The electricity between us is palpable. It fascinates me, this closeness, this intimacy and I allow myself to linger at the image before my eyes. What a remarkable exercise, staring at each other like this, I think, taking a professional perspective. Instead of it being something to avoid at all costs, the intensely erotic nature of our steaming bodies in the mirror emanates sexual energy, even more so as I am still reeling from a delectable orgasm.
‘I want you to capture this moment in your memory. Take a moment to understand and absorb how much beauty is within you. Your flushed cheeks. Your buoyant, full breasts. Your glistening thighs. Your eyes, wild with lust and desire. Remember this is who you are, an infinitely sexual and sensual creature. I have never desired anyone as much as I have you.’
I can feel the intensity of the truth in his words as much as I feel his manhood swelling thickly behind me.
I barely recognise my reflection in the mirror.
Who am I?
Time stands still.
The moment is utterly intoxicating, breathtaking.
I can’t say how much time has elapsed between these moments and when he eventually releases me to wrap the towel around my shoulders.
‘I need to organise a few things and it is probably best if you have some space. Take your time; you’ll notice the cupboards are well stocked. I have a surprise waiting for you out here, when you are ready.’ Jeremy kisses the inside of my wrist and closes the bathroom door behind him. My stomach once again makes its presence felt in my body, as does the heat between my legs and my swollen breasts. How does he do this to me?
I steady myself, placing both hands on the cold marble of the basin bench. I stare at the mirror, looking directly at my face, into my eyes. My body feels energetic, euphoric. I can’t remember a time I felt this physical and alive. My mind is desperately trying to maintain balance and perspective. What am I doing? Unfortunately, my body appears to be the weightier component as I let out a surrendering sigh and embrace the fullness of the moment.
Jeremy was right about the bathroom being well stocked; once again his memory for detail is astounding. Little handwritten notes scattered here and there, Jo Malone perfume — one beautifully designed large bottle of my favourite fragrance blend, with enough room to add any finishing touches from the collection of smaller bottles. Body lotion that my skin devours so quickly, I indulgently allow myself a second helping. Yves Saint Laurent make-up bag with foundations, concealer, eyeliner, lipsticks, lip liners, mascaras, all in hues complementary to my skin tone — everything I could need for the weekend and more. Wow. I decide to let myself go a little crazy and enjoy all of them, thinking how much fun it is, like being in beauty boutique heaven and helping myself to anything from the skin care and cosmetic range. I let out enthusiastic little yelps as I open boxes, experiment and test an array of gorgeous products featured regularly in high end glossy magazines but never before seen on my bathroom shelf.
I must have been lost in my own cosmetic wonderland for quite some time when I hear a light knock on the door.
‘Alex, you are still alive in there, aren’t you?’ Jeremy’s voice softly permeates my hedonistic atmosphere.
‘Oh, yes, ah, sorry, I can’t believe all of this. When did you have time? How did you know? I mean, well, it has been so long … This is absolutely amazing, I feel like a child opening all of my favourite presents …’ My words tumble over the top of each other.
‘Questions, questions,’ he says with a chuckle, although I detect an undertone of threat in his voice, which stops me dead.
My thoughts immediately drift back to his words in the bath, the promise I made in a moment of weak, lustful desire. The hair on my skin automatically stands on end; my posture straightens like a cat tensing to sense imminent danger. What was it he was talking about in the bath? He wasn’t really serious, was he? Wanting me to be blind for the weekend and something about questions? Surely we’re too old for such silly games. Aren’t we? My intuition doesn’t help my apprehension as my mind instantly conjures up the memory of the first and only time I tried to get out of a promise with Jeremy back in our university days. Strangely, in hindsight, I am vague on the details of the promise itself; however, the consequences were embarrassingly clear.
‘So, you are absolutely positive you are going to renege on our agreement?’ Jeremy asks incredulously as he towers above me. We are in the quad at uni, just outside the Great Hall. I nod. The next second, he hauls me over his shoulders, grabs my ankles and slides me down his back. I am left dangling upside down, looking out toward everyone behind me.
