The Business Trip Read online

  “Babe?” I turned around to see Alison clad in her bathrobe and using a small towel to dry her hair. “Come here a second.”

  I walked over to her a little worried because she did not look like she was smiling or had something pleasant to say. I didn’t want to hear it so I distracted her with news of food because I knew she was hungry.

  “Room service will be here any minute. You must be starving,” I said.

  “You go and take a shower and I will receive our meal but first I need you to take care of something for me,” she said and undid the belt on her robe.

  She pulled the fluffy material aside and opened her legs. I was there in a flash.

  “Get on your knees,” she ordered. “I need to train and be in control of my orgasm. You are right. I can’t have it destroying me like this.”

  “Was it always like this?” I asked and she burst into laughter.

  “Oh no! You are the troublemaker, Logan. On your knees,” she repeated and I obeyed.

  She opened her legs wider and I stuck out my tongue. She settled her clit on my outstretched tongue but jumped when the contact was made. I looked up at her and she leaned against the wall. I realized that I had to take charge of the situation and wrapped my arms around her then pulled her to my mouth. I sucked on to her flesh and used my tongue to search out between her lips until I located her clit.

  “Oh God...no...let go…,” she objected but I held her tightly and sucked on her.

  Her legs started to wobble and she needed to come fast or she would be tumbling to the floor. I went further under her so that my tongue was at her opening and her legs started to shake. Alison slipped along the wall and down on the floor but I was not deterred. I continued my assault on her pussy and suddenly there was a knock at the door. I was room service.

  “Don’t stop! Fuck...I’m cumming...baby...yeeeeees!”

  Another powerful orgasm rocked her body and I was not sure if I was going to be able to get her off the floor and onto the bed. I had to wipe my mouth in her towel and run to the door to collect or meal which we desperately needed. When I returned to her she was still lying on the floor.

  “Should we go again?” I asked smiling. “I could eat you all night.”

  “Get away from me!” she shouted in my face.

  “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry,” I laughed and her face turned angry. “Tell you what, we will not be having sex anymore. I love just being with you. Sex or no sex.”

  “What? Really? Not on your life. We go again. Come on.” I burst into hysterical laughter. “What? You think I am scared? Let’s go.”

  “Baby,” I smiled touching her face. “We can talk about it after we have eaten. Maybe it is hunger that is knocking you out and not your orgasm. It is midnight. Go eat and don’t wait on me because I am going to take a shower.”

  “But I want to eat with you.”

  “I know but you came to me straight from your office. You need to eat, go. I will join you in a sec. OK?”

  “OK. Hurry back.”

  “I will.”

  I rushed into the bathroom and made the mistake of looking in the mirror. Sydney. I turned away and leaned against the wall. I knew I should be home with my wife. She may be cheating but so was I. I should be with her and Taila but being with them means being without Alison. The moment that thought came to mind, I started to lose my breath.

  “Oh God...what am I going to do?” I whispered.

  I took a deep breath and entered the shower, not any closer to having an answer so I tuned that out and focused on getting clean. I hurried back to Alison and sat at the small table in one corner of the room and had dinner with her. We broke our stares only to look at our plate to see what we were taking up on our forks but as soon as our eyes were satisfied they returned to look at each other.

  “Will I ever have you?” Alison questioned.

  “Babe, we can’t have this discussion that will definitely lead to somebody getting upset. I just want to enjoy you for a few days and…”

  “Wait. What?” She stopped chewing. “I can’t be here a few days. You need to come back with me tomorrow like you planned.”

  “But I was only coming to see you and you are already here so why not spend a few days. Three maybe?”

  “No, I have to get back tomorrow night. I was working and I left it on my desk and rushed out. I wanted to ensure that we get the outline perfect before I put my staff on it; I have no room for mistakes because the is a rushed and very expensive project. Leaving tomorrow night is already a stretch but I was desperate to be with you,” she said putting her fork down and sitting back waiting to hear what I had to say.

  “I understand. I will go back with you tomorrow night,” I said and sadness crept in.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I have come to New York for one year and this is your first time coming to see me and you can only give me one day. Is that fair, Ali?”

  “You never invited me. I am the one always asking you to come see me. I will be happy to make proper arrangements with my responsibilities in New York and come to spend some time with you but now is not that time. I will be finished with this project in a month and I would be happy to come spend some time after that.”

  I listened to Alison and it was clear that the option of her coming to live here in Miami so that I could be near to my daughter was off the table. It would be up to me to leave everything and everyone behind to be with her while her life remained intact. I had to hear how she would feel about that.

