by Claire Adams
“You really are beautiful,” he said softly as he kissed me again. “I’m sure people tell you that all the time, but I just had to say it.”
“No, they don’t,” I whispered.
He looked shocked at my reply. It was the truth, though. Yes, men flirted with me, but not many of them went out of their way to give me a real compliment. Even less often did I feel the sincerity of their compliment. Sure, guys called me hot or said I looked like a nice piece of ass, but a true and honest compliment seemed much harder to come by.
“Men are assholes,” he whispered as he tucked a towel around my naked body. “It’s true, and don’t you forget it. No matter what, always remember that you’re beautiful.”
Brandon wrapped another towel around himself, and we made our way into his bedroom. That was my moment to stop things if I wanted to. He wasn’t pressuring me to sleep with him; he wasn’t making it something I had to do. We sat down on his bed and we were both covered up – now was the time for me to change my mind if I didn’t like the way things were going.
“Not all men,” I said as I moved closer to him. “It seems like you’re not too horrible.”
“No, not all of us are horrible.”
“Do you have protection here? I mean, well…um…” I stuttered as I tried to get out what I was trying to say.
I hadn’t expected to be in bed with this guy, and I certainly didn’t bring a condom on our swim out to the island. If we were going to take things another step forward, then I had to make sure he had a condom because I wasn’t going to sleep with him if he didn’t.
“Yep.”
That was all I needed to know. Even if this ended up being a one-night, or one-day thing, I was all right with that. Brandon had a way about him that made my body move closer and closer to him. His smile was gentle and inviting. The way he kept his distance was perfect to give me the time to decide what I wanted.
I didn’t know very much about this man, but I knew enough to enjoy his bed with him. Pleasure wasn’t something I was going to deny myself purely because I had lost my husband and had an injured heart. Humans need sex, plain and simple; I needed it, and I was about to enjoy the afternoon full of it with Brandon.
My towel fell to the floor as I stood in front of him and let his eyes penetrate my body. They were powerful and addicting. The more I was around him, the more I felt I could actually look at his crystal-green eyes. There was certainly pain in them, but there was also a hell of a lot of desire in them at the moment.
He grabbed my hips and pulled me on top of him as we fell back onto his bed. I could feel how hard his body was, not just his throbbing hardness between his legs, but every muscle in his body was firm and well defined.
I had imagined being with a man as handsome and fit as Brandon, but it was always a fantasy. Not even my late husband had been as perfectly sculpted. I took in every touch of his body I could gather as my hands pressed against his bare chest and leaned down to kiss him.
My body was fully supported as I pressed into him to keep my balance. He was a solid man, that was for sure. His hands wrapped around my ass, and I felt him wiggle the towel out of the way so his body could press up against the outside of my opening.
He teased me by rubbing back and forth while his hips thrust gently enough that he wouldn’t enter me. I longed to feel the first thrust of his body and pressed my hips urgently toward him as I waited for what would come next.
“In the night stand,” he whispered.
I reached over to pull out one of the condoms, and he quickly grabbed it away from me. I could tell by how easily he ripped the wrapper and slid it on that Brandon was well experienced at having safe sex. It could have bothered me, but I chose not to let it. It was much better to know a man had a lot of safe sex than it was to think he had any unsafe sex.
I should have timed him as he had his body wrapped up and pressed against me in less than thirty seconds, I was sure of it. Brandon grabbed my cheeks and pulled my lips to his as his body pressed inside of me.
I exhaled with total pleasure at the feeling of his body and mine together. It was different than being with a guy I didn’t care that much about. Brandon was different and I felt different there with him.
The emotions were new for me, though. I’d avoided real emotions since losing my husband and did my best to suppress the ones that came to the surface as Brandon and I made love.
“Oh, yes,” I said into his lips.
His hips moved slowly as his thrusts went deep and then pulled back. He was in no hurry, and neither was I. I relished the closeness of our bodies and the welcoming movements of his tongue and mine together. The chemistry between us was intense, and my body soaked with desire the more we worked together.
In fact, I felt wetter than I could remember getting around a man and started to get a little self-conscious that I was soaking his bed with my desire for him. I did desire him, though; I wanted him over and over again as I felt his thrusts becoming quicker and his hands moved to my hips to control me as he moved harder and harder.
If I could have stayed in that moment of pleasure for the whole day, I might have done it. Every worry from my work life had disappeared. Every concern over if I was raising my son right, or paying all the bills, or acting appropriately in the workplace – they were all gone. My mind only had room for one thought: how perfectly our bodies were building up the excitement together.
My hips started to thrust against him as I felt the orgasm of excitement building up inside of me. I hadn’t had a full-on orgasm in years; they just weren’t of concern for most men. I wanted it. I wanted to feel the release, but I felt myself backing off as I got closer.
Brandon wouldn’t allow it, though. He held onto my hips and helped my body move in a grinding motion against him, forcing me to give in to my desires.
“Cum for me,” he whispered into my ear.
