“I want to go home,” I repeat. “Back to Portland,” I clarify.
Rising so we’re both in a sitting position, he asks, “Who just called?”
Trying to contain my excitement so I’m not joyfully screaming out the words, I say, “It was the director. He said the show has been cancelled until further notice.”
Matt’s exhilaration towards my answer matches my own. “Are you serious?” Kissing me fully on the lips, he quickly pulls away. “What are we waiting for then?” he excitedly lets out, already pushing us both from the bed.
“Let’s go home,” I say with a smile, already rushing around the room with him to pack all my stuff.
TILTING MY HEAD so I can get a better look at Abigail’s face as she sleeps on my shoulder, I smile. The content feeling pouring through my body, knowing she’s returning with me to Portland, has been enough to keep me smiling since the moment she told me she was coming home with me. She lets out a whimper followed by a shudder. Suddenly she’s sitting up gasping for air, terrifying me. Her wide eyes are searching her surroundings as her chest rapidly rises and falls.
“Beautiful?” I worriedly ask, not wanting to frighten her further. Her shoulders slump forward and she leans back into my welcoming arms. Running my hand up and down her back to comfort her, I say, “Tell me what it was about.”
She trembles, her arms gripping me as if afraid to let me go. “It was just a nightmare. I’m fine now,” she utters, but I know she’s not being completely truthful.
“Was it about Bill?” I hesitantly ask. She slowly nods her head and the blood drains from my face. I can do nothing more than continue to stroke my arm up and down her back, trying to contain my anger. It’s not her I’m angry at, but the fact that even in her dreams she can’t escape him.
“I’ll be much happier when we’re home,” she says, surprising me with the meaning of her statement.
“Why is that?”
“Because I’ll be home with you.”
“I can’t wait,” I say against her temple, smiling before giving her a brief kiss. She gives me a contented sigh, I’ll take it for now. The rest of the flight is spent in silence.
Hours later, David is pulling up to my house after picking us up from the airport. The scene in front of me does not surprise me. Somehow, I should have expected it.
“Doesn’t he know you’re coming home tonight?” Abigail asks, looking at the blocked driveway at all the parked cars lining the street. David lets out a snort.
“You think that would stop Trey?”
“True,” she mumbles.
Grabbing her hand, I open the door and pause. “You going to stick around?” I ask David before climbing out.
He shakes his head as he says, “I’m picking up Kelly in an hour and taking her to dinner.”
“Thanks for the ride, David. Will you tell Kelly I’ll call her tomorrow so we can get together sometime this week?” Abigail asks him.
“Of course. Good luck with Trey,” he teases, looking towards the lawn where a set of drunken girls are stumbling, laughing the entire time. A group of guys soon follow them and help them up before leading them away.
“I’m so going to kick his ass,” Abigail threatens.
“Let’s go kick his ass together,” I say, laughing at her annoyed expression as I tug her out of the truck. Grabbing the luggage from the back of the truck, I follow Abigail up to the driveway with her protectively at my side.
“Where’s Lola?”
“She’s locked up in the garage with Eleanor,” I tell her, watching as she lets out a sigh of relief. “Come on. You two can reminisce in the morning. I’m beat.”
“Me, too.” A couple of steps later, I hear her say, “This reminds me of the night I moved in.” Her declaration causes me to pause at the entrance and stare at our closed door as the image of her that night returns. When I look at her, she’s staring back at me with a smile on her lips, the opposite of the frightened expression I’d opened the door to that night. Dropping our luggage, I grab her face and remember that night clear in my mind as I kiss her deeply.
She giggles against my lips. “I love you,” she says, still giggling as I continue feathering her with a couple more kisses.
She pulls away with a smile. “Come on. I’m tired and I want to sleep in my own bed tonight,” she urges, already reaching for the knob. The moment the door opens, the music intensifies and we’re greeted by a mass of drunken partiers scattered throughout the living room. Abigail doesn’t bother looking at them, heading straight for the hallway leading to our bedroom with me just steps behind her. She surprises me though when she stops in front of Trey’s bedroom, pounding on the door with all her might. Trey’s holler to ‘Go away’ can be faintly heard, but she ignores it and continues to bang on the door, kicking it shortly after. This time we don’t hear any shouting, but instead stomps leading to the door.
