Amidst Crimson Kisses

Chapter Fourteen: The Wiles of Retrospect

Asher's POV

How can I commemorate my demise in a thousand ways a stranger observing from the gleam in the sunrise could capture as the shadows of lust flee? How can I help someone blind perceive the light as it masquerades through the faint ivory curtains while the wind breathes within the bright room? How could they understand my compromise as my fingers tremble against the mahogany headboard? Would they judge me if they saw Gwendolyn's black bra placed neatly on the right side of the bed? Could their mind be entangled in the false remnants of our lovemaking as our passion commenced condensation even though we never made love?

The moment I submerged in the depths of the sixth-floor swimming pool; I reconciled with the whispers of my hollow heart. Afterward, I submitted to the gentle waves of my mind. Then Gwendolyn sashayed through the stillness of the poolside as I captured wild glimpses of Juliet cloaking in the simplest places around Goulding Manor. I had no idea Gwendolyn was approaching me as the water voyaged with my soul back in time, and Gwendolyn appeared in her daughter's bathing suit. It was two scores and a decade that laid between their ages, yet I couldn't seem to grasp Juliet being dead as her black bikini encased Gwendolyn's curves, and my mind flickered to her beautiful smile.

How could I catch my breath as her red high heel caressed my thigh, or watch as her face morphed into Juliet? I remember letting out an exhale as I pulled Gwendolyn into the water, concentrating on her deep shallow breaths. We were inches apart when it happened, and my first thought was how she was going to ruin me, yet I still had no control over the lasciviousness of my throbbing heart. Why would I when agony seeped into every major organ of my body and polluted the very air I inhaled into my lungs? My head was ricocheting as I blinked, and our lips intertwined for what felt like a century of scorn.

I wanted to stop, but I wasn't strong enough, yet I doubt I even cared in that obscure moment. Then something happened as I grabbed Gwendolyn by her hips and held her in the water while footsteps retreated from above. I gazed at the balcony with guilt fuming inside my soul as I captured Margo running in the direction of the elevator. She caught us, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it as my mind became agitated while disgrace washed over my face. Then I released Gwendolyn in the pool and fled from my transgressions. I watched the elevator shut behind me, and fell against the frigid metal, unraveling alone.

"I'm just having a hard time understanding how you left to quote face death by having sex with Gwendolyn," Andre says, reclining on the azure blue armchair.

"Wait a minute," Charlie smiles, masking a laugh. "You had actual sex with Gwendolyn Goulding?"

"Come on, Charlie," Andre says, exhaling. "Of course, he had sex with her, but what puzzles me is how it happened. I mean, how do construction workers lay cement on the foundation of an old, abandoned building. Oh, I forget they bulldoze it first, isn't that right, Asher?"

Andre beholds agitation in my eyes as a smile slowly forms on his face while animosity bleeds through his facade, masquerading in his lethal sense of humor. I never had sex with Gwendolyn even after she darted my door in the middle of the night, and her desperation echoed through the fifth floor. How she had discovered my whereabouts wasn't crucial as my mind dissolved in a cacophony of uncertainty. I guess curiosity had enamored me as I teetered to the door, pressing my ear firmly against the opposite side, praying her footsteps would finally depart. The only thing that separated our brief passion was Margo, at least until Gwendolyn slipped her lingerie underneath the cracks of the chamber door.

The thought of waking up sleeping next to the married woman of my enemy and mother of my first love left me aghast as I held her bra in my hand. What could I even say after Gwendolyn picked me up from her doorstep, saved me from the wrath of David, and paid off my apartment? Frank also uncovered Andre and Charlie scouring the city in hopes of meeting me before my last hour. Hell, it's the only reason Andre hasn't released his displeasure as his foot taps aggressively against the checkered tiles. Charlie, on the other hand, camouflages a smirk with his amusement as he makes eye contact with Andre.