Flash

by Stella Andrews

  Sunny’s group may have been allocated the best rooms but they don’t take up the whole top floor. The only thing separating her from her adoring public is some bozo positioned in the hallway.

  He looks up as I head to the room down the hall from hers and looks a little surprised and who can blame him? I’m not your average hotel guest looking like I do and I just glare at him before he looks hurriedly away. Bypassing the usual key card system, I let myself into the room easily and look around with interest.

  How the other half lives. The best that money can buy and far above anything the rest of us ever get to experience. In a way, I’m glad Sunny gets to because I always promised her everything. I wanted to be the one to make her dreams come true and see that spark in her eyes as I delivered her the world. However, the only thing I saw in those baby blues was devastation and now it’s up to me to put that right.

  I head out onto the balcony and look across to her room. There’s quite a drop between the balconies but nothing I haven’t jumped before. I see the light is on and the drapes a little open. The wind is blowing the drapes through the door opening and I picture her inside. Is she alone? Did she meet someone else in the time I was gone? My heart is heavy as I think of that possibility but I know I can’t back out now. If I don’t like what I find, I’ve only myself to blame, so with a deep breath, I steady my nerve to go in search of resolution.

  Sunny

  The walls are closing in on me and I’m struggling to breathe. How did my life change so dramatically in such a short space of time? I was happy and had everything I thought I wanted until Tyson left me. It happened on the same day I signed my recording contract and so, on one hand, I got everything I ever wished for and then lost it in the other.

  The hurt and betrayal were soon mixed with anger and that has lived with me ever since. The cherished memories I have are now tainted by reality and seeing him today brought them back with a vengeance.

  I tried everything to distract my mind from thinking of him and soaked in the tub for a good hour, trying to find a sense of inner peace that deserted me years ago. I ordered up room service, but it remains untouched on the silver platter in the corner of the room. I even tried to reach for my notebook and put down words to my misery but all the creativity inside me is lost.

  I wrap myself in a thin robe and stand at the window, looking out on the stars. The breeze cools me and reminds me that nature still exists, despite the concrete world I now inhabit. Sighing, I lean on the balcony and imagine the lives of the people below. Are they happy? Some of them are, then again, there’s so much suffering in the world, who am I to wallow in my own misery, when to them I have it all?

  As I watch the city below, something moves on the corner of the balcony and I swing my head around in fear. I know who it is even before he moves into the light and my heart starts banging so hard, I’m sure he can hear it, “Hello, Sunny.”

  I step back in surprise and the rail bites my back as I reach out to steady myself and say in a whisper, “Tyson?”

  He moves forward and my breath hitches as he reaches me and I see the look in his eyes, pain, regret and something I can’t deal with right now, love.

  For a while, no words are spoken and we just look at each other in disbelief. Tyson always was a good-looking son of a gun but the man who stands before me now is magnificent. He has a hardness to him that wasn’t there before. A rugged appearance that causes the desire to flare up inside me that has no business being there. I shiver inside as I run my hungry eyes over his entire body and picture the things that body used to drive me to.

  He’s looking at me with a look of desperation mixed with so much lust it’s hard to breathe. His chest rises and falls rapidly and I see the need in his expression as he devours me with one hard look. My legs feel weak and I want him so badly I can’t even think straight.

  The voice that speaks to him comes from a part of me that’s still functioning, as I say softly, “I knew you’d come.”

  He makes to step toward me but I hold up my hand. “No.”

  He nods and steps back a little and I swallow hard. “The trouble is Ty, you’re about four years too late.”

  I see the flash of pain in his eyes as he nods, “I know.”

  A rush of air leaves my lips as I expel the breath I’ve been holding and the anger returns.

  “So, what happened, did you get lost on the way, lose your memory or get abducted by aliens because I believe you owe me an explanation at least?”

  He raises his head and I see the surprise in his eyes. “I wrote you a letter.”

  “A letter, are you serious? You decide to turn your back on me and our future and think a letter will cut it? Well, for your information, I never got any letter and even if I had, it wouldn’t have made it any better. You left me, Tyson, when I needed you and I can never forgive you, so get out.”

  I face him with all the years of rage and fury, hurt and loneliness, blazing in my eyes and for a moment he appears at a loss for words. Then, he reaches out and grabs my hand, pulling me into that infernally hard chest and wraps his arms around me so tightly it shuts the whole world out. Leaning down, he whispers, “I should never have left you, Sunny, please let me explain.”

  Just for a minute, I sink into his arms as his familiar scent wraps me in memories of when life was perfect. Then reality bites and I struggle and push him away. “You have five minutes which is five more than you deserve. Not here though, inside.”

  I walk into the room, conscious of the man who follows me. Just breathing the same air as Tyson is enough to make me ditch my principles in a heartbeat but years of hurt won’t allow me.

  I walk across to the cut-glass decanter and pour myself a large shot of whiskey and then one for him. As I hand it to him, our fingers brush together and I pull away as if it burns. Raising my glass, I say bitterly, “To the kids we were and the fucked-up adults we became.”

