by Lila Younger
We head down the street for some delicious gumbo and po-boys, and then spend the rest of the afternoon strolling down Royal Street. It’s considered one of the most picturesque streets in New Orleans, and I can see why. Musicians serenade the pedestrians that stroll by. Everywhere I look are beautiful old buildings with gorgeous flowers hanging from black iron balconies. There are a mix of shops, galleries, and antique stores, and we spend some time browsing through them. I have a few pieces I really like, but it isn’t like I can afford them, nor do I have a place to put them even. Andrew sees me eyeing an intricately carved coffee table and waves over one of the sales people to ask if they are willing to ship it back home.
“I was just looking,” I protest quickly.
“You’re living with me now,” Andrew says, pointing out the gorgeous chaise lounge I’d sneakily peeked at earlier. “And I want the apartment to show that. Besides, half the stuff in there was picked out by the interior designer. I just said okay to everything because I didn’t have the time to shop myself.”
“Are you sure?” I ask uncertainly. While Andrew and I have been going out for a while now, we haven’t really brought up what we wanted long term. I was happy to just enjoy what we had while we had it. After all, there was still the hurdle of my dad. But buying furniture together... that had to mean he was serious, right? These pieces were beautiful antiques, and expensive too.
“I’m positive. I don’t see myself without you Noelle. What’s mine is yours.” And then he kisses me again. I could get used to this PDA thing. I’m proud to be his, and it is so freeing not to have to hide what we’re feeling.
The afternoon turns into a bit of a spending spree. There’s little art galleries all along Royal Street, and we purchase a painting to hang in the entryway, and another above the fireplace. The dining room table, a boring steel and glass affair, gets replaced by a living edge table that can seat at least twelve. And then there’s my study. I’ve been working mostly on the couch, spreading out my books and papers everywhere within reach. Andrew decides he’ll clear out one of the extra guest bedrooms so that I can have a dedicated place to work, and I go about filling it with bookshelves, a gorgeous rolltop desk, and a cozy armchair to read in. A chandelier, knickknacks, frames, and books... it all gets swiped to Andrew’s card.
He’s making room for me to become a permanent part of his life. That thought buoys me up and keeps me floating happily through the rest of the day. There’s a delicious dinner at Antoine’s, where I’m introduced to Oysters Rockefeller and Eggs Sardou. Then Andrew arranged for a carriage ride through the French Quarter, and a night of jazz music. And of course, there were the delicious beignets of Cafe Du Monde. By the time we head back to the hotel at two in the morning, I’m exhausted but content.
“Was it everything you wanted it to be?” Andrew asks me, holding me close to him in the elevator.
“It was perfect,” I say.
I rest my head against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. I just wish that we could be like this everyday, I add silently. But how could we? My father stands in the way, and I’m not sure I can make him choose.
Chapter 7
I wake up the next morning with a smile on my face. I can’t believe that I’m here. This place is amazing! It seems that Andrew’s still asleep too, and I wonder if maybe I’d worn him out a little too much last night with our marathon sex. Even I was feeling a little bit sore. But when I turn over, the bed is empty. I sit up and survey the opulent room. Where is he?
Sliding out of bed, I grab a silk robe that Andrew’s bought me especially for the trip. It matches the delicate lace babydoll I wore to bed. I wrap the soft fabric around me and tie the knot, then check the bathroom. No Andrew. I turn around and head out of the suite. There was an empty cup of coffee beside Andrew’s iPad, so he must have gotten up earlier than I did, but where could he be?
I find my purse and pull out my phone. No messages. I decide to call him and see what’s going on. It isn’t like him to just disappear. Andrew picks up on the second ring.
“Hello? Where are you?”
I can hear the sound of traffic in the background.
“I had to go out and pick up something. I’m heading back to the hotel now. Have you already had breakfast?”
“No, not yet. I woke up and you weren’t here and I got worried.”
“I’m sorry, I should have left a note. I didn’t think I’d take as long as I did. Why don’t you order room service for us? I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”
I could hear a car door close in the background.
