It almost felt like hope, like she was waiting around for just that very thing to happen. For the University to wake up some morning and suddenly declare to itself, to Lydia, maybe even to the world, that she was important to them, has been for a long time. But, nothing happened…
The long and lonely wait made Lydia make decisions which she’d never thought of making before. She spoke with her friends, consulted her family and finally decided that there were certain things in life that required sacrifices.
Chapter 4
Lydia walked towards the office of the Director of the Behavioral Sciences department and gently knocked at his door. The man invited her in and tried to show understanding by offering her a chair, but Lydia refused to even think about it. “I already gave in my letter of resignation,” she informed him calmly. “I know that we had our differences, but this wasn’t the way for you to show me the door.”
“What are you saying, Lydia? Did you just blame me for your own failure?” he asked, immediately getting angry with her. “I gave you all the support and money I was able to find, but as you can see it wasn’t enough. You are not good enough.”
“I cannot argue with that, Richard. I will be leaving now, but I wish you the same treatment you offered me.” This time, Lydia’s voice was cold and filled with disappointment. Something like regret passed through his eyes, but it was gone too quickly to have any lasting effect. “It is me, who is sorry for you, Richard. If this is the way you treat people, I don’t want to work with you.”
Lydia never gave him the chance to answer her and stormed out of his office. For a final time, she went to her old office and took a few small items she had forgotten the previous day. Her assistant was nowhere to be seen, but many of her colleagues took the time to pass in front of her door and even look inside. Lydia spoke to no-one and left for good her residency at the Emory University, feeling completely exhausted and defeated.
Her first instinct had been to leave. That is what losers do when they are hurt or defeated. But she wasn't just acting on instinct, and leaving would only serve to piss her off even more. So she spent more time than she wanted to admit, staring into her own soul and trying to make the right decision. Lydia didn't know what the future held for her, but she was sure she wouldn't like the answer.
Thomas had warned her emphatically about the consequences of them rejecting her work. Her boyfriend had warned her just as fiercely. Why was she so intent on not listening to them? Self-destructive behaviors are a hard thing to shake off, apparently. When did self-sacrifice become another way to punish oneself?
Not keen on spending the night alone again, Lydia went back home to search for comfort and a friendly face. She hoped Ross would understand her and give her some space to mourn the death of her dreams. At some level, what he thought was still important to her, because Ross knew her and she felt comfortable around him. He could teach her to overcome the loss, just like he taught her a lot of other things.
Lydia arrived home, however, only to find movers taking furniture and smaller items out of her apartment. “What is going on?” she asked the oldest of them, but the man only pointed her to the living room.
Ross, her boyfriend of several years was standing in the middle of the room, directing the men and pointing at the items they were supposed to carry out to the van. She watched him for awhile and thought about all the years and battles they had gone through together.
“Ross,” she called and he turned around, startled, holding a rather expensive lamp in his right hand.
“Lydia, we have to talk,” he said, after clearing his throat several times.
“Yeah, I can see that,” Lydia answered and walked towards their bedroom. Ross followed her there and closed the door, creating some privacy.
“I am leaving you,” the man she thought she would be spending her life with said. “And I am moving out.”
“You heard about the rejection of my therapy ideas,” Lydia stated, feeling sorry for herself and angry for not seeing him sooner for what he was.
“Yes, but this is not about that,” the man looked guilty.
“So, you decided to break off our engagement and not even tell me?”
“I am tired of your controlling and obsessive nature,” he told her, sounding angry. “I’ve had enough and want to live a free, uninhibited life, far away from your critical eyes.”
Lydia was not a person who you would describe as even-tempered, nor could she be described as calm. Ross had complained a lot about her nervousness and obsessive nature for years, but this was the first time he actually was trying to do something about it. Lydia tried to restrain herself, but the flare of anger was stronger than her, especially when people acted childishly or asked her inane questions. “Tried” was the thing to consider here, but she, however, did nothing to stop the burst of fury that roused her to yell at this man, who had chosen the moment when she was down to hurt her most.
“Okay, you can go then,” she almost hissed at him. “I don’t want to live with a man who uses the worst moment in my life to hurt me even more.”
“It is not like that, Lydia,” Ross protested. “It is just an unfortunate coincidence. I decided to leave a few months back, and just waited for the right moment…”
“Thank you for informing me. Now, leave!” She shouted and the men in the other room stopped moving things around.
“Don’t make a scene in front of other people,” he tried to reason with her, but Lydia only laughed at him.
“Do you really think that I care,” she shouted at him, even louder. “You humiliated me already in front of all of them. Now, it is your turn!”
Lydia made sure to make things as difficult as possible for Ross during the whole thing and even told the movers how he was leaving her without informing her first. Ross was ashamed and at one point she even saw him hiding in the bathroom, but after two hours he was gone and Lydia stood alone in her half-empty apartment.
