by M. E. Nesser
Chad reached out and took my hand in his. I looked down at our joined hands and then up at his face.
“You are incredible,” was all he said.
At that moment the professor walked up to his podium and announced, “Let’s get started.” That was lousy timing. I could have continued to sit there and talk to Chad for hours.
He said I was incredible. No one had said anything like that to me in my entire lifetime either. The various adjectives Chad used to describe me over the past two days were all foreign concepts to me. I never felt beautiful, adorable, or incredible. My father would commend me on my good grades, and I appreciated that he paid attention to how hard I worked. He was very supportive and encouraging. I never got any positive affirmation from my mother. If anything, all I ever got from her was criticism and disdain. She definitely didn’t help my self-esteem any. And at that point in my life, I didn’t expect my relationship with her to change. It was unfortunate, but I was tired of trying to make her love me.
Martin assured me we would make an excellent powerhouse couple, whatever that was supposed to mean. But there was this near stranger who’d told me I was incredible, which may have been a short statement, but it was profound. In our short time together, I had shared more things with him than I had with almost anyone in my life. He listened to my story and was impressed by my need to help women who found it impossible to help themselves.
I had a difficult time processing anything the professor said. It was one of our longer lectures. It lasted two hours. I wasn’t sure if the time flew or passed at a snail’s pace. To say I was distracted would be an understatement. I was blown away by the adoration I was receiving from Chad. It was such a welcome change, and it made me feel really good.
When the class ended, Chad and I gathered our things and walked toward the door together. I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know what that something should be. I was still thinking about our exchange before class.
“Hey, how about taking a walk with me so we can get something to eat?” he asked me. “There’s a Mexican place not too far from here that makes the best salsa. And since our next class isn’t until one, we have plenty of time.”
Oh, thank God he said something. I didn’t want our time together to end either. “I’d like that,” I told him. Having lunch together was the perfect suggestion. I followed Chad as we walked toward the exit of the building. I felt like I should make some kind of conversation. “So what did you think of that lecture?” I asked him.
“I’m convinced law school is a long three years,” he said jovially. “Thank goodness we have only two years left.”
I had to laugh. I had been just as bored. “I agree. I’m not sure he had any inflection in his voice. I think it was one of the longest lectures I’ve ever sat through. I wonder if he was performing an experiment to see how many students could fall asleep. The girl next to me had the hardest time keeping her head up. It kept drooping down as she nodded off. Although I was embarrassed for her, there was a part of me that wanted to join her in her slumber.”
Chad started laughing. “Yeah, I saw her. The guy behind me started to snore at one point. I think the girl next to him kicked him so he would wake up. I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t want to seem rude.”
It didn’t take long to get to the restaurant. We ordered chips, salsa, and burritos. There was a small table in the back where we could sit. I dug right into the burrito. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so I was starving.
It didn’t take long for us to finish. I knew I ate too fast, but it was so good, and there was a part of me that was feeling nervous. Suddenly I realized I had eaten every bit of the burrito and was overstuffed. I thought I could feel some guacamole or salsa on my face. Before I had the chance to wipe it off, Chad reached across the table and removed the food off my cheek and the corner of my mouth with his napkin.
“Why, thank you,” I said. I was blushing again. I had to wonder if this schoolgirl crush thing would ever pass. He was just sexy and considerate and a million other amazing qualities. It made me feel giddy, young and…deliriously happy.
“My pleasure. So what do you think? Pretty good, huh?”
“It’s probably the best burrito I’ve ever had. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this place. It takes a foreigner to show me where the good places to eat are.”
Chad laughed at that remark. “California isn’t that far away, you know. Have you ever been there?” he asked me.
“No, the farthest west I’ve traveled is Las Vegas. I’ve been to many East Coast states and to Europe several times but never California. I’d like to go there sometime,” I mused.
“Well, I’d like to take you there.” Chad smiled at me, and then the smile faded. I could tell he wanted to say something serious, and it made me nervous. “Hey, I’m sorry about kissing you last night. I don’t want to put any pressure on you or rush you. I know you just broke up with Mr. Serious.”
Wow, I wasn’t sure what to say. I liked the kiss. I wanted more. The new and improved Emily vowed to be more spontaneous and one-hundred percent honest. “I’m not sorry. In fact, I found it to be quite…pleasant.”
“Pleasant? Shit. I need to work on my skills. Pleasant refers to a walk in a park on a sunny day, not a kiss. Damn, I’m losing my touch. New York is going to be the death of me yet,” he said sarcastically and dropped his head in his hands.
“No, I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry. I just…well—”
“Well what? You’re crushing my ego, Miss Jensen,” he interrupted me with a pouty expression on his face. That is when I realized he was teasing me.
