by Daya Daniels
“Steven, I can’t,” I whispered, almost willing myself to believe it.
“What?”
I scrambled down from Steven’s shoulders and out of his grip. I searched for my panties but then remembered they were now nothing but a rag. I pushed my dress back down, looking for the rest of my things. Where the fuck were my keys? Steven backed away from me, dropping his hands down in question, looking at me with a twisted face. My frantic gaze dropped from his handsome face and sad blue eyes to settle on the huge tent in his suit pants, that in some way I knew I desperately wanted.
“I’m sorry, Steven, I have to go.”
“Evie,” he said grappling with me, attempting to grab my arm. “Please don’t leave.”
I wiped my tears again, not entirely sure if I really wanted to go. Luke wasn’t coming back, so why did this all seem so hard. I’d fucked Steven before many times. I knew his body like the back of my hand and he knew mine. Maybe that’s all this was, just us sinking into our norm. Still, it didn’t make it right.
He walked towards me, still with the giant hard-on poking through his pants. He shifted himself with his hand and winced, then sighed and met my eyes again. “I’m sorry, Evie, we can take it slow. Please don’t leave.”
“I can’t, Steven,” I repeated.
He nodded frantically and then pointed towards the den. “We can watch a movie or something. Please stay,” he insisted.
“I can’t,” I said reaching for the door handle.
“Evie, please,” he begged.
“I will call you tomorrow, Steven. I should go.”
“Go then, Evie,” he growled, raising his hand in the air, without looking at me.
I sniffled and reached for the handle, pulling on it, and slipped out.
Luke
I checked my cellular phone and ran a hand over my jaw…thinking, regretting. It was always full of messages, most of them from Ascela. Tomorrow was Evie’s birthday, making her another year older. It felt like forever since I’d touched her. Tapping off a few quick messages, I slipped the gadget into my pocket.
I observed Evie earlier in the evening exit the Palms Place with her ex-boyfriend. She had on a sexy blue dress that hugged her perfect curves and showed off her golden skin and heels. Evie looked amazing.
They travelled in a silver Dodge Viper to the Bellagio, where they stayed for nearly two hours. When they exited, Steven helped Evie into his car. He placed his palm on her lower back and I nearly bit through my fucking hand watching them. I didn’t know why I was torturing myself. I was worlds away.
I’d heard all the stories that Evie had told me about Steven and regardless of how he made her feel sometimes, it was clear to me from watching how Steven treated her, that he did care. Steven loved Evie. I could see that.
Steven likely realized what he gave up, which shouldn’t have surprised me. I wanted to tell Evie I hadn’t forgotten about her, about us, but I didn’t know how. She was pissed at me, so I knew there was a possibility that she would never speak to me again.
When the pair left the Bellagio, they headed back to Steven’s place. I eased into my seat anxiously, watching them as they made their way out on the balcony of his top floor apartment. There was a rectangular pool outside. From where they stood, I knew they had a spectacular view of the Las Vegas valley.
Steven stepped closer to Evie and wrapped his arms around Evie’s middle, pressing his face into the crook of her neck. My Evie.
I jolted forward, narrowing my eyes at the screen. Steven pulled her by the hand to sit in one of the lounge chairs. Evie settled into his lap, while Steven wrapped his arms around her. Then they kissed and I felt my stomach roil.
Steven ran his hands through Evie’s long hair softly and she leaned into his touch, like she always did mine. I felt my temperature rise and my hands were trembling, while I watched them talk and laugh. I debated turning the volume up but I wasn’t sure I could handle what was being said. It was bad enough I was spying. Suddenly, Evie jumped up and scurried inside, while Steven followed, shutting the balcony door behind him.
I wanted to break something. I blamed myself for this. I knew I’d left Evie little choice than to go crashing back into Steven’s arms. I scrubbed my face with my hands, letting out a loud breath and then shut the screen off.
