The other wall was made entirely of floor to ceiling windows that could be covered by either a lightweight set of curtains or, at the push of a button, shades that blocked the light from coming in. Right now the curtains were drawn and the light was low. Jake watched Natalie’s face as the shadows danced across it through the open shelves as she walked the length of them.
The slight apprehension he felt earlier at revealing his living space to her eroded as the smile of awe grew on her lips. She turned around to the desk and ran her fingers over the smooth, wood surface.
“So is this where you write as well?” she asked, looking up at him.
“Partially,” Jake responded, closing the door and heading over to her. “I mostly do research, brainstorming, outlining, rough drafts. All the preparation. I get away to write the final manuscript.”
“I never asked you about that,” she said looking up at him with interest. “Why do you go all the way to the other side of the country? I mean, this place,” she looked around her with admiration, “is so perfect. If I was a writer, I would love writing here.”
Jake smiled and sighed. “Well, it’s kind of a long story.”
“We’ve got all week,” she smiled back at him.
He chuckled for a moment then grabbed her hand and walked her over to the couch that was situated facing the wall-mounted TV in the portion of the room in front of the bed. They sat down on the couch and she look at him with curiosity as he began.
“Okay, then. Well, my first book was kind of a lark. And I certainly wasn’t living in a place like this,” his eyes wandered around the loft to demonstrate the point. “I had just quit working for the government and was sort of puttering around. I’ve always liked the outdoors so I went upstate mostly hiking and camping and lazing around for a bit before figuring what to do.
“I thought I’d just join some private security firm or something. I certainly got a lot of calls about it. Then I was reading a novel, kind of like what I write now. I won’t say who the author was, but I kept overthinking it as I read. The stuff that he got right and the stuff he didn’t. At the end of it I thought to myself, hey, I can write this kind of thing.” He shrugged, “So I did.”
“I happened to be taking up residence for an indeterminate period of time in a bare bones cabin at a campground. My sister gave me a laptop she was planning on upgrading from anyway so I used that and...well that began the ‘ritual.’ I drove down to the nearest bar when it was done, not realizing I was located in the vacation spot for rich New Yorkers to go skiing. I asked for the most expensive thing he had and…well, you’ve tasted it,” he looked at Natalie with a smile.
She laughed and nodded, encouraging him on.
“I let my sister have first dibs at it and she liked it. I lent it to a few other people who liked it as well. Eventually I thought, what the heck? So I shopped it around, got an agent, the book got picked up and the rest is history.
“For the second one, the specific cabin I used was no longer vacant so I thought I’d try a new and different mountain locale. This time it was Tennessee, beautiful place by the way. It’s my excuse to see the country. I take some time off afterward to go exploring the mountains—although sometimes other diversions come along,” he gave Natalie a knowing smile and she slapped him lightly on the chest.
“Anyway, you happened to catch me on a west coast stint. I hadn’t been to Lake Tahoe yet. So far it’s my favorite,” he gave her a wink, which brought out a laughing smile.
Natalie leaned her head on her arm that was folded on the back of the couch and looked at him. “So, it really was providence,” she said. “Lucky me.”
“Lucky me,” he said with a smile.
He thought of something then. “Speaking of which,” he said with a wicked grin, hopping up off the couch to head over to the dresser near his bed. He pulled out the top drawer and dug around in the back, pulling out the white, cotton prize hidden back there.
Natalie looked at the white cloth in confusion until she realized what they were. “Oh my god!” she cried, laughing. “Wait a sec, did you steal them?”
Jake was taken aback. “What? No!” he replied, walking back the couch. “I found them on top of the cabinet in my room.”
“And you held on to them all this time?” Natalie asked, looking at them with incredulity.
“I suppose my subconscious was hoping I’d see you again,” he said handing them to her. “I guess they’re lucky.”
“Did you even wash them,” she said, grabbing them between one finger and thumb.
“What fun would that have been?” he asked, giving her an evil grin.
“Ew,” she said laughing. “I think they should be thrown out at this point.”
“Don’t you dare,” Jake protested. “It’s a lovely reminder of the beginning of our beautiful relationship.”
“Oh yes,” Natalie said sarcastically. “Let’s maybe frame them. Then, when our grandkids ask about them I can explain how their pervert grandpa held on to them for 6 months after our one-night stand.”
She laughed before she realized the implications of what she had just said. Jake had an enjoyable moment watching her become flustered, as she stuffed them in her purse anyway, most likely just wanting them out of sight.
“So, a cabin the woods and look at you now,” she said, trying to change the subject. “Must have been some cabin.”
“Hardly,” he laughed. “I think it was mostly for people who like roughing it a bit. Which was fine by me. I had the basics: bed, stove, fridge, bathroom, shower. I mostly worked at the little dining table in the kitchen area.”
He looked over at her speculatively. “Do you want to see it?”
Her eyes grew wide with surprise. “Really?” she asked. “You don’t mind? How will we get up there?”
