Unconditional Love (Journey of Love 1)

I watched as Nikki drove away in her red Mustang convertible with her two best friends. As she lifted her hand and waved, I shook my head and tried to smile. I was still a bit upset she chose to go to the coast with her friends rather than my parents’ place in New Mexico with me. I stood there until the red car was no longer in my sight.

I turned and made my way back into the frat house. “Damn Williams, I can’t believe you’re letting your girl go to the coast with her hotter-than-hell friends. Three blonde hot chicks at the beach like that—I don’t know,” said Rob, the resident man-whore, as he raised his eyebrows. “You want to go get some ass tonight now that you’re girlfriend-free for a bit?”

I shook my head and laughed. “Damn, Rob. You ever get tired of sleeping with a different girl all the time? Don’t you want to just settle down with one?”

He looked at me like I was nuts. “You’re kidding, right? Dude, you’ve got money, you’ve got the looks…you could be hooking up night after night.”

I raised my hands as I started to walk by him and head to the staircase. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m perfectly happy with Nikki.”

I heard him utter something about never being with just one girl as I made my way upstairs. I opened the door that led to my bedroom. I was going to be getting a new roommate next semester. His name was Scott and we met once. Seemed like a nice guy and someone I would for sure get along with. Country boy and liked to shoot.

I collapsed onto the bed and let out a sigh. I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. Was I jealous about Nikki leaving for a week and hanging with her friends? Nah, I trusted her just like she trusted me. I would never think of even looking at another girl. I loved her and planned on asking her to marry me this Christmas. She was the perfect girl to marry. My parents liked her. She had a good head on her shoulders and I knew I could trust her. It was a perfect match.

The next few days passed by and I somehow managed to keep myself busy and not think about Nikki. I had gone for a run and was exhausted, so I headed up to my room.

As I closed my eyes to drift off to sleep, I dreamed of a brunette with shoulder-length hair, walking along the beach. As I walked up to her, she turned around. Just as I was about to see her face, I woke up.

“Michael, dude…wake up. Come on man, you’ve been holed up in this room for the last week. Come play volleyball with us. Nikki’s coming back tomorrow, so snap the hell out of it.”

I looked up and saw my older brother Tristan standing over me, throwing a volleyball up in the air. I looked around for a second and ran my hand through my hair. What in the hell? Why am I dreaming about a brunette girl? I smiled and said, “Tell me again why I pledged to the same frat house as you?”

He smiled and said, “’Cause I promised Mom I’d look after your pansy ass.”

I jumped up and snatched the ball out of his hands and took off running. I was surprised I hadn’t busted my ass running down the stairs I was moving so fast.

“Bastard!” Tristan called out from behind me.

After four games, all of which my team won, Tristan walked up to me while nodding his head. “I think you need to be on my team, little brother.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “You had your chance and you picked poorly.”

I was about to start yelling out for the next game to start when I got a glimpse of Mr. and Mrs. Russell. Why are Nikki’s parents here?

I smiled as I walked up to them and held out my hand to shake Nikki’s father’s hand. One look at Nikki’s mother and I knew she had been crying. When I turned and looked at Mr. Russell my heart started pounding in my chest.

“Michael, may we please go inside and talk to you?” Mr. Russell asked.

“What’s wrong? Is Nikki okay? Did she get hurt down at the coast? I haven’t heard from her all day but I figured they were just having fun before they left tomorrow.”

“Michael, let’s head on inside so we can talk in private,” Nikki’s father said again. Tristan walked up next to me and said, “Mr. and Mrs. Russell, is everything okay?”

I balled up my fists and the first thing I thought of was that some asshole hurt my girl. I was going to kill whoever it was.

“Please, just tell me what’s going on?” I pleaded.

Mr. Russell looked over at Tristan and said, “Tristan, I really think we need to move this inside.”

“Tell me!” I screamed out.

Mrs. Russell jumped and then began crying. My heart was beating faster and harder. I could hear it pounding in my ears.

Mr. Russell shook his head and said, “Okay, Michael. Nikki was in a car accident today about fifty miles outside of Austin.”

I shook my head. “No, that’s impossible, she’s not coming back until tomorrow.”

Mr. Russell cleared his throat and swallowed hard. “She called us last night and said she was coming home a day early to surprise you. They left early this morning so that she could be here by noon.”

I grabbed my cell out of my back pocket and looked at the time. It was almost six.

“What? She’s coming home early?” I asked. I felt Tristan put his hand on my shoulder.

Mrs. Russell began crying harder.

