Saving Her

by Mia Ford

  “Hey there, cutie,” one of the strippers said, walking over to me. “Why don’t you join the party?”

  “I’m not interested, sweetheart, but those guys are the ones I am paying you to entertain,” I said, sipping my beer.

  I had hired a half-dozen strippers to run around without clothes on and play with the guys. Jordan was being good, which made me think there was still a decent guy left on the planet. I had zero interest in girls I could find any given night at the local bar. I was just happy to sit back and drink, feeling no better than before, but at least I wasn’t alone. I had splurged on a vintage bottle of my favorite whiskey, and I discovered that a comfy place to sit, a bucket of ice, and my bottle of whisky was all that I needed in the world. John knew it was hard for me, sitting there celebrating someone else’s happiness, but he also knew not to push me. He was just glad that I was out with them, showing my pale skin some different kind of lighting other than from my living room.

  I nodded as John looked over at me, putting down the can of whipped cream he was taunting the strippers with and heading over to me. I poured him a shot of my whiskey and handed it to him. He took a sip and closed his eyes, savoring the taste.

  “You went all out.” He chuckled. “This is some really good stuff.”

  “I know, right?”

  “So, uh, where have you been lately?” he asked. “We’ve all been worried about you. What’s been up with you lately?”

  I watched the girls dance around Jordan, laughing at his face. I took a sip of my whiskey and contemplated how to answer that question. I didn’t need another lecture from him, but I felt like I couldn’t get away from it. I turned and looked at him, realizing he was staring at me and waiting for an answer.

  “I think you know the answer to that, John,” I said with a fake smile.

  “Are you serious? You’re still tore up over that girl? We really thought something had happened to your folks or something.”

  “Nah, they are fine,” I said. “I really felt a connection with Amanda. It’s not something that can be just turned off. It doesn’t matter how many bottles of whiskey I drink or how many women I fuck, not that I have fucked any, but still, it doesn’t matter. She is still right there on my mind. I wish you had experienced something like that at some point so that you could understand where I was coming from.”

  We both looked up as the girls cheered and giggled. Jordan had finally given in, standing up on the chair and letting the girls dance all over him. I laughed and lifted my glass to him, watching him shake his head and roll his eyes.

  “He’s a good guy,” I said. “And he has a really good girl, too.”

  “Lindsey?”

  “Yeah,” I said, looking over at him.

  “She is a good girl,” he said. “I actually have hooked up with her sister Sarah a few times. She is a wild one. She’s the whole reason I ever found out about Amanda in the first place. She had some really nasty things to say about her. That’s when I knew you would be better off without her.”

  “Wait, you slept with Sarah?”

  “Yeah, she’s a sweetie, really wanted to look out for you because you’re my best friend,” he said. “I’ll have to introduce you sometime.”

  “Don’t bother, I’ve unfortunately had the pleasure of meeting her,” I said, standing up and grabbing my coat.

  “What does that mean?”

  “You don’t know that girl at all,” I said, pointing at him. “Trust me. She is not what she seems. Man, I knew I should have questioned you on where you got that information from. I am such a damn idiot.”

  “Trouble or not, she did give me that marriage document,” he said, shrugging.

  I turned away from him, finishing my drink, a sick feeling settling in my stomach. This whole big story about the lies of Amanda was all circling around back to Sarah. I couldn’t believe what he just told me. I could have sworn that Lindsey didn’t know what she was talking about. I had kicked Amanda, the woman of my dreams, out of my life, and it could possibly have all been for nothing. She could have been the victim of this girl’s twisted plans, and I made it worse by not believing her.

  “Hey, where are you going?” John asked.

  “I’ve had enough of this party,” I said. “The keys are on the counter. The room is booked through tomorrow in case you guys stay. Make sure nothing gets broken.”

  I turned and walked towards the door, sneaking past the guys and closing it behind me. The silence of the hall was relaxing, and I stood there for a second, searching for my phone. I wanted to call Amanda, to find out if everything that Lindsey said was the truth, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I shoved my phone back in my pocket and climbed in the elevator. Everything was pointing to Sarah, no matter which way I turned, but I was still unsure who to believe. I did have that document, but Lindsey was right. It totally looked forged when I scrutinized it. My brain tried to play those coincidences off, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I had been played somehow.

  I got out of the elevator and headed to one of the cars waiting outside. I thought about it all the way home, realizing that I was drunker than I thought. Maybe it was a good thing I didn’t call her. I wouldn’t sound very convincing slurring my words. When I got home, I dropped my stuff inside the door and went to the bedroom. I undressed and turned on the shower, needing to wash the stench of cigars and hookers off my clothes.

  My thoughts drifted from the naked strippers quickly over to Amanda and how hot her body was. She was real, down to the tiny, star-shaped birthmark on her lower back. The sex we had was out of this world. I let the hot water roll over my tense muscles as I leaned forward and closed my eyes.

  In my mind, I was in the bed with Amanda, running my fingers down her back, feeling her soft skin on my fingertips. I rolled my hand down to my cock and grabbed on tightly to my erection, already hard from picturing Amanda there with me. I went back to the bedroom in my mind, bringing Amanda’s body back into view.

