Forever Waiting

by P. D. Stevens

  “Is this where Ryan lives?” I asked.

  “No, he actually has a flat in the city, closer to the office.” Zaine raised his eyebrows at me and added, “Which means that we can christen every room of this house and no one will see or hear a thing. And I plan on doing that very soon.” Biting on my earlobe, he started to slowly walk me back into the house. Suddenly he broke off the kiss. “I have another surprise for you in the closet,” he divulged. I ran to the closet and threw open the doors. Inside were so many dresses, shoes and bathing suits I felt like I was in a department store.

  “Zaine, you bought me all of these clothes? I did pack a suitcase, you know.”

  “Yeah, well there are a few places we’ll be going and I wanted you to have a selection to choose from.”

  “And the bathing suits?”

  “Well we have a pool, and Ryan will be here tomorrow for dinner, so I figured you could wear one of those.”

  “There are no bikinis,” I pointed out.

  “Damn it, I told the shopper to bring you some,” he said insincerely. “I suspected that man put granny bathing suits in there when I saw one with a skirt.”

  Smiling at him I said, “Oh that’s okay. I brought my pink one with me.” Zaine picked me up and threw me on the bed.

  “I think the ones in there are more suited for this country,” he informed me.

  “You’re nuts, you know that? Since when are you so modest? There’s no one here, so I can walk around naked if I want, right?” He uttered a small throaty growl and held me to the bed, covering me with his sexy body.

  “I have some staff here, so walking around the house naked would not be good. I am the only one that gets to see you that way, understand?”

  “Oh yeah?” I questioned.

  “Yeah. You are mine, Lan, and no one is going to see you the way I do. With every kiss I claim you. With every touch I claim you.”

  “So what do I get to claim?” I wasn’t sure I liked this possessiveness, and I wanted to make sure we were on equal footing.

  Placing my hand on his chest over his heart, he looked in my eyes and said “You claimed a lot Lan. You just don’t know how much yet.”

  “Zaine Brooks, are you trying to flatter me?”

  “No Lan, I mean it. As soon as I saw you again I was yours. You consume every part of me.” His words had so much meaning that I froze. I found it amazing that someone I had hurt so much could do nothing but give me his heart.

  Zaine could see that I was thinking too hard about what he had said, and held my face gently, turning it so I could look at him. “Hey, what is going on in that pretty little head of yours?” he asked, tucking a tendril of hair behind my ear. He searched my eyes for an answer, but I didn’t have one. I did the next best thing and kissed him with all I had.

  “Well if you keep kissing me like that the only sights you are going to see are the walls of this bedroom,” he said.

  I looked at him seductively, and challenged him. “And that would be bad sight-seeing? Because I think there’s a pretty good view from down here.” I maneuvered out from under him and unzipped the back of my dress, letting it fall to my feet. Underneath I was wearing black lace panties with ties on the sides and a matching bra that lifted my girls to the sky. I think I pleased my tourist’s eyes with the scenery.

  “You’re killing me Lan! You are so fucking beautiful.” Zaine went to grab me but I moved to the side and walked over to my bag and pulled out a silk scarf I used as a hair tie. I threw it on the bed, pulled a chair from the corner and placed it in the center of the room.

  “What are you doing?” Zaine asked, barely able to conceal his excitement. I walked over to him in my bra and underwear and grabbed him by the lapel of his shirt, propelling him into the chair.

  “Do you trust me, Mr. Brooks?” He nodded apprehensively. I looked at him with the most seductive eyes I could muster and thought, “this is going to be fun.” Grabbing the scarf from the bed, I wrapped it around my hands then playfully draped it around Zaine’s neck. With a sexy smile I straddled his lap and bit his ear. “Mr. Brooks, I really want to thank you for this little vacation, but I don’t know how to repay you for all you’ve done. So I would like to show you my appreciation. Zaine was looking at me with his big blue eyes, anticipating my next move.

  “And how exactly are you going to do that?” he trembled. I could feel his shaft hardening in his pants, and I started to move my hips slowly.

  “You’ll just have to wait and see.” I covered his eyes with the scarf so he couldn’t see anything.

