My head swivels to find Aryan avoiding my gaze as he helped me into one of the bar stools. His ears were pink and his hands warm. โYou own a pub? Isnโt that a little unusual for a priest?โ He clears his throat nosily and nods in the direction of his bar tender. The bar tender gets the hint and gives us a semblance of privacy. โHe doesn't know you are a priest.โ I note.โHe didn't. Now he does.โ โWhen did you own a pub?โ I ask, remorse a lump in my throat. I had after all exposed his secret. โI came into town, and it seemed like the right idea at the time. Now...โ He gestured around us to the empty space. โNow it seems like a shitty investment.โ I complete for him. It was a good idea, the town didn't have a good drinking spot, it would have turned most of them to regulars if a little effort was put in. โI can help you with that.โ He quirked a brow at me, whilst signalling the bar tender. โWhat should I get you guys?โI eye the scanty rows of drinks behind him.
โRelax, despite how much you wish it to be true, I wasnโt asking for us, I was asking our customers, there is no better way to draw them in than a secluded area, that way they donโt have to find a hotel.โ I tell him when I see the just what I was expecting expression on his face. His tense shoulders relax, wow he was really expecting me to ask him to sleep with me, wow, I am glad it comes to mind. โI think we have a spare room or something, should we check it out?โI nod at the invite and hop off my stool, I had just one shot glass to drink but I was already feeling the effects.โWhoa, Tim, that drink was strong.โTim poked his head in from the back room, a proud grin on his face,โYou have time to perfect your drink when there is nothing else to do.โI chuckle, and invite him to give us a tour of the place, he joins us, reminding us again of the nothing he has to do. โYou are the only worker here? No cleaner? Security?โโWhy do you need security when Tim is scary?โ Aryan asked.It
A weak smile that doesnโt reach my eye, lines my lips, and I side step him, leaving him alone in the room. I know what all of you are thinking, now calm down before you get mad at me, listen to my point of view. First, he really would not give me a positive response if I asked him again, or else he would have asked me, he had gotten so used to me asking, he didnโt feel complete until I asked him. I need him to need me so much it hurt, then I wouldnโt have to ask him. Secondly, I was filthy, I may not seem like the type, but I hated to be dirty, it irked me in a way I could not explain. โI leave you for a few seconds and you check out the bed yourselves?โ Tim says giving me a dead pan look. I shake my head.โTrying to check the bed frames, and I tumble on top of the bed, we have to change the frames.โHe looks unconvinced until Aryan walks in, not covered in dust.โDid you call the cleaner?โโHousekeeper. Elaine is her name, and she takes great pride and joy in what she does, she sa
โMelanie!!โMy feet halt when I hear my name, I pant as I scan the area for who must have called my name, my heart raced and my ears roared, it was pitch black, so I am not sure how long I have been running, or how long I had been lost in my head. โMelanie, I had been calling your name, I thought you were ignoring me.โ Chris says as he appears next to me, panting as if he had been chasing after me. โWere you following me?โ I ask with narrowed eyes.โNo, of course not, I saw you about three minutes ago, and when I called you werenโt responding. I would have left but this path is better threaded on in day light.โ he gestured towards the path I was on, it was darker than the night itself, with low hanging vines. I wouldnโt have been able to find my way out. โOh, thanks.โHe let out a sigh, โIt is the least a fake bestie can do right?โI chuckle, and he beams, as if accomplished now that I laughed at his joke. โDo you know how to get back home?โ I didnโt recognize the environment, it
My fingers find themselves wrapped up in his collar, and I smash my mouth on his, he is obviously stunned, as I had ambushed him the second he walked through the door, I had waited, not to so patiently, rocking myself away from my thoughts. I didnโt think it through before he came, although I needed a distraction, one that would numb me from even the slightest thing. His hands came alive, but it wasnโt to deepen the kiss as I had wanted, he pushed me away from him, gently, but I fight back, turning the kiss into something more hurried and more frenzied. He pushes me away, this time firmer. I let out a scream of frustration when he finally frees himself of me, pacing away from him and running my fingers through my hair, I tug on it. โWhy would you do that? Why? Now isnโt the time to be a priest, I need you.โ I cover the distance between us again,I whisper leaning in, โDesperately.โHe takes a step back, his expression tight with pain, โYou know I canโt...โโFuck that! I know you d
โYour father was also a priest?โHe looked at me from the driverโs side, before returning his eyes to the road. I stare at him with the new information swirling in my head.โBooks hardly ever lie, donโt you think?โI snort at that but return my eyes to the well aged pages in front of my eyes, I didnโt get to read much back at the church, he had an impromptu meeting with Father Bernard and I had to change the entire schedule for the the day. โBad news, Father Bernard has urgent work out of town, and he has asked me to fill in for him until then.โI had murmured a great deal, didnโt help my case, so I moved to his assistantโs office and got his schedule, she was old and going deaf so communication was almost impossible, I had to find it myself on her table. It seemed everybody hated the use of computers, and loved to pile papers on their desks. โWe are here.โ he announced pulling the car into the driveway.โNo!!!!!! I was just about to read the part where you asked him about your mom
