Sleepless Fate

by Janae Keyes

  “Yep, born and raised, my parents also.”

  “It seems nice to have roots somewhere,” he commented, looking out at the water. He looked back down to me and gave me a smile. “Maybe I’m planting my roots now, with you.”

  “Maybe,” I said with a soft smile. I shivered at the breeze. The day was starting to grow old and the air was starting to cool. I could see a slight marine layer starting to build on the horizon and I knew sooner than later it would begin to get foggy. That was the thing about the San Francisco Bay Area, the fog could attack at any given moment.

  “Let’s get you somewhere warmer,” Patrick declared as he pushed to help me stand. I stood and picked up my caftan to cover my strapless tankini as I had done earlier.

  Once we finished folding the blanket I slipped my flip flops on and allowed Patrick to take me by the hand. We took our time walking along the beach and back towards the parking lot. I felt Patrick squeeze my hand and I looked over in his direction.

  “I hope you had a great time today. I figured I wanted to do something drastically different from last night,” he said as we trailed our way through the cooling sand.

  “I had a great time last night and today. You’re a great date,” I declared because it was true. Inside, I was hoping that today wasn’t over. There was something about spending time with him that was exciting. I understood the feelings of being infatuated and enamored by a new relationship. It had been so long since I’d felt the butterflies and right now I wanted to keep them going.

  “That’s good to know. Do you want to change your clothes?” He asked as we approached a bathroom and changing station. “I figured you might not want to be in a bathing suit for the entire date.”

  “There’s more?” I questioned, feeling giddy inside.

  “Of course, there is more, Babe. I want to spend as much time with you as possible.” I wanted to scream and jump up and down in pure exhilaration as he revealed there would be more. I nodded in response to his original question and slipped my hand away from his as I made my way into the public beach restroom.

  AFTER A FORTY-minute drive, we arrived in the bay town of Sausalito. This city sat right across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. I was eager to figure out where we would be going. The sun had started to set and I figured dinner was going to be our next adventure. As it had cooled down, Patrick kept the top up for our drive from the beach. I’d learned that he had a thing for smooth jazz, and the ride was relaxing with the sounds of trumpets, bass guitars, pianos, and saxophones playing in the background.

  We pulled into the driveway of a large home. Patrick turned off the car and right away I figured this must be his place as we were parked next to his Mercedes. I opened my door, but before I could step out he was right there helping me from the car.

  “Is this your place?” I asked him as I realized we were right on the waterfront looking out at the Bay.

  “Yes, it’s mine. I just moved in actually,” he commented as he took me by the hand and we walked to the front door. Patrick produced a key and opened it, allowing me to step in as he turned on a light. Right away, I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was the most breathtaking home, I’d ever been in.

  “You actually live here?” I questioned as I gawked at everything around me. I walked further in, to find a sitting room with two very comfortable looking dark brown couches and a large armchair in the same dark brown suede. All of the seating had aqua colored throw pillows scattered around. Just out of the living room was a kitchen that rivaled my dream kitchen. All of the cabinets were oak and the countertops granite. The appliances were all stainless steel and there was counter space upon counter space, I knew my mom would have the best time cooking in a kitchen like this.

  “Want to see more?” He questioned and I nodded enthusiastically.

  He took me by the hand and we took the stairs to the second level. I was in love with the light hardwood floors and the cream colors of the walls. He pointed out to me that there were three bedrooms and three baths on this floor as well as another bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor. He held my hand tightly as he pointed out his master bedroom and then we arrived at another door.

  “This one is my playroom,” he commented, pointing to the door. I paused and stared at him.

  “Did you just pull a Fifty Shades on me?” I questioned right away.

  “What?”

  “What am I supposed to say now? Am I supposed to ask if this is where you keep your Xbox and instead you tell me it is your room of kinky sex stuff?”

