The noise level in the room was almost deafening, the chatter of long lost friends and new acquaintances flying around the room, along with the steady overhead of 90’s rock. Clusters of people gathered around the outside walls of the room, leaving the dance floor in the center, where drunken hands and fingers groped and searched for an easy score. Regina had been standing in the doorway of the convention room, eying the people from her four miserable years of high school with disgust. One would think that ten years of being away from each other and growing up might change people, but in the end they are still the same. The same children that teased and manipulated and coerced each other in to the back seats of an ’87 Chevy. Watching them all pour liquor and spirits down their throats and relive the “golden days of youth,” was too much for Reggie, and she turned to leave without having even stepped over the threshold of the room.
As she swung around to go, strong hands kept her from ramming into a particularly defined chest, covered in the most intriguing color of green she’d ever seen. The shade seemed to swim before her eyes, captivating her as it rose and fell before her. A low treble vibrated her ears, awakening her senses and finally she blinked, hearing the words that he was saying to her.
“You ok?” he asked, polite concern on his face, his eyes questioning. Words started to tumble up her throat, and her cheeks to flush, but then she met his eyes. Eyes she had started at for hours on end, eyes that had twinkled with mischief and mayhem as he laughed with her, not at her. Aiden’s eyes. As the realization hit her, astonishment unraveled in his gaze and the clear hazel turned murky. “Regina.”
For a moment his grasp tightened, then relaxed and Aiden quickly stepped back. Regina also stepped back, unconsciously rubbing her arms and averting her gaze. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to run you over,” she whispered, then turned to go, trying to slink away as quickly as possible. But he was too quick having already grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her. “Where you goin’?” he asked, not releasing his grip.
Regina tried to free her arm but it was no use; he was holding on tight. “I was just leaving. This isn’t exactly my kind of scene, ya know,” she replied smiling, her lips molded against her teeth in a threatening way. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way.”
“We haven’t talked in years, you can’t leave yet,” he grinned, ignoring her pointed look and continuing to detain her, his thick fingers pressing into her flesh. His eyes roved over her, remembering the awkward, heavy-set, teenager she had once been. A friend, someone to talk with during study hall, to lament to about difficult girlfriends; the person that was there for him, helping him study so he could pass physics with a C and graduate. “Where have you been all these years?”
“Becoming something,” Regina quipped, wrenching her arm free, and crossing her arms over her bosom, uncomfortable with Aiden’s close scrutiny. “It’s not polite to stare.”
Aiden raised his gaze and met her eyes, a shameless look on his face. “I wasn’t staring. I was just thinking about how different you look.” And she did look different. Her hair was no longer the rat’s nest of curls, but smooth and defined, with ringlets hanging to her chin. Her face was different too, the angles still soft and round, but more mature; sensual. Regina’s body had also changed: going from large to voluptuous, curvy and extremely feminine. “You look good…great.”
Rolling her eyes she turned away, heading towards the exit of the hotel. “Great seeing you Aiden, see you in another ten years.”
“Reggie, come on! Christ, just talk to me will you?” Aiden jogged after her, following her out of the sliding doors and into the warm July night.
“What do you want Aiden? Wondering why I’m here alone? Why Jack isn’t with me? We’re fucking divorced ok, just like you predicted. So thanks, thank you very much for caring and being my friend when I really needed you to be there,” Regina said coldly over her shoulder, hurrying over to her car and unlocking the door.
“Hey! That’s not fair and you know it,” he yelled after her, slamming the door just as she started to open it. “You were the one who didn’t invite me to the wedding. You were the one that didn’t want to hear what I had to say. I knew you deserved better, but you were so fucking afraid to be alone that you took the first asshole that groped your tits.”
The sound of her palm on his cheek echoed through the quiet parking lot. Slowly Aiden turned his head back around to see her bosom heaving with anger and her eyes afloat with unshed tears. “How dare you,” Regina hissed, then shoved him away from her. “Goodnight Aiden. Thank you for making this as painful as possible. Why not just tell me a fat joke so that I can go away knowing that you’re nothing that you used to be.” With that she jerked the door of the car open and climbed in, slamming it ByCasino closed before he could detain her any longer, and setting the locks. As the tears began to flow she gritted her teeth, throwing the car into drive and taking off, scattering rocks and dust up in a cloud as Aiden stood looking after her.
