Rebound

by Rosemary Rey

  I reached into my purse and searched for my cellphone. It was off. “My phone was off. Sorry.” I turned on the phone and waited till it powered up.

  “I called and texted you a million times, so ignore the obscene number of calls and the stalkerish messages that I left.” I laughed. I decided to listen to them later while at work.

  “It’s really nice of you to come pick me up. You really didn’t have to do that.

  “I wanted to see you again. I was worried that you wouldn’t want to see me again.”

  “Have I given you any indication that I wouldn’t want to see you?”

  “You don’t seem like the type to have casual sex. I thought you’d might be ashamed and uncomfortable around me.” From the corner of my eye, I could see that he looked over at me. I kept my eyes trained ahead. “I wanted to show you that I won’t ignore you. I like you and I would like to see more of you.”

  “I think you’ve seen it all.” I said with a hint of humor in my voice. He laughed, “I’d like that, but my life is super complicated. I don’t have much time to devote to someone else.” I needed to be honest.

  “I understand. The same goes for me. I’m busy with my practice and I travel a lot for work. I usually have evenings available and you don’t, but I’d like to try making our schedules work, even if we’re stealing seconds in time.” His words were so sincere.

  “Well, I don’t have to be at work until 6 a.m. I’ll be too early to open up. How about we go to a café and get something to eat?”

  “I was hoping we could do that. I know just the place.” He looked over to me with that delightful smile. “So you’re not wearing a dress or a skirt. How will I make you climax in my car again?” I blushed at the reminder. He squeezed my thigh. I felt the heat rising from my loins.

  I blushed. “It’s a bit early for that.”

  “It’s never too early to be satisfied.”

  “Stop. You’re making me blush.”

  He took his hand off my thigh so he could make a turn. Instantly, I missed the warmth of his touch. Within seconds of feeling a void, he put his hand back on my thigh. I put my hand over his and said, “I like it when you touch me. You’re so warm.” He smiled. “But you can have your hand back when you need it. I know how important it is to have your hands on ten and two.” He laughed.

  “Were you able to get things done around your apartment?”

  “Well, my apartment is less than one hundred square feet, so there isn’t much space to do anything. I did manage to wash clothes and be prepared for the week.”

  “I’m sorry that I took you out of your routine.” I squeezed his hand.

  “No need to apologize. I’m not sorry. You filled the time quite nicely. So where are we going?”

  “Any coffee shop, there’s one open at this time within a two block radius.” He smiled. “We’ll have time to talk without feeling rushed. I’ll take you to work. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to pick you up after your shift and take you to your next job. If you would’ve listened to my message, you would’ve heard my request for you to pack an overnight bag, so you could spend the night with me. My place is closer to your jobs.”

  My heart skipped a beat and my belly flipped at his words. A mixture of flattered and mini freak out swirled in my head. He was rushing things much faster than I could process. However, limited my time is, he’s really trying to work around my crazy schedule.

  I forced myself to respond, “I’m going to have an insane day. I work until two at the gym and then I have the Inn at five until eleven. It’s chaotic and you shouldn’t have to spend your free day running around after me.”

  “If you couldn’t tell from my running on the treadmill, I love a good chase.” I looked at his beautiful face and that brilliant smile that knocked me out the first time returned.

  “I don’t know Matt. I’m like a wounded gazelle. I’ve been easy to catch . . . but . . .”

  He laughed, but I was quite serious. “I’m just asking for one more day. I can pick you up tonight, drive you home and get your things, and we can go back to my place.”

  I took a long pause. I didn’t want to say ‘no’, but I wasn’t sure.

  “Am I moving too fast?” He sounded deflated.

  “No. No.” I paused to collect my thoughts and think of the right thing to say. “I just don’t know what the right thing to do is. You have me at a disadvantage with the dating thing. I like you. I want to see where this goes, but you might not stick around after you learn about my crazy life.” I said trying to bring some levity. He brought my hand to his lips then held it on his lap.

