I cuddled up to his pillow and closed my eyes. I heard the toilet flush and then the shower was running. It was only running for about a minute, when I was dosing off, slipping into dreamland, but then he came back in, in just a towel, and flicked the lamp back on. I squinted. He reached into the dresser and pulled out some boxer briefs and got them on. “You get your period, baby?”
“Hm?”
“Blood on me.”
“Oh!” I jumped up and rushed to the bathroom. I wasn’t due but it hurt a little when I peed and there was a bit of blood on the toilet tissue. When I came back out I said, “I think it was just, uh… a little rough.” I climbed in bed beside him.
He looked disgusted. “I made you bleed.”
I shrugged. “It was a little rough. I’m okay, though.”
“I hurt you.” He was angry.
“I’m okay. I’ll be right as rain in the morning.”
He looked angrier.
I cuddled in. “It’s okay. I was just unprepared. I’m okay, Tommy. Really. It’s not the first time. It’s probably just the first time you noticed.” I turned the lamp off and curled into him.
I fell asleep after a long time of him kissing me, stroking me, apologizing with his affectionate caresses.
It was unnecessary. I was only too happy to be who he reached for in the middle of a bad dream, that I brought him comfort was important to me, even if it was a bit rough sometimes.
Aruba - Four Days Later
Tommy
I was ready to rip this bonehead goof’s head off. He was shamelessly flirting with her and oblivious to my anger about it. Why? Because I’d been laughing and joking with her when we arrived and that made me seem…what… weak?
I’d had about e-fucking-nough of people. We took a tour of an eco-park and then we went snorkeling. Yeah, it was cool and it was nice to see her enjoy herself, but there were too many people around fo
r my liking. Despite that, I dealt.
Two days of tourist shit and losing count of how many beaches we went to. She didn’t moan when I said I wanted a day of R&R at the resort the day before. She swam, read a book, and worked on her tan while I did some work for Ferrano Enterprises on her laptop to lighten some of Dare’s load.
He contacted me via video call to tell me to stop, but I wasn’t accustomed to so much down time.
“This is supposed to be a vacation, bro,” Dare teased on screen.
“We’re here a few more days and then we’re heading to the next spot to meet up with all of you for the wedding. Guessin’ you’re probably slammed gettin’ ready to go, so I’m just lending a hand.”
He shook his head but smiled on the screen. “I get it. You’re not used to it, but I got this. Got loads of help with this consulting firm. Our top-level people, too. Then, you’ve got your honeymoon and the rest of your life. You don’t need to even think about this shit right now. You really wanna think about it, we’ll talk a few weeks after the wedding.”
The rest of my life. What the fuck was I gonna do with the rest of my life?
Pop had us so busy, doing so many things, both legit and shady, that I was a man used to working daily. Between work, working out, and playtime at the club (before I met Tia) I never sat idle.
Now, I was idle without a dozen irons in various fires and with no idea what to do with myself. And to top it all off, my head was filled with shit. Work would’ve let me bury it. Idle time just let it fester and torment me.
I didn’t even have a gym here. Yeah, the resort had one, but I didn’t want to work out around other people. Leave Tia alone and unguarded in our villa? Fuck, no. No outlets for me but fucking, and I didn’t wanna hurt her, was pissed at myself for making her bleed the other night. I was feeling unhinged and didn’t trust myself not to take it too far with her. So, I swam and fucked carefully, and I was ready to use this fuckhead that had his beady little eyes on her tits as a punching bag.
Today, we were gonna spend the rest of the day at a public beach she’d heard was in the top five on the island. I was trying to make this trip good for her, and based on what I felt like right now, I was anxious to get out of this vacation mode. It wasn’t for me. Not like this, anyway.
I grabbed Tia’s hand and glared at the guy who was talking to her. His wife was playing in the water with their two kids.
“Baby, let’s go,” I said, cutting the guy off.
Her expression dropped. We’d only been here not even an hour.