Twisted Love

by R. C. Stephens

  “Anna, I’m coming over right now, this isn’t a conversation for the phone,” I paused the conversation.

  “Honestly, Lex, I actually feel better saying it over the phone. At one point I thought about texting it to you…” she paused and I could hear a sad laugh. “But I knew that would catch you off guard and I didn’t want to scare you if you were somewhere in public. Please just hear me out,” she said softly.

  “Of course.”

  “I stopped trusting people, I stopped believing in love. Our friendship though… the way we’ve taken care of each other over the years, it’s taught me that there are still good people in this world despite the bad ones. I’ve been watching Dylan since your attack and the look in his eyes when he watched you in that hospital bed and well, I saw how much he really loved you. Then I realized that there must be some good men out there too, and I had to stop selling myself short…” she drawled. I could hear her choking back some tears, my own eyes had filled and the tears were willfully spilling out of them.

  “Oh! Anna. You are so amazing, your heart is so warm and filled with love despite everything that you have experienced and that’s a gift. You could have ended up being a harsh girl with a cold heart considering everything you’ve been through and yet your warmth and kindness is what radiates through you.”

  “Right back at you Bandita.”

  “I think Nate is a good guy, I think he’s going to be good for you,” I said returning to a more serious tone.

  “Oh, he’s damned good for me, we were holed up in my room for a full twenty-four hours,” she laughed hard.

  “ANNA.”

  “Sorry, Lex, it’s the truth but I know what you are saying, I think he’s a good guy too. He admitted that he’s falling in love with me, and although I couldn’t say it back to him it seemed like he understood. He told me to take my time. I haven’t told him everything about my past but maybe with time I will.”

  “You will Anna, give yourself time. When you’re ready I really do believe that everything will fall into place.”

  “Thank you my friend, thank you for listening.”

  “Anna, I wish I was there to hug you, but I get that you needed your distance to get the story out. I hope it makes you feel a little lighter. I know that my therapy sessions with Dr. Newman have been doing that for me.”

  “It does feel good, it feels really good. I feel like I’ve been given a chance at a new beginning,” she admitted optimistically. We’d both come so far since we were engaging in the viscous cycle of hooking up and alienating ourselves.

  “You know Anna, I think we had love all mixed up. I think love is intertwined with fate, twisted love is really fate's way of twisting things up until it’s right, until it’s perfect. Unfortunately for some of us that road to love is hard and bumpy but it just goes to show you that you should never give up.”

  “You’re right Bandita, it’s been one bumpy road hasn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” I sighed happily now that I knew that we were both in a good place.

  “I love you. I have to run. I have shift at Mickey’s tonight. He said whenever you’re ready to take your place behind the bar he will re-work the schedule.”

  “Thanks, I love you too. I really do need to work, but Dylan is worried that Luc’s family is still a threat. I hate that he’s going to support me for now, you know I like my independence, but he insisted. He wants to keep me safe and I now understand how real the threat is. I’m sorry to inconvenience Mickey, tell him I’ll get back as soon as I can.”

  “It’s no inconvenience, I miss having you there. Dylan is right, you need to be careful at least until Luc’s trial is over. Maybe they will leave you alone then.”

  “I hope so, you go get ready. I have school work to catch up on still. I’ll bury my head in the books for the night,” I sighed.

  “Bye Bandita.”

  “Goodnight Anna.”

  Chapter 32

  The Road to Love

  Dylan

  I finally got home after a twenty-four hour shift, feeling exhausted. I had no energy left in me and I began to undress in the sloppy way I usually do after a long shift. I throw my coat off on the floor, loosening my tie and unbuttoning my shirt before I even make it to my bedroom. As badly as I need sleep right now, knowing that I have Lexi waiting for me in bed has me all riled up. I walked quietly into the room, it was only 6am and she was fast asleep. My sleeping beauty. Watching her makes my body fill with warmth. I know it isn’t easy for her to depend on me now both emotionally and financially, but I’m so relieved that I got her to see my side of things and that she agreed.

