Love You Always (8 page)

“Good advice,” I throw in.

“Yeah, well, good advice wasn’t the prize I wanted, so I came up with other reasons why I needed hands-on experience.”

“You were quite the mischievous little girl.” I am so enjoying this.

“He was my first crush, what can I say?”

I love how she squirms at recalling this awkward moment in her life. It’s cute as hell.

“So, how did you finally get him to do it?” Yeah, I’m mischievous too, I’m gonna keep her squirming.

“Well, at first he tried to show me how to kiss using the back of my hand. He’d kiss his hand and tell me to copy what he was doing.”

“Ah, that old trick. Unfortunately, that never works because the hand can’t kiss back.”

“Exactly!” She laughs.

At this point, I’m smiling from ear to ear, thoroughly amused by her story. This is sure better than any fairytale—no snoozin’ here. All I need now is popcorn.

“I assume you finally got him to kiss you?”

“Patience,” she reprimands. “Who’s telling this story?”

“Whooooaa. Sorry. Didn’t mean to jump the gun and ruin the suspense.”

Her eyes show amusement in them as much as mine probably do.

“There’s hardly any suspense. I didn’t hold him hostage, or torture him or anything. I basically made it clear that the only way I wasn’t going to feel like a loser, is to experience what a real kiss was like.”

“Oh, good one. Make him feel like he’d be the scum of the earth to be responsible for your being a loser. Now, how could he refuse that? I feel a Marlon Brando quote coming on.”

She looks at me and shakes her head, but her lips rebel and they smile at me.

“Yeah, he couldn’t.”

She pauses as if she’s not going to go further with the story.

“So what happened next?” I ask, urging her on.

“He took my hand and pulled me into the shadows of the garage where nobody could see us. Since I was a shorty, he lifted me up and set me atop a footstool. I was nervous as hell, but so anxious for him to kiss me. As he looked into my eyes, he put his hands to my cheeks, drew me to him, and planted his kiss.

“I just about melted. When he pulled away, his face was red, and I could tell he felt uncomfortable about it. He said,
‘There, now you have experience. Go show that boy what you’ve got. But don’t let him do anything else to you.’
Then he smiled at me, touched his finger to the tip of my nose, and went back out to tinker on his car. And that was the end of it.”

“Only one kiss?”

“Yup, but it’s a kiss I’ll never forget. It was my first kiss.”

“Wow, I might just have a tear in the corner of my eye. Definitely better than any fairytale, but I have to tell ya . . . you were one scary little girl. You hit on a nineteen-year-old guy with come-on lines that beat out any other I’ve heard. You should package this stuff and sell them to teenage girls.”

“Oh, shut up!” she chides me, but with a laugh.

“Whatever happened to your first crush?”

“The following year, he moved out to live with his girlfriend. I’d see him now and then when he’d visit his family. He’d always wink at me, and I’d take it as his way of letting me know he’d always remember that day he kissed me. Of course, nothing serious about it, just something between us, like buddies, I guess. I know that’s all I was to him, if that even.”

“Did it break your heart?”

“Of course it did. But I eventually outgrew it and moved on.”

Her eyes look intently at me.

“How about you? What’s your story?”

“Oh, no, you’re still only on Chapter One of yours. You still haven’t told me about the one who was your boyfriend.” Sneaky woman.

She lets out a sigh, blowing out her breath to make her lips vibrate.

“You’re a sadist, you know that? Relentless in your need to torture me into confessing my most heartbreaking moments.”

“Oh. Sorry. If it’s too difficult for you to talk about, then please just forget it. I don’t want to cause you distress.” Sounds serious. Her fallout with this guy must’ve been bad.

“It’s just that my breakup with my boyfriend wasn’t that long ago, a little over a year, so it’s not just a teenage crush I had, it hurt me pretty badly.”

“Then please, don’t even worry about it. Knowing about your first crush will suffice, not that I had to know these things about you.”

“I’ll probably tell you about it someday, but just not today. I don’t want to spoil this beautiful day here with you.”

“I understand,” I tell her. Time to change the subject. “You getting hungry?”

“In a minute. You still have your story to tell.” Looks like she’s anxious to hear my heartbreaking moments.

