Chapter 6

 

Andre

 

. ~ .

 

ANDRE THREW HIS suitcase in the trunk of a taxi and after hopping in the back seat, he rattled off the address of his Charlotte home to the driver.

He couldn’t wait to get there, to see Ava and persuade her to come to her senses. He was a man of action and when he laid his eyes on her, there wouldn’t be much talk. Time for talking was over.

He missed her. He needed her.

When he’d spoken to Todd about his dilemma, he questioned if marrying Ava was a mistake. Most men would probably not allow themselves to fall in love with a woman who had Ava’s health issues. But as a man who was in his late thirties and had never been in love before her, he knew what woman he wanted. He’d found her, found love – what sense was there in giving up now?

Through sickness and in health meant just that. He took his vows seriously and he would love her through her sickness and not feel regret for doing it.

A few years ago, one of the guys in his company’s information technology department lost his wife to breast cancer. The wife had suffered for years before finally losing her battle to the disease. And while she had suffered, so had he, there for every doctor visit and chemotherapy treatment.

A real man didn’t leave a situation when times were tough. True love withstood tests, because if love was never tested, how would one know if it was really true? It’s easy to say that you love someone, or love someone when everything else in life seemed to be going fine. But what about through the hard times? That’s what really made a couple strong throughout marriage.

 

 

THE TAXI CAB driver pulled up in the driveway and after giving him a fifty dollar bill, Andre took his suitcase from the trunk, extended the handle of it and rolled it up to the front door. He unlocked the door and stepped in the foyer. He hadn’t been to this house in months. It was quiet and dark. Besides a small lamp in the living room, no other lights were turned on downstairs. Being that it was after midnight, Ava and Andrew were likely upstairs sleeping.

Leaving his suitcase in the foyer, he continued on upstairs checking Andrew’s room, seeing his son lying peacefully in his crib. He smiled at the sight of him. Nothing made him prouder than having a son by the woman he was in love with.

He walked further down the hallway, towards the master bedroom and saw Ava lying there, majestically, intertwined in the covers, lying face up with her mouth opened just slightly. She looked peaceful, calm and relaxed. The windows were open, allowing the crisp, spring night air to blanket her while she slept. The little light from the cracked bathroom door illuminated her face.

Andre pulled his shirt over his head in one, long tug. He undid his belt buckle, leaving it threaded in the belt loops of his jeans. He sat in one of the chairs in the bedroom, leaned back in it, watching her. That’s something else she had complained about – him watching her. She didn’t want him to, didn’t want to feel like he was always being her bodyguard, her protector. But is that not what a man was supposed to be for his woman?

He thought so. Ava was his weakness. She had no idea the amounts of money he’d spent seeking answers for a cure for her heart, not to mention the time he spent with Dr. Burke, going over treatment plans and possible scenarios that could play out in the event she needed to have emergency surgery. He would do anything for her. He’d go broke, if need be, because he loved her.

Ava was younger than him, and in his opinion, part of the reason why she couldn’t grasp the depths of his love for her. Besides, their attraction to each other had happened so quickly that neither had time to think and analyze their situations – that she was living in North Carolina and he was in Florida. That they didn’t have a lot in common and that he was older than she was. None of that mattered then, because when the sparks flew, it set fire to their souls. They’d fell in love, and even after losing touch for two years, that fire still burned within Andre’s heart. He was certain that this woman, Ava Rockwell, was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

He undid the button to his jeans, unzipped them and allowed them to fall to the floor where he stood. Then walking over to the bed, slowly, he climbed on it, on her, moving silently as his body loomed over hers like a blanket, shielding her from the midnight air. After lowering himself on top of her, she stirred, then panicked when she felt the weight of someone bear down on top of her. She pushed, and hit him, trying to defend herself from whomever it was on top of her...

“It’s me, Ava. It’s me, baby,” Andre said, calming her, holding her arms down to stop her frenetic movements.

Her chest rose up and down quickly as she struggled to calm herself. With panic still in her face, Ava said, “You nearly scared me to death. What are you doing here, Andre?”

“I came to get my wife back.”

“Dre, please—”

“Listen to me, Ava. Listen. I love you.”

“Andre, please—”

“I love you and I will not let you destroy our marriage. I won’t let it happen. I will never let it happen.” Andre stared down at her defiance, at her ripe lips that he wanted to taste so badly. “You’re worried about me and how I feel about you and your health but I’m here to tell you that I love you, Ava. I love you more now than ever, and I will be here for you through all of this. I’m a man, your man. Let me be your rock.”

“But Andre—”

“No buts. Do you love me?”

“Yes,” she said as tears rolled out of her eyes.

“Then let me love you, for the rest of our lives,” Andre said, lowering his lips to hers, capturing her pouty ones into his mouth. Oh how sweet the taste.

He missed her, and hadn’t known how much until the moment their lips mated. He hadn’t made love to her in months, afraid that he might hurt her. Now he needed to make love to her, afraid of losing her. Maybe this is what she needed, what they both needed, to be physically reminded of their love.

And remind her he would...

“Oh, Dre,” she whimpered, feeling his tongue lap around her neck, leaving trails on her as he licked his way to her earlobe, sucking it.

“I miss you so much, Ava,” he whispered in her ear and then, looking adoringly upon her, he stroked her hair, smiling as their eyes made contact.

“I miss you too, Dre,” she admitted.

He knew it all along. She was just confused, bothered by the notion of him having to take care of her because of her circumstances, but she should’ve known that Andre would do anything for her. Hadn’t he proven that?

Lifting the covers to get under with her, he pulled her thin gown up over her head, feeling their warm bodies touch.

Skin-to-skin contact alone was enough to settle him, feeling his desire for her jolt something deep within him – an intensity that he hadn’t felt before. He sought her mouth again, plowing his tongue into her depths, wanting all of her as her fingertips strummed up and down his spine.

“I love you, Ava. I’ll always love you no matter what.”

“I will always love you too, Andre.”

He kissed her lips again, laid next to her and pulled her close to him.

“I know you have concerns about me,” he said to her.

“I do.”

“Talk to me.”

“It’s just that…I don’t want to hurt you, Andre. It’s a fear I have.”

“It’s a fear you’ve had for quite some time, and I’m here to tell you, baby, that that’s not your job to worry like that. I told you before and I’m telling you again, leave the worrying to me. All I need from you is love and trust.”

Ava nodded. “I know. It’s just so hard for me.”

“Then what can I do to make it better?”

“That’s the thing. I’m not sure.”

“Then know this,” he said, stroking her back with his fingertips. “I’m in this for life. I chose the woman I want to spend my life with and it’s you. Trust me when I say that I have been and will continue to do everything in my power to ensure that you get the best medical care available.”

Ava smiled. “I know you will.”

“Good,” Andre said, feeling relieved. He continued stroking her back, until he felt her breathing pattern change into one of rest and sleep. All those nights he’d spent watching her sleep, he knew her pattern well. And he could rest with a sound mind tonight, knowing that he had his woman in his arms.