by Mia Villano
“Hi, are you, Prudence Romaine?”
“Yes,” I hesitated. Trevor was always lifting weights when I ran on the treadmill, but I didn’t realize he knew who I was. Hot, sweaty, and a mess I didn’t want to talk to anyone.
“I have heard a lot about you,” he said, I looked into his sultry gray eyes and was mesmerized by his good looks. I had no idea what he was talking about, but went along with it.
“I hope it was good?”
We talked for a while outside my exercise class as people came and went. He asked for my number and in a day he called and asked me out. I reluctantly agreed, because I thought it might be fun, and to keep my grandmother off my case about dating. Hoping it would shut her up for a while.
“I’m not looking forward to this, Grandma. You know how I feel about Alex, and this just isn’t the same.” I was cleaning my condo one Saturday afternoon, and she came over to help.
“Just try it. For God sake, Prudence, you’re not marrying him. It’s one date,” she said.
“What if I run into Alex and he thinks I’ve forgotten about him?”
“Well, if that’s the case, then he’ll fight harder to get you back. If it’s meant to be, Prudence, it will happen. Now, go out and have a fun time,” she urged.
Trevor took me to see Jimmy Buffett, and we got along fine. He made me laugh most of the night. The date was perfect as we sat on the lawn with a thousand screaming “Parrot Heads,” partying the night away. I had a good time drinking beer and listening to excellent music.
We started dating off and on, and soon we became a couple. The problem was Trevor liked to party hard. When we first started seeing each other, he only drank on the weekends. As he got more comfortable with me, I noticed it was becoming every day of the week. When he got drunk, it brought back too many memories of my mom and my old life. Everything we did revolved around drinking or his college buddies. One particular night, he and I went out to dinner after work. He was working on his third double shot of vodka and pissing me off.
“Come on Prudence. I need it bad,” he said while we ate at the overly crowded Blue Basil Grille. He was so loud the entire restaurant heard his big mouth and I was appalled.
“Trevor, please shut up. I’m well aware of what you want, and we will do it when we get home. Now don’t say that so loud,” I said with gritted teeth.
“Quit being such a prude, Prudence,” he laughed. I was trying to finish my dinner as he was working on not dropping his all over. As the night progressed, my level of tolerance reached its limit.
“I’m so horny for you babe. It’s those huge tits of yours. They make me nuts,” he kept on, and tried to grab me under the table while we ate. I had had enough at that point, so I asked for the check, and we left as I drove him home, as usual.
Besides his constant drinking, he shared my love of old music, politics, and antiques. Unfortunately, he was a staunch Republican, and I loved getting into political arguments with him when he was sober. He knew of Alex when I asked him, and he wasn’t too impressed or concerned. I enjoyed his company and sex with him was good at times. Trevor and I were dating, and life continued. He was gorgeous, and we made a very good-looking couple when we went out and if he stayed sober. As soon as he started drinking, he turned into a real idiot.
After a few of months of dating, Trevor promised to stay sober, and we went to Aruba for a week’s vacation. This was our first real vacation together as a couple, and my first time visiting Aruba. The thought of getting away to the beach and relaxing for a few days sounded fantastic. I couldn’t wait to get away and forget about my responsibilities, cold weather, and politics. But my euphoria was short lived. I spent my entire vacation fighting to get Trevor out of the bar every day.
“Trevor, you’re drunk. You promised,” I said. We hadn’t even left the hotel room yet, and he was already wasted.
I wanted to make this work for the pure fact that I couldn’t have who I wanted and Trevor was the next best thing.
“Dear, Prudence, let me see you smile,” he sang to me as he stumbled over himself and laughed getting out of the shower. He liked to remind me, when he drank, about my name and that song. My mom loved two things in life, drugs being the first one, and the Beatles being the second. She named me after two of their songs “Dear Prudence” and “Hey Jude.” I hated my name and wanted to change it for as long as I could remember. As I got older, I came to accept the fact that when people heard it they would start singing, or make some kind of silly reference to it. After that night, I spent most of my vacation alone because he was asleep or out drinking until he passed out. Needless to say, I was happy to get home.
