Tennessee Rose

Part 43 - Rose

Written by ehux02

I wake up in an empty bed. The sun has gone down, but the moon has illuminated everything outside and I can see Marshall sitting at the edge of the pool. We spent the better part of the morning and early afternoon getting reacquainted and I must have fallen asleep after. 
After I climb out of bed and find one of Marshall’s t-shirts to throw on, I walk out and join Marshall by the edge of the pool. He has his headphones in and a notebook he is furiously writing in. He hasn’t even noticed I’m sitting next to him. We sit like this for the longest time. I am lost in the beauty of the night sky. This is truly paradise. Details around the stars that I cant normally see.

He nearly jumps out of skin which in turn startles me since I was distracted too. His reaction makes me double over in laughter as he tosses his notebook and headphones behind him. Next thing I know, I’m resurfacing in the pool after he threw me in.  He is the one that is now doubled over with laughter. It doesn’t last long as his face takes on a serious expression. Painfully slow, like he’s teasing me, Marshall starts to pull his clothes off until he is standing on the side of the pool completely naked. He is truly a sight. From his tattoos to his defined muscles and even that sexy beard, it’s not fair for one person to be so sexy.  He jumps in the pool pushing me under water again. I resurface again and see him standing by the side of the pool smirking at me. I make my way toward him and when I’m close he pulls me to him and takes the t-shirt I am wearing over my head throwing it to the side of the pool. My insecurities take over as I’m standing in front of him naked. He seems to sense this and says, “You are so beautiful baby girl.”  I feel my cheeks hit up and it causes him to chuckle. “I love making you blush.” He leans in and kisses me passionately, but quickly breaks the kiss to whisper, “I love you so much.” In response, I lean up to press my lips to his. I need to show him how much I love him and words won’t do it right now. I really messed up pushing him away for 2 months.  

He picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. Never breaking the kiss, he climbs out of the pool and back into the Villa.   I thought we were going to the bed, but I notice we have passed it. I’m now placing kisses along Marshall’s jaw and down his neck. I open my eyes as Marshall sets me down. We are in the kitchen with both of us dripping from the pool water. Surprising me, he starts pulling food out of the fridge. “I’m starving.” I look at him very confused and he laughs at me with that smirk of his, “Aren’t you?” Rather annoyed, I reply, “Among other things.” His laughter gets louder as he starts cooking. “We have the rest of the week for…. other things.” I smirk back at him and turn around to leave throwing, “We’ll see about that,” over my shoulder as I walk into the bedroom to find some clothes. 

He follows me and grabs me from behind, “What was that?” I giggle at his playfulness and shrug my shoulders.  He leans in and places a couple kisses under my ear and then whispers, “Don’t worry baby, I’ve made sure to have plenty of time to fuck you senseless.”  He lets me go and I pick up my suitcase to grab some pj’s as he walks into the bathroom. My suitcase is empty so I walk over to the dresser. All of my clothes are folded nicely and organized in the dresser. He must have unpacked while I was asleep.  I smile at his sweet gesture until I realize I can’t find any of my bras or panties. “Marshall!”  I hear him laugh so he must know what I am yelling about. “What is it?” I give a stern look. “I seem to be missing some things.” 
He appears in the doorway of the bathroom, with a towel around his waist, smirking at me, “Really? Damn airline.”
I roll my eyes, “We flew private.” He chuckles, shrugs his shoulders,  and walks into the kitchen. “Where are they Marshall?” The look on his face tells me I’m not gonna find out and he confirms it by letting me know, “When you need them, you will get them.” I drop it and turn back toward the bathroom.

After a quick shower, I walk into the kitchen dressed in my pjs minus a couple of key undergarments. He smirks up at me from the table. Across from him is a plate with eggs, bacon, and some fruit, waiting for me. “Sexy as hell knowing you sitting there with nothing on under your pjs.” I playfully roll my eyes at him and start eating. I didn’t realize how hungry I am, but we haven’t had anything to eat since my birthday dinner. He knows me so well. A few minutes later, Marshall gets up and refills both of our plates. He made enough food to easily feed 6 people and we ate it all.
After we finished eating, I started cleaning up the kitchen while he was on the phone. It’s midnight here so it’s the morning Detroit which means, he’s probably talking to Paul.  Washing the dishes, my mind starts wandering. We have so much to talk about before I move. I want the air between us to be completely clear. 

