by Kim Black
“You know I love you right?” I whispered and sat up in the unbelievably comfortable hospital bed. The memory-foam-type mattress hugged the contours of my body like a glove. It was as if I was sleeping on clouds. Since when did hospitals provide such luxurious beds? The same question arose each time I moved across the velvet feeling sheets.
“Yeah, yeah, I love you too,” she murmured before bending over to unlace her shoes, her hair falling over her head in a mess of curls. Carefully, she reached over and pulled each shoe off, leaving her black and purple striped socks on. She climbed into the hospital bed with me and asked, “So…who do you want to take you?”
She lifted her head and looked me in the eyes awaiting an answer, but I had no idea what the heck she was talking about, “Huh? What are you talking about?” I asked her.
She shifted on the bed, rolled onto her stomach, and supported herself on her elbows. “When I walked into your room I heard you say ‘just take me.’ At first, I thought you were awake but when I got closer, I realized you were talking in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?”
The realization that Suzie heard me begging my French dream man to ‘take me’ made my cheeks red with embarrassment. My dreams about the mystery man were far from tame, mundane, sex. No, this man was passionate and powerful. His strong, capable hands made me weak with the slightest touch. His sculpted, smooth, yet hard chest felt unbelievable under my fingertips. When he took my body with his skilled, thick, shaft I was in heaven, and never wanted it to end as he pounded into me with hunger and desperation. It was damn near animalistic! I couldn’t fathom the idea of actually sleeping with such a primal man; but my body, both in reality and in my dreams, seemed to respond to him in a way I had never responded to another - Adam included. I actually went to sleep early last night, hoping that I would dream of him again. I am such a slut!
“Hmm… That’s weird. I don’t remember dreaming about anything…,” I lied. There was no way I was going to tell Suzie about my fantasy Frenchman. It was bad enough that my subconscious was cheating on the man I loved and hoped to one day marry, but giving voice to the desires I felt for the dream man was embarrassing. Not to mention that Suzie, being the freak that she was, would never let me forget it.
Suzie didn’t seem to believe me. Her eyebrows went up in suspicion as she lowered the rest of her body down on the hospital bed, her arms resting underneath her head. “Sure sounded interesting…,” she began with a grin. “It sounded like quite a dream…Thank goodness it was me who walked in and not Adam,” she teased and giggled.
Mortified that my dream had slipped into my reality, I clenched my eyes shut, and knew that my face was red in horror. God, had she heard me moaning too? How fucking embarrassing!
“Come on…you have to tell me. You rather owe it to me, since this whole accident has left a girl with no time for any shagging. I swear I am going to combust at any moment. Not to mention you left me hanging to be the buffer between two, very fine, unattainable, specimens for a week,” she teased with a mischievous grin.
Two?
“Good morning Ms. Roberts, how are you feeling today?” Dr. Avery asked as she walked in. I felt Suzie stiffen besides me, but I couldn’t understand why.
“I … I’m feeling ok I guess, just a little restless,” I admitted. Mr. Frenchman hasn’t let me get one full night’s rest with all his kinky, hot, passionate, love.
I blushed to myself and looked away from the doctor’s stare.
“Have you remembered any other details from the accident?” she asked, yet again. For the past two days, she had asked me the exact same question. Was there something I was missing?
I remembered climbing into my car, Adam on the passenger side and that’s it. “No, nothing else... May I ask why you’ve insisted on asking me that?” I asked, lifting my head to meet her gaze. Since the moment I woke up from this God awful coma, everything had just felt off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it just seemed that everyone was keeping something from me – the doctor included.
She sighed and stepped aside, revealing another woman behind her. “Well actually that is what we are here to discuss with you Ms. Roberts.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, but I was happy that I was finally going to be getting some answers. Suzie squeezed my hand in an attempt to reassure me.
“I love you, girlie,” she whispered before sitting up to face the doctors with me.
ADAM
Dana’s parting words were still ringing in my head two days later, which made sleep nearly impossible. Each time I tried to put myself in her shoes I came up empty. My mind replayed the moment I stumbled upon the truth, cringing as I recalled the moment my heart broke again – twice in one year’s time.
Diana had spent the night at my house, and I had just awakened to the smell of her vanilla scented hair against my nose. She lay across my chest, peacefully asleep, and completely spent from the night before. The memories of the night before caused me to grin as I slowly slid from beneath her body, not wanting to wake her.
She was stunning, especially asleep without her makeup and her hair tossed about. I grabbed for my boxers, which I tossed on the floor the night before, and stared at the woman I loved. Today was going to be the first day of the rest of my life, I thought to myself.
I barely thought I would live much less love again, after my breakup with Emily. The emptiness I felt when she suddenly broke it off nearly took my life. I was crushed that Emily accused me of cheating on her. While I desperately wanted to fight for us, I couldn’t. I had trusted Emily with everything; and the fact that she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, trust me the same broke my heart. Diana, being the sweet angel that she was, never left my side. There were nights when I barely spoke a word, and yet she just… stayed. She sat with me, comforted me when the tears came. At first, I held them off, not wanting to further embarrass myself. After a while, I let the tears come. Diana pulled me into her arms, lay my head on her chest, and she soothed my pain away.
