Brothers in Blue: The First Love Match (3 page)

After a busy afternoon of grocery shopping, going to the library and bathing Bruno Ariel sat down to watch some TV and opened her laptop to check on her email.  There was a message from John.

Hi Ariel-

Do you want to come over to my house to work with the dogs in the morning instead of the park?  I have a large sized fenced back yard so Bruno could work off leash.  I was thinking that we could grab lunch somewhere after we finish.  Bruno could stay at my place, I have a kennel that Mallard rarely uses except when I have guests.  Let me know.  If you want we can still do the park instead.

-John

This should be interesting; she could see his house, instantly she wondered if he lived alone.  But he had to be a few years older than her so it was a possibility, or he could live with his parents. Why was she even thinking about this? She had just met the man and was already hoping he lived alone. She knew that being alone with him wasn’t a good idea so these thoughts just needed to leave her mind.  She realized that she really didn’t know how old he was either.  That was something she would have to ask soon, just to satisfy her own curiosity.  Inviting her out to lunch did seem to be a sign that he was doing this out of something more than just obligation, he had to have real interest to suggest a meal, right? 

Hey John-

Going to your house
sounds like a good idea.  Bruno really needs to work on his off leash skills, maybe you can teach him to not run away from me and listen to me when I call him back?  Lunch sounds good too.  See you in the morning, 10am still good for you?

-Ariel

She knew 10am was
almost certainly still fine with him, or he would’ve mentioned a different time, but, she really wanted him to write her back.  She was so pathetic  Not even five minutes later a message came back from him.

10 is still good for me, but you can come over a little earlier if you want, we can hang out a little and let the dogs get acclimated to being on the turf together since its less neutral than the park.  Here’s my address, just give me a call before you head over, I’m usually up and out of bed by 7.

1107 Coalfire Rd

Tampa, Fl 33617

Wow, they were going to get to spend a whole half a day together, much of it being
hopefully alone, at his house.  In the past that would have made Ariel a little nervous, she didn’t know him all that well, but he was a cop, a dog lover and the attraction between them seemed to be mutual. This seemed like it could have some potential.  It still made her a little leery that he had probably dated much more than her, and he might be like Tyler and want a physical relationship that she wanted to move more slowly on, but with the thoughts that she was having about him, she might just toss that whole moving slowly thing right out the window.  Maybe.

The next morning a well rested and much more thoughtfully put together Ariel got into her car at 8:30 to head over to John’s house.  He lived a good twenty minutes away from her so she called him while she backed out of the driveway.  After confirming that he was awake and ready for her to come she began the drive.  Bruno had his head out the window with his tongue flapping in the dewy morning air.  It felt so clean and fresh outside, but maybe that had a lot to do with the fact that Ariel felt light and clear as well. 

John’s neighborhood was filled with neatly painted and well maintained cottage style houses, each with a fenced back yard and small front porch.  She saw John’s truck and patrol car in his driveway and pulled in behind him.  Bruno was climbing over her lap while she was still seated at the wheel to try and get to John who had come up to open the door for her.  Jumping out Bruno began jumping and panting to get John’s attention.  John held out his hand for Ariel and she handed him the leash and he grasped that firmly before reaching for her hand again with his other hand and helping her out of the car.  She really didn’t need help getting out her own car, the common courtesy and male helpfulness felt nice though.

              “So what do you think of the house?”

             
“It’s nice, is it your parents place?”

John
laughed that rumbly laugh of his and her heart skipped a beat. Gesturing for her to follow him he walked inside and shut the front door behind her indicating that she should sit as he headed into the kitchen.  Coming back with two glasses of orange juice he unclipped the leash from Bruno and allowed Mallard in from the garage.  Instantly the two dogs were jumping, growling and play fighting in the living room. 

             
“No, it’s not my parents’ house; they live about ten minutes north of here.  I bought this a few years back and remodeled it myself.  Would you like a tour?”

Nodding Ariel stood and followed him towards the kitchen and dining room.  The house looked
clean, tidy, not overly luxurious or masculine, but comfortable.  Explaining the changes he had made Mike showed her the guest bath and two guest bedrooms along with a glance into the master explaining that he had a master bathroom as well. 

Ariel was impressed; he was good with his hands also.  It just made her think of how sexy he was and how capable. She liked a man who could fix things and make things and was capable of being a strong caretaker.  Walking back into the living room Ariel sat on the couch and John settled on the other end as they watched the dogs get re acquainted.  John seemed to be nervously toying with the remote to the TV; maybe he was a little nervous as well?  Finally turning the TV on low to a home improvement show he looked over to Ariel.

             
“So, how was your morning?”

             
“It was good, I got up earlier than usual but I think I could get used to this morning thing, I get so much more done.”

John was smiling, was it because she had just let it slip that she had gotten up early to spend more time with him.  She had a feeling that it was. 

              “What about yours?”

             
“My what?”

He seemed a bit flustered and Ariel liked thinking that
she had some effect on him.  Now she was smiling too.

             
“Your morning silly, how was it.”

             
“Hmmm, well I got up a bit early as well, but, I thought I might have a visitor coming by so I had to make sure I had time to take a shower and smell nice.”

Ariel fe
lt herself blush.  He had taken a shower for her, had he thought about her while he took his shower.  She let herself imagine just for a second the hot water running over his tanned, lean and muscled body.  She snapped back into reality when she realized that he had been talking to her.

             
“What was that?  I’m sorry I sort of zoned out for a second.” She murmured.