“It was more than pleasant. It was, by far, the most passionate kiss I’ve ever received. Chad, I’m not sorry you kissed me. The only thing I was sorry about was that it ended so quickly.” Even though I was desperately trying to approach this relationship more openly, I was embarrassed by my honest response to him. I never spoke so candidly about these kinds of things before. I was sure my face was a raging shade of scarlet.
“Really?” he asked me. His whole demeanor changed. He looked curious at first and then pleased.
“Really. I was sorry to see you leave.”
Apparently that was the right thing for me to say. Chad got the biggest grin on his face. “Well then. We need to rectify this situation. How about a study date at my place later on? I’ll pick up some Chinese, and we’ll get to know each other better. And if I get lucky, I’ll show you what a kick-ass kisser I can be,” he said enthusiastically.
His jovial manner was so refreshing. I found everything about him quite exciting, and I wanted to spend every minute with this guy. There was still a part of me that couldn’t understand what he saw in me, but I didn’t care. I believed his attraction was genuine, and I was going for it.
“I would love to hang out, but I have a ton of reading to get through,” I said dejectedly. That was definitely not the answer I wanted to give him, but I didn’t feel like there was any choice. I did have a lot of reading to finish before the next class.
“Hmm, that was not the response I was hoping for, but I guess one of us needs to remain levelheaded in this relationship. How’s this? Let’s make an agreement to get all of our reading done after dinner, and then, if I get lucky, we can hang out and practice kissing,” he suggested. The way he smiled at me made it impossible for me to refuse.
I reached across the table to shake his hand. “Deal.”
He took my hand and shook it firmly, then turned it and raised it to his mouth. He kissed the back of my hand as he rubbed his thumb across my fingers. I felt chills run up my arm and into places I never expected. I couldn’t believe how his small gesture could evoke such a strong response in me. I wanted to feel his full lips kissing every part of my body. When he looked up at me, his eyes were smiling. Did he have any idea what he was doing to me?
I was too mesmerized to speak. He must have noticed. “Deal,” he said to my last response, which seemed forever ago. “But now we must g
et back to school. Class starts soon. Are you ready?”
School was the last place I wanted to go. “Sure,” I said feebly. He was still holding my hand as he went to stand up. I thought he would let go. He didn’t. He adjusted the position of his hand in mine so we could hold hands as we left the restaurant. His hand was nearly twice the size of mine. The way he held it made me feel special. Come to think of it, I couldn’t really remember holding Martin’s hand very often, if at all. He wasn’t a demonstrative man. One time, I tried to hold his hand when we were walking into a restaurant, and he told me he wasn’t comfortable with public displays of affection. It seemed very strange to be holding hands with a man I’d known for only a short time. Strange but nice.
When we walked out to the street, I felt elated. I didn’t realize how much I craved a man’s touch. The simple act of holding hands was making me dizzy with excitement. In fact, my hand was starting to sweat.
“A penny for your thoughts?” His question interrupted my reverie. I looked at him and couldn’t help but notice how all of his attention was focused on me.
“I like this,” was the best I could come up with.
He looked confused. “Like what?”
I felt embarrassed telling him what I was feeling, but I knew I needed to continue to practice being open and honest about what I wanted. I’d learned the hard way that sacrificing your needs is not good for a relationship. “Holding hands. I know it may sound corny, but I’ve never held hands with a man in public before. It feels nice.”
He laughed. “You know, you’re crushing my masculine ego, Emily. First my kiss was pleasant. Now my hand is nice. Girl, I can’t wait to rock your world!”
After he said that, he pushed me against a building and planted the most intense kiss ever on my lips. First his mouth was soft and warm. Then, as I kissed him back, he opened his mouth, searching for the inside of mine. I opened my mouth eagerly and let him take over. He sucked on my tongue, and I could feel the goose bumps on my skin, the butterflies in my stomach, and the stirrings between my legs.
As he explored my mouth, his hands reached under my hair so he could hold the base of my head just the way he wanted, to have optimal access to my mouth. My hands instinctively wrapped around his waist to pull him closer. I could feel the weight of his body press against me. It was erotic. We were in the middle of New York City, with hundreds of people scurrying to lunch or work around us, leaning against the side of a random building sucking face. I didn’t care. Before yesterday, I had never been kissed like this before, especially in public. It was thrilling.
I was enjoying the feelings that were passing through my body when he pulled away and looked at me. “Tell me. Was that…nice? Pleasant?”
I could barely catch my breath. I didn’t even realize I was breathing so hard. I was too caught up in the moment. Describing what his kisses did to me would have been difficult to put into words. They were amazing, fantastic, and erotic. Coming up with the right word was impossible. He kept staring at me, waiting for an answer.
“Now that was a freaking amazing kiss!” I said to him.
Chad laughed. “That’s more like it,” he beamed. “C’mon, let’s get back before I get too carried away and get arrested for doing something indecent in public. I don’t think either one of us wants to get arrested. It wouldn’t be good for our image as aspiring attorneys.” I loved his playful demeanor. It made me feel young and carefree.
