In Time to Love

by Gloria Martin

  “What?? Is this some kind of joke?”

  “No, it’s not a joke. The reason I left this last night is because I had to get some money. I don’t want to explain how I got it, but it ain’t exactly legal. I gotta make a decision, Darlene. Are you the type of woman that would run with me?”

  Darlene knew that something like this was bound to happen. She couldn’t escape her past. It was impossible. She could almost imagine her father saying how he approved of Pete. He’d like a guy like him.

  “How much money?” Darlene asked. She wanted to take her mind off of the insane news that there was dead guy in the apartment.

  “It’s in a couple sacks.”

  Darlene gasped. “What do we do?”

  “We gotta get on a boat and go beyond the coast. It’s the only place my boss won’t look.”

  Darlene didn’t know what to do. Everything was happening so fast, and she couldn’t make sense of it.

  *****

  On the way to the coast, Pete got a call from his boss. At first Pete didn’t want to answer it, but Darlene knew what kind of trouble he could be in, and she forced him to.

  While Pete had his boss on the line, Darlene couldn’t help but overhear. It sounded like the guy was congratulating Pete for some reason. It looked like Pete was sweating behind the wheel.

  When they pulled up to the marina, Pete motioned for her to get out of the car. He led her to his boat, a large luxury yacht. She waited for him there while he walked up and down the dock.

  The sun started to set, turning the sky a shade of turquoise mixed with peach. It seemed so beautiful in this dangerous, tense time.

  When Pete returned, he had a confused smile on his face.

  “He says he wants me to be the new boss. He says he’s moving to San Francisco, and that the stunt I pulled, in conjunction with what we did with Tony made him see me as someone who can handle things.

  Darlene remained silent. She didn’t know how to respond to Pete’s “good news”. He seemed pretty proud about the whole thing, and once they were far off shore he popped a bottle of champagne.

  Enough was enough. Darlene wanted out, even if Pete worked for the type of guys that might kill her for leaving. She went for the money, with the plan to throw it into the sea. She didn’t care anymore. She’d had enough of the mafia lifestyle. She couldn’t escape it in Detroit, and she couldn’t escape it across the country. Now here she was in a boat off the coast of the Pacific with one of the biggest upcoming crime bosses in Los Angeles.

  “Wait, Darlene!” said Pete, desperately. “I didn’t want it to be this way. I didn’t expect Vic to promote me. I didn’t know he was moving to San Francisco.”

  “You don’t have to be a crime boss if you don’t want to be, Pete!” Darlene cried, hovering over the money.

  “Don’t throw that money in the ocean, Darlene,” Pete said. “You know that we can use that money. I know I don’t have to be a crime boss but right now I don’t know any other way. Maybe we can use that money to start fresh somewhere else. I don’t know if it’s possible, but for you I’m willing to try to leave this life behind.”

  Darlene knew just as well as he did that it was damn near impossible to get out of the mafia. With as much experience that Pete had working for Vic, Pete would be as good as dead if he tried to pack up and leave town.

  Darlene moved the sack of money from over the ledge and dropped it onto the floor of the boat. She couldn’t help but start to sob. With the stacks of cash spilled out on the boat floor, it was like she was making a definite decision in her life.

  Pete knew to walk over to Darlene, put his arms around her, and kiss her cheek. They had only been intimate once, but Pete had never been so in love with a woman before. Darlene was smart, creative, business savvy, and even liked monster movies. She was the type of woman who could look sexy at dinner, and play naughty in the bedroom. She was probably a great cook. She had her own dreams, passions and ambitions. Never in Pete’s life had he wanted to help another person achieve their own dreams.

  It can only be one thing, he thought. I love her.

  “What do you want me to do?” Pete asked her. The wind whistled as the breeze from the ocean brushed Darlene’s hair into Pete’s face. It smelled like her lilac shampoo.

