I Made You My First (2 page)

“A drive-through? Sure.”  I sat back in my seat so he could see the mirror as he changed lanes to exit the freeway.  The engine was louder than most, so I waited until the car came to a stop at the light to continue our conversation.

“So, was that your sister or a
friend
,” I paused, but emphasized the word friend purposely “that you were dropping off at the airport?  I watched his face anxiously.  He surprised me by looking me straight in the eye for what seemed a long minute, as if he were struggling with himself for the best way to answer.  I felt myself swallow hard and slid my hands, one to each side, under my thighs.

He finally answered, “She is a girl I barely know.  I guess you could call her a friend,” and he rolled his eyes and looked back out the front windshield.
All-righty then that didn’t tell
me much. Translated, it could mean that she is a mere rung on my personal ladder of player tail,
I sighed thoughtfully. I didn’t give up.

“Okay, so would you say in the broad
scheme of things that she is a
girl-friend
or an acquaintance?” and I patiently waited with my eyes riveted on him to see if my reality check was about to bounce. 
He’s not going to tell you the truth, and honestly, why should he
? My inner voice questioned. Just then the light changed and I felt the car almost jump in response to his sudden leaden foot. 
Mr. Tom-Catting-Around
kept his eyes forward as he pulled into the In ‘N’ Out food-stop and merged into the long line to the drive-through window.  When it was our turn to order, I quickly scanned the menu, announced my choice, and bent down to search for my wallet.

“Forget about it, really, it’s my treat,” he said with a wave of his hand as he lifted his body from the car seat to
retrieve his wallet. As the Mustang came to a stop at the pick-up window, we sat staring ahead as we waited for our food.

“Listen I haven’t really ever had a steady girlfriend, so to speak. I actually met someone special several years ago, but it didn’t work out. It was just bad timing really. So I don’t date but,” he said with a pause. Neither of us moved, our eyes still fixed forward. My gut told me I wasn’t going to like what he had to say next and my gut was right.

“If you’re asking me if I slept with her, the answer would be yes.  So…” and he paused again. I turned and watched as he inhaled deeply. “Now you know everything there is to know about that.”  His tone wasn’t in the least indicating shame and almost matter-of-fact about the last part. I wondered if I was getting the entire story, he didn’t owe me anything, much less a detailed, blow-by-blow explanation.  I wasn’t sure why
that
gnawed at me so much.

“Do you regret coming with me now?” and his voice trailed off as he turned and accepted the bag of food being offered to him from the open window.  My eyes were plastered on the bag rather than on him; I reached for it.  I really didn’t
know exactly how I felt, but I could feel his eyes on me, waiting for a response.  I reached into the bag and handed him a burger. His eyes locked with mine and I could tell that he
needed
an answer. I worded my reply carefully.

“No, I don’t regret anything.  I had a choice and I made it,” I insisted, still looking at him. I gave him a quick reassuring smile and after a second of thought, he looked away, clearly satisfied with my words.

The ride to Judy’s was quiet as we both ate the burgers.  He pulled up to the sidewalk and   I grabbed my purse, meeting him at the trunk of the car to take my bag.

“I bet you want a smoke right about now, huh? I know when I smoked, that’s the first thing I wanted after a meal.” he said, slipping his right hand partially into his front jeans pocket. I caught myself looking at the ground and nodding at him.
Great, he’s a reformed smoker. Let’s hope that doesn’t include a holier-than-thou attitude about smokers. I will quit, when I’m good and ready. 
Judy quit several years ago with nothing but sunflower seed
s
.
 
Nobody likes a quitter.

“Yeah, I really do,” I answered truthfully.  “Um, I’m not sure if my friend’s even here yet, I don’t see a car in her spot, but would you like to come in for a few minutes?”  I looked at him. He
nodded. 