  Patrick looked at me with a completely serious face, “Yes, that is it, exactly,” his voice was as serious as it could get and I couldn’t believe my ears, I wondered where the quickest exit was. Out of the blue he burst into laughter. “Sorry, but that was good. No, really, it is a playroom of sorts,” he pushed the door open and turned on the light. I followed him in to find that I was in a home theater. There were very comfortable looking leather chairs and a large screen. “And to note, I am more of a PlayStation guy.” He pointed over to the game console in the corner.

  “Gotcha,” I said with a giggle as I looked around the room that even had a popcorn machine. Right away I was excited at the thought of spending lazy Sundays in here, cuddled up with him, watching sappy romantic comedies.

  Patrick pulled me to him by my waist. His cinnamon scent floated through the air and into my nostrils. I could feel his breath blowing just slightly on my neck. “If you’d like a room of kinky sex stuff, I can make that happen,” he whispered seductively into my ear.

  “How about… no,” I said as I pulled away from him and gave him a sweet grin before leaving him alone in the room.

  I felt his hand on the small of my back as we went back downstairs. His house was a real dream home. I went with him into the kitchen where I took a seat at one of the bar stools, that were situated at the huge island in the middle. I watched Patrick wash his hands before he went to the fridge and begin to pull items out. He was actually going to cook for us.

  “So, what are you making?” I asked as I watched him go to a cabinet and pull out two wine glasses.

  “We are making burgers and having some great wine with them.” He responded as I watched him pull a bottle of Zinfandel from the fridge. I slipped from my spot at the counter and walked to Patrick, who had begun to uncork the wine. I peered at the label realizing it was of course from Gerald’s winery. “You can wash your hands at the sink and help me prep the meat and vegetables.”

  While Patrick poured the wine, I made my way to the sink and began to wash my hands. This was something I’d never done with Keaton. The food was always my job and Keaton would normally disappear to watch ESPN while I slaved away, but Patrick wanted us to cook together. I liked this change.

  “You like to cook, huh?” I questioned while I dried my hands.

  “I love it. The kitchen was the main selling point that got me to buy this house,” He told me and I smiled. It was amazing how much we seemed to have in common.

  “Same with my place. It was all about the kitchen,” I divulged and that seemed to put the biggest smile on Patrick’s face. I made it back across to the kitchen to where he was with a bowl of beef and various burger toppings that needed to be sliced.

  “I see lots of cooking dates in our future,” he seemed to coo. I grabbed a knife and a cutting board before taking a tomato into my hand. “Careful with that knife, it’s pretty sharp.”

  “Thanks for the warning, but I’m pretty good at using sharp knives,” I quipped.

  “I bet you are,” he countered with a sweet smile in my direction.

  SIPPING ON THE last of my Zinfandel, I leaned into Patrick’s arms. Our burgers had turned out fantastic and we had the best time working together to make them. Patrick grabbed a strawberry from the platter he had put together with fruits and cheeses for dessert. He brought the strawberry to my mouth and I took a bite of the tart saccharine treat. He was a sweetheart and he didn’t seem to have a mean, spiteful,
or vindictive bone in his body. He was made of the purest, most alluring attitude around, and as much as I loved this about him, I was afraid. I was afraid of him changing. Keaton had been a yo-yo of emotions. One minute he was like Patrick; he was sweet, kind, romantic, but the next moment he was a completely different person. I lived constantly on the edge, not knowing which Keaton I would get. I was scared of Patrick changing on me in the blink of an eye.

  Patrick fed me the rest of the strawberry as I looked out at the fire pit. I couldn’t wait to actually explore his backyard in the light of day, the only light I had for now was the fire pit, but beyond that I could see the sparkling skyline of San Francisco and the glow coming off the Golden Gate. This view was everything and sharing it with him was so much more.

  “Paddy, did you miss it out here when you were living in Germany?” I questioned as I moved to look at him better. I watched the light of the fire dance in his honey eyes.

