by Eva Luxe
“I’m…I just keep sticking my foot in my mouth. I am truly sorry,” she said, looking away.
“Don’t be. It would be unrealistic to think that parts of her life won’t spill into mine, even now. We were together for so many years. I have decided, though, that I won’t be a victim to it, though. I will celebrate the good. I will cherish the memories. And leave it as it is. We had a lot of good years together. In fact, I didn’t even know that things were bad. When they told me that she had been killed with her lover, I had been shocked to find out that she even had a lover. She never expressed to me that she was unhappy. I didn’t notice any behavior that was strange. I literally had to go back into our phone records and see the confirmation of their relationship with my own eyes before I would even believe it. This was the woman that I was going to have a family with, that I was building a legacy with…”
I started to get lost in my thoughts. I felt bad that I was unloading so much onto Talia. She was just so easy to talk to. But, I knew that this was not what either or us had signed up for.
“Hey,” she said, softly, putting her hand on top of mine. “It’s okay. I remember when my mom left my dad how she was. I know it’s not easy at all. My mom went almost into a state of shock. I literally saw her come undone right before my eyes. I remember coming into her room one day and seeing her staring at the wall brushing her hair. It was like the lights were on, but nobody was home. I think that seeing her like that, her heart so shattered into a million pieces, made me put up walls that made me never want to get close enough to anyone to let them break my heart like that. I never wanted to be in a position where I came so undone that I couldn’t see how to put myself back together. So, maybe that’s why I threw myself into work and my art. Maybe that’s why I came here…”
It was her turn to drift off. And it was my turn to bring her back.
“What we do to survive is just that: how we survive. I had to come to terms with that. But, you’re young. You have your whole life ahead of you. You will have your chance to find your love of a lifetime.”
She looked up at me eagerly, almost as if she had a glimmer of hope that I could be that person. I knew that I couldn’t be. I wouldn’t be. But, I didn’t want to dash her dreams in that moment.
“How about a toast?” I proposed.
“Okay,” she said, sitting up tall and raising her glass.
“Here’s to mutually beneficial friendships that last for a lifetime,” I said.
“Cheers to that,” she said, clinking her glass against mine. We both drank our entire glass in one gulp. Even though I had the wine in the pantry, it had actually been quite some time since I had drank any of it. Talia started fanning herself.
“Whoa,” she said. “I probably should have paced myself there. I’m starting to feel lightheaded already.” As if on cue, I stood up and lifted her up out of her chair.
“Well, we have to get you into bed right away.”
She giggled the whole way to her bedroom. Her laughter was so easy and upbeat. It made me want to laugh myself. I laid her down on the bed and she giggled some more. I stood there watching her for a few minutes, her long dark hair sprayed above her head on the pillow.
She looked like an angel of mercy sent to rescue me from the darkness that has been this lonely island. I hadn’t even realized that I was feeling lonely. I guess that I had refused to think that that’s what it was because then I would have to admit that I missed Sophia so much that it hurt.
I wasn’t ready to come to terms with that part of it, yet.
“You’re such a pretty man,” said Talia, sitting up on her elbows, giving me the sexiest bedroom eyes. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as my dick began to jump to attention in my pants. I crawled over to where she lay on the bed. She stared at me hungrily. I couldn’t wait to ravish her, but I wanted to savor every moment of it. She lay there writhing, putting her hand between her legs, rubbing her pussy through her jeans.
“Here, let me help you with those,” I said, pulling off her pants one leg at a time. Her pretty pink panties held her perfect pussy tightly, outlining her pussy lips. I put my finger between the fold, watching the fabric soak with her wet juices. I slipped my fingers inside of her panties, parting her pussy lips so that I could feel the inside of her juicy, wet lips. She was already creaming. My dick felt so hard, I could feel it pushing through the opening on the inside of my shorts.
“Looks like you’re happy to see me, Mr,” she said, her words beginning to slur. She reached down and grabbed my hard dick like she trying to give it a handshake and laughed playfully. I pushed her down on the bed and stared into her eyes seriously. She stopped laughing. She was ready, begging for me to enter her. I peeled off my shorts and threw them on the side of the bed. I flipped her over onto her stomach, exposing her beautiful, shapely ass. I caressed it, squeezing it firmly. It was so taut and perfect. I opened her cheeks and slipped my dick inside of her tight pussy from behind. She let out a huge breath of air as she felt me plunge deep inside of her. The walls of her pussy tightened and shuddered around my dick. She fit me like a glove. I leaned over her like I was doing push ups, balancing all of my weight on my arms. I pumped in and out of her pussy, slowly at first, then picked up my speed. She was screaming so loudly that her screams echoed off of the walls and ceiling. I started plowing her pussy with such force that she began to yelp in pain.
“Oh my God! You’re so deep! I can feel you deep inside of me!”
“Do you want me to stop?” I asked, slowing down.
“No! I’m c-c-CUMMING!!!!!”
