The Perfect Wave

by A. J. Pryor

  “I beg to differ, Ricky. Your sister will always be on the edge. Watch her, and tell her to leave me the fuck alone.”

  Ricky hung up and I immediately dialed Mason’s number. He was the only other person who knew the extent of what Luana had done to get my attention when our relationship ended. Mason’s tight connection to the LAPD through some crazy computer program he donated helped me get Luana out of the country discreetly. I had blocked that time period from my mind, not even wanting to tell Jessica about it. I wasn’t sure I was ready to open up the wounds that had been inflicted due to Luana’s infatuation with me. But I needed to protect Jessica and I would go to the extreme to make sure Luana never got near her, even if it meant ripping off the Band-Aid I’d glued on so many years ago. This shit was not going to happen again.

  hanksgiving was finally here. Roan had left for Aspen yesterday; I was meeting him there tonight. This would be our first planned getaway: no work and no distractions. I couldn’t wait. He’d been meeting with clients, but, once I arrived, Roan would be all mine.

  As I was putting the last of my items in my suitcase, my phone rang. Unease settled in my stomach when I looked at the caller ID.

  “Mother? Is everything all right?” She never called me. We sent messages to each other through my father. Daddy! “Is something wrong with Daddy?” I asked in a panic.

  “No, Jessica your father is fine. I need to talk to you.”

  I sat down on my bed and was all ears. My mother sounded nervous and it was making me nervous. “Okay, I’m listening.”

  “Look Jessica, I’ve always tried to protect you girls, especially you since you’ve moved yourself so far out of our world.”

  “Mother, what are you talkin’ about?” I couldn’t understand where she was going with this.

  “I’m sorry, Jessica,” she said, then stopped and took a deep breath. “I felt the need to check on this boyfriend of yours so your daddy and I hired a private investigator to dig a little bit.”

  “You did what? Why?” I was so confused. I knew my mother wanted a hand in choosing our men, but I didn’t realize she’d go this far!

  “We need to make sure he’s good enough for you, that there’s not something he’s hidin’ that’ll hurt you, or hurt our family.”

  “Mother!”

  “Hear me out before you get so riled up. You may thank me for this later. You need to hear this about that Roan of yours.”

  I had been holding my breath. Part of me knew whatever she was about to say could not be true, but I had to know what she thought she’d found. I exhaled and asked, “What did you find?”

  “Apparently there is some girl in Fiji . . . she. . . I don’t know all the details Jessica because they were hidden, but there was a statutory rape case filed and then there’s also this video.”

  A cold sweat made its way down my back. I felt like I was going to be sick. My mother continued about the case being dropped, how the details were sketchy and the dates didn’t make any sense. She said something about the names on the case not matching either. I was having a hard time paying attention to anything she was saying and cut her off, “Mother, was there a rape case or not?”

  She finally slowed down and took a deep breath. “No, I don’t think so. Harold, that’s the private investigator, said he dug deeper and that the document was forged and maybe some sort of practical joke, but Roan’s had some kind of problems with the law and this girl.”

  “Is that it?” I asked, wanting to know everything even if it killed me.

  “This video, Jess. The PI flew to Fiji to track her down. The girl is a mess, infatuated with Roan and gave him a video – according to Harold it is a very graphic and disturbing sex video of her with your boyfriend.”

  “Mother, people film themselves—that’s their choice. And I know all about Roan and his past women. There have been a lot of them and I am not surprised to hear that some woman is in love with him. But Roan and I are a couple and have been for some weeks now.”

  “Honey, I know it’s hard to hear the truth about someone you love, but trust me, this video was taken on his recent trip there. That’s why I need to tell you. You said ya’ll were exclusive, but he’s filming himself with this girl while you’re back in the states thinkin’ he’s yours.”

  “Did you actually see this video, Momma?”

  “No. I can’t bring myself to watch it. Harold’s description was all the proof I needed.”

  “What’s her name?”

