Mia insisted everything was just peachy, but she did confide she had written to Rob and was worried she hadn’t had a reply. “Can you ask Noah if he has heard from him? I’m worried he’s been kidnapped, or killed or something.”
Ava looked Mia straight in the eye. “Are you sure you’re not carrying a torch for Rob? Are you sure you really want to marry Colby? Are you sure you’re not marrying Colby out of spite?
“Whoa, slow down with the ‘are you sure’. I guess I don’t really know the answer to any of those questions. I decided to tell Rob I was getting married, and I just got worried when he didn’t reply, no more than I’d worry if Noah were away, because he’s a friend.”
Always irrepressible, and wading in where politeness often gave way to intrusiveness, Ava began again…
“Are you sure Colby is the one? Is he good in bed? Can you see yourself pregnant with his kids? Do you love him? Can you honestly say you don’t love Rob? You can’t be emailing Rob after you get married, just to stay friends. It’s not fair to Rob and it’s not fair to Colby.”
Mia looked long and hard at her best friend. Without a word, she stood, and walked out the door.
Hours later, with Colby, Noah and Ava frantic she hadn’t returned, and worried she had either been mugged, or worse, Mia walked into her friends’ suite at the hotel, smiling broadly.
“I’ve been walking and thinking. Sorry if you were worried, but I sat in the church for a long time too. I’m sure now. I’m ready for the wedding,” she said, kissing Colby warmly.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The night before the wedding was the rehearsal and dinner provided at the hotel by Mia’s parents. There were lots of toasts, and Mia was radiant.
Colby had decided against having a stag party, mainly because most of his friends weren’t flying in till Saturday, and besides, he had been to enough of his buddies’ stags, that he was afraid of what pranks they might have in mind for him.
He had participated in many tricks on his friends, including the most famous, of filling a bathtub with blue dye, and dunking the groom up to his neck.
The bride in that wedding spent her wedding night in tears, not turned on at all when her groom came to their bed dyed blue!
When Mia heard that story, she was just as glad Colby had opted out of having a stag.
Mia and Colby parted at her hotel room door. Colby wanted to come in and his kisses in the hallway were insistent but Mia complained of a headache, “I have to get my beauty sleep, so your mother doesn’t find fault with my baggy eyes in the photos.”
Colby knew too well, that the famous photographer would work miracles on baggy eyes, but he accepted her decision. He gave her one long, but chaste kiss, and then kissed her nose and forehead. “Sleep well, little patroller.” No “I love you” or “Can’t wait till tomorrow”. Mia was disappointed.
* * * *
The day of the wedding dawned bright a beautiful, just the way a wedding day should be. Mia and Ava spent the morning at the hair salon, having everything done to beautify them for the ceremony, which was to be held at five o’clock.
The dress was a vision of slinky satin that fell simply from her spaghetti straps to the floor. It was high in front, but almost backless. It had no adornments, other than Mia’s grandmother’s pearls, something old, her mother’s diamond earrings, something borrowed, and her something new was a diamond tennis bracelet from Colby. She wore spring flowers in her hair, which she wore up, with curls falling loosely around her face.
As Mia’s family and Ava gathered for pre-wedding photos, both Mia’s mom and dad had tears in their eyes. They were happy for Mia, but sad that their only daughter was leaving them for a new life so far away.
The limo arrived to take them to the church. Once they were all settled in to the spacious car, trying not to get wrinkled or mussed, the car stayed stationary. Was something wrong? Why wouldn’t the car start? Mia’s dad got out to see what was up.
The driver finally turned around, and solemnly handed Mia a note.
Mystified, Mia opened the single sheet of paper, which was typed, with Colby’s distinctive signature scrawled at the bottom.
Dear Mia,
I am so very sorry to do this to you. I am a coward in every way. I thought I could do this.
The short choppy sentences showed Mia how upset Colby had been as he wrote it.
I sat at my desk this week, looked at all the sales figures, the charts and projections, and the schedule of trips I’d have to take for the company over the next few weeks. Then I looked again at the ski photos from New Zealand that I forwarded to you.
I just can’t go through with the whole thing—the job, the wedding, everything. By the time you read this, I’ll be on my way to Kiwi land. I’ll ski for the summer, and call you when I return. Forgive me for everything.
Colby
Mia sat in stunned silence. She read the letter over once again. By now her parents and Ava were reaching for the letter, and everyone was talking at once.
“What the hell?”
“Who does he think he is?”
”That fool”
“I’ll kill him for hurting our little girl”
“How could he just leave you at the altar like this?”
“Well, at least you didn’t make it as far as the church.”
“What now, Mia?”
“That son of a bitch.”
“I’ll go make plane reservations home.”
Mia didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry. She pictured Colby’s mother trying to explain to the people gathered in the church what had happened. She imagined Colby’s father telling his customers Colby wouldn’t be calling on them. She thought about getting rid of all the chrome and glass furniture the decorator had bought.
