Ashley's Bend

by Roop, Cassy

  “No, Dominic, no,” she said as she dropped the ice bag to the floor and hobbled over to where I was standing next to the counter.

  “Last night was the best night of my life. You made it special. I know how hard that was for you. I know how hard it is for you to let go and tell me the truth. Do not apologize for that. I...I’m falling for you too.”

  Music to my fucking ears. I grabbed her and crushed my lips to her in a heated frenzy to get closer to her. I walked her backwards until her ass hit the counter. Grabbing her hips, I lifted her up onto the breakfast bar and spread her legs. She didn’t have on any panties and I groaned in both admiration and thankfulness that there were no barriers between her hot pussy and me. I quickly unzipped my pants and removed my cock from my boxers. I pushed my way inside of her, not caring whether she was ready for me or not. I needed this connection with her. I needed to feel the warmth of her from the inside.

  “Oh God!” She yelled as I penetrated her. She braced her hands behind her to gain leverage and she met me back thrust for thrust.

  “You feel so, fucking, good. I had to have you once more before I leave.” I said in between breaths. Her head tipped back exposing the creamy white skin of her neck and I leaned in to sink my teeth into her flesh. She bucked back against me as my teeth connected to her skin and I licked the sting away with my tongue. I nearly exploded inside of her when the walls of her pussy clamped down on me.

  Even in our heated race to climax, this was different from the fucking we had done before. Although just as hot, the emotions were still there where there had been a void before. I knew then that now that I had her, I would never let her go. Her breathing became short and raspy. My fingers dug into her hips with enough force that I would probably leave marks on her body. I didn’t care. I wanted her to look at those marks every day while I was gone and remember who she belonged to.

  I picked up the pace thrusting in and out of her, her pussy lubricating my cock and I knew I was getting close.

  “I’m gonna come, Dominic!” she yelled. It fueled me to pump harder, faster. I wanted to fill her with my semen. Leave my scent on her body. The animalistic feeling drove me further and she came, hard, and her arms gave out as she collapsed onto the bar. I erupted inside of her, leaving pieces of me inside.

  We stayed still for a few moments before she finally spoke.

  “You are going to be late.” She chuckled. I smiled. Her laugh was one of the most beautiful sounds in the world and I was glad that her mood seemed to change from earlier. Regretfully, I withdrew from her and I heard her wince. I knew I got a little rough with her, but she wasn’t complaining and neither was I. I gripped her chin forcing her to look at me.

  “Every time you walk in the next few days and you feel that soreness, remember it was me who did that to you,” I declared.

  “Oh...my…” she whispered.

  Mission complete.

  We chatted lightly on the drive to the airport. I drove the Aston Martin and told her that I wanted her to drive it back to her place and to use it to drive to her art classes and to the club while I was away. I wanted to make sure she got there safely. I left strict instructions for Knox to have Drake keep an eye on her at all times, inconspicuously. I still didn’t want to alarm her, and since I still couldn’t locate her douchebag of an ex, I didn’t want to take any chances.

  I parked at the curb near my terminal and got out to retrieve my bag from the backseat. She got out and met me at the back of the car.

  “Keep your phone with you at all times. I want to hear your voice when I call. Also, keep Knox in line, will ya? Tell him I said not to go too crazy being in control.”

  She giggled and I dropped my bag to the ground to wrap my arms around her. I gave her a quick, chaste kiss on the lips and turned to walk into the airport.

  “Dominic, wait!” she yelled and I turned to find her running toward me in full force. When she reached me, she launched herself into my arms, nearly knocking me back. Her arms snaked around me in a vice grip.

  “I love you,” she mumbled into my chest, and I squeezed her so hard she probably lost her breath. The words I had been waiting to hear back from her since I confessed to her the night before, never sounded more beautiful. She looked up at me and gripped the back of my head tugging me down into a heated kiss. The kiss was filled with want, need and something else. Was it fear?

  “I’ll be back on Sunday. It is only a week, Ashley. Just take care and stay safe.”

  She only nodded before she broke away from my embrace and stepped back. Just before she turned to walk back to the car, I noticed a tear slip from her eye. Why was it that she just told me she loved me, but it somehow felt like she was saying goodbye?

  Watching Dominic walk away was the most painful thing I had ever had to experience. Knowing that it was the last time I would see him happy, had my heart clenching in desperate pain that radiated all the way down in my bones.

  I got back in the Aston Martin and heard the sound of my cell phone ringing. Glancing at the screen, my heart squeezed even more at the name of the caller.

  “What?” I bit out in anger.

  “Not happy to hear from me? I think you would want to be polite to me with everything that is hanging over your head, doll.”

  I cringed. Just the sound of his deranged voice sent shivers down my spine.

  “What do you want,” I barked out in anger.

  “I was just making sure that Mr. Michaels got on the plane okay. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to him.”

  “You promised that if I did what you asked, you would leave him and my friends alone. Are you forgetting that I am about to destroy him?”

  “Ha, ha, no. That is going to be the best part in all of this. I’ll be in touch. Don’t do anything stupid, Ashley.” Then he hung up.

  It’s too late for that. I thought to myself.

