Last Call

by Michele G Miller

  It was then that the real magic began to happen. Spencer massaged my bare knee and thigh as he drove. I rested my head on the headrest and closed my eyes as his strong fingers kneaded my muscles into relaxation. His fingers slid up my thigh ever so slowly, working themselves under the short hem of my dress. My body sighed as I slid down deeper into the chair. Liquid heat was beginning to flow through my veins. When his hand began massaging my inner thigh, I thought I might actually die from his scorching touch.

  It was dark in the car, with the only illumination coming from the glow of the blue dashboard lights. I wished I could see his face better; see what he was thinking. I couldn't, and then I decided that might be for the best. The lack of light brought courage, and after a moment I finally slipped my own hand into the hair at his nape and began to play with the soft strands.

  His fingers dug into my thigh for a moment when I touched him, and then they began to creep up my leg some more. When his finger brushed the silky edge of my panties, my reflexes caused me to jump. A low chuckle rumbled through the car as he worked his finger up and down the elastic at my leg, tucking it under the seam as best as he could, considering the position I was in.

  The car came to a stop and I pulled myself from the foggy daze that Spencer had drawn me into. I was surprised to find that we were parked at a small home. Spencer went to college out of state, so I just assumed that he lived at home when he came back for the summer. He turned the car off and I rolled my head on the headrest to look over at him. He stared at me; desire evident in his tightly drawn face.

  His voice was low and raspy when he finally spoke. "The ball’s in your court, Savannah. I can take you home now…or I can take you inside."

  I started to open my mouth, but he put his finger up to my lips to stop me.

  "Wait," he interrupted. "I want to make sure there are no illusions about what will happen if we go inside. I want you Savannah, and I'm pretty sure you want me too. But this won't be about your damn ass of an ex. This will be about us and the mutual attraction we have for each other. Got it?"

  I couldn't speak. Nodding my head yes, my hand was practically shaking as I clicked the seatbelt undone and sat forward. My hand had stilled on his neck when we’d stopped the car, and now I put pressure on it to pull him my way. The best way I knew how to let him know what I wanted was to ask for it.

  "Kiss me," I asked boldly, and he did.

  Our lips crashed together with the force of raging ocean waves against a cliffside. There was a hunger that I'd never known before in his kisses, and I tried to feed it the best I could. The rest was a blur. Somehow we made it into the small house and he pulled me to his bedroom.

  We fell onto his bed, and I could see a dim light in the room peeking in from somewhere outside. It didn't occur to me to stop him, to tell him I was still a virgin. The fire he ignited in me would not be contained. All the care that I'd taken previously to hold out for marriage, to make my man wait, went swirling down the drain.

  There were no words spoken between us. It was all lust and desire. He took his time kissing and touching parts of my body that had never been touched by another. He was careful as he slid between my legs, but when he finally pushed his body into mine, a sharp pain like none other ripped through me; causing me to gasp.

  "Savannah," he whispered, his voice full of regret. "You've never…?"

  I twisted my head to the side and closed my eyes as a single tear slid out.

  "Why?" he questioned me, still fully embedded inside of me but unmoving. He leaned down over me and gently moved my head so he could look at me.

  I was overcome with roiling feelings. Grief at what I had allowed to happen was at war with the pleasure that I felt. Anger at Daniel for pushing me to want to do this. Fear that Spencer would think I was a child bent on seducing him.

  "I'm sorry," I croaked, pulling my hands over my face.

  "Oh my God," he breathed gently, pulling out of me and cradling me in his arms as he lay beside me. "I'm sorry, honey. I should have known." He cursed at himself, which only made me cry harder. He pulled a sheet over us and we lay there not speaking while I cried.

  As my crying began to calm down, he spoke again. "Damn it - I was so selfish, Savannah. It’s just that you looked so beautiful tonight, and you flirted with me so sweetly. I…"

  "No," I hiccuped. Pushing off of him and clutching the sheet to my body, I tried to explain. "Don't apologize, Spencer. I knew what I was doing and it's my fault. I'm just a stupid girl."