After our disastrous vacation together, I had to find a way to break it off with him. The love affair between us was going nowhere fast. I was afraid if I stayed with him, his drinking and verbal abuse would get worse over time. I didn’t need a guy bringing me down, and that is exactly where this was headed. This constant drinking reminded me of when I lived with my mom and the total chaos that went on because of it.
Before I could end it though, I received an invitation to a Democratic fundraiser and Trevor expected to be my date. It was to be one of the largest fundraisers of the year, and the biggest names in Washington were to attend, including the President. Since I was going to be running another campaign, I needed to go and mingle. I wanted to, but I didn’t want to run into Alex or Jade. It was a pretty safe bet they would be attending. Alex loved these types of things and if he was there, she was sure to be along. Seeing them touch each other would have been too much, even with Trevor with me. I prayed Trevor would try to stay somewhat sober, but early on in the evening, it wasn’t looking too good.
I stood by the bar trying to get Trevor away from it. I scanned the crowd for familiar faces when my eyes met Alex’s. Leaning casually up against the wall with a drink in hand and talking to a few men, he looked as fuckable as ever. He winked at me, and I grabbed the bar to hold on, wobbly now in my six-inch heels. I picked up a glass of champagne to calm my nerves. I downed it in a couple of gulps and hurriedly drank another. Surely, Jade was somewhere close by, keeping tabs on him, and I expected her to appear, slithering up to him at any moment. A constant stream of people came up and talked to him, but he continued to watch me between handshakes, pats on the back and political small talk.
I wore the latest dress from Gucci. It was short, black, and lacy. It hugged my body perfectly, showing off every curve. I’d bought a new pair of Louboutin heels, and I had to admit I looked extremely sexy. I wanted to look very tempting, to torture Alex when we saw one another. This was that moment.
Our eyes met once again as I forgot about getting Trevor to a table and took a seat at the bar. I no longer cared what Trevor did. My attention was focused on one person. Alex Conrad was in the room and nothing else mattered. I wanted to drive him crazy and let him know what he’d given up. Biting my lip, I made sure I crossed and uncrossed my legs several times to give him a glimpse up my thigh. It worked. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of me. Trevor, on the other hand, couldn’t keep his hands off me, and I was not in the mood to show the public what he expected. I pushed his greedy hands away as he tried to shove them between my legs.
“Trevor, please. Not here. I don’t want to look like a cheap whore. There are too many important people here tonight, and I need to maintain my image. Christ, the President is here somewhere,” I said, pushing him off me once again .
He was drunk before dinner was served. He was loud, obnoxious, and always found ways to embarrass me.
“Baby, I love you, and I want everyone to know you’re mine. That tight body of yours is making me hard. Prudence Romaine is mine,” he yelled and laughed. The thought of smashing him over the head with my heel crossed my mind.
“Trevor, please keep it down.” I pushed him away again knowing full well, later wasn’t happening. He looked exceptionally handsome in his tuxedo, but his behavior was such a turn off, whatever he did to me, didn’t matter. My mi
nd was made up that he wouldn’t have me in any way sexually after we left. I was going to end it with him that evening.
Looking over at Alex, he was intently watching us both as I continued to push Trevor away.
“Hey, bar tramp, give me another shooter and a beer,” he yelled at the waitress, who was busy serving others.
Turning away, I had enough and needed to distance myself from him fast. He didn’t even notice when I got up and walked off. I headed outside to get some fresh air and found a spot free of smokers. The sky was clear and filled with stars as I sat on the cool cement step and breathed in the chilly night air.
About a minute later, I noticed Alex had followed me. He had on a tuxedo that looked so good it made my pulse skyrocket.
