This triangle involves Blair Cramer, John McBain, and Marty Saybrooke. I tossed Todd Manning into the mix as well to shake things up a bit!
~*~o~*~
"I'm not sure if it was a dream... or if it may have been a memory," Todd responded as he sat up in bed, looking at Marty.
"Well, what was it about?" Marty asked curiously.
"We were here at your place. We were kissing, and I could smell the alcohol on your breath," answered Todd. "I couldn't get enough of you, Marty. I lifted you up in my arms, and I carried you in here, to this bed. You pulled me down on it with you, and you whispered in my ear, 'I want you. I've always wanted you.' And I couldn't stop myself, I practically tore your clothes off..."
"And in the dim light, I could see your eyes gazing at me with so much longing... so much passion. I knew I had to have you. I was scared out of my freakin mind, because I knew you might hate me later. I knew I didn't deserve you... and it would probably end up being sheer hell for the both of us, but God forgive me, I just didn't care. If it was the last thing I ever did, I wanted to make love to you... just once..."
"You undressed me, and your warm, wet lips were all over me," Todd said with as shudder. "You took me in your mouth... and I nearly exploded. Your lips and tongue felt so good ... so amazing. I had to push you away before I came. I wanted to be inside you so badly..."
"I came over you, our eyes locked, and then suddenly we were making hot, passionate love. It was almost as good as our first time, back when we were in college; but this time... there was something MORE..." Todd spoke as his voice trailed off.
"Wow, you remembered, Todd," Marty said almost breathlessly.
"How do you feel now?" she asked as she lightly caressed his cheek.
"I dunno," he answered as he met her gaze. "I'm not sure how I feel."
"It's okay to be confused," she told him. "You've made a major break-through. All of your barriers are coming down. And it's okay to be a little scared..."
"I promised myself I would never touch you again... after I-," Todd said as he couldn't even say the horrid word. God, he hated himself for it. Every day of his life since that fateful night, he had hated himself for having hurt Marty so carelessly.
"Marty, I don't know if I can do this..." Todd said in an agonized tone as he began to pull away from her. "You deserve so much more than me. I hurt you, and I certainly don't deserve you."
Marty tensed as she saw Todd turn away from her. "But you're the one I want," she told him. "I forgive you, Todd."
"I don't deserve your forgiveness," he responded in a voice etched with pain.
"You can't spend the rest of your life paying for that long-ago night. You have to live again. That night when we were at Rodi's, we both decided to live. We didn't want to stay trapped in the past anymore, in that one moment of pain. We chose to move on..." Marty spoke as she tried to reach Todd with her words. "And we are having a baby now. This child will be our new beginning..."
Todd turned around to look at her, seeing the tears shining in her eyes. "I'll try to be the man you need for you and the baby, Marty. But you know who I am behind all the masks."
"Yes, I know who you are. I know you better than anyone. And I chose to love ALL of you, the good, the bad, and the ugly. We've come this far. I'm not going to give up on you, Todd."
He pulled her into his arms and gently kissed her. "I hope you're not making a terrible mistake," he whispered against her lips.
"The mistake would be not giving us a try. We deserve that," Marty insisted.
Todd let out a heavy sigh as his stomach rumbled. "Let's go grab some breakfast," he suggested. "After we get a bite to eat, what would you like to do today?"
~*~o~*~
"Why don't you spend the day with me at Capricorn?" Blair suggested. "I have a few things I need to work on there, and I'd love it if you came along."
"Sure, it sounds like a plan," John agreed with a grin.
An hour later, they were both showered and dressed and ready to leave La Boulie. Blair looked absolutely beautiful as John took her hand and walked her outside to the car. "So, what do you do at Capricorn all day?" he after they had entered the car.
Blair just laughed. "The usual club-owner type stuff," Blair responded. "Plus I am working on rehearsing a new song I'm planning to sing. You can be my audience."
John smiled as he had always loved hearing Blair sing. She had an amazing voice that had always melted his heart. "I'm looking forward to that," he said as he drove toward Capricorn. A few minutes later, they had arrived at the club.
"No one is here?" he asked as they walked in together.
"Nahhh... just me and you," said Blair as she turned on all the lights and walked over toward the bar. "We aren't open again till tomorrow night."
"Ohhh, so we can play all day?" John asked with a smirk.
"No, you'll have to behave yourself," Blair insisted. "I gotta work."
John looked disappointed as he sat down at the bar and fixed himself a drink. He was sipping at it as Blair began looking over her inventory. She found that the bar appeared well-stocked and everything was in order for the next night's business.
"You look so fuckin beautiful when you are working," John observed.
Blair looked up, seeing him staring at her. "Ohhh thank you. And you look pretty damn good-looking yourself," she remarked as she walked over to the bar and leaned forward to kiss him. She settled her lips on his, lightly sipping at his warm mouth.
"You taste like whiskey," she said softly.
He swirled the alcohol in his glass, smirking slightly. "Is that good or bad?"
"It's always good on you," she responded. "Are you ready to hear me sing now?"
John nodded. "I'll never tire of your amazing voice," he told her.
Blair got the music set up and the lighting on the stage. She stood there, microphone in hand. "This one's for you, John..." she said as she began to sing. She put her heart into the lyrics as her beautiful voice met John's ears.
John's heart turned over as Blair was singing. He never wanted the song to end, but finally it did. Blair stepped down from the stage, coming over to John. "What did you think?" she asked him.
"I think I am falling even more in love," John said sincerely.
