by Katie Dowe
There was no doubt in his mind that he would be calling her tomorrow. This was one woman he planned to get to know better. He might have to take it slow, but he was ready for that. The last year had taught him much about himself and his place in the world. He looked at things differently now, planned to live his life differently. There was still much he hadn’t decided, but getting to know Kendra better would be a good start to becoming the man he wanted to be.
*****
Remy, did call the next morning to arrange for them to meet for coffee. He was genuine in his desire to take things slow and coffee was safe. They decided to meet at her café since he was familiar with it and would have no problem finding it. Kendra was still learning her way around and was hesitant to venture too far from her neighborhood.
Kendra had spent the night thinking about Remy and the attraction she felt for him. It was more intense than anything she had ever felt before. In the end she had decided that rarely in life did a man like Remy come into one’s life. He was unbelievably handsome in that dark French way, and when his blue eyes shone with desire she couldn’t help but want to give into that desire.
She was fairly sure that her heart was about to be broken, but life was too short not to take a risk now and then. There was no doubt that she would have a great time on the way to that broken heart. On their own, her thoughts turned to what Remy was doing now. She pictured him in his bed. Naked from the waist up, his dark skin would be glistening in the lamplight.
Feeling the desire beginning to build, she redirected her thoughts she tried to get some sleep. She fell into a restless sleep toward dawn, but awoke a few hours later after a very erotic dream about Remy. At this rate she would jump him before he even had a chance to ask her out.
Just that thought had her blood racing once again. When the phone rang, her voice was breathless as if she had been jogging.
“Kendra, hey it’s Remy. You sound like you’re working out. Should I call back?” He said.
“No, no it’s okay.” She said, feeling the blush creeping up her cheeks.
“Sorry to call so early, but I wondered if you wanted to meet for coffee.”
“That sounds great. I don’t know Paris very well though.” She said.
They decided to meet at her corner café, in an hour. Kendra’s reaction when she saw Remy was just as before. The instant attraction and shiver of desire were easier to control today, but if anything they were stronger.
Over coffee they made small talk, Kendra telling him about growing up in poor neighborhoods in the city. Remy, about having a nanny and being shipped off to boarding school. Each was trying to find common ground, but here they were definitely worlds apart. All too soon Kendra needed to leave for work.
“I better get going, I have to work the lunch shift today. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so I always get there early to help with the prep.” Kendra said.
“Well, how about dinner tomorrow night?” Remy asked.
“I guess that would be okay.” Kendra said, getting up to leave. She still wasn’t sure she could go through with this, a broken heart took time to repair.
“Let me walk you out.” Remy said, taking her arm.
At his touch, she felt a flare of desire began in her stomach, when he put his arm across her back to guide her through the restaurant, she wanted to snuggle closer. Remy must have sensed her longing and pulled her closer. Once outside he guided her down the block to a little park. There he pulled her under the shelter of a tree and backed her up against the trunk.
“Do I sense some reluctance about our date?” He said, leaning against the tree with one hand on either side of her head.
“I’m not very good at this...”
“You mean at dating?”
“Well, I guess I’m just not sure where all this is going.” She said, avoiding his gaze.
“Oh, I see...” But Kendra interrupted before he could finish.
“It’s just that I’ve had my heart broken and I don’t want to go down that road again.” She said, blushing at the fact she had shared such a personal detail with a man she barely knew.
“Honestly, I don’t know where this is going either, but I will tell you this. I just want to get to know you better. We can take this a slowly as you like. If all we become is friends, I can live with that. I won’t like it but I will live with it.”
“It’s not that I don’t like you, I mean, I’m attracted to you.” She stammered.
“I’m glad to hear that, because I am definitely attracted to you.” With those words, he brought his hands down to her shoulders and gently pulled her to him. Their closeness forced her to look up at him and as she did he lowered his mouth to hers, in a kiss that made it clear to her, just how attracted to her he was.
Breaking the kiss, he pulled her close and whispered in her ear, “I can’t wait until tomorrow night, I won’t push you but expect more kisses just like that one.” With those words, he turned and headed out of the park towards the boulevard.
Speechless, she watched him walk away. Her heart was pounding and to her embarrassment she was a little wet from only that kiss and the promise of what could come.
*****
The night of the date, Kendra was so nervous she changed her outfit five times. She had borrowed some clothes from Margot, who was the same size, but just didn’t feel comfortable in any of them. Finally, she decided that she would wear her own clothes. They may not be the best, but she felt comfortable in them and they were more her style.
Kendra had never been one to keep up with the current trends. Growing up poor and being a chef hadn’t left much room for fancy clothes. Maybe now that she was doing so well, it was time to upgrade her wardrobe, but for now her old clothes would be just fine. I am who I am, take it or leave it she thought.
Remy, was right on time. He pulled up in a fancy sports car, she had no idea what kind, but knew that her brother would have been thrilled. After a quick kiss at the door, they were off.
