~The Only Way~

Chapter 1​

Sunday Morning, March 23

Dear Diary:

I had a dream about Cloud last night. He came home from a delivery and practically mauled me behind the bar…and I don’t mean in a bad way. I woke up in a cold sweat. It was so weird. This was the first time I’d ever had a dream like that about him. Maybe it was the pepperoni pizza we ate for dinner last night.

Cloud walked into the kitchen, his clunky boots scuffing loudly across the tiles.

I nearly jumped out of the chair and quickly slammed my diary shut. Luckily he went straight for the refrigerator. Not wanting him to tease me about keeping a personal diary, I slipped it underneath my butt just as he came and sat down at the table.

He reached for a napkin from the nearby stack and tossed a couple pieces of cold pepperoni pizza on it.

I watched him with a frown as he quietly took bites out of one slice. Two things were going through my head. The first was, how in the world could he possibly find cold pepperoni pizza appealing for breakfast? And second, the sight of the pepperoni pizza only reminded me of the strange, yet pleasant dream I had the night before.

I bit my lower lip and physically turned my head away, pretending to be interested in the churning sounds coming out of the washing machine in the adjacent laundry room.

“Something wrong?” he asked, his mouth full.

I shook my head, not willing to trust my voice right at the moment.

“I’m gonna be late tonight, so don’t wait up.”

My head spun back around. “Where’re you going?”

He finished the last bite of one slice of pizza. “Chocobo Farm. Old man Bill desperately needs a crate of Mimett Greens.” He took a bite out of the second slice.

“Oh.” I sounded a lot more disappointed than I actually intended. This wasn’t the first time Cloud ever came home late. Sometimes he didn’t come home for days. So why was I so disappointed all of a sudden?

Cloud pushed his chair back and got up. “See you tomorrow.” As he started to pass me, his hand came around my face and lightly tweaked my cheek. It was a common occurrence…a bit of affection between friends. Cloud wasn’t exactly a very touchy, feely kind of guy…but he had his moments.

I turned to watch his posterior as he went into the laundry room. The sounds of him strapping his weapons’ harness to his back could be heard over the washer. That was followed by the back door opening and closing. And that was followed by the sound of Fenrir’s engine revving loudly before fading away completely.

He was gone.

I retrieved my diary from under my butt and turned to the page I had been writing. But then I decided I had nothing more to say about the previous day’s occurrences.

My mind wandered for a brief moment before I came back to reality and realized I was eating the half eaten slice of pepperoni pizza Cloud had left behind. I tossed it aside, trying my best to feel revolted over the idea of my lips touching anything that his lips had touched. I should have been grossed out. So why in the hell wasn’t I?

 

WARNING – This story will contain pretty explicit adult content in later chapters, so if that’s not your cup of tea, then please don’t read any further.

Chapter 2​

Monday Morning, March 24

I yawned and stretched, slowly opening my eyes to the glorious sunshine streaming through my window. As feeling came to the rest of me, something definitely didn’t feel right. My legs felt incredibly heavy. I bolted upright and gasped so loud, I threw both hands over my mouth.

Lying sprawled and faced down across my legs was Cloud. He looked dead. Someone had killed him and tossed him at the foot of my bed.

To my unbridled relief, I noticed him stir.

In the next instant, Cloud lifted himself up to a sitting position, yawning loudly and running a hand over his face. Realization slowly came to him and his eyes quickly darted in my direction. “Uhh…”

Yeah, I was equally speechless.

Cloud nervously scratched the back of his head with a slight grimace, probably trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for why I woke to find him sleeping on my bed. “I…I came to…uh... to tell you something last night. And uhm…you were asleep…and I guess I was so tired I never made it back to my room.”

Okay, so it sounded alittle reasonable. Mainly because there had been plenty of times I found Cloud sprawled in various places around the apartment, snoring away as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Like at the kitchen table with his head down on his arms…or on the couch in the TV room with half of his body hanging over the side…or in the bathtub after having too much to drink…or on the lounge chair in Marlene and Denzel’s room…and now add the foot of my bed to his repertoire of places to find him sleeping when he was too exhausted to make it to his room. It made me wonder if maybe the mattress on his cot wasn’t very comfortable.

We spent an awkward couple of minutes staring back and forth at each other before I decided I just had to break the silence with something…anything.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?”

He rubbed a finger under his nose and frowned a bit. “I…I don’t really remember. Guess it wasn’t all that important.” He crawled off my bed without another word and quietly walked out, closing the door behind him.

I fell back on my pillow, heaving a sigh of relief at his departure. And then I felt a moment of utter panic at the sudden recollection of the dream I had woken from before finding him lying on my bed. I covered my face with my hands and groaned outloud.

Later That Afternoon

Dear Diary:

God, what is going on? I had another dream about Cloud this morning before I woke up. We were at the beach in Mideel. I was sitting on my towel and he came out of the water. I couldn’t stop staring at him and thinking how gorgeous he looked. When he came down on top of me, I started kissing him and he was loving it. Then I woke up and found Cloud lying at the foot of my bed. Of all the strange places he picked to collapse after riding around on deliveries all day, he decided on my bed this time around. Like it’s not bad enough I’m having these intimate dreams about him. And man was it a nice dream, too!

I put my pen down and stared dreamily in front of me, focusing on nothing in particular.

He rose out of the water like some kind of God, with orange and yellow hues of the sunset silhouetting him from behind. As he approached me, his features became more distinguishable. Spiked blonde hair, bleached by the strong southern sun…passionate cornflower eyes that made me oh so weak at the knees…sensual lips that promised infinite pleasures beyond my wildest dreams…His mere presence besieged me.

I wanted him with every fiber of my being. The feeling was so intense, I shivered in anticipation because I knew that his hands would caress me slowly and bring me to a fevered blissful climax that would suck the very life out of me.

Closer and closer he came until he was standing at my feet. I gazed up at him from my reclined position on the sand, admiring the water beading down his solid, rippling chest. Then he dropped down to his knees and crawled over me. He bent toward my face, nuzzling up against me and I could feel my mouth watering, waiting for the kiss I ached for…

“Teef…”

As he pulled back slightly, his blazing blue eyes met mine, silently telling me all that he wanted to do to me.

“Teef…”

I heard my name being called, but oddly enough, it had a higher pitch than his normal timber and even odder was that his mouth wasn’t even moving. As he slowly brought his lips closer to mine, I felt my entire body weaken from the intense desire burning inside me. Closer…closer…waiting for those lips…

“Tifa!!”

I jumped up, nearly falling out of my chair. The pen in my hand sailed across the kitchen and pinged off a plate hanging on the far wall.

Two sets of eyes stared at me. Marlene and Denzel…

I turned to the clock on the wall. 3:15pm. They must have just come home from school. I slammed my diary shut and got up. “What would you like me to make for dinner?” I asked, wanting to immediately deter the direction my mind had gone only moments ago.

“Chocolate sundae!” shouted Marlene.

“Pepperoni pizza!” shouted Denzel.

I sighed. “No and no. Chocolate sundaes are not for dinner.” As I walked toward the refrigerator I bit back a comment about never again making pepperoni pizza…ever. I browsed through the contents in the fridge and thought about what to make. Hopefully it wasn’t something else that would cause me to have another strange dream tonight.

It irked the heck out of me because not only was I involuntarily dreaming about Cloud, but now I was voluntarily conjuring up fantasies. I was going out of my mind. That was it. I hadn’t been on a date in ages. Maybe I needed to pick up the phone and call somebody…anybody…

But I knew I’d never do it, using the same old excuse…that I was just too busy to have a boyfriend.

 

Chapter 3​

Tuesday Early Morning, March 25

It wasn’t even morning yet when I woke up in my usual cold sweat. But that wasn’t all. I was right smack in the middle of an orgasm. The wave of overwhelming pleasure rushed through my body in slow motion. A startling cry escaped my throat…it was a foreign sound even to my own ears because this kind of thing didn’t happen very often to me. I squeezed my thighs tightly around my hand, heightening the sensation, wanting it to last forever.

Just then the door swung open and Cloud bolted into the room, wearing nothing but white boxers. “Tifa!”

I shrieked and pulled the sheets up to my neck, willing my body to stop convulsing in waves of pleasure.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice laced with genuine concern.

“I’m…I’m fine,” I quickly said with a sigh. The wave was finally over. Then I tried estimating the time it would normally take to cross from his room down the hall to my room…maybe about ten seconds. Not bad.

He moved alittle further into my room. “Are you sure? You made a…weird noise.”

Had I really been that loud? My face turned twelve shades of red. I vigorously nodded my head. “Yeah, I’m okay, really.” I prayed he wouldn’t come any closer because I could smell my own sex and the last thing I wanted was for him to catch a whiff of it himself. What would he think if he knew I’d dreamt about him and woke up orgasmic?

“Wanna talk about it?” he asked, scratching the back of his head.

My eyebrows shot up into my bangs. What?? Did he just ask if I wanted to talk? I would have loved it if I didn’t want him to get out of my room so badly at the moment. “No, I’m fine. Just a nightmare.”

“Well…okay.” Cloud stood frozen in the moonlight drifting through my window before he remembered he had on nothing but boxers.

“Thanks, Cloud.”

“For what?”

“If I’m ever attacked in my bedroom, I know you’ll come to my rescue within seconds.”

He shrugged sheepishly. “Yeah, I was up anyway.” He left my room. Maybe he was embarrassed that I saw him in his underwear.

I laid back down and curled myself into a ball…forcing myself to stay awake…afraid that if I fell asleep again, I’d have another dream about him. And this last one had been the most…erotic…I didn’t even know what to think anymore.

Later That Morning

I couldn’t even look at Cloud when he came down later on that morning because I kept thinking about the dream and how he had been so…so…

“’Morning, Teef.”

I purposely started slicing raw onions on the cutting board, hoping he’d think I wasn’t looking at him because they were making my eyes burn.

He came up beside me. “What’s with the onions so early in the morning?”

“I thought I’d get an early start on dinner.”

“What’re you making?”

I literally blanked. “Uh…what…what do you think I’m making?” I directed the question back to him.

From the corner of my onion-fumes-burning eye, I saw him scratch the back of his head in thought. “Pot roast?” he replied unsurely.

I made a show of being thoroughly impressed. “How did you ever guess?!”

He shrugged.

“It cooks for hours in the crockpot. You like my pot roast, right, Cloud?”

“I love your pot roast. I’ll make sure I’m home on time for dinner.” He swiped a palm over his eyes. Maybe the onion was making them burn, too. “See you later.”

After he was gone, I let out a disgruntled sigh. Great…now I’d have to go to the store and buy a pot roast. I was such an idiot.

Dear Diary:

This is getting ridiculous. Another dream about Cloud. This one was the most vivid and realistic and arousing ever. He was sitting on the sofa in my bedroom, watching me take off my clothes. When I was completely naked, he demanded I come closer. As I did, he unzipped his fly and pulled an enormous erection out of his boxers. Then right in front of my eyes, he started stroking himself with this nefarious smirk on his face. As I stood there gawking at him, he ordered me down on my knees in front of him and practically forced me to do THAT THING I can’t even say! Although in my dream I seemed more than willing to do just about anything, even THAT! I woke up in my usual cold sweat and right in the middle of a really good orgasm, too. Apparently I made a loud enough sound to cause Cloud to barge into my room a few seconds later, asking me if I was all right. And to top it off, he was wearing WHITE BOXERS, just like in my dream. I couldn’t even look at him this morning. Why in the world is this happening to me?

 

Chapter 4​

Wednesday, March 26

Dear Diary:

Finally! Not a single dream about Cloud last night! Maybe it’s over. Or maybe it’s because I kept waking up every thirty minutes and didn’t get much sleep. But I still couldn’t look at him this morning. All I kept thinking about was that delirious dream from the other night, the sounds he made as I slid him into my mouth. GOD! And I couldn’t get the image out of my head, seeing him stroke himself. It was the hottest thing I had ever seen in my life. Normally I don’t get flustered when Cloud’s around. But this morning, he just walked by me before leaving to go on his deliveries and left this heavenly scent of coconut in his wake. It was the scent of his shampoo. My heart started racing for no reason at all. This is getting unbelievably unbearable. I can’t even be in the same room with him without suddenly feeling weak at the knees and getting all hot and bothered. Just because I had a couple of wet dreams? I feel like a teenager with a crush on a rock star. I just can’t understand where this sudden obsession with Cloud is coming from. He’s my childhood friend. My bestfriend in the whole world. Why am I having these impure thoughts about him? There must be something seriously wrong with my head. Maybe I need to talk to someone. But who?

“Helloooooo….! Anybody home?” It was Yuffie.

I headed downstairs and rushed over to hug my only female friend. Well, not really my only one…just the only one I’d share any secrets with. I knew she wouldn’t blab because I happened to know one of her secrets, too. Something to do with a crush on a mysterious man with a red cape. Smirk. So we trusted each other with confidential information.

She frowned at me. “What’s going on? On the phone you said it was an emergency.”

I steered Yuffie to one of the tables and sat her down, then sat on the opposite side so I could face her. “I’ve got a serious problem with Cloud.”

Her frown deepened. “Like what?”

“Well, let me rephrase that. I don’t have a problem with him, I’m the problem. Or rather, he’s causing me to have this problem…or maybe he’s not causing it at all. Maybe I’m just thinking there’s a problem when in fact there isn’t a problem…and all I need to do is just forget all about it.” I stared at the blank look on her face. “The problem, that is…I should just forget about it.”

“You know what your problem is? You need to get laid!” she announced.

I gawked at her. “What?”

“You heard me. When was the last time you went on a date? And I’m not talking about meeting someone for coffee. A date with all the heavy breathing and…”

“Yuffie, I don’t need to get laid. What’s the matter with you?”

“Hey, I’m not the one with the problem.”

I rolled my eyes with a sigh and leaned back in my chair. “Okay. What if I were to tell you that I suddenly started having these…dreams…about Cloud. And…” I avoided looking at her because I could feel my cheeks getting warm. “…not just any old dreams. We’re in rather compromising situations, if you know what I mean.”

Yuffie suddenly started laughing.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What’s so funny?”

“You’re having wet dreams about Porcupine Head? Oh, this is priceless!”

“So what? What’s wrong with Cloud?”

She wiped at the tears in her eyes. “Nuthin’, except he’s colder and less emotionally responsive than a Death Dealer.”

“He is NOT!” I said defensively. “Maybe you don’t see it, but I happen to know Cloud is very sensitive and caring and thoughtful.” Sometimes…

She pointed a finger at my nose, a huge grin on her face. “You’re in love with him.”

My mouth fell open. “I am not!”

“Admit it, Tifa. You’ve got the hots for him, big time!”

“I admit, I have some feelings for him, but it’s not love. Cloud and I are just friends.”

“Yeah, if you say so. Dreams come from our subconscious. And even though they don’t make a whole lot of sense sometimes, every little thing in a dream means something. Sometimes it’s what we want more than anything in the world.” She was making way too much sense. “I think deep down inside, you want to get closer to Cloud. It certainly wouldn’t be the worst thing you’ve ever done in your life.”

What if deep down inside the recesses of my brain, I really did harbor thoughts about wanting to be closer to Cloud? Afterall, I didn’t trust anyone more than I trusted him or felt as comfortable as I did with him.

“Besides, I think he still has a crush on you,” Yuffie stated with a shrug.

“I know, which is the reason I shouldn’t do anything to rock the boat. What if I think I want to get closer and then it suddenly turns out I really don’t. I don’t want to hurt him, Yuffie. He’s had enough of that in his life.”

“Well, then I guess you’ll miss out on the only chance at what could turn into something good.”

I was stunned at her comment. What if she was right? What if this was my only chance at a better future? My life certainly wasn’t going anywhere at the moment. But in the back of my mind, I couldn’t shake the thought that if it didn’t work out between us, then there was a big chance that Cloud would end up leaving for good. I wasn’t willing to take that chance. Not after the miserable three weeks I spent without him when he had Geostigma.

 

Chapter 5​

Thursday, March 27

Dear Diary:

It’s Laundry Day. Of course nothing is typical and ordinary to me anymore. How many times have I washed Cloud’s clothes? About a million…Since when did I freak out about it? Never until today. It suddenly felt strange touching his dirty boxers. Those dreaded WHITE boxers. It felt so personal and immoral, like I was touching him intimately. And his shirts…damn they smelled horribly like old sweat and road filth, which repulsed me many a times in the past. But today I stood there shoving his stinky shirt in my face and inhaling the scent like it was some kind of life-giving oxygen. It was disgusting and so appealing at the same time. I wanted to just drown myself in that awful scent.

Cloud came home around 4:30, which was pretty early for him. He had a handful of pretty orange flowers. “Got these from a vendor down the street. I thought you might like them.”

“That’s so sweet, Cloud. Thank you.”

See? Yuffie was wrong. Cloud was very thoughtful.

I put the flowers in a vase and set it at the center of the kitchen table, admiring them for a few seconds. Then I noticed Cloud was staring at me with slightly narrowed brows. “Everything okay?” I asked, wondering if maybe he didn’t like the flowers on top of the table.

“Why’re you wearing my shirt?”

I suddenly looked down at myself, having completely forgotten I had slipped it on earlier. “Funny story,” I giggled nervously. “I…I spilled something on my top while doing laundry and…the only thing close at hand was this teeshirt.” I couldn’t exactly tell him that I liked smelling it on me and that was the reason I was wearing it.

He seemed to buy the story, but he had a confused look on his face. “Yeah, but it stinks. You couldn’t find a clean one?”

I shrugged, not knowing what else to say.

Cloud continued stare with a frown at the shirt on me. Finally he started to walk away. “Just take it off…” he mumbled on his way out of the kitchen.

I immediately went into the laundry room and pulled off his teeshirt, replacing it with one of my clean ones folded inside the hamper on top of the dryer. Phew, I dodged that bullet without any serious consequences. Hopefully he wouldn’t think I made a habit out of wearing his clothes. It was just this one time.

Cloud came back down a short while before I had to open the bar. “Tifa, I took the credit card out of your drawer. I need to buy some stuff for Cid. He said he’d pay me back.”

“Okay, that’s fine.”

“Then I’m going over to his house to help him work on his airship. I’ll be back later.”

He left in such a rush, I thought maybe he wanted to get to the store before it closed.

Later That Night

After closing the bar at 10:30, I decided to take a few minutes to write in my diary about Cloud catching me wearing his shirt. I went into my drawer to retrieve the black leather bound book.

It was gone.

I rifled through my underwear, nearly emptying everything from the drawer. Then I went into my other drawers, searching everywhere.

Oh...my...God…it was really gone. Where the hell did I put it? Did I leave it downstairs this morning and forgot to put it away? If one of the kids got it…that would be bad. Even worse, if Cloud got a hold of it, I would literally die. I had written so many personal things about him, ever since I had that first dream almost a week ago.

I rushed downstairs and walked into the TV room. As I searched under the couch cushions, I heard the back door open and close. By the sound of the heavy footfalls, I knew it was Cloud. I heard him stop just outside the doorway.

I couldn’t avoid his eyes forever. I stopped messing with the cushions and forced myself to look up at him. “Back so soon?”

He was standing in the threshold, holding a small plastic store bag in his hand. It looked like there could be a magazine or a book in it. There was something strange about the expression on his face and his cheeks were alittle flushed. “How…how was business tonight?” he asked somewhat awkwardly, his eyes remaining locked on mine.

I lowered myself on the couch and gave a casual shrug, finding it odd that he was asking me such a random question. Was he trying to make small talk or trying to avoid saying something? “Business was fine.” I felt compelled to ask in return. “How was…Cid?”

Cloud was not one to really lock eyes for very long. He usually looked elsewhere whenever he had more than three words to say. It gave me chills to have him so completely focused on me all of a sudden. He chewed on the inside of his lower lip before answering with a nod and a slight upward tilt of his lips. “Interesting…and enlightening.”

Huh? Since when was Cid Highwind interesting and enlightening? I let out a laugh.

“What’re you doing?” he curiously asked.

“Oh, uh…just looking for something.”

He still had that stupid ‘almost’ smirk on his face, like he knew something I didn’t know. “Can I help you look?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“What’d you lose?”

I stared blankly for a second. “It’s just…a book.”

He gave another brief nod and another mysterious smile. “I’m gonna take a shower and go to bed.”

