Love Hurts

  Chapter I

Baguio City, early Monday morning,

Alex came out from a shower, careful not to wake up Lyra who is still asleep in bed. He put on his clothes, his eyes on Lyra's nude body as she lays on her back, hershapely legs spread in wild abandon, exposing her hairy mound, pussy lips still slightly agape from a long night of delirious sex.

He was fixing his necktie when Lyra spoke.

"What are you doing, where are you going" She asked, her voice still hoarse from sleep.

"I am seeing a friend. Business." He replied.

"But...." She held back. She knew him well enough not to argue with him.

"Will it take long? Maybe I could go back to sleep and wait foryou. We'll have lunch and then later on hangoutsomewhere else. It's too beautiful a Monday for me to spend alone "

He didn't speak.

"Okay, if you want, we can stay here the whole day, I wouldn't mind some more loving." She teased.

"I just want to be with you longer. I've really missed you Alex. Its been a while."

"I'll be very busy here for the next two days, then I have to flyback to Manila. " Alex said, not looking at Lyra.

Lyra stared at Alex, dumbfounded, her eyes teary.

He is leaving her again. She took a day off from work to be with him much longer. It had been almost two months since Alex was in the city. Her anger building up, Lyra struggled to temper her emotion as she spoke.   Her voice soft.

"Sometimes I asked myself what I saw in you, what is in you that makes me stick to this one-sided affair. Why can't I leave you, why I fool myself believing I mean something to you."

"Damn it Alex, I don't deserve this."

'Tell me, what am I to you, a convenient lay whenever you are in the city?

"You fuck and go. I feel like your whore!".

"Lyra, what is this all about now? I thought we were happy as things stand between us. I thought we were okay."

" I thought so before. But not anymore."

"Want do you really want from me?"

"Is it too hard for you to understand? The problem with men like you is that you think with your balls. You think its all about sex. Fuck the lady, give her an orgasm and you own her. Eat her pussy and she will die for you."

"We are much more than pussy, much more complex than you could ever imagine. So complex that even we, couldn't understand ourselves sometimes. That is why I can't understand why I run to you whenever you call, why I drop everything just to be with you.

And for what? For this? Lyra couldn't control her anger anymore.

"You know its not true, I really like you Lyra" Countered Alex.

She looked at him with a wry smile.

"Well, it's not good enough for me now. All my life, all those damned fucking men, nobody really needed me, nobody really cared. But at least, it was okay because I didn't love nor needed them anyway. They all meant nothing to me. It was just fun while it lasted.    No promises, no expectations. But I want it to be different with you. I want more from you."

" I want you to need me, really need me." Lyra stressed

"Lyra, I am sorry, I don't know what to say. I only know I am happy when I am with you. We've been happy together, haven't we? All along I thought..." he didn't finish.

"Maybe its my fault  I longed for more, I hoped for more. I waited..I thought that in time..."

Still naked, she got up and stood in front of him and looked straight into his eyes, seemingly trying to read something in the window of his soul.

She didn't like what she saw. There is no love in his eyes.

"Oh, forget it, maybe its just my head, its all screwed up, muddled by stupid longings."

She put on her clothes.

"Lyra, I am sorry, I ..."

She cut him off.

"Its alright, Alex, I'll be okay, I've been seeing a shrink  to fix this stupid head of mine".

"And maybe next time you call, I won't be coming anymore."

" Not until you say you love me." She emphasized.

Slowly, she turned to leave.

"Lyra, I really like you, I've been with you much longer than anyone. I enjoy your company. I am happy when I am with you. I like being with you. Its just that..."

He didn't finish. As Lyra rushed towards the door.

"Lyra, wait , let me see you out."

She slammed the door on  his face.

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All the way back to Manila, Alex brooded over Lyra's outbursts. He had many lovers before and even now, and they all knew what they were getting into. Like what Lyra said, no promises, no expectations.

Alex let out a deep sigh " Ah women, give them an inch of your dick and they will demand for your body and soul".

Outside the arrival area, as Alex waited for the car that his boss, Stella sent to fetch him, his thoughts were still on Lyra, unmindful of the admiring stares from several awe-struck women. Though he is not a fashion mag-stereotyped handsome, Alex is a very attractive man, very sexually appealing in both face and body. He cuts an imposing figure... easily stands out in a crowd, tall and lean, he moves with feline grace.    Adding to his charm is his total lack of self-consciousness about his appearance.

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TBC