Falling For Her Dream

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Kristopher, about to knock again, was surprised when the door flung open.  He looked through the open door and saw the most gorgeous vision he’d ever seen.  He was gobsmacked.  Curly ringlets framing her face with soft edges and big blue eyes that demanded attention with the kindest glow.  Kristopher was sure he’d never been taken by someone so much in his life.  He was mesmerised.  The love he felt for Abby made his heart want to burst.  For a moment, he considered to himself, ‘How could such a woman want to be with a man like me?’.  His heart was compelling!

The look on Kristopher’s face had Abby fill with dread.  He was just standing there, saying nothing, but he sure looked like he wanted to say something, his mouth was slightly open, but she couldn’t discern if he was in shock because he was appalled or in shock because he didn’t recognise the person in front of him.  So, she blurted out, “Excuse me, I’m going to have a quick shower and wash this off!”.  As Abby turned to head to the bathroom, Kristopher reached to touch her softly with just two fingers brushing on her hip and found his voice, “Wait!  No you don’t!  No need for that, you’re absolutely stunning!”.  Abby felt a hot flush in her cheeks.  Just as she began to ask herself, ‘Is he just being polite?’, Kristopher leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the cheek.

“Are you ladies ready to go?  There’s a table waiting for us just down the road.  Our car should be here in fifteen minutes”.  Kristopher indicated for Abby and Alli to leave the room with a gesture towards the corridor, which was followed by them both passing Kristopher to head towards the elevator.  As Kristopher shut the door, being the last one out, Alli had gone ahead to call for the elevator while Abby waited for Kristopher who offered his arm so Abby could link hers through his.  Arm in arm they entered the elevator which was quite crowded.  Seemed to be that this time of night everyone was heading out for dinner.  There wasn’t a lot of breathing room in the tight space and Abby was forced to stand with her back against Kristopher.  With one hand on her hip and the other free to roam, she felt his touch run up the side of her leg and around to her lower back.  For a moment his hand moved down and cupped a butt-cheek, like he was teasing her, so as pay back, Abby tucked a hand behind her back and felt for the first thing she found.  Abby heard Kristopher moan ever so softly as she had stroked at the front of his jeans, just below his belt buckle.

Abby didn’t mean to connect to Kristopher where she did, she was aiming for close, but not directly ‘there’.  It was only intended to be a tiny tease, not a full-on groping!  She was a little embarrassed, but given the small moan she heard, she purposefully stroked him again.  He captured her hand and whispered in her ear, “You’re only wearing a skirt, careful you don’t start something you can’t finish”.  As his words ended, the hand that was on her hip slipped down to her leg, below the hem of her skirt and headed back up, but this time his hand travelled under her skirt and she felt a warmth spread through her as he now passed over the front of her underwear, one finger pressing a little harder than the others, then his hand travelled back out from under her skirt and back to her hip.  She learned a valuable lesson right then.  She would lose this game of ‘tease’ while wearing a skirt.  She now wanted to feel more from Kristopher than she could.  He’d just played the ultimate game of tease with her.  She wanted and needed to release pent up longings for him.  She knew it wouldn’t take much at all and she’d be the one moaning, but it wouldn’t be so quiet like Kristopher’s, it would be loud and out of control!  She vowed to keep her hands to herself after that.  No point playing the game if you know you’ll lose. 

As they ate their meals, Abby made a conscious effort to keep her hands to herself.  She knew that sitting alongside Kristopher, and with the security of a table to hide wayward hands, it was completely possible for her to lose control if his fingers wandered again.  And she’d encourage his fingers, guide them even and she’d climax with ease.  Her erotic thoughts had her on edge and when Kristopher’s leg lightly brushed up against hers, she almost leapt out of her seat and announced, “Excuse me, I need to go to the Ladies”, she damn near ran to the bathroom.  When she locked herself inside a stall, the need to self-gratify the overwhelming need that had built to bursting point, was almost too much to ignore.

Abby’s absence from her seat was brief.  Just as she was about to sit back down, Alli asked for directions to the bathroom.  Pointing to a far-off corner of the dining room, she sat again next to Kristopher as her daughter headed in the direction Abby had indicated.  With a cheeky grin, Kristopher asked, “Everything okay?”.  No things were not okay.  Abby was restless and beginning to feel the onset of frustration.  “I’m good.  You?”.  She could have omitted the questioned ‘you’ at the end of her reply, but she was aiming for a strong front, which she knew was utterly false.  “I’m doing well.  You look like your bothered.  Is there something I can do to help you relax?”.  It was a loaded question, and one Abby was unwilling to answer honestly.  Abby had to say something and say it before her daughter returned to the table.

