WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING
This short story is not meant for anyone under seventeen years of age. Please use caution when reading it. It does contain sex and could be offensive to some
A SINGLE PINK ROSE
A SUNSET DESTINY SHORT STORY
By JJ ELLIS
Olivia Mannon sat on the soft sand of
a beach along the rocky Oregon coastline. The summer had been a rainy one and
she didn’t mind one bit, the rain calmed her somehow. She couldn’t really put
it into words, she just loved it.
On this late summer day the clouds had
been clearing since noon and the early evening was turning cool. Olivia wrapped
her sweater tighter around her body and stared out at the horizon. This would
be her last Oregon sunset. A tear made its way down her cheek and she brushed
it away. Why on earth was she crying? She was headed home in the morning. Her
perfect life waited, untouched, for her to continue where she left off. She had
a new internship starting in an upscale restaurant, her junior year of college
lay ahead of her, and her large family was eager to see her. She shouldn’t be
so sad to leave.
Olivia stood and walked closer to the
water. Her boyfriend, Alex Paige, came
up behind her to rest his hands on her shoulders. They stood together for a moment,
looking out at the waves pulsing inland, contemplating that the time in their
own little paradise was about to come to an end.
“Alex.”
“Yeah Doll?” He pulled her close and
wrapped his arms tightly around her. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t bear the thought of leaving
here.” Tears clouded her eyes.
“There’s no reason to be sad,” he
whispered. “We’ll still be together and
your family will be so happy to see you, especially your twin. I don’t think Jackson is used to having you
gone for so long.
Olivia nodded and turned to lean her
cheek against his chest. “I know,” she mumbled. “I really do miss my family,
but the thought of going back to the heat, the new internship, and a new school
year just makes me want to scream.”
“If you don’t want to do the
internship, then don’t. You still have
enough time to make it up. Take a
semester off or get a job you’d like better.”
“I can’t do that, Alex. I want to own
a restaurant someday and I need experience in every aspect of the field, which
means multiple internships. Besides, I don’t really hate what I will be doing.
I don’t know why, but it’s just…I don’t know, I guess I just feel like if I go
back I might suffocate.”
“I’m sorry love, I know that feeling
well.” With one finger he lifted her chin and searched her eyes. “Together we
can do anything, including going back to our old lives. I promise.”
“I want to believe you Alex, but I
just don’t know. For once in my life I feel completely confused.” She chuckled.
“I don’t like it!”
He pulled her close and kissed her,
hoping it would take some of her pain and confusion away but knowing it
probably wouldn’t. The heart wanted what
it wanted, no matter how wrong the brain told her it was. “Come on, let’s head
back to the house, we need to pack.”
Olivia followed him, almost blindly,
as tears clouded her eyes again. What
was wrong with her? She had a great life
that she was building for herself and it was very important that she have that
stability and some sort of peace of mind. Her current course was taking her
exactly where she wanted to be; it wouldn’t be easy, but with hard work her
life would be perfect. But right that minute, all she wanted to do was stay in
Oregon with Alex. She had no job and no school, but she had ocean breezes,
nights of passion and the most beautiful, fiery sunsets she’d ever seen. It was ridiculous to think that in the matter
of two weeks she’d developed a desire to change her whole life plan.
Alex walked up the steps of his
parents' small beach house and turned to Olivia. “You’re still crying, Love.
What can I do?”
“Tell me why I’m having these thoughts
because they're scaring the hell out of me. I feel like I’m losing myself,” she
cried. “It’s all so sudden. This morning I was fine, I was happy-go-lucky
Livia, and now, I just don’t know who the hell I am anymore.”
Alex held out his hand to her and led
her to the porch swing. “I wish I could understand what you’re going through a
little better, but I’m sorry, I can’t,” he sympathized. “If I had the chance I
would give up everything and stay right here. Everything except for you, I
would never be able to give you up.”
Olivia turned to him with a look that
he couldn’t quite decipher. It may have been shock or horror, but to him it
looked more like shock laced with just a hint of disappointment. She was always
so organized and scheduled, and her future was planned down to the last detail.
She must not be able to understand how he would give up every miserable thing
in his current life for a lifetime of happiness.
“Doll, if there is anything you want
me to say or do, just let me know.
“Just hold me please… just hold
me.”
It killed Alex to see Olivia like
this. This was so unusual and confusing,
even scary. He only wanted her to be
happy, and right now she was far from it. He had never seen her want anything
but her up-and-coming career, her degree and the townhouse on the golf course
that she had her eye on. But right at this moment, she wanted none of it.
As her heaves and sobs slowed over the
next hour or so, Alex led her inside to the couch. “Are you okay, Love?”
“I think so, I’m just incredibly sad
now for some reason,” she whispered.
