Love Again (23 page)

“He’s fine.  He’s REALLY not going to like me in the morning.” Corrina gave me a smile.

“What are you going to do to him?”

“Just wait and see.” She said in a singsong voice.

~~~~~~

I couldn’t believe that I had slept past eleven the following morning, I got out of bed and went into the bathroom.  After brushing my teeth and taking care of business I put on a pair of yoga capri’s and a t-shirt.  Just as I sat down at the kitchen island with a nice hot mug of coffee Corrina walked through the door.  “You ready to see this?” she had a mischievous smile on her face.

“Can I have some coffee first?”

“Nope come on.” She motioned for me to follow her.  I gulped down a couple sips of coffee before slipping on a pair of her flip-flops and catching up with her.

“Where are we going?” I asked then realized we were going up one floor to Trevor’s. 

The elevator dinged then the doors whooshed open, I looked down the hall and there stood, “A clown?” I asked. 

“Oh it’s not just
A
clown, it’s remote controlled, motion activated
and
has a go pro hidden behind the wig.” She looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows, “Trevor is deathly afraid of clowns, scream like a little girl scared of them!”

“Corrina, that’s just mean.” I told her hoping she would stop. 

“You have no idea what it’s like to get out of bed and step on a floor covered in sticky and snappy mouse traps.” She deadpanned.

“Oh…” I wasn’t sure what to say.

Trevor’s apartment was in the middle of the hallway, we situated ourselves at the end of the hall opposite of the elevators.  Before I could ask why, Corrina informed me it was so she could grab the camera and run like hell after Trevor punched the clown.  She pulled her cell phone out, “Hey I’m locked out and Lennie isn’t answering her phone, can you come unlock my door please?  But I have to pee Trevor, pretty please?” she whined while trying not to laugh.  “Thanks, bye.”  She put her phone in her purse that was looped across her chest and pulled out a remote control.  With the little green light on we waited for him to open his door.  As soon as the door handle clicked Corrina moved the clown forward.  Trevor actually walked right into it before he realized what it was, the sounds that came from him couldn’t even be described as a scream.  It was a high octave yelping screech, followed by numerous cuss words as the clown moved toward him more.  He continued to shriek and yelp while cussing before the clown was lying on it’s back in the hallway.  “Go…go!” Corrina pushed me.  The clown’s wheel’s that were hidden in the shoes were spinning and Trevor was kicking at it when I ran past his door.   I looked over my shoulder at Corrina, she was frantically grabbing the camera that was attached to a headband but she tripped over one of the arms.  She scurried to her feet and started to run again, I turned to run and slammed into a solid chest so hard I flew back and knocked Corrina down with me.  We were both laughing so hard we could hardly breathe; I rolled onto my side crying with laughter.  Suddenly she wasn’t laughing anymore, when I looked at her she was staring at somebody standing over us.  “Utoh.” She snorted out. 

I looked up and there stood Dominique, an amused look on his face but clearly confused.  Then Trevor appeared standing above our heads, “You!” he pointed at Corrina, then he bent over and grabbed her under her arms making her stand up. 

“Put me down you goon!” she pounded her fists into his back but he didn’t stop.  He walked into his apartment and slammed the door…the lock clicked with finality.

I pursed my lips, I was still on the floor trying not to look at Dominique.  He held his hand out for me, I hesitated for a second before placing my hand in his.  The same familiar heat was like it always had been with him.  “Thanks.” I straightened my shirt and slipped the flip flop back on that had fallen off when I run into Dominique.

He smiled, “I can’t wait to hear about this one.” Dominique nodded at the clown.

“I was an innocent bystander.” I held my hands up in defense. 

There was an awkward silence, “I’m guessing you don’t want to go in there, you can come hang out at her place until the smoke has cleared, if you want.” I said nervously.

Dominique chuckled, “You’re probably right.”

The walk to the elevator and the ride down one floor was silent between us.  When we got back to her apartment I hurried back to the bathroom to check myself in the mirror.  After fixing my ponytail and blotting on some lip-gloss I walked out to the living room.  Dominique was staring out the large windows that overlooked the Chicago skyline.  “You know, I have tried to think of what I would say to you in person for the last two years.” He said but didn’t turn to look at me.

“Dominique, I know it’s not enough but I truly am sorry.”  Lennie said.

I couldn’t look at her yet, I shook my head and pushed my hands deep inside my pockets, “No, that line should have came about a year ago.” I turned around and finally looked at her.  “Last night I was with my girlfriend, Hannah, she’s a pretty amazing person.”

“I’m glad you found somebody else that can…” Lennie started to reply but I interrupted her.

“She’s so amazing she told me I needed to come talk to you, my girlfriend told me to leave her to come talk to you.  Then she told me that we should just be friends.” 

“I’m so sorry,” she looked at the ground.  “I was surprised to hear your voice.”

