“So what’s your friend Max like?” Robert inquired as he fixed a plate and surprisingly handed it to her.
Leslie took the plate and waited for him to fix his own as she thought about how to describe Max’s personality.
“Hm. I guess he can be a bit snobbish. He’s pampered, and he’s kind of judging. Other than that he’s a great guy, he’s always there when I need him, trusting and—”
“Well at least you had nice things to say at the end.”
The voice caused Leslie and Robert to turn towards the person that was behind them. Max stood there in a casual black suit, looking like he was ready for work rather than his own birthday party.
“Yeah finding nice things to say is always the hardest part,” Leslie said as she threw a playful look to Max before taking a bite out of the juicy barbeque chicken her plate.
Despite not being properly introduced, Leslie could feel the static between the two confident men.
“And you must be Max, nice to meet you, and happy birthday,” Robert said with a smile, sticking his hand out. Leslie held her breath as she wasn’t sure which way this interaction would go, with Max being his judging self and all.
Max stared at the friendly hand a little longer than Leslie would have liked but to her relief he took it and shook it, returning the smile.
Leslie felt all the tension in her body release as the two began chatting about Max being a lawyer and Robert being in the Navy and such. Leslie chimed in every once in a while but she was just happy that Robert was socializing. He was even gathering a crowd, mostly women, who were interested in his stories from overseas. She had forgotten how charming he was.
Leslie excused herself from the story circle to head to the kitchen. One of the perks of knowing the host was that she got to raid the pantry for the good stuff.
Leslie whistled a little tune as she tried to locate the pantry with the good snacks. She hadn’t been in this place for a while so her memory was rusty, not that it would deter her. Eventually her persistence would pay off and she found the Holy Grail of snacks. All the stuff that she liked in one convenient little place.
“Thank you Max,” Leslie said with a grin as she pulled out a bag of chips.
“Well someone is being very sly.”
The voice startled her and the chips dropped from her hands. Leslie turned and found Max standing there leaving against the wall with a smug look on his face.
“Jeez, you scared me!”
“Shouldn’t have been snooping around.”
Max walked over and grabbed the bag of chips from the group and handed them to Leslie.
“You have my favorite snacks though,” Leslie said taking the chips from his hands and opening them up with a toothy grin. Max stood there and couldn’t help but to smile at Leslie’s excitement over a bag of chips.
“You’re really cute, you know that?” Max said as he approached Leslie, who was more concerned with the chips rather than the fact that Max was drawing closer.
Max grabbed the chips from Leslie’s hands, with much protest from Leslie, and placed them down on the counter. He took her salted fingers and placed one into his mouth not breaking eye contact.
Leslie watched as Max took her finger into his mouth and sucked slow. Shamefully, she felt a warm sensation in between her legs.
“Max,” Leslie withdrew her hand from his hold and brought it close to her. Her eyes went to the floor trying to make sense of what just happened. Max was with Bri, a very good friend of hers and here Max was sucking on her finger.
“Listen, because you clearly won’t figure this out on your own, I love you, I always have.”
Leslie shook her head unable to believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. Why now of all times? Besides she had feelings for someone else.
“But, Bri,” Leslie started, still in disbelief as she stepped back, steadying herself against the counter.
“She’s great. It’s just, she’s not you,” Max said grabbing hold of her shoulders and pulling her into a forceful kiss. Leslie placed her hand on his chest to push him away but found someone had beaten her to it. Before Leslie could even think twice, Max was thrown across the room with one swoop. Leslie gasped as she experienced a flash back to the bar where Robert lost control. Unfortunately, history was doomed to repeat itself because Leslie saw Robert place his heavy body on top of Max’s and raised his fist in the air.
“I knew there was something mental about you!”
Max yelled at Robert from the ground as the two began to fight, drawing the immediate attention from Bri.
The chaotic scene turned into the two women trying to pull Max and Robert away from each other. Robert’s eyes seemed to go black once again, and his face turned dark.
“Tell your girlfriend what you did,” Robert said through gritted teeth as he fought off Max’s flying punches. Leslie swallowed hard; Robert had seen what Max had just done but there was no time to dwell on that. Leslie finally managed to pull Robert off of Max by his collar.
“What is the matter with you?!”
Leslie’s palm made a heavy impact with Robert’s cheek, stunning everyone in the room to silence. Whether it was frustration, anger or fear, tears began to flow from Leslie’s eyes. The slap was enough because Robert returned to reality.
“Get out, both of you just get out,” Bri said suddenly as she kneeled beside the bloodied Max.
*****
Leslie let out a frustrated noise as she walked into the apartment with a sulking Robert behind her. Robert shut the door behind them and immediately went to the couch. Leslie placed her hands on her head as she leaned against the kitchen counter. It was déjà vu as she looked at Robert who was sitting in the exact same spot, in the exact same manner as he had the night before.
“You have to tell me what’s going on, I just, I don’t get it,” Leslie said, exasperated by everything that had just occurred. Robert hadn’t said a word, not in the whole car ride back and not now. His eyes just stared forward.