  I shoot the liquid to the back of my throat and relish the burn. As the alcohol penetrates my pain, it numbs it for just a fraction before it all comes back in a rush. I notice that Tyson sets his glass down intact and I laugh dully. “You never were much of a drinker, were you, honey?”

  He looks at me with a storm raging in his eyes and I swallow hard. Unsure of what to do next, I reach for his glass and knock that back as quickly as the first. He runs his fingers through his hair and says in a rough voice, “For fuck’s sake, darlin’, leave the liquor in the bottle. It doesn’t solve a thing.”

  Laughing bitterly, I reach for the decanter and say with tears in my eyes, “It sure helps though.”

  Tyson moves across and whips my hand away and pulls me beside him on the couch. I see a fierceness in his eyes that I recognize. He’s angry. Emotional and angry, a lethal combination where he’s concerned.

  Feeling all the fight drain out of me, I slump back against the cushions and say in a weary voice, “Ok, four minutes and counting. This had better be good.”

  5

  Tyson

  When I saw Sunny close up on that balcony, I saw the girl I loved more than anything, wrapped up inside a bitter exterior. The thing that hurts the most is the realization I’m the man responsible. My heart started banging the moment I saw her. The soft, silk, robe, that did little to hide the curves that were always so familiar to me. The light spun gold of her hair that floats around her like a silk curtain and hangs long down her back. The scent of the woman I vowed to love forever and yet deserted so cruelly when she needed me most.

  The memories come rushing back and it’s as if the last four years never happened. But they did and now we have to deal with what happened before either of us can move on.

  I never intended on pulling her into my arms but it was the most natural thing to do. When I felt her tremble against my body, I felt complete. This woman is mine and I should never have given up on us. Now I need to explain and I’m not sure she will ever forgive me.

  She sits in the seat looking so fragile, just one touch
would break her and it makes me mad. Sunny has been broken and I’m not stupid enough to think it’s all my doing.

  Reaching out, I take her hand that hangs limply in mine and say hoarsely, “You say you never got my letter. I kind of should have seen that one coming. You see, when we went to the recording studios for you to sign your new contract, you were buzzing—we were buzzing. This was it; you had made it and were gonna be a big star.”

  She shrugs and I squeeze her hand. “I overheard something that should have made no difference but at the time it made all the difference.”

  Her eyes narrow and I shake my head. “You were caught up in the whole thing. Publicity photos, interviews, the lot. I sat on the side-lines and watched the whole thing with so much pride in my heart I could burst. You were so happy, so beautiful and so talented and you were all mine. I couldn’t be prouder than I was at that moment until I listened to the devil and sold my soul.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I went to the restroom and passed an open door to one of the executive’s offices. I heard someone mention your name and stopped to listen. They were talking about your career and how far you could go and then they mentioned me.”

  “You?”

  I nod bitterly. “Yes, they said it was unfortunate you’d tied yourself to a deadbeat who would only hold you back. They said in the industry only single girls flew high and any old boyfriends were deadwood to be burned. You would stand a far greater chance with me gone and fly higher than anyone they had ever signed if only you could ditch your past.”

  Sunny looks at me angrily. “Is that it? The reason you left, because of a conversation you overheard?”

  She stands up and paces angrily, “For fuck’s sake, Tyson, you know me better than that. Did you really think I cared about flying high as you put it? I just wanted to make music and if I had a choice, it would always be you, Tyson, it was always you.”

  She starts to cry and my heart breaks a million times over again. I move toward her but she holds up her hand and says bitterly, “Don’t, just don’t. You left me at the first sign of trouble and made me feel as if I wasn’t worth the fight. You gave up on us because of something you thought was gonna happen. Well, thank you, Tyson, because you sold me down the river and sent me off to a life that ain’t worth shit. I’m a performing pony in Grady’s rodeo and trapped in a world I never wanted. The worst thing is, I’m trapped in here alone because I lost all my friends the minute I signed my life away. You gave up on me before the ink was dry and I’ll never forgive you for that. So, get out and leave the way you came and I never want to see you again.”

  The sight of the broken woman before me hurts me way more than her words and I feel the frustration burning a hole in my heart. Shaking my head, I stand and with one sharp move, pull her to me and growl, “I’m not leaving you because once was enough. Even if you despise me to my dying day, I’m fighting for you now like I should have done then. Hit me, hate me, scream at me all you want because it’s nothing I haven’t heard every day in my mind since the day I left. Let me make it up to you, Sunny because despite your words, I know you need me just as much as I need you.”

  I think she’s gonna pull away but as she moves back her hand whips around sharply and connects with my face in a powerful blow. I feel the sting as she stands before me with her eyes blazing and spits, “Fuck you, Tyson Rivera. Fuck you to fucking hell. How dare you come in here after four years and try to pick up where we left off?”

  With a low growl, she moves toward me again and slaps me hard on the other cheek. My head jerks back and yet I stand my ground and stare at her saying, “Hit me all you want darlin’, I’m not leaving.”

  With an anguished cry, she pushes me hard until I stumble back and the table tips, causing the lamp to fall to the polished wood floor. The noise causes a sharp knock on the door, “Is everything ok in there, Miss. Scott?”