  "You're not stupid, Savannah. I've known you for years, and while most of those years you were just a girl, this past year you’ve grown into a beautiful, kind and caring woman."

  "Oh stop," I muttered, shaking my head.

  "It's the truth. I was drawn to you this past winter. Why else do you think I would have escorted you to your coming-out? When I saw you over the holidays at all the Christmas events, I was caught off guard at how you've grown. I could tell that you were miserable, and I wanted to do anything I could to make you happy. You know, I overheard my mom talking to yours on the phone - that's how I became your date."

  "What? My mother said she asked you."

  "Nope," he grinned; smoothing tear-stained hair away from my cheek. "They didn't have to ask. I overheard the conversation and I waved down my mom's attention to make sure she knew I was volunteering for the task." I smiled a teary smile at the way he was acting out the moment. "Hell, I was practically playing charades with her, pointing at myself while dancing in place."

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "You were so sad, Savannah. I knew after that night that you weren't ready to think about another guy." He rubbed my upper arm softly as he added, "So I decided to bide my time."

  I was taken aback at his revelations. "You did?"

  "Yep," he boasted. "I don't typically make a habit of going to parties thrown by my parents’ friends. However this one was a must. I wanted to see you again."

  "I'm so sorry, Spencer. I hate myself for this - for turning you on and then disappointing you. I swear I'm not a tease." Embarrassment swept through me as I spoke.

  "Oh, Savannah, I know you're not. Obviously if you were, we wouldn't have stopped. I'm not mad at you, but I am sorry I hurt you. If I'd known you were a virgin I could have been more careful."

  "If you'd known, I doubt this would have ever happened," I acknowledged; thinking he probably would have run for the hills if he’d known I was this inexperienced.

  "Hey," he bit out almost angrily. "What makes you think that?"

  "Let's not lie to each other, Spencer. You asked me if I knew what I was doing by flirting with you. If you'd known I'd never…done this, you wouldn't have wanted a part of it."

  "Oh honey, you are so wrong," he admitted. "I already told you that I've been biding my time, Savannah. I wanted you too badly to say no. I didn’t bring you to my house because I just wanted a good time. I brought you here because I genuinely wanted to be with you. All that would’ve been different is how quickly I would have allowed things to progress. I would have preferred to wine and dine you first."

  "You would?" I asked again incredulously. When he shook his head yes, I leaned forward and kissed his mouth softly. "Thank you."

  He reached out and kissed me again before I could pull away, and then he spoke, "No, thank you."

  "For what?"

  "For trusting me with something so special. Will you stay the night?" My face must have shown some of my fear because he quickly added, "Not for sex. I would like to hold you through the night, and I'm afraid that if you leave now you might just hide away from me."

  When I agreed to stay he showed me the bathroom where I could clean myself up, and then he gave me a large t-shirt to wear. When I was done freshening up I climbed in bed next to him and let him wrap his arms protectively around me.

  "Spencer?" I whispered in the dark after a while.

  "Yeah?"

  "You don't have to bide your time anymore," I told him.

>   "What do you mean?"

  "If you're still interested after all of this, I'd like to…um, well I guess we could start to see each other." I wanted to crawl into a hole even as I said it. There I was, already sleeping in his bed and wearing his shirt, and NOW I wanted to talk about dating?

  "I'm more than interested, Savannah," he admitted, kissing the top of my head. After another moment he added with a chuckle, "Besides, I wasn't going to let you leave here until you agreed to go out with me anyway."

  Tuesday - April 30, 2013

  Date #4 - Brian

  My Tuesday was a walking blur. I hadn't called Spencer yet, and every time my phone rang I leapt with fear that it was him. Working at the art gallery that morning helped pass time, but I couldn't help being on edge.

  I kept Candace and Sara in the dark about Spencer calling me. Thankfully Sara wasn't there when I got home so that left me to only worry about deflecting Candace's curious glances, and she was easier to fool. She, however, was so excited about my date with Brian that night that she soon ignored my behavior.

