Something Wonderful (21 page)

He was right. He could make me scream and that made me squirm even more underneath him. As he continued to pump and grind into me faster, he twisted my nipple, causing pleasure and pain. I couldn’t take it anymore. He was filling me up to the point I thought my insides were going to burst out of my body. I wanted him to stop; I couldn’t take more exploding as I climaxed repeatedly.

Then he pulled me onto my side and he kept going. As I ran out of breath and energy, he continued from all different positions. Sometimes, he slowed down and teased me until I couldn’t take it anymore. When he finally reached his limit, I was exhausted beyond words.

Unexpectedly, he pulled me into him and tenderly embraced me. I stiffened at first, but relaxed when he kissed my forehead. He didn’t say anything. In fact, I had expected him to get up as if nothing happened and walk out the door, but he didn’t.

“You were amazing,” he finally whispered. “I’m glad I came back. I want to give you more, but I….” He didn’t finish his words.

I didn’t know what to think of what he said. Too exhausted to care, all I wanted to do was sleep. Trying to break away from Matthew’s hold was not easy. Every time I shifted to pull away from him, he held me tighter. Drained from the passion we shared, I allowed my eyelids to close. I knew by the end of the night I would be alone in my bed, though a part of me hoped he would stay; that was just wishful thinking.

I
WOKE UP TO
the delicious aroma of eggs and ham, making my stomach churn with hunger. Lying naked in bed had me startled, making made me ponder about last night. Matthew!!! Sitting up, I buried my face into the palm of my hands. What had we done? Getting out of my bed, I dressed and headed toward the kitchen, wondering if I would find Matthew or Jenna, but I remembered Jenna was at Max’s place.

“Good morning,” Matthew said cheerfully with a spatula in his hand. He turned to look just as I entered the kitchen. His blissful smile faded to a nervous one, but that didn’t stop him from giving me a kiss on the forehead. “I hope you don’t mind. I thought I would make us breakfast.”

“Umm…sure,” I said, taking out the plates. After I gave them to him, I reached for the refrigerator handle when he stopped me.

“I got your coffee from Starbucks. It’s on the dining table.”

“Uh…thanks,” I mumbled, looking dumbfounded.

“Go have a seat, I’ll be right there.”

Nodding, I left the kitchen. As we sat there eating, I thought about talking to him about last night, but he spoke first after he cleared his throat.

“Becca, do you remember what happened last night?”

Was he serious? “Yes,” I nodded, looking at the eggs I just stabbed with my fork, and feeling my cheeks burn.

Matthew put his fork down and lightly sighed. “I enjoy being with you, Becca, more than you could possibly know. It’s just that…I don’t know where this is going. All I know is that when I’m with you, I feel free, like I can be myself. It has been a long time since I felt that way. When I’m with you, everything is right. And when we kissed, that was incredible, but….”

Hearing Matthew’s words made me giddy like a schoolgirl, but then I heard the word “but.”

“I can’t give you what you want right now. Maybe—”

“Matthew, it’s okay.” I placed my hand on his thigh, accidently so close to his crotch that he angled his brows playfully, which reminded me of how he made me feel last night. I swear I felt my clit twitch just from the memory. Touching him produced naughty thoughts, so I took my hand away. “Look, I’m a big girl. I’m not one of those girls who believes that once we have sex, we’re supposed to get married or even hook up. I’ve had one-night stands before.”

Matthew’s brows arched in curiosity. “How many?”

“That is none of your business. And don’t tell me this was your first.”

That seemed to end that topic of discussion. “Okay. Sorry. It’s just that we’re friends and I don’t want it to be weird between us. I want to, but I’m not ready to—”

I cut him off. I didn’t want to hear excuses or make him feel like he was obligated to explain what had happened between us. After all, we were two consenting adults. I don’t know what made me ask the next question, but a part of me wanted to know how his girlfriend had passed away. “What happened to her?” I thought he was going to brush me off, but instead, his eyes were somewhere else in time and he started talking.

“Being the youngest child and my parents working all the time, I was somewhat spoiled. I was irresponsible and did what I wanted to do. I knew how to work my parents to get what I wanted by using the guilt trip on them. I met Tessa during my senior year in college. She changed me. She made me become a better person. I think Max was relieved and he thanked her for that,” Matthew lightly chuckled and continued.

“Tessa and I had had been together for more than a year. I loved her so much that I knew I wanted to marry her someday. We were too young to get married, but she practically gave me an ultimatum. In fear of losing her, I proposed. Then we started fighting about the date of our wedding. I wanted to wait until after I graduated from Business school, but she didn’t,” Matthew paused, as if gathering his thoughts. With a deep intake of breath, he continued.

“It was raining hard that day. I was at her apartment and we had a fight. She ran out the door and I let her go. Later that day, I got a phone call from her roommate, letting me know Tessa was in the hospital. She had been in a car accident, just like Jenna.” There was a long pause, but I remained silent knowing Matthew had more to say. His face was full of torment. “She left this world with misunderstandings that needed to be resolved. I will never have the chance to fix that. Our argument was the last memory I have of her.”