“Oh trust me, it was a big fucking surprise to me too when I heard your voice over the phone.  Especially since just minutes before that I was staring at pictures of you smiling and having fun.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, I’ve wanted to call you!” Lennie and I were standing only a couple of feet away from each other. 

“You could start from the beginning, Leenie.  You could tell me why you fucking pushed me away, knowing that I loved you and would never have hurt you.”

“Do you really want to talk about this right now?  No, ‘Hey Lennie how have you been?’, you just want to jump feet first into this conversation?” she snapped at me.

“Fuck yes I do, I think I deserve some long overdue answers!” I stated firmly.

“Okay, the truth…” she took a deep breath and blew it out before continue.  “The truth is, I loved you too and I was scared, like you said.  I was scared that some how, me being married and going through a divorce would look bad for you.  You’re Dominique Hasting’s for crying out loud—The Destroyer!  My life was spiraling out of control and I couldn’t stop it, the man that I thought would never in a million years hurt me…threatened to fucking kill me!  I didn’t want you to have to deal with
my
mess, you deserved somebody that could spend time with you and not have to be in counseling for months with hopes that they would someday be able to have a normal life again.” She wiped tears from her face.  “You could snap your fingers and have any woman you want…”

“Except for the one I want!” I interrupted her.  “The one I wanted and loved didn’t trust me, wouldn’t talk to me, the one I wanted and loved made up my mind for me!” my anger started increasing.  “Then the one I wanted and loved, the one I would have moved mountains for…gutted me.  For two fucking years I could have had any woman I wanted, but none of them were you.  I compared every fucking woman to you because I loved you.”

“You found Hannah thought, you can love her Dominique!” Lennie said between sobs.

I closed the distance between us and cupped her face in my hands, “NO, I can’t love her.  Because I still for some god damn reason love you.” My anger went away when her face was resting against my chest her tears seeping through my shirt dampening the skin of my chest. 

“I’m not the same, you can’t love me.” She sobbed.

“I think you should let me make up my own mind, your decision making skills aren’t the best.” I told her.  She laughed and hiccupped with a cry. 

“We can’t just pick up where we left off, we need to get to know each other.  I really have changed…and you have a girlfriend.” Lennie tried to push away from me. 

I bent down so I could look in her eyes, the beautiful green pools were filled with fear and hurt, “No, what I have is a friend that wants me to be happy.  She wants me to fall in love because I can’t stop myself, not because it’s what everybody wants me to do.” 

In the perfect world we would ride off into the sunset and live out our happy ever after.  This isn’t the perfect world though and I knew that Lennie needed time to process everything. 

“How can you still love me and want to be with me, Dominique?”

I dropped my hands from her face, placed them on her shoulders and caressed her skin until I was holding both of her hands in mine.  “I don’t know honestly.  But I’ve tried to forget about you, I thought I could move on—thought I had,” I lifted our joined hands and kissed her knuckles, “I do still love you and I hope that you still love me.  The letter was exactly how I feel.”

The room was quiet as we stared at each other, Lennie took a deep breath, “I do and that’s why I’m putting you in the friend zone.  I didn’t’ read the letter until a few days ago.”

I laughed then bent down and kissed her softly on her lips, “Challenge accepted.  Nothing’s changed, everything I said in there--I meant.”

“What are you going to tell Hannah?  I don’t want her to hate me.” Lennie asked me.

“If it’ll make you feel better I’ll call her right now.”

Before Lennie had a chance to respond Corrina walked through the door, “Oh…I’m just.” She pointed at her bedroom then hurried through the door. 

About ten minutes later Trevor walked in, “I’ve been nothing but nice to you and this is how you treat me, Lennie?” he glared at her through narrowed eyes.

I couldn’t help but laugh.  Lennie crossed her arms over her chest, “I would have never pegged you as a screamer.” She said to him.

Trevor shook his head, “Tell your friend that pay back is a bitch.” He spun around and left.

The room was silent, I looked at Lennie, “Do you want to go out for breakfast?”

She nodded her head, “Let me go change.”

I circled the rim of the coffee mug and could feel Dominique staring at me. 

“What happens now?” he asked me. 

I shrugged my shoulders, “I’m not real sure.  I don’t want to make any promises Dominique.  What if I’ve changed too much?  What if you regret leaving Hannah for me?”

A waitress brought our food, Dominique had a large plate with eggs and a steak while I opted for a couple of blueberry pancakes.  “Stop worrying about Hannah, okay?  I’m sure you have changed, we both have.  We have plenty of time to talk about this, tell me what you’ve been up to.” He smiled at me.  That smile still made butterflies swarm in my stomach. 

I told him about my job at the school and the volunteering I did at the youth center.  We both finished our meals and continued talking for another hour.  I checked my watch and told him that I needed to go pack up my things so I could leave for the airport soon. 

“Can I have your phone number?” He asked me. 

I laughed, “Do you use that line on a lot of women?”

Dominique laughed then took my hand in his, “I like to be able to talk to and text my friends.” He said and winked at me.

One month later