Chapter 5
Somewhere in New York…
The man looked at her and his heart sank, reminding him that jealousy wasn’t something he was unaccustomed to. But, she was just the perfect kind of woman to steal a man. And he was mad, really mad at him for acting the way he did. The girl was a nuisance and he simply couldn’t understand why he had to go and flirt with her. As if it wasn’t bad enough that they were almost caught twice in a lie tonight, and he had to go and make things worse by acting like a dog in love.
The younger man, about twenty-five years old, excused himself and headed towards the bathroom, stopping for a moment near the window to look outside. He watched with fascination how the lights of the city played with his hair and gave extra brilliance to his eyes. The young man, almost a boy, was beautiful and he had every intention to keep him exclusively for himself. So, he imitated his movements from before and followed him into the bathroom, looking carefully around before closing the door.
The restaurant was a very popular one and there were many people eating here every night, but today was an especially busy day. The multiple bathroom stalls were almost all empty, but the urinals were all occupied. The man-boy was standing between two older men and looking quiet distracted. He, on the other hand, opted to wash his hands in order to have an excuse to stay. He watched the other men go out one by one.
The younger man fastened his pants and headed his way, raising his eyebrows questionably and choosing to wash his hands in the basin next to the one he was using. Their eyes met in the mirror and he licked sensually at his upper lip. A faint blush appeared on the boy’s cheeks and he tried to suppress a quiet moan. He turned around and watched the last two men leave the bathroom, leaving only three bathroom stalls occupied.
He wasted no time and grabbed the younger man’s hand, forcing him into the last stall in the row. It turned out to be the one for disabled people, with a higher toilet and larger space. Good, as there was more than enough space for two big men to stay comfortably and even to do something more. The man was ple
ased with his choice, but the other man still had to realize what was going on. He nodded, stepping close enough that Ian, as the young man was called, found himself backing up slightly, soon getting trapped between him and the wall.
He leaned close to the other man's ear and spoke quietly. “I’m going to show you how much better I am than that bitch.” The jealousy was tangible in his voice and Ian could only hope that things wouldn’t get too messy.
“I’m not interested in her,” he tried, but he was blinded by his own rage and wasn’t going to listen to reason. He got hold of Ian’s jacket and threw him against the wall, chuckling darkly at his protest and bucking his hips forward, to inform him about the purpose of all this, in case Ian still had to get on with the program.
“You got to be joking!” Ian tried again, but then there were lips on his neck and a knee was rubbing at the underside of his thigh and…what the hell, sex was always welcome and angry sex was something quite exciting on his list. Ian felt his head fall back against the wall and moaned softly, bucking his hips forward in a desperate attempt to rub off against the other man.
“You are so easy…” he laughed breathlessly, snagging his fingers through his belt loops and pulling him closer, so that their groins could slot together. Ian rolled his eyes at him, grabbing hold of his ass to get him moving again, as he could only too easily picture his train of thought. He breathed a sigh of relief, tangling his hands in Ian’s hair and kissing him with desperate passion.
They were just getting into it, rocking hard against each other, pawing and thrusting with intent, with Ian’s back slamming up against the wall, when they heard someone opening the bathroom stall a few doors down from theirs.
“Get a room, you two,” they heard a gruff voice say and whoever said it was leaving the bathroom for good. The man looked a little scared at the thought of being caught in such a compromising position, but Ian was very excited by the possibility. The fact that he was hot enough to get the interest of a guy like him, to the point of making him forget all about propriety, was exhilarating.
Ian got hold of his erection through his trousers and squeezed it strongly enough to make his point. “It is too late to run now,” he said, and the man remembered all the reasons they were in this position to begin with. He forgot all about the woman and the place they were and slid his hand through Ian’s carefully arranged hair, messing it up and loving every bit of it. He groaned, part jealousy, but mostly arousal, and spread his big hands over Ian’s hips, pushing him back against the wall and holding him still while he rutted up against him.
“You fucker!” Ian cried and he laughed at him, kissing the cute little dimples of him and then proceeded to kiss him heatedly, shoving his hands inside his clothes. Ian resisted him again and pushed him away to remove his jacket, carefully hanging it up behind the door. The man had to agree that the idea wasn’t a bad one and did the same with his own suit jacket, shirt and finally trousers.
He stood then there, dressed only in a pair of boxer briefs, but looking as if he was standing in the middle of the restaurant, talking to his friends. Ian followed his example and removed the rest of his own clothes, getting rid even of his underwear. It had become a sort of game between them to dare each other and see who will be the one on top.
The man went down on his knees before Ian and started to worship him with gentle kisses and soft sucks. His hands were on Ian’s ass, cupping and squeezing the firm muscle, while Ian was doing his best not to moan or make any other noise. He could hear people coming in and doing their business, but for now no-one suspected what was going on behind the closed door of the last stall.
It was quite a performance to watch Ian’s struggle to keep quiet with all the sensations running through his body. The man almost laughed at his desperation, but then Ian used his upper hand to bring him up and facing the wall. It was unexpected, but he wasn’t going to complain, especially when hot lips started to trace his spine, descending lower and lower. Ian kneeled behind him, tugging at his underwear and opening his legs as far apart as possible in his current position.