  “I can say with certainty that I’m not going anywhere, anytime soon. I enjoy being with you.” He turned the car into a parking lot in Duration’s building. After taking the ticket, he sought out a parking spot. The clock on the car dash said 5:25 a.m. Dashing parked in a spot. I took my things and exited the car.

  “Why do you have a cooler?” He asked when he came around to my side of the car. He took the cooler from my hand and slung it over his shoulder, and grabbed my hand, leading out of the parking stall. I’ve never experienced such attentiveness.

  “I prepare my food for the day. I’ll cook on Saturdays. I portion things out and I freeze in advance. I save money. And it’s helping me lose weight.”

  “Well, don’t lose too much weight. I love your curves. I intend to feed you each meal today. You may be able to save it for tomorrow.” He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me close. I blushed at his words.

  “Don’t you want to spend the day resting instead of living on my ridiculous schedule?” We arrived at the elevator, and he pressed the button.

  “No.” He gave me a kiss on my head, and touched the nape of my neck. “You smell so good, and it’s so soft.” He caressed my hair. The elevator bell rang its arrival.

  “Thank you.” He had me enter the elevator first. Once inside, he cornered me and started kissing me with ferocity of a lion in heat. His tongue swirled around my tongue, his lips sucked my lower lip, and his teeth nipped at my lips and chin. I moaned under the pressure of his body on mine, reminding me of the sex filled afternoon we spent together.

  I felt him picking me up. Instinctively, My legs rose to wrap around his hips. I could feel the hardness in his groin on my core. Why couldn’t I have the day off? I would be so much happier taking the elevator to his apartment and ripping his clothes off as soon as we stopped on his floor.

  The elevator door closed, but didn’t move. “We’ll never get to have breakfast together if we continue to make out in here.” I reasoned. He stopped kissing my neck. As I lowered my legs, and he lowered me down. I gave him a strong peck on the lips, then pressed the button to the ground level.

  He was quiet. I tugged at his jacket and looked into his amazing brown eyes, giving him a kiss. We kept our eyes open kissing with playful tongues dipping in and out of each other’s mouth. The connection that I felt was staggering. It was as if we understood what the other wanted and needed, and that we could fulfill that need for the other.

  I wanted to feel his skin on mine. He wore a button down shirt, so I couldn’t put my hand under his shirt to feel his warm skin on mine. I snaked two fingers in between the buttons at his abdomen. I felt him shudder and his breath hiss through his clenched mouth. He slammed my lower body to his. I felt his hard cock on my stomach. He arranged my jacket. His thumb rubbed across my lips as he stared into my eyes with his dark gaze, and leaned in for another kiss.

  When the elevator arrived at ground level, I pulled away from his kiss. I took in a deep breath. “Thank you for picking me up. You’re very thoughtful and caring. I don’t remember ever being taken care of like that.” The elevator doors opened. He took my hand and I followed him out of the elevator. We walked out of the parking ramp and walked toward Duration where a coffee shop could be found.

  We walked to the cashier. I ordered a medium soy latte with a banana nut muffin. He ordered a regular coffee with a lemon poppy s
eed muffin. I reached to pay my share.

  “No.” He said gruffly. “Since this is our first date, you should know now that you will never pay for anything.” He took some cash out of his wallet. As we walked to the end of the counter to await our order, he kept his hand on my waist.

  “Thank you, but since this is our first date, you should know that I don’t expect you to pay for everything, and it makes me a little uncomfortable having you pay for me all the time.” I attempted to say it as calmly and gently as I could, sensing that he wouldn’t like what I had to say.

  “I know you’re an independent, hardworking woman, but I’m also a very traditional, hardworking man. I make enough money that I can spend on you. You shouldn’t have to spend your hard earned money on my whims. Okay?” He gave me a kiss so that I wouldn’t give a retort. “Grab a table for us to sit and eat. We have about twenty minutes before you have to open up.” I grabbed my cooler to relieve him of the extra weight.