  I undressed and got into the shower wanting to wash off the hospital grime and be clean when I said good morning to her. After spending four hours in an emergency operation last night, I was in desperate need of a shower. I turned the water to its hottest temperature needing the heat to sear my aching tired body. It wasn’t easy staying up all night even though I was a lot more used to it now than when I started overnight shifts. As much as the hot water and steam enticed me to stay inside the shower, I wanted to be beside Lexi when she woke up. I stepped out of the shower and towel dried myself off then I slipped in beside her. I had a nice surprise waiting for me because she was naked too. Mmm, this really was a dream come true. I nuzzled into her, it was only six thirty now and I knew she had more time to sleep before running off to school, but my very hungry libido, had other plans. She began to stir probably from my touch. The warmth emanating from her body was so alluring that I could stay like this forever with my arms wrapped around her. Her body curled into mine and she pushed her backside right against my cock.

  “Hmm, Dylan,” she smiled softly. I placed soft kisses along her neck taking in her scent.

  “You smell so good,” I can’t help but say even if it may sound strange. After seven years apart I’ve missed everything about her. Including her familiar scent the one I could get lost in forever. As she turned her head my lips came over her warm lips. She kissed me softly running her fingers through my wet hair. She moaned into my mouth and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.

  “I missed you,” she breathed into my mouth as our kiss turned more heated by the second.

  “I missed you too, babe,” I replied licking her lower lip.

  “Oh my Dylan, I need you, I need you so bad,” she practically begged with her morning raspy voice. I dipped my hand in between her legs to rub her soft spot and get her ready for me.

  “You’re soaked,” I said with surprised delight. “I need inside you.”

  She nodded her head and I turned to the nightstand to get a condom. Even the one moment that I had to part from her to get the condom was too long. I quickly ripped open the package and rolled the condom over my cock. Then I braced myself over her, and entered her warm wet opening hard and fast, we both gasped at the heavenly sensation. Her moisture spreading all over my dick and clenching around me made my balls tighten. She was so tight and so perfect for me. I thrust into her and our kiss broke apart as her head turned up and I watched the effect our lovemaking had on her, she looked like she was drowning in ecstasy and I’d never seen anything more perfect in my life.

  “Oh Dylan,” she groaned. “I won’t hold on long.”

  “Me neither babe I missed you so much last night. Any free moment I had, I was thinking how I get to come home and bury myself inside you.”

  “Yes,” she called out as I rammed into her harder. She lifted her hips and began rubbing herself against me and I was all sensation, lust and Lexi. “Yes, Dylan, yes,” she cried out as the most beautiful sounding release hit her and she picked up speed meeting me thrust for hungry thrust. We both came at the same time panting each other’s names in musical harmony. Then her breathing slowed and I lay myself above her not wanting to put my full body weight on her. I placed my face in the crook of her neck and I could feel her own cool ragged breathes down my neck.

  “I love you,” I whispered in her ear.

 
; “Oh Dylan I love you too,” she said and I could see a hint of a smile on her lips as she lay holding me in her arms. Her eyes still closed.

  “I wish you could stay in bed with me all day,” I said.

  “I wish that too, but I need to go to class, then I have an appointment with Dr. Newman.”

  “Mmm, that sucks but I know you have to go. Matt is in town again he wants to meet up with me. I need to catch up on sleep, but I told him I will meet with him later, and then I have to be back at the hospital at seven.”

  “Another night shift?” she asked with a frown on her face.

  “No, just a meeting for the interns, they are doing a surgery and we are all going to watch. It’s a state of the art machine that’s being used in the pulmonary clinic,” I explain with a little too much excitement in my tone.

  “You’re so cute when you talk medical things, Doc McHotty,” she grinned.

  “Doc McHotty? Hmm, I like that, you sexy vixen,” I said giving her my sexiest wink possible.

  She beamed. “Okay I need to get out of this bed,” she said looking at my body lying over her then both of my arms on each side of her head. I’d locked her in place.

