A Little Getaway: A Sherri Polo Adventure

Ch. 18 Coffee and Her

Sherri's POV:

I sit on the patio eating my breakfast and watching the ocean.  What were we doing?  This couldn't possibly go anywhere.  We both knew that.  Would we just be able to stop once we left here?  Or was someone going to get hurt?  Were we both going to get hurt?  There was a good chance that neither of us would come out unscathed and the thought was paralyzing.

Deep in thought, I hear my phone buzz.  It's Kamar:

I'm so sorry baby.  Can you please forgive me?  You are my home.  She is nothing to me.  She never was.  I love you and only you. Please come home.

I tap my fingers on the screen anxiously as I think of what to say.  I do still love him.  That didn't just go away.  But the way in which I loved him has definitely changed.  I have FaceTimed with the boys almost every day we've been here, but my exchanges with him have been polite at best. I really had nothing to say to him right now. I look through the glass doors and see Teri drinking her coffee, lost in thought. My God was she beautiful. So damn beautiful. I reach for my phone and begin texting back:

I love you too Kamar.  But I have a lot of thinking to do.  When I get back I think it's best for you to go stay with your brother for a little while.  Until we can figure things out.

Just because she means nothing to him doesn't mean that she doesn't mean something to me.

I turn off my phone after I hit send. I have no desire to get caught up in a back and forth text exchange with him right now. Right now I need to think. Why was I so angry that she was still talking to Sam? I had no right. She wasn't mine to be jealous of. I had a husband and a family. It's wasn't fair for me to get angry that she is talking to someone else. But the mere thought of it burned a hot hole in my stomach. And I had to figure out how to make it stop.

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Teri's POV:

I press my coffee mug against the side of my face.  It's something I do when I'm really thinking about something.  What was going on here?  I can't speak for her, but last night was the most passionate sex I have ever had in my life.  And as we climaxed it felt like our emotions exploded just as much, if not more so, than our bodies. Up until now it really was just about sex and our attraction to each other. But now emotions have crept in and the intense feelings that came with it were crippling. I loved her so much that it hurt to breathe at times. But I knew this would never amount to anything. Could it?

I shake my head at the absurdity of such a thought. We were on different paths. Paths that intersected from time to time, but ultimately would never merge into the same lane. The thought saddened me. Maybe if we had met each other earlier? In a different time? Who knew? Would things be different? Or were we destined to be star crossed lovers in the same vein as Romeo and Juliet without the warring families and far less blood shed or the suicides at the end?

I laugh out loud at my thoughts. They sound so absurd. But on some level they were true.

We both have so much thinking to do. But I decide it might be best if we just talk to each other. How else would we ever know what the other was thinking?

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Sherri's POV:

I watch her come out onto the patio and I smile softly at her.

"Hey," I say.

"Hey," she repeats back. "Do you want to talk about this?," she asks as she sits down at the foot of my lounge chair. I curl my legs up and put my coffee mug on the table next to me.

"Talk about what?" I am still not sure I can put into words what I'm thinking.

"Sherri, come on. I hate this awkwardness. That's not us. We need to be honest with each other. Always. So what's going on?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"What do you mean? You're the one that has shut down."

"Look, last night was so intense. I've never felt closer to anyone in my whole life. I couldn't even talk about it. And I thought you felt the same thing. But this morning... " My words trail off as I feel the burn in my gut again.

"What about this morning?"

"I heard you talking to him."

"Who?" she asks taken aback.

"Sam. After all we've been through the past few days you're still making plans to go see him."

"Sherri, I - "

"I know. I have no right to tell you who you can and can't see. And you have every right to live your life the way you want. I have no say. I get it. I understand. But I can't say it doesn't hurt. I can't say that I'm not so jealous that I can't see straight. That the thought of you with someone else doesn't burn a hole in my stomach. Because I am and it does and that's not fair to you. You have always been so understanding and so respectful of my relationship and my family and I have to figure how to do the same for you. But right now? I can't figure out how. Last night we crossed a line, and I need to find a way to cross back over. But I can't and honestly? I really don't want to."

"Love, listen - I do feel the same way. I have never been with someone the way I was with you last night. What we shared was so intense... I have never felt that with anyone else. So that's why when Sam called this morning I told him that we should just stay friends for now. He understood, but he still wanted me to come visit his new restaurant. And the only reason that I agreed to still go is because he told me to bring you."

I laugh embarrassedly as I realize what an ass I've been being.

"Well this is embarrassing."

"There is nothing for you to embarrassed about, love. If anything this just shows how important it is that we communicate and be honest. I would hate to lose you just because we can't be honest. So promise me, no matter how painful or awkward or embarrassing it is, you will always tell me the truth. And I'll do the same."

"I promise. So I should probably tell you that Kamar texted me this morning."

"What did he have to say?"

"He told me that he loved me and he wanted me back."

She doesn't say anything, but she looks at me intensely waiting to see what my reply was.

"I told him that I still loved him too."

She looks away and nods her head slowly, knowingly.

"But that I needed time to think, and he should probably go stay with his brother when I get back."

"You told him that?"

"Yeah. Things are so blurry and confusing now. But I know that I have to figure out what it is that's happening between us. What we have is too important to just toss aside. But it's also not something we have to figure out right now. Right now, I just want to enjoy my time with you without the pressure of the real world. We may never get another chance to be together like this so I want to enjoy every single moment of it."

"Sounds like a great plan to me." She leans towards me and I kiss her softly on the lips.

"Speaking of plans: what are we doing today? Besides each other obviously," I say against her mouth causing her to laugh.

"Ha! Eager are you?"

"Just a little bit," I quietly murmur.

"Well, I was thinking: there's a spa on the resort. We could take a couple hours and get pampered. Facials, massages, mani, and pedis.... all while drinking unlimited mimosas. What do you say?" she asks between kisses to my lips and neck.

"I say that sounds like heaven! Let's book an appointment and go take a shower."

"Just one?"

"I kept my hands off of you last night. Don't think that's going to happen again today."

She closes her eyes and sighs, then takes my hand and leads me inside.

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