~~~~~~~

Dominique
:  I miss yo
u


Me
:  You just landed!

Dominique
:  And?  I can’t miss my friend?

Me
:  You’ll get to see me in a couple of week
s


Dominique
:  I know, but that’s so far away!

I smiled then put my phone on the coffee table.  Over the last month Dominique and I had talked or text each other every day and he had visited me twice.  The first weekend he visited we went sight seeing then went back to my apartment and watched movies.  Being around Dominique was easy and relaxing.  I was still worried that Hannah hated me, he called her and talked to her before handing me the phone. 

“I honestly don’t hate you, I just want Dominique to be happy.   I can’t wait to meet you, I knew when we first started seeing each other that he still loved you.”

“Thank you, we are taking things slow this time.” I told her.

This weekend we stayed inside since it was cold and rainy, “I could get use to being around you all the time again.” Dominique said.  We were lying on the couch, me in front of Dominique. 

“I’ll get there.” I told him. 

“I know, I’ll wait—I’ll always wait for you.” He kissed the top of my head.

We ate lunch at Jennifer and dads house before he had to leave to fly back to Chicago.  While they were in the living room yelling at the football game on TV, Jennifer and I cleaned up the dishes. 

“I’m glad to see you have that extra sparkle in your eyes again.” Jennifer said. 

I smiled, “It feels like a dream, I still don’t understand how he could still love me.” I replied.

Jennifer turned toward me, “True love, like TRUE love knows no boundaries.  The look in his eyes when he looks at you melts my heart.”

I nodded my head, “One day at a time…right?”

Three Months Later

~~~~~~

It didn’t take very long for my self-control to slip, it seemed like it had been forever since I had felt Dominique’s lips against mine. 

I wanted to have sex but it was Dominique that wouldn’t, it was like he was testing me to see if I would beg for him to touch me.  Then it turned in to a game, who would be the first to cave in and initiate sex, no matter what I did he would shut me down and I was getting beyond frustrated.  So…I decided that after he left to fly back to Chicago one weekend—I was going to fly back to Chicago too and surprise him at his house.  Corrina was the only person I told, besides my dad and my friend Jadra. 

Walking through the airport I kept waiting to be spotted by Dominique, even though I knew he was already in flight since he had text me shortly before takeoff.  If my flight stayed on schedule I would be behind him by a couple of hours. 

As soon as I powered my phone on, a text came through from Dominique letting me know he had landed and was going to go workout with Trevor then go to the office and check reports for his meeting he was scheduled to have the following day. 

Corrina was waiting by the luggage claim, “I just watched a guy open a suitcase take a dildo out and walk away.”

“Was it blue and purple?” I asked with big eyes.

“Uhh, no it was flesh colored.” She said with a questioning look.

“Okay good, it wasn’t mine.” I grabbed my small suitcase and started to walk away.  I tried not to laugh but the way Corrina looked at me, I couldn’t stop myself.  “Oh my god, I was KIDDING.  You can check my bag if you want.”

“Ew…no!” 

“Are you ever going to tell me what’s going on between you and Trevor?”

“He’s complicated.” Corrina said with a shrug but wouldn’t look at me.  That meant that she was trying to avoid the topic. 

“You know I’m not going to leave you alone until you tell me.  We’ve been friends for too long, I can read you better than you think.”

“Uggg, I know!” she whined.  “Just let me think about it, I’ll tell you about it tomorrow over lunch, okay?”

“I’m not letting you off easy.”

“I expect nothing less of you.” She smiled and turned the radio up. 

