Maestro

by Auden Dar

her.” “How could I ever forget that night?” We chuckle at the same time. “Or how about the night she forced us to try her roast chicken? We were all plagued with something hideous afterwards.” “Because it was undercooked. We were lucky we didn’t end up with salmonella.

Gabriel’s hand before fists start to fly. I turn to Chad. “Give Astor a big hug for me.” As I’m about to walk away, Chad reaches for my arm, pulling me to his chest like

them is the way we love someone. More importantly, the way someone loves us. Chad leans to turn off the lamp. “Get some

of the greatest acts of

her voice, her laughter. Her.” “You won’t.” “How can you be so sure?” “Because she loved you.” His voice assuring. “We can’t forget those who truly loved us and those we love… I know from experience.” He’s correct; I’ll never forget the man next to me. The way he’s loved me all these years. The way he continues to love me—even after all we’ve been through. “Priscilla only wanted what she thought would be best for you,” Chad says, moving back to lie supine. “And she’d want you to play for the best.” “And your orchestra is the best?” “It would be the best if you were in it.” “You’re saying all the right things.” “I’m saying what I’ve always believed.” I scoot closer, lean my head against his shoulder, and sigh. “It feels like déjà vu.” “But we’ve never been in this hotel together.” “I know, but it reminds me of the first time we hung out in my home.” “How so?” I look up. “I’m still that nervous fourteen-year-old, lying in bed with the cutest boy ever.” Chad smiles against the side of my face. “I was nervous too.” “That’s hard to believe. You were so full of confidence. Even at such a young age.” “Maybe I was confident in our friendship,” he utters. “I knew then what I hold to be true.” “And what is that?” “That I’d always want you to be in my life.” On our sides now, he puts his arm around me and I snuggle against

with honey golden highlights. Only a little makeup on her pretty, heart-shaped face. Her deep blue eyes

it comes to you. It’s taken years to wake up and not cry over you. Years to love someone else. I can’t wait for you.

“I have to ask you to do something I never thought I would,” I say as I twist my engagement ring.

“Tell me.” His voice is soft, his blue eyes watery and pleading. I also feel a sense of panic.

My heart drops to my feet when I say, “Please let me go.”

No one ever told me we can grieve for the living.

pained, lock on mine. “I thought about giving you an ultimatum. Lose your friendship with Chadwick or lose me. But I know what you’ll do, even if it means breaking apart.” “I haven’t had contact with Chad in months,” I

been in hibernation for years. My heart—it’s beating again, soaring like never before because

“I don’t want to be without you anymore,” I tell her. “I’m not going anywhere without you ever again.” I’ll fight anyone and anything getting in our way. My fucking sword is ready for battle. I’m going to conquer her heart.

simply take her lips, reveling in the feel of her mouth. Our kiss is a mixture of love and lust, honey and spice. Our moans become soft pleas to Eros. We belong together. For a moment, I’m transported to all our firsts. Our first kiss. Our first time. When I pull away, Aurelia’s forehead lines have disappeared. Her cheeks bear a pinkish hue. “I thought I imagined it for years,” I say. “Imagined what?” she asks, her voice light

down the hall, trying to kiss and open the door, dropping the keycard, dropping it again, finally getting it to work and slamming the door behind us. The living room of the Constitution Suite is quiet save for two heartbeats drumming wildly. Everything between us is different now. More heightened. More emotional. I lost my heart when I found Aurelia. When I lost her, I lost myself. I won’t let this moment slip through my hands. I’ve waited years for this woman. I kiss her with all I have.

my aching cock. “I want to come inside you.” She kisses the head before pulling away.

and breathless, her slender legs dangling over my shoulders, wide open for me. There you are. Mine. You’ve always been mine. My ardent mouth is on her, appreciating the scrumptious honey on

my jaw. Her head thuds against the cool windows as she rocks against my mouth.

“I’ve missed you.” My head rests on her soft bottom. “I just want to remember this.” I kiss her left ass cheek. “I’m claiming you.” Kiss. “For good.” Kiss. “For always.” I continue worshipping her, my wet lips making their way up her gorgeous naked body, stopping at the top of her right shoulder. My chest slightly brushes her back. “Mine,” I tell her, pushing a single digit inside her heat from behind.

Crawling up her body, I stop with my hands on either side of her shoulders and stare down at her mesmerizing blue-violet eyes. Emotional bullets sear through my heart. How could we have walked away from us? How could we have ever been apart all these years? How could I ever stop loving this woman?

I’m never letting you go.

“Don’t forget that I love you,” I tell her. “I won’t.” “Good.” I sit on my heels, admiring the pearls of sweat trickling down her full breast. She’ll be drenched in a few minutes. “Because I’m going to fuck you like I don’t.”

“Aurelia,” I say against her mouth. “My music. My heart. My everything.” I lift her hand to my lips. “I’ve never felt happier.” She smiles up at me.

“I don’t want to live in the past anymore. From this point on, it’s us. Again. And we’re going to do something we should have done years ago,” I say, kissing each fingertip. “What’s that?” “We’re going to wake up next to each other.” I kiss her palm. “For the rest of our lives.”

“You’re as essential as the air I breathe, the water I drink, the music I play. Without you, I’m barely breathing. Barely existing. I refuse to be without you.”

what, a month or two with your son these past few years?” With the documents in her hand, Sera stands in front of me. There’s no trace of the young woman I knew years ago; she no longer exists. “You’re a fool, Aurelia,” she spits out. “And you’re a fucking lying, conniving bitch,” I say, peering up. “No wonder Gabriel chose me.” Sera’s hand flies toward my cheek. Somehow, I catch her wrist, twist it over, and slap her face with my other hand. “Sit the fuck down, Sera,” I glare at her, pointedly. “You’re

How in the world did I not realize I was pregnant? I asked myself that question repeatedly. And after some sort of reprieve, continued to ask again.

her teenage angst as she ruminates about a first crush. To shower her with love. The sadness we bear can’t be contained. I find solace in Chad’s arms as

my heart again,” I remind him. “I don’t want you to pity me.” His voice is vulnerable, unsettled.

For graduation, Astor had asked

still my little girl. A smile, similar to Aurelia’s, brightens her heart-shaped face. Life is made of choices. Robert Frost pondered this thought when he wrote “The Road Not Taken.” What would my life with Aurelia be like had we taken the simple route?