Her Canadian Dream

by May Raymond

  But with a shake of her head, she pushed her own relationship aside as she contemplated how she could help Aly. Switching on the kettle, she got out the makings to brew a pot of tea, knowing it was going to be much needed.

  Chapter Three

  Aly arrived looking pale and wan. Her eyes were red and she had obviously been crying on her drive over. Jan took her coat and gave her a hug, then dragged her into the lounge and settled her on the overstuffed sofa.

  “Right. Tell me what’s happened.”

  Over a cup of tea and with a few tears, Aly told Jan about the text and her suspicions. She admitted that she had probably been naïve in believing Sean in everything he told her. She even admitted to Jan about their dwindling sex life and with a blush, told Jan that Sean rarely satisfied her anymore.

  Jan handed Aly tissues as she cried out her disappointment with Sean, her present life, and her future. She dished out tea until the pot was empty and then tried to gently give her some advice, along with a few facts about the man she’d given everything up for.

  As Aly listened to the things that Jan and others had heard around town, she felt humiliated and used. Then anger kicked in and she started to rant and rave about Sean, pacing up and down Jan’s lounge as she cried out her frustration.

  “How could he do this to me? I suppose everyone in town thinks I’m stupid? What a shit he is. How many sluts has he slept with at the same time as sleeping with me?”

  Jan grimaced.

  “Nobody thinks you’re stupid, hun. Most people just care that he might have hurt you. I was tempted to tell you several times but I don’t think you would have believed me and I didn’t want it to ruin our friendship.”

  Aly sat, stunned, as she processed all that Jan was telling her. It was the old adage of the one closest being the last to know.

  Finally, she could hold her hurt in no longer and she collapsed onto the sofa and sobbed her heart out. She cried until she was exhausted, Jan holding her hand and encouraging her to let it all out.

  Jan fumed.

  If I could just get hold of that prick for one minute.

  She held her until her tears stopped and her eyes drooped and she fell asleep. Even in sleep she looked troubled and Jan was so angry with Sean that, if he had walked in at that moment, she would have cut his balls off with a blunt knife!

  As it was, at that moment, she heard the key in the lock and Brett walked in, his face slightly reddened by the brisk wind now blowing outside.

  He quirked an eyebrow at the sight of Aly, who Jan had covered with a soft blanket, as Jan dragged him into the kitchen and pulled the door closed behind them.

  “He really did a number on her! The bastard’s been stringing her along with a bundle of lies and promises, all the while he’s been fucking anything in a skirt that looks his way.”

  Jan was livid and Brett smiled at her fierce loyalty to her friend.

  “Hey, tiger, calm down. This might be just what was needed. You know from talking to her that she wasn’t happy with him. She needs someone better than him, someone to take her under his wing and look after her. I’m pretty darn sure that that girl is submissive, even if she doesn’t know it yet!” He grinned. “Haven’t you seen the way she acts around me…or her reaction to Aiden when he came in?”

  Jan nodded. Conversations at quiet times in the store had the women talking about the books they read and movies they watched. Jan had smiled knowingly when Aly had admitted to reading erotic romances and found it quite endearing when she blushed as she told Jan that she fantasised about the men in the books.

  It seemed that Aly had tried a couple of times to persuade Sean to take charge in the bedroom. Whenever she suggested something that she had read about, such as restraining her, maybe with some scarves, he had scowled at her as if she were mad and usually turned over in bed saying that she had put him off making love, and within minutes he would be snoring. She was left feeling humiliated and embarrassed and would always apologise to him the following morning. There was no denying that the BDSM scene interested her, though, and she never gave up hope that one day Sean might change his mind.

  Brett tugged Jan toward him. “And now, my little tigress, I think your Dom would like some recompense for a wasted evening.”

  Jan reddened. “Sir?”

  “Well…I was planning a nice quiet evening in, but instead I had to go out in that cold wind and spend an evening in a bar drinking beer with my best friend. I think the beer might have given my hand a twitch that needs to be soothed, maybe by making my sub’s cute little ass slightly red?”

  Jan giggled.

  “Oh, Sir, that was such a hardship, wasn’t it? A few beers with your best friend. I just bet that a certain young lady currently asleep on our sofa was part of this evening’s conversation as well? I know Aiden is interested in her. It was written all over his face when he met her the other day. And I don’t think she was averse to him either, judging by the way she ran into the back as soon as they shook hands.”

  He grabbed her hand and started toward the bedroom, intent on payback for a wasted evening and her blatant sassiness toward him. He knew that she was aware of the price of brattiness. He also knew that, despite her trepidation, by the time they were in the bedroom, her panties would be wet in anticipation of what was ahead.

  Brett inwardly grinned.

  I think maybe a touch of orgasm deprivation is in order tonight, too. And maybe a gag…After all we don’t want our guest to hear what we’re doing, do we?