‘Put me down, you embarrassing bastard!’ I scream, flapping around, trying to haul myself up. ‘You can’t do this, it’s pure brutality. Put me down!’ I scream louder.
‘I can and I will, until you follow through on your promise.’
People are looking at me, laughing. Everyone knows we are best friends and are just mucking around. My T-shirt is down around my shoulders thanks to gravity and I quickly hold it up so I’m not giving everyone a free bra show. I try to bash him with one hand and hold my T-shirt with the other. Thank god I have jeans on. Jeremy starts walking off.
‘What are you doing? This is insane!’
It is difficult to project my voice as loudly as I’d hoped given I am bouncing along behind his legs, upside down. I am completely incensed. He casually chats to others as we proceed along the corridor as if there is nothing unusual about me being slung over his body. His friends have a little chuckle as he informs them he is just giving me a lift to my next lecture. If I could, I would really hurt him very badly right now. Blood is rushing to my head by the second, making me look like a ripe tomato.
We arrive at the lecture hall and he carefully lowers me down on to a seat in the front row. He acknowledges the Professor behind his lectern, as if everything is in perfect order. He bends down to where he has placed me, holding my hands together and says with a smile, ‘I’ll pick you up after the lecture.’
‘You can’t be serious.’ I almost spit the words at him.
‘Oh, indeed I am, Miss Alexandra.’
I give him my best death stare as I hear the Professor say, ‘Right, well, let’s get started, we have a lot to cover today.’
With that Jeremy plants a kiss on my cheek, releases my hands and waves goodbye. I am so deeply embarrassed that I sink as low as I can into the seat, not willing to make eye contact with anyone. As I move my feet, I notice my bag resting underneath the same seat I had been delivered to. Nothing like advance planning.
I can’t concentrate one bit on the lecture. Instead I am fully preoccupied, focusing on firstly, avoiding Jeremy and secondly, revenge. How dare he do that to me? I scribble a note to a friend asking if I could have her notes for the rest of the lecture. I decide making an early escape would be the safest option, just in case he was serious about ‘picking me up’ afterwards. Fifteen minutes before the end, I slide out of my seat as discreetly as possible. I move silently toward the back door. As I walk out and glance around the empty hallway, I secretly congratulate myself for out-manoeuvring Jeremy. I start walking determinedly down the corridor, furious with him, absolutely steaming. As I gather speed and lengthen my stride, my legs suddenly fall from underneath me so fast it temporarily winds me.
‘What the —’ I exclaim.
‘Hey, gorgeous, you didn’t really think I’d fall for that, did you?’
Jeremy scoops me up into exactly the same position as before. Where the hell did he come from? He carries me by the ankles, over his shoulders all the way to the cafeteria. Blokes are clapping and cheering all the way, congratulating him for being a real man. I am seething, to say the least. He deposits me on a chair and holds me with a firm grip around my shoulders and wrists. He knows too well I will run the second he lets go of me. I stare scathingly at his mates positioned around the table, all with smirks on their faces though their eyes pretend to look elsewhere around the room. Patrick and Neil arrive and place a tray in fron
t of me — presumably my lunch has been pre-ordered so Jeremy has no reason to take his hands off me. Their smirks leave me with no doubt they think this situation is highly amusing. He senses me waiting for any opportunity.
‘Don’t try it, AB, it will only get worse for you very quickly.’
‘And exactly how long do you think you can keep this up, Jeremy?’ My voice is icy.
‘Exactly the same amount of time it takes for you to keep your word, my friend,’ he states. And damn it, he is true to his word.
This ‘carry on’ continues for the rest of the day. Eventually the thought of being hauled like a sack of potatoes and deposited into my last tutorial for the day and favourite subject, ‘The psychology of sensation and perception’, is too much for me, given it is a small class of twelve.
‘Okay, enough, Jeremy. No more. I have learnt my lesson. You win.’ He places me gently on the ground, the right way up.
