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I was so caught up in my own frustrations that it didn’t occur to me to text Alaina. That should have been the first thing I did, in the parking lot of Stacia’s building, but it slipped my mind.
I went back to the police station to file a report, but she wasn’t there either. I didn’t bother to tell any of the other officers. No one was as up to speed as Alaina was, and I felt sure I would see her at home.
Getting back to my apartment, I found it empty. I wondered if Alaina was coming over that night, but it was too early to worry, so I went for a run. The fresh air helped clear my head and gave me an appetite. Without my girlfriend to worry about, I went to the nearest drive-thru and bought myself a sandwich and fries.
Ordinarily I was much more health conscious, but that night it seemed like a little bit of fried food was okay. Going back home alone, I missed the dogs. They would be the perfect companions to help take my mind off Stacia.
I went over and over the entire meeting, dissecting what she had told me. Her father was abusive but adept at hiding it. He wouldn’t have let her go willingly. She didn’t know who to trust, and she’d thought that I was too naïve to handle her pain.
Finally, the door opened, and Alaina walked through. I was so happy to see her, it didn’t occur to me that she might be upset. I crossed the room quickly, avoiding the dogs as they crowded in alongside her.
Pulling her deep into an embrace, I kissed her warmly, but her lips were like lead and her body as stiff as a board. I released her in confusion, stepping back to look into her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Where were you?” she demanded.
“I was at Stacia’s,” I said, thinking it had been obvious.
“All this time?” she demanded.
“No,” I replied, feeling attacked. “I was only there for an hour or so. I went by the police precinct, but you weren’t there.”
“I went out to clear my head,” she said.
“You want to tell me what’s going on?” I asked.
“You tell me,” she countered.
“Why are you so pissed?” I asked, truly confused.
“I don’t know,” she responded, slamming the door behind her. “You storm off to go talk to an old girlfriend, and then I don’t hear from you for the rest of the day.”
“You don’t think I—” I couldn’t even bring myself to say the words, they were so outlandish.
“Did you?” she demanded.
“Of course not!” I yelled. This was getting ridiculous. If Alaina thought I had it in me to cheat on her with someone who had been as cruel to me as Stacia, she was crazy. I deserved a little more trust than that. “How could you even think it?”
“You said you were almost engaged to her,” Alaina snapped.
“That was three years ago,” I defended myself. “A lot has happened since. Plus, I was working on the case.”
“I stuck my neck out for you,” she said.
“How?”
“The chief wanted to bring Stacia in for questioning,” she replied.
“She’s under witness protection,” I explained, in case it needed repeating.
“I know!” Alaina shouted.
I could see that this conversation was going nowhere fast and took a moment to gather my thoughts. We were basically on the same page, except that Alaina thought I still had feelings for Stacia. A glass of wine might help turn the temperature down and allow us to have a civilized discussion of the events of the day.
I sidestepped my angry girlfriend and went to the kitchen. She followed me as I hoped she would. I took down two wine glasses from the cabinet (the only two I owned) and reached for the half bottle in the fridge.
“We need to talk about this,” Alaina insisted. “You could have been in danger. She might still be working for Rossi.”
I poured the liquid, paying careful attention to what I was doing to avoid overreacting. “I don’t think so. Some of the things she said to me were heartbreaking. Her childhood growing up with that man was something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”
Alaina calmed down enough to accept a glass. She tipped it back, taking a deep gulp before setting it on the counter. “I hate to belabor the point, but you don’t know her at all.”
“I know that I don’t have feelings for her anymore,” I admitted. “Which is sad because she’s had a rough life and she could use all the friends she can get.”
My primary point wasn’t wasted on Alaina. “You don’t have feelings for her anymore?”
“No,” I said, taking a sip without ever looking away. “I found somebody much better.”
Alaina softened. The light of anger went out of her eyes, and she visibly changed. Shaking off the tension she had been wearing like a cloak, she transformed into the woman I knew and loved. I held a hand out, indicating that she should come closer.
She did as I requested, narrowing the space between us until it was paper thin. She laid her head down on my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist. I took one last drink before setting the half empty glass down. Hugging her to me, I felt like I was coming home.
She was so warm and energetic, the power within her flowing effortlessly. Where Stacia was closed and deceptive, Alaina was an open book. She wore her heart on her sleeve, and sometimes that meant I had to deal with outbursts of anger or jealousy, but I didn’t care. With Alaina, I knew where I stood.
I kissed the top of her head as if I was her brother or simply a colleague who cared for her. She squeezed her arms tighter around me, as if I was ever going to let her go. We stood like that for a long moment, holding each other in the kitchen.
Looking up at me with deep, glossy eyes, she tilted her head back for a kiss. I obliged hungrily. This was exactly what I needed to chase away the ghosts of my past. I’d wanted to lose myself in Alaina’s embrace since I left Stacia’s apartment. The jog had only half worked, and I knew exactly what I needed to feel sane again.
Alaina’s lips were sweet, and they parted like butter. I tasted the wine she had just been drinking and something I could only describe as fear. She had been afraid for me. Not jealous, not possessive, but afraid that Stacia would hurt me.
The knowledge that she cared so much lit a fire in my core that raced outward into every limb. I picked Alaina up and set her on the counter, narrowly missing the two wine glasses. Coming back to the kiss after breaking it so abruptly, I found that our situation had changed. She was now above me, and I looked up to her. It was an interesting sensation, tilting my head up to kiss a girl.
Alaina didn’t bother marveling at the uniqueness. She put her forearms on my shoulders and drew me in. I slid my hands around her waist, searching for skin but finding nothing. Alaina pushed me back, reaching for her jacket, tugging it off in a hurry.
She almost knocked over the wine again, but I rescued it just in time. Transferring it quickly to the opposite counter, I came back to find Alaina unbuttoning her uniform shirt. I couldn’t help myself. Reaching up to grasp the sides of her face, I brought her in for another kiss, disrupting the activity that I so desperately needed.
She relaxed her fingers, combing them through my hair instead. The more we kissed, the more I wanted. There was an energy building between us that was feeding off our desire. I felt my cock swell within my pants, pushing out against the fabric, thirsty for her body.
I sealed the kiss once more, pulling back to allow her to continue undressing. She wasted no time on the last three buttons, shrugging out of the shirt and pressing it behind her. I pulled my own shirt off, letting it drop to the floor.
When we came back together, our skin was burning. She was so hot I imagined she was a goddess, perched on my kitchen counter, ready to make me a man. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and sank into a third or fourth kiss with abandon.
The tempo increased. I could hear the blood pounding in my ears, calling me to her. I reached around to undo her bra, sliding her tits free and casting the unwanted garment to the side. A moan escaped her lips, a sweet sound of surrender. The closer we got to Nirvana, the more I wanted her. Every single movement she made was pure ecstasy.
