I Treasure Your Heart

by C. M. King

  We’d all seen his abs and to be fair to him they would rival Joel’s. My eyes nearly popped out the first time I saw them.

  “Purlease, the whole college has seen them. I’m surprised they didn’t receive their own graduation certificate,” Elijah mocked, laughing at his own joke.

  “Now, now, don’t be jealous.”

  “I think you’ll find I have abs too.” Elijah snorted, looking put out by his comment.

  “Not abs of steel like mine though. Izzy, do you fancy a feel?” Simon offered, winking at me in that cocky way.

  “Have you seen Izzy’s fiancé? His put yours to shame.” Elijah snorted.

  “I hardly doubt it. I’ve had more women than hot dinners, it’s amazing what a hot body will do, ladies just fall at my feet.”

  “I think you’ll find Joel was the biggest play—”

  “Elijah.” I didn’t need him bringing up Joel’s past in front of everyone, that was over and done with, or the constant reminder that my own fiancé had his own player record too.

  “Sheesh Iz, I was just saying.” Elijah immediately looked wounded by my reaction.

  “Well, don’t,” I snapped. His input wasn’t welcome.

  “Any time you want to break free from the ball and chain, feel free to try me out, Izzy,” Simon piped up.

  “Yeah, when hell freezes over more like,” Elijah chimed in, and he wasn’t wrong there.

  “I think the lady should speak for herself. I was talking to the organ grinder not the monkey,” Simon added bitterly.

  “Psshhhtt, like I’m anyone’s monkey. You’ve barely got a brain cell to rub together if we’re talking about actual intelligence then I think you’re way out of your league, maybe just sit there and look pretty.”

  “Fuck you, Elijah, you think because you’re quick witted with that smart mouth that you’re above everyone else.”

  “I know I’m above you, well everyone is when it comes to anything intellectual,” Elijah scoffed. Harsh but true.

  He stood up. “Yeah, whatever. I’m off to hang with more manlier guys that don’t think they are above everyone, enjoy your salad, ya prick.” He grabbed his tray and stormed off.

  “Oh, he had to play the homophobe card, I expected more, no wait this is Simon, so I didn’t.” Elijah rolled his eyes, taking a swig of water.

  “Are you going to scare everyone away today?” I asked, shaking my head. Jodie scoffed and gave him a look. “What is with you today?”

  “He just rubs me up the wrong way,” Elijah snapped.

  “Or is it that you want him to rub you, is that it?” Jodie probed.

  “What? No!”

  “I think I know a guy when he’s in denial,” Jodie retorted.

  “Like you are any good at reading people with the amount of idiots you’ve slept with. What were you thinking springs to mind at some of the guys you’ve slept with?”

  Yeah, now it was really getting personal.

  “Fuck off, I wasn’t sleeping with them for the size of their brain.”

  “No, just the size of their cock,” Elijah added sarcastically.

  “A nine-inch guy is hard to find.”

  Elijah grinned. “Ask Joel, he’s quite equipped in that department.”

  “Elijah.” I was just about ready to kill him.

  “Fuck Izzy, you lucky bitch,” Jodie’s mouth was wide open. Doing a perfect impression of a gold fish.

  My eyes flashed in anger. “Elijah, seriously?” I fumed. He could not keep that mouth of his shut.

  “Iz, I’d be shouting it from the rooftops if my man stood nine inches proud. Trust me, if it were me, I’d wear it like a badge of honour.”

  “Of course you would,” I scoffed. It would be all we’d hear about.

  “I don’t think there’s anything wrong when a guy is that well hung shouting about it. Joel is freaking hot, I swear if he wasn’t straight I’d be all over him like a rash.”

  “Have you got any pics, Iz?” Jodie asked innocently.

  “I have.” Elijah grinned as I scowled at him.

  Jodie’s eyes immediately widened. “Wow, this is your

  fiancé? Can I say where can I find one? Does he have a brother?”

  “Sadly, he is an only child, else I would be all over that.” Elijah sighed.

