The Scale (Martha's Way)

by Mika Jolie

  She closed her eyes and drifted to the glorious sound of their damp flesh, hungry mouths, and desperate touches. When she came, her cry of release was both of extreme happiness and capitulating to the man who captured her heart and soul. Shortly after, she held him tight in her arms as he hammered inside her until his body collapsed on top of hers.

  For a moment, they remained silent, both lost in their own thoughts, recovering from the intensity of their lovemaking.

  “Jason,” she muttered, once able to breathe.

  “Hmm,” he answered, still on top of her.

  “In September, your photography show…”

  “Come and be with me.”

  Her heart leaped with joy. “Okay.”

  “Let’s see where this goes, don’t you agree?”

  She nodded. Oh, God, did she agree. “Yes.”

  Another comfortable silence fell in the room. Minka closed her eyes, enjoying his weight on her, the sound of the ocean coming from the window carrying a soft breeze into the room. She shivered, not from cold but from all that had transpired. She was in love with the most handsome, giving man. And he wanted her. He wanted to give them a chance. He wanted to see how far they could go.

  She felt his body freeze over hers. Minka instantly opened her eyes. Jason had shifted his weight to his arms and was pulling out of her and rolling onto his back. Her body trembled once more, but this time it was from the cool breeze. The room was dark, but she could see him, the shine of those eyes that would forever haunt her.

  “Shit!”

  Confused, Minka sat back and dragged the covers to her. She fought back the tears.

  “I’m sorry, Minka.”

  Why was he apologizing? “What’s going on, Jason?”

  He let out a deep sigh. “I forgot to put on a condom. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Don’t give the scale more power than it has earned.”

  Steve Maraboli

  Her body tensed next to his. Jason didn’t blame her. She had every right to be upset. He wasn’t worried for himself. Her sexual history was limited, not something he could say for himself. Putting aside his brief girlfriend in college when they were careless once, he had always used protection. Furthermore, his medical history was clean and current. Still his carelessness nagged him.

  He put the blame solely on himself for their negligence and any ramifications that may follow. He should have discussed this with her before he plunged himself without any protection. Way to go, Jay.

  What the hell has gotten into me?

  The answer was already known, he was a goner.

  Shit! He was screwed.

  “I’m safe,” Minka spoke softly next to him.

  He nodded. He knew before him there had been one other. He never asked about it or why. He tried to keep himself separated from her history, but the curiosity was there. “I’m not worried about that. But still, I could have endangered you.” He turned his head to look at her. “But, for the record, I’m safe as well.” He shook his head with regret. “Still Minka, I shouldn’t have.”

  “I could have stopped you so don’t blame yourself entirely for this. I trust you, Jason.”

  Her sweet words caressed something inside of him, twisting his heart with overwhelming emotions. “You’re not on the pill.”

  “No.”

  She focused on the ceiling. He could tell her mind was traveling too fast, the realization of what they did finally settling. It wasn’t just about diseases, but the fact they could have produced another life, something that would forever link them together.

  After a moment of silence, she turned to meet his gaze again. There was a stubbornness there he had not seen before. He waited.

  “You would not have to marry me if I became pregnant.”

  “You would keep the child?”

  “Of course,” she answered. He could tell by the determination in her voice no other option had entered her mind. “I mean, I would tell you, but ultimately, the choice would be mine and…”

  He didn’t let her finish. Jason cupped her face and kissed the words away. Of course, he would convince her to marry him if she were to end up pregnant, but this argument he wasn’t ready to have at the moment.

  When he finally pulled away, she looked flushed in his arms. He opened his mouth to confess his love, but caution told him to wait. Too much was happening too fast. He needed air and time to make sense of everything between them.

  “I’m going to grab a beer. Do you want anything?”

  She shook her head. With one last lingering kiss, he removed himself from her. “I’ll be back in a few.”

  He slipped into a pair of jeans nearby and threw on the same cotton tee he sported earlier before closing the door behind him. He never knew sex, self-anguish and love could be so damn good.

  Jason stepped onto the porch a few minutes after leaving Minka. He let out a deep breath, welcoming the cool sea air into his lungs. He leaned against the porch rail and the cold beer hit his palette.

  “You look deep in thought.” Adam’s voice echoed in the darkness.

  Without turning to look at his friend, Jason shot back, “I thought you snuck a woman or two into your bed.”

  Adam chuckled before coming to stand near him. “I should be asking you why you’re here when Minka is probably naked in yours.”

  “You probably should never say Minka and naked in the same sentence.” His voice was light, but carried an edge. Not that he was worried about Adam making a move for his woman. But, damn it, there was a need to establish who she belonged to.

  Adam chuckled and didn’t appear offended by his friend’s words. “Lily is intriguing.”

  This time, it was Jason who chuckled. “You don’t stand a chance.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Jason glanced over at his friend. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because she’s Minka’s best friend.” Jason pointed out the obvious. “You can’t just screw her best friend.”

  “Speaking of Minka,” Adam changed the direction of the conversation, “why aren’t you in bed with your girlfriend?”

  He sighed. “I’m in love with her.”