~~~~~~

“I can’t believe he never changed the code!” Corrina said. 

For some reason I started to feel nervous, “What if he brings somebody home with him?”

“Like?  You think he’ll bring another woman home?  Did you drink stupid juice on your flight.” Her cell phone beeped with a message.  “Trevor just text me and let me know that Dominique is headed home.”

I rang the doorbell and waited, his housekeeper Iris pulled the door open.  “Lennie?” she pulled me into a hug.  “You come to see Dom?  He not tell me you…”  her English was still choppy but her accent sounded beautiful.

“He doesn’t know I’m here, can you help me get set up real quick? Then you can leave early.” I asked her. 

“Oh…last time I help, your friend I thought I would be fired!  I’ll help you!” She took my bag and waved at Corrina that was driving away. 

My cell phone went off with a text;

Dominique
:  I sure hope BOBis working out for yo
u


My mouth dropped open. 

Me
:  Retired BOB, Buzz is by far the best I’ve ever ha
d


Dominique
:  HAHAHA! 

Me
:  Aww is somebody jealous?

Dominique
:  Nope!

“Lennie, he’s here!  He’s here!” she kissed both of my cheeks before hurrying through the house to leave through the kitchen. 

I put my phone on the dock to his surround sound, on the mantle were pictures of him and his mom and football pictures but the one in the middle took me by surprise.  It was a picture of us that he took wit his cell phone the first weekend he visited me in Fair Lawn.  The key’s unlocking the door snapped me into action.  I pushed play on the first song of my play list I had created a few months back. 

I turned the volume up and the piano sound filled the room as Pink’s voice flowed through.  It took Dominique a few seconds to realize the music was playing, he looked over to where I was standing.  The look on his face told me that he was surprised and shocked that I was standing there.  Like two magnets being drawn together we both started walking toward each other until we were standing toe to toe.  He licked his lips and stared down at me.  Then he put his hands on my waist and started swaying with the music.  I slid my hands up his chest and linked my fingers together behind his neck.  When he started singing along with the music, I thought I would turn in to a puddle at his feet.  With every word he lowered his head until our lips were only a breath apart, our foreheads pressing against each other.  As the song started to close he moved his hands up to cup my face and tilted my head back.  Slowly and gently he pressed those perfect full lips against mine, he pulled away just enough to look at me then my lips then back into my eyes.  “Learn to love again…” he sang before sealing his lips with mine.  The song ended, silence filled the room.  ‘Say Something’ by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera’s voices filled the room.  Our kiss was slow and intoxicating, I could feel every ounce of passion and emotion Dominique was pouring into the kiss.  We broke away, lips slick and swollen, our breathing shallow and shaky as we swayed with constant rhythm to the song.  Dominique kissed me again before lifting me up, I wrapped my legs around his waist then he started walking toward the stairs.  When I tried to drop my legs he reached behind him and grabbed my ankles. 

We still hadn’t said anything; our kiss was only broken long enough to catch our breath.  When he walked into his bedroom he sat down on the edge of the bed, my knees pressed against the mattress.  His thick cock pressed against my center, I could feel the dampness inside my panties with each small roll of my hips.  He reached behind me and with slow hands slid the zipper of my dress down.  The tiny vibration of the zipper against my spine made my already sensitive skin tighten with goose bumps.  ‘Mercy’ by Duffy started playing, Dominique raised one eyebrow at me by insides tightened when he gently lifted the dress over my head and dropped it to the floor.  I was now only in a pair of panties straddling his lap, he slid his hands from my waist up my back the same time he started kissing my neck.  My nipples were hard and my breasts throbbed waiting for him to give each one attention.  I arched my back and closed my eyes as he moved down my neck with each kiss.  Then his hot breath caressed one nipple before he licked around the tight bud leaving it damp and aching for more.  He slid his hands down my back and to my waist as he teased my other nipple.  His fingers teased the thin elastic of my thong as he slid his hands down to my ass cheeks.  He squeezed the globes and pulled me forward, rocking my hips against his cock.  Each stroke against my clit made my skin heat and my breathing turn faster.  He stood up and turned around so he could situate me on the bed.  With antagonizing slow speed he pulled my panties down over my legs and feet then dropped them to the floor.   He stared down at me, I was naked and my skin was tingling with a thin sheen of dew that covered it.  Staring up at him my heart swelled with happiness and love for Dominique.