Always Wanted Forever

by Sarah Tork

  Xander exploded with laughter.

  “Stop laughing at me! Whaaa deee yuuu gev meh!”

  THEN THIS HAPPENED…. Bitch Blonde’s sparkly cream-coloured dress turned red…pink…white…blue.

  Her dress is so pretty! I thought, smiling at her dancing awkwardly in Xander’s lap.

  Why was she doing that?

  This wasn’t a strip club, he wasn’t going to pay her.

  Or was he?

  And if he was, why wasn’t she giving him his money’s worth?

  “Xander likes it naked,” I slurred, feeling my eyelids grow heavy. I was about to pass out.

  “Did you hear that, baby? Follow my darling’s instructions.” Xander instructed Bitch Blonde as I closed my eyes for a second.

  What? It’s not like she’s going to do that, just because he asks! I laughed inwardly at Xander’s crazy request. But when I opened my eyes she was straddling Xander in just a cream-coloured lace thong. I looked at Xander who was busy eyeing her downstairs.

  I fell off the couch with a thud. I wasn’t sticking around for this. It was definitely a private moment that only required two people, although Xander probably had no problem with an audience, or another participant.

  I was in the midst of people and blue clouds, when suddenly arms circled around me and I turned to see Xander dancing behind me, smiling happily, relaxed.

  “It’s only been a minute, panty boy.” I shouted into his ear, laughing.

  Amused, Xander shook his head at me as a server stopped in front of us with a tray of blue and green shots.

  He grabbed two shots and handed me one. “Are you ready?”

  I stared in bewilderment. “What’s this?”

  “A game changer!” Xander announced and downed his shot, then turned to me expectantly.

  I looked at the server and everyone dancing, they were all staring at me, waiting for me.

  Fuck it. I downed the shot and slammed the shot glass back onto the tray.

  “Happy?” I shouted to him.

  “Very,” he said, smiling…. evilly.

  THEN THIS HAPPENED…. Saturday April 20th 2013

  My head hurts… Bad.

  I stretched my sore joints across the plushness of what I assumed was my bed. I knew one thing: I was lying on it diagonally. My arm stretched out, reaching for my pillows so I could use them as a shield against eye piercing sunshine. I grimaced as the heat of the light burned a hole across my face. Slowly opening crusty eyelids, I gulped down nasty saliva. I glanced down for the first time and noticed I was in my pyjamas. So no matter how drunk I’d been, I’d been coherent enough to change out of my party clothes for tonight.

  Or did I?

  What if Xander brought me back and changed my clothes for me?

  Grabbing my phone off the side table, I called him.

  “Well, hello sleepyhead,” came Xander’s cheery voice. “Waking up late on the day of your father’s birthday party, I’m appalled!” He laughed through the phone. How did he know about my dad’s birthday party? Maybe I told him last night, while we were having ‘fun’?

  I glanced at the time on my phone and it was just after two in the afternoon. How could I have slept in that late? I had to get ready for the party and buy shoes to go with my outfit.

  “What happened last night?” I exhaled.

  He chuckled before responding. “A lot of things… A lot of amazing things!” I could hear the suggestiveness in his tone. I knew he did something with Blonde Bitch but did that warrant ‘a lot of amazing things’? Especially when I didn’t even remember what happened after the blue and green shot.

  “How did I get home?” I asked.

  “I brought you home.” he answered.

  “Weren’t you drunk too?”

  “Kind of, but I have a high tolerance for alcohol, so it was fine.” he informed.

  “What about my clothes… You didn’t change me, right?” I asked hesitantly.

  “Of course I didn’t!” Xander replied, sounding offended.

  I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You changed in the bathroom while I waited outside. I was a perfect gentleman.” He sounded as if he was declaring an oath in court.

  “Yeah, okay, Panty Boy.” I muttered. At least he hadn’t seen me naked.

  “Although,” Xander began, “I was surprised as I was getting ready to leave you.”

  My eyes narrowed suspiciously. “At what?”

  “At your parting gift,” he replied simply.

  My vision went blurry for a second. “What parting gift?”

  “A thank you gift for me. I was deeply touched by the gesture, considering everything that happened earlier.”

