What We Search For (15 page)

Opening the door for
Amanda, I followed her in and we were greeted immediately. “Good evening.” The
hostess said.

“Hi there.” I replied.

“Do you have a
reservation?” She inquired.

“Yes we do. It should be
under James.” I responded.

“Ah. Yes here we are. May
I take your jacket, sir?” She asked.

“Thank you. Yes.” I said
as I took it off and passed it to her. After hanging it up, she gathered
various menus into her hands.

“If you would follow me
please I will show you to your table.” She said as she moved on.

She led us through the
restaurant and guided us to a table for two. “Will this be alright?” The hostess
asked.

“Yes, this is perfect.”
Amanda responded.

The table sat against a
window with a candle lit in the center, creating gentle flickering shadows.
Silverware was lined perfectly on the table top with beautifully crafted
glasses set for wine. Walking behind the better seat, I offered it to Amanda.

“Thank you, sir!” She
said, smiling as she sat down. Taking my own seat, I looked over to Amanda and
caught my breath. The lighting of the room and the flickering of the candle
created a gentle, warm glowing ambiance. Amanda’s hair shone in the light. Her
face was perfectly flushed and alive.

“You look absolutely
breathtakingly beautiful. Beyond words.” I said seriously, looking her in the
eye. I soaked in this perfect moment. She looked like an angel. A slight blush
crept through her cheeks and a gentle laugh escaped her lips as she looked
away.

“What do I say to that?”
She said, brushing a stray hair from her eyes behind her ear. We watched each
other until a slight smile creased Amanda’s face and she broke the silence.

“You’re looking very
beautiful yourself.” She said playfully, looking me over as she said it.

“Thanks. I think this
shade of lipstick really pops for me.” I replied, puckering my lips. I smiled
my warmest smile, “Handsome would work too, but you know. I’ll take what I can
get.” I added with a grin. We looked at each other sharing a moment of silence
as our waiter came to join us.

“Good evening folks!” He
said with an earnest smile. “How are we this evening?” He added, looking first
to Amanda and then to me.

“Fantastic thank you.”
Amanda replied.

“Excellent thanks.” I
added.

“That’s great to hear! My
name is Luc, and I will be helping you this evening. If you have any questions
about anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.” He said.

“We appreciate that Luc.”
I said.

“Have you had any chance
to have a look at our drinks menu’s yet?” He mentioned as he indicated the
particular menus.

“Not just yet. We’ll take
a look now.” Amanda said as she picked up a menu, and handed one to me.

“Fantastic. I’ll let you
have a look through, and I will be right back. Let me know if you would like
any recommendations.” Luc said, backing up and walking to another of his
tables.

“He seems nice.” Amanda
said as she opened her own menu.

“Careful… You’ll make me
jealous.” I said, smiling. Flicking through the wine menu, “Would you like to a
share a bottle?” I said as I scanned the pages.

“Sure. Good idea.” She
said as she closed the menu. “Your idea so you get to choose.” She said with a
playful smile.

“Recommendation it is!” I
added with my own smile.

Luc didn’t take long to
make his way back to our table as he saw our menu’s resting once again on the
table. “Have you decided?” He asked.

“We’ve decided to go with
a bottle of wine. I’d lean towards a red.” I said as I looked over to Amanda
who nodded in agreement. “Would you be able to recommend anything for us?” I
asked.

“Absolutely! We actually
have a beautiful Shiraz from Australia if you would be interested. If I’ve not
mistaken your accent?” He asked as he pointed out the exact bottle on the menu.

“Spot on my friend. As for
the wine. Let’s go for the Shiraz then. Thank you.” I agreed. He took the wine
menus and went to place our order.

Our wine arrived soon
after. It was an excellent choice as far as wine went. I would be the first to
admit to my lack of wine knowledge, but I could certainly appreciate it. “I
wanted to thank you for everything.” I said finally as I raised my glass, “I’ve
had an amazing time with you. I think it’s time for me to move on.” I added.

“I’m so glad you came.
You’re welcome whenever you want. You don't have to leave so soon.” She
replied.

“I’d love to come and
visit again sometime if you’d have me.” I said softly.

“Of course you can.” Her
reply came as we joined our glasses. “Until next time then.” She said with a
small gentle smile.

“Next time.” I replied.

Looking out the window at
the sparkling lights of the LA skyline, I couldn’t help but let contentment
wash over me.

“This is beautiful.”
Amanda said looking out the window.

“Definitely.” I said in
hushed tones, “It’s moments like these that make it all worthwhile.” I added,
soaking it all in.

Dinner was fantastic. Soon
enough we were paying our bill and making our way to the door. Gathering my
jacket on the way out, I opened the door once again and Amanda exited. She
waited for me outside with her shawl draped across her neck and shoulders. I
offered her my arm, and we walked down the street together slowly.

“Thank you for this.”
Amanda said, as she stroked my arm softly. “It was an amazing night.” She added
as we walked in step.

“I’m glad you enjoyed
yourself.” I said, as I rested my hand on her arm. “I’ll miss spending time
with you.” I confessed softly. Amanda came to a stop and gazed up at me.

We stood together for a
moment as I released my hand from her arm, and gently cupped her face with it.
Leaning down I looked deep into her eyes and I guided my lips to hers. As she
released my left arm, I softly wrapped it around her waist drawing her into my
body. My senses were racing and my heart beat furiously at her touch. Her arms
wrapped tightly around me.

We stood entwined together
on the sidewalk, everything else around us forgotten. Our lips met over and
over and the intensity increased until finally Amanda pulled away. Her cheeks
were flushed and she was breathing erratically. She playfully slapped at my arm
still wrapped around her.

