Lifting myself out of bed as quietly as possible, I stretched then slowly walked down the hall. As I was washing my hands, the sight of Ryan behind me in the mirror caused me to flinch.

His hair was a mess, and his eyes were bloodshot. "Are you happy now?"

The faucet squeaked as I closed it. "Excuse me?"

"Congratulations. You got what you wanted. How did it feel to f.u.c.k her?"

"I bet you'd love to know, and I think that's been your problem all along."

"You know what, Jake? When you're long gone, I'm gonna be the one left behind to pick up the pieces of her broken heart."

"You're going to be picking up the pieces of your broken face in a minute if you don't go the f.u.c.k back to bed and stay out of our business."

"Nina is my business. Always will be. If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

"If you could see beyond your own egotistical jealousy, you'd know that I'd rather die than hurt her. You don't know anything about who I am, Ryan."

"Well, I think it's time we found out."

"Get the f.u.c.k away from me."

Intentionally knocking into his shoulder, I walked past him and out of the bathroom. He was lucky that I couldn't afford to f.u.c.k up today, otherwise, I would have knocked him out.

Going from dealing with his negativity to the angelic vision of Nina sleeping soundly back in her bedroom was quite the contrast.

As much as I tried not to let them bother me, Ryan's words of warning shook me to my core. It felt like everything was suddenly closing in on me. The sounds of the morning outside were starting to seep through the apartment walls, a reminder that it was going to be time to get ready for work soon. I didn't ever want this day to begin.

The need for rea.s.surance overtook me.

Slowly inhaling the smell of our s.e.x on her body, I nuzzled my nose into her neck. "Get up, baby. I need you."

Nina stirred, pressing her bare a.s.s into my rock hard morning wood. Completely naked against my boxers, she turned around and softly kissed my face.

"Do you have to get up now?" she asked in the cutest raspy voice.

"Not this second. Soon, though."

She must have sensed my stress when she wrapped her hands around my face. "Are you okay?"

"I just...I need to be inside of you again." My voice was strained.

"I want that, too. But we ran out, remember? We don't have anything," she said, alluding to the strip of condoms we tore through last night.

"s.h.i.t. I'd forgotten about that." Kissing her nose, I joked, "Do you think it would go off well if I asked Ryan for one?"

She giggled into my face. "That would be hilarious."

Not wanting to ruin our last minutes together, I chose not to tell her about the bathroom altercation between him and me.

She started to lower my boxers then slid her body down so that she was eye level with my crotch.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"The one thing we didn't try last night."

"You don't have to. You don't..." My ability to speak ceased when she twirled her tongue slowly around my crown. "Ah. G.o.d, Nina."

Rubbing her thumb along the tip, she spread my pre c.u.m around as a lubricant and used it to jerk me off. When she slowly licked down my length, my previously tense body had completely surrendered to her.

I barely got the words out, "f.u.c.k...that's good."

She hummed in apparent agreement, and the sound vibrated down my shaft.

"Ahhhh," I moaned as she suddenly took the full length of me down her throat. Gripping the back of her head, I started to f.u.c.k her beautiful mouth. I'd imagined those lips wrapped around my c.o.c.k so many times, but the reality of how amazing it actually felt was mind-blowing.

At one point, she gagged.

"You okay?"

She responded with a nod and proceeded to take me even deeper into her mouth. This couldn't have been her first time sucking c.o.c.k. She was too d.a.m.n good at it. I tried like h.e.l.l to block out that disturbing thought.

My eyes rolled back from the intense pleasure. I could have exploded at any second but was using all the restraint within me to prolong this.

I'd done a good job until she slowly pulled my c.o.c.k out of her mouth and said, "I want you to come in my mouth."

Even though I wasn't planning on doing that, the open invitation was too tempting. Stroking me faster, she started to suck again and within seconds, hot c.u.m shot straight out of me as she took it all down her throat until it was gone. The o.r.g.a.s.m was so powerful, it knocked me on my a.s.s as I lay back, panting and staring at the ceiling.

After twenty minutes of lying together wide awake, I came to the realization that something was seriously wrong with me because my d.i.c.k was starting to get hard again. I'd never had stamina like this in my entire life.

The time was getting dangerously close to when I'd have to get up for work. I needed to make her come one last time before I left.

"Straddle me," I said. "I want to touch you."

Nina got up and wrapped her legs around me. My head was against the back of the bed as she sat on me and stared into my eyes with a look that was a cross between fear and elation. Her blonde locks were a beautiful mess, covering her chest.

"Move your hair back."

Nina brushed her long tresses behind her back. Her hair was like friggin' spun gold. I placed my hands on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and gently squeezed, ma.s.saging them as she continued to look down at me. She had marks all over her body from where I'd sucked and bit on her skin. I couldn't get enough of her last night. We'd both let our guards completely down. There was no holding back our true feelings anymore. Her eyes reflected a level of love for me that, aside from maybe my father, I'd never received from anyone before. I wanted to remember this moment of peace for the rest of my life. I used to think that losing her would devastate me. But after last night, I knew it would kill me.

"I love you so much," I whispered as I moved my hands softly down the sides of her hips. My d.i.c.k felt ready to explode from the heat of her p.u.s.s.y as she sat over my b.a.l.l.s.

What came out of her mouth next really touched a nerve.

"Is love supposed to hurt like this? Why does this hurt?"

