Twisted (15 page)

A warm tear fell from my eye and ran down my cheek as I
listened to his heartbeat, strong and steady, like him.  I took a deep breath. 
It felt like the first breath I had taken in hours.  Edwin was my rock.

"I'm here Abby.  You're okay.  Everything's going to be
okay," he said, reassuring me while he stroked my hair.

My senses were slowly returning to me, but the alcohol didn't
help to speed up the process.  Recognizing that I must have been hallucinating,
caused tears to spring from my eyes.  "I'm so sorry.  I overreacted.  I
don't know what's come over me," I cried softly.

Edwin chuckled, a little amused now.  "It could have
something to do with those shots you did."

"That's the only reasonable explanation.  I was
hallucinating.  But I really thought there was a monster coming to kill me
.
"
 
And that monster was my dead sister.

Edwin chuckled again.  "It happens."

"Not to me!"

Edwin squeezed me hard against him.  "Well if you're
going to have delusions, why not concentrate real hard on making it a raunchy
fantasy about me?  You can tell me all about it in the morning."

"Edwin, I'm serious.  I've never been so scared in my
life.  Well... maybe once before," I said, being struck again with my
dreadful memories of the accident that claimed my sister’s life.

Edwin didn't want to dredge up my devastation.  "There's
nothing to be scared of.  Listen.  There's nothing out there.  It's so
peaceful... just nature.  It couldn't be more perfect out here to me."  He
gazed down into my eyes, lifted my chin and planted a soft kiss on my mouth. 
"Best of all, I know it's just you and me.  I've been working on that all
night."

I smiled for the first time since we left the resort and it
felt good.  I was feeling more like myself by the minute.

"Are you smiling?" Edwin teased.

"Yes," I said, then tucked my head into his arm to
stifle a giggle.

He pulled away from me and straddled over the seat behind
me.  "Come here," he ordered, patting the seat in front of him.

I turned to face him and swung my leg over to reflect his
position.  He grasped my hips to slide me closer to him and pulled my thighs
over the top of his, until my feet rested on the seat behind him.  His mouth
kicked up a sweet smile, his face only inches from mine.  His aqua eyes sparkled
in the moonlight as he leaned down to kiss me.  When his lips brushed across mine,
every worry and fear seemed to evaporate, all bad thoughts being driven from my
mind.

"I won't ever leave you again," he whispered, his
forehead pressed against mine.

Tears instantly streamed from my eyes and he kissed them as
they fell down my cheeks.  Embarrassed, I turned away and tried to make them
disappear, but they just kept coming.

Edwin dried my eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. 
"What am I going to do with you?"

"Can we blame that on the liquor too?" I asked,
still crying.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of Abs.  I know I kind
of threw you for a loop the other night.  Telling you I love you.  The sex.  I
half expected your emotions to follow suit.”  He swept the back of his fingers
under my eye.  “As long as those are happy tears, cry away."

Drying my eyes on Edwin's chest, I pressed out a smile.  Everything
was going great up until my delusional outburst.  Edwin looked very concerned,
but in a sweet sense, and not at all concerned about our predicament.  The last
thing I wanted to do is ruin his whole night.

I snuffed unattractively and took a deep breath.  "So
what were you saying before I dragged you out of your sanctuary?"

He chuckled, as he stood up and stepped past me, then put his
foot on the front tire and gave it a good shake.  "We can’t go any farther
on this thing.  But you know me, I want to check things out.  I saw a sandy
path at the bottom of the rocks there and I think it leads to a lake.  I was gonna
go have a look, but I'm glad I never went that far.  Who knows what would have
happened if I had?"

I nodded my head.  "I would've passed out for sure. 
Probably would've conked my head off a rock too."

Edwin scowled at me, unimpressed with my attitude. 
"Well I can't leave you hear with your optimism and that wild imagination
of yours.  So are we going down there or what?"

