Enlightened Love

by Shara Lanel

  But just like her eyes, her heart always returned to him.

  Crossing her arms, she turned her attention to Rick and Kerry. Kerry hunched at the far end of the couch scowling at the images flicking across the TV screen. Rick lounged on the floor between the women’s legs. Lydia couldn’t see his expression but warmth spread up her leg from where it brushed against his arm. She now realized why Evan was pushing her at his cousin. He thought it the best way to protect Rick from Kerry, but Lydia believed Kerry was a good person despite her sarcastic tone in the kitchen. And based on Kerry’s lack of accent and well-bred English, Lydia guessed she came from an upper middle-class family. What she couldn’t guess was how she came to be here with no one to turn to but a stranger.

  The relative silence grated on Lydia’s nerves. “How was work tonight, Kerry?”

  “Not bad.”

  Evan piped up. “So, where are you working now?”

  Lydia glanced at Kerry expectantly, but Kerry and Rick were both peering at Evan with odd looks on their faces. Ignoring Evan’s question, Kerry turned to Lydia and said, “My boss seems really nice and the other workers are friendly. I think I’m catching on quickly. It’s a start.”

  “What do you do?” Lydia asked.

  “Waitressing.”

  “Hard on the feet. I did that a lot during college and law school.” Her parents had paid her tuition, but Lydia had paid for room and board and incidentals. Her father said it was “good life experience.”

  “Have you seen this woman?” an announcer’s voice asked from the television.

  Kerry gasped causing Lydia to glance at the TV. “That looks a bit like you, Kerry.”

  She paled. “I just have one of those faces…”

  Rick jumped forward and shut off the set. “It’s getting a bit late for TV, don’t you think?”

  Evan wore a smirk and he seemed on the verge of saying something, but then he changed his mind. Lydia wondered what she was missing.

  *

  So Kerry knew about the ad, but didn’t want anyone to recognize her. Evan trained his eyes on hers. She kept her expression blank, a poker face. And she’d avoided his question once again. No matter. He knew where she was sleeping. That was good enough. As long as she didn’t run off again. And that was why he wouldn’t press her about the ad—he didn’t want to scare her.

  Lydia, who’d seemed indifferent to Rick earlier in the evening, now combed her fingers through his hair. Rick stiffened visibly and Kerry’s scowl deepened.

  “How about some drinks?” Evan tried to keep the sarcasm from his tone. Rick lifted his tea glass. “That’s not a real drink, Cuz.” He walked over to the sideboard in the dining room and extracted a bottle of tequila and a bottle of Jack Daniels. He grinned at Rick’s shock. “I keep telling yah you need to inventory this place.”

  “My aunt drank that?”

  “Sometimes, but she mainly kept it for guests.”

  “Sometimes?”

  Evan nodded. He pulled shot glasses from the same cupboard, then went to the kitchen and returned with a lime, a knife and a salt shaker. Squatting next to the coffee table, he lined up four shot glasses and filled each to brimming while Lydia sliced the lime. Evan then offered Rick a slice of lime and a shot glass.

  “No, thank you.” He sipped his herbal tea and leaned back against the couch.

  “Come on, Cuz. Cut loose.” Following his own philosophy, Evan swallowed a shot of Jack and chased it with beer. Lydia did the same but with tequila and lime. As Kerry downed a tequila shot, Lydia leaned over and touched a full glass to Rick’s lips. Evan snorted, noting that as soon as Lydia’s breasts were practically in Rick’s face, he swallowed the alcohol without protest.

  Then he coughed and sputtered. Lydia laughed softly and patted his head. “It gets better,” she whispered.

  “That’s what my cousin said about beer and it’s still disgusting, even after several tries.”

  Lydia slid a hand down his cheek. “But this is more potent.” She handed him another shot which he choked down.

  “Damn!” Evan slammed his glass to the table. Why was Lydia pulling this shit?