Oh, hell, how could I refuse a man so blatantly asking me to give in to him? I closed my eyes and allowed him to guide my hips as he thrust into me. Within moments, I felt my body shivering with desire as I gave in to the special feeling that my body had longed for.
As we both exploded with desire, he grabbed me and kept me there next to him. His arms around my body gave me security and I couldn’t have imagined I would have given in to the desire had it not been him I was there with.
It was unusual for me – a feeling of total satisfaction as I lay next to him. Brandon’s big arms held me tight and exhaustion quickly moving through me.
If we had been in town, this would have been the time I ran off and back to my apartment to avoid any sort of implied intimacy. But we were 500 feet from shore and I was way too tired to go for a swim. Instead, I gave in to the comfort I felt there in his arms and I slowly drifted off to sleep. After a long day that stretched into the evening, I was exhausted.
***
I smelled breakfast cooking long before I actually opened my eyes. For a moment, I imagined I was at home and my in-laws had snuck into the house and were making breakfast, but then I remembered where I was. It had been a very long time since someone else had made me breakfast; in fact, it had probably been my late husband who had last done so.
The distinct smell of bacon filled the small house and I was about to wrap myself in a blanket and go to the kitchen when I noticed a set of clothes sitting on the end of the bed. I couldn’t help but smile at the gesture. It was rather sweet that he had the clothes there for me, although I had to wonder how they had arrived.
A pair of size 6 jeans, white lace panties, a perfectly-sized matching bra and a white t-shirt were laid out and waiting for me. I looked suspiciously at them and then toward the door facing the kitchen. How had the clothes gotten there? I even took a moment to look through the dresser to see if Brandon just had a supply of female clothing there or something, but all the drawers were filled with his clothes.
“It’s really weird that there is a pile of clothes that will fit me sitting right here,” I hollered
out. “Are you some sort of magician? I’ve never been on a date with a magician before.”
“What? You think it’s weird that I have a set of white lace women’s lingerie?” he laughed. “Or is it weird that I have the jeans?”
His smile was so seductive that I wanted to jump into his arms and kiss him right when I saw him in the doorway. I held back my urge, though, because my curiosity about the clothes and how they had gotten there was bigger than my urge to kiss him.
“Do you have a supply of jeans here, too? It’s odd that these are my exact size.”
“Maybe I only sleep with women who are exactly your size. Hmmm, did you ever think of that?” he continued to tease me.
“That’s an option,” I said as I waited for him to head back to the kitchen and then slipped into the clothing. “The issue I’m having is that these all are new and still have the tags on them.”
I came out to the kitchen and sat down at the counter to watch him cook. The smell of bacon had my stomach grumbling. I had slept at least twelve hours, longer than I could ever sleep while at home, but I felt totally refreshed as Brandon slid some orange juice over toward me.
“I had my assistant bring us a boat, breakfast, and some clothes for you,” Brandon said as if it was a normal sentence to say to a girl.
“Oh, so you just ordered a boat, bacon, orange juice, and some size six jeans? That is one amazing assistant you have.”
“Basically, I told her we were here and to set us up for a good breakfast. I gave her my log in for the dating site so she could see what you looked like and bring some clothes. I didn’t think you’d want to swim back. Technically, she’s not my assistant any longer because she stayed working at the company I sold, but sometimes she helps me out when I desperately need her.”
I eyed him suspiciously as I sipped on my orange juice. I wanted to be angry with him for being able to so perfectly plan our morning. Without doubt, he must be a ladies’ man if he was so easily able to get such a set up for me.
But I was enjoying the soft cotton of my white t-shirt and the warmth of the pants. I positively couldn’t wait to taste the bacon and was equally excited not to have to swim back to the pier; I decided it wasn’t the right time to complain.
“You must have been a Boy Scout,” I announced as I watched him cooking. “You knew just what I needed.”
“A Boy Scout is always prepared,” he said.
“Yes, they are. I do need to get back to town this morning, though. How about we eat and then head in shortly?” I suggested.
“Sure, I’d like to get back to my phone. Isn’t it weird how badly we miss those damn things when they aren’t around?”
“Yeah, technology is in charge of our lives, that’s for sure,” I said.
“I do like being without it every now and then, though. I just get anxious thinking about all that I’m missing and will have to catch up on. Now that my company is gone, though, it’s not nearly as bad for me.”
“I don’t get that many messages on a regular basis, but I still feel the separation anxiety from it, for sure.”
“Can we go out again sometime?”
“Yes, but could we keep the date to land-based activities? I’m not sure I’m ready to start training for a triathlon yet. I’m still working on the running part.”
“I think I could come up with something,” he said. “How is next weekend for you?”
“I’ll have to check with my in-laws to see what their schedule looks like. I’m not sure I can get an overnight free,” I said and then felt totally dirty.
He was asking me on a date, not asking me to stay over. There was an awkward silence as Brandon seemed to be thinking about what he wanted to say. I quickly took the opportunity to fill my mouth with food and try to avoid making a bigger fool of myself.
“I’ll make some plans and call you to see if they work. Does Friday sound good?”
