by Abby Gale
“Aww, of course I can make it, sweetie. Why don’t you go sit on the porch back there?” she offered, trying to mask her surprise.
“Are you okay?” she asked, concern was dripping from her voice.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” Mom sat beside me on the porch.
“Nothing, Mom,” I shrugged, turning my gaze back to the blue bird that came to drink water from the small fountain.
“I know my daughter, Melody. I’m your mother, I can see when something is bothering you. You’ve lost the light in your eyes and let’s not forget that you wanted carrot balls. What is it? Is it about a guy?” she insisted.
I didn’t know how to tell her, but I wanted to talk to her. I missed our mother-daughter conversations. I needed the comfort only she could give me.
“Yeah…” I whispered.
“Tell me. I promise I won’t ask too many questions,” she winked at me.
Taking a deep breath, I said, “There is this guy I really like, he is strong, hot, caring, fun. He takes my breath away…”
“But?” mom cocked her eyebrow.
“But… he doesn’t want a relationship. I mean… when we’re together I never worry about his loyalty, he makes me feel… loved, cherished, but whenever I mention relationships he becomes distant, acts like a jerk. He says things that hurt me. I don’t know why he is like that, Mom. When he acts like that I can’t be sure if I mean something to him or not,” I mumbled, I couldn’t stop the words coming out of my mouth.
“You love him, don’t you?”
“Yeah…” I sighed.
“And last night… he wanted me to take him back, he sounded like he wanted a relationship, but he was drunk. How could I trust him when he said those things when he was drunk? What do I make out of his words?” I groaned.
“He is just scared, baby girl,” Mom said, surprised me.
“Scared? Why?”
“He is scared of relationships. I don’t know why, but he reminds me of your dad,” she said fondly, smiling, her eyes got distant with what I assumed to be the memory of my dad.
“Your dad was exactly the badboy type, you know how they are described in novels, right? He was that guy, hot, careless, and fearless. I still remember how I forget to breathe when I was with him. Stephan was just the way you described your guy –when I was with him he made me feel like the most beautiful girl on earth, he was caring, made me feel loved, cherished. But convincing him of being in a relationship wasn’t easy,” she continued.
“Why?” I asked, interested in the story. Mom had never told me about these things before. I remember my dad, but what I remembered was how madly in love he was with my mom. Their love was what made me a romantic, what made me believe in fairytales and soulmates.
“I didn’t know… till I found out I was pregnant with you. Your dad was mixture of emotions then. One moment he was angry with me, the next he was caressing my belly, looking so proud… and finally he cried,” she smiled fondly, taking a deep breath before continuing, “Stephan took after his father and his family life was fucked up. His dad wasn’t a good father or a good husband. He was always drinking. There was violence in his house when he was a child.”
“Oh my God… I can’t believe this. That’s why we’ve never talked to them, right?” I asked, feeling sorry my dad had been through this.
Mom nodded, “Stephan was scared that he wouldn’t be a good dad, a good husband… that he would make us live the same things his dad put his family through. It took me a long time to show him that he wasn’t his father… that he was a great guy, amazing father, and a perfect husband. After he came to the OB/GYN with me to see you, he always continued to try his best. He never gave up. He wanted you to have the best father possible,” she said, her eyes tearing up.
“He was a great dad!” I protested. My dad was my hero, my prince charming and I always dreamed of finding a man like him.
“I know, baby. But he needed to believe it. Nothing we could say was enough to change his mind, but that only gave him enough courage to take a shot on a relationship. He was the most badass guy I can think of… yet he was a scared kid inside when it came to this,” she told me, taking a deep breath before continuing, “So… your guy reminds me of Stephan, Mel. The only thing I can advise you is… don’t care about his words, focus on his actions… and if you love him, show him he’s worth it.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I whispered, hugging her.
She caressed my hair and placed a kiss on my forehead before going back inside the house. After a few steps she stopped, looking at me over her shoulder, “Don’t care what people think. If he is the one that makes you happy, you’ll always have my blessing,” she said, leaving me shocked.
Did she know?
Shaking my head, I headed back to the house behind her…
And soon, I left the house, letting my heart decide my destination.
“Thanks, Fernando,” I smiled at him as he opened the door for me.
“You’re welcome, Miss Crown. Mr. Hawke will be home in an hour max,” he said.
“Where is he?”
“He went running, ma’am. If you need anything just dial one from the phone in the kitchen,” he said, leaving me alone in the house after I gave him a nod.
