POV: Hugh
“Smooth Hugh... very smooth,” I think to myself as I walk into my hotel suite and slam the door. I have been driving around for hours thinking about what happened at dinner and about what she is doing with this Greg guy on her date, and I’m going crazy.
Meeting Raven at the restaurant did not go according to plan. She is not the same person I knew years ago. This divorce has changed her, sculpted her into a woman with a steel wall around her heart that will take time to penetrate. This does not scare me away; it just makes me even more determined to show her she is worth the fight. She is different, more measured, surer of herself and sexy as hell. Which speaks volumes because she has always been the epitome of any girl I have ever met or wanted. I've dated the most fascinating ladies, supermodels, actresses, intellectuals etc, but none of these women hold a candle to her. She is more charming than any of them. I feel things that I've never felt with anyone. I was so overtaken by her astuteness, her sex-appeal, and the confident and aggressive way she defended the launch of her dirty bucket list, that my restraint was almost nonexistent.
Keep your head in the game, Hugh. I let out a whispered breath as I walk over to the bar to pour myself a drink. I throw some ice cubes in the glass and drizzle the scotch over them. Watching the aged, malted liquid cascade over the ice with such rhythm and fluidity makes me ache of her. The metaphoric gesture reminds me of the way I wanted to empty myself into her when I saw her tonight. I will have wet dreams of her in that sexy ass dress and those 4-inch-heels until I am inside her, and even then, I don't expect I will ever get enough ...
I shake my head and bang the glass onto the bar, thinking about how I almost ruined everything when I kissed her in the restaurant. It was too soon ... too impulsive... but I could not help myself. Her plump lips, the curves of her body, and her ass in my hands, was too much for me to take. But what left me unbalanced was the unexpected chemistry that still exists between us. I thought maybe, after all these years, she would hate me, and the reciprocal desire that we felt that night would have diminished. But the feel of the wetness of her panties seeping through my white shirt when her legs were wrapped around my waist, proved that my fears were ill placed. That confirmation had me shaking like a fucking teenager making it to second base.
This bucket list of hers has me so desperate and irrational that I’m willing to do anything to halt her from following through, regardless of her contractual obligations. I will pay every breach of contract penalty she'll accrue, if it means that another man won't touch, love or fuck her the way I’ve dreamt of doing since I met her. The kiss tonight was a product of the dichotomy of despair and desire that I feel regarding this bucket list. I need to be the one fulfilling her fantasies... and I will stop at nothing to make sure I am.
When she stormed down the dark hallway of the restaurant, after turning me down about dropping this crazy idea of hers, I was angry. My first impulse was to go after her, throw her over my shoulder, and bring her back here with me until I changed her mind. But I understand now that forcing her into this decision would only make things worse. I have to let her come to me on her own... she has to admit to herself that she wants me just as much as I want her.
The way her body responded to mine tonight gives me hope that I’m not alone in the passion and the thirst that I feel. Since the time Dexter introduced me to her, lust and tamed desire existed inside me, but I never acted on it because Dexter is my best friend. And I’m not the man who would come between a husband and his wife. So, I decided to just be her support and be there for her whenever, and however she needed me. But the night of her divorce, I crossed the line when I saw how much pain she was in. All I wanted to do was reassure her she was more than enough. So, when she begged me to kiss her, I couldn't say no. I have regretted my lack of restraint ever since that day because she was too vulnerable. I left realizing I overstepped the boundaries and rules of our friendship. A mistake I’ve never forgiven myself for.
Ever since that night, I promised myself that I would never act on my feelings for her because the fallout from being with her would be too catastrophic. So, I did the only thing I could do... I stayed away from her because one touch or look from her would have set me off and I wasn't sure if she was over Dexter yet...
I walk over to the living room area of the suite and sit down on the couch with my drink in hand, trying to figure out what my next move will be. After a few minutes. My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and look at the screen before sitting up straight. I roll my eyes to the ceiling and take a deep breath before answering it.
“So did you get through to her? Is she going to call this off?” Dexter asks before giving me the opportunity to greet him.
“Why are you calling me so late, Dexter? Shouldn't you be in the middle of an orgy or something right now?” I joke, before taking a sip of scotch.
Dexter laughs at my comment before speaking again. “No way man, that's the old me, the new me wants to reconcile with my hot ex-wife.”
