by Ellie Danes
“I think some takeout would be great,” I replied as I got undressed in the guest room and put a bathrobe on. “You've already done so much, and you've had a busy day. You don't need to do any more – you need some time to relax as well, you know.”
“All right. I know you like that Chinese joint nearby – should I order something from them?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
He smiled – that handsome smile that made my knees go weak – and nodded. “Your bath should be almost ready. Go have a good soak, and I'll take care of the food.”
“Thank you, Colin,” I said. “You've done so much for me... you're such a wonderful man. I'm so lucky to have you.”
He walked up to me and hugged me, kissing me softly on my neck. “No, I'm the lucky one.”
“Here, take this,” he said, pouring me a glass of red wine. “It'll help you relax even more in the tub.”
I took the wine and gave him a kiss. “Thank you, Colin.”
I took the wine to the bathroom, which was nice and hot and steamy, slipped my bathrobe off and stepped into the huge sunken tub, which was at floor-level. I slipped under the bubbles and turned the jets on, and immediately started to feel a lot more relaxed as the jets of water massaged me. I started to drink my wine and felt even more relaxed, and then reached over to the waterproof remote and put on some classical music, which sounded crisp and beautifully clear through the room's state-of-the-art sound system.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
“Skye, can I come in?”
“Yeah, come on in, Colin.”
Colin opened the door and stepped in, and he had a huge smile on his face.
“What's with the smile?” I asked, smiling as well – his grin was quite infectious.
“I have some great news. I just got a call from my friend in the police – they busted that creep, the guy who has been hassling you, for selling heroin! He's in custody now, and they have a watertight case against him. My friend is absolutely certain that he'll be sent back to jail – for life this time. You never have to worry about this guy again, Skye. He's gone; he's out of your life.”
I felt like jumping up and dancing; pure joy surged through me. This was the best news I’d had in a long time. I also felt like crying, but crying tears of relief and happiness, of course.
“Thank you, Colin,” I murmured. “Thank you so much.”
LATER THAT EVENING
The feeling still hadn't quite sunk in; I was free, I was really free. The evil man who had been making my life a misery was under arrest, and it seemed that he would be in prison for the rest of his life, so I would no longer have to worry about him. I was just a few shifts away from never having to work in the restaurant again, and after that, I could concentrate on my dancing. Of course, there was still the sad matter of the dance lessons I had had to give up, but I would be able to save up and pay for more in the future.
I had gotten out of the bath and dried myself off, and now, feeling relaxed, I put on my bathrobe, took what was left of my glass of wine and headed out to find Colin.
He was sitting on the sofa watching a documentary, enjoying a glass of wine himself. He smiled warmly as he saw me, because it was plain to see how good I was now feeling.
“Come have a seat,” he said, patting the spot next to him on the sofa.
I sat down and draped my arms around his shoulders and snuggled up to him.
“Thank you so much, Colin... thank you for everything. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me,” I said.
He pulled me closer to him. “I feel the same way about you.”
We kissed, and an intense passion ripped through me as we did – and suddenly a realization hit me. This was it; this was the right time. Colin ran his fingers through my hair as he kissed me, our tongues dancing an exquisite dance together, and I slid my hands across his strong, muscular torso and began to unbutton his shirt. Meanwhile, I slipped the belt off my bathrobe, allowing the robe to fall open, and gently took Colin's hands and put them on my nude body underneath.
I straddled him, and he ran his fingertips over my warm, soft skin, tracing a delightfully light passage over the curves of my torso and ribs and breasts, before his hands came to rest on my breasts. As he began to massage my stiffening nipples between his forefingers and thumbs, I leaned down and teasingly nibbled his right ear, planting kisses on his neck and throat.
I whispered to him, “I'm ready, Colin... I'm finally ready.”
“You really want to do this?” he asked. “Because I want you to be sure.”
I nodded and continued to nibble on his neck and throat as a powerful, hot arousal began to pulse between my thighs.
“I'm ready,” I said. “I know I am now.”
He smiled and slid his hands down my sides, leaving them to come to rest on my ass, which he gripped and squeezed appreciatively.
“Good,” he whispered. “I want to make this special for you.”
I reached up and slipped the bathrobe off my shoulders so that I was fully naked, and he pulled of his shirt, revealing a ripped, tanned and muscular torso. I ran my fingers down his broad chest and over his six-pack abs, and then began to unbuckle his belt. Between my legs, the heat and wetness was growing to an intensity that I had never before experienced.