“The boyfriend is becoming a handful tonight. You have him all worked up,” he said. Alex sat next to me, holding two glasses of champagne. He handed me one, and my fingers touched his, making me flinch. He smelled delicious, as always.
“What do you want, Alex? You are usually running the other way when you see me. Shouldn’t you be doing that now?”
Although happy to see him, I was in no mood to be enticed, only to have him run off like a scared little boy. My limit for little boys had been reached.
“I wanted to see you. We haven’t talked in a while.” He looked gorgeous and the sight of him made it hard for me to think straight. I took this moment to drink him in while I could do so without anyone noticing. I didn’t know when we’d be that close again.
“That’s not my fault. Shouldn’t you be inside with your girlfriend before she comes looking for you? I see you two got together again. Must be love?” I asked. His warm body seared up against me. His thigh, pressed up against my bare leg, sent warmth up to the place I longed for him to be inside. I dared not even look into his eyes.
“You look so damn amazing tonight. I hoped you would be here,” he said, sipping his glass of champagne and ignoring what I’d said about Jade.
“Why, so you can tell me I make you too horny and you can’t handle it? I don’t need that again.”
He once again ignored my snide comment.
“That immature frat boy is not for you. I can tell you are bored and embarrassed,” he said.
“The guy that is right for me doesn’t want me. Every time we are together, the guy I want leaves me and won’t tell me why. I wish you wouldn’t sit here next to me and speak to me. I don’t have much to say to you anymore. I had to forget you after that night and after my party when you walked away from me. Every time I see you, the feelings return, and there is nothing I can do about it.”
“Prudence, I wanted you that night, and I still want you. Your body, your scent, everything, is still in my memory. I thought going to your party I might think differently, but that only made it worse,” he said.
I was speechless, thinking he’d forgotten me because he and Jade were still a couple.
“It was too much for me. I couldn’t get past the fact that you were not sixteen anymore. The way you made me come alive every time I got near you, scared me. It felt wrong.”
“So if you can’t get past that, why bother coming out here wasting my time and yours, telling me these things?” The breezy air and thrill of his body so near to mine sent a shiver through me.
“I don’t see you as a young girl like I did that night. I don’t know. It’s something about the way you look tonight. Something’s different, Prudence. I have missed you so fucking much” Closing my eyes, and enjoying his presence, I wanted to curl up next to him and melt. This was the only man I loved, and the pull he had on me was intense. We were like two magnets trying to stop the inevitable.
“Not contacting someone for so long because you were ‘scared’ is ridiculous. Pushing me away the night of my party was hurtful. You said to give you time. I did, and you still never came back. I wasn’t a young girl then, Alex. How am I any more desirable tonight?” I crossed my legs so my dress rode up higher. He noticed.
“You were always desirable to me, Prudence. Dear, God. Don’t you think it was torture for me that night I walked out? I got in my car and drove all night long trying to get you out of my head. I wanted to call you so many times or turn around and come back to you. Finally, I called and you didn’t answer. When I drove by, someone was in the driveway so I left. You are in my thoughts every waking hour. Every night before I go to sleep I picture you standing in front of me with no shirt on and those jeans, and your breasts, so beautiful. I miss your taste on my lips. When I touch myself, it is the thought of you that sends me over the edge. You have no idea how I have missed you and how much I want you.” I was in awe. He wanted me as much as I wanted him.
“Are you cold?” he asked as I looked into his eyes.
I didn’t respond. I didn’t know if I was numb from what he’d said or the cold. He removed his coat and placed it on my shoulders. It was warm from his body heat and smelled like his cologne.
He continued talking.
“I heard you got serious with this Trevor, and I kept my distance. I figured if you wanted me you would come for me. You never did, so I started seeing Jade again. Not that she’s replaced you in any way; I need a woman to attend these types of events. Jade fits that bill and that’s it. It’s nothing more than that with her. You can’t be happy with this asshole. He’s beneath you.”
