Chapter 5

I woke up feeling the warm embrace of a naked body lying next to me. At first I thought I was at home and Jenna had rested her head on my chest but then I realized that it was better. It was Nikki laying her head on my chest and she was lovingly rubbing it with her hand.

I started playing with her hair, relishing the feel of it, hoping I would never have to lose it again.

"Good morning," said Nikki softly. She kissed my nipple and then continued her rubbing.

"Good morning beautiful," I said still brushing my fingers through her hair.

"I would love to wake up every morning like this," purred Nikki. "I think it would make me that happiest woman on the face of the earth if I could wake up like this every day."

"It would make me very happy as well," I said.

Our happiness was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone. I let it ring.

"Aren't you going to get that?" asked Nikki.

"No, it's probably Jenna."

"It's only one ring. It's the front desk," said Nikki.

"OK," I said as I picked up the phone.

"Robert Pryce," I said into the phone.

"Mister Pryce, this is the front desk. We have a call to transfer to you."

There was a slight pause and my heart sank.

"Robby?" said Jenna on the other end.

"Yeah?" I said, my fear rising.

"MY GOD! I've been SO worried about you!"

I looked over at Nikki and motioned for her to stay quiet.

"I'm fine Jenna. Just very busy."

"You have to stay in contact with me. I need to know you are ok."

"I'm fine. I think you are overreacting."

"I love you though," said Jenna. "I need you to come home to me."

"Jenna, I'm very busy right now. I will come home when I'm done here."

"Don't you love me?" asked Jenna.

I didn't say anything. Something in the back of my mind told me that my charade had to stop. I knew the telephone wasn't the best place to break this kind of news to her, but I couldn't keep lying to her.

"No," I said quietly.

"No what?"

"No, I don't love you," I said.

I could hear Nikki gasp next to me. As for the other side of the line it was silent for a moment and then I heard sobbing.

"Is it because I'm still not good enough in bed?" sobbed Jenna.

"There is no passion in our relationship," I said. "I'm slowly dying because of it."

"I'll change," cried Jenna. "I'll do whatever I have to do."

"I'm sorry Jenna. It's not your fault. I demand too much from my partner and you can't give me what I selfishly want."

"I will change for you Robby! Please give me a chance to change for you!"

"I gave you six years to change Jenna. I can't wait any longer and now it's too late."

"Please! Please! Please! I don't want to lose you!"

"It's the way it has to be Jenna. When I get home I want to start working out a divorce. Hell, I'm giving you a week's head start on me with lawyers. I would hope we could come to an easy division of assets and just part ways."

"I don't want to divorce you," screamed Jenna. "I won't let it happen."

The dial tone of the phone buzzed in my ear after the loud click of Jenna hanging up.

"God, I didn't want to do it that way," I said to myself as I hung up the phone.

I looked over at Nikki and she was in tears.

"I'm sorry I did that in front of you," I said. "I just couldn't lie to her anymore. Not after last night."

"I didn't know if you were really serious about leaving her," said Nikki. "I thought I might as well get a good night with you at least if you weren't telling the truth, but God I'm so happy that you were telling the truth."

Nikki put her arms around me, squeezed tightly and sobbed into my chest. I just held her to me, thanking my lucky stars that she was back in my life.

Still sobbing she began to kiss down my chest and to my tummy. I sighed deeply as she passed my belly button and then kissed the head of my cock. She grabbed my cock in her hand and gently licked it from top to bottom.

"Can we make love right now and skip the foreplay?" asked Nikki, tears running down her cheeks.

I nodded to her and she then straddled me and lowered herself onto my throbbing member.

"Oh God! I really missed having you inside of me," said Nikki as she began to rub her clit on my cock.

Nikki rocked on top of me slowly moaning softly. I reached up and grabbed her breasts and kneaded them in my hands, increasing the pitch and volume of her moans. Nikki started bucking against me like a woman possessed. I moved my hips in a futile attempt to accentuate her movements. She was just too wild. There was no rhythm, just a pure lust driven orgy of movement on her part.

"AYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE FUCK!" screamed Nikki as she came. She then collapsed on top of me and sobbed into my chest.

