Marry Me

Chapter 5

     I walked backwards into the room, pulling Alondra with me.  I backed into the bed and stumbled when my foot hit the frame. Alondra giggled and wove her arms around the back of my neck.

     "I have been thinking about doing this all night." She murmured. I placed my hands on her waist and said "Me too." She pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips into mine. It started slowly, but soon I felt the need to deepen the kiss. I pulled her closer to me and let the tip of my tongue slide across her lips. She moaned softly and parted her lips.

     I slowly sat down on the bed and pulled Alondra on top of me. She straddled me, and sat back. I tiled my head in confusion, until she reached down and pulled her top off. Her bra was black with lace designs across the front. I groaned and reached around her to the clasps. A few moments later, I was peeling it off of her body and chucked it across the room. She reached down and pulled my shirt up over my head and discarded it somewhere on the floor.

     Taking her breasts in my hands, I slowly ran my thumbs across her nipples. Her head fell back and she sighed softly. I leaned forward and pulled one of her nipples into my mouth and ran my tongue over it. She moaned louder and ran her fingers through my hair. Goosebumps broke out all over my body. I gripped her hips and spun us so she landed on the bed on her back. I crawled up her body as I left kisses all over her skin.

     I spent time kissing and nipping at her neck. She squirmed underneath me as my hand explored her body. Reaching down, I unbuttoned her jeans and slipped my hand inside. 

     Suddenly, Chelsea's face flashed across my minds eye. I froze for a moment, but continued to trail my finger across Alondra's panties.

     Then, I heard her laugh. Chelsea had the most beautiful laugh I had ever heard. I tried to push it away and focus on the sounds Alondra was making. God did I want to just take her all night... but Chelsea just kept popping up.

     "Chris..." Alondra whispered, but it wasn't her voice. It was Chelsea's.

     "Damnit!" I growled and flung myself off the couch. Alondra sat up with her brown eyes wide in confusion. 

     "Chris? Are you okay?" She asked. I ran my hands through my hair and started to pace the floor. This just wasn't fair. I looked over at Alondra and sighed "I have a confession to make."

     Realization crossed her face and in a flash she was up and grabbing her bra from where it landed on top of the television. As she put it on she started yelling.

     "Are you fucking kidding me? Seriously? Here I was, thinking I found myself a sweet guy to spend the night with, and you pull this shit? Really? What is it? Girlfriend, fiancé? Oh God, are you married? I swear to God if you made me almost sleep with a married man so help me I'll -"

     "Alondra!" I exclaimed. She stopped as she was picking up her tanktop off the floor.  I reached forward for her hand but she yanked her arm away. I swallowed hard and said "I'm not married, nor do I have a fiancé or a girlfriend."

     "So... boyfriend?" She asked. I chuckled without much humor behind it and replied "No. No boyfriend either. I am single but... the reason I ended up here is because I have been in love with my best friend since I was five years old. We never dated. Hell, I never even told her the truth. She surprised me yesterday by showing up at my school... to tell me she was engaged. I tore out of there and just started driving. Six hours later... I ended up at your bar."

     I sank down on the bed and put my head in my hands. The exhaustion, alcohol, and sadness was just crashing down all at once. I could hardly see straight as I said "I find you incredibly attractive, but I also respect you too much to use you just to get my mind off of Chelsea. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to stay, or let you be so nice to me."

     The room was silent. I wasn't even sure if she was still there, until I felt the bed lower beside me. I turned my head to see her sitting cross legged next to me. Her shirt was back on, but her shoes were off. She put her hand on my back and murmured "Tell me about her."

     I was stunned. She had just been screaming at me... and now she wants to hear about her? I just used her for a rebound, and she was staying? Who on earth is this girl?

      "We, um, we grew up across the street from each other. I knew the moment I met her that I loved her, but didn't admit it to myself until the 8th grade dance. I was dancing with her because her date had ignored her all night for some other girl, and the sadness in her eyes made me so angry. I wanted to go over there and punch that loser in the face for making her sad."

     "It took you that long?" Alondra asked in surprise. I shrugged and said "I was just a kid. What did I know about love? But as we got older I started to notice her. Like... really notice her. How her hair shined like fire in the sun, how her eyes lit up when she saw animals or chocolate. How she sang to every single song on the radio, and how if she wasn't singing, she was definitely upset. I have had a few girlfriends in my life but by my senior year I realized it was just pointless. I couldn't commit fully to anyone when all I wanted was her."

     "Why have you never told her?" She asked. 

     "I was scared. There is no way she would like me too. So I just kept telling myself that I would get over it some day. I almost kissed her when we were in high school, but we have such a long history that I was just afraid I would make her angry, and then I would have lost my best friend forever."

     We sat in silence as Alondra trailed her nails up and down my back, I kept my head in my hands and wallowed in self pitty for a while. Finally, Alondra cleared her throat and said "You are insane to think she wouldn't be into you. You are a great guy, and crazy attractive." I scoffed, and Alondra whacked my arm with the back of her hand. 

     "I'm serious! Tall, muscular arms, got some abs going on, that naturally dirty blonde hair that always looks just a bit wind tossed no matter how often you run your hand through it... not to mention that big, bright smile of yours. You are an amazing catch. She would totally be into you."

     I smiled softly and slowly straightened up. I took her hand and said "Thanks, but she is getting married, remember? I could never do that to her. She is in love and read to commit to this guy forever. She doesn't need this on her plate."

     "But shouldn't she know all the facts before making that decision?" She asked firmly. I sighed and said "It's too late." Neither of us spoke for a long time. I was still ashamed of myself for dragging her into this, and God only knew what was going on in her head. Finally, she looked up at me and said "You need to go to bed. I got you two nights here because I didn't know how long you planned on being in town... so no need to wake up early for check out. "

     I stood up and pulled Alondra to her feet. I looked into her big brown eyes and said "Thank you. I don't deserve to have ran into such an amazing person." She smiled and shrugged her shoulders before saying "Someone needed to take care of you. You get into bed. I'm going to fix myself before Mario gets the wrong idea and then I'll head out."

     With a squeeze of my hand, she turned away and crossed the room to the bathroom door. She slipped into the room and shut the door. I kicked off my shoes and jeans and sat down on the bed. I groaned and let myself fall backwards onto the giant mattress. I made a mental note to measure my studio apartment to see if I could fit a king sized mattress into it.

     Next thing I knew, I opened my eyes to a brightly lit room. Sunlight was pouring in from the open blinds, and Alondra was gone. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I wasn't under the covers, but either Alondra or I had pulled the other half of the comforter over me in my sleep. I looked to the bedside table to check the time. It was 2pm. Jesus. I noticed my phone, which was now magically plugged in (thank you, Alondra), had a slip of paper sitting on top of it. 

     I grabbed it and read it aloud to myself.

     "Had an... interesting night, Stranger. Give me a call if you need anything else." Underneath it was Alondra's name and phone number.