  Walking into The Garage, my nerves were heightened to a new level. Candace helped me get ready for the night, but still wouldn't let me in on who I was meeting for this "special" date. My new white eyelet dress helped me feel flirty and fresh. When I arrived, it was still early. The bar was littered with a few people sitting at tables with laptops or chatting, but was, for the most part, empty.

  Turning towards the bar, I approached the one guy sitting there talking to none other than my Aussie antagonist, Gage.

  Fabulous.

  Wondering if this was my "special date" Brian, I tried to get a good look at the profile of his face.

  "What the…?" I muttered to myself. I recognized that it was indeed Brian, because I already knew him. Well, sort of. ‘Brian’ was Brian Stalling: student body President and all around golden boy. We had taken a debate course together last semester.

  "Brian?" I questioned when I reached his side.

  He swiveled on his stool, his hazel eyes widening as he took me in and smiled. "Savannah." Getting up from his stool, he stepped forward and embraced me lightly. "Good God, girl - you look amazing."

  "Thanks. What are you doing here?" I couldn't manage to conceal the confusion in my voice. Brian Stalling would not have answered an ad for a blind date on the campus site. That was just plain madness. I couldn’t imagine that he would need any help whatsoever finding a date.

  "Cut to the chase Guthry, why don't you?" he drawled. A smile wreathed across his face as he pulled out his wallet. "Let me pay real quick and we can go upstairs, okay?"

  I nodded and watched as Gage took his cash. They exchanged a few words, shook hands, and as Brian stepped away Gage called out to me, "Enjoy your meal, Savannah."

  I sent a smile of thanks his way as Brian placed his hand on the small of my back to lead me upstairs to dinner. Brian was the quintessential poster boy for Brooks Brothers; neatly trimmed dirty blond hair, not too long but not too short, with a nose that was straight and thin and a touch pink today. A slight tan line could be seen over the bridge of his nose.

  "Have you been playing golf lately?"

  He smirked, "How’d you guess?" He rubbed his tan lines and laughed as he asked.

  "My dad has made it very clear to me that the best deals - business or political - are made on the golf course."

  "He's right," Brian agreed, and we walked up the stairs to Watson's.

  The restaurant was an exceptionally cozy, diminutive place located above the bar. When you entered The Garage, you had to turn immediately to the left to head up a staircase that led up to the restaurant. It was unlike most establishments in that regard, but it was still a great little place to eat and was especially popular. It was just turning six o’clock on a Tuesday, so they weren't busy yet and we were seated right away. Brian, the perfect gentlemen, held my chair out for me before he sat across from me at the small table.

  "Have you recovered from the last time we were in a room together yet?" he teased, as our waiter came upon us.

  I ordered water to begin with and snarled back at him playfully, "Hey, not fair. My teammates were woefully unprepared at that debate."

  A full bodied laugh escaped his mouth as he leaned back in his chair. "Keep telling yourself that, Guthry."

  "Okay Stallings, I think it’s obvious that we’re gonna need a rematch. Just the two of us. What's hot on the list of current events right now?"

  "Well I've always been told that talking politics on a first date is bad etiquette. However, if you insist." He raised his brows at me as he took a sip of his water and I laughed.

  "Well where do you stand on chicken?" I teased; opening the menu. "I'm quite a fan of chicken, although there are a few questionable ethics involved in many poultry factories."

  "Oh no, we are not going to debate food processing ethics over dinner, Savannah."

  "Hmph. You're just scared you'll lose the debate. It's okay, Mr. President, let's talk about something easier. How do you feel about the cheerleaders’ new outfits for next year?"

  "Now that is something I can get behind." He winked. "Literally."

  "Pig," I shot out, fighting down the urge to throw something at him.

  "You started it."