“Sure.”
He told me he wanted the eggs benedict and we said goodbye. I am a little curious about what exactly he’d gone out to get, but I decide not too think too much about it. After all, he is going to be back soon. I’m sure he’ll tell me all about it. I pick up the hotel phone instead and place his order and mine. I’ve wanted to try the pain perdu, a New Orleans take on French toast. Big, thick slices of bread with strawberry rhubarb sauce and cinnamon. Delicious. While I wait, I decide to take a shower. I bet Andrew’s arranged another day of sightseeing for us.
The breakfast arrives just as I get out of the shower. Everything smells delicious, and I’m wondering whether I should wait or start when Andrew hurries in through the door. He leans down and gives me a long, slow kiss.
“Thank you Noelle,” he says. He peeks at my plate. “Pain perdu? Good choice.”
We sit down, and he picks up his fork, but I’m too curious to wait.
“What’s the surprise?”
“Ever the impatient one,” he says, but he’s smiling. “I was going to save this for the right time, but I know you won’t enjoy the rest of our day if you’re thinking about it.”
“I won’t,” I agree. “So come on!”
He stands up from the table and walks toward me. Then he drops down on one knee. My smile turns into shock as I realize what he’s doing. I can see him reach into his pocket and pull out a little black box. My mouth drops open. Is he...? He is! The diamond ring inside of the box is huge, a round cut stone the size of a pea and is set in a band of smaller diamonds. It’s stunning, but more than that, it’s a declaration of love to the world. Andrew heard what I said last night about not wanting to hide anymore, and he’s determined to make me happy. I can’t believe I’ve found such a wonderful man.
“Noelle,” he says with the biggest grin on his face, “Will you marry me?”
I can only nod, tears of happiness springing to my eyes. He takes the ring out of the box, gently holds my hand, and slips the ring on. It shines like a promise, and I throw my arms around Andrew’s neck, breathing in his scent. He lifts me up and twirls me around, squeezing me tight as he laughs. I can’t believe it. He slows down and sets me back on the ground, gazing into my eyes.
“I love you Noelle,” he says. His voice is calm and steady, like a rock, and I know he means it forever.
“I love you too Andrew.”
He kisses me, and sweeps me up to carry me over to the bed, our breakfast forgotten. I laugh and cling onto him tight.
Andrew kicks open the door to our bedroom, and throws me onto the bed, climbing up right after me. I open my legs for him, welcoming him. I can feel the hard ridge of his cock beneath his pants pressing against my cleft, and then I’m devoured by kisses, hard and fast. His hand cups the back of my head, tangling itself in my hair. His lips part and I dart through, tasting the sweetness of his mouth. He pulls the back of his shirt, we separate, and then he chucks it to the side. My hands undoes my robe and I shrug my shoulders out of it. His head drops back down on me, trailing kisses down towards my breasts.
He pushes them out of the flimsy lace and closes his mouth over me, sucking hard on a nipple. I gasp as his tongue sucks the stiff peak, pleasure blooming in my core. He’s taking it slow and easy now, as if we have all the time in the world. His other hand reaches up to my nipple, a calloused thumbpad circling the sensitive nub. I love the dual
feel of wet and rough, my back straining up to meet his mouth and hands. I let him worship my body, alternating back and forth and making my slick pussy pulse with desire for him. It’s good, but I don’t want to wait. I want us to make love already.
Andrew slides between my legs. His finger moves down, the rough pads circling my swollen lips but he doesn’t actually come to it, even though longing has my legs open wide for him already.
“You’re so wet for me Noelle,” he breathes, low and dark in my ear. “So fucking wet.”
I wiggle under him, trying to move his fingers into me already. But he’s slow, agonizingly so, his thumb rubbing against my clit before finally pushing his finger inside where I needed him.
“Ohhhh,” I sigh, my body relaxing. Andrew’s finger slides in an out of my opening, fast and slick from my juices.
“Do you want more?” His voice is deliciously dirty in my ear, and it’s not until he stops that I hear him ask me again. “Do you want more Noelle?”