She thought about returning her dress, wasting all the money on flowers and food, and how embarrassed she would be to tell people she had been left at the altar.
She didn’t say a word. She got out of the limo, went back into the hotel, and locked the door to her room so she wouldn’t have to talk to anyone. She ignored her mother and Ava knocking, and then banging on the door.
“Mia, are you okay?”
“Mia, don’t do anything foolish.”
“Mia open this door.”
“Mia what are you doing?”
Then the phone started to ring, and ring and ring.
Mia heard her dad’s voice at the door.
“Young lady, you just open this door immediately.”
“Honey, I’m sorry, what can we do for you?”
Then finally Noah.
“Mia, if we could find him we’d punch him out for you.”
“We’re all going to the bar and get drunk. Want to come along?”
She assured them through the closed door that she wasn’t planning on doing anything foolish, and asked them to just leave her alone for a while. She changed into jeans and a T-shirt, tore the flowers out of her hair, jammed a ball cap on her head, and taking all the bottles of wine from the mini-fridge, she left the suite.
Mia took her wine down to the large park nearby, and sat on a park bench, drinking it, straight out of the bottle. She felt like some homeless wino, drinking in the afternoon sunshine, with nowhere to go and no one to see.
She ignored the incessant ringing of her cell phone, knowing her family and Ava and Noah were worried about her. She finally called her mother to say again, she didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, and to please not to call her. She just wanted to drink her wine in peace and quiet in the park.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
He had arrived and started his search with Palmer Construction, then the Palmer residence, and was directed to the church. Praying that he wasn’t too late, he paid the taxi extra to “Get him to the chur
ch on time”, as the old Broadway song went.
At the church, Rob was amazed to see people milling about, not looking happy at all, and there was no sign of a bride or groom. Dressed as he was in jeans and jacket, with a carryon thrown across his shoulders, Rob didn’t look like a wedding guest, but he was still able to ascertain by listening to the thrum of conversation around the church steps that something was very wrong.
“Imagine just taking off skiing like that and leaving his mother and dad holding the bag”
“That poor girl and her folks—spending all that money for this wedding, and then the groom goes skiing!”
“That Colby never did have a lick of sense when it came to helping out his dad in the business. Nice kid, but you know, he’s been off skiing for two years now—you’d think he’d got it out of his system”
“Well should we go to the party at the club? They said they couldn’t let it all go to waste.”
Rob was astounded. Where was Mia? What happened to make Colby run off and leave her at the altar? She must be heartbroken. Where are Ava & Noah? He just had to find someone to talk to and find Mia.
Rob went to the club looking for Mia’s parents and Noah, and found only Palmer friends and relatives. He finally learned which hotel the bride’s group was staying at, and headed off there. It took a while to find the suite where they were all gathered, and where some serious drinking was going on.
“If I ever see that Palmer again, I’m going to strangle him with my bare hands”
“I’m glad she didn’t find out about him after they got married”
“This whole thing is costing a fortune, but damned if I’m going to go over to that club of theirs and have to talk to any of those Palmers.”
“It’s the classic Peter Pan Principle. Colby has just never grown up, and wants to stay a kid and play his whole life.”
“I can’t understand that kid. He has everything, and he throws it all away for skiing in New Zealand? What kind of man does that?”
“We have to get our plane tickets changed and get back home. Where is that girl? I hope she’s okay. Imagine—sitting in the park getting drunk on wine all by herself!”
Rob didn’t wait to hear any more. Dropping his carryon in the suite, he raced down the stairs, and out the front door. He asked the doorman where the nearest park was, and dashed back inside to buy a bottle of wine and all the napkins he could stuff into his pockets to take with him. If Mia only had the little bottles from the mini-bar, she likely needed reinforcements by now. He didn’t have far to go till he saw a dejected little person sitting on a park bench, under a tree. She was dry-eyed, and not even a little drunk. He didn’t say a word, just sat beside her and opened the wine, took a big slug, and handed the bottle to her.
Finally, as they traded drinks from the wine, and not having exchanged a word, Mia folded herself against Rob’s chest and cried. No dainty sniffles either. She gasped, snorted, howled, blew and sobbed till she ran out of steam. Still, all Rob did was hold her quietly, discard the old napkins and hand her new ones to blow into.
Chapter Thirty
Rob and Mia were married on the cruise ship Noah and Ava were on for their second honeymoon.
Mia wore a red dress that swirled gently in the breeze on deck, and Rob wore a tux rented on board. There wasn’t a sign of yellow in sight. Rob bought Mia a ruby surrounded by diamonds as a wedding ring, and she carried orchids as Noah walked her up to Rob, handed her over, and then took his place as best man.
Their friends stood up for them and then left them alone. They never left the cabin for three days and nights. They completely missed Bermuda, Antigua and Cuba. By the time the ship docked in Jamaica, they came out and sat on deck chairs. The next night they joined Ava and Noah for dinner.
All this time, all they had done was talk almost non-stop. They still hadn’t made love. There were so many plans and dreams to talk about, and both seemed to sense they had the rest of their lives to make love.