  Over the next few days, I immersed myself in my art classes. I let my feelings and emotions show in the paintings I created. My instructor thought they were beautiful, albeit sad. Ha. I wished sad were a word that I could use to describe what I was feeling. It would have been so much easier if I were just sad.

  When I wasn’t at class or painting, I threw myself into working at the club. Dominic and I kept in touch through texts and a few phone calls, but I usually kept the conversations short and only talked about what I did for the day. I tried to be as impersonal as possible. On Thursday, Knox pestered me all day asking if I was alright. I had to get a grip before anyone caught on to anything. I worked methodically and robotically as I served people their drinks. Since Dominic was still in New Orleans, Knox demonstrated the nightly lesson and often used Kelly as his assistant. I couldn’t help but look upon them and reflect on the memories I had of the times Dominic and I shared on that stage.

  On Friday after my art class, Kelly and I meet for lunch downtown. The restaurant was a modern TexMex place called Fresh Mex. It was one of Kelly’s favorite places and even though I didn’t have much of an appetite, I obliged her.

  The place was always relatively busy, so we had a small wait, all the time Kelly talked about some new account they acquired at her PR firm and that she was going to be lead on the project. I tried to play the role of attentive best friend, but all I could think about was Dominic and what was going to happen in a little over two days’ time. I felt like I was being ripped in two. I had fallen so deeply in love with Dominic and was going to have to ruin everything I had worked so hard for. I got him to break down his walls and to finally give his heart to someone−to me, but I had no choice but to destroy him, best of intentions or not.

  “Are you ok, Ashley? You have hardly eaten anything and I’ve said your name three times trying to get your attention.”

  I let out a long breath. I couldn’t tell her the truth and risk her being hurt too. There was no doubt in my mind that he would fulfill his promise of hurting those I loved. I just didn’t understand why he was targeting Dominic.

  “I�
�m fine, Kelly. I am just tired. Juggling art school and the club is going to take some getting used to,” I offered in explanation to throw her off of the real reasons behind my depressive mood.

  “Are you sure you aren’t just love sick for Dominic?” she teased. I dropped my fork at the sound of his name and it clattered loudly against my plate before falling to the floor sending rice flying all over me and the person at the table next to us. The older lady sitting next to me gave me a look of displeasure and I offered her my apologies.

  “God, Ashley, I have never seen you act like this. You are nervous and fidgety. You look like you have lost weight and there are circles under your eyes. This has to be about more than just the club and Dominic. You weren’t even like this after what happened with Jared. I am concerned. Will you talk to me, please?”

  What was I supposed to tell her? That I had found the one man who completed me entirely and that when I finally got him to open up to his feelings, trust me and fall in love that I was stuck with doing the opposite and had to annihilate the progress that he had made? Or how he could probably recluse back into his old self worse than before?

  “It’s nothing really, Kelly. I promise. Can we just drop it?” I hated getting short with my best friend, but if I didn’t, she would keep on questioning me and I would end up spilling everything to her, risking her and everyone else’s life.

  After lunch with Kelly, I went back to the apartment to rest before I had to go to work at the club. I decided to take a shower first to rinse off the stress and the dirt of the morning. Just as I finished getting dressed and towel dried my hair, I heard the doorbell ring.

  “Coming!” I yelled as I raced down the hall from my room to answer the door. My mouth opened and I gasped as I opened the door to see the last person I thought I would.

  “Hello, Ashley.”

  “Hi, Jared.”

  He looked good. He was clean shaven and dressed much better than the last time that I saw him.

  “Wh...what are you doing here?” I asked him apprehensively.

  “Listen, I’m not here to cause you any trouble if that is what you’re worried about. I am here...I’m here to apologize, Ashley.” He shifted his weight side to side and looked nervous. Far from the confident and proud Jared I used to know.

  “Can I come in? I just want to talk, I promise,” he asked as he held up his palms to me in surrender.

  “Sure, come on in,” I appeased. I stood back and held the door open to allow him to enter the apartment.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” I asked him out of hospitality. Just because I allowed him to come in, didn’t mean that I was going to let my guard down, especially after the hostility he showed toward me the last time we spoke.

  “No, thanks. I won’t be here that long.”

  Thank goodness for that.

  I walked into the living room and sat at the opposite end of the couch where he sat.

  “My main reason for coming here, Ashley is to apologize to you, for everything. I messed up the greatest thing in my life when I had the affair. I am sorry that I became so indulged in myself and my own life, that I put you on the back burner. You always sacrificed yourself for me and my career.”

  I just nodded to him but didn’t say anything.

  “I went to a rehab place for a few weeks. The drinking had gotten out of hand, even before the affair and worse after what I did. I’m not using it as an excuse, but it was a big part of it. I’m sorry that I showed up at your work and made a scene.”

  He clasped his hands together and placed them in his lap. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before opening them again.

  “I got you fired. I was the one who told your employers that you were working at that club. I was so set on hurting you the way I felt hurt when you left, that I didn’t care about the consequences. I was hurt and jealous that you had moved on from our divorce so quickly, although, I cared after I got a visit from your boyfriend.”