  “What did I give you?” I asked, my heart beating like crazy.

  “What I’ve wanted from the moment I met you.” he purred. “But don’t you worry, I gave something in return. To relieve the nakedness your beautiful bottom would have felt otherwise.”

  “What?” I stood and pulled my pants down. I stared in horror and disgust at what I was wearing instead of my plain black panties.

  A cream-coloured lace thong.

  “No!” I shouted through the phone.

  THEN THIS HAPPENED…. “Where the fuck did you take my party clothes?” I yelled into the receiver after showering, using an entire bottle of body wash to sanitize myself.

  He bursts out laughing.

  “It’s not funny you asshole! Where did you put my clothes?” I growled, doing my best to sound threatening.

  He sighed loudly. “You threw up on them, so I threw them out _”

  My eyes widened. “You did what! What am I going to do, the party’s in a few hours!”

  “Relax_”

  “Don’t tell me to relax! If you tell me to relax one more time, I’m going to hurt you…prison style… understand?” I growled, feeling the urge to smash through walls. He needed an ass kicking. I crossed my legs, holding the shakes down.

  “As I was saying, before you rudely interrupted me. All is taken care of, my dear.” he explained smoothly, oblivious to my hostility.

  “Oh yeah, how is that? How did you take care of everything?” I spat back unconvinced.

  There was a knock on the door.

  “What did you do now?”

  “I’ve sent reinforcements.” Xander explained. I opened the door, apprehensively, and blinked in shock. Dressed in a crisp black suit, looking like an editor for a major worldwide fashion magazine, a woman with a black bob stood outside my door. She held a portable rack filled with plastic covered hangers, flowing fabric edging out the bottom.

  “Hello, my name is Maria Tettles, are you Marisa?” she asked right away, scanning me, focusing a little too long on the towel wrapped around my waist.

  “Yes.” I muttered hesitantly to her and the phone.

  “That’s great!” Looking relieved, she pushed the clothing rack inside, making me jump out of the way.

  “What is this Xander?” I whispered into the receiver.

  Xander chuckled. “I told you, my dear. I’ve taken care of everything. Now hang up, it’s rude to talk on the phone while you have a guest.”

  THEN THIS HAPPENED…. Her head snapped up, eyes worried. “Oh my goodness, times going to be an issue.” She took out her phone and mumbled. “Gustavo, where are you?”

  “Gustavo?”

  “My dear.” Maria exaggerated. “Gustavo is beyond a miracle worker, just you wait and see what creation he’ll turn that drab dark brown hair of yours into.”

  I held on to my hair in defense, I liked its colour. A knock on the door interrupted our moment, Maria’s eyes shot up, exited.

  “Oh wonderful, he’s arrived! I hope he brought Sammy with him!” Maria expressed in relief as she went to open the door.

  “Sammy?” I asked to deaf ears.

  “Gustavo darling you made it!” Maria exaggerated in mock-worry after opening the door.

  “Show me the girl!” Gustavo ordered, marching into the room. He was
at least six feet tall, was wearing a white button down shirt, well-tailored red pants, and his feet were in spiked cheetah print loafers. The man dressed to impress.

  He pushed fancy gold sunglasses over his gelled blond hair, showcasing his cleanly shaved tanned skin. Behind him a woman with a cherry-red fringed bob, wearing a black blouse and skinny jeans, came shuffling in holding five black bags with Gustavo engraved in gold italic across each of them.

  Gustavo stopped right in front of me and raised a beautifully threaded eyebrow. “Do you know who I am?”

  “No….” I began to say but Gustavo’s expression quickly turned from attitude prissy man to appalled and disgusted man. “I mean…yes.”

  “I’m Gustavo!” he hissed in disbelief.

  “He’s Gustavo!” Red fringe jumped in after.

  “Gustavo!” Maria added snottily.

  They all glared down at me, waiting.

  “You’re Gustavo.” I repeated apprehensively to quickly save face. It worked, their appalled expressions quickly morphed into relief.

  “Finally, she gets it!” Maria remarked in relief.

  “I get it!” I added, reassuringly.