I took a deep breath to muster up some courage.  "Okay,
I guess.  As long as you promise not to leave my side for the rest of the
night."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he said, smiling.  He
reached a hand out for me and I slipped my fingers between his.

Hand in hand we scaled the boulders.  When we met a large rock
face, Edwin hopped up first and pulled me up behind him like I was a dependent
child.  He watched me as the faint moonlight shined on my glossy brown hair,
the wind picking up speed and whipping it away from my face.  I tried to act
like my nerves hadn't returned, but the spaces between the rocks grew wider and
I couldn't see the ground beneath them.  Tilting my chin up, I held Edwin's
hand tight, guided by blind trust, until I climbed down to where the rocks met the
ground.

Just as Edwin had suggested, there was a narrow row of sand
right at the base of the rocks.  It was a rough, winding path, but it seemed to
lead us toward the sound of crashing waves.  The closer we got to the lake the
sound of the waves drowned out those of the nearby rapids.  Relief rushed me
like a football player when we were met with a clearing.  It felt like the
monster couldn't get me anymore.

On the narrow beach we were met with twinkling stars that
glimmered off the water in the clear night.  The silhouette of trees in the
distance, the same canopy that had engulfed me earlier, was now a serene
picture of absolute tranquility.  I took a deep exaggerated breath.

Edwin sighed.  "See what I mean?"

I had to admit it.  "It's beautiful."

Still holding my hand, Edwin gazed into my eyes.  "Yeah,
it is."

We stood there together on the remote deserted beach, just staring
into each other's eyes.  Eddie could be so romantic sometimes.  It's hard to
believe this is the same man who was just delivering my pizza the other night. 
I smiled and blushed.

"Isn't it kind of funny how quickly things can take a turn
for the good?" he said, stealing my very thoughts.

"I know what you mean.  It's like we've been living in
the same house all this time and yet we couldn't have been farther apart."

Edwin's lips brushed mine softly.  "I had to take you to
this place to finally get you alone."

I nodded in agreement and a chilly breeze swept past us.  I
shivered and rubbed my arms briskly, to settle the goose bumps creeping up on me. 
Edwin’s big, warm hands smoothed over my arms, soothing the chill and warming
my heart.

“Come on,” he said softly.

Relinking our hands, Edwin led me farther down the narrow beach. 
I hugged his incredibly big arm and rested my head against his broad shoulder. 
An extended yawn escaped my mouth and I covered it with my hand.

"Tired?"

"I am.  And my feet are ouchy too.  So much for those
cute sandals I brought for tomorrow."

"You can blame me if you have ouchy feet when you wake
up in the morning," he said, smiling.

"Oh, I will," I teased.

"Oh yeah, you think it's all on me?" Edwin said
raising his voice.  He picked me up and flipped me over his shoulder, clasping
my legs with one arm.  He ran us out to the water, playfully threatening to
drop me in.

I squealed, pleaded, slapped his back, but he wouldn't
listen.  "Put me down!"

"If you insist!"  He flung me off of his shoulder
and swept me close to the water.

"Edwin!  No!"  I was convinced he was going to dunk
me, but to my surprise he swooped me back up and maneuvered me into his arms,
like he was carrying me over the threshold.  I hooked my arms around his neck
and gazed into his aqua eyes glimmering in the moonlight.

"Seriously though,” he said, his voice a low sexy growl,
his lips only a breath away from mine, “blame me for your sore feet.  It was
definitely worth it to me."  Edwin dropped a soft peck on my lips and
hugged me close as he carried me away from the water.  He shuffled a bit,
before he went down to one knee and leaned me over it.  "Okay, now you can
kiss me."  His smile was radiant, breathtaking.

I tugged him down until his hot mouth covered mine.  He
tasted so sweet, but it couldn't stop me from yawning again.  This time against
his mouth.

"Am I boring you?" he asked, a quizzical look
raising his brow.

I smiled softly.  "I’m just a little tired."

