Nothing Tastes Sweeter

 

Lucas

My first thought was…oh, hell! I couldn’t even remember my first thought.

Ariel’s lips fixed on mine, and I couldn’t even remember what I wanted to say. Her lips were soft. Extremely soft.

They felt like rose petals against mine. I couldn’t help but lose myself as her hands caressed my face, and her breath danced across my skin.

Every nerve in my body came alive with the sensation of her touch, and it felt like I had tasted nothing sweeter.

I knew I was tipsy. Just a bit…but Ariel’s lips fusing with mine did a lot more to make me dizzy than any whiskey.

She didn’t attempt to touch any other part of my body, just my face, and just when I placed my hand on the small of her back to pull her closer, a deep voice startled us.

“Ariel…?”

Ariel broke the kiss, but she didn’t pull away from me. Instead, she placed both her hands on my shoulders, leaning into me.

She turned to the guy, staring at him passively.

“Do you want me to let you two talk?” I asked Ariel, trying to be polite. I was still dazed from the kiss we just shared.

“There’s no need for you to do that,” she said, facing me.

Then she turned to face the other guy: “What do you want, Ryan?”

Ryan! Oh, I should’ve known this was the ex the instant I saw him chasing after her inside the club.

Instinctively, I wrapped my left hand around her protectively. I pulled her closer to me and stared at the man distastefully.

For some reason I couldn’t fathom, I took an instant dislike to the man. We were almost of the same height, but he was lanky.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked scraggy, like he had not shaved in almost two weeks. He staggered slightly, trying to hide the fact that he was probably drunk.

“Ariel, I’ve tried to reach you. I called so many times, but I kept getting voicemails. Did you block my number?” He spoke too quickly, ignoring me completely.

“What do you want?” Ariel asked again, facing him squarely this time.

Ryan stuffed his hands into his pants pockets, and looked on like a lost puppy.

“I was wrong, Ariel. I made a huge mistake; I know that now. Can you forgive me? I want you back.”

I saw a flicker of a moment of hesitation in Ariel’s eyes before she said: “It’s too late for that now. You can go be with your other women. I want nothing to do with you anymore. Let’s go, Lucas.”

Ariel gestured for us to leave. We turned to go, but Ryan intercepted us, grabbing Ariel’s wrist and motioning her toward him and making her wince in pain.

“You shouldn’t walk away from me!” He cried.

“Let go of me, Ryan, you’re hurting me.”

I stepped forward, and my expression darkened. “Take your hands off her! Now!”

For the first time, Ryan raised his eyes to meet mine. His gaze was condescending, and mine was murderous.

“Who the hell are you?” He spat angrily.

“The guy telling you to let go of her or risk wearing a cast for the next two months.”

“This doesn’t concern you, so I suggest you butt out of it. I don’t even give a-”

In a flash, I caught Ryan’s hand, forcing him to let go of her and twisting his wrist until he whimpered.

I took pride in the fact that I was bigger than the other man and, apparently, stronger.

“Jesus Christ! Please, let go of me. Please…” he begged.

Gosh! He whined like a woman.

“Don’t you ever touch her again? Are we clear?!”

He nodded aptly, almost crying. I dropped his hand, letting it fall loosely. I faced Ariel, using my eyes to inquire if she was okay. She nodded.

“You should leave now unless, of course, you want more.” I threatened, turning to face Ryan.

“I am not afraid of you!”

“A mistake,” I warned.

“You can’t scare me away. I won’t leave until Ariel tells me to.” Ryan tried to sound confident, but the cracks in his voice proved otherwise.

“I’m warning you, leave this place.”

“Who are you?!” He screamed, “Why won’t you let her speak for herself?” Ryan yelled in my face.

I was about to move at him again when Ariel stopped me. She touched my arm, urging me to look at her.

The look on her face of horrific and stirred up my anger toward Ryan even more. My expression softened as I gazed at her, and I relaxed.

“Ryan, I don’t want you anywhere close to me ever again. I wish I had better words to say to you. Stay the hell away from me.”

She took my hand, leading me away.

“Ariel… I know you don’t mean that; you’re only speaking out of anger. Please…Ariel, give me a second chance!” Ryan kept yelling from behind us.

We kept walking, and I led Ariel through the file of parked cars to where mine was parked. I opened the passenger door for her.

She got inside, and I turned, entering the car myself. I turned on the ignition and faced her.

“Where are we going?”

“Just take me home, please.” She said, without looking at me.

***

We didn’t say anything to each other until I parked my car in front of the house. The neighborhood was quiet as usual, and Ariel was still staring straight ahead.

I couldn’t tell what was going on in her mind because her expression was blank.

“Do you want to come inside for something to drink?”

“We’ve just come from the club,” I interjected.

Ariel turned sharply; her eyes pierced into me, and I was reminded of how her lips tasted. She had this lost look.

I should be sympathetic to her about what just happened, but all I could think about was those succulent lips pouting at me.

We got out of the car, and I let her lead the way. She entered her house, leaving the door for me to open for me to come in.

I entered the room, and her perfume greeted me. The room smelled like her. I know because I got a wave of the intoxicating scent of her perfume when we kissed earlier.

She smelled like a delicate floral and musky scents. When Ariel dropped the keys in her hand and turned to face me, I knew I should leave.

I should never have accepted to come here with her. I could think of nothing else except how much I wanted to pull her close and kiss her so hard until all the sadness I glimpsed in her eyes disappeared.

Ryan was a bastard for hurting her. But I was even more hopeless. All I could think about right now was how much I wanted to feel her underneath me.

“I’m sorry about-” I started to speak, but she cut me off.

Ariel walked toward me. She paused when she was standing directly in front of me.

“I don’t need your pity.” She spoke calmly, her voice heavy with emotions I couldn’t quite identify.

“What do you want then?”

“To forget. Even if just for a while.” She got so close our bodies were touching.