Translation of Love (21 page)

“I don’t know,” he says, lifting my chin up so that our eyes are aligned. He shakes his head. “I just don’t know if I feel comfortable leaving you.”

My eyes squint in question. “What? Why?”

A slow grin creeps onto his lips. “I’m not so sure that you’ve learned your lesson yet.”

I blink up at him. “My lesson?”

“Yup.” He nods.

Fighting a smile, I ask, “And what lesson is it that you think I haven’t learned?”

He has that hungry look in his eyes. “The one where we agreed that you were mine,” he says, crawling up over me and pushing me down with his upper body. “I think it’s a lesson that needs to be reviewed.”

My heartbeat goes crazy, and I know it’s all his doing. “Maybe it does, but I thought you said you had to go.” I gasp as he pulls my panties off of me and tosses them on the floor. He lifts himself from the bed, strips out of his boxers and is back over me before I can recover.

“Yeah, I did, but in the grand scheme of things, this…” he says, placing his hand on my mound, “is just too important to put off.”

I spread my legs, encouraging him to position himself between them. “Then let’s review.”

He shakes his head. “It’s just that you didn’t get it the first time, so…” He bites down on my shoulder, causing a whimper to escape from my lips. “I think I have to give it to you a different way.” I squeal as he flips us over so that he’s on his back and I’m straddling him on top. “Take this off,” he commands, grabbing the hem of my shirt. I pull it over my head. He takes it from me and throws it on the floor.

I bend down, bringing my hands to rest on either side of his head. I bring my lips to his and we kiss, our tongues coming together in a dance that’s full of passion. The more we kiss, the more I want him inside of me. His mouth makes me drunk with desire. I lift myself up ever so slightly, and move one of my hands, bringing it down to grab hold of his hardness and slowly guide him inside of me. A moan escapes from my lips as I slide down, accepting all of him.

He breaks the kiss, grabbing each of my hands and placing them on his chest and moving his hands to grasp my hips. I begin to move my hips, slowly at first until I find a rhythm and a speed that feels good, that I’m comfortable with. I’ve never liked being on top in the past. Usually it makes me feel exposed, vulnerable, like all of my flaws are on display. With Victor, for some reason, it’s different. Maybe because he goes out of his way to make me see beauty, the beauty inside of myself and inside of him. I like the way this feels today, with him. I start to experience the delicious buildup that is forming in my stomach. It’s like a little ball of light filling me up with warmth. It expands with every movement of my hips.

Victor’s grasp on me tightens as he starts to move under me, meeting my movements with his, thrust for thrust. Before long, our bodies are synchronized, moving together so perfectly, feeding the little ball of light as it moves throughout my body, illuminating me from the inside as it explodes into a million tiny pieces, making me throw my head back as I cry out in pleasure. A few more thrusts and Victor follows me, releasing his load and spilling it inside of me. As we come down from the high together, I fall forward. Victor catches me, encircling me into his arms, holding me there until my breathing regulates and my heart rate slows down. His words fill the otherwise silent room. “I’ll never get tired of having you. Never get tired of this thing between us.” It’s as much of a declaration as I’ve ever gotten. He doesn’t need to say anything else. It’s more than enough, because in this moment, I know the truth. I know that my heart no longer belongs to me, it’s his. In this moment, I come to realize that I’ve fallen in love with this man, and even though I can’t speak the words the moment is no less profound, no less beautiful.

Suddenly, the thought of him leaving today to go back home is unbearable. I’ve never been one to beg, never been one to ask for anything, I’m the girl that gives and expects nothing in return. With Victor, it’s the opposite. He’s the giving one, and I’ve taken it all, but what he gives to me is the glue that is slowly putting my heart back together. Today, though, I’ll be brave and ask for what I want. “How important is your thing today?”

“To my mom, everything is important. To me… it’s debatable. Why?”

“Well...”

“What?” he asks, pushing my hair out of my face and pulling it into a ponytail in his fists.

“I don’t want you to go,” I say softly.

His eyes light up and he smiles sweetly at me. He wasn’t expecting this from me. It’s like, by asking him for this, I’m giving him something in return. “You don’t?”

I shake my head. “Tomorrow’s Memorial Day. We always go to the beach in the morning and then have a barbecue at night. I was kinda hoping you’d stay.”

He lifts his head and kisses me quickly. “Well, I guess I’m staying then.”

“Yay!” I say, bringing my head down and snuggling in the crook of his neck.

“Maybe I should invite Alex? Let your family meet a sane member of my family.”

I lift my head up and gasp with excitement. “Yes! I love it. It’ll be so much fun.”

He chuckles. “Alright, I’ll give him a call in a bit. What do you wanna do today then?”

“This.”

“This?”

“Yup, I wanna spend all day in this bed with you!”

“That’s all the motivation I need,” he says, rolling us so that we’re both lying on our sides face to face. These are my favorite moments with Victor, when we’re wrapped up in each other, doing nothing, saying nothing. Just being together seems to be enough. So many people want the hearts and flowers, the expensive dinners and pricey gifts, but at the end of the day what do any of those things mean when you’re not comfortable with each other? I should know, because he’s the first man I’ve ever really been comfortable around. He’s the only man who I haven’t had to try so hard with. With him, I can be me and in that I find freedom.

