His Secrets

by Bishop, K. M.

  “I know, but you know I had to study for finals.”

  I nodded. I swung my legs out of the bed and carefully stood up. My knees were very shaky, but I was able to get legs under me and casually stride over to the mini bar in the corner of my bedroom. I poured myself a straight whiskey and Tina vodka tonic with two limes (her favorite).

  I returned and handed the drink to her. She held it in her hands a moment and then took a good sip.

  I rested back on the bed and sipped my own drink. Nothing like a fine whiskey after the sex of a lifetime.

  “So, how does it feel to be a college graduate?” I asked.

  Tina smiled. “It’s weird, but I don’t feel like it has really happened yet.”

  “Well, technically you have to do the cap and gown thing, walk down the aisle in front of everyone and obtain that empty little holder. Then they will mail your diploma to you a month or so later.”

  Tina hit me playfully. “Hey, don’t knock it just because you chose to skip on your whole graduation.”

  “Hell, I was going to skip on finishing the last semester of school. So, be glad I stuck it out.”

  “Didn’t you tell me that you barely passed that semester?”

  “Yeah, but I did have a business to run. That’s what happens when your business takes off when you are still in college. You start to shift priorities.”

  Tina laughed. She took another sip of her vodka tonic and almost finished it off. Never drink liquor when you are thirsty…

  “I see how that could be an issue, but aren’t you glad you have that degree?” Tina asked me.

  I gave her a look. I wasn’t sure she was serious, but judging by her expression, she seemed to be.

  “I guess,” I answered truthfully. “I mean, it’s nice that I have it. I started something and finished it, but it will never do anything for me. And honestly, I’ve learned so much more doing things on my own in the real world that I kind of resent college for telling me so many wrong things that I’ve thought about suing the bastards.”

  It was how I felt. I didn’t want to tarnish the college degree that Tina was so proud of, but I’d become rather annoyed by our educational system. I’d proven it to be a painful waste of money and I felt a bit embittered by my experience.

  My best friend Dane Whitton and I had started our own house flipping business the summer after our freshman year in college. This had taken off and eventually we’d gotten to the point where we were running a successful real estate company, one of the biggest ones in Phoenix.

  It was a mind trip to think about, and a total whirlwind to live through, but there it was. We were on the map. And we hadn’t looked back. In the past two years since graduating college Dane and I had taken our company nationwide. And then we’d parlayed that money into several other ventures and investments.

  “You are being so melodramatic,” Tina teased.

  I gave her a sarcastic look and leaned over her with a mock serious look on my face. “Don’t get me started…”

  Tina giggled and sat her drink down.

  I kissed her sweetly on the mouth and then held her close to me.

  “You are coming tomorrow, right?” Tina asked.

  “To what?” I pretended. I knew perfectly well that tomorrow was her graduation ceremony.

  Tina hit me playfully. I used her momentum to flip her over on the bed and then I wrapped her in a playful bear hug from behind. Tina couldn’t stop giggling.

  “Oh, no. I think I’m in trouble,” Tina teased.

  I stayed in character. “Ma’am, I’m from the board of health and we think there might be a problem with your…plumbing. I’m going to have to get my big snake out and go…um…fishing… Please cooperate.”

  Tina was laughing her head off hysterically now.

  We always had so much fun playing together. It was part of our way. Neither one of us ever took ourselves too seriously. I reached up and let my hands rest on Tina’s large breasts. Her nipples started to harden immediately.

  “I wouldn’t miss your graduation for the world babe,” I said.

  I rested against her and buried my mouth in the nape of her neck, licking slightly and kissing her tenderly. I was getting hard again. Her ass was pressed right against me, both of us still naked. She continued to wiggle against me, doing exactly what she wanted. My dick got harder still. Were we about to have a round two? I wasn’t sure my body could take it so soon, but I was going to try. When it came to her, I didn’t have a choice. I had to be with her.

