Love on the Malecon

by Aubrey Parr

  He grabbed the backs of her thighs and lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around him and began kissing his neck. He walked her over to the chaise lounge and they both landed together with him on top of her. He kissed her slowly all over her body. Their first time together, there had been so much passion and built up tension that they moved rather quickly. Now he was going to take his time and satisfy her all over.

  He kissed her shoulders and arm and found one of her breasts. Nicole arched her back at the sensation and he heard her moan again. He took his time teasing her body and he could feel goose bumps forming on her arms. That made him more excited. But he was determined to hear that moan over and over before he was inside of her. He moved down to her flat stomach, tanned from their days on the beach. He kissed the side of her hip bone and she squirmed into him. He spread her legs apart; he couldn’t wait to taste her. He quickly found what she needed. She lifted her hips up and grabbed his head. When he heard her sighs and she called out his name, he gently kissed the inside of her thigh. Then he kissed all over her body again, moving himself back up to look into her eyes as he slid inside of her.

  It really had never been like this for him before. He always knew the difference between fucking and making love. When he was with a woman, more often than not they just wanted to fuck. And when it was slower, it never had the passion that he felt right now. He knew just how to make her moan louder and loved that he had that effect on her. He enjoyed that as long as he could until he no longer could control his body. He pulled out at the last minute and his body fell on top of her.

  After a few minutes of her kissing his shoulder and neck, he grabbed a towel that he kept folded near the chaise and cleaned them both up. He lay back flat and closed his eyes. She curled her body up to him. It still seemed so strange, how their bodies interacted like they had been together their whole lives. She was tracing his arms along one of his tattoos. It went up one shoulder and down the other.

  “It’s still pretty early. Tell me about your tattoos,” she said sweetly.

  “The one you’re looking at now, that was my first. In Latin it means, ‘a life lived in fear is a life half lived’.” It went up one shoulder and down the other.

  “I like that,” she smiled.

  “After I found MMA fighting, I had the boxing gloves tattooed on my calf.” He turned his leg out so she could see the tattoo that covered the entire muscle. “This one was like your rib cage. It took me two sittings to get it done. Never felt pain like that in my life.” He laughed at the memory.

  “My next was the Maori design that takes up this shoulder. An artist friend of mine designed it for me.” Derek had made sure that it flowed well with the Latin letters but didn’t cover them. He pointed to his other shoulder. “This one was my fourth. The compass represents all the travelling I do with my company. The name of the company is hidden here in the design.” He showed her where it read “Stone Hospitality” intertwined in the patterns, elaborate but still masculine. Each tattoo was separate, but they all flowed into each other with a similar motif in the background.

  “This one,” he pointed to the circular figure on his chest, “Is a Buddhist mandala for strength.” It reminded her of American Indian art. “It reminds me to look for my inner strength and to fight for what I deserve,” he said, “I’ve always considered myself spiritual rather than religious. All of the religions, for the most part, have some of it figured out. If you put them all together, you could lead a pretty good life.”

  He leaned so she could see his back. “This one going down between my shoulder blades, what does it look like to you?”

  “Some kind of design.” She touched the tattoo while she looked at it and he wanted to take her again right there.

  “It’s an ambigram. Do you know what that is?” he asked.

  “Sounds kind of familiar but no,” she answered honestly.

  “Look at from the left and then the right.”

  She cocked her head. “It reads friend,” she read aloud. Then she turned her head the other direction and practically yelled, “It reads enemy! I love this!” She kept turning her head back and forth like it was magic.

  “For my entire life, the majority of my fighting had been for profit or money to survive,” he explained, “I had to fight friends and guys that were good people. None of them were based on emotions, none of them were based on hatred. They were my friends but I’d step in the ring and I’d need to see them as my enemy.”

  “This one may be my favorite of your tattoos. Although this one,” she pointed to the Maori design his friend had drawn, “I like because I can see it the best when you’re on top of me.”

  They both laughed. He could tell that she was a bit embarrassed to admit that, which was cute as hell. He looked out into the night with Nicole’s head on his shoulder. Everything felt right in his world. Nicole was meant to be here with him.

  He thought about her father for a moment. Could her friend Kate have been right? Was it possible that her father knew that the Maybe Boyfriend wasn’t right for her? Derek didn’t have a normal life, but Nicole needed more than normal. He knew that he wanted to take care of her, always. She would never want for anything. His mind went back to the question he asked himself earlier that day. Did he just want normalcy or did he really want Nicole herself? He looked down at her naked body draped over him. A man would be insane not to want it. But she was so much more than that. Maybe he needed to be ready to want normalcy before he met her. The universe worked in amazing ways, bringing them together at the perfect moment in both of their lives.

  “Tell me about fighting,” she stated simply.