Edwin scooped me back up into his arms and, though I enjoyed
the fact that this massive man could throw me around like a small child, I
started to feel self-conscious about my weight.  "You don't have to carry
me around."

"I like to."

Edwin carried me over to a huge old fallen tree.  He took a
seat against it and effortlessly sat me on his lap.  I savoured the silence, as
he rested his chin on top of my head, though I knew, before long, I would have
to ask Edwin how he felt about
us
. 
What are we doing here?

"We're quite the pair, eh?" I asked.

"Yeah, we definitely are."  Edwin’s chest rose on a
deep intake of breath and fell with an exaggerated exhale.  At that moment, I
knew he was as content as I was.  "There's something about this place.  I
don't want to leave," he whispered.

I felt it too.  "We don't have to go," I said
softly.

I pulled myself off his lap and sat next to him on the
massive branch, our legs still touching, my head resting on his arm.  The
moonlight sparkled on the gentle waves and the night was filled with serene sounds
only nature could provide.  The quiet night set the stage for a flood of
thoughts to come to me.

Just days ago I was denying my feelings for Edwin and calling
him
just a friend
, though I knew in my heart that our flame had never
died out.  The love we’ve shared could never be erased.  So why does the word
safe
always come to mind?  Edwin makes me feel safe.  Being in a relationship with
Edwin is easy.  Those should be good things.  The fear of ultimately losing
each other altogether seemed to be the glue that always pulled us back
together.

There was never any shortage of love, but now there's a new
piece to this puzzle.  I want a baby.  And soon.  Edwin’s always known how
important a family is to me and he’s never denied that he wants to have
children in the future, but I’m worried that the pieces just won’t fit together. 
He’s always reiterating how important it is to be secure in a career before
making such a huge investment in life.  I doubt a few weeks on the job has
given him a warm fuzzy feeling when it comes to financial security. 
He's so
not ready.
  I shook my head to clear the new disturbing thoughts suddenly crowding
my mind.

Edwin looked at me funny.  I wonder how long he had been
watching me.  I returned a smile and turned away, suddenly wondering if he was
even ready to commit to a permanent relationship.  Was this just another fling
for him?  A relationship of convenience?  One way or another I would find out
by week-end.

EDWIN
PLANTED HIS HAND on my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze.  "What are you
thinking about?" he asked, breaking the long silence.

I shrugged my shoulders.  “Things.  And how amazing things
are right now.  Just being with you."

"Yeah, I am the man," he said with confidence.

The lack of sarcasm in his voice made me laugh out loud, but
it was stifled with an all-consuming yawn.  I stretched my arms out over my
head.  I was fading fast.

"We better get you back," he said, brushing his
fingers through my tangled hair.

"No, I'm not ready to go."  We couldn't leave now. 
I had made it this far and I wouldn't trade this dreamy atmosphere for the
world.  Our connection felt so special tonight, despite my self-deprecating
thoughts.  It was the perfect chance to tell him how I feel.

Edwin got up from the log and took off his jacket, spreading
it before me on the damp sand.

"What are you doing?  You’re gonna get wet."

Without any words he laid down in the sand facing the log and
patted the jacket for me to join him.  I clambered down from the log and curled
up on the warm, soft jacket in front of him.  Edwin draped his bare arm over my
curvaceous hip, giving me more of his grizzly warmth.  It was only then that I
realized just how tired I was.

"I knew that you wouldn't lay with me if I’d asked you
to lie in the dirt.  Am I right?"

I hid my inner giggle, because of course he was right.  The
wind was blowing strong and the waves crashed on the nearby rocks, occasionally
spraying us with a cool mist.  The way Edwin was cocooned around me, it made me
feel so utterly happy.  When I shivered, he reached forward and collected my
hands in his.  Though the old dry log was blocking the brunt of the mist, it
didn’t protect us entirely.  Edwin squeezed around me tighter, his skin rough
and exposed, but he seemed unscathed by the cool moist air around us.  With
Edwin's massive body wrapped around me I felt so cozy and safe.