  “Luana Lee.”

  “I’ve never heard of her before.”

  “Well of course not, Jessica. It’s not as if Roan is going to announce to you that he has another girlfriend. I’m sure he has done everything in his power to make sure you knew nothing about her.” My mother was going to drive me crazy. There was no way in all of our late night discussions that Roan would not have told me about a girlfriend in Fiji. Whether she was a current or past flame. Only a sociopath would be able to lie that well.

  “Mother, she’s lying. I’m sorry, but I can’t believe any of this.” Money could buy many things, and my mother had bought herself a reason to get Roan out of my life. She was describing a man I did not know.

  “Look, Jessica, you can listen to me or you can ignore what I’m trying to tell you. Your boyfriend has a girl in Fiji who was more than happy to hand over a sex video of the last time he was on that island. I can promise you, you are not the only girl he is involved with right now.”

  My stomach turned. There was no way any of this was true, no way. “Then send it to me Mother, send me everything you have.”

  “Honey, are you sure you want to see the video? It’ll make you ill.”

  “Yes, yes, I do.”

  “Jessica, I’m warning you, I’ve heard it’s really graphic.”

  “I can handle it. I’m sure there’s some misunderstanding.”

  After we said goodbye, I sat in my room patiently waiting for the email to download. The minute it did, I opened it. At first, it was dark and grainy, and then it became more focused. There was a bed in the background with a fluffy white duvet cover and an assortment of pillows. A beige throw was the only color on the bed. The walls were tan, made out of bamboo wallpaper. It looked like a hotel room. Laughter broke through the silence, a man and woman enjoying each other’s company. A door closed in the distance.

  They fell onto the bed, their torsos and legs the only view on the screen, she was moving back and forth on top of him. The man grabbed the hem of the woman’s deep purple dress and removed it in one fluid motion She stood, facing the bed in nothing but a black bra and panties, the man lying on his side taking in the view. Slowly and seductively, she removed her undergarments and then kneeled, her back facing the camera. She was curvy with flawless bronze skin, her dark hair, long and flowing down her back. The man remained still as the woman looked toward the floor submissively.

  He stood, but he appeared to be tall, so his face remained hidden from view. The man removed his shirt, then his shorts, freeing his erection. Standing directly in front of her, his naked body showing from his chest down, neither one of them said a word. His finger stroked her face as she continued looking downward.

  Then his manner changed and he instructed, “Your mouth, Luana. Now.”

  I recognized the husky voice, but without a face, I couldn’t prove it was actually Roan.

  The woman leaned forward, her lips encircling his erection. His hands gripped the sides of her head and directed her back and forth along the length of him, punishingly deep into her throat.

  He groaned out, and his movements slowed, taking longer and slower pulls between her lips. “Ah, you suck me . . . so good.” His legs were starting to shake and his hands loosened their grip on her head. He forcefully pushed in one more time, then quickly, he backed away. Placing a hand under each of her arms, he lifted her onto her feet and pressed her face down on the bed.

  Though it looked like Roan, I told myself that it could be anyone. It was his
same, awesome body, but he’d said everyone at that resort was a surfer. Many of them must have similar ripped abs.

  “I’m going to fuck you, Babe, like you’ve never been fucked before.”

  That tone of voice didn’t sound like Roan. This wasn’t someone I knew.

  Her face now looked directly into the camera, a small smile playing on her lips. Then her eyes closed as he grabbed her hands in his, pinning them behind her back, before he spread her feet with his own and pushed inside her.

  Buried deep, his body still, he spoke again. “You’re going to feel this for days after I’m gone.”

  Out he pulled, then forcefully back in. Her lips parted and her body shook as he took her roughly, his thighs slapping against the back of her legs with each thrust. He was grunting. Releasing the grip he had on her wrist, he wrapped a thick portion of her hair around his hand, pulling her face up off the bed. That seemed to incite the girl. You could tell the girl was close, climbing toward ecstasy.

