by Kiki Goodman
Kelly turned around to face him, the tears of joy hard to see in the fading light that were streaming down her face.
“You remembered my middle name,” Kelly said wiping the tears away.
“I’ve never forgotten.”
Kelly kissed him passionately, her arms holding him tight as they embraced for the first time. She slowly pulled away and they touched their noses together before Kelly looked him in the eyes.
“You’re a good kisser,” Jacob said warmly.
Kelly began to giggle, that wasn’t what she was expecting from Jacob. Still she didn’t want to mess this up and she could tell he sensed it.
“I don’t want to screw this up. Let’s be open and honest okay?” Jacob said gently.
Keeping secrets like her car accident would only cause them problems and he wanted to avoid that and he believed Kelly did too. Kelly turned back around and sat back into Jacob so that they could look out over the city lights coming up.
“So is it okay if we take it slow?” Kelly asked hoping Jacob would be okay with it.
“Like how slow? Snail’s pace or going backwards?” Jacob replied with a chuckle.
Kelly poked him with her elbow and shook her head.
“It was a joke!”
“I know… I’ve missed you,” Kelly said with a smile. “But joke or not, can we?”
She waited for an answer from him but felt she needed to tell him why. "I haven't had the best luck with men," Kelly said looking downtrodden at the thought of her past.
Jacob looked at her and could feel exactly what she meant – he didn't have the best track record either.
A quick flash of a smile washed over her face before returning to its forlorn state. "I want to take this slow okay?"
"Sure, I know exactly what you mean... I haven't had a great run with members of the opposite sex, shit... look at me and Nikki," Jacob said shrugging. "I honestly thought it was different that time... looking back at it, I probably rushed it... but it all worked out in the end."
"How do you mean?" Kelly asked looking him in the eyes. "I mean; I've always wondered if it worked out for the best. Being single and alone isn't that fun... sure being in a relationship where you are treated like dirt is worse, but having that companionship..."
"Well, I guess what I mean is that now I've realised what I had in front of me the whole time. I don't want to mess this up. Perhaps all these other relationships I've had have set me up to know what I want – to take it slow and make sure I don't repeat the same mistakes... you know," Jacob said with a brief smile.
"I guess..." Kelly said almost reluctantly. There was something there she wasn't saying but Jacob knew better than to pry. If he was going with slow and steady it could come up again later and he could work through it then.
"So what does this mean then? Dinner? Holding hands?" The smirk was as evident on her face as the stars shining in the sky.
"Dinner... sure, I'd like to know you can cook," Jacob said with a grin which made Kelly smack him playfully. "We could go to the movies... see a band... take a day trip out of town... you know, spend time with each other, get into that groove... what do you say?"
"Deal," Kelly said moving in closer and putting her arms around him.
“Absolutely,” Jacob replied with a nod.
“I’d like that,” Kelly replied with a warm smile. She kissed him gently on the lips, her eyes studying his when she broke away. Jacob pulled her in and held her tightly before looking out over the town, the lights bringing the darkness to life. Kelly relaxed for the first time in months and melted into his arms as they shared their body heat.
“I could stay like this forever,” Kelly said resting her head on Jacob’s shoulder. He didn’t say another word – instead he hugged her tightly. He didn’t want to let her go again.
Chapter 30
The evening had been wonderful – fine food, fine company and a wonderful atmosphere once again for their dinner date. Kelly slowly played with her dessert while Jacob made funny faces as he ate his apple pie and whipped cream. It was a wonderful light hearted time with laughter and warmth filling the space between them as they sat in the booth of the swanky restaurant. Jacob had dressed in a suit for the occasion, surprising Kelly with his suave attire instead of the usual casual clothes he would wear. Kelly dressed herself in a lovely black cocktail dress that highlighted her beauty, and showed off a little leg that Jacob had a hard time keeping his eyes off. Every so often Kelly would run her nylon clad foot up his leg and play with him while she made eye contact, teasing him like there was no tomorrow.
“You know some would think of this as harassment,” Jacob said with a smile licking the cream from his spoon. Kelly smiled and dipped a finger in her mousse before sucking it off her finger seductively.
“Good, because you’ve been undressing me all night with your eyes,” Kelly said with a smile while cocking an eyebrow. “This is what, our seventh date now? For the last two weeks you’ve been checking me out every chance you’ve got.”
“I have not. You’re the one doing the undressing. If I’m not mistaken you couldn’t keep your eyes off my butt,” Jacob said putting his free hand under the table to catch her foot the next time it came up.
“You have too been checking out my butt. Even before when I had my coat on you were trying to peek underneath,” Kelly said raising her foot again. “And if I do say so myself it’s a fine butt you have there.”
Kelly giggled and pushed her foot forward, when Jacob suddenly grabbed hold of it.
“Hey!”
She playfully struggled to pull it away but Jacob placed it in his lap and ran his hand up her nylon covered calf.
“Pity you’ve got these covered,” Jacob said with a dry tone. “Otherwise I’d say it was a fine leg…” He smiled at Kelly and she quickly pulled her leg away.
“So much for you getting to play with them later,” Kelly said playfully showing smugness. “You were in the good books until that point.”
