Right About The Past - Not Forgotten

Jumping up off the couch, Troy heads straight for her, and she walks right into his arms. He kissed the top of her head and give her a little squeeze.

"Baby, "I'm going to shower real quick. Make yourself a drink and relax, then we'll grab dinner here in the hotel restaurant as soon as I'm done."

He showered in record time, not wanting to waste another minute being away from her. God, he's whipped.

They ate dinner in the hotel restaurant, which is located on the other side of the lobby from the elevators. She was relieved to see the redhead girl was not manning the reception desk when they passed. She was a little mortified by her own behavior. She wants to blame it on her emotions, but there is no excuse for the way she behaved. Amber made up in her mind to apologize when they check out tomorrow.

The restaurant atmosphere is warm and casual. There is a mahogany bar that runs the length of one wall and a small dance floor on the opposite side of the room. They were taken to a semi-round booth in the corner that is close to the bar. When she slides in on one side, he slides in on the other moving to the middle and then pulls her to himself. She loves that he could not get enough of being close to her. His hands were so warm that everywhere he touches, heat seeps into her bones but leaves goose bumps on the surface.

They shared a seafood platter with lobster tails, crab legs, smoked salmon, and fried calamari served with butter-soaked steamed vegetables that melts in your mouth. Her hands were covered in butter, so she excuses herself to go wash up.

The long dark hallway to the restroom leads her towards the back of the building. When she was near the women's room, a man steps out from another door and almost plows her over.

"I'm sorry, Sugar," he slurs, "lemme buy you a drink, Beautiful."

She stepped around him saying, "No thanks," and quickly move into the bathroom. He definitely has to be drunk. She was wearing black leggings with a light gray tunic shirt and flip-flops; who the hell would find that attractive? She was not dressed to go out on the town. She don't even have on makeup, and her hair is still damp from her shower. She knows they are just going back to go to bed so they can leave early in the morning, so she didn't bother to get all dolled up. It's always been funny to her how one's perspective changes after a few drinks.

She washed her hands and stepped out into the hallway only to be stopped dead in her tracks. The drunken man is blocking her path back into the restaurant and is glaring at her. Looking behind her, She sees the exit door and think that would be the easiest way to go rather than through this mammoth man, but she's afraid he would follow her into the alley where no one there could hear her scream.

"You think you're too good for me, Bish?"

She thought that was supposed to be, bitch, but she's not going to correct him.

"No, not at all, but I am here with my husband."

She flashes her ring. "Sorry if I offended you."

She just needed to get back to Troy, but as she moves to go around, he grabs her hair and pulls her close to his body. She gasps, breathing in the smell of body odor and whiskey.

Amber was getting ready to scream, but before she knew what has happened, her hair is released, and the man is on his knees crying out in pain with his hand being held by Troy at an unnatural angle

Amber has taken so long time, and Troy has not been comfortable with all the seedy characters sitting at the bar. He slides out of the booth and moves around the corner towards the bathrooms. The hallway is dark, but he could still make out a broad man blocking Amber's way.

His blood boils as he sees him grab her hair and pull her close. Someone is going to die. He reached them in a few long strides to grab the man's hand that is wrapped in her hair. He crushed his pinky finger until he heard it break, causing him to release her immediately and scream like a girl. The man drops to his knees screaming,

"God, man, you broke my hand."

He crouched down low, leaned close to his ear and whispers so only he could hear him.

"You're lucky you are not dead for touching what's mine. You think on that the next time you approach any woman."

Troy releases him to grab Amber's hand and pull her with him down the hall. They were almost to the bar when the guy yells.

"Hey, isn't she the missing girl on the news? Her daddy is awfully sad; he wants his daughters back."

"Son of a bitch!"

Everyone at the bar turns around to stare at us. Troy grabs a hundred out of his wallet, drop it on the table and head for the exit while every eye in the place watches them leave. Fuck! Amber's head is down, and her hair has fallen forward to shield her face. She looks like a beaten puppy as he pulled her along and that's exactly what all these assholes in the restaurant will report.

He wraps his arms around her as they walk out of the hotel, get in his truck and drive away. Her eyes are full of questions as she looks at me, but what she asks has his heart clenching.

"Did you know?" She sniffs and wipes her eyes. " Did you know we were on the news?"

Does she think he would keep this from her?

"No, of course not. I have been with you, Amber, every day for weeks. When have you seen me watching T.V.? Do you honestly think that if I saw your dad pleading for your return, that I wouldn't have said something to you?"

She looks devastated, so he reached over and takes her hand.

"Baby, we will look into it when we get back to the room. Together we can assess the damage and decide what to do, okay?"