She had to prove Naomi wrong. She did care and if she could get there in time she just might be able to save her friend’s life.
She was almost there. She wondered how long Naomi had actually been there on the shore, watching the dark waves crashing and wondering how soon it would be before she would put her bathing suit on and walk into the water and let the waves take her away.
That was what was in the pink bag. Angela could remember it clearly now. She had seen Naomi carrying it the last time that she went to this secluded beach to go swimming. If she was going to kill herself she would not dare jump in the water with her nice clothes on. Even in death, Naomi was still pretty vain and she would want to be properly attired if and when her body was dragged from the waters. That was just the type of girl that Naomi was. It was almost funny to think about the stupid little things that Naomi would be concerned with when she was about to make this kind of stupid decision.
Angela pulled up in front of the beach. She was only about a mile jog from that corner that was well hidden from the main beach by some jagged rocks. She was going to have to climb over those in the dark, which she was not at all looking forward to. Maybe she could yell for Naomi to come to her senses from there and put an end to the whole thing that way. She didn’t think that was going to be an option though, so she didn’t bank on it.
The air was cooler than it had been back in the city. The ocean breeze was strong here, almost as if it wanted to suck her out to sea. It was beautiful and peaceful; she used to love coming to these waters during the summers when she was a kid. It was a great place to come, day or night. Rarely could she convince her parents to come later in the day so she could enjoy the beach at night, but as she got older and closer to adulthood she started to do this by herself, but she made sure to stay away from the private beach. Angela didn’t quite have the balls to go into that area alone at night. Anything could have happened to her.
The rocks were bigger than she remembered and they were wet. Angela sighed as she took a deep breath and slowly began to climb over the front of the rock formation that seemed to create a natural barrier between the two beaches. As her feet slid and skated across the wet rocks under the cover of darkness she tried to tell herself how important it was for her to complete this mission and reach the other side. Naomi’s life depended on it. She had to get there in time.
The constant reminder propelled her to move quicker, but she forcibly slowed herself down enough to maintain the safety that was needed. If she fell and was hurt then it would not do Naomi or her any good at all. She took steady deep breaths as she reached with her hands and then followed with her feet. She was almost around the rocks and in a second she would be landing safely on the other side.
She took the last step almost too quickly and felt her whole body jerk as her feet slipped out from under her, but luckily her arms came into action and she held on tightly. The sea was roaring beneath her with the loud thrashing waves calling her name. They wanted her. They wanted to suck her whole body and soul up in one swift movement, but she would be damned before that happened.
Angela maneuvered her body around the final rock and planted both feet on the sandy beach that they had always dubbed “the hideout” when they were kids. They were not sure if it was part of the public beach, or if it had been condemned for some reason—rumor had it that the rocks formed a perfect pool with the cliff on the other side of the beach and that the tide flooded over there every single morning. Angela and pals had never ventured to test this theory.
There she was.
Naomi was midway on the beach, close to the edge of the shore. She was just staring blindly out to the sea. Angela could see her figure outlined by a light that was suddenly off in the distance. She could not tell if it was a lighthouse or just someone’s home, but it was giving her enough light to see the perfect silhouette of her friend.
She walked slowly closer to Naomi, not wanting to startle her until she was closer. Perhaps if Naomi saw it was her she would think twice about doing this.
When she was about ten feet from her friend she called out to her.
Naomi’s head shot around like she had just heard a cannonball firing at her head. She looked frightened and she looked angry, but most of all she looked hurt and scared. Angela wanted nothing more right then than to help her friend.
“What do you want?” Naomi asked.
“I want to help,” Angela replied.
“Yeah, sure. That’s all you want. You want to help me. Well, then maybe you should stop messing with my life. How about that?”
“You know that’s not the way it is. Naomi, come on. You’re a smart, reasonable person. I know you’re hurting.”
“You don’t know anything about me!” Naomi shouted. Angela had never heard such ferocity in her voice before.
“I do know. I know you. I knew where to find you.”
“Lucky guess,” Naomi said.
“No. I knew because I know you. I know my best friend. I know when you are hurt. I know when you are scared. And I know when you are reaching out for help.”
Naomi smirked and continued to stare out into the ocean.
“You don’t want to do this,” Angela said.
“Don’t tell me what I want. I want you to go back where you came from. I don’t need you here.”
“Yes, you do. You need me. And you need your dad.”
A tear began to drop down Naomi’s eye just then. It was the first real emotion that Angela had seen on her face in a while. It was a good sign of hope.
“Just leave me alone,” Naomi said as the tears began to fall harder. It was finally starting to get to her.
“That’s it, let it out. Let go of all that hatred. You know it’s wrong.”
Angela was almost standing right beside her now and she could see the tears rolling down Naomi’s face as her chin quivered uncontrollably. She was letting go. Naomi was starting to show some real emotion and it was a beautiful sight.
“It’s okay,” Angela said.
