Chapter 18
Glen awoke the next morning and looked down at Susan who was still sleeping peacefully in his arms. He slowly moved his arm from around her waist and eased his hand under her shirt, rubbing it gently across her stomach as he thought about the baby that was growing inside of her. He smiled when he felt her stir slightly at the contact and snuggle deeper against his chest.
Removing his hand from her stomach, he brought it to her face, gently brushing the hair out of her eyes. He studied her face as she slept, once again remembering that first night that they had spent together. He had watched her like this that night too, after they had made love and she had fallen asleep. He recalled the promise that he had made to himself that night…to always keep her in his life…to never let her go. And now here she was, after everything that had happened since then, once again sleeping peacefully beside of him. This time the circumstances were quite different but the feelings were the same. He still wanted to hold her and love her and never let her go.
Looking down at her again, he remembered their intense lovemaking session from that first night. He remembered the way she had kissed him, the way she had touched him, the way she had given herself to him. He recalled the way her body had felt beneath him, the way her skin had felt beneath his hands. He closed his eyes and he could have sworn he heard her calling to him again…begging him to hurry…telling him how much she needed him.
He could remember every single detail of that night, as if it had only happened yesterday. And as the events replayed over again in his mind, he felt his body begin to respond to the images. He wanted her again so badly that every inch of his body ached. But he knew that he had to be patient with her. He needed to give her time to get over her husband before he rushed her into another relationship. He didn't want to do anything that could possibly ruin his future with her.
But even as he looked down at her again, he felt his resolve crumble. And before he knew what he was doing, he began to slowly lower his head to hers.
"One small kiss won't hurt anything." he thought to himself, as he gently pressed his lips against hers.
He lingered there for a moment, closing his eyes as he tried to control the fire raging within him. He was surprised when a brief second later, he heard Susan moan softly and felt her lips part beneath his. Unable to control himself, he quickly accepted her invitation and deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into her warm mouth as she parted her lips even more. He was surprised to feel her return the kiss with equal abandon and he pulled her tighter in his arms as his passion steadily increased.
Breaking the kiss, he began to nibble and suck lightly on the sensitive skin of her neck and throat, causing her to moan and whimper softly in response to him. His trembling hands took on a life of their own as he eased them under her shirt, running them across her swollen stomach before raising them higher to cup her breasts. He caressed them gently, plucking and teasing the sensitive nipples until she was writhing in pleasure beneath him. He brought his head up to kiss her once again as he pushed her t-shirt up toward her shoulders, giving him even greater access to her full breasts. Dropping his head, he latched onto one of the hardened nipples and sucked gently, flicking his tongue across it as she squirmed beneath him. He groaned when he felt her thigh come in contact with his hardened member and he gently captured one of her hands and brought to rest against the bulge, urging her to touch him. He felt her grip him through the thin material of his briefs and he groaned in pleasure as she began to stroke him.
Moving his attention back to her breasts, he continued to lick and tease the swollen buds. Susan writhed helplessly beneath him as the incredible sensations took over her body. She moaned loudly as she slowly awakened, her body still aching with need from the most erotic dream that she had ever experienced. But as she came to her senses, she realized that it hadn't been a dream. She could still feel the pleasure coursing through her as he continued to tease and caress her body and not long after, she became aware of how she was still touching him. Feeling a wave of shame and embarrassment rush through her, she removed her hand from his member and began to push at his shoulders as she tried to get him off of her.
"Glen…stop." she whimpered softly, as she fought the urge to give in to him completely.
Thinking that she was only protesting because he was teasing her, he ignored her cries and began to slide his hands lower down her body, easing them beneath the waist band of her panties. His fingers brushed gently against her swollen clit and she cried out softly, biting her lip as she tried to fight the pleasure that was building within her. This was wrong. She shouldn't be enjoying this. She shouldn't let him do these things to her. It was just too soon.
"Glen…stop…please….STOP!" she cried out, suddenly wrenching herself from beneath him.
She quickly jumped up from the bed, adjusting her clothes back in place as she tried to slow her breathing. He stared up at her in confusion, trying to figure out what had just happened.
"Susan? What's wrong? Did I do something to hurt you?" he asked, as he sat up and tried to adjust his erection into a less painful position.
"No. You didn't hurt me." she replied softly, looking away from him.
