From Love of My Life

Torin placed his hand on the elevator door to keep it open and watched the sway of her ass as she retreated down the hallway. She left him. The audacity. The bell pinged again. Someone else probably wanted the car. Screw it. He strode forward. Zoe Masters managed to enmesh herself in every aspect of his life. He committed her image to memory. Her flair for fashion never failed to amaze him. She worked a tattered concert t-shirt and ‘fuck me’ boots like no other. The streak of green in her ebony hair magnified the green flecks in her eyes. Had he been stronger, he’d never have let her go.

With each step, memories bombarded him. The press hounded him to marry her. His manager begged him to dump her. The band urged him to leave things be. Zoe? She stood at his side and let him make the decisions he felt he needed to make. The bright lights of Los Angeles meant nothing without her. Hell, he’d been kidding himself too long. Any city felt like the middle of nowhere if she wasn’t in his arms.

Zoe disappeared into one of the doorways and her lock clicked shut. Torin made his way down the corridor, past her door to the bank of windows. The view took his breath. Lake Erie, in all her glory shimmered across the horizon. Sailboats and barges dotted the rough surface. To the left, the Key Building, Tower City and the other bank buildings making up Cleveland’s downtown glistened in the late day sun. If he squinted, he could see the flag atop the Atrius. He missed being able to wake up, head to the gym, walk a block to the Atrius to record, grab a sandwich at the restaurants downtown, then home to fuck the night away with Zoe. Most of all, he missed being able to walk down the street hand in hand with his girl.

But she evaded him in the elevator. He folded his arms. Zoe might have been the love of his life, but push over never entered his mind. She had flaws, sure, but she refused to let him treat her with anything but honour. He’d come back to Cleveland to make amends and get her back. Then damn it, he’d get her back.