SAM
My head is hammering a thousand times. I open my eyes slowly only to see the unfamiliar surrounding. The smell on the room seems familiar to me though—it’s like one of my favorite scents in the world.
Panic settles in the pit of my belly. This isn’t my room. Where am? Did I go with someone?
I quickly check the king-size bed. It’s covered with a dark sheet that matches the blanket where I am neatly tucked in. It’s definitely a man’s bed, but the other side is empty.
I’m alone.
Before I can sit up from the bed, my stomach twists sickly. I run into the nearest door, hoping it’s the bathroom. I flip up the cover of the toilet bowl and empty my stomach.
Scanning the surrounding, I find toilet paper and wipe my mouth. I flash them and rinse my mouth with the water. I look at myself in the mirror—a smeared makeup still on my face with my messy bedhead. I’m wearing a gray T-shirt with the NYU logo that looks
PHOENIX The perfect lunch that I’m sharing with Samantha has turned into a disaster when my bitch of an ex appears at our booth. We’re just about to start our lunch when we’re interrupted. She fucking jumps into me hugs me and kisses me as if nothing happened before. Why she has to come here to all the restaurants in this place? Or did she hear the news that this belongs to me and try to catch up for old-time sake? “What? Do you really think I believe that you start dating?” she asks with her bitchy voice and pouts. Samantha clears her throat that gets Gabrielle’s attention. “Phoenix, mind introducing me to your old friend?” Sam gestures her hand to Gabrielle. Please. please. Please, just play along. “Princess, this is Gabrielle. Gabrielle, meets my girlfriend, Samantha.” Sam offers her hand, but of course, Gabrielle ignores her. Samantha has to pull her hand back.
SAM “Spill it, woman. I can see that you had an eventful weekend,” Maya teases me as we walk together to our management class. “I can’t escape from this, can I?” I’m actually excited to tell her, but nothing really eventful than I had lunch with Phoenix that was almost ruined by his ex. “Nope. I’m not Amy, so you don’t have to tell me every detail.” She bumps her arm into me. “We had lunch, then went to the park to eat ice cream and feed the ducks. So, there’s nothing really much to tell,” I tell her the short version, of course, without the sleeping in his house and the encounter with Phoenix’s ex. “That’s it? What about when you get drunk and he sent you home?” she asks, wearing a wicked smile. “I slept in his car.” She laughs. “I knew you would sleep in his car, then?” “Then he took me home,” I say slowly. “To his home.” “What? Really? Oh, my God!” Her eyes widen and she shriek
PHOENIX I’m losing my control, not because of not getting laid, it’s because of the woman beside me who’s driving me crazy. When she cries over my gifts, it warms my heart. It’s been a long time since I spend gifts on a woman, but that woman betrayed me. Now, I want to pamper Samantha—she’s worth every penny I spend for her. And I know those gifts remind her of her dad. The moment she lies down beside me on the couch, I know the baby steps are long gone. When she moans, my traitor of a cock hardens like a rock. I know I have to kiss her one way or another because this beast inside is going to savage her anytime soon—my urge, my lust, and these feelings are overflowing in my body. When our lips touch, I know she owns me—the feeling is overwhelming, filled with giddiness. Her taste and the softness of her lips are intoxicating. And I’ve never felt like this before with anyone, and it’s freaking me out—in a good way.
PHOENIX Six years ago… We lost in the game. This is fucking exhausting! The more I did my best the more we lost by only two fucking points. I can’t believe it! This is my last year and my last chance for NFL drafting. Every muscle in my body aches and quivers with anger, disappointment, and exhaustion. My mind doesn’t seem to work when all I feel is frustration and disappointment. I take my quickest shower and bolt out of the locker room. I avoid my team because I know they’re going to invite me to drink to oblivion since there’s supposed to be a team party tonight if we won. I need to go to my girlfriend Gabby’s apartment, but she went to her family and wasn’t able to watch our game. I check my phone; Hawk did not call—he must have heard the news about our game. Since he moved to New York, I don’t have my number one fan to watch my game anymore. I call Gabby; she’s not picking up my call as wel
SAM I’ve been checking the wall clock like every five minutes when I have only an hour left of my shift. I’m excited to see Phoenix. I won’t deny that. After I agree to date him and make out on his couch, I fell asleep last night smiling. I hope I made the right decision. I want this relationship to work out because we have strong chemistry that is hard to ignore. “Stop glancing at the clock every minute. It won’t magically turn into Phoenix’s cock.” I roll my eyes even Amy can’t see it. “Seriously, Amy, stop talking like that when we are with customers.” She hugs me from behind. “You don’t want me to talk about a cock or you don’t want me to talk about Phoenix’s cock?” “Stop talking about that word. Period.” She squeezes me. “Finally, someone makes my best friend smile. I’m happy for you, Sam. At least setting you up is worth the effort.” I unwrap her arms around me and face her.