“What the fuck!” As naked as the day he was born Trey is now yelling in our faces. His eyes light up at the sight of Abigail before he picks her up in a bear hug. “Supermodel, you’re home!” he shouts as he bounces her up and down in the air like a rag doll. He lowers her back down to the ground and I shove at his shoulder when her feet hit the floor.
“Go put some fucking clothes on!” I yell, putting myself between Abigail and Trey to shield his naked body from her eyes.
“She was the one banging on my door. She should’ve known I was naked from the screaming coming from the room!”
“I was banging on your door to tell you the house better be clean in the morning when I wake up, or else I’m going to make sure it’s you screaming my name when I kick your ass!” she shouts over my shoulder before I feel her pulling at my arm, leading me to our own room.
“Welcome home, supermodel,” Trey bellows behind my back.
Abigail reaches for the doorknob to our room, but I stop her, producing my set of keys from my pocket.
“It has a lock?” she asks.
“I had it put in before I left. I had a feeling Trey was going to throw a party, so I made sure to lock up the room before I left,” I explain, remembering the last time he had a party and I came home to find our bed occupied, but I’m not going to tell Abigail that little fact. Shutting the door after entering, my eyes watch Abigail throw herself onto our bed, letting out a blissful groan. Leaving the luggage on the floor, I walk over to join her.
“I’m so glad to be home,” she mumbles into my chest as I pull her flush to my body, kissing her on her head.
“Me, too,” I reply, closing my eyes with a peaceful smile.
THE RINGING OF my phone disrupts me from my concentration. The number is blocked, alerting me it may be someone important.
“Bill here.”
“Bill, it’s Charlie,” he says into the phone, sounding winded, as if running. “I was calling to tell you she left.”
“What the fuck do you mean she left? When?” I ask, knowing she was still in New York just last night.
My plan failed last night. I wasn’t expecting for her little boy toy to be there. She hadn’t showed up with him, and from how Charlie had reported she’d been moping around, she wasn’t expecting him either; so him showing was unexpected.
“The show has been postponed so she must have left.”
Already knowing the answer to my next question, I still ask. “Where did she go?” There’s a pause, as if he’s thinking.
“I’m trying to find out, but she didn’t even tell the director.”
“Don’t fucking worry about it. I have an idea.”
Her returning to Oregon is going to put a hindrance in both my schedule and budget. I already had to rearrange everything to coincide with New York, now she was going to have me flying back to the west coast. This bitch is pushing my limits, but I still need her, and I plan on getting her back. And when I do, she is going to pay.
“When is the show postponed until?” I question, wondering if it’s worth flying back for.
“I don�
�t know. They’re not disclosing any information to anyone. Not even the models. Everyone is on standby under further notice.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?” He sounds as if he’s about to start explaining, but I cut him off. “Never mind. Just get me her new schedule,” I demand into the phone.
“I already told you. Nobody has a schedule,” he relays, sounding frustrated. He doesn’t understand the meaning of frustrated.
“Then call me when you fucking have one!” I roar before hanging up on him. Taking my frustration out on the phone, I toss it across the desk, watching it skitter across the paperwork in front of me. Her leaving me stirred the rumors labeling me controlling and demanding. I had determination, which is why I’m controlling and demanding. It’s the only way to succeed.
Thankfully, they didn’t know the true reason why Abigail left. She’s done a well enough job of using the “contract met” excuse to anyone who asked. She wasn’t as stupid as I expected her to be. I’d predicted for her to sell our story to every tabloid that would pay. She’s done it in the past. Abigail wouldn’t have hesitated to make sure she made that front page and stay in the spotlight, the opposite of the girl she seems to be now. It makes me wonder if she has any drive left in her to succeed in this industry.