“I’ve made special plans for tonight. Not trying to brag or anything, but my name gets me into all kinds of places that other people have to work hard to get into. We’re going to hit a couple of clubs, then dinner. Normally I would take you to La Femme, but that won’t work since the chef is sitting in my car.” He said.
Kendra thought that he sounded nervous and was surprised. From all that she’d heard, he was the last man she expected to be nervous around a woman. It actually made her feel less nervous herself to know he was feeling the same way.
“I’m sure whatever you have planned will be wonderful.”
The night, as it turned out, was not going wonderfully. Remy had taken her to three different clubs and the scene had been the same at each. Either the music was so loud that they couldn’t communicate, or Remy was surrounded by women. The language barrier, which hadn’t seemed like that big of a deal when they were in a group, or even at coffee yesterday, proved to be a problem as well.
Kendra hadn’t been particularly impressed either, this scene just wasn’t her. By the time they left the last club for dinner, she had decided that while she was definitely attracted to Remy, she wasn’t going to follow him around Paris like part of his entourage. That might be fine for his other girlfriends, but she wasn’t like them.
Remy could sense that Kendra was not having a good time. She was very quiet in the car, hardly answering him when he asked a question. He was hoping that dinner would save the night. The restaurant was supposed to be one of the best in the city, he had pulled strings to get the reservation. Knowing that Kendra was a chef, he had asked many of his friends for advice before deciding on this one.
“I hope you like the restaurant, I picked it because so many people told me how great the food was. I would guess that it’s not easy to go out for dinner when you’re a chef.” He said.
“Well, I try not to diagnose the food and just enjoy it. When you’re in the business, you all know each other, so we know wha
t to expect.” She said.
“That makes sense. Anyway, here we are, let’s go eat something delightful.”
Remy helped her out of the car, gave the keys to the valet, and escorted her into the restaurant. The sight that greeted them was so over the top Kendra couldn’t believe her eyes. Inside this one small building was enough greenery, urns, statues, and art to fill a small mansion. To say that it was overdone was an understatement.
Hoping that the food would be better than the décor, Remy ordered them an extravagant meal. Four courses followed by dessert. Kendra was eagerly anticipating the first course, escargot, something she had little experience with. She had never cooked them and only eaten them once. But what arrived at their table was less than delightful. The escargot were tough and stringy, over seasoned, and cold.
Remy was horrified, if this was any indication of what was to follow, he should just give up now. The second course arrived just as horrible as the first. He was unsure how to handle this, the perfect restaurant was nothing more than a show. He should have asked different people, he realized. Should have called his mother or even his sister, instead he had called his old friends.
Kendra came to his rescue, “This food is terrible, I’m sorry but it’s practically inedible. Do we have to stay?”
“I’m so embarrassed, here I thought I was going to impress you with this place. I should have just take you to Joe’s.” He said.
“Joe’s?”
“Yeah, it’s my favorite place to eat now that I’m home. I’ve kind of lost my taste for this.” He said, gesturing to the crowded décor.
Remy went on to explain that he had been traveling around the world and one of the things he had learned was that good food was more about the preparation than the ingredients. “You would never believe some of the things that I have eaten only to later discover that it was a part of the animal most people wouldn’t even consider eating. We won’t even talk about the variety of creatures I’ve eaten.”
Finally, Kendra thought, there is a real person in there.
“I learned to cook in my travels. I find it very therapeutic. Honestly, one of the reasons I wanted to meet you was the fact that you’re a chef. I’ve become a bit of a home chef myself.” He finished.
“So we do have something in common after all.” She said.
“Besides the fact that we both want to jump in bed together.” He joked, finally feeling her warming up.
“Very funny. I have an idea, let’s go to my restaurant. We close early on my night off so no one is there. We can make our own feast. I’d be interested to see what you’ve learned. A good chef is always looking for new techniques and flavors.” She said.
Chapter 3
The restaurant was dark when they arrived. Kendra let them in the back door, only turning on the kitchen lights so no one would think the place was open. It was soothing to be in her kitchen and she felt herself relax.
Over the next hour, they chopped, seared, steamed and sautéed their own four course dinner. While they were cooking, Remy found any excuse to touch Kendra. He brushed her hand when he reached for a knife. He leaned over her to stir a pot, fitting himself up against her tightly for the briefest moment.
By the time dinner was cooked she felt like she might jump out of her skin. Every nerve ending was on fire, she was never sure how he would touch her or where. The anticipation was almost more than she could stand. It was all she could do not to grab him and kiss him.
They took their food into the dark dining room, and with only a candle for light enjoyed their creations while Remy told her more about where he had been for the last year. She was surprised to learn that he hadn’t been traveling around the world partying and sleeping around. He had instead taken his monthly trust fund check and used it to help people in remote villages in both South America and Africa.
