Mark came out from the bathroom naked, his penis out there for observation.
“I’m hanging up, Ed,” and she did, banging the receiver down.
“Everything okay?” Mark asked, concerned.
She got out of bed, throwing caution to the wind with her sagging breasts exposed, and grabbed his hands. “Take a shower with me,” she said. “I want to reciprocate.”
“Oh God, you mean you’re going to…”
“Yes. I’m going to suck your penis,” she said, licking her lips. “And I can’t wait.”
By ten, spent and satisfied, they dressed in sweatpants and T-shirts and went to the kitchen for food.
“I have a surprise, if you want to build a fire. We can have a roaring one tonight and sleep down here on the couch until it burns out.”
“You’re not in a hurry to get to sleep?” Mark asked. “What about your list of errands tomorrow?”
“Nope. I think I’m healed from that. All we have to do this weekend is be together. I can run errands after work next week.”
She made a homemade pizza with a ready-made crust for a snack. There was time for more chess by the fire. Since the sexual tension between them was alleviated for a while, they were back to their old teasing and bantering.
“If you win tonight, I’m not playing with you anymore,” Mark said when it looked like he was in danger of losing another piece.
“Don’t be a spoilsport,” she cried. “Sore loser!”
“I’m not! You’re probably hiding your Mensa status from me,” he complained.
“Intelligence and winning at chess don’t have anything to do with each other,” she said. “Google it if you don’t believe me.”
“If you touch one more piece of mine, I’m going to take you up to the bed again, over my shoulder this time.”
“Oh, I see,” she said, laughing. “Like that’s punishment.”
“No, really,” he replied seriously. “I want to take you to bed again. Your body just doesn’t stop.”
“It’s big enough.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. You’re interesting, like a painting. Everything about you is real. You have pubic hair! Hurray for pubic hair!”
Kendall lay back on the couch, almost choking she was laughing so hard.
“This is not a laughing matter. I could never get sick of your body. Those breasts of yours,” he said, snatching at her shirt and pulling her next to him. “Let me see them.”
On command, she pulled up her shirt and cradled her breasts, one in each hand, and then did a little juggling motion with them, up and down, and that made Mark laugh.
“It’s turning me on again, so watch out.”
He did appear to be insatiable, but then Kendall remembered what Adam had said about young guys being hung and having staying power. After the first time, they did it two more times that evening, and he didn’t have trouble getting an erection. Maybe it was just the newness of them as a couple.
“You could do it a fourth time?”
“Look,” he said, pulling the waistband of his sweatpants down. A big erect penis popped out.
“Oh, well, wow.” It seemed like once they started to have sex, that was all he wanted to do. “Do you want to do it again, or can we finish the game?”
“We can play chess with anyone. But I only want to make love to you. We’re monogamous, right?”
“Right. After a week, wow. Does this mean we’re a couple?” Kendall asked, her questions about the two of them getting answered.
“We are,” he said, pulling her over on his lap. “You’re my girl.”
“I am. It will take a while for me to accept that we don’t have to sneak around.”
“We’re legal,” he said, snickering.
“And I’m a cougar.”
“You are most definitely a cougar.”
Chapter Five
The weekend flew by. Friday night was the first night he stayed over. They started off in each other’s arms; then she flipped over and he spooned. But she got too hot, so she slipped away to the far side of the bed. On Saturday morning, he woke up, looking around, forgetting where he was, and then he remembered. Kendall was curled up on the far side of the bed.
“Why are you over there?”
“Wha—?” she said, sitting up, confused.
“Why are you sleeping way over there?” he asked. “We started out in each other’s arms, and I wake up and you’re as far as you can get from me.”
Shaking her head to clear it, she wasn’t sure what the right response was, so she was just honest. “I get too hot at night, and I must need my space, I guess. I’m sorry.”
“No problem,” he said, yawning.
Getting out of bed, he stretched and scratched, his buttocks flexed, and Kendall buried her face in the pillow to keep from laughing. Long and lean, his body just did not stop, and watching him felt like voyeurism.
“I don’t know that I will ever get used to how hot you are,” she said. “You’re like art.
With that, he turned his profile to her and stuck his stomach out and then pulled it in. “Before, after, before, after,” while Kendall roared.
“Stay right there,” he said. “I’ll be right out.”
He took his duffel bag into the bathroom, and she heard the shower turn on. Relieved, she remembered men in their twenties who had less than stellar hygiene, so she was grateful that Mark always smelled clean and had great teeth.
“Like a horse,” her father used to say, advising his daughters about what to look for in a man. “Look in their mouths and make sure they take care of their teeth. If they have good teeth, the rest of their body will be okay.”
Mark’s body was definitely okay.
They eventually came up for air on Saturday and made a trip to the original grocery store, this time without a confrontation with Roy. On Sunday evening, she drove him to the train station in Center City to make the five-hour train ride back to school.
