Final Play (Matchplay Series) (14 page)

When my stomach started to rumble loudly, Aaron said, “You all must be starving. The food will be served in a few minutes. Please, dig in. We have enough for several armies.”

As Aaron and Rainy made their way over to mingle with some of the other guests, I could feel Ella’s body tense. “Is everything okay?” I whispered.

She nodded but when I looked into her eyes, I could see that she was anything but okay. She looked emotionally shattered. There were so many things that could have been bothering
her, I didn’t know where to start. Her brother treating her so poorly was near the top of my list of possibilities but it didn’t seem quite right. It was obvious she and her brother had been at odds for a long time, even before we met and it didn’t seem to be that big of an issue. Could she be upset about something Rainy and Aaron said or did? It hardly seemed likely. Rainy and Aaron were so happy and everyone seemed to be so happy for them.

“Let’s get something to eat,” Ella suggested. “We don’t want to keep your stomach waiting too long. It might get cranky.”

The rest of the evening, Ella seemed to snap back a little bit. She wasn’t quite her zesty self but at least she no longer had the faraway look in her eyes. Rainy and Aaron gave tours of their new place and every room was amazing in its own right. Rainy had assigned each of the six bedrooms a theme which coincided with a particular art movement. Their home could not be called anything less than amazing.   

“So when are you going to adopt me,” Olivia joked as we looked at the library which was already filled with
Rainy’s art books.

“You know you and
Marney are welcome to stay here any time,” Rainy offered. “We have plenty of room.”

I heaved a loud sigh and Rainy glanced over at me. “That goes for you, too, Lucas and Ella. Lucas, you know you’re like a brother to me. And Olivia, you’re like a sister.”

“How does next weekend sound?” Olivia added. “Just kidding.”

“Seriously, our house is always open. You guys mean the world to me.”

My sister gave Rainy a big hug. “And look at all the built-in babysitters you have.”

I stepped in and gave Rainy a hug. “I know you’ll make a great mom.”

“I have to admit, I’m a little nervous. Excited but scared.”

“I think that’s normal,” I assured her. “Not that I’m an expert or anything.”

“Having the support of our family and friends is going to be a big help. Thanks guys.”

Aaron grabbed his wife’s hand and pulled her close. “My mom wants to cut the cake, if you’re ready.”

Rainy smiled. It was heartwarming to see that she’d finally found a place with Aaron’s family.

***

On the drive back, Ella was very quiet, which was not like her at all. She usually had some obscure factoid or zany story to share with me. Once again, she seemed lost in her own thoughts.

“Tell me what’s bothering you, Ella,” I tried to diminish the pleading I could hear in my voice.

She heaved a small sigh. “I guess I’m just tired.”

“Are you
sure that’s all?” I pushed.

She didn’t answer right away and I thought she might finally tell me what the problem was but then she said, “Yeah, that’s all.”

A shiver ran through me and I felt like something awful was going to happen. I just couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom. I wanted more than anything for Ella to tell me what was wrong but I couldn’t force her. I knew her well enough to know that she did things on her own terms. “You know if something is ever bothering you, we can work it out, not matter what it is.”

“I know,” she responded quickly but she didn’t sound co
nvinced.

“Since you’re tired, do you want to stay at my place tonight?” I offered. “We’re really close.”

“I don’t have any of my stuff. I don’t even have a toothbrush at your place.”

“Not to worry. I have a full set of brand new hygiene pro
ducts in the bathroom. I bought them in case I ever had a guest stay over. Now I get to put them to use!”

“Getting a new toothbrush is definitely an incentive,” she joked. “I’m in.”

***

I didn’t even get a chance to show Ella my apartment before she started to seduce me. Not that there was much to show. I had what’s known as an economy one-bedroom with a single bath. The place was sparsely furnished and even though I had lived there for two years, I hadn’t had time to decorate the place. I knew it was a sexist statement but I felt like the place needed a woman’s touch.
Or at least a man’s touch, who knew something about interior design. I did not fit into either category.