“Okay, since you shared with me your childhood crush, I’ll do the same.” I give her a big grin. “Now, don’t judge me, cuz with teenage guys, sex is all we can think about most of the time.”

“Only as a teenager?” she asks, looking at me incredulously, as if I’ve said something ridiculous.

I laugh at her expression and her skepticism. “Well, as a teenager, we’re just learning to control our urges, if that’s even possible.”

She smiles smugly as if she just put me in my place.

“Your first crush was an older guy, well my first crush was an older woman.”

“Really? Wow. How much older?” she asks, curiosity written all over her face.

“Ten years.”

“Holy cow. How old were you?”

“I was sixteen.”

“Your first crush was at sixteen? That’s a bit old already.”

I laugh. “Well, I did have smaller crushes when I was younger, but they were just kid’s stuff. They’ll be boring. This one will go down in my books as my coming of age crush, the crush of all crushes, the one that a boy never forgets. It’s the first one to break my heart. Is that okay with you?” I scoff, but with humorous intentions.

She gets my drift. “Yes, I don’t need the lowdown on the kiddy stuff, just the scandalous ones will do.”

I’ve never met a woman who could banter with me the way that Laura can. I feel a connection with her on so many levels. I wonder if she feels the same.

“You’ll be happy to know, there won’t be any munchkins in mine.”

“Shucks!”

“Didn’t say it wasn’t going to be pervy.”

Her eyes go wide, and I laugh again.

“Okay, here goes . . .” I say as I take in a deep breath and let out a large sigh, “I met Sondra on a family vacation in Cancun. She was staying at the same resort we were at. One day, I stayed back while my family went shopping. Since I was sixteen, my parents didn’t worry about me getting about by myself. Plus, I told them I’d just stay around the resort.

“I went down to the beach to swim, and when I had enough, I sat on the sand and watched the surfers. A beautiful woman in a bright yellow bikini set down her towel about five feet away from me, and I couldn’t stop myself from glancing at her as she rubbed suntan lotion on her body.

“She caught me staring, and I was freaking embarrassed, but she smiled and held out the suntan lotion to me. I didn’t know whether she wanted me to put some on myself, or to put it on her, but I didn’t make a move.

“
‘Will you do my back?’
she asked me, and I nearly choked. I was in shock that this gorgeous woman was even talking to me. As you can tell, I wasn’t as bold back then, and with this older woman asking me to touch her body, well, I was petrified.”

“Wow,” Laura says, putting a hand on her cheek, “I can already tell that my story will pale in comparison to yours.”

“It’s a toe curler, that’s for sure.”

“Go on,” she says as she brings her knees up and hugs her legs. “I’m chompin’ at the bit to find out what happens.”

But I pause as my mind focuses on Laura’s long, silky legs as my eyes caress them. I make her uncomfortable again, and she immediately curls her legs to the side of her. Little does she realize that this view I like better anyway, because I can cast my eyes on her torso, which in her sexy bra and panties, gives me a rush.

“Are you going to ogle me, or are you going to finish your story?”

My eyes shoot back to her face.

“Sorry, but you’re a bit distracting.” I give her a sheepish grin.

She stands up and walks a few paces.

“Where are you going?” I ask with concern.

“I’m going to put on my dress so you’re not so easily distracted.”

I jump up, and before she can get to the boat, my arms catch her around the waist.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she says with surprise and protest as I carry her back to our picnic area.

“You’re not getting dressed just yet. As long as I’m in my undies, you have to stay in yours. That’s only fair.”

I set her down where she sat before.

“Who made those rules?”

“Those are the rules for anyone who wants to stay and enjoy this spot. I think there’s a commandment tablet here somewhere,” I say glancing around, searching the area.

She gives me the eye and says, “And I thought I was a good bullshitter.”

I let out a belting laugh that makes her laugh too.

“Are you ready to continue?” she asks after her laughter subsides. She puts her knuckles to her hips.

“Yes, I am,” I say as I look into her eyes to refrain from ogling her body, while trying to remember where the hell I left off.

~* Laura *~

I wonder if this older woman taught Marcus the ways of lovemaking. I bet it’s every teenage boy’s fantasy to learn from an older woman. This is going to be interesting.

