And Then He Saved Me (2 page)

“No, that’s okay. I’ll just find my own way home.”

He took her hand in his and started walking. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Your idea of home includes a hole in the ground and that is not okay with me.”

Lauren mumbled something he couldn’t hear. When he asked her to repeat it, she ignored him. They walked for another fifteen minutes in silence. Lauren had to laugh at herself. Her original plan had been to run away the first chance she got. Instead, she was following Cyril home like an obedient puppy.

His apartment was in an older neighborhood. The area wasn’t rundown yet, but it was easy to see that in a couple of years it would be. The rent had to be cheap, so she figured he must be barely scraping by – just like her. Cyril led her up to his apartment, a one room flat with a tiny kitchen in the corner, a bed on the opposite end and a couch and TV in the middle.

He watched her expression as she examined the place. “Yeah, I know. It isn’t much but with just me, I don’t need any more. Rather save my money for the future, you know?”

Lauren shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t really care what his place looked like, but she was grateful it was clean. Cyril pointed to the phone. “Go ahead and call. I’ll make us some coffee while we wait.” She grimaced and sat down on the couch rather than picking up the phone. Lauren was surprised to hear the squeal of a latte machine coming from his tiny kitchen area. Cyril brought a mug over to her with a self-satisfied grin. “Better than Starbucks. My little luxury.”

“Your own espresso machine? Wouldn’t have guessed.” She took a sip of the smooth dark roast and smiled despite herself. “This is better than SB.”

Cyril sat down next to her on his lumpy russet couch. “Why haven’t you called anyone yet?”

Lauren twirled her hair tightly around her finger, cutting off circulation. Finally she answered, “There’s no one to call.”

“Don’t you have family?”

She groaned. Lauren didn’t want to get into it, so she kept it simple. “Dad died when I was eight. Mom died…six months ago.”

Cyril took her left hand and sandwiched it in-between his huge ones. “I am very sorry to hear that, Lauren.”

“Yeah, well who cares?”

“I do.” He squeezed her hand before gently putting it back down on the couch. “Drink.”

She obediently took another sip and sighed inwardly. He was right; coffee was good for the soul.

“Lauren, I’d like to know what happened to your mother.”

She took several more sips before she answered. “Cancer. She died of breast cancer.”

“What a devastating loss for you.” She could hear sympathy in Cyril’s voice and it unnerved her.

Lauren felt the tears coming and quickly stood up, moving to the nearest window before they fell. She blinked rapidly several times to regain control before speaking again. “I spent the last year with my mom. She was a fighter, never gave up. Not even at the end.” Lauren saw a group of kids playing kickball in the street.
Mom would have been down there joining them
, she thought to herself.

She turned away from the window and looked back at Cyril. Lauren kept her voice level and matter-of-fact. “After she died I moved here for a fresh start, but I’ve failed miserably.”

“Don’t you have siblings you can lean on?”

“Nope. Only child of only children.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t even imagine that. I have a large extended family consisting of over a hundred people. They are constantly getting into my business and screwing up my life. I have often wished I was an only child.”

Lauren frowned. “Well, it sucks. I’m all alone in the world.”

Cyril walked over to her. She felt the warmth of his presence, but he made no move to touch her. “Not all alone,” he said quietly.

She grunted, refusing to look at him. “You don’t even know me. It doesn’t count.”

“I’ve noticed you at the subway station before. You always seem so focused and driven. You never look around, because you’re thinking so much. I’ve often wondered what kind of business you run.”

“Well, looks can be deceiving. I’m just a waitress. Wait, let me rephrase that. I
was
a waitress.”

“What do you mean?”

She forced herself to say out loud the terrible truth. “I got fired today. Another waitress accused me of stealing her tips. I didn’t, I never would stoop that low.” A sob bubbled out from deep within her. “But not one of them believed me…”

Cyril enclosed her in his arms and then kissed the top of her head. “I believe you.”

She melted into his arms. He smelled of manly sweat and car grease, but Lauren didn’t mind. She reveled in the sense of peace he brought to her soul. Cyril led her back to the couch and held her for several minutes. Lauren wanted to curl up in his lap, needing to feel even closer to him. But when she tried, Cyril immediately scooted off the couch. “I bet you’re hungry. I know I’m starving.”

His discomfort would have been comical if she hadn’t needed him so. It hurt that he wanted nothing to do with her. “I’m not a child,” she stated resentfully, while he rummaged through his small refrigerator.

“I know you’re not.”

“Then why are you treating me like one?”

He stuck his head out of the fridge. “What are you talking about?”

“Just now.”

He shut the door of the fridge. “Look, Lauren. You’re much younger than I am. Plus, you’ve been through a lot today. Your emotions are raw. It would be easy to do something you’d regret. I don’t want that for you. It’s not why I brought you to my place.” Cyril turned to his tiny stove and ignited the burner, whistling as he focused on grilling the sandwiches he assembled.

Lauren sat on the couch and scrutinized him. Cyril was attractive in a rustic sort of way. Truly, he was a bear of a man at least two and a half feet taller than her 5’ 2” frame. He seemed all muscle under those greasy overalls. His dark eyes were friendly, but the angular contours of his face gave an edge to him, a hint of something dangerous underneath. It made watching him cook sandwiches on a little stove humorous. She had to hide her smile when he came back with a plate for her.

