Three of Spades

by W. Ferraro

  What would it be like to know you were thought of first thing when someone woke up and that you were their last thought before they fell asleep at night? To roll over in bed and rather than find cold sheets and an untouched pillow, you have a warm solid body there. To know that all you would have to do is reach out a hand and you would feel another’s heartbeat.

  As she watched from the darkness of her car, Natalie could see the bold colors of the fallen leaves. Some blew across the grass and paths, while others sailed on top of the calm water of the lake. As one leaf fell right onto her windshield, she noted how its yellow color branched out into orange and red hues as it grew away from the vein. And just that quickly it was gone as another breeze blew it off to an unknown place.

  Noticing the glowing time from her dimly lit dashboard, Natalie realized it was time to head over to Cal’s to learn her fate. She took a couple of deep breaths and slowly slid the car into reverse. She pulled out of the tranquil calmness of the autumn evening and into, what she hoped would be, the beginning of lessons that would change her life.

  Dylan pulled into Cal’s a few minutes before nine o’clock. Still not one hundred percent sure if he was going to agree or not; he just could not help but feel what Natalie needed was not him. As he climbed out of the truck, he heard his name called. He turned and he noticed Gwen walking toward him. Her tall curvaceous body was adorned in denim and sequins. Her knee high black leather boots fit snuggly to her calves. Her too small pants emphasized her high firm ass and showed her toned abs, before her silver sequined one shoulder top covered her round full breasts.

  “Hey Dreamy. How are you? Haven’t seen much of you around lately,” Gwen said, as she leaned over and placed a smacking kiss on Dylan’s cheek, leaving an outline of her cherry red lipstick.

  “Been here and there, doing this and that. And how is the fabulous Gwendolyn Watson?” Dylan asked out of courtesy, as he leaned against the front bumper of his truck. He hoped that Natalie hadn’t yet arrived; he hated leaving a lady to wait.

  With that compliment, Gwen went into detail about how she just came back from a tropical vacation in the Caribbean. As she spoke of the hot sun and warm crystal blue waters, she stepped closer to him and ran her manicured nails up his chest.

  “So what brings you here? Looking for some company?” Gwen asked with unabashed confidence.

  Knowing just what kind of company Gwen could be, his body was intrigued, but his mind shot to Natalie’s golden blonde hair and large brown eyes. In that moment, he made his decision.

  “Actually I’m here meeting someone, but it was great running into you Gwen. Go easy on these poor men; it’s rare that they meet anyone as vivacious as you,” Dylan spoke, as he disengaged his body from her warm and willing one.

  As Dylan made his way toward the front of the pub, he saw Natalie standing to the right of the steps, in the small casted shadows of the porch. She saw Dylan with the beautiful woman and her hopes had crumbled. That was the type of person Dylan Cross wanted, not some inexperienced Kindergarten teacher who’s most alluring feature was her ability to quote any work of fiction this side of Shakespeare. She knew this outcome was more probable than his willingness, but seeing it in front of her own eyes, made it that much more unbearable.

  Trying for the remainder of her courage, she stepped out of the shadows and addressed the man that she desperately wanted to learn from.

  “Thanks for meeting me. I understand your decision. I appreciate your time yesterday and I hope you have a nice evening.” With a final nod of her head, she walked swiftly back to her car.

  “Wait, Natalie, where are you going?” Dylan asked, as he easily caught up with her hasty exit.

  Seeing in her gaze that she saw the entire exchange with Gwen, he needed to clarify for her his decision. He noticed, standing closer to her between the parked cars, just how petite she really was. His internal masculinity felt the need to protect her, even if it was from her own assumptions.

  Unable to control the need to touch her somehow, Dylan placed his open palm on her cheek and felt that buzz run though his entire body again. Her cheek was so soft that Dylan was afraid the roughness of his skin would mar her in some way.

