4. Louder Than Any Words

Warning: nudity

Chase residence, Statham Island...

present day...

Victoria woke up with a start. A sad sigh escaped her lips as she reached for Storm only to clutch at the empty space.

He was gone.

The moment the realization sunk in, mortification showed its ugly head. She had never done this before. Made love to a total stranger, no matter how gorgeous he was. But as disgusted as she was with herself for having acted the way she had, she didn’t regret one moment spent in his arms.

It was crazy. But she knew, like she’d known when she first met him the day before, when he was half naked in his bedroom, that she was in love with him.

"What have you done?” Victoria wondered out loud, thinking about what she should do.She knew she had to go downstairs and find him, and talk things through, but she had no idea what to say to him, or how to even look him in the eye.

She stayed in bed for another five minutes, psyching herself up for the inevitable, before she headed downstairs to go find Storm.

Dean and Kendra were making out on the couch in the living room when she came in. The gentle, soulful tune playing softly in the background, coupled with the low lighting and the fire roaring in the fireplace, set the mood perfectly. It was clear where her friends were headed, and three was definitely company. She was about to retreat from the room and take her search elsewhere when Kendra suddenly looked up and caught her standing there.

“Toria,” she cried as she jumped from Dean’s lap and fixed her top.

“Have you guys seen Storm?” Victoria asked with an uncertain smile.

Kendra wrung her hands for a minute or two before she scurried to the bar. Victoria knew right there and then something was wrong.

“Where’s Storm?” She asked as calmly as she could.

“You just missed him. He’s gone,” Kendra replied. She dumped the glass she’d refilled on the bar and rushed to her.

"What do you mean he's gone? It's only Saturday. Wasn't he supposed to be staying for the weekend?" Victoria asked in a shrill voice.

"There was a crisis at work. But he said he'll call you," Dean delivered his brother’s message. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he’d said something wrong when he saw the crushed look in Victoria’s eyes.

"Did I say something wrong? Victoria what is it? Talk to us," Dean begged her.

But Victoria just shook her head; she was convinced she’d start crying any second now. She had never been so mortified in her life.

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry, I know you were hoping to clear the air with him,” Kendra took her in her arms and squeezed her tightly, completely misunderstanding the situation, her friend thought she was upset over the dinner fiasco.

As Victoria gently pulled away from Kendra, she couldn’t help but feel grateful that her friend didn’t know the whole story.

Here she was, ready to go out on the limb and put herself out there for Storm, and he didn’t even have the decency to say goodbye to her or end whatever it is that they had started when they jumped into bed.

Storm’s disappearing act spoke louder than any words he could have ever said to her, his actions spoke volumes too.While she’d thought they could possibly be on the verge of something beautiful and amazing, to him she was nothing but a one night stand.

The thought tore her to pieces and with impatient, angry hands, she furiously wiped at her damp cheeks before she addressed Kendra and Dean again. “"I'm going home. I can't stay here. I'm sorry."

Before Kendra could stop her and change her mind, Victoria quickly spun on heel and made a dash for her room.

Fifteen minutes later, she was on her way to her lonely apartment. But she’d take it any day; it was better than staying at Dean’s house and be reminded of what a wanton fool she was…