Abandoned but Not Alone

by Theresa L. Henry

  His hands drifted below her dress and contoured his fingers against the smooth skin of her bottom to pull her flush against his growing erection. “You feel that Angel, this is what it feels like when two people fit.” Rotating his groin again and again against Aviva’s core Jason simulated the motion of penetration, thrusting harder and harder each time, pushed her towards release.

  Aviva gasped in shock at the realization that she was almost there, almost at the point of perfect release when abruptly she was picked up and deposited against the leather seat of the car. Startled by his sudden withdrawal Aviva stared straight ahead, mortified at what had just taken place. ‘My goodness’ she thought to herself, ‘I’ve just been grinding on a man I only met today, in the back of a car, and on the way to my best friend’s wedding reception. Who is this person, where did the real Aviva go?

  “We’re just about to turn into the drive. You should have just about enough time to repair your makeup before we arrive at our destination.”

  “Right, makeup…um, purse…where’s my purse, I can’t find my purse.” She mumbled searching the darkened interior of the car.

  “It’s right here, Angel,” Jason murmured, handing her the small clutch.

  Aviva whispered her thanks as she took the clutch from his extended hand, ensuring she made no contact with his skin. Jason was instantly worried about her withdrawal. It had not been his intention to move so quickly with her and certainly not in the back of a car, but he wasn’t sorry. He may never have experienced such a connection with a woman before, yet he was under no illusions as to what he was feeling and he wasn’t about to let her slip through his fingers. He knew she felt their chemistry, her reaction to him as swift and intense as his to her. That intensity was no doubt the reason, as they sat in the darkened interior of the car, why she was attempting to pull away from him. He wasn’t going to let it happen. If there was one thing Jason had learned from an early age was how to fight: fight to claw his way out of the circumstances of his birth, fight those who wanted to take away what he had, and fight for what he wanted; he wanted Aviva.

  As the car came to a stop outside the mansion the door was opened by the chauffeur. Jason alighted first and extended his hand to assist Aviva. Ignoring his offer of assistance, she preferred to get out under her own steam. The situation in the car had got out of hand and she was determined it not happen again. She had never acted so recklessly in her life, if Jason hadn't had the presence of mind to be aware of their imminent arrival, she would have continued gyrating on top of him until she came. Aviva didn’t attempt to fool herself, the man was hot and it would seem he also had the ability to make her act out of character, that one fact alone was enough to give her pause. She needed distance from him to gather her thoughts; the mere touch of his hands causing her to disregard all she had been taught about how a lady should behave. Maybe with distance she would be able to reconcile the lady with the woman and how he made her feel.

  The entrance hall of the mansion shone resplendent with a magnificent chandelier whose lights glistened off the predominantly black veined marble flooring, giving the appearance of being inlaid with a million stars. Staff awaited arriving guests with trays of champagne while others directed them to where the party was in full swing.

  Not waiting for Jason, Aviva wanted to put as much distance between them as possible. Quickly glancing over her shoulder, although she told herself that she wouldn’t, she was confronted by the sight of Jason standing with a woman draped across his body. Well that didn’t take long, Aviva thought, disgruntled at the sight of the two very attractive people plastered together. Rolling her eyes in dismissal, while muttering something about faithless men, she was quickly swallowed up by the milling guests.

  Jason had been watching her rapidly departing back and had caught her look of displeasure. Pleased that she hadn’t liked the idea of his being with another woman; he tried to extricate himself from the clinging arms of an old flame with mistaken ideas of rekindling the flames of a long extinguished affair. If Jason were honest, and he was to a fault, he didn’t even remember her name and this whole clinging neck thing had never been his game. He had no intentions of getting into a round of touchy-feely with a woman whose name he couldn’t even remember. Untangling himself, and without a second look, he too made his way towards the gathered guests, determined to locate a now out of sight Aviva.