Evie
I left Steven’s place in a frenzy, crying and covered in sweat. I was so close to falling down that rabbit hole again. In some way, I probably wanted to.
It had taken me almost a year to get over Steven. I remembered the pain I felt when he left. I was too embarrassed to tell anyone, including my parents, for a long time that he’d even left me. Now, Steven finally wanted me but my heart was someplace else, with a man I wasn’t sure would ever return to me.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, I rested my head on the steering wheel of the car, taking shallow breaths. Finally, I started the engine, listening to the almost silent hum. I put the car in drive and headed through the lot and out onto the highway. I needed time to think and reflect. I promised myself when it sank in that Luke had sent me back to this godforsaken place, that I would work on Evie. I needed to push love aside and focus on myself. I was studying classical mechanics and electromagnetic theory in class. The subject matter of both would have baffled me six months ago, but now I breezed through it all, as if I were tying my shoe laces.
If I hadn’t met Luke I wouldn’t be who I was now, even if he did leave me. I looked ahead, feeling the easy motions of the fine sports car I was driving, while it meandered through the light traffic. It was only a ten-minute drive from Steven’s place back to my own. The beam on top of the Luxor hotel along the way, shone through the thick clouds building overhead.
I wondered what Luke might be doing. If he was thinking about me. I couldn’t get him out of my head.
I wanted to feel his touch again. To see his gorgeous smile that showed his perfect straight teeth and the small dimple in his left cheek. I pictured his face and smiled, not realizing that the man that worked the valet outside of my building was banging on the car window.
I truly was on fucking autopilot...
Luke
I stopped watching Evie but her earrings told me she was doing fine. The keyter in her ears had enough power in them to jump start a rocket or power a small city for a year. The beautiful earrings doubled as GPS trackers that pinpointed her location on Earth and communicated all her vitals to Seren, which she monitored.
Evie was spending time with Steven—the ex-boyfriend. If I didn’t have a conscience, I would make arrangements to have him killed.
I knew what I gave up. I regretted my decision long before I actually had to make it but I had no choice. Evie wouldn’t have willingly gone. She would have begged and she would have cried, not caring that she was sick. I wouldn’t allow her to die for me.
“Are you busy later, Luke?” Elara asked, jolting me back to the present.
I didn’t respond.
Elara flicked her long blonde ponytail over one shoulder, staring at me seductively.
“You’re not still pining over that human are you, Luke?”
I rolled my eyes and stared out of the large window ahead to the night sky.
Elara moved closer. “I could take your mind off things, Luke, just like old times. I mean maybe not exactly like old times. We’re not paired anymore.” She chuckled. “I know now you take your women differently, after all of the things they’ve done to you. We can do it that way too now if that’s what you need, Luke.”
“I don’t have time for this, Elara. No, thank you,” I scoffed, earning a burning glare from her.
I was exhausted and didn’t have time for Elara’s innuendo. It was time for me to pack it in anyhow. I stood, grabbing the expansion plans that Commander Drago had given me to review and slowly made my way back to my deck, crossing the wide corridors on the SS Everest.
As soon as the door opened to my suite, the deafening silence struck me immediately. I headed towards the bathroom to wash
my face. Taking a good look in the mirror, I accepted that I looked like shit and needed to shave. I developed a reflection soon after Evie left, which I wasn’t sure I liked. I was always tired and felt a loneliness I don’t think I’d ever experienced before.
Coming back to my deck at night to an empty room was agony. I was so used to having Evie here, hearing her voice, feeling her body against mine. Now, she was like a ghost. Some days I wondered if she ever even existed. Maybe it was all in my imagination? Standing up from the bed, I walked over to the closet where Evie’s clothes remained. I pulled out the last shirt she wore and sniffed it, inhaling the smell of her, hoping it would remain in the fabric.
The window tonight had a spectacular view of Pluto in the Kuiper belt. The SS Everest would be in deep space again soon. Again, further away from Evie and Earth. I still wondered why I’d taken her in the first place and then I knew. Evie told me she loved me before she left. I never said the words back but I wish I’d said something.
