The Other Side of Love (Forever Love)

by Cooper, J. S.

  “Would you like to go to a movie with me?” I blurted out before I could think about it too much. “I can also just take you home if you prefer.”

  “What about your brother? Don’t you want to be with him?”

  “I think he’d rather be with Lucky right now.” I smiled at her, happy to see that she was the kind of woman who thought about others before herself. “I’m sure we’ll be doing more talking tomorrow. Once he has time to get over the initial shock, I’m pretty sure he will have a lot more questions.”

  “That was brave of you to tell him at the Johnsons’.” Her voice was light and non-judgmental, which I appreciated. “Weren’t you worried he would just lose it and go off on you?”

  “Yes,” I laughed, “but Sidney is like my family. He’s known pretty much everything. He was the one who helped me find the private detective. He’s the one who has been badgering me to tell Zane. I know this sounds crazy, but I always knew I wanted Sidney to be around when I told Zane. He’s like my support system. Do I sound like a total weirdo to you right now?”

  “No, of course not.” She reached over and squeezed my arm. “He seems really nice and so does his wife. Before you and Lucky arrived, I was talking to them and they really showed a genuine interest in me. It was like they knew exactly what to say to make me feel better about myself.”

  “It’s a gift that they have.” I smiled at her warmly, glad that she had taken to them both. “It’s like they can see into your soul and the worries that you have, and they soothe you with their words and care.”

  “Yes,” she nodded. “When Sidney spoke to me, I felt like he knew where I was coming from and what my dreams and obstacles were. It was funny.” Her voice grew low. “It’s hard to meet people who genuinely care about you like that. Who want to know your story, rather than just talk about themselves.”

  “Yes, yes, it is.”

  “So, you were in witness protection?” She changed the subject. “How did I not know that? That’s crazy.”

  “I wasn’t technically in witness protection.” I laughed. “But yes, I was helping the FBI and the DEA with a case and I had to disappear.”

  “Okay, I take back my earlier statement. Your life isn’t like Days of our Lives, it’s more like Mission Impossible.”

  “Not really. All I had to do was go hide out in a small town in Florida. It was Zane who was actually getting to the bottom of the case.”

  “That must have been hard, though, leaving your family.”

  “It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life.” I found myself driving back to Zane’s house instead of the movie. “The day I realized that I had to fake my own suicide and have my brother believe I was dead is still surreal to me.”

  “What made you go along with it?”

  “The agent who was in charge of the case told me that unless I complied, it was likely that they would come after me and my family, which, honestly, I doubted. But then he said, ‘Think of all the other innocent lives you could be saving. The lives that get caught in the crossfire. They were drug dealers, they didn’t care who they hurt.’ And that’s when I knew I had to do it. Special Agent Waldron had shown me photographs of many of the people that they believed were killed by the cartel and there were over twenty children. I didn’t want there to be any new faces added to that pile.”

  “Wow.” Robin’s eyes widened. “You’re really selfless. Now you make me feel bad for going off on you two times.”

  “I just did what anyone with a conscience would have done.” I shrugged. “And I’m pretty sure you will go off on me again, at some point. I can be infuriating, just ask Zane.” I laughed.

  “Where are we going?” She looked out the window as she laughed.

  “I figured we could watch a movie.” I paused. “But at home, if that’s not too presumptuous. You didn’t answer earlier and so I thought this may be nice. We can relax, have a few laughs and be comfortable.”

  “Sounds good to me.” She gave me a wide smile. “Are you sure we won’t be bothering Zane and Lucky?”

  “Well, here’s the other part.” I made a face at her. “I was hoping we could watch it in my room? I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not because I want to sleep with you. I have a king-sized bed so we won’t even have to touch. I just figured it will give us more privacy if they are already home, or if they come home while we are still watching it.”

  “Don’t worry, Noah.” She giggled. “I understand.”

  “Phew.” I pulled into the driveway. “I didn’t want you thinking this was another seduction move. And that all I wanted from you was a night of hot sex.”