SAM I let my eyes wander around when Phoenix ushers me outside the car. This place is an old books store which is renovated in to a big and modern one. Many well-known authors used this venue for book signing events. A woman around my age approaches us wearing a bright smile on her face. “Mr. Williams, Ms. Anderson, good evening! Please, follow me.” I am surprised to hear my name, and I grin at her in return. I feel Phoenix’s hand gripping my waist. “Let’s get inside, beautiful.” “What are we doing here, Phoenix?” I whisper “Thought you love surprises,” he responses with a smirk. “Did you happen to buy this bookstore too?” He chuckles as we both walk inside the store. I stop midway when I notice who’s talking to the woman who approached us outside the store. My hands fly to my mouth instantly. “Omigod!” A squeak left my mouth, and I don’t even recognize my own voice. They
PHOENIX I glance down at her as she bites her bottom lip. Her hair looks messy, yet she looks so stunning, especially now that she’s turned on—her rosy cheeks make her look more radiant—her blue eyes darken, and her lids are heavy with desires. “One last chance, beautiful.” I’m afraid that she might change her mind. When she sits up on my bed—it alarms me—instead, she unzips her dress and let the straps fall down so her arms slowly, revealing more of her delicious skin, leaving her lacy red bra that barely covered her luscious tits—the tits that gave me constant hard-on since that night at the parking lot. “You’re a tease, Samantha.” My voice becomes huskier. My cock is already jerking in my pants since I carried her from our interrupted dinner. “Am I now, Phoenix?” She laughs, eyes go hazy, then bites her lip again. She strips off her dress slowly and kicks off of the bed, leaving a pair of lacy red underwear a
SAM I kiss him one last time before I unlock the front door of my house. “Why don’t you stay with me tonight, Samantha?” He doesn’t let go of me yet—he wraps his arms around my waist from behind, presses his body on me, and rubs his nose on my exposed neck. “It’s Sunday, Phoenix. I have to spend time with Mom. It’s been so long since we have the same day off together,” I explain, and it’s already two in the morning. He nods and lets go of his arms. I turn to face him, cup his face, and trace the bridge of his nose to the tip of it with my thumb—he looks so beautiful and teasingly hot. “I’ll spend time with you, I promise. Just not today because I promised Mom that we are going to have some time together today.” I can see the disappointment on his face, so I kiss his eyes, down to his nose, and press my lips to him. He kisses me back instantly, and I moan when he bites my lower lip. “Fine, I let y
PHOENIX Six months later… Do you know it’s difficult to wake up someone who pretends to be asleep? And do you know when someone doesn’t like doing has always found thousands of reasons to avoid it? Well, yeah because I’ve been there—waking up someone who pretended to sleep, and gave me thousands of reasons every day. “Princess, I swear to God I will drag your sweet ass to the doctor if you won’t get up and get dressed right now!” I shake her shoulder under the blanket, but she never budges. She covers herself when I shout her name from our bedroom door. I’m already on my second cup of coffee, waiting for her to wake up until I decide to come to our bed and shake her. Now, I can’t wait anymore because I had to move our doctor’s appointment three times just for this week. “Go away, Phoenix! I need some sleep!” My wife slips her hand out of the blanket, gesturing to shoo me away. “Samantha,
PHOENIX My heart is still pounding in my chest since I saw the News about an hour ago. I don’t know why I feel guilty even if I’m not the one who hurt her—maybe because we had a history, and I loved her once somehow? Or perhaps I’m one of the reasons why that woman manipulated her into doing something horrible? I feel Samantha gripping my hand tightly. She kept telling me that Gabrielle will be okay throughout the ride to the hospital. I take a deep breath when we step inside the hospital lobby. According to the News, Gabrielle was the one who called 911 before the drug dealer killed Suzanne right in front of her own eyes. She must be so terrified and shocked, and she will never forget that extreme brutality of the murder of once she believed was her mother. I feel so bad for her, and I can see based on that News earlier that she was also beaten by those assholes. “Phoenix, are you ready? That’s her room.”