  “Sammy neatly set my tools and products on the counter!” Gustavo clapped his hands. As Sammy unloaded each bag, Gustavo turned to Maria. “What is she going to wear?”

  Maria grabbed a hanger off the rack and flipped the plastic sheath up at an angle at which only they could see.

  “Yes – yes, I like that, and I know just what to do with her hair!” Gustavo nodded, transfixed by whatever Maria was keeping secret underneath the plastic.

  “I want to see the dress.” I said, trying to see, but Maria flipped the cover back down and hung it back on the rack.

  “No and no. The big reveal will be a surprise and an amazing moment.” Maria sighed, dreamy eyed.

  “Yes, just wait until we’re done, it’s going to be magical!” Sammy added, finishing spreading the tools and products on the counter.

  “Magical?” I asked in disbelief.

  “Magical.” Gustavo sighed, dreamy eyed.

  It dawned on me all of a sudden that these highly skilled professionals needed to be paid for their services. “This is all great and everything, but I can’t pay you guys, I don’t have that kind of money_”

  Maria held her French manicured hand up, motioning for me to stop. “Not to worry, Mr. Barns agreed to take care of everything.”

  I gaped at her. “Xander, he’s doing all of this for me?”

  “Yes – yes, you can thank him later, we have work to do!” Gustavo yelled impatiently and turned to a wide-eyed Sammy. “Brush number twenty five, now!”

  THEN THIS HAPPENED…. “I don’t know what the fuss is all about, I’m not some diamond in the rough you guys can polish and I’ll somehow come out sparkling and fabulous. I’m as plain as they come_”

  “Stop talking and pucker those luscious lips!” Sammy interrupted grabbing my chin and bringing a gloss brush to my lips.

  “I must say, that for two and half hours, we’ve outdone ourselves!” Maria exclaimed happily.

  “I honestly surprise myself sometimes, but who am I kidding, I’m Gustavo, the miracle worker.” Gustavo practically sighed, titling his head to the side.

  Sammy dropped her hand, satisfied. “There, all finished!”

  Maria grabbed a hanger off the rack, its contents only covered by a small plastic sheathe. She held it out in front of me. “Go and put these on.”

  Without hesitating, I grabbed the covered hanger out of her impatient hands and headed towards the bathroom. However, there was a matter that was bothering me, so I paused between the bathroom doorframe and faced Gustavo who had taken my seat in mock-exhaustion.

  “Can you please take these curlers out of my hair, I hate them, they’re making my head hurt!” I pleaded, pointing at my head.

  Gustavo rolled his eyes dramatically and sighed loudly. “No, now hurry up and change, we’ve still got a ways to go with that hair of yours!”

  Hanging delicately on the expensive hanger was a fucking cream coloured strapless bustier and a matching cream coloured thong. Both pieces were embroidered with black lace. I slid on the beautiful thong first. It felt silky smooth against my skin, nothing like Bitch Blonde’s nasty cream coloured lace thong.

  “Hurry up!” Maria shouted this time.

  “What are you doing in there?” Gustavo snapped.

  “I’m trying to put this bustier on, so hold your horses!” I yelled back.

  “Do you need help?” Maria asked.

  Before I had a chance to decide whether or not I wanted the help, the bathroom door abruptly slid open.

  “For goodness sakes, let me do it!” Maria ordered, marching into the bathroom. “Turn around!”

  “I’m not turning around, my ass is hanging out!” I protested, wide-eyed.

  THEN THIS HAPPENED…. Maria unzipped the back and held it open for me to step through. “Easy there, you don’t want to rip ‘The Dress’!” she cried as I put one foot in. I followed with the next one, slower, more delicately. Maria pulled the dress up smoothly, the soft blue fabric flowing at the bottom. I pulled my arms through the sleeveless black top and Maria zipped me up.

  I ran my hands against the chiffon overlay, feeling amazing.

  “Perfect!” Maria exclaimed, smoothing out the dress.

  “Beautiful!” Gustavo added, dreamy eyed as he scanned the dress.

  “You’re a star!” Sammy added excitedly, balling her hands together against her chest.

  “Now the shoes.” Maria sighed, opening a shoebox with the most beautiful silver, open toed high heels I’d ever seen.

