If You Miss Once, Try, Try Again

My brother's angry gaze turned to me, his eyes blazing, "Who the hell asked you?! I'm too tired and I'm not going anywhere. You're welcome to go yourself if you're so worried. I'm surprised she hasn't called you instead, you've been seeing each other so much the past couple of weeks that it seems like you're the one dating her!"

"Well that's because her boyfriend is an asshole who can't get his head out of his ass and work and never has time to see her! She's a doctor, for God's sake and she can find time!"

"Is that what she keeps telling you, huh? That my job is not as important as hers, so I can find the time whenever I want, to go and see her? Well, fuck you both." He got up and left the room, slamming the door to his old room so hard that the walls rattled. I ground my teeth so hard I could feel my jaw beginning to ache. I turned to my mother and said, "I'm going to go see if she's ok, if he's not going to go." My mother simply nodded and I left.

I pulled in front of the hospital less than ten minutes later and jogged towards the entrance. The corridors were brightly lit though it was pitch dark outside. Heading for the nurses' station, I was faced with the smile of a now familiar nurse. She greeted and pointed me towards the doctors' lounge. The lounge was empty except for Terri's tightly curled up figure sitting on the couch. She wore her lab coat and the stethoscope was still hanging over her shoulders, but I could see them shaking. As I stepped closer, I cleared my throat, not wanting to startle her. She raised her head and I felt a twinge of pain in my chest as I saw the tear streaked face. She smiled shakily and rose to her feet. Without uttering a single word, she threw herself into my arms. I held her close to my chest, rocking her gently and whispering soft nothings into her red tipped ear. I pulled her closer and moved us to the sofa, cradling her in my arms. "It's ok, sweetie. It's going to be ok." I kept whispering as she slowly quieted down. I caressed her hair gently, reveling at the silky feeling of her blonde strands running through my fingers. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, I raised her chin with two fingers, "Are you ok?"

She tried another smile, this one much better than the first and nodded. I nodded in assent and pulled her back into my warm embrace. After several more minutes like that I felt her yawn against me and I smiled tenderly. "You're tired, let me drive you home."

She nodded and we got to our feet. With a soft kiss on the crown of her head, I helped her organize her things and took her home. I led her into her apartment and helped her undress. Again, get your minds out of the gutter, the girl is suffering here.

Tucking her safely into bed, I prepared to leave but her soft voice stopped me in my tracks. "Jaime, could you please stay with me?"

I walked back to the side of her bed and asked, "Are you sure?"

She nodded sleepily. I smiled and ruffled her hair lightly. "Alright. I'll be right there in the living room, on the sofa, ok? If you need anything, just call me."

The night passed uneventfully, but from that moment on we had gotten even closer than before. If she was barely seeing Jack before, she was hardly ever seeing him now. We were both juggling our hectic jobs in order to be able to meet and go out, or we'd just sit and talk for hours about anything and everything. It was the best time of my life, I had never enjoyed someone's company as much as I had enjoyed Terri's. She was intelligent, beautiful, sweet and kind and each day I found out new and better things about her. She was practically too good to be true. But she was, and she was my brother's girlfriend.

One evening we decided to go to a karaoke bar. Terri had never been to one and she was dying to try it out. For a change, my brother had managed to make himself available and we went out, all three of us. We got to the bar, found seats and ordered some drinks. My brother was actually starting to join in on the conversation and it was turning out as a pleasant night after all. A few people stopped at our table to ask me for an autograph, which for some reason annoyed my brother, but then things quieted down as the karaoke host got up on stage. All kinds of people took turns singing and it was hilarious. Most were very bad singers but very charming and entertaining. Finally, we managed to persuade Terri to go up on stage and sing. She decided to sing Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for Her Money" and had done a pretty good job of it. After she got down, exhilarated by her performance, she decided I just had to sing something. When the audience noticed who it was she was trying to pull on stage, it began chanting my name in support and out of embarrassment mixed in with delight, I decided what the heck. I got on stage and as I stood looking closely at Terri, glancing at the rest of the audience from time to time, I sang a song called "Moments" by Westlife.

"If I die tonight,

I go with no regrets.

If it's in your arms,

I know that I was blessed.