  Aggressively, the man demanded, “No!”

  Her face pinched up in pain as she whimpered, taking long slow breaths to obey his command; moving in and out, he continued. Sweat began to coat his skin as he stood back and released her, then quickly turned her onto her back. Pulling her to the edge of the bed and wrapping each of her legs around his hips, he pushed back inside, his hips meeting hers and her legs tightening around him.

  A loud groan escaped his throat. “Come! Now!”

  Shockingly, the woman did, her young face turned toward the camera strained in that agonizing look of heat and passion. Her mouth opened and she moaned loudly in pleasure. The man moved faster then pushed in deeply. Tensing he then also climaxed.

  Taking a shaky breath, he lay down on her, and stroked his hand down her sides. He now turned toward the camera, breathing deeply, his body coated in sweat.

  It was then that I saw his face—the face of the man I loved. He fondled her full breast and there, resting on his wrist, was the exact watch I’d given him the week before he left for Fiji.

  “I love you, Roan,” she declared.

  “I love you too, Babe,” he whispered. He patted her on the rear and walked out of sight.

  Frozen in place, I couldn’t move, couldn’t cry, couldn’t do a thing, but replay that image over and over in my head. My mother was right. I was wrong. I should have believed her. That was more than just sex. It was raw and possessive and extremely emotional love making. It was a relationship completely different from the one I shared with Roan and it was going on at the same time. My stomach rolled and I thought I was going to be sick.

  Before I could turn the video off, a noise onscreen caught my attention. Roan appeared back in view, completely dressed and again, his face cut from the screen. “Why are you still here?”

  “I don’t want you to leave. Please don’t leave, Roan. I love you. Please stay.” The woman was still undressed on her knees and begging.

  “Luana, you know I have to leave tomorrow. I was never going to stay.” His voice was calm and sensitive, completely changed from the dominating tone he’d used when he’d been inside her.

  “But you love me. You just told me so. Take me with you.”

  His body stilled, not being able to see his face, I couldn’t tell how her words affected him but his body was stiff as a board. He knelt down in front of her and wiped her tears. “I’m sorry Luana, but your life is here and mine is there. We need to say goodbye and move on.”

  “I don’t think I can.” This poor girl was crushed, she was naked and Roan was rocking her back and forth, her tears wetting his shirt as he cradled her in his arms. He reached behind her and grabbed her dress, slipping it over her head and covering her, as she continued to cry and hold onto him.

  “Luana, I promise, you’ll be okay. You’re going to meet someone new and maybe get married and have kids one day. But that life is not for me and our time together has to end.”

  She was now fully dressed and he was gently leading her out of the camera shot.

  There were muffled sounds and a door closing. Then Roan appeared back on screen. He sat down on the bed and rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair.

  I didn’t think it could get worse, but it just did. Was I the cause of that girl’s heartache? Did Roan end his relationship with her because he was starting something with me? Nausea rolled through my body. Roan had been in love before we’d met, and he’d broken her. Was that going to be me? Was he going to dismiss me like that one day as well? How could I have so drastically misjudged him?

  My phone rang, shocking me out of paralysis.

  Roan!

  That’s when I lost it. I crawled up onto my bed, curled in a ball, and cried. I’d fallen in love with a man who could not be trusted. If you play with fire you’re going to get burned, I got scorched.

  I don’t know how long I stayed in a fetal position. My eyes hurt, my body was weak, and my hair was in knots. My phone had been ringing incessantly and I was getting text after text. I ignored them all. I had never felt so broken in my life and decided that I couldn’t be here anymore, in this city. I packed my bag and called my Daddy. It would take too long to wait for his plane to arrive so I asked him to book me on the next flight to Sun Valley, Idaho out of LAX. My family owned a home there. I needed seclusion to gain my bearings and find a way to live here with the painful memories of a relationship that turned to ash.

  The last thing I did before walking out the door was to email him.