  “I don’t know, Pete,” she said, burying her head into his shoulders. Her body shivered from the cool sea air, despite Pete’s closeness. Pete took his Armani jacket off to drape it around her bare shoulders.

  “I told you that my father is involved with the Detroit mob,” she said, finally warming up with the silky material against her skin. “When I moved here I decided to put the mob behind me. But now I’m starting to think that it’s forever going to be a part of me. I thought it was something I had to escape. But you’re starting to make me think it’s something I should embrace.”

  “I never knew that you felt that way, Darlene,” Pete stammered. “The last thing I ever imagined was dragging you into this life.”

  “No, Pete, you don’t understand,” she whispered. “You’re not dragging me into anything. I knew what you did. Sure, you may have hidden the truth at first, but you did come clean. I respect that about you. You didn’t want to lie to me once you knew that you loved me.”

  Pete couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “So you’re saying that you want to live like this?” he asked. Pulling his head away from her, he stared into her moonlit eyes. The gleam in her eyes was like the stars themselves reflecting back at him. “I’ll give you any kind of life you could imagine, Darlene. We can L.A, we can leave the country.”

  Darlene laughed into Pete’s chest. The comfort of his warmth returned to her. Now the boat no longer seemed like something on which she was jettisoned. Darlene imagined the boat as their own private island. The lights of the city were so far off that she could barely make them out unless she squinted her eyes.

  “That’s some proposition,” Darlene smiled.

  “Darlene, if you want me to, I can run things here for Vic. It’s going to be a big responsibility. I have big shoes to fill. And I think what I’m telling you is that if I’m going to be a strong man, I’m going to need a strong woman around in my life. A woman like you.”

  Darlene blushed, but was also dumbfounded. She wondered, is this some kind of marriage proposal? Until this point, Darlene never considered the idea that Pete wanted something long-term with her. There was no denying the attraction they shared, but in Darlene’s heart she feared to get attached to him.

  “I can be the woman you need,” she said.

  “I know you can.”

  “I can be more than that, too.”

  “I know you can.” His lips lingered inches away from hers. “But I’m not just proposing that you and I become an item.”

  Pete lowered himself down to the ground, and balanced himself on one knee. He looked up at her, and smiled with his eyes wide. Darlene was now entranced in the way the moon shone in his eyes.

  “I know we rushed into things, Darlene,” Pete laughed. “I know some people would call us fools for that. But if we’re going to live this life together, I promise you that I will take care of you and love you until I die. With you by my side I feel like I can run the world. I feel like I can be the best man I can be. I want to cherish you, Darlene. I want to spend every dollar and then some on you. Hell, I’ll move to Detroit and rob every bank in the Great Lakes area with your father, if that’s what you wanted.”

  Darlene’s face grew hot, even in the cool, salty air. All of a sudden she felt the moisture rising behind her eyes, and the tears welled up like raindrops falling down her cheek.

  “Darlene, I know that we just met,” Pete went on, “But I would love nothing more than to take your hand in marriage. Will you marry me, Darlene?”

  Pete’s words echoed in the silence of the night, and forever after in Darlene’s ears. There had been men in her life who had confessed her love to her before, but none of them like this. None them ever officially got do
wn on one knee and proposed to her. Darlene felt like she was stuck in that continuous dream. She was nearly convinced that she was still in Detroit, fast asleep or potentially in a coma, and that this gorgeous man kneeling below, and Los Angeles, and the boat, the money, and the dead guy in her apartment—all of it was a dream. How could it be real?

  But it is real, she thought. This wasn’t exactly the life she imagined, but somehow it seemed like something better. It was the perfect synthesis of her old life and her new life. She realized that Pete was still kneeling, and that all of her thinking had left him hanging.

  “Yes, Pete. I’ll marry you. I’ll be the woman in your life. And I want you to be the man in my life.”

