Another New Life

by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle

  He zipped his coat back up and rested his elbows on his knees to cover himself. I leaned over and kissed the side of his head, loving the effect I had on him.

  "I like your hair; it suits you."

  He smiled as I turned to face the piano. I pressed down a few keys to get a feel on how they would respond.

  I played a song I'd been working on as Troy rested his hand on my thigh, gripping it like a football. Feeling connected to my two passions, the music vibrated back and forth through our bodies. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world. When I finished, Troy grabbed my hand, and we headed out of the park.

  ***

  He brought my hand to his face, watching me as he rubbed it across lips. As soon as we reached his truck, Troy opened the door. I started to get in, but he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back out. He pushed me up against the truck, and he kissed me deep and slow. His tongue tasted mine. I closed my eyes, felt his hands moving to either side of my face. I waited for him to kiss me again, but he didn't. My eyes opened, and I found Troy staring at me.

  "Look at me." I did what he asked, and we kissed with our eyes opened. His intense focused made my head swim. His arms moved down my sides, over my hips, and he squeezed my ass as his lips moved to my neck.

  "I don't think I can wait until we get back to Austin," he whispered.

  "Me neither."

  "Get in, I have an idea."

  Troy drove a few blocks and turned into the driveway of a hotel.

  "Welcome to the Omni Hotel," the bellman said as we got out.

  ***

  We arrived at the room, and I thought the front desk made a mistake. She didn't give us a room. She gave us a suite, a penthouse apartment overlooking downtown Dallas.

  "Wow."

  We both stood in the foyer in awe looking over the suite and its modern furniture and floor to ceiling windows.

  I removed my coat and walked over to the window in the bedroom, mesmerized by the view. I placed my hands flat on the glass, tapping the window with my fingers. Troy stood behind me. He moved my hair out of the way and placed his hands on top of mine while planting a line of kisses down my neck. He pressed my body into the glass.

  I pushed back into him. He placed his hands under my sweater and pushed it up over my head. He continued kissing my neck and moved over to one shoulder, then the other. His lips made a trail down my spine. I rested my cheek on the glass, feeling the cold contrast with the heat generated from his kisses. He knelt down and continued to kiss my lower back.

  He turned me around and proceeded to remove my boots and jeans. My back now pressed against the cool glass.

  Troy looked up at me. "God, you're beautiful."

  I leaned against the window in nothing but my bra and panties and watched him. He kissed and caressed all the way down my legs. His lips tasted a spot behind my knee, and I shivered. He stopped. "Are you cold?"

  "Not even close."

  He grinned and continued working his way back up the other leg. I loved his smile. I loved the way he looked at me. A few days ago, I thought he'd never look at me like this again. It would have been such a waste.

  Troy's fingers touched me between my legs, and it brought me back to the present. His touch so light, but deliberate and slow. It was agonizing, but felt so good.

  I moaned my approval as he continued, his fingers moving back and forth. When he replaced his fingers with his tongue, tasting me through the fabric of my panties, I put my hands in his hair. I looked down forgetting his shaggy curls were now gone, but happy to look in his eyes and see my sweet Troy.

  He stood up, removing his own shirt, and left me by the window, panting and missing him.

  He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at me. Taking all of me in, studying me. His face showed gratitude and lust.

  I enjoyed his eyes on me but wanted his hand on me more: his tongue, even better.

  I walked over and stood between his legs. I separated his clasped hands and placed one on my thigh. His energy shot through my body.

  I removed my bra as he slid my panties down. His hand returned to my butt on its own. When he squeezed it, I couldn't suppress a giggle. It tickled.

  I pushed him flat on his back unbuttoned and pushed his jeans and underwear down. The look in his eyes told me he couldn't wait to get inside of me. I wanted to give him what he wanted. He wanted me, and I wanted him too.