I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I decided to take a tour of the house. I was nervous when I stopped in front of a room I had never been before. I knew he kept his paintings there, but I had never had the chance to see any of them. He didn’t really hide them from me, but he didn’t show me either. Feeling tempted, I stepped into the room.
Shock was the first feeling I could name.
Then, it turned into admiration.
Then, it turned into tears of happiness.
Finally all I could feel was the love I felt for Kellan as I let my eyes wonder from one painting to another –all of them were… me.
He painted me in every painting in the room –my back, my legs, my face…
Me –as I slept… me –as I laughed… me –with his head between my legs… me… me… me…
I didn’t know how long I stayed in that room, but I studied and touched each one of his paintings. I was sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded by his declaration of love –if it wasn’t love, I didn’t know what else could be- when I heard his voice, “Melody?”
I didn’t turn back to face him, not trusting my voice or my reaction. Mostly, I was afraid of his reaction, what if he didn’t mean any of the things he said last night?
“Melody… when I didn’t see you… I thought you left,” he rasped behind me. I heard his steps coming closer.
“I left…” I whispered, slowly standing to my feet. Instead of facing him I walked toward the painting I loved the most –it showed the side of my face as I slept face down, the sheet was tangled around my hips and my legs. I could see the soft swell of my breast, the curve of my hips, the dimples on my back, just above the curve of my ass. He captured a moment so magical I looked at it like it was something surreal, like it wasn’t me in the painting.
“But then you came back,” he said, hope was evident in his voice. I could feel his damp and warm skin behind me when he wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Don’t make me regret it,” I whispered, letting him turn me around.
He leaned down to me, caressing my lips softly, carefully, with his lush lips. His kiss was so different, so hesitant I had never experienced him like this. He was always so sure of everything, so confident of his every move, but in that second he was a new man –a man that was so insecure of my reaction. We were like the mirror reflection of each other, then.
“I won’t make you regret it, babe… not again,” he whispered against my lips.
“Kellan… I don’t want to fall more than I’ve already done if you’re not willing to try,” I said, closing my eyes as a tear threatened to fall.
“I want to try. I’m not saying I’ll be good, I’m not saying I won’t fuck up, but I won’t give up on you, on u
s, on whatever you want to call this between us. I’ll try my hardest,” he promised with certainty.
“That’s enough… that’s enough for me… for now,” I smiled, hugging him, but he pulled back a little earlier than I wanted him to.
“I know we need to talk more, I know I need to make things up to you so you can forgive me, but I need to say one thing before I fuck you… no, they call it making love, right?” he chuckled.
Nodding I waited for his words.
“I love you, Stranger.”
Abby Gale is an international author. She is an avid reader, former blogger, and a pharmacist. She writes whatever storyline sucks her in, but mostly her books will be erotica with some darkness in it.
Her debut novel Violet is an erotica-suspense with ménage relationship.
Her novella One Night Only is a short read based on a true story.
You can find Abby on social media platforms:
Twitter: @AuthorAbbyGale
Facebook: Author Abby Gale
Goodreads: abbygaleauthor
Amazon: Abby Gale
Website: abbygaleauthor.wix.com/abbygale
The emotional part again…
Thank YOU for choosing and reading my book. You helped me closer to my dream just by having my book on your kindle.
Sybil Wilson, my perfect stranger. She came into my life as a total stranger and became my best friend, my beta-reader, my designer and everything in between. Don’t go anywhere, Stranger!
Mette Rønnow, another perfect stranger who found her way to my heart in such a short time and now I can’t think of a life without her. You’re stuck with me!
SueBee, you’re always with me from the beginning and I can’t thank you enough for everything you did for me. Having you in my life is always a privilege.
Vivian Freeman, I love you! Thanks so much for beta-reading this.
Thanks a lot to my author friends Mia Sheridan, Dani Wyatt (there was some awkward moment as I go total fangirl over her when she accepted to read my book), Sienna Grant, Marie Skye, Stacey Broadbent, Aidan Willows, Jacob Chance, Logan Chance, and Laura Martinez for all their help and friendship.
Special thanks to Chance Promotion: Jacob and Logan Chance, and their amazing team of readers and bloggers who worked a lot. They did everything to help me during this journey. Thanks to their hard work I could only focus on my writing and they dealt with the rest. I would recommend their services to everyone.
And finally another special thanks to my Nymphs in my reader group. Elizarey, Heather Sage, Tiffany Burnett, Milva, LeNora Wilson, Tijuana, and many more I’d love to meet and hug. I love you all so much! <3