  Pete stood up and looked toward his new fiancé’s beautiful, moonlit face. It took no time for their lips to find each other’s, and as Darlene opened her mouth to take in Pete’s tongue, the salt of her tears was shared between both of them. In the friction of their kiss, Darlene was blindsided by a surge of lust that came over her. Pete was now going to be her man for life. They were going to get married. The fact that he wanted her in such a way made Darlene pulsate with joy.

  “I need you right now, Pete,” Darlene said. She had only been intimate with him the one time, and if that and a few days of romantic drama was enough for Pete to fall for her, then she’d have to consummate it right away. If she was going to marry this man, she needed to please him. She needed to feel him inside of her. She needed to taste him this time.

  Since he had just knelt down on the one knee for her, she felt like it was her turn. With Pete standing up, it was Darlene’s turn to drop to her knees. She felt the cool wood of the boat under her knees. A wad of cash rested uncomfortably under her leg until she kicked it aside. It went overboard, and Darlene nearly choked.

  “Don’t worry, baby,” Pete said. He put his hand on the back of her head. “I’m not worried about it. I’m more interested in what you’re about to do to me.”

  Darlene smiled. That comment made her feel like more than the amount of money she just put into the ocean. The thought of the green paper becoming useless fled from her mind—her attention was back to Pete’s body. Reaching her hands forward she smoothed her hands along the backside of his Armani pants. Staring at where his dick rested behind the pants and underwear, Darlene sat there on her knees licking her lips. She wanted Pete to look at her. She wanted Pete to see how much she craved him in her mouth.

  “I love you, Darlene,” Pete moaned.

  “I love you too, baby,” Darlene said. She looked into his eyes and imagined the life of danger they would indulge in, licked her lips, and then gave him her mouth.

  THE END

  Bonus Story 35 of 40

  Untouchable

  Talia

  As I stared out of the train window, watching the world pass me by, I couldn’t help but wish that I was anywhere else in the world. The last thing I wanted to do was head home for the summer, but it seemed like I didn’t have any choice. After two years of avoiding my home town, of spending the school holidays anywhere but at home, I was having to go back there.

  When my mom died after a long battle with cancer, I escaped. I couldn’t face anyone at home anymore, so I headed off to boarding school where I wouldn’t have to see anyone that knew me. Or mom. Ever since then, my dad had been begging me to come back, but up until now I’d managed to refuse. But now he was getting remarried, and I was going back to meet the woman that would go on to become my stepmom.

  Marie.

  I knew nothing about this woman, only that she’d moved to town a year or so after I left, and that she had a teenage son who was some kind of motorcycle rebel – another idiot to add to the cast of characters that was my new family. I’d have kept well away if I could have, but my dad had literally begged me to meet them, and I felt too guilty not to. I was growing a little disillusioned with my extremely rich, snobby boarding school friends anyway, so the only thing I was looking forward to was the chance to reconnect with some of my old friends. Hopefully they would still want me after I’d left in such a hurry. I hadn’t spoken to any of them in a very long time, but I hoped they would understand. We’d been friends since kindergarten. I prayed everything would be fine.

  I sighed deeply as I stepped off the train, drinking in the familiar, but also strange, surroundings. It was weird being back in my home town, knowing that my whole life was about to change. I wasn’t quite ready for it, and I had no idea how I was going to handle what was to come. I could have used a much needed moment to catch my breath, but my father was already waving excitedly at me, with tears shining in his eyes.

  “I know you told me to stay away,” he said, pulling me into a deep hug, “but I wanted to be here to pick you up.”

  “Thanks dad,” I replied lamely, desperately wishing that he had listened to me.

  “Come on,” he said. He took my bags from me, smiling a little too brightly for my liking. “Marie is in the car waiting to meet you.”

  I tried to grin back, but my sinking heart was plastered all over my face.