  He couldn’t see her, there were a lot of very tall model type people wandering around the room. Continuing his scan, Jason searched the milling crowd for a glimpse of Aviva. Becoming frustrated his eyes made another pass along the beautifully dressed people when a flash of blue caught his eyes. Aviva stood looking up and laughing at something a tall good looking guy had said to her. So the guy was a comedian, he had to be by the way she was laughing and clinging to his every word. Making up his mind in an instant, Jason decided to find out what was so funny, he liked a good joke as much as the next guy. Deciding he too could do with a laugh, he made his way towards them. Keeping the laughing couple trained in his line of vision, Jason saw the tightening of Aviva’s shoulders as he bore down on them. Good, serves her right he thought, pleased with her reaction to his approach. At her ‘don’t start anything’ look Jason plastered on his most innocent smile and slipped his arm around her waist pulling her into his body. Stiffening Aviva was unable to resist making contact with his big body without causing a scene, so she stepped on his foot, really hard with the heel of her shoe. Stiffening, Jason only just managed to keep in his wince of pain. His foot hurting like hell, he decided to pay her back. Adopting a look of mock innocence, Aviva gazed up at him and smiled with her lips, her eyes telling him to get lost. Oh, so she wanted to play, okay Angel – let’s play.

  “Hi Angel, I missed you, why didn’t you wait for me?”

  Aviva’s laugh sounded fake, even to her own ears. She doubted she was fooling either of the men who stood beside her. “For goodness sake Jason, it’s not as though you’re my date for the evening. We just rode over together.”

  Not liking her comment, Jason wondered if it had been for the benefit of the pretty boy she was laughing up a storm with. Not knowing and not caring who the hell he was, he continued on determined to get her way from this man who was a stranger to him. “That’s not the impression I got in the car earlier. As I recall the ride was very eventful. Do you need me to remind you what we were doing as we pulled into the driveway?” Stunned into silence at his words, Aviva felt a rush of heat engulf her face. “Oh, silence, so you do need me to remind you; well as I recall you were on t…”

  Cutting Jason off, Aviva started speaking before he could add any more to his outrageous comments. “Jason, let me introduce you to Carlos Ernesto.” Looking at Carlos, Jason extended his hand in greeting as Aviva completed the introductions. The dude sort of reminded him of Steve, tall, slim and too good looking for his own good and Jason uncharitably wanted to rearrange his pretty face for him. Instead he squeezed Carlos’ hand in a warning to back off. Carlos returned the bruising handshake with just as much force as a look of determination settled on his face.

  “Pleased to finally meet you Jason, I’ve heard a lot about you from Steve. I’m thinking of purchasing this fine home you guys just completed.”

  “Yeah, it turned out even better than we had anticipated. I’m sure your wife and family would enjoy living here.”

  “Oh, I’m not married – yet, but anything could happen in the not too distant future.”

  What the hell was he looking at Aviva for, did they have history? It sure looked like it, if the way Carlos was staring at her was anything to go by. Oh no, hell no, not gonna happen, pretty boy!

  Aviva could see the strain both men were putting on the others hand, neither of them looking as though he were prepared to be the first to release his grip. So she decided to do it for them, she stood on Jason’s foot again – just as hard. Never breaking eye contact with Carlos, Jason bent his head and whispered into her ear. “If you do that again, I�
�m going to spank you when we get home, just as hard as you keep standing on my foot.” Aviva’s eyes widened at his threat but she thought it prudent to remain silent; maybe she had pushed him far enough. As Jason released Carlos’ hand, he thought now was as good a time as any to find out as much as he could about this man making eyes at his woman, never once doubting Aviva was just that – his woman.

  “So, how do you guys know each other?”

  “We met about eighteen months ago through Steve and Hope. Aviva is going to be working on my next music project. It looks as though we should be good to go within the next week or so.”

  “I’m looking forward to it; the project should be good fun.”

  “I’m looking forward to us working together.” Carlos agreed, a twinkle in his eyes.