“What in the hell is going on? Where is Nikki?” I shouted.

Mr. Russe

ll looked down and then looked back up. His eyes met mine and I felt as if I couldn’t get air in when I saw the tears in his eyes.

“Nikki was in a car accident earlier today, Michael. A drunk driver hit her car going over ninety miles an hour and all three girls…they all…” his voice trailed off and I felt sick to my stomach.

Please don’t say she died. Please God no. Please don’t say she died.

Mr. Russell wiped the tears from his face and took a deep breath as he looked me in the eyes again.

“Our Nikki is gone, Michael. She and the girls all died instantly.”

I started to take a few steps backward.

“No.” I shook my head. “No. She can’t…she would never leave me…no. God, please no!” I screamed out. I felt my legs give out and my knees hit the ground.

Tristan was next to me trying to help me stand up. All I could hear was Mrs. Russell crying and Nikki’s father attempting to comfort her. I looked at Tristan. “No…she’s my whole world, Tristan…she’s my whole world.” I broke down crying as my brother quickly ushered me back inside and up to his room, the whole time telling me everything was going to be okay.

Nothing would ever again be okay. I sat down on my brother’s bed and looked up at him. “I lost the one thing I lived for. I have nothing left to live for. Nothing.”

I walked out of the restroom and ran my hand through my hair as I smiled. The blonde I’d just fucked walked out right behind me. “Lark, please tell me we can make that a daily thing.”

I smiled as I kept walking toward the bar. It was still hard for me to get used to people calling me Lark instead of Michael. After Nikki’s death I vowed to never let another woman say my name when I fucked them. So I started going by my middle name. “Sorry darling. I’m not interested in a relationship.”

She grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. She looked around and then looked back at me and licked her lips. “I’ve never been fucked that hard and good before. I just want a fuck buddy. That’s all.”

I smiled and looked her perfect body up and down. “A fuck buddy? That’s it. No strings attached?”

She smiled back and nodded her head. She handed me her business card and when I looked down I smiled.

“So, Sherry, you’re a lawyer?” I asked.

She winked and said, “My first year. And, might I add, I’m pretty good at it.”

I nodded my head. “I’m heading into the Marines, so I won’t be around a lot.”

She bit down on her lip. “No problem. When you’re in town, just give me a call.”

I had to fight the urge to make plans to meet up with her again.

Guarda mi corazón siempre. Guard my heart always.

I slipped her card into my pocket and winked at her before turning around and heading to the bar. I grabbed a beer and made my way over to my best friend Scott, who was still talking to the same damn girl he’d been talking to all night.

I walked up to the table and Scott looked up at me and smiled. “Where did you disappear to?”

I shrugged my shoulders and sat down. It wasn’t lost on me how she was eye fucking the hell out of me. “Went and had a quick fuck in the bathroom.”

Scott sat back and sighed. “Jesus, Lark.”

I smiled at him and took a drink of my beer as I watched the girl sitting across from me lick her lips and raise her eyebrows.

Women are all the same. I will never fall in love with one of them again. All they are good for is a good hard fuck.

I stood up and slapped Scott on the back. “I’m leaving in the morning. We better get out of here.”

Scott nodded and looked at the girl and said, “It was a pleasure talking to you, Lorie. See ya around.”

As Scott began heading out of the bar, I held back a second before I walked up to Lorie. She looked up at me and her blue eyes were begging for a good fucking.

She handed me a piece of paper and winked before turning and walking off. I laughed and made my way out of the bar. I glanced down at the paper and saw she had written down her number.

Yep. They’re all the same. There would never be another Nikki. Ever.

As I stood there and listened to yet another girl ramble on and on about how much she loved my eyes, I glanced over to Azurdee. She looked beautiful. Her long dark hair was pulled up and piled on top of her head with just the right amount of curls hanging down and framing her face.

“So, you and Scott have known each other since college, huh?” the girl asked. I’d been trying to shake this girl the whole reception. I was the best man at my best friend’s wedding. Scott and I had known each other since our sophomore year of college and I’d been spending more and more time out at his ranch in Mason, Texas. It had been almost a year since he’d called me asking for my help in finding Jessie, who was now his wife.

Of course, seeing Scott wasn’t the only reason I had been coming to the ranch to visit. Azurdee Emerson was the other reason. Jessie’s best friend from college had been the only girl since Nikki to make me feel something I had buried deep down inside of me long ago. One mention of her in Mason and I was on my motorcycle busting my ass to get a chance to be around her.

