by Brook Wilder
I looked down at the floor and saw my clothes, remembering that other than my pants, they were destroyed. How was I supposed to get home? I had the bathrobe, but I was sure the hotel wouldn't want me stealing it. Garrett followed my gaze and stood up from the bed without a word. He pulled a couple of bags from the hall closet and set them at the foot of the bed.
"I brought some extra clothes for you," he said. "I took a guess at your size, but I think they'll fit you well enough to get you home."
I inspected the bags and found a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a sweater and some underwear. Everything looked like it would fit. I smiled at the kind gesture, but my heart sank a little. The evening was coming to an end, and it wouldn't be long until I was back in my apartment, staring longingly up at the ceiling. I got up to put on the clothes, but Garrett stopped me before I could make it to the bathroom.
"I, ahem, also got you this as well," he said, holding a pink striped bag out.
I took it and pulled out a pair of pink satin pajamas in my size. They felt luxurious, looked comfortable, and even had my name embroidered on the shirt above the right breast pocket.
"I figured," Garrett said, his gaze quickly darting away from mine, "that since I was already paying for the room, we might as well spend the night. If that's alright with you, of course."
I looked at him and grinned at the blush that lit up his cheeks. It was so strange, yet so cute, to see the powerful and imposing Garrett Rutherford actually embarrassed that I laughed out loud. He tried to give me a stern look but was unable to contain a smile of his own.
"Of course!" I said as I hopped up from the bed. "Why would I want anything else?"
I slid into the pajamas while Garrett pulled a pair of flannel pants from the black duffel bag. He also procured two toothbrushes, and we both went about the business of preparing for bed. I felt a sense of calm falling over me like a blanket as we stood together, side by side in front of the sink. I looked at him in the mirror, and he gave me a big goofy grin as we brushed our teeth. I grinned back happily before rinsing my mouth off.
When we finally climbed back into the bed, he drew me close, his arms draping over my body like a protective blanket. My back was pressed against his side, and I could feel his body heat radiating off of him through my new pajamas. Sleep found me quickly, but not before a thought flashed across my mind. I realized with a strange sense of finality that I was falling quickly and madly in love with Garrett Rutherford.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I woke slowly the next morning to the sound of the running shower and had a moment of mild anxiety. At first, I didn't recognize my surroundings. Light was pouring in from the window, and I saw the remnants of my clothes scattered around the room. I looked over and saw the ropes still tied to the bed posts. The memories of the previous night returned to me slowly, and I remembered that I'd come here with Garrett last night. As I rehashed our intense fantasy in my mind, I found it hard to believe that it had actually happened to me. Even the hours afterward, when he had so lovingly attended to me, seemed impossible.
"Good Morning, Laina," Garrett said.
I jumped slightly and looked over to see him wearing the same white robe from the night before and toweling his hair. Steam poured from the open bathroom door, creating a haze that surrounded him like a halo. The robe was parted, revealing his bare chest, and I stared as water droplets worked their way down his lightly tanned skin. I shivered as I remembered how that skin had felt against mine last night.
"When you're done ogling me," Garrett said with a chuckle. "The shower's all yours. I did my best to save some hot water for you."
I sheepishly hopped out of the bed and made my way to the bathroom. Before I could enter, though, Garrett pulled me in tight to his still damp body and lowered his lips to mine. It was a quick, innocent peck, but it still carried all the passionate weight of last night's kiss. I could definitely get used to him kissing me like that more often.
"Do you have any classes today," he asked after he pulled away. I was still pressed against him, his arms circling me and resting on my lower back.
"Two," I said. "But I've already missed one and the other isn't until later this evening."
"Good," he said as he let go of my waist. "I'd like to spend some time together before I drop you off at your apartment, perhaps a stroll around Riverside Park. I have some business of my own to attend to later, but my morning is free."
"A walk sounds great to me," I said as I pulled the bathroom door closed.
I made my shower quick, though I was sorely tempted to just stand there for hours, letting the warm water wash over me. Garrett was gone by the time I emerged from the bathroom. He'd tidied up and taken his duffle bag with him, and there was no evidence of the night we'd shared. There was a small note next to the bag containing my new outfit.
Meet me downstairs when you're ready. Don't keep me waiting, it said.
I threw my clothes quickly, taking a moment to appreciate how well they fit. Garrett certainly had a good eye. I threw my hair in a ponytail before hustling down the stairs to the lobby. Garrett was talking to the man behind the desk but turned away as he caught me out of the corner of his eye.
"Shall we?" he said, offering his arm.
I gladly took it, and we strolled outside. I half expected to hop in the car, but neither the driver nor either of Garrett's cars was anywhere in sight. We ended up walking to the park, which made complete sense when I realized that we were only two blocks away.
