Nostalgia
WESTLEY
STEPPING Back to the city I left years ago was a bold move on my part, and seeing a lot of changes made me feel like I came from a different planet. My teeth were almost tattered, and goosebumps erupted all over my skin in dread. The smell of the city and the noises alone made me quickly feel nostalgic.
I hugged myself as I watched the city blur with a thousand colors as we drove by in the black sedan.
After our mind-blowing sex last night, I fell back to slumber. Until now, I could still feel the aftermath-my skin was still buzzing and my muscles were sore. Clyve took the opportunity to explore my body to the most sensitive and responsive part I’d ever known existed. He was a beast in the bed but took care of me and my needs at the same time.
He woke me up when he found me screaming with the nightmare of my past. It was more of a flashback because it was more realistic than a dream. I felt those raw emotions, my physical pain, my humiliation. What I liked about him was, he didn’t poke, instead, he cuddled me into his arms until I fell asleep.
“Are you feeling okay?” Keene caught my hand, squeezing it. He knew how I exactly felt coming back. The city didn’t throw me away, it was my family, but I couldn’t forget the fact that it played a huge part in my past that I wanted to forget.
“I’m good.”
“Good you mean you’re about to faint? Your hand is so cold as ice.”
I didn’t tell him that I had a bad dream. What for? We came to hopefully treat him, and this was our best chance.
“I am not,” I whispered. I didn’t want Clyve to think of something was off. He didn’t know that I was born and grew up in this city other than his wild guesses. Hopefully, he couldn’t figure out until we finished what we came for and wished we wouldn’t bump into someone I knew from the past.
I looked at Keene. There was a worry plastered on his face. I smiled even though my stomach was twisting in a knot from the guilt of what I did behind his back.
I looked away to the outside of the tinted window when my chest tightened. I couldn’t help but sigh with a shaky breath in both relief and disappointment that I chose to fall into the pit of lust when I should have kept myself apart from Clyve.
“What’s going on with you?” Keene poked. “Should I tell Klash to drive us back to the airport?”
I met the mid-forties, military built with dark eyes through the rearview mirror.
“You alright, Westley?”
I cleared my throat. “I’m fine.”
Relief washed through me. Clyve was not a PDA and clingy type, but he couldn’t hide the dreamy look and the sparkling of his eyes. I threw him a warning look when he wore this huge smile on his face if Keene wasn’t looking at both of us.
“Should we stop to grab a bite, Keene?” He shifted his body to face us.
“Thank you, man, but I rather hit the bed,” Keene answered.
“You tired or something?”
“No. You probably want to meet your brother. I’d rather call the room service if you don’t mind.” Keene glanced at me. “How about you?”
“Don’t have a plan.” I want to spend some time with Clyve. That’s my plan. Inwardly, I rolled my eyes and hit myself in the head. God, I felt like a horny bitch. What’s wrong with me? This wasn’t some kind of a vacay.
“What’s going on with you?” he asked with furrowed brows.
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
“Something is going on in that head of yours, Westley.”
I chuckled. “Yeah. A lot.”
“Besides that…” He side-glanced Clyve which already focused back to the road. “Thing.”
“I’m just overwhelmed and worried about you more than myself. I can only breathe freely once we have you treated.”
“I’ll be fine. Stop beating yourself up.”
“I hope it’s that easy to say.”
“He’s a strong bloke, Westley. Trust me, I can feel the tension in you until here. Just relax. Keene will be fine. Starting tomorrow he will be in the right hands.”
“Thanks, man. That means a lot because this woman will make me sicker if she keeps acting weird like this.”
“Anything, Keene.”
“We’re here,” Klash, the driver announced.
“This isn’t far from the hospital where we’ll going to visit tomorrow. That’s why I choose this hotel.” Surprisingly, Clyve chose a high-end hotel in the city.
After Clyve chatted with the receptionist regarding our rooms, we headed to the elevator. The soft ding and the small humming made me uneasy as we lifted to the right floor.
A warm soft hand wrapped around mine with a light squeeze. I couldn’t help but squeeze that hand back. His thumb drew small circles around my knuckles that made me bite my bottom lip-the sensation ignited again. I felt the instant fire racing through my veins, melting me like magma.
“Relax. You’ll be fine,” he muttered.
I released a shaky breath, wishing my stay would be as peaceful as this elevator.
“I booked a hotel room across your room and Keene’s. Hope they suit to your liking.”
“They?” I snapped my head at him with my voice a little louder. Thankfully, there were just three of us.
“Yeah, but I don’t have problems with you sharing with me.” There you were-the playful smirk curved across his lips.
I widened my eyes to warn him, but instead of him shutting up, he ended up laughing at me.
