Timeless

by Rachel Spangler

  Jody reached across the car and pushed open the door. “Get in, Stevie.”

  Uh-oh. She’d used her teacher voice. In no time, place, or situation did I dare refuse the teacher voice. Taking a deep breath, I climbed inside and closed the door behind me.

  “Jody, I’m sorry.”

  “You should be,” she said, then held up a hand to cut off my next attempt at apology. “You put me in a terrible position back there. I mean, really, you say something like that in the middle of a restaurant. What did you expect from me?”

  “I didn’t expect anything. I didn’t think it through. I didn’t consider the fact that you might be uncomfortable or feel pressured to respond.”

  “Or what about the fact that we’re in the middle of a city thirty minutes from my home with no privacy or space for me to respond freely?” She pushed her hands through her hair. “No one has ever said anything so perfect to me. It took every ounce of fortitude and self-restraint I’ve developed over the years not to grab you by the collar and drag you across the table.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t anticipate—wait, what?”

  She smiled brightly and took my face in her hands, then pressed her lips to mine, instantly eliminating my confusion. There was no lag time, no shock to register or catching up to do. We came together effortlessly. Our mouths found each other—insistent, passionate, explosive. In a second we were fully intertwined, her hands on my waist, mine tangled in the fine hair at the back of her head. She opened her mouth, searching, gasping, grazing her tongue along mine. Her lips were impossibly soft, but she didn’t yield to me, or me to her. We both pushed on in tandem, neither willing to slow the surging tide of escalation.

  The kiss was nothing like the one I remembered, not tentative or exploratory. This time we knew each other. We’d grown into each other, or toward each other, our bodies recognizing what our minds had refused to acknowledge. This was right. We were right. She tasted of sweetness coated in red wine, and I grew drunk on the combination. A fire started at my core and spread out, consuming us both. She grasped for more, tugging at the hem of my sweatshirt and slipping her hands underneath. I dragged my lips from hers, along her jaw and down her neck. I wanted more. I desperately nipped and sucked as much of her exposed skin as I could reach in the car.

  “Stevie,” she gasped, her lips close to my ears, “we have to stop.”

  “Yeah.” I panted but made no move to lessen the pressure of my mouth against her shoulder.

  She extracted one hand from my shirt and ran it up my arm to my neck. Cradling my head, she held me in place, baring her neck for my continued exploration. “Really, we can’t do this here.”

  “Uh-huh,” I mumbled.

  She tugged on my hair lightly to break the contact of my mouth long enough for me to register her concerns. I sat back, dazed, and glanced around. People passed by the intersection just ahead of us. Headlights flashed to the side. The amber glow of a streetlamp illuminated the patch of sidewalk I’d occupied moments earlier. I took a shaky breath, then looked back to Jody.

  The moment our eyes met her hands were on me again, immediately followed by her lips. We kissed fervently, her mouth persistent, demanding, exhausting. Quickly losing my grip on the situation, I eased back slowly, understanding we had to regain control while simultaneously wishing we never would.

  Jody gave one last press forward, following me halfway across the car, before grazing her teeth across my bottom lip as she released me. “Wow.”

  “Yeah,” I replied breathlessly.

  “Was the kiss in your dream like that?” she asked, lifting her fingers to her swollen lips.

  “It was good, amazing even, but this one was better.”

  She blushed, momentarily bashful. “I got a little carried away.”

  “We both did, but a good kind of carried away, right?”

  “A very good kind.”

  I grinned.

  She grinned right back, and I worried if we stayed there staring at each other as if waiting to see which one of us devoured the other first, we’d end up arrested for lewd behavior in a public space.

  “Maybe we should head back to Darlington now,” I said reluctantly.

  “Probably.” She sounded equally displeased with our options as she fired up the engine and pulled out of the parking space.

  We rode in silence back to the interstate, both of us breathing a little heavier than usual. As she crossed the bridge to Illinois, I took her hand in mine, caressing her wrist with my thumb. “It’s going to be a lot harder to get on a plane tomorrow.”

