by Naomi Niles
“What is this?”
I leaned back on the couch. “Just open it.”
She flipped open the notebook. There were pictures drawn and colored on different pages of the book. “What is this, Harrison?” she asked, flipping through the pages.
“That is Sarah’s notebook.” I exhaled, knowing that I was headed for an emotional time. “When she was younger, she used to draw all these pictures of her mother.”
“The woman that came by a few weeks ago?”
“Yeah. Anyways, she drew all these pictures, and I knew who they were of, but when I asked her, she said, ‘No, Daddy, these are pictures of the woman you are going to marry.' I thought it was cute, you know? But at the time, I wasn’t worried about marriage or anything else. I was focused on creating a good life for me and my daughter. She drew all these pictures up until about fifth grade. I told her I would hold on to them until I met that woman. She made me promise, so, that is what I did.”
“Why are you showing these to me, Harrison?”
Her eyes glimmered as the moonlight shot through the window. “Because… I believe I have found that woman.”
She sat quietly, and moments later, I gently touched the back of her neck and pulled her lips closer to mine. She placed the notebook on the ground as her tongue slithered into my mouth. I loved her more than any woman I’d ever known, and I didn’t want her to have a doubt in her mind that she was who I wanted to be with for eternity.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Caroline
His lips connected with mine as we sat on the couch. I was just beginning to understand how he felt about me and how deep his feelings went. I would’ve never imagined our lives intertwining the way it did, but now, I couldn’t see it any other way. I leaned back onto the couch as he climbed on top of me. He put his tongue on my neck and made a slithery line to my collarbone, then kissed softly where it ended. I put my hands on his biceps so I could feel them contract each time he moved into another position. As he moved his lips back towards me, I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in closer.
Suddenly, he scooped me off the couch and carried me into his room like a baby. I kissed him as he effortlessly carried me to the room and laid me on the mattress. “Change of scenery?” I asked, laying on the bed. He unbuttoned his shirt in front of me. I saw the middle of his abs. They were perfectly separated at the bottom of his torso as he turned and walked into the bathroom. Moments later, I heard the shower turn on. When he came back into the room, he was completely naked. I licked my lips as he climbed back on top of me and searched my breasts with his tongue. He pulled my dress down and exposed the fullness of my tits. I moaned as he flicked his tongue against my nipples.
Our breathing intensified as he reached below my waist and eased my thong down from my legs, then tossed it to the floor. With his body pressed against mine, he kissed me softly and sensually as if he wanted to savor the moment. My tongue massaged his while his hands roamed through my hair. The water from the shower splashed into the tub in the bathroom, creating a rainlike sound that billowed through the room. I could feel his dick harden on my leg. He eased his body between my thighs with the tip of his penis brushing against the lips of my vagina. I wanted him now, but he teased me. He toyed around, increasing my desire for him to come inside me.
His fingertips grazed my thighs, sending chills through my body that caused my hairs to stand on edge. “I love you,” he said as he looked me in my eyes. The bold, blue color stained my memory. I saw the depths of his soul expressing the deepest, innermost feelings of his heart.
“I love you, too.”
I pulled his lips back onto mine, barely allowing the words to escape my mouth before I felt the softness of his kiss. I reached for his penis, but he stopped me. He lifted me into the air as I wrapped my legs around his waist, kissing him as if he lips gave me life. He carried me into the bathroom. The steam from the shower fogged the windows as we walked by. Water splashed into the jacuzzi tub as we walked inside. He placed me on the ground, then pressed my back against the wall. The water splashed onto his back as he stood in front of me. His muscles glistened under the bathroom lights and immediately, he pressed his lips against mine.
The water splashed onto my bare chest as he glared down at my erect nipples. “Damn, it seems like you get sexier as the days pass.” I smiled and stepped closer to him, allowing my tits to brush against his firm, chiseled chest.
