LOL since my first client is a 50 yr old woman I don’t think u have anything to worry about. BTW even if I were meeting

Adam Levine you'd have nothing to worry about. I love you more. <3:-*

 

I laugh to myself. I love her more than she could possibly ever know, but we have fun debating who loves whom more. There is a shadow blocking the sun as I sit here just grinning. Before I can respond to Dahlia's text, I look up and see Grace approaching. She reaches the table and unbuttons her jacket as I stand and give her a kiss. I pull out her chair and she has a seat. She sets her purse on the table and immediately puts her napkin on her lap.

We order lunch, and the waiter brings our drinks. I decide to first tell her about my upcoming proposal. Her reaction is pure happiness, as if Dahlia is truly her own daughter.

She even sheds a few joyful tears as she congratulates me and gives me her blessing. Once our food arrives, we talk about my upcoming tour and the impact it will have on Dahlia’s new photography business. I explain to her that Dahlia didn’t take a heavy load of clients who needed album covers worked and completed during the duration of the tour. The ones she did offer to style and photograph for she plans to fly back to LA to complete the jobs.

Finishing my sandwich, I push my plate aside and rest my hands on the table. “Grace,” I say as she looks up at me. “I’m hoping you can give me some advice.”

“Of course River, you know you can ask me anything.”

“Well it’s about Dahlia’s parents, her dad really. My band is going to be performing at The Greek in a few weeks and I really want her there. Not just to see us perform but because I think she needs to go back to see it’s a happy place. I want her to see it’s still the same place where she found happiness with her father before he died, and maybe if she does, she’ll let some of her demons go.”

She finishes her salad and sets her fork down, wiping the corner of her mouth. “River, that is so special. I think you simply need to tell her how you feel, how much you want her there with you. She’ll go, knowing how important it is to you. I know she will. She loves you so much.”

The waiter clears the table, and Grace orders a cup of tea. You see River, I think it’s just the anticipation of going back there that frightens her. She’s been afraid to be surrounded by so many memories of all those special times with her father. But knowing how much she loves you and how you make her feel so safe; I believe she’s ready to confront her past. I think she’ll come to see The Greek as a happy place once again if she goes. And yes, I do think it will help her put some of her ghosts to rest.”□

I absorb all she’s telling me; as she speaks I think how simple it all is. Inside my beautiful amazing girl there still lives a scared teenager who lost her parents, her family. I can help heal her remaining scars simply by making her feel safe going back there because I’ll be with her through it all. Maybe this time she can do it, and her happy memories will come flooding back, washing away the sad ones.

 

 

The drive to The Greek was quiet. I held her hand as she fidgeted the whole way there. I knew she was nervous, and so was I. Not because I was performing, but for her. After meeting with Grace, I'd waited a few days and then, just as she had suggested, I asked Dahlia straight out to go with me to The Greek. She was hesitant at first but didn’t say no. I simply explained to her that Xander had arranged the gig to help straighten out some contract issues involving the band’s upcoming and that I really needed and wanted her to be there with me. That was true, just not entirely the reason. After thinking about it for only a moment, she reluctantly agreed. I even arranged for Aerie, Grace, Serena,

and Trent to sit with her.

Once we arrived, her doubts passed immediately. This was evident on her face and in the color of her eyes. It was like watching a child at an amusement park. As we walked through the gates and into the place she had once visited so many times with her father, I knew happy memories were forefront in her mind, pushing the sad ones aside.

Now, lying together on our bed, I can only smile that we took that step together. I look at her and run my fingers over her bare stomach while we kiss. She smiles and pulls me closer to her. As we lay here in each other’s arms, she thanks me again for taking her back to The Greek. She laughs as she reminisces about the all the concerts she saw there with her dad.

When she’s finished, I lean in to kiss her as my hand gently rubs circles down her back. “Thank you for agreeing to go back there. I know it wasn’t easy for you, but I thought you needed to go, and it was important to me that you be there for our kick-off show.”

As I gently press kisses against her mouth, she moans against my lips. “I know, and I’m so glad I went. You were amazing; The Greek was just as amazing as I remember it. The whole night has been truly amazing.”

I pull back to look at her lovingly. “Dahlia, you’re the amazing one, and I’d do anything for you. I want you to be happy, always.”

She doesn’t say anything else; she just crashes her lips to mine as her fingers knot into my hair. I respond instantly. My hands wander up her naked body, touching each rib, sliding along the curve of each breast until they meet her hands in my hair where I clutch them and pull them down to our sides, holding her tightly, just for a moment.

