by June Kramin
“My God, you’re perfect.” He kissed down her neck. She reached for him, wrapping her arms under his and around his back. He lay her backward and gently rested his body on hers. Again they kissed; again she lost herself in it. She didn’t remember him removing his shorts, but he was suddenly on her and she adjusted herself to welcome him inside.
When he entered her, she let out a slight cry of pleasure that was muffled by the strong kiss. She held his back tight and pulled him closer. They moved as one on the soft rug in the glow of the fire. Reggie didn’t think she’d ever experience this kind of loving again and melted at his gentle caresses and soft kisses to her breasts.
~*~
Ben slowly moved with her, wanting to take his time pleasing her. When he knew she was beginning to climax, it brought his. The two tightened their grips, pulling each other closer and had to part their lips that were in an intense kiss. They buried their heads deep into each other necks.
Several minutes passed before Ben could move again. He finally rolled to his side, still holding her tight. He kissed her forehead. “Damn, Reggie. I’d say that was worth the wait.”
~*~
Reggie was quiet and stroked his back. She couldn’t think about anything, but where she was and how she felt, or it was going to drive her insane. She fought her feelings for too long. She gave herself to Ben and dammit, it felt good. A gentle moan escaped her and she kissed his chest. “Yes. Yes it was.”
After a few minutes, Ben stood up and helped her to her feet. They walked to the bedroom and made love again. This time, things moved slower as they spent more time exploring each other’s bodies. He was also perfect in her eyes. Although she thought he was a little skinny when they first met, he was actually more than nicely built. His stomach was a “perfect six-pack,” and his arms had more than enough muscle. She had seen them in action and had tried hard not to pay attention to them when he worked in a tank top on the barn, but she couldn’t resist running her hands over them now.
“I’m a pig for not thinking of asking earlier, Reggie, but are you…you know…protected?”
“You’re in the clear, Mr. Bentley,” she said with a kiss.
“No chance of ‘whoops’?”
“No.” She rested her head on his shoulder and her arm draped over his chest. Holding him, she drifted off to sleep. She hadn’t been so content falling asleep in almost a year.
~*~
As they lay there, Ben held her possessively. He finally had her where he wanted her, but he still felt like he had to protect her from someone. He hoped she was really here to stay and wouldn’t be running back to someone else soon. Vowing silently to himself, he promised he would do what he had to do to keep her.
They had shifted positions through the course of the night. He woke up with her back to him, but he was still holding her tight. Not being able to refrain, he woke her with gentle kisses and again they made love. He drove her home with her dressed in a pair of his pajamas. They shared reluctant kisses goodbye as Ben cursed under his breath repeatedly about having to make another delivery today. “See you around six?” he asked with hopeful eyes.
“I’ll come over.”
“I’ll bring something home to eat. Unless you want to go out.”
“No. I’d like to stay in. I can cook something, Ben.”
He pulled her close. “I don’t want to waste any unnecessary time.”
She giggled and shoved him away. “Go already so you can hurry up and get back.”
He gave her one last kiss and drove away.
~*~
Reggie stood at the front door watching until she could no longer see him. When he was out of sight, she ran in the house and snatched the phone out of its cradle. She didn’t care about the time zone difference. A very groggy friend answered her phone with a grunt.
“Bri. I met someone.”
Chapter 22
BEN AND REGGIE SPENT THEIR DAYS and nights together over the next six weeks. They were always at Ben’s; she slept over almost every night. She still hadn’t invited him into her house and he never pushed the issue or even brought it up. Derf usually shared the bed with them as well. She brought him over more often than not. She didn’t want him to be alone so much. Ben’s home became his second home.
When the crew working on the barn would go home, Reggie joined him while he made his furniture. One of the first futons Ben had made was out in the shop. It received a healthy workout several nights when they couldn’t make it to the house.
The barn was finally completed and they roamed around inside admiring the work. Ben had ordered a round bail of straw to complete the look. After breaking it apart and having a straw fight, they made love in the barn to break it in properly.