“Well,” I said, running my fingertips over his ripples, “why don’t you show me how sexy you think I am?” I took his hand and placed it on my ass, causing him to grab a handful of my cheek. He bit his lower lip, and as the drops of water splashed onto my face, I leaned forwards and slithered my tongue over his nipple like a snake. He moaned as I switched between licking and sucking, then slid down to his abs, and finally, to his dick. He was standing at attention as soon as I got on my knees and wrapped my mouth around his penis. My tongue slid up and down his shaft as he put his hands on each side of the shower for support. I pushed his meat as far inside of my throat as it could go and kept it there for a moment while I used my other hand to gently massage his balls.
Once I removed his dick, pre-cum slowly dripped from the tip of it like syrup. He quickly grabbed my head and pushed it back down onto his meat as he kept one hand on top of my head. His back shielded me from the splashes of water while I bobbed my head up and down on his dick, using my other hand to stroke it each time my mouth went up and down. His moans became louder as I slid my fingers down to my vagina and started playing with my clit. It was already firm, and any stroke sent my body into small convulsions as my mouth stayed glued around his dick. I snatched it out my mouth and jacked him off, looking directly up at him. His abs glistened from the water that slowly dripped down the front of his body. His chest flexed with each movement he made, doing all he could to keep himself standing but at the rate, I was going, I knew his legs were becoming weak because he was on the verge of ecstasy.
I smiled and slid my lips back onto his dick, and suddenly, he grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled me up. My pussy immediately dripped with moisture. I loved when he got rough with me. I always wanted a man who could be strong enough to handle me mentally and sexually, so Harrison was perfect. He turned me around and forced me to the back of the shower. My chest slammed against the wall as he put his hand on the back of my head. My legs spread open, and seconds later, his long dick slid right inside my pussy with ease as my mouth hung open. I wanted to yell out in pleasure, but the feeling was too intense, so nothing came out of my mouth. He lifted his hand and smacked my ass while he held onto the shower rail for support. The floor mat in the shower was enough to keep both of us from falling on our asses as he fucked me from behind, pulling my hair back so he could kiss me on my lips. I stuck my tongue inside of his mouth, twirling it around until I felt myself starting to come.
I reached forward to play with my clit when I felt it coming, “Yes, Harrison,” I said out loud as he fucked me harder. “Right there, don’t stop, don’t stop.”
He grabbed my ass while I moved my finger back and forth over my clit. My eyes rolled back into my head, and I started slapping the wall with the palm of my hand, “Yes! Yes, baby!” I yelled out as my legs shook. Moments later, I screamed out in pleasure as he slid his hands around my throat, choking me gently. I pried one of his hands off my throat and slipped his finger into my mouth, sucking on it like it was his dick. The thought made me cum even more as he continued fucking me from behind. I could feel his warmth shoot inside of me as he took his other hand and stroked my nipple. Just then, he ripped open the shower curtain and forced me outside into the room and threw me on the bed, our bodies still soaked from the shower. The water ran in the background, reminding me of raindrops, and that turned me on even more.
He spread my legs open as I laid on my back and positioned his head right between my thighs. I moaned, as he smiled and then gently slid his tongue over my clit. My legs clenched around his head with
each stroke, and I tried to slide away from him, but he was much too strong. He grabbed hold of my thighs and pulled me back towards him. Moments later, he slipped his tongue back inside of me and buried his face into my vagina. He licked the front of it with the flatness of his tongue as he reached up and grabbed my tits. I clenched onto the covers and pulled them up as he found my G-spot and stroked it until I came from my soul. I heard him slurping all of it as he used all of his strength to hold me in place so that I wouldn’t move away from him. My breathing increased, and every limb on my body shook as I came right onto his tongue and he sucked every pit of it into his mouth. I put my hands on his head, and they shook as if I was nervous, and seconds later, I was out cold.