  “Natalie, I’m in. I accept your business proposal, but I have some conditions and stipulations we need to discuss before we go any further,” he spoke huskily, not being able to help it.

  Shock ripped through her body. She thought she would cry just from the sheer joy she felt from his words. Knowing that reaction would not be appropriate, she could not help the smile that spread across her face as she looked at him through her glasses.

  Feeling her own voice grow thick with excitement, she said as clearly as she could, “You really will do this with me?”

  If, by this, she meant ravage her and take something from her that she only could ever give once, then yes. Even though he still had his reservations about the arrangement, he could not stand the thought of her offering this to another man. Who knows what she would get in return. Yeah Cross, you are the better of two evils, just keep telling yourself that.

  “Yes, I’ll do all that you ask, but I have some conditions and they are deal breaking,” Dylan said, as he looked at her honest to goodness surprise and elation at his acceptance.

  “Yes, yes, of course, what are your stipulations?” Natalie answered back eagerly.

  Dylan could not help but chuckle as he removed his hand from her cheek and crossed his arms over his chest. He had to admit, he didn’t care for the loss of physical contact with her. As he exhaled loudly through his nose, he tilted his head and gauged how best to begin. Being Dylan, he opted for some good old fashion sarcasm.

  “You want to continue to discuss this delicate situation right here in the parking lot or go inside?”

  “Oh, um, yes, why don’t we go inside?” Natalie said, so excited to know this was really going to happen that she had lost track of where she was.

  Dylan turned to allow Natalie to precede him into Cal’s. He placed his hand at the small of her back and allowed his fingers to curl around her side. Being able to feel her tense up, he leaned in closely to her ear and whispered, “If we are going to do this, you are going to have to get used to me touching you, Babe.”

  As they walked up the steps and into the crowded bar, Natalie thought of him calling her babe. She was proud to admit she loved it. In all of her books, there were always terms of endearment and some were more ridiculous than others were. To hear a man, like Dylan, say it to her warmed her more than she ever thought something like that would.

  Dylan guided her to a high pub style table near the moderately crowded dance floor. The band was playing a heavier riff than usual and it seemed quite popular. Natalie stepped on the bottom rung to hoist herself up to the high seat. To her surprise, Dylan sat in the chair next to her and placed his right arm over the back of her chair. The server chose that moment to come over and ask for their order.

  “Hi-ya, Dylan! What can I get for you and your lady this evening?” Mary asked, as she pulled a sharp point pencil from her left ear and tucked an empty round tray under her left arm.

  “Hey Mary, I’ll take a beer please. Natalie, what would you like?” he asked, as he raised the hand that lay across the back of her chair and rested it between her shoulder blades. The heat coming from his palm radiated straight through her, Natalie suddenly felt flushed and hot. Knowing both Dylan and the server were waiting for her order, she tried to focus on giving sound to her voice. “I’ll have the same as well as a glass of ice water.”

  With a ‘sure thing’, Mary scribbled down on her pad and scurried off toward another full table.

  Dylan kept his hand pressed against her slight back and he could feel her increased heartbeat. The softness of her slate gray cowl neck sweater made him want to move his fingertips. Natalie looked down focusing on the tabletop, as he be
gan the slow sensual movement. His hand moved from one shoulder blade, down along her spine, then back up to her other shoulder blade.

  “You asked me to do this, remember, Natalie? To have sex with you I’m going to have to touch you, all over,” he whispered, as he watched her close her eyes.

  Knowing they needed to talk and work out the details, Dylan reluctantly removed his hand from her sweater covered back and placed it back along her chair. Natalie opened her eyes at the loss of his touch, yet could not bring her eyes to meet his.

  Realizing this was going to be much harder than he thought, he brought his free hand up and ran it down his face.

  “Natalie, are you really sure this is what you want?” he asked, giving her the opportunity to reconsider what she asked of him.

  Nodding her head, she felt the familiar rabble of butterflies invade her stomach.

