My Husband and I
Dark Romance ?
Episode 11
~ Mary’s POV ~
I..I think this was a mistake,” I told him, wrangling my hands nervously punched myself in the gut. I was awful for taking away his smile.
“Did I say something wrong?” his tone dipped in concern. I shook my head, and then nodded yes, and then no again.
“Mary, you’re giving me mixed signals here.”
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out.
“I’m just nervous. You make me nervous,” I said, chancing at him through my lashes before looking down at my hands. I heard him chuckle and saw his muscle flex beneath his shirt. He placed a hand under my chin to lift it toward him, gently.
“You make me nervous, too,” he said.
I smiled shakily at him as I tried to calm myself. He was just a charming man, nothing more. Yet the loud thumps of my heart spoke differently. I had no idea how this man had such a powerful effect on me. We knew next to nothing about one another, and somehow he had the power to make my stomach flutter.
“Besides, it would suck to waste the food I brought us,” he said, removing his hand from my chin before holding up his hand from my chin and before holding up a bag in his other hand. I was surprised because I didn’t notice it when he was walking toward me earlier.
“You brought food?” I asked, surprised. I mean, I skipped breakfast today out of nerves. It would be nice to eat something. My stomach mumbled lightly in agreement.
“Well, I figured since we were meeting at a Park, we could have a picnic of sorts,” he paused, looking sheepish. “If that’s alright with you,” I was awed by the look on his face.
Abbey stood in front of me looking the tiniest but uncertain as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. It was a change from the confident swagger he showed only moments before. He was so thoughtful and cute.
“I would love that,” I told him honestly.
“There’s a canopy with tables on the other side.”
We walked together, with Abbey a step behind me. When we talked on the phone earlier, Abbey confessed he wasn’t familiar with the area. I guess it was only natural I take lead since I’ve been here a few times. Additionally, I had to pick a place far enough away from where I lived, just in case.
Reaching the large canopy, the picnic tables were empty and surprisingly clean. There was a grill at the entrance for parties to use. Still, in step behind me, I chose a random table for us to sit at. Abbey placed the bag down on the table before opening its contents. It seemed he brought Chinese food for us to eat.
“I forgot to ask you what you wanted to eat, so I went and ordered an assortment of things,” he said, pulling out shrimp rice, chicken fried rice, beef and broccoli, and shrimp rolls. He surprised me with the amount of food he brought along with four bottles of water. Although I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat as much.
“I hope this is okay.”
“It’s fine, thank you, Abbey. I actually like everything you picked out,” I told him and he grinned, satisfied with himself.
He pulled a few empty containers out of the bag, handing two to me, and leaving the napkins in the bag along with the variety of sauce and utensils. I wanted until he was sitting across from me, before helping myself to a bit of everything but keeping my portions light.
Scopping a little of each dish into my empty container. Abbey had done the same except his food had way more than mine. For a while, we are in comfortable silence.
Watching the sun gets brighter as the minutes ticked by. The bird chirped while the air grow warmer in the weather. Choosing not to think about something so hindering, I decided to enjoy the moment. The slight breeze glided across my skin as it went by causing the scent of Chinese food to waft through the air along with the inviting smell of Abbey.
Despite the Chinese food having a strong smell, it was near impossible to not smell Abbey. I tried as I might to distract myself, but my entire being couldn’t help but remain focused on him.
He smelled so good, so sweet and masculine. Wh@tëver cologne he had on, made me want to stick to his skin like glue. Just so I could inhale his scent and hold deeply into his eyes. I’ve never felt such a pull toward a man. And what a magnificent man Abbey was. Not just in his looks, but his mannerisms, too.
Remembering the night of the rain, I recall him keeping a safe distance from me until we kissed. He made sure I was okay the whole night and provided comfort to me. How did I get so lucky?
“Thank you for the food,” I said sincerely, stuffed from my small portion. Abbey scarfed down a few more bites before his container was empty too.
“Anytime, Mary. You’re most welcome,” he then grabbed a bottle of water, handing me one before he grabbed his own. Unscrewing the cap, I took a few sips out of thirst as he did. Then he closed the bottle again while I sat mine down. Clasping his hands on the table, he asked, “Do you mind if we talk about that night?”
My face began to heat up under his stare before speaking hesitantly, “I suppose we shouldn’t, but,” I paused before meeting his stare. “I don’t want you to think I have a habit of cheating. That night was new to me.”
“Me too,” he said quietly. “I don’t have a bad streak of kissing married women.”
Boom! The conversation began.
“But that night,” he spoke again. “I felt something between us.” He admitted, causing me to avert my gaze.