  “Lan, wha…”

  I put my hand over his mouth to silence him. I slid slowly off his lap and knelt in front of him, then unbuttoned his pants, opened his zipper and slowly began to stroke him. Just when I had him under my thumb, so to speak, I stopped and whispered, “I’ll be right back.”

  “Lan, you can’t leave me like this,” he pleaded.

  “Oh, I can Mr. Brooks. Just be patient.” I ran downstairs to the kitchen, being careful not to attract the attention of any of the staff. Knowing Zaine, he’d had his people stock the house with anything we might need during our stay, and I knew he loved his whipped cream. Sure enough, I found a canister in the fridge. This time, I was going to put it to good use. I ran up to the room, Trying to enter quietly so he wouldn’t hear. The door creaked as I came in, and my cover was blown.

  “Lan, if I don’t get to touch you soon I’m going to explode!” he threatened. I didn’t say anything. Smiling, I shook the can in my hand and took off the top. I grabbed his shaft and started to stroke him again, and he moaned softly.

  “This might be cold, but don’t worry. I’m going to warm you right up,” I whispered. I sprayed the whipped cream onto his shaft and he flinched. Then I put my mouth around his cock and started to lick the cream off.

  “Fuck, Lan you are driving me mad.” I sucked him, taking him fully into my mouth and squeezing his balls in my hand. I could feel him starting to tense up. “I‘m going to come, Lan,” he said, gasping for breath.

  “Come for me. I want to taste you,” I instructed. Those words put him over the edge, and I sucked every bit of seed from him I could. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I stood and undid the scarf. I could feel my pussy fluttering with anticipation of what was to come.

  Zaine panted for a moment, looking at me with renewed appreciation. “Wow, if I get rewarded like that every time we travel, I’m booking a vacation every week!”

  “Come on,” I said. “Now it’s my turn.” I ran a bath and invited him in with me. It was amazing. Zaine made me come at least three times as we wrapped ourselves in each other.

  “I have a business meeting today, but I shouldn’t be long,” Zaine told me as we lay in bed together the next morning. “Do you think you can find something to do while I’m gone?”

  “I’ll be fine. Maybe I could have Max give me a tour. Or maybe I’ll go shopping,” I said sleepily. We had thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company that morning—twice! “I could wake up like this all the time.” I traced imaginary circles over Zaine’s chest.

  “Mmm, so could I, but I have to get up and get some work done. How about we do some sightseeing together afterward?” he said.

  “That sounds great. Maybe we could meet up for a late lunch?”

  Kissing my cheek, he got up and walked to the bathroom. “It’s a date.” I watched his perfect body as he shaved and got into the shower, staring at him without realizing I was doing it. He caught my eye in the mirror.

  “See something you like?” he teased.

  Snapping out of my trance, I giggled and said, “I might.”

  “Well, if you like, there’s room for two, ” he hinted. Acting like it was a chore, I got off the bed and dragged myself to the shower. He grabbed me and kissed me. I loved the way I felt!

  The morning dragged on slowly. Zaine had left early to meet up with Ryan and I hung out by the pool for a bit. Finally, around eleven o’clock, I decided to get dres
sed and ask Max to take me to the office. Zaine had told me there was a cafe in the lobby, so I thought I’d get a table at the cafe while I waited for the meeting to end. When he came down stairs I would surprise him.

  The hostess seated me at a small table with a view of the city. I relaxed and drank a pint of some good brew. Eventually Zaine got out of the elevator and headed toward the building entrance. I had started to get up when a leggy brunette came out of the same elevator and linked her arm through his. He frowned and stepped away from her, then said something with a serious look on his face. I hung back for a while to watch them. They appeared to be arguing over something. At first I thought that maybe the meeting hadn’t gone well, but when she pressed up against him and tried to kiss him, I was really lost. Who the fuck was this bitch, and why was she pawing all over the man that had ravished me only hours before?!

  Zaine had his back to me, so I quietly approached them and hid like a stalker behind a plant. The woman was speaking in a shrill tone of voice.

