by Mia Ford
My mind was preoccupied with the secret for the reason why I had stuck around after the funeral.
Chapter three
Karen
I thought it was a dream, but the feeling he had inflicted was too strong to be anything other than the real thing. I still remembered the length and shape of his masculinity. It was ingrained into a shadow presence in my hand. I didn’t get a good look, but that was something we both had in common.
Things weren’t made any better by my mother inviting him to have dinner with us with his mother.
He was across from me at the dinner table, slurping his spaghetti with the homemade meat sauce my mother had made from scratch.
“Things do have a tendency to change, but others stay the same. I don’t know when the last time we all had dinner together. I think that we should make this more than for special occasions.” My father was making a proposition for our two families’ to be a little closer. He didn’t have to know how close his daughter and their son had gotten lately.
“I second the notion. We have to come together when we face adversity. We are neighbors and there’s no reason why we can’t make an effort.” His mother was grasping onto a lifeline and using her loss to be a little more cordial to those around her.
Latham wasn’t saying much, but I was feeling in a particular naughty frame of mind. I took my foot out of my high heels with my bare toes stretching over to where he was looking at me from time to time.
“Karen, tell me what is the best part of being home.” His mother was saying a mouthful and I was inclined to play a bit of a game at Latham’s expense.
“I would have to say the best thing so far is the food. I don’t know when the last time I had something like this in my mouth.” I had my bare toes in his lap and he was trying to push me away without making a scene.
“I would have hoped to hear you say it was being close to your family again. You never know when the day will come that they won’t be around. We learn the hard way how life has a tendency to throw curveballs when you least expect them.” She was reminiscing and I could tell from the look in her eyes that her main focus was her late husband.
“Don’t get me wrong, being home has given me a good chance to catch up. I remind myself it’s the little things that matter the most. You have to take time to find those joys in life. They’re having a party down on the beach tomorrow night.” The provisions had been arranged with several varieties of seafood to be consumed in a boiling pot over an open fire.
“Latham could use a break from me. Invite him along and the two of you can have some fun together. He never gets the chance to let his hair down.” I was hoping she was going to make the request.
I could think of a few things I could accomplish by getting him alone.
I was using his package as a roll of quarters between my toes. I wanted to see it up close and personal. I not so innocently dropped my fork and ducked under the table to retrieve it. The sight that greeted my eyes made my mouth water. There was no way that he could hide his current dilemma if he were to attempt to leave the table.
I reached out and pulled down his zipper. It wasn’t long before I had him fished out and raging with the hormones of a man with only one thing on his mind. It wasn’t the time or the place to get intimate. It didn’t stop me from moving my tongue in a long line up to the head and back down again.
He was choking and I came up to see his mother patting him on the back. If looks could kill, he would have burst me into flames for trying such a thing. I dabbed the corners of my mouth with a napkin smiling with my eyes ablaze with mischief.
“I don’t mind if he tags along. I’m sure there will be people there he knows. He does seem a little stiff. He should take a breath and center himself.” I could tell he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t going to ruin a family dinner.
“I might want to stay home and read a good book.” He was trying to play hard to get, but his actions spoke louder than words.
“Don’t be silly. My friend promises it is going to be a summer blast to remember. Everybody who is anybody is going to be there. You look like you could use somebody to drag you kicking and screaming to have some fun.” He was stuck and his mother was trying to coax him into doing it for her benefit.
“Karen is right. You have been cooped up in the house with me for days. Being with friends your own age is just what the doctor ordered. I insist that you leave me alone for one night.” Latham wasn’t going to be able to get out of this one without some fancy tap dancing.
“We are old enough not to have chaperones. You never know what’s going to happen when you least expect it. Sometimes the best things can be totally out of the blue. I’ve tasted life on the tip of my tongue and it’s delicious.” I slipped my tongue from my mouth and moved it across my lips seductively.
“You do drive a hard bargain. I need to remember never to get into an argument with any of you without backup. I was ambushed from the moment I sat down. It was clear I was outnumbered from the very beginning.” I volunteered for the both of us to do the dishes.
There was a method to my madness. Being alone with him made it easier to touch him inappropriately. Our parents were having coffee together. They had no idea what was happening underneath their noses. It was half the fun to play on the side of the fence I never got the chance to growing up.
“I hope dinner was to your liking. My mother goes out of her way to make every meal something memorable. I do my part to make everybody feel comfortable.” I splashed water on his shirt and I immediately got my first look at his hardened nipples.
“It wasn’t right for you to do that. I have a good mind to put you over my knee to teach you a lesson.” I got this explicit image in my head of him pulling down my jeans and underwear to give my hindquarters a healthy crimson glow.
“Don’t make promises that your ass can’t cash.” I handed him the dishes and he put them away in the right place.
It wasn’t the first time he had been invited over to dinner during his lengthy absence from the military. My parents had told me they had given him time to speak candidly, but he was reluctant to open up.
