Blooming (33 page)

He was up on
his feet as it came to him in a flash, a treasured memory and a flash of
inspiration. He dragged Lily up, and Ben, yanking them towards the stage for
moral support. When he looked back Jen hadn’t noticed yet, and Max was helping
her out of her seat. Good the boys were hot on his heels to see what he was up
to, he was gonna need all the help he could get.

Todd
manhandled the current singer off the stage and bent his head to the organiser
and whispered, shoving a $100 bill into his hand to speed him up.

****

Jen was
nearing the exit, when a familiar drum beat reached her ears, along with a
familiar deep voice cracking with emotion.

She spun
around; there was still no fucking justice to be had in this world. Every inch
of him was perfection, so of course Todd could actually carry a tune. It was a
final turn of the screw on top of all his other virtues. A smile came unwanted
to Jen’s lips, a begrudging shake to her head as she remembered when she’d last
heard this song.

“
I know
you wanna leave me, but I refuse to let you go
!” He was singing “Ain’t too
Proud to Beg” for her.      

Oh my god he
had everyone up there with him as backing singers, complete with finger
clicking, Lily, Ben, Sean and Seb.

She flushed
crimson as all eyes in the room locked on her; it was obvious to everyone who
Todd was singing to.

She felt Max
squeeze then let go of her fingers, as she took a hesitant step towards the
stage.

He completed
the first verse and chorus and shouted, “Come on Jennifer,” improvising the
lyrics to suit himself.

A million
thoughts and fears went through her head in thirty seconds as he crooned to her
directing all his energy at her, as Lily willed her with her eyes, as Sean and
Seb mouthed “Jen, Jen.”

It was too
much - fear won out, it was much easier to run away and she turned and fled,
knocking Max out of the way as the ballroom door slammed behind her.

“Fucking
hell,” Sean screamed as reality kicked in, “she’s run off in that dress, that’s
thousands of dollars worth of sequins, Christ Todd stop her.”

That
galvanized Todd whose jaw had dropped in shock as she’d fled and he leapt from
the stage as the crowd applauded behind him, the evening was getting better and
better for them as far as live entertainment went.

He almost
caught up to her as she was exiting the lobby calling out to her but she yelped
in shock and barrelled out into the road, disorientated as to how she’d got
there.

Next thing
she knew a horn blared and every puff of breath blasted out of her as Todd body
checked her, catching her before she fell and half running, half stumbling,
flung her along with himself onto the opposite sidewalk.

She struggled
out from under him screaming shrilly in his ear.

“Fucking stop
it - isn’t once in your life enough?” he shook her hard and her jaw rattled,
“just quit it right now or god help me I’m going to slap you into your senses.
You nearly got yourself fucking killed.”

The taxi that
had missed her by a hair’s breadth, jerked to a stop and the driver got out, he
was about to berate the pair of them but stopped when he saw how distressed the
lady was.

“Man are you
ok, I didn’t see her, the two of you scared the shit out of me.”

Todd wasn’t
sure his heart rate was ever going to be normal again, but he had Jen in his
arms and other than a couple of scrapes she was unhurt so he managed to gasp,
“Thanks, just give me a minute will you, if you wait a second and take us home
I’ll triple your fare.”

Jen tried to
pull away again, but he pinned her to him. Sequins had popped off all over her
dress with every movement she made to right herself, so they looked like they were
sitting in a puddle of glitter. Her cute little purse which had actually gone
under the cab’s wheels had split open spilling her keys and crushed make-up on
the sidewalk.

“That’s
enough Jen,” he said hoarsely, “I’m fucking sick of this, waiting for you to
make the right decision. It’s not yours to make anymore, I’m taking you home.”

He scooped
her and the keys up and into the taxi, cradling her head into his chest giving
her no room to object. But she was way beyond that anyway, Jen had finally
reached her limit and seemed to have surrendered to it.

By the time
the taxi pulled up outside the apartment block, Jen was dead asleep, at least
Todd hoped she was asleep and not in shock. He pulled her closer into the glow
of the taxi’s courtesy light and sighed with relief. Her colour looked good and
her pulse wasn’t beating such a rapid tattoo on her neck anymore, he figured
she was just plain exhausted.

