Another Morning Ch. 05

It was storming the next morning. I woke to a hard clash of thunder, the vibrations seemed to shake the house and rumble through my body. A hand inched under my shirt, rubbing absently at my bare abdomen. Contentment flowed through me and I closed my eyes again.

Last night Kaden did not leave my house. The storm started shortly after our small argument. We were so intent on each other that neither of us noticed until Kaden, in all propriety, reluctantly stated that he should go before it was too late. When I opened up the door, we saw a veritable curtain of rain pouring down past my balcony. Maybe I offered a place to stay because it would have been hard for him to see through the rain, or maybe I offered because I wanted him to stay and used the rain as my excuse. Whatever the reason, he took me up on my offer.

I gave him the choice of either of the two guest bedrooms, assuming that he would take the bedroom with it's own bathroom. He surprised me when he said that he wanted to sleep with me in my bed because he was afraid of thunder. I laughed at his pitiful excuse and refused him. Hours earlier I had promised to trust him, but I was still not prepared for anything truly intimate between us outside of kissing and light petting.

Kaden crossed his heart with the index finger of his right hand, promised there would be no hanky panky, and offered up one last excuse. He told me that it would get me use to the type of contact that was more personal. It was too late at night and I was too tired to put up much of a resistance. He stripped off his clothes, leaving his boxers, and crawled into my bed while I was in the bathroom changing. It was hard to miss the look of disappointment that crossed his eyes when he caught sight of my pajamas. They were a lot like my day clothes, covering me from the neck down. At least my feet were bare.

I joined him in bed, a little nervous at first. It had been four years since I shared a bed with a man other than my cat. Kaden gathered me close to him and placed my head on his chest. I promptly fell asleep.

A smile played at the corner of my mouth as thought of being so comfortable with Kaden that I would pass out with no hesitation. My thoughts wandered a little as I tried to reenter the dream world, instinctively knowing that it was still hours before I had to get up and start the day. The hand started to inch up my body heading towards my breasts. I put my hand over the mound it made in my shirt and flattened it to my body, effectively stopping any advancement.

"You promised." My voice was husky from sleep.

"Would you believe that it's all part of your training: Getting use to various forms of sexual contact?" His breath frolicked over the back of my neck, a pleasant breeze while chaos raged outside the walls of my house.

"Not in a million years. Men are predictable creatures when it comes to this type of contact." I gave him the benefit of the doubt and released his hand, trusting him not to move it any further.

His hand was warm and comforting. I would have been lying if I said that I did not enjoy the contact; that I did not get a little curious at how far he would have taken it if I had not stopped him.

Kaden sighed heavily. "I'm sensing another wall. Would you care to talk about it?"

I rolled over in his arms to face him. His eyes were still closed, but I knew he was still awake. "That's a serious topic for early morning."

He hugged me closer to him. "The sooner I understand what I'm up against, the sooner I can break it down and we can bump uglies." His eyebrows wiggled while his eyes were still closed. I could not help but to chuckle at the goofy scene he made. "I lightened the mood a little, so dish."

I was not ready to tell this story and I knew that things would not be able to advance without me telling him. Stalling was only a temporary option. Sooner or later he would press for the story and I would have to give in. From my observations and readings, I knew a good relationship was built on three things: trust, communication, and sex.

"Some other time, handsome. We'll need more sleep if we want to get through the day."

"That was blatantly evasive. You won't be able to hide from me on this one." The hand that once was on my abdomen was now rubbing my back in a soothing gesture. I knew that my reluctance was frustrating him. He was a man that was use to having sex often, but I could also feel his determination to wait. The night before he told me that he was starting for fall in love with me. That morning, intuiting his frustration, I started to fall in love with him too. I was resolute to gather my courage and tell him yet another one of my major fears later that day.

A few hours later we got up to the sound of my alarm clock. This time Kaden slapped the off button on the object of my daily torment. I asked him if he would leave my place early to get a fresh change of clothes over at his apartment. He just gave me a cheesy grin and informed me that he always had an emergency suitcase in his car.

I took a look inside his suitcase after Kaden went outside to fetch it from the trunk of his car. It had all the essentials for travel and, not only, one change of clothes but two. I flashed him a suspicious look and called him a "rake."