  She nodded. “It’s going to be a lot harder to let you.”

  The silence grew thick again as the suburbs faded behind us. The farther we got from the city, the further she slipped from me. I hated the chasm growing between us and struggled to think of a way to bridge the divide.

  “Will you come visit me this summer?” She pursed her lips together, and I added, “Please?”

  “A lot can change between now and summer.”

  “I know, but I want to try.”

  She nodded but didn’t agree, leaving me to wonder if she doubted my resolve or hers.

  She slowed the car as she neared an unfamiliar exit twenty-five miles from Darlington.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I think so,” she said shakily. “This is my usual exit.”

  I looked at the upcoming sign. Oquendo. Right, she didn’t live in Darlington. “Sorry you have to drive me all the way back to town.” I lied. I wished we would keep on driving, forever.

  “You could…I mean it would be easier if…” She stopped, swallowed, then started again. “Would you like to spend the night with me?”

  My answer was simply and painfully honest. “Yes.”

  She squeezed my hand and took the exit, pulling onto a state road, then a town street, followed by a gravel driveway.

  Without another word we exited the car, and I had to force myself not to rush us to the house. I took her hand in mine and brought it to my lips. “Are you sure about this?”

  She touched my face, gently guiding me into a sweet kiss that hinted at much more with the lingering brush of her lips. Then she turned and opened the door, drawing me inside with her.

  I wanted to see her home, to notice her personal touches, to compliment the warmth and charm the décor would certainly exude, but I couldn’t see anything other than her—her eyes glistening in the dim light, her hair falling down across her shoulders, her shirt wrinkled, and her cheeks flushed. I marveled that this beautiful woman who had avoided relationships and risks and invasions into her personal space had invited me into her sanctuary. The wonder was almost too much, leaving me momentarily speechless. A writer finds few things more frustrating than a loss of words, but in this case they weren’t lost as much as unnecessary.

  Wrapping my arm around her waist, I held her close, then hooked one finger under her chin and lifted it gently until her eyes met mine. Suspended on the same breath with her, I imprinted her image in my mind. I took in the sight of her perched on the edge of desire, eyes heavy with need, lips parted, the pulse of her heart beating rapidly enough to reverberate through me. I burned her perfection into my memory. Then when I couldn’t stand the suspense a second longer, I captured her mouth with mine.

  Years of doubt faded away along with our careers, our homes, and the very idea of a tomorrow. We met in our purest form—bodies, heat, energy. The sweetest intentions devolved into the basest of needs as gentle caresses gave way to touching, clutching, and groping. Jody’s hands were under my shirt, sliding up my ribs until she cupped my breasts. Holding them in her hands, she ran her thumbs around the curve at their sides, drawing circles ever closer to the center but refusing to capture them fully. My breath came sharper, harder, with the delicious tension of anticipation until she finally took what we both wanted, palming me fully and running her fingers over my nipples. We broke the kiss, gasping, and she used the separation to push the hoodie and unders
hirt over my head.

  She kissed my shoulders, my neck, my collarbones as I began working at the buttons on her shirt, fumbling through a random pattern. One from the bottom so I could touch the smooth plane of her abdomen. Then two from the top so I could taste the skin between the cups of her bra. I became so entranced with that spot I popped open the next two from the bottom simply because they were the easiest to reach without lifting my head. I’d lost track of how many more I had to undo as a desperate need to have her unwrapped fully before me pushed at the back of my eyes. Clutching each side of the starched, white fabric, I meant only to test the restraints, but instead I pulled it open fully to the clatter of buttons breaking free and scattering across a hardwood floor.

  Jody looked up at me, then down at her shirt, now open from her throat to her waist. Stepping back, she slid it from her shoulders and down her arms. Then reaching back for the strap on her bra, she released and guided it to the floor as well. I stood momentarily paralyzed, my mind rebounding enough to register that I’d never held anything so beautiful. I wondered only briefly if I was worthy of such a gift before my body regained control and asserted its ability to handle this situation.