It was kind of early for him to retire, but maybe he was just tired. “Okay.”

He moved away from the doorway and headed upstairs.

I quickly went back to searching under the couch cushions. My diary had to be here somewhere. I needed to find it before someone else did. I went so far as to check the bookshelves, in case I was overcome with temporary insanity and accidentally put my extremely personal diary among the other books there.

Nothing.

I went back upstairs to my room to search my nightstand drawer. When I walked into my room, a chill ran up my spine. There was my diary, sitting on top of my pillow. I must have put it there instead of in my drawer. But when? I sighed heavily because I knew I wasn’t myself lately. My head was so full of Cloud that I couldn’t even think straight anymore.

I grabbed the book and decided to throw it back in my drawer without writing anything else in it for the evening.

 

Chapter 6​

Friday, March 28

Cloud liked his food on the spicy side. So whenever I made my weekly batch of chili for the bar, I’d always set some aside to doctor up with more extra heat for him.

He was home early again and was upstairs making some phone calls. I fixed up a bowl of chili for him and added the fixings that he liked: cheddar cheese, some diced onions and a few slices of hot peppers. I had no idea how he could stand that much spice. After taking a tiny taste once, my mouth was on fire for hours.

“Cloud, I have some chili for you!” I yelled as I came out of the kitchen and walked to the bar area.

A minute later I heard him tripping down the steps in his rush to come down. Yeah, chili really seemed to excite him. Just as I set the bowl on the table, Cloud came up from behind, his hand lightly touching the small of my back as he went around to sit in the chair.

“Smells good as usual,” he murmured. He took the spoon I handed him and started to eat.

I remained standing near the table for a few minutes, watching him shovel the blazingly spicy chili into his mouth. My thoughts immediately wandered to more dangerous territory. What would it be like to kiss him? I had only experienced it in my dreams and was curious to know if it was just as enjoyable. Then I mentally kicked myself for thinking it right in front of him.

While he continued eating his chili, I helped myself to a candy bar from the display case and went about straightening the chairs around the other tables. Chocolate always made me relax and right now I needed to do just that.

“You know, Tifa, I was thinking…” he began.

I turned to him as I adjusted some of the chairs along the back counter.

“Neither of us has had a break in awhile.” He put the spoon down in the bowl and looked up at me. “You think you can close the bar for a few days?”

“A few days?”

“We should go to Costa Del Sol and stay at the villa. Just us. You know, go to the beach and get some sun. Relax for awhile.”

My heart started racing and I could barely get the words passed my swelling tongue. Maybe it was the chocolate bar that was causing it. I tossed the rest of it in the trash bin. “Are you implying that…we need a vacation?”

“Yeah, a vacation.”

I walked over to him and picked up his empty beer bottle, trying to act as casually as possible. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Cloud.” My stomach was doing flip flops as I walked to the bar to place the bottle on it. “How about on Sunday? We can leave in the morning and then come back home, maybe next Friday. That’s almost a whole week.”

“So you can close the bar for that long?”

“I don’t see why not.” I couldn’t believe how suddenly calm my voice was, given the fact that Cloud had just suggested going away together…alone!

“Or we can stay longer if we’re having a good time.”

“Sure. I’ll call Barret later and see if he can stay here to watch over Marlene and Denzel.” I held up the empty beer bottle. “Another one?”

“Yeah, I’ll get it.”

“No, it’s okay, I got it.” I climbed up on a barstool and with my knees planted on the seat, I bent over the bar counter to reach down to the other side. As I felt around for a cold bottle of beer, my eyes glanced up at the mirror on the opposite wall. To my complete surprise, in the reflection I saw Cloud leaning backward in his chair, stretching as far back as he could to look up my short skirt while I was bent over.

Just then he lost his balance and the chair tipped over with a loud bang. In the mirror, I saw him quickly do a backward somersault.

By the time I turned around to face him, he was on his feet. “Are you okay?” I asked. “What happened?”

His cheeks reddened a bit and he scratched the back of his neck. “Nothing. I…I…accidentally tipped the chair.”

I turned myself around and sat on the barstool, smirking at him because I knew what he had been trying to do. “You know, you’ve been acting a little weird lately,” I said as I wagged the ice cold bottle of beer in front of me.

Cloud strolled over and took the bottle from my hand. “I’m acting weird? What about you?”

“Me?” I gave him the most innocent look I could muster.

He unscrewed the cap and took a swig from the bottle. “Yeah, you. Like making strange sounds in the middle of the night or…wearing my smelly shirt.”

I crossed my legs out of pure instinct as he continued to rattle off things he had observed.

“Making all of my favorite meals and…other stuff.” He stopped there.

“Define how any of those things means I’m acting weird.”

“Okay, maybe it’s not weird. It’s just…provoking.” He took another gulp from the bottle.

“Provoking…” I mimicked. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to say that I was provoking him, when all he had to do was stand there looking at me with those sparkling, sea-colored eyes and I’d have to go upstairs and change my underwear.

“Stop it or I just might…”

I held my breath, waiting for him to finish what he was trying to say.

“Are you doing it on purpose?” he asked with a suspicious look.

What would he think if I let him believe I was? “Maybe…just a little…”

There was no mistaking the brief look of exhilaration in his eyes. “What for?”

I shook my head and shrugged, not answering him. There was no way in hell I was going to confess to having nightly wet dreams about him. I was already regretting the fact that I told Yuffie.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Just what I’ve been feeling lately. But I’ll try to refrain from…tempting you, Cloud, if it bothers you so much.”

“I didn’t say it bothered me…” He shrugged. “I’m just…curious to know where your head is.”

“To be honest, I don’t know where it is. I don’t know what I want.”

“So…you wanna…try the couples thing?” he finally asked after a moment of utter silence. “Or maybe you just wanna go on vacation as friends?”

I smiled at his reference to dating. The couples thing. “Which way do you want it to be, Cloud?”

“Well,” he began slowly. “You know which way I would want it. I’m asking you.”

“I think I’d like to try it your way.”

He nodded and smiled a little. But I could see he was trying not to appear overly excited. “Okay.” His eyes drifted down to my lips and he pointed. “You…uh…you have some chocolate right there…”

Before I had a chance to react, Cloud leaned in and slowly skimmed his tongue along the corner of my lips. Not once, but twice. He casually pulled away and went back to the table to finish his chili, acting as if nothing happened.

I was so shocked by what he did that I was literally frozen. What the hell? It was just as intense as if he had kissed me right on the mouth.

“Tifa? You okay?”

After running the tip of my tongue over the same spot he had licked, I snapped out of my catatonic state and turned to him. He was looking expectantly at me. “That was…hot,” I softly said in a daze.

He let out a small laugh. “What?”

My eyes widened when I realized what I had just said outloud. “Uhm…I mean…hot from the chili.” I fanned my hand in front of my mouth. “Whew, very spicy.”

Cloud chuckled quietly to himself and stuck a spoonful of chili into his mouth.

I hopped off the barstool and busied myself behind the bar, washing some glasses. After a few minutes I looked back toward him and noticed him practically grinning as he finished his chili.

What in the world was going on with him all of a sudden? Somehow or another, something had changed. Ever since he came back from Cid’s house, it was like he knew something. Hopefully Yuffie hadn’t said anything to Cid because I knew the pilot couldn’t keep his big, fat mouth shut to save his life.

Dear Diary:

I can’t even begin to describe how excited I am that Cloud actually suggested we go away together. By ourselves! This is HUGE! But even bigger than that is the fact that Cloud and I are dating now. He sort of asked me out in a weird roundabout way. I have a feeling he just never had the courage to ask me out. And now because I sort of admitted to ‘provoking’ him, he figured it’s his opportunity. He ‘almost’ kissed me this afternoon, too, using the old ‘you have something on your lip’ technique. I really wouldn’t have minded a kiss, just so I can get it out of my system.

 

Chapter 7​

Saturday Night, March 29

Dear Diary:

All day long I’ve literally been counting the hours, the minutes, the seconds before Cloud and I leave for Costa Del Sol in the morning. It’s like a silk curtain has suddenly lifted from over my eyes and I’m seeing Cloud in a whole new light. All the years we’ve known each other, all the time I knew he had that boyish crush on me…never once did I feel anything remotely romantic toward him in return. Why hadn’t I felt it before? Why am I feeling it now? Cloud has always been the big brother I never had, although he’s really only ten months older than me, and sometimes acts way more immature, but that’s beside the point. He’s always been there for me if I needed help. And I’ve always been there for him whenever he needed me to help him pick up the pieces of his shattered mentality.

I made roasted chicken with mashed sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli. It was another of Cloud’s favorite meals. I made it anyway, even though the day before he teased me about making his favorite meals on purpose just to get his attention. Well, it worked, didn’t it?

The five of us were sitting around the kitchen table…Marlene, Denzel, Barret, Cloud and I. The kids were trying to convince Barret to take them to a movie on Sunday afternoon. I knew Barret didn’t have the patience to sit around for long stretches at a time, unless it was spent behind the wheel of his truck. I knew he especially wasn’t going to be patient enough to sit through a two hour children’s movie.

“Y’all packed and ready for tomorrow, Teef?” Barret asked, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere.

“Pretty much. Just some last minute things to gather in the morning.”

Cloud shrugged when Barret turned to him. “I didn’t even start.”

I gave him a knowing smile. “I’ll help you after dinner, Cloud.” He had mentioned this morning that he didn’t know what to pack or even how to pack and I should have picked up on the fact that he was probably wanting my help and was too proud to ask for it.

As we ate, every time I happened to look in Cloud’s direction across the table from me, his eyes automatically lifted to meet mine. A small smile lit his face. That damned knowing smile. What the hell…? Maybe his thoughts were running as rampant as mine, imagining all the things we’d be doing alone in the villa. I suddenly wanted to know what he was thinking. Was he as excited as I was? Was he nervous?

The moment dinner was over, Barret instructed the kids to handle the dishes while I went upstairs to help Cloud pack his things.

It was somewhat intimidating going through Cloud’s clothes with him standing right over my shoulder. My cheeks heated up as I pulled his boxers out of a drawer, counting them outloud so he had one for each day and a couple extra just in case. I carefully placed them into his duffle bag, along with two sets of clean pajamas.

I shuffled through the shirts hanging in his small closet and picked out various ones that would be appropriate for the heat in Costa Del Sol. Besides some faded and well-worn ones I folded and placed in the duffle bag, he only had two good shirts that I bought him last year, along with dressy black slacks, for special dinners we had been invited to. Thinking maybe he’d want to go to a fancy restaurant at least one night, I neatly folded one of the good shirts and the slacks and added it to the growing pile in the duffle bag.

Next I went into his other drawers, searching for teeshirts and shorts. He had a lot of teeshirts, but only two pairs of shorts and they had seen better days.

Cloud didn’t really have much variety in his wardrobe, given his occupation. He was on the road all day and his clothes tended to be on the grungy side.

“I can help you shop for some clothes while we’re there,” I told him as I inspected the contents of the duffle. “I think that should do it.”

Cloud zipped up the bag and tossed it on the floor before sitting down on his small cot. “Great. Thanks a lot, Tifa.”

I sat down beside him. “Anytime.”

Silence settled between us for a few minutes.

Finally Cloud turned his face in my direction. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

I turned my body around to face him more. “Well, yes. I’m looking forward to it. We haven’t been to the villa in over two years.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Oh?”

“I mean, us. Are you ready for us…being alone together.”

“We’ve been alone together before,” I teased.

Cloud let out a heavy sigh and got up from the bed. “You’re making fun of me.”

Apparently he wasn’t in a joking mood. “I’m not, Cloud. I’m just excited about tomorrow.”

He turned around and leaned against his dresser, folding his arms across his chest. “Are you, really? Or is it just some…fantasy…you wanna play out?”

I narrowed my eyes. “What’re you talking about?”

“Tifa, I don’t wanna start something if…” He paused, searching for the right words. “…if this is just a game to you.”

“Just a game? Why would you think that?”

He shrugged, looking away. “You know how I feel about you and since everyone’s always messing with my head, I don’t know when things are for real sometimes.”

My mouth fell open alittle. “Cloud…I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt you. You know that.”

His brooding look told me he wasn’t entirely convinced. And I didn’t blame him because he was so used to hardship and disappointment that he couldn’t recognize a good thing when it came his way.

Maybe it was time to tell him that I wasn’t joking around about us. Even though I was still somewhat confused myself about what direction we were going, how we would get there and whether or not things would work out. But this would probably be the only chance I had to find the answers.

I got off the bed and walked up to him. “I want to be with you, Cloud. I don’t know why I never felt it before, but I do now.” I leaned toward him and kissed his cheek. “And I like this feeling.” Just to emphasize my point, I boldly gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. As I pulled away, I tucked my lower lip between my teeth. “Definitely hot and this time I’m not talking about chili.” I left his room before anything else could happen.

Dear Diary:

I have to add this before I go to bed. I kissed Cloud for real this time. It wasn’t a dream. Well, it wasn’t a big kiss or anything. Just a small one. Anyway, I’m so excited about tomorrow I don’t know if I can sleep. Maybe I should go through my suitcase again to make sure I packed everything I need. Funny how I hated having intimate dreams about him and now I wish I could again.

 

Chapter 8​

Sunday Morning, March 30

In the morning, the five of us piled into Barret’s truck and we proceeded to Junon.

On the way, Marlene and Denzel sang songs in the back seat and every once in awhile they’d ask me to sing along. As I sang, Cloud looked at me with an amused look on his face, like he thought I sounded silly or something singing the childish songs we knew when we were growing up in Nibelheim.

After awhile the kids fell asleep and it was quiet in the truck cabin. Sitting between Barret and Cloud in the front seat was less than comfortable as the truck bounced over the endless bumps on the desert road between Midgar and Junon.

I glanced at Cloud. He was staring out the passenger window, lost in his own thoughts. I reached for his hand resting between us on the seat, slipping mine underneath his. He turned his head toward me and hesitantly threaded our fingers together. I leaned closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder as I closed my eyes.

A couple hours later we arrived at the dock in Junon. Marlene and Denzel took turns hugging us before Cloud and I got out of the truck.

“Bring me back some seashells,” Marlene cried out as she stuck her head out the window.

Barret met us at the back of the truck to retrieve our bags. Barret amicably slapped Cloud on the back. “You two behave yourselves.” He walked back to the door. “Pick you up on Friday.”

Cloud and I exchanged a glance as the truck pulled away. Behave ourselves? I didn’t think we made it obvious to Barret that there’d be any hanky panky going on. But then again, when had Cloud and I ever gone away, just the two of us? We had once gone to the Gold Saucer, but we weren’t alone. Marlene, Denzel, Barret and Yuffie were with us. We shared two rooms; guys in one and girls in the other. Cloud and I going away alone was a novelty, not only to me but to everyone else.

“Wait here,” Cloud said as he slipped on a pair of dark sunglasses. “I’ll get us tickets on the next boat.”

As Cloud walked away, I sat down on my suitcase and watched him. Wearing a black teeshirt and tan cargo pants that looked two sizes too big, he could easily pass for an older teenager. I envied his youthful appearance. Maybe it was the Jenova cells in him. The only dead giveaway that he wasn’t as young as he looked was the huge sword strapped to his back. He had insisted on at least taking Apocalypse…just in case…

He walked up to a ticket window on the side of a small structure. After digging into his pocket for some gil, he handed it to the employee and accepted the two tickets handed back to him. He walked back in my direction, already looking like he was on vacation, I noted with a smile.

In all the years I had known Cloud, I always thought he was fairly attractive, but again, in a brotherly way. I never actually felt any physical attraction to him until lately. He was HOT! I mean, seriously…It made me wonder why he hadn’t ever pursued a relationship with anyone before. I was pretty certain women probably bent over backwards to get his attention. In fact I had seen it plenty of times at the bar, whenever he helped me serve drinks on a busy night. But Cloud was always the gentleman and never took advantage of the flirtatious invitations thrown his way. At least not in front of me.

Cloud slipped the tickets into the pocket of his teeshirt as he stopped in front of me. “The boat doesn’t leave for another hour.” He glanced around and paused at something across the street. “Wanna grab an early lunch?”

I got up enthusiastically. “Sure.”

Cloud took his duffle bag and propped it on top of my suitcase. He extended the handle and wheeled it along behind him. I picked up my toiletry bag and together we walked across the street to a diner tucked away in the midst of the materia and weapon stores.

Inside the diner, a waitress led us to a booth in back where there was room for our bags and Cloud’s sword.

“Something to drink?” asked the waitress as Cloud and I slid into opposite sides of the booth.

“A cola, please,” I replied.

“Yeah, same for me,” said Cloud.

“Be back in a couple minutes.” The waitress set two menus down and walked away.

We each picked up a menu and glanced over it. After a few minutes we decided the only thing that sounded good was the cheeseburger.

After putting the menu down, I folded my hands and looked at him with a smile. “Are you going to eat with those sunglasses on?”

Cloud quickly removed them, with a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I forgot I had them on.”

The waitress walked up and placed our sodas on the table. “Ready to order?”

“Yeah, we’ll both have cheeseburgers,” replied Cloud.

“Fries or onion rings?”

“Fries.”

She smiled at Cloud, making eye contact with him. “It’ll be up in about ten minutes.”

After she walked away, I tried to suppress a smirk, but failed miserably.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing. It’s just the way she was looking at you.”

He gave me a curious look. “What was wrong with the way she was looking at me?”

“Just that little smile at the end. Very suggestive, don’t you think?”

“No, didn’t seem suggestive to me.” Then he smirked. “You’re jealous.”

“Mildly,” I said honestly.

“Good. Now you know how I feel.”

“What do you mean?”

“You wanna know how many times I held myself back from starting a fight with every guy that was checking you out when you weren’t looking?”

I decided to humor him. “How many times?”

“Probably a bazillion.”

I remembered hearing Denzel use that word a couple of times. Either he got it from Cloud or Cloud got it from him. “That’s not even a number.”

“Sure it is.”

“How many zeros are there in a bazillion?”

He scratched the back of his head, the way he normally did when he wasn’t sure about something. Then he counted on his fingers and when he was done he triumphantly looked up at me with a boyish smile. “Eighteen.”

I smiled back at him. He was trying to impress me, just like he had always done when we were younger. And only now was I realizing how adorable that was. “So what stopped you from starting any of those bazillion fights?”

“I didn’t want you to get mad at me for beating up the customers.”

I gave him a thoughtful look. “Well, you’re right about that. I probably would have gotten mad at you.”

“If any of those creeps tried to touch you, though…there would have been no stopping me.”

I smiled again. Since when did Cloud develop such a chivalrous side? Or did I miss seeing that, too, all the years I ignored his subtle playfulness with me?

When our food came, Cloud poured an enormous amount of hot sauce on his burger while I just added some ketchup. I had a mind to ask him if it burned at all coming out the other end. But maybe that would be getting just alittle bit too personal.

We ate in companionable silence. Sometimes it was nice to just be together without having to worry about what to talk about. We had been through so much throughout our lives that quite often words weren’t even necessary…just the familiarity of each other’s presence was enough to satisfy us.

As I watched him take huge bites out of his burger, I couldn’t remember the last time we had been alone like this where I could observe him closely. There were always too many people around for me to take notice of him. And in our AVALANCHE days, it had been impossible to pause for a moment to breathe while we were chasing after Sephiroth. Back then, I knew he had developed somewhat of a crush on Aerith, too. I even silently rooted for him to go for it, but again there just hadn’t been any time. Now I was glad he hadn’t gotten romantically involved with her because her death would have been far more difficult for him to get over.

Almost a whole week to ourselves. It was too good to be true. No thoughts about getting up early to make breakfast for the kids. No customers to walk to the door when they had too much to drink. No worries, no hassles…just the beach and each other.

“Are you gonna eat your fries?”

I smiled and shook my head, watching Cloud grab a handful of my fries and transferring them to his empty plate. How could he eat so much and not gain a single pound?

Yes...just the two of us…alone. There probably wouldn’t be a dull moment.

 

Chapter 9​

Sunday Early Afternoon, March 30 - continued

Fifteen minutes before the boat was scheduled to depart, Cloud paid the lunch bill and we headed back across the street to the dock. There were about twenty or more people also waiting to board, some dressed casually, some in business attire. Cloud and I stepped up to the end of the line.