  Adam shrugged. “So what’s the news?”

  “I didn’t plan for that to happen.”

  Adam laughed and patted his shoulder. “I’ve never met anyone who said, ‘I planned on falling in love with this person.’ Seriously, you’ve been gone for quite a while.”

  “Unfortunately, there’s one problem.”

  “She’s has a thing for her sister’s fiancé,” Adam said.

  Jason’s jaws tightened.

  He wasn’t surprised Adam had picked up on that little fact. It was pretty obvious. Still, he couldn’t help asking. “Is it that obvious?”

  “The kissing scene earlier was pretty obvious.” Adam shrugged again. “At least to me. But for what it’s worth, the dude has no clue. Neither does Keely. Or if they do, they’re great actors.”

  Jason nodded in the darkness. “I don’t think they have a clue.”

  Another short silence fell between them. They each took a sip of their beer.

  Adam was the first to speak this time. “I can beat him up for you,” he threatened lightly. “The problem is he’s not a douche bag. We all actually like him a lot, maybe even love him. And Keely is pretty sweet. Besides, drop-dead beautiful.”

  “They’re in love.” Jason words weren’t a warning to his friend, but more so an acknowledgement of the feelings shared between Keely and Blake.

  Adam nodded. “That’s pretty obvious too.” After a short pause, Adam turned to lean on the rail, giving his back to the waves of the ocean. “So what are you going to do?”

  Jason shrugged. Hell if he knew.

  “There’s more,” Jason added softly.

  “Did you declare your undying love?”

  Jason chuckled. “We had sex…”

  “I’m glad t
o hear that. I kind of figured that started happening a while ago.”

  “Without a condom.”

  Adam raised an eyebrow. “You pulled out?”

  “First of all, that bullshit method doesn’t work,” Jason answered. He was surprised to realize his voice carried no anger. “And no, I didn’t. I kind of got lost in the moment.”

  His friend crossed his arms over his wide chest and stared into the darkness of the night. Jason took another swallow of the cold beer.

  “I wish I was an expert on matters of the heart,” Adam finally spoke. “But my genius only goes so far.”

  “Yeah, mine too.”

  “Quite frankly, bro, I don’t see the problem, or why you are standing here freezing your balls off. You’re in love with her. If she ends up pregnant, just marry her.”

  “If only it were that easy. You’re forgetting she has feelings for our friend.”

  “And if she says no, then I could be convinced to beat up Blake and mess up his pretty face.”

  Jason chuckled, in spite of himself. No one was going to beat up Blake, because Blake wasn’t responsible for this situation. “You’re an idiot.”

  Adam laughed. “That’s true.”

  They turned their attention back to the ocean. It was dark and hard to see, but they stood in silence listening to the waves crashing. It was then they noticed the soft silhouette walking toward the house. Puzzled, they glanced at each other and continued to watch until the woman’s figure became clear.

  “Lily,” Adam whispered.

  “What the fuck was she doing out there?”

  “I’m going to find out.”

  “Adam, don’t fuck with her,” he warned his friend. “She looks a little vulnerable.”

  He turned his attention back to Lily. She had no clue the two of them were watching her. He surveyed her expression. Her short hair was blowing in the wind. She wiped a hand away from her face, confirming his thoughts. She had been crying and looked quite shaken.

  “I’m not that much of an asshole,” Adam said.

  Jason detected the seriousness in his friend’s voice, a trait rarely displayed. He nodded. He knew when Adam wasn’t jerking around. He stepped back and allowed him to go to Lily.

  Placing his beer on the table, Adam stopped by the door to look back at him. “Go back to Minka. I’m sure her mind is going crazy right now. I’ll give you an update on Lily in the morning. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”

  But he didn’t move right away. He remained in the dark and watched Adam approach Lily. She looked surprised and tried to walk past him. Until whatever Adam said caught her attention and she slowed her steps. He watched his friend extend his hand to her. Reluctantly, she placed hers in his and they walked back toward the ocean and faded into the darkness.

  He pulled himself away and walked back inside the house. He wasn’t worried about Adam and Lily. His friend, like him, lived on the edge, probably more so than he did, but Adam had always been careful. Besides, his rush was speed, racing cars. Anything else, including women, was mere distractions.

  When he reentered the bedroom, Jason made a conscious effort not to make any noise and removed his jeans as quietly as possible. His eyes rested on the bed and focused on the outline of the body before him. Her breathing was even, a sign she was fast asleep.

  He slipped under the covers next to her and ran a hand over her thighs. To his surprise she had changed into one of those flimsy things she had been wearing for him. His hands cupped her thighs; they were no model figure thighs. He let his hands moved up to the contour of her ass and sucked in a deep breath. He wanted her all over again. Her ass was his kryptonite, he mused.

  She stirred and tried to turn, but he held her still.

  “Jason, you’re back,” she whispered.

  He could tell she was barely awake. He allowed his lips to leave a trail of kisses on her back. “I’m back.”

  “Everything is okay?”

  He nodded, but realized she couldn’t see him. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

  “I was worried that you were mad.”