“Abiola…”
“Yes, I knew you felt it, sensed the connection between us,” he pressed his words spoken calmly. I did feel it. I felt it in the past two weeks since I’ve been coming on my fingers at the thought of him.
“Lie to me, Mary. Tell me you didn’t share the same feelings I had.
The silence hung around us. I was scared to answer. Too afraid to admit the truth to him. When I had yet to respond, he slid his hand across the table to hold unto mine. His hold was gentle but firm and pleasant. He swiped his thumb over my knuckles in a soothing manner. And as I looked back into his eyes, I couldn’t keep the truth in.
“I can’t,” I whispered, a lone tear escaping me.
Abbey reached up, using his other hand, and wiped it away. “I don’t want to betray my husband, but I can’t get you out of my head. No one’s…” I stopped before I say too much.
“No one’s what?” he asked as his brow furrowed in a mix of concern and confusion. I shook my head, deciding to drop it. He left it alone before speaking.
“I have never been drawn to a woman in this manner before. More from one look, and certainly not from a single kiss. When I saw you in the restaurant for the first time, I was going to come up to you. As unprofessional as it sounds,” he added.
My breath escaped me as I gasped lowly.
“Really?” I asked incredulously, and he grinned.
“Don’t act so surprised, Mary. You bewitched me the moment I saw you walk through the door.”
Don’t smile, don’t smile, I continued the mantra in my head, fighting hard not to smile at his words. But it was too late. I was beaming under like a silly fool.
“Bewitched you? Really? How do you have this intense effect on me?”
His grin got larger, happily. As if he was proud that I had such a reaction to him.
“Believe me, Mary, when I say you have a greater effect on me,” I scoffed. “If you placed a hand on my heart, you would feel it thundering in my chest. Every time you look at me, it jumps aster.”
“Ok, Mr. Smooth,” sarcasm laved on my tone.
We laughed a little before moving from his seat and sitting beside me. He then took my hand in his and placed it on his chest where his heart was located. Indeed his heart was beating erratically. A part of me thought he should think about seeing a doctor, but he flattered me. I kept my hand on his chest as I glanced up. Our eyes locked instantly, and it was as if magnetic energy drew us closer together.
“Oh,” was all I could come up with.
Too caught in a trance to say much and it appeared Abbey felt the same. His eyes sparkled as they stared back at me, full of desire and want.
“I’ve been dreaming of feeling your lips on mine again since that night,” he said, referring back to the rainy night.
“We agreed on friends,” I muttered, but I still didn’t pull away.
“I know,” he leaned in closer to me, my wrist still in his grip. But I want to kiss you first distasteful on his tongue. I knew why, but I didn’t know enough about him to risk my marriage. Not that I wanted to risk my marriage, I think.
“And you never cared to ask about how my husband and I battled the previous night. Did you?”
“I forgot. What happened to him? I remember his phone wasn’t connecting that night. Did you meet him when you arrived?”
“No, he wasn’t. It would have been horrible if he was.”
“You mean your husband slept outside?” he asked bewildered.
“My husband is an officer. A policeman,” I answered.
“Oh! I never knew….”
“Now, you know. That very night we went for an emergency and couldn’t come back, he came back later the next day. He would only find out if Gbenga mentioned it to him which I don’t think he would..”
“Who’s Gbenga? The man that drove you home that night?”
“Yes, Gbenga is his friend and also an officer.”
“Oh! Okay. I hope he keeps his mouth shut.”
Silence.
So, one last kiss,” he whispered, and moved closer. Our lips nearly bridged one another’s.
“To seal the deal.”
He nodded. “To seal the deal.”
I sniffed slightly, breathing in his intoxicating scent as he heaved in and captured my lips with his. The feel of his lips against mine had me folding, succvmbing to the sweet kiss. Still holding onto my wait. While I brought my hand to his chest, tracing the lines of his muscles underneath.
When he saw the look on my face, I saw him but back a smile. “We agreed to one last kiss. To seal the deal.”
He reminded me as much as I wanted to argue against it and demand more. I knew it wouldn’t be fair to him, myself, or my husband. Maybe our last kiss wasn’t a good idea.
Then again, I didn’t regret kissing him which was shocking. I wanted to kiss him more. My husband wasn’t much of a good kisser. In fact, I didn’t have a lot of pleasurable experiences with the man I had given all my first to. Abbey was exceptional.
Gosh, what’s wrong with me?
Here I am thinking about kissing Abbey again when I said I wouldn’t see him again. I was married for God’s. But I don’t think I could live the rest of my days without getting to know him at least, as friends, of course. So with heavy and damp P@ntiës, I replied half-heartedly, “To seal the deal.”
To be continued…
Frank The Writer