  “Well this sounds like all around good fun, I thought you were supposed to be working.” Jason commented, sarcasm dripping from his words.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Aviva asked, pissed off with his derision of what she did for a living. Hope’s arrival saved Jason from having to answer Aviva’s snippy question. He could tell she wanted a fight and the way he was feeling at the moment, he was more than ready to give it to her. Not used to feelings of jealousy, he wasn’t handling the situation very well. He wanted to tell this Carlos person to take a running jump over a high cliff and for Aviva not to care if he complied.

  “Aviva, Jason, I’ve been looking for you guys. Oh good, Aviva I see you found your dinner partner, I can’t seem to keep you two apart,” Hope joked glancing at the arm Jason still had possessively wrapped around Aviva’s waist. Taking hold of Jason’s hand, Hope began pulling him behind her. “Come on Jason, I’ll introduce you to your dinner partners. A table full of long legged blondes, just the way you like them.” Giving Aviva one last look, Jason smiled as she rolled her eyes at him before allowing Hope to lead him away. As Jason and Hope disappeared, engulfed by the other party guests making their way to the dining room, Aviva and Carlos followed behind at a more sedate pace.

  “So, am I gonna have to fight him?”

  “Who?”

  “Don’t ‘who’ me sweetness, the man nearly broke my hand because I was talking to you.”

  “Don’t be silly Carlos; I only met the man today.”

  “You only met him today – and he's already this possessive of you. I saw you first anyway, does this mean I’m gonna have to fight him?”

  “Could you take him?”

  “Hell no, have you seen the size of his guns. I’ll just sic Bigger on him if the time ever comes.”

  “Leave your brother alone, and his name is Curtis, not Bigger.”

  “Well he’s bigger than Jason – if it ever comes to it, he should be able to beat him down for me.”

  “Shut up you idiot, there will be no fighting, violence is never the answer.”

  “If you say so sweetness, but what would you call grinding your heel into his foot – twice.”

  “Whatever, don’t do as I do, do as I say. Those are my words of wisdom and will keep you out of trouble until you learn to fight. Come on lets go eat, I'm starving.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  Dinner was winding down; when the band that had been playing soothing jazz throughout the meal changed the tempo indicating that the dance floor was soon to open. Appearing before a microphone standing in the middle of the stage, Hope and Steve called for everyone’s attention.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please. Thank you all for coming out to join Hope and I for our wedding reception. As most of you know we wanted to have a small intimate ceremony, which will be taking place tomorrow, but we also wanted an opportunity to bring all our friends together to celebrate with us. So far this has been a perfect evening.”

  “We have a very special treat for you tonight. Aviva Johnson, my best friend and song writer has agreed to sing a song composed especially for Steve and I as we take our first dance, ladies and gentlemen, please show your appreciation for…Ms Aviva Johnson.”

  Butterflies fluttered in Aviva’s stomach as she walked towards the stage, only having agreed to sing as it was Hope that had requested it of her, she wouldn’t have agreed to sing in public for anyone else. As each step took her closer to the stage and the waiting crowd, she was gripped by the nearly overwhelming urge to bolt, always preferring to stay behind the scenes. Too late now Aviva thought as she stood in place ready to say a few words before the start of her performance.

  “Hope, Steve, I love you guys very much. The song I’m going to sing as you take your first dance is called ‘Special Love’. I hope the journey on which you are both embarking will be special, and endure a lifetime.” Indicating to the band leader that she was ready, Aviva turned to the crowd and began to sing. Her contralto voice low and sultry, wrapping layer upon layer of feeling throughout the lyrics of the song.

  I waited a lifetime for your love, a love that would pass the test of time, and I found this special love with you. The gentle touch of your hands tells me I’m special, that you will never let me fall. The look in your eyes speaks of love everlasting, my darling I found this special love with you.

  I found this with you, this love that completes me, a journey just started yet everlasting, because we’re together I’m so glad, I found this love with you. I’ll love you today, tomorrow and always, because I found this special love with you.

