For two weeks, Colin tried calling, dropping by and even sending things to Victoria's apartment . . . flowers, candy, anything. He constantly left messages on her machine. Everything he did only made it worse for her. Katherine Spencer dropped by during a trip to Los Angeles, trying to convince her that she had to be mistaken. And the whole time, Mark tried to convince her that it was better this way. Victoria wanted to believe Kathy and all the positive things she had to say about Colin, but Mark was constantly there, pointing out the obvious.
Between Colin, Kathy and Mark, Victoria was desperate for some relief. She felt as though she was about to split in two. So Brad became her refuge, her rock. They spent as much time together just to relieve the pressure on her. They went dancing, to movies, out of eat, or just driving around the countryside. There were many times Victoria was sure she would break down if it hadn't been for him. His relationship with Mark became a bit strained as Brad told him to back off and give her some room. The time spent with him reminded Victoria of the lustful dream she had had about him, but since then no more dreams of them being together had come to her. She was relieved because she didn't want to complicate matters any worse than they were already. Besides, Brad had a girlfriend.
One night, Colin came over and pounded on the door for thirty minutes, begging for her to open the door and talk to him. Mark happened to be over there, consoling her as usual and she was having a hard time not giving in to him. Brad was the one thing that kept her from giving into Mark and his silken words. Summer thought she was probably attracted to Mark because he was so attracted to her and . . . if she was real honest with herself, to get back at Colin ~ mostly to get back at Colin. After thirty minutes of listening to Colin and watching her heart bleed as the tears continued to flow, Mark decided to take action where Victoria would not.
Striding over to the door, he wrestled with the locks while Colin stepped back, surprised that she was finally going to open the door, unaware of who it actually was. Victoria could just imagine the shock on his face, when an angry Mark confronted him there instead. "What the hell do you want?" he demanded. "Why are you insisting on tormenting her, when clearly, you have done enough of that already?"
Colin tried to tell him his side of story, but Mark announced that no one wanted to hear it. The confrontation would have come to blows if Victoria hadn't finally come up behind Mark, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Mark, it's okay."
He turned to her, concern etched in his face. "Let me just shut the door on him and your past."
"Mark, I need to see him. I need to hear what he has to say." Colin looked relieved and Mark looked frustrated. She leaned over to him, kissing him on the cheek. I'll be fine." Colin looked disturbed over their parting and reluctantly followed her down the steps to the landing, looking back to see Mark watching them.
She looked back up to her door. "Mark, it'll be okay. Give us a minute." Reluctantly, he went back into her apartment while she turned to face Colin, her back against the wall and her arms crossed over her chest.
"Looks like you've got yourself a watchdog," he commented.
"Yes," she replied, her eyes boring into his. "He cares about me."
For a moment, Colin just stood there looking at her with regret in his eyes, and then reached for her. Quickly she recoiled from him and the hurt sprung into his eyes. "Look, what you heard on my machine was a cruel joke on Marisa's behalf. You have to believe that I didn't have any plans to meet her that night or any other night." He pleaded with her that she had to believe him . . . he hadn't been with Marisa since before they had met, and had no plans to ever be with her again.
"What do you want, Colin?" Outwardly, she was calm, even curt, but her insides felt like a quivering mass of jelly. Just being alone with him like this made her want to stammer and blush, then wrap him in her arms and kiss the breath out of him.
He answered with the first words to come to his mind. "I want you, Victoria."
His blunt statement brought her abruptly out of her daydreams. Without a word, she started back up the steps, intent on heading back up to her apartment. Her usually gentle blue eyes were now as cool as a frosty mountain morning.
He was blocking her way in a flash, his hand over hers on the railing before she could walk off. For a moment, they stared at one another, each taking the other's measure. "But I'll settle for us getting back on speaking terms - I know things are not the same, but deep down inside I know you still care. Tell me what to do to get things back the way they used to be."
By the time he had finished imploring her to take him back, she was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks, but she wasn't aware of them. She was caught up in memories and longings too long held at bay.
Colin saw his opportunity and took it. Before she could decide to run off again, he held her close to him. He let her cry for a few moments, and when her tears began to slow, he held her away from him so he could see her face. "Darling, tell me what to do to make things right. If you knew how I was feeling inside, you wouldn't shut me out like this."
"Damn you, Colin Mengatti!" she wailed. "Why are you doing this to me?!" She beat her fists against his hard chest. "Go back to Marisa and leave me alone!"
"Vicky, honey, you are the only woman I want to be with," he said softly, his eyes like soft blue clouds.
She closed her own against his spellbinding gaze. "Oh, Colin! Don't do this to me again! It hurts too much!" she moaned.
"Tell me something, baby," he murmured, his breath whispering over her hair, "Can't you see, I'm trying here. I just want a chance to love you."
She gulped back another sob. "I can't do this."
Colin sighed heavily. "What is it going to take to convince you that there is nothing between Marisa and me but friendship, and now thanks to her latest stunt, probably not even that."
"Nothing. It doesn't matter."
"It matters to me," he declared. "Give me a chance and I'll prove to you that you're wrong. I'd rather die than live without you now."
"I've got to go, Colin." Tears blurred her vision as she started back up the stairs to her apartment. With a catch in her voice, she questioned, "Do you suppose we'll ever get back what we've lost, Colin?"
"I hope so, baby. That's a question only you can answer for yourself." All Victoria could think about was how she was going to get through life without him. She needed him in her arms, needed him to love.
"I'm so confused, I don't know who or what to believe just now."
His hand reached out to grasp her arm. "Well, believe this, Victoria. Regardless of all else you do or do not feel, I still want you, and I mean to have you back someday." Victoria closed her eyes. Without him she wasn't sure what she was going to do. She felt lost without him.
He turned her and pulled her back down the few steps she had taken until her face was close to his. His free hand reached up to cup her chin and his lips covered hers in a warm caress, full of urgent desire and masculine demand. When her lips softened and parted beneath his, signaling her surrender, unwilling though it was, his mouth deliberately enticed hers until she swore she felt her bones melting, and clutched at his broad shoulders for support. His tongue played briefly with hers, eliciting a moan of desire from her throat.
As suddenly as his lips had captured her, he released her, gently pushing her upright again. "Dream about me, Victoria, because I'll be doing the same," he whispered softly, studying her bemused expression.
She shook her head. "Don't come here again, Colin," she said sadly, tears glistening like dew in her blue eyes. How was she going to survive this?
"I'll be back, baby. Wild horses couldn't keep me away. I deserve a second chance."
As she went back up to her apartment, Colin watched, wondering how he was going to solve this problem. The first thing he was sure of was that he had to deal with Mark, and he regretted that confrontation.
Mark continued his quest to keep Colin and Victoria apart. He practically lived at her apartment so he was able to intercept phone calls from Colin, threw out dozens of flowers and continued his push for Victoria and him to get together. She valued his friendship and everything he had done for her during this time, but she knew she could never let him in. She didn't want to hurt Mark. He had done so much for her already.
Instead, she tried to spend any extra time she had with Brad. He was the one thing that was stable and consistent in her life. Being Mark's roommate and friend, he knew that Mark was pushing it with her. She was definitely on the edge. "You okay, Vicky?" They were at Victoria's apartment, watching movies and drinking margaritas.
"No. But I will be, I guess," And then a trickle of tears coursed down her face. "I just want things back like they used to be."