I love her so much and I want to not only show her, but also tell her just how much. Letting go of her hands, I softly trail my fingers back up her body, playfully teasing her along the way, but stopping at her heart to trace it. I can feel the goosebumps form on her skin as I lower my head down to kiss the line I just etched. “I love you.”

I kiss my way back up to her lips and gently cup her chin. I look into her eyes and tell her exactly how I feel. “Dahlia, I will love you forever.” Then I kiss her and finish telling her my thoughts. “In this lifetime and in the next.”

She clutches my face, and I see the love and desire in her slightly hooded eyes. “River, I love you. So much.”

I smile at her and have one more thing I want to tell her. “You are everything I have ever dreamed about, you are my dreams.” I see tears welling in her eyes, and I don’t want them to spill so I kiss her softly, deeply, pouring all of my love into this kiss. Her head falls back further into the pillow and her breathing picks up. I know what that means and I can’t hold back any longer. I want nothing more than to be buried deep inside her, to feel our bodies as one, our souls forever connected.

The feel of her lips as she drags them down my jaw, along my neck to my chest makes me shiver with need. Tracing circles along the inside of her thighs I slip one finger inside of her, feeling her wetness and I know she’s so ready for me. I tease her a bit as I gently circle around, in and out, until she can’t take it any longer. “River,” she cries out as she arches her back, her breathing quick and shallow, her eyes now shut. “Please, I want

to feel you inside me, make love to me.” As I easily slip myself inside her, her arms lace around my neck and her legs wrap around my body pulling me even closer and I know this is exactly where I always want to be.

 

 

A few weeks after the concert at The Greek, I decided it was time to ask her to be my wife. I wanted her to be mine in every sense of the word, more than anything I had ever wanted. My plan to pop the question was simple. Take her to one of her favorite places and ask her. Getting her there was just as simple. All I had to do was suggest we go for a sunset run; she always wants to go running. But arranging it all to go as planned was not so simple. There were so many restrictions and variables, so I just decided to keep it simple.

Pulling into the parking lot, it was late afternoon and one of the hottest days of the summer. Walking up to the hiker’s gate entrance, she steps forward and smirks at me, leaving just a few inches between us. “You sure you want to do this? Because I know, just as well as you do, that this little climb isn’t going to be easy in the scorching sun, and I’m not afraid to admit it.” She steps back, and I can see her eyes are deep brown as she smiles her mischievous, seductive grin.

She lunges forward to stretch, touching her fingers to her toes as her sweat pants ride down her hips a little. Damn, she’s good. She knows I’m powerless against her when she struts her body around like that. It drives me crazy, but what she doesn’t know is, I’m making this almost four mile up hill hike in the blistering sun for a greater purpose than seeing the view from behind the Hollywood sign. So I play her game and hmmm... and haaa... a little so she thinks I really don’t want to do this. Damn, I’m the good one. I even paid off the guard to stop anyone from following behind us. This way, when we reach the top of the hill, we will be all alone. Just the way I need it to be.

I fold my arms over my chest and watch her.

She walks down the path and turns her head over her shoulder asking, “You coming?” I run up behind her and pick her up. She squirms to try to free herself and she could if she really wanted to because her backpack is keeping me from really holding on tight. I set her down and laugh in her ear, “You know I never turn down a challenge.”

She is still laughing when she turns to look at me, and her beauty takes my breath away. She is just so natural and carefree. I have no doubts this is the girl for me— forever. With her I’ve had the best days of my life and there are only better ones to come.

As we approach the top, we’re walking single file up the dirt trail. My eyes follow her every move as she leans forward, stepping up onto the plateau.

She takes her camera out of her backpack. “I just want to snap a few photos before the sun loses its glow.”

Before handing it to me, she slips her Pac-Man bracelet off and zips it safely away. “Do you mind holding this while I climb up the H?”

“You sure that’s safe?” I ask because I’ve never heard of anyone actually climbing up the letters.

She sees the worry on my face. “Hey, sure it is.” She points to the letter and says, “It’s not that high.”

“Beautiful, first of all, it is that high but I’m not thinking of up,” I say as I point down into the valley. “I’m thinking of down.”

Taking a sip of water, she nods and kisses me. “I’ll be right back,” she says as she hands me her water bottle.

“Hey,” I yell as she climbs the fence to get closer to the letters, leaving me holding all of her shit, “What do I look like? A pack mule?”

She looks over and winks at me. “Never thought of you that way. A jackass maybe on occasion, but not a mule.”

I take a gulp from her water bottle, set everything on the ground, and follow her.

Does she really think I’m going to let her climb up there alone?