Jacob shook his head with a laugh knowing Kelly was being completely sarcastic.
He finished his dessert and looked at her when she suddenly smiled and said, “Only joking.”
“Want to get out of here and go home?” Jacob asked sitting back in the booth. He surreptitiously removed one of his shoes and lifted his foot towards Kelly under the table.
“Maybe…” Kelly said cheekily.
Jacob pushed his foot forward and slid it down the inside of her legs taking Kelly by surprise.
“Hey!” Kelly said playfully.
His foot stopped up her dress but Kelly didn’t let him get away that easily. Jacob began to laugh and started to retreat when Kelly slid down the chair and met his foot with her womanhood, causing Jacob to freeze in place. He looked at her for a moment and felt the nerves set in instantly, his mind going crazy over the uncharted territory he was now in. Why was this so hard? It’s not like he had never touched a woman before. But this was Kelly.
She looked at him and swallowed hard, gently closing her legs on his foot in acknowledgement before letting him go. Kelly sat back up and took another taste of her mousse with her finger without saying another word. He put his foot back down on the floor and immediately Kelly’s foot found his, rubbing over the top gently. She looked at him without any facial expression letting him know it was okay, their feet talking under the table.
“Cheque please,” Jacob said trying to hail the waiter.
Kelly smiled and took another bite of her dessert. She wanted to go home and spend some more time with Jacob, even if it was simply watching something on the television. It didn’t matter to her; just being with him was wonderful. The waiter came with the bill, giving them a few moments to straighten up before leaving. Jacob didn’t say anything else, neither did Kelly, they didn’t have to since they knew what each other was thinking. Jacob helped put on Kelly’s coat and she straightened his tie and suit before they left the restaurant as though they were completely in sync. Jacob held he
r hand as they walked to the car and helped her in even though he didn’t have to – it was something he wanted to do.
The car ride home was quiet, both of them just basking in each other’s presence with Kelly resting her hand on his thigh all the way. That was enough for now, it seemed okay to be taking these small steps and Jacob didn’t seem to complain. It was different for him, most women wanted to get into his pants as quickly as possible once they had gotten wind of his appendage. Kelly was different and it was good. They reached his house and Jacob suddenly tensed up seeing a familiar car parked out front.
Kelly knew something was up and her suspicions were confirmed when they got out of the car and saw her standing at the front door. Nikki stood there wearing a large fur coat that showed her cleavage off and a tight pair of black leather pants, looking like a try hard model on the wrong catwalk.
Jacob didn’t know what to say or do. He’d hoped he would never see her again, but there she was standing at his front door. Not wanting to feel like he couldn’t go inside his own house Jacob walked up the steps with Kelly arm in arm.
“Jacob can we talk? Alone?” Nikki asked as he reached the top step.
“I have nothing to say to you,” Jacob replied reaching into his pocket for his keys.
“I need to talk to you about what happened!” Nikki said starting to get a little aggressive.
“Please leave… and don’t come back,” Jacob said politely putting the key in the door.
Nikki grabbed his arm. “I made a mistake okay. I don’t expect to be punished by you for the rest of my life. Please Jacob, we had something. I want to get back to that.”
Jacob turned to look at Nikki as he opened the door.
“Why after all this time? You made your choice. I’ve made mine. Now leave, I want nothing to do with you,” Jacob said trying to stay calm.
His emotions were bubbling to the surface. He wanted more than anything to rip through her but knew he had to contain it in front of Kelly. There was no way he was going to ruin anything with Kelly by going off at Nikki.
“Jacob, please. I want you,” Nikki said before Kelly intervened, taking Jacob by surprise.
“Hey! Listen here! And listen real good. He doesn’t want you, he said to leave… now go!” Kelly said getting in between Nikki and Jacob.
Jacob was taken by how assertive Kelly had become, almost pushing Nikki down the stairs.
“Get out of my way!” Nikki said trying to get past.
Kelly grabbed her coat and stopped her.
“I would suggest you leave before you have to deal with me!” Kelly said causing Nikki to take a step back – the look on her face telling Jacob that she was scared. “No one messes with Jacob and if you come back here you’ll answer to me. Now go!”
Kelly let Nikki go and without another word she walked down the steps hurriedly and disappeared before Kelly turned around. Jacob stood there in shock at what had just happened while Kelly closed the door behind them. “What?”
“I just never knew you felt that way,” Jacob said, a smile washing over him.
Kelly started to giggle and pushed Jacob into the house playfully.
“No one messes with my man,” Kelly said with a sarcastic tone.
Jacob raised an eyebrow. “So I’m your man now am I?”
“Maybe,” Kelly said taking off her coat and walking into the lounge with a cheeky swagger.
Jacob shook his head and felt immensely content with how the evening had turned out. It was easy with Kelly and felt like it was meant to be. He couldn’t wait to see what the future brought.