  The car drive home was painful. Marie was trying her best, but I had absolutely no intention of making it easy for her. Dad might need me to get along with this woman, but that didn’t matter to me. I hadn’t asked for this new family, I didn’t want it, and from what I’d observed there was no way it was going to last anyway. Marie was far too young for my dad, and my first impression was that they had nothing in common. I figured there was little point in me making an effort with someone who wasn’t going to be around for much longer anyway.

  *****

  Ricky

  “For fuck’s sake,” I growled, looking down at my phone. “Assholes.”

  “What’s going on, bro?” my friend Slick called out, as I angrily stubbed my cigarette out on the ground. “You look pissed.”

  “Just my mom and her bullshit boyfriend,” I said, shaking my head sharply as a reply. “I have to go eat with them. His kid is coming home from boarding school or some shit.” I knew Norm’s child was a teenager – only a year younger than me – but I didn’t want the guys to know that. I had a reputation to uphold – playboy, bad boy, and general badass. If they knew I was spending so much time with some chick, they’d want to know why I wasn’t fucking her already.

  Of course, I wouldn’t do that. I wanted to pry my mom away from that boring dick, not create a deeper bond with that family.

  “So don’t go,” he replied as if it was obvious. “Ignore them.”

  I’d love to have done what he said, but I wouldn’t. The truth was that despite everything I loved my mom and I would do anything for her.

  “What and hang out with you sad sacks all evening?” I laughed, passing it off as a joke. “No thanks.”

  “But we’re all going to the track later. Don’t you want to race?” This tugged at my heartstrings a little. I loved motorbike racing, especially at the local track. That was where I’d managed to build up my reputation – which was important since I’d moved here so late in my schooling career. It was where I’d become cool, and eventually something of a local celebrity. I was good on my bike – it was the one thing I did well, and I loved it.

  “Maybe,” I shrugged, wanting to seem like I didn’t care one way or the other. “Might see you bastards later then.” And I swung around on my bike, heading towards home, my mind solely on how I was going to play my next move.

  I’d been trying to split mom and Norm up for a while now, and was slowly chipping away at them. If I could get this girl to hate me too, then that would surely be a step in the right direction.

  By the time I screeched my bike up into the driveway, I was all ready for her. I put on my worst attitude and stepped through the door.

  However, what I was faced with wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Instead, the girl that spun around to face me as I stomped into the kitchen was the most beautiful girl that I’d ever laid my eyes on. She actually caused my heart to skip a beat – a sensation that I�
�d never had before. Not even with Cassie – the one girl I’d been with for any length of time. The only one I’d really consider an ex.

  The first thing I noticed about her was her sparkling green eyes. Then I started to see her cute face, her dimples, her smile, and her full lips. As my eyes slowly scanned her, with my heart in disbelief, I drank in her long wavy red hair, her pale skin, her curves… she had the most rocking body I’d ever laid my eyes upon. I was turned on at the mere sight of her.

  But then I forced myself to shake all of that away. I needed this girl to be a part of my game. I needed her to hate me. I couldn’t start liking her; that would only spell trouble.

  No, I needed to remember my plan. I had to be horrible, that was the only way I was going to get what I wanted…

  *****

  Talia

  Oh. My. God.

  The second I laid my eyes upon him I felt my entire body turn to jelly. He sparked a reaction inside of me that I’d never experienced before. He was literally the hottest guy that I’d ever seen and I didn’t know what to do about it.

  I stared like an idiot at him for far too long – drinking in his tall, muscular body, his deep brown eyes and his dark hair that was practically cut to his head. He was wearing leathers that screamed ‘bad boy’ and that I was also sure was hiding some pretty rocking abs.

  “Ricky,” Marie finally appeared behind me, with her arms stretched to embrace her son. As my eyes flicked between them both, I couldn’t quite work out how she had a child that old – she must have had him when she was only a teenager. “This is Talia,” she finally announced, stepping backwards to reveal me once more. She was acting like we were friends, like I hadn’t just ignored her for the last hour or so, which put me on edge even more.