Rebound

by Rosemary Rey

  “We should get going.” I said quietly. I turned my head and gave him a kiss. I forced a smile.

  “Okay.” He whispered. He opened the door and let me exit first. I walked fast to the elevator and pressed the button while he locked his door.

  He approached me from the side and grabbed my hip. His arm snaked around my waist and pulled me close to his body. He felt so warm and strong. I looked up at him and kissed him. It felt so much easier to be sensual with him behind closed doors. I’m not used to intimacy, and I feel vulnerable because of my insecurities. I’d never felt such relief as I did when I heard the elevator ding. Much to my dismay, the elevator was empty. I needed time and space. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. I didn’t understand where this was coming from. I liked controlling him, but now I just felt awkward.

  “Something’s wrong. If this is about earlier when I was late, I don’t know what I need to do to make up for it. I’d hoped you would forgive me by now.”

  I took a deep breath, “Matt, it’s not that. I just don’t know what to think about what we’re doing with each other. I’m not the type of woman to hook up with a man. I’m trying my hardest to enjoy this, but I just don’t know how far this can go. I don’t have time for you and I don’t want to waste your time.” I revealed and hoped he would make the decision for the both of us.

  “I told you that I’ll take any time that you give me. I’ll pick you up tonight and we can go to your place and pick up a few things for you to go to work tomorrow.”

  “That’s just it. I’m not used to the effort and attention. I don’t know if I’m ready to be in a relationship.” I sighed and realized that I said too much. He leaned back on the wall opposite me and looked at me with those dark eyes. His disappointment was evident in the way he shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

  The elevator reached the ground floor and opened. He let me pass through before exiting himself. He didn’t reach out for my hand, and I felt gutted. I followed him to the exit, keeping my eyes to the ground, feeling tears well up. I took deep breaths and wiped at them before he’d have a chance to see how emotional I was being. I did this to myself, and I’ve hurt his feelings.

  The valet came over to Matt and handed him the keys. Matt gave him a few dollars. The valet opened the door and I entered the passenger side. I clicked in my seat belt. Matt turned on the car. I looked out the passenger window. He must’ve entered the Inn’s address in the navigation because I heard the first direction. He silently drove out of the driveway toward the Inn.

  The silence was overwhelming. And as the minutes passed, I formulated words to say.

  “I know I messed up a lovely time. Everything I said in your apartment is true. I’m very much attracted to you. I appreciate your care and attention. I was touched when you picked me up this morning, trying to keep me safe and spending time with me. You’re an amazing man. I just don’t know why you’re spending time with me. Yes, that’s my insecurity. I like knowing a man’s intentions and expectations. I feel like we rushed into a physical connection.” I put my hand on his thigh, and he put his hand over mine. I opened my fingers to interlace his with mine, rubbing his index finger with my thumb.

  “We can talk more about this tonight when I pick you up. During your shift, you’ll have some time to think about us. I wanted you from the moment I saw you in my office. I couldn’t ask you out. I didn’t plan on having an encounter with you after you walked out the door. I don’t regret any second of our time together. I want more of you. I want to be with you and hope you want to be with me. We can make it work. You just have to let me, please.” He squeezed my hand. The electricity coursed from my hand down to my groin. I couldn’t deny my desire for him. And I have to convince myself not to fuck this up.

  I reached over and kissed him on the cheek. “Okay . . . but if you’re not there by 11:05 p.m., I’m out.” He smirked.

  “You’ll wait for me. And I’m not kidding. I don’t want you going home late at night by yourself. Those days are over.”

  “Matt . . .”

  “We’re here.” He pulled over to the curb and parked in front of the Inn. He exited the driver’s side and walked over to open the passenger door. He took my hand and waited for me to exit the car. I collected my satchel and food cooler.

  “Thank you.” I gave him a kiss on the lips. He pulled me closer to him. I felt a jolt of electricity at his grip. We kissed long and deep. I felt the heat rising from my lower belly up to my cheeks.

