Knight Vision (12 page)

Bewildered by her tone, he saw her gazing at their joined hands.  “Here,“ he said, withdrawing his hand from hers and removing the ring.  “It is yours.“

Annie looked at the offering and shook her head.  “I do not want it,“ she said softly. 

“Nor do I,“ he said, tossing it carelessly onto the dashboard and intertwining their fingers again.  “I, for one, could not sleep last night.  It is your fault.  Every time I moved, your scent would consume me.  I had to finally get up and toss my comforter into the wash,“ he continued, laughing.  Seeing her not join his laughter, he rushed on.  “It is not that I wanted to get rid of you, but I needed to sleep.  And, with the constant reminder of you, I knew it would not happen.  By the way, what perfume do you use?“

“Envision,“ she answered.  “Why?“

 “It is perfect for you,“ he explained.  “Not too much, not too little.  Just right!“

“You should write an ad for them, Words Man.  I can see it now.  Escape her Envision.  Toss it in the wash,“ she laughed.

“No, I am a poet, remember?  The last words should rhyme,“ he informed her seriously. 

 “Okay, give me something that rhymes with ’Envision’,“ she asked.

“Hold on a second,“ he requested as she saw his eyes glaze over. 

“I am kidding,“ she said, tugging on his hand. 

“I got it,“ he said, looking at her deeply. 

“It was not his mission,

To escape her Envision.

The water couldn’t drown,

The love that he found.“

“Oh, Jeff,“ she moaned, pulling her legs back and rotating her body so she could lay across him, facing him.  Once positioned, she placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him.

“Wait,“ he said, pushing her back gently.  “I am still working on the song, but I wrote a poem for you while I waited for the machine to cycle.  It is a very serious poem.“

“You wrote me another poem?“ she questioned.  At his nod, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a folded piece of paper.  Flabbergasted at the very thought of one poem, she was floored by the news of two.  She hesitated to take it as he handed it to her.

“Take it,“ he directed, reaching over to turn on the dome light with his other hand.  She stared at the paper as curiosity washed over her.  “Read it,“ he said.  She saw his eyes twinkle in the dim light of the dome. 

“Okay,“ she responded still mystified, unfolding the now-precious paper carefully and read to herself.

’When you and I are far apart,

Can
sorrow break our tender hearts?

I really want to see you, yes I do.

Sleep is sweet when I dream of you.

All
you are is a blooming rose.

Night is here, so I must close.

With care, read the first word in each line

You
will there a question find!!!

?’

“Well?“ Jeff asked. 

She raised her eyes to him.  “I don’t know what to say,“ she said softly.  “It is lovely.“

“Read it again.  Did you see my question?“ he asked, confused.

 “What question?“

“Try again,“ he directed.

She lowered eyes to the poem again and reread it, slowly this time.  Comprehension dawned on her.  She found the question.  ’When Can I Sleep All Night With You?’

She looked back into his eyes and saw his merriment.  “Found it, didn’t you?“ he asked.

“Yes,“ she smiled.  “I can’t answer that question.“

“I figured,“ he said, looking lost.  “But, I had to ask.“

“It’s complicated,“ she found herself saying.  “Someday, I promise.“

“I know,“ he assured her, pulling her into his embrace and hugging her.  “I will hold you to that promise.“

Giggling, she whispered into his ear.  “Again?“

His deep throaty laugh echoed in the car as he shifted his position and pulled her down on top of him.  “I am all yours, my lady“ he responded.

***

Chapter Fifteen

The next morning, Annie awoke to find herself refreshed.  She felt wonderful, and knew she was in love.  With her eyes still closed, her mind replayed the ending to the night before.  On the drive to her house, Jeff had insisted she sit next to him on the bench seat.  This position had allowed his hand easy access to prolong their contact.  She had not argued or resisted.  Upon their arrival at her house, Jeff had placed the car in park, but had not cut the motor.  He had reached for her and pulled her to him, so she was once again between him and the steering wheel and then, he had kissed her. 

“
Honey
,“ he had whispered.  “
Forgive me for not walking you to the door
.“

“
Forgive you
?“ she had asked, pushing away from him as far as the steering wheel at her back had allowed.

“
Yes,
“ he had chuckled lightly, looking down between them.  “
I am in no condition to exit the car
.“

Annie’s eyes had followed his eyes down to his lap.  “
Oh, I see
,“ she had whispered.  “
Sorry, but you will need to wait until tomorrow
.“

Still hearing his responding groan echo in her mind, she smiled at the memory, while bringing her hand up to her nose and inhaling deeply.  She had deliberately avoided washing when she had finally broken their contact and entered her home.  She had wanted to keep him with her as long as possible.  If she couldn’t wake to find him next to her, she would still have the animal scent of him with her.    Opening her eyes, she stretched out like a kitten and purred.  There was no residual soreness today.  She laughed, thinking she might not be sore, but she was sure she had new bruises on her from their activities.  Recalling their rather rough ’playing’ in the car the night before, she was reminded of her thoughts of acting like teenagers.  It suddenly dawned on her that was exactly what they were doing.  Her loveless high school years did not give her these experiences and his early marriage probably deterred his opportunities. 
Married?
she thought. 
So what?
  He was with her and that was all that mattered.