The empty room was flooded with light as she stumbled in, the bellhop trying in vain to keep her upright and moving as they crossed the threshold. Collapsing unceremoniously on to the couch, she gripped her purse, pulling it up to her chest and pulling out a hundred dollar bill. “Here, keep the change, and lock the door behind you,” she garbled out, tossing it in the man’s general direction. He took the tip with murmured thanks and left quickly, locking the door as the lady had asked.
Regina moaned loudly, her head beginning to pound and the lights poking needles into her eyes from all the alcohol she had consumed. After leaving the reunion she hit the closest bar she could find, and racked up an admirable tab drowning her sorrows in bourbon and beer. She closed her eyes with a groan and rolled off the couch to the floor, where she crawled to the refrigerator that housed the various mini-bottles of liquor and schnapps. Grabbing a handful, she cradled them to her breast and tried to stand, falling quickly to the floor once more. “Fuck it,” she mumbled and stayed on the middle of the living room floor, opening one small bottle of vodka and downing it quickly. She was halfway through her fifth bottle when there was a soft knock on her door. “Go away,” Regina yelled incoherently, throwing a handful of empties in the general direction of the noise. She rolled over onto her side, cuddling her stash and closed her eyes, ignoring whoever came to call.
Rough hands were shaking her, lifting her off the floor, making her stomach quake and jiggle inside her. Regina tried to beat off the hands, tried to free herself, cursing the person like a sailor as her stomach threatened to regurgitate all of its contents on her assailant. Would serve the fucker right for waking me up, she thought, fighting to keep her eyes closed and go back to sleep. The person kept shaking her, more roughly, and a voice began to seep in around the hazy fog of her brain. “Reggie, open your eyes! C’mon, look at me!” they said, shaking her violently, her head snapping back which brought her eyes open in a rush. His eyes stared back at her, concern wrinkling his forehead and molding his lush lips into a frown. Why? Why does he like to make me suffer? Her continued silence seemed to make him more nervous, and he made to shake her again, but she stopped him with a loud yell that made her own head ring wickedly.
“Get out!” she screamed, shoving at him angrily, clumsy in her stupor. “Get the fuck out of here! I don’t want you here; I didn’t invite you in, get out!” Each word was punctuated by a badly aimed fist pounding into his chest over and over. Aiden took the onslaught, and then grabbed her wrists, sending her down to the floor pinned beneath him.
“ENOUGH!” he growled, putting his entire weight over her, effectively ending her tirade. The air whooshed out of her quickly, leaving her speechless and panting, her eyes murderous. “Stop fighting me,” he snarled through gritted teeth, forcing her legs apart beneath him and settling between them, pinning her to the ground. “I just wanted to make sure you were ok. I ran into the bellman in the hallway talking to his buddy about some drunken chick in 576. I knew it was your room, so I thought I would check on you. If you promise not to hit me, I’ll get off of you,” Aiden negotiated, lightening his hold slightly, but waiting until Reggie nodded consent before rolling off to her side.
Once he released her, Regina rolled away from him, curling in a ball on her side. She tried to fight all the hurt and anger inside her, having thought that all of her tears had been cried, until a warm drop cascaded down her cheek. Unable to stop, a sob escaped her lips and she cried in earnest then, her body shaking with the effort.
Aiden moved closer to her, her crying wrenching his insides and tearing at his heart. He cup her against him, surrounding her body with his warmth, rocking back and forth and whispering quiet words against her ear, just holding her till the shaking stopped and her whimpers quieted down. Even then he held her still, not wanting to hear such dejected moans again, not wanting to know what had caused such suffering and pain inside her, but dreading the thought that he had something to do with it.
She relaxed back against him, unable to fight, just accepting the comfort he offered up. Aiden whispered words and hummed along her ear, tempting her into sleep, his warm form offering support to her exhauseted body.