I slowly rubbed her back with both of my hands as she cried, softly whispering words of comfort into her ear.

"I'm so sorry for letting you go," sobbed Nikki. "I was so stupid. So, so, stupid."

"It's ok baby," I said. "We can make things right now."

Nikki nodded furiously into my chest.

"I can look into relocating down here this week. I don't want to lose you again."

Nikki rewarded me with a flurry of kisses.

"Make love to me," said Nikki softly.

I was still in her so that wasn't too hard of a request to grant. I pulled her legs forward and sat up taking her into my arms. We ended up sitting, with her on my lap and her legs around me and impaled on my cock. We were limited in our movements but that didn't matter. This wasn't a lust filled roll in the hay anymore. We were sharing with one another our love. We kissed and caressed one another while slowly and passionately coupling. We made love like that for nearly an hour. I brought her to three very quiet climaxes and we finished when I finally released into her in a relaxing, yet satisfying orgasm.

The rest of the week went pretty much the same every day. Nikki would spend the night with me and we would make love every morning before she would go home and get ready to come back to the hotel for work.

During the day I actually spent my time drumming up some local business. I talked to a few of my business contacts to see if they had any contacts in the Tampa area and was pleased to find a few local contacts in the area looking for IT consulting services. I quickly set up a few appointments and next thing I knew I had two new customers in the area to work for.

Jenna called every day and pleaded with me to take her back. She informed me that she would do anything it took to make things work, which made me feel even worse for doing to her what I was doing. Every call ended the same way. She would get frustrated and yell at me and then slam down the phone. I knew in my heart that Jenna loved me more than life itself. I just hoped against all hope that Nikki felt the same way about me.

For our last night together I made reservations for Landry's, an upscale restaurant in the area. I wanted to make the night as special as possible so that Nikki would have a wonderful experience to look back on as she waited for my return to Florida.

We arrived at six in the evening and were immediately seated in one of the best seats in the place. I had slipped the Maitre De a twenty dollar bill to ensure that it was the most romantic and secluded spot in the restaurant.

I took Nikki's hands into my hands and looked across the table into her eyes.

"This has been one of the best weeks in my entire life and I owe it all to you," I said.

Nikki gave me one of those smiles that melted me. "I love you so much. I promise you that if you ever ask me the same question you did fifteen years ago that my answer will always be yes."

I was a bit stunned. We had only been back together for a week and she was already talking about marriage. The thought had crossed my mind, but not enough to say anything about it.

"Let's just take things one step at a time," I said softly.

"I'm just so excited," said Nikki. "It will be wonderful. You will be back in my life. I will be able to leave my mom's house once and for all."

A sick feeling began welling up in my stomach.

"I should have never doubted that you would become successful," continued Nikki.

I was suddenly ripped from the room as the memories I had been suppressing over the years came flooding back to me. Memories of pain and heartache.

I had made reservations for Nikki and I to have a special dinner at the Gasthaus restaurant. I had spent my last dollars on a small engagement ring for the girl I loved and this would be the evening I was going to pop the question.

I picked Nikki up at five and drove the short distance to the restaurant. I made a grand show of pulling up to the front of the restaurant and getting out and opening the car door for her and then escorting her inside before going back out to park the car.

Once I got back inside we were escorted to our table. The restaurant looked like an elegant German beerhouse complete with the beautiful waitresses showing tons of cleavage carrying eight beers at a time. We had a lovely table on the balcony overlooking the main dining room. It was the perfect romantic setting for what I was going to do.

"Nikki, I made some decisions regarding school next year," I said to lead things off. I gotten my grades from school a week prior and found that I was now on academic probation. Nikki had been such a distraction to my schooling that I rarely attended classes. I got off better than she did, however. My distraction to her schooling earned her a ticket out of the school for at least a year.

"Are you going back next year?" asked Nikki. I figured she didn't want me to return so I wouldn't be away from her during the school year.

I shook my head. "I'm not going back next year. I have a different plan. I have decided to join the Army full time and go on active duty. They are sending me to Germany."

Nikki looked shocked. I had anticipated that. I knew she was feeling like I was abandoning her. I was about to offer her the solution.