‘I’m so pleased you have come to your senses, AB. I’m sure you didn’t want to experience what I had planned for you tonight.’
‘God, you are a relentless force!’
‘Not to be reckoned with I agree, although I’d rather define it as “persistent when required”.’
‘Whatever, I just need to get to class.’ I try to fob him off.
‘You’re sure you don’t need a lift? My legs move faster than yours.’ The smile on his face is so cheeky I can’t help but laugh at his cuteness even though I’m trying hard to appear disgruntled.
‘Very funny indeed. Goodbye!’
The memory is so clear, so strong, it’s as if it had only happened yesterday. Where did that come from? I haven’t thought about anything like that in years, decades even. I shake my head in an attempt to dislodge the past from my thoughts and remove any potential significance it may hold.
‘Do you think you might be ready any time soon?’
‘Yes, absolutely.’ Relief rushes over me. He didn’t mention anything about my promise, thank goodness. I quickly scoop all the packaging together into one of the bags and carefully place the lids back on the jars. I’m particularly careful with the perfume as the scent is truly gorgeous and I’d love to take it home with me.
‘I’ll just dry my hair and be out in a minute.’ I locate the hair dryer, flip my hair over my head and quickly blow-dry the damper parts underneath. It is wavier than usual, but I decide to leave it out anyway, hanging just below my shoulder blades. My face and body are glowing and I can’t help but smile back at the person grinning at me in the mirror. Nothing like a five-star hotel, French champagne, an orgasm sent from heaven in a luxurious bath and every beauty product under the sun to make a woman feel utterly pampered, at least for a while. I grab a giant, thick bathrobe (they never seem to be made for the average size woman), wrap it all around me and then some, before stepping out from my confined euphoria of the bathroom into the cool elegance of the hotel suite, and Jeremy’s arms.
‘You look excited,’ he says as he squeezes me tight.
‘I feel as guilty as sin in a wonderfully decadent way.’ I return his embrace and the passion in his eyes leaves me momentarily breathless.
‘Come here, you, time to feel a little more decadent. I want to show you something.’
His arm drapes over my shoulders and he steers me quickly through the master suite and into the walk-in robe. We are like young puppies finding a basket of new toys to play with. I gasp when we come to a sudden stop. A grin explodes on his face.
‘I have always wanted to do this, Alex, but wasn’t brave enough at uni. Would you wear this dress for me tonight?’
I walk over to an exquisite dress, simple, elegant, sophisticated and the most beautiful colour — deep red, blue-red. It is cut on the diagonal and across the shoulder, leaving one shoulder bare.
‘Jeremy, it is simply gorgeous, I’m … I’m speechless. Why are you doing all of this? I feel like I’m missing something. I don’t understand.’
‘There’s no need to understand. I want to do this, I’ve wanted to for a long time and now I can. Everything you need should be there to get dressed. I can’t wait to see you in it and I’m so pleased you like it. Try not to take as long as you did in the bathroom, or I’ll have to help you speed up the process,’ he says with a grin. I stand motionless, staring at him, then the dress. He slaps me lightly on my bottom to reinforce his words.
‘Okay, okay,’ I reply as I move into action.
I walk over to the dress and run my fingers along the satin; it feels silky smooth and soft. I quickly remove my robe and slip the dress over my head. It slides easily over my body and I’m grateful to find it has a built-in bra that just happens to fit my bustline beautifully. It slithers along my waist with the left side of the dress cascading exquisitely down my legs before coming to a stop; just long enough to tickle my ankle. I find an accompanying box of stunning stiletto-heel shoes that I’m almost not game to try on. I haven’t worn shoes like this since my twenties and I silently wonder whether I will be able to maintain a stylish sense of balance in them.
I have never worn such a bold colour and I stare at myself in shock. The creation is tantalising. The person in the mirror is sexy, confident, alluring. I notice an intricate, antique-style clasp on the bench so I pull my hair up into a loose chignon on the same side as my bare shoulder and clip it into place. Now the reflection in the mirror has an added dimension of unanticipated sophistication. No question about it now, I am well and truly living my version of Pretty Woman, and so far, for me at least, it is better than the original.
