The One Last Kiss Page 4

  I wanted to start over with Grace with no preconceived notions. I actually found myself desperate to have her company with or without the benefits. It was a pleasure getting to know her.

  Could I seriously settle down with someone that was practically a stranger?

  I would suggest a walk along the beach in the morning and see what I could do to parlay that into a date.

  I awoke with a start bolting straight up at hearing a car pull away from the house. I flung the sheet off of me and ran to the window to see a glimpse of her hair through the back window of the taxi.

  It was only 6:00AM when she took the opportunity to escape my clutches. I was going to pursue, but it was her decision to leave and I couldn’t take that away from her.

  I went upstairs and stared at the rumpled sheets with the scent of her perfume enclosed within them. I really did fall for her in an unexpected way that made me look back at my other conquests with a scrutinizing eye for detail.

  This was not a drive-by like all the others. I spied my wallet lying by the bed with the cash spilling out.

  “I would say somebody got robbed,” Frank said standing by the bedroom door with a towel around his neck.

  I picked up the wallet and found some dollars missing.

  “It’s only money,” I said nonchalantly not really caring about the money and more about the woman who ran away without giving me a chance to change my ways.

  “I can’t believe she did this. I’m the one that introduced her to you both and you have no idea how bad I feel,” Ellie said wearing her black dress with her heels in her hands ready to call it a night.

  “It’s not your fault. I came on too strong and that’s on me,” I said.

  “I still think that I should make this up to you. I want you to take this back,” She said taking the money from her purse slung over her shoulder and putting it back in Frank’s hands.

  It was a nice gesture and one made to offset her friend taking money that she didn’t earn. Ellie didn’t want to do anything to ruin a good thing with Frank.

  But Frank gave the money back to her. “Please keep it. It’s not your fault, Ellie. Don’t feel bad about what happened.” Frank said.

  “Thanks, Frank. Edward, I am so sorry once again.” She said looking at my wallet.

  “No Problem, Ellie. It’s alright.” I forced a smile on my face. Then she booked a cab and headed back to her place.

  We packed up and were soon on the way to the Airport to catch our flight back to Texas. I couldn’t get her eyes out of my mind. No woman had ever taken a hold of me like that not even when their panties were lying in my hands after a night of marathon sex.

  I never wanted to hurt her.

  We got back home after a few hours of being pampered in first class. I might’ve overindulged to numb my senses.

  I went back to my old habits of sleeping with anonymous women. It wasn’t for the same reason as it was before. I wanted to feel something and was under the mistaken belief that getting underneath another woman would solve all of my problems.

  I refrained from kissing them. No other pair of lips was ever going to touch mine again.

  Nobody could hold a candle to the one that got away. I was never going to forget her and she had left a lasting impression without doing much of anything at all.

  I felt like this dark cloud was following me with the whisper of her voice in the wind...

  Chapter 4

  ~Grace~

  “It’s been three years and you didn’t even sleep with him,” Lisa said looking over my shoulder at the photograph that I had committed to memory.

  “You don’t understand. I’m not even sure that I understand. There are some days that I can barely breathe thinking about what could’ve been,” I declared with my heart skipping a beat with the possibility of meeting him again in the future.

  “This is the reason why you are alone. You find fault with every man you go out with trying to measure him to the idea of the perfect man. There is no such thing,” She expressed with her hand reaching out to turn off my laptop that was on my lap.

  The seatbelt sign had been turned off and we were free to roam the plane. I didn’t need the grief of hearing her trying to get me back on the next available man. Lisa was a confidant with jet black hair and the kind of sex appeal that made men fall head over heels in love with her.

  “You are my photographer and we’ve been around the world facing what humanity can do to one another. It’s nice to be going back home. I’m a little burned out,” I confessed feeling the jet lag and knowing that I was one call away from jumping on the next plane.

  “You’re my friend and I hate to see you beat yourself up over one man that you will never see again,” She said not knowing how I had transformed from the Caterpillar to the butterfly in three short years.

  The money I had taken from Edward helped to fund my studies. It wasn’t long after that when I received an internship with an Internet newspaper. This was hard-hitting journalism and I didn’t have anybody breathing down my neck.

  I had gone to the gym frequently and turned my body into something to be proud of.

  I had grabbed Brad and we made tracks leaving our father in the dust. He had no idea where we lived, and we only contacted him on his birthday and the holidays. I was glad to hear that he was on the mend going to meetings and following that 12-step program to the best of his ability.

  “I feel bad and you really don’t know the full story. Those secrets will be taken to my grave,” I said looking toward first class and wondering if I could crash the party without being noticed.