“Sure, I was going to ask if I could get your number, if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure.”  I felt strangely adamant about wanting to see him again.  I walked with him and my bag to the front of the house and left him there while I went around back to find the key.  It had been moved since my last visit.  I unlocked the glass door, sliding it open.  Heading for the front door, I quickly inventoried the front room.  Everything was exactly the way it had been when I visited last time.  It felt familiar and safe, and I felt at home. I finally opened the door and invited Irish into the house.  I took my bag and left him standing in the front room.  I headed for
my
room and threw
my
bag on
my
bed, along with my purse.  It wasn’t really
my
bed, but it always was while I stayed at Judy’s. 

Chapter Two

Judy often teased me, by saying, “If that bed could only talk....”  But we both knew it wouldn’t be talking about
me
.  Unless it said that I snore, really loud.  I grabbed my phone and cigarettes and headed back into the front room.  The glass door was still wide open and Irish was sitting in a patio chair. 

“Hey, can I get you something to drink?”  I yelled, while hustling to the kitchen to see what we had to offer.

“Just a glass of water for me, thanks,” I heard him answer.

Hmm, Judy, what do we have
?  I nosed around in the fridge and found an open bottle of wine. 
Okay, wine and water coming up
.  With both hands full, I headed to the patio.  Irish stood up and took both glasses from me and set them on the small round table between our chairs.  I plopped down with a heavy sigh.

“Is the time difference catching up to you yet?” he asked in a whisper.  I stifled a yawn, quickly covering my mouth before answering.

“Yes, I believe it is.”  I set the phone down next to my glass and banged my pack until a cigarette popped out.  Irish stood, retrieving a lighter from his front pocket, and offered me a light.  “Oh, thank you,” I said as I exhaled.  I crossed my legs, Indian-style, in my chair and suddenly felt the effects of my six-hour flight, completely taking over my body. I was sure that if Irish wasn’t here, I’d be curled up in my queen-size bed right now. That thought produced a vivid picture of me, with Irish, curled up in my queen-sized bed, naked
.  Whoa girl, pull back on those reigns
. Before I could go any further with my indecent thoughts, I made myself snap out
of it.
I suddenly felt warm and secretly giggled to myself.

“Oh,” I reached my arm out toward him, “let me see your phone.”  He looked surprised, or maybe I just caught him off guard, but he said, “Sure” and stood up to retrieve it from his pocket.  While he stood there, I couldn’t help
ogling his physique
. 
Yes, inviting Mr. Irish blue eyes in was a great choice. 

He handed me his phone...reluctantly. “You’re just adding your number,
right
?” and he paused, “Pepper,” finishing with a hint of laughter as he sat back down.  I gave him an eye-roll and cupped his phone to my chest with one hand.  He laughed again, appreciating my feistiness, and I noticed for the first time what a pleasant, attractive, almost come-hither laugh he had.  I punched in my number and handed the phone back. 

“So, Irish, tell me, do you often save stranded women at the airport?”  I avoided eye contact and reached for my glass, smiling devilishly.  I enjoyed the feel of his eyes on me.

“No, actually you’re my first.” And I felt my heart flip flop, just hearing this man say  I was his first
anything
.  Twisting a strand of my hair around my finger, I continued my selfish interrogation.  My eyes shot straight to his deliciously tanned arms and slowly made a trail that ended at his long, sexy fingers. 

“So what are you doing when you’re not coming to the aid of marooned maidens?”

“Well I like to play around with different types of music, and hike, and um, just about anything outdoors.” he paused a moment and reached for his glass.  “I’m 25,
single,
although I’ve just met this really beautiful woman, so I’ll have to check with her before I can say for sure whether I’m available,” he said calmly, placing his glass on the table.

Wow, that came out of nowhere
.  I could only stare at him. It was becoming a
frequent
occurrence with me today.  I took a sip of my wine, and he sat there smiling at me.  My heart was melting as I mentally replayed his words.   