And if your eyes

Are the last thing that I see

Then I know the beauty

Heaven holds for me.

But if I make it through,

If I live to see the day,

If I'm with you,

I know just what to say,

Truth be told

Girl, you take my breath away,

Every minute, every hour, every day."

As the song came to its end, the audience erupted in cheers and whistles and I couldn't help but notice Terri wiping away at her cheek. I hurried over to her, thinking I had somehow offended her, but was quickly reassured when I was engulfed in a warm hug. I could feel Jack sending daggers into my back but in that moment in time, I didn't care about anything, only that feeling mattered...that warm, crazy feeling that was wreaking havoc on my insides. I clutched her tighter when she whispered in my ear, "No one has ever sung to me. So beautiful..." I reluctantly released her and we sat down. The evening didn't continue as it had before. Silence prevailed and less than an hour later we were dropping Terri off at her home. During the rest of the ride the silence was maintained and when I reached his apartment, he got out of the car and slammed the door shut, leaving me in the darkness. I bit my lip, pushed the car in gear and screeched out of the driveway. I didn't feel I had done anything wrong, so I had no reason to feel shame or guilt. I wanted to tell Terri how beautiful and special she was because I knew that Jack never told her and wasn't planning on telling her and I just wanted to make it a memorable night for her. With these thoughts in mind, I drove toward my house. It was too late for me to pull to a complete stop when I saw the car rushing toward me at full speed. The roads were slick from freshly fallen snow and the car skidded on the wet surface. A moment later, everything went dark. My entire body was in pain so I knew that I couldn't be dead but it was almost worse. I tried to take a deep breath but it was hard and painful. I have no idea how much time elapsed since that moment in time, but when I woke up I was in the hospital. Around me my family was gathered and caressing my head softly was Terri. I groaned when I tried to open my mouth to speak. Everything hurt so badly. "Shh...You're ok now, rest." Whispered Terri.

I closed my eyes again and drifted into a fitful sleep. Guilt was still gnawing at me about last night, or was it two nights ago...My memory was in shambles and my body didn't seem to be faring much better.

As I've later found out, I wasn't in a bad as shape as I had thought and feared. Nothing was broken except for a couple of ribs, which had made my breathing into a painful experience but otherwise, I was fine and free to go. They bandaged my ribs and took care of the multiple bruises and I was released home the next day. Everybody was very supportive and sweet and I began to wonder...more like fear. What weren't they telling me?

Suddenly I remembered..."What happened to my baby?!" I gasped in pain.

My mother grimaced and shook her head.

"Oh God..." That was when I shed my first tear. Nothing had hurt as that blow. My baby was totaled but I had insurance so it wouldn't be long until they sent me a replacement. But still...it was my baby...

Anyhow, Terri came to visit and things seemed to be getting back to normal because my brother was ignoring me again and my family was treating me as before, all niceties long gone.

I had gotten back to my feet and as soon as possible got back to work and to seeing my favorite doctor in the whole wide world. Terri was more affectionate and touchy than ever and who was I to complain?

Coming back from a restaurant one evening, we were strolling back to her apartment and when we stopped at her door, I heard the words that I will forever bear with me, "Do you want to come in?"

It's not that I have never been in her apartment before, but never in this context. I nodded mutely and she smiled in understanding. Letting us into her apartment, I gulped as she turned on the lights. "Do you want anything to drink? Make yourself at home." She yelled from the kitchen.

"No thanks, I'm good." I took my jacket off and went to sit on the sofa I had once slept on. Terri came back with two glasses of wine and sat down next to me. I was about to say that I didn't want anything to drink when my mouth and throat got all parched. I took the glass of wine and drank freely. "I thought you'd like that." She said and caressed my black hair softly. Now don't get me wrong, it's not like I've never been in this situation before. God knows I have, too many times to count, but never with my brother's girlfriend! At the thought, I put the glass down and was about to get up when Terri took my face into her hands and pulled me closer. Unable to move a muscle even if I had wanted to, I quickly surrendered to the feel of soft, warm lips upon my own. She kissed me gently and I kissed her back, just moving my lips slowly and sweetly over hers. When the heavenly kiss ended, I took a deep breath and jumped to my feet. "I can't do this...I'm sorry."