A number of curious eyes looked in our direction. I presumed it had more to do with the large sword strapped to Cloud’s back rather than anything else. Cloud didn’t seem to mind the looks he was getting, obviously used to it. He pulled the tickets out of his teeshirt pocket and patiently waited beside me.

It gave me an opportunity to study the difference in our heights, something that had never occurred to me until now. I was only three inches shorter than him and even though many other men towered over Cloud, he and I seemed to be the perfect height for each other. I smiled to myself and looked away, noting with amusement that I was becoming undeniably infatuated with him. So this was what he had felt for me throughout the years.

A warm, fuzzy feeling grew in the pit of my stomach and without putting too much thought into it, I edged closer to Cloud and slipped my hand beneath his.

Cloud jerked alittle in surprise at the sudden touch. But as he turned to me he immediately relaxed and squeezed my hand in acknowledgement. It was obviously going to take him awhile to get used to me touching him.

I knew he didn’t mind it, though, as our eyes locked for a time. The chemistry passing between the two of us was almost tangible. My sensible mind wouldn’t accept that this attraction was something brand new. It must have existed all along and it had just taken me this long to recognize the signs for what they really were.

But I wasn’t entirely convinced that I was in love with Cloud, like Yuffie claimed. I mean, I did love him, there was no doubt about that…but it was the kind of love one had for their bestfriend. I needed to dig into my heart to know how deep my love for him really was.

Finally someone in a sailor suit came off the boat and opened the gate to allow boarding. He took tickets as people passed him.

I glanced behind me and noticed more people had joined the line. All of us going to Costa Del Sol for either business or pleasure.

When we reached the sailor at the gate, Cloud released my hand and gave him our tickets.

The sailor’s eyes slowly drifted up to the sword on Cloud’s back, his expression revealing a man who was completely bored with his job. “I’m sorry, but you can’t take that weapon onboard.”

Cloud rolled his eyes impatiently and pulled something out of his back pocket. It was some kind of card that he showed the sailor.

The sailor inspected the card at great length before handing it back and jerking his head in the direction of the boat. “Move along.”

Cloud took my hand again and we continued on.

I glanced over my shoulder at the sailor and then back to Cloud. “What did you show him?”

“Rufus gave me a card that gives me the authority to carry concealed and unconcealed weapons.”

I snorted with contempt at the mention of Shinra. “Well, it’s about time that jerk does something nice for you.”

We walked up the ramp and onto the boat. After finding some empty seats at the back of the passenger section, Cloud removed his sword and rested it along the length of the bench. I didn’t think anyone would be brave enough to ask him to move it, even if there were no other seats left.

About twenty minutes later, the boat left the dock and we were on our way to Costa Del Sol. We settled in comfortably for the four hour trip across the sea, which would bring us to our destination at around 3:00pm.

I had brought along a deck of cards and we played a game we used to play when we were kids. And we were playing it now as if we were that age again, trying to beat each other, cheating and swiping each other’s cards. Seeing Cloud smile and laugh really warmed my heart. This vacation was going to work wonders on him, both physically and mentally. And hopefully it would bring us closer together now that there wasn’t anything to distract us from pursuing that route.

When we called it quits, we sat side by side in silence.

The breeze coming from the open windows felt wonderful brushing across my face. I turned to Cloud. His head was tilted back against the wall and his eyes were closed. I watched him for a moment. Each time he swallowed, his Adam’s apple rolled up and down. Fascinating how such an insignificant thing captivated me all of a sudden.

While he napped, I went into my bag and quietly pulled out my diary to write a blurb of some kind.

Dear Diary:

Cloud and I are on our way to Costa Del Sol. It’s sort of like a mini vacation, almost a week. I’m not exactly sure what the plan is, though. I guess we’ll see when we get to the villa. The last time we were there was with the rest of the AVALANCHE gang and there hadn’t been any time to enjoy the sights. I’m also not sure what to do now that Cloud and I are kinda together. I kissed him first last night so now it’s his turn to make a move. Maybe he’s just

I stopped writing because I felt like I was being watched. When I glanced at Cloud, his eyes were still closed. But I could have sworn one of them had been open and he closed it just as I turned to him.

I quickly closed my diary and put it away. “Are you sleeping?” I whispered.

“Yes.”

I leaned my head against his arm, which was stretched out across the back of the bench. When he opened his eyes and turned his face toward me, I smiled timidly. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“No.”

He always answered that way whenever I asked if I could ask him something, so I pressed on. “Did you had a lot of girlfriends?”

“A lot? I never had any.”

“Really?”

“Why are you so surprised, Tifa? Have you seen me go on any dates?”

“No, but…I don’t see you every minute of the day.”

“So whatta you think happens when I leave the apartment every day?”

I shrugged, smiling again. “Well, when you make a delivery, a woman opens the door and she’s wearing practically nothing…one thing leads to another. And so on.”

He laughed lightly. “Yeah, right.”

“Okay, maybe not exactly like that, but I’m sure you’ve had some kind of interest in someone.”

He shook his head. “Never been interested in anyone before.”

“Are you sure? Not even Aerith?”

“Well, I thought she was pretty and all…But I didn’t think about her like that. Not the way I think about you.”

I playfully bumped my shoulder against his side. “You are such a schmoozer.”

His eyes briefly glanced around the passenger section as he leaned closer to me. He kissed me on the lips, almost as if he knew I wanted him to. He lingered near my lips and kissed me again.

The ship’s horn suddenly sounded and he quickly drew away, looking mildly disappointed at the interruption. “Looks like we’ve arrived.”

Everyone rose from their seats almost at the same time. Cloud and I gathered our belongings and followed the rest of the passengers to the main deck.

As we stood side by side at the reiling, watching the boat enter the dock, we studied the cityscape before us.

Costa Del Sol was a growing tourist spot that we had the good fortune to visit over two years ago when we were chasing after Sephiroth. I noticed a lot of improvements since then. Several more shops and bars had been built as well as a fancy restaurant overlooking a section of the expansive beach. There was a rather large resort off to the side, which I imagined was probably insanely expensive. Behind it I could see a gigantic waterslide and several rollercoasters. I had heard that an amusement park had been built to attract more tourists. Dio, the owner of the Gold Saucer, probably wasn’t too thrilled about that because it would take away some of his business.

Cloud had purchased a small villa with some of the gil he had earned during our quest and our local friend Johnny promised to keep it up for us on the occasion that we would soon visit. And this was our first visit since then.

When Cloud and I disembarked, we moved along with the rest of the passengers and headed into town.

Villa Cloud, as we decided to dub it, was within walking distance from the dock. When we arrived, Cloud unlocked the door and we walked in. The place looked recently cleaned, probably due to the fact that I had called Johnny two days ago and told him Cloud and I were coming to stay at the villa for a few days. Johnny either cleaned the place himself or had someone else come in and do it. He made me promise that we would join him for dinner one night.

While Cloud carried our luggage into one of the bedrooms, the one with the large single bed and private bathroom, I noted in the back of my mind, I went into the kitchen. Johnny had stocked the fridge with beer, some fresh fruit and lunch meats and cheeses. There was also a bottle of champagne in there, making me wonder if he assumed Cloud and I were celebrating something. In the upper cabinets were various staples like salt, pepper, other spices, breakfast cereal, some snacks, sliced bread for sandwiches, glasses and dishes. In the lower cabinets were pots and pans and some cleaning supplies. In the drawers were all the necessary utensils. A well-equipped kitchen always made me happy.

Cloud walked in and immediately went to the fridge, helping himself to a cold beer. “Remind me to thank Johnny for this.”

“You’ll get your chance when we have dinner with him tomorrow night.”

He gave me a dreary look. “You’re joking, right?”

“I promised him, Cloud. I think we owe him for taking care of the place, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Okay, we have two things to tackle before we do anything else,” I informed him. “Unpack the suitcases and shop for some groceries for dinner.”

“Well, I can easily eliminate one of those things. You’re not cooking.”

“I’m not?”

“No, Tifa. You’re supposed to relax and have fun.”

“But I like to cook.”

“I know, but I want to take you out to eat.”

“Oh…okay. I don’t have a problem with that.” I walked over to him and took the beer out of his hands. After taking a gulp from it, I handed it back. “Then come help me unpack.”

Cloud followed me down the hallway, passed the sunken living room and into the master bedroom. He put my suitcase and his duffle bag on top of the bed and unzipped both of them.

I walked up beside him and we began removing our things from the bags and finding places to put them away. The closet was spacious enough for us to hang our better clothes. It made me smile, such a small thing as seeing our things hanging together like that. When the bags were empty, Cloud zipped them back up and stacked them at the bottom of the closet so they’d be out of the way.

“Let’s go for a swim,” Cloud suggested.

“Good idea.” I retrieved my bikini from a drawer and stepped into the bathroom to change. But I left the door open so Cloud wouldn’t think I was trying to hide from him. I heard his clothes rustling in the bedroom, so I knew he was changing as well. “So what made you decide to pick this bedroom instead of the one with the twin beds?” I called out.

“I thought this room would be best for us. Am I being too presumptuous?”

Presumptuous. I’d never heard him use such a big word before. “No, it’s fine.”

When I came out of the bathroom in my bikini, Cloud was already in his swim trunks and was sitting at the foot of the bed. He turned and literally gawked as his eyes danced up and down over me. “Wow, Tifa…you look…amazing.”

I laughed timidly. “Thanks, so do you.” I went into the closet and grabbed two neatly folded beach towels resting on an upper shelf. “Ready?”

We went out through the patio doors in the bedroom and onto the wooden deck.

I had forgotten how truly beautiful this villa was. We had our own private strip of beach, surrounded on both sides by large boulders and tall trees. Attached to the back of the house was a large wooden deck. Built right in was a sunken hot tub. It was currently empty, but I had a feeling we’d be filling it with water sometime soon.

Luckily I had thought to bring sunscreen. The sun here was hot and I didn’t want us to burn. “Cloud, wait,” I said before he could step down to the sand. “Let me put some of this on you.”

Cloud came up and turned his back to me.

I began rubbing the sunscreen lotion over his smooth skin. It was almost flawless. Just a few old scars from some battles he fought years ago and some newer ones from the more recent battles. I walked around to the front of him and rubbed lotion on his chest and down his arms. He probably could have done it himself, but I pretended I wasn’t doing it just for the sake of touching him. He was watching me though, so I took his hand and squeezed some of the lotion on his palm. “You can do your legs.”

While he rubbed the lotion on his legs, I rubbed it on my own body, in all the places I could reach. He came up and took the bottle from my hands, turning me around so my back was facing him. He gently rubbed the lotion on me.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of his hands gently rubbing the lotion on my skin. When he finished I turned around to face him. “Thank you.”

We walked together down to the beach and he immediately dove into the water as I spread out our towels on the sand. I watched him for a couple of minutes. The waves looked pretty powerful, but he seemed to be enjoying himself. I joined him and we swam around for awhile, letting the waves pummel us mercilessly.

Twenty minutes later I got out of the water and reclined on one of the towels. My eyes automatically drifted to where Cloud was diving into the strong waves. I admired the way his wet swim trunks rode low on his slender waist, like they were about to fall at any moment. They clung to his thighs and emphasized certain other parts, especially his backside. It wasn’t often I got to see Cloud’s bare legs. He had boney knees, I thought with a smile.

A short while later, Cloud came out of the water and I had a sudden sense of déjà vu as he walked toward me, water dripping down his chest. It was just like my dream. I stared wide-eyed as he dropped down on all fours right on top of me, a playful smile on his face, his eyes locked on mine like some kind of predator about to devour his prey.

And then he lowered his face down to mine, capturing my lips in a meaningful kiss.

My heart was thumping so loudly, I was certain he could hear it.

When he broke the kiss, he leaned his forehead against mine. It looked as if he wanted to say something, but then he rolled off of me and on the towel beside mine.

I sat up on my elbows and stared at him. His eyes were closed and he had a silly smile on his face. It was strange how that all played out exactly the way it did in my dream, except he kissed me instead of me kissing him.

Just a coincidence, right?

 

Chapter 10
​

Sunday Evening, March 30 - continued

While I used the bathroom in the master bedroom, Cloud took a shower in the guest bath. I chose a short, flowery summer dress and tied my hair back in a ponytail with a yellow ribbon. Cloud had mentioned eating at the nearby pub tonight, reserving the fancier restaurant for another night, so I didn’t want to get too dressed up.

Cloud walked into the bedroom a few minutes later, wearing a pair of his not so grungy blue trousers. He went into the closet. “Hey, Tifa, which shirt should I wear?”

I joined him in the closet and picked out a light blue polo shirt. “Here you go.”

After stepping out of the closet, Cloud slipped the shirt on over his head. I was mildly disappointed to see him covering his bare chest. I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of seeing it.

“You look nice,” he said as he took in my appearance.

“Thanks.”

A few minutes later we were walking down the cobblestone road, holding hands and heading for the pub.

The hostess actually remembered us from two years ago. I think it was more that she remembered Cloud, but I didn’t say anything.

“Come this way. I have a table I usually reserve for special customers and you are definitely special.” She led us to a small table in the corner, away from the rest of the noise.

“Thank you,” I said as Cloud and I sat opposite each other.

We ordered some fancy cocktails with funny names and shared a platter of different seafood. Cloud seemed partial to the oysters while I preferred the meat from the lobster claws. We just couldn’t get fresh seafood like this back home and decided we’d splurge on it as much as possible this week.

For dessert, we got a slice of chocolate cream pie. Cloud seemed more interested in watching me eat than having any. So I began feeding it to him.

Normally I didn’t mind when he looked at me. But there was an intensity in his eyes that was alittle frightening. What was he thinking about when he was looking at me this way? I thought I knew Cloud inside and out, knew everything there was to know about him. Yet every day I discovered something new, something that never occurred to me. Like the way he stood over the bathroom sink and brushed his teeth for five minutes. It took me thirty seconds to brush mine. Or the way he obsessed over the rest of his hygiene. He showered in the morning, when he got home from his deliveries and sometimes again before going to bed. Well, at least he liked being clean, not like some customers I knew who smelled like they hadn’t bathed in days.

Having Cloud’s undivided attention was rare. And seeing him in such good spirits was another rarity. Cloud was a sulker most of the time, never saying much. He avoided confrontation unless an issue directly affected him. It was like pulling teeth just to get him to help Marlene or Denzel with their homework.

“Did you know that your eyes have sort of a ruby glint in low lighting like this?”

I blushed. Now I knew what he had been thinking about. My eyes…What other parts was he thinking about? Heat pooled between my thighs. Did he know what he was doing to me? I was stunned by my reaction and he had yet to even touch me. How could I crave him like this when we hadn’t even officially been together for more than two days?

There was only one reasonable explanation, and I was pretty much convinced now, that my feelings for Cloud throughout the years had been a lot deeper than I thought. Maybe I just didn’t want to believe I could be in love with him. Our friendship was the most important thing in the world to me…and to him. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin it with a relationship that had a fifty percent chance of surviving. But how would I know if I was missing out if I didn’t give it a chance, just like Yuffie said. Cloud seemed to be willing to risk it…or maybe he didn’t think our friendship would suffer if things just didn’t work out between us on a romantic level. We’d been through so much together, suffered through the worst imaginable hardships. If romance between us didn’t survive, we’d still be left standing.

After dinner, we decided to check out some of the new bars. They were all very crowded. I didn’t remember Costa Del Sol being this swamped with tourists, but Cloud didn’t seem to mind so I didn’t complain.

At every bar, Cloud ordered us a shot or two of something or another. By the time we ended up at a quiet piano bar, I was feeling no pain.

Cloud led me to a small dancefloor where several other couples were dancing to the soft music being played by the pianist.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he held me close to him. We danced slowly, our faces pressed closely together. “I’m so glad you suggested coming here, Cloud.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“This is really nice.”

“You don’t mind me holding you like this?”

“Not at all.” I tightened my arms around his neck, pressing us closer together. “I like it.”

“Me too.”

“I think I had too much to drink, though.”

He laughed lightly in my ear before pulling back and looking at me. “Are you wimping out on me already, Teef?”

I giggled. “Just because I own a tavern, doesn’t mean I drink all of my stock.”

“Well, you’re loosening up just fine.”

“Cloud Strife, I think you’re getting me drunk on purpose.”

“Now why would I do a thing like that?”

“It’s part of your agenda.”

“I’m not the one with the agenda. You are. You’ve got…” he paused mid-sentence.

“I’ve got what?”

His smile widened a bit. “You’ve got great legs.”

I knew that wasn’t what he had been about to say. But the subject was quickly pushed out of my mind by Cloud’s softly glowing eyes. My heart literally gushed. “Are you going to make love to me this week, Cloud?” I didn’t know what compelled me to ask. Maybe it was the alcohol.

He looked equally surprised that I’d ask such a thing. “Do you…want me to?”

I bit my lower lip, feeling my cheeks redden. “Yes.”

He reached up and brushed the backs of his fingers against my warm cheek before replacing them with his lips.

“I never thought we’d be like this.” I tilted my cheek further, wanting him to kiss me there again.

He obliged without hesitation. “Neither did I…as much as I wanted it.”

“I’m so sorry, Cloud.”

“Why’re you apologizing?”

“Maybe if you had been more forceful with me, I might have given in.”

He drew back and shook his head. “No way. I’d never hurt you like that.”

I gave him a half smile. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. You have me…all of me.”

Cloud released a deep breath. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that to me. But I won’t rush it, Tifa. I wanna feel everything with you.”

A pleasant chill ran up my spine as he closed the gap between our faces and kissed me on the lips.

We shared several more innocent kisses before we got off the dancefloor and headed to the bar. After two more shots, I was fairly convinced that Cloud was trying to get me drunk.

It was close to midnight when Cloud and I made our way back to the villa, stumbling and laughing like two teenagers leaving a wild and crazy party. Neither of us wanted to go to sleep just yet, so we went outside and walked down to where the surf was gently rolling in and out.

The moon was full and shined brightly above us, casting a beautiful reflection on the dark water. It was such a romantic setting, perfect in every way.

Cloud stepped behind me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and kissing the side of my face.

I leaned back against him and released a sigh of contentment. This was only our first night here and I was already feeling the urge to leave everything else behind. “I think we should move here permanently.”

“And give up our glamorous city life? You’d miss it too much, Tifa.”

“Yeah, but this is really nice, too. I like having fun every once in awhile.”

“You know what would be really fun?” Cloud suddenly picked me up. “If I tossed you into the cold water.”

I shrieked when he swung me in the direction of the surf and I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, clinging to him for dear life.

But he didn’t let go. Instead he carried me further up the beach to where the sand was the softest and lowered himself to his knees, gently depositing me on my back.

I smiled up at his grin as he hovered above me. “I knew you wouldn’t do it.” As his eyes drifted down to my lips, I tilted my chin upward, silently asking him to kiss me.

Cloud bent further down, his lips ghosting gently over mine. He kissed me slowly as if he needed to savor every second. His mouth opened and he lightly traced my lips with his tongue.

Goosebumps prickled all over me and I parted my lips in invitation.

His tongue continued tracing my lips before slipping in to glide along the inside of my upper one. When he found my tongue, he licked it and then slowly stroked around it in a circle before giving it a light suck.

Dear Gods, where did he learn to kiss like this? I mean, I knew there was tongue involved, but I never realized it would feel this good.

He swept his talented tongue along every crevasse in my mouth, along the back of my teeth, almost down my throat. He really seemed to be enjoying his exploration of my mouth, just as much as I was.

But I wasn’t going to let him have all the fun. When I saw an opening, I slipped my tongue into his mouth and followed his example, exploring and tasting. He tasted so good and so clean. I couldn’t get enough of him. “Mmmm,” I moaned, letting him know how good it was.

Occasionally we’d pause to take a breath, but his mouth remained hovering just above mine as we shared the same air. Then we’d lock lips again. We were drooling and licking and nibbling. Neither of us wanted to stop anytime soon.

While my left arm was around his shoulder, I ran my fingers through his spiky hair, surprised at how soft it actually was. Cloud’s right arm was wrapped around my waist, holding me at a slight angle against him. It didn’t seem close enough to me, but I didn’t push it.

I just couldn’t believe this was happening. Cloud Strife, my childhood friend from Nibelheim, AVALANCHE cohort, roommate…and now I was making out with him. I never would have thought it could happen in a million years.

