It was useless. No matter how hard I could try not to be enthralled, I already was. I was going to be in his power until I was strong enough to resist it all.

I lay in bed with his arm around my stomach. What was I supposed to do now? Leave? For some reason, I felt that I couldn’t leave without telling him good bye or just saying something. It was polite that way. I started to turn and his arm pulled me tighter.

“Morning, baby,” he whispered in my ear. His voice was normal and not what I had been enthralled with before. It wasn’t just his eyes that had done it for me; it was his eyes, his voice, and his touch. I longed for a man with his touch. I had a man but he was far away. What was I supposed to do? Wait? I couldn’t do that. As much as I thought I could wait, I just couldn’t.

“Morning,” I finally said. He kissed my neck. His lips were soft and smooth. Perfect. I loved his lips. I closed my eyes as he felt his lips not stop at my neck. They kissed my collarbone and shoulder. My alarm went off as his hand moved down south.

“Someday I will be the one, babe,” the alarm sang. I had it set for that one song so it reminded me that I still had a man but he wasn’t here.

“I need a shower,” I suddenly said. I got up quickly. I took the sheet with me.

“Want some company?” He was suddenly behind me. Strong long arms wrapping around my stomach. He kissed my earlobe this time. I loved it when he kissed my earlobe.

“Vern, I…” I drifted. His tongue flicked on my earlobe and that drove me insane. Turned in his arms and kissed him without thinking. He smiled as we kissed. I loved his smile. His big hands snuck down my body and lifted me up. My legs instantly wrapped around his perfect waist. I could feel all of him against my thigh. Pressing. Telling me how bad he wanted me. Needed me.

We had morning sex. It was great like all the other times we had morning sex. I’d hear the song that was supposed to say “Hey Chels, don’t forget you’re supposed to be with Steve”. I’d get up and attempt to take a shower and Vern would offer me company. I would start to say no and he would wrap his arms around me and kiss my ear. I was weak. I needed to be strong. For Steve.

After morning sex, he’d take a shower and refuse for me to join him. I was that weak. It was MY shower and yet he still got control. I wasn’t the only one he was sleeping with. I wasn’t even sleeping with Steve. It had been Vern since day one. Steve was unable to move to America. He visited maybe 3 times a year. I don’t know why we kept it going but we did. I loved Steve. He was working on a way to get here. He’d been “working on a way to get here” for 3 years. Vern was supposed to have moved south but we ended having a secret fling. Nobody knew about us. Not even my best friend.

“Vern, I have to piss!” I told him as I banged on MY door. He finally opened the door. He hadn’t even started the shower. He was just shaving. I glared at him as he just stood there.

“What?” I asked him.

“Nothing.” He said.

“Whatever, Vern,” I was irritated. This happened every time he stayed over. He left so I could pee.

I walked out and he was sitting on the bed.

“What’s up?” I said. I knew him well enough to know when he was going to say something stupid.

“I’m going to Gulf Shores,” he said plainly. I just stared at him. I hadn’t left the bathroom.

“When do you leave?” I felt like I was in some romantic story except that it wasn’t a romantic story in our case.

“Today.” He said.

“Today?” I repeated.

“When I leave here,” he said. His dangerous brown eyes weren’t dangerous at this moment.

“Oh,” I said. I looked at the clock. He hated it when I looked at the clock.

“Come with me?” He made it into a question. I stared at him. I guess he didn’t see me look at the clock.

“Come with you?” I repeated.

“Come with me to Gulf Shores, Chelsea,” he said. I looked down at my bare feet and back up at him. He was walking towards me. He only said my full first name when he was serious or cross with me.

I opened my mouth to protest and say that I couldn’t. I wanted to tell him that this was supposed to be the end of us.

Last night, we met at my favorite bar. I was going to break it off with him. I was going to be faithful to Steve. I loved Steve… didn’t I? I was going to break it off with Vern and call Steve and tell him that I loved him and that we should get married and start our lives. True that I’d be living a lie, but I could live with that. I had lived with that for 3 years. We had too much to drink. He didn’t tell me what the important thing was that he wanted to tell me and I didn’t break off the fling.

