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  It was because of this that I hastened my movements in placing Flora in the shower. Immediately, she turned toward me, running her fingers through my hair, helping the shower to soak it completely.

  As her lips met mine, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in tightly.

  After a moment of savoring in the taste of her, I carefully broke away from her mouth and let my lips trail down the side of her neck, onto her shoulders. I kissed the water droplets off her body as she turned around, grabbing the hotel shampoo, and lathered her hair. I grabbed the bar of soap next to me and drew it across her shoulders, cleaning her back, before gliding the suds down the front of her, being sure to give each of her beautiful breasts special attention.

  As I did this, she leaned back, resting her head on my shoulder and kissing me passionately.

  When I slid the bar of soap close to her womanliness, Flora moaned and grinned behind my lips.

  “You are so beautiful,” I breathed when we broke away to catch some air. “God, you are gorgeous.”

  She simpered, before turning toward me and pulled the soap from my hand. After dropping it on the floor, she snaked her arms around my neck and thrust her leg up, around my waist, while her womanliness called to me.

  I felt the pressure of her against me as she used the back of the shower for leverage and slid gracefully into my grasp.

  “I’m ready for you,” she answered, “Take me, please…”

  I chucked, in a low and gravely voice, before I repositioned myself to easily slide my manhood through the sheath between her legs.

  “Oh, God…Collin…Yes!” She moaned, her nails digging into my back with passionate fervor, as the lower half of her body thrust me into her deeper.

  I grasped her perfectly shaped buttocks and pulled her away from the wall, so that I could control our movements.

  Easily, I drew her back, before pulling me into her again.

  The rhythm of our lovemaking was slow and precise, at first, while I figured out the level of certainty I had with regards to both holding her and intensifying our movements.

  By now, the entirety of the bathroom was steaming and form our bodies, wisps of white rolled off our shoulders and dissipated as it left our skin.

  We were both reddening from the heat and the exertion, but neither of us cared. All we wanted in that moment was one another.

  Once I was secure in the position we were in, Flora and I worked together, pulling and pushing in tandem to maximize the growing feeling of excitement that swiftly intensified, leading toward a prolific finale.

  When it finally came, I could hardly control myself and when it was over, we were both left extremely exhausted, but intensely satisfied.

  Chapter 11: Flora

  The next morning, I woke up with a flood of emotions coursing through me.

  Initially, I was thrilled to be lying next to Collin, with him all to myself in the motel room we had rented to have some true alone time, away from the crappy surroundings of campus life.

  Although, when I thought about all that transpired the night before, my initial excitement faded, and I started to wonder exactly how any of this was going to work.

  Obviously, Collin had a lot more female baggage than I could’ve ever imagined and that scared me. I didn’t want to date someone who was constantly going to have someone undermine me.

  Considering Collin was my first, my being reminded of anyone that he had slept with before me was slightly disheartening. I was angry with him, though I wasn’t sure why. I wanted to be there for him and I wanted to keep the relationship we had as pure as possible.

  I loved what we had, and I was really looking forward to keeping it, though, I still wasn’t sure what was going to happen once classes started again.

  While Collin understood that I would be consumed by school for most of the semester, I wasn’t exactly worried about him distracting me, since he seemed to be extremely supportive of me.

  Of course, I meant what I had said to him the night before. I didn’t care about his past, I cared about what happened while we were dating. Yet, while I knew that what happened the night before wasn’t his fault, I couldn’t help but feel bad.

  I knew that eventually, if all went well with our relationship, I would have the confidence to laugh it off, knowing that such unpleasant issues were in the past.

  Right now, though, I wasn’t convinced. So, I tried to think of a way to build that confidence quicker. That way, there was less of a chance that I ever had to feel like this again.

  ***

  Once I felt her move next to me, I tried to “Good morning,” I grinned as I placed my arm around her and pulled her in close to me.

  “Good morning,” she replied sleepily, resting her head on my shoulder.

  “I had a great time last night,” I offered.

  “I did too,” she admitted, successfully sounding as though that wasn’t hard for her to admit.

  “I would really like to do it again sometime,” I responded quickly, unable to help the knot of nervousness that wound itself tightly in my stomach while I awaited her response.

  “I would too,” she answered coolly, and I wondered, for the first time, if I was reading too much into this. Yet, I knew it didn’t matter. This reaction was genuine and unwanted; I knew I couldn’t stop it.

  ***

  “How about tonight?” He asked, forcing a cocky tone, which sounded strange to me, considering his confidence didn’t usually come out cocky or weird. It usually came out as simply, confident.

  Is he worried about last night? I wondered, feeling my stomach tighten uncomfortably. I wasn’t sure what to say to him to make him feel better about the situation, if that even was the issue, but since I couldn’t exactly be sure how to feel better about it yet, I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to assuage his feelings.

  “Sure, that sounds nice,” I replied, though I subconsciously wriggled out of his arms and slid out of the bed.

  “Is everything alright?” He asked carefully.

  “Yes, everything is fine,” I insisted, but only received a barking laugh from behind me.

