Authors: Audrey Carlan
With a deep sigh, I slipped the gauzy maxi dress over my shoulders and down my length. It was Kelly-green and matched my eyes. I added a crocheted thick belt around the waist to accentuate my curves and stepped into my favorite pair of well-worn wedge sandals. With a chunky necklace, gold earrings, and bangles, I was ready for my date with Nate. He didn’t share where he was taking me, and I didn’t ask, preferring to be surprised. Regardless of where we went, the dress would be appropriate for just about anything. I grabbed a long cardigan that went well with the outfit and made my way to the living room.
Jin was sitting on the floor with the boys around a game of Chutes and Ladders. “You look great!” she hopped up and hugged me.
“Thanks, I’m going to wait on the steps for him. Are you sure you’re fine with watching them through the evening? This is supposed to your day off, too, and I’ve got you watching Tan Man.”
Jin rolled her eyes and shook her head. Tendrils of black hair swung from side to side. She belonged in a Pantene shampoo advertisement. I coveted those shiny ebony locks. No matter what I did, my hair would always be a dull brown with a little bit of body. At least I could rock the beachy look, mostly because it didn’t take any effort other than a few sprits of gel here and there and a crunch of the hands.
“Relax, Cam. I’m not doing anything. Besides, you’d do it for me.” She knows I would and I have. She’s had her share of one-night stands, but she always came home even if it was the middle of the night.
Quickly, I hugged her and headed towards the door. I was startled by a loud knock. Bone-crushing fear skittered down my spine. Jin’s eyes widened.
“Looks like your secret is about to be revealed,” she whispered. I looked at her with the biggest puppy dog expression. She stomped her foot and went over to the boys. “Guys, can you come with me for a second?”
“But…but…I’m about to go down the big ladder!” Zach griped.
“And you will in a moment.” The knock at the door got louder. I pressed my hand against the cool wooden surface willing Jin and the boys to hurry.
“Just a minute!” I called through the door. When Jin had the boys out of sight, I opened the door quickly.
“Hey you,” I said, breathless, trying desperately to control the jittery nerves skating along the surface of my body.
Without words, I was pulled by strong hands that plunged into my hair at the nape and Nate’s warm lips were on mine. For long moments, he moved my head from side to side then slipped his tongue into my mouth, holding me in place against him. The kiss was wet, hot, and had my temperature to scalding in seconds. I gripped the back of his neck and kissed him like I’d never get another chance. He tasted of mint and man. Delicious. Behind me the door closed, breaking us out of our trance.
“Sorry. When you opened that door and stood there with your eyes shining like shamrocks in the sun…I just couldn’t contain myself. I had to kiss you.”
“No complaints here,” I said still in his arms. He kissed me one more time, pulled away and laced his fingers with mine. I loved when he held my hand.
“So who slammed the door on us?” he grinned.
“That would be Jin. She probably didn’t want to see us, you know…” I looked down knowing my cheeks would be stained pink.
“I’d like to meet her.” Nate tugged my arm as I was trying to pull him towards the stairs.
“Not right now. She worked late last night and is probably still in her pajamas.”
“Oh yeah? What does she do, work at a pub?”
“Yeah, something like that. Come on, I’m starving!”
“Then I must feed you, my love.” The words “my” and “love” ran together from his lips, filling me with hope for a future I didn’t think I could have.
Instead of a fancy brunch like I expected, we ended up at the famous Carnegie Deli on 55
th
and 7
th
Avenue. The sandwiches were literally the size of my head, piled sky-high with meat. It wasn’t possible to eat a whole one in a sitting, so we agreed to share a turkey and Swiss. Seating was limited in the bustling tourist location, but I didn’t care. We actually ended up squeezed between a family from Minnesota and a couple speaking what I assumed was Russian. The male from Minnesota thumped his chest, made a growling sound, and plowed through his entire pastrami on rye, washing it down with at least three beers. It was downright impressive. Through our lunch Nate and I took bets on whether or not the man could finish it. I won the bet and Nate quickly handed me over a crisp one hundred dollar bill.
“What is this? We bet a dollar!” I screeched loud enough for the tables on either side of us to pay closer attention.