  “That’s what I want to hear,” Tina said. “And I’ll get to meet your parents, finally, right?”

  The mood was suddenly gone. I took a deep breath and moved. I was lying beside her now and I looked right into her beautiful blue eyes.

  “Um… they can’t make it,” I said. It was a lie. A blatant lie, and I felt like a total shit about it. But I had my reasons for not telling Tina the truth.

  The disappointment spread quickly across her face. “Ah, how come?” She asked.

  “Well,” I said. “My father had a work engagement come up suddenly. He has to fly out of town. And my mother has decided to join him. I explained to them how important it was that they show up to the party we are having, but they send their apologies.”

  I kissed Tina sweetly.

  “That’s too bad,” Tina said. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting them since… well, forever. We’ve been seeing each other for almost nine months. I think it is well past time.”

  I nodded. “I agree. But my parents have a business and they work a lot. I guess that’s where I got my workaholism from, right?” I joked.

  Tina smiled and laid her head back down on the bed. She looked up at me with that angelic smile and I felt like the world’s biggest cretin for lying to her.

  I knew that Tina was the one for me probably after the first time we met. There was just something about her that grabbed me, and I had never even thought I could be with anyone else since. She was the one. I had no doubt in my mind. She said she felt the same way and I had no real reason to doubt her, but I knew exactly what this meant for us—I would one day have to tell Tina that my father was in the mob.

  Well, technically he wasn’t in anymore. At least that was what he told our family, and I had over time grown to believe this, but I still had my doubts. He claimed to be a straight businessman now, but who knew if one could ever leave that life for good? It had caused my mother so much heartache. I could remember times she’d stay up crying wondering if he’d come home alive and wondering what horrible things he might have been involved in that night.

  It wasn’t his fault he got trapped in it, not exactly. My father was orphaned at fifteen. He ran away from the orphanage he was in and grew up on the streets. Eventually, while doing odd jobs he found an older man who mentored him. It turned out this man was a mob boss whose son bore a striking resemblance to my father, so he took him under his wing and showed him the ropes. Going from living in the gutter on the streets, scrounging about in trash cans and stealing what he could, to having money, power, and respect—it was not hard to see why my father had become seduced by it all.

  But I didn’t want Tina to know any of this. She was a wholesome, sweet, amazing woman from a good family, and she had a bright future. I was terrified of what she might think of me if she ever found out about my family’s dark past. I knew I was my own man and my father, and I were very different. I could never fathom doing some of the things I knew my father had either done or ordered done in his life, during the course of his career as a Mafioso, but then again, I had never been in his shoes either.

  And that was part of what scared me. What if Tina felt the same way and thought that I had a piece of that darkness inside of me? What if she thought it might be unleashed on her at some point, or that I might pass that on to our kids one day, like some kind of a genetic defect?

  I couldn’t bear to let that happen. No, I had to protect her from it.

  But how long could I? I l
oved her and I was going to marry her one day. I knew this. In fact, tonight was the night I was going to propose. The image of the ring in the nightstand was swirling around in my mind. I’d thought of all the perfect ways to do the proposal, but I couldn’t decide on the best way. Tina wasn’t into appearances at all, or theatrics. She loved things simple. I respected that a lot.

  So, I thought I would just ask her when it felt right.

  And suddenly, I felt that this might be the best time. There was no time like the present.

  I reached out and pulled the drawer out of the nightstand. I clutched the box in my hand but concealed it from Tina.

  “What do you have there?” Tina asked.

  I grinned at her. “Oh, it’s a surprise.”

  “Oooh, I like surprises. Is it for me?” She asked.

  “It is,” I replied. “You need to close your eyes, first.”

  “What? That is not fair,” she whined.

  “Tough. You need to do what I ask, or else you aren’t getting your prize.”

  Tina smiled and closed her eyes.