SAM My body is shaking with fury when I see Gabrielle at my apartment door. Those things she did to my relationship, to Phoenix, and to myself make me want to strike into her, grab her hair, and drag her down to the lobby, then kick her to hell. I don’t know what stops me from doing things like that, perhaps I’m a better person than her? If this only happens before Phoenix is back into my life I already punch her face. But she is not the bitchy Gabrielle—the insensitive, empathetic, and vicious woman. Right now, she cowers down while Phoenix is grabbing her and growling on her face. “Let her talk, Phoenix,” I say calmly to Phoenix while rubbing his back. He is losing his temper on her, but I can’t blame him though because we both had suffered a lot in her hands. “I’m done listening to her, Samantha. She almost ruined our relationship, and now that we are back together, she shows up again, and this time on our do
PHOENIX It’s almost sunset—the colors of blue and violet scattering the sky with yellow-orange and red are covering most of it. Everyone gathers at the shore, sitting at the beach chairs to witness the sunset. The chopped woods are already piled for the bonfire later. The smooth sand caresses my bare-foot in every step I make. The sound of waves rippling softly at the shores is so calm as I walk hand in hand with my fiancée, Samantha through the shoreline. This is the best feeling in the world—at this moment all I can think is I am such a lucky man—being loved and in love with the same woman. She is kicking the small waves every time they reach our feet—it feels like a soft massage. I can’t help but smile at how she laughs when the seawater hits me. “Childish,” I mutter, grinning. She doesn’t care. I can see how much she enjoys doing it, and I’m beyond happy watching her laughing freely because i
SAM The two-story beach house owned by Abby is beautiful—it’s a gift for her husband on her nineteenth birthday. I can’t help but appreciate the magnificent view that catches my eyes. An azure blue sea in a seemingly calming current, and the sounds of the rippling of waves hitting the seashores. fluffy white clouds drifting up in the sky, the seagulls squabbling overhead. I can taste the salty smell of the breeze. “This is the best part of the house,” Abby says proudly while we girls are leaning against the concrete balustrades of the balcony. We run over here as soon as Abby announces that she will show us the patio, leaving the guys behind us. “Aside from our bedrooms, this is the best,” Izzy agrees, giggling with Abby. “You two stop with your innuendos. Sandy is single, and I need you two to arrange blind dates for her,” I retort. Sandy elbow me with a grunt. “Oh, sister-in-law it’s been taken
UNKNOWN Somewhere in the neighborhood... I slumped myself down to the worn-out bed after kicking off my ten-dollar high heels. My eyes are focused on the white boring ceiling that is almost yellow, and the paint is cracked at every corner of my small bedroom. This place is too old and needs remodeling, but I can’t even afford to do that. I release a deep sigh, sniffing at the overused dress that I wore almost every day to the diner where I work for over a year now. I wince at the smell of grease, sweat, and a cheap perfume I bought last week after receiving my salary. This isn’t the life I want—I always dream so high when I was a kid. I dreamt of owning sky-high buildings, fashion and cosmetics lines, and of course a yacht. I love places like Greece, France, and the Caribbean—I’ve been to those places many times, and it all suddenly changed. Patience is the key. I chuckle.
PHOENIX I wake up with the warm limbs draping over me. Samantha is still snoring in my arms. I slowly slip out my body from her warm cuddle. No matter how much I want to stay and cuddle her all day, I already have plans for today and for the whole weekend. I’m secretly talking with Sandy for these last three days. I still didn’t tell her that I knew she is my sister. Hawk will kick my ass to the other part of the continent if he will find out I’m hiding this kind of secret from him. I start packing our clothes that’s good for three days. I bought some clothes and swimsuits for Samantha and tanning or sunscreen lotions women these days are using. I drag our two travel bags to the front door. I pick up my phone and scan Sandy’s contact that I stole from Samantha’s phone. Phoenix: Get your ass ready. We’ll be there in about an hour. A few seconds later my phone buzzes signifying a message. S
SAM I’m still in shock with what I’ve found out. Sandy finally tells me everything, and I just listen closely to every word she says to me, but she makes me promise that I can’t tell anyone. But I may have to tell someone about it because I’m not good at keeping secret especially when the people I care about is involved. “Your phone is ringing, Sam.” Sandy’s voice jarred me out of my thoughts. I dug my phone from my bag. Our supposed to be an Arrow marathon turns to be a telling of her life story. I look at her when I check out my phone screen. She nods. “Handsome, miss me?” I answer. “You have no idea, beautiful. My cock is in need of your attention. I missed you, princess.” I can clearly hear the cheerfulness in his voice. How will he react if I’ll tell him the truth? God! It’s hard to be in this position. “Are you coming already?” I ask, biting my lip. “On my way, beautiful, it’s just three bl
SAM Phoenix’s mouth hangs open as he stares at me for a good minute, then he finally blinks and laughs out loud. A whimper slips from my lips, and as fast as lightning, I am pressed underneath him, and he is grinning like an idiot. “Shouldn’t you at least say it back?” I raise a brow. “Nah,” that’s all he says before he crashes his lips on mine and kisses me slow, sweet, and innocent. “Sorry, princess but I’m not having sex with you tonight.” I fake a pout. “Not even a dry humping?” “Are you that desperate, my love?” I nod, biting my lip, then we burst into a laugh while our bodies pressed together. “I love you, Samantha. So fucking much!” “Good, Phoenix,” I reply. He then kisses my forehead, my eyes, my nose, my ch