  “Okay fine, I will release you now, but tonight you are all mine, all night,” I said lifting off her. She got up from the bed, and my eyes took in her naked form, from her beautiful face to her breasts and everything below. My dick hardened again just from the show.

  “You got it Doc McHotty,” she glanced back at me and winked. Then she stepped into the bathroom. My eyes grew heavy from lack of sleep. At one point I felt her lips on my cheek as she whispered I love you in my ear. I was half way to the world of sleep and I mumbled I love you too, hoping she understood what I said.

  ***

  I heard vibrating sounds of my ringtone but I was sucked deeply into a dream and I wanted to stay in dreamland, I didn’t want to open my eyes and have it all end. I’d just asked Lexi to marry me and she’d said yes. Whoever was on the phone could wait because this dream felt too good.

  “Yes Dylan yes,” she answered throwing her arms around my neck.

  Annoying vibrating noise, then ring, annoying vibrating noise then ring.

  Shit! Whoever it is isn’t going to let this happen for me. Without looking at the screen I picked up the phone with a groggy voice, “Hello?”

  “Hey,” Matt said sounding grim. “What’s up your ass?” he asked sardonically.

  “Nothing, sorry man, I pulled an all night shift, I’m just tired.”

  “Are you ready to meet?” he asked with urgency in his tone.

  “Honestly, Matt, I’ m seriously tired, I had a rough night at the hospital.”

  “Sorry to hear, but I need to talk and I think you will be the only one that can help me,” he says with a serious tone.

  “Shit! Is everything okay?” I asked with concern.

  “Not really,” he answered solemnly.

  “Okay, where are you at? Give me a few, I need to get dressed.”

  “I’m downtown, at Lobby,” he answered throwing me off. I pulled the phone away from my ear to look at the time. It was already four o’clock. I didn’t have much time.

  “Isn’t it a little early for Lobby?” I asked referring to the fact that Lobby was an upscale bar and known pick-up joint. People usually frequented the place at night, not so much during the day.

  “Yeah, it is early, but I’m fucking drowning in a pool of my own problems,” he groaned out sounding helpless. Shit! It sounded serious.

  “Ok, I’ll be there soon Matt,” I replied hanging up the phone.

  I quickly threw on a pair of dress pants and button down shirt since I would have to run straight to the hospital from the bar. I could only guess what had Matt all riled up. I went down to the parking garage and pulled the Porsche out and made my way to Lobby. A few minutes later I pulled out front and handed my keys to the valet.

  As I entered the upscale establishment my eyes roamed the area for Matt. It was only when I reached the back of the bar where there was a private seating area did I find Matt sitting back in a red armchair with a goblet of amber liquid. “Hey Matt,” I said placing a hand on his shoulder. I took off my jacket and left it on the large armchair then I took a seat across from him.

  “The waitress will come around in a minute,” he said before I had a chance to ask. He looked down and spacey.

  “What’s going on man?” I asked with concern in my voice. He looked like he was on his way to getting very wasted.

  He stared at the liquid in his goblet for a long moment and then looked back up to me. “I got a girl pregnant,” he said with a monotone voice. Wow, I wasn’t expecting that.

  “Are you sure?” Was the first thing that came to mind. “I mean do you know for a fact? Maybe someone else is the father.”

  “I’ve been seeing someone,” he said with a long drawl.

  “Okay, the last time you were in a few weeks ago, you said you weren’t ready to settle down,” I stated clearly confused.

  “Well that wasn’t exactly accurate. I became close friends with a girl at the beginning of the school year. We went to Colorado with some friends over Christmas to ski,” he paused.

  “So you brought her from Chicago to Colorado?” I asked for clarification. Matt had been living in Chicago for the last number of years. He nodded his head, but he didn’t get why I asked the question.

  “Yeah, I brought her with me,” he admitted hesitantly. He was never the settling down type and I guess it was still hard for him to admit that maybe someone finally got his full attention. “Look man, we started hooking up back in school, it wasn’t serious, she was more like a friends with benefits… we studied together and hung out and when we got horny, we fucked each other’s brains out.” He shook his head and his eyes shined with a glint of happiness.

