by Marie Jem
“You’re right about what you said. Even if you had slept with Stefano or anyone during the time we were not together, that was your right. I believe you. I know nothing happened because I know you’re not a liar and I trust you. I’m a jerk for ruining the morning of your birthday. I don’t blame you if you never forgive me for what happened today,” he said, his eyes tearing up.
“I’ll have to think about that. You’re definitely on my naughty list right now, Alex. I’m going to take your advice and not run away anymore, but just know that the next time you pull something like this, you will regret it because you will be the one running from me. You say you trust me, but you don’t. You say you know I’m not a liar, but you don’t believe me when I tell you the truth. You buy me expensive items, yet you fail to notice that what money can’t buy is what I really need from you. It’s your trust. All I need is for you to trust me and to believe me. I’m not your pincushion, Alex. You can’t keep stabbing me in the heart with your actions and disbeliefs and expect me to smile back and hold your hand every time. You are full of apologies after you break my heart with your harsh words, but what you don’t realize is that you shouldn’t hurt me in the first place. The next time I leave, I may not return. You may never see me again,” I warned.
This time Alex’s tears were streaming down his cheeks. He looked shocked and frightened from what I had just told him. For the first time since I had known Alex, he was completely speechless. I waited and waited for him to say something, but he wasn’t able to put words together. He just looked at me with tears rolling down his face. After minutes of silence and just stares, he broke down in tears, sobbing. He held onto me as if he were holding on to his life.
“Fix me, Claire. Only you can fix me, for I’m a broken man,” he pleaded.
“I don’t know if I can fix you, Alex. You have to want to fix yourself. Maybe you need more time to recover from your life altering experience with Angela,” I said.
“No, I don’t need time. I need you. I need you to stop running away when you’re angry. Please say you’ll stop running every time we fight,” he pleaded.
“I will stop running only if you stop pushing me and take a moment to actually listen to what I have to say,” I offered.
“I won’t push you anymore, I promise,” he said as he held onto me tightly as if I were going to run again.
My cell phone rang just then. It was my mother. “Hi mom,” I said when I answered.
“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” she said. I spoke to my mother and father and was very happy to hear their voices. I didn’t tell them anything about Alex or Las Vegas. I kept the conversation short and held back tears as much as I could. After I hung up, Alex took my hand into his, “Happy birthday, baby. I love you so much it hurts. I want to forget about what happened this morning and I want you to have a great birthday,” he said genuinely.
“May I say something to make you laugh, Alex?” I asked.
“Please do,” he said.
“That night, when I was drunk and crashed on Stefano’s couch, when I asked him what happened that night, he said that nothing happened and nothing could have happened because I kept talking about a guy name Alex and his wife Angela,” I said.
Alex laughed, “Really?” he asked.
“Stefano once told me that he knew nothing could ever happen between us because I was so hung up on this Alex guy,” I laughed.
“I don’t know why you love this Alex character. He sounds like such an ass,” he said.
“You bet he is, but he’s my ass and I love him,” I said. “I think we should take a nap. Or better yet, I think you should go to bed for a couple of hours, since you haven’t slept at all,” I offered.
“I thought you’d never ask,” he said, as he removed his clothes from the night before and crawled into bed with me and held me so tightly, my ribs hurt. I knew Alex was afraid that I could have left if he let go and wanted to ensure that I stayed right next to him so he could sleep comfortably. His eyelashes were still wet with tears and his dark circles were very visible. I watched him sleep for a while, since I wasn’t able to sleep just yet. He looked so calm and peaceful when he slept. His chiseled face, full lips, and perfect hair were a sight for sore eyes. After admiring Alex for a very long time, my eyelids became heavy and I emerged into the land of sleep to join him in his peaceful state.
Chapter 22
I was running again, much faster this time. I was being chased and could only see the shadow of the one chasing me. I began running faster and faster until I approached the parked van. As I got closer, the side door slid open as if someone were trying to come out to get me. A pair of hands reached out to grab me from the side of the van as the one chasing me caught me from behind, their arms wrapped tightly around my waist. When I turned to see the face, it was Alex. I awakened sitting up in bed, panting. I was drenched in sweat. Alex calmed me down and reminded me that it was only a dream and everything was going to be all right.
My clothes had to be changed because I had sweat so much from the nightmare. I decided to take a shower while Alex slept. It felt so good to take a shower after a bad dream. It felt as though all the bad were being washed down the drainpipe. I put on a cozy bathrobe and combed my wet hair. I sat down in the living room of the suite and sent ‘thank you’ texts to all my friends and family for their birthday wishes.
“Claire?” I heard Alex call for me. He had awakened to find I wasn’t next to him.
I went to the bedroom to find him jumping out of bed as if the building was coming down. He calmed down when he saw me, “There you are,” a sigh of relief followed. “I thought you left again. Scared the crap out of me,” he said holding his chest. “I think it’s a good time to give you your birthday present,” he added.
“Birthday present? There’s more? Isn’t all this enough?” I asked, pointing at the bags of expensive clothes, shoes, and accessories he had purchased for me already.