They lay in each other’s arms almost purring with contentment. Ben leaned down and gave her a kiss and a tight squeeze. “Let’s go dancing.”
“Dancing?”
“There’s a little bar right outta town. There’s a DJ tonight. Come on, it’ll be fun. We haven’t done anything for ourselves since we started this project.”
“I don’t want to go dancing, Ben. Besides,” she said with a giggle, “we have so treated ourselves and you wore me out.”
“Baloney. Let’s go.” He stood up.
She sat up and let out a sigh. “You really gonna make me do this?”
“Yup. We’ll swing by your place and you can get some dancing shoes on.” He pulled up his jeans and reached his hand down for hers.
She frowned. “I don’t suppose sneakers will do.”
“I’ll wait in the car,” he said, thinking her apprehension was that he would want to go in the house.
Reggie finally gave in.
She ran in to her house and to his surprise, was back out in less than ten minutes. She still had jeans on but added a modest black v-neck top and heels to match. He smiled. “You clean up nice.”
“You’re really going to make me do this?”
“Yup.”
After about twenty minutes, they arrived at the bar. It had the appearance of a nice quiet place that should have country music playing from a jukebox, but when they walked in, there was a current dance hit playing. Ben walked up to the bar and ordered a couple of beers while Reggie watched people dance on the crowded floor. There was a DJ in the corner and a disco ball overhead with colored lights flashing to the drumbeats of the music. They found an empty high table and a couple of barstools and sat down.
They had to talk loud to hear each other over the music as they scrutinized some of the moves of the people dancing. Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” came on and almost everyone left the floor. “You wanna dance?” Ben asked.
“To this? No. The DJ isn’t working the crowd very well. He cleared the floor. This isn’t very danceable at all.”
“Some people are liking it.” He pointed to a few goth-looking couples who were doing a horrible head-banging imitation to the beat.
She scoffed and took another drink. When that song was over, they hear a few notes and “It’s Electric.” Ben’s eyes lit up. “I know you know this one, Reggie. Don’t even try to tell me you don’t.”
He pulled her off the chair. “I don’t want to, Ben.”
Leaning down, he stared hard into her eyes. “Tough shit.”
They walked onto the dance floor. Halfheartedly, she got in step with the crowd and followed along with the line dance “Electric Slide.” After a few times of doing the same moves she began to kick just a little higher, add a little more bounce to her step, and added a spin where others only stepped. Ben grinned and mimicked her moves. Reggie smiled and stepped it up another notch.
He went from beside her to the front and began to do the steps facing her. “Let’s see it. Do the other version with me, sweetheart.” She kicked her moves up yet another notch. They moved together facing each other and occasionally she leaned into him and he spun her back out. It was a routine he knew; apparently she knew the same one.
~*~
; Reggie didn’t stop to think about it; she moved with the music and loved every minute of it. She particularly enjoyed watching Ben. He was a wonderful dancer.
When the song neared the end, he stepped back and put his arms out to her. She took the move for what it was and ran into his arms. Raising her over his head, he spun her around in a perfect lift that she had only trusted a few other men enough to do. He brought her slowly down and kissed her when their faces met. Continuing the routine, he lowered her until her feet hit the floor and he finished with a dip and another kiss. Their kiss was interrupted by the applause of the crowd. They hadn’t realized people had stopped dancing to watch them. Reggie suddenly became embarrassed. Ben pulled her close in a hug. “Damn, girl.”
She wanted to leave the dance floor, but he held her there. The DJ read the cue from the crowd and played Prince’s “Erotic City.” Reggie shook her head ‘no’ but Ben said, “Oh yes.” She began to dance with him, but she insisted they scale down the sexy moves a little and was glad to see other couples joining them on the floor, not just watching. They grinded to the music in perfect sync with each other and took turns taking a few steps back and doing a little something special of their own. When the song was over Ben led her back toward the table. Bobby Brown’s “Every Little Step I Take” played and Reggie stopped Ben in his tracks.