“Kristopher…”, Abby began, but faltered.  “Yes Abby?”.  The cheek had not left Kristopher’s face or tone.  “I apologise for what happened in the elevator, I didn’t mean to do what I did”, Abby then saw Kristopher’s face become serious.  “I’m glad you’re here with me, but I need to say this…I want to take things slow.  I know I don’t have a lot of time left before I go back to Australia, but I need to slow things down between us.  I hope you can understand.  It’s going to be hard to leave as it is, I don’t want any regrets”.  Kristopher thought about the conversation he’d had with Michael and what he planned to ask Abby but considering what she just said about slowing things down, he thought his plan was bad, very bad, and it might be the last thing that pushes Abby away again, this time for good.

Despite his doubts, he had to take a chance regardless.  Kristopher didn’t want to look back at this moment and have regrets of his own if he didn’t follow through with his proposal for the last days ahead.  He was not oblivious to the fact that the time remaining before Abby’s departure was regrettably on a final countdown.  He wanted and needed to try anything he could to ensure those remaining days he be as close to her as possible.  He wanted her by his side, every minute of every day they had left together.  Facing her now with all sincerity, he chose to push forward and put forth his solution to ensure he was able to dedicate all his time to Abby, the best way he knew how. 

“I do understand Abby, and I respect your reasons.  I’m not sure how you will react to what I’m about to say, well, ask, but please remember that I’m willing to do whatever you need and take things as slow as you wish.  I want these last days to be perfect and I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise that”.  Abby was somewhat perplexed and now very curious.  Kristopher had her full attention and she needed to hear what he had to say or ask as he’d corrected himself.

Abby said nothing but Kristopher could see she appeared to be interested in what he had to say so he continued.  “When we get back to L.A tomorrow, I’m going back to an empty house.  I would like you and Alli to change that.  I’m hoping you will both stay with me, rather than go back to the cottage.  The only expectation I have is to spend the days ahead with you as much as possible.  I want to share every remaining moment with you, I don’t want to miss a thing.  There is plenty of room in my home, Alli can use Michael’s room and you can stay in the guest bedroom.  All I want is for you to be close.  I want these last days filled with you with me, with us together.  I don’t care if you’re not in my bed, I just want you close, for you to feel like you belong, and maybe you might even feel like your finally home”.

Abby thought about Kristopher’s words.  The feeling of home has been something she’d wished for her entire life.  She was now curious to find out if she could feel at home with Kristopher.  Abby was intrigued and already knew she wanted to accept his offer, but she also hoped he was being completely honest when he said it didn’t matter if she wasn’t in his bed.  Abby needed the ability to have choices.  She needed separation when necessary and to be closer to Kristopher if she wanted or needed to be.  Abby had to have faith in Kristopher’s sincerity and for him to remain respectful of her wishes. 

“I’d like that.  But I do think it would be best for me to stay in the guest’s room.  I’ll have to talk to Alli, but I don’t think it’s really going to matter to her where we stay”.  Kristopher’s face lit up and the excitement in his eyes was genuine.  Abby had certainly missed Kristopher, and her body was feeling extremely frustrated.  Whenever she felt this way, she found it hard to stay still.  Unconsciously, she would start to wriggle her legs, rub her feet together or rub them on whatever was close.  She was trying to be oblivious to her frustrations and stay true to her need to slow things down with Kristopher, but if she was totally honest with herself, she wasn’t sure how long she could hold back. 

It was quite late when they arrived back at the hotel and the ground floor was alive with patrons and busy staff.  Abby could never get used to the noise of Las Vegas.  Even from many floors above the noise of the hotel and Freemont Street, she found it hard to fall asleep before two in the morning.  Abby would prefer to be in the country somewhere, wide open spaces, no wild partying and fresh sweet air.  Abby felt like she’d been awake for two days, her eyelids were getting heavy, and she was hopeful with a bit of luck, she would be asleep in no time.  Abby unlocked the door to her room and Alli headed straight in.  Her daughter had no problems sleeping through the sounds of Vegas, Abby envied her.

Kristopher walked with Abby to her room and with Alli now disappeared inside, it was time to say goodnight.  He’d spent the past two weeks away from Abby and he didn’t want to part from her anymore.  But tonight was inevitable, they would be in separate hotel rooms, that wasn’t going to change.  Thinking about the following day and knowing Abby would be staying with him, in his home, gave him some solace.  Before they had left the restaurant, Abby had spoken to Alli about staying with Kristopher until they left to go back to Australia, and as Abby had suspected, Alli didn’t care where they stayed.  Kristopher couldn’t wait to get back to L.A, he felt like he was finally bringing Abby home.

