Freeing Asia

by E. M. Abel

  At the reception hall, I was sitting at the long table in front of the dance floor with all the bridesmaids as we watched Hailey and John have their first dance as a married couple. My eyes watered as I watched my best friend changing right before my eyes. She was all grown up now, married and so in love, and I envied her.

  I looked down at my full plate of food, pushing it around with my fork. I didn’t realize it until I was surrounded by couples in love, and I watched my best friend get married, but deep down, I was hoping Marcus would be here. I wanted him to come rescue me, tell me he was sorry, and promise that he would spend the rest of his life making it up to me, but I must have forgotten that my life wasn’t a romantic movie. Instead, I was reminded of what I didn’t have and what I had lost.

  I was trying to avoid Jay. I felt guilty doing it, but the last thing I wanted was an awkward encounter. I didn’t want to explain to him that even though Marcus and I were no longer together, I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. Lately, I’d been avoiding anything that had to do with Marcus at all, hoping that somehow it would help me forget about him. I was delusional. I peered up from my plate and noticed Jamie was shamelessly flirting with Jay.

  After a few more songs, my dad came up to our table and gave Hailey a big hug. “I’m so happy for you, Hailey. You look beautiful.”

  “Thanks, Robert. I’m so glad you could make it. You look so handsome in a suit.”

  My dad smiled at her as he loosened the tie around his neck. “I gotta admit that I’m not too fond of these things, but I guess I can deal with it,” he said, giving her a wink.

  He shook John’s hand and congratulated him before turning to me.

  “What about a dance with your old man?”

  Etta James’s song “At Last” started playing just as I set my napkin down and made my way around the table.

  “You look amazing, baby girl,” my dad said as he pulled me toward the dance floor.

  “Thanks, Dad,” I muttered as I rested my cheek on his chest.

  “Have you heard from Marcus?”

  I shook my head but didn’t look up. I didn’t realize I was being so obvious.

  “He’ll come around. Just don’t give up on him.” He squeezed me tighter in his arms.

  I didn’t say anything. I just shut my eyes and listened to the music as we danced.

  A couple hours later, the guests were getting tipsy off of champagne and beer. The cake had been cut, the bouquet had been tossed, and so had the garter. I was just about to find Hailey and let her know that all of their gifts were inside John’s car when I saw Jay. He smiled at me from across the room, giving me a glimpse of his dimples, and I smiled back, giving him a small wave. My heart began beating faster as he approached me. Jay was in a dark gray suit and tie with a white shirt underneath. Unlike my dad and brother, he belonged in a suit.

  “You look stunning, Asia,” Jay said when he stopped to stand in front of me.

  I looked up into his deep blue eyes and smiled, and then I looked down and ran my hands over my purple dress. “You think? I’m not sure purple is really my color.”

  Jay chuckled. “Well, to be honest, I wasn’t really paying attention to the dress. You could probably be standing here in a bathrobe, and I wouldn’t have noticed.”

  I laughed and put my hand on my hip. “Don’t let Hailey hear you say that.”

  Jay smiled as he looked down into my eyes, and just then, a slow song started to play. It was “Always and Forever” by Luther Vandross.

  “Will you dance with me?” Jay asked as he held out his hand.

  I looked down at it and shifted my feet. “Well, actually, I was just going to—”

  “Just one dance, Asia. Please?” Jay interrupted me.

  I looked up at him to see his eyes had grown warm. “Okay,” I whispered as I took his hand in mine.

  Jay had his hand on my hip while his other hand held mine, and my free hand was resting on his chest.

  “So, how are things at Red?” I asked as I looked up at him.

  “Things are going well. Now that summer is almost over, we’re slowing down.”

  “Hmm…so what are you going to do? Take a vacation or something?” I asked, smiling at him.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it, but that’s not a bad idea,” he said, giving me one of his sexy winks.

  I could feel myself start to blush. I moved my eyes down to his tie as I bit the inside of my cheek.