After dinner, they declined to go dancing or take part in the costume party in the main lounge. They strolled on deck and looked at the moon shining bright on the water, and the stars overhead.
Without a word, Rob wrapped his arms around Mia, and kissed her gently, a question in his eyes. “Yes, now, it’s time,” murmured Mia against his soft lips.
They hurried back to their cabin, and once inside, slowly and reverently undressed each other. Mia clung to Rob, her breasts seductively mashed against his furry chest. She held him so close they felt like they were actually melting into one another. Rob was so aroused he had to tell himself over and over, This is for Mia. You can hang on and wait for her. You’ve waited this long, and this one is for her.
Mia knelt down in front of Rob, and looked up at him. “Can you ever forgive me for thinking I loved someone else? Can we just start over again, like that night in the sauna? I’d like that to be our special night, and have that as our actual anniversary, because that’s when we knew we’d be together for the rest of our lives, even if I thought differently after you went away.”
Rob was humbled to see his wonderful wife on her knees in supplication to him. “I’d like to have two anniversaries, Love, so I can tell you and show you at least twice a year how much you mean to me, and how much I love you.”
Mia bowed her head, and took his turgid cock into her hot, wet mouth. She drew him in like a vacuum cleaner, then softly let go, and then did it again, and once more. Her tongue flicked over the little opening and licked away his pre-cum, then stroked round the dark head, and down the frenelum to his balls. She sucked first one then the other into her mouth and manipulated them with her tongue. Rob thought she might actually suck his brain out at the same time. For the first time in his life, he realized the old joke about a man being unable to have and erection and think at the same time was certainly true. All he could do was feel, and what he was feeling was so good, he never wanted her to let go. Rob had fantasized for the past months about how it would feel to finally make love to Mia again, but none of his fantasies came anywhere close to what she was making him feel right now.
He tried to make her stop, so he could take her to the king sized bed and pleasure her as she was doing to him, but the months of abstinence were just too much, and he suddenly came in her waiting mouth. She felt his warm essence fill her mouth, and she continued to milk his penis till he almost collapsed on the floor. “I’m sorry, Love, I didn’t mean to do that,” he started to apologize. “I wanted you to have the feeling too.”
“Never apologize for giving me such a gift, no matter what part of my body receives it,” said Mia. “I love you, all of you, and we will have the rest of our lives to take and give ourselves pleasure and love, in whatever ways we wish. At this moment, I wanted to worship you like this.”
Rob raised her to her feet, and kissed her deeply, tasting himself on her lips and tongue. In bed, he touched Mia all over, as if he was a blind man learning her body in Braille.
Mia had a fleeting coherent thought that gave her a smile—the blind date who was feeling her like a blind man. Then all rational thought was gone.
He kissed and licked the little spaces between her toes, the hollows of her ankles. He caressed the sensitive spots behind her knees, and the hollows of her back. He licked his way up each and every vertebra, and that little space at the base of her skull. He turned her over and gently kissed her temples, her eyelids, her nose and the corners of her mouth. While he was kissing, his hands were doing unimaginable things to the undersides of her breasts, her nipples, her ears, her navel and the places where her legs joined her groin. He held her hands with one of his, and told her this was her time, this time. He sucked the skin of her thighs, and her tummy into his mouth, saying, she wouldn’t be wearing a bikini tomorrow, unless she wanted to show off her love bites. Then he stopped and looked up at her.
“Just wh
en did you have time to do this? We have been together every moment since I found you in the park” he wondered, as he came face to face with her shaven mound, and the little tattoo of a stylized letter “R” just above her clit.
“Don’t ask me now, Rob, just don’t stop what you are doing,” she gasped. Rob continued down till he was circling her clit with his tongue, and then he began making love to her outer lips, drawing them out and into his mouth, and then thrusting his tongue in and out, till Mia came to a crashing, lightning bolt, orgasm. Only then did he move up her body, and enter her with his rock hard cock. He gave Mia two more orgasms with his rhythmic thrusting, before he came inside her, and they lay almost catatonic and totally sated. After a while, Mia managed, “Wow, that earthquake works on the ocean as well as the sauna.”
“Yeah, apparently,” answered Rob.
All was quiet, and they napped for a bit, waking to do it all over again. It was morning before they knew it, and there was only a minor aftershock as they joined again.
They played in the shower, and this time Rob wouldn’t be put off. He wanted to know when she had added her tattoo of the “R”.
“Well, rightly, it’s not my tattoo, but yours,” she started. “After all, it is your initial.”
“Well, yeah, I got that, but as I said, you haven’t been away from me long enough to get a tattoo.”
Mia smiled. “I have a confession to make. I had it done about two weeks before I was supposed to marry Colby. I had been thinking about you, and wanting to talk to you about the whole wedding thing. I told Colby I wanted to have my pubic hair lasered, so I didn’t have to shave any more. He was appalled, and said he didn’t want me to have that done, and he liked my thick bush the way it was.”
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