“Uh-huh,” I gasp. He slides in a second thick digit. “More!”
A third. I whimper, my hands clutching onto his strong arms. Andrew’s smiling, watching his own fingers fly in and out of my pink slit. They’re brushing up against the hidden spot, releasing delightful sparks of pleasure that make me want to curl my toes. I’m rocking my hips to meet his hand, desperately wanting that feeling of fullness. I can feel myself getting close, so close, and then he stops.
“Not this time,” he says. “I want to feel you come all around me.”
His hands work at his buckle, and then he’s pushing off his boxers and jeans, letting his huge girth spring free. We crash together again, kissing each other deeply and urgently. I don’t want another second to pass without him inside of me, and I hook my legs around his hips, pulling him towards me. His cock, hard and silky and thick, presses against my thigh. The spiraling need inside of me threatens to drown me entirely.
And then Andrew is there, locked in by my legs like a puzzle piece. Completing me. His hips start moving, slow and sensuous, taking his time. He pulls all the way out almost, until I mewl, and then slams back in, deeper than before. I can feel him shaking from the effort to take it slow, to make it last. I clamp down all around him, wanting him in me forever. My breath is shallow and weak, my body trembling from the pleasure that overwhelms me with each thrust. And then he starts moving faster, letting his instinct take over, losing control to my body.
We lock eyes for a moment, and I see him, everything of him, and he does me. The connection I feel is unreal.
And then it comes, his thrusts building up the pressure inside until I close my eyes and release it. My head thrashes from side to side, completely oblivious to anything but Andrew’s cock driving in and out of me. I’m crying out, screaming loud enough I’m sure for our next door neighbor to hear, but that didn’t matter. All that matters is the rising storm of pleasure that rushes up and finally breaks over me. I hold onto him for dear life, probably scratching up his back in the process, but I don’t care. The pleasure has washed me away, and I’m not conscious of anything else but the two of us. He comes too, pumping one last time into me, spilling himself inside.
Afterwards, he falls back onto the bed, panting with exertion. I sigh with delicious tiredness, sated and full. Good thing we have the best suite in the house. They can’t tell us to be quiet if we’re the high rollers. But a sudden thought occurs to me.
“Andrew, you don’t think it’s too fast do you?”
He looks over at me. His face is serious.
“It is fast, Noelle. There’s no doubt about that. But I’m forty-two years old. I know what I want, and I’m not going to wait around when I can have it now. I want us to be together, and I want everyone else to know it too. I know what you’re thinking; people are going to talk. Well I don’t give a fuck if they do. They don’t know what we have here.” He pauses and takes my hand, running his thumb back and forth. “I want a family, and a home together, be it a little old cottage with a picket fence, or a giant mansion with a home theatre room. I want children, lots of them, who’ll fill our house with laughter and joy. I don’t want to waste any more time. Do you understand?”
His words stir up so much love inside of me. I know exactly what he means, but there’s still one thing. My parents. My dad specifically. How on earth are we going to tell him? He’d never be okay with it. Andrew sees that I’m not happy like I should be.
“You’re worried about your father,” he says quietly. His hand rests on my shoulder, stroking it gently. “You shouldn’t. He’ll understand once he sees how happy we are. We’ll have dinner tomorrow. I’ll invite your family and we’ll tell them together. You’ll see Noelle. Everything will be okay.”
Andrew sounds so confident that I smile back at him. He sits up and reaches for his phone to make arrangements for dinner. He’s been best friends with my father for almost thirty years, so he must know how he’d react. But a little voice inside of me isn’t so sure.
**********
New Orleans was over too quickly, and as the plane makes its descent back into the city, I feel a heavy weight settle onto my shoulders. Andrew’s arranged for all of us to have dinner together at my dad’s favourite restaurant, the Blue Note Steakhouse. They don’t know that we’ll be arriving together, but they do know that Andrew wants to make a big announcement. My mom thinks that maybe he’s found a girlfriend, since dad tells her that Andrew’s so happy lately. She has no idea how much more it is. Normally I’m happy to speculate with her, but I’m so worried about how my dad will react that I don’t say much back.