             
“I said if all I had to say was that I took a shower to make you blush, then I can only imagine how you react to what some of your less polite patients have to say to you.”

Ariel smiled at him even though she could feel the zing of electricity in the room. 
She couldn’t remember ever feeling a sexual tension like this before.  She knew that John was just playfully bantering with her, but this just felt so overt, so real.  She had read about this sort of thing before in sappy romance novels, but right now she was living the moment and it felt really good.

             
“So, John, how old are you?”

John laughed.  A full out rumbly laugh that made her blush again.
  He really needed to stop doing that. 

             
“Aren’t you direct, or are you just changing the subject?  I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable by bringing up my shower; I know it’s your first visit to my house. I’m sorry.  I’m 29; I can show you my driver’s license for confirmation if you like.”

             
“No, I believe you.”

So he was a little bit older than her 22, but not an amount that was out of the question. 

              “I know guys aren’t supposed to ask, so I’ll just come out and tell you that I’m 22.”

             
“I know.”

             
“How did you know that?”

             
“I ran your name through a little database that us cops happen to have access to, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t associating with a wanted felon or anything.”

             
“So you checked up on me.  I didn’t get access to any special computer program to look into your background.”

             
“Well, you have a point there, what would you like to know about me?”

Just the way he said it
made Ariel want to know more and ask just how much he may have been thinking of her that day in the shower.

             
“Do you live alone?”

             
“Nope, I live with Mallard.”

             
“You know what I mean, do you have a roommate, brother, friend anyone who lives with you or stays here?”

             
“No.  And on the subject of the whole roommate thing, I have to ask, yours is a guy, right?  Is there anything between you two, or has there been anything in the past?”

             
“No.  We are wonderful friends, and I am also pretty close with his long term girlfriend. “

             
“So nothing has ever been between you?  And you live together?”

             
“No, I am not nor have I ever had any sort of romantic or intimate relationship with Sean.  Is that what you were trying to ask?”

             
“Yes, I guess it was, just not so bluntly.  I just can’t imagine living with a beautiful woman and being around her all the time and not sleeping with her.”

             
“So do you sleep with every beautiful woman that you meet?”

             
“Not all of them, but I’m not an angel, Ariel.  If I’m in a relationship I believe in commitment and being monogamous, but when I’m not I still like to spend time with a beautiful woman every now and then.”

So this was it.  Not even a real date yet and they were discussing sex, not outwardly or graphically, but it was the core of this conversation for sure.  It had come up quickly so it was apparently on his mind just as much as hers, but she wasn’t sure yet where she wanted this to go.  If she slept with him, would she regret it later?  She didn’t think so, but she didn’t want to think that she was just a pretty face for him to add to his list of conquests.

              “I made you uncomfortable again. You are bright red and awfully quiet all of a sudden.  When was your last relationship, and why did it end?”

So this was it, now or never. She wanted to be straight up with John and make sure that neither one of them was wasting their time.  She was going to have to put it out there that she was the rarest of rare things at the age of 22, a virgin. 

Taking a deep breath and knowing that she had to get this out there and see his reaction she began.

              “His name was Tyler and we met in high school.  He said he loved me and things were great.  I wanted to take things slow, physically, and he seemed to be ok with that.  It wasn’t like we never did anything physical but we hadn’t had actual sex yet.  I came home one day on a break from college and walked into his room to find former a classmate of mine in his bed with him, naked.  I haven’t been in a relationship since.  What about you?”

             
“Well, I was in a two year relationship until about 7 months ago.  My girlfriend broke up with me and told me I was too stuck in my ways and that I was boring. The boring thing hurt the most, it seemed like she really liked to do all of the things I did, like training Mallard and going to the park, camping, swimming and spending time with our friends and family, but it turned out she hated it all. She claimed that in the last six months of our relationship pretty much every second we spent together made her miserable.  I really don’t’ even know why she dated me for so long.”

             
“Maybe it was because you’re incredibly attractive and you have it all together, a house, career, that can make someone overlook a lot.”

             
“I like that you said the incredibly attractive part.   Do you find me incredibly attractive? Oh there’s that blushing, that answers it for me. And just so you know, I also find you incredibly attractive.”

Ariel looked up only to realize that he had moved over closer to her on the couch and she was looking right into his eyes.  He leaned forward and she could smell his soap and it smelled crisp and masculine and he leaned a little closer as his hand slid along her shoulder to her neck.  He gently pulled her towards him and she closed her eyes and felt his lips on hers.  Forget the electrical tension in the room, this was a full on lightning storm.  His lips were warm and soft and he was kissing her gently. She let herself relax while he took over.  It felt safe to have him kiss her and hold her like this.  The kind of safe that once you have it you never want to let it go.  After a few minutes he deepened the kiss, just a little more hungrily as his tongue nudged her lips apart and she let him enter her mouth with a little moan of contentment.  She was leaning back against the high arm rest on the couch now and he over her, kissing her.  His tongue was slowly stroking inside her mouth while his hands rubbed over her neck and shoulders.  She had one hand clutched in his hair and the other wrapped under his arm, clutching him to her, holding him so tight it hurt her hand.  She wasn’t sure how her hands had become so tightly clutched to his body but she wasn’t complaining.  One of his hands traveled down from her shoulder and rubbed her side slowly, stopping at her hip and going back up, the back of his hand brushing over her breast.  Just that little bit of contact caused her to moan out loud into his mouth.  It seemed painful to him but at that point he broke contact with her and waited for her to open her eyes and look up at him.