  She looked up from the bed at me, swiping her hand down my stomach and grabbing onto my cock. I smiled down at her and sat back on my heels, letting her jerk my cock for a moment. Her tiny, little hand pulsated against my shaft as she pulled it up and down, biting her bottom lip. She leaned forward and ran her lips over the tip, smiling up at me before opening her mouth and sinking her warm lips down the shaft, all the way to the base. I groaned loudly, feeling her suck hard as she started to bob her head up and down. I pulled my hand up and pushed lightly on her head, holding her down for a moment before watching her slide back up again. She looked up at me with watery eyes, and I snapped, needing to feel her pussy wrapped around my cock.

  I grabbed her face and lifted her head up before pushing her down on the bed. She giggled as she bounced up and down on the mattress, her perfect tits jiggling all over the place. I imagined myself crawling toward her as she spread her legs apart, revealing her beautiful, pink pussy. I ran my fingers down her stomach and pushed two of them inside of her, watching her suck on her bottom lip and groan in pleasure. I fingered her hard and fast right there, wanting to get her in the mood, wanting her pussy to be nice and wet when I fucked the hell out of her. When I had gotten her to the point where she was begging me for my cock, I pulled my fingers out and stuck them in her mouth, feeling her lick her juices from my hand.

  I grabbed my dick and moved forward, sliding it through her folds and then thrusting deep and hard, feeling my cock fill her up. She arched her back and screamed out, her body tight with anticipation. I grabbed her hips and started to push, fucking her deep, slow, and steady. As her moans began to rise, so did my pace, and before long, I was pounding into her so hard the bed was slamming against the wall. She thrashed her head back and forth, moaning and laughing in pleasure. I leaned forward and continued to hump her, pushing in and pulling out with force. My hands slid up into hers, and she looked deeply into my eyes, her mouth open as she breathed heavily. My hand gripped tighter to her waist as I slammed upward, pushing a
ll the way in and then doing it over again.

  “I’m gonna come,” she moaned out, exploding the fire inside of me.

  I pushed my hips faster, our bodies slapping against each other. She reached up and gripped my shoulders, arching her chest and throwing her head back as her whole body began to shake. I could feel her pussy pulsing and tightening around my cock, and when her juices exploded around my shaft, I groaned, coming hard inside of her.

  I opened my eyes as my warm seed squirted out of my red, pulsing member, shooting down into the bathtub and washing away with the water. I was back in my own house, and Amanda was nowhere to be found.

  Chapter 21

  Amanda

  Lindsey skipped down the street dressed in a long, pink sundress, a tiara, and a sash that read “Bride” on the front of it. She was already toasted from the champagne in the limo. I smiled and chuckled watching her put her arms around her cousins and talk excitedly about marrying Jordan. I was jealous. I couldn’t help it. Every time I thought of the wedding, I thought of Nathan and the opportunity that I had missed out on. I was alone, pregnant, and brokenhearted, which I decided was one of the worst combinations that anyone could have ever come up with. The entire time I thought the universe was giving me signs, it was actually toying with me. But I had to stop thinking about it, I was at Lindsey’s bachelorette party.

  It was only a week from the wedding, and since Jordan was going to his work bachelor party, or so he called it, we were out celebrating with Lindsey. Everyone around me was getting drunk, especially the bride, but I was sitting back not getting drunk. Nights like these were supposed to be a riot, drinking heavily and getting wild. Unfortunately, with the baby in my belly, I couldn’t indulge, which only made me realize how much my wild times were coming to an end. I hated to be selfish, but it was incredibly depressing knowing I was becoming a boring mother while everyone else lived their lives happily.

  Once we were at the bar, Lindsey lifted her glass high and toasted to her upcoming wedding. Everyone in the place cheered, and I sat back in my chair, shaking my head and laughing. She deserved to let loose, especially after working since she was sixteen and going through the stressors of planning a monster wedding. I, on the other hand, was exhausted as always, and I could feel my pants getting tighter around my waist. I really hoped that my bridesmaid gown fit me comfortably. Otherwise, I was going to have to buy a shawl to cover up my baby bump, which would be just as telling as if I just sported the round belly I would eventually get. I was hoping, though, that it came sooner rather than later.

  I looked down to find myself stirring my glass full of orange juice and soda. It was a habit I hadn’t broken, but it was okay. I was drinking that to keep the girls off my back anyway. I didn’t want people to know I wasn’t drinking. It would raise way too much suspicion, especially since I had known most of these girls my whole life, and they knew that out of all of us I was the biggest drinker.

  “This is so much fun,” one of her cousins said, stumbling over. “Cheers!”

  I held my glass in the air and tapped hers, smiling as I took a sip. It wasn’t very often that I was sober while everyone else was drunk, and I wondered if I acted that way when I was intoxicated. Maybe it was a good thing I was being forced to stop drinking. It would keep my embarrassment to a minimum. Lindsey climbed down off the chair and dragged herself over to me, making an exhausted face. She plopped down in the chair next to me and squeezed my leg.

