Silvertongue

by Sidney Wood

  His ability to drag her into his dream, to make her believe she lay there with him, stunned her. Ulie’s cheeks had flushed rosy pink as she continued reading his prose.

  “My tongue readied my lips, but I waited. I recall a feeling of happiness mixed with anticipation, of wanting you awake so that I could see your gorgeous eyes and lovely smile. Under the covers I could feel the warmth of your skin through a thin veil of linen, barely keeping us apart. I probed it stealthily, trying to move the barrier aside, but found it irritatingly impossible. Still, the cloth did nothing to stifle the overpowering arousal that came over me, knowing we were naked beneath the sheets. It didn’t even cross my mind to wonder how we came to be in that bed, unclothed as we were.

  “Tenderly, I brushed a strand of stray hair behind your ear with my fingertips. Without another thought, I leaned down to softly kiss your temple. I inhaled the floral aroma of your hair as I tasted the honey of your skin. Beneath the covers, I tried to keep the resulting enlargement of my member from rubbing against you, but you shifted, pressing your rear into my groin. My pulse quickened.

  “Unable to control the sensation overtaking me below, I kissed your ear, then your neck, just below the lobe. My tongue joined my lips in tasting your tender skin. All the while, you pressed harder into me, our legs intertwining, yet still separated by that thin veil of linen. I felt and heard you whisper a desperate moan.

  “Pushing off the bed with my arms, I centered myself above you, gazing at your face and contemplating which perfect part of you I wanted to kiss next. Softly and silently, as slowly as a flower blooms, you opened your eyes. The feeling of wonder gripping my heart increased tenfold.

  “Good Morning, Ulie,” I whispered.

  “I awoke with your name still fresh on my lips.”

  From head to toe, she shivered with delicious hunger. Ulie bit her lip as the images played out in her mind. She wanted to show him how he made her feel.

  Slipping into a set of sheer pink panties and matching bra she stopped in front of her full-length mirror.

  That was a mistake.

  “Ugh, this is never going to work.”

  Ulie frowned at the woman staring back at her but tried posing seductively anyway. She tried pouty lips, grimacing at the result. She tried opening her mouth like Marilyn Monroe, but she looked like a surprised clown. She bit her lip, which didn’t look too bad. “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere.” She tried licking her lips. Faking it felt weird, but she had to admit, it looked hot. She even tried holding one eye closed in an alluring wink. “Okay, maybe not that one.”

  Ulie finally stopped worrying and grabbed her phone. “Screw it.” She snapped a few pictures of her figure from different angles, opting for a sweet smile or simply looking away. Next, she tiptoed to the bed and lay back; arching and bending to capture what she hoped were the right kind of curves. Not having the mirror in front of her made her feel less exposed and more daring with her photography. She took several more photos. At least one of them had to be good, right? Lying on her back, Ulie read Noah’s dream story again; drawn into his fantasy.

  She mimicked the body movements he described, twisting her hips to the side and pressing back into an imaginary lover. Ulie recalled feeling a man’s hips pushing against her with the same force. Her fingertips softly touched her temple, ear, and neck in the exact places Noah laid kisses on his dream lover.

  She stared into imaginary pools of hazel, framed by a kind face and wavy brown hair. Her hands slid to her midsection, crossing over each other to touch the opposite sides of her body. Ulie imagined Noah embraced her before rolling over and burying her face in the comforter. She laughed, feeling like a teenager, and scampered off to the bathroom to run a cold shower.

  After washing up and cooling off, Ulie sat cross legged on Chuck’s huge recliner with her hair wrapped in a towel, sifting through her photos. “Ugh,” she groaned, wishing she had more skill as a photographer. Her sexy boudoir photos were nothing special. Every blemish could be seen, and her skin appeared pasty white. The glorious tan she brought home from Florida had withered away, succumbing to her naturally pale complexion.

  “Well, that’s why the good Lord made filters.” Ulie cropped, blurred, and added effects to make her look more human. A person could do amazing things with a free app these days.

  Still nervous, she selected her best photo and hit send. “This is the moment of truth, He will like it, or it will send him packing.”

