Corryn lay in her bed in her hotel room; tears were flowing steadily down her face. Those few moments with Winston reassured her that their love hadn't faded as well as reopened the wound of missing him so terribly. She knew that she wouldn't sleep, so she had given up on trying. Her eyes were open, but terribly tired and red rimmed.
She watched the clock; time couldn't have passed any slower. She went straight from the arena to her room and turned down the company of both her brother and Shelly. If she couldn't be with Winston, she wanted to be alone. Eventually, she drifted to sleep.
Around two A.M., Corryn shifted in bed and brushed against something. She slowly opened her eyes, they ached horribly from crying all night, and realized that she hadn't brushed up against something; someone was holding her. She turned her head and there was Winston, smiling at her.
"I didn't want to wake you," he whispered. "I bribed Shelly to let me in your room, I couldn't be away from you when you were so close." Corryn could see that he too had been crying. She sat up in bed.
"What about Claudia?" she asked trying to shake off any remaining slumber.
"She drank herself to sleep. She overheard us backstage and I think it upset her more than she thought it would. Had she caught us being physical, she wouldn't have cared, but she heard us talking about…"
"Being in love?"
"Yes. I believe she thought that my feelings for you were nothing more than sexual, but she heard for herself that that's not the case. I don't think she was prepared for it."
"What if she catches you?"
"I always go to a different room in the house, especially when she's drunk. I left a fake room number for the wrong hotel in the trash in case she sobered up and tried to find me." Winston looked deeply into Corryn's eyes. "Is it O.K. that I'm here?"
Corryn put her hand on his face and kissed his lips tenderly. "Yes," she said trying her hardest not to cry, "I'm just not going to want to let you go." She lost the battle as one tear escaped from her eye. Winston wiped it away.
"No tears, love, please, not yet. Let's just enjoy the time that we're getting." He wrapped his arms around her and moved her hair away from her neck; he then softly kissed it. "Do you have any idea how much I've missed having you next to me at night?"
Corryn tried to make light of the mood. "Winston, have you been drinking?"
He laughed softly. "No, baby, I'm quite sober…and I want you to know that I'm going to find a way, some way, to get Claudia to let us be."
"Don't say things you don't mean, Winston," she whispered.
"I don't…not to you." He nuzzled his face against her neck and shoulder. "Corryn, when I'm within ten feet of you I want things that I have never given a second thought to."
"Oh?" Corryn said smiling. "Like what?"
"Evenings at home rather than at parties where money can be gained, mornings to sleep in and not worry about the next act I'll sign…ild." Corryn couldn't make out the very last word that Winston mumbled.
"What was that last one?"
Winston looked almost embarrassed; he gazed at the bedspread when he answered, "A child."
"You, Winston Newquay, want a child?" she was genuinely shocked.
"Well, only if it were with…" He stopped himself. He couldn't understand why he became so open and vulnerable around her. Finally, the word "you" escaped his lips. He then watched as sadness washed into Corryn's eyes. "I shouldn't have said that, right?"
"Why did you say that Winston?" she asked.
"Because it's the truth."
"It's also something that we can't have…I wish that I would've coughed or misheard you or…"
"I'm sorry," he said taking her hands into his. "Corryn, when I saw you tonight…when I see you in interviews or read about things that you say, it reinforces in me that you are a truly wonderful woman. When I met you I saw you as a conquest of sorts, you know that…I think you saw me in the same light, is my presumption correct?" Corryn nodded, trying to prevent a small smile from crossing her face at the thought. "I didn't know 'you' and I didn't care to…at first. When you stayed with me that night…that lone act changed everything. I forgot that a woman could do more than spend money and make me miserable."
"There are still a few of us out there," she smiled.
"You have so much in you, Corryn, and maybe it's greedy of me to want it all for myself, but quite frankly, I don't care." Corryn laughed. "I need you in my life. You make me feel more like a…well, you make me feel and that's more than I can say for anyone else in this world. I…" Corryn interrupted him by placing a long kiss on his lips.
"No more talk," she said pulling away gently. "I don't want to spend the rest of tonight sulking about not being able to be with you."
"How do you want to spend it?"
"Have you and Claudia…"
"No," he interrupted. "Not so much as foreplay. Er, have you…"
"Huh uh, well except those few times over the phone with you," she smiled. Winston smiled back seductively.
"Are you sure? Shelly may…"
"I don't care about Shelly." She kissed him once again and he responded in the most delightful of ways.
Winston gently laid her head on the pillow and began kissing her neck, her shoulders, and her collarbones slowly, almost torturously. He lifted her arms above her head and lavished kisses on her wrists, which he remembered to be a very sensitive part of her body. He felt her quiver beneath him. He let his hands gently roam her body as he kissed her lips. His touch made her feel as though nobody else existed in the world but the two of them; she missed that feeling far more than she realized.
He carefully began making love to her, taking things slower than he ever had. At first, neither of them could move, they shared in each other's warmth and savored the closeness that they'd been without for so long. Eventually, they started into a rhythm; they always seemed to be in tune with one another. They continually said "I love you" to each other, both knowing how heartfelt those words were.
When they finished, Winston rested his head on Corryn's chest. "I can't bear the thought of you leaving tomorrow," he whispered. "I need you…I love you." Corryn couldn't answer him; it took all of her strength to keep from crying. Winston looked up at her and saw the pain in her eyes. "It's O.K., love, I'd rather you cry while I'm here to hold you." He sat up in the bed and scooped her into his arms. She finally let herself go and sobbed so roughly that her chest began to ache.
Winston felt an anger begin to rise in him. How could Claudia inflict so much pain onto them, especially Corryn? Winston was convinced that she lacked a soul. He did his best to push down his bitter feelings and focused on consoling Corryn. He rocked his lover in his arms and caressed her until she was able to calm down.
Once her breathing settled and her sobs stopped, Winston kissed her. He gazed at her face and trailed his eyes to her neck where the diamond heart rested. "The necklace," he said, doing his best not to cry, "do you like it?"
"It's beautiful," she said still recovering from her tears. "I'm sure it was far too much and I should say something along the lines of 'I can't possibly accept this' but truthfully, I don't think I could give it back." She gave him the shakiest of smiles.
"And I wouldn't want you to do so."
"Thank you, Winston."
Winston added, "I want you to do me a favor though, O.K.?" Corryn nodded. "I want you to think of it as a promise from me."
"A promise of what?" Corryn asked, already softly crying again.
"That I'll get you back."
"Winston, I…" She looked into his eyes and knew that he meant the words he had just spoken. "I love you." She cuddled against him and the lovers fell into a rather restful sleep.