I woke up laying right next to him in the bed. He was still naked; his dick lazily dipped to the right side of his body. The sun was completely gone from the horizon, and the shower water was still running in the bathroom. I nestled closer to him. The heat circulated in the room, keeping us warm as we laid on top of the covers. He moved as I put my head on his chest. When he spoke, his voice sent vibrations through my head. “How long have we been asleep?”
“I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t want to know. It feels like I will wake up from this dream, and God knows I do not want to wake up from this. Now not. Not ever.”
“A dream?” He smiled. “Yeah, I believe those are my thoughts exactly.”
“How did I ever make it this far in life without you, Harrison? I mean, didn’t know guys like you existed until now.”
“Yeah, I can understand that. I am 39 years old, so I was pretty sure that my hope of finding a lifetime partner was long gone by now.”
I lifted my head off his shoulder. “Lifetime partner?”
“Yeah. Well, I mean, you know. Somebody who I could see myself being with further down the line. Did I scare you?”
I stared at him for a moment, then dropped my head back to his chest. “Well, I don’t think, ‘scare,' is the right word. More like… anticipation. I’m sorry, I guess I am just jumping the gun a little bit. I don’t want to scare you off. You know how most men are when commitment is mentioned.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I understand. Good thing that I am not like most men. Otherwise, I may have kicked you out by now.”
I kissed him on his chest, then walked my fingers across the ripples of his abs. I loved where I was at in life. I had a good paying job and a good man by my side. I thought about my move to California in a few months. I didn’t know whether I would leave or not. Harrison brought it up a few times, but I kept telling him I was unsure. It all depended on him, though. I was opposed to it before, but if he wanted to marry me, I would be inclined to stay here with him. That was the only thing that would keep me, though. I knew we were still pretty young in our relationship, and it was a bit early to speak about marriage, so I wasn’t going to bring it up. I was just going to let things play out on their own and see where I ended up. I hoped that it would be in his arms, much like now, but that was out of my hands.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Harrison
Caroline shot upright in the bed while she was next to me. “Oh my God?! What time is it?!”
I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and read the time. “9:43 am.”
She threw the covers off her body, “I am about to be sooo late for work! I need to go!” I held her down as she struggled to break free from my grasp. “Harrison, let me go! I need to get up! I have to get home and get dressed so I can go to work! I’ve already missed one day of work, and I can’t afford to get backed up again!”
“Caroline, Caroline. Please, just wait a minute,” I said, trying to withhold my laughter. I loved the way she was so committed to her job. It showed me that she always put forth a complete effort every time she showed up. It was something that I admired. “You will be fine if you miss one day.”
“Harrison,” she said, settling down, “I’ve already missed one day this week. The time I left early to come over here? That was a day’s worth of work that I had to make up for.”
“OK, listen.” I grabbed my cell phone. “I’ll give Brian a call and let him know that you won’t be in today. I’m sure he won’t mind picking up your workload for the day. Things have been pretty slow, so I’m sure he will grab your things and take care of it.”
“Harrison, you guys hired me to do that work. I feel bad pushing it back on his plate.”
“Trust me, he won’t mind. Watch.” I dialed his number, “I will call him and put him on speaker phone. He won’t even know you are here with me. Then, you will see that he really does not mind. You will hear it in his voice.”
I could tell she wasn’t OK with it, but as soon as she heard it from Brian, I knew she would change her thoughts. After a few rings, Brian picked up his phone. “Hey, boss, what’s up? Everything alright?”
“Yeah, man, everything is fine.” I pulled Caroline closer to me. “Hey, listen, how is the workload up there for you?”
“Workload? Boss, I am looking for things to do.” He laughed. “Man, I guess this is the bad part about getting everything done so fast. I have time to kill and nothing to do with it. Please tell me you got some new work lined up. Some new clients I can convince to let us handle their construction needs?” I smiled at Caroline as she relaxed in my arms.
I muted the phone call. “See, what did I tell you?”