  His smile as he pulled her through to the bedroom was feral with lust but as they passed through the lounge, they both looked down on the sleeping girl with concern. A slight frown marred her pretty features and Jan sighed.

  “What is the matter with that dickhead? Aly’s a lovely girl, even if she has no self-confidence.”

  They added another blanket to the one covering her, switched off the lamp, and went across the hallway to the bedroom.

  Brett soothed Jan as he tugged her along.

  “Come on. We’ll let her sleep. Come morning we can have a chat and see what she wants to do now.”

  Chapter Four

  Aly woke with a start, briefly wondering where she was. Then the memory of last night returned and the hurt flooded back. Squinting at her watch in the dim light from a hall lamp she saw that it was almost time for the sun to come up and she felt a sudden urge to be outside in the fresh autumn air. So many thoughts were spinning around inside her that she felt suffocated. Maybe the cold air down by the lake would help clear her head.

  Gathering up her belongings and leaving a quick note for Jan, she slipped out of the front door into the chill of predawn.

  A short drive along the mainly deserted highway brought her to Dwight Beach. It was her favourite spot to sit and think, and at this time of the morning there weren’t even any dog walkers around. She parked up and climbed out of her car. The lake shimmered in the early morning light as a few ducks milled around at the edge of the water.

  Heading for the row of benches along the lakeside she dropped onto the nearest one and put her head in her hands.

  What on earth was she going to do??

  She knew that she needed to confront Sean but her insides clenched at the idea. She hated rows of any kind and would usually do anything to avoid them.

  The realisation that she was now probably homeless, as well as alone in a strange country with only four months left on her work permit, made her heart flip. Although her job with Jan gave her a living wage, she hadn’t been in the country long enough to build up any savings toward a deposit for an apartment. She knew that most places would require at least a month in advance as well as a deposit and that was way out of her reach at the moment. Even the joint account with Sean didn’t seem to be building as quickly as she’d thought it would and now she wondered whether he had been using this money to fund his many nights out.

  The morning chill started to dissipate as the sun rose higher. Realising she was still dr
essed in her clothes from yesterday, and that she needed to get home to get ready for work, she left the peace of the lake and headed back to her car.

  With the way things were heading, even the basic necessity of a car might be out of reach for her now. Huntsville’s public transport was virtually nonexistent, so if the car had to go then she was sure going to get fit, because the alternative would be to walk everywhere.

  Well at least I might finally get rid of my fat butt.

  Her English humour momentarily kicked in as she sought to find a silver lining in the cloud that was raining down on her at the moment.

  * * * *

  Pulling up outside her apartment she took a deep breath. Heart racing, she climbed the stairs and silently let herself in and looked around.

  Considering the fact that her world had been turned upside down, the place looked remarkably normal. Her empty teacup was still on the end table beside the sofa and the radio was still playing softly from the corner of the room. A quick look into the two bedrooms brought the conclusion that Sean wasn’t here and it didn’t look as if he’d slept here last night.

  Belatedly she checked her phone. There was one text, from Jan, telling her to take the day off and she would catch up with her later. There was nothing from Sean.

  Walking through to the kitchen with the dirty teacup she switched on the kettle to make tea, with a grim smile on her face.

  The Brits’ answer to everything!

  Going over the past twenty-four hours in her mind, she realised that although she was disappointed, she wasn’t really surprised at what had happened. She hadn’t known Sean that long before they had hooked up and he’d had his bright idea of moving here. She had been so keen to have someone love her and have some security in her life that she had jumped at the chance. She should have realised that it wasn’t going to work. Sean was basically a very self-centred person. He rarely consulted her on any of the decisions that had to be made. He had chosen the apartment because it was convenient for his job, he’d picked out her car and he had even urged her to go for the job with Jan.

  For that final decision she couldn’t help but be grateful to him. She and Jan had become friends from the start. They had similar interests and senses of humour, and working together had been a joy.

  The kettle boiled and she made a cup of tea, then went back through to the lounge and fired up her computer. A tinkle from her laptop indicated that she had an e-mail and she opened it up, seeing that it was from Sean.

  Scanning the words, she felt sick as the man, who until yesterday had been her intended husband, showed just how little he thought of her.

  “Alyssa,

  I know you got a text last night that wasn’t meant for you and you must have realised that it was sent to you in error, instead of where it was meant to go.

  I’m sorry, babe, that you had to find out like this, but I didn’t know how to tell you that I’ve met someone else and I no longer want us to get married.

  I’ve decided to move in with Lindsay. She’s got her own house on the edge of town which means that you can have the apartment. I will pick up the rest of my things at the weekend so maybe it would be best if you were out on Saturday afternoon so that we don’t have to come face-to-face and have any unpleasantness.”

  Aly huffed at his cowardice but was relieved that she could avoid any kind of fight with him.

  “I will leave it up to you as to whether you keep the apartment on or move out. You probably won’t want to stay, though, as I know you never really liked it.