  “All the time, but Germany is very nice. My favorite part was all the traveling I got to do. Any free time I had was spent exploring Europe. It was a great experience. I remember not feeling so sure about it when Gerald offered it to me, but I don’t regret it at all,” he explained. I wish I could have spent more time traveling. Keaton and I tried to travel often together, but after his accident I was afraid to leave. I wanted to be around in case he woke up. I wanted to make sure I was there. “I’d love to take you to Germany one day… and Italy. I loved Italy more than anywhere. We can eat our way through the whole country.”

  “I’m down,” I concluded. He bent and pressed his lips to mine softly. When the kiss broke, I snuggled into his arms deeper while he pulled the blanket over us a little more.

  WAKING UP I opened my eyes, but instantly closed them at the brightness that I encountered. Slowly, I opened them again. It took a moment for my eyes to focus as I realized I was no longer outside in Patrick’s arms, but I was in a large comfortable bed, alone. The room I was in was gorgeous. The walls were the same cream color I’d encountered all over Patrick’s house. On one side of the room where a wall should be there was only glass. I was looking right out onto the Bay and could see Alcatraz Island from where I lay. It was breathtaking. I noticed right in front of the bed there was a beautiful stone fireplace. The bed itself had to be a California King and had four posters with sapphire drapes across the it. The comforter was white, but I was surrounded by sapphire throw pillows. This was comfort at its best.

  Sitting up I could hear footsteps in the hall. No sooner had I noticed them than the door to the room opened and there was Patrick. He was already dressed for the day in a powder blue polo shirt and khaki shorts. He gave me a grin and I noticed he was holding a plate in his hand.

  “Good morning, sleepy,” he nearly sang as he came to me and sat the plate, which held a croissant and some fresh fruit, into my lap. “Would you like orange juice or coffee?”

  “Orange juice would be great,” I commented. “Thank you and you didn’t have to do this for me.”

  “Not a problem, Babe.” he said quickly before he rushed from the room.

  It was only a few minutes before he’d returned with a glass of orange juice for me. He sat on the bed with me while I ate and began to tell me about how we’d both fallen asleep outside. When he woke up, he had brought me up to his bedroom to allow me to sleep. Finishing my breakfast, I looked to Patrick who was watching me intensely.

  “I should get going soon, I guess,” I sighed, knowing I didn’t want to leave him, but not wanting to overstay my welcome in his comfortable home.

  “You don’t have to go. At least not now. Plus, I drove you here. You are practically my hostage,” he smirked. There was no way to not melt when he smirked, especially at this moment with his hair tousled around in the manner that it was.

  I beamed at him out of pure glee. Keaton and I were never playful like this. Maybe it was a symptom of how long we’d been together or just the way we were. This newly found relationship with Patrick was so fiercely different from what I had with Keaton. I hated to admit it to myself, but I liked this new relationship much better.

  “I think this is the ideal hostage situation. No need to call in a negotiation team for this one,” I satirized. Patrick rapidly put his arm around me and pulled me to where I was under him. I let out a yelp before he pressed his mouth to mine roughly.

  Kissing him I was taken away to another place. Every time he kissed me, I felt as if I was in an alternate universe. A universe where the only thing that mattered was my happiness, and the only two people in the world were Patrick and I.

  Patrick

  THE BEST WAY to fall asleep is with the girl of your dreams in your arms. I’d learned this last night as both Brielle and I had drifted to sleep together in my backyard and this morning having her with me was amazing.

  I planted kisses on the lips of my girlfriend as we sat watching sailboats pass on the bay waters. She’d spent the entire day with me, though I knew the time was getting close to when I would have to take her home, I didn’t want to. I allowed her to snuggle into my arms deeper.

  “I can get used to this,” Brielle mentioned. I knew I could, I’d waited years for this. The one girl I always wanted through everything, she was actually mine. It was hard to believe as I held her close and inhaled her vanilla scent.

  “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to be able to hold you,” I reminded her.

  I glanced down at her. I needed no prompting as I bent and pressed my lips to hers. That feeling I got every single time, ran through my veins. It was electrifying and the intensity shot through me.

