Against All Odds Pt. 04

"How do you know it's mine?"

"I don't, but if I am pregnant, I'm not going to tell Dave, and I will faced with a hard decision."

"If you need, I can pay for the abortion." He obviously didn't really want a relationship with me.

I was angry with that thought and realized that even talking to him was a terrible mistake. I didn't know if I could even have an abortion, and the last person I should be talking to was Ryan. If I was pregnant, I would need to speak with Dave about it. It would end us if it was Ryan's, but at the same time, I hoped beyond hope if I was pregnant, it was his.

"You know what, Ryan. Fuck you." The Irish girl in me wanted to be cruel, but there was no point.

I just left and called Shirley. We met, and I spilled my guts. I'd made some terrible decisions. I cried for hours. She just listened to me. In the end, it was a deep catharsis. I was spent, and as a symbol of this final change, I blocked Ryan and cut the thought of him out of my life. Shirley also told me that getting clean was a shock that could really mess with my cycles. Just like magic, three days later, my period came.

It was a huge relief mixed with sadness thinking about having a child with Dave. After this, and with my utter rejection of even the memory of Ryan, I had renewed purpose and hope I could win Dave's heart again.

He made thirty days, and four days later, I did as well.

We had dinner the following evening. We went to the same Thai place after our first date. The owner was there, gushing over Dave and flirting terribly, telling me how lucky a girl I was. I just smiled.

Dave looked fantastic. He had lost a lot of weight, bulked up, and looked like a linebacker. He had started shaving his head close, and his goatee trim and tight. His face was chiselled and manly. The very sight of him made me swoon and my pussy wet. I was such as slut, I thought, but right now, I only wanted to be his slut. Patience and honesty, I said to myself.

Dinner came, and we both ate with gusto. It was good having an appetite, and I would need to learn how to manage eating properly again. I was still very insecure about how I looked. But I was working on that.

"Mel, you look fantastic."

I blushed and replied, "You too, Babe."

We both smiled, knowing we had reverted to our pet names. It was obvious there was sexual energy. Dave smiled, and l laughed.

"Mel, I'm still pretty messed up, and part of me still wants to throw you to the curb. God knows you deserve it, but here it is." He paused and grabbed my hands. "I've decided that my life is better with you in it than not. Also, I don't know anything beyond this day right now. Priority number one for me is still staying clean and being healthy. I just want to do this with you. Not without you."

He was so open. Honest. True and to the point. I wanted to say the same thing I told the first time we were here, but I held back my desire to be with this man.

"Babe, I would love doing this and anything with you."

We cried but not from sadness. It was from everything feeling right. I would like to say everything was a fairy-tale from that point on. I had lived through my pregnancy scare. That secret I kept to myself. If he asked about Ryan, I would tell him. I was responsible and got tested for everything weeks ago, always hoping for this night. My man was willing to give me another chance.

One of the mornings at the loft when Dave was not there. I grabbed the coke mirror and looked into it. The reflection was no longer a little girl, but it was just me this time. I guess, the real me. No fog of drugs. That reflection with the mirror became a ritual when I thought of using. The young girl in me reminded me too just be me.

We made passionate love that night, and it was better in many ways than the first time. His passion was red hot, and he gave me three glorious releases. Everything about him felt perfect. After he came with a mighty roar, he collapsed beside me and started to cry. There was still healing, but this was a start. After that night, I moved back into the loft, and we slowly worked on being true to ourselves. The connection between us was tested but never really broken.

Dave Holds No Promises

That dinner, back at the Thai place, was hard for me. I had been on the fence about Mel, but as each day passed drug-free, the promises kept coming. I had spent some serious time with Charity leading up to all this. She could tell Grace was beating my anger and hurt. She could also see that I was very much in acceptance of the hurt Mel caused and knew if she had a choice to do this over, especially healthy, she would have made different decisions.

Making love to her that night was hard. It was a total reclaiming, but it cost me. I made the most ardent effort to please her. Calling on every inch of my passion, skill and desire to please. From her response, it was a special moment for her as well. Yet, sadly, doubt had crept into bed with us. For a moment, I even thought she faked her orgasms. It still didn't matter; I loved her and always would, but I knew I could never be what he was to her. It gutted me. He had stolen something from both of us. In the final cuckold cliché, I cried after my orgasm as, in my mind, I heard her call his name, begging for his big cock. It was a phantom. For a brief instant, I listened to the demons laugh in the other room.

