by Gunn, Autumn
“No, sir.”
“Thank you for your service. You’re one hell of a SEAL. One hell of a young man. You’re always going to land on two feet with both guns blazing.”
I couldn’t help but smile. The Captain shook my hand. His handshake was firm and his hand was strong. All muscles. Not the hands you see these days that spend more time at a typewriter. The kind of hands your WWII grandfather had. The kind that spent the day holding a hammer, turning wrenches, building and fixing things.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Thank you, Petty Officer Callahan. If you have no questions you’re dismissed.”
“Aye, sir.”
I executed a perfect about face for the last time and exited the Captain’s office. I walked around the corner and entered the men’s room. I went to the back stall, put down the lid and sat down. My head in my hands. It was over. It was really over. Part of me had just died. Thank God I had the gym and the community now. And of course Carissa. Without them I’d have nothing.
Chapter 17
I didn’t have to tell Jax. He could see it in my eyes. He gave me a big hug.
“You’re always one of us, brother. No matter what somebody else says.”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to. Just hearing those words from Jax was all I needed right now. I sat on the couch.
“How’s the gym going?”
“Great. We had three more signups when you were gone.”
“Maybe I should leave more often.”
“Definitely not. They were looking for you. They seemed a little bit disappointed when I told them you weren’t instructing.”
“Well, that’s about to change. I’m all in now. No more disruptions.”
My phone vibrated.
“Looks like you spoke too soon.”
It was Carissa’s number.
“Hey Carissa.”
“Howdy stranger. I heard you were out of town. I didn’t have anybody to wrestle with.”
I laughed and heard Carissa laughing on the other end.
“Yeah, I was gone for a few days, but I’m back now. No more interruptions.”
“Good, because this Saturday night there’s a new restaurant opening. My friend, Kassidi got me a reservation for two. I wanted to know if you could join me.”
“Definitely, but what’s the dress code?”
“A shirt, jeans, and a big appetite. This is small town America. We don’t do too fancy too often. We like people just how they are.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Great, so I’ll pick you up at 8:45?”
“You know where I live?”
“From the gym. Your real home.”
We both laughed.
“Deal.”
“Great. I would say see you then, but I’ll see you at the gym before then, so I’ll just say see you soon.”
“See you soon.”
She hung up.
“Sounds like you’ve got a date.”
“Yeah, Carissa knows a new restaurant opening this weekend. Got us a reservation.”
“Botako’s?”
“Botak-what?”
“Botako? Is that the name of the place?”
“No clue. Didn’t ask.”
“It’s impossible to get reservations for that place. Opening night is invite only. I think there are going to be some big wigs there. Politicians, athletes, and such.”
“So I might have to use some covert measures to avoid the paparazzi?”
“No paparazzi in this town.”
“Music to my ears.”
Chapter 18
Botako’s was amazing. I was no culinary expert, but I knew what tasted good and this was amazing. Apparently the chef was from Naples, Italy and had met an American girl on holiday years ago and moved to the States. Now he was getting older and moved to our quieter town and wanted to pursue what would likely be his last business venture. Something from the heart. Something he could put his passion into.
His father ran a pizzeria in Naples, just by the port where you can take the boat to Capri. He had worked there and learned the business. More importantly he learned how to make amazing pasta and pizzas.
Being opening night, no expenses were spared. You could try all the different pizzas and pastas. I think we almost made it through them all. And that was after the bruschetta. After dinner we couldn’t resist the tiramisu, gelato, and Italian cookies. We left stuffed.
“Maybe we should go for a walk. Walk some of this off.”
“Good idea. The Chinese have a proverb about walking 1,000 steps after a meal. I think after this one we might need 10,000 steps.”
“I think I need a million!”
We both laughed.
We walked for a while and came upon a park with some trails.
“It looks spooky. We should try it out!”
“Good idea, partner. If we see any vampires what should we do?”
“Easy. Bite them before they bite us!”
“Does that work?”
“Probably not, but we can try.”
We continued with these goofy jokes down the path. It wasn’t spooky at all. The cedar chips beneath our feet felt perfect and the moonlight gave plenty of illumination. It was beyond a romantic evening.
“You never told me. How was your trip?”
“It was…informative.”
“Informative? Sounds like secret agent talk.”
“Maybe it is. Maybe I was sent here to this forest to remove your kidney for Bulgarian mafia testing purposes.”