He gave me a questioning look. "What exactly does that mean?"

"It's an old English version of a player."

Kaden burst out laughing and gave me a sound playful kiss on the lips. "I can't be called a," he paused thinking of the word I just taught him, "rake anymore since I'm leaving my suitcase here. This is the only place I plan to sleep at other than my own apartment. How does that sound?"

"It sounds like my cat's going to have to fight for a spot on my comfortable bed."

--~~--

Much to the shock of Tabitha, I was in class ten minutes earlier than normal. I did not tell her the reason; she barely absolved me for forgiving Kaden. What would she think if I told her he spent the night at my house while she was still a little miffed? With her threat of beating me and Kaden to hell and back if he ever hurt me again echoing in my ears, I calmly read the school newspaper.

I had no clue why I insisted on reading the school newspaper. There was nothing in it that ever made me happy, nor interested me beyond the front page news and editorials. Yet I always picked up the latest addition. While I was reading an article convincing me that the student government members were a lot like real politicians, corrupt, Amanda Jane was sitting on her side of the classroom babbling. The subject of her latest gossip eluded me since I was not listening.

Maybe it was something she said, I could not be sure, but I found myself tuning into her words. I was now fake reading the school newspaper in favor of listening to one of Amanda Jane's ridiculous fabrications.

Out of the corner of my eye I watched Amanda Jane flick her hair in preparation to tell another one of her stories. "I had an interview with Jetways this morning." Jetways was the huge company in town that built airplanes used all over the world. "On my resume I wrote that I could speak Chinese, because I'm taking Chinese classes and all. They actually brought someone in who spoke Chinese to test me! The nerve! They actually expected me to speak Chinese.

Anyway, the job would require me to travel out of the country every six months. If they liked me after six months, then I would have to travel every two months. I would be living out of a suitcase! Can you imagine? That wouldn't leave much time to start a family. I wanted to be married and on my way to having two and a half kids when I turned twenty-four."

"I wouldn't worry about that, Amanda Jane. I don't think the company will take you on as an employee so you're safe." Tabitha chimed in using an oversweet voice. I snickered behind my paper.

"Well," Amanda Jane huffed, "there are plenty of companies out there that would be more than happy to have me and demand less of me. You know, give me time to start my family with," dramatic pause, "Kaaaaaaadeeeeeeen." She drew his name out in a sing-song voice that grated on my nerves.

I let the statement slide. What need did I have to pick a fight with Amanda Jane when I already had Kaden? It would take more than a little name dropping to make me angry. I calmly folded my paper, laid it down on my desk, and flashed a glance to Tabitha. She was frowning fiercely, but she waited to see if I would do anything. I just faced forward, staring at the chalkboard, and waited for our instructor to join us.

"I know you heard me, Alex. Kaden's just amusing himself with you. Do you actually think that he would want someone like you when he could have a hottie like me?" I rolled my eyes at Amanda Jane's attempt at getting a rise out of me.

It was becoming obvious that my indifference was angering her. "I can't believe you actually think you have a shot with him. He's so much better than you are. You're geeky, weird, and FAT!"

My breath stilled in my lungs. She said the one word that was sure to royally piss off Tabitha. Amanda Jane's words were nothing to me. I was secure in the knowledge that Kaden would not play me. Tabitha, however, took great offence to anyone who called another person fat.

I turned to Tabitha and watched as she slowly got up from her desk. She had a vicious look in her eye and a snarl on her lips. "You pretentious shallow little slut! You think you're better than everyone because your mommy and daddy have money. The only reason why you're passing your classes is because your daddy donated the money for the new Engineering building to the school. Without the money backing you up you'd be nothing, stupid anorexic freak!"

The eyes of everyone in the class were twice the size they normally were, including my own. Stillness permeated the environment of the classroom and Amanda Jane's face was starting to turn a bright shade of red. Some people were staring at Tabitha in shocked awe and others were looking at Amanda Jane with smirks. I was looking straight ahead, trying not to break into laughter. Of course I lost my battle, the silence was broken with a few of my chuckles, then my laughter. Soon others joined in laughing, even Tabitha. Amanda Jane turned from red to purple; I wondered, briefly, if she was breathing. That was how our instructor found us when he finally came to class.