Narrowing my eyes into the air ahead of me, I have no choice but to resort to patience. If I keep to my plan, Abigail Adams will cease to exist when this is all over, which is what should have happened over a year ago.
TREY’S KNOCK ON the door startles me awake. Seconds later, I feel Matt disengage himself from under my arm wrapped over his chest and is shortly opening the door.
“I’m headed over to Andrew’s to help him move. Tell supermodel I’m sorry about the mess, but I’ve got to go,” Trey declares just loud enough so I can hear.
“Yeah, I’ll let her know,” Matt tells him before he shuts the door.
With a protest, I mumble under my breath, “Bastard.”
Matt’s booming laughter fills the room, helping to awaken me. Sitting up and rubbing my eyes, I watch Matt already searching through our closet. I didn’t expect to come home and have to immediately clean, but knowing there’s a mess out there is driving me nuts.
“I’ve only been gone for a week and he’s already turning it back into a bachelor pad,” I complain to Matt. Dressed in basketball shorts and a black muscle shirt, he walks back over to the bed and sits next to me. He looks out the window with a frown upon his lips and I follow his gaze. The weather is gloomy and it’s pouring rain outside. It isn’t the most ideal weather to go for a run, so that’s out of the question.
“I guess I’m cleaning today,” I mutter, remembering the chaos we walked into last night. Lord only knows how bad it got after we passed out. “You want to help me clean?” I ask with a sweet smile.
Looking apologetic, he says, “I have a new video game I’ve been wanting to test out.”
“Fine, you go play your video games,” I say, already climbing off the bed, feeling dejected.
“I am a guy. Most guys like to play video games, beautiful,” he says, yanking me back to sit on his lap, kissing me below the ear.
“Don’t try to sweeten me up. I already know you don’t like cleaning so I’m not going to make you do it,” I say with a chuckle, kissing him on the lips. “You’re lucky I don’t make you take me shopping,” I say with a smirk, watching his eyes go wide as I tease him, remembering Emily’s shopping memory.
“Anything but shopping,” he pleads.
Laughing, I stand up from his lap. “We’ll see,” I say, grazing my finger down his tattoo. The sight of his wing always makes me tingle inside. “How about I play video games with you,” I probe, testing to see what his answer will be.
“Oh yeah,” he says with an arched brow, his eyes roaming down my body with a tilted head. “You would pull off being a sexy Black Op, but since you don’t like guns, I don’t think you’d be brave enough to take out the opponent.”
I roll my eyes at his remark. “Point taken. I clean, you play your video game,” I reply before leaving the room with Matt right behind me.
Entering the living room, the blood drains down to my toes as I take in the entire house. I can’t help but cringe at the sight. “How in the hell did you manage to keep the house clean when I moved out?” I gripe to Matt who is already picking up bottles from the coffee table.
Matt stops in front of me, blocking my way to the kitchen. His arms wrap around my waist while he looks me in the eyes. “I didn’t want it to be dirty in case you ever decided to come back. I made sure to have a maid service come once a week to keep it clean,” he admits. His admission makes my heart swell from knowing he did it for me. “I know how much the mess bothers you. Leave it and I’ll see if I can get someone out to clean it up today.”
“It’s okay. I’ll clean it up.”
An hour later, the trash is all thrown out, the kitchen is clean and I’m moving back into the living room to wipe everything down. With the music blasting in my ears to keep me motivated, I take a quick glance at Matt staring at the television with the control in his hands. He hasn’t once looked in my direction as I’ve moved around the house, but it doesn’t surprise me. The handful of times I’ve seen Matt playing video games with Trey he gets so engrossed with it, it’s as if I don’t exist; boys and their toys. His eyebrows furrow as he starts to grow frustrated, telling me my chance to wipe down underneath the flat screen is coming soon. Throwing his hand up in the air, I know he’s died. I’m still watching him as he widens his eyes, encouraging me to move.