“Melted cheese is almost as soothing as a good cup of coffee,” he said, handing her a grilled ham and cheese.

“I don’t usually eat meat,” she announced.

“A meal without meat is a travesty,” he countered. “Now eat.”

Lauren picked up the hot sandwich and watched in delight as long stings of cheese pulled apart from it. “I do love gooey cheese,” she told him before taking her first bite. Lauren was surprised to taste a burst of spicy heat. “What else is in here?”

“A little hot sauce.”

“I like it.” She took another bite. “It has an addictive quality.” Even though Lauren hadn’t been hungry to begin with, she quickly ate the sandwich and licked her fingers noisily after she was done.

Cyril grinned and took his final bite. She grabbed his hand and sucked the melted butter and crumbs off his finger as well. He gazed at her without comment. She put his plate on the coffee table and crawled into his lap. “Cyril, I want to kiss you.” Without waiting for approval, she pressed her lips against his. This time the kiss was much more adult. When she darted her tongue into his mouth, he thrust his tongue back tasting the recesses of her mouth. She moaned and felt a hardening against her ass. Cyril quickly lifted her off and moved away.

His Secret

“We can’t do this, Lauren.”

She ignored his words, because her eyes transfixed on his crotch. Cyril’s erection was huge. He saw her look of fascination, but interpreted it as fear. “It’s my curse. It would only hurt you.”

“I’ve never seen…”

He got up and headed towards the bathroom. “Feel free to have another sandwich. I left it on the stove.” Lauren heard the door lock and then the shower turn on.

She sat there contemplating what she had just beheld. Lauren never suspected Cyril was huge in
every
department. It excited her to think of taking his large shaft deep inside her. It might tear her apart and even the thought of that thrilled her.

Steam billowed out when Cyril finally emerged from the bathroom with a small towel wrapped around his waist. The muscles on his dark chest were impressive, but he wasn’t trying to be sexy. Cyril didn’t even glance her way as he rummaged through his dresser and escaped back into the bathroom.

When he came back out, she noticed his wet hair slicked back against his head. He was wearing a white t-shirt and dark pants. She snickered softly. “You look like a gangster when you clean up.”

Cyril rolled his eyes in embarrassed amusement. “So Lauren, even if you don’t have family you must have a girlfriend you can call.”

A shiver of rejection traveled down her spine. “You don’t want me here, do you?”

Before she could go any further with that train of thought, Cyril was beside her holding her tight. “No, don’t think that even for a second.”

His close proximity was intoxicating to her senses - the smell of masculine soap, the body heat radiating from his skin, his breath against her neck. She melted into him wanting to get lost.

“Tell me about your mom,” he said gently.

It was as if he’d dumped a cold bucket of water on her, which was probably his intent. Lauren pulled away and looked at him warily. “Do you really want to know or are you just trying to make conversation?”

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know.”

She gazed into his midnight eyes. She felt too vulnerable looking into them, so she shifted her gaze to his big hands. “My mom was an amazing person and I don’t just say that because she’s my mom. You might not consider what she did important, but my mom took pride in being a good waitress. She had the ability to brighten people’s days because she genuinely cared about them. Her regulars came, not for the food, but just to be near my mother. She had a joy that infected the people around her.” Lauren looked up at Cyril shyly. “When I was little I wanted to be just like her, but I never had that kind of joy.” Lauren looked at his hands again, embarrassed that she shared that with him. “However, my mom didn’t want me to follow in her footsteps. She believed I was destined for greater things. She scrimped and saved every dollar she could for my college education. Mom dreamed that I would become an important executive someday, claiming that bossing people around was in my blood.”

Cyril laughed. “Sounds like she knew you well.”

Lauren wanted to join in his laughter, but she glanced into Cyril’s eyes for a second and said, “Unfortunately, cancer doesn’t care what a wonderful person you are.”

His smiled disappeared. “It’s a cruel disease.”

“We got the news she had breast cancer almost a year and a half ago. I quit college so that I could live with my mom and help her fight it. In a matter of months, my lively, joyful mom was confined to bed. She endured multiple operations, radiation and chemo treatments, but the damn cells kept on growing. Still, I was confident my mom could beat it. She was a warrior, Cyril. Right up to the end.” Lauren had to stop, because she was about to lose it.

She refused to cry for her mom. Lauren knew that if she started to cry, the tears would never to stop. Cyril put an arm around her and she leaned her head on his chest, grateful for the human contact. “So, the day after her funeral, I packed up and moved out here. Without a degree, I decided waitressing was a good choice for me… but I couldn’t even make
that
work.”

“Why don’t you head back to college, Lauren, per your mother’s wishes?”

“With what money? All of my mom’s savings went to rid her of the thing that eventually killed her.”

Cyril wrapped both arms around her and said nothing. He hummed a soothing tune she’d never heard before. She looked up and saw tears running down his face - tears for her. She kissed one of the salty droplets, and then sought out his lips and they began kissing again. She was hungry for connection with him. A connection she instinctively knew she needed. “I want to make love with you, Cyril.”

“We…can’t…,” he said between kisses.

“Don’t deny me, Cyril. I need this.”

“I can’t make love, it would only hurt you.”

Her kisses traveled down his chin to his neck. “Then hurt me.” She unbuttoned his pants, unzipping them slowly. His huge shaft was already straining to get out. She leaned over and kissed it tenderly.