The Studio

10. Concluded Climax

 By the time Trent came to pick me up, I was sweating bullets. Yeah…what a clichéd line to use, but so appropriate. The ride to his house was short but it seemed to stretch on forever. There was a lot to be discussed and I was the one who had to explain.

      We arrived to his house and when I got out the car, he held the door for me to enter. You have to respect a young male when he has his own house, and Trent’s place wasn’t lacking in any areas. Due to the high paying jobs he books, he had someone come in and pimp the place out. Flat screen T.V., soft black chairs, and recliners…everything that you can possibly need for the perfect man cave. It took a lot of work talking him down every time he wanted to buy me something expensive. Perhaps some day I will indulge in it. Well, that all depended on the outcome of this conversation. Gee, I was presumptuous wasn’t I?

“Ok what’s bothering you, because the suspense is really eating at me.” He said as he dumped him self down beside me on the sofa. The thing was big enough to hold five easily and maybe even more. I shifted and turned to face him after a deep breath. This would prove to be my ballsy moment. I was about to spill it all without no guarantee that Trent would accept it. Tucking a lock of hair behind my ear, I sighed and looked into the deep misty grey of his eyes. Such concern and intrigue there…

“Trent,” I started to say. “Before you…I …” Pause. Was that a good way to start this conversation?

“Wait…let me start from the very beginning…” I corrected, and so I did. I told him about the day I joined the group and what started to conspire between Carlos and I. Through it all he remained quiet with a passive expression. I was expecting him to stop me at any moment and say what a whore or bitch I was…nothing. He sat there and said nothing. I appreciated it but God knows it had the pins and needles pricking the hell out of the back of my neck. I came to the part of my story that spoke of the day I had had and why I sounded so odd over the phone. I got a deep sigh and a twitching lip from him and made a mental note to remind me that that occurred when he was on the road to becoming pissed or possibly already there. The strained expression started to surface and it was almost visible that he was physically restraining himself from an outburst.

“And…that’s basically….basically what happened. I’ve tried getting him out of my system, but he always found his way back in. Finally, I just stopped resisting and went with it. Was only until today that I saw him for the son of a bitch he trulywas…”

     By the time I was done, he was looking down in his lap at the fringes from the pillow that he played with. I went quiet and waited for his response. The silence was so loud I was sure I would scream at any moment just to hear some other sound.  He shifted slowly in the chair to face me even more and those eyes met mine again.

“Alex…” He whispered, taking my hands in his and holding them tightly. I squeezed his back and tried to swallow the pulse that was raising thick in my throat. I knew he felt my palms sweating, and I knew he saw the way I twitched when he squeezed my hands back.

“Yes?” I answered in the same soft whisper, although, mine was a bit shaky and faint.

He licked his top lip and made the cutest little knot in his forehead. My heart skipped a beat- weird timing- and some how I found myself wanting to nibble on those lips and feel them at the nape of my neck. Trent had been the total gentleman through our dating. He hadn't touched me inappropriately and that meant we never had sex. Yes, to think I put out for a married man and when a single comes along I go all Sister Mary Clarence at the first sign of intimacy. The soft rumble of his voice shook me from my fantasies that I wasn’t aware of having until then.

“You’re shaking…why are you shaking?” The question seemed so obvious to me and I was certain he knew why. I frowned and felt my eyes stinging. I knew the tears wanted out but I didn’t want to turn into a whining water bag just yet. The lump was hard in my throat and it made my voice sound hoarse and throaty.