Stunned to learn that there was more to this man than what she had heard, she began to look at him with different eyes. She sensed that this was a side of him that most people didn’t know. She wondered if it was a side that was new to him as well. The way he talked about his travels was like a kid with a new toy. It was infectious and she found herself laughing and enjoying herself. It turned out that they made a good pair in the kitchen, the food was wonderful and they both ate every bite.
“I suppose I should clean up our mess. I can just imagine what Francois would say if I left this mess for him.” Kendra said.
“It won’t take long if we work together.” Remy said, beginning to clear the table.
Glad that he had offered to help, she followed him into the kitchen. The dishes were done and kitchen returned to normal in no time at all. It was late so they had agreed to call it a night, but as Kendra was turning off the lights, Remy backed her up against the door.
“We didn’t have dessert.” He said, bending down to kiss her.
Kendra felt that instant burst of desire as his lips met hers. He gently parted her lips with his tongue and deepened the kiss. Kendra wrapped her arms around his solid back, loving the feel of his muscles. Sensing that she wanted more, Remy slid his hand down to her buttocks, pressing himself against her.
She could feel the evidence of his desire pressing against her stomach and her desire leapt to new heights. Sliding his hand up her side he cupped her breast in his large hand, gently rubbing his thumb over the hardened peak.
Pulling his mouth from hers, he began to kiss his way down her neck then her chest, finally pulling her nipple into his mouth through her shirt. She arched her back in pleasure, wanting more. Releasing her nipple, he slid his hand underneath her shirt and into her bra, the sensation of his rough hands on her breasts was almost more than she could handle.
Kissing her again, he gently nudged her legs apart with his knee, bring it up to rub it against her mound. Kendra was assaulted by a hunger she had never felt before. She responded by rotating her hips against his knee, intensifying the feeling.
Her skirt had ridden up, exposing her thigh to his roving hands. He slid his hand up her thigh to the waist band of her panties and eased his hand inside. The moment his finger contacted that sensitive spot, she writhed in pleasure, a moan coming from deep in her throat. Remy continued to rub her nub in gentle strokes until she thought she was going to explode right there.
When he pushed his finger deep into her hot wet center, she lost all sense of her surroundings, rising on a wave of pleasure that promised to rock her to her core. As he continued to stroke her, adding a second finger now, she crested the wave and the world shattered around her. She came with a cry of pleasure that she hardly recognized as her own.
As the world came back into focus, she realized that had Remy not been holding her up, she would have fallen. Never had she felt anything like that before. She’d had orgasms, although rarely, but never anything that could compare to that.
Remy, kissed her one more time before pulling back to let her straighten her clothes.
“I know I said we’d take it slow but I just can’t resist you. I had better take you home before this goes someplace else.” He said.
“That might be a good idea.” She agreed, her legs still a little shaky.
Putting his arm around her, he walked her to the car, not wanting to let go of her. They drove in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Kendra had just had one of the most powerful sexual experiences of her life and it hadn’t even involved intercourse.
Remy was so turned on, it was all he could do not to pull the car over and take her then and there. He didn’t know how long it would take for her to trust him enough to take this farther, but he was eagerly anticipating when she did. Dropping her off, he promised to call her in the morning and kissed her good night at the door. He didn’t trust himself enough to see her all the way into the apartment.
*****
The next day at work, Margot dragged all the details about her two dates with Remy out of Kendra. She was surprised that Remy had been doing chari
ty work and equally surprised to find out he could not only cook but did the dishes.
“That just doesn’t sound like the Remy that Greta talks about.” She said.
“Well, it feels like he’s just beginning to find this new person. I have a pretty good idea who he was before and I think I got a glimpse of who he wants to be. I know this, I like the new Remy.” Kendra said.
“I’m glad it’s working out so well, he might just be more than a Paris fling. I have tickets to a concert on Saturday, do you think Remy might want to go with us?” Margot asked.
“I’ll ask him. We talked this morning already, but he said he’d call me later tonight.” Kendra said, feeling a small thrill to be able to say that a man would be calling her tonight.
Remy did call her later that day, he had been volunteering at a school in the inner city that day, but was hoping they could have dinner that night. Kendra had to explain that she was working, she was worried he might react like Mark did, but Remy understood. When she brought up the idea of going to the concert, he was happy to go.
“I can pick you up in a limo if you want and I might be able to get us back stage passes.” He offered.
Kendra was reluctant to take him up on his offer. She really just wanted to go to the concert like everyone else. One night of running around in a fancy sports car with people fawning over Remy, had been enough for her.
“How about if you meet us at the restaurant then we’ll go with everyone else.” Kendra said.
“Okay, whatever you want. I just thought you might like to ride in style.” He said.
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but I just don’t feel comfortable being the center of attention.” Kendra explained, realizing that once again they were very different people.
“I think I understand. I’m just used to thinking a certain way, but if it makes you uncomfortable, we can do it your way. It’s no big deal.” Remy said.