  I was breaking the glass ceilings and becoming a role model to those little girls waiting for somebody to show them the way.

  My articles and the complimenting photographs had taken the world by storm. The captions that came from Lisa’s camera left an indelible mark and had people finally thinking about those third world countries suffering needlessly under a dictatorship.

  “I’m going to stretch my legs,” I excused myself and shuffled forward passed the stewardess. I glanced over my shoulder before pulling back the curtain where the other half was living high off the hog. Champagne glasses were in full view with meals that had me salivating for a taste.

  My tasteful pantsuit with purple stripes down the legs made me appear to be a jet-setting model. My hairstyle had changed and the stylist had done an amazing job that had me going back to her time and time again.

  I sat down in an empty chair and took out an oversized pair of sunglasses to make it look like I was trying to hide my celebrity status. My new look had the fortunate side effect of impressing on people that I was somebody important.

  The stewardess walked by and stopped with a glass of champagne in her hands. She was looking at me quizzically and trying to place where she might have seen me in one of those gossip papers.

  “Could I bother you for a pillow?” I asked playing on her sympathy.

  I was acting like a privileged overindulged rich woman with the world in the palm of her hands. She scurried off and I had a feeling she was going to work overtime to figure out who I was.

  “I know this is going to sound like a line. Do I know you from somewhere?” He asked with a voice that was familiar.

  It was a blast from the past and I looked up to see the face that had haunted me for three years. I felt nervous and bad for what I had done. The thought of stealing anything made me physically ill.

  The day I was worried about was right in front of my eyes.

  I felt ashamed…

  I had a decision to make. I could easily feign innocence and pretend that I didn’t know him. That would be the end of it.

  “You might not recognize me and I was a little different back in the day. My name is Grace, from California.” I revealed with recognition blazing in his eyes. He sat down across from me with his hand on his chin looking at me with a smirk on his face.

  I felt like I was being put under the microscope and I squirmed in my se
at. My face turned red from the way that he looked at me.

  “I’m sure there’s a story behind your transformation. It looks like things have worked out for you. I’m glad that I could do my part to make your life better. The money was better in your pocket than it was in mine. I would’ve only blown it on beer,” He said shrugging his shoulders like it was no big deal, but he didn’t know the half of it.

  “You’re being too kind. I need to apologize for taking the money. I’ve never done anything like that in my life. I still regret it. I could pay you back but I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” I said with my heart beating fast.

  “I appreciate you saying that. It shows that you have a heart. It’s rare in my line of work to find that. I know you wouldn’t have done it without a damn good reason. I’m a good listener when you’re ready to talk about it. What brings you to Texas?” He asked.

  “You told me so many good things about Texas that I had to check it out for myself. I live here now. I got my degree in investigative journalism and was poached before I was even finished with my exams,” I boasted with my hands moving down over my body to show him the difference his money made.

  “I’m glad that your story had a happy ending. I could help you navigate the great state of Texas where everything is ‘bigger’.” He said air-quoting the word bigger with the obvious connotation that went along with it.

  “You were always a man with very little tact. It appears that things are looking up for you,” I indicated with a nod of my head to the pretty young girl.

  “She’s just a fellow passenger. I was happy to help when she told me her fear of flying,” He said showing a bit of humility at being the good guy.

  “Great. She had you to give her some of your valuable advice. We never had that growing up,” I blurted out.

  “What do you mean...we?” He questioned.

  “I have a little 13 years old brother, Brad. I’m not sure that I mentioned anything about him the first time we met. He is a musical prodigy and his first lesson on a piano was a revelation. He’s in his teens and his plans revolve around going to Juilliard when he finishes with his studies,” I bragged feeling my heart grow bigger with pride.

  “I hope your past doesn’t find a way to raise its ugly head. It was probably a good thing that you got some distance away from your problems by coming here. I think it’s fair to mention that I have been following your career,” He said while fishing in his pockets until he produced the very first article with my by-line.

  It touched me deeply to think that he thought of me at all after that night.

  Stealing from him wasn’t my finest moment.

  “That night, I regret that I almost did something that would have changed me forever. It was nothing against you and everything to do with me and my moral compass pointing true north. It all stemmed from needing money to escape my father’s abuse physically and emotionally,” I choked the words, but getting it off my chest took a big weight off of my shoulders.

  “I didn’t know and I didn’t show you the courtesy of asking anything about your personal life. I wonder if you would be interested in trying again for old time sake. I’m formally inviting you to dinner at my place,” He proffered an invitation that I was a fool to pass up.