  I pulled her back to me, relishing the warmth and softness of her skin, flush against mine. We kissed passionately, tongues searching as we explored newly exposed territory with trembling hands. Her breasts were small, firm, and amazingly responsive to my touch. Dipping my head, I sucked a trail down her neck and across her chest. Kissing every spot of flesh along the way, I covered her breasts, taking one in my mouth quickly and then releasing it, then drew a path back to the other. She stumbled two steps until her back found the wall, and I followed eagerly.

  She moaned, arching her neck and letting her head loll back. Her body was one smooth, graceful arch reaching out to meet my mouth, her skin a flawless canvas to paint with my lips. I bent lower, then knelt, kissing a scattered path along her stomach, varying pressure and depth as each space dictated. I wanted her to feel me, to know me, to always remember me against her body. I wanted to mark her, to see the evidence of this connection, to leave proof that I had really been here, to leave something of myself behind…but tears stung my eyes at the thought of marring such a perfect work or art. Pulling back to view her fully again, I chose instead to imprint her on me, both real and true. The overwhelming clench of my heart contented me with the knowledge she was as much a part of me now as the blood rushing through my veins.

  Threading her hands through my hair, she guided me back to her body and held me fast to a spot just above her navel while I unbuttoned her slacks and lowered the zipper. Her pants fell to the floor, and I kissed a line above the waistband of her navy bikini briefs before peeling them away slowly to reveal the last piece of perfection.

  Jody’s legs trembled, or maybe I did. The weight of what we were about to do wouldn’t allow either of us to remain upright for long, but I couldn’t wait or separate long enough to relocate. Breathing her rich, heady scent, I kissed lower over the final curve of her, through soft, blond curls and into liquid heat.

  Jody cried out, clutching me to her center, her fingers digging into my shoulders, my neck, my scalp. Her body opened easily, so receptive, her hips rocking forward first to meet my mouth, then my fingers as I pushed inside her.

  “Stevie, please,” she called out.

  Chills danced across my bare skin followed fast by a fire stoked with the need she poured into my name. I pushed in more fully, something primal taking over as I rode the erratic rhythm of her hips. Searching the contours of her body, mapping her arousal, I refused to surrender to the incoherency threatening to cloud my mind and blur my sight. Instead I opened my eyes and, still holding her tightly to me, watched her muscles contract and shake. Kneeling before her felt almost religious, a thank offering for the gift of her body, the gift she’d bestowed for the sole purpose of my adoration.

  “Yes,” she breathed, the most beautiful word I’d ever heard, and contracted around me. A strangled sob escaped her throat as she groped for something to anchor her while a final wave of passion crested around us.

  Then her body went limp and slid slowly down the wall. Guiding her descent, I cradled her in my arms, pulling her head to my chest, offering what rest and comfort my own shaking limbs could afford.

  Kissing her hair, her temples, her forehead, I rocked us softly together while her breathing slowed. “You’re so beautiful, Jody. Even more so than I dreamed.”

  She squeezed me tighter, another tremor radiating from her body and through mine.

  “What is it?” I asked

  “I need you,” she said.

  “I’m right here.”

  She pushed back to arm’s length with both of us kneeling bare-chested before each other. Dark emotion swirled around her expanded pupils, holding me suspended in the intensity of her gaze. “I need you in my bed. Now.”

  The air left my lungs in a rush, but she gave me no time to recover before taking my hand and leading me toward her bedroom.

  Even in the shadows, her naked form made my mouth dry and my fingers twitch. No hallway had ever felt so endless or alluringly adorned. Finally, she pushed open a door, revealing a queen-sized bed with a rich cream comforter. I didn’t have a chance or the desire to examine anything further before Jody nudged me onto the bed. I sat on the edge, feet planted firmly on the floor in an attempt to keep grounded amid the dizzy wave of lust surging through me. I held my breath as she nestled her hips between my spread knees, then released it in a rush when she popped open the button atop my jeans.