“Thank you for a wonderful weekend,” Mark said. “I won’t relax until I know you’re home safe.”
“I’ll text you as soon as I pull into the driveway.”
She watched him disappear into the station before she drove away, and the sadness of finality washed over her. It was almost better to be alone than to miss someone so much. Like she’d promised, as soon as she pulled into the driveway, she sent him a text. The train had just pulled out of the station when he answered, promising her that the next four days would fly by. Amused that a guy sixteen years younger was reasoning with her, she supposed all relationships, regardless of their ages, were made of two people who tried to comfort and encourage the other.
Before she got comfortable for the evening, she let Dolly out and was standing in the yard, watching her sniffing around.
“Kendall!”
She looked up to see Mark’s mother, Sarah Strong, standing at the gated entrance to the driveway.
“We need to talk,” she said, the tone of voice unmistakable.
“Okay,” Kendall said, moving to the gate. “Did you want to come in and have a cup of coffee?”
“No, that’s not necessary. What I have to say won’t take that long.”
“I’m sure it’s about Mark.”
“Yes. My son, Mark. It was pretty tacky that he was here all weekend and never bothered to call me.”
There was nothing to say, so Kendall just waited.
“I don’t approve of you.”
So now they were getting somewhere.
“No, I don’t imagine you would,” Kendall said. “But that’s something you need to take up with him.”
“He won’t listen to me. He’s had a schoolboy crush on you since you moved in. I blew it off. What young kid wouldn’t be hot after a young woman who sunbathed in a bikini out in the middle of the neighborhood?”
“If you mean me on a lounge chair in my yard, behind my house, with a privacy fence around it, then I guess it was the middle of the neighborhood.”
“It’s perverted. You could be his mother.”
“Sarah, what do you want me to do about it? Mark’s a grown man. If you have influence over him, then use it.”
“What are your intentions?”
Kendall thought about that question because it was exactly the same thing she’d been struggling with. What was the purpose of their relationship? It felt right, like they could live together forever. But she wasn’t telling Sarah that.
“My intentions? Why is that important? You should be asking Mark what his intentions are. You may not believe it, but your son knows what he wants, and he isn’t wasting any time about it.”
“So I guess what you’re saying is that he wants you.” She said that with a slight sneer, her lip curled, and looked Kendall up and down like she was covered in mud.
“I guess that is what I’m saying. But ask him, not me. I’m sorry he didn’t call you. It never occurred to me because I just assumed you knew he was here. It’s not my place to remind him to call you. He either wants to call his mother or he doesn’t. I love my father and call him every Saturday, but I don’t want to call him unless I have something major to say, which is rare.”
Defeated, Sarah shook her head. “I’m expecting too much, I guess. He’s my only child. My husband died when he was only ten years old. My life has revolved around him since then. Plus, I like him as a person. I knew he’d find someone someday, but I thought it would be a young girl his age, maybe someone who needed me, who could be my daughter. Not someone who is almost as old as I am.”
That comment made Kendall laugh out loud. “Sorry, Sarah. Trust me, I never thought I’d be with a man sixteen years younger than I am. I resisted him, but not for long. He’s a really wonderful guy. You did a great job raising your son to become a decent man.”
“Sorry I came on so aggressive. I’m pissed off that he didn’t call me.”
“Yes, I’m sure you’re hurt. Just send him a text and ask him to let you know next time. If anything comes of our relationship, it should make you happy that he’ll be a few doors down instead of miles away.”
“I never thought of that. Thank you, Kendall.”
She turned and walked away. Kendall waited for her to turn into her walkway. It was dark and their neighborhood wasn’t crime ridden, but it was the big city.
“Come on, girl,” she said to Dolly, the best watchdog there was.
They went back up the driveway to the porch and went into the house, locking the door after her.
Life was getting complicated, but she should have known that being with him might come with a few problems. Hoping her comment about him living close by had helped Sarah, Kendall concluded that there was nothing she could do about it. Mark was a grown man. She wasn’t about to start acting like his mother and telling him what to do.
It was getting late, and she still had to prepare for the week. Her heart just wasn’t in it, but she knew it would make her life easier if she did a little work on Sunday night. So she filled the coffee pot and made her lunch for the next few days. The cleaning people would be there on Monday, so she put all her clutter away. The bright spot was knowing that Thursday night he’d be there.
With the memories of a weekend full of lovemaking and exploration of each other’s bodies like teenagers would do, she dragged herself up the stairs, with Dolly right behind her. She looked at the clock, and it was too early to go to bed; she’d wake up at midnight and be up all night. Looking through her to-be-read pile of books, a romance she’d had her eye on for a while stood out. Its description told the story of a couple whose forbidden love led them to murder. She’d avoided it before because it was too maddening to read about other people’s love, even fictional characters.
What was forbidden love, exactly? In the story, the interracial lovers were from extreme ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. He was a wealthy white politician, and she was his wife’s Jamaican personal maid. What was forbidden about it was the adultery and betrayal. Why would she equate her relationship with Mark to a clandestine affair? A sense of what she was avoiding smacked her. She felt shame.
