Tsunami Across My Heart (2 page)

“Would you like to see the view from my place? My balcony faces the city from the twenty-first floor; it’s an amazing view, especially on a night like tonight.”

Somehow I managed not to reveal my nervousness. I did play it very cool in those days.

He looked over at me while I was driving, the passing lights illuminating his handsome face. A gentle, knowing smile spread across his face as he slowly turned a little towards me and leaned his back against the passenger door, “Sure. I’d love to see the city from your place.”

“Good. I was hoping you’d answer before I had to pass and then turn around again.” I smiled back at him, my eyes dancing with delight, and turned left into
the circular drive of the tower.

I smoothly turned into the drive, parked and lead him through the lobby by the hand to the elevator to share the magnificent view of the city I loved. It was a long ride up and we made light conversation.

“It’s a great place.” He said.

“Oh it is and you wouldn’t believe it, but the rent is only $550 a month.” The nervousness I now feel in the company of men did not exist. I was completely at home with him.

“No way! In
Cali
, this place would cost a fortune.” he said. The elevator door slid open onto a modest hallway with door after door looking the same. We turned right, and I slid the key into the second door.

In those days, my place was always clean, and when the door swung open, Eric saw a perfectly appointed room with new furniture. Everything was white, the carpet, the couch, the love seat, the rugs were white and pastel geometric shapes. What wasn’t white was glass. Bright, sensuous, Georgia O’Keefe floral prints of poppies and iris’ burst across the room, an Egyptian papyrus print parading hieroglyphs and foreign gods adorned the walls. My own sculpture and pottery cast shadows to the floor from atop their pedestals and the light behind the sliding glass door.

We crossed the room and he said, “Wow. That really is a gorgeous view. That’s awesome!” he smiled as I slid the door open and he passed through the opening to the balcony. The sound of the city, the wind and the cool spring breeze floated across my balcony. Wide and secure, it perfectly framed the downtown skyline glistening nearby on the horizon capturing the glimmer of every star in the sky. He stood facing the city taking it all in and I stepped beside him letting him enjoy the view.

“I love this city.” I finally sighed, and Eric slid behind me, wrapped his arms around me and we enjoyed the moment and the view. I loved that place. I loved my life, and I think it probably showed. His arms were strong and his body was warm against my back and I could feel his tender breath against my hair and neck.

Beyond all his beauty, his being Jewish like I hoped to find, successful, smart, witty, and practically perfect in his ability to banter and entertain, he had a way of making me comfortable and it was just easy to be with Eric. It didn’t feel like it had been a few hours together, it felt like lifetimes.

“It’s getting a little chilly out here. Do you want to go inside and get something to drink?” I finally asked.

“Sure” he said as he released me, and followed me to the tiny little kitchen to grab a few Coca-Colas. We sat on the couch, and after a few sips, set our drinks down on the glass coffee table and he slid my hand into his and drew me a little closer to him.

I remember the lights of the city were beautiful and the sky was crystal clear. The effect was better with the lights dimmed in the living room overlooking the view, so as we inched closer together both the ambiance and the temperatures between us were warm. Eventually Eric moved towards me, placed his hand against my cheek, leaned into me as he pulled me towards him and kissed me, properly, as we say in the South. In a way that first kiss just never ended because I didn’t pull away and neither did he. We sank lower and lower onto the couch and I was trying very hard to be a good girl under the pressure of his kiss, the warmth of his embrace and the hard realities of the attraction he obviously had for me. Eventually we took a breath and laughed at the strength of the attraction.

“You are so incredibly handsome. I love the way you kiss me. I can hardly keep my hands off of you” I purred.

“Oh damn it, I hate it when that happens” he said as he smiled into my eyes. “It’s getting late. I’d say I should go but I don’t want to leave you.”

“Well, do you think if we moved into the bedroom we could promise to behave ourselves?”

“We can promise. We may wish we hadn’t promised, but we can promise.” He stood up and sighed in frustration and pulled me towards him and I followed him to my bedroom as though we had made the trip from the couch to my bed a thousand times before.

Somehow we managed to control ourselves through the night despite moving to the more comfortable bedroom. There was little sleep that night and my urge to hold him captive and ravage him was on overdrive and has been any time I’ve been in his company since.

I liked waking next to him in the morning, and the flirtation began again in earnest as soon as we opened our eyes. His kisses were sweet. I had no regrets about bringing him home with me. We gave in to the day and left my place late in the morning.

During breakfast if I wasn’t touching his hand, then my foot rested against his under the table. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face and he looked delicious in my sweats and rubber flip flops. We read the morning paper, had our coffee and were unusually comfortable together. Eventually he looked up, and put the paper aside.

“I have a suggestion” he said.

“Ok. Shoot.” I took a final sip of my lukewarm coffee, and set it aside.

“Take me back to my hotel and let’s make love all afternoon.”

I stared at him. I wanted nothing more. Time felt suspended, unimportant and the way he eased my soul, I didn’t want to even consider saying no to his invitation. The sun heated my face and my eyes sparkled back at him with mischief when I said, “We better go to the pharmacy and buy some kind of protection for ourselves.”

He smiled. “Yeah, we best do that right away” and he stood up and came around to my side of the table to pull out my chair, “Time’s a wasting, let’s get out of here.” He held my hand and pulled me eagerly to the car through the small parking lot, making me laugh and hurry along.

We went in to a pharmacy close to his hotel, and we spent an inordinate amount of time picking out what kind of condoms to get. I was not accustomed to taking care of this detail myself, as I considered it a manly thing to do, and not the responsibility of a lady. The whole time he teased me about both my flush and my blush. I couldn’t hide my desire for him, but it embarrassed me to show it so much.