As soon as the front door shut, Ella was on me like white on rice. When she put her lips to mine, there was so much raw
desire behind her kiss it nearly knocked me to my knees. She kissed me with wild abandon. The energy that passed between us was laced with pure desire.

Within moments, Ella was unbuttoning my shirt. It felt like she was a woman on a mission. “Maybe we should slow down,” I suggested when she practically dove for my belt.

She shook her head and looked up at me with lust-filled eyes. “I want you, Lucas.”

I gulped. As much as I wanted to be with Ella, and as hard as I was getting with her seducing me, something felt off. I decided to turn the tables on her to see what would happen.

I grabbed her and pushed her against my living room wall. I trapped both of her arms at her sides and then crashed my lips into hers. I thrust my tongue into her mouth, and her entire body shivered in response. I pressed my hardening erection against her slim frame and she let out a moan.

I had never tried it before but I had seen it done in movies, so I thought—what the hell. I grabbed her ass and lifted her and she wrapped her legs around my waist. As I carried her into the bedroom, I felt like such a caveman.

I placed her on the bed then pulled my already-unbuttoned shirt off. Ella was looking at me with so much longing, I could feel myself get even harder. The desire to be inside of her was quickly building to insatiable proportions. I had never truly understood the term
fucking all night long
, it always sounded so unrealistic, and quite frankly, tiring. Now I realized it was because I had never been with anyone I wanted as much as I wanted Ella. The term’s meaning was now abundantly clear to me. I definitely wanted to be inside Ella all night long. And probably all day Sunday, too.

I slid my pants and underwear down and my erection sprung to life. When I glanced at Ella, her eyes widened and she licked at her lips.

“See something you want?” I teased.

She crooked her finger at me in a come-here gesture and I readily obliged. I joined her on the bed and we began kissing again.

“It’s time to get these clothes off,” I suggested as things quickly heated up again.

Ella nodded in agreement and I went to work unbuttoning her silk blouse and removing it from her body. Her skirt quickly followed. I took in the sight of her in her sexy black lace bra and panties.

“See something you want,” she teased back.

I nodded. “I definitely want.”

I slowly removed her panties and tossed them aside. Then I placed soft kisses on each of her hip bones. I put butterfly kisses all the way up her body from her abdomen to her chest.

“Your bra is in the way,” I stated as I carefully lifted her from the bed and unhooked the garment. I tossed the bra on the floor with her other articles of clothing. I took in Ella’s unbelievable breasts. I devoured the perky mounds, licking and sucking them until her nipples were perfectly erect in my mouth. Ella let out a slight gasp as I nipped at each delectable nub with my teeth.

I made my way back down her body with my tongue until I found myself between her legs. It was fast becoming one of my favorite places on Earth. I trust my tongue between her folds and licked her most sensitive spots until she began to squirm with delight.

“Are you ready for me?” I asked. When I glanced up at Ella, her eyes were hooded and she had a wicked little grin on her face.

“Yes, please,” she replied.

I was rock hard when I pushed into her and she let out a low moan.

“Does it hurt?” I was concerned that maybe I was a little too turned on.

“No,” she muttered. “Keep going.”

I did as I was told and continued pumping into her with deep and hard thrusts. I pulled her into a tight embrace as I pushed with everything I had. I wanted to make Ella scream with pleasure. I wanted her to scream my name while she climaxed.

“I’m close,” she whispered and I took that as a challenge to up my game. I pushed as hard and as fast as I could, sweat now pouring down my face.

“Oh, my God,” Ella screamed. “Oh, Lucas.”

As soon as I heard my name, I released everything I had been holding in. I cried out as we both climaxed. Ella grabbed my ass and pulled me in so tight, I thought I might break her.

We held each other for a long time, our bodies covered in sweat, our own and each other’s. As the ecstasy of our lovemaking slowly faded, I was overcome with a horrible feeling of dread. I suddenly felt as though Ella was giving me a goodbye fuck, as if I was never going to see her again.