“Beautiful, you’re in the way,” I faintly hear through my music, making me glance over my shoulder to see him craning his neck as his fingers pound away at the control. S&M has begun to play in my ears and my resolve to test Matt’s ability to ignore me any more rises. Keeping my back to him, I move, but only to the side where I’m still in his line of vision. I’m cleaning, but start provocatively dancing to the lyrics of the song. When I quickly peek over my shoulder, Matt’s hooded eyes are locked onto my body. Further testing him, I start sashaying in Matt’s direction, never taking my eyes off his. My body is already igniting with desire and my mind has now come up with a completely new purpose other than cleaning.
I’m standing in between his legs as I keep swaying to the music. The game has completely been forgotten at this point as Matt keeps his eyes locked on my body. Rihanna is bellowing out the final lyrics, letting me know that it’s about to end as he glides his hands up my thigh to cup my ass. Removing my ear buds and tossing my phone alongside Matt’s control, I slowly start to remove my shirt. His eyes grow dark and hungry before I turn to give him my back again, slowly reaching behind me to unclasp my bra. Looking over my shoulder to tantalize him, I can hear a faint growl escape his lips, making me chuckle. Hooking my fingers into the waistband of my shorts, I deliberately take my time to bend over and pull them down; just as slowly standing back up to turn and face him. Gradually gliding his hands up my thighs, the heat of his palms leaves a trail of a shivers over every inch of skin he touches.
My body is tugged to straddle his hips and the friction from his shorts rubbing against my naked core sends a tremor up and down my spine. Holding onto his shoulders, I grind harder into him as I throw my head back to moan. His hands on my hips lift me up and my eyes snap open in shock wondering why. Leaving me still hovering over his body, he pushes his shorts just low enough so his engorged cock comes out. Pulling me back down, I guide him inside me, groaning from the pleasured sensation of him filling me. Wanting him as bare as myself, I tug his shirt off and over his head.
His hands are back on my ass, coaxing me to rise and fall against him. His mouth finds my breast and suckles first on one nipple before he moves onto the other. Our movements become frantic and my whimpers grow louder as he keeps thrusting his hips higher, trying to push deeper inside me. The feeling of my body tensing is telling me I’m nearing my climax, and the digging of Matt’s fingers into my skin l
ets me know he is just as close. I know my climax is Matt’s weakness. I scream, allowing my body to release its hold. He closely follows me over the edge with a grunt of my name and a few final thrusts before slowly coming to a stop. Slumping down onto Matt’s chest, I continue to tremble from my release, feeling the thumping of our hearts pounding against each other. Matt’s labored breathing matches my own as I feel the beating of my heart in my ears.
“And this is the reason why I can’t play video games when you’re around,” he breathlessly comments.
“Huh?”
“You’re a distraction.” Realizing the meaning behind his words, I giggle. “But I should keep the house dirty from now on if this is the end result,” he huskily says into my ear. His warmth breath gliding down my sweaty body sends a shudder down my spine.
“I say next time I sit on the couch while I watch you clean,” I breathlessly respond. Matt lets out a full-blown laugh, making me chuckle along with him.
“As long as I get my reward for doing it,” he replies, squeezing my ass to notify me of the reward he has in mind.
I SEE MATT storming from the room, looking furious. “What’s this?” he asks as he holds something up in his hand.
The blood drains from my face as he stops in front of me and I take a better view of the object in his hand. I’m rendered speechless, unable to come up with a plausible answer just yet. His eyes widen, demanding an answer.
“Where did you get it?” I force myself to rasp out.
“I was emptying out your pockets so I can do laundry and found it in your pants. Who sent it to you?”
“I don’t know,” I lie, trying to figure out a way to diffuse his anger. His head snaps back in shock as if he knows I’m not being truthful with him.
His eyes narrow down at me. “When did you get it?”
Swallowing, I answer. “The night of the show,” I say just above a whisper.
“And you didn’t tell me!” he roars, causing me to flinch.
Unspoken Endings Page 10