 She rolled over and spotted the roses on her nightstand.  “Need to get water for you,“ she said to the drooping roses. 
Roses,
she thought. 
I should send him roses
.  The idea pleased her.  Tossing the covers aside, she scrambled out of bed.  Did they deliver flowers on Sunday?  She had to find out.   Grabbing her robe, she wrapped it around her.  Retrieving clean clothes from her dresser, she turned and ran to the bathroom.

She emerged a short time later, dressed and ready to fulfill her quest for flowers.  Grabbing her purse, she breezed through the house and froze when she heard her mother’s voice call to her from the kitchen.  “Annie, where are you going?“ her mother asked.

“Out,“ Annie said, not turning towards her mother.

“Come here a second,“ her mother requested. 

Rolling her eyes, she almost replied ’
Later
’, but knew if she did, she would regret it.  Turning and walking into the kitchen, she pondered what she would say.  “Yeah, Mom.“

“How was your evening?“ her mother asked.

“Good.“

“Where did you go?“ her mother pushed.

“For a drive,“ she answered truthfully.

“And?“

“Yes, I asked him.  Yes, he is married, but separated,“ she confirmed, eyeing her mother.

“The ring?“

“He said he didn’t realize that he was still wearing it,“ Annie said softly.  “Please Mom, let it go.  He took it off last night.“

“I don’t know, Annie.  Separated is not divorced,“ her mother stated the obvious. 

“Yes, I understand that.  He told me he hadn’t been with her in over a year.  Let it go, please,“ Annie pleaded.

“Okay, just be careful,“ her mother said, coming up to her and giving her a hug.   Returning the hug, Annie could only nod. 

When they separated, she turned to leave the house.  “I will be back later,“ she said.

In her car and on the way to the nearby florist shop, Annie thoughts turned to Jeff’s wife.  She recalled he said that she was quite a bit older than him.  She wondered at the age difference.  How much older was she?  ’
You’re being silly
,
Annie
’
,
her inner voice said.  ’
Why do you even care?
 
All that matters is he is here with you now.
’  Swallowing her thoughts, she had to agree.  “Screw her,“ she said aloud, smiling.  “You let him go; he is mine now.“

***

Standing at the counter of the florist, she asked,  “You can do a delivery today?“

“Yes,“ the clerk said. 

“Great!  I want a dozen red roses.“  

“Okay.  Where do you want them delivered?“

Oh crap
, she thought.  She did not have his home address.  Now what was she going to do?  Thinking quickly, she reached into her purse and pulled out his business card.  She would send them to him at work; that would make his day.  “Here,“ she said, passing the card to the clerk.

The clerk took the card and added the address to the invoice. “Do you want to enclose a card?“ the clerk asked.

Whoa
, she thought.  Did she?  Oh, what the hell.  “Why not?“ she said.

The clerk pointed to the carousal of cards.  “Pick one,“ he directed. 

Spinning the carousal, she spotted one with two, long-stem, red roses imprinted on the top.  Grabbing the card, she placed it in front of her. 
What to write?
she thought. 
Keep it simple.  Don’t say too much.
  She bent over the counter and wrote,  ’Words Man, I love you, BE.’

“Finished?“ the clerk asked.  Nodding her head, she enclosed the card in the small envelope and sealed it.  She handed him the card and the cash for the flowers.  He handed her Jeff’s business card and her change.  As she left the florist shop, she started humming their song.

***

When she got home, she went straight to the phone and called Leah.  “You are not going to believe what I just did?“ she said before even saying hello.  She talked to Leah for a good hour, sharing her experiences.  After they disconnected, she decided to take a long hot bath.  “I am going to take a bath,“ she yelled.

Entering the bathroom, she walked to the tub, inserted the stopper and turned on the water.  As the tub filled, she stripped.  Standing before the mirror, she saw the love bites Jeff had given the previous night.  A warm feeling passed through and she was thankful the marks were in places which were covered by her clothes.  She did not want to have to explain them to anyone.  Noticing the rising water level, she turned off the faucets and lifted one leg to enter the warm, swirling water.  As her toe hit the water, she heard the phone ring.  Reversing her leg, she yelled,  “I’ll get it.“  Grabbing her robe, she opened and dashed out the door. 

“It is for you,“ she heard her mother call from the front of the house. 

“I’ll get it back here,“ she cried, moving to the back bedroom and flying across the bed for the phone.  “I got it,“ she said when she picked up the receiver.  Hearing the extension click off, she said in the sexiest voice ever, “Hello.“

“Hello to you,“ Jeff said softly.  Her body started to tingle when she heard his voice. 

“You got them?“ she asked, keeping her voice low.

“Oh yeah,“ he replied.  “You are just too .  .  .,  “ he hesitated.

“Too?“

“Too wonderful,“ he whispered.  “What are you doing?“

“About ready to take a long hot bath,“ she informed him.  His answering chuckle told her volumes.  “Why?“ she asked.

“Want me to come scrub you back?“ he asked softly.

“It is a lovely thought, but we both know that is not going to happen,” she sighed.

“Then, why not come down and keep me company?“ he asked her in a voice filled with innuendo. 

“I don’t think that is a good idea,“ she purred to him.  “You need to work.“

“It is hard to keep my mind on work,“ he told her.  “I can’t stop thinking about you.“

“Ah, poor baby,“ she replied.  “I’ll see you tonight.  Just keep that thought in your mind.“

“I will do more than
see
you tonight.  That I promise,“ he vowed.  

She felt as giddy as a schoolgirl.  “Don’t worry; I will remind you of that promise,“ she said softly.