  I found a table in the corner by the store front. I arranged the cooler on my chair, not knowing which chair he’d choose to sit on. He arrived with two sacks of muffins and both coffee cups.

  “Here’s your latte. I don’t know which one is your muffin.” He set the bags down on the table. He pulled up the chair beside me, facing the store front.

  “Thank you so much. I’m so hungry. I didn’t eat dinner last night.” I peeked in one bag and was rewarded with finding my muffin.

  “What?” He asked with a concerned tone. “I knew I should’ve taken you to dinner, but you were so insistent on going home. I could’ve at least bought you some take-out.” He said.

  “Not your fault. I’m a pain in the ass when it comes to getting things done. I’m on such a strict schedule that the clock commands my life.” I said solemnly.

  “Do you have a timeline of when you’ll slow down and start enjoying some free time?”

  “Well, my goal is to quit the Inn, if I’m offered the full time Director of Membership Sales position, which would be more money and benefits. I wouldn’t need the Inn. The owners are really good friends, more like family. I would still continue to teach the fitness classes. It keeps me dancing and breaks up the monotony of desk life. I like to work. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with working hard.” I rambled while he listened intently.

  “I just wonder if we’ll have time to see each other. It feels like this is doomed to fail before anything ever starts.” He said. I looked away, restraining the tears from seeping from the corners of my eyes. It wasn’t so much fearing losing him, but the reality that any future relationships would be doomed to fail because of my need to make money.

  I took time to think through all he said and I tried to compose words that wouldn’t offend or hurt him. “Unfortunately, I can’t change my schedule. Since my divorce, I’ve had a complicated afterlife. If a relationship isn’t forever, I can’t make sacrifices because I won’t fulfill my goals. I relied on my ex-husband to lift me up, and when that failed, I took the worst fall. It broke me in every way. I have to work to make ends meet. I have to work to pay off debts. I just can’t walk away from all that I’ve built in the last two years. I don’t expect you to understand, but I hope that you will respect why I live the way I do.”

  He reached out for my hand and squeezed my fingers. “Eat. We have plenty of time to talk and work through it all. What time should I come get you?” He took a sip of his coffee.

  “Um. I thought you were picking me up after my shift at the Inn.”

  “I’d like to spend as much time with you today and you’ll need a ride between jobs, right?”

  “My shift ends at 2:00 p.m. Then I go to the Inn for my 5:00 p.m. shift. Work ends at 11:00 p.m.” I take a sip of my latte. I pulled off a bite of muffin, and savored it. I ate daintily, not wanting to ravage it in front of the stud before me.

  “This may sound argumentative, but I just don’t know how you can keep up this schedule every day.”

  Yes, it is argumentative, but not something I haven’t heard from my family and friends. “Let me put it in this perspective. There are so many people on this Earth that work much harder than I do and for a lot less money. I put myself in this predicament by relying on my ex and not working towards my goals and financial stability. When I lost it all, I had to start from scratch. The rebuilding has been slow, and the consequence is working my ass off for little pay and little rest. But I know it will get better, eventually.” I looked at the clock on the wall before me. “I have just a few more minutes. We shouldn’t waste time talking about my commute or my hours. Can we find something else to talk about? How about your trip? You said you’re leaving Thursday for several days. Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to Spain. I’m one of several team doctors for the soccer team in Madrid. I’m being brought in to consult on a player whose knee isn’t healing from a previous surgery, which I didn’t perform.”

  “Wow. I hope you can make him better.”

  “I hope so too. The sooner I can assess and fix, I will be able to come back. I’ll leave from Logan on Thursday evening. I get there the next morning and I go straight to work. I’m not sure if I have to operate, but I’ll see when I get there. I’m hoping I don’t have to, just consult, but I’d need to examine him.”

  “I take it you do a lot of travel?” I said, not admitting that I already know about his prominence in his field and the work he does abroad.

  “I used to. When I was married I traveled a lot more, but I realized that I needed to scale back. By that time, it was too late to salvage my marriage.” He reflected. “If the patient can come to the US, then I’ll perform surgery here. Sometimes, it’s impossible for them to travel, so I go to them.”