  Slow and deliberate was over. In one quick motion, I climbed on his lap and pushed him inside of me. The sensation caught us both off guard. We screamed a harmonized primal scream. Feeling him inside me, while his hands roamed over my body on the outside, Troy owned my body completely. As the orgasm hit, I tried to pull away; it was too much at one time. Troy stopped moving, but held me in place. He wasn't going to let me get away from him again. The intensity brought tears to my eyes.

  Troy sat up and kissed the tears as they fell. He held my face with one hand while he wrapped the other around my waist. I wanted to tell him what I was feeling, thinking, but I looked in his eyes and saw he already knew. He felt it, too.

  We stayed like that for a while. Our breath slowed into a steady rhythm. I moved back and forth in time with our breaths and soon we were both breathing heavy again.

  I held his eyes. He restrained himself as long as he could, but he couldn't wait any anymore. He locked his arms around my waist and flipped me on my back. He pulled out of me almost all the way and stopped.

  He kissed my forehead. He kissed my eyes, the left and then the right. He kissed my forehead and rubbed the tip of his nose on mine before kissing it, too. Then he entered me again with such force, it took my breath away. I didn't regain it until he'd finished with a grunt of his own a few minutes later.

  Troy collapsed with his arms still locked behind me.

  I ran my hands back and forth through his hair until his body relaxed. He rolled over to his side and crawled up next to me.

  "Hey," I said.

  He hummed an answer. It vibrated off my hypersensitive skin.

  "You were right."

  "Hmm, about what?"

  "We can't not be together."

  "It wouldn't make sense." He kissed me where his lips had settled, and we fell asleep, too exhausted to move.

  Making up and getting back together left us both mentally and physically drained. At some point in the night, we got under the covers. We sleep through the night.

  I woke up with Troy's hand squeezing my breast.

  "Are you dreaming, or trying to start something?" I turned to face him. I bit his bottom lip and kissed him.

  "I must be dreaming." He rolled on top of me. I loved the weight of his body on mine. "Real life doesn't feel this good, does it?"

  "You'd be surprised."

  "What do you want to do today?"

  I raised my head to kiss him. "More of this."

  "Hmmm." I wrapped my legs around his waist in an attempt to pull him closer. He started to enter me, but stopped. "Hey."

  "What?" The concerned look on his face made me laugh. What could he possible have to worry about now?

  "We forgot something last night."

  "No, I think we did just about everything last night," I said and reached down. "I'll show you again if you want." I wrapped my hands around him and pulled him to enter me.

  "No, we didn't use a condom last night."

  "Uhm, yeah, we didn't."

  "Are you worried? We can go to a drug store and get a morning-after pill or something."

  "I'm on the pill."

  "You are? I didn't know that," he said. "Why didn't I know that?"

  "I don't know."

  "Did you start taking the pill for me?" he said.

  "Okay," I said, and started laughing. "Sweetie, I've been on the pill since I was fourteen, but you're the only person I've been with in a year."

  "I haven't been with anyone except you this semester," he said and let out a nervous laugh.

  "As long as your slutty freshman yea
rs didn't spill over to your sophomore year, we're good." It was a statement, but I awaited confirmation.

  "Of course." He leaned down and kissed me as he entered me.

  I let out a sigh. "Good.

  When I woke up the second time, I heard Troy’s voice from across the room.

  "Yeah, man. Listen, I appreciate you fitting us in,” he said into the phone.

  I couldn't hear the guy on the other end, but he said something funny because Troy laughed. "No, this time for sure. See you soon."

  He walked back over to the bed and wrapped his arms around me as I stood up.

  "You're not leaving me." I pulled him close so I could get my lips on him again. I will never get tired of kissing this guy.

  "Nope, you're coming with me." He kissed me back. "Dan Smith, the tattoo artist I told you about, is in town, and he can work us in today at two if you still want to get one."

  "Really?"

  "I'd made appointments for us at Christmas, but that didn't happen. God, I don't even remember Christmas."

  I did, which reminded me I probably should call my mother.

  I jumped on the bed as Troy lay down.

  "We're getting tattoos?"

  "If you want to."