She let out of series of screams that sounded a lot like morse code. Then, her body when limp. She whimpered for a few minutes. Then, I heard her snoring softly. She had fallen asleep. I ran my fingers through her hair absentmindedly, happy that she had enjoyed herself.
What am I doing, I thought. I kept crossing the line with her and I didn’t mean to. I was defeating the purpose of having a nostrings-attached relationship by getting too close to her.
I cursed my loving heart.
I quickly scrambled out of bed like the room was on fire. I ran all the way to my room and shut the door.
I knew that I had to get out of there. Fast.
Otherwise, I might have felt tempted to stay and hold her in my arms all night.
And that would have been more dangerous than any fire.
Chapter 8 – Talia
“Wow! You just keep on amazing me with your beautiful art,” said Blake softly over my shoulder. I hadn’t even noticed that he had stepped into the room. A few weeks had passed and a lot had happened already. He liked to watch sometimes, but most of the time, he left me to my own devices, popping in from time-to-time just to see if I needed anything. I perked up immediately at the sound of his voice.
“Thank you,” I said. “I am just amazed that you were able to get your hands on these sheets of full-size canvas. I have never made paintings like this where I have been able to pay so close attention to detail.”
The far wall of the bedroom had been covered in different pieces that I had created. They each had a special frame around them that made them look so official, like I was actually a world-class painter whose work was to be hung in the Smithsonian. I hadn’t really fallen in love with all of them equally and had said as much to Blake, not wanting him to make such a big deal about my work and find expensive frames for ones that might end up folded up and thrown in a drawer somewhere once I finally got home. But, he had been insistent.
“Well, if you decide that you aren’t going to use them, maybe I can buy them off of you. Your pieces are much to pretty not be displayed, even if only a little while. Whichever ones you want to take with you for your showcase, just let me know and I will make sure that those arrive to the art gallery safe and sound.”
He didn’t let me say a word of protest after that. He would simply take up the piece, eye it appreciatively, and find a frame to put it in. Some he had around the house
already and he took the picture that had been already hanging up on the wall that was created by a famous painter. Others he special ordered just so that it would look “perfect” hanging up on the wall.
It felt nice to have someone fuss over my art. Other than Harvey, there really wasn’t anyone in my life who appreciated art as much as I did, let alone the art that I created.
The day that he had the canvases flown in, I had been sitting sadly painting on the last canvas that he had provided. I wasn’t sure how I was going to continue making oil paintings without canvas.
“Oh well. I guess I’ll just shift to sculpting or something. I guess the change will be good, anyway,” I said aloud.
He jumped up and made a phone call, making a bee line out of the room. I kept on painting. He came back into the room after about twenty minutes and didn’t say a word. About an hour later, I could hear what sounded like an airplane flying overhead.
“It’s here,” he said. “Come on.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door and down the hallway. He was moving really fast and I was having a hard time keeping up with him.
“Wait,” I said, trying to keep step with him. “What’s going on? What’s here?”
“The new canvases,” he said, glances over his shoulder for a moment and smiling.
I didn’t know what to think or say other than to be grateful yet again that I had responded to the ad on the website.
Once the plane shut off, the pilot emerged, canvases in hand. He looked like he was going to fall over backwards since his arms were full from all that he was carrying.
“This should be enough to last you for a little while longer. If you need anymore, though, let me know. I’ll make sure that you get whatever it is that you need.”
He took them from the pilot, thanked him, and carried them into the house. The pilot took off right away.
A special trip just for my canvases. I felt so honored.
I would often have a hard time concentrating when Blake was there. His sexy body would serve as a distraction and my art making session would soon be interrupted by lovemaking.
Lovemaking.
I smiled thinking about our bedroom sessions. They were so passionate, so arousing, that I couldn’t claim that I didn’t have my feelings all tangled up in him, even if I didn’t want to.
But, as hard as it was to concentrate on creating art when Blake was in the room, I found it even hard to focus on anything but him when he wasn’t there.
Today was a day like that.
He had gone off to the other side of the island for a hike he said. He told me that I could go with him if I would like, but he understood if I wanted to stay back and get some work done. I figured that the responsible thing to do would be to stay back. It was my way of trying to put a little distance between the feelings that were already beginning to mount between us.
Part of me was enjoying the connection that was building between us. Another part of me wanted to find a way to put more distance between us. But, how? I had been hired to be his companion. So, it wasn’t like I could put up an emotional wall between us. I knew that that would be the best way to get me a one way ticket back home to our little apartment, my demanding job, and leave me scraping for time to try working on my art.
No. Him going on a hike on his own was perfect.
Or so I thought.
Except for I kept finding myself staring off in the distance after a few brush strokes thinking about him.
My mind drifted back to about a week ago when we had such a powerful lovemaking session that it left us both speechless. In fact, it was so good, I was just about to tell him that I loved him. But, I started coughing instead and was unable to talk for a few minutes until I got a drink of water.
“What were you going to say?” he asked me eagerly, his eyes so sincere and deep like large, blue pools of water.