  “Before UFC, the fighting was pretty normal. Nothing was very structured. I was a teenager, about sixteen, when I started fighting for real money. Well, real money for me. I’d make a thousand dollars with a hundred people watching and betting on me.” He kissed her head before he continued, “UFC was an entirely different world. There were rules and regulations, weight classes, fancy locker rooms and rings. But it was a crazy lifestyle. So many times I felt like I was living like a rock star. In the ring, it was extremely regulated, but what went on in the background felt like the backstage of a concert. I won’t go into the dirty details for you. But I saw some crazy things.”

  “Was it hard to leave that life?” she asked.

  “Not one bit. I wasn’t very comfortable with the attention. I held the title in the welterweight class, the one in between light and heavy weight, for quite a while. It was weird seeing my picture online or my name in lights. Watching myself fight on TV was especially strange.” He thought for a moment. “It always seemed like an out-of-body experience. Like I was watching myself live the life, but I wasn’t present in it. It set me up financially to start this company, but leaving the ring was easy.” He never talked about this with anyone, so he hadn’t quite realized before why it had been easy to leave. “I like this life much better,” he stated, “I didn’t like when someone would recognize me. I enjoy having all the perks of the money and no one realizing it. It’s my own little secret. “

  “Hector driving you around makes sense now,” she said.

  “Yes, this is a sister hotel to Playa Vallarta so they are very nice to me over there,” he told her, “I have a deal with Victor, the general manager. I double Hector’s salary and he is at my disposal. It helps take care of his family.”

  “You are very generous,” she kissed his cheek.

  “I fought for everything I had; I like to help make it easier for some.” He found her mouth and kissed her deeply before whispering, “I want to take you inside and make love to you in my bed. It’s been waiting patiently for you.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Nicole woke up surrounded by a mountain of white. The sheets on Derek’s bed had to be about a million thread count because they were the most comfortable things she had ever felt. She looked around, letting her eyes adjust to the light. Her face lit up when she realized that the windows her
e opened up like the ones in the living room. There was water for as far as she could see and she could hear the sound of the ocean waves crashing into the sand. It made her feel like she had been sleeping out on the beach. Listening for Derek, she heard him moving around in the kitchen just as she noticed the smell of breakfast cooking. How in the world did she get so lucky?

  Most men kept their boxers and t-shirts in the top drawers of their dressers; Nicole opened one of Derek’s and found what she was looking for. Hoping he wouldn’t mind, she slipped into a crisp white t-shirt and a pair of blue plaid boxers that clung to her hips for dear life. She wandered into the kitchen. He was at the stove, his back to her while he attended to what smelled like eggs. He wore only a pair of board shorts which made him look incredibly sexy. She smiled at the tattoo on his back, now easily seeing the friend and enemy blended together. Sneaking up behind him, she reached her arms around his bare waist. He turned around and hugged her so that her feet lifted up off the floor.

  “I hope you don’t mind, I thought I’d look a tad fancy in my dress this morning,” she looked down at the clothes that she was wearing.

  “Love, you can wear my clothes anytime you’d like. They look much more appealing on you.” He kissed her lips. “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes, it smells wonderful,” she replied. She sat at the little table and he grabbed two plates out of the cabinet. “Can I help with anything?” she asked.

  “Nope, everything is ready; I got us both lattes as well.” He grabbed two to-go cups, emblazoned with the name of the café downstairs, and put them on the table in front of her. “I had Hector pick them up along with something for you to wear back to your room.” He handed her the bag from the counter. “He has pretty good taste,” he smiled and took a drink of his coffee.

  Nicole peeked into the bag- a simple blue sundress. Given that she didn’t have a bra, she was glad it wasn’t white. “Thank you,” she smiled and took a sip of the coffee. Derek brought over their plates, each with a slice of toast spread with well-peppered avocado and a heap of scrambled eggs with cheese sprinkled on top. Everything looked wonderful. She loved avocado but had never tried it this way. When she took a bite, she never wanted to eat toast without it again.

  “Old habits die hard,” he told her, “I still start my day with a healthy breakfast.”

  “I’ve never had this,” she replied as she took another bite of the toast, “I love it.”

  It felt so natural to be eating breakfast with him at the tiny table in this gorgeous apartment. She thought for a moment about that word, yes she guessed it was an apartment. Hotel room didn’t really sound right. They chatted as they finished their breakfast. Derek told her he’d walk her back to the hotel. He needed to talk with Victor about a few things and then they could go through her list of her father’s places. Derek had already showered so she could get ready while he had his quick meeting and then he was all hers for the day. Immediately she started thinking about what she would like to do first. Definitely the Kings Head Pub. They could try a heavy British beer and maybe they’d even have some British food. An authentic English breakfast would be out since they just ate, but maybe they could try that another day. “I know exactly where I’d like to go,” she said enthusiastically, “The King’s Head Pub, isn’t it close by?”

  He had been rinsing the dishes and stood still there for a second. He walked over to her with the water still running. “Oh love, I’m sorry but the King’s Head closed quite a few years back.”

  She tried to hide her disappointment, but he could tell she was upset. He pulled her up from the chair and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It was turned into a little breakfast place. If I had known, I would have taken you there this morning.”