  “Don’t remind me of that last conversation.” She groaned. “I’m surprised you don’t think I’m bipolar.”

  “You’re not?” I feigned surprise and she hit me in the shoulder before we both jumped out of the car.

  “Funny.” She laughed. “Though I suppose I deserve that.”

  “Let’s go inside.” I walked over to her side of the car and grabbed her hand. As we touched, I felt another spark jolt through me and I smiled to myself knowing that the connection I had witnessed previously was still there.

  “So, are you going to tell me more about your time in Florida? Where did you go?” Robin looked up at me with a happy face, and I felt my heart start to pound. How could I tell her about everything that had happened in Palm Bonita? It was all so complicated and heartbreaking. I didn’t want to burden her with all that information. Not in the same day she had found out about all my family drama. It almost seemed too much. I didn’t want to lose her right when I was getting to know her because of an information overload. Not when I was finally getting a do-over with her. Plus, I didn’t know how to tell her about Skylar. I didn’t know if she would understand.

  “There’s not really much to tell.” I said smoothly. “I stayed in a small town called Palm Bonita and basically just sat around and waited until I was able to come home.”

  “Oh, that sucks.” She gave my upper arm a squeeze. “That must have been so boring. Did you make any friends?”

  “Not really.” I shook my head. “I kept to myself most of the time.”

  “Aww, that’s awful. What were the people like? Did they ask you where you came from?” Her eyes were excited. “I bet they were all curious as to who you were.”

  “Not really.” Which was true. The people in Palm Bonita didn’t ask questions because they didn’t want anyone to ask them anything, either.

  “So what did you do?” She looked confused. “Just sat and watched TV?”

  “I did a lot of TV watching.” I nodded. “Not much else. I didn’t really have any friends, so I was by myself quite a bit.”

  “So,” she paused. “No special lady friends?” Her eyes looked into mine questioningly, and my stomach churned.

  “Not really.” I lied, feeling horrible as I did so. But I knew that Robin didn’t want to know about my relationship in Palm Bonita. She didn’t want to hear about all the places we had sex and how I lost myself in the relationship because I fell in love.

  “Oh, wow.” She laughed. “Sorry for the twenty questions.”

  “That’s okay. What about you? When did you last date?” I asked her, honestly wanting to know the answer but also wanting to take the focus of the conversation away from myself.

  “Right before I moved to Los Angeles.” She gave me a weak smile. “What movie are we going to watch?” She walked away from me and looked at some of the pictures Zane had up on the wall. “These are cool.”

  “Yeah,” I nodded. “They were painted by kids with cancer.”

  “Oh, that’s sad.”

  “Cancer is a horrible disease.” I agreed. “Zane does everything he can to support cancer research. He gives a lot of money to a lot of different hospitals.” I paused. “But honestly, I think the best part is that he goes and he visits the kids and he talks to them and plays with them, and he supports their visions for the future.”

 
; “Wow, that’s amazing.”

  “Yeah. He’s pretty cool.” I nodded and I felt warm inside as I once again realized how blessed I was to have him as a brother.

  “Want anything to eat or drink before we go upstairs?”

  “Do you have any wine?” She laughed. “Or chocolate?”

  “I think we have both. And strawberries, if you want some.”

  “That sounds delicious.” She followed me into the kitchen and I handed her two wine glasses and a box of Quality Street that I found in the cupboard. Zane had an addiction to English chocolates and always ordered the boxes in bulk. I grabbed a wine bottle, opener, and some strawberries from the fridge.

  “Okay, we’ll all set. Let’s go feast.” Robin followed me up the stairs and into my bedroom, and we placed all the goodies on the nightstand next to my bed. “Feel free to take your shoes off and relax.” I smiled at her as she just stood there. She smiled back at me and slipped her shoes off and pulled off her sweater. I stood there staring at her torso as she straightened her clothes, and I tried to avoid staring at her breasts as they beckoned to me through her thin tank top.

  “I guess we’ll be sitting on the bed?” She gave me a wry smile as she slid onto the bed and leaned back against the headboard.