  “I’ve never been outside of the United States. Traveling abroad sounds amazing. Of course, for you it may be a lot of work. Do you have a favorite country?”

  “Spain. My mother was born there. I did a study abroad when I was in boarding school. And I spent a year in Spain in college. Much of my travel and work are in Spanish speaking countries.”

  “I take it that you speak Spanish then.”

  “Fluently. And you? With a name like Perla Mercurio, you must know Spanish.”

  “Yes. I do. My mom only spoke Spanish. She was Dominican. My dad is Puerto Rican. Spanish is the only language they spoke around the house. My dad has lived here for fifty years and his accent is as thick as when he first arrived as a teenager. A lot of that is due to living in Spanish speaking areas around Boston. It makes it easy to speak only in Spanish and use English only when necessary. But I think in English, and translate into Spanish; if that makes sense?”

  “Yeah, it does. Until you’re immersed, and then you have to translate from Spanish into English.”

  “Yeah, I know that feeling. When I’m with my whole family we’re listening to Spanish music and talking in Spanish. Inevitably, we’re watching a telenovela, and I forget that I’m in Boston.” I look at the time. Five minutes to 6 a.m. “I should get going.” I put my half eaten muffin in the bag and take another sip of latte. We both stand. As I reached for my cooler, he slips his hand under the strap and pulls it to his shoulder.

  “Thank you.” I hold onto my muffin bag and latte. He held the door for me. He took my hand, and we walked hand in hand toward Duration. I melted each time we touched, and I wondered if this would be his way for the length of our time together. I walked us toward the service door in a corner of the building. People were already gathered, waiting for me to open up.

  “Good morning, everyone. I’ll be opening up shortly. Nice to see you, all.” I greeted our faithful, and heard various salutations. I spoke to Dashing, “I have to open from the service entry.” We continue to the door. I pulled out my key and unlocked the door, holding it with my foot. I took my cooler from his shoulder.

  “I’ll be done at 2. You can meet me at the front desk.”

  “I’ll be here.” He leaned over and kissed me.

  I rose up ont
o my toes and whispered in his ear, “Good. When we get to your place, I’m going to give you the most amazing fuck.” I grabbed my cooler. I winked and grinned, and left him standing there stunned as I closed the door.

  ***

  I kept my mind and hands busy with opening the gym. Fresh towels were ready for the morning crowd. The early birds checked in with their key fobs, and kindly greeted me as I handed them each a towel. I was busy for the first half hour, soon my work slowed down. There’s not much to do on a Sunday morning. Although the smoothie area was cleaned last night, I wiped down the counter and ensured that all the ingredients were organized and ready to make a smoothie on demand. I made the coffee. Once I was done, I looked around to see if there was anything else I needed to do before I settled in the stool to wait until I’m needed.

  I reflected on our encounter this morning. I remained shocked that he picked me up. I remembered that he had left me messages. I took my satchel out of the drawer and found my cell phone. I had four text messages. I ignored them, wanting to hear his voice again. I pressed the phone button to see that I missed seven calls and five voicemail messages. Five calls were from Dashing, and he left three voicemails. One call was from my father, and he left a voicemail. I had a call from Chelz, and the remaining voicemail was hers. I punched the voicemail on my father’s call. His message was short and sweet.

  Papa: “Hola, Perla. Call me. It’s your Papa. Buenas noches.”

  Chelsea: “I hope that the reason you’re not picking up your phone is because he’s knee deep in the booty. Call me.”

  Dashing, Message One: “Hi, Perla. It’s Matt. I just want to say that I’ll be home soon. Sorry for being late. I got caught up at the hospital. I hope you haven’t left. I’ll see you soon.” I pressed save.

  Dashing, Message Two: “Hi Perla. Matt. I wanted to say Good Night. I wanted to hear your voice and tell you that I had an enjoyable afternoon with you. I’d like us to get together again . . . when you’re free. Hope we can talk soon.” I pressed save.