She reached out quickly and grabbed her friend in her arms, pulling her close. Now the floodgates were opening up and Naomi began to cry harder and harder, her sobs loud and ringing in Angela’s ear. She didn’t dare try to stop it, she had to let it happen. The pain had to leave Naomi and this was the best way for it to do that.
“I’m so sorry,” Naomi said. “I just hurt so bad!”
“I know. It’s okay.”
“Why didn’t she want me? Why did she do this to me?” Naomi cried, full-blown balling now.
Angela stroked the back of her friend’s head as she buried her head in her shoulder. She could not help the tears from falling down her own cheeks too; she had missed her sweet friend so much. All they had been through over the years; it could not end that way. Angela knew that the real Naomi was tucked away somewhere and she was determined to bust her loose.
“I’m sorry about what I did to you,” Naomi said. “I’m just so afraid of losing my dad. He’s all I really have in this world.”
“I know, honey. It’s okay. He loves you. He understands how you feel,” Angela said.
“After all I’ve done, I’m not sure he will ever forgive me. I’ve put him through hell. And he didn’t deserve it. I’m a horrible person. I’m just so ashamed.”
“You’d be surprised, sweetie. He loves you more than you could possibly know. And he loves you no matter what. You could never do anything to change that.”
“Well, I guess I have some work to do. I have to find him,” Naomi said.
“You may not have to,” Angela remarked as she stepped away and looked back.
Naomi and she could both clearly see Richard standing there smiling at the two of them. Somehow Angela knew that he would be there and that he would figure out the same thing that she did. It just took him a bit longer to get there from where he was.
He was standing in front of the rocks with a huge grin on his face.
Naomi rushed over to her father and almost
knocked him over as he received the kind of warm embrace from his daughter that he had begun to fear he may never feel again. Angela could see the emotion overwhelming them both and kept some distance as she basked in her own feelings of joy, watching the long-overdue reconciliation between two of the closest people in her life.
“Wow, I can’t believe how you got through to her,” Richard said.
Naomi was waiting in her father’s car, still wiping away the tears, as he walked Angela to her car parked about a hundred feet down the beach from his.
“Yeah, I just spoke from the heart. I guess that was what she needed to hear,” Angela said.
“Angela you are absolutely the most incredible woman that God ever put breath into.”
Angela felt herself blushing as she tried to shake off the exquisite compliment.
“I thought I was sure before, but after seeing the way you just saved my daughter I am beyond certain now. I want you to be my wife,” Richard said.
“What?” Angela gasped.
Before she could utter a single thought or ask him what he was thinking, Richard was down on one knee pulling a small box out of his pocket. He opened it up revealing the most beautiful diamond ring that she had ever seen.
“Angela Walters—will you marry me?”
“Yes,” Angela choked out with tears rolling down her face. “Of course I’ll marry you!”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Richard stepped out of the bathroom. His nude, muscular body was like a fine piece of art that had been chiseled out of marble. Every muscle, every sinew was tight and rippling with tiny beads of perspiration. He stood there staring, like a hunter stalking his prey. But the prey had already given up. It was terrified and waiting for whatever the hunter wanted to do to it. There was no chance for escape.
But this prey did not want to escape.
Angela licked her lips and readied herself as Richard walked slowly towards her. His body glistened under the dim lights in the honeymoon suite of the luxury resort that Richard had picked as the first stop on their honeymoon in Cabo San Lucas.
It had all been so perfect. Their amazing, blissful wedding had just wrapped up about five hours ago. Their families and friends had all been there as well as a ton of press and paparazzi, all aching to get the first photograph of the newly married power couple that was about to take Hollywood by storm.
Everything had been exactly the way she imagined it. They had an underwater theme that was supposed to be an enchantment in the Lost City of Atlantis, which they had both always been intrigued by. A lifelike replica of the titanic had been built for them as well. It was not a real boat, but it looked better than the one in the movie in Angela’s opinion.
And Naomi was her maid of honor. She looked amazing, as did Natalie, Rachel, and her cousin Shelby who rounded out her stable of bridesmaids. It was difficult to think that it had actually been six months since Naomi had almost killed herself. But since then everything had been wonderful. Richard’s relationship had never been stronger between him and his daughter and it melted Angela’s heart to see how happy they were. And Naomi was thrilled beyond belief about the wedding; more and more as the big day approached. It was going to be weird to be her lifelong best friend’s stepmother, but Angela had a feeling they would move past it soon enough.
And now it was time. It was time for Angela to experience the night she had been waiting for all of her life. She was nervous, anxious and scared, but excited. All those feelings were rolled into one. It felt like she was having a coronary every five minutes and was waiting for the big one, but she combatted those with an artillery of heavy breathing.
Richard climbed onto the foot of the bed. He moved slowly closer to her. She could plainly see his rock hard member standing straight up in the air, ready to penetrate her sweet wetness. She wanted him so badly. She had wanted him for so long and now it was actually going to happen—it almost seemed surreal. It was like a dream she had had so many times that she was not sure if this was real or just the dream. Or maybe if you had the same dream too many times it eventually became real.