  A dreadful thought occurred to her.

  Heart racing and fingers shaking, she unlocked the phone. Since they started messaging regularly, she had almost sent two messages to the wrong person. She caught her mistakes just in time, before hitting send. The thought of making a blunder like that terrified Ulie. How would she ever live it down? Verifying the photo went to Noah, she sighed with relief.

  Still shaking, Ulie saw tiny bubbles bouncing at the bottom of the screen. Her heart picked up speed, threatening to beat right out of her chest. “I can’t look!” she squealed. Shoving the phone under her leg, she covered her face with both hands.

  Trembling, the seconds ticked by while Ulie fretted over Noah’s response. Eventually, curiosity got the best of her, and Ulie unlocked her phone.

  “Ulie, I’m on fire over here! I had no idea that you were so tempting, so utterly desirable. My body instantly reacted to you, and it wasn’t just the photo. Seeing you lying there, open to my eyes, my touch, and my imagination…this fire may burn me all the way down. I’m humbled that you willingly sent that picture to ME. Thank you!”

  “Ugh, thank God!” Ulie collapsed sideways. Propping up on her elbow, Ulie typed, “(Blushing…)” Send.

  “And on a lighter note, my pants are shrinking as we speak! Ha-ha, I mean, it happens every time we text, but this…I may be late for work because I can’t leave the house…”

  Ulie laughed out loud. She drew her knees up to her chest, cradling the phone as she imagined what that must look like. “Really?! I love that! I may have to send you another one while you’re at work! I can just imagine lol.” Send.

  “Lol…I dare you.”

  His teasing lifted her spirits, cutting her free from the last tendrils of tension. With Noah, she had the freedom to be herself. Ulie could let go and live in the moment. Joy and longing replaced unease as she leaned the recliner back and stretched out.

  A titillating thought suddenly came to her. “I want one from you! I think you owe me.” Send.

  A few minutes went by before he replied, but when he did, Ulie’s body tingled with excitement.

  “Sorry for the delay. I’m at work now, so I’ll have to go soon. What do you want to see? I don’t want to do something dumb and scare you off, so please be specific lol.”

  Ulie’s cheeks grew hot. She knew exactly what she wanted to see.

  “Show me your chest and stomach…please (blushing again!).” Send.

  “Will do. Have a great day, gorgeous!”

  Around lunch time, as Ulie unloaded groceries from the car, she received a new message. She gasped. Electricity jolted through her body, making it impossible to look away or let go of the phone. “Oh my!” She felt lightheaded and leaned on the car. Ulie closed the garage door with her key fob, anxious to avoid prying eyes. She nearly stumbled as she carried the grocery bags into the kitchen and quickly put them away.

  Digging her phone back out, Ulie stared hungrily. Her body temperature rose to match the surface of the sun. “Water,” she thought. “No. Wine! To hell with the time of day, I need a drink!”

  Ulie poured a glass and took it to the bedroom along with her phone. She took a sip, stripped down to her bra and panties, and slid under the covers. The sensation of cool cotton sheets soothed her sizzling skin as she held her prize out in front of her.

  Her eyes traveled down Noah’s muscular body, taking in every inch of his toned chest and abdomen. Ulie memorized the lines of his athletic form, searing the image of his exposed flesh into her mind. His jeans, pa
rtially unbuttoned, exposed the waistband of his boxers. One thumb hooked a jeans pocket, while the other hand touched the back of his head. The pose gave Ulie a full view of Noah’s washboard stomach and the distinct V defining his hip and pelvis.

  Swallowing and licking her lips, she tasted the wine, imagining it came from kissing Noah. How she longed to feel his fleshy pillows pressed against hers. She hungered for it. Her tongue worked slowly, side to side along the wet underside of her upper lip, conjuring his tongue to meet hers. “How would it feel?” she wondered. “Would we touch timidly at first, as acquaintances, or would our tongues explore each other boldly, sliding and slithering together, writhing passionately, like lovers?”

  She wet her lips again.