  "Yes, yes, yes." I jumped up and down on the bed like a kid, oblivious to the fact that my nakedness was on full display. I didn’t have a hint of modesty around Troy. There was no need. He knew me inside and out.

  He laid back and watched.

  ***

  When we arrived at D&D Tattoo Shop, I tried to play it cool, but I couldn't. I was way too excited. The sound of tattoo machines vibrated off the walls. The shop looked nothing like I had imagined. The walls were painted a dark burgundy and instead of flash on the wall, each section had an exhibit of original art by each artist who worked there.

  Dan greeted us as soon as we walked in.

  "Hey, man," Dan said as he hugged Troy. "I can't believe I finally got you in here."

  "I know. I was waiting for the proper motivation." They both turned to me.

  "Nice motivation," Dan said and hugged me. "Your first time, too?"

  "Yes."

  "Cool, well give me a few minutes, and we'll get started."

  ***

  We flipped through some of Dan’s books, looking for the right image for Troy. I knew what I wanted.

  "I should get Wally tattooed on my chest,” Troy said.

  "Yeah, no," I said, not wanting to have to look at our school mascot tattooed on him for the rest of my life.

  "Okay." Dan returned, grabbed my hand, and walked me back to his tracing table. He sat down. With pen in hand he asked, "What do you want to get, and where are you putting it?"

  "I want a lotus flower on my hip, and I want you to include a small Longhorn symbol in it," I said.

  He waited for me to continue, but when I didn't he looked up. "And?"

  "And that's it. The rest is up to you." The moment I met him, I trusted him to create something beautiful.

  "How big do you want it?"

  "As big as it needs to be."

  "Color?"

  "Yes."

  "Okay," he said. He scrunched his forehead, and started to draw.

  When he finished, he showed me the drawing. I don’t know if it was the image and the meaning behind it, or the fact that Troy and I were sharing another first, but I had to bite my lip to avoid getting to emotional.

  "What do you think?" I asked Troy.

  "It's going to be beautiful on you."

  ***

  Dan handed me a sheet and pointed me toward the bathroom to change while he prepared his station. When I came out of the bathroom, I shuffled over to him.

  "We good?"

  He didn't wait for me to answer. He took a pen and recreated the sketch on my skin in twenty minutes. I watched in awe. I’d only seen artist use stencils, but having the tattoo drawn on made it seem more personal. My tattoo would be one of a kind.

  "Go look in the mirror and tell me whatcha think." I scooted over to the full-length mirror. The lotus followed the contours of my body. It started to come alive.

  "It's beautiful. Babe, what do you think?" I wanted him to love it. He would have to look at it for the rest of his life.

  "It's beautiful."

  "That's two beautifuls, let's get tattooed." Dan patted what looked like a black leather massage table. It was covered in plastic. I didn't even bother to look over at the tattoo machines. Some things I just didn't need to know about.

  I climbed up on the table and lay on my side. Dan tested his machine, and the noise made my teeth hurt.

  "I'm going to start with a small line so you can get used to it." I grabbed Troy's hand as the tattoo machine buzzed to life. The image of a nail being dragged across my skin in some weird torture ritual came to mind. It hurt, but I didn't flinch. The sensation lasted about three seconds, and then it was gone.

  "How was that?"

  "Not awful."

  "That's what I like to hear. Now, make sure you don't hold your breath or you'll pass out. Breathe easy and try to relax. If you need a break, let me know."

  Relax. Only someone covered in tattoos could tell someone getting tattooed to relax with a straight face.

  ***

  "You okay?"

  "Yeah," I said, but my voice sounded weak and a million miles away. Dan had been at it for a couple hours. The outline took forty-five minutes, but as soon as he started adding the color, the numbness went away. The last thirty minutes, I felt every single pinprick. I shut my eyes and tried to concentrate on something else, but it didn't work.

  "We're almost done," Dan said.

  I'd had my head propped up on my elbow, but I lowered it and rested it on my arm. Troy laid his head down next to mine. I could smell his scent.