He reached for his water and now we were staring at each other.  Not the same intense stare we shared at the airport.  Not my crazy, dumbfounded ogle; this was more of a
sexual
stare.  I could actually feel the heat floating from my face, surrounding me. What I was feeling now wasn’t normal for me; in fact, it was actually scaring the hell out of me.  He took another sip from his glass and quickly set it back on the table.  We continued to stare, both of us almost seeing inside the other, taking our own private inventory.  I made myself break our stare, oddly pleased with the way this was playing out between us.

“Do you know how beautiful you really are?” he asked in a low, sensuous voice.
My eyes flew back to his.

W-w-what the flipping hell,
I thought.  I wasn’t sure what picture the look on my face was painting, but I was sure it wasn’t the picture I wanted him to see. If I hadn’t been the only other person here, and he hadn’t been staring directly into my eyes, I might have been tempted to look behind me.  “Wow, Irish, thank you. That’s really very sweet of you,” and my eyes dropped to my lap without my permission.  My insides were screaming and my heartbeat was beginning to speed up like a motorboat with too much horsepower.  I only hoped my exterior wasn’t radiating my feelings in big bold letters across my very red face.

“Well it’s the truth; probably why I couldn’t help staring at you when I saw you sitting out front at the airport,” he said in a velvet-sounding whisper.

              I looked at my glass, feeling an uncomfortable embarrassment. I’d been called cute before, but was only told I was beautiful by one other man in my life, my dad. I took another gulp and reached for my cigarette pack, but I watched him from the corner of my eye. 

“I know you took a huge risk coming with me today,” and he inhaled slowly before continuing, “And you have no idea how happy I am that you did,” and he paused as he moved forward in his chair.  I watched as his fingers intertwined, and with his forearms resting on his thighs, he became quiet, as if he were selecting his words.  We stared down at his hands in
silence. I felt myself inhale deeply and the blood rush back to my face.

I finally looked up at him and he was smiling sweetly, contentedly, and seemed strangely confiden
t
.
  For me, the world had stopped completely.  No one else existed except us.  He suddenly stood up and shoved his hand into his front pocket. As he pulled out his lighter and reached over the table toward me, I also stood...only I moved around the table, to him.  I placed my glass and cigarette on the table, watching his face and saw one eyebrow rise. I gave him my sexiest smile.  He reciprocated, only I’m sure his smile was far sexier than mine. He was in the big leagues and I was still in t-ball.  He dropped the lighter on the table.  I stepped in as close as I could and took in his beautiful full lips. My lips parted and my tongue rested patiently between my lips.  I felt his strong arms encircle my waist and his hands gently but firmly hold my hips.  I followed his lead and I slipped my hands deeply into his back pockets and gave his butt cheek a gentle squeeze.  I closed my eyes and leaned slowly into him. 

At first, our kiss was butterfly soft, our lips barely brushed against the others; I was tingling in places I’d never
tingled before.  As the seconds ticked by, the momentum picked up and I knew that stopping was not in the equation.  Not in my equation.  This was way better than any article in
Cosmos
magazine had said it would be, and this gal just might make it all the way to home plate. We slowly pressed even harder into each other, touching everywhere, until I could actually feel the heat radiating from his body.  My knees weakened at the sudden sensation that was pulsing through my body with the same rhythm of a forgotten turn signal. I tasted his tongue in my mouth.  I tried to slow myself down, to savor each new feeling.  I felt myself shifting my body against him side to side, the combined heat seemed to almost melt us together.  God, he felt so good; this felt so electric that my heart began racing.  Every inch of my body was on fire as his hands moved up and down my back.  Just when I felt I might pass out, I opened my eyes and gently pushed away, breaking our passionate embrace. 

I wasn’t sure if it was the wine, or
just
him
.  I grabbed my shirt and while he held my hips firmly, I lifted it over my head and tossed it into the air.  He quickly followed suit, nimbly lifting his shirt off and tossing it on the ground.  He kissed me again, but this time he stopped, took my face in his hands, searching my eyes, almost asking me if I was sure I wanted something
more
.  I nodded and quickly found his lips.