Azurdee Emerson. She filled my thoughts almost daily, except when I was on a mission. That was the only place she hadn’t invaded my world.

The young girl touched my arm, pulling me out of my thoughts. I glanced down at her and smiled. “So, are you busy later tonight?”

I gave her a smile and wink and said, “Yes, ma’am, I have plans.” Her smile faded and she looked away but then quickly looked back at me.

“That’s a shame. I was hoping to show you around Mason, and other places.” She ran her tongue along her bottom lip and I rolled my eyes before I looked back at Azurdee. She was talking to the dick she brought as a date. I was hoping she was telling him to take a hike.

She turned and looked directly at me and gave me a weak smile. I was instantly brought back to the day I met Azurdee right here at Scott and Jessie’s house.

“Skip, don’t worry. I’ll take care of it when I get back to Austin. Just let me enjoy my leave, please. Yep. I know it’s back to work on January fourth. Yes, I know our work doesn’t take a vacation. January fourth, we are heading to Columbia at oh-five-hundred. I’ll make sure everything is ready to go.”

I heard the buzzer for Scott’s gate go off.

“Listen, Skip, I’ve got to run. If anything comes up, I’m just a few hours away from Austin, and I can get things up within a matter of hours.”

The gate buzzed again.

“Have to run. Stop stressing. Fuck, in our line of work, how have you not had a heart attack yet? Talk to ya later.”

I walked up to the intercom and pushed a button. “Talk to me.”

“Hey, Scott! It’s Azurdee. I’m so sorry that I’m a day early.”

I smiled and shook my head. I glanced at the clock. It was nearly nine, and I was pretty sure that Scott and Jessie were going to be home soon.

“Come on up. I’ll meet you on the front porch.”

“Okay!”

I quickly walked to the front door and out onto the porch. I perched myself up against the post and waited to lay my sights on the P.U.R.E. Azurdee. Jessie made sure to let me know Azurdee was off-limits. She made the mistake of telling me that her best friend was a virgin and I’d give anything to be the one to strip her of her P.U.R.E. title.

How in the hell does a girl in her early twenties stay a virgin these days?

As I saw her Toyota Camry pull up and park, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw it was a hybrid. The moment she stepped out of the car, she stretched, and my knees about buckled. I grabbed on to the railing.

Holy fucking shit. That hasn’t happened in a long time. Get a grip, for Christ’s sake, Williams. She’s just another pussy. You’ve seen one; you’ve seen them all.

I watched her as she took her hair down from her ponytail. She had long, wavy dark brown hair that went down to the middle of her back. She pulled it back up into a ponytail as she turned and saw me standing there. I followed her eyes as they moved up and down my body. When her eyes caught mine, she smiled.

Jesus Christ.

“You most certainly are not Scott,” she said with a smile.

It took me all of thirty seconds to get my wits about me. “No, ma’am, I am not. You must be Azurdee,” I said as I made my way down to her car.

I put my hand out, and she shook it. I was pretty damn sure she felt the same thing I did when we touched.

She looked away quickly before glancing back at me and focusing in on my lips. “You have an advantage on me, it seems. Mister…”

“Lark Williams, old college friend of Scott’s. Going to be staying for a few days.”

I purposely licked my lips and bit down on my bottom lip. She sucked in a small breath as her caramel eyes darkened. They were breathtaking, and I swore they sparkled.

Those are the most beautiful brown eyes I’ve ever seen. I wonder what they would look like when fucking her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Williams,” she said with the cutest damn smile I’d ever seen.

“Lark, please call me Lark.”

She nodded and looked around. “Azurdee Emerson. Are Jessie and Scott here?”

She seemed nervous as hell, and I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“I promise I won’t bite, sweetheart,” I said with a wink.

“Azurdee.”

I tilted my head at her. Feisty. “You don’t like the word sweetheart?” I asked.

Now, it was her turn to lick her lips before biting down on her bottom lip. She tilted her head back as she said, “Oh, I love the word sweetheart. I just don’t like it coming from a guy who probably bags at least two girls a week.”

My mouth dropped open as she pushed past me. She opened her trunk and started to pull out her suitcase. Then, she stopped and looked at me.

Pure, my fucking ass.

I walked over and took the suitcase from her. I made my way into the house and up the stairs as she pulled out her cell phone and called Jessie. From the sound of it, Jessie was freaking out that Azurdee was here alone with me.

“Honestly, Jess, I’m fine. It was my fault for coming in a day early. I finished up work, and I was so excited to see you that I didn’t even think of calling.”