  Our waiter returned and took our order, and we continued baiting each other with outlandish debate topics while we waited for our food. The first date tension that I felt began to release, and I allowed myself to sit back and simply enjoy his company. I listened to Brian talk about some of the actual hot topics coming up in his campus meetings with the Board.

  Once our food arrived - chicken for me and steak for him - we lapsed into a comfortable silence as we ate.

  "So can you explain to me why you're having to resort to a dating service for dates?" he asked. I instantly felt my face turn red, although he didn't say it in a particularly snotty way.

  "Couldn't I ask you the same thing?"

  "Well, actually I ran into Candace the other day and asked about you."

  "You asked about me?" I wasn't expecting that.

  "Yeah, I heard something about your dating ad from a fraternity brother the other day. You've become very popular with them."

  "What?" I yelped. I slapped my hand over my mouth once I realized how loud that was. "You’re kidding, right?"

  "Savannah, you know who you are, right?"

  And there it was.

  Who I am. I’d tried to maintain a low profile on campus over the years, but there was never a shortage of people who would ask, "Guthry? Like Guthry Whiskey?" once they found out my last name.

  "Yes, Brian. I know who I am," I commented; disgust starting to override the happiness from earlier.

  "I'm not saying that's why I asked her to set us up, though," he quickly shot out. He leaned over the table to touch my hand. "Really Savannah, it's not. Obviously some of the guys in the house knew who you were, and when they saw you on the dating site it became a hot topic."

  "Of course it did."

  "So why are you doing it then?"

  "It was a joke, of sorts, that Sara and Candace decided to play on me. By the time I knew what they'd done it was already too late to do anything about it. Can we just change the subject, please?"

  He opened his mouth to speak and then stopped. The rest of our meal was relatively quiet, and an uncomfortable stiffness settled over the table. I told him about my volunteer work at the fine arts center, and he discussed some of the changes being implemented for next year.

  "I'm sorry about what I said…about who you are. That was stupid of me," he apologized, almost out of the blue.

  "Forget about it. I know you didn't mean it the way it sounded, but I guess I get defensive over it. Last year I went to a tailgating party and a group of people jumped all over me to get free whiskey for the next one. It's annoying to be asked for things because of your name, you know."

  "Look Savannah, I'm sure you get guys after you all the time for that, but I promise I didn'
t want to go out with you because of your father’s name. I really enjoyed the debates we had in class last semester, and I wanted to get to know you better." He looked genuine, so I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  "Ha - well I don't know if I can keep up with you and your mad debating skills, Brian."

  "Well obviously not, but I'd still like to see you try."

  With the exception of the uncomfortable conversation about the irrefutable power of my last name, the rest of the night went fairly well. Brian was smart, cute and definitely had a lot of ideas for his future. I wasn't really sure if there was anything solid in common between us yet, but that was the whole purpose of dating - to find those things out.

  "Okay," I finally spoke. "I'm game." His smile was all the encouragement I needed.

  Over dessert, Brian explained that he had planned our dinner so early because there was an early morning meeting with the Dean that he needed to go to. Then he was headed off to a ‘D.C. Young Leaders of America’ event for the remainder of the week.

  "Sorry I'm heading out tomorrow, but I’ll be back late Sunday night. Can we get together sometime next week?"

  "I don't know," I waffled, as I took the last bite of my chocolate mousse. "I think you’ll need to convince me better than that."

  "Oh? Should I make a flip chart, madam? Do you need the pros and cons list?"

  Tapping my chin thoughtfully I paused for a moment. "Do you mean to tell me there are cons to your proposal?"

  His eyes widened in mock indignation. "Well of course not. A good debater would never admit to having any weaknesses. I can't think that this date would be anything but a good idea."

  "Well, I look forward to seeing the presentation you provide me next week."

  Thirty minutes later the dessert was finished off and the bill was paid. He offered to walk me to my car, but I decided to stick around since it was so early; maybe call Sara or Candace and have a drink. I refused to admit that I had this unabating urge to see Gage, so I stomped that little nugget back into the dark corners of my mind instead.