Afterglow

Randall

What is Sabrina dreaming of?

That question runs through my mind as I stare at her sleeping face, her eyelids fluttering and her lips curved into a smile.

Something good, I hope. God knows she deserves every good thing, whether in dreams or in reality.

I smile too. I wouldn’t mind waking up to this every day.

Every day?

I didn’t mean this marriage to be permanent. I just thought I’d keep her safe until Vince had been locked up or was no longer a threat, until David was all grown up and no longer needed taking care of. By then, I thought I would have tired of her.

But no. Now, I know I’ll never tire of her. She’s full of surprises after all. Just when I think I know her, when I’ve seen it all, she does something to surprise and captivate me.

Just like last night. For the first time, she was bold enough to touch me, to lick me, to suck me, the memory of which still sends a shiver up my spine. True, I didn’t let her finish because I was afraid I wouldn’t last, but fuck, that was hot.

I’ll never stop wanting her. Or protecting her.

Even though Vince may disappear – no, I will make him disappear – I will still keep protecting Sabrina from everyone who might want to hurt her. And when she gets pregnant, if she does get pregnant, I will be there every step of the way to make sure she survives the childbirth along with the child.

Maybe then I can live in peace. Maybe then I’ll be able to forgive myself for not having been able to protect Dinah.

Suddenly, Sabrina stirs. She slowly opens her eyes.

I take her hand and kiss it. “Good morning.”

She turns her head to look at me. “Good morning.”

Even though she just woke up, she still looks perfectly beautiful.

“Did you sleep well?” I ask her.

“You know I did.” She rubs her eyes then looks around. “What time is it?”

“A little past seven,” I answer.

She yawns and stretches. “Shouldn’t you be at the gym?”

“I’m playing basketball with Gil later. Besides, I had quite a workout last night.”

“Really? I thought you didn’t break a sweat.”

I grin.

“Well, you had to work out, you know, since you got the calories from all that chocolate,” she adds.

“Consider them burned.”

“Yeah, I bet.” She turns on her side, propping her head up on an elbow and tracing the muscles of my chest. “Where you always this… big and strong?”

“I was always big but I was overweight as a kid,” I tell her. “That’s why my mother and my sister kept criticizing me. Then I got into sports and I lost weight. I kept going and before I knew it, I was gaining weight but not in fat, in muscle. As I grew up, I put a lot of work into strength training. I joined the high school wrestling team. I joined the college weightlifting team. Mind you, I was offered a scholarship.”

“But you didn’t need one.”

“I still took it. I joined several competitions and won some. When I graduated, I continued with weightlifting and then I became a fitness trainer and then…”

“You met Dinah?” Sabrina asks.

She’s asked about Dinah before, but that seems so long ago.

I nod.

“You never told me how you met her.”

“There’s nothing to tell. It wasn’t anything extraordinary like in the movies. Not like how I met you.”

She chuckles. “You sent me flying, remember?”

I crease my eyebrows. “I did?

“Anyway, there was nothing special or romantic about it.”

“Well, that spider kind of ruined the moment.”

She laughs. “Yup.”

“Anyway, I met Dinah and then she died…”

“During childbirth, right?” Sabrina asks.

“Right.”

“Because of complications?”

I don’t answer.

Thankfully, Sabrina doesn’t push the issue. “So, she died and then…?”

“As I took care of David, I started thinking about our futures and I decided to put up a gym. But why put up just one when I have the money to put up several? I mean, I had the money from my trust fund. So that’s what I did. I put up several. I started the company. And you know, the rest is history.”

“Wow.” She squeezes my arm. “So you started out just being fit and then you set out to help others become fit and earned billions doing it.”

“Pretty much.”

“Your family should be proud of you.”

“But they’re not. My company may be successful but it’s nothing like the real estate company that Lloyd took over from my father or the oil company Helena’s husband has.”

“But Lloyd inherited his company and Helena… well, she doesn’t own the company. It’s her husband’s. You built your own company and established your fortune.”

“A fitness company? They don’t really care about that. But, hey, I don’t care.” I stroke her cheek. “I don’t need them to be proud of me or to support me. I’m fine and now, I’m even better because I have you.”

She smiles, placing her hand over mine.

I lean forward to kiss her but just as my lips have touched hers, the door bursts open.

“Shit,” Sabrina mutters as she pulls the blanket up to her chin.

“Daddy! Sabrina!” David runs to our bed.

“What are you doing here, David?” I ask him with a frown as I sit up.

“What?” David looks disappointed. “You said I could come here anytime.”

I did say that but…

“That was before I married Sabrina.”

He glances at her. “Oh.”

“Good morning, David,” she greets him with a sheepish grin.

“Good morning,” he mumbles.

“David, you can still come here anytime, but you have to promise to knock, okay?” I tell him.

“Okay. So, do I go back out and knock then come in?”

“Sure. Why don’t you go back out, and we’ll put on some clothes—”

“You’re not wearing anything?” David asks, his expression one of confusion and surprise.

Oops.

Sabrina gives me a look of disapproval.

“We are, but we have to put on more clothes, okay?” I lie.

“Okay.”

David reluctantly leaves the room. As soon as he’s out, Sabrina rushes out of bed.

“Maybe next time, you should lock the door,” she whispers before going to the walk-in closet.

“Sorry,” I mumble, putting on my robe.

David knocks.

“Wait a sec,” I tell him.

After a minute, Sabrina comes out, dressed in a shirt and shorts. As soon as she’s back under the blanket, I call out, “You can come in now, David.”

He does.

“What do you need, David?” Sabrina asks him, happier now. “I know I promised we’d play a video game today but isn’t it a little early for that?”

“That’s not why I’m here,” David says. “It’s because I wanted to show you something.”

“What?” Sabrina and I ask at the same time.

He goes to the computer and after a few moments, he shows us a video of his and Sabrina’s performance on YouTube.

Sabrina gasps, her eyes wide. “Someone took a video of me?”

“A lot of people were taking videos,” I tell her.

“And they uploaded it to the Internet,” David says. “Look.” He points to the numbers below the video. “You have so many likes and views. Do you know what that means?”

Sabrina shakes her head, her hands clasped over her mouth.

“That a lot of people have seen the video?” I guess.

“That means you have a lot of fans, Sabrina!” David says excitedly. “That means you’re famous!”