I gave him a hard stare. What he said was true, but that didn’t give him the right to question my decisions, and tell me who to be with when he was the one who left me, hot and wanting him in the middle of the night. He walked out on me.
“First of all, let’s not talk about what is beneath me, when you are dragging around a worn out piece of leather in stripper heels. Why should I come looking for you when you walked out on me, twice as a matter of fact? I don’t play games with men. There is one thing I know: I don’t chase men or beg them to date me, not even you, Alex Conrad. And this mannequin you call a girlfriend, is as disgusting as Trevor, if not worse..”
“Are you having sex with that idiot in there?” he asked taking the last swig of his champagne and setting the glass down. He licked his lips, and a jolt ran through me at the sight.
“What do you think, Alex? And what does it matter to you? Trevor doesn’t push me away. He wants me. And he’s not all talk and teasing. He actually follows through. I could ask you the same question. Are you having sex with Jade?”
“She is not even in your caliber, Prudence. It’s just a release. Being with her is nowhere near what I felt for you that night, and I hadn’t even made love to you yet. I couldn’t stand watching that guy touch you in there. It made me sick to see him touching your legs and kissing you. That should be me.”
My heart hurt when he said that.
“That could have been you, many times over, but you pushed me away,” I said, sipping my champagne.
“Stay here. I will be right back. Please don’t leave,” he said. My eyes stayed on him as he got up, taking our empty glasses, and left his tuxedo coat draped over my shoulders. Closing my eyes, I put the sleeve up to my nose and breathed in his scent. My nipples hardened in my bra. I could not resist him. The need I had was too intense. My God, how I still wanted him.
A few minutes later, Alex returned.
“Mr. Nash is fine. I told one of my men to make sure he gets home safely. For your information, he seems to be preoccupied with a brunette that’s just as drunk as he is,” Alex said. He tugged his bow tie off and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.
“I had the valet fetch my car. Come with me.”
As if on cue, his car pulled up right in front of me.
“You have men?” I asked not too happy with him. I was reluctant to get into his car, but he looked so good, it was impossible to stay mad.
“Get in the car, Prudence. I want to make love to you all night and the night’s nearly over,” he said.
The valet winked as he sauntered out of Alex’s car.
“Where are we going?” I asked turned on b
y him taking charge.
“My house. I’m tired of the ass-kissing and schmoozing. I want to go to bed with you and finally claim what is mine.”
A scorching heat crawled up my body. I was breathless with wanting him and the fear of him pushing me away again. Could I trust him not to hurt me?
“Are you sure you can handle it this time?”
“Oh, I’m damn sure,” he smiled, shifting gears and peeling out into the night.
“You’d better be, Alex Conrad, because this is the last time I’m going to give you the chance.” He took my hand in his and lifted it to his luscious mouth, kissing my fingers and not taking his eyes off the road. His lips on my skin sent a fire through me and awakened more memories of his mouth on parts of my body.
Chapter Nine
“What has changed your mind this time?”
“I said fuck it, Prudence. I want you, and you want me, so what the fuck am I doing? I’m the goddamn senator of Virginia. I need to man up and act like it. I need to take what is mine before some idiot thinks he can.”
At the next red light, I kissed him. I’d craved those lips for too long, remembering how they’d felt on my body. His lips were so warm and wet, and I wanted more of him.
I took his right hand off the steering wheel, kissed his fingers, and placed it under my dress between my legs. He made me hot and wet, and I wanted him to know it as soon as possible. He smiled at me wickedly.
“This is what you do to me, Alex Conrad,” I whispered, looking at him.
He pushed my thong to the side, and his fingers explored me as he kept his eyes on the road. The feeling of him touching me hit me hard. I couldn’t take the sensation of his fingers inside of me. I swallowed, trying not to moan.
“Prudence, you are so soft and tight,” he said as he continued to concentrate on the road.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the pleasure taking over my overly sensitive body. I had not been that turned on since the last time he touched me.