“Oh I thought it was a hundred,” Nate squinted and tilted his head to the side, his gaze focused intently on mine.
I shook my head dramatically realizing he had no intention of taking the money back. “No way. I could never afford to bet that much. Take it back!” I felt swathed in heat as my emotions ran wild.
He shook his head and shrugged. “A bet’s a bet, love. I thought it was for a hundred.”
As nice as it would be to have an extra hundred dollars that I didn’t have to shake my moneymaker for, there was no way I’d take it from him. The idea alone soured my gut, making the turkey and Swiss sit like a lead brick.
“Take it or I go home now!” I knew I was being irrational. Nate’s features went from happy to aloof, then straight to confused. Once the crazy train left, there was no stopping it. I finished, “Don’t ever hand me a hundred dollar bill again.”
That visual was too close to home. Nate made me feel like a lady. As if I was special. Not some cheap stripper who twirled her goodies for cash. I never wanted him to think of me that way. I never wanted him to find out about my side-job. I crossed my arms defensively and looked out the window.
I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.
“Hey, hey, Precious. Blimey. What’s the matter? I’ll take the money back.” He pulled the bill from the table and placed it in his pocket. “Okay. No worries?”
“Thank you,” I whispered and looked down at my half-eaten sandwich. Technically, it was half of a half, but I was still stuffed to the brim.
Nate lifted my chin, his eyes dark with concern. I smiled for his benefit and he gave me one in return. “There’s my precious girl.” I could feel my cheeks heat as he petted my bottom lip. “So beautiful.”
After Nate settled the bill, he clasped my hand and we walked the streets of New York. Something as simple as holding this man’s hand made me feel important, special somehow. It was still early when I realized he’d walked us to the theatre district. My mood had improved over the twenty minute walk.
“Are we seeing a show?” I inquired with a happiness I didn’t even try to hide.
He grinned. “Would you like that?”
“Very much! I’ve never been to a Broadway play. I’ve never been to any play!” I looked at all the theatre signs surrounded with big flashing blubs. Even in the daylight it seemed brighter and more exciting than any other part of the city. When I caught Nate’s gaze, he looked at me with sadness.
“What is it?” I clasped both his hands and he pulled me into a tight hug. New Yorkers rushed by us, grumbling their annoyance at our position in the center of the sidewalk.
Nate held me close, a hand braced on my lower back and the other clasped at my nape, keeping me pressed firmly to him. He whispered in my ear, so low I could barely hear him. “I want to show you everything, Camille. Give you the world. Experience life with you.”
I gasped and pulled back. “Nate?”
“It’s true. Your innocence, your love of life, of every new thing…it’s intoxicating. I want to drink it whole. Bathe in it. Remove my clothes and swim naked in it. Letting the goodness wash away all that came before the moment you entered my life.”
Instead of a reply, I kissed him. Slow, deep, in the middle of the New York City street. The bells, whistles, horns, city noise all disappeared as I entered the world of love. I was falling in love with him.
***
Christ! It wasn’t possible to feel this much so quickly. Or was it? All I knew was that having my sweet Camille’s lips on mine, holding her within the security of my arms, I was happy. Not happy as in, “Yeah, I’m happy my team won the game.” or “So happy you got that deposition in on time without any errors.” No this was all over, from the soles of my shoes to the very tip top of my hair, “I’m never going to have anything better than this woman right here,” kind of happy.
The feeling was so new to me, I held onto my woman tighter, never wanting to let her go. Instead of pulling away, she clung to me, nails digging into the skin of my back as I plastered her against me. Finally, I pulled back, gave her a small peck on the lips, gripped her hand and walked towards the theatre.
“Okay, we have a few choices. We can go sweet with Mamma Mia!” She shrugged. “We can go tough with Rocky.” I punched the air playfully and watched her nose crinkle, immediately knocking that off the list. “Or, we can go sexy with Chicago.” I waggled my eyebrows. She gave a coy smile. “Chicago it is!” I said with a laugh. Her eyes lit with excitement, and she did the cutest thing I had ever seen. She jumped up into the air and spun around, her green dress flowing around her in a cloud of color. My God the woman was ethereal.
“I take it you like that idea?”
She hugged me tight and kissed my cheek. “I’m so excited!”