  “Have you got any pics of his…”

  “What?” I snapped, really not needing her to finish that sentence.

  “A cock shot?” Elijah concluded.

  “Yep, I would love to see that bad boy standing to attention.” Jodie licked her lips almost in anticipation.

  Elijah pursed his. “Sadly not, Iz is stingy in the department, I have made several attempts trying to make that happen but she won’t.”

  “Errr it’s my fiancé, no one sees it but me,” I bit out.

  “Purrlease half of Camden has seen it, it’s not like he’s only ever slept with you. I bet he stopped counting once he hit the thousand mark.”

  “Elijah,” I barked.

  “Whoa, that many, huh? Sounds like he got himself around before he settled down with dear sweet Izzy.”

  “Do you mind not discussing it? Thanks. I don’t need to have reminders of the past, but thanks for bringing it up, Elijah.” I gave him an icy glare of disgust.

  “What? It’s not like it’s classified information, your fiancé was a man whore, sorry. Now he’s a reformed man whore that loves you with all his heart.”

  Jodie sighed. “Damn, I wished I’d tapped that when he was still in his man whore period. I would ride him raw.”

  “Right, that’s it!” I leapt up, feeling pissed as hell they would discuss Joel in that way right in front of me. Did they have no boundaries at all?

  “Jeez, Izzy, it’s a joke,” Elijah remarked.

  “Well, it isn’t to me, this is the man I’m engaged to, that I’ll go onto marry and have kids with. Stop talking about him like that, okay? I don’t need reminders of the past, but thanks for bringing that up, for opening old wounds. You call yourself a friend when for the last ten minutes you’ve talked shit in front of me, made me look like a joke. Fuck the lot of you.” I stormed out, not able to hear another word spoken. I could see the apologetic look Elijah shot me before I flounced off, but it was too late he had gone too far and I was pissed as hell.

  Chapter Eleven

  I strode off down the road to sit in the park nearby. I had twenty minutes until I had to go back and right now, there was only one voice I wanted to hear.

  “Hey Iz.”

  I didn’t reply I just sighed, barely able to find the words without crying.

  “What’s wrong, Iz? Iz, are you there?”

  “Yes,” I finally choked out.

  “What’s wrong? Oh god, are you hurt? Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.” I could already hear the panic in his voice.

  “I’m fine, just a little upset,” I said between sobs.

  “Who’s upset you? I swear I will—”

  “It was Elijah and Jodie, they both pissed me off,” I finally got out.

  “About what?”

  “You.”

  “Me? What the hell do I have to do with it?” I could hear the anger growing in his voice.

  “Elijah was regaling your man whore days and showed Jodie your pic, and she said she would have loved to ride you raw. Of course he had to mention the whole nine inches, and then she wanted to see a pic of your cock, and it was like I was a complete joke. This is my life not some fucking gossip magazine to laugh about.”

  “Hey, I know that and you know that, but we can’t change the past. I wish I could go back in time and change it all, but I can’t,” he soothed.

  “I’m not asking you to.”

  “But I know how much this affects you, and it hurts me that my past behavior is causing you so much pain.”

  “I’m just being stupid I should never have bothered you with it.” I had just made the situation worse crying and bringing Joel into it.

  “Hey, you
r problem is my problem, and as I’m the cause of it, I want to know. I want to be there for you, Iz, good and bad. I’ll be there for you for the rest of our lives.”

  “Promise?” I asked, hiccupping.

  “I promise. You know that from here and now my heart is completely yours. The things I did way back when were because I was hurting so much because of my dad. Well, the drinking and the women, it was all a big escape. I never knew how much I missed out on until that moment you admitted you had feelings, and I allowed myself to finally believe that I could be worthy of you, that I was allowed to be loved. I just got caught up in my own personal hell back then and I’m so sorry that you are the one still paying for it.” I could hear the hurt in his voice. He was blaming himself as usual.

  “I’ll be fine, they both got to me, that’s all, but hearing your voice, you make it all better,” I whispered.