  “Ali, if I wanted you to move here so that we could be together, how would you feel?”

  “I have a business in New York with a lot of people who are depending on having a job.”

  “You could sell it to someone who is willing to keep your staff,” I said.

  “Baby, I am sure we could eventually work something out. It may be easier for you if I come here because your daughter is here and I want to be with you so if it requires me leaving everything behind and starting over here then I will do it. I love you too much to not have that as an option.”

  I was wrong. She would do it for me just as I would do it for her.

  “Thank you baby. I am not saying that’s what it will be but I am happy to know that you would do that for us.”

  “That and more. I need some sleep.”

  “OK. I will have room service take this away,” I said and got to it as Alison went to the bathroom to prepare for bed.

  CHAPTER 4

  Long after the dishes were taken away, Alison had still not left the bathroom. I started to pace the floor because I didn’t want to disturb her then I laid on the bed and tossed.

  “Alison!” I called but I got no answer so I got up and knocked on the door. “Alison?”

  She opened the door and her face was covered in tears. I didn’t ask what it was but instead guided her to the bed and pulled back the covers for her to get in. When we were settled, I spoke.

  “Babe, talk to me, please. What’s the matter?” I asked caressing her hair.

  “I don’t know. I am just scared.”

  “Scared of what? Tell me what you are scared about.”

  I wiped her eyes and my heart broke to see how upset she was. I just wanted to hear what it was so I could fix it.

  “I don’t want to move here. Your friends and family would hate me and they would be upset with you. Mine already know that you are the love of my life and I am just waiting for the day when we will be together. They already love you and I just feel that it would be easier for us to fit in there than for me to fit in here. This may seem as if you are willing to make sacrifices for me and I am not willing to do the same but that is not the case because I will if I have to but I feel as if it would be a mistake for us if I came here.”

  “I understand and that makes sense. I also have a business here and my daughter, she would never forgive me for leaving her behind. I would cause her unspeakable pain and Sydney would never give her to me because Taila would feel
just the same if I took her away from her mother. That makes you moving here the better option of the two.”

  “OK.”

  “Would you do it? I know it would take some time but when we get to New York, we could make a plan.”

  “So you are telling me that you will leave Sydney and make preparations for me to move here to be with you? We will live together and you will be able to see your daughter whenever you want. Is that the plan?”

  “If I decide to leave then that would be the plan.”

  “You haven’t decided?”

  “No yet,” I replied. “Let us just relax in each other’s arms and go to sleep then tomorrow we can continue. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds good,” she replied.

  She sat up and I looked at her beautiful face. Her eyes dreamy and blue. My heart refused to behave whenever I looked at her. I leaned in and kissed her pretty pink lips as I tried to block out the words of my mother and the words of my best friend Erika because they didn’t understand. How could I walk away from this woman? It would kill me.

  “You are so beautiful and I just can’t believe you are mine,” I smiled caressing her cheeks.

  “And I can’t believe you are not mine.”

  The smile left my face and my hands fell from her cheek. Her words were so painful. I could not continue to do this to her. It has been a fucking year! I have watched the tears spilled over and over. I have seen her heart break countless times and still she waited. I either need to give her something or let her go. I needed to speak to Sydney because if she is fucking the teacher and wants to be with her then why was I making Alison suffer so much. I will have my answer before I leave with her for New York tomorrow...or should I say today because it was already two in the morning.

  I walked away and into the bathroom to brush my teeth and again the mirror greeted me. The questions were still there in my reflection and there were still not answers. I could not escape them because they were always at the forefront of my mind so the only thing I could hope for is the therapist helping me to sort through the web of confusion that has overtaken me. The only problem was that my appointment was two weeks away and in a couple of days, I had to decide to let Alison go. There was no one who could help me because no one else would know what the fuck to do.

  I returned to the bedroom hoping to find Alison asleep so I didn’t have to deal with any more of her disappointments for the night but she was very much awake and waiting for me to come to bed. I noticed that she had removed her pajamas and my body just switched on.

  “Are we going again?” I smiled removing my top.

  “I want to sleep in your arms with no clothes on.”

  “That’s great too,” I responded and removed my pants and panties then joined her in bed.

  I laid beside her and she snuggled into my arms, her body against mine and I was weightless. This was how I wanted to feel for the rest of my life. I was given a gift, my lifetime chance at spectacular love and bliss, but I did not know how to take it because before this, life gave me a family with a beautiful little girl that I did not want to hurt in order to have this feeling.