"Where did your driver go last night?" I asked.
"Oh, he left after we arrived at the hotel," he replied. "It was part of our deal."
"Was it awkward for him to do that?" It was something I'd been wondering all night.
"Not really," he replied. "At least he hasn't told me as such. He's helped me set up a couple of scenes before, so it wasn't like this was unprecedented."
We'd arrived at the park and were walking down the trail lined with trees to our right and Hudson River to our left. It was a gorgeous morning, and the sun shone warmly on the bright green foliage. I looked over at Garrett and tried to remind myself that barely twelve hours ago, this man had tied me to a bed and had his way with me. It seemed so incongruous, but I guess that was what made our relationship so appealing to me. It felt like one big, sexy secret.
The park was moderately busy with people enjoying the fall sunshine. I had several questions on my mind, questions that might not be appropriate if anyone overheard us. I decided to take the risk, though. I felt like the last of the barriers between us were starting to crumble, and I wanted to see if I could remove them completely.
"Were you always like this?" I asked as a couple flew past us on their bikes.
"Like what?" he replied, glancing over to me.
"Controlling, intimidating," I said. "I'm just curious if you were always like this or if something happened. You don't have to answer if it's too personal, It's just been on my mind for a while."
"It is a personal question," he said, "but I guess one that needs to be answered if we're going to be truly intimate with each other. I'll indulge your curiosity on one condition."
"That being?"
"For every question, I answer, truthfully, you have to reciprocate."
"Deal!"
"Alright, just know that I'm definitely going to hold you to it. I guess I can say that I've always been this way, ever since I was a child. Not in always in a sexual way, but I always felt compelled to be in control of whatever situation I found myself in.
As I told you before, my mom passed when I was very young, leaving my dad to raise me by himself. He was a domineering man and really pushed me in every aspect of my life. I could barely say or do anything without his approval, and it led to me feeling very frustrated throughout my childhood. It took me a long time to figure out, but I can't trace all of my unusual impulses back to that.
It was like he had my whole life planned out for me, and it didn't ever seem to matter if I wanted that or
not.
As a result, I took any chance I could to take the upper hand, whether it was an appropriate situation to do so or not. As you can imagine, I didn't make very many friends that way and most of my girlfriends dumped me for being overbearing and jealous. It wasn't until I entered high school that I learned about BDSM and I found a way to vent my need for control without it taking over my life. I had to keep it a secret, though, because I knew my father wouldn't approve."
"Did he ever find out?" I asked.
"He got a glimpse once, the summer after my freshman year. I'd accidentally left a whip lying out, and he gave me an earful over it. He was less worried about the BDSM and more worried about what would happen if anyone besides him found out. He tore the house apart and eventually found all of my toys, threatening to throw them out. For the first time in my life, I shouted back at him, and he ended up kicking me out of the house. I didn't talk to him much after that, and the next time I saw him was in the hospital, right before he died."
He fell silent, and I gazed out over the river as I digested everything he just told me. His actions certainly made a lot more sense now.
"Since it's my turn to ask a question," he said. "I want to know why you really needed that money you got from the charity auction."
"I told you already," I said hesitantly. "I needed some new clothes."
"You were lying then, and you're lying now," he replied. "You promised to tell me the truth. I just told you something that I haven't shared with anyone else."
"Fine," I said. "My dad had a stroke about a year ago, a really bad one. He almost didn't make it, but I managed to get him to the hospital just in time. The doctors initially told me that he'd be lucky to walk again. He surprised everyone by making a full recovery, and he thought he was well enough to go back to his office job a couple of months ago."
I stopped and took a deep breath. I knew I needed to be completely open about everything that had happened, but I was having a hard time getting the words out of my mouth.
"I assume that didn't go as well as you had hoped?" Garrett asked gently.
"No," I replied. "He was having a hard time keeping up, and he was making a lot of careless mistakes. I guess the stroke left more of an impact that anyone thought. His boss talked him into retiring, which is honestly the best thing for his health. He's been having a tough time, though, keeping up with all of his bills. I'm all he has, so I took on his rent payments so he wouldn't get evicted."
"That's a lot of responsibility for you," he said softly.
"I know, and I'm honestly barely handling it," I replied. The words were just falling out of my mouth now. Any internal filter I'd had before was gone, and Garrett was about to get the full story. "I love my father and I always will. He sacrificed so much to raise me, and this is my turn to give back. I'm just starting to get sick of the stress. I sometimes wish I was just another normal college girl, you know? Free to enjoy partying with my only worry being midterms."
"Is the money I'm giving you helping?" he asked earnestly. "Believe me, I have no attachment to it, so if you need more..."
"No, I'm doing okay now," I said. "Just being with you helps more than the money, honestly."
"Why's that?"
