The One Left Behind (The One Series)

by Lena Nicole

  Pierce says, “You should frame that one. I look great.” I playfully swat his arm, but I’ll probably get it framed anyway since this is definitely a memory I want to remember.

  Our next stop is the World Trade Center Memorial and it is beautiful yet haunting. There are two huge waterfalls where the two towers once stood that are surrounded by smooth slabs of metal with all the names of those who lost their lives etched in it. I see an older man kneeling beside the wall with his hand placed over a name. His head is down and he looks to be in so much pain I have to look away. It feels like I’m intruding on a very personal moment. Behind it stands the Freedom Tower and I have to tilt my head all the way up to look at the whole thing. It is completely silent and the only noise you hear is the water hitting the bottom of the waterfall. The museum is still being built so we don’t get to go in which was kind of a bummer. Neither of us says a word as we sit and soak in the 9/11 Memorial. It’s an amazing sight and an excellent way to represent the tragedy of that day and its fallen heroes.

  We grab a cab to the hotel and hurry up to get ready for dinner. Pierce looks delicious in his charcoal gray slacks and purple button down shirt. I love that he’s confident in anything he wears, even colors deemed feminine. I’m wearing a flowey, navy chiffon dress that hits a little above my knee. We walk down to the lobby and Pierce hails us another cab and we head toward the restaurant.

  Exiting the cab, we pull up to an Italian restaurant called Ninos. I have always heard great things about this place but have never been here. Pierce says he came here on a business meeting once and has been dying to come back. I’m sitting across from Pierce with my elbow on the table and my head resting in my hand. He’s been talking about all the charity work him and his dad used to do and it is fascinating. He gets a fire in his eyes as he regales me with his stories. The most intriguing part of it that tells me a lot about the kind of men they are is that they didn’t just write checks and send money to charities, they were hands on getting in there to help. My favorite story is when they went to a tiny village in Africa to help Doctors Without Borders. While helping out, they both came down with a serious case of dysentery. He’s making jokes about it which makes me laugh. The thing I notice is that he doesn’t look at this as a bad experience and shrugs it off while focusing on the reason he was there. He said even after all that he couldn’t wait to go back and help again. I see the passion he has for helping others and all I can do is grin and listen. Before I know it, dinner is coming to an end. Pierce pays the bill and we walk out the door, and take a cab to Serendipity to get some ice cream for dessert before heading back to the hotel.

  When we exit the ice cream shop, I see a horse and carriage waiting by the curb. My eyes light up and before I can say anything Pierce speaks up, “Your chariot awaits.” He waves his hand out toward it, gesturing for me to get in.

  “You did this for me?” I say a little surprised.

  “Of course I did. I remember you saying how you loved the romance behind them and no one has ever taken you on one.” He places a kiss on my neck that makes me shiver from head to toe.

  I smile warmly at Pierce as he holds out his hand to help me into the carriage. He climbs up into the carriage after me and wraps his arm around my shoulders. I snuggle in closer to him as the carriage takes off.

  “So, where are we going?” I ask and I feel like a kid with all the excitement running through my body.

  “Wherever you want. This is your carriage ride.” He places a sweet kiss on my cheek.

  We end up telling the driver to go where the wind takes him and ride through New York aimlessly, just enjoying each other’s company. The whole ride he would touch me in some way. He’d either have his arm wrapped around me or holding my hand while drawing circles on the back of it with his thumb. I love how affectionate he is with me all the time.

  Once we arrive at the hotel, we go straight for the elevator. A second after the doors close Pierce has me cornered. He begins to kiss my neck and lets his hand wander over my entire body. I want him so bad but the realization of where we are puts the breaks on it a little.

  “Pierce, someone might get on the cart with us,” I say as I push him back slightly. Pierce doesn’t care and keeps kissing my neck knowing that’s my sweet spot. Then he brings his lips down onto mine and I’m lost, forgetting the whole reason I was protesting. The scent that is only Pierce consumes my senses as I explore his mouth with mine, tasting the wine he had earlier for dinner. His lips are so soft and full that I could spend forever just kissing him. We are so caught up in the moment that we don’t realize the elevator has stopped at our floor. I hear someone clear their throat and jump away from Pierce, embarrassed that we just got caught. Pierce gives me a knowing grin and quietly chuckles waiting for me to exit first. When I look to see who caught us, it’s an older man and his wife. They both get on after we get off and the woman turns around once in the cart.

  “Don’t be embarrassed, honey. Young love is great. Me and my Harold still make out in elevators,” the old woman says before looking at her husband affectionately. Right before the doors close all the way, I see Harold grab his wife and place a big kiss on her. Pierce continues laughing as I want to hide my face, hoping I never see them again.

  When I walk into the hotel room I am surprised. There are rose petals all over the floor that form a walkway to the bedroom. The bedroom is lit up with a bunch of candles. There is a split pathway with one path leading to the bathroom, and the other to the bed. I take the path to the bathroom first with Pierce following closely behind me. Walking into the bathroom, there are more candles and a hot bath drawn filled with more rose petals. On the side of the tub sits some champagne and strawberries. He must have had someone set this up while we were on our way back.