“Will you be okay while I go gas up
the car and get supplies for the trip?” he asked. He was actually afraid to
leave her, but they needed to get things done so they could leave bright and
early in the morning.
“I’ll be fine now Alex,” she sighed.
“I’m going to start packing our stuff. I’ll be okay.”
Alex kissed her goodbye and headed
into town. It wasn’t a long drive, but he tried to hurry so he could get back
to the house and be there for her if she needed him. At least he could hold her
and make her feel loved if nothing else.
**********
While Alex was in town, Olivia got
busy packing their stuff. Although she
was still confused, she was also somewhat numb so she was able to get to work
without tears clouding her eyes.
Ever since she was a pre-teen, Olivia
Mannon had always known exactly what she wanted out of life and exactly how to
get it. Alex was the only surprise she’d
ever had, but even he didn’t confuse her like this two week vacation had. Days
exploring the beach and the seaside community, and nights making love to Alex,
had thrown her for a loop. She had never realized she could be happy doing
something other than what was planned. She didn’t like this feeling, she just
needed to go back to the way things were; she never felt confused, she had a
plan and it wasn’t an option not to follow it.
But in the meantime, she was here and her heart ached. Maybe once she
was back in the Valley and breathing the smog of Vegas she would feel normal
again; maybe fresh air and beautiful sunsets were bad for her psyche. She could
always hope.
The screen door banged against the
frame and she heard Alex’s footsteps on the wood floors as he approached the
bedroom. “How are you feeling now, Doll?” she heard him call out. His neighbor had given her the nickname of
Living Doll because she had an uncanny resemblance to the little girl’s toy
doll. She’d agreed that Alex could keep using it as a nickname for her if he
promised to use it as a term of endearment and not the call of a sexist
pig. He had happily agreed. When he called her Doll, it only meant that
he loved her, that she was special and treasured, just as the little girl’s
favorite toy had been.
“I’m
in here Alex!” she called to him.
He appeared in the bedroom doorway
with his hands behind his back. “You look better,” he told her.
“I’m okay. Still sad, but I think I’ll
be okay once I get the smog back into my lungs.”
Alex chuckled. “I’m glad you have your
sense of humor back, which makes me think you’ll be just fine.”
Olivia smiled up at him, his six foot
one inch frame towering over her own five foot four inches. “What are you
hiding behind your back Alex?”
“I brought you something from town.
Anytime you’re sad, I’ll bring you one of these.” His hand appeared in front of
him, holding a single pink rose. “Your favorite flower, in your favorite color,
so you will always know that I love you and want you to be happy.”
Tears sprang to her eyes and she
gently took the pink rose from him, bringing it to her nose. “Mmmm, my favorite
scent too. How could I not be happy now?”
Alex took her into his arms and kissed
her. She returned the kiss and increased the urgency. “Thank you Alex, for being there for me,” she
mumbled into him. “I need you to love me now.”
Alex needed no more invitation. He
pushed the sweater from her arms and lifted her t-shirt over her head. “You
make me feel so alive,” he sighed, raining kisses across her chest.
She tugged the hem of his shirt out of
his jeans and pulled it over his head. Her hands burned a path from his
collarbone down to the waistband of his jeans. Her hand slipped inside to tease
him, just for a moment.
“Do you need help with that, Love?” he
murmured. “I was thinking of taking your jeans off next, but I can help you
with mine if you need it.”
“I do not need help,” she stammered.
“I just want to tease you, and torture you so when I do get them off of you,
you’re prepared to…” Her words were blocked with a kiss and she continued
working the button and zipper on his jeans. Together they finally slipped them
off, followed quickly by his boxer briefs.
Alex gasped when her hand wrapped
snugly around him and started to move in a slow, smooth rhythm. He kissed her
and started to move her back toward the bed. “It’s not nice to tease,” he
informed her between kisses.
“You’ll get your turn,” she promised,
as she abruptly let go of him and sat on the edge of the bed.
He stood in front of her and gently
pushed her back. She crawled backwards to the headboard and he followed,
resting his body on top of hers. “Once we get these jeans off, I’m going to
tease you so bad, so slowly, you’ll be begging for mercy.”
She smiled. “Bring it on, sweetheart.”
Alex quickly undid her jeans and
pulled them off, throwing them clear across the room. His lips started at her
ribs and worked their way down to her belly button and then to the top of her
black lace underwear. As his lips moved
lower, he slid the underwear down toward her ankles and they soon joined her
jeans in the pile of clothes. He kept kissing lower and lower until she was
squirming in anticipation. His lips suddenly veered off course and worked their
way down her left thigh. She whimpered and he chuckled quietly. He worked his way back up her body to her
stomach again and then back down. He spread her thighs and put his mouth to
her, but only for one fleeting moment as she whimpered again. He spread short,
sweet kisses down her right thigh before coming back up to whisper in her ear.