"Then what just happened. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable but up until a few seconds ago, I thought you were enjoying yourself. What changed all of a sudden?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lead you on or anything. It's just …it's just that things are moving to fast. It's too soon…it's not right." she whispered, dropping her head as she spoke.
She could see that he was annoyed by her actions and she slowly turned to leave the room, not wanting to see the disappointment in his eyes. But before she had a chance to leave, he was beside of her, grabbing her arm as he gently turned her around to face him again.
"There's no reason for you to feel guilty or ashamed about what we were doing. Things are different between us this time. You don't have anything to be afraid of now." he whispered softly.
That's where you're wrong, she thought to herself, as she tried to avoid his gaze.
The truth was she had enjoyed what he was doing to her. So much, in fact, that it actually frightened her. The emotions that he stirred within her were so powerful that she felt like she couldn't control them. And right now she didn't need anything else in her life that she couldn't control. She had to keep her distance from him, at least until she felt like she was capable of dealing with things.
"I'm sorry." she whispered softly.
Glen hooked a finger under her chin, raising her head and forcing her to look him in the eye.
"You don't have anything to be sorry about. It's my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you." he replied.
He watched her gaze fall back to the floor and he could see that she was still feeling bad over what had happened. He tilted her head up a little more, urging her to look at him again.
"I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?" he teased, sticking out his bottom lip and giving her a pouty look.
Susan finally met his gaze and she couldn't help but smile at his antics.
"Yes. I forgive you." she replied softly, reaching up to touch his cheek.
They stood that way for a moment before she spoke again.
"I'm going to go get dressed and then make us some breakfast. Okay?" she said, as she pulled her hand away and headed toward the door.
"Okay." he replied as he watched her walk away.
Once she was out of sight, he sighed in frustration at his lack of control. He knew he needed to keep himself in line before he did something to scare her off.
Glancing down at his crotch, he noticed that his erection was still standing at attention. Groaning softly, he turned and headed to the bathroom, prepared to take himself a very cold shower.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The next few days passed quickly and before long it was time for Glen to head back out on the road. He was reluctant to leave Susan behind, more so this time because her husband was still on the loose. After interviewing Susan, the police had gone to his house to arrest him but he was already gone. They had set up a surveillance crew to watch the house for a couple of days but there had been no sign of him then either. Apparently, David had already suspected that they would be looking for him, so he had decided to disappear for a while until everything blew over. Glen was afraid that he would try to come after Susan again while he was gone, but she assured him that she would be fine. Although she tried not to show it, she was a little concerned about her husband still being free, but she thought that as long as she was extra cautious and she used a little bit of common sense, she shouldn't have any problems.
Glen called her several times a day to check on her and he always called her last thing at night before he went to sleep. Falling asleep with her voice fresh in his mind always gave him pleasant dreams. He was thankful that his mistake from a few days earlier hadn't affected their relationship. Things had been kind of awkward for a little while that morning, but then the tension just kind of disappeared and they quickly fell back into their old routines again. He was glad that she wasn't angry with him over what had happened. He would have hated himself if his actions had driven a permanent wedge between them.
Being so protective of her, Glen always made sure that she had access to all of the phone numbers where he could be reached while he was out of town. Hotels, gyms, arenas….she had them all. After her list had grown several pages long, he thought that maybe he was starting to get a little carried away. After all, she did have his cell phone number, and he made sure to keep his phone with him at all times. But still, he worried that with only one phone number, she might not be able to reach him in time if something were to happen.
He knew that Susan kept his list of numbers with her at all times, but it was mainly just to keep him happy. As far as he knew, she had never actually used any of them. She told him that she felt bad for bothering him while he was working and that anything she needed to talk to him about could wait until he called her. That's why it came as such a surprise to Glen, when he was sitting in the gym one morning and his cell phone rang. He answered it and realizing that it was Susan, his first instinct was to panic. Knowing that she never called him, his first thought was that something was wrong with her or the baby.
"What's wrong Susan? Are you okay? Did something happen?" he asked all at once, without giving her time to answer.
"No Glen. Everything here is fine." she replied with a laugh. "But I think you really need to lay off the caffeine though. You've really got to quit being so uptight all the time."
"I can't help myself. You know how much I worry about you." he chuckled, relieved that she was alright.
"I know. Actually, I was just calling to see if you would mind if I used your car for a few days." she continued. "Mine started acting up on me last night and I'm afraid if I try to drive it again, it might break down on me."