Leslie went to the unmoving man and kneeled before him, blocking whatever his eyes were so fixated on.
“Tell me something. What happened in Cuba that’s got you like this?” Leslie asked as she grabbed his face and made him look at her.
Despite the internal struggle that Robert was facing, he was clearly holding in a secret and it was making him lash out.
“You have to tell me. You’re losing yourself Robert, I can see it,” Leslie said as the tears began to flow from her eyes again. She felt an overwhelming sadness over the fact that Robert was hurting and he couldn’t even tell her. They had always told each other everything, no secrets. But now there was a huge one looming over his head.
“Robert, please,” Leslie whispered. She found it difficult to stop the tears flowing out of her eyes.
Robert looked at her silently, his face blank and unresponsive to her plea. His hand lifted up and brushed some tears that flowed down her cheek. He then leaned in and kissed her damp cheek, still not answering her question. For some reason she didn’t care about at that moment, she felt better with each kiss he was planting on her cheeks.
Leslie reached out and grabbed his shirt pulling him down to her level. He stared at her, surprised by her actions, and then his golden eyes lit up like fire. He laid her down on the floor and kissed her lips gently.
“I’m sorry for making you cry,” he said against her lips before kissing them again. Her tears had stopped at that point and all she wanted was to kiss him more.
Robert happily obliged this and continued kissing her as his hands began to roam her heated body. Leslie moaned against his lips as all the worry and sadness melted away with Robert’s increasing touch. Leslie bit at Robert’s bottom lip, pressing her body against his and causing him to moan in response.
His hand disappeared under her dress and began to rub his hand against her smooth stomach. Robert removed his lips from hers and went to her neck, nipping and biting. Leslie gripped at his broad shoulders
moaning for more as his cool hand slipped inside her panties. His thumb began to circle around her clit, making her wetter. She squirmed under him as his thumb continued to tease her clit. A finger then slipped inside of her and began to ease in and out of her.
Robert lifted himself up and looked at the flushed woman beneath him who was moaning out his name. All he could think about was making her scream out his name.
Leslie looked up at him through fluttering eyes as his fingers danced against her wetness. She bit her lip, feeling the climax approaching. But just as it did, he removed his hand. He went to remove his shirt. His body, marked by scars, took her by surprise but did not scare her. Her fingers went up and touched the scars that graced his skin; he must have been through hell. The thought alone began to sadden her again. Robert took her fingers and kissed them just then.
“Don’t look like that,” he said as he leaned in and kissed her again.
He proceeded to take her panties off and throw them to the side, giving her a wink as he did so. Leslie couldn’t help but to let out a little laugh at the action as he nestled himself between her legs. The laugh turned into a moan as his hardness hit her clit just right. Robert managed to get the rubber on himself while Leslie put her lips to his neck, sucking and licking.
Robert let out a little growl as he took her hands and pinned them above her head with one hand. His other hand was used to tease her a little more in her more constricted state. Leslie moaned out his name, pleading for him to put it inside her already.
He obliged her silent request and pushed his dick through her slick opening. She welcomed him without hesitation as her legs naturally wrapped around his waist. He began to roll his hips into her and felt the wave of pleasure fall on him over and over again. They continued like this as their moans began to fill the quiet space of the apartment.
Leslie rolled over causing her to be on top of Robert without breaking the physical contact. Robert looked up at her with a smirk which she quickly wiped off his face as she began to ride him at a steady rhythm. Leslie looked down at Robert’s pleasure-stricken face feeling proud of the fact that she was making him feel this way. She continued to ride him with his hands gripping her waist tightly and his hips thrusting upwards to meet her downward thrust.
“Leslie,” Robert moaned out her name, letting her know that he was close. Leslie leaned down and kissed his lips as she began to move her hips up and down at a more quickened rate. With a few more thrusts Leslie and Robert reached their climax together with a loud moan.
Leslie collapsed on Robert’s chest breathless. She felt his heart beating fast and hard against her ear. She smiled against his chest as his hands went to her back and rubbed the spot.
“Not that I mind the floor but a bed sounds better,” Robert said, still catching his breath.
Leslie chuckled and simply nodded.
“I wish my legs didn’t feel like jello,” she said lifted her head to look up at him.
“I can assist with that,” Robert said as he lifted himself up and picked Leslie up along the way. Leslie wrapped her arms loosely around his neck surprised by the sudden height difference.
He carried her to her bed and laid her down, placing the covers over her before getting in with her. He drew her close to him and Leslie responded by nuzzling against his chest. Her eyes were already closed and she was feeling her body succumb to sleep.
“What? No pillow talk?”
Leslie opened one eye to find that Robert’s eyes were closed as well. She let out a soft laugh at the comment as Robert’s chest began steadily to rise and fall. He was fast asleep. Leslie wasn’t far behind but the last thought in her mind was how Robert had used sex to avoid talking about what had happened to him in Cuba.
*****
Leslie wasn’t sure how many hours had passed after they had gone to sleep. She didn’t dream, just blackness, but through the darkness an ear-piercing yell broke the barrier of sleep. Leslie shot up from her bed and looked around, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, and went to the spot beside her where Robert lay thrashing about. A moment went by and another yell vibrated the walls.