“Vern, I… I can’t. I have work.” I said anything that would make sense. I looked down and looked up. His eyes were back to being dangerous.

“You have vacation time.” He said. That was true. I had a lot of vacation time, but it was supposed to be so I could go and stay in Australia with Steve.

“Steve.” I mumbled. Vern put his hands on my waist. I tried not to put my arms around his neck cause I knew where it would lead. My arms drifted up around.

“Steve.” I said again. Vern looked at me. He was blank this time. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“Tell him you’re having a girls’ night out.” He whispered in my ear.

“I can’t. I can’t lie.” I told him in a near whisper.

“Please, come with me. Come with me to Paradise.” He told me. His voice captured me. He was Jean-Claude. He was the vampire that made me weak.

“I can’t.” I said again. A hand moved down to my bare thigh. I was in my bra and underwear with only a robe to cover. He moved it up near my bikini line.

“We can have a picnic at our private beach. We can swim in the private pool.” He told me these things that had heard about numerous times. I hadn’t been down yet. I had too much school work to do and too much work. I was currently taking off a semester.

“Vern,” I breathed in his name as he pressed his fingers against my wet panties.

“Please, Chelsea, please.” He was begging.

“Okay,” I said. He stopped. I frowned. I was sexually weak. “One condition.” I told him.

“Anything,” he whispered in my ear.

“Promise,” I told him. He’d never broken a promise before.

“Promise, baby, anything you want.” He said.

I must have really been under his spell because I forgot all about Steve.

“When we’re down there,” I started to whisper in his ear. My right hand slithered down his body and to his crotch. Two can play this game. I rubbed my hand on his spot. “When we’re down there, I’m your girlfriend.” He moaned as I continued to rub his spot.

“Okay.” He said. I stopped. He looked at me. “Just when we’re down there.” He said. He knew what I truly wanted.

“Fine, just down there.” I sighed. My tone was sad and disappointed.

“Don’t be like that, Chels,” he said. We stepped apart before anything more could happen. He put a hand to my cheek. “It just wouldn’t work if we tried again.”

An hour later, we were on the road. I didn’t bring more than my over night bag. It had everything I needed. It would be a day before we were in “paradise”. We took my corvette. He didn’t have much packed either. It was perfect. I drove all the way to Kentucky. We stopped in Lexington.

“Someday I will be the one babe” played as washed my hands. It was my ringtone for Steve.

“Hello?” I said. I had to play innocent for the millionth time.

“Gday, gorgeous,” he said. He always started every conversation like that.

“Hey baby,” I said almost in a whisper.

“What are you up to?” He asked.

“I’m on my way out the door actually,” I lied.

“Do you want me to call you back?” He asked.

“No, no, that’s okay. I can talk for a couple. What’s up?” I said.

“Well, I called to see what you were up to this weekend,” he told me.

Uh oh.

“Out with the girls.” I said.

“Oh.” He sounded disappointed.

“Steve?”

“Well, I was going to fly out.” He said. There was a disappointed smile in his voice.

“I’m busy anyways. I’m going out Saturday and then I have to work all this week and next.” I lied again.

“Don’t you have vacation time?” He asked. Damnit.

“Terry is sick and I have to cover.” Another lie.

“Oh,” he said.

“A couple of days wouldn’t be enough anyways,” I reminded him.

“Well, I was going to save this for Christmas but…” he started to say.

“Then save it for Christmas. Steve, I really got to go.” I told him. Half truth.

“Okay, I love you, Chelsea.” He told me.

“I gotta go, Steve.” I hung up on him. Damnit.

I walked out of the bathroom. My hands were dripping with water.

“Hey, baby, you ready?” Vern asked as he pulled up.

“Yeah.” I said. I didn’t dare look at his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” He asked as I slid in the car.

“Nothing,” I said. Wow, 5 lies in 5 minutes. I’m on a role.

He drove the rest of the way to Nashville. It was only a few hours away. He would drive the rest of the way there. I only knew how to drive to Lexington. Steve and I had gone to my favorite place in the world. It’s a small cabin in a town called “Slade”. My grandparents had taken me there a few years ago.

though im worried its a bit inappropriate for a young writers club, i really liked it actually.