Whenever I was near Cloud lately, my stomach always clenched tightly, like the sensation one felt when a rollercoaster went down a steep drop. I was just so excited to be with him. I had never felt like this with anyone before…or with him until recently. It occurred to me, now that I had finally tasted him, I couldn’t imagine being with him in any other way and I couldn’t imagine sharing moments like this with anyone else.

Cloud broke the kiss and raised his head a bit. Our eyes met. His glowed faintly in the moonlight. The corner of his lips curved upward and he reached up to run his fingers along the side of my face.

I closed my eyes, relishing in his gentleness as he traced my cheek and my chin.

“You’re the most beautiful woman in the world, Tifa,” he whispered.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. I could have said he was the most beautiful man in the world, but I didn’t want him to think I said it because he said it to me.

He rolled me further on my back and wrapped his left arm under my neck for support as he hugged me. He wasn’t very heavy so I didn’t mind his weight on top of me.

I folded my arms around his neck and we laid together this way, lost in our own thoughts. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if Cloud had more than a simple crush on me. Maybe he was in love and maybe I was starting to feel the same.

I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep until I felt myself being lifted. Cloud was carrying me toward the house. I slid my arms around his neck and hugged him, nuzzling the side of his face. “What time is it?”

“Just after 2:30. I fell asleep, too.” He carried me through the patio door leading into the master bedroom. After putting me down on my feet, he pulled off his polo shirt and walked to the far side of the bed.

I proceeded to slip out of my sundress. As I thought about putting on my nightshirt, I watched Cloud slip into bed in just his boxers. So I decided I’d just sleep in my bra and panties.

Cloud scooted closer to the middle of the bed and pulled me toward him, sliding his arms firmly around me.

I snuggled up against him. As we laid quietly together, I couldn’t help but think about what we’d do once we got back home. I liked being this close to him. I liked hugging and kissing and snuggling with him. Would he consider sharing my bedroom? Or would he feel strange doing that with the kids living with us?

Deciding it wasn’t worth worrying about at the moment, I closed my eyes and let Cloud’s steadily beating heart and his comforting scent lull me back to sleep.

 

Chapter 12​

Monday Evening, March 31 - continued

It was just after 5:00 when we returned to the villa to get ready for our dinner with Johnny.

I picked out a little black halter dress that showed off my new tan and slipped on a pair of black sandals.

As I brushed my hair in front of the dresser mirror, Cloud came up behind me, a small frown on his face. “Is this really what you’re going to wear?”

I looked at him through the mirror, dressed in black slacks and the tan shirt I had bought him. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I asked as I put the brush down.

“Nothing, except I think you need to wear a shirt underneath it.”

I turned around to face him and gave him a smile. He looked so good with some color on his face from the sun. “Don’t you like it the way it is?”

“I love the way it is, I just don’t want anyone else to like it.”

I reached up to fix his collar and leaned in to kiss him. “You’re too adorable for your own good sometimes, Cloud.”

“Great. Just what I wanna hear.”

I giggled as he moodily walked away. I turned back toward the mirror and looked at myself, wondering if maybe my dress was too revealing. The front of it was cut very low, exposing most of my cleavage. But this was the only fancy dress I brought along. It would have to do. Besides, Cloud loved it.

When we got to the restaurant a short while later, Johnny was already there, sitting at a booth the host led us to.

Johnny saw us and stood up. I immediately noticed the look of mild disappointment in his eyes when he noticed Cloud beside me. “Hey, welcome back to my neck of the woods.” He took my hand and spun me around. “You look stunning, Tifa. Hehe.”

I could feel myself blush. “Thank you, Johnny.”

He kissed the back of my hand before releasing it and reaching next to me to shake Cloud’s hand. “Good to see you again, Cloud.”

“Yeah,” Cloud replied in a neutral tone.

Johnny motioned to the booth. “Let’s sit down. We have a lot to catch up on.”

I slid into the booth first and Cloud slid in beside me. I noticed he scooted as close to me as he could possibly get while Johnny slid in on the opposite side. My eyes scanned the table top and noticed only two place settings.

“Hope you don’t mind, I took the liberty of ordering for us. You like lobster, right?” His question was directed at me.

“We love lobster,” I replied.

“Well, you’ll never get it any better than here at Costa Del Sol. Hehe.”

A waiter came to the booth with a bottle of wine. He went through the entire exercise of letting Johnny sniff the cork and so on before he poured the wine in three stemmed glasses. “Your dinner will be up shortly, sir.”

Johnny motioned the waiter closer and whispered something that sounded like he wanted him to add another serving to the order, making it three.

After the waiter walked away, Johnny held his glass up to toast. “To the saviors of the world.”

I picked up my glass and glanced at Cloud. For a second I thought he wasn’t going to pick his up as he slid his left arm behind me across the back of the booth.

Then he seemed to think about it and picked up his wine glass. “We appreciate your recognition.”

We drank to the toast.

Johnny hadn’t changed at all since the last time I had seen him. His bright red hair was still cut short and he still had that sort of nervous laugh that concluded most of his sentences. “I heard a lot about your tavern in Edge, Tifa. Hehe. Business must be pretty good.”

“It’s not bad. But most of our money comes from Cloud.”

His eyes shifted to Cloud. “Oh, right. The Strife Delivery Service. I heard about that, too. So you just run things around the Midgar Area?”

Cloud shifted uncomfortably beside me. I knew he didn’t care much for small talk. It bored him. “No, I go wherever I’m needed.”

“Even as far as Icicle Village?”

“I’ve delivered there a few times.”

“That must take a few days. So you leave Tifa by herself on those days?”

I noticed the frown slowly form on Cloud’s face and knew he was about to say something crude.

“What’re you getting at, Johnny? You think I’m not capable of taking care of her?”

Johnny’s expression froze at the cold tone in Cloud’s voice.

“Just so you know, Tifa can kick the living shit out of your ass, and twelve others at the same time and she won’t even break a sweat. She doesn’t need my protection.”

I nearly let out a laugh.

“That’s not what I meant,” Johnny said. Something changed in him, like a light switch had been flipped. “You leave her alone for long days at a time.” He said it almost resentfully.

The hand behind me came to rest on the back of my shoulder, Cloud’s thumb lightly brushing over my skin. “Just before I leave on those long trips, I satisfy her needs enough to last all the days I’m gone.”

I kicked Cloud under the table, making him jump. The look he gave me was comical. I didn’t like the direction of the conversation and he knew it. “So what’ve you been up to, Johnny?” I asked. Apparently it was up to me to change the subject.

“Glad you asked, Tifa. I’m actually managing at the new resort that opened up a couple months ago. Hehe.”

“Looks expensive to stay there.”

“A thousand gil a night for the cheapest room. But if you really want, I can arrange for a room for you at half price.” His smile widened.

Cloud reached for his wine glass. “No, thanks.”

I had a sneaking suspicion Johnny hadn’t meant a room for both Cloud and I. Maybe Cloud was right when he said Johnny had a thing for me. There had only been two settings on the table when we first got there, so I was pretty sure now that Johnny had only meant to have dinner with just me. I really wasn’t sure how to take it. “Yes, thanks, Johnny, but Cloud and I are comfortable at the villa.”

“Are you sure? The hotel has room service. You wouldn’t have to do a thing.”

“I don’t have to do a thing now.” I turned my body more toward Cloud, my thigh pressed against his.

Cloud reached his free hand across his lap under the table and placed it on my knee. “All Tifa has to worry about is what to wear.” His fingers lightly rubbed my knee in a circle.

I got goosebumps.

“Incidentally, that’s quite a dress, Tifa,” Johnny said roguishly.

Cloud’s brows narrowed. “Where the hell’s the food already?”

Why in the world did I ever think getting together with Johnny would be a good thing? I had a feeling we’d be looking for someone else to take care of the villa from now on.

The lobster was fantastic, of course and we had a second bottle of wine after that, which was a big mistake because Cloud only got more and more sarcastic when he drank.

When the bill came, Cloud reached for it, but Johnny grabbed it first. “No, no. This is my treat. Be right back.” He slid out of the booth and walked away.

Cloud leaned toward me and brushed his lips across my bare shoulder. “If he doesn’t stop looking at your chest, I’m gonna rip out his eyes.”

“I’m guessing you want to leave soon?”

He lifted his face and searched my eyes briefly before tilting to my ear. “I wanna leave right now.” He leaned in again and kissed the space behind my ear. “I can’t stop thinking about something.”

“What’re you thinking about?” I asked, unable to suppress a smile as he nibbled on the edge of my ear.

“I’m thinking about how badly I want to taste you, Tifa. I want to taste you tonight. Will you let me?”

“Yes,” I barely breathed out as a chill rushed up my spine. I knew what he was referring to and I couldn’t believe the timing, after I had just written it in my diary earlier. I was beginning to think that…

“I want to touch you everywhere…” he whispered. “…and make you squeal in pleasure…”

I forgot what I had been thinking, surprised that he would be bold enough to tell me what he wanted to do. Alcohol really did loosen his lips.

Johnny suddenly reappeared, sliding back into the booth. “So where should we go now?”

Cloud turned to face forward again. “We?”

Johnny’s eyes bounced back and forth between Cloud and I. “Oh…uh…sorry. I’m sure you two…want to be alone.”

“You got that right.”

Johnny sighed in resignation. “You’re a very lucky man, Cloud.”

“And getting lucky every night,” Cloud mumbled to himself.

My cheeks heated up because I knew Cloud had intended for Johnny to hear that as he placed an arm possessively around me. “We had a very nice evening with you, Johnny,” I quickly pointed out.

Cloud brushed his thumb back and forth across my shoulder. “And we appreciate you taking care of our villa.”

It didn’t escape me that he referred to it as ‘our’ villa. Not just his villa.

“Anytime.”

Cloud slid out of the booth and gave me a hand out. “Thanks for dinner.” He shook Johnny’s hand amicably, but I knew there was no love lost between them.

“Yes, thank you for dinner, Johnny.” I slipped my hand under Cloud’s and he held it firmly.

“Enjoy the rest of your stay here, you two.”

Cloud led me away and we left the restaurant.

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” I told Cloud as we walked together down the street in the direction of our villa.

“I’d rather have dinner with Reno.” Cloud couldn’t stand Reno, so that gave me an idea of how much he couldn’t stand Johnny. “It was perfectly clear to me that he hadn’t expected me to show up tonight. Maybe he thought he was gonna score with you.”

“I know, Cloud. And you were right. But I still feel bad leaving him like that, though.”

Cloud stopped in the middle of the street and cupped my cheek. “You won’t feel so bad alittle while from now.” He kissed me lightly on the lips before we continued on toward the villa.

 

Chapter 13​

Monday Evening, March 31 - continued

The minute we walked through the front door, Cloud had me pinned against the wall, kissing me fiercely. I buried my fingers in his hair, kissing him back just as aggressively. Hours, or maybe even years, of pent up sexual frustration seemed to be flowing right out of our pores. It was concentrated on the hungry kiss we were sharing.

My fingers came out of his hair and drifted down over his shoulders. I worked on the buttons of his shirt and after pushing it open, I slid my hands along his bare chest. His skin prickled under my fingertips. It was thrilling to know that I could excite him so easily.

Without bothering to untie my halter dress, Cloud pushed the fabric aside, uncovering my right breast for his eager hand to squeeze.

I moaned in his mouth, loving the feel of his thumb brushing over my nipple, making it harden. His right hand pulled up my short skirt and his fingers crept inside the front of my panties.

He broke the kiss and looked down between us, our foreheads touching as one hand gently massaged my breast and the other cupped and rubbed between my legs. “Oh God, Tifa…” He captured my lips again in a searing kiss, tilting his head in the other direction. His hands became more demanding. He pressed himself hard against me.

I was overwhelmed by his desire and the heat radiating from his hands and body. It was like he was on fire. I wrapped my arms around his torso inside his shirt and massaged his back, willing him to relax, coaxing him to slow down.

He released my breast and trailed his fingers along the side of my neck to finally rest on my face. He broke away from my mouth once more and leaned his forehead against me again. “I’m sorry…I’m being too rough.” His right hand was still inside my panties, slowly rubbing my clit into a frenzy.

I bit my lower lip, my legs feeling wobbly. “You’re not hurting me, Cloud,” I gasped out.

He swept his tongue across my lips. “You feel so good.”

“Do you still want to go in the hot tub?”

His hand moved down to squeeze my breast again. “Yeah. Let’s go.” After removing his hand from inside my panties, he waited for me to move first.

I walked into the bedroom and turned to him as he followed me in. “I just need to get my bikini.”

Cloud took my hand. “You won’t need it.” He led the way out to the deck through the bedroom patio doors.

I noticed steam rising out of the water in the hot tub and one underwater light was illuminated, giving the hot tub a private, romantic feel. “Did you turn the heater on before we left for dinner?”

He turned me around to face him. “Yup.” He reached around to the back of my neck, untying my dress and letting the panels fall away. After feeling around behind me, Cloud found a zipper and slid it down my back.

My dress slipped off my hips and pooled around my feet. I reached up and pushed Cloud’s shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. He worked on unbuckling his slacks while I bent to pick up my dress, still holding his shirt.

When Cloud had his slacks off, he took the dress and shirt from my hand and tossed our clothes through the open door, hopefully landing on top of the bed and not the floor. Turning back to me, he slipped his arms around my waist and captured my lips in another hot kiss.

I was momentarily distracted by the feel of my breasts pressed firmly against his chest before my hands went into his hair again. Our tongues moved decadently together inside my mouth as I felt his fingers gliding up and down along my bare back. He slipped them inside the elastic of my black panties, pushing them down passed my hips and down my thighs.

Cloud finally broke the kiss and took a small step back.

I felt a rush of bashfulness as his eyes admired all of me without any trepidation. My cheeks flushed hot as he shamelessly pushed his boxers down. A gasp nearly escaped my throat when I saw him. He was clearly turned on, judging by the length and shape of his…erection.

He noticed the look on my face and moved closer to me again, cupping my chin with a hand. “You okay?” A smile formed on his lips. “Am I not as impressive as you thought?”

I cracked a smile and lightly punched his arm, not used to him speaking so openly to me. “Shut up.” But it helped lighten my somber mood a tiny bit.

He kissed me, still smiling. “You’re exactly the way I imagined. Soft and round in all the right places.” He emphasized his words by sliding his hands down my back to give my butt cheeks a good squeeze. “No need to be bashful, Tifa. It’s just me.”

I let him plunder my mouth. I couldn’t believe he was being this bold with me. Usually he was extremely shy about everything, especially when it came to me.

But he was right. There wasn’t any reason for me to be bashful in front of him. I was with exactly who I wanted to be with. Just to prove to him that my shyness was quickly turning to excitement, I copied his move and squeezed his behind.

That seemed to be the deciding factor. Cloud picked me up and carried me to the hot tub. He stepped down into the warm water and lowered me onto one of the seats. Moving away, he went to the side of the hot tub where the controls were situated. He pushed the button to start the water churning.

I didn’t realize there was a built-in stereo until he turned it on and flipped through the channels.

After finding a station that played some popular soft rock tunes, he turned around and sat in the seat closest to him. “Is this okay?”

I nodded, suddenly feeling a sense of panic and nervousness once more. This was the first time I had ever been this exposed in front of another person. It just felt strange.

Cloud raised his hand out of the water and motioned me to him with his finger.

I swallowed hard and stared wide-eyed at him.

Seeing the panicked look on my face, he decided he’d move instead, shifting to sit beside me. “What’s wrong?”

“I guess I’m a little nervous,” I said with a small laugh.

He slid his right arm around my shoulder, drawing me closer. “I won’t bite…unless you want me to.” When he saw I didn’t laugh at his little joke, he planted an affectionate kiss on my temple. “I’m nervous, too.”

“You don’t look at all nervous to me.”

“Honestly, I am.” Cloud turned my face toward his. “But it’s overshadowed by what I feel for you. I am so ready to explode right now, Tifa, you wouldn’t believe it.”

“Really?” The thought of him being so overly excited sort of quelled my nervousness a bit.

“Hell, I’ve waited this long. If you don’t want to do this right now, we don’t have to. I’ll wait for you as long as you want.”

A lump formed in my throat. He was trying so hard to please me and make me feel comfortable at the same time. I just couldn’t disappoint him. Besides, the thought of not moving forward seemed far worse to me. Even though he was giving me the opportunity to bail out, I knew I’d live to regret it. The night was perfect, the setting was perfect…everything was perfect.

I reached up and placed a hand behind his head, pulling him to my lips for a hot kiss. After releasing him, I looked him right in the eyes. “No, I don’t want to stop.” Just to prove I wasn’t joking, I moved off the seat and straddled his lap.

Cloud seemed outright pleased with this position as I dipped my tongue into his mouth. He reached up and palmed my breasts, squeezing them gently. When I released his lips, he moved them to the side of my neck, leisurely licking and sucking on my flesh all the way down along my shoulder.

I shivered when he rolled his tongue down between my breasts. I slightly raised myself on my knees so he didn’t have to strain to reach his goal. He squeezed my right breast and soon found my nipple with his tongue, slowly stroking it. I slid my fingers into his hair and softly moaned out his name. “Cloud…” As he sucked and tugged on my nipple with his teeth, I arched up again. “Aaahhhh…” A wonderful sensation spread through my veins. This was what I needed to feel. A blinding desire to reach fulfillment. Dear Gods, I needed it.

He moved to my left nipple, rolling his tongue around the bud.

I loved the way he hummed keenly as he sucked on it. I almost wanted to laugh. My nervousness had pretty much disappeared the more time he spent languishing on my breasts, running his tongue along the undersides, lightly sucking on the skin before he returned to my nipples.

It seemed like an eternity before he stopped.

I opened my eyes and looked down, noticing he had tilted his face upward. His hand came up and his fingers threaded through my hair, pulling my head down so he could claim my lips. As we kissed, I lowered myself back down on his lap, feeling his arousal brush against the inside of my thigh.

After several minutes, Cloud maneuvered me around so I was sitting on his lap with my back to him. My heart was pounding loudly in my chest and I was literally boiling over with excitement as he gently nudged my legs apart and slid his right hand down between them.

I let out a sigh of pleasure and tilted my head back to rest on his shoulder. As he rubbed my clit in circles, my thighs began to shake. His other hand joined in. My head swam in a glorious haze of desire as he slowly slid a finger inside me. After several thrusts, he added a second one. My thighs continued to throb and I closed them around his hands, desperately seeking my release.

In the next instant I literally exploded, my hips rocking into his fingers. I moaned softly as I climaxed, biting my lower lip to keep from crying outloud.

Cloud’s breath was on my ear. “Well, that didn’t take long at all.”

I ignored his teasing and languished in the sensations throttling my entire body. When it was over, I turned my face toward his and he kissed me leisurely. Then it occurred to me that he hadn’t quite done what he said he was going to do. In the restaurant while Johnny had been paying the bill, Cloud told me he wanted to taste me. I wondered when he planned to get around to that. “Do you want to get out now?”

His hands slipped out from between my legs and he wrapped his arms around my waist. “Why? Don’t you like sitting here with me?”

I could feel his erection pressed against my butt, remembering that he had needs, too. I pulled away and turned around to face him, planting myself on his lap again. “I think I want to touch you now.”

That brought an instant smile to his face. “Well, don’t let me stop you.” He stretched his arms out along the sides of the hot tub, clearing giving me a sign to do whatever I wanted.

I smiled at his eagerness, making me wonder if he ever had fantasies about me. I reached down between us, blindly seeking him out. As my hand wrapped around his length and slowly began moving up and down, I watched his eyes close. I leaned closer to him and grasped his lower lip between my teeth.

There was a slight flush to his cheeks and his breath was quickening.

“Am I doing it right?”

“Yeah…” He swallowed. “Yeah, you’re doing it right.”

I squeezed my hand tighter around him. “Cloud?”

“What?” He was breathing even heavier now.

“Did you ever…fantasize about me?”

His eyes came open. “Yeah, Tifa. I fantasized about you. A lot…I still do.”

“Tell me what you fantasize about.”

The corner of his lips curled upward. “Why do you wanna know?”

“Because I want to make one of them come true.”

“Yeah?”

I leaned in and kissed him. “Tell me what you want.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Cloud suddenly shifted beneath me and lifted himself out of the hot tub. He sat on the edge of the deck, his feet resting on the seat under the water.