Panic gripped me and I held Ella against me even tighter. I had no idea where all of these negative feelings were coming from and why they felt so real. I was overwhelmed by them.           

“I need to use the bathroom,” Ella whispered and I almost pretended that I didn’t hear her. I was afraid to even let her go that far. Then my rational mind returned and I shifted off of her so she could get up and use the facilities.

I breathed a small sigh of relief when Ella kissed my cheek and said, “I’ll be right back.” But I still couldn’t shake the ove
rwhelming feeling of dread that gripped me.

When Ella returned, she rested her head on my chest and nestled close, just like she always did. I chastised myself for believing anything was wrong. Everything seemed normal—just like it always was when we went to sleep in each other’s arms at night.

But if nothing was wrong, why couldn’t I shake the strong feeling that when I woke up in the morning Ella would be gone?

“Goodnight,” she said softly.

I placed a soft kiss on her head. “Goodnight, my love.”

It didn’t take long for Ella to fall asleep. I struggled to keep my eyes open because I had convinced myself, despite all rational evidence to the contrary, that if I closed my eyes, Ella would be gone when I opened them back up again.

The very idea seemed absurd but the feeling of dread still gripped me like a vice. Yet it seemed the harder I struggled to stay awake, the more my body fought for slumber. Eventually, my body won and my struggle to stay awake was defeated by sleep.

Eight

“I knew it,” I screamed bloody murder, for the first time in my life not caring about anyone but myself. My thin apartment walls, and the neighbors on the other side of them, be damned. I was furious.

I stared at the butterfly heart pendent necklace I had given Ella sitting neatly in the center of her pillow.

“Fuck!!!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, still not caring about anyone who might be in earshot of my tirade.

All of the feelings of dread I had, that I tried to rationalize and dismiss, were completely accurate. Just as I had feared, when I woke up and opened my eyes, Ella was gone.

Not only was she gone, she left my heart on the pillow beside me.

I had never felt so angry and hurt, and completely heartbr
oken, in my entire life. And I still had no idea what was wrong. I was furious that Ella would leave and not talk to me about whatever it was that was bothering her.

And, of course, she didn’t have a phone.  

I took in a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. My heart was now beating so fast, it could have rivaled Neil Peart’s drum solo in 2112. I certainly didn’t want to have a heart attack at twenty-five.

I had an overwhelming desire to hit something. I wanted to tear something apart. Rage was surging through my body.
Why did she leave?
The question just kept playing over and over in my mind.

I leaned over and grabbed the pendant I had given her from the pillow. I felt tears begin to stream down my cheeks as I held the necklace in my hand.

I wasn’t a crier. I could count the number of times I had cried in my life on one hand. Once, when I was about six years old, I cried when my pet turtle, Maxwell, died. And when I was sixteen, a guy I had been friends with since elementary school, got into a car accident and died. I cried at his funeral. I also cried watching the movie,
The Notebook
, but I would never admit that to anyone.

Now here I was crying because the love of my life was gone—and I had no idea why—or how I could get her back. It wasn’t a question of if I could get her back
; it was only a question of
what it would take to do it
.

It’s funny how fast life changes. Before I met Ella, I didn’t realize I was missing something from my life. I was going through the motions of existence without the understanding that I wasn’t really living.

When I met Ella, all of that changed. She taught me how to be engaged and really experience life. I felt like we were two pieces of an old puzzle that no one else wanted that still fit together.

I thought she had the same feelings for me. She told me she loved me—that she had never loved anyone else. How could she leave?

Then it hit me like a speeding truck. Maybe loving me was the reason she left. She had told me several times that she thought I deserved better. Maybe in her mind, she was letting me go so I could have better. Of course that was all conjecture, and if it was her reason for leaving, the conclusion she had drawn was based on faulty logic. The main problem being that there was no one better for me than Ella.

Obviously, I had to find her. I had to talk with her. I had to find out why she left. And if my hypothesis was correct, I had to find a way to convince her that she was perfect for me in every way—that there was no one else for me but Ella.