"Susan, you know you don't have to ask me for anything like that. If you need to use my car then take it. You're welcome to use anything that belongs to me."
Mark, who had been sitting beside of Glen, rolled his eyes and walked away when he heard his comments to her. His reaction was not lost on Glen, who flashed Mark a dirty look as he continued to talk to Susan.
"You know where I keep the keys. Use it as much as you need to." he added, flipping Mark off as he turned and glared at him again.
"Thanks. It'll only be for a couple of days. Just until I can get mine fixed." Susan replied.
"Don't worry about it. I'll take it and have it looked at for you when I get home." Glen stated.
"Okay. I'm sorry to bother you. I'll let you go so you can't get back to what you were doing."
"You're never a bother Susan. You can call me anytime. You know that."
"I know." she replied softly. "Bye Glen."
After disconnecting the call, he stood up and turned toward Mark, who was gathering his things and placing them in his bag.
"What the hell was that look for?" Glen growled, as he approached his friend.
Mark sighed and straightened up, turning to look Glen in the eye.
"You know what that look was for. We've been over all of this before." he replied.
Glen ran his hand through his hair in frustration, as he looked over at the man who had been his best friend for the past eight years.
"I can't believe that after all this time, you still think Susan is just using me!"
"Glen, I know you don't want to believe it but things just seem too strange between you two. I mean think about it. You've got this woman that you slept with one time, who claims that she's pregnant with your child. She leaves her husband and you move her into your house, where she stays while you're out of town. You give her your cars, your money….anything she wants, while she doesn't give you anything in return. Think about it man. Doesn't that seem just a little suspicious to you."
"Susan's not like that." Glen replied, jumping to her defense. "She wouldn't do that to me. She's been through a lot Mark. I don't expect her to be ready to jump into another relationship with me after she's just left her husband. She just needs some time to work out all of her problems."
"How much time? How much time are you willing to waste on her Glen? Months? Years? You're wasting your time waiting on someone who will never be anything more than a burden to you. It's about time you accepted that fact and moved on." Mark growled.
"How can you say such things about her? You've never even met her. You don't know anything about her…about what she's been through. She doesn't need to use me for my money. She has her own job, which I might add that she's very successful at doing. She left her husband because she caught him cheating on her! And as far as her staying with me in my house, she's pregnant with MY child and I have a responsibility to take care of them both!" Glen shouted, quickly losing patience with his large friend.
Mark sighed in defeat. He didn't know why he even bothered trying to talk to him about this anymore. Glen was so oblivious to everything that was going on around him, Mark didn't know if he could ever get him to see the truth.
"I don't know why you're so willing to hold Susan responsible for everything that I've done." Glen continued. "Everything that I've done for her, I've done because I wanted to. I had to beg her to get her to stay with me in the first place. And today is the first time that she's ever asked me for anything. So how can you stand there and tell me that she's using me?"
"Look man. The last thing I want to do is stand here and argue with you over this. It's pretty obvious that you're head over heels for this woman. I just think that you should be more careful. I don't want to see you get hurt again." Mark replied.
"You haven't even given her a chance Mark. If you got to know her, you would see that she's not like that."
"Yeah. Maybe." Mark mumbled, as he went back to collecting his gear.
Glen stared at him for a moment before an idea popped into his head.
"Why don't you do it then Mark. You can come home with me this week and meet her." he stated.
"What?" Mark asked, turning to look at Glen in confusion. "You want me to come home with you this week?"
"Well, yeah. Why not? You told me the other day that Sara was going home to visit her family this week, so I know there's nothing waiting on your dead ass at home. It's the perfect opportunity for you to finally get to know her."
"I don't know man. It's kind of short notice. You sure you don't mind me being there in the way." Mark replied.
"If I didn't want you there, then I wouldn't have invited you." Glen replied. "Come on Mark. You know that I'm dyin' to prove you wrong. You'll finally get your chance to meet Susan and you can see for yourself what a wonderful person she is."
Mark was silent for a moment as he considered his friend's offer. Finally, he relented and agreed to go with him. He would go and meet Susan and see if he could figure out what she was really up to. At the very least, maybe he would be able to catch her alone and have a nice little chat with her. If nothing else, he would make sure that she knew it was in her best interests not to mess with his friend.