Private Emotions – Appointments (The Private Emotions Trilogy) (14 page)

“Emily, you look, you look...”

“Ethan, is that you?” Mark said as he and Ronnie walked over to where we were standing.

“Hey, Mark. Hi, Ronnie.”

Dinner was almost ready so I made myself scarce and got things in place. I made sure that Ethan would be sitting near me at the table. As I was darting back and forth to make sure everything was perfect, I heard raised voices in the living room. They were heatedly exchanging comments that I couldn’t hear from where I was in the kitchen. Being as sneaky as I could, I moved to the door and pressed my ear to the surface.

Mark said, “We stay the course and see where this goes.”

“Honey, I hate this and just want to go on the record as saying that I am against this.”

Ethan commented himself by saying, “Look guys, it’s no big deal, let’s just have a good evening and then we’ll deal with this later.” They were seriously starting to give me a headache and I hoped that their conversation wouldn’t bleed into dinner. I had taken a lot of time to get things prepared and nothing was going to ruin this for me.

We sat down and I could feel a tension in the air that I could cut with a knife. No one said anything and everyone kept their heads in their plates. I decided to break the silence and said, “So, just what kind of book is Ethan writing for you, Mark?” You would think that I’d asked them if Ethan was a psycho because they all looked at each other not knowing what to say. “Don’t any of you speak up first.” I was being sarcastic as I was getting an inkling that something wasn’t right and they were doing everything in their power to keep it from me.

“Ethan is writing a book about relationships and he has some insights into the human psyche that will benefit our readers.” Mark was being purposely obtuse and was skirting the issue to refrain from revealing anything of substance to me.

Ethan quipped in, “I’ve had my fair share of romances in my life and now I have a chance to impart my wisdom on others. It is my hope that my readers will benefit from my experience and not make the same mistakes that I made.” Again, I felt that they weren’t being totally honest with me. They were purposefully leaving something out and I had no idea why.

“Guys, it’s obvious that you all know something that I should know. The fact that none of you, including my own best friend, is willing to tell me what this is all about means that there is a strong reason for me not to know. So for now and for the sake of a pleasant evening I will not push the issue, but someone very soon is going to have to tell me what the hell is going on.” Ronnie initially dropped her eyes to the food on her plate. We never kept secrets from each other, so the situation was as much a strain for her as it was for me.

She said with a little giggle of nervousness, “I don’t know what you’re talking about and would you look at the time. Mark and I have tickets to the opera and we must get there before they start. We loved the food, the wine and the company, but we really have to go.” They didn’t even give me a chance to say goodbye. Before I could respond, they were out the door and gone as the door slammed shut behind them.

“You want to explain to me what all that was about? They weren’t here more than a half hour and I know for a fact that the opera is closed for renovations for the next month. If that doesn’t prove that they are trying to hide something from me, I don’t know what would.”

“I’m sure that they just wanted to be alone, which is perfectly fine with me, considering that leaves us without any chaperones to police us.” He winked at me as he made the remark that reminded me we were indeed alone in the coziness of my apartment.

I vaguely remembered what my therapist had said about taking things slowly and not making Ethan, or any man, into who I wanted him to be. I could so easily end the night in bed with Ethan but I learned from my two dating experiences that moving at warp speed is not always the best approach. I did not want to mess up what could possibly be a good thing or put myself in a really awkward situation with my neighbor. Shit, maybe this was not such a good plan after all.

“Let’s take our drinks and go into the living room where we can be more comfortable.” He took my hand in his as he led me into the living room and onto the sofa. He sat down beside me, brushed my hair away from my face and put his lips on my neck. This was making me feel very amorous and tingles were going up and down my spine.

He leaned forward and took my face in his hands, briefly looked into my eyes and then lowered his face until his lips softly grazed mine. There was no tongue involved and we just tasted each other’s lips. I felt dizzy, shaky and euphoric all at the same time. How could someone that I only just met have such an effect on me? I was not the type to fall quickly into...into whatever this was between us.

I closed my eyes and I could feel Ethan’s breath against my cheek as he tenderly moved his lips over mine. He pulled away just a little so that the tips of our noses were touching each other’s. He used the tip of his nose to trace a path from there to my left cheek, then towards my temple and back down to the top of my ear where he lightly brushed his tongue against my earlobe. I buried my face into the base of his neck trying with everything inside me to keep my composure.

My heart felt like it was about to collapse from the pounding and I began to feel moisture forming between my legs. If I wanted to take things slowly then now was the time that I needed to pull back but how could I when he was this close, this perfect?

He pulled away to look at me. I knew the question that was written in his eyes, he did not have to utter a word. “I don’t know if ...”

“It’s ok, I understand. But then you must understand that I need to go now. You are a very appealing woman and the state that I am in at the moment will make it impossible to keep my hands off of you.”

Hearing those words from Ethan’s lips made me melt and I wanted to scream out, ‘I’ve never felt like this before and I think that we have something special here’, but my old defenses kicked in and I held back my words. I smiled softly in recognition of his confession.

“Ok, Ethan. Let me show you to the door.” Getting up from that sofa was the hardest thing to do. I knew that in a couple of minutes Ethan would be gone and the night would be over way before I had expected it to be.

