* * *
Abi
* * *
I thought I’d have a pounding headache the next day but was surprised that I felt fine. Actually, I felt more than fine. I’d woken up with a buzz. I felt light like I could just float away, and my skin tingled with excitement I knew I should restrain.
God, that was one wild night.
It was a night spent indulging on each other, as if it was our last. I’d completely dropped my guard and released my deepest inner desires. When I thought back I should have been appalled at myself, and the way that I’d behaved with Scott. It was like we’d been possessed by passion and nothing had existed outside us. Not the past, present, or future.
The whole day had been wild, with all the crazy things that had happened to throw us together for the night. Although, in a twisted way, I could say it was like the universe had worked overtime to get us together. But I knew the buzz I felt now, and the excitement that rippled through me was only temporary.
I’d be treading on dangerous ground if I thought otherwise. It was simply fun I would treat as separate from the past.
I could hear Scott’s voice in the bathroom, and then he came out in nothing but his boxers and sat on the chair opposite the bed. He had his phone pressed to his ear and seemed to be talking to the garage. I pulled the sheets over my breasts and sat up.
“Okay, thanks. We’ll see you soon.” He said into the phone then rested it on the bedside table. “Babydoll.”
“Hi.” I smiled at him.
“Come here.” He reached out his hands for me. I slid off the bed with the sheet wrapped around me and walked over to sit in his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and enjoyed the soft kiss he placed on my lips.
“The car’s going to be ready in an hour.” He told me smiling against my lips.
“My gosh, what will we do for an hour?” I teased.
“I have a few ideas.” He returned my smile, but then a look of concern washed over his handsome face. “What will we do after?”
“Get Margo and go back to San Francisco.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Where’s your room at the hotel?”
“It’s the furthest from everyone. I confirmed my booking late.”
“Come stay with me.” He held my gaze and took my hand into his. “Abi, please. Come and stay with me. It’ll be fun. I promise.”
I didn’t doubt that. What I feared was what I was getting myself into. But the fear wasn’t enough for me to say no.
“Yes.” I smiled.
“Yes?” The excitement on his face to be with me was also something I wanted to remember. Again, I’d never seen it before.
My view of our breakup was bad enough as it was, but, since yesterday, I’d seen several things in him that I hadn’t seen when we were together, even when things were good.
We indulged in each other one last time before leaving.
After we got to the garage, it took next to no time to get out on the road and off on our mission to collect Margo. From the route we traveled, it took less than eight hours, and that was with a short stop for lunch and a quickie in the car. During the journey to Phoenix, between kissing whenever we could, we listened to our favorite songs on the radio and talked about everything that was going on in our lives.
We got to Phoenix before four. Margo flew out of the station’s entrance before we could even park. We got out to greet her. I hugged her hard and felt bad as I looked my friend over. Poor Margo looked completely drained as if she’d been through a lifetime of wandering around in the wilderness.
“You guys are the best!” she said, crying with joy. “Thank you so much for coming to get me.”
Scott hugged her and kissed the top of her forehead. “No thanks needed.”
I sat in the backseat while Margo rode in the front. It would have been kind of weird if it was the reverse because, according to everyone, Scott and I weren’t together, and there was no way on God’s green earth that anyone would guess the sort of wild time we’d had.
For the whole journey back to San Francisco, we listened to Margo tell her tale of her encounters at the bus station. She was always a big talker, and never bored you because of the excitable way in which she spoke. She was one of those people who could see the funny side to a bad situation. Like now, She was laughing at how foolish she’d been for running away, then her bag going missing. She joked about how it was only her that something so bizarre could happen to.
She told us how she spoke to some Buddhist monks for an hour while they waited for their bus and how she learned how to truly meditate.
Then, Margo being Margo, had to elaborate on the technique, and told us how to do it, too. She continued to tell us how she learned a little bit of sign language so she could communicate with two deaf children and that she’d seen a dog with three legs, and an African gray parrot. She told us all sorts of things, and I had to wonder how all of that could have happened in the time that she was at the station.
The talking made the journey go fast. It was weird being so close to Scott, yet not being close. From time to time, I’d catch him looking at me in the rearview mirror. Seeing him gave me that tingle and warmed my cheeks.
At one point, the look he gave me was so obvious and sexual that I could almost read his thoughts. I couldn’t wait to get back and go to his room.
By the time we got to San Francisco, it was just after midnight. The journey had taken a little bit less time than they had thought because the roads were quite clear, unlike yesterday. That was brilliant for Margo because the wedding was in fourteen hours and she had a lot to sort out.
As late as it was, we could see Cole waiting in the foyer for Margo. Margo didn’t really elaborate on what she h told Cole, but Scott and I hung back in the corridor to avoid any suspicion. As far as everyone knew, Margo was still just delayed at the hospital.