“The one I’m going to give you has more sentimental value than anything,” he clarified. He went to the safe, unlocked it and brought a small blue box from Tiffany. “Open it,” he said, very impatiently waiting for me to unwrap the box.
I slowly unwrapped the box and opened it to reveal a white gold neck chain with a beautiful globe charm. I smiled when I saw the little globe. I looked up at Alex, “You always say you’re going to give me the world.”
“I’m still working on giving you the real world, but this charm will have to do for now,” he smiled.
“Alex, it’s perfect,” I said, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him. He took the necklace out of the box and put it on my neck. It was so feminine and definitely something I wouldn’t take off, ever. I walked over to the full length mirror, so I could see how it looked on. “Alex, this is the most meaningful gift you could have gotten. Thank you,” I said, admiring it in the mirror with him standing behind me with a smile on his face.
“I’m so glad you like it, baby. It looks even more beautiful on you,” he said, gazing at it in the mirror. I looked at him from the mirror, standing behind me with nothing on but those sexy sweatpants. His shoulders, arms, and chest looked so defined it made my heart skip a beat. We must have been on the same page as he nearly tore off the bathrobe I was wearing, revealing my naked body, since I wasn’t wearing any undergarments. I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck and down to my shoulder. His hands gently grabbed my breasts and slowly moved down to my naval and progressed lower from there.
“I would die if another man touched you here,” he said, slowly sliding his fingers inside of me. He was such a jealous and controlling man, but I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by him. My body craved his touch and my soul craved his affection. Only he could satisfy my hunger for love. He pulled out his fingers and pulled me away from the mirror and carried me to the bed. He lay me down gently and slowly made his way on top of me, his chest resting against my firm breasts. His body was so warm, he felt like a heater against my body. He m
oved my hair away from my face and kissed me so gently on my cheeks, my lips, and my neck. His warm breath made my heart rate increase and gave me goose bumps all over my body. I could feel his hardness against my body, but he wouldn’t enter me. I wanted him so badly that I would have begged at that moment.
He continued to kiss me, teasing me, and sending shivers down my spine. It seemed like an eternity before I finally felt him enter me. He knew exactly how to ignite my fire.
“I would die if another man did this to you,” he whispered into my ear and continued to make love to me so slowly and gently. I was under his spell. He was the master and I was his puppet. He wouldn’t let me move, as he wanted to take all control. His thrusts finally quickened and deepened. My breathing quickened as my heart raced. I held on tightly to him, holding his body as close to mine as I could. I was so close that I felt I was going to lose control of my entire body.
“Ah! Alex!” I yelled out as my body convulsed out of control.
“You like that?” he asked as he went faster and faster until he came soon after me. “I love you, baby,” he said as he rested his head next to my ear. “I want to be the only man who makes love to you,” he confessed.
“You are, Alex,” I clarified. I wished that I had met Alex before Angela had. I wondered how our relationship would have been if there never was Angela. I wondered if he wouldn’t have all the issues with trust as he did after her infidelity. She had broken him and I had to make all the repairs. It wasn’t fair, but I loved him more than I ever imagined loving someone.
Alex asked if I wanted to dress up and go to dinner or if I wanted to order room service. I chose in room dining because I was too tired to get myself together and my stomach was eating itself. We decided that we would eat in the room and then dress very warm and take a walk on the strip and enjoy our last night in Vegas.
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We devoured the food when it arrived, as we were both starving. Alex said he had a surprise for me, but would tell me after we finished our food. There were so many surprises that weekend. After we finished eating, he went to open the safe again and returned with small papers, which looked like tickets to a show from afar. He put them down on the table and gave me a few seconds to read what it was. I almost cried when I noticed two pit tickets to the Coldplay concert at the hotel we were staying in. I looked at Alex who was anxiously awaiting my reaction.
“Alex, when did you get these tickets?” I said with tears of joy in my eyes.
“I got them a few months ago when they first went on sale. Do you remember when I cooked dinner for you the first time you were at my house and I had Coldplay playing and you mentioned how much you love them?” he reminded me.
“Yes, of course I remember,” I replied.
“I wanted to make sure you were close enough, so I got pit seats, right up front,” he said.
“Alex, you’re amazing. This is the best birthday I’ve ever had. Thank you so much,” I replied. I was so surprised and wasn’t expecting Alex to have tickets to that concert. I couldn’t wait for the time to pass.
“Anything for you. We have to dress warm because it’s at the Boulevard Pool, so it is outdoors,” he said.
“Thank you, Alex. I’m so happy right now. I love you,” I said, reaching over and giving him a kiss.
I dressed warm as Alex advised. I sported a pair of new jeans he had gotten for me with a black cashmere turtleneck sweater and a matching Burberry barrette. I wore a lightweight black coat. There was no way I would be cold out there that night. Alex dressed warm as well in a white long sleeve Armani sweater and a new pair of jeans he had gotten for himself during our shopping spree. The sweater was tight enough to reveal his lean and muscular body. He looked like a breath of fresh air.