  A word sat on the tip of her tongue, the descriptor she’d use to describe his body if she had to put it down on paper. “Godlike,” she whispered. He embodied perfection, and she wanted more of him.

  “I wish I could tell someone about him,” she said.

  Ulie had already decided that if she told anyone, it had to be Amy, the only person that never judged her. Amy already knew about Chuck and his disgusting after-gym ritual. Because of that, Ulie and her best friend didn’t see each other often. Amy couldn’t disguise her anger around Chuck, and he picked up on it.

  Ulie decided to wait a little longer before telling anyone about Noah. For now, she held her secret close. “My handsome secret,” she thought.

  Biting her lip, Ulie selected another of her steamy photos and hit Send.

  Chapter Eight (Three weeks later)

  Summer gave way to autumn as Ulie anxiously planned a mid- September family reunion in Alaska. This would be her first trip back since high school. Old friends and, of course, family made waiting difficult, but thoughts of being close to Noah had her in a fluster. The prospect of meeting him in person remained tantalizing yet terrifying.

  Would she be able to see him? Did she really want to? Would he want to see her? What if she didn’t meet his expectations? What if they didn’t even like each other once they met in person? Questions swirled in her head as she checked dates and sorted through her clothes.

  To her delight, Chuck had no interest in going. In fact, when Ulie told him she wanted to take Miranda along, he started making plans of his own. He put together a fishing trip with some of his guy friends and appeared genuinely pleased to be on his own.

  Chuck had always been a guy’s guy. He went to poker nights, met his buddies at the local “cop bar” at least once a week, and often went fishing during the summer and fall.

  As they drifted farther apart, Ulie welcomed his absence and Chuck seemed to feel the same way. In a strangely sad way, the trip resulted in a win-win.

  Miranda couldn’t hide her eagerness. For a seven-year-old, she had a good grasp of distance and knew they were taking a long journey. From the moment Ulie told her about the trip, she became a ball of excited energy, peppering Ulie with questions as she obsessed over Alaska. Miranda noticed the Last Frontier State everywhere.

  One painful truth hammered her each time she thought of Noah and their trip. Meeting him in person would be extremely difficult with Miranda tagging along. It didn’t matter. Her mom genes told her that taking her was the right choice; no question. Opportunities to create lasting mom and daughter memories were too rare to pass up. She might never get the chance again, especially while Miranda’s Grandmother lived. After a long conversation with her mom, Ulie decided on travel dates and purchased their airfare.

  Lying in bed that evening, it occurred to Ulie that she hadn’t shared their travel dates with Noah. “It would be horrible if we travelled all the way to Alaska and didn’t see him.” She hated the thought. “I’ll change our plans if I have to,” she decided.

  Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Chuck had turned his back toward her. His breathing, slow and nasal, indicated he had fallen fast asleep.

  Ulie unlocked her phone, reaching out to her cherished secret.

  “Hey, my handsome lover,” she began. Their dialogue had become more open since they started sharing intimate thoughts and photos, and they were getting closer to something. Ulie didn’t know how to describe it, but she liked it.

  Every message from Noah supercharged her body’s sensitivity. He remained polite and patient, yet every word made her crave him more. How could she control herself when she finally stood in front of him? “If he touches me, I will be a trembling mess,” she thought. Biting her lip, she smiled. Ulie wanted that. She needed it.

  “I’m going to be in town next month from the 1st through the 14th. Will we see each other?” Send. “Please say yes!” Send.

  His reply came a few minutes later. “I will be here, gorgeous. Are you traveling alone? I can pick you up at the airport if you are.”

  Ulie moaned. If she were traveling alone, that is exactly how she wanted it. She’d arrive a day or two earlier than her family expected and ask Noah to pick her up at the airport. They would spend a weekend exploring and loving each other. That would be paradise for Ulie. Knowing her fantasy cold not come true, she typed a response.

  “I’m bringing Miranda with me. It’s a family reunion, sorry. I’ll find a way to make time for us though.” Send.

  “No worries, Ulie. I’ll have Luke for a few of those days too. We’ll figure it out. Just get here safely.”