Tipping the
cabbie even more than he’d promised, he carried Jen up to her apartment and
gently laid her on the bed while he rooted amongst her closet. Finding a
suitcase, he gathered her enough things to last for a few days, then he left
her while he dashed to his apartment to grab his own stuff, quickly crossing
his fingers she didn’t wake while he was gone. Todd wanted to be out of there
before any of the others arrived home to see what the hell was going on. In his
haste he almost forgot poor Hugh who was being as good as gold in his puppy pen,
but then he packed up his gear too.

Jen was half
awake when he carried her downstairs to her crappy Toyota; she was pliant and
sleepy in his arms and didn’t cause him any trouble. Todd kicked the tyres on
Jen’s car and sent up a prayer it got them where they needed to go then he
wedged himself into the driver’s seat and drove the three of them away as if
the hounds of hell were after them.

****

Jen woke sometime
in the early morning, disorientated and groggy, it didn’t feel like she was in
her own bed but it was familiar somehow so she didn’t panic at first. Then she
registered the hard, warm naked body tucked into her behind, and she blinked
and her mind started whirring, “don’t be Max, don’t be Max,” what was she going
to do if for some reason she’d slept with him.

A deep rumble
in her ear, “don’t panic it’s just me, and we’re at the lake.”

“Todd?”

He laughed,
“You didn’t honestly think it was somebody else did you? Definitely not that
Max squirt that’s for sure,” to emphasize his disgruntlement he tightened his
grip around her waist and slid his semi erection against her hip. Jen sucked in
a gasp.

“If you’re
awake enough we need to talk, or at least I want to talk and I want you to
listen, ok?”

“I guess.”   

“Firstly
while you were asleep I called Carly’s parents, it was late or early I guess
but I knew they’d probably be up and expecting to hear from me.

They’re
taking her back to Chicago with them, it turns out it was true she was seeing
another guy when she slept with me in Chicago that time. Apparently he’s very
rich with the kind of social status she’s always craved and she’d fallen hard
for him, but he wouldn’t commit to a monogamous relationship.

Poor Carly
the guy she decides is definitely the one and she wants
his
baby and a
wedding ring and he won’t hear a word of it - so she came looking for me. But
she didn’t get what she was looking for from me either, if you remember I told
her to go try and work it out with him. I just didn’t know he didn’t care
enough about her.”

Jen
momentarily let Todd’s soft tone lull her into swallowing her own anger at
Carly and instead tried to dredge up a scrap of pity for the mess the woman
made for herself.

Todd’s warm
mouth caressed Jen’s ear as he continued to beguile her, “I don’t know if I
ever want to know the truth, but in my head she had an abortion and was
probably nursing some lingering guilt about it, she’s a bit shallow but not
cold enough to do something like that and just forget about it.

A few months
later and Carly found herself with a broken heart and a bruised ego, maybe she
was wondering whether she’d made a mistake to let me go. Then what do you know
I pop up on TV with a new pocket rocket girlfriend in tow and she has some kind
of emotional breakdown. Decides to try and have another go at claiming back what
she believes is still hers to choose.”

Todd’s arm
drifted around Jen’s ribcage and his hand slid up to caress her breast, it was
the first time she realised he’d taken all her clothes off too, commandeering
her to his will yet again. She could feel him now rock solid against her thigh.

 His nose
nuzzled her shoulder than slid upwards as he placed a soft kiss behind her
earlobe. He resumed speaking in that deep hypnotic fashion that made it so hard
to refuse him anything.

 “I know you
might not understand but even though I loathe what she did, I can’t help
feeling some relief that she didn’t continue with the pregnancy. Believe me that
isn’t an easy thing for me to admit and it makes me feel all kinds of guilt and
disgust with myself, because I would usually feel strongly anti- abortion when it
comes to what happens in my own life. But God Jen if she’d followed through
with it I wouldn’t have ever had you and my brain just can’t comprehend that,
not one tiny bit.”