Walking around her bedroom, unable to relax, Kendall soul-searched. Was it really shame she felt about dating someone so young? Trying to psychoanalyze what shame really meant to her, it boiled down to embarrassment. Dating a young guy could be construed by others as poor judgment. They might think Mark was using her for financial gain, not that she was drowning in money, but because she was a doctor and her earning potential was certainly more than a college student’s was.
Suddenly, she thought of her father. It was still early enough to call. He’d be sitting in his chair with a book and a cigar, or if there was a game on, the TV as background noise. She sat on the bed with her back against the headboard and dialed the familiar number.
“Hey, Daddy,” she said when he answered.
“Well, well, well. It’s not Saturday. It’s not my birthday. It’s not your birthday. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Giggling, Kendall smiled at the phone. “I have a hypothetical question for you.”
“I hate those.”
“Okay, well, that was a lie. I guess I’m searching for your opinion.”
“That’s better,” he said. “You don’t want my advice.”
“No. No advice. My mind is made up, sort of. I guess I’m worried about public opinion.”
“Oh no,” he moaned. “This sounds like one of those situations when I wish your mother was still alive.”
Sighing, Kendall agreed. “I could really use a mother right now. Instead, I sort of feel like the mother.”
“Explain.”
“Dad, I’m dating a twenty-two-year-old college student. I’m in love with a twenty-two-year-old.”
“Ugh,” he grunted, and they both laughed. “It’s not really funny. Knowing you, I know you’re struggling.”
“I am and I’m not. I’m not going to break up with him, but I am feeling a little overwhelmed right now. For instance, on Friday, I was really glad I’ve already made partner in the practice. Something like this might have prohibited my stuffy colleagues from accepting me.”
“Do you want to tell me how it started? I can’t see you picking up a college student in a bar.”
“Ha! No, you’re right. No bar. Actually, he’s my neighbor. He said he’s had a childhood crush on me since I moved into the house. His mother confirmed it tonight.”
“What’s that situation like?”
“Frosty, but melting. I’ll work on it.”
“So you said you wanted my opinion? I take it so you can sleep tonight?”
“Exactly. It’s not like I’m married and cheating on my husband with a teenager,” Kendall said, working it out on her own.
“No. And he’s not a felon you met as a jailhouse pen pal,” he added.
“Dad, are you watching Maury Povich again?” She could hear him snickering.
“So, can I tell your sisters? They live such boring lives in the suburbs; this will give them something to chew on.”
“Yes, I guess so. Mark—that’s his name, Mark Strong—wants to come there for Thanksgiving next year.”
“He does? Well, that’s a good sign.”
“So, Dad, you’re not appalled?”
“Not at all,” he replied. “You’re the most levelheaded of my three girls. You’ve been alone a long time. I’m happy you found someone to love. Now I can die in peace.”
She heard him chuckling so didn’t take it seriously. “Whatever, Dad,” she said. “Love you.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.”
After they hung up, she sat with the phone in her lap for a while. Then it rang again, this time Mark’s number.
“Well, how nice! I was just expecting a text.”
“I needed to hear your voice. I miss you so much already. I’m not sure this is going to work.”
“Oh, Mark, I know. I miss you, too. We only have four nights apart. You’ll be here in four short days.”
“Right,” she said, giggling.
“I’m serious, Kendall. I’ve never felt so good down there before.”
“Are you in your room?” she asked.
“I am. I’m all alone.”
Hesitating, Kendall was about to suggest something she’d never done before. “Do you want to have phone sex?” she asked, cringing a little bit. “Oh God, I can’t believe I even said that.”
Laughing, Mark knew what it probably cost her. “You’d do that for me?”
“Of course! As long as you promise not to record it. And I will deny it in a court of law.”
“No, I won’t make you do that,” he said. “But it is tempting.”
“I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” she said. “You’d have to ask me leading questions.”
“How about we practice this weekend?” Mark said. “I don’t want you to do anything you might regret later.”
“Thank you, Mark. That was close.”
“You know, I had my first wet dream fantasizing about you,” he admitted.
“Oh jeez, I don’t even want to hear about it!” she cried, laughing and embarrassed.
“Oh, yes. You were the subject of a young boy’s fantasy. Now it’s coming true. I have to keep pinching myself to make sure it’s real. And I’m not kidding.”
They laughed, talking another five minutes before saying goodbye.
She felt one hundred percent better after hearing from him. The angst must have sprung from their separation. It was confirmation that they belonged together.
The days passed, yet another new routine developing. The couple discovered how fluid and adaptable their relationship was, thriving whether they were apart or together. FaceTime and Skype helped when they really missed each other. They texted each other constantly during the day, Kendall before and after a case, and Mark whenever he had a break.
Whispers of Winter: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Romances Page 101