  “Don’t worry, beautiful,” he whispered.

  I looked up.

  “I know where your heart is. Just know, if you ever need me…I’m here.”

  I pulled my lips in between my teeth and nodded before leaning forward and resting my head on Jay’s chest.

  “He’s one lucky son of a bitch,” he muttered.

  I felt myself smile.

  A couple minutes later, the song ended, and “Glitter In The Air” by P!nk started to play. My chest tightened as my heart started to pound. As I lifted my head from Jay’s chest, I heard that deep voice that made my knees weak.

  “You mind if I cut in?”

  I whipped my head to the side and saw him. Marcus was standing there in jeans and a T-shirt. I stopped breathing as my hands started to tremble with the rest of my body. I glanced back at Jay, and he smiled at me.

  “Sure,” he told Marcus. Jay leaned forward, kissed me on the cheek, and slowly let me go.

  I turned to look at Marcus as he took Jay’s place. He looked a million times better than I remembered. His eyes were warm and soft, his face was shaved, and his hair was in its usual disheveled style

  “Hey, babe,” he said, smiling down at me.

  He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I lifted my hands to rest on his chest.

  “Hey,” I whispered back.

  I didn’t know how I managed to stay on my feet. I was so overwhelmed with emotion, and I was scared to death of what he might say next.

  “You look breathtaking,” he murmured as he reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

  I felt my heart throbbing as I looked at Marcus’s jacket, my eyes focusing on the threads holding it together.

  “Will you go somewhere with me?” he asked.

  I lifted my eyes to his.

  “Please?” he whispered.

  I nodded, and he took my hand in his as he led me toward the exit. As we approached the door, I remembered Hailey and all the things I still had to do. I looked over my shoulder toward her table, and she was standing in front of it with John. Her eyes caught mine, and she smiled at me before lifting her hand and blowing me a kiss. I smiled back at her before walking out the door with Marcus.

  Twenty minutes later, we were pulling up to a house in Marcus’s car. We were in Margo and Jamie’s neighborhood, except this house was newer and bigger than theirs. It was up on stilts and three stories high. A set of wooden stairs led to a front door that had a large oval window made of stained glass. I could see the beach from where we were sitting in Marcus’s car. He reached up and turned off the engine. A covered car was parked under the house with a covered motorcycle sitting next to it. Marcus opened his door and gave me a small smile.

  “Come on,” he said as he tilted his head toward his door.

  I took a deep breath, trying to slow my heart down, before reaching for the handle and getting out of his car. Marcus met me in front of the hood and took my hand in his. He led me toward the beach and stopped just before we hit the sand, so he could take off his shoes and socks. I slipped my purple heels off my feet, and Marcus took them from me before leading me out onto the beach. The sand felt cold between my toes. I started to feel calmness sweep over me as I listened to the waves crashing into the shore. Before we got to the wet sand, Marcus took off his coat and put it down behind me.

  “Sit down.”

  He kept my hand gripped in his to help me sit gracefully in my dress. I sat down with my knees bent toward him and my feet tucked in beside me. Marcus sat down with his feet pl
anted wide in the sand and his knees bent in front of him. He ran his hand through his hair before resting his elbows on his knees. Gripping his right wrist in his left hand, he sat there looking out at the water, and I watched him as the wind blew his hair toward me. I could smell his shampoo.

  “You know what the last thing my dad said to me was?”

  My body tightened, and I watched Marcus’s profile as he kept his eyes fixed on the water.

  “Take care of your mother,” he said as he turned his head and looked at me.

  I didn’t move. I was afraid if I did anything he would stop talking. When he faced the ocean again, I saw his jaw clenching.

  “She died alone, Asia. I just kept thinking about why I didn’t try harder. Maybe if I’d kept trying, I would have gotten through to her. Maybe I could have saved her.”

  He dropped his head and looked at the sand. I wanted to reach out to him. I wanted to hold him, but I knew I couldn’t. He needed to get this out. He needed to let it go.

