Love Me Harder (18+ Only)

Part 10

"How does that feel?" Diego whispered, his deft fingers kneading away the tension from my shoulders and back.

A soft purr escaped my lips instead of an actual word.

"Good."

Twenty minutes into my hour-long massage and I felt wonderful. Diego's expert moves loosened the tight muscles around my neck, the kink in my lower "bass" (aka where my back meets my ass) dissipated and my thighs felt like just-set jello. Mmmmm.... This must be what heaven feels like.

"That feels so good." My voice was breathy, like I was sleep-talking.

"Hey, where were you last night?"

Gina and I were doing a couples massage. It was a better deal and we could chit chat at the same time. Multi-tasking is a skill I have perfected.

"I took a walk. I couldn't sleep." I am also a horrible liar. Horrible because I'm so good at it, unfortunately.

"You did seem a little restless—OHMYGOD..." Her voice drifted off for a minute. "Carlos, you are a God. I swear if I still liked dick...oh yes please."

After being prodded, poked and pressed until our bodies were like putty, we met up with Lara and Kimber. They decided to get mani-pedis. They were giggling when we walked up.

"What's so funny?" I asked, claiming the seat next to Kimber.

"Well, the lady was giving Kimber a foot massage and it tickled her. She almost kicked her in the face." Lara took a sip of her cucumber water.

"I'm not used to someone touching my feet!" In her defense, it was Kimber's first pedicure. How I wish I was a fly on that wall.

A buzzing distracted me and I reached into the pocket of my robe.

"Seriously? Where did you hide that thing, in your vagina?"

I gave Gina a stern look. "It's Kevin. Excuse me, ladies." I swiped to the right to answer the call.

"Baby. I've missed you."

"Gwen."

Kevin has many made up names for me. Gwen-bear. Gwenny. Baby girl. Honey buns. Princess. Sugarbaby. That's a bit literal but I like it. So when he starts a conversation with my name, it's usually followed by something I won't like.

"What's wrong?"

"Something happened."

My heart leapt to my throat. "Are you hurt? What happened? Tell me."

"We were driving to Napa—"

A car accident. My throat closed in on my heart, squeezing it so hard. I can't breathe. "Kevin for fuck's sake are you alright?"

"Clara is in a coma." It took me a moment to realize that the horrible sounds I heard after that sentence was of Kevin crying, sobbing. It's the sound of a wounded animal. Guttural. Painful.

"Oh my God. Sweetie... I am so sorry." What does one say to one's boyfriend to comfort him when his wife is in a coma? My mother has not prepared me for this. "What about Julia?"

"She's ok. Safe. But Clara... oh my God, Gwen. There's tubes everywhere. Broken bones, her face is all bruised up. I don't... I don't know what to do."

"What do you need, baby?"

"I... just need to be here. I can't possibly leave her here..."

"I'm alright, Kev. Take care of your family, ok? Call me if you need me."

"I will..."

"Kev?"

"Huh?"

I put on my let's-pretend-everything's-fine voice. One of the few things my mother taught me. "Clara is going to be fine. Okay? You're going to be fine."

"Okay."

We said our goodbyes and I walked back to my friends. My feet dragged and it was like a mile-long hike just to get back to the table. The news blanketed us all and dampened our light spirits. No one felt like doing much. We decided to cut our trip short and drive back home.

After hugging everyone goodbye, I trudged back to my apartment. The red light of my answering machine welcomed me home and for the ninth time in my entire life, I wished I had a pet.

I pressed the play button.

"Hey. You're probably gonna get this message when you come back from Salish. Forgive me. I couldn't really say it to you directly. I think... we should cool it for now. I have to be here for my family. I care about you but my family is very important to me—"

That was enough. I pressed another button. "Message deleted" the machine informed me.

That's how Kevin broke up with me for the 8th time.