  My phone rang. It was Sydney.

  “Please don’t answer that,” Alison begged.

  “I have to. It could be about Taila,” I replied.

  “OK.”

  “Hello,” I answered.

  “Honey, is everything OK? You didn’t call.”

  “Everything is fine.”

  “Did you make it back to New York OK?” she asked and I hesitated to think whether to tell her the truth or not.

  “No. I am not in New York at the moment. I will be going there in the evening,” I replied as Alison snuggle closer.

  It was difficult to focus on what Sydney was saying with Alison moving around naked in my arms.

  “So why didn’t you come home?”

  “I just needed some time. Is Taila OK?”

  “She is fine. Logan, I am happy you agreed to have our baby. We need this for our family so I will be going back to see Dr. Brooks tomorrow. Would you like to come with me before you leave for New York?”

  “No. You go ahead. Get the information and then we will talk.”

  Sydney went silent and I waited for her to respond while I played in Alison’s hair. Suddenly, I felt a teardrop on my skin and turned to look at her. Her head was bent so I raised her face that I could see. Alison’s eyes were closed and the tears were running from under her lids.

  “Syd, I have to go. It is late. I will talk to you later.”

  “I am worried...about us, Logan, and…”

  “I have to go,” I said and disconnected the call. “Ali, why are you crying? What’s wrong?”

  She sat up in the bed with her back to me.

  “I want to go home,” she cried. “I’m going home.”

  “No. Why? Talk to me.”

  I started to wonder if she could hear what Sydney was saying to me because the room was so quiet and she was lying right there. My brain started to scan our conversation to see where in it she would be so upset about.

  “I am so stupid! I have been waiting for a whole year, enduring immense pain in the name of love while you make plans with your wife to extend your family.”

  “Ali...baby, I am sorry. It was just something she said and I agreed but that does not mean it is going to happen. We had an agreement when we decided to have a family but a lot has changed.”

  “But this is another conversation and you have not given her any reason to doubt that you won’t be having your next child. You have never had that discussion with me. It didn’t occur to you that I may want to have a child as well or I may want a family?” She asked but I did not respond immediately. “It is not fair for you to abuse my love and drag me along this endless journey knowing that you have no plans of leaving your wife.”

  “I didn’t say I was not going to leave. I told you that I did not know what to do.”

  “There you go again. That is what you have used and kept me in this situation for a year. I have been waiting on you to make up your mind and being hopeful that the love you have for me will force you to choose me,” she cried. “I feel like I am going to die. I can’t...I can’t do this anymore.”

  “Alison! No! Don’t you fucking say that,” I was terrified. “Baby, I am not going to lose you. I will not…”

  “Because you want to have it all? Stop being selfish for once and look at the other people who are involved. I am ready to be yours. I have been ready for a year so you are the problem and you need to make up your fucking mind because I am not staying one more second without knowing where I stand.”

  Alison got off the bed and started to put on her clothes. I took away her top from her hand.

  “Ali...please. I can’t live without you in my life. I love you too much to just walk away.”

  “Well, I love you too much to accept the crumbs that you have been throwing my way,” Alison said and snapped her bra in place.

  “Stop getting dressed! Alison,” my throat was locking and the tears sprung forward. “Alison...please…” my hands were shaking.

  “Logan! I have nothing left! I can’t continue to feel this way. I am living in constant fear that you are going to tell me that you can no longer be with me.”

  The truth hit me like a bolt of lightening because Erika and my mother told me it was the best way out and I believed them. I was heading to New York to end my relationship with her to preserve my family but looking at her and thinking about how much I love this woman, there was no way that it could be possible to walk away.

  “Alison, if you want to leave me then I can’t stop you but you are here, standing in front of me. Can you please give me a chance to make a decision today,” I begged. “Stay here. I am going home to speak with Sidney and I will make a decision. I promise.”

  “I prefer to run, Logan, because if you choose her over me then I will have to live with that. It is easier for me to walk away from the situation, at least
I can tell myself that it was my choice.”

  “But the possibility is real that we can both leave here together for New York…”

  “When I hear your wife saying that you both agreed to have another child, reality has set in. You love me deeply, I have no doubt about that; you know that we were meant for each other and you are my soulmate. But I know that you also love Sydney and your daughter and your family, the life that you both built and you will not be able to find it anywhere inside you to leave them. So coming to see me sometimes works well for you but it is devastating to me. This relationship does not stand a chance because if it stood one, you would have taken it long ago.”