Drowning In Love

by Beth Rinyu

  The sight of him standing in my doorway stirred every emotion possible inside of me. His stare was intense as if he were looking at me for the very first time with those beautiful chameleon eyes that I missed so much. We were both silent as I opened the door further and he entered. All of my emotions that I had been holding in for the past year and a half were coming to the surface. I was speechless. All I could do was grab his face and kiss him. His lips on mine and his arms wrapped around me were like an instant adhesive, quickly mending the pieces of my broken heart. He held my face in his hand and looked at me intently. "I missed you so much, Mia. I thought about you every single day."

  "Why didn't you tell me Travis?”

  "Mia, there was no one that I wanted to share that news with more than you, but I thought you were married and had a baby."

  "What? Why would you think that?"

  "Stacy said that she ran into you a while back with some guy and a baby and the baby's name was Jackson."

  I quickly thought back to the day that I had run into Stacy. Never in a million years did I expect her to make that assumption. I took a deep breath and shook my head. “That was Eric’s partner and his baby - not mine!”

  "I didn't know. I thought you were happy and I didn't want to do anything to interfere with that happiness."

  "You stupid, stupid man. Did you really think that I would have gotten over you that quickly? Do you really think that I would have gotten over you at all?"

  He looked down at me with such passion in his eyes that my insides screamed for him. He kissed me vigorously as he moved his tongue around my mouth. “You have no clue how much I want you right now,” he said.

  “It can’t be any more than I want you.”

  I smiled and took his hand, leading him through the maze of boxes and into my bedroom. I took off my coat and threw it on the floor. He quickly lifted my shirt over my head and removed my bra as he leaned down and began to tease my breasts with his tongue. He unbuttoned my jeans and removed them along with my underwear. I took off his jacket and his shirt and moved my hands up and down his bare back, reacquainting myself with every inch of his perfect body. He had his hands on my waist and stared at my naked body as if he were looking at it for the very first time. “I missed this beautiful body so much,” he whispered in my ear as his tongue cascaded over my neck. I let out a cry of pleasure when he inserted his fingers inside of me. I wanted him so badly. “Travis, why are your pants still on? I need you now.”

  He pushed me down on the bed and kissed me hard. He trailed his tongue down my stomach, stopping between my legs. I gripped my hands tightly to the sheets to control my quivering body from his pleasurable assault. I tried to catch my breath as I allowed his tongue to have total control of my body. My entire body quivered as I let out a loud scream. “Travis, please, I need to feel you inside of me.” He looked up at me as I continued breathing heavily. I watched in anticipation as he took off his pants and boxers. God, I missed him so much. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he entered me, letting out a loud pleasurable groan. I pulled him closer to me as he moved around, meeting him with each move that he made. He began to slow down a little. “Mia, I have to take this slow; you feel too good and it’s been too long.”

  He ran his tongue down my neck. “Travis, please don’t stop. I need you inside of me. I need to feel all of you tonight, every last bit of you.”

  I raised my hips to meet him as his thrusts became more urgent. I ran my hands up and down his back. I pulled him closer to me as he continued to move. I was feeling every emotion imaginable. “Travis, I love you so much,” I whispered in his ear.

  He lifted his head and tried to catch his breath. “I love you too, baby.” He rolled over on his side and pulled me toward him with my back up against him. He gently kissed my back, reached his hands around me, and caressed my breast. I let out a pleasurable cry when I felt the fullness of him inside of me once again. “I missed you so much, Mia,” he whispered in my ear. The sound of his voice and the feel of his thrusts were all too much. “Oh my God, Travis!” I screamed. My whole body completely melted around him. He continued to move in and out of me while I tried to come back from the state of ecstasy that he had just put my body in. “I want you to do it again, Mia. I want to know that I’m the only one that could ever make you feel this way.” He turned me on my back and hovered over top of me. I was breathless as I looked up at him. He had never looked sexier as he stared down at me like he was looking at me for the very first time. He entered me once again. His movements were quick and hard. I placed my hands on his shoulders and met him with each eager thrust. My insides began to awaken once again. I let out another scream just as I felt the warmth of him filling me up at the same exact time. He buried his face into my hair and tried to catch his breath.

  He rolled over on his back and pulled me towards him. “Mia, that was the best sex I ever had.”

  I rested my head on his chest and looked up at him. “Why, thank you!” I giggled.

  “Come here, you.” He pulled me on top of him and pushed my hair out of my face. “I missed that laugh so much. I missed everything about you.” I rested my head on his chest, unable to wipe the smile from my face. Yes, it was really happening. I wasn’t dreaming. Travis was here and he was all mine. I kissed him gently on the lips, knowing this was right where I wanted to be, in Travis’ arms -forever.

  Chapter 67

  Travis…

  I wanted to give her the ring so badly tonight. We had wasted too much time. I didn’t want to waste any more.

  I played with her hair while she laid her head on my chest.

  “Are you hungry?” I asked.

  “A little, but I don’t want to leave your arms,” she said as she nuzzled closer to me.

  I kissed her on the head and got up to dress. She looked surprised. “Hey, where are you going?”