Regrettably, Kristopher had to do the right thing and say goodnight.  “I’ll see you in the morning.  Sweet dreams Abby”.  He leaned in and left a light kiss on Abby’s lips.  Keeping the kiss short and stepping back ensured neither of them got carried away.  Kristopher was determined to uphold Abby’s need to take things slow, no matter how much he craved her.  “Goodnight Kristopher”, was all Abby replied with and she stepped inside her room, never taking her eyes off him until the door was fully closed.  With a heavy sigh, Kristopher headed to his room, let himself in, tossed the key and his wallet on a nearby bench, slipped off his shoes, pants and shirt and went straight to bed.  He figured, the sooner tomorrow came, the sooner he would be with Abby again.

The flight back to L.A was fully booked.  Kristopher tried to get a seat with Abby, but it was impossible.  Flight time was a little over an hour, Kristopher could live with that.  A small price to pay when the next week Abby would be with him twenty-four seven.  Today was New Year’s Eve, and he would be seeing in the start of a new year with Abby, this made him optimistic for the days ahead, he even dared to be hopeful for the rest of the year as well.

After a long discussion with Alli before they had fallen asleep, their last night in Las Vegas, Abby took the small window of opportunity to call Ryan while Kristopher was seated too far away to hear her conversation.  Abby and Alli had decided to accept Ryan’s offer.  The plane was still boarding, so before she switched her phone to flight mode, Abby made the call to Ryan and hoped he would answer.  “Abby, hey!  How’s things in Vegas?”, Ryan had answered on the second ring.  “Hey Ryan, sorry to call on New Year’s Eve but I wanted to check if your offer still stands for both Alli and I”, she was talking fast so she hoped her words didn’t come across rude or abrupt.

“Of course girl!  Absolutely, I’d love to have you both join the team!”.  With hope in her voice Abby continued, “I still can’t believe you’re willing to do this for us, but we’d like to accept.  The plane we are on is about to take off, so I have to keep this brief”.  Ryan hearing the urgency in her voice said, “It’s all good, I’ll send you some paperwork to sign, I’ve had it ready to go since before I landed in Vegas.  Send me your email address and I’ll shoot the documents over to you a.s.a.p.”.  Abby couldn’t believe this was actually happening.  She gave him her email address and thanked him again.  Before she finished the call he asked, “So, did Kristopher get in touch with you?”.  Abby went on to explain how Kristopher had flown out to Vegas, she had forgiven him, but she was taking things slow and being cautious.  Afterall, her heart was on the line and that still unnerved her.  There was one last thing she needed to ask of Ryan, and she hoped he’d do this for her, even though she felt she had no right to ask any more of him.

“Ryan, I’ll never be able to repay you for your kindness, but I do need to ask one more thing of you”.  Ryan was intrigued, “You can ask me anything Abby, anything at all”.  Abby just about begged, “Please, if you talk to Kristopher, can you keep this to yourself.  I need to find the right time to tell him.  I know I want this, but this isn’t about Kristopher, it’s about the unbelievable opportunity you are offering to Alli and I.  I need to find the right moment to tell Kristopher.  Is that okay with you?”.  Ryan’s response had a hint of surprise to it, but a complete understanding tone.  “Absolutely Abby, this deal is between you, me and your daughter.  It’s not my place to tell anyone without your permission.  But I will say this, I’m excited at the thought of working with both of you.  I know you’ll both do well, and I know I’ve made the right decision.  I hope you enjoy your new year celebration and I’m sure I’ll see you soon”.  Airline staff were making the rounds to ensure everyone was buckled in, seats in the upright position and all electronics were turned to flight mode so Abby had to end the call.

As the flight took off, Abby felt like everything was starting to fall into place.  Everything felt right.  She was excited about this new chapter of her life and the beginning of a great career for her daughter.  She also started to think that maybe, just maybe, she could feel at home in L.A.  Relationships come and go, that’s life, so she wasn’t focused on anything hinging around a potential life with Kristopher, she was looking at the opportunities ahead of her, branching off into a new career path and a new place to possibly call home.  Her head was filling with excitement.  Where would she live?  Where could she afford?  What new friends would she make in L.A?  Would Alli want to go on with further education and still work at the same time?  She had a lot to think about and the last thought she had was of Kristopher.  How will he react?  If he wanted to keep their relationship going, would he allow her to keep her independence?  Once she told him of the job offer, they would have a lot to talk about.  The uncertainty of Kristopher’s reaction took the edge off her excitement and replaced it with apprehension.