  “Then please, stop looking as if I’m holding you here against your will. If we are going to do this, then we both need to be vocal and honest with each other. I’m agreeing to fulfill your physical demands, as well as partake in this relationship with you, but I need you to be up front with me. I need to know that you won’t keep anything from me. It’s the only way this will work.” And the only way that Dylan would be able to sleep at night, but he kept that thought to himself.

  Knowing he spoke the truth, Natalie looked at the beautiful man who didn’t know her or owe her anything. He was putting himself on the line for her, a stranger.

  “Forgive me Dylan, you are right. I’m sorry, this is just all so new to me,” she spoke so softly, if he hadn’t been so close to her, he would have missed it.

  Right then, Mary brought their drinks over. She placed the two cold bottles on the table along with Natalie’s tall glass of water, with a lemon wedge floating along the top. Mary asked if there was anything else she could get them. When Dylan told her they were all set, she winked and left.

  In the background, the small house band broke for a drink and as the applause died down, Dylan and Natalie were surrounded by newly occupied tables. As a young man bumped into Natalie, not saying a word, Dylan noticed that it was Natalie who apologized as if she was the one in the way.

  He looked at her small form and could see behind her glasses, how her large brown eyes looked as if they were replicated from a doe. The way her eyelashes naturally curled and cast a shadow against her flawless, porcelain skin made him think of one of those elegant china dolls that his mother owned. Her small lips looked soft and very inviting. She kept darting out her small pink tongue to lick at her bottom lip and the activity made Dylan’s eyes focus that much more on her mouth. Dylan was sure she had no idea how provocative that small act was or the large effect it was having on him. Her floral aroma reminded him of a glade of springtime flowers. She had to know she was alluring, particularly to him.

  “Let’s start off this way. As long as we are in this relationship, I insist it is monogamous. I’ll promise you that you will be the only woman in my bed as well as in my company and I’ll expect the same respect from you.”

  Natalie could not help but laugh out loud. When she looked at Dylan’s face and saw he raised his right eyebrow in question, she simply stated, “That should not be too hard to fulfill on my part.”

  “Good. Next, I’m going to touch you Natalie, a lot. It would be helpful if you didn’t cringe or flinch. Usually, in relationships, those reactions are a dead giveaway that my touch is unwanted.”

  She nodded her head and her eyes focused on his lips as the words of what he was going to do with her passed by them. She felt a chill run up her spine as she imagined his lips and body touching hers.

  “What occurs between us stays between us. Intimacy should always be private. Everything that we do will be consensual. If you don’t like something, I expect you to tell me and of course I will stop. But saying that Natalie, I am not a mind reader. I can take cues from your body language but during sex, body language can have multiple meanings. So if we agree right here, right now, that you need to be vocal, then we won’t have anything to worry about.”

  Dylan couldn’t think of anything else to add as she looked at him with glazed over eyes and darted that small pink muscle out again. He reached out, grabbed the ice-cold bottle, and took a very long drag of the cold liquid. When he placed the half-empty bottle back on the table, he put it down with a little too much force, making the table quake and causing Natalie to jump.

  Unable to help that he felt suddenly annoyed, he turned to her and said hotly, “So, anything you want to add or discuss, Babe?”

  Trying to sort through all that he said and confused over his sudden change in demeanor, she sat up straighter and said more confidently than she felt, “Well, there is just one thing I’d like to clarify.”

  When he leaned back in the chair and crossed those powerful arms over his chest, he said with a half-smile on his face, “Just one thing?”

  “Yes, why do you keep referring to us as in a relationship? It’s a business arrangement. In fact, I’d be happy to have contracts drawn up if it would make you feel better.”