***

The first place I decided to look for Ella was Arts². I hurried into the building and ran head first into the last person on Earth I wanted to see—Steel.

“If it isn’t Joe Engineer,” Steel spat. “You look like shit. What did
Superfreak do to you?”

I clenched my fists in tight balls and took in a slow, steadying breath. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to punch the asshole right in the face.

“Is she here?” I asked through clenched teeth.

Steel shook his head. “I haven’t seen her since the night at her house when you bounced me.”

I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to reveal to the jerk but I was also desperate to see Ella again. “Do you have any idea where she could be?” I tried not to sound too frantic even though I was.

Steel’s eyes narrowed and then he got a smug little smirk on his face. “Don’t tell me she dumped you?”

I tried not to let any emotion show on my face. I didn’t want to give Steel the satisfaction.

He gave a snide laugh. “What does it say about you when a crazy chick like that doesn’t even want you?”

It took every ounce of restraint I had not to hit the guy.

He studied me with his hard eyes and then continued. “I could help you but I’m not going to. I’m kind of enjoying the fact that she left you.” He gave a snide laugh. “Maybe now that you’re out of the picture, I can get another piece of that tight ass of hers.” 

I could no longer control all of the emotions that were welling up inside. All of the anger I had erupted as my fist knocked into Steel’s face.

For a moment, he just stood there, completely stunned. I’m sure he couldn’t believe that someone like me had
hit him. I couldn’t believe it either. As the anger subsided and I came to my senses, I suddenly realized how wrong-headed it was to punch someone of Steel’s stature.

And my hand was throbbing with pain.

My error in judgment was made all the more clear when I looked into Steel’s pitiless eyes and he looked like he might rip my face right off.

I swallowed hard and then braced myself for the beating of my life.

Steel got so close to me, I could feel his stale breath on face. “I could kill you, cut you up into little pieces and feed you to my Pitt bulls and no one would ever miss you,” His voice was ominous. “But you’re not worth it. I don’t need that kind of trouble. Now get the fuck out of my face.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I turned and practically ran out of Arts².

When I got outside into the crisp morning air, I took in a deep breath. I had never been so close to death in my entire life. It made my resolve to find Ella even stronger. I wasn’t going to die without at least knowing why she left and trying everything in my power to get her back.

Before I could reach my car, I felt raindrops begin to fall on my head. To my surprise, I didn’t attempt to hurry or make any movement to get out of the rain that was now beating down around me. Instead, I just
tilted my head and let the cool drops fall on my face. Ella probably would have told me to dance in the rain, to feel the drops as they cascaded down my face and to enjoy the experience. I missed her so much my chest actually began to ache. When the rain subsided beads of moisture were still trickling down my cheeks, I knew I was crying again. 

***

My next stop was Ella’s house, even though I thought the chances of her being there were slim. I still had the key she’d given me, so I let myself in.

“Ella,” I called out as I looked in every room. It was eerily quiet and I suddenly felt like an intruder with Ella not being there.

I headed into her bedroom and everything looked exactly as we had left it. I poked my head into her closet and breathed a small sigh of relief when I saw her suitcase was still in the same place where she had left it when we got back from Phoenix. That meant wherever she went wasn’t too far, at least not far enough to require a suitcase.

I wasn’t sure where else to check. I lay down on her bed and breathed in the scent of her pillow. It had the faint smell of jasmine, the scent I always associated with Ella. I could feel teardrops streaming down my face again. If I didn’t find Ella soon, I was afraid I might grow a vagina.

I thought about how close we had become lying naked together in Ella’s bed. Making love into the night. Telling each other our hopes, and dreams and even our fears. The more I thought about it, the less sense her leaving made. Everything about us was just so right. What could she possibly think was wrong?

***

The only reason I went to Evan’s condo was because I was out of any other ideas. I had a feeling he was just going to be an asshole and not much help but I didn’t have any other options. I got Evan’s address from Rainy, who expressed a lot of concern when I gave her some brief details about what was going on.

“Please be careful,” Rainy stated. “I know your heart is brea
king but try to be rational.”