  “Yes, you look comfortable.” I opened the bottle of wine and stared at her as she lay back.

  “It’s a comfortable bed.” She smiled at me. “I’ve missed being on a comfortable bed.”

  “Feel free to sleep in mine anytime you like.” I groaned as soon as I realized what I had said. “And I mean sleep, not sex or anything.”

  “You’re going to make me think I’ve grown warts or something.” She laughed self-consciously. “You keep telling me you’re not interested in sleeping with me.”

  “Oh, don’t think that. I’d love to sleep with you.” I paused. “I mean, when you’re ready. When the time is ready. I don’t need to sleep with you anytime soon.”

  “Okay.” She patted the spot next to her on the bed. “I appreciate it. Now where’s my wine and chocolate?”

  “A little demanding, aren’t we?” I laughed and handed her a glass before sitting down next to her and opening the box of chocolates. “Here we go.”

  “Oh, I’ve never had these before. Are they good?”

  “Are they good? Is this a joke?” I looked at her with wide eyes. “Why, Quality Street are on the best chocolates in the world.”

  “In the world, eh?” She leaned towards me and I could see her pupils dilate as our thighs touched.

  “Yes, the best in the world.” I reached into the box and pulled out a pink wrapper. “Try this one first, it’s my favorite.”

  “What is it?”

  “Fudge covered with a light layer of milk chocolate.”

  “Oh, my, that sounds divine.”

  “It is.” I opened the wrapper and took a small bite. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” I grinned as I chewed on the sweet in my mouth. “Here you go.” I lifted my hand to her mouth and fed her the other half of the chocolate. She opened her mouth and ate the chocolate slowly, her eyes light as she enjoyed the sweet.

  “That was good.” She nodded. “Very good.”

  “Wasn’t it just?” I leaned in towards her and licked off a chocolate crumb that was stuck to her lower lip. “I like how it tastes on you better.” I sucked on her lower lip and she moaned before moving in closer to me and crushing her lips to mine. Her tongue slipped into my mouth and I sucked on it, enjoying the taste of chocolate in her mouth. I kissed her back hard and she pulled away from me quickly. I sat back quickly, worried I had messed up again, but she absolved my fears quickly.

  “Glass of wine still in my hand,” she gasped and placed the glass down on the nightstand.

  “Oops.” I laughed as I realized I was also holding my glass and that some wine had spilled on the bed. I leaned over and placed my glass down next to hers and then lay back down. “Shall we watch a movie now?”

  “Sure,” she nodded and lay back next to me. Her body was aligned directly next to mine, and our entire sides were touching. I could see her bosom moving up and down, and I could also see the lower part of her stomach as her top had ridden up a little bit. It was all I could do to not reach my hand down to caress her stomach and then her breasts.

  “What movies do you like?” I asked casually, trying to calm myself down.

  “Honestly, I love thrillers.” She turned over on her side to face me. “I know most men expect all women to love romance, but I love thrillers.”

  “Thrillers are great. What’s your favorite?”

  “Primal Fear,” she answered right away. “I love both Richard Gere and Edward Norton, and I think they were both so great in that movie.”

  “I think I vaguely remember it.” I laughed.

  “It’s great. You need to watch it.”

  “I suppose we could watch it now? I can see if it’s on Netflix.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Oh? Why not?” I asked surprised.

  “Well, when you watch it, I want you to be see the whole thing.” She laughed.

  “Huh?” I was confused.

  “I don’t think we’ll get to the end of the movie.” She ran her fingers down my chest. “And I don’t want you to miss the end. It’s too good a movie.”

  “Oh.” My heart thudded at her words and I felt my erection growing as her fingers continued their quest along my upper torso.

  “Unless of course, you think you’ll be able to see the whole movie?”

  “I can’t say that I would make it happen.” I answered honestly and reached over and traced the line around her belly button. She shivered slightly at my touch and I reached my hand up under her tank top and caressed her stomach before working my way up to her bra. I watched her face carefully to make sure that she wasn’t uncomfortable with where everything was going. She smiled at me and moved in closer to me, before moving her hand underneath my shirt and rubbing the hair on my chest.