Her breathing once again regular and even, Aiden leaned forward to get a glance at her face, saddened by the sooty trials of mascara down her cheeks and puffiness around her By Casino closed eyes. He tentatively brushed strands of hair off of her face, gazing down at her, a face so different from the one he knew, but so familiar. She looked oddly peaceful after such a violent outpouring that Aiden didn’t wish to disturb her, but he didn’t want to leave her on the floor either…in fact he didn’t want to leave her at all. He squatted down, wrapping her in his arms, and lifted her up, slowly moving towards the bed.
Reggie stirred against him, turning her face towards him as her eyes fluttered open. She blinked then stiffened, trying to wiggle out of his arms. “Let me go Aiden, you’ll drop me or I’ll break you or something horrible,” she said, struggling against him until he shook her harshly.
“Quit moving, I was doing just fine,” he said with another shake.
“Just put me down damnit, I can walk,” she hissed, kicking her legs until he did drop her…on the bed. “Umphf,” she moaned, bouncing on the mattress, her head falling back. “Thanks jackass,” she smirked as she looked up at him angrily, kicking her shoes off and then rolling over in the bed.
“Well this is a lovely thank you for making sure you weren’t dead from alcohol poisoning,” Aiden snickered, walking around the bed and sitting on the edge, putting his arm behind her and forcing her to look at him. “What was all this about, Reggie?”
Reggie closed her eyes, purposefully trying to ignore him, the ache in her head getting progressively worse after all the crying and carrying on. She made a move to roll over, but he caught at her hip and forced her back around, not letting her. Opening angry eyes at Aiden she prepared to let a long length of vicious words fly off her tongue, but then he leaned forward, his face mere centimeters from her own, and his breath was warm against her lips. “Don’t fight me or hide from me. We were friends once…let me be one again,” he whispered against her lips, looking deep into her eyes, urging her to confide in him once more.
His close proximity was almost more than Regina could tolerate, her head spinning violently and her body aching with needs that had long been denied. His scent had always done it for her, a mixture of soap, aftershave, and pure masculinity. So many moments had been spent savoring that musk and wishing that he would wrap her up in it, bathe her with it and make her senses sing. But Aiden wasn’t for her. He wasn’t interested in anything but platonic friendship, a point he had driven home time and again by ignoring her attempts at anything further. And then the whole thing with Jack, and finding out that he wanted her for nothing more than a trophy wife; that he preferred to spend his nights not at home with his wife, but in the arms of some whore from the office, or with his best “friend,” Nate. It was significantly obvious to her that no one wanted her, no one desired her.
Aiden watched as emotions crossed her face, first something indescribable that reddened her cheeks and slowed her breathing until she inhaled more than exhaled. Then pain, her eyes scrunching up, her face in a wretched grimace, and then finally despair, her lips softening into a pout, her eyes opening and a forlorn look was sent his way, tears once again gathered there. He was unable to stop his fingers from stroking her cheek, brushing away the lone tear that escaped and trickled down. Her cheek was so warm, so smooth and the way that she turned her face into his hand to accept the offered comfort was endearing to say the least.
“I never meant to hurt you Reggie. I just wanted to protect you, to keep you from making a mistake that would hurt you,” he whispered softly, his voice low and deep.
Sniffling loudly she turned her head away, resting on the pillow and avoiding his eyes. “I know. It’s just…so many things went wrong. Why didn’t I see what he really was? Why was I so fucking blind?”
Aiden let his fingers brush over the curls at her temple, pushing them off of her face and then rubbing the strands between his fingers, marveling at the silken texture, while her words made his own heart ache. “He played you like a fiddle Reg. It’s not your fault.”
“Yes it is my fault,” she whispered, more tears streaming down her face. “I should have known. I’m smarter than that. And besides, the very fact that he even showed interest in me should have told me that something was wrong.”
Aiden gripped her chin, turning her face up so that she couldn’t avoid his gaze. “Shut up Reggie. Just shut up. You’re beautiful, passionate…just amazing. I don’t know how anyone could resist you. Jack was an ass, and that’s enough said. You deserve better, way better than he could have ever been,” he said through gritted teeth to avoid screaming at her. “Why do you always have to put yourself down?”
“Because no one wants me Aiden! You didn’t even want me. So many times I tried to tell you how I felt just to have it thrown By Casino Giriş back in my face when you would piss and moan over the flavor of the month. You ignored me unless it was convenient, or unless you needed someone to stroke your ego,” she yelled, rising off the pillow and scooting away from him, her anger again rising to take the place of vulnerability. “Don’t lecture me on putting myself down when you are the one that started the whole process.”
