The Redemption(91)

Awwww. That’s so sexy of him to say. I don’t let him win though. I need to get this out. My fingers begin flying over the letters as I type: When you push me away, it hurts my feelings.

I stare at the phone for a minute before the next message pops up: I envy your ability to stay strong when everyone else is weak.

Me: Your long hair used to annoy me.

Dex: Good thing I cut it off then. You can do better than that, Lovely Rochelle.

Me: You use sunglasses on stage like a shield to protect your heart.

Dex: I never wear them around you.

Me: Your arrogance is not as charming as you think.

Dex: So you admit it is charming though…

Me: I admit nothing.

Dex: You’re stubbornness is sexy.

Me: You’re always horny.

Dex: Only for you.

Me: I’m sorry for any pain I’ve caused you.

Dex: Rochelle, you only bring me happiness.

Me: I’m sorry for dropping you off at rehab like I did.

Dex: It was worth it in the end. I’m sorry for hurting you when you visited. You were the only one who visited btw.

Me: I visited two other times, but never got out of the car.

Dex: I know. I saw you.

Me: I missed you.

I gulp and go for it, putting my heart on the line again for this sweet, vulnerable, mess of a man. I type: I miss you now.

There’s a pause and my heart starts to beat a little faster from waiting. When my phone dings again, it reads: I miss you between every sunrise.

I take in his words like a word problem, then it dawns on me and I reply: You miss me every day?

Dex: Every day, all night long.

I stop, holding my breath as I read his message over and over again. I finally press the key I should have pushed long before now. When he answers, I say, “Come over.”

“If I come over, this is it for us. There’s no more late night or early morning goodbyes—”

“Only good mornings and goodnights.”

“So we’re on the same page?” he asks.

“We’re on the same everything, Dex. Come over.”

“I’m on my way.”

The phone goes silent and I finally understand that giving into him doesn’t mean giving up on other things. He makes my life more vibrant and brings a steady rhythm to my days. Dex makes me feel and crave, reach and strive for more. More that I didn’t know was possible before.

He gave that to me. So when he shows up just after midnight, I let him not only into my house, but into my life. Open arms. Open heart. Wholeheartedly. “Come in.”

With a soft smirk playing on his lips, he says, “I love you, Rochelle. And I want you to know that I’ve waited a lifetime for this day, for you. I would have waited another if I had to.”

“This was all about my life too, right? Me not mourning how I should have?”

“Yes. You weren’t ready before. I know you think you were, but you weren’t.”

“So, I had to lose it all again to see what I missed?”

“Did you mean what you texted me? Did you miss me?”

“So much.” I step forward and lift up. Just before my lips press against his, I say, “I love you, Dex.”





She pulls me by the belt into the bedroom and shuts the door. After locking it and with a f*cking sexy smile on her face, she asks, “Why are you wearing so many clothes?”

With a chuckle, I reply, “You stole my line. You seem to have a knack for stealing things of mine.” She knows what I mean without me having to say it. I slide my hands under her old Nirvana t-shirt. “Sleeping with the competition I see.”

“They were never competition,” she says and takes the shirt off abruptly.

Her hair covers her, so I push it behind her shoulders and look her over. Her tits are perfection—pert and begging to be touched, f*cked. Reaching up, I take them in hand and squeeze, watching as her eyes struggle to stay open. “Make love to me, Dex.” Her voice is raspy, exposed, and completely sexy.

She unbuttons my shirt, then pulls it down over my shoulders and arms until it falls to the floor. Her lips are wet when they press against the skin of my chest as her hands undo my belt and pants. She moves around, her hands caressing my shoulders as she kisses my back. I feel her fingertips outlining the tattoo she’s never seen before. I say, “The Phoenix rising.”

She doesn’t question, just responds, “I like it. It suits you.”

Even more turned on by her approval, I help her along by flipping off my shoes, spinning her around, and moving her toward the bed. Her legs hit the mattress and she falls back. My pants drop. I take off my socks as she removes her underwear. Both of us naked brings back all the good that we’ve always been together. Like a predator, I hunger for her, to taste her, to feel her all over again.

Her hands go from my neck up into my hair, her body leaning until I’m on my back and she sits atop of me. Moving until I’m positioned, she looks up at me.

“You’re stunning,” I say, her body taking me in and causing my eyes to close briefly.

Seated with me fully inside her, Rochelle whispers, “You once told me your soul is damaged. We’re all damaged inside. It’s how we carry on that changes the outcome.”

Grabbing a hold of her hips, I want to move, the sensation of her tightness around me makes me want to f*ck, but her words feel like a remedy to my burned heart. “Do you think it’s too late for me to change?”