  She kissed me soulfully as she lowered the zipper, then dragged her lips to my ear and whispered, “I’ve dreamed of this moment since your first night back in town.”

  Goose bumps spread down my arms as the words fluttered against my cheek and spread into my chest. “God, Jody, I’ve wanted you for so long.”

  “You’ve got me.” She kissed my cheek and, with her palm splayed across my lower back, urged me into a standing position until my jeans spilled down my legs. Then without wasting any time, she sent my underwear to join them.

  I watched her eyes rake over my body, a pink flush spreading across her chest as her eyes caressed my body from top to bottom, then up again. Under other circumstances such an inspection would’ve left me cowering, shaken to be exposed, fearful of being found lacking. But in Jody’s care, I summoned the courage to stand vulnerable and comfortable.

  Pressing close again, she eased me onto the bed. I scooted back on my elbows toward the pillow. She crawled over me until she’d straddled my waist, her breasts taut against my own and her lips fastened to my mouth. The kiss wasn’t rushed, but it didn’t allow me to catch my breath either. Her tongue stroked mine, edging me higher even as she worked her hands lower. She scraped her fingernails down my chest and across my ribs before circling my stomach and turning back up just before she reached where I most wanted her to be.

  On the second pass, my hips rocked up involuntarily to facilitate more contact. She smiled against my lips but didn’t acquiesce. Shifting her weight to her knees, she repositioned her hips firmly against me, both relieving the pressure and accentuating it. We moved together in the subconscious dance of giving and taking. I reached for more, wanting to pull her entire body into mine, clutching her hips, digging my nails into the soft flesh there. I rocked her against me, rolling, surging, and then retreating together. Clinging to her tightly, I relished the way her weight settled on top of me—firm, solid, undeniable. Sweat beaded between us, slickening our movements and immersing us in the scent of arousal.

  Her mouth never left mine as she worked her graceful fingers between us and then between my legs. I bucked under her touch, so very close already, but she refrained from taking what could have been an easy end and moved lower, encouraging me to open and moving inside with one slow, steady push. I closed my eyes, my head rolling from one side to the other across the cool pillow, but she wouldn’t be content with the physical and withdrew almos
t completely.

  “Open your eyes, Stevie.”

  My eyelids fluttered, heavy and uncoordinated, but she waited until I focused, my gaze as clear and steady as hers before she moved forward again.

  “I’m here,” she said. “I need you to know that.”

  “Yes,” I gasped.

  “It’s not a dream.”

  I bit my lip to keep from shouting when she pushed deeper, her thumb grazing my clit.

  “Let it out,” she urged me. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

  My body believed her. My muscles contracted, holding her in place.

  “I’m all yours tonight, Stevie. Don’t hold back.”

  My breath came in harsh, uneven bursts. Fire spread across my cheeks and flashed behind my eyes. My hips jerked, and my fingers tightened around any piece of flesh they could grasp.

  “So close.”

  “I know, baby. Let go for me.” She gave one more emphatic thrust, and lightning flashed through my body. I shouted a string of incoherency as I lifted us both off the bed, every muscle contracting, twisting in my abs, and shaking through my limbs.

  Jody rode, and stroked, and kissed me until I collapsed, wasted, beneath her.

  “God, you’re amazing.”

  She smiled as she rolled to the side and snuggled into the crook of my arm.

  “I mean it. I’ve never felt anything like that. It’s like you saw right through me.”

  “If I did, it’s only because you let me.”

  “I did.” A sense of wonder floated through my consciousness. “I opened to you completely.”

  “You were perfect.”

  “No, we were perfect together. We are perfect together.” I rolled onto my side, a new feeling exploding in my chest. “Jody, I…I think I…”

  She kissed me quickly, silencing the word on my lips but doing nothing to crush its existence.

  “Shh,” she whispered when we parted, her eyes glistening with tears that froze me in fear.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  She placed her palm over my heart, and I wondered if she understood it beat for her now. “Don’t say it. Just show me again.”