What did I know about love? I knew what I felt now that she was gone. I know Evie felt abandoned. I tried my best to make her life on Earth as comfortable as I could now, when Phoenix took her back.
Letting out a long breath, I accepted my predicament. I didn’t know when I could return or if I ever could return at all but I knew that if I couldn’t get back to Earth soon, I would never get Evie back.
Evie
“Hey, Kitten,” I whispered, bringing the fluffy ball to my chest, when I entered my apartment.
I kicked off my shoes and slipped out of my dress in the foyer, heading into my bedroom. I had a few meetings tomorrow for two investment opportunities, so I needed a good night’s sleep. I also had classes later in the day. I scrolled through my phone only to see the header for two messages from Steven, which I wasn’t in the mood to read. I plopped down on the edge of my bed, pulling out my laptop to check my emails. There wasn’t anything important in there, except for wedding details from Ariana for her and Karl’s wedding in two months. When I clicked on spam, a strange message was at the top. No email address was noted for the sender or the receiver. Hesitantly, I clicked on the address noted.
I sat forward narrowing my eyes at the short message. Immediately, I felt something resembling hope roar through me.
“HB, I want to see you smile. Please try.”
The message had to be from Luke. I scrambled to hit reply, clicking the tab quickly to type a message. My heart sank when the message instantly disappeared. I refreshed the page again with no luck. The message was gone.
I settled against the pillow, blowing out a long breath, nearly crying from frustration. Tomorrow was my birthday. I was turning twenty-eight. Last year, I celebrated with Ariana and Karl at home with a bottle of champagne. This year, I wasn’t sure what I would do.
Standing, I attempted to remove the earrings that Luke placed in my ears months before, noticing that it was impossible. I stopped fiddling with them and headed for the shower, desperate for the hot spray to soothe my skin. I didn’t linger long in it. I toweled off and jumped into bed naked, feeling the familiar ache between my legs that had been plaguing me for the past few weeks. It had been months since I’d gotten laid. I’ve gone longer before but this time it seemed different.
Tonight, I teetered on the edge of allowing Steven to fuck me again. I got out of his apartment quickly, before I made that mistake. I knew if I ever got caught up in the twister of Steven again, I would probably never escape.
I took another long breath. Opening my night table drawer, I pulled out my vibrator. It was big and closely resembled Luke’s cock, except that it had a prong on the top of it that vibrated against my clit. Desperate times made people resort to desperate measures...I closed my eyes and thought of Luke, the way his skin felt against mine, the way he smelled, his deep voice. I was already wet, courtesy of Steven’s eager hands all over me. I pushed the substitute cock into my pussy, pulling it out and pushing it back in slowly. It did the job. Each time I pushed it in the prong gave my clit a welcomed sensation. I missed Luke badly. I imagined him in between my legs, his heavy weight pressing me into the bed. His big hands grabbing and squeezing my breasts, while I panted beneath him. It wasn’t long before I felt myself coming.
I rode the waves of my orgasm feeling my pussy clamp down hard on the rubber toy, nearly forcing it out. I whimpered and moaned and cried out Luke’s name, wishing he could hear me, wishing he were next to me. I pressed my face into the pillow, while my orgasm subsided, feeling at least a little more settled than I did earlier. I allowed my tears to soak the pillow while sleep wasn’t far behind. I loved Luke but how much longer could I wait?
Luke
“Are you okay, Luke?” Seren asked, while she rolled her chair away from me.
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just felt a little off today. I don’t know. I don’t feel well.”
Seren peered closer to me and smirked.
“What?” I snapped.
“You are suffering from stress-induced cardiomyopathy or takosubo cardiomyopathy.”
I twisted my face looking at her. “What?”
“It’s also called broken-heart syndrome, Luke.”
I stood from the chair and headed for the door.