  Did she really just offer to put down in legal print, what he can and can’t do with her sexually? As if she were doing him a favor by offering such a paper; to make him more comfortable. He went from annoyed to completely pissed off. To show her what she could do with said offer, he pulled her harder than he should have off her chair and out to the dance floor. The band reassembled after their short break and began a cover of a newer country ballad. Dylan pulled Natalie in so they were aligned from thigh to chest. He pulled her arms up so they rested around his neck and he gripped and pulled with his large hands on her hips, causing her flat belly to grind against his now rock hard erection. He felt vindicated by her small audible gasp and her eyes looked up at him from behind her glasses.

  As he swayed her to the music, he leaned his head down so that his cheek rested against her temple. He said softly and crudely, “Feel that, Natalie? That is what you do to me. That is the reaction your innocent ways and naïve little oral activities cause. So, you ask why I call us in a relationship, because what you feel against you right now, cannot be faked. I’m going to pop that cherry of yours and I’ll make sure you love every minute, before, during, and after. So, we are in a relationship from this moment on. Get used to it, Babe.” He leaned down and claimed those small lips that he had fixated on for the last forty-five minutes.

  When his lips initially touched hers she made another gasp, giving him the reaction he wanted; she opened her mouth. He stuck his tongue in and mimicked the sway of their hips. Once, twice, three times he delved in and was finally rewarded with a brush of her tongue along his. He moved his head giving his mouth better access and angle to ravage. She, too, tilted her head to allow his assault and she felt her toes curl. He tasted of his recent beer but also of heaven. His tongue invaded and took over. It was far from soft or gentle but Natalie would not have changed it for anything. She tried to imitate his motions with her own tongue but gave up and just enjoyed the sensation.

  She tasted of sweetness and purity, of unprejudiced expectations and of honesty, of womanly softness and of inquisitive carnality. Dylan was affected more than he thought possible.

  Hating that he needed to pull back and extract himself from her, he probed her mouth one last time and then broke the kiss. Both of them were breathing hard and unaware they were in the middle of a busy dance floor. The song tempo changed from the slow sensuality of the ballad to an old time favorite filled with drum solos and electric guitar riffs.

  Dylan looked around and was thankful that they were not being watched by anyone. Without speaking, Dylan grabbed her smaller hand in his and pulled her along so she had to slightly run to keep up with his much wider strides. He didn’t turn back to look at her. He just kept going until they were anywhere that was alone. He pulled her all the way toward the closed
off new addition. They had just finished construction and it was due to open next week. When they reached his final destination of a private storage room, he opened the door to the dark space, tugged Natalie in and closed the door quietly behind him. He then pinned Natalie up against the door and turned on the overhead light. Natalie was flushed from the glorious kiss, as well as the rushed jaunt to the secluded room.

  As she leaned against the door, using its strength to make sure she didn’t melt to a puddle of goo, she raised her head to look at Dylan’s face. It was so close if she went up on tiptoes, she would be able to touch those soft, powerful, fabulous lips of his. She moved her eyes from his glorious mouth, up along his chiseled face to where his hooded dark eyes stared down back at her. She suddenly felt that, perhaps, she was the only one who thought these recent events were remarkable.

  Her anxiety grew by each passing second. She felt her pulse beating wildly and was sure he could hear it too. Natalie left her palms against the door on each side of her hips, not daring to move for fear that his lethal gaze would suddenly shoot deadly lasers.

  Dylan needed to get a grip! He had never experienced a kiss like that one and he had given and received a lot of kisses. He still could feel her pliable and accepting mouth under his as if the sensations were imbedded into his nerves. His breath was still quick and shallow and he had no idea why he chose to bring her here. Getting her alone was all he could think of in that moment.

  He leaned his hands against the door slightly above where her head rested, while his much larger vibrating body loomed over her smaller one, effectively caging her in. He stared down at her, wondering how a so-called inexperienced virgin could rival any sex siren he had ever known. Even as he tried to convince himself that she was, in fact, who she said she was and not some evil femme fatale. Dylan wanted nothing more than to go back to the warmth and welcoming of her mouth.