  Ulie smiled. Always a gentleman, Noah never made her feel guilty; a rare quality these days. When people wanted something, they were quick to lay blame or send you on a guilt trip if they didn’t get their way.

  She stared at the ceiling and sighed. “Why couldn’t I have met you years ago?” Send.

  Bubbles bounced at the bottom of the screen for several seconds before Noah’s message came through. “I feel the same way, but we did find each other, right? Keep looking ahead, beautiful, and everything will work out.”

  “Thank you, Noah. I needed that. You’re too good to me.” Send.

  “Get some rest, gorgeous. Sweet dreams.”

  Ulie placed her phone on the nightstand and turned over; only to turn back the other way when Chuck’s snoring hit her in the face. Covering her head with the pillow, she tried unsuccessfully to block out the noise. Ulie toughed it out for a few more minutes and then retreated to the couch in their living room.

  Alone and wide awake, Ulie’s thoughts kept returning to Noah. Kind, thoughtful, and handsome, he treated her like the most important person in his world. Ulie knew that as a single dad, he reserved that spot for Luke. Noah had been completely up front about his commitment to his son, and she loved that. “Am I falling for him?” she wondered.

  A few weeks ago, she’d have immediately dismissed her feelings as lust, but now she wavered. She likened it to a teenager’s first love. “Are they really so different? Love and lust can feed off each other and lift one another up, right?”

  She swiped through the messages until she found her favorite picture of Noah – the first picture – showing his chest and abs. “There’s definitely lust,” she admitted. “Could there be more?”

  Fatigued by the gravity of her thoughts, Ulie swiped through the other photos. He had agreed to all her requests, sending pictures of his face, his tattoos, and even a photo of his hard member through his clothing. Ulie bit her lip. She secretly wanted to see more.

  “He deserves another reward,” she said.

  In the dim light of a reading lamp, Ulie pulled up her nightshirt and snapped her first nude photos for Noah. She tried shifting to the side, sitting up, lying on her back, on her stomach, and kneeling on the couch. The soft lamp light forgave much, and it surprised Ulie to find that she liked what she saw. She liked them so much that it took her the better part of an hour to decide which picture to send her man.

  “My man,” she whispered. Ulie tasted the words as she flipped her phone face down and switched off the lamp. Snuggling under a cozy throw, Ulie drifted off to sleep.

  The next morning, Chuck woke Ulie up, gently nudging her arm.
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br />   “Hey,” he said. “Did I snore again?”

  “Yeah, like a freight train.” Ulie stretched and sat up, still wrapped in the microfleece throw blanket.

  “Sorry about that,” Chuck apologized. “I’ll start the coffee.”

  Surprised by his friendly demeanor, Ulie responded with, “Thank you. Do you have time for some breakfast?”

  “Uh, no,” he muttered, fiddling with the coffee pot. “I’m going in early so I can meet my buddy at the gym this afternoon.” Turning toward her, he asked, “You’ll be home tonight, right?”

  Ulie blanched, swallowing the bile rising in her throat and forcing a smile. “Um, yeah, of course,” she said. In her head she screamed. “Again? So soon? Is this a new routine? Will he start going more often?” She shuddered at the thought.

  “Cool,” he said. “It’s a date.”

  Ulie couldn’t focus. She lost track of time. Chuck filled his travel cup with coffee and walked out without giving her a kiss or saying goodbye.

  Cold and lifeless, Ulie wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and robotically climbed the stairs to Miranda’s room. Approaching the bedside, she roused Miranda from a deep sleep. “Get ready for school, princess. Breakfast will be ready when you are.”

  Ulie caught a whiff of Chuck’s deodorant as she left the room, and a chill ran down her back. Still in robot mode, Ulie made her way to the kitchen and began mixing pancakes. She paused long enough to fix herself a cup of coffee and toss the blanket on the couch; then got back to work on Miranda’s morning meal. Soon, the aroma of hotcakes and sausage cooking on the stovetop filled the house. Ulie began to feel normal.

  Miranda sped down the stairs while Ulie nibbled on a sausage link, smiling. “There you are, gorgeous! Eat up.”