  He pressed his nakedness against her. “No, I’m not mad. Just a little…” he paused, searching for the right word.

  “Shaken,” she said.

  He chuckled and nodded again. “Yes, that’s appropriate.”

  “Me too.”

  The admission caught his attention.

  “You are?”

  “Our lives could change, but I thought about it.”

  Jason caught his breath.

  This time, when she turned to face him, he didn’t stop her. Her hazel eyes were bright in the night.

  “I’m okay with this.” She signaled between them. “And whatever happens as a result.”

  He leaned in and kissed her, a kiss filled with hunger. “Turn on your stomach.”

  She hesitated. He knew what she was thinking. They were about to be intimate again without any protection.

  “I can put on a condom if you want.”

  He watched her play the situation in her head. Of course, if she instructed him to put one on, he would.

  “I don’t want you to.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked once more. Once could be attributed to being caught up in the moment, but this was now a conscious decision.

  She nodded.

  “I’ll pull out at the right time,” he heard himself say as he removed the barely-there shorts. Then he spread her legs and ran two fingers over her folds. He was delighted with surprise to find she was ready for him. “Turn on your stomach.”

  She obliged. Jason pulled himself over her and entered her. He heard her moan. One of these days, he would take his time and make sure not to rob her of any pleasure. He would kiss and caress her all over instead of burying himself deep inside her like an animal. But, for tonight, like any other time once they were joined physically, he lost control.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “We can scale the heights of mountains and see the world rayed out before us,

  but we fail to recognize that which is before us.”

  Ruth St. Denis

  The morning sun caressed Minka’s face. With a smile, she opened her eyes and let out a lazy stretch in the huge bed. She glanced over to the empty side where Jason had lain next to her, holding her for the night. The cautious voice reminded her not to get caught up in the moment, but it was brushed aside.

  Last night had been magical. A wall had been brought down, bringing her closer to Jason. The words of love were not spoken, but they hadn’t been necessary. The weight of their actions spoke greater in volume.

  I love him, she thought. Elated with the way the words sounded, she rolled over to her stomach to his side of the bed and inhaled his scent.

  The bedroom door opened and Jason stepped inside the room, covered in sweat from his morning run, his exercise of choice.

  He looked delicious, even covered with sweat and all.

  She watched him remove the damp shirt, exposing tight, ripe muscles, and ached for him all over again. He closed the door behind him. He flashed her that sexy smile she fell in love with before allowing his gaze to wander over her. Instantly, she reached for the sheet to cover her body, well aware the sleeping shorts she slipped into were too revealing.

  “Don’t do that,” he said in a husky voice.

  The sheet fell from her fingers.

  Slowly his eyes skimmed over her not-quite-naked body.

  “You’re beautiful, Minka. Don’t ever let someone tell you otherwise.”

  The words hung in the room. She wasn’t beautiful, she knew that. Yet she believed he saw something in her she was incapable of seeing. Unable to speak, she could only watch him. Still in his sweatpants, he took quick steps to stand by the bed. One hand found her exposed thighs and slowly caressed.

  “I’m going to shower,” he said in a strained voice. “If I wasn’t covered in sweat, I’d make love to you right now.”

  Minka brushed a strand of curls away from her
face and smiled at him. Little did he know she didn’t care how sweaty he was. “I don’t mind the sweat.”

  He laughed, a rich, wonderful laugh that made her heart flutter with happiness. “I may have to find a way to convince you to never leave this island. A man could get used to waking up to this every morning. You think I can hold you hostage?”

  She wrinkled her nose at the thought, although deep down she loved the idea. “Will you lock me up and torture me or something?”

  Again, his laughter filled the room. She smiled.

  “Or something.” But he didn’t touch her further. Instead he stepped back and made his way to the door that led to the bathroom. “We’re going to hit the beach after breakfast.”

  He closed the door behind him.

  Minka froze. She had been basking in the aftermath of their lovemaking so much that she had forgotten about the bathing part of this weekend.

  Fuck! She groaned. A fucking bathing suit.

  Was it too late to say a silent prayer to the gods and wipe away the sun and give her a pass for the day?

  She closed her eyes and decided it was at least worth a try.

  She blinked once, twice. Nope!

  She was still in bed, alive and well.

  A clear sky glared at her when she looked toward the window. Yup, there was no avoiding the situation. And as hard as she tried, she couldn’t form a plausible explanation to get out of it.

  A long, heavy sigh escaped her just as Jason reentered the room gloriously naked. Minka tried with all her might not to look at him, but of course she did.

  He walked in his usual confident manner across the room to retrieve a pair of blue surfer swimming trunks and slipped into them.

  He turned to watch her. “What’s on your mind?”

  A part of her wanted to be resentful of his physical perfection, but it wasn’t his fault she was twenty pounds overweight. Well, maybe thirty. According to the latest health magazines, there was a weight window where one can allow herself to gain a few pounds and still be within their ideal weight. So thirty pounds it was.

  “Nothing,” she said with as much gaiety as she could muster. But his slight frown was an indication he wasn’t buying the bullshit.