I stared at him in a daze. Damn, I still needed to get used to this side of Cloud. He had never been this bold or open with me before. I knelt on the seat again and moved closer between his legs. My eyes remained locked with his.

“You sure?” he asked again.

I grasped him in my hand again to continue where I left off. As he bent toward me, I tilted my face up to accept his kiss. “Yes.”

Cloud rested his hands next to his thighs and watched my hand stroking him.

My eyes finally traveled down to the object in my hand. It was intimidating at first because I had never been this close to a naked man before. At the same time I kept imagining the dream I had where Cloud ordered me to suck on him. It was almost the same thing, except he hadn’t exactly ordered me to do it. I was the one who asked him what he wanted and this was what he wanted. My apprehension quickly passed. I really wanted to please him.

I bent forward and ran my tongue around the head. He seemed to like that. After thoroughly tonguing his entire length, I slid him into my mouth with a hungry hum.

His fingers buried into my hair as he guided me to the speed he preferred…fast for a few seconds before moving slow. “Uuuuuhhhhh….!” The sounds he made were music to my ears. I wanted to hear more.

I nearly gagged at how deep he wanted me to go down my throat. After taking him out of my mouth, I ran my tongue along the sides.

When I concentrated the tip of my tongue on the slit at the head, Cloud gasped and sucked in air through his teeth. My saliva coated him as I labored to bring him to completion. It didn’t take long before he let out a lengthy groan and blew his load inside my mouth. I swallowed the first spurt, but immediately pulled him out of my mouth because I wanted to see it coming out. It shot weakly into the air and landed on his thigh before it just oozed over the side of my hand as I pumped him slowly.

When it was over, I licked his softening cock, my eyes drifting up to see him watching me. I raised myself further until my face was lined up with his. I didn’t think he’d kiss me after what I just did, but he didn’t pull away when I brought my lips to his.

“I think we should get out now,” he said against my lips. “My feet are getting alittle pruney.”

“What’re we going to do now?”

“Act out my next favorite fantasy.”

“What’s that?”

Cloud got up and held a hand down to me. “Let’s go inside and I’ll show you.”

 

Chapter 14​

Monday Evening, March 31 - continued

As I went inside to dry myself off, Cloud took care of turning off the stereo and the hot tub. I climbed on the bed and tossed him my towel as he came inside. He left the patio door open to let in the breeze from the sea.

After drying himself, Cloud directed me further up the bed as he climbed on. With my back against the headboard, he assertively pushed my thighs apart and reclined on his stomach between my legs. He didn’t waste anytime getting right down to business.

My eyes slammed shut and a surprised gasp escaped my throat when he grazed his tongue along my folds. I arched with a strained cry. Dear Gods, it was better than I could ever have imagined. His breath was scorching as he slowly brushed his lips across my petals before stroking them with his tongue once more. I felt a surge of heat, my insides convulsing pleasantly and I knew my fluids were flowing. He pressed his tongue against my clit and I jerked with a gasp in response. Scraping his teeth around it sent me into a whole new dimension of pleasure and I squeaked. The feeling was so incredible I couldn’t stand it as I squirmed and squealed, just as he promised he’d make me do.

His arms wrapped around my thighs and he dragged me down until my back was flat on the bed. I raised my head to see what he was going to do next. His fingers gently pulled my folds apart and he dipped his tongue inside, sliding it in and out and pausing only to slurp on the free flowing wetness.

I closed my eyes again and relished in the feel of his hot breath tickling my oversensitive private parts. My heart hammered madly in my chest and I hyperventilated. After awhile I couldn’t take it anymore. He was driving me crazy. When I opened my eyes and looked at him, he didn’t seem in any hurry to get me off. I reached down with my right hand and started rubbing my fingers over my clit. Cloud’s eyes lifted and he watched me stroke myself as he continued to slurp on my wetness. A minute later he nudged my fingers away with his nose and surrounded my clit with his lips. His tongue lightly dabbed at it inside his mouth, teasing me mercilessly.

I reached down with my other hand and tangled all ten of my fingers into his hair, letting out a cry of frustration. He was killing me.

Finally he applied more pressure. The surge of his mouth flipped me over the edge. I gasped and grabbed the sheets. My thighs trembled and throbbed and I arched upward. A blinding wave of overwhelming heat radiated out from my core and spread like a tingling entity inside my veins. He held me down while his mouth maintained its contact on my flesh. To add to my pleasure, he slid his fingers inside me and curled them, immediately hitting the mark.

I arched again and let out another cry. How in the world did he know the things that set me off? Wave after glorious wave plummeted through me, leaving me gasping for air.

With one final slurp, Cloud raised himself on his hands and knees and after crawling up along my body, he reclined on his side next to me. He turned my face in his direction and brushed his lips across my hot cheek. Then he dipped his tongue inside my open mouth, cutting off the air I desperately gasped for. I tasted my essence in his mouth. He released me after a few seconds and chuckled softly.

I opened my eyes and gave him a questioning look, wondering what he found so funny.

“You look like a fish out of water,” he said with a smug smile.

I pushed his face away, but he came right back.

“So did I fulfill any of your fantasies, Tifa?”

I waited until my breathing was somewhat normal again before responding. “I never had any fantasies about you.”

“Bullshit,” he teased and moved away. After reaching for the covers, he pulled them over us and laid back down beside me.

I snuggled against him as he pulled me back into his arms. I lazily traced small circles around the center of his chest “Okay, well…maybe recently I have. But not before,” I quickly added.

“What made you change your mind about us?”

“I wanted to see what it would be like…to see what I was missing.”

He gently caressed my bare back. “Hope you aren’t too disappointed.”

I gave him a satisfied smile. “Far from it. I’m glad I took the chance.”

“Yeah, so am I.”

“Did I fulfill all of your fantasies?” I teased.

He smiled. “Most of them. There’s still one more we haven’t pursued.”

“Which one is that?” I asked, knowing he meant that we hadn’t gone all the way.

“We’ll leave that one for tomorrow.” He studied my face. “I’m tired.”

I knew he wasn’t tired at all. He was thinking I was. I snuggled against the side of his neck and closed my eyes.

“You won’t have to dream about me anymore, Tifa.”

My eyes popped open.

He continued. “I’m right here and willing to do anything to make you happy.”

“What did you say?”

“I said I’m willing to do anything to make you happy.”

“No, before that.”

“I don’t know. What’d I say?”

I pulled away and sat up, turning to look at him. “You said I won’t have to dream about you anymore. Why would you say that?”

He gave me a blank look and finally shrugged. “Well, if…if you were…having dreams about me, I mean. I don’t know if you were or not, but…” he trailed off.

I laid back down with a frown, thinking I hadn’t told him I had dreams about him. We talked about fantasies, not dreams. A sinking feeling came over me. Did he read my diary? If he had, then it would explain how he knew to do certain things. But could he really be so sneaky? Cloud had never done anything underhanded or secretive before...except when he was building Fenrir and didn’t tell me he was using some of our money to get the parts. Yet he still told me about it later and felt extremely guilty about keeping it from me.

Maybe I was just overreacting to what he said. It was just a statement. He didn’t exactly imply that he knew I had had several wet dreams about him before any of this began. I began to wonder, though, that maybe Yuffie opened her mouth. What if she had gone directly to Cloud and told him everything? She knew Cloud had a long-time crush on me. Maybe she thought she could get the ball rolling between Cloud and I if she said something to him.

Or maybe it was just my overactive imagination.

Tuesday Morning, April 1

I woke to bright sunshine streaming in through the patio doors in the bedroom. A warm naked body was pressed up against my back, an arm wrapped possessively around my waist. The previous night’s events flashed through my mind’s eye and I recalled the wonderful sensation of climaxing right in front of Cloud. And then the sight of him spewing his seed and the silky taste of it in my mouth. It was all I could do to stop myself from swooning at the memories.

“Cloud?” I whispered over my shoulder, not sure if he was still asleep. “Cloud?” I whispered again.

“Mmmm…” His voice was muffled at the back of my head.

“Are you awake?”

He pulled his face out of my hair. “I am now,” he said groggily.

“We should get up.”

Cloud tightened his arm around me. “Not yet.” He stopped moving and for a second I thought he had fallen back asleep. Until I felt something poking behind me. His hand drifted down to the juncture of my thighs and he tried to squeeze it between them. “Hey,” he lazily whined. “Open up.”

I timidly spread my thighs open for him, bending my leg up.

He slid his hand down to cup my center, uttering a satisfied grunt. His lips brushed across my shoulder as his fingers did the same along my folds.

I could feel myself quickly getting wet from his touch and reached behind me to grip his thigh. He bent his leg up and pressed himself harder against me.

“By the way,” he said, getting a little out of breath as he pumped behind me and stroked my swelling clit at the same time. “Good morning, Tifa…”

I wanted to laugh at his sudden formality. “’Morning,” I moaned out. Then I felt something else between my legs, moving behind me.

Cloud was rock hard and sliding back and forth between my folds. The sensation was incredible and I swallowed hard. He could have easily just slipped inside me from the angle in which he was moving himself. But I knew he wouldn’t do it without warning me first. Besides, judging by the groaning and heavy breathing coming out of his mouth, I was pretty sure he was thoroughly enjoying my juices coating him, making it slippery against me.

As he continued to glide up and down between my folds, his fingers rubbed more urgently against me. Maybe he was close to releasing and wanted me to reach it at the same time. Just the thought of climaxing together made me crazed. I let out a cry as the wave washed through me. At that very second, Cloud let out his own loud groan, spilling himself all over me.

I glanced down between my legs, seeing the head of Cloud’s penis pushing back and forth through my petals, spreading his fluid between them. Just the sight and feel of the milky substance set me aflame once again.

When it was over, Cloud let out a heavy sigh of relief. Then he sat up and leaned over my hip to look between my legs. He plopped back down behind me. “Sorry, I made a mess all over you.”

I rolled around until I was facing him. “Doesn’t bother me.” I tilted my face upward. “Kiss me?”

“Sure.” He leaned forward and locked his lips against mine.

Our mouths moved over one another’s slowly, sensually…fulfilling. Not caring that we probably needed to brush our teeth.

I broke the kiss and looked at him. “What should we do today?”

“Stay in bed.”

That actually didn’t sound all that bad. I smiled at him. “We have all week to fool around. Let’s go windsailing,” I suggested excitedly.

“I’m too tired.”

I sat up and pulled him by the arm, but I noticed his eyes were busy watching my bouncing breasts with amusement. “Come on, Cloud. I know you’re not tired.”

His smile widened. “Bounce around some more.”

I playfully smacked his arm. “Stop messing around. Let’s get up.”

He finally sat up. “Fine. We’ll go windsailing.”

“Woohoo!” I hopped off the bed in excitement and bolted into the bathroom to wash the sex off of myself in the shower.

A minute later, two arms circled around my waist from behind. I involuntarily stiffened and then remembered it was only Cloud. He kissed my shoulder and promptly started squeezing my breasts from behind.

“Haven’t you had enough in the last twelve hours?”

“Nope.” He nipped at the side of my neck. “You’ve unleashed the insatiable animal in me.”

I turned around in his arms and smiled solicitously at him. “Do I need to put you in a cage when we get back home?”

“You might.” His lips claimed mine.

We kissed for awhile and then proceeded to playfully wash each other. I was being more efficient, while he just wanted to touch me. One thing might have led to another if I didn’t hear Cloud’s cellphone ringing in the other room.

I tried to push him away. “Cloud, your phone.”

“Let it ring.” He tried to kiss me again.

“It might be Barret. What if something happened back home?”

“He can handle it.”

I pulled away from him. “No…” I hopped out of the shower and grabbed a towel on my way out. Cloud’s cellphone had stopped ringing, but I looked to see who had called. The name on the display said Cid. My first thought was that something happened to Barret and Cid was calling. I quickly hit the callback button and waited for Cid to answer.

“Yo, Cloud.”

“No, it’s Tifa. Is everything alright at home?”

“Oh…Tifa.” He obviously hadn’t expected me to be using Cloud’s phone. “Yeah, nothin’s wrong. Just checkin’ on things.”

Since when did Cid check up on Cloud? “What things?”

Cloud came out of the bathroom, naked and dripping wet. He grabbed the phone out of my hand. “What’s up, Cid?” He turned to me with an innocent look.

The sight of his full frontal nakedness in the middle of the bedroom distracted me from protesting. I wrapped the towel around myself and walked back into the bathroom to dry and comb out my hair. Occasionally I’d hear whispered snippets of Cloud talking to Cid.

“What the hell, Cid, I’m not a fucking Casanova here. I need to pick the right time…No, not yet, you sick bastard, but I’m getting there.”

I was curious to know what the heck they were talking about. But I didn’t want Cloud to notice me eavesdropping.

A minute later Cloud walked into the bathroom. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist.

“So what did Cid want?” I asked as casually as I could.

“Nuthin’, just guy talk.”

I found that a little hard to believe. Cloud and Cid didn’t have any guy things to talk about. I began to get suspicious that maybe Cloud might have said something to him about what was going on here at Villa Cloud. I tried to contain my smirk, thinking it was a bit odd. But then again, I had made a pact with Yuffie to tell her everything that happened once we got back home, minus all the intimate details, of course. It was actually kind of sweet that Cid would take an interest in Cloud’s love life. Maybe the pilot had given Cloud some pointers.

“Do you want something to eat?” I asked him before heading for the doorway.

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

I smiled to myself as I walked to the kitchen. It would be more than a few minutes. Cloud spent five minutes brushing his teeth and then he’d spend another ten minutes getting his hair perfectly spiked.

Instead of eating, I decided to get a quick paragraph into my diary.

Dear Diary:

Last night was unbelievable. Cloud and I fooled around in the hot tub and then he proved how talented his tongue really is. GOD! I wouldn’t mind that every night. I’m pretty sure he liked it when I…did him. I never thought I’d say this, but I really like being intimate with Cloud. At first I was really nervous, but he made me feel so comfortable and relaxed. And it felt so damned good, I couldn’t stand it. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing. I know he said he never had a girlfriend. But I wonder how he knew what to do. Then again, maybe he’s wondering how I knew what to do when I took care of him. I can’t stop smiling because I can’t stop thinking about what we just did before I got out of bed. Cloud’s getting very creative. I wonder where else he wants to mess around. Maybe the hammock near the beach?

 

Warning, warning, warning – you know what I mean.

Chapter 15​

Tuesday Afternoon, April 1

Cloud and I spent more than two hours out on the water, riding the waves up and down along the beachfront on windsailing boards. My arms and legs were actually tired by the time we called it quits and returned to shore. Was I so out of shape that I couldn’t handle a couple hours of strenuous exercise? Maybe I needed to take Barret’s advice and go monster hunting with him a few days out of each month. Cloud didn’t look tired at all. He got his share of workouts when he ran into an occasional creature on the road while making his deliveries.

After returning our windsailing equipment to the rental shack on the beach, we sat in an outdoor café and had a late lunch consisting of a salad and conch fritters. Cloud wasn’t a big salad eater, but he decided he needed to eat lighter at lunch because of the big meals we’d be eating at dinner.

Plus we kept ordering all kinds of tropical cocktails we normally wouldn’t drink back home. Maybe it was the sun and the fresh air of Costa Del Sol. Not at all like the smoggy air of Edge.

I used a spoon to get the cherry that had fallen to the bottom of my tall glass. The lime daiquiri had been delicious. I thought about ordering another one.

Cloud folded his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “Is it okay if I take a nap when we get back to the villa?”

“Cloud, this is your vacation, too. You can do whatever you want.”

“There’s a hammock in back…”

I nearly choked on the cherry and stared at him. “A what?”

“A hammock. You know, it’s made of rope and hangs off of two…”

I gave him a suspicious glare. “I know what it is. I just…didn’t know we had one.”

His eyes narrowed a tad bit. “You didn’t notice it on the beach the other day when we were laying out in the sun?”

I pretended it was no big deal. “I guess not.”

“I’m pretty sure we can both fit in it.”

“Both of us?”

“Well, yeah. I can sleep afterward.”

My heart skipped a beat just thinking about what Cloud had in mind, but I was more concerned about the fact that he seemed to be in my head again.

Tuesday Late Afternoon, April 1

I rocked from side to side in the hammock, staring toward the beach where several seagulls were dive bombing at something in the water. The sky was already darkening. Had we really been playing around for the last four hours? I had been under the impression that Cloud wanted to take a nap. He didn’t sleep, not even for a minute.

Cloud returned from the bathroom and eased himself down with a heavy sigh beside me on the hammock. He slipped an arm around my shoulder and kissed my forehead.

We laid in silence for a few minutes, the hammock swinging gently. Funny how easily we became accustomed to being naked in front of each other. It was a good thing the trees and rocks surrounding our villa provided the right kind of privacy.

I turned on my side and bent my leg up over his. “What should we do for dinner tonight?”

He turned his face toward me. “Are you hungry?”

“Not yet. But we can have something delivered if you don’t want to go out.”

“Sounds good to me.” Cloud reached down to my knee with his free hand, rubbing his thumb over a small scar there. “It never really healed, did it?”

It was the one scar that remained with me from the fall from Mt Nibel. “It doesn’t bother me,” I said softly. “It only reminds me of our childhood.”

“There was only one good thing about my childhood.”

“Just one, Cloud?”

“Just one…you.” He emphasized it by touching my nose with the tip of his finger. “You were and still are…beyond any doubt…the most important thing in my life.”

I smiled at him. “Why haven’t you ever shown me this side of yourself before?”

He looked away and shrugged. “I dunno. I guess I was afraid you’d think I was weak.”

I turned his face toward me. “Cloud, you may be a lot things, but weak isn’t one of the words I would associate you with.”

“So tell me some words you do associate me with.”

I kissed him first and loudly slurped on his lower lip for added incentive as I thought about the right words. “Tasty…strong…handsome…sensitive…attentive…caring…sweet…sexy…”

“I’m not sensitive,” he said irritably.

“Yes, you are.” I shifted position to straddle his waist.

“Tifa, no…!”

Too late. The hammock flipped over. We found ourselves sprawled face down on the sand for the sixth time in the last few hours.

Cloud raised his head and spit sand out of his mouth. “I am so done with this hammock.”

I couldn’t stop laughing at his frustration.

Tuesday Evening, April 1

We sat at the kitchen table with the food we had ordered, eating the shrimp fried rice right out of the containers. Cloud had thrown on a pair of sweatpants to answer the door when the food had arrived, while I had slipped on the shirt he had worn earlier in the day.

After awhile I put my food container down and just watched him eat.

He stopped and looked back at me. “What?”

I shrugged and smiled suggestively. “Just wondering when you’re going to be done.”

Cloud dropped the container on the table, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood up. “I’m done.”

I got up and our mouths clashed as he pulled me into his arms. One would have thought we hadn’t spent nearly four hours making out on the hammock earlier. We were far from having our fill of whatever made us feel good.

Cloud reached down and pulled up the shirt, uncovering my bare behind so he could squeeze it with both hands. I slid my arms around his neck and pulled myself up, wrapping my legs around his waist. He hummed in approval and turned to head out of the kitchen. My arms were wrapped around his head, my fingers in his hair as he carried me in the general direction of the bedroom. He kept trying to see where he was going while still maintaining a lip lock with me.

Once we were in the bedroom, Cloud crawled up on the bed and deposited me on my back. He lowered himself on top of me and his hands moved up to my face, thumbs stroking my cheeks. His brilliant blue eyes were wide and searching. “Tell me you want me, Tifa.”

I closed my eyes, relishing in his gentle touch.

His breath was on my face. “Tell me. I need to hear it.”

When I opened my eyes again, his face was barely an inch from mine. “I want you…” I breathed out.

He captured my lips in another hungry kiss as I stroked his bare back down to his sweatpants. His left hand moved down between my legs, fingers sliding inside me and curling inward with a squelching sound.

I struggled to push his sweatpants down, but I couldn’t reach.

Cloud pulled away and knelt between my legs. After removing his sweatpants, he gave me a cursory glance. “Take that off.”

I sat up and removed the shirt I had on. As I reclined again, Cloud sat back on his heels and grabbed my thighs, pulling me down closer to him. I should have been more nervous. But the way Cloud was taking control seemed to quell some of that nervousness. He knew what he was doing. I trusted him.