  “Tina Daniels,” I said. “I’ve loved you ever since the moment I met you. There was something between us that I felt click and it has only grown stronger and brighter since then. I wanted to do something big and romantic, but in the end, I felt that this would work out just as well for us. I hope I was right. I just want you to know that I love you more than I could ever begin to express to you, but if you will have me, I will spend my entire life trying to show you. Tina, baby, will you be my wife?”

  Tina’s eyes flew open. Her mouth dropped open next. And then her eyes fixated on the ring in the open box I was now holding in front of her face.

  She looked from the box and then over to me. Then back to the box.

  “Baby…” she said. Her voice was meek and small, barely coming out of her mouth above a whisper. I could see the emotion rising in her face and the tears trickling out of her eyes. She was overcome by joy. That was the expression I’d hoped to see.

  “Yes, honey?” I asked in a whispered tone. “What is your answer?”

  I smiled widely as I teased her.

  “Yes!”

  “You will?” I asked to confirm. I thought she would say yes, but I wanted to hear it again just to make sure. For some reason, I had in the back of my mind expected her to decline my offer.

  But there it was. Tina Daniels, the love of my life had agreed to marry me.

  “Yes!” Tina shouted. “Yes! I’ll marry you!”

  Tina wrapped her arms around me and kissed me hard on the mouth.

  “Really?” I asked. “I can’t believe it!”

  I placed the ring on her finger, and we looked at it together. Then our eyes met once again as I leaned in to kiss her.

  I was now engaged to the love of my life. Nothing would ever be the same again.

  Chapter Two

  Tina

  “Cannon Ball!”

  I turned my head just in time to see Tim Bland jump off the diving board and curl himself into a tight ball as he made his way up in the air, pausing just long enough to defy gravity, and then dropped down towards the water. It was almost happening in slow motion right in front of me. All of my adolescent hijinks came flooding back to me. I hadn’t seen a cannon ball off the diving board since I was probably thirteen.

  Tim hit the water with a loud slapping sound. The force sent a huge gush of water up in the air where it landed outside the pool on the deck soaking several of us who were sitting there trying to enjoy the sunshine. I’ve never been one to worry about having a great tan or anything, but I did not appreciate now being soaked when I hadn’t even gone swimming.

  Me and my best friends, Donna, Amy, and Tori, were all enjoying a pool party at Donna’s house to sort of celebrate the fact that we had all survived our college exams and several of us were now graduating. It was supposed to be fun and zero stress, but then, it got crashed by a couple of our mutual guy friends.

  “You jerk!” Donna yelled as Tim resurfaced with several resounding fist pumps in the air. He was very proud of himself and the effect his cannon ball had on everyone. Of course, he was not the only one. Several of the guys there were all giving him standing ovations, which he was eating up with mocking humor.

  Tim was one of those guys who you could always count on to liven up any situation. He was wild and unpredictable. There was literally nothing that he did normally, so he was always entertaining. He could have been really cute but he was so out there with his personality and antics that he couldn’t really keep a woman interested in him for long.

  But then again, he was doing just fine with the ladies, considering his string of one-night stands. The guy had a great body and was pretty funny when you first met him. But after you spent a while with him, Tim’s weird, quirky things started to come out of him. I hoped that one day he would learn to grow up.

  I wiped myself off with the towel in front of me. Then I instantly felt ridiculous. Why was I so annoyed at being wet when I was wearing a swimsuit at a pool party? I had obviously been hanging around rich people way too long.

  That was what happened when your boyfriend—excuse me, fiancé – and all of his friends - were wealthy. Wow, fiancé… that was going to take some getting used to, but I loved it. I smiled as I thought of the word.

  Most of the people at the party were friends of mine and Donna’s from college. The majority were not part of the wealthy elite in the Valley of the Sun, but Donna’s parents had plenty of money. Her father was a successful surgeon and I wasn’t sure the girl had ever struggled for anything in her life. She was beautiful, smart as a whip, funny, confident, and at times a bit conceited, but she was also warm, exciting, and a loyal friend to those closest to her. We’d met during our freshman year at school when we’d chosen to live on campus. I use the word chosen… but really, freshmen were not permitted to live off campus. Of course, if you lived within driving-distance they would have made an exception, but like all young kids, we decided our freedom was that important to us. So, we “slummed” it in the dorms.