  “I’ll be here before eleven. I won’t fail you again. I promise.” He said as he looked into my eyes.

  I nodded and pulled away from him. “I’ll see you at eleven.” I walked toward the front door of the Inn to start my shift with only two minutes to spare on the clock.

  NINE

  I spent the shift running around with guests in town for the marathon. I spent a lot of the time bringing extra pillows, blankets and towels. The phones rang off the hook for most of the night. When I tried to eat my dinner and snacks, I was inundated with so many questions and requests that I gave up eating.

  Working at a small inn with just myself dealing with the customers, I’m often looked to answering questions, fulfilling requests, cleaning, and light maintenance. I’ve often told the owners that we needed to have a second person when big events are occurring throughout the city, but it’s often rebuffed due to cost cutting measures.

  I didn’t realize that my shift was ending when I saw Matt walk through the door at a quarter to eleven. My heart leapt and blood rushed to my cheeks. I felt the heat rising from my belly to my head.

  “Hi.” He said with the best smile. I hadn’t heard from him all night. I figured that he was trying to give me time to think, but I didn’t have any time to think about anything when I was rushing to tend to others.

  “Hi.” I gushed, as I watched him walk to the counter.

  “I just want you to know that I’m here and I’ll be waiting for you to finish your shift. I don’t want to be in the way, so I can wait it the car.”

  “No. Don’t be silly. You can stay here. We can . . .” The phone rang from one of the rooms. I answered and received a request for a wake-up call. The Liberty Inn had not automated their wake up call system because the owner felt that the personal touch is what people expect when they stay at a small establishment. “Sorry. This place has been crazy tonight. I barely had time to breathe.”

  I looked at the time. “I’m just going to close down shop back here.”

  “I’ll wait over here.” He said with the sexiest smile, and pointed to the seating area by the gas fireplace that I’d turned on earlier because of the night’s chill.

  “Great.” I stated with a smile. I started cleaning and organizing so I could shut down for the night. I set up the night voicemail, which eliminated my need to answer any more calls. After eleven at night, there is no one working shifts. The owner is on call for emergencies. The front door gets locked, to which the inhabitants can use their metal room keys to exit and enter. Before I walked over to Matt to let him know that we could go, I had one more customer approach with a question. I provided her with a map of where she wanted to stand to watch her sister finish the race. I provided her with a map of the train system. She had a few more questions about places to go out and celebrate after the race. I gave her the best pubs in the area that would have music for a Monday night. I bid my goodnight to her and gathered my things.

  I pulled the opaque, accordion metal gate, enclosing the counter area, locking it in place. I exited through the self-locking door. I put on my jacket and walked over to Matt. His back was to me. He was reading emails on his smartphone.

  I wanted to wrap my arms around him, but settled for placing my hand on his broad shoulder and asking, “Ready?” He stood, put his phone away on his belt holster, and walked ahead of me to hold the door.

  “Have you always been this gallant?” I asked when he took my hand.

  “Yes. My mother beat it i
nto me.” He grinned.

  “Really? How?” I asked amused.

  “She would often tell me that I had to open the door for the ladies, take them by the arm when we walked, pull their chair out, walk on the outside of the sidewalk so I could get hit by a car instead of my female companion. I even had to do these things for my sister, which was revolting. As I got older, I wanted to do these things, especially for a woman that I really like.” He smiled when we locked eyes, and I gave him a peck on the cheek. He pulled the passenger car door open and closed the door when I entered. I put on my seat belt as I watched him jog to the driver’s side. He turned on the car and turned up the heat. It was a blustery night, being near the water brought a biting wind.

  “There’s a seat warmer button right there, if you need it. You can adjust your temp here, if it gets too hot for you.”

  “Thank you.” I pressed the seat warmer.

  “Let’s get you home to pack your things, so you can spend the night.”

  “On second thought, Matt . . .”