Colin and I began kissing again, almost devouring each other with a furious hunger as our hearts both beat like maddened drummers. As we continued to kiss, I undid his belt, unzipped his pants, and slid them down his legs. I then pulled his boxers down as well, and his manhood, already rock hard, popped out. I wrapped my fingers around its girthy hardness and stroked up and down in a gentle way, and Colin shuddered with pleasure.
He slid a hand down between my thighs, and as his fingertips reached my now-engorged clitoris, intense pleasure blasted through me. I let out a loud gasp of surprise and bliss. Colin started to move his fingertip with a gentle but steady rhythm, and this motion sent wave after wave of pleasure, of a kind I had never before experienced, surging through every fiber of my being.
So, this was what it was like, this was what making love was like... I was so joyous, and also so thankful that I had waited to do this with a man like Colin, a man who I loved with my heart and soul.
As he continued to manipulate my clit with the dexterous motion of his skilled fingertips, he moved his head down and began to lick and nibble at my breast, giving it short, quick nips and licking his tongue in swirls around my swollen nipple, which sent little ripples of pleasure shooting through my upper body.
I, meanwhile, increased the speed at which I was stroking his cock, and he began to gasp and shudder with bliss himself. Now the waves of pleasure from the motion of his finger on my clit were growing more and more intense, the space between each wave of pleasure getting shorter and shorter. Was this it? Would this be my very first orgasm?
A feeling of utter release seemed to be on the verge of exploding through me, building up inside me with a glorious pressure, a pressure that I knew Colin's hand was about to release. This was it, this was really it... Suddenly, it blasted through me. A feeling of sheer bliss, of such intensity, a sensation that I had never before experienced. I cried out and threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly as wave after wave of bliss tore through me.
Finally, it subsided, and I was ready for the final act, so to speak.
“I'm ready,” I purred into his ear.
“And so am I,” he said.
I guided him into me, and bit my lower lip as he began to fill me up slowly. The sensation was intense, and it was both pleasure and a sharp pain. Finally, he was inside me, and he started to thrust gently, while kissing me all over my body. At first, the thrusts were painful, but pleasure began to override this pain, and then I started to move on top of him, riding him with a cautious speed. Then, as the blasts of pleasure grew more frantic with intensity, I felt yet another orgasm coming on. At the moment of release, as it shot through me like an explosion of color an
d light, Colin pressed his eyes closed as his body trembled over me with the bliss of release.
It was done... and my first time had been pure magic. We kissed and held each other tightly for a long, long time afterward.
THE NEXT DAY
I was at the restaurant, still glowing from the bliss of what had happened the night before. I had told Tessa all about it, and she had been delighted to hear it.
“I really wish my first time had been special like that,” she said. “I have to admit, I'm more than a little jealous.”
Just then my phone rang. I got it out and saw that it was Colin. I answered it, smiling broadly. “Hey, there, lover.”
“Skye, I'm coming to pick you up.”
“Why?”
“There's a professional dance group in town, and they're having auditions right now. But if you don't go sign up this afternoon, you'll miss out.”
“But I'm not a professional dancer, Colin. I haven't been to classes yet, and—”
“You've got the talent; you've got the passion. I know that you'll get the part if you just try. Please, Skye... just try. For me.”
“All right... all right, what the hell, I'll do it!” I said excitedly. “I'm off work in half an hour. Please bring my dancing shoes and the CD that's in the bag with them.”
“I'll see you then.”
“I'm going to my first real professional dance audition, Tessa!” I exclaimed as I cut off the call.
We hugged tightly, and she wished me luck.
Colin was already waiting outside when I got off, and as I climbed into his car, I began to feel a serious case of butterflies in my stomach.
“You ready for this?” he asked.
“No!” I replied. “But I'm going to try anyway.”
“I have a tip for you,” he said with a smile. “And even though I'm not a dancer, I think you'll find it useful.”
“And what might that be?”
“Dance like you've never danced before – dance like you're truly free. Because that's what you are now... You really are free. I'll always be by your side, whatever happens, and I'll always be there for you. Always.”
I smiled, feeling a warm glow banishing the nervousness. I knew what he was saying was true.
“Let's do this,” I said, full of a new, fresh confidence. “Let's do this.”
And as we drove to the audition, I knew, suddenly, without a doubt, that I would dance like I had never danced before, and I was no longer afraid.
CHAPTER 28
Colin
A week later, I was watching Skye pace back and forth like a fly in a bottle.