He laughed. “Of course I don’t mind…and I have a very fast car.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
JAKE
It was after lunch and they were speeding down the highway, enjoying the scenery as the concrete and steel transitioned to trees and open road. Escapes like this were the whole reason Jake had bought the car. He only ever used it for mini joy rides into the wilderness and to visit his sister. It didn’t hurt that the Maserati had always been his dream car.
Now he was headed off to the place that had helped make it all possible. He looked over at Natalie who was staring out the window as the greenery flashed by. She was in a large, loose white shirt that had a tendency to slip off one shoulder to reveal an enticing patch of smooth, brown skin. Her jeans were tight and the short, black boots she had on wrapped the whole package up nicely.
He hadn’t been back to the campground since his first novel. He actually had to map it out before hand just to recall how to get there. Up until now he really had no interest in it. Natalie’s enthusiasm had spurred just a pinch of nostalgia in him and he found himself a bit eager to re-visit the place.
They exited the highway and drove for a few miles until he saw the entrance for the place. It looked just like he remembered, if a bit more wear and tear. There was the basic wood sign painted to announce that you had arrived at the Green Vista campground. A chain link fence blocked off the dirt parking lot from the rather austere pool that was the centerpiece of the main cabin area. These were the ones created for families and had more room inside.
The cabin he’d inhabited was for Green Vista’s other clientele, solitary folk just trying to escape for a bit. They were distanced far away from the potential cacophony that might come from the pool.
He parked his conspicuous Maserati in the lot full of Honda Civics, Mini vans, and dirty pick-up trucks and they walked in together. The only thing that seemed to have changed was the person behind the desk who had transformed from a tall, thin man with long, hippy-dippy, white hair in a ponytail and a beard to match. The new person at the desk looked like she was there to guard the place from pesky invaders rather than to actually greet guests. She was a small, older woman with he
r white hair in a bun and a the stern expression of a school marm about to handle two unruly children.
“Can I help you?” she asked matter-of-factly.
“Hi,” Jake said, with his most endearing smile. “I was just wondering if I could take a look at one of your cabins, Cabin 11, up near the treeline? You see, my…wife and I—”
It was an inspired bit of ad-libbing. She seemed like the type to be more sympathetic to a married couple. Plus, he kind of liked the sound of it.
“Let me stop you right there,” she said, interrupting him with closed eyes, while holding up a hand as though to preemptively quell any protest. “The only way you and your wife,” she looked pointedly down at his left hand which was resting on the counter, and he cursed himself for that one, “are getting past those gates is if you pay for a cabin.”
“But we really only—”
“60 dollars,” she said firmly.
“It’s okay, Jake,” Natalie said behind him. “We don’t have to.”
Jay looked at the woman one more second, willing her to change her mind, then sighed. “You drive hard bargain,” he said pulling out his wallet.
“I drive a business,” she corrected him, “and lookey-loos need not apply.”
She took his credit card and rang him up as though he was a normal customer, despite everything he’d just revealed. All he could do was sit there and smile with amused disbelief. He turned to Natalie and saw the same bemused smile on her face.
Lookey-loos? she mouthed to him and suppressed a laugh.
“Fortunately for you, Cabin 11 is available,” the woman said, handing him his card and two keys. “Check out is noon tomorrow.” She threw in, fulfilling her duties to the very end.
When they walked out Natalie let out a giggle and Jake couldn’t help but join her. She grabbed his arm as they made their way to the back trail up to the treeline cabins.
“So, dear husband,” she cooed, “are we on our honeymoon then? Are you going to carry me over the threshold?” She looked up at him and batted her eyes.
Jake laughed at that and shook his head in remembrance of how that little bit of improv had backfired. “Yeah, I guess that one wasn’t very well thought out.”
“It was sweet,” she insisted. “Though I think the lack of rings was a little telling.”
“Yeah,” he said playing along. “I’ll have to remember that part if I ever get married. Bride. Tuxedo. Ring. It’s so complicated!”
They both laughed lightly then fell into a slightly awkward silence as they realized the topic they had just touched on. Her grip on his arm lightened. He pulled his arm away and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her closely to him, not wanting the moment to end just yet. She readily snuggled closer and they worked their way up the slight incline to where Cabin 11 was.
When they got to the cabin Natalie looked out and down at the vista of Green Vista. He gave it a brief glance as he pushed his key into the door. It was a view worth boasting about. The family cabins were well below them, out of yelling and screaming distance, and it seemed that for miles beyond that there was nothing but green. He was reminded why this had been his go-to place, despite the sparse accommodations.
“Well, darling,” he said, pushing the door open and grabbing her around the waist to lift her, “here we are at last.”
“Jake!” she yelped as he lifted her easily off the ground. “I swear to god if you carry me across the threshold like this I’ll scream.”
“Hmm,” he said thoughtfully, looking inside at the accommodations that were even more sparse than he remembered. “You’re right. I think this place calls for—”
With that he swung her up over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift which caused her to scream even louder as he laughed. She punched his lower back with a light fist, protesting as he carried her inside and set her down on the bare mattress.
She sat up on her elbows giving him an evil stare, then turned to look around at the cabin.