Scotch comes flying out of my mouth and I strangle on the remaining liquid. When I’ve finally regained my composure, I express my anger in a controlled whisper. “You what?! I had to talk you down this afternoon because you were so upset with her, and now, you want to get back together with her?! What is this about Dexter?!”
“Just pure unadulterated lust man. Did you read that bucket list? She never wanted to do any of those items with me during our marriage. Why do you think I cheated? But now... I’m thinking the divorce was a wrapped gift! Something that was needed to make me see how much she means to me.”
“She was a virgin, Dexter, your expectations were too high. The only reason you choose her now is because she does not want you. Stay away from her, I mean it. You have done enough damage already. Why do you think she is doing this in the first place? Let me handle this. I will not let you hurt her again.”
The authority and ownership in my voice creates a silence between us, causing me to stumble forward with a redemptive explanation.
“She is like a sister to me...” I lie through my teeth, there is nothing sibling about how I feel for her. “I owe it to her to protect her from what she is doing now and save her from you. You destroyed her while you guys were together, while I picked up the pieces. I made excuses for you, filled in for you when you were with your mistresses and held her when she cried. I will not let you do it again. You are my best friend, but I care about her too, and if I thought your intentions were pure, I would step aside, but you haven't changed Dexter, you were just with a woman last night! Don't forget, I know where all the bodies are buried.” I state, daring him to challenge me. Dexter clears his throat before responding.
“Are you certain that's all, man?” Dexter asks as he takes a contained breath.
“I’m positive. Just let me handle this.”
“I will for now... just shut this down or I will.”
Dexter hangs up the phone after his ominous threat, preventing me the opportunity for rebuttal. I realize that I had better figure out a plan to get through to Raven, while simultaneously finding a path to explore what this is between us. Preferably with the least number of casualties as possible.
As I mull over what my options are in this matter, I dial the one person who will give me a brief insight on the woman Raven is now while tapping into who she was before. As the telephone rings, I look at my watch and realize that it is after 12:00am.
“Someone had better be dead or I will kill whoever this is on the other part of this damn phone, “Lola answers.
“I’m so sorry to wake you, Lola. I just—”
“Hugh is that you?” she asks before continuing. “Hold on a minute...”
I lean forward to put my glass on the coffee table in front of me while I wait for Lola to come back on the line. I hear ruffling sounds and then a closing door before she speaks again.
“Hugh... What the hell happened tonight?”
Alarm fills me as I swallow hard, trying to regain composure. “What do you mean?”
“Raven came back from her date early because she said you showed up at the restaurant and ruined her night. What the hell? When you called me months ago and asked me to update you about her well-being and how she is doing, I thought what is the harm? He cares about her. But now, if she finds out that I have been keeping tabs on her for you, telling you about—”
Lola stops speaking and clears her throat, waiting for me to acknowledge her questions, but I need her to deal with mine first.
“Is she okay?”
“She is not okay, Hugh. I convinced her to stay with me and I just got her to sleep when you called... What did you do?!”
I sigh in frustration, walking to the kitchen to put my glass away before leaning against the counter.
“I expressed my disapproval about what she is doing and told her I will do whatever it takes to stop her...”
“Really, Hugh?” she says with astonishment in her voice. “Men... I sometimes swear you guys are clueless. You will never get Raven not to do this by issuing her demands and ultimatums, she is doing this because she wants to be desired, pursued and chased not commanded and controlled. She waited all these years to have sex, because she wanted to be ready and even though she will kill me if she finds out that I told you this, she was waiting because she was waiting for you... Waiting for you to come back for her, but you never did..."
The minute she says the words, pain saturates my heart because I realize that Raven is not just angry with me because I left her that night, she is angry because in her mind, I abandoned her...rejected her...did not think she was good enough, just like Dexter.
“Damnit!"
"Exactly! So, what are you going to do to fix this?"
I think about the question for a moment before an idea comes to mind. "I’m going to need the names of all the men who she is considering doing this with."
“Hugh...What are you planning? It is too late for her to back out now. The only way— “
I interrupt her because I know what she is going to say. "Just clear her schedule and make sure that she is available for dinner Friday night...I will take care of the rest."
“Don't make me regret this, Hugh!"
“I swear to you I won't."
"How can I trust that, especially after tonight?" she demands skeptically.
“Because I have been waiting for her too, Lola. She means the world to me."
Lola gives me all the information I need before threatening my life. I assure her that my only interest now is making sure that Raven completes her list and that I give her back her hopes of a happily ever after; even if it can’t be with me.
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