With the exception of food and bathroom breaks, we did spend the majority of the day in bed. Victor called Alex and invited him to come down for the Memorial Day festivities. He asked Alex to go to his house and pick up an extra change of clothes and swim trunks, since he hadn’t planned on staying an additional night. I called Dad to let him know we’d have extra company tomorrow, news that I thought he’d be pissed about but he actually seemed happy with. Maybe he really does like Victor? Since I live closest to the beach, we decided that my house would be the logical meeting place in the morning. Jordan, hearing this news, decided that she would spend the night on the daybed in my spare bedroom. I make her bring her extra air mattress so that we could set it out in the living room for Alex.

By the time Alex arrives, Victor and I have already dragged ourselves out of bed. Now Victor is giving Alex the tour of my house while I wait for Jordan who has just pulled up with more bags than necessary for one night. I open the door for her before she gets a chance to knock.

“What, are you moving in?” I question with a grin on my face.

She smirks at me. “Ha ha, smartass. I have the air mattress
you
requested and I brought dinner and beer.”

“Oh, wow, thanks. You didn’t have to do that.” I take her overnight bag from her. “Let’s leave this over by the stairs and take the food into the kitchen.” I drop her bag and help her carry the food.

“So where’s Victor?” she questions as she starts putting beers in the refrigerator.

I hop up on the countertop. “He just went upstairs. He is giving his brother, Alex, the tour.”

She pauses to look at me. “There’re two of them?”

“Oh my God, yes, girl. There’re two of them,” I say, nodding my head.

“I can’t wait to see this. So how’s it going with him?”

I try, but can’t fight the smile that’s forming on my lips. “It’s going really good.”

“Oh my God, Elle, you’re beaming!” she squeals. “You’re in love.”

I roll my eyes at her. “What? No, I’m not.” I’m definitely not ready to admit that.

She giggles at me. “You are, but okay, I won’t push.”

“What’s the deal with you and Mark? Did you make your decision?” Putting her in the hotspot is the easiest way to change the subject.

“Oh, I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t move in with him.”

“So it’s over?”

“It’s over.”

I feel terrible for Jordan. I only hope that one day she’ll be willing to take the advice that she gave me and actually try to open her heart to someone. I just want my friend to be happy.

“Hey, Jordan.” We both turn toward the dining room just as Victor and Alex are walking in.

“Well, hello handsome!” she says to Victor as she eyes Alex. Her blatant ogling makes me chuckle. She gives Victor a peck on the cheek. “Hi, I’m Jordan,” she says, moving on to Alex and giving him a hug.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Victor’s brother, Alex,” he says, as he looks her over from top to bottom.

“Jordan brought us some dinner,” I say to no one in particular. “Do you guys wanna eat now?”

Victor pushes my legs open with his torso and wraps his arms around my waist. “I’m starving,” he says with a grin.

I bring my mouth down to his ear. “You’ve eaten plenty,” I whisper.

“Dirty girl.”

“You two! Stop with your whispering over there and bring the subs into the dining room,” Jordan yells.

Victor helps me off the counter. I grab the bag with the subs and take them into the dining room. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun in a group setting. Conversation between the four of us flows freely. We joke and laugh with each other as if we’ve known each other for years. With Brian, things were so different. He wasn’t social with my friends. Every time I’d bring him around, it was evident that he didn’t fit in. He kept to himself and barely spoke to anyone. My friends tried to include him in conversations and make him feel comfortable but it was clear that he was having no part of it. Often times, I felt alienated from my friends. I couldn’t see them as often as I wanted to because Brian was so anti social. At the end, the only relationship I was able to preserve was the one with Jordan. It’s just another reason why I’ll love her forever. After dinner, the four of us sit in my living room and watch movies together. I’m snuggled into Victor’s side when his phone rings.

“Shit. I gotta take this,” he says, getting up and walking to the dining room. Alex and Jordan barely notice that Victor has left the room, they’re so deeply invested in whatever is on the television. I, however, try to give Victor privacy but I know that if he’s left the room, it’s probably bad. I can’t help but to listen.

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t make it.” I hear him say. I shudder because I know that it’s his mother on the other end of the line.

“I can’t do this with you now. This was your deal, not mine. I really don’t have an interest in promoting anything else.” I hear a long stretch of silence and I know that she’s flipping out on him.

“What am I throwing away? That isn’t my dream anymore, it’s yours. I’m tired and you could care less. Maybe you should think about that.” I can hear the sadness in his voice. It’s hard to understand a parent who cares more about their child’s career than the child himself.

“She has nothing to do with this. This decision was made before I ever met her. Stop dragging her into things that don’t concern her. I know what you did, leaving that article in my house for her to find.” I can hear the anger in his voice. He’s walking that fine line between controlling his emotions and completely losing it. I love that it’s me that he’s defending, that he would get that angry at his own mother because of something she’s done to me. At the same time, I feel guilty, like I’m throwing a wrench into their seemingly perfect relationship.

“It doesn’t matter. For once in my life, the only thing that matters is what I want.” Oh God, this is breaking my heart to hear him go toe to toe with her. What is it about me that she finds so unacceptable? I care about her son. How can that possibly be bad? Ultimately though, Victor’s right. Her approval is not necessary. We aren’t children who need to sneak around behind her back. This isn’t a forbidden love affair. We’re adults and it’s none of her business.

“Well, I’m sorry that’s what you think. I gotta go. Bye.” He hangs the phone up and I turn my head to face the television again. He walks back into the living room and bends down next to me, his lips to my ear. “I’m tired, Love. I’m gonna go up to bed.”