  She looks up and the expression in her eyes brings a smile to my face. She looks like a kid caught in a candy shop and I watch her mouth twitch as she puts her hand over mine and shouts, “Sorry, Eric. I fell into a table. I’m fine but the same can’t be said for the table.”

  She tries to stop the infectious giggle that always made me laugh alongside her and he says loudly, “Do you need a hand in there?”

  “No, I’m good. Thanks anyway.”

  Slowly, she moves her hand away from my mouth and I watch the passion burning in her eyes as she says softly, “You hurt me, Ty.”

  Reaching out, I take her hand in mine and hold it to my heart and say softly, “I’m sorry, Sunny.”

  The tears sparkle in her beautiful eyes as she whispers, “I missed you so much.”

  I watch the quiver of her lips and the pain in her eyes and I am crushed. I did this to her, not Grady and the life she fell into – me and if I’d been stronger, I could have protected her. Pulling her close, I whisper, “I let you down darlin’, let me make it up to you.”

  She trembles in my arms and it sends a feeling straight to my heart. This woman is mine and always has been and always will be and now I need to fight for her where I never did before.

  As she holds on to me tightly, I do nothing but savor the moment she’s in my arms. Whatever happens next will be up to her because I gave up any right to start calling the shots where she’s concerned. I just hope she’s a bigger woman than I am a man and can bring herself to forgive me and let me love her again like I never really stopped doing.

  6

  Sunny

  I feel so many emotions; I don’t know what to deal with first. Relief, anger, love, they all mix together into a lethal cocktail. I snuggle into Tyson’s arms as if I never left. It feels good to be here and despite my harsh words; I know I’ve forgiven him already. He was my first and only love and that emotion carries through the rest.

  After a while, I pull back and look up at the big, strong, man, I never thought I’d see again and smile softly.

  “It’s good to see you, Ty.”

  He smiles, and it’s as if the years melt away and we’re back on that front porch after a night spent making out on the rocking chair.

  I’m not sure what happens next but tonight, Tyson is all mine and even if in the cold light of day everything changes, I need this more than anything right now.

  Stepping back, I hold his eyes and unfasten my robe. I watch the desire consume him as he stares at me with a raging thirst for something that was inevitable the minute our eyes connected across the street.

  He watches in silence as I shrug the robe to the floor and sway my hips gently towards him. As I reach him, he makes to speak but I silence him with my finger as I drop to my knees and unfasten his belt. As I peel away the layers that keep the one thing I need from reaching me, my heart quickens as his cock springs free and I lick my lips in anticipation. He is tense and rigid and I love the fact he’s so turned on and all because of me. We always did have an amazing sex life, and it’s that memory I want to revisit because he owes me this at least. Running my tongue around the head of his shaft, I lick the drops that spill and taste heaven. His low groan is music to my ears as I cup his balls and roll them gently in my hands, massaging them until he pants, “Fuck me, this isn’t gonna take long if you keep on doing that.”

  Smiling against his velvet shaft, I take him in my mouth and to the back of my throat with ease. As his tip hits the back, I open wider and take him deeper and he fists my hair as he thrusts inside. I suck, lick and tease the thick cock of the man who was everything to me and relish every moment of it. As I make a claim to the man I once loved all over again, something shifts in the pattern of my life and I smile as he tenses and growls, “Enough, Sunny, I’ll come in seconds if you carry on.”

  Ignoring his words, I suck, harder, faster and squeeze his balls a little harder as he jerks and cusses, “Fuck me, oh fuck, fuck, fuck.”

  Then I feel the hot, salty, stream, hit the back of my throat and I take it all down inside. I want this, I want him, a
ll of it and this is only for starters. Four fucking years I’ve waited for this and tonight I’m going to be the greediest bitch in town because, by the time he leaves, he won’t be able to think of anything else but how good I make him feel.

  Almost as soon as he is spent, he lifts me up and carries me to the huge bed and lays me across it like a delicate piece of china. His eyes travel the length of me, as he devours every part of me as if checking I’m real. He strips the rest of his clothes from his body in haste and I shiver as I see the man he has become. Strong arms are decorated with the tattoos I always loved with a broad chest bathed in sweat that glistens in the moonlight. I see a new set of tattoos that will bring many questions but not now. Now I want that man who owes me this to make a claim to what was always his—me.

  I feel the bed dip as he sits astride me. His eyes pierce my soul as he lowers his lips to mine. My first taste of Tyson is the sweetest of drugs because I have been deprived for so long. As his tongue claims mine, they dance a familiar dance that banishes time. He tastes of home and freedom and happiness and I am drunk on the power of it. His rough hands scorch my body as he lights a trail between my legs. I groan as his rough, calloused, fingers, find the softest place within me and arch toward him like a delicate flower. I pant his name as he explores the part of me that was always his and my legs shake as he finds the spot that only he can. He sucks and bites my flesh as he makes his mark and my legs wrap around his waist as I beg him inside. “Please, Ty, I need you inside me.”

  He laughs and grips my wrists, hard, without care and with a sense of ownership that always drove me wild. “Not yet, darlin’. I haven’t tasted all of you yet.”