  With every kiss my heart pounded as if it was the first time. Feeling her soft and supple lips connected with mine. I needed this, every single day. I strengthened the kiss. A buzzing was running through me, eager to have more of her. I licked at her bottom lip, asking for entrance and she obliged, parting her plump lips. I darted my tongue into her mouth, taking in the moment.

  She moaned into my mouth as I strengthened my grip on her. I knew she wanted to wait before becoming more intimate and I was willing to wait with her, but damn she was just too incredible. I worked to control my arousal that craved to get to know her. I battled her tongue with my own, fighting to pleasure her.

  My hand slipped down to her succulently thick thigh. I trailed my fingers along her soft skin as I worked my hand under her dress. My fingers barely grazed the cotton of her panties, she was wet. There was no doubt in my mind that she wanted it. I quickly gripped at the elastic band of her panties and started to slip them from her. She broke away from our kiss.

  “Patrick,” she panted. “We can’t… not now…”

  I was trying to not display the disappointment that was rolling through my system. I knew she wanted to wait and I’d gone too far with her.

  “I’m sorry, I went too far,” I apologized right away. She gave me a soft smile before running her hand along my face. Her touch was gentle and loving.

  “No, it’s fine. I want to, but I’m just not ready. I want to be ready, it will be much better for both of us. If that makes any sense.” It was obvious she was conflicted and convicted about it.

  “It makes perfect sense,” I remarked. I knew what she meant. Inside it was obvious to me that the wait would be worth it, I’d waited this long to call her mine, I could wait to have her completely. I could wait for the moment when I finally had her panting out and screaming my name.

  I moved her out of my lap and stood, giving her my hand that she took so I could pull her up with me. “Come on, we can walk a bit.”

  “Okay,” she answered as I laced my fingers with hers, she shivered, I loved knowing how she reacted to my touch. When I held her hand, it was as if our hands were made to go together.

  We strolled through my backyard. This house was the perfect buy. It was right on the water and my backyard stretched out down to the rocky shore. Reaching the massive crags of sediment, I pulled her close by her waist. She leaned her body into mine as we
looked out onto the water.

  “It’s so beautiful out here,” she breathed. I knew she was talking about the view, but all the beauty I needed was in my arms. I watched her look out at the water, I noticed a scar on her shoulder, it seemed old, possibly from childhood.

  “What’s the story behind that scar?” I asked as I ran the tips of my fingers over the slightly raised flesh. Brielle burst into laughter, there was obviously a good story behind it.

  “When my sister and I were kids we were riding bikes near my grandma’s house. We were coming down a hill fast. My sister wanted to prank me and she stopped in the road knowing I would have to swerve around her. I ended up swerving too hard and hitting a parked car and flipping over it. I was pretty cut up all over, but this was where the bike landed on my shoulder after I hit the ground. I had to get stitches there,” she explained with a smile on her face. I pressed my lips against the puckered skin of her shoulder and she shivered slightly.

  I always wondered what it would be like to have siblings. Though what her sister did wasn’t the nicest thing, she seemed to be able to laugh about it now. I liked the idea of having a mate for life that understood everything about me, but I also didn’t mind being an only child and being the only one my mom loved.

  “That doesn’t sound like Anam,” I commented thinking of Brielle’s older sister that I’d met at her grandma’s party.

  “You didn’t know pre-wife and mom Anam. She was a character and still is. Though we get along better, she can still be my bossy big sister.”

  I loved the conversations we had. I absolutely loved the way Brielle’s face glowed when she talked about her family. To me it seemed that her family is what kept her going over the years, she went through a lot with Keaton’s accident and they were her lifesavers.

  I nuzzled my nose into her neck, she giggled as I inhaled her vanilla scent. I planted a kiss on her pulse point and she leaned into me more. I already knew how to make her weak, my lips curved into a smile. The moment I could have her would be everything and more. I was going to love every bit of her body. I would take my time with every curve and dimple, planting kisses along the way. I would touch her most intimate parts with longing. I was going to give her a passion she’d never known before. My name would be on her lips and she would be all mine.