  “That’s a crock of shit and you know it,” he retorted, which caused me to turn around hastily, narrowing my eyes at him. He usually didn’t curse at me. This was a first and I wasn’t sure if I was okay with it.

  “No, it’s not. Everything is okay,” I replied, now more sheepishly than I was speaking previously.

  “Please, Flora, don’t lie to me. I know that there’s something bothering you. I want to talk about it. Is it about what happened last night?”

  “Last night? You mean with the girl?”

  “Yes, and that’s exactly what it is, isn’t it?” He didn’t wait for a confirmation before he shook his head, “Flora, I’m sorry. You’ve got to believe me, that I’m not like that. I’m not like the other guys in that stupid house. They…Ben just want to destroy me. He’s been a dick ever since…”

  I narrowed my eyes, wondering why he would bring Ben up, specifically. After all, I had never told him the name of the man who attacked me. In fact, after our initial conversation, we hadn’t said anything to one another about what had happened.

  “Ever since, when?” I asked keenly.

  “You know, the party…or a couple days after…” Collin replied, proving to me that he was about as good a liar as I was; which, given the situation, suited me perfectly.

  “Why? What happened a couple days after the party?”

  “We had a falling out. I told you,” he insisted.

  “You never said what that falling out was about. Was it me?”

  “Why would it be about you?” He hissed, though I could tell he was grasping at straws to get himself out of this situation.

  “Now, who’s the one who isn’t being completely honest?” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest and staring at him intently, willing him to tell me what exactly he was keeping from me.

  “Okay, fine,” he hissed, “I’ve known it was Ben almo
st all along. He came home after the party and confirmed it was you. We fought, but apparently, you’re a better fighter than I am…which is pretty disgraceful, and he kicked me out of the house. I had to take a dorm to have a place to live…My friend, Gavin followed me. Is that what you wanted.”

  “Why did you do that? I told you not to worry about it. I can take care of myself!” I snapped, though I couldn’t help feeling a little excited that he had tried to fight for me. However, I wasn’t about to let him know that’s what I wanted him to do…because I didn’t.

  I just liked the idea that he would fight for me.

  “Okay, so you don’t seem to understand…I didn’t exactly do this for you. I know you can take care of yourself. I did that because he hurt you and I couldn’t stand the idea that no one knew what he had done. Now, at least he knows that I know, and that Gavin knows. So, if you ever wanted to do anything about it legally…”

  “But I don’t want to,” I insisted, “Yes, he attacked me, but I got away. I am thankful, but I want it to be over. I don’t have any interest in rehashing it over and over again.”

  “I’m just letting you know that if you did, you would have our support,” he narrowed his eyes, seeming to be hurt by my reaction. “I just couldn’t take it…I didn’t mean to attack him. I just saw his black eye and…” He huffed, looking away from me.

  “Well, what does that mean for you, now?” I asked, softening my tone to prove I wasn’t angry with him.

  “It means I get to live in a dorm, where I know my roommate isn’t a rapist,” he answered heatedly.

  “I…I meant with your family. Does your father know?”

  He shrugged, “I don’t know. I’m guessing since I haven’t received a scathing voicemail from him that he doesn’t know. However, I could be wrong. I haven’t gone home, mostly because I don’t want to find out for sure,” he gave a half-hearted laugh.

  “Yeah, I get that. Unfortunately, I understand exactly what you mean,” I sat down hard on the side of the bed, “I’ve been stalling to go home, because I don’t want to deal with my parents doing everything they can to convince me to stay…and if they ever found out about what happened with Ben…” I shook my head, not even wanting to think too much about the repercussions of that fiasco.

  “Is that why? I thought you were trying to spend more time with me,” He grinned, trying to lighten the mood, but all I could manage was a quick, unconvincing simper.

  “Well, of course, you definitely made it easier to stay,” I replied.

  “Thanks,” he answered, though his voice was sarcastic, as if he didn’t believe me. “So, anyway, parents aside, ever since that whole weird thing happened, Ben has been making it his mission in life to make my existence here a living hell. Last night, as that girl was walking away, I saw him and his buddies laughing hysterically. The truth is, I never even slept with that girl. I don’t know who she is, but even if I had, can we please agree that doesn’t matter? Like you told me last night, what happens is to us now, is what matters. Please don’t make our lives revolve around something that might or might not have even happened before I even met you.”

  I stared at him then, feeling ashamed for being so angry. While there was still a little bit of lingering doubt, it was rapidly being overtaken by the truth I found in his explanation.

  Knowing this, I returned to the bed next to him and pressed my lips against his.

  “Thank you for telling me,” I whispered when we broke apart.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I just didn’t want to upset you…It wasn’t because I was trying to hide anything from you.”

  “Just do me a favor?”

  “Sure,” he insisted, “Whatever you want from me,”

  “I’m a strong woman, Collin. Don’t treat me like I’m fragile. I would rather know the truth from you and be slightly hurt than find it out this way, or another, far worse way. Okay?”

  I felt him nod lightly against my head before kissing me gently.