  And as luck would have it, we were assigned as roommates. We instantly hit it off and had been pretty much inseparable ever since. She was like the sister I never had.

  “I hate that guy,” Donna scowled. “Why do we keep inviting him to things?”

  We were all looking at Tim as he got out of the pool. He was wearing a pair of speedos that cupped snugly against his rather large bulge, and the water was glistening off his muscular body. His eyes caught ours and he smiled with a slight nod before stepping onto the deck and giving high fives to some of his buddies.

  All of us were now blushing and giggling.

  “Oh, yeah,” Donna said. “That’s why.”

  We all had a nice laugh.

  “You’d better watch out, Tina,” Tori said. “You are going to get in trouble for looking. Remember, you have a fiancée now.”

  I smiled. “I can look, but I won’t touch. I’m pretty sure that is in the guidelines somewhere. But I can’t seem to find my copy of the fiancée handbook.”

  “I can’t believe you are actually engaged,” Amy said. “Congrats!”

  She leaned over and hugged me.

  “Thanks,” I said hugging her back.

  “So, I’m maid of honor, right?” Amy asked with a wink.

  I laughed. “I have not made that decision, yet.”

  Donna pretended to be offended. “What? I thought for sure I’d be the logical choice. You know I’m probably never going to walk down the aisle. This might be the closest I ever get.”

  We all burst out laughing and mocking at her. “Are you kidding me?” I scoffed. “You will probably be married multiple times before you are thirty-five. I’m calling it.”

  Tori and Amy high fived me. Donna continued to act offended.

  “You are so wrong,” Donna said. “I can’t believe you bitches.”

  “Awww, I think we hurt her feelings…” I teased giving Donna a littl
e tickle on the chin.

  She hit my shoulder and turned away to shun me, really playing up the spoiled, pouty, brat bit to the hilt.

  “Well, anyway,” I said. “I’m not sure who I want to bestow this honor on, but I will make my choice soon. Now, we all have to promise that no matter who I pick, that we will not get mad and whiny about it. Deal?”

  My friends all looked at each other and then smiled at me. “Hell no,”

  Donna said. “I’m gonna be pissed.”

  “Me too. I may never speak to you again,” Amy added.

  “What are we talking about, again?” Tori pretended.

  I shook my head and grabbed another beer from the mini bar. When I arrived back to my lounge chair the girls had straightened up a bit and the goofy mood had passed.

  “So, how did you know that Blake was the right guy?” Tori asked as I sat down.

  “I think I’ve known since we met, or at least very soon after. He says the same thing. I know its cliché, but when we met, there was just this thing between us. I can’t explain it. It’s kind of crazy to think about, but exciting. Just like being engaged. So many strange thoughts and emotions are running through my head.”

  “Are you giving each other a free card?” Amy asked with a naughty look on her face.

  “A what?” I asked, even though I was afraid of what she was about to say.

  “A free card,” Amy repeated. “You know, one last random fling you can have before you get married!”

  “What the hell?” I asked. “That’s not a real thing.”

  Donna chimed in. “Oh, it totally is,” she said. “It’s kind of an unspoken thing, but it has become a trend in recent years.”

  I stared at her skeptically. “I think you are on drugs.”

  “I’m not,” Donna replied with a flippant shrug. “It’s true. I mean, think about it. You are going to be with just one man for the rest of your life. Don’t you want to go out and get laid with some random hottie one last time, just to get it out of your system?”

  I thought for a moment. The idea was festering in my mind. Interesting… but no. Why was I even entertaining the thought? What was wrong with me? It was a bit sick to think of betraying Blake, even if he and I did come to an agreement about it.