My eyes drifted down below his waist where his erection stood straight as an arrow.

Cloud slipped his fingers inside me again and stroked me slowly and gently. He watched me arching into him, becoming more and more excited. A few minutes later, he pulled out his fingers and pressed his arousal against my opening, rubbing it around my folds to coat it with the fluids oozing out of me. “Here goes.”

I bit my lower lip and closed my eyes when he slipped himself inside me. At first I stiffened from the sudden stinging. I didn’t know what to expect.

He withdrew and entered once more, repeating this several times, moving further inside with each pass.

The pain escalated the deeper he went and I squeezed my eyes tightly to keep from crying out. When he stopped, I heaved a sigh of relief and opened my burning eyes, seeing that he had reached his capacity.

He sighed at the same time and his eyes drifted up to my face. “You okay, Teef?”

I nodded quickly, not wanting him to know that I was in excruciating pain. His fingers had felt so good inside me, but this was completely different. Hopefully the pain would fade. And if it didn’t, it would be over soon anyway. I arched alittle, urging him to move. When he did, I felt him slide out and back in again. Despite the pain, the friction was amazing.

Cloud started rolling his hips against me, at first maintaining slow and steady thrusts. As he picked up the pace, driving faster and deeper, he began to sweat and grunted breathlessly as if he was also experiencing pain. “God…”

Just as I had hoped, the pain disappeared and was replaced by a searing, swelling heat. My inner walls rippled in pleasure as he continued his carefully measured movements. I noticed though that they were quickly becoming less controlled.

He picked up my left ankle and held it above his shoulder, finding a new angle to repeatedly stab himself into me.

I squealed and arched into his thrusts, feeling the stirrings of my approaching release. I clenched the sheets and gasped for air.

Cloud quickened the pace and released my leg. He lowered himself on top of me and pumped madly, his mouth hanging open from the exertion.

I looked up into his eyes, seeing the pure, unadulterated lust in them. Did my eyes express the same?

His lips claimed mine in a passionate kiss, his tongue probing my mouth with familiarity. Neither of us could breath and our mouths quickly came apart.

Without warning, my body exploded into glorious convulsions and I wailed in unconstrained pleasure. Just as the waves consumed me, Cloud reached his own climax. I looked up at him. His face held a mixture of pain and gratification. He groaned outloud and breathed through clenched teeth as he spilled into me.

With one final thrust, he collapsed. We remained unmoving for several minutes, our breathing slowly returned to normal.

Cloud nuzzled the side of my face and affectionately kissed every inch of it. Then he stopped and looked down at me, studying my cheeks with a bit of amusement.

My face felt like it was on fire. What was he looking at? I lifted my head off the pillow and kissed his face in return, tasting the salty sweat on his skin. Our lips came together in a slow, passionate kiss.

Several more minutes later, Cloud finally rolled off and sprawled on his back beside me, letting out a sigh of relief.

I turned on my side and noticed the contented smile on his face. It made me happy to know he was happy. I moved closer to him and he immediately pulled me into his arms, planting several soft kisses on my forehead.

A couple minutes of silence passed.

“Cloud?”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t think I ever told you but…I love you.” I tilted my face up to see his reaction. He looked alittle stunned. “I mean, I’ve always loved you. Just not like this…the way I feel right at this moment.”

“I love you, too, Tifa,” he quickly said. He nuzzled against the side of my face. “More now than I ever did.”

We held each other tightly for awhile, languishing in the afterglow of the ultimate pleasure.

It was still too early to go to sleep so we eventually got up and cuddled inside of a blanket on the sofa in the den. We watched an old scary movie on TV, laughing at the parts that used to really frighten us when we were kids.

As the night wound down, I realized Cloud hadn’t pulled any pranks on April Fool’s Day. This was a first. Usually I’d find fake body parts in unusual places, like in the freezer, or inside my underwear drawer, or dangling from the toilet. One time I found a bright red sock inside the washer with all of my whites and everything turned pink. Cloud suddenly didn’t find it funny when he realized two of his white boxers had also been in there.

Cloud and Denzel conspired together, but I was pretty sure Cloud was the bigger perpetrator.

 

Chapter 16​

Wednesday Morning, April 2

Dear Diary:
I don’t want Cloud to know this, but I was in so much pain last night that I nearly didn’t enjoy any of it. I’m still hurting, even right now, it hurts just to sit. But it doesn’t matter. As long as Cloud’s satisfied, then I’m happy. Maybe it won’t be so painful the next time. I mean, it’s not supposed to be painful going forward, I don’t think. I hope it’ll start feeling better soon. I just need to make sure Cloud doesn’t find out because he’ll get upset and probably freak out like he always does whenever I’m hurt in some way.

I told Cloud I wanted to go shopping and wanted him to go with me. He joked and said he’d rather eat broken glass and stick a needle in his eye. But he kissed me tenderly and agreed to go anyway.

After I came out of the bathroom and was prepared to go, he was suddenly extremely moody and wouldn’t look at me. “Is something wrong, Cloud?”

“No.”

Something happened to make him cranky. “Did someone call you?” My first thought was Yuffie.

“No.”

Maybe he changed his mind about wanting to go shopping. “If you don’t want to go shopping with me, you don’t have…”

“It’s fine,” he replied in a clipped tone. “I wanna go.”

I decided to just ignore his grouchiness the way I normally did back home. He’d eventually tell me what was bothering him or he’d soon forget what he was upset about and it would just go away.

At least he wasn’t so uptight that he wouldn’t hold my hand as we went from shop to shop. But I noticed he was trying to observe me without being too obvious about it. Why was he watching me so carefully all of a sudden?

The first thought that came to my mind was that he regretted last night. Maybe it wasn’t as good with me as he thought it would be and he was trying to decide if I was worth it. But then I remembered he told me he loved me. Yet, hadn’t that been after I told him I loved him first. Did he say it in the heat of the moment? Maybe he didn’t believe me, thinking I had said it in the heat of the moment.

My mind spun around in circles. There were so many things that could have turned Cloud’s disposition from cheerful to irritated. He was ruining my shopping mood, so I feigned exhaustion and we went back to the villa.

I grabbed two beers from the fridge and went out to the deck where Cloud was sitting at the patio table, staring out at the beach. I set a beer in front of him. “I’m sure you can use one of these.”

He wordlessly reached for it, unscrewed the cap and took a swig.

I sat down in the chair next to him, noticing he was brooding again. “Alright, Cloud, are you going to tell me what’s wrong or do you expect me to sit here and patiently wait for you to get over your shit?”

“Nothing wrong with me.” He suddenly turned toward me as if he just noticed I was sitting there. “And it’s not my shit.”

“Fine.” I shrugged and took a sip from my beer bottle. “I don’t really care to know anyway.”

“I thought everything was all right last night.” He obviously changed his mind about not talking to me.

“It was all right. What’re you talking about?” I tried to keep my voice neutral, not really wanting to turn this into an argument.

He tilted his head to the side, like he didn’t believe me. “You were in a lot of pain, weren’t you?”

My heart sank as I realized the direction of the conversation. And the definite confirmation that Cloud was in fact reading my diary. There was no other way he could possibly know unless he had read the entry I made earlier this morning. I decided not to react to that just yet and to just answer his immediate question. “It’s not that bad.”

He turned his chair so he was directly facing me. “Tifa, why don’t you trust me?”

“I trust you, Cloud. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have come here alone with you to Costa Del Sol.”

“That’s not what I mean. You should have told me you were hurting.”

“Well, had you known, what would you have done differently?”

“I don’t know. You should have just told me. I wouldn’t have kept something like this from you.”

My jaw dropped alittle. “Listen to what you just said, Cloud. You had Geostigma and kept it from me. I had to find out the hard way.”

He was trying to convince me he was angry, but his argument was weak. “This is different. It’s different between us now.”

“I’m sorry, Cloud. I just didn’t want you to worry and rush me to the hospital or anything.”

“I wouldn’t have overreacted like that.” He had a pathetically hurt look on his face. “I’m not stupid.”

I got up from my chair and squeezed myself onto his lap, hoping he wouldn’t push me away. But he readily accepted my arms around his neck and my lips on his cheek, even though his brows were tightly knitted together. “I know you’re not stupid, Cloud.” You’re just sneaky, I thought to myself. I kissed his face and kissed him on the lips. Even when he was mad at me, he kissed me back without hesitating. If I had been mad at him, the last thing I would have wanted were his lips anywhere on me. “I’m sorry.” Kiss… “I’m sorry.” Kiss… “I’m sorry.” More kissing.

“You should be,” he said conceitedly.

I decided to call him on it. “And how exactly did you figure out I was in any kind of pain?”

He started to say something and quickly closed his mouth. I could almost see his mind smoking and cranking up a valid reason. “I…I noticed the way you were walking funny.”

Well that explained why he was watching me so closely while out shopping. After reading my diary entry about me being in pain, he must have been trying to see if he could tell. “I didn’t realize it was that noticeable.”

Cloud hugged me. “Let’s not keep anything from each other again.”

I had a mind to tell him that I knew he was reading my diary. What kind of idiot did he take me for? Did he really think he could read my diary, act out everything I wrote in it and expect me not to get suspicious?

He pulled back and looked me right in the eyes. “Okay, Teef?”

I wanted to be angry, but for some reason I actually found it pretty endearing that he’d go to all the trouble of pleasing me exactly the way I wanted. But I wanted him to admit to me that he had been reading it without me actually catching him.

“Okay, Cloud.” An idea suddenly began brewing. It was so brilliant I couldn’t wait to execute it.

Wednesday Early Evening, April 2

Dear Diary:
The strangest thing just happened. I got a call from Johnny. He said he wanted to meet me for dinner again, but this time without Cloud. I told him that it wasn’t going to happen. But then after I hung up I kept thinking about missing out on a lot of things in my life. Why should I stop at Cloud? What if Johnny’s better? He seems to have a lot going for him with such a great job at the new resort here. So I called Johnny back and told him I’d meet him at his place at 8:00. Sure, last night had been painful, but I have to admit, it got really good toward the end. I wonder what it’s like with someone else. I can’t forget about Cloud though. I have to make up a good excuse for needing to leave the villa tonight. Maybe I’ll make up an imaginary friend. I’m really excited now and can’t wait to see Johnny. If he doesn’t make the first move, then I certainly will.

I heard Cloud making his way into the bedroom. This time I purposely waited until he was just coming through the doorway before I quickly shoved my diary under my pillow so he’d know that I wrote something in it. This was going to be fun. “I thought you were watching the drag races on TV.”

Cloud plopped himself beside me on the bed. “I thought you were gonna watch them with me.”

I shrugged. “You know I don’t like watching that kind of stuff.”

“I would have put something else on.” He rolled over on his back. “Should we get ready for dinner? I was thinking we’d go back to that fancy place again tonight.”

Now was the perfect time to set things in motion. “Actually…” I scooted off the bed. “I made other plans.”

“Other plans?”

I walked toward the bathroom. “Didn’t I tell you I have a friend here in Costa Del Sol that I’m getting together with?”

Cloud sat up quickly. “No, you didn’t tell.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It must have slipped my mind.”

“Is it a guy or a girl?” he asked slowly.

I gave him a surprised look, but I tried to sound a bit deceitful. “A girl, of course.”

His eyes suddenly darted toward my pillow before turning back to me. “Who is she? Do I know her?”

“Her name’s…” I looked around the room and my eyes fell on a bottle of Cloud’s cologne. “Artemis.”

His eyes quickly fell on the same bottle. “Artemis,” he repeated doubtfully. I could see the suspicion brewing behind his eyes.

“Well, I need to get ready.” I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. It took all the strength I had to not laugh outloud. Too bad there wasn’t a peephole on the door. He was probably reading my diary entry right this second and probably feeling a little sick to his stomach.

In a way, I kind of felt guilty because I knew he would really get upset. But I had every right to be just as upset with him for reading my personal thoughts in my personal diary. So maybe I deserved some retaliation and he deserved to be taught a lesson.

I stripped out of my shorts and tank top and hopped into the shower. It wouldn’t be long now.

The bathroom door suddenly opened…just like clockwork.

“Hey, Teef?”

“Yes, Cloud?” I covered my mouth to keep from giggling, knowing he’d try to make me confess that I was meeting Johnny.

“How about if I go with you?” he asked me behind the shower curtain.

Of course. That would be the logical thing to ask. “Oh…no. You’ll just be bored.”

“How do you know?”

“When me and…uh…” I purposely snapped my fingers, pretending I couldn’t remember the name I had given him.

“Artemis?” Cloud supplied sardonically.

“Artemis, right. When we get together, it’s just girl talk. You wouldn’t be interested in hearing about female problems, right, Cloud?” I wondered how long he’d let me continue to lie to him.

“Yeah, I guess I would be bored.” It sounded like he had said it through clenched teeth. “So which restaurant are you going to?”

“Restaurant? Oh, I’m…I’m just going to her house.” I decided to lay it on really thick. “She makes this incredible seafood chowder. I need to get her recipe and try it out on the customers at the Seventh Heaven.”

Cloud pushed the shower curtain aside, startling me for a second. “I like seafood chowder.” He had a hint of a smile on his face. “Can you bring me back some?”

I shook my head. “I wish I could, but when…uh…” I snapped my fingers again.

“Artemis…”

“Artemis. When Artemis makes her seafood chowder, she only makes enough for her visiting guests. She doesn’t like to waste food.” I gave him an innocent look as I shampooed my hair.

He folded his arms over his chest and leaned near the far side of the tub wall. He had a smirk on his face. “Where does she live?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Maybe I’ll walk you there and then hang out at the sports bar until you’re done.”

“That’s not necessary, Cloud.”

“Well, since you’re meeting a friend, I think I’ll call up a friend and meet her for drinks.” He pushed away from the wall and disappeared from my line of vision.

I hopped out of the shower, soaking wet and shampoo still in my hair. “Her?” I asked as I followed him out of the bathroom.

“Yeah, her.”

I couldn’t believe Cloud was going to call up some girl just to get back at me for meeting Johnny for dinner. “Do I know her? What’s her name?”

Cloud stopped and when he turned around, I nearly collided into him. “Her name?” He glanced around behind me briefly before his eyes stared right into mine. “Cherry.”

“Cherry,” I mimicked. It was a totally made up name.

“That’s right. Cherry.” He turned and headed for the closet.

I turned around and my eyes landed on my shampoo bottle in the shower. It had cherries on the label because that was the scent. That’s how he came up with the name. Now I knew he was making it all up. He wasn’t going to admit to reading my diary. He wanted me to admit I was going to meet Johnny. How in the heck did he manage to turn this around to his advantage so quickly? “You know, Cloud. Maybe you should call Cherry and she can meet us at my friend’s house. We can introduce them. They might hit it off.” I grimaced at my lame plan.

Cloud stepped out of the closet, holding his dressy shirt in one hand and his black slacks in the other. “I would but…Cherry only likes men.”

“Is she pretty?”

“Yeah, pretty hot.”

I narrowed my eyes and moved to stand in front of him, pleased to see his eyes instantly gravitate to my nakedness. “Is she hotter than me?”

The corner of his lips curled into a smile. “No way.” He tossed his shirt and pants on the bed and slid his arms around me. “No one’s hotter than you.”

I smiled back and let him lavish my mouth with several wet kisses.

“And no one’s hotter than me, right?” Cloud asked smugly.

I giggled. This was the first time he had ever sounded so conceited. “No one.” Now that I had him distracted, I knew I could get him to confess. “There’s no Cherry, is there, Cloud?”

“There’s no Cherry,” he said as he directed me backward until my legs hit the side of the bed.

“You made her up.”

“I made her up.” He maneuvered me onto the bed and crawled up over me.

I reached up to yank off his teeshirt and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down for a hungry kiss When we came up for air, I brushed my lips along his jawline. “And you’ve been reading my diary.”

“I’ve been reading your diary,” he said automatically.

“Aha!” I shoved him off of me and he fell off the side of the bed. “I knew it!”

Cloud sat up on the floor, a shocked look on his face.

I reached under my pillow and pulled out my diary. “You’ve been reading this behind my back!”

He jumped to his feet. “Yeah, I admit it! I’ve been reading what you’ve been writing!”

I stood up on the bed so that I was taller than him and pointed a finger at his face. “I can’t believe you’d do something so sneaky!”

He placed his hands on his bare chest. “I’m sneaky? You plan a date with that red-headed prick and tell me you’re meeting some phony woman named Artemis! Who’s the sneaky one here, Tifa?!”

“I made that all up just to piss you off and admit you were reading my diary!”

Cloud climbed up on the bed and was instantly taller than me again. He pointed a finger at my nose. “See what I mean? Sneaky!”

“You read my most private thoughts. That’s sneaky!”

“Your private thoughts were all about me. I have a right to know!”

“For your information, Cloud Strife, not once did you ever share your private thoughts about me!” I emphasized each word by poking my finger into his chest.

“Oh, right! If I had shared any of that with you, you’d scream at me and call me a pervert!”

I swept a hand across my forehead because soap was beginning to drip into my eyes. “Well, did you get your jollies out of reading about the dreams I had about you?”

He smirked smugly. “You mean the wet dreams?”

My cheeks flamed up. “Shut up!” I hopped off the other side of the bed and went into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.

Well, that hadn’t gone exactly as I planned. At least now it was out in the open. But now what? What did I accomplish by getting him to admit his underhandedness? I was just as guilty. And if anything, it was possible I had just put a rift in our developing relationship.

I leaned my back against the door and sighed heavily. Good going, Tifa. You’ve just ruined the good thing Yuffie told you about. The only chance at happiness for you and for Cloud. I wanted to tell my conscience to shut up. And the next time I saw Yuffie, I was going to sock her in the mouth.

There was a light knock on the door. “Tifa…I’m sorry.”

An enormous lump formed in my throat. I flung the door open and threw myself into Cloud’s arms. “I’m sorry, too.”

“I was wrong. It’s my fault.”

I pulled back and kissed him. “It’s my fault, too,” I said as I kissed every inch of his face. “I just wanted to teach you a lesson. I didn’t want to start a fight.”

“Lesson learned,” he whispered against my lips. Then he smiled as he reached up and pushed some soap off my brow. “Let’s go rinse this stuff off before all of it drips into your eyes.”

I locked my lips with his and wrapped my legs up around his waist as he carried me into the bathroom.

As we showered together, my thoughts drifted to the fact that it was Wednesday night and our little vacation was almost over. We had one more day and night after this one. We’d be returning on the boat to Junon on Friday morning. Once we were home, we’d have to decide how we were going to handle our living arrangements. There was no way in hell I was going to let Cloud sleep in his own room. I wanted him in my bed. I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep without him. We’d have to have that discussion before we left.

For now I decided to let Cloud decide what we’d do on our last day here. He had mentioned renting a boat the other day. I could pack a lunch and we could stay out for most of the day.

One more day alone.

 

Chapter 17​

Thursday Morning, April 3

Dear Diary

Cloud and I made love again last night. He slid his huge man-meat into my tight love canal and I loved it. I could tell he loved it, too. We were both howling like Bandersnatches. He got me off twelve times…what a fucking stud! I want him to do that to me six times day…or MORE! He is the best in the world. I’ll never be satisfied with anyone else. But he can have any girl he wants…just kidding. If I ever dream about him again and wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, all I have to do is roll over to him. He won’t mind at all if I wake him up for some action, whether I had a dream or not.

I was cracking up as I read the last entry in my diary. The scribbled handwriting belonged to Cloud. I turned to where he was lying face up beside me on the bed, his legs encroaching on my side. Now I knew why he didn’t like sleeping in his cot…there wasn’t any room for him if he wanted to stretch out. He was sound asleep, making me wonder when he had written the paragraph in my diary.

After shoving the book back under my pillow, I laid down and scooted closer to him. He stirred and mumbled something. When I tangled my legs around his, he groggily lifted an eyelid and his eye focused on my face. “‘Morning, sleepy head,” I said before kissing the wrinkled space between his brows.

He rolled over on his side and pulled me into his arms. “Mm…what time is it?”

“Around 8:30.” I didn’t protest as he possessively went for my mouth. How could he possibly taste so good this early in the morning? “Cloud…?”

“Hm?” More kissing.

I cleared my throat. “Uhm…Huge man-meat?”