  “I will have words with Elijah later for upsetting you,” Joel warned, and I felt bad for dropping him in it.

  “He was just joking around but then took it too far. I just hate when they discuss you like you’re a piece of meat. I don’t care that you have a nine-inch cock. I love you, I love your heart and everything that comes with it.”

  “Wow, but I know for a fact you like my cock,” he teased, making me smile.

  “Joel—”

  “Baby, you vocally approve every time. I love to make you scream, it turns me on so bad to know I’m pushing you over the edge.”

  “Oh, trust me, you do.”

  Every single time.

  “And when you get home, you will get all nine inches over and over,”

  “Joel, I hardly doubt I’ll even be able to move when I get home.” Never mind have non-stop heart pounding sex.

  “Oh I’ll be doing all the leg work, trust me. I will put a smile on that face, this day will end with a bang, that’s for sure,” he promised.

  “I’m speechless.” I literally was.

  “You won’t be later.”

  “Joel.” I giggled, blushing.

  “Izzy,” he teased.

  “How do you do it? How do you manage to change my mood so easily?” He was a born natural at making me forget my worries.

  “Because I know what my girl wants and needs, and I’ll do anything to keep a smile on your face.”

  “Oh, believe me, I’m smiling.”

  Smiling hard.

  “Well then, I’ve done my job.”

  “I love you.” I sighed.

  “I know and I love you back. We’re going to be happy together, you know. There are still people that like to put us down and think they know us, but they don’t. What we have is real, it’s something no one else can taint because our love is untouchable.”

  “Wow, sometimes you blow me away.” His beautiful words stunned me into silence each time.

  “I’m glad I still have that affect,” he breathed.

  “You do every time, you never cease to amaze me.”

  “I’m glad, baby. I’d love to keep on talking but my break is over, and I have to go.” He sighed like he didn’t want to leave just yet.

  “That’s okay, I need to get back to rehearsals too.” I was not looking forward to seeing Elijah, as I knew he would be apologising after my little outburst. I was embarrassed enough I just wanted to forget it.

  “Are you sure you’re fine? I need to know you are before I go.” Joel asked, hesitant to hang up.

  “I am, your pep talk worked a treat.”

  “Then I can go back to work a happy man, and I can’t wait for tonight.”

  “Me either.” I had shivers just thinking about it.

  “Oh, I’m sure you’ll be the ever professional you are to concentrate on the job in hand, but believe me when we get in that bedroom later, you’re mine.”

  “I have to go before I combust.” My body was on fire.

  “On that note, bye baby, I love you.”

  “I love you too.” I hit the end button and sighed. How did he manage to weave this kind of magic to make me forget all my troubles? He had me bewitched from the start, and he’d continue to do so until I took my final breath.

  “Iz.” Elijah approached me from behind as I turned to face him. His eyes scanned mine for any indication to my present mood. I was still annoyed by his actions earlier, he knew how much bringing up the past affected me. That was a real touchy subject, yet he still instigated it, despite the fact he knew it would hurt my feelings.

  “Elijah, you really pissed me off.”

  “I know, sorry, I just got carried away—”

  “But you know how much it hurts me bringing up Joel’s past,” I snapped.

  “I just didn’t think.” His eyes dropped down to the floor, looking embarrassed.

  “Well, you need to start because I’m tired of the fact you always do it. He’s not some guy I’m randomly dating. He’s the guy I’m going to marry, please respect that, or else I’ll—”

  He surged forward grabbing my hands. “I will, I’m sorry. I sometimes don’t engage my brain but I promise I’ll keep a lid on it, and I’ll tell Jodie to drop it too. But I think she knows that you’re not happy.”

  “I’m not but Joel made me feel better.” He always did. He was the one I always turned to. He was my rock.

  “See this is why he’s perfect for you. Sam is the same for me, they are our soul mates, the people we can’t live without, they are our happily ever afters. We are blessed to have found the one so young, but I know that not one moment will be taken for granted because we both know what it’s like to feel heart break and it’s something that we will treasure for the rest of our days.”