  “It’s so silky.” She breathed out and then gasped as my fingers cradled her right breast over her bra.

  “Thank you.” I leaned in and kissed her again. She pulled away from me slightly, paused for a moment, and then pulled her tank top off. I stared at her beautiful body and then pulled my shirt off. We both just sat there for a moment gazing at each other, and then I reached over and slid one of her bra straps down. She lay there motionless and watched me slide the other bra strap down. I then reached behind her and undid the clasp, and the bra fell onto the bed. I was unable to keep my hands off of her, so I reached over and squeezed her breasts into my hand, molding them to my palm before softly pinching her nipples. She closed her eyes and a soft moan escaped her mouth as I teased her hardened buds. I reached over and took her left nipple into my mouth and suckled on it while my right hand played with her other nipple.

  “Oh, Noah,” she gasped as my teeth nibbled on her. She lay flat on the bed and opened her legs slightly.

  “Yes, ma’am?” I grinned down at her mischievously and kissed in the valley between her breasts before allowing my tongue to explore the line right down to her belly button. I kissed my way to the top of her pants before pausing to look up at her to make sure it was okay to proceed.

  “I guess we’re not going to be starting the movie anytime soon.” She gave me a sly smile and wiggled her bottom on the bed. I took that as my sign to proceed and slowly undid her pants and slid them down her legs. She was wearing a pair of black lacy underwear, and I lowered my lips to her ankle and kissed up her calf and then to her inner thigh. She spread her legs and I continued kissing up her inner thigh until my lips were at the center of her. She squirmed beneath me and I suckled on her bud through her underwear. I could smell and taste her wanton lust, and it made me feel delirious with power and hornier than ever. I kissed up to the top of her panties and started pulling them down with my teeth. She lifted her bottom off of the bed to make it easier for me to
slide them off, and I used my hands by the time I had pulled them to the top of her thigh because I was too impatient to wait any longer to get them off. Before she knew what was happening, my mouth was back in the midst of her womanhood, and I explored her eagerly with my tongue before sucking on her throbbing bud. She squirmed beneath me as she grew wet, and I felt her orgasm as soon as I slid my tongue inside of her.

  “Oh, Noah!” She screamed as my tongue slid in and out of her and I felt her hands in my hair pushing my face closer to her sex so that she could feel me deeper inside of her. I licked her eagerly and passionately, enjoying the feel of her writhing sex against my face. I could feel my erection pushing against my pants almost uncomfortably, and I was eager to feel a release soon myself.

  “Yes, Robin.” I grinned as I kissed my way back up to her lips. She wrapped her legs around me as I kissed her passionately, allowing her to taste her own juices. She reached down and unbuckled my pants, and I jumped up and pulled them and my boxers off quickly. She gasped as she stared at my erection, hard and proud, jutting out at her. I was proud of my penis and fell back onto the bed next to her, allowing my hardness to rub up roughly against her inner thigh and close to her opening. She rolled me over so that she was lying on top of me. She positioned herself over my hardness and started moving back and forward without allowing me to enter her. I groaned as she teased me with her grind and pulled her down towards me so that I could play with her breasts as she tormented me. Our eyes connected and I reached out for her hands so that every part of our body was connected while we teased each over. I groaned as she started moving back and forth on me harder and harder and I grabbed her hips to get her to stop. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from entering her if she kept up with her grinding.

  “Hold on.” I groaned as I lifted her off of me and jumped off of the bed. I walked over to my wallet and opened it, praying that I still had some condoms in there. I nearly fainted with relief when I saw two packets and grabbed them quickly. I threw one packet on the nightstand and jumped back on the bed with the other. Robin watched me with a veil of desire clouding her eyes and I quickly opened the packet and slipped the condom on. “Are you sure?” I positioned myself on top of her, not wanting to go ahead unless she was ready.