“Here we have the multi-colored new and improved day-glo condoms if you like these my Dear. Or if you prefer we have the ribbed… and oh look, these are little spermicidal maniacs! Would you prefer the Trojan brand or perhaps one of these other brands? Where are those French ticklers??? Whatever are you blushing about?” he laughed as he finally stopped to take a breath.

“You’re killing me here… come on let’s go you silly man” the red in my face refusing to subside and I could not quit smiling at him. We took our supply to the counter, holding hands and smiling at one another in anticipation. The clerk said,
 
“I hope you’re going to have a nice day.” To which I blushed profusely and Eric started tossing random items onto the counter to detract from the purpose of our visit. There went some gum, a Hotwheel, a couple of Horoscope Scrolls, and two candy bars. He was funny and eased my embarrassment.

“Oh we’re just having a rather innocent afternoon…” he smiled devilishly and the clerk laughed as I blushed even harder than before.

In the car, we held hands tenderly. Once we got to his room, we eagerly peeled one another’s clothes off, but stood in the darkened room beside the huge bed naked, and trembling at one another’s touch. He was Divine inspiration standing there in all his glory. His muscles, smooth, sinewy, well defined, he felt strong and oh so sexy. His arms pulled me to him and my fingers traveled down his biceps, and slid under his arms and I pressed my naked body against him. He deftly pulled me into the bed and the sheets were ice cold, but the blankets heavy and the heat between us quickly warmed the bed. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing, touching and building one another up and then letting the excitement rest again. His perfection extended to how he made me feel as a woman, and when he finally slid inside of me it was like a hand to a glove, the perfect fit, and I never wanted that day to end. I never regretted asking him to stay the night, or our being together and becoming lovers.

The next morning he checked out of his hotel and came back to stay with me. What was the point of his keeping the room when we only wanted to be together?

Thursday was almost a week that we’d hardly been apart and he was leaving the next morning. I had scarcely thought of David in days, and didn’t answer the phone if I heard his voice on the answering machine. No matter the intensity of the previous year, he’d made his choice, and I needed to move on.

“I’m going to miss you terribly Eric.” I said from the bed watching him get dressed his last morning with me. After only a few days it seemed like a natural every day event to have him in my life. I wanted to cry but hid it. “I wish you lived here, with me.”

“I want you to come and see me. Can you come to
California
? I have two more weeks of business trips, but I’m planning to go to a Rugby Tournament at the end of April. Can you make it then? We’ll drive up Highway 1 along the coast and stop in
Carmel
and
Monterey
. It will be beautiful. Just like you.”

“I can’t think of any place I’d rather be. Yes, I’ll come to see you.”

A week or so after Eric left, I walked into the tower lobby and to the row of mail boxes. My good friend Vanessa was there gathering her mail.

“Girrrrl, how are you doing? What have you been up to this week? Have you heard from Eric yet?”

Our skin was the same exact color though at the time I considered myself to be slightly tan, and others considered Vanessa to be “black” which was always the strangest thing to me, how we could be the same color but considered two different races. She was in perfect shape, adventurous, gorgeous, and had the most beautiful face. Men fell at her feet yet she scarcely had any idea how stunning she was. She looked identical to Vanessa Williams of Miss America Scorned fame, and people always thought they were one and the same when we were shopping together and they happened to hear me say her name. It was always fun to let them think that she was
the
Vanessa Williams.

“Hey Woman! Yes, we’ve talked twice this week. He’s traveling all over the place, and he says he has a little surprise for me. How is your Love?”

“Oh Sammy? He’s fine, he’s fine. You know I dog him every day of his life, treat him terribly and have broken his young heart three times over. I have no idea what made him be such a glutton for punishment… But, what’s a girl to do, hmmmmm?”

“Vanessa, I do not know what we’re going to do with you. I confess that I just do not know.” I laughed as I opened the tiny little box that held my monthly bills and saw an oddly shaped envelope set at an angle across the box. “Looks like something interesting is in here….” I sang.

“Move over woman and let me see, you can’t keep all the juicy romance a secret for yourself!”

I pulled out this gorgeous hand cut card. Delicate roses expanded into a three dimensional dance of pink, cream pearls, ribbon and lace. I’d really never seen a card like that before.

“I saw this and thought it was just as special as you are. I can’t wait to see you again. ~ Eric”

I delighted in its delicate performance, the way the card choreographed a danced as I opened the card wide and its three dimensions deepened, cascaded, blossomed and then settled into romantic bliss. I fell for him all over again. In a time before Caller ID and Email, there was a certain exhilaration to opening the mailbox, or the flashing of the answering machine and the relief that he was going to redeem my broken heart over the loss of David.

“Marissa that is the most beautiful card I’ve ever seen. You must be so happy!” Vanessa sighed as she moved towards the elevator. “Hey, are you going to be ready to run in fifteen minutes? You don’t want that butt to start sagging now do you?”

“Oh no. Oh no. We can’t let that happen. I’ve got to go pay the rent. I’ll come up to get you just as soon as I get changed. Tell Sammy I said ‘Hey’.”

While Eric was consistently attentive, there were disappointments for me too. He mentioned that there had been other women he saw on his trips, or at his home, but he never gave much detail and I wasn’t willing to interrogate him. I more or less ignored the information, while really I shouldn’t have. David continued to call and cry about our loss, but while I still loved David, Eric was the one I hoped to move forward with.

Eric didn’t offer to pay for my trip, and I’d hoped he would demonstrate he wanted me to see him by offering. I think he paid for half and he felt that was modern and fair, and a few months later I flew out to see him.

My Southern sensibility expected something different, but living in
Southern California
as he did, I think Eric expected that I’d be a little more modern in my approach to romance. I let it slide.