  He was certainly right about that.

  “Just try to refrain from that subject, you know it hurts me.”

  “I’ll try.”

  I gave him the look, pursing my lips. He had a selective memory at times and all that seemed to go out the window when he got into his stride, usually entertaining others.

  “I will, Iz, I’ll try for you. I don’t mean to upset you, and I’m sorry I went too far today.”

  “Fine, apology accepted but keep it zipped about Joel’s nine-inch cock, capisce?” I never wanted the subject to come up again.

  “Okay, okay but it really is a shame to keep that kind of information under wraps, if it were me, I’d be shouting it from the rooftop.”

  “Well, it’s not you.” I snorted.

  “How do you know?” He winked smiling and I shook my head.

  “We need to get back to the studio, if we’re late there will be trouble.”

  “So am I forgiven?” He gave me the sad puppy dog eyes.

  “Keep it zipped and I’ll consider it and don’t even think about making some innuendo about Joel,” I warned. Not in the mood to tolerate any more jokes on Joel’s behalf.

  “Fine, but you make it so easy. You know you can’t stay mad at me for long. That’s why we’re best friends, because we accept each other the way we are. We’ll be friends even when we’re old and grey.”

  “And I bet you’ll still be discussing Joel’s cock no doubt.” I rolled my eyes just at the thought of it.

  “You know me well.” He winked, making me smile.

  “Too well.”

  “Oh, you love me really, Izzy, I know you do.”

  “Hmmm, I suppose I do.”

  “Then I’m back in the good books?” he asked looking hopeful.

  “For now.”

  “Then let’s get back to the studio, this afternoon is going to kick our bums, but we’ll still give it our all. What do you say?” He held out his arm, and I placed mine through the crook of his. Ready to take on what the afternoon had in store.

  Chapter Twelve

  The day had finally arrived and I was sick with nerves. The college had arranged for media to be there to film the whole thing. They were going all out with the publicity. It was one of the most talked about things in the last week. I closed my eyes going over the steps in my head. I could do this, I
just had to forget about the nerves that were creeping over me and let myself get lost in the music. After two weeks of a punishing routine, we were polished and ready to go. I just prayed we all came out of this unscathed, going on YouTube for millions of people to view as well as local camera crews and the BBC, we had to get this perfect or our mistakes would be out there forever. It was just the choreographed dance that was the big deal, we all had to be in sync. It would be obvious if anyone screwed up, whereas with the freestyle we could let ourselves go.

  We were in bright and early to get into our outfits, Elijah had gone all out with ours, we certainly stood out in the crowd with the bright lycra clothing, but I guessed that was his point. The whole thing was kicking off at eleven a.m. and by nine a.m. people were already beginning to crowd. Joel had taken the morning off work to come down along with my mother. My dad was waiting for it to hit YouTube to watch the whole thing. News crews were beginning to pull up and set up their cameras, the whole thing was truly terrifying. Elijah had his mum here to support him, and Sam was going to be arriving closer to the time.

  I’d barely managed to keep any breakfast down, but I knew in order to get through the strenuous twenty-minute routine, I needed something to keep my energy levels from dropping dramatically. I sat nibbling on a banana in between watching Elijah go through his routine. He had it down but he was making sure it was exactly right. He always was a perfectionist.

  Tossing the banana skin in the bin, I heard my text alert go off and knew it would be Joel.

  Hey, I’m outside, just want to wish you luck in person xx

  I smiled and typed out directions and headed out the door to meet him ’round the back entrance where it was more private.

  My smile grew even wider when he walked around the corner. He instantly broke out into a grin when he saw my tight little outfit.

  “Fuck Iz, how can I concentrate watching you while you wear that? I am seriously in pain here.”

  I didn’t need to ask, I felt it digging into my hip the moment he pressed up tight against me. I laughed into his neck at his ability to get a hard-on at the most inappropriate time.

  “Joel, we can’t,” I hissed, when his hands started to wander down to the curve of my bum, giving each cheek a squeeze.