  Kerry turned away and swallowed more tequila. Lydia continued her blatant flirting, apparently oblivious to Kerry’s unease. Evan shook his head. His dick was hard and he knew it was from watching Lydia. Just seeing her legs cross and her lips curve as she sipped a drink gave him a raging hard-on every damn time. He snorted and shook his head. He wouldn’t be jealous of his own cousin, which is what Lydia wanted, of course. Rick should be interested in Lydia, if he knew what was good for him. She was far superior to Kerry, but so far his hapless cousin had spent all his time chasing after the mooch.

  Lydia dipped her finger into the tequila and traced the liquid along Rick’s lips. His tongue darted out to lick her finger dry.

  “Well, I think I’ll miss this show.” Kerry rose from the couch, swayed a bit, then stomped up the stairs.

  Lydia gestured to the vacated seat next to her, not for Evan, for Rick.

  “Shall I leave you two alone?” Evan asked, swilling more beer while doing his best to ignore the sting of jealousy.

  *

  “Yes,” Lydia said.

  “No!” Rick stood up and found himself a bit unsteady. This was a very unusual state for him. He prided himself on his martial arts skills, which required, above all else, balance. He didn’t know what had possessed him to lick Lydia’s finger, either.

  She tugged on his sleeve and he almost fell into her lap. “Rick, don’t run away. It’s early yet.” But Rick realized she was not looking at him, she was looking at Evan. How odd.

  Rick glanced at the VCR clock and found it slightly fuzzy, but he made out the time—one thirty-five. “Actually, Lydia, it’s extremely late for me. Would you mind terribly if we called it a night?”

  Lydia’s rouged lips formed into a pout, but she said, “Oh, all right. What do you plan for tomorrow? We could get together.”

  Tomorrow was Monday. Rick looked to Evan, who shrugged. “I’ll be in the office or the truck. It’s a workday for me.”

  Rick couldn’t give work as an excuse, so he mentioned an appointment with a college advisor. He wondered why he was making an excuse at all. Was it because Kerry had gone upstairs angry? Not entirely. Lydia’s eyes had strayed to Evan all evening. Was there something between them? Rick was inexperienced and at the moment his brain was sluggish, but he was quite certain Lydia had been flirting with him all evening and not his cousin. But he had made his excuses and she didn’t press.

  Finally, she and Evan gathered up their things and headed for the door. The alcohol bottles remained on the antique table, reminding Rick about the drinking and driving commercials he’d seen. “Should you drive, Cuz?”

  Evan grinned. “Actually, I only drank two shots since I have to work tomorrow, and I hold my alcohol a lot better than you seem to.” With that, he held the door open and Lydia walked through. He followed with his hand on the small of her back. Rick swung the door shut and locked the dead bolt, sighing as he turned back to the living room and surveyed the jumble of bottles and glasses. He debated cleaning, but as he looked up the stairs he thought of Kerry, asleep, possibly naked. His penis grew rigid as he imagined snuggling between her thighs and nudging into her damp folds. Who cared if he let a few bottles sit out overnight?

  The bedroom was dark except for the glow of the streetlight, which blinked in through the open window. The outside air was not much cooler than the inside. Rick stripped off his shirt, once again listing to one side. Since he rarely drank beer or wine, strong alcohol came as a shock to his system, but his brain seemed to be functioning fine. He stripped off his pants. In the bathroom, he fumbled with the faucet, then with his toothbrush. With a fresh mouth, he walked towards the bed.

  “You forgot the water.” Rick started at Kerry’s voice. He’d thought her sound asleep.

  “The water?” He looked at his hand, expecting to see a glass.

  “
You left the water running. In the bathroom.” He thought he heard humor in her voice.

  “Ah.” Retracing his steps, he turned off the faucet, then he stared unseeing into the pitch-black mirror.

  “Rick?”

  “What?” He didn’t move.

  “Are you coming to bed?”

  “Oh.” He shook himself. “Yes.” He walked into the bedroom more quickly than he intended and ran into the bed. “Blast!”

  “Are you all right?”

  He plopped down like a fish and the whole bed shook. Kerry giggled. “Easy there. Do you need help?”

  “No, I’m fine.” And he was, except he felt the Earth’s motion more than he ever had in his life. His queasy stomach protested the spinning sensation. “Make it stop,” he mumbled.