“You’re not going to make me dance to Bobby, are you?”
“You bet your sweet ass I am,” she said as she went back out and started a quick stepping of her feet. He joined her and within a minute, began to mimic her moves. They danced as if they had worked months on a choreographed routine. The DJ tapped Ben on the shoulder and motioned if it was okay if he danced with Reggie. Ben looked at her for permission. She was hesitant for only a moment, but she accepted. The DJ went into what Reggie knew as street moves and she accompanied along well.
~*~
Ben didn’t mind standing aside and watching at all.
“Quite a gal you have there, Bentley,” someone said from behind. He spun around to find a friend from the lumberyard in town.
“Hey, Hink,” Ben said, turning around and shaking his hand. He returned his attention to Reggie.
“Where did you find that?”
He chuckled. “Next door.”
“No shit?”
“She’d whip your ass breaking down a set of blueprints, too.”
“You’re shittin’ me.”
“I shit you not.”
“Well, I’ll give you a holler when we’re looking to hire. Hell, for that pretty thing working in my office, I’d ‘off’ McQueen myself.”
The song was coming to an end and the DJ had to run back up. Ben wanted to get back out on the floor. “Eat your heart out, Hink.”
The DJ was gracious enough to play a slow song. Ben and Reggie were grateful; they didn’t want to do anymore fancy stepping. They rocked in each other’s arms swaying to Barry White’s “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe.” Halfway through, Ben insisted on a little jitterbugging and Reggie couldn’t resist. It was mellow compared to what they had done so far, even though they still had a few extra turns and of course, a big dip finale.
They finally sat back down at the table, breathing a little heavy.
“I’d forgotten what a workout that can be,” she said, after a sip of beer.
“I have a better idea for a workout.” He leaned in and gave her a long kiss. “I’ve had enough dancing for one night.”
“Let’s go.”
~*~
Reggie didn’t think she’d ever have fun dancing again, let alone enjoy it so much with Ben. He was a heck of a partner. She would have enjoyed dancing longer if she didn’t want him so incredibly bad and if the place wasn’t so packed. Watching his moves had her wanting to take him right there on the dance floor. She could barely wait until they were back at his place to make love again. They continually pawed each other on the drive home.
“It’s moments like this that make me feel glad to be alive,” Ben said as he gently stroked her cheek with the back of his index finger. They had just finished making love by the fireplace.
“Why is that?” she asked as she turned to him and kissed his finger.
“A few years ago, I could have died.”
“What?” She leaned to her side and propped her head up on her hand with her elbow nestled in the soft rug. “Were you in an accident or something?” She stroked his bare chest with her free hand. She leaned in and gave it a kiss. “No scars.”
He gave her forehead a kiss. “Nope, no scars. I got away without a scratch, actually.”
“Then what?”
“I had a part-time job on a boat a few years ago.”
“Doing what?”
“Just fishing. No big deal. I wanted to get out of town for a bit for no particular reason. We went to Florida one summer to try to land some big game. You know, Marlin, Dolphin.”
“Dolphin? You caught Dolphins?”
He laughed. “Not that kind of Dolphin-Dolphin. You know, Dolphin. It’s called Mahi Mahi in Hawaii.”
“Okay, you’re off the hook there. I do remember seeing that in Florida.” She had never mentioned Hawaii. Why did he know the reference? It’s just the name of the fish, Reg. Chill.
“You lived in Florida?”
“For a bit.”
He touched the tip of her nose. “There’s so much we need to learn about each other. Anyway,” he continued, “the boat started to take on water and we were sinking. We had to put out an emergency call to the Coast Guard. It had gotten bad fast.”
“Really?” She gave full attention to his tale. “Did you have to bail out into a life boat?”
“We weren’t going to do that right away. We had to try to at least save the boat first.” He stood up to add some drama to the story with actions since he had such a captive audience. He didn’t even bother to slow down and put on his boxers. “We had a huge old bastard of a water pump. Sucker had to weigh three hundred pounds.” He held his arms out wide to demonstrate.
