with his ex-girlfriend in one of the most romantic countries in the world. I sat in front of my computer for hours trying to think of something to write for my blog and nothing came to mind. Nothing. Every time I typed a sentence I would have to erase it because it did not make sense. I tried to read some of the assistant resumes I had received but I found myself reading the same thing 20 times, so I put those away.
Gigi stopped by my room at around 7:00.
“Hey.”
I looked up at her, my eyes tired from staring at the screen.
“Hey.”
“I think we need to go out. We haven’t gone to the bars in a while.”