  He ran his fingers up and down my arm.

  "Look at me,”

  Last night he said the same thing with lust and longing, but this time, his eyes showed gentle sweetness and love. This was him taking care of me. Knowing exactly what I needed.

  I looked into his eyes, counting all the different shades of green.

  Everything else faded away, and the only thing left was Troy and I.

  It wasn’t until Dan said, "We’re done,” that I felt the pain, again.

  "Thank God," I said.

  Dan and Troy laughed.

  "Okay, take a look."

  Troy helped me up.

  I shuffled over to the mirror and held my breath while flecks of green and red and purple reflected back at me. As I turned my hip toward the mirror, the rest of the image came into view. Every color, every detail, made it appear real, like I could reach out and touch it. I couldn't tear my eyes away from it.

  Troy walked up behind me and looked at it in the mirror. He leaned over and whispered, "Now you're perfect."

  ***

  While I got dressed, he and Troy worked on his sketch. Troy settled on a dragon on his throwing arm. Again, Dan drew a quick sketch but then drew the dragon directly on Troy's arm before starting the tattoo.

  Troy teased me about handling the pain the whole time. It was nothing for him. I was disappointed. I wanted it to hurt a little.

  "I can't believe you want me in pain."

  "Well, you're weird if it doesn't hurt."

  "I didn't say it doesn't hurt. I just handle it better than you."

  "Can you like stab him for me, please?" I said to Dan, half-joking. Troy's tattoo was so detailed, Dan only had time to do the outline that day.

  He had a few more lines to complete, but Troy was getting restless.

  “Dude, there a coffee shop nearby?” Troy asked.

  “Yeah, about three blocks down and two blocks up," Dan said.

  "Babe, can you grab me some coffee, please.”

  I grabbed my coat and headed three blocks down. When I got to the end of the block, I turned left and walked two blocks up, but no coffee house. The whole block housed a clothing store. They were closing for the night, b
ut I poked my head in and asked about the coffee shop that was supposed to be there.

  "It's on this street but about four blocks down," she said. I swore Dan pointed this way when he said two blocks up.

  I backtracked and went an additional two blocks the other way and found the coffee shop, but it had a line out the door.

  What! Is this the only coffee shop in Dallas?

  I waited. It took me fifteen minutes to get through the line, and another five minutes to get the coffee.

  I walked back into D&D, coffee in hand, ready to lecture Dan on his lack of directional skills, but I stopped when I noticed Troy's right hand. I almost dropped the coffee.

  He had words written on the space between his thumb and index finger. It spelled Miranda Preston in a beautiful cursive, but it wasn't just written, it was tattooed.

  "What did you do?" I looked at Troy. He looked quite proud of himself, but his face fell when he saw my expression. "Why did you do that?"

  He took the coffees out of my hand and sat them on the counter.

  "Okay, before you freak out, let me explain."

  He grabbed my hand. "I didn't get the name of my girlfriend tattooed on my hand. I got the name of my best friend."

  "What?"

  "You've been my best friend my entire life, and that's never going to change."

  “What?” I understood but wasn’t sure whether to kiss him or smack him for doing something so stupid.

  I couldn't believe he did that. He had my name ... tattooed on his skin ... forever.

  How could I possibly express to him how crazy and stupid and precious and amazing he was to me for doing that?

  "I want one too," I said.

  "Yes, she bought it," Dan said as Troy pulled me in his arms and kissed my lips.

  ***

  I got "Troy Anderson" in script tattooed on the side of my middle finger. I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

  We said goodbye and made plans to return in a few weeks for Dan to finish Troy’s tattoo.

  We stayed in Dallas one more night. I had to admit I was a little nervous about returning to campus.

  Troy and I had made up. We were beginning to heal within the confines of our hotel suite and without the influence of real life getting in the way, but we couldn’t hide out here forever.

  We left the hotel early the next morning. We had four hours on the road, and the closer we got, the more my anxiety level increased.