Chapter 31
Over the last week things had been not going so well. Kelly had come down with some virus which had left her housebound. He had hoped that it would clear up soon, otherwise something was seriously wrong. Jacob rose from the sleeping bag on the floor next to Kelly’s bed. He had been there for two days while she battled a fever, with it finally breaking overnight. He had watched her last night for a few hours while she slept, willing for her to get better so that he could see her smile again. Jacob loved her beautiful smile and the way her mouth moved and her lips framed everything. He looked at her in bed, laying there asleep, the colour finally returned to her cheeks after looking so pale the last few days. Jacob placed a hand on her forehead and felt a normal temperature, making him relieved that the worst of it was over.
“Mmm Jake,” Kelly said moving under the blankets.
Jacob quickly took his hand away and moved quietly away knowing she needed to rest, but Kelly opened her eyes.
“Hey… are you still here?”
Jacob turned to look at Kelly who slowly sat up in bed, her hair messy and falling all over the place.
“Yeah… just going for a shower,” Jacob replied with a smile. “You seem better.”
Kelly yawned and stretched as the blankets fell away, allowing her to look down at herself.
“I feel better,” Kelly said, her legs hanging out over the edge of the bed. “Hey, did you change me last night? I wasn’t wearing this when I went to bed…”
“No, you changed yourself… in the dark I might add,” Jacob replied with a smile.
Kelly nodded to herself, impressed that she had undertaken such a feat in her sickly state.
“Oh,” Kelly said looking up groggily at Jacob.
“Well I’m going for a shower… I’ll be back in a bit,” Jacob said with a little wave before heading to the bathroom. He pushed the bathroom door closed behind him and stood leaning over the sink for a minute before gathering his thoughts.
Jacob turned the shower on, relieved that after two days he could finally wash the grime off him that came with simply being. It was a welcome sound, the water falling onto the tiles on the floor, and spurred him on to strip off and jump straight in. Stretching as he took his shirt off, Jacob then removed his tracksuit pants and stood there as the steam started to fill the room from the shower. He looked in the mirror with a cursory glance when the door suddenly opened and Kelly came in with a towel, her hair dishevelled in her thigh length superhero nightie. She looked beautiful, even though she still looked like she had the last vestiges of illness around her – the colour had returned to her face and she looked a thousand times better. He suddenly wondered if that’s what she would look like waking up next to her in the morning. Jacob stared at her for a moment before the realisation set in that he was naked and Kelly was staring at him, her mouth open.
“Kel! Shit!” Jacob said quickly covering himself with his hand. Kelly snapped out of it for a moment and seemed nervous, trying her best to divert her attention away while handing him the towel.
“Sorry, ah, sorry Jake… I just thought you needed a towel,” Kelly said doing her best to try and keep her eyes up where his were. “What’s the big deal anyway, I’ve seen it before…”
“Kel… it’s not like you’re naked or anything. How would you feel if I walked in on you?” Jacob asked grabbing the towel quickly and covering himself up. Kelly took a moment to answer. “Kel?”
“Oh, ah, I dunno,” Kelly said looking back down at the towel around his waist.
“Kel!”
“What?!” Kelly said looking up. “I’m sick, leave me alone!”
Just then Donna walked in, her hair all over the place and wearing her red silk pyjamas.
“What’s all the commotion?” Donna asked ready to use the toilet when she realised Jacob was standing there wearing a towel. “Oh…”
“I saw him naked, it’s no big deal,” Kelly said brushing it off with a limp hand movement.
“No big deal, how would you like to be walked in on?” Jacob asked putting his hands on his hips.
Donna stood beside Kelly and shrugged.
“I guess I see your point. The only way to fix it is if Kelly shows you hers,” Donna said bluntly.
“Donna!” Kelly said looking sharply at her roommate.
Donna moved. “It’s true… here.”
Donna grabbed Kelly’s nig
htie and lifted it, exposing her bare body underneath, giving Jacob a full view of her breasts and womanhood. Letting out a croaky scream Kelly quickly pushed her nightie down as Donna walked away giggling. Jacob tried his hardest to block the image out – her wondrous naked body – but he found it hard, as the image seemed imprinted on his mind.
“Shit!” Kelly said crossing her legs while holding her nightie down around her knees. “I… ah… well, I should go…”
“Kel,” Jacob said stopping Kelly from turning.
She didn’t seem that impressed.
“What?!”
“You look good,” Jacob replied with a smile, causing Kelly to go from being disgusted to being mildly appreciative.
A small smile came and went before Kelly turned to head out the door, holding her nightie down. Jacob started laughing when he realised he could see completely up the back of her nightwear. Kelly looked back and nearly screamed, her hands quickly darting behind her to cover herself up as she raced out of the bathroom. Jacob felt relief that she was feeling better, she was over the worst part and after this little sojourn probably feeling better than she let on. He closed the bathroom door and went into the shower knowing things were getting back to normal.
Chapter 32
The home cooked meal filled the room with its wondrous flavours reminding Jacob of his childhood when his mother used to cook. It took him back to a time of fun and carefree attitudes, when all he had to do was clean up his room and do his homework. Kelly looked at him and smiled seeing that he was entranced by the whole event, wondering what he was thinking.
“What are you thinking about?” Kelly asked standing next to the kitchen bench with her legs crossed, one of her hands on the bench providing support.