"I want you to come with me to Germany Nikki," I said. I then stood up and walked over to her side. I kneeled down and took her hand. In my other hand I held the ring I was going to give her.

"Nikki, will you marry me?"

Nikki looked at me in shock. Her shock then turned to tears.

"This Army thing. You already signed up for it?" asked Nikki crying.

I nodded.

"Then I can't marry you," said Nikki.

My heart stopped.

"Why?" I demanded.

"The Army has no future Robby. I need someone who is going to be successful and be able to take care of me. I don't want to have to live from check to check, wondering how we are going to make it. My mom would definitely not approve of me running off and marrying a soldier. Why did you have to go off and do this Robby?"

"Don't you love me?" I gasped.

"Not if you aren't going to be successful," said Nikki, saying the words I tried my hardest to repress for fifteen years.

"Is something wrong?" asked Nikki.

"Huh?" I replied, disoriented.

"You were daydreaming," said Nikki. "I've been doing that a lot lately too. We are going to be so happy together."

"Happy, why?" I said coldly.

Nikki's expression turned to one of worry. "What's wrong Robby?"

"Answer my question," I demanded.

"We're going to be happy because we love each other so much," said Nikki nervously.

"And?"

"And what?"

"What about the fact that you will be able to move away from Mom?" I said.

"Yeah, that will be nice too," said Nikki. "I have lived like a peasant for so long."

My anger boiled.

"Why did you come on to me so quickly Nikki?"

"Because I missed you."

"Are you sure it wasn't because you saw a ticket out of your monotonous, dreary life as someone with no future?"

Nikki was shocked. My words had cut her like a knife and I reveled in it.

"No," she cried. "That wasn't it. I missed you."

I could tell she was backpedaling. I knew she was up against the ropes.

"You figure that you will be comfortable with me and be able to spend money again and be spoiled by me."

"That's not it," cried Nikki.

"You haven't changed at all in these fifteen years," I spat.

"I have changed," pleaded Nikki. "I realize now that I made a mistake letting you go."

"Hindsight is twenty-twenty. Isn't it? Now you know I made it to be a successful person earning six digits a year. What if I came back into your life now and I was as poor as you are. Would you have still taken me back into your life? Would it have been as easy to seduce you into my bed?"

Nikki didn't say anything yet spoke volumes.

"I didn't come down here on business like I told you," I said. "I came back here knowing that you worked at the Double Tree Hotel and Suites. I came back here to try and win you back into my life. For fifteen years I have made it an obsession to become successful so that someday I could win you back. Now I realize how stupid of an idea that was."

"Please Robby," pleaded Nikki in tears. "It isn't like all that. I would have taken you back no matter what."

"Be honest with me," I said looking into her eyes.

"I would have," said Nikki, avoiding my stare. I knew then that she was lying. The one thing I had always had with Nikki was being able to stare into her eyes and sharing our most intimate of feelings. I knew that because she couldn't look back at me that she wasn't being honest.

"You are in love with the idea of being married to me but not in love with me," I said.

Nikki collapsed onto the table top and bawled. I noticed our waiter and motioned for him to come over.

I handed a hundred dollar bill to the waiter. "Please make sure that the lady's meal is taken care of," I said.

The waiter looked over at Nikki sobbing into the table and then at me and nodded.

"Goodbye Nikki," I said.

"Don't go," screamed Nikki. "Please don't go. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what I did fifteen years ago. Please."

"Goodbye."

I got up and walked away from the girl of my dreams. Never in my life had anything felt so right.

I looked out at the snowy landscape below me as the Boeing 757 I was riding in glided over Southern Indiana. Nikki was behind me. I knew the fantasies about her were over. I realized that there was more to our relationship than just the wonderful sex and what I saw of it sickened me to the core.

My thoughts drifted to Jenna. I knew she still wanted me back, yet I didn't know if I could return to her. There was still a part of me that cherished Jenna for everything that she was outside of the bedroom. She was the perfect wife in that respect. I was coming to realize that maybe that was more important that a good roll in the hay from time to time. Part of me though still wanted to sever that tie with her. I had betrayed her and felt like I couldn't in good conscience return to her.