  He tilted his face toward me. “That day in your dad’s bathroom, I realized I was being just like her. I was shutting everyone out, refusing to let anyone in, because I was hurt, and I was terrified of giving someone the power to hurt me again. You have that power, Asia.”

  I bit my bottom lip as I felt a lump forming in my throat. Marcus took a deep breath and lifted his head to look at the water again.

  “I know I hurt you. Every morning I woke up and you weren’t next to me, I felt it,” he confessed as he looked over at me again.

  I could see the torment in his eyes, and I felt it slide through me.

  “I need you, Asia. I’ll give you everything I have, everything I am…if you just give me another chance.”

  I felt a warm tear slide down my cheek as I stared into Marcus’s eyes. My heart was beating so hard, but it didn’t hurt anymore. It was healed, and so was I.

  Lifting myself up to my knees, I reached over and took Marcus’s face in my hands. His beautiful eyes connected with mine, and as the moon reflected in them, I saw everything there. He was my everything—my past, my future, my heart, my home. He was mine.

  Leaning down, I softly pressed my lips to his. I felt him take a deep breath in through his nose as he moved his arms around me, pulling me closer. I could feel his love washing over me like the waves hitting the sand, and I melted into him as my eyes released more tears. Marcus kept holding me as he laid me back on the sand, deepening our kiss. I ran my fingers through his soft hair, and he pulled back just a few inches to look at me as he wiped away my tears.

  “I love you,” he whispered as he watched his fingers move across my cheeks.

  “I love you, too,” I whispered back.

  So, this is how it feels to fly.

  I grabbed Marcus’s hand and placed it on my heart, so he could feel how hard it was beating. We were in his bed in his new house, the same house he’d brought me to. Leaning down, Marcus placed a soft kiss where his hand was, and then he trailed down to one of my breasts. I could feel my heart beat faster as warmth pooled between my legs. He made his way to my nipple, slowly sucking and licking it as it grew harder. His tongue flicked it one last time before he kissed his way to my other breast. I ran my fingers through his hair as he sucked and licked my other nipple.

  I arched my back as my entire body tightened against his touch. Marcus slowly rubbed his hands down my sides and gripped my hips as he placed soft kisses down my stomach. Moving to the end of the mattress, he kneeled on the floor between my knees and slowly pulled off my panties, leaving me completely naked in front of him.

  His movements were so slow and tender that I could feel tears coming to my eyes again as he rubbed his rough, strong hands over my legs.

  “God, you’re so beautiful,” he whispered.

  He made a trail of kisses up my thigh, and I shuddered under him as I felt him move closer to my warm center. Lifting my knees, Marcus spread my legs open and slowly kissed my other thigh. His breath against my skin sent goose bumps down my legs.

  Using his fingers to spread me open, Marcus slowly licked and kissed my swollen folds, stopping at my clit where he pressed his tongue and then started sucking. I grabbed the blanket under me and arched my back as I felt every nerve in my body begin to burn. He continued tasting me as his fingers teased my wet opening.

  I began panting as I felt my insides clench, begging to be filled. Sliding one finger inside me, he curled it against my G-spot as he rubbed over it, back and forth. He was still licking and sucking my clit as my body tightened around his finger, wanting more.

  Marcus moaned sending vibrations against my sensitive skin as he felt me pulsing around him. My toes curled against his footboard as I felt my climax approaching. He slipped another finger inside me and began moving them in and out as he continued stimulating my clit with his tongue.

  I felt a tear escape my eye as the entire world began to fade around me. He was all I needed, all I wanted, and for the first time, I was his, completely, and he was mine. I closed my eyes as my body began to fall apart, one piece at a time. I convulsed under him as my insides exploded around his fingers, and I called out his name.

  “Oh god, Marcus.”

  My body was coated in sweat, my breath labored and hard, as he kissed his way back toward my mouth. Every touch sent shivers through me. He kissed me before I reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head. I moved my hands to his shoulders and then slowly down his ribs as I looked at his tiger tattoo.