  “Of course,” he exclaimed, and I felt a sense of complete and lasting relief wash over me.

  Chapter 12: Collin

  Ten Years Later

  The past ten years had gone by like it was in the blink of an eye. Both Flora and I had graduated with honors and we were excited to start our life together.

  However, as soon as we got out of school, the reality of life hit us, and we were almost immediately immersed in our busy lives.

  Eventually, we got an apartment together and we tried to save for a house, but it never seemed to work out. There was always something we seemed to need the money for. Whether the car broke down or there were bills that needed to be paid, we always ended up financially taking one step forward and two steps back.

  It was never ending, but at least we didn’t have either of our parents living anywhere near us. Plus, after college, I was able to leave the useless friends I had in the dust.

  I hadn’t seen any of them since graduation and I was happy. Despite the ups and downs that life threw at us, Flora and I were happy, and we were doing well.

  My love for Flora grew more with every day that passed and I couldn’t wait until we took the next step in building my life with her. I wanted to having children and buy a house. I had all these fantasies of what it would be like, to have family days with our kids and have dinners together, but we never got to see one another. Of course, we lived together and generally, we slept together, but there wasn’t much more time left in the day and sometimes, we didn’t even get that.

  If Flora was working late, or if I was working late, sometimes we would stay at the office, just to catch what little sleep we could.

  “What I just can’t understand, is that with all that work, we still can’t manage to progress. It’s like were stuck in a rut and can’t get out,” I told Gavin.

  He sat on my couch, watching the game, with his feet up on the coffee table, nearly jumping at every sound, terrified that he would be caught and scolded by Flora.

  “I don’t know, dude…I think that’s just normal life. I mean, it sucks but sometimes, it’s just not the right time. It’s just the ups and downs of married life, I think.”

  “But, shouldn’t there be some balance? I mean, how does everybody else have the money to get a house?”

  “Who do you know that’s our age and has a house? Ben is currently living in his father’s second home, bumming it until his father makes him get a real job and most of the other guys we know are in the same…uh, rut you are.”

  “Well, what about you? Don’t you ever feel like you want to have a home of your own?”

  “Nah…I like my mobile home. It’s good, affordable and the best part, is it’s mobile,” he beamed brightly.

  “You don’t get lonely?”

  “Dude, I have a warm bed every night…Sometimes, I have barely enough room in my bed for me.”

  “But…You live in a mobile home…” I insisted, half joking around and half trying to be an ass.

  “Yeah, well, it’s bigger than this apartment and do you know how many different interesting things women think I’ve done to be living in that mobile home?” He snickered.

  “And, have you done any of them?” I knew the answer but had to ask anyway.

  “I received my MBA...” he chuckled, “I tell the truth to the real backwards girls, who think doing anything in higher education is prestigious…And why the hell would I want to do any of that shit if I can just pretend to have done it and still get laid?”

  I laughed, shaking my head, “Gavin, you are truly one of a kind, my friend.”

  “I do try,” he insisted, but my attention was pulled away from the conversation by the sound of my phone ringing.

  “Shit,” I grumbled, reading the name on the screen. “It’s my dad,” I told Gavin, as I answered the phone. “Hi Pops, what’s up?”

  “God, please tell me you don’t always answer the phone like that,” he hissed, “Haven’t I taught you anything?”

&nbs
p; “Yeah, so, how are you doing?” I asked, trying to smooth over the lecture. I wasn’t in the mood to hear anything about the way I lived my life, from a man who cheated people out of their money, purely for his gain.

  “I’m fine. So, did you divorce that good for nothing wife of yours yet?”

  “Dad, stop. I’m not in the mood for this right now.”

  “If you divorced her, you’d never have to be in the mood for her again,” he laughed in a deep, cackling manner. I rolled my eyes.

  “Please, Dad. Did you call for a purpose?”

  “What?” My father barked, “Can’t a man call his son to remind him of his own stupidity?”

  “I would rather not hear about it every five minutes, if it’s all the same to you,” I answered, “I’d like to actually have a conversation with you, that has nothing to do with my wife.”

  “Well, you moved away from us, you refuse to come and live here, where I can get you a real job, and you’re making the biggest mistake of your life with a woman who is going to leave you and take you for everything you have. I’m worried about you. I think I have the right to worry about my son.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine and I’m happy. I didn’t move away on purpose, Dad. We found work here.”

  “No, your wife found work there. You could’ve found work anywhere, instead, you’re caught banging your head on the glass ceiling with a woman who thinks she’s better than everyone, just because she’s got tits and half a brain.”

  “Alright, you know what, Dad? I shouldn’t have even picked up the phone. I’m hanging up now. Goodbye.”

  “Sure! Run away, you pussy!” His father screamed as I took the phone away from my ear and pressed the end button.

  “Fucking asshole,” I grumbled as I slid the phone back into my pocket.

  “Some things never change, huh?” Gavin insisted, making it clear that he understood the gist of the conversation.

  “No, they just get worse and more bitter with age.”

  Gavin’s shoulders rose and fell, trying to make the situation sound like less of a big deal.