His voice
sounded so sincere that Jen tried to turn towards him but he clutched her waist
tightly stopping her momentum.

“Jennifer,”
he sighed softly as his hand lifted her left leg and hitched it up before he
shifted and slid deep inside her in one slow deep thrust, a hot breathy moan
slid out of her, how was she ever supposed to live without this?

“Todd please,”
she whispered, “I can’t think straight when you do this, you’re not being
fair.”

“Shut up, I
don’t want to hear it anymore, I figured something out as I was driving here,”
he paused to allow himself a single thrust out and back in to release some of
the aching pressure, the lazy deepness of it caused them both to groan.

“You were glad
Carly turned up on the scene.”

She tried to
butt in, “What?”                                           

“Quiet just
listen,” another thrust, surer this time, a warning.

“The only
thing that has ever come close to threatening this relationship is you; nobody
else is capable of killing it stone dead like you are.”

“Ahhhh, ahh”
she moaned as he gave her a quick double thrust to keep her thoughts off
kilter.

“Admit it,
you’ve been looking for excuses since the get go, you wanted me to find your
scar disgusting, you wanted me to ditch you for not wanting a family, you
wanted to push me away because I’d had ex girlfriends.” He punctuated each
statement with another soul sucking thrust and confused tears started rolling
down her face.

Todd’s hand left
her thigh and glided up over her hip and along her waist until settling back around
her breast gently. Then his fingertips trailed further - slid downwards and
raised her broken left arm out above the covers, holding her hand up to the
vague sunlight coming through the drapes he said, “Look at your hand Jennifer.”

Jen opened
her eyes and gasped.

On her engagement
finger was a huge yellow diamond on a white gold band, she was stunned speechless.

“That’s a
special ring for a special girl, a girl who thinks she’s worthless but secretly
she’s terribly clever and strong and fiercely loyal to her friends. She puts
others first and actually even though she doesn’t believe it, when push comes
to shove she can stick up for herself. You’ve shown me that you’re all of that
and more.”

Todd drizzled
whisper light kisses along her neck and behind her ear as he continued seducing
her into surrender, “I’m not asking because I don’t trust you’ll make the right
answer,” a heavy thrust punctuated his words bringing her gasping back to the
moment, “but you will marry me sooner or later and that ring’s going to be
there to remind you, until you do.”

He pulled out
of her abruptly and pulled her onto her back, quickly rolling on top of her and
pinning her in place.

“I bought
that ring in Chicago, before I met with Carly again. I was so sure of what I felt;
there was never a question of it in my mind. I love you Jen, and I don’t know
what more I can do, the rest is up to you. Neither one of us can change what
happened before we met, it’s up to you to accept that we belong together, I’m
already on board.” He laughed softly and looked down at her soft curves
underneath him. “Literally, I’m on board, how about you?”

He watched
her eyes looking for a glimmer, a spark, anything to give him hope.

Then he felt
the backs of her ankles slide up his calves, shift through the hair on the back
of his thighs, and then they kneaded his ass rhythmically, “come back inside, Todd,”
she whispered.

“You want
me?”                                               

“She nodded
frantically.”

“You have to
want the whole package, not just sex, my family, my friends, and a life
together?” 

“I love you.”
Jen blinked in surprise and almost covered her mouth but she’d said it and the
words were no sooner out of her mouth than Todd thrust back inside.

“Wait, wait
I’m still not sure about children,” the words came out all muffled swallowed up
by his lips and tongue that were busily possessing her.

“We’re not
going to worry baby. If it’s meant to be, and you decide you want to, then
it’ll happen. Now shut up and make love to me.”

She clung to
him tight as he thrust inside her, it was so much more intense now everything
was laid open between them, and the delicious push and pull seemed to last so
much longer than it had before. Todd slowing or withdrawing every time he came
too close, until she gave him everything she had to give. When she came in a
mind shattering blur, she finally felt truly happy in her heart and mind. Todd
tensed above her, his brow furrowed almost in pain - desperate to orgasm, “Say
it again.”