  In the subject line, I wrote, STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! and I attached the video.

  hanksgiving week was finally here. Jess was flying into Aspen tonight. First on the agenda was a quiet dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. Romantic gestures were new to me, but I was quickly learning how to keep my girl satisfied beyond the bedroom.

  My schedule was free after today so we’d have an entire week, just the two of us. I was focused on a contract for one of my skaters who was about to sign a deal with Tony Hawk, and did not hear the ping of an incoming email. Almost two hours had passed since that email arrived in my inbox. It sat there unnoticed, nestled amongst the forty other messages I’d received that morning. So, I was unaware that I needed to get my ass to the airport and catch the next flight home or my life was going to come crashing down.

  Scrolling through the unchecked messages on my phone, my blood singed with an odd sense of uncertainty having not heard from Jess all day. The erotic messages I’d been sending her for hours had received no reply. The voice mail I left detailing what I was going to do to her body the minute I saw her was not returned. Her flight was taking off in an hour, and it was strange that she hadn’t called to let me know she was at the terminal waiting to board her plane. My phone had been eerily quiet. Then I saw it.

  I now know that feeling you get when the rug is about to be pulled out from under you. Like the world is playing its own practical joke on you, but the joke is the life you’ve been living for the past thirty years. That’s how I felt. Like everything I’d ever worked for led up to this one moment. The subject line alone let me know that things were drastically wrong. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see what was attached to this email, but losing the one woman in this world who I ever gave a shit about was not an option. Clicking on her name, I held my breath as the email from Jessica opened along with a video attachment.

  My stomach felt as if a cement block had taken up residence. I had no idea what I’d done to deserve it. However, my life had suddenly taken a drastic turn.

  Becca had warned me; hell, Luana’s actions had all but told me she was going to do this. I should have warned Jessica, should have told her about Luana sooner. There were so many things that I could have done to prevent this.

  Needing to know what was on that video, I moved the cursor over it then pressed play. My heart stopped beating. Fuck! Luana recorded us during sex and, fuck, Jessica had just watched that video. I had to get home.

  The next flight back to LA was in three hours
and I made sure I was on it.

  A cab dropped me off at Jessica’s house and my fist pounded on her door, as my other hand, rang the bell. No response. I walked all around her property. Nothing. It was total darkness. She was nowhere to be seen.

  She’d given me a spare key, so I used it. Entering the code, I silenced the alarm.

  The stillness of her house was in complete contrast to the way I felt. I made my way to her room and sat down on her bed, taking everything in. There were clothes haphazardly thrown around the floor, hangers falling loose in her closet, and her bathroom looked like a war zone. Jess had left, and I couldn’t blame her.

  Needing advice and needing it now, I reached for my phone. Thankfully, Mason picked up on the first ring. “Mason, I need your help.”

  I filled him in on what I knew. “I have no idea how Jess got possession of the video, Mason. She’s not talking to me and she’s skipped town. What did you do with the information I gave you last week?”

  “I sent Luana that so-called arrest warrant again, hoping to scare her off.”

  Mason’s connection with the LAPD and specifically Officer Henderson had allowed us the freedom to write up a report without actually having to file anything. At the time, I wanted to scare Luana back to her home turf, not go through a long drawn out trial and legal proceedings. Officer Henderson had been more than happy to give Mason all the means he needed to hack into their system and get any documents necessary without being noticed. It worked at the time, but obviously not well enough.

  “You never told Jess did you?” he asked.

  My insides clenched and regret washed over me. “No, I didn’t. I was going to tell her everything this week, I had it all planned out, but obviously my timing sucks.” There had been so many opportunities to come clean with her. Why the fuck hadn’t I told her sooner?

  “Don’t beat yourself up, Roan, that’s a hard story to tell. I’m flying to New York tomorrow morning. Meet me at my plane a little before seven and we can discuss this before I leave. I’ll get my people on it and we’ll figure out what’s going on. In the meantime send me that video.”