  “Anyway, a bunch of friends were headed to Colorado over winter break to ski and we got a room together. We had fun skiing by day and fucking by night. When we got back to school things kind of chilled between us,” he said rubbing at his mouth and I could tell that there was more to the statement.

  “Things chilled, or you chilled them?” I asked lifting both my brows.

  “Fuck man, it was me, I actually like her, and we were really good together and we were getting along really well and I freaked. I didn’t know if I was ready, so I gave her a bit of the brush off, I could tell she was hurt because we were friends.”

  “Shit, Matt, you love this girl,” I announced as a waitress came up to me and I took my order of, Coke.

  “You’re not drinking?” he asked.

  “No, I have to be at the hospital at seven,” I answered and he nodded his head.

  “Another double for me,” he nodded to the waitress.

  “What are you going to do man?” I asked with all sincerity, although Matt was twenty-five he was still very adolescent.

  “How old is this girl? Is she finished school?”

  “Yeah, we were in the same classes, she just finished dentistry. I don’t think she was planning to have a kid now, all of us have been looking for jobs and waiting to start a career,” he paused and chuckled sadly. His drinking had taken effect and he was leaning on the side of the chair looking very inebriated.

  “Matt, you’re a good guy, I think you can do this. Like you said, you have job options here. You would be able to support her and the baby,” I said, hopefully trying to show him that this could work.

  His eyes shot up to mine and I saw his fear. “Dylan, that’s just it, what kind of father would I make? Or husband for that matter? You saw my parents growing up, they were a fucking train wreck. I don’t even understand why they are still together now,” he shook his head. “I would make an awful father Dylan, an awful father.” He leaned forward in his chair and his head dropped. He was holding the amber liquid in its goblet low in between his legs and his head remained bowed to the floor.

  “Matt, I know what you’ve lived through must be hard. I get that
you didn’t have the happy family and support that I did growing up, but you are a good guy and I really don’t think you are like either of your parents. You’ve always been a supportive friend and you are a really good person. Besides I think this is bothering you so much because you care for this girl and you want to do the right thing.” As I finished my last words his head lifted and I could see his underlying turmoil.

  “You really believe that?” he asked looking very vulnerable.

  “Yeah, I do,” I smiled and he smiled back. Then he threw back the remnants of the amber liquid and took a large gulp.

  “Look Matt, life doesn’t always go as planned. We’re thrown all kinds of curve balls and you either try to catch those curve balls and stop your man from going to third or you back away and let him hit a home run."

  “Really Dylan, baseball?” he laughed.

  At least he was laughing. “Look I really think you got this. It isn’t as bad as you think. You've got a good degree in your hands, you will be able to support this girl and your baby and she can go to work when she’s ready. This isn’t the end of the world, especially since it looks like you love this girl.”

  “That’s just it, Dylan how do I know I love her. I feel like I shouldn’t even know what love is. You know my parents weren’t the poster family for love and happiness,” he admitted painfully.

  “Well, you just know Matt. You know about all the mistakes I’ve made where Lexi was concerned. After I fucked up with Brad I convinced myself I would never be good for her so I started fucking around, maybe to prove to myself that I was the asshole I believed I was,” I paused because my next confession was something more difficult to admit and I took a large hard inhale.…”A small part of me also thought that I should let Lexi go, because she was too good and pure to want to be with someone that had done what I did…when I started fucking around with all those girls I hoped that one of them would capture my heart like Lexi did, that I would fall madly in love with them and really be able to let Lexi go but that never happened. I can never let her go because my heart always comes back to her.” As I revealed my innermost feelings, I hoped Matt would understand the essence of my own lesson. He could learn from my mistakes. The truth was that my own words hit me hard and my heart picked up speed and my chest warmed and all I wanted to do was run home to Lexi and make love to her all over again.