  “What stop?” Her breath tickled his cheek.

  “The world.” He reached his hand up, miscalculated and slapped Kerry’s ear.

  “Ow!”

  “Sorry! I meant … I meant to … steady my head.”

  Once again a giggle. “Your head’s not moving.”

  “It isn’t? Are you sure?”

  Kerry patted her hand all over his face and hair. “Nope, no moving. I can’t vouch for your brain, though. It may be twirling like a washing machine.”

  “That is not a helpful image.”

  *

  Kerry lay back against the pillows and smiled. He hadn’t stayed up with Lydia. She’d heard the front door shut after brushing her teeth, but assumed it had been Evan offering them some privacy. She’d taken a quick shower then, but like Rick found herself unsteady on the slick tile. She knew she would regret the tequila in the morning. Oh well. As long as it helped her sleep.

  She’d just fallen naked into bed, none too gracefully, when she’d heard Rick on the stairs. Now she didn’t want to sleep at all. In the dimness, she could see his hand on his forehead. “Are you all right? Do you want some water or aspirin?”

  “I’m fine, I think.” After a moment, she saw his head turn slightly. “Kerry?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Can we do … you know … what we did last night again?”

  “Are you seducing me?”

  “Well, no, I don’t think so.” Kerry turned to him and ran a finger along his lips. He bit it, a little too hard. They might hurt each other in their inebriated states, but she was game anyway.

  “Seduce me,” she whispered.

  She guided his hand to her hardened nipple and gasped as he pinched it. Heat jetted to all parts of her body and wetness gathered between her thighs. His lips attempted to follow his fingers, but landed on her collar instead. She giggled. This was going to be fun. He worked his way down with light kisses until his mouth closed over her nipple. Kerry exhaled.

  “Do you like that?”

  “Definitely.”

  She ran her hand through his hair, then along his taut shoulder. He paused as Kerry’s fingers circled his own hard nipples. She flicked the nubs and scraped with the tips of her nails. Rick closed his eyes and breathed through his open mouth.

  “What are you doing to me?”

  “You have sensitive nipples. Some men don’t like this.” She played with them some more, while Rick resumed suckling her swollen breast.

  “You’re really good at that.”

  “Beginner’s luck.”

  Kerry spread her legs and let the air kiss the damp, throbbing ache there. The sensation at her breast was exquisite. His teeth, his tongue, the sweet suction all combined to bring her to the threshold without even a touch from his hand or body. Her breathing sounded harsh in her ears. Her hands stopped moving. Sounds came from deep in her throat as she just let herself experience his lips on her nipple.

  “Rick.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Roll over.” The slightest push set him off-balance and he let go of her tit with a pop before falling onto his back on the bed. Kerry could tell by his expression that the movement happened a bit too fast for him. He slapped his hand to his forehead and moaned.

  “I’ll make it better,” she said, spreading his legs with her knees and hands.

  He cracked one eye open. “Promise?”

  “Oh, yeah.” She pressed her thumbs along his inner thighs and stroked closer and closer to his balls, listening for his quickened breathing to see if he liked what she was doing. Her fingers brushed the light fur and velvet skin of his scrotal sack. She massaged and petted all around, along the seam of his ass cheeks and the base of his dick, which was at full mast. She took her time examining it, the contour, the texture, the veins that ran its length and the pre-come that glistened at its tip. Once she’d looked her fill and Rick seemed on the verge of falling asleep—due to the alcohol she presumed and not her lack of allure—she positioned her tongue at the ridge of his cock and licked from base to the tip in slow motion.

  Rick groaned, hopefully from pleasure this time, not pain.

  She planned to taste every inch of him, so she took her time and spread her tongue wide and flat. She cupped her mouth around his staff, closing and sucking the sides, sliding along its length. She moved to the swollen head, pressed her lips together and pushed, letting them expand open and move down until she could feel the head of his penis against the back of her throat.

  “God, Kerry.” His fingers wove through her hair and pressured her to suck in a rhythm of his choosing. Then his fingers clenched and pulled.

  Kerry jerked back. “Yow. That’s my hair!”

