Some Love to Give

Kisses

~~~~~Jeriah~~~~~

“Beautiful…” Jeriah mumbled, snapping another photo of Trinity as she ate her food. “Absolutely beautiful.”

“Jeri, it’s hard to eat when you’re taking so many pictures. Come on, put the phone down and eat your dinner. This is your favorite!” She sighed, putting her fork down to grab her napkin, an annoyed expression on her face. “You asked me a week ago to make your favorite meal tonight and you’re not even eating it!”

“I am, I am!” He replied while taking a seat next to her at the table. “I just wanted to post some more pictures online of us together. Evening is the only chance we have.”

The pictures he took of the pair made headlines every night and he loved that so many people were associating him with her. Jeriah loved her and was happy to share that with the world, but Trinity seemed wholly unaffected by his best attempts to woo her. Sometimes, he was not even sure they were in a relationship. He just wanted to give her the world, especially since it had been so long since she saw genuine romance. Who knew if her ex-husbands even tried to romance her? Jeriah wondered with amusement before reaching out to stroke along the back of her hand with his thumb.

He loved her so he could easily whisper as many sappy lines into her ears and still not fully express how much he loved being with her. Jeriah wrapped his arm around her waist as she ate and sighed in bliss before pulling out his phone to snap another photo. If only his pictures could do her beauty justice. He stared at the lovely shape of her neck where his head fit against perfectly before looking up at her face with hearts in his eyes. Trinity sighed before giving him another half-hearted slap, her body scooting away so she could continue eating. When he reached out again, Trinity shifted to another seat with tired eyes.

“Jeriah, no one likes someone clinging to them all day…” She sighed and his shoulders sank in disappointment. “Let me finish eating and watch a movie with me, then we can cuddle when we go to bed.”

“Okay.” Jeriah nodded, pulling his hands back and picking up a fork. “I understand.”

He did not really understand, but was trying to. What about his affection was too much for her? Even when he was doing things for their relationship, like building their perfect couple image, and professing his love to the world, she did not seem all that interested. Adversely, she seemed utterly annoyed by the prospect. Jeriah let his shoulders sag in disappointment and when he lifted the fork to his lips, the flavor wiped his thoughts away. Leave it to her to recreate a flavor he had only described before. Forgetting to stay sad, he wrapped his hand around his face and gave a grateful sigh.

“What did I do before I met you?” Jeriah wondered aloud, his eyes sliding closed. “What would I do without you?”

Maybe she did not know how much he worried about their future when she already left him once. Could Jeriah ever put that into words? A look at her oval-shaped face with bowed nose and almond-shaped blue eyes; he realized the truth. No, he could never fully express all the emotions she created in him. Trinity shrugged a little, a sigh parting her lips, before relaxing and letting him stay there. Then her words came back to bite him and he almost flinched. ‘No one likes someone clinging to them all day.’ Did that mean she did not enjoy him clinging to her like this? His arm fell from her waist and he continued eating, doing his best to keep his hands to himself.

“Sorry…” He mumbled, wanting to avoid annoying her. “Guess I’m not used to being in a relationship either.”

Without waiting for a reply, Jeriah picked up his dishes and left the room to return them to the kitchen. The last thing he wanted to do was to be so overbearing she tired of him. He would need to distance himself if he did not want to scare her off. As he arrived in front of the sink, his free hand rising to cup his chin in thought. But if she was to become tired of him, his level of s*x drive was a little much for every night. Could it already be warning her off of his s****l energy? Maybe he should hold off from taking her for a while. Especially if he wanted to have a wonderful, normal relationship with her.

Since she would be busy working on her book for the next while, he could always focus on work. That was what he needed to do. It was just hard to when his thoughts always circled back to her. But he would try. He chewed on his lip before rinsing his dishes off and putting them in the dishwasher. Their relationship was not just about s*x anymore, and he wanted to be a meaningful relationship with her. That meant he needed to be there for her emotionally, too.

Maybe he needed to put more thought into how he treated her, but he honestly just wanted to show his affection. Jeriah's steps led him towards the half-bathroom next to the kitchen , he made sure to lock the door behind him. All he could think about was what would make her happy, so he did his best to prove it, he thought as he gazed at himself in the mirror over the sink.

With a sigh, he took a seat on the toilet, looking down at his already ‘at attention’ buddy. Maybe he can take care of things himself to hold off on making a move on her. Jeriah sighed before pulling up a photo of the two of them a few weeks ago. This was what he could do for her.

~~~~~Trinity~~~~~

Trinity did not know if she caused him serious pain or not, but the fact he was still in the bathroom bothered her. He acted so despondent over dinner she worried she actually hurt his feelings. So, here she stood, just outside of the bathroom, waiting for him to come out. One thing she learned from her past was holding onto something overnight was a bad idea. It was healthier to talk about things after both parties had time to calm down. Not that she thought Jeriah was mad, just she worried since it was her first relationship in a while, too. Trinity loved she could depend on Jeriah for relationship management, otherwise they would both lose.

“Um… Jeriah… I didn’t mean to upset you. Are you okay in there?” Trinity asked with concern lacing her voice. “You’ve been in there for a while.”

“… Yeah…” Jeriah replied, and she held her breath to hear him better. “I’m almost done.”

“Okay…” She nodded to herself before turning to her bed. “I’ll wait for you in bed.”