  “We’re going out to dinner. Get dressed,” I said.

  “Well, I will sacrifice food for more sex,” she said as she sat up and kissed my back.

  I turned around and smiled at her. “Who says you have to sacrifice anything? There will be plenty of time for sex later.”

  “Okay, fine.” She got up and dressed. We headed out into the cold December air. I grabbed her hand and we began to walk. “Travis, where are we going? It’s freezing!”

  “I’ll warm you up.” I wrapped my arm around her. She leaned her head into my chest and we took the short walk to the place of our very first date, the Italian restaurant up the street from her apartment.

  She smiled when we reached the door. “Hey, I remember this place.”

  We walked in and the hostess’ smile was a mile wide. “Travis Montgomery, wow!” She led us back through the maze of tables. I looked over to find that the table that Mia and I had sat at the last time we were here was empty. “Can we sit over there?” I asked.

  “Sure, not a problem,” she said as she led us over to the out of the way table by the fireplace.

  “I think I’ll be daring and have a glass of wine,” Mia joked as we sat down.

  “Go for it.” I couldn’t stop staring at her. I couldn’t believe she was here with me. I thought I had lost her forever.

  The waitress came over and took our order. “I ordered the same exact thing that I did the last time we were here,” Mia said.

  “Well, hopefully you will be able to keep it down this time.”

  “Haha, you are so funny,” she joked.

  “So, Mia Taylor, what have you been up to this past year and a half?”

  “Hmm…let’s see. I’ve been missing someone like crazy. Other than that, not very much.”

  I smiled. “That’s funny because I was missing someone like crazy too.”

  “Oh yeah, is it that girl that I saw you with on the entertainment channel a few months ago?”

  “Who?”

  She went on to explain to me about what she had seen and how she ended up throwing her remote at the TV because of it.

&n
bsp; “I have no clue who that was. For all I know, that picture could have been from years ago.” I hadn’t been with anyone since Mia. I didn’t want anyone else. “Mia, I swear there has been no one since you.”

  She smiled. “So I was your first, since….”

  I smiled and nodded. “Well, I am honored, Travis.” She giggled.

  “Okay, my turn. How do you know that roid head at the gym?”

  “Who?”

  “Some asshole guy at the gym that says he knows you.”

  She began to blush and was unable to control her laughter. She went on to tell me about her blind date with him and how she lost it when he had told her that I was walking again. “It was the second most embarrassing night of my life.”

  “Oh yeah, what was the first?”

  “Our first date. The only difference was I didn’t care about what he thought of me.”

  We had finished up with eating and I still hadn’t asked her yet. I didn’t want to do it here in front of all these people. I had to find the perfect moment.

  We walked out of the restaurant and headed back to her apartment. “It’s snowing!” Mia exclaimed. She looked up at the sky and smiled.

  I waited until we were walking up the stairs to the front porch of her apartment building, when it struck me that now was the perfect moment. “Hey, Mia, a lot of stuff went down on this porch, you know?”

  She turned around and looked at me strangely. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you threw up in front of me for the very first time. I do believe that I got my first kiss on the cheek from you right on this very step. So, I thought it would only be fitting if I did this here.” She pushed her hair behind her ear and stared at me intently as the snow continued to fall. “You have no clue how hard these past few months have been for me, thinking that someone else had given you the one thing that I know you want the most. I want to be that guy. I want to be the one who makes all your dreams come true. And now, I can give you everything that you deserve. Mia, I love you so much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don’t want to waste any more time, so I was wondering, would it still be yes?” I pulled out the box from my pocket and opened the lid.

  She covered her mouth with her hand and began to cry. “Oh my God, Travis. Yes, yes, yes!” she shouted as tears streamed down her face.

  I slid the ring on her finger. "This should have been on your finger a long time ago, but now it's finally right. Now I know it’s forever. There are no more obstacles in our way."

  “I can’t believe this is really happening,” she said as she looked down at the ring.

  “Well, it is and I’m not ever going to let you go again, even if you want to.”

  She shook her head and smiled. “Well, you don’t ever have to worry about that because I will never want to.”

  I hugged her tightly. “You are the love of my life, Mia Taylor. From the day that you cut my neck, I knew there was something special about you.”

  She laughed. “Out of all of the salons in the city, you had to come walking into mine, Travis Montgomery.”

  “Really? Casablanca, Mia?”

  “Hey, you knew where I got that line from? And here I wanted you to think I was being original.” She laughed. “But you know, I’m so happy that you did, even if you were a complete jerk to me.”

  “Yeah, well, what can I say? That was the old Travis. You changed me. You turned me into a better person and I’m so grateful to you for that.”

  “I can’t wait to be your wife, Travis.”

  “Me neither, baby.” Mia Montgomery; just hearing that name in my head made me smile.