  She tried to interrupt, to tell him it wasn’t his fault, but he stopped her with a kiss on the lips. “How about I take you there so you can see where it was and we’ll have an early lunch,” he offered, “They do have a nice brunch menu. I’ll show you where everything was when it was the King’s Head. You can imagine it in your mind.”

  “What happened to the owner?” she asked, “That was my favorite story from my dad’s travels. He came over for a vacation, fell in love with the town, went back, sold everything, and opened a bar here.” A wave of emotion overtook her body. She wanted to cry and she didn’t really know why. She couldn’t believe this was affecting her so much. She missed saying goodbye to her dad and now she missed seeing this place.

  “Do you want to meet him?” Derek said with a smile on his face, “He was ready to retire from the bar business and spend more time in England with his grandchildren. When he couldn’t find someone that wanted to keep the concept of a British pub, he sold it. He spends the English winters here and the summers across the pond. He hasn’t left for home yet.”

  “You know him, too? Of course you do, you seem to know everyone,” she laughed and wiped away a tear.

  “I told you, this is a small town.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll have Gael track him down and we’ll have a drink with him while you’re here.”

  “Thank you,” she smiled, “I’m going to get dressed.”

  Derek held her hand as they walked across the cobblestone street. He kissed her cheek when they reached the door and told her he’d meet her by the bar when she was ready. She saw him stop to talk with Hector on his way to the office and laughed to herself, wondering what errand he was going to send him on now.

  When Nicole stepped off the elevator, the sun was blinding. It was early enough that it hadn’t reached high enough in the sky to be blocked by the building. She didn’t have her sunglasses, so she tried her best to cover herself from the rays with her hand. Though it was early, it was already hot out and the air felt stagnant. She was reaching to pull her room key out of her purse when out of nowhere something crashed her head against the stone wall. A massive forearm came from behind and closed around her neck and tightened. She grabbed at the arm, digging her nails in as hard as she could and kicking her legs, but the grip only tightened.

  Nicole was sweating, her hair tangled in her face and sticking to her neck. Her attacker licked her cheek and started talking in Spanish as she struggled. She was so disoriented from the blow that she could barely stay on her feet. Half out of her mind with fear, she screamed for Derek as loud as she could before the man hit her in the side of the head to shut her up. He was incredibly strong, but she was determined to get away from him. She tried to stay aware of her surroundings. She could see part of his upper arm. There was a tattoo; it looked something like a feather.

  He must have grabbed her key when she took it out of her purse because he was opening the door with one hand, while his other arm was secure around her throat. Everything was starting to fade in and out. Her head was pounding and she was seeing stars, but she reached anywhere she could, trying to find something of his she could grab onto. Her father had always told her to gouge the eyes, so she threw back her arms, searching for his head. She screamed again as he began dragging her into the room. He threw her hard, face-down on the bed. She began to cry. She was not prepared for this to happen; she didn’t know if she would ever recover from the trauma of it all.

  He held her down by her neck and she heard what sounded like his pants unzipping. Nicole closed her eyes tight, trying to block everything out.

  The next thing she heard was loud growl and a crash. Instantly, she was free. She scrambled up the bed and turned around. It was Derek, on top of the man and hitting him with so much force that it seemed like the ground shook with each blow. Another man ran in the room and she guessed it might be Victor, the general manager. The body underneath Derek was lifeless, but he wasn’t letting up. Victor ran up and pulled Derek off, crying, “Stop, you will kill him!”

  “Exactly,” Derek yelled, trying to get back to the body now lying on the floor.

  “Go take care of her,” Victor said, “I will take this piece of shit to the policía.”

  Derek looked like he was in a t
rance. But with the mention of Nicole, he came back to reality. She was still crying and curled up in a ball on the bed. He sat down, pulling her body on top of his and holding her like she was a baby. She sobbed uncontrollably while he rubbed her back. He gently lifted her head by her chin to examine her face. She was so grateful that he had come to her room. Had he heard her scream?

  “How did you know?” she asked between sobs.

  “I heard the scream,” he said, “I knew instantly it was you. I will make sure you never have to scream for me like that ever again. I will always protect you.” He tenderly touched the huge bump on the side of her forehead.

  “I’m so glad you did. Derek, I don’t think I could have survived what was about to happen. The asshole licked my neck. He licked my neck!” She started crying again and he rocked her in his lap.

  “I’m going to take you to my apartment and I’ll have a doctor come check you out.”

  He picked her up and she let him, not caring if she looked like an idiot being carried like a child through a hotel lobby. She didn’t care about anything but him. She leaned her head against him as he took her down the stairs. She could hear lots of commotion from behind an employee area and figured her attacker was probably being held in that room. She closed her eyes when they reached the lobby so that she didn’t have to see how many people were staring. She heard the sound of sirens arriving and a man ran up to Derek. Without stopping, Derek told him her room number.