Cloud pulled back and looked at me before he broke into a smirk. “Oh yeah. I forgot about that.”

I reached down between us and found him already fully aroused.

He closed his eyes lazily as I stroked his length. “You still wanna get a boat today?”

“I’ll do whatever you want to do today, Cloud.”

“Okay…” His breath hitched from my ministrations. “We’ll…we’ll take a boat out real far and…then we can get naked.”

As his hand slid between my legs, I willfully spread them for him. After several seconds, Cloud carefully rolled on top of me, positioning himself between my thighs. I couldn’t believe how eager I was about sex now that I had experienced it. It wasn’t sex in general, just sex with him.

My eyes rolled into the back of my head as he entered me. When I thought about what he wrote in my diary…he slid his huge man-meat into my tight love canal...I started laughing.

Cloud nipped my chin as he began to move in short, steady thrusts. “Laughing in the middle of this is not good for a guy’s ego, you know.”

“Just thinking about what you wrote.”

“Think it’s funny, huh?”

A wonderful warmth was spreading through me as I already started nearing completion. “I think you should start writing your own…thoughts.” I moaned in pleasure.

“Are you gonna read it?” he asked breathlessly.

“Of course.” I arched into him as he moved in a certain way that made me involuntarily cry out his name. “Aaahhhh…Cloud!”

He smiled down at me, knowing he had that little advantage. “No need to shout, I’m right here.”

I wrapped my arms around his head and dragged it down toward me. He promptly started sucking on my lips before driving his tongue into my mouth.

A minute later we climaxed together.

We remained unmoving afterward. I held him tightly as he slowly kissed different places on my face. I didn’t want the moment to end.

Just then Cloud abruptly pulled away and slid off the bed.

I sat up and watched him step over to the patio door and peer around the sheer curtain. “What’s the matter?”

“I thought I heard someone out there.” He moved over to the opposite side and peered the other way. His expression grew angry. “Turks…”

I gasped and pulled the sheets up to cover myself. “What Turks?”

Cloud moved away from the door. “I’ll give you two guesses.” He searched for something to put on and opted for sweatpants. “Stay here.” He opened the patio door and closed it again after stepping outside.

I sat quietly until I could hear Cloud’s voice escalating. Then I jumped out of bed, threw on shorts and a teeshirt and went outside to make sure Cloud wasn’t beheading the Turks.

Reno and Rude were comfortably reclined in our lounge chairs. I thought something didn’t look right with the picture until I realized both of them were dressed in nothing but swim trunks. The only thing I had ever seen them in were either blue or black suits.

Reno glanced in my direction. “Oh, man, Cloud…you didn’t mention Tifa was here.”

Cloud turned around to see me coming and he gave me an exasperated look before turning back to the Turks. “Look, I don’t give a rat’s ass about your dilemma, okay? Just get the hell out.”

“What’s going on?” I asked, noticing the dumbstruck look I was getting from Rude. He literally lowered his sunglasses to get a better look at me.

Reno sat up. “See, it’s like this. Rude and I decided to take a little vacation together.”

“Well…not together,” Rude jumped in. “You know, not like that.”

“No, man. We’re here to party and score with some chicks.”

“That isn’t going to happen here,” Cloud said.

“I don’t understand,” I interrupted. “What’re you doing here?”

“There’s nowhere else to stay,” Rude quickly replied.

I pointed in the general direction of the largest structure on the coast. “There’s a resort within walking distance. You can’t miss it.”

“That’s the problem,” Reno said. “We went there and some guy in charge said there were no more rooms available. So he gave us a key and sent us to this address.”

Cloud frowned in their direction. “I’m trying to explain to them that this is a private villa and we don’t take in guests.”

“Hang on a second, Reno,” I turned to the red-headed Turk. “You said some guy at the resort sent you here? What was his name?”

“John something or another.”

Cloud and I turned to each other and spoke at the same time. “Johnny…”

I frowned. “Do you think he’d do something like this just to get back at us because I didn’t have dinner alone with him?”

“I wouldn’t put it passed him,” said Cloud, scratching his head.

“What’re we going to do about them?”

He took my arm and led me further away. “This is our last day here, Tifa. I don’t wanna be spending it with these two morons.”

“We can’t just kick them out.”

“Why the hell not?”

“They helped us against the remnants a couple months ago.”

“They didn’t do jack shit.”

I knew arguing with Cloud about the Turks’ involvement in the battle against Kadaj and his brothers could easily turn ugly. It was a very touchy subject with him. “We have the spare bedroom and it’s all the way at the other end of the house.”

“I don’t like the way Rude looks at you,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Oh, Cloud, you know he’s harmless. Remember when we fought against the Turks. Rude never directed his weapon toward me. He won’t do anything.”

Cloud still looked miffed, but I knew he’d give in to me. “Fine.”

I turned to the Turks. “You can stay.”

Reno clapped his hands. “Hot damn!”

“Just stay out of my face,” Cloud said, pointing a finger at them. “Don’t drink my beer! Or eat my food! And don’t piss in my toilet!”

I grabbed Cloud’s arm and dragged him back inside the patio door leading to the bedroom before he said anything else. He slammed it shut and locked it for good measure. I didn’t bother to remind him that Johnny gave Reno and Rude a key and they probably went out to the deck through the patio doors from the den and that those doors probably weren’t locked.

Cloud took my hand and pulled me toward the bathroom. “We’re taking a shower and then we’re going boating.”

I didn’t argue with him.

In the bathroom, we stripped out of our clothes and stepped into the shower. As usual what started out as innocent turned into something more. Cloud couldn’t touch me without my skin tingling in pleasure. My hands affected him as well. It wasn’t long before our touches became more intimate and demanding and thoughts of the Turks vanished from my mind.

“Tifa! Tifa!”

I screeched and pulled out of Cloud’s arms.

“Tifa!” It was Marlene. What in the world…?

I peered around the shower curtain. Marlene stood in the center of the bathroom with Denzel right behind her. “Marlene! Denzel!”

Denzel was grinning enthusiastically. “Guess what?”

“We missed you and Cloud so we came to see you!” Marlene responded.

I tried to appear happy to see them. “Isn’t that…wonderful. How did you get inside?”

“Reno let us in,” Denzel quickly said. “Where’s Cloud?”

I briefly glanced behind me where Cloud was pressed against the shower wall, a terrified look on his face. “Uh…” I turned back to the kids. “I’m not sure. He might be out slaying monsters. Why don’t you two go out and look for him while I finish here, okay?” If I had been in the right frame of mind, I never would have sent them off in search of Cloud and put them at risk if he was out killing monsters.

“Okay!” they both squealed delightedly before rushing out of the bathroom.

I turned to Cloud. “They’re gone.”

He turned off the water. “What the hell’re they doing here?”

“You heard them. They missed us.”

“Bullshit!” He gritted his teeth. “Barret…I’m gonna kill him.” He gracelessly jumped out of the shower and grabbed a towel.

I stepped out as he wrapped it around his waist and handed me another towel. After wrapping it around myself, I started to follow Cloud out of the bathroom.

Cloud stopped abruptly and I slammed into his back.

“What you two doin’ in there?” It was Barret, just walking into the bedroom and aiming a suspicious look in our direction.

Cloud didn’t seem to care that I was half naked behind him when he stepped away, leaving me exposed in just a bath towel. “Are you crazy bringing the kids here?”

“If I am, then it’s b’cuz they makin’ me crazy!” Barret argued.

I rushed to snag some clothes while Barret was preoccupied with Cloud.

But then Cloud pointed in my direction. “Do you not see what’s going on here?”

“Oh, I see plenty.”

“And you couldn’t figure it out before you came here with Marlene and Denzel?”

“Now look, Cloud, those two youngins know how to push me and push me. I can only take so much pushin’ before I go off.”

“No, I don’t care. You gotta leave.”

I went back into the bathroom and closed the door so I could get dressed, but I could hear Cloud and Barret arguing rather loudly. I opened the door right in the middle of Barret’s tyrant.

“…can’t invite us, but you invite the damned Turks?”

“I didn’t invite them,” Cloud argued. “They invited themselves and they’re not staying either. I’m taking Tifa boating and when we get back, everybody better be the fuck out of here!”

I had never seen Cloud so angry at Barret. “Cloud, calm down,” I said as I ran a hand up and down along his back. “Barret, can you just go outside and give us a few minutes?”

Barret grumbled something underneath his breath before he stomped loudly out of the bedroom.

I came around to stand in front of Cloud. He was fuming. I ran my hands over his bare chest. “Look, Cloud, I know this isn’t how we wanted to spend our last day here…”

“Tifa…Marlene and Denzel could have walked in on us right in the middle of…of…”

I slid my arms around his waist and kissed him. “It’s okay. Nothing happened. Besides, we’ll have to worry about this kind of thing back home anyway.”

That seemed to distract him momentarily and he focused on kissing me back. “Back home?”

“Yes. You don’t expect me to sleep by myself, do you?”

“I didn’t think moving into your bedroom was an option, Tifa. What’re we going to tell Marlene and Denzel?”

“I don’t know. I just can’t bear the thought of sleeping in separate beds.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“We’ll have plenty of chances to be alone.”

As our tongues wrestled inside his mouth, I couldn’t help myself. My hands tried to get inside his towel. I wanted him so badly, even though we had already made love this morning. I wanted to do it again with him.

There was a loud knock on the patio door.

Cloud stiffened and slowly pulled away from me, his eyes blazing in the direction of the knock. When I turned around I saw Reno trying to look inside, his hand raised to knock again. Cloud released me and went to the patio door, sliding it open with some force. “What the hell do you want?”

“You said I couldn’t drink your beer,” Reno said innocently. “What about that bottle of champagne?”

“You touch it, Reno and I’ll amputate your arm.” Cloud didn’t wait for a response. He slid the door closed, leaving Reno standing there with a scowl on his face.

Marlene and Denzel came running into the bedroom.

“Papa said we’re going on a boat!” Marlene shouted with glee.

“Yeah! Can I drive it, too, Cloud?” asked Denzel enthusiastically.

I turned to Cloud and watched him sigh heavily before plopping down to sit at the foot of the bed. He ran his hand through his wet hair in frustration and looked up as Denzel went up to him.

“So can I, Cloud?”

Cloud reached up and ruffled Denzel’s hair. “Yeah, you can drive it.” He gave me a sheepish smile, knowing he had resigned himself to taking the kids with us.

Marlene and Denzel cheered and jumped on the bed, both of them trying to hug him from behind at the same time.

“Come on, let’s leave so Cloud can get dressed.” I ushered Marlene and Denzel out of the bedroom and closed the door. “Did you bring your swim suits?”

“I have mine on under my clothes!” said Marlene.

“Me, too!” said Denzel.

I was glad that Barret had the good sense to make sure they had the appropriate clothing for the beach environment. As we walked through the corridor, I found Barret slumped on the sofa in the den, the TV blaring loudly.

A few minutes later, Cloud came out of the bedroom wearing his swim trunks and a teeshirt. He gave Barret a cursory glance. “I suppose you wanna come, too?”

“Nah, I’ll hang out here, make sure them Turks don’t mess the place up.”

That seemed to appease Cloud and his expression softened a little. “Okay. We’ll be back later this afternoon.”

The four of us left the villa. While Cloud and Denzel walked together a few steps ahead, I held Marlene’s hand behind them. The boat rental shack was a five minute walk passed the ship dock.

“Are you and Cloud dating?” Marlene suddenly asked.

“What…what makes you think that?” I asked carefully.

“Reno said he saw you kissing Cloud.”

I bit my lower lip, thinking that Reno was going to get a black eye when I got back. “Well, uhm…I suppose the secret is out then. Yes, Cloud and I are dating.”

“I’m glad because now I think Cloud will be home more and things will be better.”

I smiled more to myself than to Marlene for making such a remark. “I think so, too.”

“Besides, it’s so obvious he loves you.”

I blinked several times and looked down at her. “Obvious? What do you mean by that?”

“He’s always looking at you when you’re not looking and sometimes when we’d watch TV on the couch and he’d fall asleep, he said your name a lot.”

I smiled again and glanced toward Cloud ahead of me. He was chatting amicably with Denzel. Just seeing him interact with the boy who adored him to death gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Marlene was right. Things were going to be better at home. I already noticed such a drastic change in Cloud since we left home last Sunday. He was more attentive, more observant and so much more approachable, even when he seemed angry. I couldn’t love him more than I did right now.

At that exact moment Cloud turned to look over his shoulder at me. The look he gave me sent chills down my spine. With a half smirk on his lips and an affectionate glint in his eyes, he actually looked content. My cheeks heated up all of a sudden as I read the untold promises he conveyed in that simple look. He turned back around and placed a hand on Denzel’s shoulder.

A few minutes later we arrived at the boat rental shack. While Cloud and Denzel went to handle the paperwork, Marlene and I headed down to where the boats were tied.

“Can we get that one?” Marlene pointed to a small rundown wooden barge.

“I don’t think that one looks very safe.”

The boys soon walked up to us. Denzel ran ahead with Marlene.

Cloud had a huge grin on his face as he held up a set of keys and jiggled them. “We’re all set.” He took my hand and pulled me in for a sweet kiss. “I love you.”

“I know.” I purposely didn’t say it back. After releasing me, he gave me a playful slap on the butt. When I tried to smack him back, he spun away from me and shuffled backwards.

“Man, this is cool!” Denzel said.

I glanced ahead and noticed he had stopped in front of a monstrous jet boat. Marlene clapped her hands and bounced up and down. I turned to Cloud. “That’s the boat you rented?”

“What’s wrong with that boat?”

“Doesn’t it seem a little fast?”

Cloud grinned. “Isn’t going fast the whole idea?”

“I guess…”

When Cloud and I reached the boat, Denzel and Marlene jumped on and I jumped in after them to make sure they didn’t touch anything before Cloud boarded. Once he was onboard, he moved to the controls.

“Denzel, get the ropes,” he said as he studied the controls for a moment and inserted the key in the ignition.

I made sure Marlene was strapped to a seat before I walked up beside Cloud. “You sure you can handle this thing?”

“’Course I can.”

“Did you take your pills?” I didn’t want him to get nauseous being on the rocking boat.

“Took ‘em before we left.”

I watched Denzel untie the rope at the bow and then he scrambled around to get the rope in back, like he was an expert at it.

Cloud started the engine and it sounded like a rocket. “Better take a seat, Teef.”

I checked Denzel and he was strapping himself to the seat beside Marlene. I strapped myself in the seat in front of them.

Cloud planted his feet and turned the wheel before pushing a lever forward. The boat moved away from the wooden deck. He kept the slow pace until we further out. Then he glanced over his shoulder at the kids. “Ready?”

“Yeah!” Marlene and Denzel cried at the same time.

A second later we shot forward at an incredible speed, quickly distancing ourselves from the pier. I had to admit it was exciting and exhilarating. And seeing the thrilled look on Cloud’s face was worth whatever trepidation I had about this boat. I knew he liked speed. He drove Fenrir to its limits. I had confidence in his ability. He knew what he was doing.

When we were out far enough, Cloud slowed the boat down and motioned for Denzel. The boy unbuckled himself and quickly rushed toward Cloud. Cloud positioned Denzel in front of him and let the boy drive, giving the engine more power.

Marlene and I screamed elatedly as Denzel sent the boat around in circles.

Cloud even let Marlene drive.

When it was my turn, Cloud forced me down on his lap as I drove more conservatively then the others.

“Come on, Teef, let it go,” Cloud said in my ear.

I pushed the lever forward and the boat shot forward. Marlene and Denzel whooped excitedly in the seats behind us. I wasn’t sure what was exciting me more, the racing boat beneath us or sitting on Cloud’s lap with his hand lightly caressing my bare thigh and his breath in my ear. I turned my face toward him and he didn’t move away as our noses touched. “I told Marlene about us. She said she’s glad.”

“Yeah, I kinda told Denzel, too. I don’t think he gets it, though.”

“I’m sure he’ll figure it out.”

Cloud closed the small gap between us and gave me a soft kiss.

When I glanced over my shoulder at the kids, Marlene had a huge grin on her face while Denzel looked perplexed. Then he made a sound of utter disgust which set Marlene into fits of laughter.

Awhile later, Cloud stopped the boat near a reef and Denzel dropped the anchor. We all dove into the water for a swim.

At around 12:30, Cloud pulled the boat back to the pier. While the boys waited in the boat, Marlene and I ran to the nearby crab shack to get lunch. We brought back crab cake sandwiches and fried clams. Cloud took us back out to sea and we ate in the fresh open air.

We went for another swim later on and this time Cloud couldn’t seem to keep his hands off me. Luckily the kids were swimming on the other side of the boat. We kissed for several minutes before Marlene and Denzel came looking for us in excitement, claiming they had seen a baby sea monster.

That worried Cloud and he ordered all of us into the boat. Luckily, the baby sea monster turned out to be an eel. He had been afraid there might have been a dangerous predator in the water.

Thursday Late afternoon

At around 4:00, Cloud maneuvered the enormous boat back in the same spot we had found it in. We all jumped out and walked down along the wooden deck. After Cloud returned the keys, we headed back in the direction of the villa.

Marlene and Denzel walked ahead of us, chatting in excitement about what they had experienced the last few hours on the boat and in the water.

Cloud and I walked behind them, hand in hand.

“Thanks for allowing the kids to come with us, Cloud,” I said.

He gave me a small smile as he released my hand and put his arm around my shoulder. “I had fun. Did you have fun?”

“I sure did.” When I turned my face toward him, he gave me a kiss. “I love you,” I said.

“I know.”

We shared several more kisses as we walked down the side street leading to the villa. I leaned my head on his shoulder and just cherished the moment.

Just then Cloud’s steps slowed and I noticed the expression on his face went from happy to confused to angry in the span of two seconds. “What the…?”

I raised my head and turned in the direction he was looking.

Our villa was up ahead. Loud music was blasting from inside the house and I could hear a lot of voices in back. Barret and Rude were coming down the street, from the opposite direction. Each of them carried two cases of beer on their shoulders.

Cloud stopped walking. He just stood rooted to the spot, his chest heaving in anger.

Marlene and Denzel rushed over to Barret and were asking him a dozen questions.

I took a different route and went inside the house through the front door. Dozens of people crowded almost every room. Luckily the two bedrooms were vacant and the doors were closed. As I continued walking through the house, I made my way out to the deck.

Among the crowd of unknown people I spotted Yuffie. “Yuffie?”

She saw me and rushed over to give me a hug.

“What’re you doing here?” I asked her.

“My ninja senses told me something was in the works around here, so I convinced Vinnie to come.”

“Vincent’s here, too?”

She glanced upward and when I turned to follow her gaze, there was Vincent, perched on the edge of the roof like a hawk ready to take flight. It was a hundred degrees out and he still wore that dreaded red cloak. He gave me a sheepish smile and I knew he was silently asking me to forgive him for whatever was happening.

I turned back to Yuffie. “What the hell’s going on?”

“Beats me. When we got here, the party had already started.”

“Party?” I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Cloud’s going to kill Barret.”

“It wasn’t Barret’s idea. It was Cid’s.”

“Cid’s here, too?”

“Yeah, he was the one that buried the pig in the hot coals in the sand.”

I closed my eyes and ran a hand over my face. Cloud was going to literally explode. I needed to find him and calm him down before he grabbed his sword and started lopping off heads. Then I saw him from the corner of my eye. He was heading toward Cid who was busy tending to some damp rags covering something in the sand.

Cid greeted him with outstretched arms, but Cloud didn’t look at all happy to see the pilot.

I was pretty sure all hell was about to break loose.

 

Chapter 18​

Thursday Late Afternoon

I made my way through a maze of people I didn’t know, trying to head off Cloud before he reached Cid. The pilot was busy tending to some damp rags laying across a mound in the sand.

Cloud got there before I did. “What the hell, Cid? Who’re all these people?!”

“We’re about to make a good chunk of gil in the next couple hours selling pork sandwiches,” Cid replied as if it was all in a day’s work.

I came up beside Cloud. “How did these people get in here?”

“Barret let them in.”

Cloud shook his head. “No, Barret said it was all your idea.”

Cid sneered. “That lousy asshole. This ain’t my fault. All I said was that if we cooked a pig, we could make some gil selling sandwiches. I didn’t invite anybody.”