  Chapter 68

  Mia…

  I was happy once again. In fact, the happiest I had ever been and something deep inside told me that this time it wouldn’t be fleeting; it was forever. Travis and I were planning our wedding in June or should I say my mother, Travis’ mother, and Tressa were planning it. They were so excited about putting together a big fancy wedding. If it were up to Travis and me, we would have gotten married right away. I decided to let them have their fun, chiming in from time to time, when one of them would get a little too over the top with their ideas. I had put my plans to move back home on hold temporarily and had moved in with Travis. We had planned on revisiting that plan once we were married and began to start a family. Travis’ Christmas present to me was another trip to Saint Lucia for Valentine’s Day and unlike last time, this time we actually went. Travis was right; it was like heaven on earth. We were staying at one of the nicest resorts on the island. We had a beautiful suite with its own very private pool overlooking the beautiful aquamarine ocean.

  I rolled over in the bed to reach for him, only he wasn’t there. I opened my eyes to the bright sunlight coming in and saw him, standing on the balcony in just his shorts. I smiled at the sight of his perfect form. I found that I never tired of staring at his flawless body. I stretched out before hopping out of bed to join him.

  “Good morning,” I said as I stood behind him and wrapped my arms around him.

  “Good morning, beautiful girl.” I closed my eyes and rested my head on his back, taking in the warm ocean breeze.

  “Do you want to go for a morning swim?”

  “Sure,” I said as I grazed my lips over his bare back.

  He turned around to hug me. “Go get your bathing suit on.”

  “Really?” I didn’t see a point in putting on my bathing suit when it was probably going to be taken off in just a matter of minutes anyway.

  He pressed his forehead against mine. “Well, unless you want to skinny dip in front of all of those people on the beach.”

  “You mean swim in the ocean?” I felt my nerves getting the best of me.

  “Yeah!”

  “Um, no, that’s okay, I’ll pass.”

  He pulled me closer. “Aw, come on, you can’t come all the way here and not swim in that beautiful water.”

  “Travis, I draw the line with the pool.”

  “Please, do it for me.” He had the most adorable look on his face, making me unable to say “no.”

  “Fine!”

  I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and reluctantly put on my bathing suit and headed down to the beach with him. It was still pretty early, so there weren’t many people on the beach yet.

  “I’m going in and getting out. Two minutes, that’s it!”

  He smiled and shook his head at my reluctance. We walked into the crystal clear water and I had to admit, I was in awe over its beauty. I stopped once the water reached my knees. He yanked on my hand to get me to come in further. I shook my head and didn’t budge.

  “Travis, no!” I protested when he picked me up and carried me in further. He ignored my objection and continued walking in deeper.

  We finally stopped just at where the waves were cascading over my shoulders. I could feel myself shaking and he must have noticed too. “Mia, just relax and enjoy it.”

  “Well, I can’t enjoy it. Who knows what’s swimming around us.”

  He laughed at my edginess and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I love you so much, Mia.”

  “I love you too,” I said, kissing the saltwater that was on his lips. I was finally relaxing a bit, taking in the warm sunshine and the gentle waves. “I guess you were right; it is beautiful,” I said, looking around at the turquoise water surrounding me.

  My arms were wrapped around him and my head was leaning on his shoulder. “This should have been our honeymoon.”

  “Nope, Paris. Remember your bucket list?”

  “You spoil me, Travis.”

  “You deserve to be spoiled. And you just allowed me to check something off mine.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Getting you into the ocean.”

  “It was done under protest,” I joked.

  “Mia?”

  “Hmm…” I was so relaxed I didn’t want to lift my head from his shoulder.

  “Thank you.”

  I finally l
ifted my head from his shoulder and looked at him. “For what?”

  “For being my everything, for always believing in me, and for always keeping me in that big heart of yours. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  “Travis, this is the rest of our life. We are living out our happily ever after, right now. We don’t have to wait for anything. I am yours forever. The only thing that is going to change in a few months is you will be my husband and I will be your wife and I can’t wait for that day. But if there’s one thing that I’ve learned over these past few years, it’s to live for today and appreciate every single second, so you never have any regrets. And I have none, Travis. I’m right where I want to be with the person I most want to be with.”

  He kissed me softly on the lips. “You’re right where you want to be?” he joked as he looked around at the water surrounding us.

  “Yes, I am. As long as it’s with you, I don’t care where I am.”

  “You are my girl forever, Mia.”

  “Forever,” I repeated.

  He pressed his lips to mine and kissed me deeply. “I think we should continue this back in the room. What do you think?” he asked with a sexy grin.

  I shook my head and smiled. “I couldn’t agree with you more.” I looked off into the horizon and saw a big wave beginning to form. I gasped and wrapped my arms around him.

  He laughed at my edginess. “Oh, come on, Mia, we’ve been through worse than that little stinkin’ wave.” He smiled.

  “Yeah, I guess we have.” I watched as it moved closer.

  “It’s okay; I’m never going to let anything happen to you. You trust me, right?”

  I smiled and held onto him tightly as the wave came closer. “Always.”

  ***

  One month had passed since our trip to Saint Lucia, which meant we were one month closer to our wedding. Travis’ birthday was tomorrow and I still had to figure out what to do to make it extra special for him; but for the moment, I couldn’t focus on anything; my nerves had gotten the best of me. I sat on the bed, rocking back and forth as I stared at the clock; this had been the longest five minutes of my life. I jumped when I saw Travis standing in the doorway.