If only it were that easy
, I thought. It could have been the first time ever that someone told me to be rational.

When there was no answer at Evan’s door, I started poun
ding. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe I was just trying to let out my frustration on the heavy wooden door.

To my surprise,
Keira answered. Her hair was tousled and her clothes were a bit askew, so I could only assume she had been taking a nap—or maybe napping with Evan.

“You’re a persistent guy,”
Keira barked. 

“Is Evan here?”

Keira laughed. “It’s his condo.”

“Can I speak with him?”

“Who is it?” I heard Evan’s voice boom from inside.

“It’s Lucas,”
Keira yelled back.

“Lucas?” Evan shouted.
“The guy who’s banging my sister?”

“That’s the one,”
Keira replied.

Evan poked his head out the door. His hair was also dishe
veled, adding evidence to my thesis that he, too, was
napping
with Keira. “Hey, Luke, what’s going on?”

I straightened and took in a breath before I spoke. I wanted Evan to know I was serious. “I’m looking for Ella.”

Evan laughed. “Well, you’re not going to find her here.”

“I realize that. She isn’t at her house and she didn’t tell me where she was going when she left this morning.”

Evan looked me up and down. “Dude, you look like shit.” He pointed a finger at me. “I warned you about my sister. She’s a man-eater. Chews them up and spits them right back out again. Looks like she’s done a good job on you.”

I sighed. “Do you have any idea where Ella could be? I’m worried about her.”

“You have nothing to worry about. The girl can take care of herself. She’s probably halfway to Europe by now.”

I shook my head.  “I don’t think so. Her suitcase is still in the closet.”

Keira’s eyes narrowed. “Did she give you a key to her place?”

I nodded.

“Look, Dude,” Evan said. “I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you and I don’t want to know. I really have no idea where my sister is. She could just as easily be in India as in my parent’s backyard.”

“Why would she be in your parent’s backyard?” I probed.

“When we were kids, my parents built us a tree house in the woods behind our house. When things got rough between Ella and my parents, she’d always hide in there. She still goes there to think when things get too bad. You may want to check it out.”

“Thanks,” I said. When I turned to leave, Evan put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

“Luke, I’m glad you care so much about my sister. She’s needs someone like you in her life.”

“I need someone like her in my life, too,” I added. 

***

I sped to Ella’s parents’ house. Evan gave me the address and I put it into my GPS. They lived over an hour out of the city, in a wealthy area I wasn’t familiar with. The closer I got to their house, the larger the houses got until I was driving by mansions that made Rainy and Aaron’s lavish place look like a shack.

When the GPS finally gave me the message that I had arrived, I was outside of a massive locked gate. I pushed a call button and a male voice said, “Warner residence.”

I cleared my throat. “My name is Lucas Young. I’m a friend of Ella’s. I was wondering if she was here.”

“Ella?” the voice asked.

“Ella Warner,” I clarified.
“Mr. and Mrs. Warner’s daughter.”

There was silence at the other end of the intercom. I waited, wondering what I should do if the voice didn’t come back.

Finally, I heard a female voice, “Can I help you?”

“Hi. I’m a friend of Ella’s. I wanted to know if she was here.”

“How do you know Ella?” the female voice asked.

“Are you Mrs. Warner?” I replied.

“Oh, no,” the voice said. “I’m the house manager.”

I decided to take a chance. “Ella’s my girlfriend,” I admitted.

Another silence. “I wasn’t aware that Ella was in a relationship.”

“My name is Lucas Young. I went to college with Evan Warner. He gave me his parents’ address.”

“You’re a friend of Evan’s?” the voice sounded a little less guarded when I mentioned Evan. Even though Evan and I were never friends, and I never said we were, I decided it was in my best interest not to clear up the misperception.

“I met Ella at Aaron Donovan’s wedding,” I added. I had a feeling throwing Aaron’s name in there couldn’t hurt.

And I was right. A buzzer sounded and the gate opened. I pulled my car through the gate and drove down the extremely long and beautiful tree-lined driveway.