  I will post a cheque to you to cover your half of the savings we have. I’ll send it to the store, just in case you move out.”

  She took a sip of the scalding tea, her hand shaking as she read on.

  “I’m sorry it’s come to this but really it’s as much your fault as mine.”

  She huffed again. What a nerve!

  “You never seemed to want to do anything and I just got bored sitting at home night after night watching TV.

  Lindsay works in the office. We went out for drinks after work a couple of times and one thing led to another and we fell in love. We didn’t mean for it to happen but it did.”

  Tears started to roll down her face and she dashed them away, her anger growing now as he shifted the blame onto her.

  “I know you have never loved me. To be honest up until I met Lindsay I thought our fondness for each other would be enough, but now I know it wouldn’t be. We were never really right for each other. And you have to admit that our sex life has been boring lately, too. It’s just a shame we had to come all this way to find out.

  I’m sure you’ll agree when I say that it’s best that we make a clean break. I can’t see any need for us to meet up and discuss this because you won’t change my mind. You would overanalyse it all anyway, like you always do with everything.

  I left my key in the pot on the hallstand and leave it up to you as to whether you stay in the apartment. As you know, the rent is paid up until the end of the month. I know it doesn’t give you much time to decide but I wasn’t intending to tell you until I felt the time was right. I would have given you more time to work things out with the flat and decide what you wanted to do.

  Just text me what you decide.

  See you around,

  Sean”

  Ally slowly closed down the lid on her laptop and curled up in a ball on the sofa.

  See you around? Did she really mean that little to him?

  Although it appeared that he blamed her at first, his words about her never loving him were certainly true. But it had been him who had talked her into moving here, and she thought that love would grow as they spent more time together.

  She couldn’t afford to stay in the apartment on her own. The small amount of savings due to her would keep her for a little while but she would have to find herself somewhere else to live. Sean had been right when he had said that she had never really liked this place. She preferred the older-style buildings and this was one of the newer developments in town.

  It was modern and furnished in a very contemporary fashion but Aly was more a shabby-chic type of person. Her home in England had been filled with a myriad of styles and fabrics, each one unique. The only thing Sean had allowed her to bring, and use in this apartment, was the quilt that she had spent a whole month’s wages on, about two years ago. It was beautifully handcrafted and she had fallen in love with it the minute she had seen it. It was the one thing in her life that she had coveted and given in to the urge to buy. It was her little piece of home and now she couldn’t imagine her bed without it.

  She sat at the table with pen and pad, doing the sums needed to work out her finances now she was alone. The figures scared her so much, sudden panic gripped her and she rushed to the bathroom and emptied her stomach down the toilet. Leaning her hot face against the cool shower door, she finally gave in to her feelings and sobbed until she had no more tears to shed.

  Chapter Five

  Aiden looked up from the blueprint as Brett walked into the office, his face black as thunder.

  “Hey, bud. What’s up? You look like you want to put your fist down someone’s throat.”

  Brett filled Aiden in on what had happened the night before after he had left Aiden and gone home.

  “That fucking asshole has been screwing round town and now she’s discovered what a dickhead he is she’s totally wrecked. Jan’s over there now, in full mother hen mode and clucking around her wanting to right all her wrongs!”

  Aiden had only met Aly once, at the store, when he had dropped by with Brett. He recalled a pair of big brown eyes, framed by long, dark lashes. Eyes which dropped to the floor as he grasped her hand to say hello. Average height, she was in no other way average.

  She had curves in all the right places, her dark blue jeans and pretty flowery blouse hiding nothing from his gaze. Her bust was full, straining slightly against the buttons of the blouse, her waist slim, leading down to a softly curved butt which Aiden had i
tched to get his hands on. Her long dark hair was tied up in a ponytail, showing her swanlike neck. His cock had twitched as he imagined himself sucking and biting her neck in the throes of passion. It was a perfect neck to wear a collar.

  Whoa! Where had that thought come from?

  He was shocked at his body’s’ reaction to a virtual stranger. He knew from Jan that she was already taken and that in itself was a no go for him.

  But shaking hands with her had caused his cock to twitch and harden and he had to turn aside in order not to embarrass himself. It seemed that she, too, had been affected, as she quickly excused herself and ran out to the stockroom.

  Aiden knew he wasn’t ugly. He had enough women running after him to know that, but he wasn’t usually interested in any of them. He was tall, like Brett, but whereas Brett was blond, Aiden had dark hair and deep brown eyes. They were a perfect foil for each other as they had grown up in the small town. Many a girl’s heart had been broken by one or the other of them, and they still made a formidable pair. Now Brett had settled but Aiden was still searching for the elusive “one.” Maybe he’d finally found her.

  Aiden had tried to hide his raging hard-on from Brett and Jan with idle chitchat. Meanwhile, Aly had sat on the stool out by the kitchenette and tried to still her rapidly beating heart.