  “Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind and won’t stay over.” He looked at me with a mixture of frustration, annoyance, and pleading.

  “You didn’t let me finish. I’m really tired. I ran around all day. I just want to go to your place. I’ll just wear these tomorrow to work. I have extra clothes in my locker that I can change into.”

  The look of relief in his face was sweet. I leaned over and gave him a deep kiss. His hands cupped my face as he explored my mouth with his tongue. He tasted so good. I sucked and nipped at his soft, full lips. His left hand left my face and went down to my back, pulling me to him. The center console prevented him from pulling me onto him.

  I pulled away. “Matt, I think we’d be a lot more comfortable doing this at your place.” I wiped the saliva around his lips with my thumb, and brought it to my lips where I sucked on my finger.

  “Shit. You’re so hot. I can’t help myself.” He took a deep breath before putting the car in gear and peeling away toward his apartment.

  He broke the silence by asking, “How long have you worked at the Inn?”

  I looked at him, surprised and excited that he cared about my work. Because Ben and I worked at his family’s construction company, there was constant talk about work, but it was mundane. There were never any intimate discussion of how I was feeling about my work.

  “I’ve been working there a little under two years. Alice and Ross offered me the job when I answered an ad online. They needed someone with managerial experience to help them bring more customers to their Inn and work with local businesses to do cross business promotions and advertising. They’d inherited it from Alice’s parents and they’d let the changing landscape of hospitality go by them. They have a great piece of property, in a convenient location, so we worked together to grow the business. It grew exponentially in the last year. At their urging, I lived at the Inn for seven months while I got back on my feet. They couldn’t provide me with enough income and benefits, but a room helped me tremendously. Once they got it to a place where they could use more part time staff and run it themselves full time, I was bumped down to two shifts a week. I didn’t mind because I knew that was the plan all along. Actually, it was my idea, after all. I’d also gotten a three-quarter time job at the gym with limited benefits. Alice and Ross are like second parents. I want to give back to them especially now. Alice has battled cancer, like my mother, for years. And it came back . . . stage four.” I yawned. “Excuse me.” I rubbed my eyes.

  “You must be exhausted.” He exclaimed, extended a hand to rub my leg.

  “I am. It was busy. We have people here for the race. They’ve kept us running all night, but we appreciate the business. On Sundays, we’re short staffed, just myself and the housekeeping person. He was running around in a totally different direction with all the requests and I tried to help him, but still man the desk, phones and help with business stuff. I still advise them on their business and compile reports. It’s the least I can do for them.”

  “You’re so business oriented. Why are you working a million jobs?” He asked.

  I laughed. “Well, to clarify, I only have four jobs. Two are just hours that I pick up to make ends meet. But I can understand why it appears to be a lot.” Not ready to share my entire life and troubles, I paused to formulate the most diplomatic and honest answer while preserving my privacy. “Divorce is never simple. I incurred a lot of expenses upon our separation and ultimate dissolution. To be free from him, I gave up everything and left the marriage with less than I had when I entered it. I’ve no regrets, though. I’m happy to be on my own, but that comes with some sacrifice.”

  “I guess it’s harder on a woman to start over.” He stated.

  “Hmm. I don’t know. I have friends and family who’ve divorced and it’s a mixed bag. Some were really savvy to get as much as they could and are living quite comfortably. There are women, like me, who just wanted to cut and run. It’s made me appreciate things a lot more. I don’t take things for granted. I’m not as frivolous. I live simply. I’m happier. The only person I’m responsible for is me.”

  “Do you think you’d ever quit working at the Inn and just work at the gym?”

  “I’ve thought about it, but I know that I’d still be connected to the Inn somehow. I want to support Alice and Ross. They trust me. I’m the only other person that has knowledge and access to their finances and records. I’m just not ready to move on. We’ve worked so hard to improve the business, and now that it’s taking off, I want to see the results. They have so much going on and I want to give back to them.” I turned to look at him. He looked so pensive.

