Sold #3 - A Haunting Hope

Chapter 8

Michael felt more than a little guilty for his reaction to Mika's unfair outburst, hoping that he hadn't set doubts into Darcy's mind that meant she could never talk about her past again, or ever express a desire to see her old friends just because she knew it would bring all the thoughts and feelings surrounding their first meeting back fresh to his mind and he would be hurt remembering what she had gone through. And on top of that, he felt a little selfish as well, having realised quite quickly after the discussion at the club had settled back to a normal conversation, that he was being a big baby. If anyone had the right to say they didn't want to think or talk about her past again then it was Darcy, but there was certainly no reason for her to be soothing his fears and telling him it was alright if they never talked about it again. He should have been offering her those words of comfort and support, not the other way around and he seriously felt guilty for having reacted as terribly towards her as he felt he had. But all Darcy could feel was that he had been honest with her and no matter how guilty he felt she wouldn't have wanted him to keep back those feelings just for her sake, especially when it meant so much to him. "Michael you will remember to call Tai again, won't you? Before it gets too late over there and he's off to work." Darcy called through from the bathroom as she changed to go to bed, leaving Michael to mull over the soothing words she had given him on their walk home from the club, forgiving him for being as reckless with his words as he had been, by hinting that his feelings about her past were more important than hers.

"Yes darling, I remember." He smiled at her words as he slipped his shirt over the back of the chair in front of him, sure that although it was near to one o'clock in the morning in Tokyo, it would be eleven o'clock in the morning back home and he might well have missed Tai before he left for work. But regardless, he was going to try, if for no other reason than to do as Darcy asked, and as he listened to the phone ring, he was surprised when suddenly, not after but a few rings, a groggy voice answered sounding confused. "Tai? What are you doing home...I thought you were supposed to be working?" Michael wondered curiously, only all the more surprised by the soft sound of a female voice announcing that she had made his brother some coffee to wake him up. And the silence that followed from Tai, showed that he wasn't too keen on mentioning the female companion that had apparently spent the night with him and all he could hope was that it wasn't Natasha. Things were complicated enough without his fool brother having made the drunken mistake of either taking her back or letting her seduce him again, even if it was just a one night stand.

"Hey Mike, yeah I'm here. Sorry about that." Tai apologised, holding back some guilt of his own as he apologised for zoning out of the conversation due to the sight of Lani wandering about in a light tank top and some very tight fitting jeans, only stirring his temptations. Yet, if Michael had asked him about his suspicions of Natasha being back in his life again, he would barely have remembered who Natasha was because the sight of that beautiful, jet black haired girl with a broad, cheerful morning smile was enough to make him forget about everything else that had made his life a living hell lately. "I guess I must have slept in. But I promise, I am going to work." He gave his word, assuring his big brother that he wasn't going to lax in his responsibilities to the firm just because a beautiful girl had shown up to distract him. Except that Michael wasn't worried about that. He figured if Tai wanted to give it a shot with Natasha and raise his best friend's baby, then that was his business and at the same time, if he just wanted to try dating other girls, even if it was just to take his mind off the disappointment surrounding his last relationship then he was perfectly within his rights to do that. His life was his to control and he was only glad that he was finally doing something about it and making a step towards some kind of life.

"I'm not worried about that kid, I just wanted to check in with you and let you know things were alright." Michael sighed, smiling at the clear guilt and confusion in his voice that said he wasn't quite sure what was going on or how he got there in the first place. But all that Tai knew was that he was becoming intensely attracted to Lani and no matter what he told himself about it, about it being too soon after his break up with Natasha and how disastrous it had been, there was no way to make it go away. "Listen, there's something I wanted to tell you. I called you earlier, around seven to let you know but...well it was probably late last night for you and the phone rang off..." He wasn't sure how to say it, he wanted to and seeing the soft smile Darcy had as she walked back into the bedroom, in the very tempting white slip she had promised him she had kept for their wedding night, he wasn't sure whether to just say the words outright or to hang up on his brother and enjoy the night the way he had wanted to all night. She had been tempting him all night, showing him that secretive and exciting part of herself that he had never known existed and there had been nothing he wanted more, at the time, than to enjoy it for as long as he could in every possible way he could just because she would allow him to. But now it was different, things had settled down and he hadn't been quite so insatiable until she stepped out in the outfit she had chosen to treat him to. It was nothing much, just a beautiful silk nightdress that only just reached her knees with a delicate lace, sweetheart neckline, but it was enough for him.