“Thanks for a lovely evening, Emily. The meal was delightful and the company even more so.” He did the sparkle thing with his face and then walked out of my apartment.

I closed the door behind me and leaned against it for support. The light from the candles in the dining room had lost its appeal. I felt like running down the hall, breaking down his door and pinning him to his bed with my naked body. I decided that may be a tiny bit too desperate, so I shook off the thought and busied myself cleaning up the dishes from dinner.

As I was stacking the dishwasher I glanced over at the sofa. The cushions still showed the evidence that someone sat there earlier. I could not help but think how easily Ethan had brought me to the point of almost throwing caution to the wind.

“Sigh.” I removed my dress and fell into bed with just my panties on and the covers to keep me warm. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day at work as I had a tight deadline to make a white dress. I needed to get a good night’s rest, but the thought of Ethan was coursing through my veins and I was restless with the feelings of lack of my own sexual release.

I slowly started to caress myself letting my fingertips brush across my skin. I lightly caressed my nipples as I imagined the weight of Ethan on me. I continued to touch my breast with one hand as I moved the other hand down my body and I closed my eyes as both of my hands were now on top of my panties.

The heat coming from in between my legs was like a furnace and the wetness already obvious. I slipped my hand into my panties and slowly rubbed myself. My body ached for an orgasm. It had been a while now since I felt my body arch from the intensity of a climax. Rubbing myself wasn’t enough anymore so I spread my legs and inserted my index finger into my vagina.

I continued the act, imagining that Ethan was ravishing my body, while his eyes took pleasure in exploring my every curve. I thrust my finger harder and faster with one hand and rubbed my clit with the other until a wave of pleasure erupted inside of me. I cried out as the tension left my body and took the last of my remaining energy with it.

I heard the alarm and reached over to press the snooze button. Damn early mornings. I was more of a night owl than an early riser but knew that I really should get up otherwise I would definitely be late. I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed, grabbed a quick cup of coffee and started my journey to work.

By some miracle I got to work on time and bee-lined to the sewing room to start on my daily tasks. I pulled out my, ‘To Do’ list and kept my head down for the entire day. Luckily the hours flew by and soon I was happily on my way home. I thought that I would feel more tired than I did but there was a fresh energy in me that I could not deny.

After parking the car in my allotted spot, I decided to go to ‘Woody’s Tavern, to see Barry. I did promise that I would drop in when I had some time and now was as good a time as any.

“Emily! You are a sight for sore eyes. How did your dinner party go?”

“Um, a bit of a strange night but it ended well. I think the guy that I told you about really likes me.”

“And does this guy have a name?”

“Oh sorry, I thought that I told you. His name is Ethan.”

“I am happy for you, Emily. You deserve someone who will appreciate the fantastic woman that you are.”

“Well, I certainly know where to come when I want an ego boost!” Barry smiled at my statement, but it looked strained.

“So, what can I get you to drink?”

“A glass of red would hit the spot, I think.” Barry poured me a full glass of red and pushed it in my direction. “So are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or do I have to complain to Maria?” With that statement his eyes immediately took on a somber look. “You’re beginning to worry me, Barry. What’s wrong?”

“It’s Maria, last night when we were making love I felt a lump in her breast, but I have not said anything to her yet.”

“What! Barry, you have to tell her. I am sure that it is nothing to worry about but you need to tell her. God forbid, but if it is something that needs to be seen to then the earlier she makes a doctor’s appointment the better. You must tell her tonight, Barry!”

“I know, Emily. I will. It’s just that the shock of it caught me off guard but I promise. I will tell her when I get home tonight.”

“Goodness, Barry, why didn’t you ring me earlier? We are supposed to be friends, remember?”

“Em, don’t be upset. I was just trying to deal with it in my own way first.”

“Of course, Barry, I didn’t mean to get all demanding. It’s just that I value Maria too.”

“I know. I promise that I will call you tomorrow to give you the update.”

“You’d better mister!” I squinted my eyes and gave him my best, ‘I am a mean machine’ look, but he just laughed it off.

“You really are lovely, you know that?”

“I have to agree with that. I do believe that I am full of awesomeness.” Barry burst out laughing. It was good to see him laugh. He had always been the one who cheered me up and now I felt that I was able to repay the favor.

“What?! Emily! That is not a word. The concept...‘full of awesomeness’ does not exist in English or in any other language as far I as know.”

“Well, that’s your opinion. My opinion happens to be different.” I gave my friend a warm hug and made him promise to ring me tomorrow before calling it a night.

I walked into my apartment and I could still smell the faint aroma of last night’s dinner. I wondered what Ethan was doing. Probably at work as luck would have it. I had a bit of the leftovers and switched on the computer to check my emails. Just as I was finishing up my dinner the phone rang.

“Hi darling it’s, Mom. How are things?”

“Oh, fine, Mom. Sorry that I have not called, things have been manic with me over the last few days.”

“I can just imagine. Anything new on the dating front?”

“Oh yes, I went on a few dates that did not work out well but then I met someone who lives in the same building and we seemed to be hitting it off well.”