  THEN THIS HAPPENED…. “Open your eyes.”

  I slowly opened my eyes and staring right back at me was someone I didn’t recognize. Her eyes were done up all smoky, her dark brown hair glistened beautifully in loose curls pushed to the side, her lips were painted a glossy coral colour that complimented her smooth creamy complexion.

  Who the hell are you? I looked at the three hanging beside me in confusion. “Who’s that?”

  They all laughed.

  “That’s you silly girl!” Sammy squealed.

  “That’s me?” I mumbled, bewildered.

  “Twirl, you know you want to.” Gustavo exclaimed, grinning widely.

  Honestly, I’d never been a twirl in my dress kind of girl, hell I barely wore dresses, but now seeing myself for the first time all glammed up… I twirled once and stopped abruptly to gawk more at myself in the full-length mirror.

  “What time is it?” Sammy asked worriedly.

  “It’s just after six thirty!” Gustavo shrieked, looking at his Blackberry.

  “Oh my goodness, you’re going to be late!” Maria announced loudly, she rushed back to the rack and pulled out a sapphire blue clutch. “Here this matches the dress. I’ve packed all your essentials in them.”

  I took the clutch from her and turned to face all of them. “Thank you, thank you all so much!”

  “Go now, Mr. Barns arranged for a private car to take you to where you need to go!” Maria urged. “We’ll clean up and lock up, leave the key, we’ll leave it at the front desk!”

  I left my room key on the counter and rushed to the door, but before leaving I turned to face them all once more, they all stood there with a happy satisfied looks on their faces. “Thank you again!”

  As I left the room, Sammy yelled. “Hurry, and take lots of pictures, lots of pictures of yourself!”

  “I will!” I yelled and rushed out of the B&B. Outside waiting beside the curb was a Black SUV, the driver wore a black suit and rushed out upon seeing me. He had a buzz cut and was the same height as Xander, but looked to be the same age as my dad. As I reached the car, the driver opened the back door.

  “Hello, Ms. Gellys?” he asked.

  “Yes, that’s me.” I replied happily.

  “My name is Daniels and I’ll be driving you to your destination today.” Daniels explained as
I slid into the car.

  “Thank you.” I told him and he closed the door. He rounded the car quickly and entered into the driver’s seat.

  “Where to Ms. Gellys?” Daniels asked, putting on his seatbelt.

  “The Pacific Banquet Hall, do you know it?”

  “Yes I do, it’s going to take twenty five minutes to get there, is that okay?” Daniels asked.

  “Yes, that’s okay.” I grinned widely as Daniels pulled away from the curb.

  This was it.

  Go time.

  CHAPTER 9

  *Demetria*

  Saturday April 20th 2013

  Pink clouds, lace, and silk were the key elements of a room so large, a family of four could have lived comfortably inside it. Sitting in front of a table filled with every facial product known to man, with a large mirror nestled behind it…… I, Demetria Rose Williams, gazed at my reflection with a scowl.

  I just wanted one thing in this life, and I was DENIED it.

  A man who made my entire body quiver violently for hours, while he whispered sweet things into my ear. My love for him only grew with the first stroke of his strong, clever hands, but I knew I loved him even before we began our spontaneous encounters of lust.

  It’s been many months since my last encounter with Xander, which was wrong—very, very wrong. The anxiety that filled me day after day finally became too much last night.

  Sighing, I glanced around my average sized bedroom, eyeing strips of wallpaper on the floor, and remnants of drywall that dusted every inch of my custom, cherry hardwood floor. I couldn’t be blamed, it was a reaction I was sure any normal person would have expressed, if not worse.

  All of a sudden, a disgusting vision paralyzed my mind. I envisioned another woman sliding her fingertips all over him.

  “Silence, thief!” I whispered to the whore in my mind, a promiscuous commoner who had no business being anywhere near Xander.

  The final memory of our time together flashed before me; he was fast asleep after a marathon of passionate lovemaking. I exhaled a deep breath, and damn, it felt good to be able to breathe again, even if it was only temporarily. My neck tilted further back, allowing my eyeballs to roll back. There weren’t any drugs out there as potent or as alluring as anything that had to do with Xander.