She smiled and rolled her eyes. “Boss?” Brian asked, “You still there?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, man, I got tied up with something else. But hey, Caroline called me and said that she wouldn’t be able to make it in today but she is so worried about getting behind on her paperwork… or whatever those accountants do. Would you mind knocking a little bit of her work out for her?”
“What? Oh, no, man, that is no problem at all. It will give me something to do besides harass our workers or listen to my wife curse me out for something that I have forgotten that I did.”
“Excellent. Well, how about this? I’ll have her give you a call so she can tell you the things that she needs.”
“That’ll work, boss.” There was a short pause on the phone before he continued. “And Caroline? You know you could’ve called me yourself and asked me. I would’ve told you the same thing.” Her eyes popped open as she covered her mouth, trying to suppress her shock. “Caroline? I know you are there.”
I laughed. “How did you know?”
“Because some things are just easy to spot. Don’t worry, boss, your secret is safe with me.”
“Alright. Well, thanks again, Brian.”
“No problem.”
I nudged Caroline as she shook her head. “Um, thanks…. Brian.”
He laughed out loud, “Sure thing, Caroline. You two enjoy your day, and I guess I will see you all Monday.”
“Sure thing,” I said as I hung up the phone. Caroline grabbed the covers and pulled them over her head. “Oh, it’s not that bad,” I said, tugging at the blanket.
“No, it is! He knows.”
“He already knew,” I said as I pried the covers out of her hand. “And if anybody knows, I am glad that it is him. He can hold a secret with the best of them, so don’t let that bother you. He knows that we are dating and when couples date, things like this happen. It’s alright.”
She sighed, then scooted close to me. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s just the idea of him knowing that I was here. I don’t know. Maybe I am thinking too much about it.”
“Yeah, I am sure that is it.” I thought about asking her about her plans a few months down the line. I knew she was supposed to move to California, but I was afraid to bring it up because I didn’t want her to tell me that she was still going. I think it would have ruined the mood for the day, so I decided to leave it alone. “So, it looks like we have a three-day weekend. Anything in particular that you want to do today?”
“Um, no, not really. What about you?”
“I was thinking that we could just hang out. There’s a festival abou
t 30 minutes from here. You know, rides and games and things like that. I figured that when the sun went down a bit, we could head out there and have some fun.”
“A festival? Wow. I haven’t been to one of those in years. I guess that will be OK. As long as you don’t make me get on any rides that spin around. I do not want to get sick and throw up all over you.”
“Oh,” I said, laughing, “trust me, I will not get on any of those rides, either. No way in the world. The last time I climbed on one of those, Sarah was about 7 or 8 years old. She begged me to get on the spinning cups. I didn’t think it would be that bad, and besides, I couldn’t turn her down. Anyways, I get on there, and after the first 10 seconds, I am ready to throw up and pass out. The whole time, she is sitting on the ride, laughing and screaming for joy. I think I was sick for the rest of the day. It was one of the most horrid experiences I’d ever had.”
She laughed. “Oh, yes, those things are relentless. So, as long as we don’t get on any of them, I would love to go with you.”
“Well, it is a date.”
We laid in bed for another hour before we got up and fixed something to eat. I enjoyed watching her walk around the kitchen in my oversized T-shirt. I could see her like this for the rest of my life. I thought back to the time that she hinted around marriage. I was in uncharted territory when it came to that. I didn’t know when was too soon to ask, or if I should even ask at all. I knew that I loved her, but I didn’t want to propose just for her to tell me she was moving away. I figured that the best thing to do would be to just wait and see what happened. After we finished eating, we hung around the house until it was time to go to the carnival.
Cottonwood held a decent sized carnival each year around this time. It was similar to our state fair, but just on a smaller level. The lights lit up on Ferris wheels and other rides and games as we walked hand in hand towards the activities. Children ran past us, immersed in laughter with smiles on their faces as they darted through crowds. “So, are you going to win me something?” Caroline asked with her fingers interlocked with mine.