“You were at the part where she asked you to rub the suntan lotion on her back,” I remind him.

“Oh, right,” he says and shoots me a smile.

“
‘Come, don’t be a chicken,’
she told me. I figured if this woman was going to allow me to touch her, then why the hell not? So I went over to her, took the bottle out of her hand, and proceeded to smear the lotion all over her shoulders and her back.

“She turned around to lie on her stomach, so that I could do the back of her legs. Obviously, she could’ve done them herself when she was sitting up with her knees bent, but she wanted me to do it for her.

“Well, I was happy to oblige, me being a horny teenager at the time. My encounter with her changed my life, I embarrassingly admit.”

He laughs at himself.

“Quite frankly, I can’t blame you. Any teenage boy,” I pause for thought, “hell, any male, period, would’ve killed to be in your shoes,” I say.

“We’re pretty pathetic, aren’t we?” His eyes smile at me.

“Yeah, you guys are,” I say, “but we love you for it at the same time, as long as there’s respect.”

“Did you get a kiss from her?” I add.

His eyebrows lift higher. “Umm, I got more than a kiss, I confess.”

Now my eyebrows lift. “You slept with her?”

“We got to talking for a couple of hours, and when it got too hot, she asked me if I wanted to join her for a cold drink and continue our conversation in her room.”

“And like a good little boy, you agreed?” I tease.

“What choice did I have? Do you think I wanted to look like a loser?” He laughs as he makes fun of my story.

“So what happened when you went up to her room?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you,” he baits me.

“Aw, c’mon, you can’t stop now. You’re killing me here.”

He has me where he wants me and finds it amusing.

“We went up to her suite and she poured me a soft drink, and herself a cocktail. We sat on the couch, and I felt awkward as hell, especially because she was still in her bikini, looking beautiful and sexy.”

I listen attentively, and I have to say that there’s heat permeating throughout my groin—his story’s arousing me. Damn. My panties better not show a wet spot.

“When she finished her drink, she scooted over closer to me. I chugged the rest of mine down, but I was so nervous, my hand still clutched the glass. She took it from me, set it down, and the next thing I knew, her hand was on my thigh, squeezing it, roaming the area until she finally rested it on my crotch.

“I nearly jumped out of my seat, and she laughed at my innocence, but she continued to touch me until I was hard as a rock. She leaned in and kissed me, tenderly at first, and when I reciprocated her kiss, things got pretty heated.”

My eyes transfix on his and I’m totally engrossed. My mind is playing out the scene as he recounts it.

“Without going into graphic detail, suffice it to say, we ended up in her bed. When I came too fast, she knew it was my first time, so she spent a few more hours teaching me how to make love to a woman. I sure learned a lot that day.” He laughs.

“Oh my God, what a wonderful experience for a boy,” I say, and meaning it.

A teenage boy learning how to please a woman early on is priceless. I think with some adult males, their egos get in the way and they’re not as receptive to having women tell them what to do and how they want it.

At least Keith was that way. Although he was a good kisser, he didn’t do it for me in the bedroom. His touch never took me to the heights I so often read about in romance novels. When I’d suggest ways for him to touch me, he’d get frustrated and defensive, saying,
‘What? Am I a lousy lover?’
and then I’d feel bad, and because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, I’d just let him do it his way, which never fulfilled me.

In the end, when I think about it, sex might’ve been what did us in, because it was important to him to feel adequate, to feel he was thrilling me to climactic heights. But he wasn’t, and even though I never said it, I’m sure he could tell, and it hurt his ego and pride.

For me, sex is not the most important thing in a relationship; there are far more vital aspects between a man and woman that should be shared for a relationship to work. But for Keith, sex was high up on the totem pole, so when he didn’t get it as often as he wanted, or felt he wasn’t giving me awesome sex, everything else wasn’t enough, and our relationship fell apart.

For Keith, sex was love and love was sex. There was no separation of the two—one couldn’t survive without the other.

In the end, Keith had turned to a woman who let him believe he was the most awesome lover. Maybe he was, with her. Maybe we all
fit
differently, and we need to find the right partner that is the perfect
fit
for us. Who knows?