“You seem to also have a reflection now, Luke,” Seren called out over her shoulder with a chuckle.
I remained still for a moment, letting out another long sigh.
“I’m sure you know I will have to report that.”
Spinning around, I shrugged. Seren casually placed various silver instruments back in their place on a tray and looked away from me again, with that smirk.
“I don’t care, Seren, do what needs to be done.”
I stepped out in the corridor, feeling out of sorts.
“Deputy Commander,” a subordinate said, raising his hand to his forehead in salute, rushing by me.
I was needed for another debrief soon but I couldn’t focus.
“Sir,” Archer barked standing at attention.
I grabbed his arm and dragged him along with me into the elevator.
“Are you okay, man? You look like shit,” he added.
I laughed lightly. “I want you to do something for me.”
“I’m all ears.” He grinned.
Evie
I spent most of my morning classes in a trance when I should have been focusing. The sun outside was beginning to set, right behind the two people in front of me that took turns speaking.
“We already have two small restaurants in the valley. We have plans to open a third in December of this year. We’ve found a space in the Bellagio. The fourth restaurant will open closer to April, not too far on the Strip from the third.
“We’ve been returning good profits for the last five years but we need a significant cash injection. We don’t have a long list of investors. We would like to stay small.”
I listened as a couple named Tom and Dana Russo gave me their business pitch. Tom was from Boston and Dana was a Nevada native. They had no children but I was told that soon they wanted to. Tom and Dana graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France ten years ago and were both chefs. They seemed like two people that I could even be friends with.
While watching them from across the table, it was obvious that after five years of marriage they were still in love. It was the way Tom leaned in every time he spoke to his wife and the way Dana tilted her head while she listened to Tom speak. Her eyes never left his face once. She adored him. It warmed me just to watch their interactions.
Dana opened her mouth to add something but before she could, I spoke.
“You don’t have to tell me anymore. I’m in,” I said giving them a big smile. “We can talk numbers tomorrow.”
The three of us stood and shook hands. Dana gave me a hug before leaving. I plopped back down in my seat to finish my cappuccino. I checked the messages in my phone, noticing there were two more from Steven. I clicked into each one, reading them. The fi
rst one read “I’m sorry about last night.” The second one read “I miss you.” The third one read “I need to see you, please call me.” I stood to leave, entering the busy walkway of shops and restaurants, weaving in and out of the occasional rows of people.
I walked ahead, spotting a familiar shape but not certain it was. The tall man I spotted wore a suit. He leaned against a wall up ahead. I squinted my eyes again, walking faster. When I got closer and scanned the area, he had quickly disappeared. I took a deep breath, wondering if it were possible I was seeing things, shaking away the possibility. Slowing my gait, I casually peered in each of the shop windows I passed, looking at my reflection occasionally.
Running my fingers through my thick hair, I pulled it together letting it drape over my left shoulder. I froze, zeroing in on the mannequin in the window in front of me. It was tall and muscular and fixed in a striking pose. The lifeless man wore a tailored black suit, with a white dress shirt and a dark emerald-green handkerchief hung just over the top of its left breast pocket. I dropped my gaze to the shiny black dress shoes on the stiff’s feet. I knew this man wasn’t real but just looking at his ensemble gave me a feeling of nostalgia. Luke was always dressed impeccably when he was on Earth, even when it was one hundred and ten degrees out.
“Mademoiselle, does that remind you of someone?” the familiar voice asked, interrupting my daze.
I spun around only to look into smiling brown eyes that belonged to Archer. At first I wanted to hug him and then a vision flashed in front of me of kicking him right in the balls, that I debated making reality. Archer gave me another smile, while I shot him a pissed-off glance.
“What do you want?” I snapped, continuing to walk ahead. “I know you brought me back here.” I pointed a finger at him.
Archer hastily followed. “It wasn’t actually me, Evie, it was Phoenix, but it’s not important.
“Evie, I’m sorry but we had to. I just came to talk to you.”