“I told you so.”
Olivia shifted her hips and wrapped
her legs around his waist.
“Damn,” Alex sighed. “Let me go,
Doll. I wasn’t done teasing the hell out
of you yet.”
“Promise you’ll actually do it?”
“Do what?” he asked innocently.
“Do it,” she responded squeezing her
legs tighter around his waist bringing his erection into closer contact with
her core.
Alex exhaled. “Yeah, I promise.”
She let him go and he kissed his way
down her chest and belly before settling his lips on the spot she craved. His
fingers spread her open and he went to work on the one spot he knew would give
her the most pleasure. His tongue
flicked and swirled and his teeth lightly grazed her, causing her to cry out.
He shifted his body off to the side and his hands joined his mouth. He entered
first one finger and then another, pressing to fill her, to please her. When he
felt her tighten and shudder around him, he moved back up her body to capture
her mouth.
Olivia’s legs wrapped around his waist
and pulled him closer. “Now Alex,
please.”
“Anything you want Living Doll.”
Alex sank into her with a groan and
she lifted her hips to pull him deeper. “I don’t think I can go as slow as I
promised, Love.”
“You better not!” she demanded and
started to move her hips frantically.
Alex started to thrust as fast as he
could but he felt himself winding up too quickly, so he slowed and then came to
a complete stop. Olivia whimpered and sighed, resigned to her fate. Alex
started to move slowly again and she urged him to increase his pace. “I’ve got
a second wind Doll, we might be here for a while.”
“Alex!” she cried out. “Please!”
“Is that begging?” he asked as he
started to thrust harder against her.
His heart was going wild, in time with hers, and the beats matched the
rhythm of their bodies.
“Yes, Alex. Please, I need you.” Olivia's body felt hot and then cold. Her entire being screamed out with every
movement of him inside of her, begging for more, begging for an end to the
torturous pleasure that he so willingly gave her. With one last movement and a
gasp, Olivia came, her body shuddering around him. Alex fell into the abyss
right along with her.
***********
Hours later as Alex lay holding her,
Olivia sighed in her sleep. He knew then
that everything would be okay. She would be sad for a while, but she would come
out of it and be happy again. He would
have to invest in pink roses for a few weeks and then she would be fine. His heart ached wondering how many times
throughout their lives he would have to give her the precious flower. He hoped there wouldn’t be many, but as life
goes, there would always be sadness of some sort. The one sadness he truly hoped she would
never experience was an end to their relationship. If that ever happened, he
would make sure she got one last rose, in her favorite color, to let her know
how special she had been to him.
Alex kissed her lightly, closed his
eyes and soon joined her in sleep. Morning would come all too quickly and they
would have to be on the road to Portland where his family’s private plane
waited for him to fly them home.
“Wake up, Doll. I have the car mostly packed. All you have to do is get
dressed and we can hit the road, Portland awaits.
Olivia rolled over and kissed him, but
she didn’t smile. “I’ll get dressed and meet you in the kitchen.”
Alex hurried out to the car to put two
of their suitcases in the trunk. It troubled him that Olivia was still sad to
be leaving. He would definitely have to
do something about that, now and when they arrived back in Vegas. He pulled his
cell phone out of his pocket and called her twin to warn him about what was
going on. Jackson Mannon, who fancied himself a comedian, would make sure that
his sister was well cheered up when they arrived.
When Alex stepped back into the
kitchen Olivia was there. “Are you ready?”
“We’re
not eating breakfast here?” she asked, sounding disappointed.
“I need to stop at the store so I
thought I could grab coffee and muffins and then we’ll be on our way,” he told
her as he took their last suitcase from her hand. “I’ll put this in the
car. Could you look around and make sure
we haven’t forgotten anything? Double-check the fridge and make sure it’s empty
too.”
“Sure,” she said, smiling for the
first time that day. “I’ll meet you outside.
The store was on their way out of
town, only about five minutes from the beach house. Alex pulled into a parking
space in front and ran in, leaving Olivia in the car. A few minutes later he
walked out handing her a single pink rose through her open window. “I figured
you were still sad to be leaving, and I promised that every time you were sad I
would get you one of these.”
There were tears in her eyes and she
smiled. “I thought you were just saying
that to make me feel better.”
“Never, Doll. When I make a promise, I
mean it and I keep it. Every time I know
you’re sad, you will get a pink rose because I know that this one beautiful
flower will make you smile.”
“It’s not the flower Alex, it’s you. I
love you.”
“I love you too, Olivia.” He kissed
her through the window. “I have breakfast and coffee too, if you’re
interested,” he said, walking around to the driver’s side. He handed it over as
he climbed behind the wheel.
“I’m starving! Thank you, Alex.”
“Anytime Doll. Are you ready to
go?”