When Cole saw Margo walk in, he rushed straight over and hugged her, picking her up and spinning around with her. The two hugged each other as if they hadn’t seen each other in years, and love emanated from them, filling the room, filling the entire surroundings with its force. I took a moment to appreciate the sight.
“Cole, I’m so sorry,” Margo was saying into Cole’s thick mass of dark hair.
“Don’t, don’t. I’m so glad you’re here Margo.”
I focused on him and was in awe of the love I saw in his eyes for my friend. At the same time, I could feel Scott’s eyes on me. The pull of his stare was so compelling that I turned to face him. He was looking at me indeed, his eyes speaking a million things. But there was one thing that stood out.
A hint of sadness sparked in his eyes. I wondered if he was thinking the same thing as me, the thing I’d been putting off thinking about since this morning: that time was catching up with us. Catching up and slipping away, and all we really had was one more night together.
He placed his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. I rested my head on his chest as we turned around to head to his room.
Scott opened the door and watched me as I walked inside. I walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the large garden. When I turned around, I saw that he was still watching me, but it was the way he looked at me that held my attention. His eyes were filled with adoration. No one had ever looked at me like that before. No one. The stare undressed me right down to my soul. There was something different about the atmosphere around us. It was not because we were back here, in a different room and in San Francisco. No, it was something else, something I couldn’t quite describe. Whatever it was, it enhanced the mood, the passion, and the desire that rippled in waves around us.
I continued to watch him as he moved towards me, my eyes traveling over the powerful build of his muscular body. We didn’t speak. He just kissed me, and I fell into the sweetness of him, savoring the moment, savoring the time that we had. There was a dreamy intimacy to their kiss and to the way he touched me now. He touched me as if he wanted to store the memory of how I fel
t in his arms.
He undressed me and scooped me up so he could settle me down on the bed. Desire burned inside me as I watched him undress, too. I wanted to remember him, the way he looked, the gorgeous masterpiece he was that rivaled the Greek gods, and the firm, thick, length of his hard cock. The soft moonlight mingled with the amber glow that filled the room, bathing him in it.
When he slid into me, a shock wave coursed through my entire body, tantalizing me with soldering heat. But there was something else that amplified it which I hadn’t been able to describe. I knew what it was now, and it almost terrified me.
It was love.
This was supposed to be fun, but I’d opened the door and let love in . The love I’d worked so hard to rid from my system for all those years. It washed over me, but it wasn’t just me. Scott touched me in a way he never had before. It was like his hands were all over me, and he couldn’t get enough, like he couldn’t touch me enough. Was I imagining it?
I couldn’t tell because my own feelings were getting in the way. What I did know, though, was that some force took over us, bounding our bodies together. When we came, it was as one with a release that fueled me to new heights.
And, still, we didn’t talk. He just held me against him, as if I were his.
* * *
He made love to me all night. Each time, the feeling I felt was reaffirmed.
As the first hint of twilight broke through the sky before sunrise and the diffused pinkish light scattered across the scene that lay before me, a tear ran down my cheek. I wiped it away but failed to keep the rest from falling. Reality was setting in full force with the truth of the situation. It struck out at me, striking my heart, and going deep into my soul. I was nineteen when I first met Scott. I’d done everything with him. Everything. He was the first man I ever slept with, the first person I gave my heart to, and these few short days showed me that he probably was the only person who would have it.
But I couldn’t be with him. The horror of how I felt when we were last together filled me and made me anxious. There was no use trying to sugarcoat how I felt. The truth of the matter was that I loved him. I had never stopped. All I had done over the last six years was suppress my feelings.
But he would never love me . When I thought of his lifestyle, it made me feel worse. I could never hope for more because he was a famous football player, part of an extremely prestigious team, and, with that fame, came all the women. Women in droves, the fans and groupies I’d have to compete with.
I didn’t have the strength for it. My heart didn’t have the energy, and if I allowed him to break my heart once more, I didn’t think I’d be able to repair it. I looked at him, still asleep. His arms were around me, holding me close to his heart. He was just as beautiful to look at asleep as awake, and that was all it would be with him, physical.
Careful not to wake him, I slipped out of his arms and off the bed. I got dressed and left, making it to my room before the tears truly came.
Chapter 6
Scott
* * *
I reached for her, but my hands came away with nothing. The realization made me sit up quickly and look about the room.
Damn. What time was it?
I looked over to the silver clock on the wall and saw it was nearly eleven. Shit. How had I slept for so long?
“Babydoll!” I called out for her, hoping she was in the bathroom, but I was met with silence. I was supposed to be ready for pre-wedding family photos in an hour. The wedding was at two, but there was a lot planned before that. Margo would be getting ready now.
I got up and walked through the suite looking for Abi. To my dismay, I saw that she’d left. I was hoping she would have stayed, but maybe she went to be with Margo. She was after all her maid of honor, so I had my fingers crossed that that was all it was. I knew it was D-day for us but hadn’t acknowledged it as such.