He said things that he shouldn’t have, but I definitely took it too far. I was so close to never seeing him again and that thought breaks my heart. I owe Tristan and my parents big time for setting me straight, but most of all I owe Marshall. His patience with me has been incredible.  I can be very difficult and stubborn, but I’m so thankful he has stood by me.
I’m pulled from my thoughts by Marshall’s arms wrapping around my waist, “thank you for cleaning up.” I nod my head and turn around to face him. “Can we talk?” Panic appears all over his face and I quickly work to let him know that it’s nothing bad, “I just want us to clear the air before we go back home.” Relief washes over his face and he grabs my hand leading me outside again.

He pulls me onto a lounge and wraps his arms around me.
“Rose, I am so sorry for everything I said and walking away. It was childish and stupid.”
“I’m not looking for an apology. You have more than apologized and I already forgave you. Really, its my turn to start apologizing.”
Confusion covers his beautiful face, “For what?”
“I cut you out. I didn’t talk to you for the better part of 2 months.”
“Baby, no if I wouldn’t have—“
“No, Marsh stop. Yeah, you really pissed me off, but instead of talking to you, I shut you out. I let you walk away instead of following you.  That isn’t how I want to be. I want us to always fight for each other.  I let my pride get in the way and for that I am so sorry.”
“I know what your family means to you and to even think for a second that I could get away with telling you to choose was completely ignorant. You will never have to choose. They were there for you during the worst time of your life, of course, you needed to help them. Instead of giving you the two month you asked for, I got to spend two months torturing myself trying to figure out how to get you back.”
“I am so sorry for that. I should’ve answered your calls. Believe me, I wanted to but I am stubborn, if you haven’t noticed. I started to reply to your texts so many times.  But it’s all in the past now and I can’t change it. I just want to make sure we are good and this whole situation can be left in the past.”

“Look I’ve been through it with relationships. I have trust issues that will never go away and I’m clingy as fuck. I saw you slipping away in that hospital and my mind went into panic mode. I can’t promise that we’ll never argue and I’ll never say something that ignorant.  I probably will, but I can promise I’ll never walk away from you again. Can you promise me that no matter what, good or bad, you won’t shut me out?”  

“I promise to always fight for you. Even if you do walk away, I’m running after you. I’ll never shut you out again. To be honest, it was very lonely.” He smiles at me and kisses my forehead.
A comforting silence falls over both of us Marshall lays us both down on the lounge. My head is on his chest and I listen to his steady heartbeat while he plays with the ends of my hair. The sky is completely clear and you can hear the slightest sound of the water lapping around the deck. “It’s so peaceful out here.”
“Yeah, it is. I’m bringing you here at least once a year.”
“Hmmm.. That sounds nice.” I sit up and move to sit on his lap straddling his waist. I lean in to kiss him but he pulls back, “Nah, you didn’t understand me. Imma bring you to this villa once a year for the rest of my life. We gonna lay on this lounge just like this talking bout the trip from the year before.” He pauses and  then smirks at me, “I’m plannin on forever with you.” All I can do is smile and I feel my cheeks flush again. I lean my head down and place my forehead on his. Marshall reaches his lips up to mine and kisses me as he stands up setting me down.

He grabs my hand pulling me toward the door, “Come on. I made ya another promise before we ate. Can’t let ya down.”
I play dumb and pretend I don’t know what he’s talking about. As he starts dragging me through the kitchen on his way to our room, I pull my hand from his grasp and open the fridge. I start to grab an apple but knowing that I’m mocking his actions from earlier, he pulls me out of the way and shuts the door. “Playin with fire. Ya gonna pay for that one, smart-ass.” He grabs me throwing me over his shoulder and heads toward the bedroom.