  “Kerry, I can’t make it. I need you now.” He grabbed her shoulders and thrust her against the mattress, topping her and taking her breast into his mouth.

  Shoving her legs apart, he gripped her thighs to wrap them around his hips, and thrust into her without releasing her sensitive breast.

  “Wait,” she cried.

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Condom, Rick.” She struggled to reach the nightstand and find a little packet, which she tore open with her teeth. “Pull out.” Rick grunted, but obeyed just long enough for her to slide it on him. He pushed back into her and sighed.

  Kerry tightened her sheath around him, and he responded with harder, deeper thrusts that she felt at the top of her cervix. Her hips lifted to meet him. She pulled her knees up to her waist and gripped them with her palms to change the angle, making each one of his pushes more intense. The sound of wet skin slapping and suctioning and the smell of sex combined with the alcohol in her mind, made fucking Rick a wholly erotic experience.

  “Oh, God. Oh, God!” Kerry didn’t even recognize her own voice as she came. Her body convulsed, her vagina contracted. Rick slowed his rhythm. His mouth was open, sucking in air. His forearms and biceps shuddered with the effort to keep his body above her. Once her orgasm subsided, he resumed his vigorous pounding. Kerry focused on squeezing her vagina and wiggling her hips in a small circle to increase the sensation for Rick. His face was crimson. He thrust once more, deep and hard, then his big body shuddered as he came inside her.

  “God, that was incredible,” Kerry whispered into his ear.

  He collapsed on top of her. The warmth and weight of his body felt so right. “Yes,” he said through ragged breaths, “Incredible.”

  * * * *

  Evan answered the office phone on the first ring. “Richmond Towing,” he said gruffly into the receiver.

  “Mr. Webley. This is Jason Sentron. My associates and I have arrived in Richmond and we are eager to locate Miss Reynolds and reunite her with her family. They are anxious for her return, as you can imagine.”

  “Yes, of course.” The man’s voice didn’t sound the least bit anxious. “Um, may I ask how you’re related to Kerry?”

  “Of course. Natural curiosity. I am her fiancé. We’re to be married in less than a month.”

  “Wow.” Evan tipped back his hat. Kerry hadn’t mentioned a fiancé. Why hadn’t she called him for help in the first place? Strange but not his business, he decided. “Anyway, what do you need me to do?”

 
“We’re at the airport and would greatly appreciate it if you would pick us up and take us directly to Kerry. We’ve had a bit of trouble arranging a rental. Seems it is ‘race weekend.’”

  Evan glanced at the Richmond Raceway on his television screen. “Yup, things get a bit crowded around here when it’s NASCAR time. It will take me about an hour to get to you.”

  “Fine. We’ll be waiting in the lounge area. How will I recognize you, Mr. Webley?”

  “I’ll be in denims and a cowboy hat.”

  “Boots as well?”

  “Of course.”

  * * * *

  As he told Lydia he planned to do, Rick went to VCU to complete the registration process while Kerry took her tips to a thrift store on Cary Street, hoping to repair her wardrobe, particularly her shoes. She also needed some nylons to go with her oh-so-stylish polyester uniform. At least this time she had money for a glass of water.

  By the time she emerged from the store an hour later, the temperature had again reached the upper nineties. Kerry held her hand over her eyes and squinted as she sauntered down the sidewalk. Outside the veterinary office, a woman with a terrier pointed at Kerry as she talked on her cell phone. With a quick intake of breath, Kerry checked behind her. A man in a Jag had just pulled up to the curb, a man with black hair and a bald spot. Kerry exhaled in relief, realizing that the woman’s gesture had been meant for him, but she increased her pace and felt as if eyes followed her all the way back to Rick’s.

  “What’s up?” Rick asked as she rushed into the kitchen panting. He’d begun to borrow Evan’s colloquialisms.

  She shook her head and threw herself into a dining room chair until she’d regained her breath.

  Rick seated himself opposite her. “Is something wrong?”

  “I’m just feeling paranoid. Who knows who’s seen the ad and who will recognize me? Lydia almost did last night.”