I laugh so hard at the statement, clenching my sides as I did. I laughed because of how incredibly difficult it has been trying to sleep with him, and someone here seems to think I already did. What a grave overestimation? By the time my laughter subsides, and I am wiping tears from the corners of my eyes, I find them looking ashamed and uncomfortable. โIโm sorry, it sounded so ridiculous thatโs all. Where did you hear this?โ I ask the last part through clenched teeth.โOh, it was one of our cleaners, said she saw both of you entering your home together.โI smile tightly, โPlease listen carefully and pass this information along, he is my landlord, when I came into town I stayed at a hotel, before renting his place, only to find out a lot of things were not working anymore, and he has been helping me fix them for free.โ They looked even more ashamed at this, good, let them feel shame, better than ruining his career over this. I lean forward, so that they knew I meant business, wip
I let out an awkward chuckle and extracted myself from his hug, his family had excited and expectant smiles on their faces.โI am here for work, Father Aryan, please lead the prayer for the departed.โ I give him a tight smile, and I can see a thousand questions in his eyes, a million emotions in them. Great. โOh, yes please, close your eyes everyone.โ Mrs Logan commanded as they are trickle around her, forming a circle. Aryan led the prayers, and I felt safe enough to breath as the pain meds started to kick in, and when I turn, I lock eyes with Victor who was beaming at me. Goosebumps cover my entire body, and not even the good kind. Victor always creeped the shit out of me, like why was he doing that right now? Especially when his family had their eyes shut. I always found his doting cute, and beneficial so I agreed to go on a date with him once, the whole time he straight up worshiped me, he took my words as the final say, you might say that was supposed to be a good thing, but
Our lips meet in a slow, tantalizing kiss, his cold plump lips against my own moved as I tilt my head as he cupped the back of my head, the kiss was my answer, and the response to my answer, I felt everything he felt in that moment, and I could not help but smile against his lips. When we finally pull apart, we stare into each otherโs eyes, the feelings we had for each other forming a safety bubble around us. He smiles,tucking a lock of hair behind my ear, I smile shyly against the back of his hand. โWait, this was not what I signed up for.โ Evan groaned from where he had started to get comfortable.I groan, covering my eyes with my palm, his flaccid dick in his hand was not what I wanted to see. โGo somewhere else, canโt you see a sweet moment is happening right now?โEvan complained as he tucked himself back into his pants, grunting as he did,โThere is good news for you Evan, and you too.โ Aryan tells us, and taps me lightly on the nose when he does.I turn to face him again, my
Exactly a week after I opened the can of worms, and thwarted his fatherโs plans, Aryan finally cracked a smile. It was like the burden of the world finally lifted from my shoulders, I was sure tears stained the corners of my eyes after I saw that. The first few days after he found out, he found the lawyer himself, made sure to hear it from the lawyer himself, I made sure to go with him, and when he let out another strangled cry, and a hoarse sardonic laugh, I watched all of it, my heart breaking for the man in front of me. โI should have known he would do this, I should have expected it, he played me for a fool.โ he whispered harshly.โBut now you know, you donโt lose any more, if you quit now, you have nothing to owe the man, and you win.โ I tell him every time, he would nod but with the far away look in his eyes, I knew he wasnโt listening to me. He did not eat the first day, he only went to bed in the hotel I booked for both of us, he would not return to the apartment the churc
โWhat kind of nonsense...?โ Evan could not complete his statement, he was rifling through the papers Mr Kitler had handed him, his eyes growing wider with shock with each sentence he read, I knew it had to be bad if Evan reacted like that. Mr Kitler scoffed,โThat wacko hated his son. I cannot wait to be done with it.โ Were his parting words, he took the money Evan paid with him, not even turning back once before slipping into the crowd. Danny and I almost trip over ourselves rushing towards the table where Evan sat alone, deep lines digging into his forehead as he went through the sheets of paper. โSon of a bitch.โ he cussed under his breath,I swallow, my worry doubling until it was the size of a horse, galloping around my chest, โIs it that bad?โโVery bad, all of the wealth he seemed to have, all of it were loans of some sort, he just went around accumulating them, and left them all to him.โ there was visible anger in his posture, but he was not as angry as I was. How dare he?