“Oh no! Somebody save me.” Carissa started giggling right away. Then her face turned serious.
“But is everything OK?”
“Yeah, everything is OK.”
“OK, that’s all I need to hear.”
We walked and talked and joked for what seemed to be over two hours. We’d stop and sit on a bench for a minute to admire the stars, but mostly just walking. We eventually came to the other side of the trail.
“Looks like we walked all the way though.”
“It does look like it.”
“Now we’ll have to call a cab to get back to your car.”
“Or not.”
“What do you mean?”
“See that building right over there?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s where I live.”
“You walked me to your apartment. Are you trying to take advantage of me?”
“Moi? Never. Ok, maybe a little. Ok, who am I kidding? Maybe a lot.”
“I’ve been seduced.”
“So the Italian food worked?”
“The Italian food was a good start, but it’s the girl standing in front of me that put me over the edge.”
We turned and faced each other. I put my left hand on her hip and my right on the side of her cheek. Her eyes were illuminated in the moonlight. They looked beautiful. Almost reflective. With my thumb on her cheek and my fingers on the side of her head I leaned in and kissed her on the mouth. Her hands immediately grasped at my lower-mid back and she pulled me in tight. We kissed and kissed and kissed some more. It felt amazing. I reached down and wrapped my hands under her thighs lifting her up into a sitting position at my torso level facing me. We continued to kiss as I walked us both across the street.
“Do you have your key?”
She didn’t even stop kissing me. She reached into her pocket and handed it to me. We continued kissing as I felt and wiggled the keys until finally one opened the front door. We made our way to the elevator and were inside. I pressed her against the elevator wall and she let out a moan. I reached back from behind and pulled on her hair lightly. Her neck went back and she breathed out hard. I could feel her fingers digging into my back.
“Take me now.”
“We can’t. There are surely cameras. And I want to be responsible. Use protection.”
“You’re right. Seven.”
I reached my hand back and tried to let my head follow. We were still
deep in passionate kisses so turning my head away was swiftly met with her grabbing my face and positioning it back in line with hers. I raised my left hand to the numbers and felt my way up the buttons. I quickly turned and looked. I had got it. My finger was on seven. I pressed.
The elevator jerked as it took off. The jolt pushed out bodies even closer together. I wanted her now. Here. She wanted it too, but we had to be smart. I didn’t want to wind up on some TMZ style video. Especially in this small town. And more importantly I didn’t want that for her. It would be devastating for her. Not only for her career, but personally.
The elevator came to a stop at seven. I backed us out.
“717”
I walked us down the hall until we arrived at her front door. I still had her keys and could quickly see which one was for front doors. As soon as the door opened we couldn’t get inside quick enough. She reached behind me and raised my shirt up over my head.
“Wow, you are really ripped. Big and ripped. And look at those abs. I’m going to move up my laundry day to tomorrow morning just so I can feel those dreamy washboard abs.”
“And what will you need to wash tomorrow?”
She took my hand and slid it in between her pants and panties. She was dripping wet and the feel of her made me breathe even faster.
There was a table just inside the door. I set her down and lifted her shirt up over her head. She had on a white bra. Her breasts filling the bra, but not spilling out. She looked sexy, but still elegant at the same time.
She wrapped her legs around my waist and pulled me in closer.
“Those wrestling moves you taught me have made my legs stronger. See how it’s working against you now?” She smirked.
“Who says it’s working against me? Maybe I want to be trapped in your leg lock and pinned down.”
“Something tells me you’re more of a pinner and a pinee.”
“That something is right. I’m the –or, not the –e.”
“So you always have to be in charge?”
“Not always. Depends on who I’m sharing responsibilities with. But yes, usually I like to be in charge. In command. In the lead.”
“A man who takes charge is sexy. It’s even sexier when he can let a woman lead from time to time.”
“Taking charge is my specialty. Just like this.”
I picked her up carried her to the bedroom and tossed her onto the bed. I could see the excitement in her eyes. I reached down to her ankles and easily spun her over onto her stomach. I jumped onto the bed on top of her and pulled her hair back with my right hand while I kissed her neck. Kissing down, then up. Then working my way to her ear for a soft bite and back to her neck again. Then down her upper spine. Full of sensitive nerve endings. She was writhing in pleasure.