--~~--

By lunchtime Tabitha was back to her sweet self. I would not have her any other way. She was laughing at her own anger, but mostly she was laughing at Amanda Jane's ability to change color. Kaden and Stan were accompanying us. I took a look at everyone at the table and felt a profound contentment. The old Alex would not be surrounded with laughing friends, but the new Alex almost always had someone at her table.

Stan was not laughing so much as chuckling. He was a severely laid back type of man. His strawberry blond hair looked as if it had not been combed in forever, his brown eyes looked as if they were perpetually sleepy, and he had an athletic build from constantly walking all over town. Stan was my height and always dressed himself like a California beach bum. On days that were fifty degrees and above, he would wear shorts. On days below fifty, he would wear breezy white cotton pants and the occasional long sleeved shirt. Tabitha and I marveled at his ability not to catch a cold in the middle of winter.

Despite his charm with the ladies, they had the annoying ability to blink rapidly and coo like birds as he walked by, he was smart. It was his intelligence and his weird quarks that bid us to welcome him into our circle. Where there once was two, then there was three. Kaden was fast becoming four.

Tabitha was in the process of mimicking her tirade at Amanda Jane, with a little help from Stan who was filling in the details, when Kaden's cell phone went off. He looked at the caller ID and groaned. "Guess who it is." He announced to the table.

Tabitha, Stan, and I raised our eyebrows in surprise. If I had not been absorbed in the moment, I would have found our reaction comical. "Why don't you answer it?" Tabitha questioned.

Kaden placed his ringing cell phone on the table and looked at it. "Well I was hoping that she would get the hint when I never answer her calls."

Tabitha and I looked at each other across the table while Stan was shaking his head in agreement with Kaden.

I took Kaden's hand, sitting next to his noisy cell phone, and squeezed it. "Kaden, sweetheart, that's not a nice thing to do to a woman. I think that it would show amazingly good character if you picked up and told her that you didn't want to see her again."

The cell phone stopped ringing, but it did not stop our conversation on the matter. "Why would he want to do that? It would be so much easier on him if he just ignored her." Said Stan as he was looking at the piece of chicken speared upon his fork.

Tabitha glowered at Stan. "Sure it would be easier on him, but what about all the people his decision would effect? Amanda Jane would not get any type of closure. In fact, she would come up with all manner of excuses why he wasn't picking up the phone or calling her, successfully keeping hope alive that he will pick-up or call one of these days. Meanwhile, she would make Alex's life a living hell because she's the enemy in this little game. Currently, Alex holds your affections and, in Amanda Jane's mind, she must be dealt with."

I was amazed at Tabitha's wisdom. The only reason I advised Kaden to call and tell Amanda Jane it was over was because I remembered my own experiences. It hurt when a guy just ignored me and the situation would have been far better if he just flat out told me he did not want to see me anymore. I would have closure and I would have been able to move on with my life quickly.

Resolutely, Kaden picked up the phone and dialed her number. Everyone at the table was quiet as he did what he had to do. It did not take too long. Kaden told Amanda Jane why he called, she screamed profanities through the phone, and everyone at the table clearly heard her. Then it was over.

--~~--

I had a mixture of relief and regret as Kaden turned into my subdivision. He did not know about my promise to myself to tell him why I had a problem with sex when we reached my house that evening. As he pulled into my drive, we could see a figure sitting on one of the white wicker chairs I had on my porch.

"Do you know who that is?" Kaden asked me as he turned off the ignition to his car.

I shrugged my shoulders. "No clue, but I guess we're going to find out."

We held hands as we rounded the corner of my house. Walking closer to my porch, it became obvious who it was. The person had a face I would never forget as long as I lived. All the old feelings and insecurities came back to me, the feelings of worthlessness that always resided within me when I was around him. Justin Beaumont had found me.

--~~--

To be honest, Chapter 6 isn't even started even though I know what will happen. I wrote on Chapter 5 off and on during breaks in between studying, but, after my last final, I will diligently work on finishing the story. We're nearing the end right now. I hope you look forward to Chapter 6 where we'll find out what Justin wants from Alex. Comments and/or votes are greatly appreciated and wanted!