"With you, I can just relax. I don't have to worry about anything; I don't even have to be responsible for anything. I can just let my mind float off and focus on the present. It's liberating."
"I'm glad you feel that way," he said with a smile.
We both fell silent and kept walking while I looked around at the people surrounding us. There were several couples on the trail with us, all looking at each other lovingly and holding hands. Would Garret and I ever reach that level? Sure, we were opening up to each other fully for the first time, but the traditional hallmarks of a normal, vanilla relationship still seemed out of our grasp. Hell, he'd only just kissed me for the first time last night after the second time we'd slept together.
Garrett proved me wrong, though, when I felt his hand close over mine. I looked up at him and he smiled back down at me. My heart swelled, and I let myself at least pretend that we were just like everyone else on the trail. If Garrett could have his fantasies, then I could have mine too. I turned to him with a goofy grin on my face and saw he had a similar expression as well.
We kept walking and chatting about this and that for a while longer. I was just about to point out that we should probably turn around when I saw a familiar face approaching us on the trail. It was Victor, and it looked like he was taking a morning jog around the park. My stomach dropped, though I wasn't quite sure why. Sure, Victor had acted surprisingly jealous the last time I'd spoken to him, but surely he wouldn't make a scene? I prayed he'd just keep going past us, but of course, he stopped as soon as he caught up with us, pulling his earbuds out of his ears.
"Hey Laina!" he said, his eyes widening as he saw our clasped hands. "And Mr. Rutherford. How's it going?"
"Hi, Victor," I replied with forced cheer. "I'm doing well. Garrett, this is Victor Nassar. He was at the charity auction."
"Yes, I remember," Garrett said coolly. "You were my competition that night."
"Haha, yeah," Victor said. His smile no longer reached his eyes and I could see barely contained anger in his expression. "Well, you two lovebirds have a good walk. I'll see you around, Laina."
He jogged past us, brushing past Garrett and bumping into him on purpose. We both stared at him in disbelief and started walking again once he'd turned a corner and was out of our sight.
"An ex-boyfriend?" Garrett asked.
"No, just a friend," I replied.
"Doesn't seem like he feels that way," Garrett mused.
"No, I guess not. I mean, I've always had an inkling that he might have feelings for me, but he's never acted like this before."
"Let's not worry about it," Garrett said briskly. "If he has unresolved feelings for you, that's his own problem to deal with."
"Ok," I said, though I still felt uneasy about the whole situation. There was something about the look on his face that told me that Victor's jealousy wasn't something to brush off so easily.
Instead of pressing onward, we decided to turn around and head back to the hotel. Garrett made a quick call on the way back, and his car was waiting for us there. We shared a quick, but silent ride back to my apartment. It was a nice silence, though. Neither of us felt the need to say anything, and I started to wonder if this is what it feels like to be in a real, trusting relationship. The best part of all was the fact that Garrett kept my hand clasped in his whenever he could. I felt a small pang of loss when he let go to open the car door for me after we had pulled up to my building.
"I'll see you soon, Laina," Garrett said as he walked me up to my front door.
He gave me a quick kiss on the lips before turning to leave, and I watched as his car disappeared into the traffic. I knew I should feel happy, ecstatic even, that mine and Garrett's relationship had taken this big turn for the better, but I just couldn't shake the nervous feeling that sat like a rock in my stomach.
My mind went back to our encounter with Victor in the park. I just couldn't bring myself to share Garrett's blasé attitude. The malice I had seen in Victor's face was too real, too genuine to ignore. I wasn't sure what he was up to, but I was certain that my life was about to get even more complicated.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
My fears turned into reality the very next day, though I didn't realize it at first. What I did know as soon as I woke up, though, was that my first class of the day was going to be hell. My first class of the day was a Biology lab that I shared with Victor. Normally I could just ignore him if I saw him in class, but Victor was my lab partner. I was about to head into a two hour class period where I'd have to talk to him constantly. Choosing him as a partner had seemed like a logical choice at the beginning of the semester since he was the only person I'd know in the classroom. I thought briefly about skipping the class today, but I just couldn't. Attendance was mandatory, and Garrett h
ad already caused me to use up all of my allowed absences. I did have one more trick up my sleeve, but it was a long shot. As I walked to the campus, I said a silent prayer that I could just get through the day without any trouble.
I walked into the classroom and made a beeline for the teaching assistant sitting behind his desk. I gulped as I approached him, realizing that he was one of my least favorite T.A.s assigned to this biology lab rotation. We had three different graduate students that taught the hands-on lab portion of our class in addition to the professor who taught the lecture portion. The guy in charge today was the most difficult to get along with of the three. He would purposely torment our class by giving us incorrect instructions or by being extremely harsh with is grading. I was already pretty sure what his answer was going to be, but I still needed to try.