“Push me any further and you’ll find out that I don’t make threats without backing them up. I’m warning you to keep your distance. Nothing good comes from getting involved with the likes of me.” He was trying to tell me something without saying the words.
A little healthy female persuasion would go a long way to loosening up his tongue. He would feel better when he got it off his chest. I made it my personal mission to find out what was keeping him up late nights roaming the halls. He was dealing with something private and failing miserably.
“There’s a story there. You have an unbiased audience. Take advantage of it.” He was in a trance looking out the window.
I took it upon myself to wrap my arms around his waist with my fingers interlocked together. His sculpted body was making me hang on for a little longer than necessary. It was plainly a cry for help and I was ready to be there for him without judgment.
“It’s not a good idea to go pulling at that thread.” He was doing his level best to push me away and I wasn’t having any of it.
“Everybody carries their own form of baggage in one form or another. You came back from the military a little weathered from the experience. It’s to be expected. Some things are better left unsaid, but there are others which will lift the weight from your shoulders if you give it a voice.” The comforting gesture of the hug wasn’t rebuffed.
“I know you mean well, but this really isn’t any of your business. I don't mean to be rude. I’m tired and sleeping doesn’t come easy for me. It looks like your parents have been whispering in your ear about my insomnia.” There was no satisfaction in any kind of seduction that wasn’t requited.
“Get your mind off of things by coming to the party tomorrow night. Agree to that and I won’t bring it up unless you offer the information.” I had a feeling his answer was going to be an unequivocal
yes.
“I do this and you get off of my back. I get enough of this from my mother on a daily basis. I don’t need it from you.” I could have grabbed him and made him kiss me with my tongue foraging in his mouth.
“I can see how it can be draining to answer questions. You have my solemn vow to give you the space you need.” There was laughter coming from the dining room and he went out to rejoin the party without saying another word.
I wanted to chase out after him and slap some sense into him. I had to take things in baby steps not to scare him away. I had nothing to prove, but my libido was screaming at me to take him for a test drive. Surrendering to him would’ve been easy. Waving the white flag of my panties dangling from my finger would have given him all the incentive he needed.
I had to take a few deep breaths to contain the inferno of ecstasy running through my veins. Grabbing him and making him a spectacle on the table was at the forefront of my mind. Moaning in submission and pushing my hips down on top of him repeatedly would have put a new spin on service with a smile.
I went back in and sat down with my eyes on the prize. They were talking, but nothing of what they were saying was penetrating my thoughts.
I had a seductive arsenal at my disposal which I was going to utilize to draw him into my web of depravity.
There was an obscene bathing suit in my duffel bag barely more than a piece of floss. The white fabric was virginal, but there was nothing innocent about me. I would feign innocence, but my sexual fangs were ready to strike at a moment’s notice. It was a matter of getting him in the right frame of mind with a few drinks to loosen up his inhibitions.
Chapter four
Latham
I was rethinking about what I was going to wear until I realized I was giving it way too much power over me. I didn’t want to come off too casual, but jeans and a tee shirt would mix well with the crowd.
I carried a six pack down to the beach through the path beside the two properties. It was already 7:00 PM and there was the illumination of a fire burning with sounds of revelry in the distance. The stress of what I was going through washed away when I caught sight of her in the bikini. There was a buzz of electricity from those men trying to get her attention.
She was laughing off their advances, but I wasn’t amused. I put my arm around her shoulder signifying the Alpha male had arrived. She snuggled in. I made sure to cocoon her with the warmth of my body.
“I was wondering when you were going to arrive fashionably late. You should see what they have cooked. Come with me and I will get you a plate.” She was using me to escape the clutches of those men undressing her with their eyes.
“I shouldn’t act like a jealous Neanderthal. It bothered me to see you with them, but I think you did that on purpose to get a rise out of me. Do you always have to have an angle?” I wasn’t sure what her response was going to be, but the giggle to follow only infuriated me further.
“You take things too seriously. Have a drink and live a little.” I unscrewed one of the bottles from the six-pack using my teeth to a chorus of applause from the crowd.
“We only get this one life to live. There’s no way that you could possibly know how lucky we really are. Kids grow up starving never knowing where their next meal is going to come from. Dying for a cause becomes second nature to some of these kids who have no clue how the other half lives.” I was going off on a tangent angered by how they were laughing while the world was burning.
“Most of us stick our heads in the sand. We always say the same damn thing over and over again. Thank you for your service. We never quite know the sacrifice you make for us to be happy and living free.” She understood to some degree and it made me wonder whether or not I could share my feelings with her.
“People have no idea how others suffer. I was no stranger to living with my eyes closed. The military showed me life is messy. There’s too much confusion. I can’t seem to find any relief. A part of me is still over there lost forever scarred by the battle and fatigue.” I was waxing poetic and no doubt getting on her last nerve.
I could’ve easily plucked the string from around her neck exposing her heaving bosom to everybody. It would’ve been juvenile. I had come too far in my evolution to take a step back.
