64 - CHEATING COUPLE

ARIA'S POV

I listened to my phone ring as Kyle brought me through a thunderous orgasm that left me shaking and aching for more, before he collapsed on me and I grabbed his hair to hold him close to me. Our sweaty bodies mingled, the smell of sweat, sex, a tinge of alcohol and sweet smelling cologne felt like an intoxicating mix that I wanted to get drunk on. Kyle rolled of me but our fingers stayed intertwined. I was speechless with nothing reeling through my mind and Kyle stayed quiet beside me too.

What was I going to say? Oh the sex was great Kyle, good job. Yea, I wasn't going to say that, but why wasn’t he saying something either. I could understand why I could be speechless, but why was he speechless. Driven by nothing but curiousity and also a little bit of attention seeking, I turned to Kyle and still a little bit out of breath.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” I asked

“I guess I’m shy” he said.

I burst out laughing immediately and Kyle joined in my fit of hysteric giggles, I had not expected him to say that or anything remotely close to world shy, Kyle could be anything but being shy wasn’t a characteristic that defined him.

“Bullshit” I called, giving him a more serious gaze now and he held it, looking at me with more pensive and my heart beat sped up.

“You’re amazing Aria” he started and I was just on the verge of rolling my eyes but he wasn’t done because I felt his hands squeeze mine but only so lightly

“I fucked up, I fucked up big time letting you slip through my fingers even the first time and – ”

“and what –” my impatience peaked and the words slipped out of my mouth, interrupting me. Kyle sat up with grains of sand glued to his back and I followed suit with the same effect on. Kyle took my hands, my engagement ring bright and bold on my finger, and I pushed down the guilt that was threatening to spike, this was not the time to indulge in guilt and self-loathe.

“ – and I realize how stupid I was, how naïve and fucking stupid I was Aria”

“Are you regretting”

“Hell yea”

“You should”

Kyle sighed “It should be my ring on your finger – not that”

I stared at my ring on my finger, staring at it to avoid getting lost in his eyes, before he drew me into the oblivion that would sink me and leave me for dead.

“But it isn’t” I voiced back

“I want it to be”

“It’s too late for that” I shot back and Kyle’s eyes widened, it was obvious he wasn’t expecting my rejection but I was baiting him.

“What?” I looked at him “You had your chance and you blew it, what did you expect? That I was just going to stick around and wait for you to make up your mind”

I saw pain flash across his face but it only lasted before his clouded with something I couldn’t explain “You don’t always have to play the victim Aria”

I scoffed loudly “Play the victim? I am the victim”

“I am trying to make amends here Aria” his eyes was darkening and honestly, it surprised how real and how quick this was getting.

“With one fuck and a few sweet words and you think everything is going to be sunshine and rainbow. You have got to be kidding me”

This time I sprang up from the floor and furiously began dusting my butt of sand. I took off his shirt and threw it at him the same time he sprang to his feet too.

“Aria – ” but I ignored him and was searching for my clothes to put them back on.

“What do you want from me?” he asked.

I paused mid buttoning my shirt after I had slipped on my skirt and I looked at him “I want you to show me that you want me, I am ready to go to the ends of the fucking earth for you, hell I’m even ready to get a new job but I can’t do that if you’re unsure about me, if you’re neither here or there. I deserve better than that, don’t you think?”

“I’m ready to give you better?” his voice was like butter in my ears but every single negative emotion I have felt from the result of him hurting swam around my head as a reminder and I was going to listen.

“Then prove it to me” I said defiantly “You have two weeks or then totally let me go”

By two weeks, I meant before my engagement party with Shawn. Yes, I was a bad person I know, but I couldn’t help it. It was my turn to be selfish and I was going to ride on it, till I was either truly happy or truly safe.

I grabbed my phone off the floor, the phone heavy on my hand from the weight of Shawn’s missed call but I looked at Kyle one last time.

“I guess I’ll see you at work tomorrow, if you’re not planning another rendez-vous and I hope not”
***
The guilt doubled as the cab circled round my driveway, I paid him quickly and alighted from the car stopping to stare at my front door and I knew Shawn was behind that door.

The guilt weighed heavy on my chest with each step I took, I needed to end things with Shawn, I knew I did. I knew I loved him but enough to kill the attraction I had for Kyle, not enough to stay loyal but just enough to ride on the security that he offered me.

I walked into the house and the silence and darkness greeted me. I tiptoed through the living room, past the kitchen and into the bedroom to find the lights equally out and there was Shawn sleeping soundly on the bed. I didn’t want to wake him so I tiptoed back to living room and collapsed on the chair with a heavy sigh. I could still feel tiny grains of sand on my skin and hair and by extension the chair now. I looked over to my right and there was Shawn’s phone silently buzzing on the footstool, I picked it up and only out of curiosity.

I peeked at the incoming text and most of them were work emails but my eyes caught on the name Janet who was his coworker and I clicked on it. My eyes widened as I swiped through the series of text messages and I gasp. The most recent one which was about a day ago and it read

*Are you really getting married to her? What's going to happen to me then?

That was in response to the engagement party invitation he had said to her. When I scrolled up further, I dropped the phone with a gasp.

*Shawn had been cheating way before Kyle came into the picture.