“Come on, Skye, just try to relax,” I said. “There's still one day left before they make the final announcement.”
She sighed and shook her head. “They said they would call the people who were accepted within three days, not seven. I'm being stupid. I didn't get the spot. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up about it. I need to go to classes first before any dance company will take me on.”
“Don't give up yet,” I said. “There's still time. Maybe they have some difficult choices they're trying to make.”
She shook her head. “If I were going to get the part, they would have called me by now. It's over, Colin, it's finished. Let's just forget about this whole thing. I really shouldn't have allowed myself to believe that I actually had a chance at—”
Suddenly her phone rang, and we both froze.
“Answer it!” I said excitedly. I had a very good feeling that this was the call she had been waiting for. It could have been anyone, of course, but I just knew that it was them.
She answered and turned away from me so that I couldn't see her face. “Uh, huh... yeah... yes. Really? Yes! Yes!”
She turned around and beamed a gorgeous, ear-to-ear smile at me. “I... can't believe it,” she stammered excitedly. “I got it! I actually got it! I'm going to be a professional dancer! I'm actually going to be a professional dancer!”
She ran and jumped into my arms, and I caught her and spun her around, with both of us laughing and smiling with pure joy.
This was the moment I had been waiting for. I put her down and stood in front of her, looking her right in her eyes.
“I knew this would happen, Skye, I knew you'd get it. And I want to be in the audience for every single one of your performances... for the rest of your life, for the rest of my life.”
I dropped down to one knee and took out the diamond ring I'd been hiding in my pocket. I opened the jewelry box to reveal it to her.
“So, what do you say, Skye? Will you give me front row seats to all of your performances... forever?”
“Oh, my God!” she gasped as she realized what I was asking. Then, with tears running down her cheeks, she held out her hand and I slipped the ring over her finger.
“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Yes, I will!”
Joy exploded through me like a Fourth of July firework. It was the happiest moment of my life... and everything was perfect, just perfect.
EPILOGUE
Skye
TWO YEARS LATER
I was frozen in position as the last notes of the piece rang out, and for a moment there was nothing but me, the spotlight, and a vast, dark sea of silence. And then, like a tsunami, a tremendous bout of applause tore through the hall. The judges all stood up, clapping loudly, and then members of the audience began to get out of their seats as well to give me a standing ovation.
I took a bow, my muscles aching and trembling from exertion, and my body slick with a film of sweat. A rush of sheer ecstasy blasted through every fiber of my being. I had done it – I had pulled off the routine – the most technically challenging and complicated routine I had ever done, one that I had been practicing every day for months – flawlessly.
Everyone was cheering wildly, but there was only one person I was truly dancing for, and there he was, in the front row of the audience, his handsome face glowing with pride. He nodded subtly as my eyes caught his, and I felt another jolt of intensity rush through me – the feeling of pure, unadulterated love.
I took one last bow and then hurried off the stage to allow the next competitor to come on, feeling high on both love and the knowledge that I had just given the best performance of my career.
I watched from the side stage as the other dancers competed. An hour later, we all stood, waiting for the moment of truth as the judges handed over the envelope with the winners. The runners up were announced, and I was certain my chances for a win had been lost, but I smiled and prepared myself to congratulate the winner.
“And the winner of the World Latin Dance Championship is, by unanimous decision... Skye Slade!”
Bliss tempered with sheer disbelief ripped through me, and it almost felt as if I was moving through a dream as I stood up and hurried up onto the stage. I stepped up onto the podium, and the head judge placed a gold medal over my head.
The audience cheered wildly, and the flashes of press photographers' flashes were like stars glittering madly across the ocean of dark. I basked in the glory and ecstasy of it all, drinking in the cheers and applause until I was drunk on it. Finally, I left the stage, and while the heady high was wearing off, another wonderful feeling was replacing it, because despite just winning, this championship title wasn't the best thing that had happened to me today. No, earlier on I had been to see a doctor, and he had told me some news that I now needed to pass on to the person who meant more to me than anything in the world.
Colin was waiting for me backstage, and he gave me a huge hug as soon as he saw me.
“I'm so proud of you Skye, so immensely proud of you!” he exclaimed as he held me tightly.
“Thank you, my love, but this isn't the best thing that's happened to me this week.”
“It isn't? Well, what could possibly be better than this?”
“You're going to be a father, Colin. We are going to be parents.”
“That's... that's amazing!” he exclaimed then he kissed me passionately. And fo
r the second time in my life, I felt as though life couldn’t get any better.
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