“What? I thought you’d like some privacy.”
Keene chuckled beside me. “We don’t have that privacy in a long time. No offense, Westley, but I’d like to have some peace for a while without plugging my ears from your snores.”
I pulled my hand out of Clyve’s grip and faced my best friend with narrowed eyes. “Really? So you’re fed up with me, huh? Why haven’t you said so?”
“Don’t fight in the elevator, Westley. He’s just messing with you.” He grabbed my wrist.
“You know me well. What you need is a good drink, right, Clyve?”
“I agree with that.”
“I’m not gonna drink.”
“You coming with us, Keene?”
“I’m good, thank you. Alcohol is one thing that I shouldn’t be consuming. I appreciate the offer though, but you better take this woman for a drink because she needs to loosen up and get laid.”
“Oh, my god!” My eyes widened in shock. “You didn’t just say that out loud.” I could feel my face burning while Clyve was laughing at my side as if we didn’t just do that many times last night. Keene joined him. My anger rose, and so as my embarrassment. I bolted out as soon as the elevator opened.
HIS EYES shone as soon as he spotted me. He stood up from the barstool and met me halfway with a full-blown smile.
I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck with a searing kiss just like how I meant to kiss him since we parted in the morning. The old me had escaped from the prison where I kept held for years.
He kissed me back just the way I kissed him. When we broke apart we were both breathless.
“If that’s how you welcome me, I make sure you missed me every day.” He kissed my forehead, then rested his hand on my waist, guiding me to where he was seated.
I couldn’t help but scanned around out of my paranoia. “So, you missed me, too?”
“You have no idea. And the tiny thing you are wearing just caught me off guard. In a good way though.”
“Does that mean you like it?” I teased him. I looked down at my dark blue cocktail dress. It was the opposite of me from the small town. The dress showed some skin. Actually, a lot of skin from my cleavage to the three inches cut above my knees. I was like the character I created, Sindy Kate. Only this time, I showed it to one man, and I tended to keep it that way.
“I love it, Westley.”
We were seating on the stools, and Clyve had already his soda.
“What would you like to drink, love?” He smiled as he kept strolling his gaze from my head to my crossed exposed knees.
“A dry martini, please?” I ordered the bartender.
“I thought you don’t wanna drink,” Clyve reminded me with a joke.
“You’re with me. Spank me if I’ll do something inappropriate.” I grabbed his hand, and he quickly entwined with mine.
“Oh, I’m such a wad. I’m honestly not good at dating, but I wouldn’t let this night go without telling you that you look stunning.” He planted his lips on my knuckles.
I couldn’t help but smile. “You looked pretty well cleaned up yourself, Linton.”
He had a gray shirt with two buttons opened and paired with dark pants. He looked gorgeous tonight that I could not wait to lick the smile off his lips.
“Don’t look at me like that, love.”
I used to flirt, but it had been ages. “How do I look at you exactly?”
“That you’re ready to eat me.” Clyve moved closer to me. Our knees brushed off. The sensation started to heat up.
I grabbed my drink and took a sip of it. Licking my lip, I tasted the bitter taste I’d missed. I could feel the heated gaze of Clyve on my lips. When I placed down the glass, I let my unshielded gaze of lust lock with his.
His eyes flooded with heated anticipation, too. “God, I wanna kiss you, but not here.”
“To a man who is not an expert in dating, you wanna score now, huh?”
He grabbed his soda, gulping the content. He placed it down and said, “Can’t stay here longer with a stiffy. We are leaving.” Then he told the bartender, “Another Martini and soda to room 866, please.” He threw a few bills and stood up.
“Coming right up, sir.”
“And you, Westley, you better get on your feet before I throw you on my shoulder and carry you like a sack of potato.”
The way he said potato made me giggle like a schoolgirl. I thought it was sexy.
I quickly gripped the hand he offered. We headed back to the elevator. Clyve looked relaxed as he shoved his free hand into his pocket while I kept on fidgeting beside him because I knew exactly how it ended before this night is over-either in his bed or mine. Either way, we would be both enjoying this night with hot, sweaty, panting, or screaming our names as we flew higher reaching our nirvana.
“You could just text me to come to your room, instead you made me wear this and prepared myself for two hours just to look good in your eyes, Clyve Linton,” I teased him.
He looked down at me. “You look gorgeous even on your baggy, and you look more stunning when you wear nothing.” He leaned closer to kiss me, but the door opened, making us both groan. “Bloody.”
We were about to step in when my eyes landed on the person inside. I froze, rooted in my spot. My heart raced and nearly exploded when our gazes met. He was wearing the same shock on my face-confused and shocked.
I wanted to run and hide. But before I could do that…