“I can see the pain in your eyes. It can’t be easy. This party wasn’t such a good idea. Take a walk with me and we can leave them to their fun. Grab a plate. We’ll sit down on the sand and talk a little. No presumptions. No expectations. Nothing untoward is going to happen.” I was pulled by the gravity of her statement.
It wasn’t long before my plate was heaping with fresh crustaceans like lobster and clams. There was a healthy amount of crabs and mussels. The aroma was intoxicating but nothing compared to the natural scent coming off of her in waves.
I didn’t know how to begin the first sentence. I was wide awake. Being bored with her didn’t seem like it was possible. I was a freak show in a pleasing package. On the outside, I was smoldering with confidence, but the inside was a bundle of nerves.
My footsteps were imprinted in the sand and my flip flops were following in my wake. She was in front of me. I couldn’t help but wonder aloud how she would look with the bikini at her feet. Those half moons were enticing me to drop to my knees in servitude.
“This is exactly what I needed. My friends have no idea. I don’t want to burst their bubble by laying my problems at their feet. Death follows me like a shroud. There’s one in particular and I’ve never been able to get over it.” The food and the company made me lose the walls I had erected to protect myself.
“Whatever you say is between the two of us. I would never dream to repeat any of what you say to me to anybody else. Treat me like I’m a priest…with boobs.” She made me laugh and it felt good to let my guard down.
“If you looked like any of the priests back in my day then things would have been different. I might have taken an interest in religion more than I did. Hallelujah.” I exercised my right to raise my hands to the heavens.
“Life is mysterious.” She was gazing into my eyes and seeing the real man I had hidden from others.
“I’ve seen too much. Random things happen to good people. They say God works in mysterious ways, but sometimes I think that he might be deaf and blind to the plight of others.” It seemed unfathomable to give her insight into what was the most trying ordeal of my life.
“You don’t mean that. Everything happens for a reason.” There was no crystal ball to see the future and she was deluding herself into thinking there was.
“Let’s agree to disagree on this particular subject.” The food was succulent with the warm garlic butter trickling down my chin.
She moved her finger to catch it until I was sucking it off the tip. The chemistry was bubbling over. The heat had increased with the temperature climbing exponentially.
I leaned forward and traced her lips with my finger. Her heaving bosom was moving with each breath.
The nipples were emblazoned in the fabric. My other hand grazed those protrusions and I heard her intake of breath. Words meant nothing. Actions spoke volumes. I was getting closer. Her lips and the tip of her tongue were calling my name.
I grabbed her hair forcefully and her exclamation of surprise gave me the opening I was looking for. Our lips came together and the electricity was hard to ignore. It was a shocking development. The taste of her strawberry gloss was an intense aphrodisiac.
My hand on the back of her neck scratched lightly and unintentionally released her from the burden of her bikini top. It didn’t uncover the rosy hue of her tips. It hung there with gravity mocking me at every chance.
Her exploring tongue caught mine in a vise-like grip and we dueled to see who was going to come out on top. The whole thing lasted no more than a couple of minutes. It felt like an eternity.
We came up for air to catch our breath. Her strawberry gloss was smeared and I could taste her on my lips. We were barely standing still feeling the lasting effects of what
we had done. She was a fine drink of wine to be savored to the last drop.
“I don’t know quite what to say. I hope that wasn’t your way to keep me quiet. I still think that you have some unfinished business to discuss. We can’t go any further until you let it go.” She was going to accomplish what no therapist had been able to do.
“I need your assurance nothing I say will be repeated. It’s extremely personal.” She nodded her head in compliance and left me with no other choice than to say what was on my mind.
“I feel honored you have chosen me to be your confidant.”
The heavyweight of burden had taken me hostage.
The sound of the water was a calming influence. To shed a few layers of mistrust was necessary for any kind of longevity in this relationship. I had others who claimed to know what I was going through. How could they if they didn’t walk a mile in my shoes?
“I was dating a young woman in Iraq. One morning, I was making breakfast for her and her young son Jamal. He convinced me to let him go outside and play with his friends. His mother was sleeping when there was a deafening explosion.” I remembered how my heart stopped at that moment and didn’t beat again until I kissed Karen.
“I don’t even want to ask what happened next.” I didn’t know how to say the words without choking on them.
“I didn’t have a chance to react. His mother ran screaming from the room and I found her cradling what was left of her son. She blamed me. I blamed me. I lost the instant family I was looking for.” I gave it some time, but the icy reception when I returned was like a cold knife in my heart.
“You have been carrying this with you. It wasn’t your fault. You have to forgive yourself.” I reflected on the pain and I got up to take off my clothes with my feet moving quickly to the water’s edge.
I dove into the surf with the waves bouncing me around until I found my footing. I stood up and I could see her clapping for an encore performance. I lay on my back with the periscope of my excitement bobbing up and down.