“If you keep doing things
like that you won’t be allowed to go anywhere.” She said. I couldn’t help but
grin like an idiot.

“I’ll do my best then.” I
replied, still grinning. She slapped my chest this time but made no attempt to
leave my embrace. We stood like that, just looking at one another until we
decided to continue our walk.

“Where are you going to
go?” Amanda asked, watching me from the corner of her eye.

“I’m thinking of heading
back to Banff to see Brad and Chris. Maybe do some work and see what happens.
Thanks to my working VISA I can stay there for up to two years.” I started, “I
know for sure I want to do more traveling in the future though.” I replied,
returning her glance.

“I want to travel more
too, but not by myself.” She said, as she looked at me.

“How about we go and
travel together?” I asked, genuinely hopeful.

“That would be great!” She
replied, and squeezed my arm.

“Deal!” I said.

After walking off our
meals, we hailed down a cab and made our way back home, and spoke at length of
possible places to visit together.

Stepping up to the door.
Just as Amanda reached to open it I took her elbow and guided her around to
face me. “I’m glad I met you that day in the airport Amanda.” I said, full of
sincerity.

“Me too.” She replied,
taking my hand. The warmth of her hand in mine felt right. I could only smile
as I looked deep into her beautiful eyes. She pulled me toward her and I eased
her into my arms kissing her gently, yet full of passion.

Electricity ran through my
whole body. Every pore felt like it opened, and my heart began racing all at
once. Amanda’s tongue flicked in my mouth. Her lips firmly pressed against mine
held the promise of more to come. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking of what
might be about to happen. This amazing woman in my arms had been the object of
my desire and dreams. Yet here we stood, entwined in each others arms,
completely oblivious to everything else around us.

We fumbled open the door
together, and I kicked it shut behind us without a second thought. Was this
truly happening? Still entwined in embrace, we almost awkwardly shuffled our
way through the house not wanting to let the other go or escape the longing of
our kiss. We somehow made it to her bedroom.

Walking to her bed, I
lowered us both down and we continued kissing. It took her moments to have me
on my back, and suddenly she was on top of me. Kicking off our shoes still lost
in each other’s lips, I eased my hand to the back of her dress and found the
zip. Undoing it slowly, I ran my free hand across her body through her dress.

My chest felt like it was
about to burst. Every feeling I had for this woman bubbled to the surface.
Closing my eyes for just a moment, I tried to hold onto those feelings as I
breathed heavily in through my nose. Amanda’s scent graced my nostrils and shot
a thrill through my spine. Opening my eyes, I looked up to catch Amanda
studying my face with a gentle smile across her face.

Returning her smile, I
leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. “You’re beautiful Amanda.” I
said in a near whisper. The most amazing smile crossed her face for one second
as she reached behind my head and pulled my lips into hers. Our kiss brought
fire to my belly as she pressed her body fully against mine. I could hardly
contain my lust for her. My entire body responded and my breathing became
heavy.

Pulling back from our kiss,
Amanda helped me out of my jacket and deposited it on the floor with a flick of
her hand and a cheeky smile. Moving on to the buttons of my shirt she kissed my
chest as each button was removed, and worked her way down to remove my shirt
entirely. My chest heaved with every breath as I enjoyed each sensation of the
moment.

Placing my finger under
her dress straps, I flicked each off of her shoulders as we lay together still
kissing. She eased her way out of the dress with my help, and our warm skin
touched one another as we embraced. Her skin pressed against mine sent sparks
cascading through my body.

I positioned myself on top
of her, wrestling control as we tumbled across her bed locked together. My
hands were moving with a purpose across her body. Gently stroking her shoulders
with my fingertips I slowly traced my way down her chest and across her
stomach. She arched her back and let out a little gasp as my fingers continued
to explore.

Taking advantage of her
arched back I moved my lips to her neck and kissed gently, while breathing
heavily the whole time. My breath was hot with passion as I pressed her against
me. Her hands snaked around me and she dug her nails into my back ever so
gently. Slowly, she applied more pressure as I continued to kiss her neck.

I let out a gasp of my own
as her nails embedded themselves deeper into my back. She kissed me full on the
lips, and her tongue worked its way into my mouth flicking mine as she did.

Releasing from the kiss I
held myself over her for a moment, taking in the beautiful sight before me. The
curves of her body flowing perfectly. Her tasteful black lace lingerie only
helped to accentuate her beauty.

“You are so beautiful.” I
whispered into her ear as I kissed her neck gently. I couldn’t resist her.
Looking into her eyes we smiled together and I couldn’t help but wish this
moment would last forever.

As I looked into Amanda’s eyes
lost in my own moment, her hand moved to the button of my pants and unlatched
it. Not being able to help myself I grinned. Easing myself back on top of her,
I traced a line of kisses across her collarbone.

As she unzipped my pants,
my hands worked their way around to her bra and fought it only for a moment. I
helped her remove it and she pulled me on top of her. Our skin came together
with her breasts against my chest. The warmth of our skin pressed together held
me motionless as I could feel her heart racing through her chest.

She worked my pants below
my hips and I rolled over bringing her once again on top of me. Sitting up she
moved backwards and pulled my pants off one leg at a time with a laugh, and
threw them on the floor. “That’s so hot.” I breathed, as she climbed back on
top of me.

Crawling slowly towards me,
her eyes were smoky as she watched me. Amanda placed her hands firmly on my
legs and looked down asking, “Is someone a bit excited?”

“You have such a strong
effect on me.” I said seriously, “I can’t control myself. I want to make you
feel good.” I added, breathing heavily as my blood pumped strongly through my
body.