  He’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever met. When I looked at him, I’m surprised at how I could attract a handsome and sexy doctor. His olive skin darkened by his dark eyes, black hair infiltrated by the emergence of gray in his hair and on his short beard. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I didn’t feel, despite a couple of days of intense sexual interactions, that we were at a place for the intimacy of touching him out of the blue. “I’m sure I’m not any busier than you. As a doctor, you’re busier than me. You’ve mentioned that you travel extensively. I’ve already experienced the time you’ve spent in the hospital.”

  “I’ve always worked a lot too, but now that I’m getting older, and have a few more gray hairs, I realized that I needed to slow down. I’m more selective with the amount of work I take on. I have a few business ventures. However, neither of us can keep up the pace in which we’re going.”

  “True. I have a plan of slowing down, but I have a few more years before I absolutely must slow down. I’m not ready to settle down and have kids anytime soon. Until then, my days and nights are free to decide how I spend them.” I looked over to him and saw his jaw tense as he looked straight ahead. We pulled into the drive and circled to the entry of the parking garage.

  ***

  He parked the car in the underground parking garage. He was surprisingly self-controlled as we made our way to his apartment. I presumed that he didn’t want to take me in the garage, the elevator, and the hall way knowing I was very tired.

  When we entered his apartment, he took my purse and jacket and hung them in the hall closet. He took my cooler and put it on the counter in the kitchen.

  He came over to me and started taking my clothes off, but wasn’t as slow as I was. He was gentle and attentive, kissing my body as he slowly revealed parts of me. When he unbuttoned my jeans, I choked back a moan in anticipation of our union again. His large hands slid over my ass, pushing down my jeans and panties at once. I kicked off my shoes. Once they were down to my calves, he lowered himself down and pulled them off of me, along with my socks.

  He gave my pussy a lick. The shock of his tongue’s touch set off a wave of heat. Every part of my body tingled and hardened. I closed my eyes in anticipation that he would keep his mouth and that amazing tongue on me. He didn’t disappoint. I experienced cunnilingus once with my ex when we w
ere dating. He never had a problem with me going down on him, but when it came to reciprocating, he never ventured. I do share in the responsibility because I never indicated that I wanted his mouth on my pussy. I allowed him to think I was satisfied with missionary and the occasional cowgirl position that I assumed when I initiated sex, but it was never fulfilling.

  Matt parted my legs with his large hand and entered a finger into my sex while kissing my mound. I lightly ran my fingers through his hair, encouraging him to continue tending to my needy pussy. As he licked and thrust his fingers into me, I writhed to meet his mouth. His tongue replaced his fingers, darting in and out of my cut, licking and lapping at the moisture of my arousal. He sucked at my clit feverishly. I felt myself getting weaker.

  “Matt, I don’t want you to stop, but I’m going to collapse.” He stopped and stood up before me. He cupped my face and kissed me. I could smell and taste my juices. I felt invigorated by the desires that his kiss stirred in me. I tasted myself for the first time, saddened that I wasted so much time with a man who thought I didn’t taste good enough to feed on more than once. Without stopping his kisses, Matt bent down, ran his hands down my thighs and scooped me up his body.

  Still not used to his physical strength, I pulled away from his kiss to tell him to stop picking me up. Before a sound could come out, he silenced me with a serious look, and he dipped his tongue back in my mouth. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to his room and lowered me onto the bed. He pushed me onto my back. I widened my legs allowing him to continue tending to my strong desires. One hand deftly circled and rubbed my clit, and the other hand squeezed and tweaked my nipple. I writhed gently underneath him, meeting his zealous mouth and fingers. I felt the buildup of my impending climax as he suckled my clit. I came with a yell, and he kept gently sucking my clit through the aftershocks of my explosion.

  He rose up over me and revealed, “You’re so sweet. I should’ve gone down on you yesterday.” He kissed me with an intense passion. “I should get you into the shower and to bed. I’ll turn on the shower for you.”