If she had that response to everything we did, I would go a long way towards planning outings as often as our schedules allowed. I wanted nothing more than to see that smile adorn her beautiful face and those emerald eyes alight with glee. Knowing I put that look there made me feel like a king.
We got our tickets, sat at the bar, and had a couple cocktails prior to the show. We were early, but she didn’t mind. Camille was perfectly content to sit and talk with me the entire hour before the show started. My girl wasn’t high maintenance and went with the flow. I was beginning to believe she was the perfect woman.
We held hands, and I made a point to touch her throughout the show. Nothing overt or unsavory, just a sweep of my thumb along her bare neck, a tickle to the knee, a kiss to the ball of her shoulder. It was refreshing to be giddy and enjoy a show with a woman. No pretenses, no ulterior motive, just being myself while out with the world’s most beautiful woman. And she was just that. Beautiful. In all the ways that mattered most. Camille was kind, laughed a lot, sweet and innocent in so many things. I felt a roaring sense of protectiveness coupled with an overwhelming desire to expose her to all the wonderful things she’d never experienced.
When the cast took their bows, I watched her profile. Her smile was the biggest I had seen yet. She clapped so loud and hard I worried she’d bruise herself.
“What did you think?” I asked as we made our way out of the theatre.
“What did I think?” She grabbed her skirt with one hand, my hand in the other and swung them both, almost skipping down the street. “It was incredible. Amazing. Wonderful. Sad. Exciting. Sexy. Oh, just everything!” she beamed. She was happy, alight with joy. I wanted to capture this moment. With great stealth, I pulled out my phone, tugged on her hand, aimed, and, when she turned around, I clicked. Her multicolored waves were flowing around her face, her cheeks were a rosy red, lips a bit swollen from the kiss I’d stolen in the dark at the end of the show, and her eyes were shining. She was a goddess.
“Not fair! My phone doesn’t have a camera,” she pouted.
“What? All phones have cameras!” I scoffed.
She shook her head. “Not mine. Mine is just for calls and text. No frills, but it works just fine.” She patted her purse as if petting the head of her most trusted furry friend.
“Where to now?” she asked as I put my arm in the air at the edge of the street. Before too long, a yellow duckling pulled to the edge of the street. We entered the taxi, and I held her near.
“My flat. I’m going to cook for you,” I whispered then nuzzled the side of her cheek, trailing my nose along the fine column of her neck. Her scent was strongest here and I adored it.
“You’re taking me to your house?” Her tone clearly expressed trepidation.
“Precious, nothing that you don’t want to happen will happen. I assure you.”
She took a deep breath. “No, I trust you.” She turned her head and her eyes captured mine. The green around her irises were as dark as the sun, setting over the city landscape. “I want you to cook for me…and, possibly more.” The last part was a whisper. I heard every word. My prick tightened in my jeans, and I moved to adjust.
I took a deep breath and stared into her eyes. “I will cook for you. You will eat, drink and if it feels right…we’ll consider more.”
She smiled and leaned in for a kiss. I let her control this kiss, forcing myself not to burrow my hand into her hair and crush her to me. I wanted her to know that I valued her trust and that even though I wanted to shag her more than I wanted my next meal, I’d wait for her to be ready. When it happened, everything would change. I could only hope it changed for the better.
Her lips held mine, and her little tongue shot out and licked my bottom lip. I opened my mouth in a groan. She took advantage, tentatively dipping in for a taste. She was delicious. Tasted of almond and cherries from the mixed amaretto she drank earlier. It made me so thirsty I wanted to drink from the well that was her kiss all night long. Camille deepened the kiss moving closer to my body until she was practically sitting in my lap. I didn’t mind. The more of her touching me the better. Her tongue danced along mine, a sensuous tango with little flicks and nips of her teeth to accentuate her desire.
We were so busy making out in the back of the cab, I didn’t realize the carriage had stopped moving.
“Hey love birds! We’re here. Whad-da-ya say you pay up and move your sexy time to your own space, eh?” the cab driver scolded us in a thick, New York accent.
Camille’s cheeks pinked instantly. She held her hand over her lips and got out of the cab. I paid the man, tipping extra, and ushered my girl into the building.