  “I thought you loved me!” she pleaded. “Are you going to tell me that our last three years together meant nothing to you?” I stood, stunned to learn that Zaine was in a relationship the entire time he’d been declaring his love for me. He’d said I “consumed” him, and he had claimed me and said he would show me the world, but he was in love with someone else? God, how could I have been so stupid? I felt tears welling up in my eyes and the pain I felt enraged me.

  I emerged from around the corner. “Oh my goodness, Mr. Brooks, is that you?” I called out in a sing-song voice. “It is so good to see you.” Zaine turned to face me, and the look on his face clearly said ‘oh shit.’ He stared as I held out my hand to greet the brunette. “Where are my manners? I’m Landrey Steele. I’m working on a project with Zaine back in the States. And you are...?”

  Reaching her hand out to shake mine, she said, “I’m Stacy Wright, Zaine’s girlfriend.”

  “Ex-girlfriend,” Zaine correctly quickly, casting an angry look at her.

  “Well, apparently his Ex, all of a sudden,” she said with a somber tone.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t interrupt anything here, did I?” Zaine started to speak, but I cut him off. “I just noticed Zaine here and I wanted to say hello since I was waiting for a friend at the cafe. He is such a busy man, I guess I just wanted to see if we could touch base later. But you know what? Instead, let me jot down my number and you can give me a call. Let me get a pen.” I reached in my bag and found a piece of scrap paper, and in big black letters I wrote “GO FUCK YOURSELF!” I folded the paper and handed it to Zaine.

  He hesitated, then took it from me. I turned to his companion.

  “Stacy, was it? It was nice to meet you.” I turned and walked through the doors of the building. I heard running behind me but I didn’t look back. My tears had started to flow, and I knew they would continue all the way to the airport.

  “Landrey, wait! Landrey, stop!” I kept on walking. This was it, I thought. I was broken again. I had spent the last eight years of my life thinking about how perfect things would be if I saw Zaine again, and for a few weeks they were. But now I had to get out of here and back to New York. Tayla could handle things on her own. Johan would have to understand.

  The cab I’d hailed outside of Zaine’s office dropped me off at Heathrow, where I arranged to get back to New York. I cried for the entire flight home. I know it was pathetic, but I couldn’t stop. When the flight attendant came around I ordered vodka on ice, and asked her to keep them coming. I drank my limit and tried to fall asleep.

  When I arrived home, I went straight to my apartment. I didn’t know what to do with myself. My cell phone had died but I couldn’t bring myself to charge it. I knew Zaine was probably freaking out looking for me, calling Tayla. He wouldn’t have known that I’d come back to New York. He’s probably assume I was going to LA. For the moment, then, I could avoid him. I needed to be away from him, and from anyone who reminded me of him, and for once Tayla wasn’t here to coddle me.

  Once I finally plugged in my phone, I had over 30 texts from Zaine. He’d left 12 voicemails and there was one long message from Tayla telling me to call her ASAP. I didn’t have the strength to deal with any of it. I called Johan and told him I needed a leave of absence to deal with a family emergency. He wasn’t happy, but I assured him Tayla could handle my responsibilities and he accepted it. It was now 10 days until the boutique would open. I understood that I was giving up a huge opportunity, but I just couldn’t face Zaine, his brothers, or the rest of the California crew yet.

  Three weeks went by and I was still a pathetic mess. I assumed the opening had gone well, and that Tayla had handled everything well. I’d gotten several texts and phone messages from her, but had yet to return any of them. I knew she was pissed, but I didn’t care. Every day I put my hair up in a messy bun. I wore the same sweatpants for days on end. I was still in hiding from everyone, and hadn’t returned any calls since I’d gotten home.

  On a Friday afternoon I was laying on my bed drowning my sorrows in a bottle of merlot, wearing my sweats and a pink tank top smeared with egg yolk stuck from the breakfast I’d forced myself to eat. There was a loud knock on my door. Startled, I figured there is no way it could be Zaine, and Tayla was still working in California. Peeking through the peephole, I saw my savior Shay, one of my best friends from childhood.

  I opened the door, and she took in all the dysfunction that was me. With a look of ‘get over yourself,’ she hugged me and said, “Did you save me any wine?” For the first time in a while, I laughed.