  I feel Pierce’s breath on the back of my neck. I lean my head back to rest on his chest and notice he is naked. His hard chest, amongst other things a little lower, are pressed firmly to my back. My heart starts to flutter in my chest and my breathing starts to accelerate.

  “This is wonderful,” I say trying to focus on the elaborate set up and not the hot, naked man behind me. Pierce places soft kisses starting at my neck and working down my back as he begins to unzip my dress. He slides it down my body and holds my hand while I step out of it. Stepping into the oversized bathtub, he turns to grab my hand and lead me in. We both sink into the water and I rest my body against Pierce’s chest so that my back is to his front. He begins massaging my neck while I’m drinking my champagne. This is so blissfully relaxing and exactly what I needed.

  “A girl could get used to this,” I moan out.

  “You’re not just any girl, you’re my girl, and I will always treat you like a queen,” he says in a low, deep voice.

  I turn around and straddle him. I can feel his hardness beneath me and it makes me feel sexy knowing how I turn him on. I lower my head and press my lips against his. It starts off as a slow kiss, but quickly escalates. I open my mouth and let him in, caressing his smooth tongue with mine. I guide him inside me and he lets out a low, surprised growl and then sucks air through his teeth. I guess he wasn’t expecting me to do that. I begin to move slowly, savoring the feel of our bodies connecting. I’m sloshing water everywhere, but couldn’t care less. In this moment the only thing I care about is making love to this wonderful, caring man. A man who has captured my heart time and time again.

  “I have to say,” he pants out, “as much as I like being in control of your body, I like you on top of me.”

  Getting lost in his words I pick up my rhythm. When I feel his body trembling, I let myself go as we come apart together. I lay my head in the crook of his neck because I like feeling this closeness between us. He runs circles over my back with his fingertips as we sit like that in the water. I feel utterly relaxed and could almost fall asleep on him right here. The water starts to get cold so we decide to wash up. Pierce gets out of the bath and holds out a towel, wrapping it around me as I step out of the tub. He
dries off my body, placing gentle kisses on each part as he goes along.

  Pierce pours us two more glasses of champagne and I walk over to the bedroom. I almost forget about the second pathway of petals that leads to the bed. I follow them and am brought to the end of the bed with a heart made out of calla lilies, my favorites. I find my phone and take a quick picture of it. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. That thought makes me wonder if Colin was ever romantic like this with me. I shrug it off and place my phone on the nightstand. I drop my towel and lay out on the bed. Pierce takes my lead and drops his towel as well joining me. He is insatiable so I know this night is far from over.

  I kiss his chest before saying, “I love you, Charming. This is all so amazing.”

  “I have to say, you spread out naked with all the rose petals is hotter than I could have ever imagined. I can’t wait to make love to you again.” He leans up on his elbow, pushing me onto my back before nipping my lower lip. I wrap my arms around his broad shoulders and pull him into me.

  I SHOULD HAVE known Jeremy wouldn’t let the whole Brooklyn thing go until I told him details. A week after he picked me up from her apartment I finally cave to all of his badgering.

  “Look, it’s no big deal. I fucked her and it’s done.” I shrug my shoulders trying to be as nonchalant as possible about this.

  “Yeah, right. I’m still a little shocked. How did that even happen?”

  “I don’t know, man. I think one thing just led to another I guess. She kept making all these crude suggestions to me while I was drinking. The more I drank the more I wanted to take her up on her offers, but now I just feel horrible about it.”

  “Why? It was consensual, right?” Jeremy raises an eyebrow. Seriously?

  “Yes, it was consensual. What kind of guy do you think I am? I don’t feel bad for Brooklyn, I feel bad about fucking Brooklyn because of Addison.”

  “I’m not following you. What did Addison do to make you feel guilty? She doesn’t even know you were with Brooklyn.”

  “You don’t understand. I told you about all the vicious things I said to her. Then I went out that same day and fucked another girl. I just feel like I’ve cheated on her. I know that’s a little irrational since we’re not technically together and she has clearly moved on, but I can’t help it. It just feels wrong.” I grab the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger as I feel a headache building.

  “Ah, I see.” Jeremy starts rubbing his chin as if he’s in deep thought. “Here’s the thing, and I’m not trying to be an asshole. You’re single. You are as single as they come. Addison is happy with Pierce and the engagement was called off months ago. There’s no reason to feel guilty, and if this helps you move on with your life and get out of this depressed funk you’re in, then I’m all for it.”

  That’s the problem. It wasn’t helping at all. It was just making things worse.

  A couple weeks later I got a few text messages from Addison. I guess she wanted to talk before she went out of town, but I couldn’t face her yet. I’m shocked as hell that she would want anything to do with me after what went down the last time we saw each other. I don’t know how I’ll ever make up for that.

  From the first time I fucked Brooklyn to now, about a month has gone by. In that months’ time I’ve been hanging out a lot at Docs. Which means I’ve also been “hanging out” with Brooklyn too.