“Yes, Friday,” I replied as I covered my full mouth. “Probably Friday. I’ll just have to check their schedule. Unfortunately, I’m a slave to my babysitters.”
He smiled at me as I became more and more uncomfortable around him. It was his eyes. Those damn eyes looked at me and I felt my whole body losing control of itself. It was as if I turned into a silly, thirteen-year-old girl who couldn’t form a sentence and couldn’t respond without a giggle.
When we finished our food, Brandon led me out to a small motorized boat on the shore. It was a relief to know we weren’t going to be swimming back, but I couldn’t help wondering how the boat had gotten there. If the assistant had taken a boat out to the island, had they pulled a second one behind them just to leave there? I thought about asking him, but then decided I didn’t want to risk sounding ridiculous.
“I had a great first date,” I said as we walked to his car. “I hope they didn’t tow my car from the bagel shop.”
“They didn’t; I had my assistant call them.”
“Really? When did you do all of this? Was I sleeping for a year or something? That assistant is one hell of a lady. You’re lucky to have her around.”
“I was up late last night and couldn’t sleep. You were so peaceful, and I didn’t want to bother you. I’m glad you got some sleep. I suspect as a single mother you probably don’t get as much sleep as you’d like to get.”
“Sorry. I don’t normally pass out for a whole day when I’m around a guy.”
“I take it as a compliment,” he winked. “I must have totally exhausted you.”
We made our way back to the bagel shop as our flirty banter continued. I really did like talking to Brandon; he was fun and definitely kept me on my toes. The car ride was comfortable, yet my nerves continued. The light of day on my sordid night was playing tricks with my confidence.
“Maybe it’s just that I’m a single mom and never get to sleep in, but I feel totally lazy now.”
“Nah, I’m sticking to my reasoning. You were just exhausted by my awesome love-making skills. You might need a little time to recover,” he laughed. “Seriously, though, I’m glad you got some much-needed sleep.”
“I do feel like a new woman.”
“Enjoy the rest of your day,” he said as we pulled into the parking lot. “I’ll text you or call to set up our date Friday.”
My body tingled with desire when he leaned in to kiss me. I wanted to tell him I had just creamed myself, as a joke, but I decided that sounded too crude and he might not get my humor. Our night had been amazing, he was amazing, yet I was more nervous in that moment than I had been while in bed with him.
“I’ll talk to you later,” I said as I climbed out of his car and over to mine.
He stayed in the parking lot until I drove off, and I watched him in my rear-view mirror. His eyes continued to watch me as I drove down the road, like he was making sure I safely got on my way before he was even going to leave the parking lot.
Chapter Eight
Brandon
“You slept with her, didn’t you?” Josh said before he had made it past my front door.
“What are you talking about?”
“That blonde sugar baby from the website. You slept with her. I could read into that text you sent me.”
It was impossible to keep anything from him, and I didn’t know why I even tried. He didn’t have a life of his own and seemed to live vicariously through me. I’d much rather just move on with what we were doing for the day and not talk about Delilah at all, but that wasn’t likely to happen.
“First of all, I don’t think she’s one of those sugar baby girls like you think she is. Secondly, she’s a really nice girl and I’m not going to talk about what I may or may not have done with her,” I said. “I’m a gentleman.”
“I can’t blame you. I’d have taken a trip on that sugar rush, too. How much money does she want for her allowance each month? Maybe I can afford to have a girl like that by my side, too?”
Josh was really good at stock investing, but not all that great at listening. I understood wh
ere he was coming from with the idea that Delilah would be a girl looking for a rich boyfriend to mooch off of, but that wasn’t her – I knew it. I knew from the time we’d spent together that she wasn’t that sort of woman.
“Are we going to work on the futures trading market or are you just going to keep talking about my sex life?”
“Is that an actual question?” Josh said as he pulled up to my computer. “Because I’d much rather talk about your sexy girl than the futures market. I think you have an idealist view of this market. It’s not nearly as much fun as you think it is.”
“Just show me the basics, and we can go from there. I like to make my own decisions about things. I’d much rather know about it and choose not to invest, than not know what’s going on at all.”
My computer was set up with three monitors so I could watch the financial news, look at stocks, and have financial graphs all going at the same time. Josh had helped me get the set up organized and working; it made me look the part, even if I hadn’t figured out all the details of day trading yet.
“Have you been trading without me here?” Josh asked as a red flag popped up on my account when we logged in. “You know you shouldn’t be doing that. There are a lot of rules, especially since you just sold your company.”
“Yeah, but nothing too crazy,” I said. “I’ve been sticking to the stocks we talked about and the rules for trading.”
“Something’s wrong. It looks like your account might have been flagged by someone outside of the trading platform. We better not do any investing until I get this figured out.”
“They think I’m doing illegal trading?” I asked, a little nervous at the assumption.
“Not necessarily,” he said. “You could have just had a really good investing day and they flagged you. I’ve had my account flagged before, and it was removed the next day. Sometimes it’s for a silly infraction, like not taking enough time between trades and they think you have some software program attached to your account. Let’s just give trading a rest for a couple of days.”