The plane bumps down hard on the landing, and I grip onto Andrew’s hand. He gives me a reassuring squeeze.
“Relax,” he says, reading my mind. “Everything will turn out okay.”
I wish I could believe it. I know I should be over the moon with happiness right now, but my stomach keeps flipflopping the closer dinner gets.
“You don’t know what dad’s like,” I try to say. “He scared away my last boyfriend in the ten minutes it took for me to finish putting on mascara and find my shoes. We never even got to our date. He made up some excuse to go and ghosted me.”
“David’s all bark and no bite,” Andrew says reassuringly. “He’s always been like that. But once he sees how happy we are, he’ll come around. He’s protective of you, but who wouldn’t be? You’re an amazing woman Noelle, and he just wants to make sure that whoever gets you is going to treat you right. If that college kid couldn’t stick it out, then he wasn’t right for you. You’ll see.”
I shake my head, but I don’t say anything else. I give up. Andrew will just have to see it. I tried to warn him, but he’s so... so happy about our engagement that he refuses to see reality. I just hope that their friendship can survive it.
Our luggage ends up being the last to come out, so by the time we are leaving the airport, we’re running late. It takes us at least an hour to get to the restaurant, and I spend most of it fretting over what to say and how to say it. I worry about whether we should show up together, or pretend we came separately. I’m not sure whether holding hands is the best way to break it without having to say anything, or if we should wait until we tell my parents to show any PDA. Basically I’m a big ball of nerves, and I can tell by the end of the car ride, even Andrew is getting a little antsy.
The Blue Note Steakhouse is busy tonight. It’s a large restaurant, with big leather booths and waiters in crisp shirts and black vests. We go on special occasions usually- birthdays, graduation, that kind of thing. The fact that we’re going tonight tells my parents that we’re celebrating something, though there’s only a slim chance they will. I think that maybe we should wait until after dinner, and tuck my ring into my purse. Andrew shakes his head, but he’s willing to do it my way he says if it’ll help me feel better about it.
I take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay, I reassure myself. I see my parents in the back of the restaurant, in a cozy U-shaped booth. There’s
a candle casting a warm glow. My dad was a husky man, but time and lack of exercise has softened him up. He still has the ramrod straight spine of a soldier though. My mother is tiny beside him, her light blonde hair swept up in a neat chignon. She used to be a dancer, and still teaches ballet and jazz. I look like her, though I’ve got my dad’s midnight black hair. They look happy, and my mom is whispering something to my dad. The both of them chuckle, and I can see how much they love one another. Is it so wrong to want that for myself too? I hope it isn’t. I slide past the maitre d’ and head inside. My parents don’t see us until we’re at the table.
“Noelle!” my dad says happily, standing up from the booth to give me a hug. “And Andrew! How are you doing these days?”
My mom stands up too, and I give her a hug as Andrew and my dad clap shoulders. My dad takes my coat and hangs it up, and I slide into the center of the table with my mom.
“I hope you don’t mind. We took the liberty of ordering the wine,” my dad says.
As if on cue, the sommelier shows up with a bottle of Cabernet. He shows us the bottle so we can check the vintage, carefully pulls out the cork, and gives my dad a tasting. He swirls it, nods to say that it’s good, and then the sommelier carefully pours out the wine into glasses for us. I take a large, fortifying gulp, barely tasting anything before taking another. I can see the sommelier frown a little, but I don’t care. Right now, I need a buzz to relax or I’m going to blow this before we get to the main course. A waiter appears and introduces himself, then hands Andrew and I a menu. I don’t bother opening it. We’ve been here so many times that I already know what I want: the aged ribeye.
“Do you want to share the crab cakes?” my mom asks me, but I shake my head. I don’t have much of an appetite. I’ll be lucky if I can finish half of my steak.
We give our orders and the waiter leaves with the heavy menus. Now that there’s nothing to distract us, my dad leans forward.