Terri got up as well and stopped me with her hand on my forearm. "Jaime, I broke up with Jack a few days ago."

I blinked dumbly at her for a few seconds until what she had said registered, "What?"

"I broke up with him. He hadn't been my boyfriend for a long while now, we barely saw each other, we never dated, we never even talked. My co-workers used to laugh at me that I speak more about you than I do about him. It's true, I did. But that's because I've grown to know you so well and to care so much about you. I can't say the same about your brother. When I heard you were involved in an accident and I was called quickly to the hospital I thought my heart was going to burst into a million pieces. You have a way in which you make me feel things I had never felt before and I know this might be selfish but I would like to see where this takes us...that is, if you'd like to try as well."

I had never seen a more vulnerable look in anyone's eyes than that look in Terri's eyes at that specific moment. Wrapping my arms around her slim waist, I pulled her closer and smiled, "I would love to find out what the future holds for us, but I don't know if I can do this to my brother."

"Jaime, I told him what I wanted and he said he had already known. That he's known a long time ago. He wasn't surprised at the break up and he was all for it. I think he found someone for himself as well."

"Well then, that's a different thing altogether." I smiled devilishly and leaned down to capture her sweet lips in a repeat performance.

Pulling her toward where I knew her bedroom was located, we took each other's clothes off on the way, leaving a trail behind. Her legs soon bumped against the mattress of her bed and I laid her down gently. Her beauty was ravishing and I could barely keep my hands away from her. I kissed her lips in a soft, sensual kiss, then moved to her ear and nibbled my way down to her throat. I was pleasantly surprised to find that her neck held many ticklish and tender points that made her emit an assortment of sexy sounds. Moving lower still I gazed upon her lovely breasts before I lowered my head to taste her hardening buds. I took one and then the other into my mouth, sucking slowly, relishing the feeling of fingers digging into my scalp in pleasure. Moans of excitement resounded in the bedroom as I moved lower to kiss and lick my way down her abdomen. Parting her silky thighs, I made room for my broad shoulders in between her legs. Lapping at the soft skin of her inner thigh I delighted in the sounds of her gasps and low moans. I decided not to make her wait any longer and dived in with gusto.

I lapped from top to bottom, gathering her sweet fluids on my tongue and then rolling them onto her protruding clit. She was so hard, it was hard to miss and I took the very tip between my lips and sucked. My tongue was playing with her opening and then my lips would go back up to her clit, alternating between long, deep strokes and strong suction. Her hands pulled at my hair and as she arched her back off the bed and made a loud mewing sound, I knew I had succeeded. I pulled her closer and kissed my way up her body, Reaching her lips, I let her have a taste of herself on my tongue and as she was busy concentrating on the probing kiss, I thrust two fingers deep inside. She gasped loudly into the kiss and arched away from my lips. Capturing her lips in a sensual kiss again, I continued my pounding in steady thrusts, reaching deep inside her writhing body. She was trying to pull away from the kiss again, trying to get a breath in, but I didn't want to let her go. I continued holding her in a firm kiss and thrusting harder and deeper all the time. Her nails scratched a path down my sweaty back as she clutched my fingers in her powerful spasms. Feeling the contractions recede, I pulled away from her lips, keeping my fingers still deeply embedded. She took deep gulps of air into her starved lungs. Eyes closed, mouth gaping open in release, she made the most beautiful picture nature could have created. Our love making continued deep into the night, until we finally fell exhausted into slumber.

Our relationship blossomed and kept improving with time. My brother finally forgave me and went back to treating me as a brother should, insulting and demeaning. Our careers flourished; Terri was made chief resident and I was finally going to go on a world tour. Our dreams seemed to have come true. It seemed almost too good to be true. But it was and this time there was nothing in the way.

A year has gone by and it's the holiday season again. As we sit on the plane, waiting for take off, I look at her sleeping face and smile. It's been one heck of a year and I can't help but count my blessings. Even though it's been kind of a rocky ride, I've come to realize it's the very best life has to offer. What did I do to deserve such an angel by my side? Oh yeah, I kept a brother.