I never really noticed when I had gotten better. It just happened. One day I was so depressed that I couldn’t climb out of bed, and the next I was laughing with Diana. She became my safe haven.
It was a Saturday morning and I didn’t have to go to work until later that evening. I decided to fix my girl some breakfast and made my way to the kitchen. It was time to put my cooking skills to use. I wanted to make her favorite breakfast, so I grabbed the eggs and Spinach from her fridge.
It hadn’t taken long before she awoke, the smell of coffee luring her into the kitchen in nothing but her boy short panties and bra, her plump, sexy ass barely contained in the thin fabric.
“Something smells good,” she yawned as she sat on the island stool to my right.
“Thought I would make my girl some breakfast,” I grinned and turned to face her, noticing her lack of clothes and instantly becoming hard beneath my constrictive boxers. ‘Damn, she’s beautiful!’ I thought to myself.
I willed my eyes to break away from her sexy toned curvy body, and focused on the task at hand; knowing that soon, we’d be back in the bedroom and I would be buried balls deep inside of her again.
The table was already set and everything was in place. We both sat down and began our meal, making small talk about our plans for the weekend. Anxiety coursed through me as I waited for her to discover my surprise. When she finished her coffee, and spinach omelet, she did what she had always done after finishing a meal. She reached for her crisp, white, table napkin to dab her mouth.
I watched as her gaze fell to the small piece of jewelry that fell onto her lap. Her mouth dropped when she realized what it was, and brought the engagement ring up in front of her.
“What’s this?” she whispered, never taking her eyes off the two-carat solitaire.
Unable to contain my smile, I rose off my seat, rounded the table, and knelt before her. My heart thumped loudly in my ears. I was beyond nervous, but managed to project an outward confidence.
�
��Ms. Edwards… Diana. You are the reason I am alive today. My joy, my heart, and my soul belong to you. I love you with everything I have and I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how much you mean to me. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Instead of happily accepting my proposal, she gently placed the ring on the table with a trembling hand and walked away, heading for the bedroom. I was shocked at first and remained kneeling for a few minutes, before finally standing up and mustering enough courage to see what I had done wrong.
When I walked into that room, everything changed. She told me all she had done, all she had felt through tears and sobs as I stood across from her.
“I never meant to hurt you or Emily,” she cried out to me as I walked away, slamming the door behind me after telling her to stay the fuck away from me.
That had been a little less than three months ago. Did I still love Diana? I couldn’t really say. A part of me missed our relationship, for sure, but a greater part of me knew it was all a lie; and for that, I hated her fucking guts!
As I walked through the hospital entrance, I told myself that I needed to let Diana, and all that happened, go – at least for the time being. I needed to focus on Emily today. Yesterday, Suzie called and told me about Emily’s meeting with a therapist. She knew the truth now, at least some of the truth. Dr. Avery had informed Suzie that Emily would be going home today, and that she thought it was best that she was in a familiar setting. Dr. Avery hoped that being home would help her remember the last year. She would still be meeting with the therapist three times a week as an outpatient, but she was going to need the support of all of us.
Walking into Emily’s room, she looked at me nervously. Was she scared about going home?
I pushed the thought out of my head, and strutted towards her. “How are you feeling today baby girl? Ready to blow this joint?”
EMILY
I was still in shock. A whole year had somehow vanished and I couldn’t make sense of it. I'd awoken from this coma to find a black hole in my life. Dr. Avery brought in the hospital’s therapist to help break the news to me. They tried their best to explain everything, but it was as if I was living someone else’s life. This can’t be happening to me.
I tried not to cry, but the flood began; and once it started, I couldn’t stop. Questions bombarded my mind as the women tried to keep me calm. Was I married? Was it to Adam? Did we live together? Was I still an interning chef? No answers came to mind, which only brought on more tears.
The doctors reassured me, and Suzie, that my memory loss was a common side effect of serious head injuries, and that it likely would return - in time. By the time they left, I was numb. I couldn’t cry anymore and I just wanted to be alone.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay the night with you?” Suzie asked as she sat beside me and stroked my hair.
I was sure. I needed time to process. I needed to digest everything I’d been told, and I couldn’t do that with her worrying about me, trying to console me.
“Yeah, I just need some time,” I whispered back at her.
After she left, I cried myself to sleep. I felt like I had lost a piece of who I was. What had I been up to this past year? Had I changed in anyway? The questions came nonstop, until finally, I couldn’t cry anymore and blessed sleep pulled me away from my overwhelming thoughts.
When morning came, I had, for a split second, forgotten about the amnesia. But just as I sat up on the hospital bed, it all came rushing back and filled me with complete despair. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I tried to will my brain to remember all that it had forgotten, but had no luck.
I hadn’t been sleeping well since my dream man, whom I now called The Frenchman, consumed my dreams. I didn’t know where the nickname came from, but the other night it just came to me and felt right. It suited him. It was weird really. Each dream I had of the Frenchman seem so real, so familiar. It was as if we were lovers in another life.