She held me. There was nothing else to do. The feelings passed.

We made slow love in the morning, ending with a mutual orgasm. No tears this time. Just our eyes locked as we came together. Love healing the wounds of our connection. Patience and honesty, I thought.

We spent the morning drinking coffee as the sun rose, covering the loft with light. We talked. I told her I was scared I would never be enough for her. She was kind and patient and assured me she was going nowhere and I was more than enough for her. I reminded Melissa this was just for now; I didn't want a long-term commitment. Tears came for her, but also a tiny smile. She could read me better than anyone I've ever known.

"Babe, I'll take that any day and every day. Just let me love you today, and we can try again tomorrow, ok?"

I looked at her, so beautiful in the morning light in a fresh terry cloth robe. Ringlets of her messy hair moved with that personal wind machine of hers. Yet, it was her inner beauty that was disarming me. It was always that I thought. She was so formidable emotionally. Maybe not before, but I saw her now. I truly could see her.

I smiled. "Mel, that sounds like a good plan to me."

She giggled and added, "I'm starving. Would you please food fuck me now?"

I laughed out loud and went into the kitchen and did my thing. Scrambled eggs with organic butter but made slow, painfully slow; it was the French way. Simple Rustico bread toasted, with too much butter, quick fried cherry tomatoes and perfect avocado wedges with lime drizzle. Rough chunk cracked pepper and a dash of sea salt. The whole time I cooked, she just sat there, radiant in the morning light, watching me with love in her eyes.

One day at a time, I thought. No strings, no commitments, just a new journey with my best friend and lover.

Epilogue

We worked hard, the two of us. Mel was now taking shifts at the Rocket. She never went back to Cathy's store. They kept in touch, but everything that had happened had shifted the dynamic for them. She came down one day to hang with the new Mel. She took me aside and apologized. Ultimately, I knew she was trying to do the right thing. They were both just kids, really. She was proud of Mel.

The loft was our sanctuary, but pragmatically, having our ex-drug dealer down the hallway proved to be a challenge. After some more time, we started to discuss moving. We realized I could live anywhere, and she was starting over. She wanted to go back to school. So, we looked for a house near the city. This eventually led us my mistake to a home on a hill over a small lake. A strange find further than we had planned. She loved it. It was huge but very affordable, so we became country bumpkins together. Dog, cat, and all that.

We did do couples therapy, and in that room, we talked a lot about Ryan, what it meant to me, to her and what we needed to work on to heal and evolve. Outside that room, it was never talked about.

I heard from the grapevine, actually from Cathy, that he met with some trouble. One of the 'size queen wives' that he seduced was married to a Navy Seal. He didn't take kindly to being a cuckold, especially in his bed. Ryan lived thanks to the wife calling the cops and talking her husband down from the ledge. No one knew I had paid for a PI to keep tabs on him. I figured it was a good investment. At first, it was trust and verify, but it got boring quickly. Mel was true to her word. I found out there is an Irish code. I got a bit of revenge for tipping that husband off, but it still felt shitty. After that, it was all a dark memory for me. There would always be damage, but I had a plan for that.

What I should have planned for was Mel. Therapy, clean time and the rigors of communicating honestly meant I could never really leave my demons locked away forever. She became a formidable partner. She killed it going back to school, and now she's unstoppable. That is a story for another day. Let's just say we were never dull.

We would drive by the loft when on the occasions we went downtown for live music or to visit Mike and Charity. We discovered it was being demolished on one trip, making way for another addition to condo town. We never knew what happened to JJ and her Loft Lesbians. I know, terrible name. I should never have created it. I always hoped they found a way beyond the drugs. But that was their journey.

We knew how much we owed Mike and Charity as the months went by. They got pregnant and had a son they named Robert, Charity's Dad's name, but the biker boys called him Chance, which stuck. Go figure. Mel and Charity never stopped being close friends. They came to our country place a lot. We just had gratitude for the help they gave us.

Years later, Mel got down on her knees in a restaurant and proposed to me. I can't tell you how beautiful and courageous she was. I said yes. What could you do in front of an audience like that? Against all odds, our age-defying connection had not only survived, but it had also thrived.

Marc Dwayne