<><><>
The concert was fully packed and we were like sardines next to one another, but it was one of the most memorable nights of my life. I sang the songs word for word and I knew from all the screaming I had done that I wouldn’t have much of a voice the following morning. Alex kept looking over at me and smiling, as he had never seen that side of me. I was glad we had dressed warm and comfortable. He wanted to stay up all night, since we had a late check out the next day and our flight wasn’t until early evening the following day anyway.
After the show, as we were leaving to the casino, Alex took my hand and asked, “Did you have a good time, baby?”
“Did I have a good time? Can’t you hear the hoarseness in my voice?” I asked, making him laugh.
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes,’” he replied and pulled me toward the Black Jack table for a game of cards. Alcohol was offered to me many times, but I declined each time. I did not want a replay of what happened the night before. Alex said I should drink if I wanted to, but just not as much so I didn’t get too tipsy.
“Baby, I like it when you’re drunk because you tell me things you wouldn’t otherwise tell me sober,” he grinned.
I smiled and gave him a wink, “I’ll pass this time. My stomach is still queasy from last night’s drinks,” I said. He promised he wouldn’t stay at the card table for too long and I didn’t want to pull him away, since he was winning. His luck changed when the dealer changed and he agreed that it was time to walk away.
We decided to go out and walk on the strip. I had become so hungry and it had been quite a few hours since we had eaten. Alex complained that he was hungry as well, but neither one of us wanted anything fancy at that moment. As we walked by Pink’s Hot Dogs, we looked at each other and smiled.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking,” I asked him.
“Definitely thinking what you’re thinking,” he replied.
We ordered our hotdogs and sat down and began eating. I didn’t recall ever eating so fast.
“You know, Alex, this is a million times better than any fancy restaurant we would have dined in tonight. This is really hitting the spot,” I said. He began to laugh and took a napkin and leaned over to wipe my mouth. I had ketchup and mustard all over my mouth.
“I love watching you eat. There’s nothing sexier than a woman who can eat with a body like that,” he said, still laughing at my mess.
“Oh, and speaking of fancy restaurants, your cooking is way better. I enjoy eating your gourmet food so much more than any five star restaurant we have been to,” I complimented.
“Really? You like my food that much or are you just saying that to make me feel good?” he asked.
“I never make compliments I don’t mean,” I assured. Alex’s cooking was amazing and I wanted him to know it. I knew his parents had discouraged him about culinary art’s school because they wanted so much for him to become a surgeon like his father and grandfather. His grandfather had promised to leave him more than half of his will if he became a surgeon. He hadn’t left much for Melissa, but Alex made sure to give her plenty from his share which helped her pursue her fashion design career without asking her parent’s for help.
“Not everyone can become a doctor or a surgeon and many don’t want to go into the field. I didn’t think it was fair for Melissa to be forced to give up her dream because she didn’t have the money to pursue it,” he noted. One of the qualities I loved most about Alex was his generosity. He didn’t love money more than he loved people. He cared more about helping people around him such as his sister and never cared to look at the price tag of anything he purchased for those he loved.
“That was very sweet of you, Alex. Oh, speaking of Melissa, she invited me to a fashion show for next month. Please remind me to call her within the next few days to let her know I will join her,” I said.
“Will do,” he said. “Now, let’s walk these hotdogs off,” he added, taking my hand and helping me up to do as we had planned, stay up all night walking on the strip, casino hopping. I didn’t gamble much, but I cheered him on. When I looked at the time it was after five o’clock in the morning. Both of us had red, burning eyes from the cigarette and cigar smoke in the casinos. We walked back to our hotel a
nd took the elevator up to our room. I headed out on the terrace to get some more fresh air before going to bed. The view was so beautiful from up there that I just stood and looked out for the longest time. Alex joined me with his arms around my waist, his nose inhaling my hair. He turned me around to face him and held the globe charm he had gotten for me in his hand. “I don’t have enough money to give you the world, but I can definitely show it to you. What do you say?” he asked, smiling.
“I’d like that,” I replied, smiling back. “I would go anywhere with you, Alex,” I added as our lips touched softly. Alex put his hand on the back of my head and pulled my lips closer to his, his tongue moving in circles around mine. We went back inside the room without our lips parting. I removed his clothing as he removed mine. His warm kisses moved down to my neck and breasts as he carried me onto the bed. The kisses intensified and headed between my thighs, as his tongue gently circled as he slid his fingers inside. I moaned with pleasure as he continued.
He lay on his back, pulling me on top of him as I moved him into me. I moved my hips in a circular motion as I moved up and down making him groan with pleasure. My heartbeat quickened and it became hotter and hotter in that room. The deeper and quicker I moved, the more pleasing it became until I burst into an orgasm, losing control, moaning, sweating, and convulsing. He turned me over, so that I was on my back and gently lay on top of me as he slid himself into me, thrusting his pelvis towards me as he penetrated deeper and quickened his pace. He groaned loudly as he came and pressed his chest against my breasts, holding me tightly and kissing me. “I can never get enough of you, Claire. You’re intoxicating,” he said before pulling himself out of me. He continued to hold me tightly as if he feared that I would slip out of his grip and run away while he slept. We fell asleep entwined around one another. If either one of us moved, the other would awaken.