“Wow,” she said, getting up. “So…this is where you worked?”
He had to admit, it wasn’t all that impressive, even though it was pretty damn clean, with not even a spec of dust on the window sills. Apparently Ms. Driving-a-business took her business rather seriously. The walls were wood paneling instead of actual wood. The floor was laminate tile, but clean. There was the same small table and kitchenette and double bed. In fact, the only selling point to the whole place was the view out the front window. He remembered pushing the small, square table up against that window to stare out of while he worked.
“Yeah,” he said. “this is it.”
“It’s actually kind of cute…in a bachelor sort of way,” she said wandering around. “I can see how it might appeal to you. Especially that view.” She wandered over to the window to partake of said view.
So she got it. Jake nodded to himself and went up behind her to look at the view over her head.
NATALIE
“So,” Jake said behind her, “We have the place all night you know?”
“Ugh!” she said, turning around to look at him. “You men really do have sex on the brain.”
She thought of the luxurious room at the Ritz back in New York and the complete 180 that this room was. Sex with Jake at the Ritz had been…like something out of a fairy tale, even as hot and heavy as it was. Waking up to him on the lush, soft bedding with Central Park laid out below them. This was a far cry from that.
On the other hand, there was something rather attractively primitive about this place. Seeing Jake here, in his element, the first place he had turned to when he began his “normal” life. It was definitely stirring something in her.
It didn’t hurt that this was the place that had indirectly brought Jake into her life. Fucking here would be like christening the place that christened their relationship.
She heard herself talking in turns and smiled, laughing to herself and shaking her head slightly.
“What?” Jake said, most likely assuming she was still reluctant to be in this place any longer than necessary.
“You really want to spend the night here?” she said looking around the room with a smile. “Instead of that nice big bed at the hotel, or the rather spectacular one I noticed at your place?”
“Hmm, well when you put it like that,” he said thoughtfully but she could see a bit of a smile creeping in. “On the other hand, they do have fresh sheets here, and then there’s this spectacular view. Frankly, Central Park is nice and all but it has nothing on—”
She stood on her toes and kissed him, pushing him back towards the bed, as her hands pulled the checkered shirt out of his jeans. He didn’t need any further cues as his own hands ran underneath her shirt, gliding up to the strapless bra she had on. He expertly unhooked it and let it fall down as she tugged the final edge of his shirt out of his pants.
They pulled each other’s shirts off, momentarily getting tangled in one another and laughing about it. Once their arms were free, she pressed her bare chest against his and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing both of them down onto the mattress. She slid up to meet his mouth as they worked on each other’s jeans.
It was easy enough to push each other’s pants down past their asses, taking the underwear with them. They stayed like that, pressed against each other, holding on to the round, firm flesh of the other’s backside. Finally the awkwardness got to be too much and Jake gave a huff, sitting up on his knees to remove Natalie’s boots and peel the tight denim down her smooth legs, followed by her underwear. He quickly untied his boots and chucked them off, then pushed and kicked his own jeans and underwear off. With that done, he jumped back on top of her. She brought her legs up around him in a, now familiar embrace, and let the passion take over.
The mattress was firm, the fabric was rough, and they could feel the springs in their backs. It was nothing like the Ritz but, after the initial impatience, their love making was the exact opposite of the night before.
Once inside of her, Jake’
s hunger seemed to be sated as he paused to enjoy the feel of her against his body, surrounding his cock, her hands on his back. Natalie in turn absorbed his hardness, the feel of his muscles under her hands and between her thighs, his firm chest pressed against hers. As his hips fell in and out of her welcoming warmth, their bodies stayed connected to one another.
She looked up at him as he looked right back at her and read the feelings that transcended lust. He had opened himself up to her once today, and now she could see him opening another part of himself up to her. She responded by giving everything of herself right back to him.
As she came she broke down the last barrier and moaned, “Oh Jake, I love you.”
She let her head fall into his chest, not caring whether the sentiment was returned with words. She had seen and felt all she needed to know.
He cradled her head in his arms as she felt him release into her. “My god, I love you too, Natalie,” he groaned. He held onto her and she gripped him tighter, both of them cementing that moment to memory.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
NATALIE
In the end they hadn’t ended up spending the night. The lure of a soft, comfortable, king-sized bed overcame the need to get Jake’s full $60 worth. Natalie couldn’t help but suppress a smile as he advised the woman at the front desk that she would probably still have to do a bit of cleaning up, which only earned him a piercing look of scorn.
They had dressed in silence, stealing occasional, almost bashful glances at one another, wondering if the other party had actually meant what they had said in the heat of the moment. Natalie knew for a fact that she had meant what she said, heat of the moment or not. She hadn’t even realized she truly felt that way until the moment she said it.
Now they were back in Jake’s car, leaving the parking lot and she was wondering how to proceed. It was funny, saying it a second time seemed even harder than saying it the first time. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye trying to gauge his emotions. He stared straight ahead at the road in front of them, gripping the steering wheel while he worked his jaw. Natalie had no idea how to read that.
One Night: A BWWM Interracial Romance Page 16