โWhy arenโt you going after him? I already did the hard part.โ Evan asked when I collapsed into his sofa, right after we found him.I chew on my lips, thoughts rushing through my mind at the speed of light, each one too pointing in the same direction, he was going to up and leave me again, right where I stood after going to find him. I always knew he was materialistic, I just had to find a way to beat his fatherโs properties, without that, he was going to continually slip from my grasp. โHelp me one more time Evan, help me find his fatherโs lawyer, and his fatherโs will, it doesnโt matter what you have to do to find it, just do.โ Evan stared at me for a long time, as if trying to decode the hidden meaning in what I just asked of him, and when he found that I was serious, he nods once and goes to press certain keys on the keypad in front of him. My eyes strayed to the blinking red dot that was his location. I will come to you, in the meantime, just be safe and wait for me.โWhat do
โMost precious Melanie,I wish I knew how to start a letter, I almost didnโt, and that is ironic considering I write for a living. Anyway, I am sorry to have done this to you, unfortunately, being in your presence makes me forget all of the terrible things my father did to me, I want to forgive him and move on when I am with you, forget being a priest and be fully and utterly yours, but how can I? He deserves to roll in his grave forever when he sees me using his hard earned wealth, I cannot have him laughing at me forever. With that, I am deeply sorry about that, I am deeply sorry to have done this to you, it is shitty and I cannot wrap my head around it, but I ask that you forget this shitty person and move on with your life. Whilst I am certain that there is nobody else who can match your crazy, I am certain that there is a better man for you out there, Victor loves you a whole lot, you should give him a chance. I am afraid I cannot take the car with me, I love it with all of my
That must have been the best sleep of my life since I did not even stir when he pulled away from me. It was not until I was awake, that was when I realized the other side of the bed was empty. โAryan?โ I call out sweetly, imagining he was outside the bedroom door making breakfast for me.Oh, how lucky I was, the man I loved, loved me, I could not help the giggles that spilled out of me, the leg flapping too, it was almost embarrassing, but who cares? We did not even sleep together but it was very possibly the best sleep I ever had. I pat down my hair, combing out the knots with my fingers as I try to look presentable for him, using my phone as my mirror, I find crusted saliva at the corner of my mouth, cussing, I rush to the the bathroom to wash my face. It was only when I get out that I realize, the house was too quiet, there would have been pots and pans clanking together if he was making me breakfast like I thought. Checking the time on my phone, I find it was few minutes past
โYou lied to me? Why?โ My voice was oddly calm when I find him in his office.I drove here like a crazy person, praying and wishing with all of my heart that he was not in the office as they had said, I prayed that they were the ones lied to, or lying, I did not want to be lied to, especially not by him. โYou did it all the time, lying I mean.โโYou were the one person I consistently told the truth, I did not lie to you, so answer me damn it! Why did you lie to me? Why did you say you were out of town?โ He sighed before getting out of his seat,โLet us not do this in here, follow me.โ he tells me as he led the way to his apartment, I follow him, silently fuming, at him and at myself, since my heart was still swooning at the sight of him. โI think we should stop doing this.โ he tells me when we get to the safety of his home.I stare at him with confusion as memories of what happened between us the last time I was here threatened to over shadow what was going on in the present. โW
โYou are positively glowing.โ Danny compliments when I open the door for her on Sunday morning. โMust be from all of that orgasm.โ she tells herself as she stepped into the house.โYou sound cranky, possibly because of the lack of orgasms?โ I tell her, sipping my mango juice. She narrowed her eyes at me before sighing, โI had too much to drink and Rita spent the entire night holding my hair out of her toilet bowl, to say I would never show my face around her anymore is an understatement.โ she cried.I wince, feeling sorry for Rita, and being grateful that I was not in Ritaโs shoes. Now that I think about it, I sniff the air, and there was a lingering smell of booze coming from her, she must have been drunk, drunk. โI was luckier, since I had no chance of sleeping, until I snuck out early this morning. And do you know what he told me? He said I should not bother coming to work today, and I could spend the entire day in bed. Isnโt he the sweetest?โ I sigh wistfully. โPlease, do rub
โI want to leave now.โ was all he said, but it had me moving, I was out of the door and in my car before I knew what was happening, Tim chuckled when he saw us moving out of the door together, he shook his head and promised he was going to lock up. Driving never felt so nerve wrecking, he said nothing and I say nothing as well, nothing I say right now would be appropriate, I mean, what do you say after that? โMy apartment.โ he says,I murmur an agreement but disappointment pools in my gut, I had imagined he wanted to go to my place, who was I kidding? He didnโt love me, I was obviously in over my head. โWhy arenโt you coming out?โ he asks, breaking my internal monologue, when I look up, he was standing outside my door, the door he had already opened whilst I was drowning inside my head. โOh, I didnโt... Bernard is back..โโIt is late, he should be asleep by now, besides, he has no right to say anything about it.โ he says with his hand outstretched for me to take. Gingerly, I reac