  “This is so much fun,” she said. “Thank you for putting it together.”

  “Of course,” I said. “Sorry I can’t get wild with you.”

  “Yeah, what are you drinking?”

  “Orange juice and sprite,” I whispered.

  “Nice touch,” she said, tapping her glass to mine.

  “So, how are you feeling?” she asked. “I haven’t checked in with you at all tonight. I mean, are you starting to feel any better with your stomach and stuff? I’m not looking forward to this when Jordan wants to start a family.”

  “Honestly, I still feel awful,” I said.

  “Oh, no,” she pouted. “When is it all supposed to get better?”

  “In eighteen years,” I said, laughing.

  “That was a terrible, old person joke,” she said, bursting into giggles. “Don’t tell me you are becoming an old person already.”

  “No,” I sighed. “Just a person lost in life, trying to make sense of it all. The doctor said I should start feeling better in my second trimester.”

  “That’s not too far away,” she said. “Then we can start going for walks and getting you up and moving around. Hopefully by then, you will be feeling better. Otherwise, I am going to have a talk with that baby. It needs to give you a little reprieve.”

  “It’s payback for all the stress I’ve put on it in recent weeks,” I said.

  “Are you still throwing up?”

  “God, yes,” I said. “The morning sickness, which is falsely named by the way, seems to be getting worse by the day. The medicine only works sometimes, and now, I am getting randomly sick all throughout the day. I am afraid to go to the grocery store because I’m too far away from the bathroom.”

  “You could have stayed home tonight,” she said. “I would have understood.”

  “It’s alright. My doctor told me to double up on my medicine tonight so I could make it through the night.” I laughed.

  “Maybe getting up and doing some yoga or going for a walk will help,” she said. “Exercise is like the cure-all for me. When I am sick, I go running, even if I have to drag myself out of bed to do it. By the time I’m back and showered, I’ve sweated the sickness right out of me.”

  “I don’t think that I can just sweat the baby right out of me,” I said, laughing. “Maybe when I am reaching my due date, but definitely not right now. The doctor has me on light duty until I reach my second trimester. He doesn’t want me doing anything strenuous.”

  “We could get you one of those motorized buggies to ride around in.” She laughed.

  “Don’t laugh,” I said. “I am pretty much exhausted from sun up to sun down. I might just take you up on the buggy. You can ride on the back and navigate.”

  “That would be amazing.” She giggled. “We would terrorize this city, one mile per hour at a time.”

  “My focus is completely shot,” I said. “I tried to read the other day and ended up having a day dream that turned into a real dream when I fell asleep at the kitchen table. I also put my keys in the freezer and my purse on the shelf in the pantry the other day. It took me forever to find my keys. I felt like such an idiot finding them nestled in with the peas.”

  “My grandma used to do that, but she had dementia,” Lindsay said, giggling.

  “I feel like it,” I said. “And don’t even talk about emotions. I am like the queen of emotions right now. I cry over everything, and when it’s worth crying over, I sob. Sometimes, I can’t even catch my breath, I get so upset. I sat in the kitchen earlier tonight, worried that people were going to find out I was pregnant by the guy that just dumped me, and I cried my eyes out. I feel like I am going insane sometimes.”

  “That’s okay,” she said. “Crying is good for you. You never cried when we were growing up. You are getting all the backlogged tears out of your system.”

  “I don’t think it works that way.” I laughed.

  “You remember the time you fell out of the tree and broke your arm?” Lindsey asked. “You didn’t shed one tear. The EMS guy thought you were in shock.”

  “He wrapped me in that heat blanket, and I was sweating like a pig.” I chuckled.

  “You said, ‘Excuse me, sir, but I am frying like bacon over here,’” she said, laughing hysterically.

  “God,” I said, laughing. “I miss being a kid. Life was so much simpler. Even my life. I didn’t have to worry about stupid boys or broken hearts. I just worried about getting you up and going for the day because you slept like a damn log.”

  “I still do.” S
he giggled. “Snoring and all. If only my fans knew how hideous I was to sleep next to, none of them would want to have sex with me.”

  “They still would.” I laughed.

  “I’m sorry,” Lindsey said, laying her head on my shoulder. “I haven’t been there for you like I should be. You need me right now, and I am off in La La land, drinking, partying, and working.”

  “And being a fiancée and planning a wedding,” I said. “I am the one that should be apologizing. I feel like I burnt out right before the finish line, leaving you to sweep up the pieces.”

  “See, this is why I don’t deserve you as a friend,” she said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You are so selfless,” she replied. “You are going through hell right now, and all you can think about is being there for me because I’m getting married. All I can think about is how much I want to eat my wedding cake.”

  “In your defense, that thing was amazing,” I said. “I totally have been dreaming about eating that thing, even when I feel like hell. At the wedding, I am going to steal an entire layer and take it in the back.”

  “I’m such a terrible friend,” she said, starting to cry.

  “No, you’re not,” I said. “You are the greatest friend. You protect me, barge into billionaire’s offices, and give them a piece of your mind, and you always give me the best advice ever.”