She sat up.
“I was below deck sucking up water, but it was coming in too fast. I didn’t even know when the Coast Guard had boarded us, but suddenly everyone was hollering at me to get out.”
She stood up and dressed in a frenzy. He continued with his tale.
“I made my way over to the hatch and looked up. The pump was kind of hangin’ there. I was ready to kiss my ass goodbye thinking it was falling on me but…what’re you doing?”
“I have to go.” Reggie ran for the door.
“Wait a second,” he said as caught up to her and stood between her and the door. “What’s the matter?”
“I gotta go!” she shouted, shaking free of his hold.
“Why? I’m sorry if I got carried away. I just—”
“Now!” she hollered as she opened the door and ran out. She held her sobs midway to her house then fell on her knees on the path and screamed a horrible cry. Dropping flat to the ground, she wrapped her arms around her legs and cried until a coyote’s howl scared her several moments later. Once in her house, she hurried through packing a bag, and left.
~*~
Ben lay awake, worried about what had happened. He longed to go to her but thought she needed some time. Why was she so freaked out about his accident? Did she know someone who had died on a boat? That was too much of coincidence. He decided to go over first thing in the morning.
He was knocking on her door at six a.m. He wanted to go over earlier, but it was as early as he dared to show up. Normally she wasn’t up early and he knew that, but she was probably still upset and he was sure she tossed and turned all night like he had. He knocked gently at first. “Reggie? You up yet?” Then it became a louder banging. “Come on. Open up. I know you’re in there. We need to talk.” He was surprised when he checked the door and it was unlocked. After calling out her name a few times, he grew worried when nothing but silence answered him. “Reg?”
He walked into the living room and
stood there, still expecting to see her take the corner at any second and didn’t want to scare her. “Reg?” He took a few steps in and looked around. She always claimed she didn’t want him to come in because the place was a disaster, but it was immaculate. Not a thing was out of place. She had a few tasteful country knick-knacks, not a mess of useless collections of tacky cutesy items; no doilies, no frills, just clean and homey.
Some photos of her were on the fireplace. He walked over to get a better look at them. Reaching for a large one of her smiling in someone’s arms, he picked it up to examine it better. He loved the look of her smile. In his opinion, she didn’t do it enough. He gently stroked the glass of the frame, wishing it really was her he was touching. Where was she anyway? His eyes finally went to the man whose arms she was in. “Holy Shit!” He dropped the frame. The glass shattered.
Ben ran out to the garage and discovered her car was gone. “Shit! Oh, shit!” He nervously ran his hands through his hair before running back to the house. After opening the door, he paused mid-stride, realizing he knew so little about her. Who could he call or where would she go? He sat on her couch and stayed there for a long time with his head in his hands, never before feeling so useless.
The kitten came over and rubbed up against his leg. Ben smiled and picked him up. “Hey, Derf. Where’d your mom go, little guy?” The cat purred as Ben gave it a quick pat before putting him down. It ran away in the direction of the kitchen so Ben followed him. Derf walked over to a feeder that easily held two weeks or more of food. Next to it was a water bowl that held a smaller version of a blue bottle that looked like ones for a water cooler. It was easily a gallon. Although he didn’t think she’d leave the kitten alone, she wouldn’t have to come back anytime soon to feed it. Dammit.
Finding a dustpan and broom in the closet, he swept up the glass. Carefully removing the pieces left in the frame, he was glad to see he hadn’t scratched the picture. He stared at it for a while longer, struggling to understand why she would still have this man’s picture up if they were no longer together. After all the time they spent together, he had considered them a couple and he was feeling more than a little wounded. Maybe the man left her for another woman, but she was still hung up on him? That would explain why she was so cold to him early on. She had probably been pining away, hoping he’d come for her, even if he had abused her. That was probably it. Maybe when she realized who Ben was last night, she was now worried that hero and the one rescued had become friends and kept in touch. She was worried he’d find out she had been promiscuous in their separation and wouldn’t come back. No, that hardly made sense either.