Although I should have been getting dressed, I sat back on my bed to take a few minutes to think. The last two days were supposed to have been just fun.
The old me would have considered it as such, and I might have been persuaded to think that if the woman wasn’t her, my Babydoll.
I would be some kind of idiot to think of all that had happened as just fun. It wasn’t. I didn’t know at what point it stopped being about fun, but that point had already come, and we’d already turned into something more. I didn’t want this to be some kind of fling or some kind of hookup with my ex during my sister’s wedding. It was more than that. It was crazy to have even had that thought.
The first night had been indeed wild and completely unreal, but it set the chain in motion for how I felt now. How I felt from last night.
Last night was something else. It felt like some sort of energy and force had filled me as if all that I felt for her was gathered into one mass of emotion and that I couldn’t get it all out. That was the best way that I could describe it, and all I knew was that I wanted to be with her.
I’d been thinking about it on the journey yesterday. There were three weeks before the summer camp. I was supposed to go rock climbing with the guys but I’d pass and spend those weeks in New York with Abi. The biggest chunk of my time for the rest of the year would be taken up by the camp, training and, of course, I’d be playing when the season kicked off.
During that time while she may not see me during the week I’d mapped out my weekend travel to New York. Depending on when I was playing I was sure I could fit time in to see her.
Whatever happened I would make sure things would be different this time if she gave me the chance. I knew I was going out on the limb, making an assumption that she wanted to be with me, but I also knew how I felt. I knew I couldn’t be without her. I didn’t even want to contemplate it and I hoped that she felt the same.
On that thought, I got up again and started getting ready.
* * *
Abi
* * *
I did a good job of disguising my puffy eyes with my Chanel concealer. I did that before arriving at the bridal room where I was getting ready with the rest of the bridal party.
The artist had done my makeup beautifully and, like the rest of the bridesmaids, I had my hair rolled into something Romanesque with loose tendrils caressing the edge of my cheeks and white lilies that matched my bouquet adorning the back. It was beautiful and complimented the peach-colored dress I wore. It made me feel like a princess.
The others looked amazing, too. There was Alana and Elizabeth, who were Margo’s older cousins, and Rachel, one of Margo’s work friends. Margo, however, was the very definition of beauty. The Vera Wang gown she wore was stunning, and she looked breathtaking.
It was hard not to cry, harder because I had spent the morning crying over Scott. At the thought of him, tears threatened to come again, but I held them back. I didn’t think the makeup artist would be too happy if she had to redo my makeup.
Margo came over to me and smiled the smile of a woman in love who was over-eager to get married to the man of her dreams.
“Hey, can we talk?” She asked and motioned for us to go outside.
“Sure.” I nodded, putting on a brave face. We walked out onto the patio and sat in the white wicker chairs that added to the ambiance of the scenery.
“Are you okay?” Margo asked, running her hands over her dark mane of hair.
“Yeah. I’m good. I’m so excited about today.” I probably sounded way too perky, like I was trying too hard. I’d have to tone it down a notch when I next spoke.
“It almost didn’t happen. Thank you for coming to get me, and for just being there.”
“You know I’ll always be there for you whenever you need me,” I assured her.
“Abi, If I know nothing else, I know that.” Her bright blue eyes sparkled with appreciation.
“How are you feeling? I know you’re excited, but are you and Cole okay with … you know, his revelation?” I had to ask and felt it was my duty to. As friends, we’d always promised each other to be re
al, and not step around a problem.
“After the last two days, I realize that sometimes you just have to let things go. I mean the man treats me like a queen, and I know he would never hurt me. He’s it for me. Cole is it for me. To say I love him doesn’t quite seem enough, and I think that I panicked when he told me what happened.” Wow. Margo’s words were full of strength and power, full of confidence in her decision. “I won’t say that I wasn’t upset. I was livid and furious, but leaving made me see how much I love him, and when you love someone like that, they’re worth holding on to.”
I nodded in agreement, feeling so happy to hear that. I was truly happy for Margo and Cole, but, at the same time, I couldn’t hide the fact that I was sad for myself. The truth of the matter was I loved Scott but would never have the kind of love Margo spoke of with him.
If I continued this wild saga of ours , even for another day, it would be to my detriment. Being with him would be like watching a movie you’d already seen before, knowing how it ends and wishing for it to change.
“That’s really great, Margo. I’m so happy for you guys.”
“Thank you. So, is there any chance of you telling me what’s wrong?” Margo raised an intuitive eyebrow.
I smiled. “I’m okay. Maybe just tired.”
“I saw you leaving last night with Scott.”
“Did you?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Did you two get along on the journey?” The inquisitive look she now gave made me smile.
“We did.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Play of Love: The Gladiator Players Box Set Page 31