Cloud looked like he was about to wring Cid’s neck, but he was also trying not to lose his temper. “You know what? I don’t really give a shit how it happened. Just get these people out of here, Cid. I mean it.”

“Everyone?”

“Motherfucker!” Cloud shouted. “Yes, everyone!”

I raised my eyebrows. I had heard Cloud curse before, but he had never used that word. I squeezed his arm, just to calm him down. “What’re you doing here anyway, Cid?”

“Well, Shera and I thought we’d come check to see how things are goin’ here.”

I gave him a suspicious look. “Why’re you so interested in how things are going? You called the other day to check on things…What’s going on here?” I turned to Cloud who just shrugged innocently, his entire demeanor going from angry to guilty in less than five seconds.

My head started to conjure up all kinds of reasons Cid Highwind would be so interested in what was going on around here. Something nagged at the back of my head…the night I couldn’t find my diary. Had Cloud taken it? The connection finally became clear. That afternoon Cloud had gone in my drawer to get the credit card. He saw my diary and must have taken it with him when he left to go to Cid’s. Had he shown the diary to him?

I glared at Cloud. “Did you show him my diary?”

“Huh?”

“Did you show Cid my diary?”

“I told him not to read it,” Cid jumped in.

I whirled on Cid. “Did you read it? Did he read it to you?”

Cid backed away from me, his hands raised. “I didn’t read it and I don’t know what the fuck was in it.” He pointed to Cloud. “He started reading it and told me he thought you had a thing for him. All I said was that he should ask you out.”

“So coming here was your idea?” If Cloud hadn’t been the one to suggest going away, I was going to be extremely angry.

Cloud jumped in. “It was my idea, Teef, I swear.”

“And you didn’t show him anything in the diary or read anything to him?”

“No. It was kinda too personal.”

I couldn’t get mad at him again for reading it. We had gotten passed that. I was just glad he didn’t show it or read any of it to Cid. It was bad enough Cloud had read it. “You didn’t answer my question about what things you’re checking on, Cid.”

Cid gave Cloud a cursory glance before turning to me again. “Look, Tifa, I gave Cloud some advice and I just wanna make sure the kid don’t screw it up.”

Shera rushed up to stand beside Cid. She had a huge grin on her face. “Congratulations, you two!”

I gave her a confused look and was about to ask her what she was congratulating us for.

Cid rolled his eyes. “Shera, you idiot! It hasn’t even happened yet!” He dragged his wife away before the woman could say anything else.

I turned to Cloud who looked up with an annoyed sigh. “What was that all about?”

He looked down at me and placed his hands on my arms, rubbing them up and down. “Tifa, I didn’t wanna do it this way.”

“Do what?”

He was about to say something, but something over my shoulder caught his attention. “’Scuse me a minute.”

As he walked around me, I turned to see where he was going. He headed toward a grouping of boulders that separated our private strip of beach with the rest of the beach. I watched him curiously as he paced near the boulders, taking five steps and then turning and walking back. He started talking to himself, pausing and turning to look toward the rocks as if he was addressing someone…or rather two someones it looked like.

Yuffie came up beside me and frowned in Cloud’s direction. “Who’s he talking to?”

“I have no idea.”

“It finally happened. He’s snapped.”

I was a bit concerned that maybe Yuffie was right. Had Cloud snapped? I moved away from the ninja and edged toward Cloud, my eyes following him as he continued to pace back and forth and rambling on. When I was close enough, I could hear what he was saying.

“You know I like to party just as much as the next person, but shit, all I wanted to do was spend a nice quiet day with my girl and the whole freakin’ world decided to show up.”

I stopped several feet away from him.

Cloud paused again and frowned toward the rocks. “No, it’s not funny. Why’re you laughing?” He glared as if he was actually listening to someone responding. “You think maybe you can control your girlfriend? I’m not mildly pissed off, I’m very pissed off.” He shifted his gaze to another rock. “You wouldn’t like it if it was happening to you.”

Just then he stiffened and slowly turned to face me.

I walked up to him. “Who’re you talking to?”

He sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “Uh…no one?”

I pushed the hair out of his eyes and looked at him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m great. How’re you?”

I thought he was acting alittle strange, but I wasn’t about to call him crazy…not yet.

The sound of gunfire made us jump and turn toward the source.

There was Barret, shooting his gunarm into the air. “Party’s over! Everybody get the hell out!”

It was like a stampede. People, both young and old, charged for the patio doors.

Cid blocked the doors, yielding his harpoon. “Nah uh, not this way!”

The crowd of people shifted and headed in the direction of the young ninja girl waving her arms and holding open a gate at the right side of the house. “This way!”

When the last of the tourists made it through the gate, Yuffie slammed it shut and slapped the sand dust off of herself.

As Cloud and I walked toward the deck, those that remained were standing together near Cid’s pig pit. Cid and Shera; Yuffie and Vincent; Barret, Marlene and Denzel; Reno and Rude…

…and Johnny. When had he decided to join the party?

Cloud saw him, too and moved toward him, pointing a finger. “You! You started this!”

Johnny stumbled backward. “Now, hang on a minute, Cloud. I thought they were friends of yours.”

“Get out, you lousy…freakin’ cork sucker!”

I knew Cloud wanted to use stronger language, but was trying to keep it clean because Marlene and Denzel were watching him.

Johnny spun around and dashed for the gate. He didn’t even bother to open it and hopped over.

When he was gone, Cloud stopped and stared at the others.

I walked over to stand between Marlene and Denzel, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.

Cloud put his hands on his hips, still looking displeased.

Vincent was the first one to speak. “Cloud, if you want us to leave, just say so and we’ll be on our way.”

Cloud looked down with a frown and kicked at the sand. His feet drew my attention. Seeing him in flip flops and not his huge boots still seemed strange to me. Finally he shrugged and looked back up at everyone. “No, I don’t want any of you to leave. I miss seeing you guys.” His eyes narrowed in Reno and Rude’s direction. “Well, some of you anyway.”

My heart skipped a beat. This was the first time Cloud had ever confessed to missing his friends.

“I might as well tell everyone now, while you’re all here.” He walked toward me and reached his hand out. When I gave mine to him, he pulled me into a hug and then turned to the others. “Tifa and I are…together now.”

“Well, it’s about time,” Yuffie admonished.

Reno slapped Rude on the back. “Sorry, buddy. You’re a day late and a gil short.”

I turned Cloud’s face toward me, pleased that he admitted it in front of everyone. I kissed him on the lips and noticed his cheeks reddening a bit. “I love you.”

His lips curled into a smile. “Yeah, me too.”

“Yo, Cid, when the hell’s this pig gonna stop cookin’?” Barret hollered.

“Stop your yammerin’ and help me uncover the damned thing.”

“Cloud, what did you mean when you said you didn’t want to do it this way?”

His smile dropped. “Oh…uhm…yeah. There’s…something else.” Then his eyes scanned the others standing around. “Let’s go inside.” He took my hand and led me away.

Yuffie skipped up beside us. “Where’re we going?”

Cloud glared at her. “I don’t know where you’re going, Yuffs, but Tifa and I are going inside.”

“To do what?”

“None of your business.”

“Oh, I get it. I know what you’re planning to do.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yeah, I do. I’m not a kid anymore, you know.”

Cloud stopped in his tracks, dragging me to a halt with him and he turned to Yuffie. “Look, I just need to talk to Tifa in private. And then you can assume all you want.” He turned and pulled me along behind him again.

We went through the patio doors into the bedroom. Cloud locked the doors and just for good measure he closed the blinds. Then he went to the close and lock the bedroom door.

I stood near the bed and watched him decide to look in the bathroom, probably making sure there was no one there. I couldn’t help but smile at his attempt to make sure we were definitely alone.

Finally he went to the dresser, opened his drawer and reached inside the pocket of a pair of shorts. He walked up to me and held up his hand. In his palm was a small burgundy velvet box. He lifted the lid, revealing a gold ring with a round diamond on it. “I meant to give this to you later in private over a quiet dinner, but it doesn’t look like we’ll have much time alone tonight.”

I stared at the ring box resting on his hand. My heart started hammering in my chest. “Cloud? Is that…?”

“What…you don’t want it?” he teased and pulled his hand away.

I practically lunged at him to get the box out of his hand.

He laughed and finally removed the ring from the small box and placed it on my finger. His arms came around me and he kissed me. “Marry me, Tifa.”

“You know my answer.”

“I know. But I wanna hear you say it.”

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“Awesome.” He kissed me again. One kiss led to another and another, until we were sucking lips and just about ready to go along the deeper path.

A knock came on the patio doors.

Cloud slumped and looked up at the ceiling with a growl. “This isn’t happening…” He released me and walked over to the doors, pulling the blinds up in one quick move.

Reno stood on the other side, trying to peer in again. “Uh…you said I couldn’t use the toilet. So where the hell’m I supposed to go?”

I couldn’t stop my laugh when Cloud turned to me with a disgusted snort.

Thursday Evening

The pig roast had been a success, with the addition of some side dishes Shera and I threw together after sending some of the boys to the grocery store. But seriously, there was enough pork to have fed all the people that had been loitering in the villa earlier. With our stomachs full and the beer consumption steadily continuing, we all sat around a large campfire on the beach. Except for Reno and Rude, who were both passed out on the deck chairs.

Marlene and Denzel sat with Barret, each of them holding a stick with a marshmallow on the tip over the flames.

Cid and Shera were sitting together, with the pilot making his own smoke from his endless supply of cigarettes.

Vincent was a little surprising to me because Yuffie was pretty much hanging all over him and he didn’t seem to mind. I had a feeling Yuffie was going to be next to announce a relationship with the silent gunman.

Cloud and I were also sitting together, with him behind me. Everytime I raised my hand to look at my ring, my stomach tightened pleasantly. After he had given it to me earlier and we had gone back outside, I waited to see how long it would take either Yuffie or Shera to notice the rock on my finger. It had almost been immediate.

We spent several hours just reminiscing about our AVALANCHE days, sometimes teasing each other about things that had gone wrong for various reasons.

With his arms wrapped around me from behind, Cloud leaned over my shoulder to whisper in my ear. “How’re we going to handle the sleeping arrangements?”

“Shera said she’d sleep with the kids.”

“Then I think we should give her the big bed. Yuffie can fit there, too.”

I turned my face toward his. “You’re going to give up our bed?”

He shrugged. “I won’t be able to sleep if they’re not comfortable.”

“That’s very sweet and generous of you, Cloud.”

“Cid and Vincent can have the beds in the spare bedroom and Barret can sleep in the den.”

“What about us?”

“I really don’t care where I sleep as long as it’s with you.”

I kissed him. “There’re two couches in the den. Barret can have one and we’ll take the other.”

A couple hours after that, everyone was settled in for the night in the places Cloud and I had agreed on.

Barret was already snoring rather loudly from one of the couches by the time I was ready to lay down. Cloud was lying on the other couch. I tossed a blanket over Barret and then covered Cloud with another before I squeezed myself between him and the back of the couch.

As Cloud shifted around until he was facing me, I settled in his arms. “Everyone’s finally in bed and hopefully sleeping.”

“And you’re always the last one to get in bed, even here.” He was referring to the fact that I was the last one to get in bed back home, too.

I was reminded that we would be going home tomorrow. But I didn’t really mind. I reached up and touched Cloud’s face. “I had fun with you this week.”

“Yeah, I did, too.”

“Promise me we’ll do it again, just the two of us?”

“I promise you, Tifa.” Then he smiled. “I just hope everybody else gives us a chance to be alone.”

I slid my arms around his neck and we kissed for a few minutes before I fell into a comfortable sleep.

 

Warning - there's some sexual content in this chapter, but not overly detailed.

Chapter 19​

Friday Morning, April 4

Since Cid volunteered to fly us back home in his airship, we decided to take our time in the morning.

I had just gotten out of the shower in the master bathroom when I heard a light knock on the door.

“Tifa, are you in there?” It was Cloud.

I unlocked the door and opened it.

Cloud slipped inside and closed and locked the door behind him. He quickly took off his teeshirt and shorts and pulled off my towel.

I didn’t discourage him as his hands began putting me in the mood. It really wasn’t necessary. All he had to do was look at me and I was ready to pounce on him. “Where is everyone?” I asked breathlessly as he picked me up and sat me on top of the window ledge.

“Swimming out back.”

I moaned in his mouth as I felt every inch of him enter me.

He grabbed my thighs and hooked them around his waist as he moved in and out of me slowly. “You feel so good inside, Tifa.”

“Yes…feels good,” I gasped out as he pounded me harder. I climaxed almost instantly, sinking my teeth into his shoulder to keep from crying outloud, just in case someone happened to come near the bathroom door.

Seconds later Cloud moved us to the floor and I straddled his lap. He closed his eyes and groaned softly as I bounced and rolled on top of him. His hands reached up and squeezed my breasts. I climaxed a second time, feeling him so deep inside in this position.

Cloud repositioned us one more time, rolling us so that he was on top. He raised my left leg, finding a new angle to spear me.

I bit my lower lip, trying so hard to keep quiet.

Cloud lowered himself on my chest and his mouth covered mine. He rolled and wiggled against me, seeking his own release. Then he buried his face against the side of my neck and groaned. He shook and spasmed and spilled himself inside me.

It felt so good I just wanted it to keep going. I rolled us so that I was on top again. I smiled down at him as he heaved a sigh of relief. “Feel better?”

“Yeah…much better.”

I wasn’t sure what compelled me to ask him, but the question came out of my mouth before I could stop myself. “Am I your first, Cloud?”

He had a blank look on his face as he digested the question. His eyes studied me for a moment, maybe trying to determine what kind of answer I was hoping for. “Would it matter either way?”

I shook my head and smiled. “No…”

“But…?”

“It would be nice to know if I’m better than anyone else you’ve been with.”

“You’re not the first, Tifa, but you’re definitely the best.”

My hair cascaded down around our faces like a curtain as I leaned forward, bringing my lips to within an inch of his. “Good.”

Cloud raised his head to close the gap between us. We kissed hungrily for the next few minutes before we decided we needed to join the others or we’d end up being interrupted again.

Friday Evening

Marlene became my little helper as I moved Cloud’s things into my bedroom. “What if he snores?” she asked.

I smiled to myself. “Well, actually he does snore, but not as loud as Denzel.”

Earlier I had a chat with both Marlene and Denzel. I told them Cloud would be sleeping in my room from now on. They had many questions, of course. But I compared it to their own sleeping arrangements. They slept in the same room. Except Denzel wisely pointed out that they slept in separate beds and I only had one bed in my room. My response? “When you’re older, you’ll figure it out.”

“His shoes smell,” Marlene whined on the third trip as she carried Cloud’s sneakers and a pair of dress shoes.

I laughed. She was definitely entertaining when she talked about Cloud.

“When’re you getting married?”

“I’m not sure. We haven’t set a date yet.” I stuffed an empty drawer with Cloud’s teeshirts and then led Marlene to the closet where she dumped Cloud’s shoes on the floor.

“I think before it gets cold. It rains too much then and I wouldn’t want you to get your dress wet.”

I crouched down in front of her with a smile. “Will you be my flower girl?”

Her small face lit up. “Ahuh!”

I gave her a hug. “Thanks for helping me. Why don’t you go tell Denzel it’s bed time?”

“Alright, but he won’t be happy.” She ran off.

I finished putting Cloud’s things away and then glanced at the bed. Maybe I needed to change the sheets.

As I stripped the bed, the adjoining bathroom door opened and Cloud walked out wearing a bath towel around his waist. “Are the kids in bed already?”

“No, I have to go tuck them in. I’ll do it as soon as I’m done making this bed.”

“I can do it,” he said as he opened drawers until he found the one I had put his pajamas in.

“Do what? Make the bed or tuck in the kids?”

He gave the bed a blank stare as he slid on his pajama bottoms. “I don’t know the first thing about making a bed.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I kinda figured.” I straightened up as he walked toward me. “You know, Cloud, if there’s anything in this room you want to change…to make it yours, too…”

He tilted my chin up with a smile. “There’s nothing I want to change. I like it the way it is.” He gave me a soft kiss. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” As soon as he walked out, I rushed to finish making the bed. Then I bolted into the bathroom to make sure I was clean. Before jumping in bed, I slipped on a sheer black teddy I thought would be pleasing for him to see.

I waited and waited, every few minutes deciding on a different position to lay. Beneath the covers? No, too concealed. On top of the covers, lying on my stomach? No, too demure. Lying on my back with my legs spread? No, too slutty.

When I heard footsteps approaching the door, I quickly rolled on my side above the sheets.

Cloud walked in and closed the door behind him, pushing in the lock. His eyes roamed over me as he walked toward the bed. “That’s real nice, Tifa, but you know it’s not going to stay on very long.” He removed his pajamas before crawling up over me.

I smiled smugly. “Yes, but you better not rip it. It was very expensive.”

“I’ll be careful.” Cloud took a minute to carefully untie the pink ribbon holding the black lace bodice together. Then he pulled off the matching panties. He reached to turn off the lamp before lowering himself beside me. “Time to christen this bed.”

My giggles were soon replaced by soft moans as his hands began familiarly touching me. It was going to be so difficult keeping quiet. Did they make soundproof wallpaper? I’d have to run to the hardware store and ask one of these days.

Two weeks later – Saturday afternoon, April 19

I sat on a barstool behind the bar, elbows on the counter, hands holding up my chin. It was only 2:00 in the afternoon and I was already losing my mind.

Cloud was out on deliveries and I knew he wouldn’t be home until at least 6:00.

Four hours…

I removed one hand from under my chin and let my face fall on top of the bar counter where I bumped my forehead four times…one for each hour that I wouldn’t see Cloud. I sighed and straightened up. This was utterly ridiculous. Every day was the exact same thing. I just sat around and waited for Cloud to come home. Sure, there were customers at the bar, waiting to be served. But I didn’t rush around to help them like I used to.

How long before my business suffered because I was too busy thinking about Cloud?

And too busy thinking about my wedding in four months. Cloud and I had finally set a date. August 16, three days before his birthday. We weren’t going to tell anyone where we were going on our honeymoon because we didn’t want any unexpected guests for the two weeks we’d be gone. Not a chance.

My eyes shifted to the clock again. 2:07. Two more hours before I opened the bar. Two more hours to sit here and do nothing but stare…and two more after that before Cloud came home.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I got up and went to the phone, quickly punching in Cloud’s cellphone number. His voicemail answered, which was no surprise because if he was on Fenrir, he couldn’t just pull over anywhere to answer the phone. I sighed heavily before the beep. “Cloud, come home. I need you right now.” I hung up.

Quite honestly he’d probably ignore my message and finish his deliveries.

I sighed again and decided to clean the tops of the tables, even though I had wiped them down four times already.

Twenty minutes later I heard the back door swing open. “Tifa!” It was Cloud.

I bolted into the kitchen and jumped on him. My mouth covered his and I kissed him desperately, more desperate than I had ever been before.

Cloud reacted with surprise at first before he slowly reciprocated. Then he abruptly broke the kiss. “What the hell, Tifa, I thought something happened to you.”

“Something is happening to me. It’s called withdrawals.” I kissed him again, harder this time.

And again he broke the kiss after a few seconds. “Why didn’t you just say that on the message?”

“I said I needed you right now.”

He lowered my feet down to the floor. “Yeah, but…I thought you were in trouble.”

I hugged him with a satisfied sigh, happy that he was home. He smelled like dirt and sweat, but I didn’t care.

Even though Cloud was alittle angry, he hugged me back. “Well, now that you got me home…”

I pulled myself back up, wrapping my legs around his waist once more. Our mouths came together and I ground myself against him as he carried me in the general direction of the stairs. My back hit the wall a couple of times along the way as he moved blindly around. I hummed in satisfaction as I felt him becoming more and more aroused between my legs.

At the stairs Cloud missed the third step and tripped. We never made it any further than that. It was fine because the stairs had been the only other place besides the kids’ bedroom where we hadn’t yet had sex.

He wasted no time exposing what he wanted to see and touch. I hoped no one decided to walk in at that moment. But the possibility only escalated my excitement.

When I thought about how this all started, I never would imagined that reading my diary would have given Cloud the courage he needed to make the first move. I had regretted writing such private thoughts in my diary…and now I was glad I did.

It didn’t matter that we had our entire lives to spend together. We lived for the moment.

The End