  His last statement had my head snapping up so fast that I nearly gave myself whiplash.

  “What are you talking about?” I prodded him.

  “Your boyfriend, Dominic, paid me a little visit after you were fired. He gave me a lot of money to disappear and I used it to admit myself to the rehab center. I wanted to get my life straight. What, he didn’t tell you? I’m not trying to start any trouble here, Ashley, I promise.”

  Shocked didn’t begin to describe the feelings I was experiencing at Jared’s admission. Dominic paid him to go away? It’s no wonder that I hadn’t heard anything from him in several weeks.

  “Oh shit. He didn’t tell you. Fuck he is going to be pissed I said anything.”

  I reached out and placed my hands on where he was wringing his together. I suddenly realized it was the first time that I had touched him since the night I caught him cheating. I almost withdrew my hand but didn’t.

  “I won’t say anything, Jared. I am just shocked is all.”

  “He must truly love you for him to pay off your ex-husband to get him out of your hair.” He chuckled. His face grew very serious before he opened his mouth to continue speaking.

  “I did love you, Ashley. I still do. I will never regret marrying you, but I will regret what I did for the rest of my life. I’m sorry I hurt you. I would like it if we could maybe stay friends. I’d rather have you in my life as a friend, than not have you at all.”

  Was I still in love with Jared? No. But part of me loved him still. You don’t spend most of your young adult life married to someone and then walk away with absolutely no feelings intact. I think that maybe with time, it was possible that we could be friends. It wouldn’t be automatic, but it was still a possibility.

  “I’m not sure, but I’m not dismissing the idea either, Jared. It will just take some time.”

  I heard my phone chirp on the dining table, but I chose to ignore it for the time being. Jared and I seemed to be having a real breakthrough, and I didn’t want to deviate away from it at the moment. He rose up to stand, and I followed him. He made his way to the front door and stopped just before reaching for the doorknob. Turning around to face me, he tentatively reached for one of my hands.

  “Thank you for listening to me. I just want you to be happy, Ashley.” He then leaned in and kissed my cheek before he walked out the door.

  Of all the things to happen, I never expected Jared to stop by my apartment. I knew it had to take a lot of courage to come to me like he did, and I felt like we finally got closure. I would always hold a special place in my heart for him, but it was Dominic who owned it. I was still shocked by Jared’s confession. Why did Dominic go behind my back and confront Jared without saying anything to me?

  Glancing at the clock, I realized it was getting late and that I needed to get ready if I was going to make it to The Celtic Knot on time. I passed by the table and grabbed my cell phone to see who texted me earlier. Only to find several texts waiting for me.

  Dominic: How is your day going?

  Dominic: That good huh?

  Dominic: Ashley?

  Just as I read the last text, my phone started to ring in my hands. Dominic’s gorgeous face lit up my screen and I almost missed the call because I was too busy staring at his picture in my hand.

  “Hello?”

  “Why didn’t you answer my texts? Where are you?”

  “I’m at home about to get ready to head to the club, why?”

  “Ashley, you cannot go off the fucking grid like that. I need to know that you are safe.” He sounded angry and irritated. He was far from the gentleman who I had been talking to for the last few days. I welcomed the anger. I hoped that it would help me to let go of him easier.

  “I wasn’t off the grid, Dominic. I was just busy. I’m not in any danger, I’m fine.”

  You are the one who is in danger.

  “I’m sorry, Ashley,” he sighed, “I just want to get out of here and be home and I’m frustrated. I’ll see you in a few days, okay?”

  �
�Okay,” I conceded before I hit the end call button as quickly as I could. I didn’t think my heart could take it if he told me he loved me, or worse, if I told him. No, I had to stay strong, for him, for Kelly and Knox, for me. Jared was right. I had spent so much time sacrificing myself for others. This time was no different. If I had to sacrifice my heart to keep him and my friend’s safe, then I would do it.

  It was Friday night, and the club was nearly packed to capacity. I welcomed being busy as a distraction. Each second that it got closer to Sunday, my heart broke a little more. I was delivering drinks to one of the tables, when I looked up and my heart froze. In through the doors walked Officer Russell. He was looking around the room and he found his target when his gaze landed on me. As nonchalantly as I could, I made my way over to him as I fought my way through the crowd of people. I peered over my shoulder to find Knox still busy helping one of the bartenders mix drinks behind the bar and I quickened my pace to get to Officer Russell faster.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” I spat at him through gritted teeth, “I was told I had until Sunday.”

  He looked around the room with a strange look on his face like he was more than eager to take Dominic, and The Celtic Knot down. I understood now why he asked so many questions when I met him the day of the vandalism.

  “I was just sent here to make sure you were...keeping your word. We don’t need you trying to get brave and backing out now.”

  “I have no intentions of…” I started to say when I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder from behind and turned my head to find Knox staring down at me questioningly.

  “Officer Russell, to what do we owe this honor? Are you here on business or pleasure?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. No doubt he was still feeling pissed off about the way Officer Russell questioned him and Dominic the day of the vandalism.

  “I was just telling Ms. Woodson, here, that we still have no leads on the vandalism case.”