After Hours

Chapter 18: The Healing Process

"I work as a personal assistant/receptionist/ full time mom," She admitted knowing the conversation would change drastically now that he knew she was a mother, "And no, I'm not married because I could see you itching to ask that," She laughed loudly as he was stumped not knowing what to ask next.

"I really don't believe the whole my sister owns a house and i'm suddenly intrigued into the real reason why you came here alone,"

She blinked, looking off into the distance. "It's a long story but I did come here for a swim," She decided to ignore his question, relaxing as the calming "Barbados Blue" made her forget everything but the gentle caresses as the water swirled around her tired and worn out body. She swam for what seemed like hours until the midday sun interrupted her tiny slice of oasis.

By the time she had returned to the house, she was pruny and had begun to darken from the exposure to the sun. "I miss you," She whispered to herself,  stomach protesting , growling as she made a chicken salad sandwich for her lunch.

Feeling the lonelyness finally sinking in, she picked up her new phone, a Samsung Galaxy Ace and dialed Kemani's number, needing to hear words of encouragement. When she heard the answering machine it took everything within her to stop the stab of disappointment she felt. Knowing she needed someone who would know exactly what to say, she decided to call Justin who she was positive would make her feel better.

"Justin's in a meeting with a new buyer and he will be unavailable for the next week. He's taking an unexpected trip. Would you like to leave a message?" Justin's personal assistant Meghan asked in her sexy southern drawl.

"No it's fine," She disconnected the call without giving her name, stripping out of her bikini, going into the shower singing along with the calming music of Joss Stone's I Got A Right To Be Wrong humming along to the parts that she knew by heart.  Her hand drifted to her stomach feeling a slight flutter.

"Sometimes I imagine you're still here inside me blobbie," Realizing that she had broken her promise to refrain from speaking to her stomach, she quickly snapped out of her haze, turned  off the shower and pulled her fluffy terry robe on.

"The couch looks promising," She whispered to herself, grabbing her copy of Woman Thou Art Loosed and sipping on the cheap non-alcoholic bubbly having a Waiting to Exhale moment on the leather sofa. Before she could turn five pages, her eyes began to feel heavy and she drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

****

"Dessie!" She heard her name being called by a familiar voice and it jolted her awake from her dream about him. All of her dreams about Alex had left her unable to process the conflicting emotions within herself.

There had been many as the days went on.. conflicting feelings of lust, raw emotions and anger inside of herself but there was still love. As she searched through the house, the voice became louder, became more sweeter with each whisper of her name.

"I'm here waiting for you," The voice became the loudest as she stepped onto the balcony, which was flooded with the silvery moonlight of the full moon. "You came sweetheart, I am pleased," She sighed as the familiar voice calmed her, tracing the familiar line from the back of her neck to her shoulder, making her shiver even though the night wasn't as hot as previous nights.

"I... needed to see if you were real," She opened her eyes, blisfully unaware that she had closed them, looking up at the man she loved, the smile reaching her eyes for the first  time in days. "You are real. What are you doing here?" She was interrupted by his kiss, hot and raw as it awoke her every sense.

"I'm as real as you want me to be sweetheart. I've missed you...I need you... I need us," Without asking her permission, he slid the tiny straps of her shoulders, staring down at the lush body which she had given to him willingly all those months ago, when there had been more doubts in her head about the two of them.

While she still had doubts, they weren't his fault. Her lack of emotional control was her fault... She was the one who had been shutting everyone out as she grieved after her misscarriage, after her rape.

It was only then that she got a good look at him, wearing only a pair of white loose fitting slacks. Somewhere in the relationship, they had become so comfortable together that they would wear matching sleepwear, tonight was no different.

"I've always needed us. I just need time to need myself," She shook her head but he silenced her again, pressing her against the solid beam of the house, wrapping her naked legs around his waist. He placed feather soft kisses along her collar bone, retrieving the necklace he had given her in Jamaica and without a word put it on her, letting the heavy weight fall against her ample bosom.

"I've always needed you even when I wouldn't admit it to myself," She kissed him back, knowing she had missed him more than she wanted to admit. With unhurried desire building up within her, she loosened  the string on his slacks, clinging to him like a second skin, as he stepped free of them.

 The wind swirled around them but their bodies were heated as they began the acient ritual known to man. "We'll get arrested," She managed to say, hearing his throaty laugh. "I can't go to jail here," He kissed her for the hundreth time, silencing her negativity. Their bodies created a magic of their own, and as the moon hid behind a cloud, she screamed his name, lifeless in his arms for a moment.

"I love you," He kissed her cheek, wiping the tears away from her eyes from her release. He seemed real but she had called his temporary secretary who had told her that he had no travel plans in the immediate future.

"I love you too," With their bodies still joined, he carried her back to the house, enjoying her body for the second time before she drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

********

She sprang from the bed, gasping as she found herself alone and stared at the clock at the wall which insisted on letting her know she had overslept. As she made an attempt to get out of the bed, she found herself with a flashback of a memory which she wasn't sure had actually happened or had just been a dream.

The memories kept bugging her throughout the day and swimming did nothing to take her mind off the realness of her dream. Her body was uber sensitive and instead of swimming in just her bikini, she opted to wear a loose shirt to cover herself. Just thinking about Alex, made her want him to appear in her dreams again tonight. 

Just as she was about to leave the beach, she saw  Blake striding up to their spot where they had been meeting religiously for the last few days. She had learned that he was a lifeguard during his teenage years in California and was a beach bum until he went to U.C.L.A. As the days went on, she found herself opening up to him more and more, even though the topic of her rape had never come up.

"Fancy meeting you here today," She smiled flicking some hand out of his hair. "I'd like to stay and talk but  I have an appointment," She smiled, grabbing her beach tote and was halfway up the path before she stopped and without even thinking about succumbed to the word vomit that her family was famous for.

"Blake..."

He looked in her direction and sprinted towards her, not even breaking a sweat. "What is it?" He looked down at her, knowing she was at the point where she was beginning to trust him and open up little by little.

"I was raped," It was the first time she had admitted anything like this to anyone outside her family but instead of caving, she smiled. "My ex thought I would always belong to him and he took me against my will. To top things off, I was pregnant when he kidnapped me, but I miscarried. I need somebody to listen and right now I trust you. Fancy a new patient?" She asked, gasping as he knocked the breath out of her with a giant bear hug.

"Let's begin, your appointment can wait," He took her hand in his and led her back to the blanket.

* Barbados blue is the shade of the water around the island. There are few places in the world where you will find the shade. And the color was so much adored that one of the top nail polish companies branded it. Unfortunately the color is now out of comission but that used to be my old color. 

** Ah the color is called Barbados Blue by Essie. I had to research it lol.

** Do you think Destiny was dreaming or if she and Alex did do the nasteh out of the balcony