I tossed and turned most of last night, drifting from one erotic scene to the next. Me on his bed. Him on my bed. And me in an office? Everything seemed too familiar. I still could make out his face in the dreams, the edges around him blurred, but I knew he was gorgeous. There was something about him that just exuded sex, and it drove me crazy. Did I know this man? Was he a part of my life? And, if he had been, where was he now?
When Adam walked into the hospital, I was flushed with embarrassment. It wasn’t right to fantasize about another man. In fact, I couldn’t recall a time I had dreamt of Adam, not even in an innocent way. Shit, I’m a horrible girlfriend.
“How are you feeling today, baby girl? Ready to blow this joint?” he asked as he strutted over to my bed, leaning in to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. His sandalwood cologne, which normally turned me on, filled my nose; but, oddly, I felt nothing. I chalked that up to the guilt I felt for my secret rendezvous with a certain Frenchman every night. I pushed the thought aside. ‘The Frenchman’ was nothing but a fantasy I had conjured up, Adam was real. He was the best boyfriend I had ever had. Well, he was the only boyfriend I had ever had. Mister tall, dark, and seductive, was just my subconscious begging for attention. Some French attention, you whore!
I suddenly realized that, since waking up from the coma, Adam hadn’t really kissed me. Not even once! Was he afraid I would break if he did?
“I’m doing ok,” I offered shyly. He pulled up a chair and sat beside my bed. He looked very cute today. He wore his dark blue fitted jeans, a blue and yellow collared shirt that he left open at the throat, which revealed a crisp white t-shirt. And, of course, he had on his signature flip fops. The man had a thing for them, having a variety of them in his closet in almost every shade. Thankfully, he was blessed with adorable looking feet, so I didn’t mind the odd obsession.
“Suzie said she would meet you at the house. I assume that goes the same for Diana. She told me about the meeting you had with the doctor yesterday. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when you woke up. It’s just … we all hoped that your memory would improve on its own,” he mumbled as he took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“I know,” I said as I looked away from him. I had so many questions. Were we still together? I assumed we were, since he’s been here almost every day; but things seemed different with him, not like before.
I turned and looked at him, and he gave me a small smile. I smiled back him, but then felt the tears welling up in my eyes, threatening to fall. I needed to know. I had to ask. I could sense his discomfort and wondered what he thought.
Curious about his sudden mood change, I asked “Everything ok?” and I reached for his soft, warm, hand. He looked up at me and I could tell that there was something brewing in that head of his, but he simply nodded his head.
“Yup, everything’s fine.”
Unconvinced, I continued searching his eyes. Something was definitely wrong.
“Adam … I need to know … if …” I began and tears fell from my eyes onto my cheeks.
He shook his head, “No, baby girl, we’re not,” he said, knowing just what I was asking. We had always known what the other was thinking. It was something we loved and called special.
My heart sank. Everything had changed and I couldn’t remember any of it. Still holding his hand, I felt him grow rigid. He didn’t look at me. Instead, he looked at everything in the room – except me.
“Tell me…What happened?” I asked. I tugged on his hand, forcing him to look me in the eye. I saw his inner struggle brew within him. A part of him wanted to tell me, but something seemed to be holding him back. “I can take it, Adam, I promise,” I begged.
He nodded his head and brought my hand to his lips, “Ok, I’ll tell you,” he responded.
JULIEN
“Sylvie, please meet me in my office as soon as you can!” I ordered over the intercom. It was my first day back to work since Emily’s accident and I needed updates on all of our projects – most importantly, the new hotel that was suppose
d to open in a little over a week . My father would have my head if things did not go as planned. That Shane had been handling matters in my absence made me extremely nervous.
With everything going on, I needed things to run as smoothly as possible. It was bad enough I had become a depressed, worthless, excuse of a man the last few days. I slept the guest room because I couldn’t stomach to go into my own bedroom or home office. Memories of Emily tormented me day and night. No matter how much I tried to push her out of my mind, she still haunted me.
“Yes, Mr. Belmont, I’ll be right in,” Sylvie responded and was at my desk with pen and paper at hand a few moments later. Always the ever-ready assistant.
“Bring me up to date on the Downtown Project,” I demanded and poured myself a scotch at the bar to the far side of my office.
“Well sir, Mr. Belmont…” she paused and then continued, “Mr. Shane Belmont made sure that all the staff was hired during his time here, and the building passed all inspections thankfully. So, there are no major issues to worry about, other than the organizing the grand opening, which I am already working on. I hope you don’t mind, but with Ms. Roberts’s accident and you having to take care of her, I thought it best to get started on the planning,” she declared, before shifting over in my direction. “How is Emily, by the way?” she asked sincerely, concern evident in her face.
Inwardly I cringed and sighed softly. She as a kind woman, so I knew Sylvie would ask about Emily at some point. Hearing her name made my heart ache and I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe. The walls were closing in on me and I needed to escape. I brought the glass of scotch to my lips; finished the contents in one long gulp, and set the glass down hard on the mirrored bar top. After breathing in deeply in an attempt to steady my breathing, I glanced at Sylvie, who now stood beside me. It was obvious that she had detected the shift in my mood and quirked her brow in confusion and worry.