“Reggie, stop it,” he growled, reaching out for her only to have his hands slapped away. She fought him in earnest then, adrenaline rushing through her and clearing the alcohol fog in her head. Aiden tried to grab her wrists, only getting punched in the chest and chin for his efforts. With a growl he shot forward on the bed, again pinning her down. “KNOCK IT OFF!” he screamed into her face, holding her hands above her head, her bosom heaving against his chest. With her eyes all aflame with anger and her full lips parted slightly, she was too much of a temptation, and Aiden leaned forward, taking a heated kiss, devouring her lips.
At first shock kept Reggie immobile, and then lust took over, all of her emotions going into this one encounter, finding an outlet for all the pain and suffering. She met his kiss and demanded more, her tongue mingling with his, her teeth capturing his lower lip time and again. Aiden growled, his fingers tightening on her wrists as she tried to free her hands, not wanting to stop drinking from her lips and tasting her sweet flesh. He pulled his mouth away, sliding his mouth over her cheek and up along her ear, flicking the lobe then biting down, his lower body hardening from the purr that escaped her lips. He released the sensitive flesh and moved lower, kissing and biting at her neck, holding her down even as she arched and pressed up into him, grinding her body against him so sweetly. A growl left his lips and he rose up on his hands, pinning hers into the mattress and looking down at her, her skin flushed and her breathing ragged. “The hell I didn’t want you,” he choked out around his own heavy breathing, then dove down again, kissing lower, his chin grazing the ample swell of her breast, his teeth nipping at the exposed skin.
Regina tried to free her hands again, lifting her legs and hugging them against his hips, demanding more. “Let me…go…damnit Aiden, I have on too many clothes,” she moaned, his mouth moving lower, inching the fabric of her shirt lower and licking along the top of her lacy bra. He released her hands and quickly slid his own up her shirt, stroking his thumbs over the warm flesh and then lifting the shirt free and over her head. Reggie tried to touch him, to wrap her arms around him and savor the feel of his body under her fingers, but once her shirt was off and his fingers found the snap of her bra, her wrists were once again captured and held down. “Damn you,” she whispered, her body responding eagerly to the feel of his lips on her hungry skin.
He smiled against her and then pulled the bra down with his teeth and admired the heavy breast and taut nipple show to him. It quivered, that lovely mound, dancing before his eyes with each breath, tantalizing him until his mouth watered and he had to taste, had to suckle like a babe for milk. Little kisses were traced around the areola and then the nipple was surrounded by the heat of his mouth, soothed and teased by his clever tongue. A groan left him from the taste and feel of the hardened nub, the vibrations of which traveled through her nipple and down to her core, sending her hips once again off the bed and grinding against his bulge. Her body demanded more from him, her moans begging him to take her. Slowly he teased and tormented that one breast, and then moved to the other, giving it the same treatment.
Over and over his tongue traced around her breast, his teeth nipped, and his lips sucked, all while his eyes watched her writhing for him, her lips biting her bottom lip, and her eyes fluttering. His body begged to be bare against her, to feel the liquid movements of her body as pleasure surged through her, to have his hand filled with her curves. Once more he freed her hands and instantly she was scrambling to get his clothes off of him, to feel him naked and hot against her. A few buttons were lost in her frenzy, but as his chest and abdomen were revealed her mouth watered and her core throbbed. Hungrily she lifted her mouth, moaning at the first taste of his flesh, the scent that teased her before now surrounding her, tempting her to do more, to take what she wanted.
His nipple was caught in her teeth as her hands shook and tried to undo the buckle of his pants. She focused on the little nubbin, running her tongue over it and around it, smoothing the wrinkled skin of his areole and then taking the nipple and sucking hard, trying to take his entire pectoral into her mouth. Frustrated with the slowness of her clumsy fingers and aroused uncontrollably by her mouth, Aiden pushed her hands away, ripping the zipper down and wriggling them down his hips, Regina’s legs helping inch them down. Surprise dawned on her face when she felt him bare and hard on her thigh. “No boxers anymore?” she asked, looking up at him with a wicked grin.