Richard kissed her softly on the lips as his hands grabbed each side of her hips, massaging slightly and gripping them tenderly. The lust in her loins began to intensify as he kissed her harder, the passion spewing from his soft lips. She was not sure how much longer she could wait. She was so wet.
A moment ago she had been chilly, lying naked on the bed. It felt more natural for her to be naked when he came out of the bathroom. He had taken a look at her and smiled that devilish grin of his that made her swoon and she had seen out of her peripheral how he became bigger and harder just at the sight of her.
“Are you ready, baby?” Richard asked.
Angela took a deep breath, “Yes.”
Richard smiled as he maneuvered between her legs slowly. She could feel him at the base of her opening, ready to push forward and thrust inside of her. She was aching for him so hard. She needed him in every possible way. How was it that she was able to desire someone so completely?
Angela braced herself as Richard slowly slid between the tight slit between her legs. He was large and thick, but he inched himself in nice and easy. She felt a sharp pain as her virginity dissipated, never to be seen again, but it was over quickly. It was almost as if Richard knew just how to treat her, knowing it was her first time. She felt so safe with him. She knew that he would always treat her right and keep her safe from every kind of harm. She loved Richard more than she had ever imagined was possible.
He was all the way inside of her now. He felt so tight inside of her aching walls. It felt like a perfect fit and as he started to move slowly in and out of her she could not help but gasp at the intense pleasure she began to feel. It was like every single cell in her pelvic area was a sensor of pleasure and it was sending shockwaves of lust and desire echoing throughout her whole body.
She wanted it faster and harder. Angela wrapped her legs around Richard’s tight waist and began to hump in rhythm to his thrusting, letting him get deeper and deeper inside of her. He was stretching her to her maximum capacity and still she wanted more somehow.
Her throat began to groan and growl independently. She could not hold back the moans of exquisite pleasure that she was feeling. It was more than words could say.
She could feel Richard’s hard manhood getting thicker still and harder as she pushed it deeper and deeper into her, scraping every inch of her inside.
The pressure was building from deep inside of her. It was as if all of the sensors of pleasure were connecting together to form one hugely intense ball of pleasure and energy. She knew that something was going to blow soon, but she did not want this to stop. It was an orgasm. She knew it a split second before she felt it release.
The pleasure shook her entire body, as her wet mound grabbed hard onto Richard’s member and began to grope it, sliding and squeezing as they both continued to hump harder and harder.
A second later she heard Richard groan.
She could feel his hot man juice blasting inside of her with a total release of ecstasy.
They held each other tenderly and Angela could hardly believe that it had happened. Everything in her life had finally come together perfectly for her. Her first experience of physical love was even more intense than she had ever imagined it would be, but she imagined a lot of that was due to the fact that she loved Richard Kane with her whole mind, body, and soul.
“I love you, sweetie,” Richard said, echoing her own thoughts to her.
“Oh, I love you more, babe,” Angela replied.
Richard curled her closer to his chest, her head resting there hearing his heart beating rhythmically beneath. She loved to listen to his body. She loved to listen to the life force deep inside of him. It sounded like love and hope, which she had been seriously lacking in her life.
But not anymore.
She was quickly becoming one of the rising stars of the fashion industry and she was now ma
rried to the most amazing man she could have ever asked for. Sometimes though, she started feeling like she didn’t deserve it all. At times she would find herself waking up in the middle of the night sure that it was all a dream or that it was all temporary. Maybe it would all disappear soon and that would be the end of her rollercoaster ride. She saw it happen all the time. The fashion world and the entertainment world were both fickle beasts and they were all about the flavor of the week.
Who was to say that she wasn’t just this week’s flavor?
Richard Kane, that is who.
When those seeds of doubt started to plant themselves into her paranoid brain, Angela Walters-Kane just had to think about her amazing husband Richard and she could cast those thoughts aside and go on enjoying their perfect, fairytale life together.
The End
Part IX
New Neighbors
Chapter Forty-Two
I’ve always wanted to own a house. My grandmother owns one. It’s a hundred-year-old farm house, updated just enough for indoor plumbing, which clangs and sputters each time you turn the spigot on or flush the toilet. The floor boards are splintered, the varnish peeled back, but I think if you tried to sand down the floors to refinish them, there wouldn’t be much left of the wood.
It has a hundred-year smell; cooking scents piled one over another, moldy corners, human and animal sweat, continuous living that never noticed the house was settling into old age. I grew up in her house after my dad abandoned me and my mom. I don’t remember a great deal about it except we had lived in a trailer park before and when we moved, the house felt like a huge, wonderful, mysterious castle to a six-year-old girl.
I’ve always wanted a house, but at twenty-nine, it seemed a distant goal. There aren’t a lot of options growing up in rural North Carolina. I had attended the University for a while, earning a culinary arts degree, but truthfully, the greatest demand was for chicken fried steak and when it comes to southern cooking, there’s a whole lot of competition.
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