“Oh. Just that it was really good,” I lied. I had never been more grateful for a coughing fit than I had in that moment. Sure, I hadn’t said the words, though, but that didn’t stop me from feeling the feelings. It didn’t stop the butterflies from tickling the insides of my belly whenever I heard his voice. It didn’t make the hairs stay in their place instead of on end all of my body when he would rub his fingers across my skin.
I closed my eyes and leaned back, savoring the memory of that night.
Snap out of it, Talia, I told myself, trying to force my mind to focus on the painting that was simply not turning into much more than a few colorful streaks on a full-sized canvas.
I knew that I had to figure out how to distance myself before I ruined everything.
Chapter 9 – Blake
I woke up early in the morning with plans to spend time with Talia. I had been thinking of different things that we could do together that might not end up with us in the bed. Even though that had been the primary arrangement when she first came here, I was really beginning to like her as a person. Plus, after watching her for a few weeks, I started to notice that she was really getting serious about her art. It was wonderful watching her create beautiful pieces, but I could tell that there was a level of stress that was grabbing hold of her. She would make anxiety-filled comments about the showcase, worried that this Harvey character wouldn’t like the pieces or that they wouldn’t get there in time for his liking. I tried to help her dispel the fear that she had attached to her art so that it could be something that she found joy in doing. Anything that she mentioned, I came up with a solution for it. Not enough light? I put in track lighting. No more canvases? I had more flown in right away. I even made it a point not to spend so much time in the studio with her in case that made her nervous.
I just wanted her to be happy and I was determined to do all that I could to make that happen for her.
So, I woke up that morning so that we could see the sun rise together. I laid out two blankets on the beach in the perfect spot to watch it. The sky turned a deep purple, then a dark red, until the sun peeked up over the horizon, big and bright in the clear, blue sky.
“Wow,” she remarked, still half asleep. I held her in my arms as we basked in the morning sunlight. It felt so good holding her there, we fell asleep.
I woke up close to noon, surprised that we had slept the morning away. The day was mostly still ahead of us, so I decide to try to come up with another surprise.
I packed up fishing gear and a small basket of food into a boat and gently woke her up.
“Hey, Talia,” I said, whispering. I know it’s pretty early, but I have a surprise for you.” She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She looked around at the waves lapping up at our feet.
“What time is it? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” I put my finger to her lips as a signal for her to stay quiet.
“Yes. Everything is fine. I just have a special surprise planned for you. It’s just about lunch time, so we have to get a move on for the next excursion.”
“Excursion?” she laughed playfully, rubbing sand out of her unruly hair. “You make this sound like it’s an island vacation.”
“Well, I really hope that it might be,” I said, standing up and pulling her up with me.
I had learned that she wasn’t a morning person, so I could tell that she really wasn’t all that excited about getting up in the dark long before the sun had a chance to greet us, but she did, anyway. And she had enjoyed it. I noticed that she was always up for an adventure and I wanted to make sure that I kept the excitement there for her.
We walked over to a litle plank of wood where the boat was tied up.
“Whoa!” she said, looking at the boat. “This is a really cool boat! Now, I’ve heard that all boats have names. What’s this one named?”
I had never even thought about naming the boat. I just had Jensen provide me for one in case of emergencies or in case I wanted to go fishing. I decided that today was a good day to use it for fishing.
I climbed into the boat and pulled Talia inside with me. She fo
und a seat on one of the cream leather benches near the front of the boat. I cranked the engine and took off, making her try gripping the seats to hold on.
I took the boat out a few hundred yards from shore until I came to a little patch of land that I had stumbled across a few months into living out on the water. It was just big enough for us to sit on it and had a tree that resembled a tiny bush on it. I tied a rope around the tree to keep it from drifting off and climbed out of the boat. I extended my hand to Talia and helped her climb up on the little piece of dry land.
“Have you ever been fishing?” I asked, grabbing the fishing rods and tackle.
“No,” she said, shaking her head, her eyes wide open. I could tell that my question had caught her off guard, maybe even shocked her a little.
“Well, it’s one of the most relaxing things that I have ever done,” I said. “Here let me show you.”
I grabbed my rod and picked up a plastic bowl that I had brought along that had a few juicy earthworms inside. I opened it and saw them writhing all over each other. She recoiled at the sight of the.
“Ew! I’m not touching that!” she said.
I laughed. I hadn’t been sure if she would want to touch them or not.
“That’s okay,” I reassured her. “I can put them on the hook for you. Don’t you worry.”
She sighed with relief, which I found amusing. I didn’t say anything. I just smiled, winding the wiggling worm around the hook in my hand.
I showed her how to cast out her line by standing behind her. I put my left arm around her waist to hold her steady and helped her to extend the other arm.
She was a natural. She cast her line out farther than even I had thrown my own.
“And now we wait,” I told her, opening up the cooler I had brought along that was packed with beers, pulled one out, handed one to her, and sat staring out at the water.
“Okay,” she said, sitting down beside me almost reluctantly. “How long does this take, exactly?