Both men were suppressing their moans and were trying to breathe quietly. People were coming and going outside and he was wondering what the two women they came here with were thinking right now. But then, Ian used the tip of his finger to penetrate him and all thoughts about other people and future problems were forgotten. The feeling was amazing and just what he needed right now. Ian worked his finger up to the first knuckle and started to move it around. He was careful not to touch his prostate and the man was going mad with anticipation.
“Fuck!” A deep cry escaped him, when Ian finally started to play with that special place inside of him.
“Shh…” Ian warned him and stopped what he was doing to listen at what was going on around them. Someone was washing his hands, but no-one seemed to be paying attention to them. Once he heard the door close behind the man, Ian continued to attack with gusto the small bundle of nerves that was driving the other man crazy.
When he couldn’t take it anymore, he rose up abruptly, throwing Ian on the floor and trying hard to calm his breathing. Ian grinned at him from his spot on the floor and watched with fascination how an angry red blush colored his face. He walked towards him, looking determined to have his way this time. He backed Ian against the wall and started to forcefully kiss him with open mouth and teeth.
Ian surrendered willingly, opening his mouth and locking their tongues together. Their position wasn’t very comfortable for this kind of job, but nothing about their present situation was what one would expect. His legs were giving out under him and he wondered how long he would last like this. Outside, in the real world, a group of men was joking about some hot woman that was playing one of them, but behind the closed stall door, time had stopped.
“Now!” Ian growled, completely shattering the illusion of submission and the other man simply had to roll his eyes at him. He collapsed onto Ian once he was buried all the way inside, trying to gather himself together.
Both men moaned at the sensation of being once again united in the most intimate fashion. Ian looked at him helplessly, letting him kiss him deeply, while starting to ease his way inside him again.
“Move…” he muttered and tried to lift him with both hands.
“No…” Ian answered and pushed down with all his strength. He looked Mason in the eye, silently asking him to stop fighting this thing between them. The older man understood, agreed and finally started to relax. Their bodies melted together, making from the two a unique creation, all tangled together, different in its parts, but very much the same.
He worked his hand around the other man’s neck and brought his head down to kiss him, while meeting his moves with matching ones. Their kiss was a slow one, in complete contrast with the movement of their bodies.
They made love like that for some long minutes, completely uncaring of the noise they were making or the people who might hear them. Once the kiss was over, Ian sat down with Mason’s pelvis snug to his ass and paused. The sway of their bodies was tantalizing, a perfect expression of what they felt for each other. Secretive, hidden, forbidden, but sweet, desired and all theirs to have.
The sharp crash of a door startled them. Someone probably had quite a time, listening to the sounds they made. Both men were close to coming and wanted to do it together.
When Ian stood up, the other man gave a little growl and launched himself at Ian, slamming him into the wall and slotting up against him. He mashed his mouth to his, biting at his lips and forcing his tongue inside. Ian grabbed his head to keep him close, clutching his hair as he arched against him.
They kissed roughly, hot and wet and filthy, tongues slicking over each other in broad sweeps. Ian leaned down, placing a soft kiss on his mouth and stroking his hair. It was time for them to get out of here, but the world outside was too scary to face right now.
Ian walked with a somehow awkward movement, his grace from before already lost. The man watched him
put on his underwear and only then started to dress himself. They dressed slowly, helping each other with buttons and belts, but trying to avoid any real physical contact.
Ian left the bathroom first, leaving him alone to think about what had just happened. He was aware of the fact that his behavior was outside the norms, but he couldn’t help it – couldn’t help reaching for what his heart desired.
Life had never been good to him, after all…
Chapter 6
Lydia was a petite woman, only five feet ten inches high, but very professional and sharp in her job. She prided herself on being honest and correct in her work ethic. During her college years she had made it her goal to stay in good health and exercise regularly. She had always wanted to travel and see more of the world around her, but so far her research and work had kept her at home or near the university.
After finding herself without a job and without a boyfriend, Lydia decided to forget about the past and rebuild her life anew. It hurt her to feel so defeated and alone, but Lydia was not going to let those feelings bring her down and destroy her hope for future happiness. Her faith in herself and her ability was too strong and she was ready to fight for her right to be happy again.
Two days after she lost everything, Lydia started to research and apply for several jobs in Atlanta. She wanted to continue to work in her field, so she was looking for positions closely connected to her specialization. She sent out more than twenty applications, but in less than a week they were all turned down. At first, she thought that it was not possible, that there was some mistake, but as it turned out, they all had some very acceptable reason not to hire her.
Lydia felt defeated. Her spirit had taken too much in so short a time. It was hard to see everything you have been working for destroyed and laughed at. So, after all the failed attempts to put her life back together, Lydia decided to sell her apartment and leave the area behind. There was nothing worth staying for there and she had lost hope that she would be able to amend things.
Mystery: The Coming Back: (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Suspense Thriller Mystery) Page 2