Standing below the H, the letters are enormous. “Umm... Dahlia, I’m not sure you can do this. There is nothing for you to grip onto. You’d have to pull all of your body weight up the pole.”

“Are you saying I can’t?”

“I’m saying, you more than likely won’t be able too.”

“Care to make a bet?”

Shaking my head at her, all I can do is laugh. “Baby girl, I’m not even going to bet you on that because it would just be plain wrong.”

With her camera hanging from her neck, she pouts her lips and folds her arms over each other, surveying the letter.

“Dahlia, just give me your camera, I’ll take the picture.”

She stands there, still pouting. Removing the camera from her neck, she hands it to me.

Walking up to her, I take it and whisper in her ear, “Watch out, you know what your bitchy mood does to me. That look was so hot.”

True to form, she rolls her eyes and then takes a seat on the ground.

Somehow I manage to pull myself up to the first rafter and balance against the cross beams to take the picture my girl really wants.

Getting down, I give her the camera and she hands me the water. I finish the bottle and toss it next to our stuff.

She comes to stand between my legs and presses up against me, chest on chest, cupping my cheek with one hand and slipping her other hand into the waistband of my track pants. “Thank you.”

My pulse jumps and my whole body responds, but I have a question to ask her and even though her sudden movement and closeness have me standing straight up, I have a plan that I have to stick to right now.

My voice takes on a husky tone all on its own. “Unless you want to be naked very

soon, I think it’s for the best if you don’t touch me like that up here.”

Pulling up my t-shirt I wipe the sweat from my face as her hands instantly find the bare skin of my abs. I do my best to ignore the overwhelming need I have for her by chanting, ‘Stick to the task at hand, stick to the task at hand,’ to myself, and I walk over to the back pack and unzip one of the compartments and discreetly tuck the box in the waistband of my pants, careful for her not to see.

“What are you looking for?” she asks.

“My phone, I wanted to see what time it was,” I tell her as I quickly pull out my phone.

I know she’s watching me from behind, so I twist my head. Her smile, her eyes, her amazing beauty stops me in my tracks. I don’t even wink or make a comment. I just know by the way she’s looking at me right now, that this is the right time.

Walking back over to her, I lean in, clutch her face with both hands, and start to kiss her. I trace the seam of her lips with my tongue and she opens her mouth. Pressing my lips harder against hers, our tongues meet and I feel our souls connect, in the exact same way she described it to me on her birthday. The moment couldn’t be any more perfect. The sun is starting to set over the horizon; the city we live in together is below us; and the sign she loves so much envelops us.

Dropping down on one knee, I look up at her beautiful face. I can already see tears starting to form in her eyes as I begin to speak. “I never imagined I could feel so connected to anyone as much as I feel connected to you. I knew I loved you from the moment I saw you. How could I not? Loving you is as easy as breathing.”

I open the box where the custom-made diamond encrusted pearl ring sits. Like her necklace the pearl sits inside a flower, a dahlia, but unlike her necklace the flower sits on top of a thread of eternity diamonds, representing my love everlasting. Taking the ring out of the box, my hands are shaking so badly as I set it on the ground and stand. I want to look directly into her beautiful eyes when I ask her the most important question I will ever ask anyone in my life.

“Dahlia London, you know I love you more than any man has ever loved a woman. My love for you runs deeper than any words can convey. My heart is yours forever. Will you marry me?”

I’m still shaking, I’m so fucking nervous, this girl owns me and the fact that I want it that way scares the living shit out me and makes me the happiest man alive.

Her words are the words I’ve been waiting to hear since the minute I laid eyes on her. “Yes, yes, yes, yes...” Her yes’s continue until I pull her to me and kiss her like I’ve never kissed her before. All the love I have for her is pouring out of my heart and into hers. She wraps her arms around my neck as tightly as she can and I swing her around in circles. Once I set her back down, I take her hand and slide the ring on her finger. It’s the perfect ring for the perfect girl.

Her tears are streaming down her face, and they are not letting up. I hug her as tight as I can. Whispering into her ear, I say, “Hey baby, it’s okay. This is a happy time. Not a time for all these tears.”

Kissing her neck, I graze my teeth over her skin, and she giggles. I pull back and wipe

her tears with my fingers, and I can’t help but smile at her when I see goosebumps on her arms. I want to cry with her, I’m so happy, but I don’t. Instead, I just look at her. At the same girl who, when I first saw her across the room our eyes met and our souls were forever connected.

 

 

VICTIM

 

 

Yes it’s real

There are victims of crime Sometimes it can’t be prevented They need help to shelter the pain

Sometimes we are just victims of a crime.