Poor Matthew! I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. My heart thumped faster with every word that poured from his lips. He had relived that moment with Jenna. “I’m sorry, Matthew,” I mumbled through my hand. I knew where this was going.

“She was already dead when I got to the hospital. Her parents and I didn’t want to let her go. We watched. We waited. We hoped that God would answer our prayers and she would come out of it. I rarely prayed before, but I prayed that day. I prayed for a miracle, but God denied me. He shattered my world. I was so angry and hurt that I cursed him that day. I lost myself in that hospital. I lost my love, my heart, and whatever was left of my soul, because someone with that much anger and hate was going to hell.”

Tears streamed down my face as I listened. I felt his anger, his passion, and loss, because I knew how he felt. I had been through it with my roommate and almost with Jenna. I knew what that kind of pain could do to a person. It eats you alive and spits you back out with the feeling of emptiness and all you want to do is die too. It was a reminder that no matter how rich or poor you were; money couldn’t buy happiness or a shield from the cruelties of life. It doesn't discriminate. Pain knows no boundaries. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, in fear if I had said it any louder, I would sob uncontrollably in front of him.

“Becca.” Matthew pulled me into him, wiping the tears off my face with the brush of this thumb. “My sweet, Becca. I didn’t mean to make you cry. Don’t cry, sweetheart.” Surprisingly, Matthew kissed the lingering tears away. “I knew you weren’t as mean as the spitfire you were last night. You were just trying to get into my pants.”

I knew he was trying to lighten the mood and I would have given him a good comeback, but I couldn’t. Holding me tightly, swaying back and forth, he muttered, “What are we going to do from here?”

I didn’t answer, not knowing if that was a rhetorical question or if he really was asking for my answer, so I said nothing. Did he even know what he wanted?

Since I didn’t answer, he held me tighter—all of me. “Thanks for being my friend. You make me happy. You make me forget. You make me forget her.”

It was then that I pushed aside my regret and loss. Matthew was still suffering and for some reason, he needed me. I would be his comfort, his rock, even if that’s all I could do, because I couldn’t deny him, even knowing I would be the one left with a broken heart. I was okay with it. Hell, I was even used to it.

T
HE RUMORS HAD SPREAD
like an untamed wildfire. Max’s dad called and told us not to come to work. It was all over the media—Internet, television news, radio stations, and even the pictures of Max protecting me at the nightclub were in the newspaper. The headline read “Max Moves on to Next Victim.” My poor Max!

What made this situation even worse was the phone call from my parents. I tried to tame it down as best as I could, but with the media being cruel to Max, it was impossible to hide anything. All I could do was reassure them that Max was innocent and that this would be over soon. I hoped I was right.

I jerked my head in the direction of the sound I just heard. Max had angrily thrown the newspaper across the room with a deep, frustrated growl. I wasn’t sure what to do or say to help him through this. Though I was a victim too, Max and his company were at stake. The best thing I thought I could do was stay out of the way and pretend everything was fine.

“Sorry, babe.” He looked apologetic. After dragging both of his hands through his hair in frustration, he sat next to me and looked at my computer screen. “What are you working on?”

“I’m getting a head start on our February issue. February is one of my favorite months.”

“Because of Valentine’s Day?”

“No. Well, maybe it will be this time around, since I have you, but it’s the month of the London Fashion Show.”

Max’s eyes were tender, as he began stroking my cheek. “Would you like to go?”

My eyes grew wide with excitement. “Yes, I would love to.”

“I’ll take you there with the company, but we won’t be working,” he winked. “And we don’t have to go to the after party if you don’t want to.”

“Do we have to decide now?”

“No. We still have time.” Max fell into a daze and looked at me with a smile. “I haven’t seen your finger in your mouth. You know how I love to take it out and suck it.”

“Shall I do it for you now?” I flirted.

“I would love to see,” he said in a playful tone. Just as he finished speaking, his cell phone rang. He looked to see who it was. “Give me a sec. It’s my lawyer.” Max stood up and headed toward the window.

It was a clear, sunny day. Looking out, you could see the beauty of the city. When you looked at the whole scene, everything was perfect, so peaceful, in contrast to what was going on in Max’s head. His expression said it all. Looking concerned, he turned to me after the conversation ended. “Babe, I need to meet with my lawyer in his office right now.”

“Okay,” I nodded, trying to stay calm.

“He wants you to come with me.”

I don’t know why lawyers frightened me, just as I don’t know why I worry when I see a cop’s car beside mine when I’m driving. I was a worrier by nature and though I told myself I would remain strong, the fact that the lawyer wanted to see me made me uneasy.

“
T
HOMAS,”
I
SHOOK HIS
hand. He wore a dark gray suit, white dress shirt and a floral tie; lavender mixed with black. “Thomas, this is Jenna. Jenna Mefferd. Jenna, this is Thomas Shaw”