  Whisper to me words of love as we walk together through life, and when our life here is over we will always be remembered for the feelings we left behind to inspire those around us to embark on a journey like ours, filled with a special love.

  I found this love with you, this love that completes me, a journey just started yet everlasting, because we’re together I’m so glad, I found this love with you. I’ll love you today, tomorrow and always, because I found this special love with you.

  Aviva watched as Hope and Steve moved around the dance floor holding each other in a tight embrace, and as she watched the couple, Jason watched her. As the chords of the final chorus drifted away she looked over at Jason to find him staring at her, intensity alive in his eyes, causing her to almost forget the final words of the song. Aviva tried to look away but she couldn’t, and in that moment she was unsure if she even wanted to. Their gazes held firm as she brought the words to an end.

  The sound of applause tore Aviva's eyes from Jason’s penetrating gaze; coming back to herself she looked around at the gathered crowd and proffered a small bow to acknowledge their show of appreciation. Blowing a kiss to Hope and Steve, Aviva turned and made her way off the stage, heading straight for the balcony doors to get some much needed air. She knew she had a good singing voice and had been told so repeatedly growing up. The pastor of their church would always call on her to lead the praise and worship section of the Sunday service; it was at those moments her mother would be the most proud of her. Whenever Aviva thought of her life back in England, it brought back the good feelings of her mother’s love coupled with the realization that she was gone. She would never again be enfolded in her arms, never again hear the sound of her mother’s voice filled with encouragement that she could do and be anything she set her mind to.

  Chapter 6

  As the cool night breeze washed over her heated skin, Aviva's thoughts of her mother brought tears to her eyes. Looking up at the twinkling stars that bathed the heavens, she gave up a small prayer. “I love you mama, I hope you’re still proud of me.”

  “Who are you speaking to, Angel?”

  Aviva jumped as Jason’s deep voice penetrated her thoughts. Surreptitiously wiping the tell tail signs of tears from the corner of her eyes, Aviva turned, offering him a bittersweet smile.

  “I was speaking to my mother.”

  “Your mothers’ here?” Jason asked peering into the darkened corners that surrounded the balcony. “Where is she, I’d like an introduction and to congratulate her on her very talented daughter.”

  “She’s not here physically; she died when I wa
s seventeen. At moments like this, when I feel her presence surrounding me, I talk to her.” Aviva said, a gentle smile touching her lips as she remembered the kind, gentle soul that had been her mother. A woman, who throughout her life had made no mistakes except loving a man unworthy of her love, a man who had taken something pure and freely offered, ripping it to pieces and discarded the tattered remnants of her mother’s life; never once looking behind to see the devastation his selfish actions had wrought.

  “And your father, do you still have contact with him?”

  The look of gentle contemplation immediately left Aviva’s face and Jason knew he had said the wrong thing. Unsure as to the reason; he took a step closer and placed a long finger beneath her chin, raising her face so they looked into each others eyes.

  “What about your father, Angel?”

  Pulling away Aviva again raised her eyes the night sky. “He lives right here in California with his wife and family.”

  “His wife and family?”

  “Yeah, we don’t really speak, you see I’m his dirty little secret that came to America and almost destroyed his perfect life, with his perfect wife and their perfect children. And I prefer not to speak about him.”

  “I’m sorry Angel.”

  “Why should you be sorry my father wants nothing to do with me?”

  “Good question, now I think about it, I’m sorry for him, he’s not a part of your life and he’s missing out on the opportunity to know a very special woman.”

  “Stop it Jason, you don’t know me, in fact you don’t know anything about me and my name is Aviva, not Angel. Please go back inside; I just need a few moments alone to cool down.” Thoughts of her mother and father’s tragic love affair pulled up unwanted memories of anger, bitterness and pain for a man who was ashamed of her very existence. Tears of frustration sprang to her eyes as they always did whenever she thought of her father.