  One night I was sitting at the bar alone minding my own business. I assume it was time for Brooklyn to take a break. She walked up beside me and said, “You look a little wound up. Let me help you relax.” Then she bit my earlobe. She grabbed my hand and led me to a supply closet. Real classy.

  She immediately dropped to her knees and pulled my pants down. She sucked and licked with such expertise she could do this for a living. Part of me wondered if she did. After she finished me off, she licked the corners of her mouth. I didn’t know if I should applaud or be disgusted by her eagerness. Oh, well, it’s not like I was bringing her home to meet Mom.

  We both left the closet after I straightened my clothes. She had a very pleased grin on her face, and I have to admit I was feeling pretty good too. I mean, who doesn’t after a blowjob? As soon as we step back into the bar, the guys who were sitting around me start to clap. I’m almost a little embarrassed for Brooklyn until she takes a bow. Wow. Again, I feel like I should be appalled by her lack of modesty and open sluttiness.

  Things were pretty constant between Brooklyn and I. I would go to her apartment a few nights a week, fuck her, then leave. I guess the status quo was no longer working for her because one night she got pissed.

  I had just finished screwing her up against the wall—I had gotten over the whole “I don’t want to look at your face” thing—when I set her down and started getting dressed. I picked up my keys and told her I would see her later. That’s when the shit hit the fan.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I looked at her stunned.

  “What? You didn’t fake those orgasms, did you? You got yours, several times, and I got mine. What’s the problem?”

  “You! You are the fucking problem. I’m not a whore, you know?” She puts her hands on her hips as she shouts at me.

  Still confused, I try to tread lightly by saying, “I never said you were.”

  “Then why do you do that? You fuck me and then immediately leave. The first night you at least stayed the night. Granted you bailed on me before I woke up, but at least I didn’t feel as used.”

  “Look, Brooklyn. We both know what this is and what it isn’t. Don’t make this into a bigger deal than it needs to be.”

  “See, you’re treating me like a whore!” She’s clenching her fists at her side and I can tell she’s getting pretty pissed. Well, I guess it’s best to nip it in the bud. I really don’t need to be having sex with this girl anyway.

  “I’m not treating you like a whore. If I did, I would have left some money on the nightstand.” I have a blank expression on my face as I say this to her, and this sends her over the edge. She picks up an empty beer bottle sitting nearby and chucks it at my head. I move out of the way just in time.

  “Fuck you, Colin! Go find someone else to put your dick in. Maybe that girl won’t care that you use her. I sure as fuck do!”

  I don’t even respond. I just turn around and walk out.

  A couple days later I run into Jeremy. When I say run into, I mean he showed up at my doorstep unannounced again. He comes in and sits on my couch and starts to surf the channels on the TV.

  “What’s up? Is there a particular reason you came by other than to take over my TV?”

  “Nah, not really. Just wanted to talk.”

  I wasn’t buying it. He had an agenda. “Okay…”

  “Did you get some text messages from Addison about a week or so ago?”

  Fuck. I do not want to have this conversation today. It’s killing me to stay away from her and not return her messages, but I’m so ashamed of my actions and I’m not ready to face up to them yet. “Uh, yeah. Why?”

  “Two things: first, you didn’t tell me and second, you didn’t respond?”

  “No, I couldn’t. What would I say to her? Sorry for calling you a whore and offering to fuck you. Can you forgive me? Yeah, I’m sure that would go over real well. How’d you know about this anyway?”

  “It just so happens I ran into Addison today.”

  When he doesn’t elaborate I say, “Okay, and…”

  “She asked how you were doing which I thought was strange considering. But then she told me that she had tried to reach out to you and you never responded. You’re a dumbass.”

  “Why am I a dumbass? She’s moved on. What else is there to say? I’m tired of beating this proverbial dead horse.”

  “I think she wants to make amends. I think at first she thought this was the type of person you have always been. Since the accident you haven’t been yourself and all she sees is this new, self-destructive Colin. She doesn’t know that your current behav
ior is out of character for you. Apparently, Colby and Damon have told her that as did I. So she wants to clear the air and make a fresh slate.”

  I think about this for a moment. Jeremy’s right. All Addison can remember is the asshole version of me that drinks too much, carries large amounts of resentment, and verbally lashes out at people. And she doesn’t even know what I’ve been doing with Brooklyn. That would surely not improve her impression of me. None of those thing are me though. I need to get off this current path I’m on and cope in a way that will allow me to heal and move forward with my life.

  “You’re right, Jeremy. I’ll text her later and apologize for avoiding her and see if she wants to get together.”

  “Good.” Jeremy says, getting a cocky grin on his face. “I should have been a shrink. I’m amazing at this shit!”

  I just shake my head at him. He’s too much sometimes.

  Jeremy leaves a little while later. I’m staring at my phone hoping it’ll tell me what to say to Addison. No such luck. It’s time to man up.

  Me: Hey, Addison. I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your texts. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t avoiding you. I feel awful about what went down. If you’d like to get together to clear the air let me know.

  Addison: It’s okay. I’m ready to put this behind us and move forward in trying to build a friendship. If you’re free tomorrow I could meet you for lunch.