  “I suppose it would be rude to decline considering the inconvenience I caused you. What exactly is on the menu and I’m not using that as a sexual euphemism,” I said in a teasing gesture that had me running my hands absently along his arms.

  He wrote down the address on a card and I knew the area to be affluent with many acres on ranches that stretched as far as the eye could see.

  “I can send a car to pick you up or you can come by fashionably late. It’s entirely up to you. I would never try to dictate the terms of your surrender. This is my chance to make up for acting like a calloused idiot,” He boomed in a loud voice not the least bit ashamed to let people overhear his declaration.

  “I regret to say that I never believed a word that was coming out of your mouth that night. You made me believe that you were ruled by the head between your legs. It might have seemed that way, but you were able to rein it in when you saw that I wasn’t ready to commit,” I emphasized with my thoughts thinking about how I had grown into a desirable woman close to my 24rd birthday.

  There was something about that night that left me cold in bed. Back was back in the present. He went back to his seat.

  I very discreetly went back to my seat to find that Lisa was fast asleep. The hum of the engine had lulled her into a false sense of security. Her head was against the window and I was able to power up my laptop to do a search on the address that was written on the card that Edward had presented me with.

  There was a write up that described his palatial ranch in vivid detail. He had a paddock of horses and I had never had the occasion to be that close to an animal. Living in the city had its advantages and pitfalls.There was one photo of him on a wild stallion taming the beast into submission. I secretly wanted him to show me that same firm touch.

  Things had changed and the story of our first date was nothing compared to how I was going to tease him until he couldn’t take it anymore.

  I couldn’t quite believe that he was amongst the passengers of the plane.

  I tried to calculate the odds of something like that happening and it was astronomical. It was a once in a lifetime, one in a million chance and I wasn’t going to ruin the second chance at a first impression.

  Chapter 5

  ~Edward~

  I thought that I was dreaming and I had to pinch myself to realize that the woman that had been in my thoughts was right there. That night was something I couldn’t stop thinking about. There was something about her eyes. No other woman was like her. I was going through the Airport and retrieving my luggage from the carousel.

  Grace’s milky skin and those pulpy pink lips had me at a loss for words. I had convinced her to come to my home where I would have the advantage of showing her a world that not many women got the chance to see. I went home to find Leila and Frank waiting for me after the taxi dropped me off.

  “What’s the matter, Edward?” Frank asked with his arm over my shoulder.

  “I found her,” I said with surprise.

  “Found who?” He asked.

  “Grace was on the plane. It was like no time had gone by. We talked and got to know each other. I was happy to see her again,” I said with my sister looking at me with her hand on her chin.

  “I know that look better than anyone. She’s the one that you have been thinking about all these years. You haven’t said anything and I was reluctant to poke at an open wound,” Leila said with her hand on my elbow.

  “I never thought I was going to see her again. It was unexpected,” I said with my thoughts consumed by this second chance.

  The menu was already being planned in my head. Three years ago, I would’ve never thought about stepping foot into a kitchen, but things had changed.

  I used cooking as an outlet to forget about her.

  Those lips made me anxious to kiss her.

  Does she want me to kiss her?

  Will she run if I try to kiss?

  Will she cry again? I don’t want that.

  Should I ask her?

  Yes, I should. I will tell her everything that I have been thinking about for three years. I’m not going to waste this chance.

  Chapter 6

  ~Grace~

  I couldn’t deny that I was nervous and standing at his door with a bottle of wine made things feel real. I could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen window. I had to admit that a man that cooked was a sexy commodity that was sought after by other women vying for his attention.

  This time was different. There were no blue jeans and T-shirt. The little girl had turned into a woman with refined tastes. I even enjoyed a moment of pleasure from a fine Cuban cigar. I had sources that were more than happy to supply me with a box of the good ones for a price.

  I kno
cked on the door and turned around to survey my surroundings. The place was amazing with several horses grazing in the field.

  “I’m still impressed every time that I step outside of these doors. This is an investment that is close to my heart. The very first time I saw it made my heart flutter with the potential,” Edward said with a catch in his throat that made me see him as a sensitive soul.

  His hot breath on the back my neck had my legs shaking.

  “I’ve always wanted to learn to ride but time slipped through my fingers. There are some things that you should take time to do and you have learned that lesson better than most,” I said underneath my breath in admiration for everything that he had built.

  “I’ve tried not to take everything I have for granted. I’m fully aware that a few different decisions would have changed things. I’m one of the lucky ones and I have the kind of revenue that makes it necessary to pay it forward,” He said with the underlying meaning that he was a humanitarian.