I lifted my hand to her face and rubbed my thumb against her cheek. "It wouldn't be real if it didn't. I feel that pain, too. I've never loved anyone like I love you, Nina."

Unable to contain myself, I pulled her down onto my chest and devoured her mouth. The saltiness of my c.u.m lingered on her tongue.

Her wet p.u.s.s.y was grinding back and forth along my d.i.c.k now. We were completely drowning in each other. With my departure time approaching, my mind started to go off the rails. It scared me that there was still a chance I might never get to experience this again if things didn't work in my favor.

My hold on her grew tighter. Once again, fear was fueling an intense need to be inside of her. At one point, her body shifted in a way that meant her opening was right over my tip. I couldn't resist slowly pushing inside. I told myself I would stop after just one last quick feel of her. Her warm p.u.s.s.y enveloped my c.o.c.k, and she began to ride me. We weren't using anything for protection, but the need for her blinded my judgment. When we were physically connected, everything felt safe, like our souls and bodies were finally in alignment. Without any barrier, that feeling was tenfold.

Nothing else registered in that moment, not the time nor the consequences of our actions. When her movements slowed, and I felt her muscles contract, a loud groan escaped me as I emptied inside of her. There was no way our roommates hadn't heard it. It was the most powerful o.r.g.a.s.m of my life.

My heart thundered against hers, and we held each other until I had to force myself up.

"Shut your eyes, baby. Go to sleep. It's okay. I'll be back later."

"We're gonna have the talk," she whispered groggily.

I nodded. "Yes."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Somberly, I returned to my bedroom to get ready for work. My shower was a reluctant one because I never wanted to wash the smell of her off me. There would be no time for one later, though, given our plans for the talk tonight.

After everything we experienced, there was no way I could leave her empty-handed this morning.

Quickly folding a piece of construction paper into an origami bat, I knew I'd be late for work as I took my time pondering a message to leave her with.

What I almost wrote: Whoever said Disney was the happiest place on Earth never knew...

What it felt like to be inside of you.

What I wished I could have written: Tonight you're going to feel afraid.

Please don't forget the promise you made.

What I actually wrote: I am bats.h.i.t crazy for you. See you tonight.

The heat was blasting in Nina's room when I went to place the bat by her bedside. It was so warm and cozy, a safe haven I never wanted to leave.

The blazing morning sun and the cold air outside were a rude awakening as I pounded the pavement and began the dreaded day. With my earbuds in, I played Angel by Aerosmith as I walked to the subway station. Thoughts of Nina set to songs that reminded me of her consumed every second of my commute.

Nothing that transpired after I left the apartment that morning went according to plan. My trust in the belief that everything happens for a reason would be tested in a bigger way than I could have ever imagined.

CHAPTER 19.

Present I had to stop the story. The weeks that followed that morning were some of the hardest of my life. It made me sick to think about them.

Skylar's voice shook me out of my daydream. "Jake, are you alright?"

"No." I stood up. "You know what? I'm really sorry to leave the story undone, but I really don't think I can rehash anything else right now, especially in light of the current state of things."

I walked over to the window and double checked my phone for a text from Nina. Nothing. It was getting late. I wasn't going to be able to take much more of this.

Allison and Cedric returned from the kitchen with plates of food they'd warmed in the oven.

"Jake, we're just gonna set up a spread on the table for anyone who's hungry."

"Thanks, sis. You guys eat. I don't have an appet.i.te."

I returned to the leather recliner. Skylar and Mitch stayed on the couch while Allison and Cedric ate in the adjacent dining room. Mitch Jr. was sleeping in the playpen, which we'd moved into the spare bedroom.

Mitch was looking at me like he expected me to continue the story. "I just want to know what happened after you told her."

Scrolling through the text history with Nina from earlier, I scowled. "I didn't get to tell her."

"Huh?"

"Long story short, I got an emergency call from Ivy's group home that afternoon. They'd told me they thought she tried to commit suicide and asked me to rush to Boston. I ended up getting on a plane that day instead of going back to Nina. Ivy ended up being fine, but it was a total mess."

"What did you tell Nina?"

"She wasn't happy, but she somehow continued to trust me when I said it was an emergency related to what I needed to talk to her about. I told her I would explain everything when I returned after a couple of days. It was an absolute nightmare."

Mitch looked horrified. "So, you had the talk as soon as you got back?"

My tired mind couldn't take anymore. "Skylar, Nina's told you the story, right? You want to fill him in?"

"That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Ryan had looked up Jake's information in a database at work and found his marriage license. He took home a copy of it that night and showed it to Nina before Jake came back."

"Holy s.h.i.t. f.u.c.k, man. I'm sorry. She totally thought you were just messing around on your wife, then?"

"She left the apartment and wasn't planning on ever speaking to me again. I came home to Ryan chastising me about it while Nina was nowhere to be found."

Mitch scrunched his forehead in confusion. "Where did she go?"

"She'd somehow become friends with Mrs. b.a.l.l.sworthy's daughter, Daria. That was strange in itself. Anyway, she moved in with her on the other side of Brooklyn. I had to choke Ryan to get the address out of him. I ended up locating her, and we were finally able to have the talk. But by that time, our relationship had been tarnished."

"How did she take it?"

I grinded my teeth in frustration, not wanting to recall anything about that conversation. "She was shocked, told me she couldn't be with me unless I got divorced. But she did understand my needing to take care of Ivy. Nina had too big of a heart to ever question that."