Leslie threw the covers from her body and hopped up off the bed to turn on the lights. She went to Robert’s side hoping the lights would wake him, but they didn’t.
Leslie looked at the man who was fighting some sort of invisible opponent. She wasn’t sure how to approach this sort of thing, and painfully, Max’s earlier words rang in her ears. Those types of guys have mental issues. They see a lot of messed up stuff.
Leslie slowly approached the thrashing man. She called out his name, trying to wake him from his nightmare. She found herself slowly getting on the bed trying to stay clear from flailing arms.
“Robert wake up,” Leslie said. She placed her hands firmly on his chest trying to shake him awake. Robert, who was still very deep in his nightmare could only see the black shadow that was coming for his life. He tried his best to fight but was no match for the strong shadowy figure. Robert felt its hands on his chest and he grabbed at it with all his might.
In reality, Robert had grabbed Leslie and threw himself and her onto the floor with a painful thud. Leslie let out a cry as she felt the painful impact with the floor along with Robert’s weight on top of her.
“Robert wake up!”
Leslie struggled under the weight of the sleeping Robert who felt that she was the enemy in his dreams. His hands went to her throat and she immediately began to claw at his bare chest. When that didn’t work, Leslie gathered all the might that she had and threw a fist at him.
Finally, the grip on her throat loosened allowing air to properly enter her lungs. She scooted away from him until she hit a wall as she gasped and coughed. Robert looked around dazed and confused before locking eyes with her.
“Leslie,” he said, as he slowly made his way to her, still getting in touch with reality. “I did this to you?”
Leslie, who was still trying to get a normal breathing pattern in her lungs waved off his concern. She was scared, more than scared but she didn’t want him to see that, as crazy as that felt.
Robert came close to her trying to touch her but stopped inches short. He was scared to touch her now.
“I can’t stay here,” he said as he hung his head, avoiding her eyes.
“You have to tell me,” Leslie said as she placed a hand on her chest feeling the pain in her chest subside. “You have to tell me what happened, you need to tell someone, or things like this will keep happening, to whoever is near you.”
Robert nodded slowly; she was right and he knew it. He hadn’t told anyone. Not even his superiors at headquarters knew. And yet he was about to tell Leslie his deepest darkest secret.
*****
Leslie found herself sitting at her coffee table with Robert at 2 in the morning. He stared into his steamy cup of coffee as he prepared to tell Leslie what broke his mind in the Navy. A secret he was so scared to let out that even his superiors didn’t know.
“I killed my superior officer.”
Leslie’s eyes widened as the words came from his mouth so straightforwardly. Robert took Leslie’s silence as a sign to continue with his story.
Robert told Leslie that during a night watch, he and his superior officer were taken hostage by native thugs.
“We had been drinking so we weren’t on our best game,” Robert admitted. He continued on, telling her that despite his urging, Robert wouldn’t leave his superior side. Later into the night, they had been taken, tied up, and blindfolded. They were taken to the thugs’ hideout. Robert at the time didn’t know the exact outcome but he figured it would go something along the lines of torture and death.
“We got to the hideout and they took off my blindfold but something was weird.”
Leslie saw Robert shift in his seat pausing to recall the painful memory.
“My superior wasn’t there beside me, scared of death like I was but he was in front of me standing next to the thugs who had taken us.”
“Apparently he was in deep with some sort of drug trade and something big was going down that night. I wasn’t supposed to be there with him. I was supposed to get drunk and pass out or leave so he could sneak off and handle business.” Leslie felt Robert’s hand tighten under hers then.
“Anyway his plan was to kill me off, take care of the deal, then run back to base to tell them I had been taken hostage by some thugs. The ending of that would have been that they would find me dead and mark my superior a hero and send my body home telling my family – telling you – that I had died bravely and honorably.”
Robert took a sip of his coffee and took in a deep breath; he rubbed his eyes momentarily before continuing.
“I chose to fight, even if I was going to die I would take him down with me, and that’s what I did. I broke free of the ropes and I strangled him with them. One of the thugs knocked me out with a rifle butt. They must have thought I was dead, because they dumped both our bodies in some ditch. I crawled out barely conscious.”
Robert looked up at Leslie and flashed her a small smile.
“If it wasn’t for some family taking me in I wouldn’t have survived the night. I had to go back to my base and lie. For the sake of his family I lied and told them he died a hero, he died protecting me.”
Leslie stood up and went to him cradling his head in her chest.
“It sounds horrific,” Leslie said as she sniffled trying to stop the tears from coming. She lifted his face to look at hers as her tears trickled down her face.
“Shit, I made you cry again,” Robert said with a chuckle, as he stood up and hugged her close. “This time I know what to do to make you feel better.”
Robert leaned down grabbing her face and pressing his lips against hers. She smiled against his lips after a moment at the same time wiping the tears from her eyes.
She leaned back and looked into his eyes, they looked sad and that was understandable considering what he went through.
In Time to Love Page 26