I slide my right index and middle fingers into her bra unhooking it in one motion. I rubbed my hand where her bra used to be. Applying just enough pressure to feel like a massage, but this was anything but a massage. I could feel the passion in my hands pushing me harder as I slid my hand up her back. She arched her back in unison with my hands movement. Then she quickly rolled over onto her back.
Her bra had fallen to the side and in the moonlight through the window I could see her amazing body. Her breasts were full. They matched her body perfectly. I was a big guy so I needed a girl with a little meat on her bones. If Carissa had been too thin I would have been worried about hurting her. Distracted. Carissa was just right. Even when I pressed a bit hard here and pulled a bit harder there she loved it. Her moans and screams told me so. I knew this night was going to be fun. I knew it was going to be special. I knew it was going to be the start of something that was going to last a long, long time. If I was lucky…forever.
Chapter 19
I rolled over and looked at the clock. 10:10. We had been up all night. Exploring each others bodies. Joking, and just generally enjoying each other’s company. It was so perfect. So complete. We connected on so many levels. Nothing was forced and it never felt like either of us was trying. We fit together naturally. Effortlessly.
“How did you sleep?”
“Like a log, which is rare for me.”
“Glad to hear my bed too you prisoner.”
“In more ways than one.”
We smiled. Carissa leaned over and tapped my nose with her index finger.
“Well, now that we’re awake I can think of some things that we can try.”
“Hmmm. And what might those things be?”
“Well…for starters…the farmer’s market.”
I gave a confused look and she just laughed. She jumped on top of me and we picked up where we had left off.
Just before noon I walked into the kitchen to get us two glasses of water. I returned and found her pretending to sleep. Fake snoring.
“Very funny.”
“You’re taking all my energy!”
“I know the feeling. Wanted to ask you. Do you actually have a farmer’s market here?”
“We do. They stay open until about three. Feel like giving it a look?”
“I do, but if they’re open until three that means we still have a little more time.”
“Oh my gosh. Time for more?”
“Absolutely.”
“You’re like the Energizer rabbit. Do you ever get tired?”
“Not when I’m with you.” I set our waters on the nightstand and literally jumped back into bed. I tickled her sides and we resumed our adventures.
Eventually we took showers and made our way to the farmer’s market. It was amazing. It was a real farmer’s market. People had packed up their cars and brought in items from the countryside. I had already burnt off all the Italian food so was more than happy to indulge at the market. Carissa even knew a number of the vendors and introduced me.
After the farmer’s market we spent the rest of the day walking around the various parts of the outskirts of the city. Just walking aimlessly. No particular place to be at no particular time. I could feel the stress melt away. Carissa was really perfect for me in so many ways. One of which was her ability to relax me. It felt so comfortable and good to be around her. I hadn’t even woken up with any nightmares this morning. She really had a calming effect on me.
Before we knew it the sun had set.
“I wish we could spend more time together, but I have to grade papers tonight and prepare my lesson plan for tomorrow.”
“I know what you mean. I am going to introduce some new techniques at tomorrow evening’s class and I need to go over them first. A quick refresher for myself before I go and teach them.”
“We can walk back to the car and then I can drop you off at home.”
“The car. I almost forgot.”
“Funny, huh? We’ve just been walking everywhere. We’ve actually walked a lot, but the conversation was so good we’re not even noticing the distance.”
“You’re right. I didn’t even think about it. We’ve probably walked 10 miles.”
“Actually more, I think. Can you believe it?”
“I can’t. But I can. It seems unreal, but we’re having so much fun so it makes sense when you stop and think about it.”
“Who said we’re having fun?”
“You’re not?” I looked at her confused.
She tried to be serious then let out a laugh and poked me in the side.
“Nope, I’m not having fun. I’m having the time of my life! Beyond fun. These last 24 hours have been incredible. Thank you for such a great time.”
“No need to thank me, but you’re welcome. We’re both having a great time. Just being goofballs. It’s perfect.”
“Yes it is perfect.”
Carissa took my hand and leaned against my arm as we walked. I could definitely get used to this.
Chapter 20
I arrived at the gym early as I always do. Normally on Monday mornings the turn out is either really big, if everyone is feeling guilty about overeating and such on the weekend, or really small, if they real
ly overdid it and can’t get out of bed. This morning it was packed. As much as I wanted to spend more time with Carissa the night before it was good that we didn’t. She got her work done and I got rested up for what was about to be a big class.