“Aleks Turko not a magnet. Please.” Billy Bob snuffed off Rob’s comment.
“Actually, now that you mention it, you haven’t had any outrageous stories in the last little while.” Marc, like Rob, was astute.
“Haven’t had much to talk about. Haven’t been with too many outrageous women lately.” Completely untrue but Aleks couldn’t exactly spill the beans about Carrie. If Aleks had to be completely honest with himself, she was the most outrageous woman he’d ever been with. He just didn’t have bragging rights.
“That’s all you date are outrageous women,” Billy Bob yelled. “The day Aleks Turko settles down is the day those flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz invade Canada.”
“Interesting analogy but I do agree.” Marc put in his two cents. “You’re just not meant for long-term relationships. We all have to live vicariously through you, man.”
Rob interrupted, “Speak for yourself. I have my own living, breathing fantasy. I don’t need Turko’s embellished tales of sex and more sex.”
“Embellished? You break my heart.” Aleks looked at Rob with amusement, but in reality he was one hundred percent jealous of him. “Maybe one day I would want a relationship.”
The three chuckled then Billy Bob chimed in. “You’re good for one thing and one thing only. Fucking. Aleks Turko and a relationship–never going to happen.”
“Don’t ever change, man.” Marc slapped Aleks’s shoulder from across the table. “You have a gift. Losers like us need something to keep us going.”
Aleks took a long gulp of his draft beer. Although he joked around at his own expense, he couldn’t help but take to heart what his friends thought of him. Not meant for long-term relationships. What did that mean for Carrie?
Aleks looked over at Rob who, despite laughing, had a curious look in his eye. Or maybe it was pity. Rob had something special with Martina and probably thought Aleks would never find that kind of happiness. He was right. The only person Aleks could ever imagine growing old with was Carrie. What right did he have to disrupt her life? She wanted something from him that he couldn’t give. But what if he could be that man? She made him want to be that man.
With her it wasn’t about taking, it was about giving. He wanted to give her everything. Carrie wanted him to demand sexual submission, but that didn’t sit well. These feelings, these strange, new feelings were tearing him apart. Making him believe that he deserved a better life than the one he’d planned for himself. A life with Carrie was a figment of his imagination. Aleks needed to put an end to this while he still had the chance. Carrie deserved to be happy, and he obviously wasn’t the man to give her happiness.
The waitress walked over to the table and set down two baskets of wings and a plate of french fries. The smell of hot sauce wafted up from the table, and Aleks’s stomach growled in hunger. All four men dug in without a second thought. The conversation thankfully changed to something other than Aleks’s love life. Or sex life. That would be a better description according to his friends. But the conversation was drowned out by his own thoughts.
Should he even be thinking about a relationship if all he was good for was a fling? Aleks already knew commitment, love and the whole shebang weren’t his style, but something about Carrie made him want to give it a try. Now his friends had reinforced his greatest fear. He wasn’t good enough for her. He would only hurt her, take what he wanted, and then leave her in the dust.
Maybe it was a good thing that Carrie only wanted something casual. She wasn’t invested, therefore unable to get hurt. Maybe he needed to do something to show her it really was casual. That he was just as detached as she was. No sense in dwelling on something he couldn’t even understand, let alone change his life for it. Aleks was going to need a distraction. When presented with a dilemma there was only one thing that would take his mind off his troubles. And this time his troubles were huge.
Chapter 13
The Taylor’s backyard had been transformed into a Hawaiian paradise. Tiki torches were lit along both sides of the fence, the tables were adorned with fresh orchid centerpieces and the guests were greeted upon arrival with leis while they enjoyed a buffet of traditional luau fair.
Guests arrived from all over the city–not to mention a few out-of-towners–to celebrate. Her parents renewed their vows under a white trellis covered with flowers. Carrie and the guests watched eagerly from round tables scattered throughout the yard.
The ceremony went off without a hitch. Her parents were ecstatic. Their friends and family mixed and mingled, having a great time as they enjoyed the Hawaiian themed decorations and food. Carrie watched her parents. They were in the center of a group of people, smiles a mile wide as they laughed and reminisced with friends. Thirty years of marriage. How did they do it? Her entire lifetime her parents had been rock solid. A team to look up to. A team to which she could mold her own ideas about love and relationships. Sort of wasted on her. She didn’t have a prospect in sight. The only face that came to mind when she thought about her future husband–Aleks Turko. Carrie had always dreamed of building a life with the one person who was put on this planet just for her. It was something she desperately wanted. Yes, she was a romantic, a hopeless cheese ball. Maybe one day her children would be hosting a party just like this one for her and whoever happened to steal her heart from Aleks.
And that man needed to make a quick entrance. That man needed to steal her heart and steal
it fast, because to her left Aleks stood with a perky blond bimbo on his arm. How he had the audacity to bring a woman to the party after what they’d shared was incomprehensible. Or was it? No strings attached. They didn’t have any rules about dati
ng. Aleks never said he was invested. That didn’t mean it didn’t sting, made her heart ache more than it ever had before. This bimbo was more than just a bimbo, she represented Carrie’s inadequacy. Her inability to hold the attention and affection of Aleks Turko.
That didn’t seem to be the case when they were in bed, or in the store’s changing room. Chalk it up to him being a red-blooded male and enticed with the opportunity to stick his dick in any available hole. It had been her decision to proposition him. Twice. It had been her mistake. She had to deal with it, but that didn’t mean she had to stand there and watch.
Before Carrie had the chance to take off, a familiar face came into view.
“Hello, dear.”
“Hi, Mr. Turko. Thanks so much for coming.” Carrie lifted herself on her tiptoes and gave
Aleks’s father a hug.
“What have I told you about the Mr. Turko business? It’s John.” “Sorry. Old habits are hard to break. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Absolutely. You did a great job.” He stole a glance at her parents. “Your parents are very lucky. I’m glad Aleks had some exposure to a normal relationship. I’m afraid I wasn’t the best role model.”
Carrie couldn’t help but notice that Aleks kept glancing in her direction. Even more now that she was standing with his father. Aleks’s relationship with his dad was strained, but that hadn’t stopped her from growing to love him over the years. During all the time she spent at the Turko home, it was Mr. Turko who made sure she had her own room to sleep in, that she was served first, that noticed she needed extra time in the bathroom. Despite not being the best at showing his feelings or recovering from his wife leaving him, he was a good dad. He just might not have shown Aleks the way when it came to women, letting him grow up believing that building a life with a woman could only lead to heartbreak.