  Marcus gave me a small smile. “It’s yours, Asia,” he whispered.

  Reaching down, he traced my cheekbone with the back of his fingers as his eyes studied my face. I’d never felt more loved, more cherished, and more safe than I did in that moment. I finally set my heart free, and now, it was soaring.

  The next morning, I woke up to the sounds of seagulls and waves hitting the sand as the fresh ocean air swept across my face. I slowly opened my eyes and saw Marcus on his side, watching me. The hazel-green color looked so beautiful in the morning sun. We were lying in a large bed covered in white sheets and a white down comforter. It felt like heaven.

  Marcus reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. “Move in with me,” he said, taking me by surprise.

  My eyebrows raised. “What?”

  “This place isn’t home without you. Move in with me.”

  I rolled from my side to my back and looked around the huge room we were in. The wall opposite the bed was made up of floor-to-ceiling windows with a breathtaking view of the ocean. I hadn’t seen much of the house the night before, but I was pretty sure if this room was any indication, it was huge and better than anything I could have imagined.

  I moved back onto my side and smiled at Marcus. “I’m not sure I could afford the rent.”

  Marcus chuckled and ran his warm hand down my bare arm. “You could pay me in other ways,” he muttered, giving me his wicked grin.

  “Hmm.” I looked around me again. “Would that include utilities? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure the water bill for this place is ridiculous,”

  Marcus laughed and rolled on top of me.

  “We’ll work something out,” he said giving me his sexy smile. His eyes moved to my lips and then back to my eyes. “I love you, Asia Fuller. Move in with me.”

  There was no way I could say no to that—not that I wanted to.

  “Oh, okay,” I conceded, rolling my eyes before I grinned up at him.

  Then, Marcus took his first payment, and like always, it was amazing.

  Marcus held my hand in his as he led me down a long hall on the second floor of the house. He stopped when he reached the door at the end. Squeezing my hand, he looked down at me and smiled before turning the knob and opening it.

  I gasped as I looked inside. Just like his bedroom, a giant wall of windows overlooked the ocean, and in front of it sat a brand new easel with a stool. To the right was a huge drawing table with a chair. There were stacks of canvases and tubes of paint in a cabinet
beside the desk. On the left, there was a new stereo sitting on my bookshelf, and my red couch was tucked into the corner. The bookshelf was full of my books and photo albums, and one picture frame sat in the middle of the top shelf.

  I walked over to it to see what picture was in the frame, and I stopped when I saw it. It was an old black-and-white photo of me sitting on my mom’s lap as she brushed my hair. I hadn’t seen that picture in years. It was beautiful. My mother looked a little older than I was now, but we were identical. She had long hair and wore a white sundress. I remembered that dress. She was smiling at the camera, and she looked so peaceful and happy. I turned to Marcus and gave him a big hug.

  “Oh my god, Marcus. I love it. Thank you so much.”

  He held me in his arms as I looked over his shoulder at the picture I had in my hand.

  “Where did you get this?”

  “I asked your dad if he had any good pictures of you two, and when he was looking through some of his old boxes, he found it.”

  I smiled as I carefully placed the picture frame back on the shelf.

  “That’s not it,” he told me as he grabbed my hand.

  Marcus took me outside. I was only wearing my panties and one of his T-shirts.

  “What are we doing?” I asked as I looked around us, making sure no one could see me.

  “Take that off,” Marcus said as he looked at the covered car under the house.

  “Huh?”

  “That,” he said, pointing to the cover on the car. “Take it off.”

  My head snapped up, and I looked at him. Oh my god. Marcus smiled at me as he saw my eyes widen, and he lifted his chin toward the car. In my bare feet, I slowly walked toward it. Leaning down, I grabbed the corner of the cover and hesitantly lifted it up. As soon as I saw red paint and one headlight, I gasped and dropped it as my hand came to my mouth.