“I’ll see you next week, A-bug,” Dad said before saying goodbye. He was speaking at a conference in Atlanta today and as much as I missed him, it was nice to hear the excitement in his voice.
The past months had been hard on all of us.
The threats to my dad and my family came out of the blue and they were something that we weren’t used to.
My dad wasn’t a politician or a lawyer. His profession shouldn’t have exposed him to these dire security threats.
He was a scientist for Christmas’ sake, (and I say Christmas because it’s a time for happiness), and all he wanted to do was to make the world a better place.
Just because he had a mind that almost equaled Einstein shouldn’t have made him vulnerable to the attacks of an international crime lord.
It was all saddening really.
I had to have a bodyguard because the bad guys wanted to use me against my father.
Only the sickest people could do what they did to me and could cause so much pain to my dad.
And only heartless men could endanger the lives of men, women, and children like what happened with Webb.
It pained me to see Webb hurting.
He was getting better at expressing his feelings to me and I was glad for it because I would never gain insight to his insides if he didn’t.
He was happy, I felt it in his touches and the abundance of smiles on his face these days, but he was also missing a part of him…
I doubted if he’d ever gain that piece back in his heart.
The loss of his son was a cross he had to bear and for a man like him, it was going to haunt him for life.
My hope for him was that he found a way to make peace with it so he could move forward with his life and honor his son’s memory by continuing to live.
“You look deep in thought, girlfriend,” Dyan said as she came out of the dressing room.
We were at the Americana on Brand and she went inside the fitting room to try on a couple of dresses when I received the call from my dad.
I smiled, “Yeah, my dad said he’ll be in town next week.”
“That’s cool!” She exclaimed, her green eyes lit up in exhilaration, “Maybe my parents would be in town and we could all have dinner.”
I raised my brows, “Your parents?”
“I want them to see that I’m friends with the daughter of the head of the CDC.” She pursed her lips and tapped on her chest, “I gotta brag about Dr. Bridges, A.”
I laughed, her reasoning boggled my mind.
“My mom thinks I only hang out with hoodlums and scum,” her green eyes rolled and the disgusted expression on her face was too funny. “If she only knew…I handpick my friends and I hang out with the coolest crowd.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I said, standing up from the couch and walking with her to the register.
Her voice lowered, “Is he doing okay?”
She was referring to my dad. My friends and I have become really close after what had happened to me and now, we’d reached that stage where we treat each other like family.
“He’s doing great. I can hear how happy he is to be back in the groove of things. He loves to talk to everyone about science and research.”
“My dad would be in shock if he ever met your Pops,” she said, handing the cashier three of the dresses she’d tried on. They all looked fabulous on her. “And my mom would straight up have an orgasm if your dad talks about his research.”
“Eeewww.” I scrunched my face. “I don’t want to think of your mom orgasming.”
The cashier in front of us chuckled while asking, “Did anyone help you today?”
Dyan’s head turned and pointed to the tall retail worker who was helping another customer. “Yes, Clara did.”
The cashier nodded and said, “Will these be all for you today?”
Dyan reached for her wallet in her purse, “Girl, if I buy any more – I’ll be broke for the next month. You guys always rob me of my money.”
The cashier with the pink and purple hair laughed, “That’s what we aim for.”
“Well. Mission accomplished,” Dyan answered and thanked the cashier as we walked out of the store.
Dyan was a really cool person. She made everyone feel accepted. It didn’t matter if they were black, yellow, white, or orange; she treated everyone the same and it really made me proud to be her best friend.
“You wanna try out the cupcakes or the macarons?” Her question wasn’t really a question because she already knew my answer.
“Both,” I said, looking for the cupcake stand close to the tracks of the railroad train that ran along the strip mall.
She put her right hand in a fist and bumped mine. “This is why you’re my BFF, A.”
I laughed, “Because I indulge you in your sweet cravings?”
She replied, “Because you always have the right answer to my questions.”
I shook my head and since she was shorter than me, I slowed my strides so we’d be in sync.
She was over-the-top and a dynamite on her own, but there was no one else I’d rather share my college experiences with than her.