I can’t remember the last time I was this dressed up — I could be walking the red carpet at the Oscars perhaps, with a little more make-up, possibly, and a professionally-coiffed hairstyle. After allowing myself one last look at my reflection, so glamorous I hardly recognise myself, I steady myself to walk out into the lounge room.
Jeremy stops and turns toward me. His mouth opens as I enter the lounge room. I desperately try to be the sophisticated, confident woman in the mirror, rather than the causal, clumsy uni student he had once known, as his eyes rake in my appearance. His sharp intake of breath and the open admiration in his eyes tell me that he likes what he sees.
‘Oh my … oh,’ he says slowly. ‘Oh, Alexandra, now I’m speechless, you look … absolutely breathtaking.’
‘The dress is beautiful, Jeremy. I don’t know what to say either.’
‘No, sweetheart, you are beautiful. The dress merely complements your best assets.’ I laugh a little apprehensively at his words as his eyes linger appreciatively on my breasts.
‘It does a little more than that, Jeremy, it hides all the worst … Oh, by the way, there was only one thing you forgot.’
‘Really?’ he asks, sounding surprised. ‘And what was that?’
‘Knickers.’
He remains expressionless.
‘Undies?’ I continue.
No response.
‘Panties, if that is what you prefer to call them?’
I had looked everywhere for them in the walk-in robe but they had all mysteriously vanished.
‘Oh, right.’ He finally seems to comprehend. ‘No, I didn’t forget them, you are wearing everything you need.’
He turns his head, his stare penetrating my eyes.
‘You know I appreciate access, Alexa, at all times. Just the thought of it makes me hot.’
He winks at me and I blush again so hard that the dress and I become indistinguishable.
At that moment I notice several dozen roses in a vase on the table. I have never seen so many together. They are unopened and deep, blood red, exactly the same colour as the dress I am wearing. They are magnificent, each and every one of them perfect. I walk over to study them in detail and inhale their heady scent. I sense Jeremy move as he positions behind me, his breath light against my neck. I am a little taller in high heels so he conveniently doesn’t have to bend so low.
‘Each one of these roses represents the experiences I want to give you
this weekend. Imagine what they will look like when they have all fully blossomed, every layer opened up. They are beautiful now, just as you are, Alexandra, but just imagine what they will be, as one by one they explode into their full potential.’
His lips lightly caress the exposed nape of my neck as he speaks. Oh my goodness, his lips and his words ensure my knees almost buckle beneath me.
My voice is slow, breathless. ‘You are certainly well on your way … I can honestly say I have never experienced anything like this before, Jeremy, ever.’
‘You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, babe.’ He instantly lightens the mood with his newly acquired, light American twang.
‘We need another cheers,’ he states ceremoniously and turns his back to me as he starts to concoct something set up on the buffet with some elaborate glasses and lots of ice.
‘Oh no, not vodka shots?’
‘Not quite, but good memory though. Something different this time, you’ll see.’
The tone of Jeremy’s voice and the look in his eyes takes me directly back to one of the most playful, surprising and tantalising sexual encounters I have ever participated in and probably ever will in my lifetime …
Jeremy and I have finally finished our mid-semester exams and we can’t wait for a night off; it feels like we have been hitting the books non-stop for the past few months. Just as we are heading out to the pub a few blocks away to meet some friends for a few ales, a cracking electrical storm hits, resulting in a thunderous downpour. Jeremy and I take one look outside before deciding against going out and settle in for a few quiet drinks and a movie at his place instead. It suits us, as we are both pretty knackered from burning the midnight oil. Although relieved that the stress of exams has passed, we haven’t built up enough sleep surplus to be in full party mode. As we settle ourselves on the lounge with cider and popcorn, Jeremy’s friend and fellow med student, Patrick, bursts through the door, dripping wet.
Destined to Play, Feel, Fly Trilogy Page 6