  Shay and I had grown up together, attending grade school and high school together, and she went to community college in Geneva until she dropped out ‘in pursuit of her own happiness. She moved out of state, but eventually came back to New York and moved in with her brother, Gene, who was a scientist who did experiments with monkeys. He had been grown up with us too, so I was used to his strange behavior, but in reality he was a genius. More than that, he was also a good friend.

  “So,” Shay stated matter-of-factly, “Mr. Perfect had a girlfriend. What an asshole.”

  “How did you know about that, Shay? Did you talk to Tayla, or did my mom call you?” I asked. Although I hadn’t talked to much of anyone these last two weeks, I did call my mom a few times. I needed her support, as always, and as always she was there for me. It would be just like her to rally the troops for me even when I wouldn’t do it for myself.

  Shay gave me a concerned look, and said “Tayla called me. She’s totally freaked out that you won’t return her calls. She was afraid you might be at the bottom of the river, or something, so she asked me to check on you. Why didn’t you call me yourself? You know I’m always here for you.” She actually sounded a little hurt, and I started to think that my cone of silence routine was damaging the wrong people. Then, true to her comic nature, she added, “Did you at least punch him in the nuts before you left?”

  I managed a wry chuckle before answering sadly, “No Shay, I was a little too upset at the time. I apologize if that wasn’t my first thought. And to his credit, I caught him just as he was breaking up with her.”

  “So are you telling me what he did to you was okay? Just because he was breaking up with his girlfriend doesn’t make it alright at all, Lan.”

  “I know. And he is going to have to do a lot of explaining when I finally do decide to see him. I’m not really mad that he had a girlfriend. I did pop up out of nowhere, and he was with me almost all the time, so I don’t think he was sleeping with both of us at the same time. I’m more mad that he lied to me. It made me feel like he was just appeasing me, almost like he was getting back at me.”

  “Come on now, he was dumb enough to bring his girlfriend with him on a trip to breakup with his girlfriend. How smart do you think he is?” she said sarcastically, while pouring herself a glass of wine. I thought about what she said. What if she was right and it was all just a game? I swore there were true feelings between us.

&n
bsp; With a stern look and a commanding tone, Shay ordered, “Get your ass out of those sweats and get a dress on. We are going out to dance.”

  “I don’t want to go out, Shay. I kind of feel sick to my stomach from all the stress,” I said.

  “Boo-friggin-hoo, get over it for the night, Lan. One, go shower, because you stink! And two, you need to get out of this apartment,” she ripped.

  “Fine, I’ll go with you, but I won’t like it,” I grudgingly responded.

  Smiling, she pushed me to my room. “Oh, by the way, we need to go check on Gene.”

  “What’s wrong with Gene?” I asked.

  “Lu Lu had to go home and he’s a wreck without her.”

  Confused, I looked at her, waiting for an explanation. When it didn’t come, I said, “Who the hell is Lu Lu?”

  “You know, the spider monkey he raised since she was a baby,” she replied. In all honesty, Gene loved his job, but the obsession he had with this monkey was weird. If the monkey was a woman, she would be a very happy woman. He did everything for that monkey. She had her own monkey paradise at that man’s house.

  “Well that’s really going to brighten my night,” I moped. “A man depressed over a primate.”

  “It might. You think you’re pathetic? Wait until you see him.”

  We arrived at their apartment and walked inside to find Gene sitting on the couch watching a movie. “Hey Gene, what’s going on? I haven’t seen you in a long time. What’s new?” I said in my most uplifting voice. It struck me as odd that I was trying to cheer him up when I was just as depressed as he was. Gene got off the couch and pulled me in for a hug.

  “Landrey, how have you been? It’s been forever. You’re looking good. What are you guys getting ready to do?” he asked and commented all at once.

  “Well, we wanted to see if you wanted to go out and get some dinner and drinks with us, and maybe do a little karaoke. What do you think?” Now, I’m not one for karaoke, but when Shay and Gene got together and did their version of “Islands in the Stream,” it was like they were Kenny and Dolly themselves. I usually just sat back and watched, and laughed at the same time.