I was truly, truly blessed.
“Webb?” I’d woken up to an empty bed. Usually at this time, he’d be sleeping beside me.
Eyeing the clock on the side, I blinked twice to accommodate for the darkness and saw that it was already two in the morning.
It was unfamiliar.
Odd.
This feeling of being without him.
I loved waking up to his warmth and his subdued kisses whenever I was inbetween wakefulness and sleep.
He always had his hands wrapped around me and whatever position he took when we first went to bed, it was the same position he kept before he woke up.
I knew because there were a couple of times I had to get up to go to the bathroom and he never changed positions.
The man was a statue.
Even in sleep, he remained true to form. Still, disciplined, controlled.
The only times he lost control was when we were making love. Oh, I loved having him lose control. I savored making him aroused to the point where his voice would break, chanting my name in pleasure, and asking me to relieve him of his lust.
My thighs clenched as I thought of him. There were a few times when I’d taken advantage of his sleeping state and I’d put his cock inside my mouth to wake himup blind with lust and begging for me to finish him off.
He always returned the favor. Making my pleasure last longer, and always waiting until I was incoherent in lust, pleading for my release.
Webb was a gratuitous lover and he always made sure that I was satisfied before he saw to his pleasure. It wasn’t as if I had a million dollar price tag on my virginity. I just didn’t have the time nor the right person to experience sex with.
I’d never experienced sex with another man and I didn’t find myself wanting to experience it with any other man.
Every time I thought of Webb with other women, it made me cringe. I knew that he had them before me, and I’d never ask him to compare, but still, it wasn’t something that I’d waste my time thinking of.
Before I allowed my thoughts to go into overdrive, I stood up and felt the carpeted floor beneath my feet. Most of Webb’s place was marble, but there were rugs in the bedrooms to keep my feet warmer during the night. Webb had bought them because I’d said that I didn’t like to wear slippers, but there were times when I felt the floor was cold on my feet.
The man did everything to make me comfortable.
I had to refrain myself from talking sometimes because otherwise, he’d buy every single thing that amused me or I thought was cool.
He didn’t have to, but he did because he loved to see me smile.
That’s what he told me when I’d asked him why he bought me the giant stuffed kangaroo that I was hugging and laughing at during a trip to a warehouse store.
“Webb?” I called out again.
Where could he be?
I walked to the kitchen, wondering if he had gotten hungry.
Nope, he wasn’t there.
The dining room was also clear of his shadow.
“Webb?” My voice rang in the silence of the night.
I saw lights on in his office.
Hmm…
He worked, but he tried to do everything during the day, unless there was something urgent that needed his attention.
The door was slightly ajar and I heard his voice, which sounded strangled and worried, “Have you alerted the CIA?”
The CIA?
The person on the other line was speaking so Webb was silent. Then I heard Liam’s voice, “They won’t take him out of the country, Dub-ya.” Dub-ya was his nickname for Webb, but even that didn’t soften the protracted anxiety in his voice.
Why was Liam awake at this time?
This must be really important.
I didn’t want to disturb them so I moved to turn away from the door.
I could ask him in the morning.
“What the fuck do you mean?” Webb’s voice was louder now, the agitation evident as he let out a bunch of expletives.
Webb didn’t curse a lot on a regular basis, especially when he was talking to Tony or his counterparts. So whoever was on the other line wasn’t Tony.
I didn’t really want to be snooping into what seemed like a really important meeting, at two in the morning, so I should have really just gone back to bed.
I was ready to take another step when I heard Liam say, “Should we tell Athena?”
And those words right there made my feet freeze on the floor.
The beating of my heart slowed and even if I wanted, I knew that no coherent words would come out of my mouth.
Time, for all I knew, stood still.
And when I finally found the courage to walk, I didn’t bother being quiet about it.
My feet turned, I pushed the door wide open, and in my light yellow pajama set, I stood in front of the two men who protected me with their lives.
Two pairs of eyes greeted me – one was masked with fury, the other with sorrow.
I wanted my voice to be heard so I gathered my strength and faced the man who held my heart in his cobalt blue eyes and I said, “Where’s my dad?”