She burrowed under the blankets after turning off all the lights in the room except her nightstand lamp. Trinity felt excited for tonight because it was their two-month anniversary tonight, and knew Jeriah would have something special up his sleeve when he came to bed. And though her body felt worn from the day, she was more than happy to make love to him. The love they shared literally given shape to every touch, kiss, and caress. When the bathroom door opened, a satisfied Jeriah stepping out; her heart sank because she knew he had nothing planned. Especially when he happily stepped forward, walking until he reached the bed, before sinking onto it with a sigh.

As soon as her hands reached out to grab him, his hand reached out to turn out the light, and he landed on the bed next to her, his back facing her. When she opened her mouth to say something to him, she realized he was already fast asleep. A lump formed in her throat, but she faced away from him as she laid down with a sigh. It was then she remembered what the CEO told her earlier. ‘You only worked with him directly a couple times without others present back then. Are you sure you two weren’t already s*x friends? As big a playboy as he is, do you really think he’s stopped?’ It had hurt to hear, but he was right. She had no guarantees.

But that did not equal proof. Trinity could tell how much he loved her. Could feel it every time he touched her. There was no way that would change just because she told him to back off a little. Maybe he was just tired tonight. It would make sense since they were shooting scenes at the local beach. She knew how physically tiring that must be for him. Maybe they could do things together when things at work slowed down. With this thought in mind, she sank further into her soft bed, letting the haze of sleep take over her mind. Trinity was confident Jeriah loved her.

~~~~~

“This story is fantastic. I would say this one is even better than your first work!” Thomas said, voice full of praise. “The forbidden angle is one rarely touched on and Lizzy is such a relatable character. I love the trials she faces for her lover, too. Girl, your fans are going to melt when they read this.”

Trinity bit her lip as she leaned back against her armchair, head in the clouds. After she sent over the outline, she regretted it. She loved the storyline and loved the different angles, but she felt it lacked the originality she wanted her stories to have. But maybe it was what she was unfamiliar with that would lend strength and depth to her future stories. Especially if this was her biggest fan’s response to it. She looked at her computer screen with a faint smile on her lips before a sigh parted them. It had only been two days since Jeriah last touched her, but it felt as though years passed by. Even though he stayed the night both nights, he did nothing but cuddle her until they both fell asleep.

“Are you still there, Trin?” He asked, drawing Trinity back to the present. “Is something wrong?”

“Nah, I’m fine, just got distracted by something.” She replied, shaking herself out of her thoughts. “Do you really think Lizzy and Adam are on the same level as my first characters?”

“Yes. They’re even better because you’ve matured as an author since then, and I can tell.” Thomas countered with a happy-sounding sigh. “It’s as if you reached into my soul and pulled out my perfect guy!”

“Then I should get back to it. The fans await!” Trinity giggled before the pair ended their conversation and she tossed her phone on the sofa across from her. “I just need to focus on that world again.”

As she got to writing, her mind continued to play out the story for her and she smiled, laughed and cried with her characters as she breathed life into their forms with her words. It was her favorite aspect of writing. How could anything bring her as much joy as the written word? The smell of coffee filled her senses, and she turned her head to find Jeriah standing there with a coffee mug in hand, holding it out for her. She looked up into his eyes before down at the coffee with surprise. Was that for her?

“Yes, it’s for you. I can tell you’re on a roll tonight, so I’ll leave you be, but I wanted to make you some coffee.” Jeriah said, reaching out to run his fingers through her long brown hair. “I love you. Good night.”

He walked away without another word as soon as she grabbed the mug, and Trinity sighed, her shoulders sagging under her disappointment. Sure, she could not outlast him, the only man ever to satisfy her, but she missed making love with him. He had been coming home later and later too, as though he were trying to avoid her during the day. It was why she had taken to staying up at night, but he would come home later still. She chewed on her lip in frustration before she heard the shower come on. And when he was home, he spent a lot of time in the shower. Her heart pounded in her chest as an ugly thought rose in her head and she turned on the television.

She did not want to make an assumption, but she did not know what he was currently filming, either. Perhaps one girl on set caught his interest. Once the thought struck her mind, her cellphone was already in her hands and she was scrolling through the news. Trinity felt a little like a stalker, but she needed to know if the CEO was right about him. It was hard for a serial playboy to change that fast. As soon as she entered his name in the search engine, it auto-populated with the familiar name of Amy Fox. When she clicked on it, a frustrated sigh parted her lips as a recent image with ‘proof of his cheating ways’ on the top of the article met her view.

Jeriah said nothing about this, but Trinity felt unease curl in her chest. Who knew what those two were doing when it was time to go home? Maybe he was sleeping with her since he stopped sleeping with Trinity. No, maybe he did not know the pictures were out there and it was a purely professional relationship. It was not a nice thing to jump to conclusions about that. She just locked her phone when Jeriah walked back into the living room wearing a fresh pair of pajamas she had never seen him wear before. Were they already stuck in a rut?

“I got you a matching pair, Rosebud! I wanted to take selfies together in them.” Jeriah said with a bright smile, and Trinity felt the tension ease a little. “Come on! I know I got the perfect size for you.”

She sighed before coming to a stand, her hand outstretched for the pajamas. When he chuckled and passed over just a shirt, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. It was the same stripped white and green pajama shirt he had on, even the same size, and she glanced at it before back at him. Surely he did not expect her to wear this without anything underneath. When this realization hit her, her eyes widened and Jeriah grinned like a kid who just won a prank.