He grabbed my hand once again, and we started to walk toward school. I felt a kind of high I had never experienced before. In a very short time, I felt like I knew Chad better than I’d ever known Martin, and I certainly liked him better already. It had been only a few days, but this guy was seriously rocking my world.
23
Chad
The only sexually inexperienced girl I’d been with was my first girlfriend in high school. Her name was Tracy. We had been classmates since the seventh grade. She was on the dance team at our school and planned to dance in college as well. She was quite slender and very pretty. She was also very outgoing and active.
We dated for a few months our junior year before we decided to go, “all the way.” We spent countless hours making out and discovering each other’s bodies. I remembered that time with great fondness. We both figured out what it took to bring each other to orgasm. We enjoyed experimenting with different techniques and creative positions. I’d always feel thankful for that relationship. It was loving and fun. The only reason it ended was because her father was relocated the summer after our junior year. Having a long-distance relationship at seventeen years old didn’t make sense.
The following year I dated a girl named Jasmine for a couple of months. She had already slept with several guys before we’d met, so she had a lot more experience than I did. We had a good time at first. Then she became very possessive and jealous. I realized those qualities masked her very insecure personality. I had to break it off with her because she was starting to really annoy me. She made a huge scene when I told her I’d prefer to be friends. Rejection made her ugly. We never spoke again after that day. I always felt bad about how it ended.
My two relationships in college were pretty great. Neither of them was destined to go the whole mile, though. Sandy couldn’t wait to go to the Peace Corps. That was a two-year gig, and I knew I wouldn’t want to wait around for her to get back.
Belinda and I lasted quite a while as well. As we were nearing graduation and I got accepted into law school, she said she never wanted to leave California. That was the deal breaker. I was excited to live on the East Coast. Although I loved growing up in California, I wasn’t sure if I was going to go back there or not. I wanted to practice environmental law in a city where I could make a difference, and I had no idea where that would be.
And now I’d met Emily Jensen. Even though she was outwardly polite and conservative in dress and manner, she’d eagerly agreed to go paintballing with me the day after she broke up with her one and only long-term boyfriend. What was even more surprising was that she’d agreed to let me come over and have dinner with her the same day. I was excited at the prospect of having a girlfriend again. It had been over a year, and I missed having a woman in my life. Who knew? Maybe this particular woman could be the one.
Emily said she needed to go home after our last class and that she would take a cab to my apartment around six thirty. I was glad for the extra time, so I could clean up the apartment and pick up some food. I also made time to take a shower, since I didn’t know how far this date might progress.
I picked up the Chinese food on the way home and planned to reheat what I’d ordered on the stove. I didn’t like using microwaves. There was something about them that made me uncomfortable. I read an article once that said you should never stand close to a microwave when it was on because there were dangerous rays emitted in the air. Well, if that were the case, then why would I want to eat food that was cooked in one? I didn’t. I preferred the old-fashioned way of heating up and cooking food.
I also picked up a couple of bottles of wine. I’d noticed Emily had been drinking an Italian wine, so I stayed with that theme. I also picked up some more beer in case she preferred that with dinner.
My apartment wasn’t very big, but it was located in a new building and was very clean and modern looking. I didn’t need a lot of space, especially while I was in law school. I got back to my apartment around five, which gave me plenty of time to clean up, take a shower, and get the food on the stove. Around ten after six, I heard the buzzer for my unit go off. I went over to the intercom and said, “Hello?”
The response from the person at the other end was amusing. “I’m looking for a pleasant man from California who enjoys getting shot in the ass with bullets of paint.”
I loved the mood she was in. “A pleasant man? That kind of man sounds boring. I assure you there is no one here who fits that description.”
I could hear her laugh when I let go of the button. “Then how about that hot gu
y from California who really knows how to kiss?” she asked me.
“He is eagerly awaiting your arrival, ma’am, and will now buzz you in.” I buzzed her in and went to my front door to greet her.
As she walked toward me, I couldn’t help but smile at her. She looked young, carefree and…happy. I was glad to be a part of her more vibrant spirit.
“Miss Jensen, I presume?” As I said this, I grabbed Emily around the waist and lifted her up so her feet left the floor. She looked at me with obvious surprise. As soon as our eyes locked, I leaned my head toward her and gave her the most passionate kiss I could muster. She responded eagerly, with just as much passion and ardor. Our mouths melted as one. I sucked on her tongue; she responded in kind. We held onto each other’s heads securely while we explored each other’s mouth. When I reluctantly pulled away from her, she was smiling at me.
“That was quite a greeting, Mr. Baldwin.”
“I assumed you wanted to make sure I was the pleasant man you were looking for,” I told her.
“Hmm, well…I don’t think you are the man, sadly. But I think you’ll do,” she said as I put her back on her feet. She gave me a quick kiss on the lips and walked past me and into my apartment. She set her bag on a chair, and I stepped behind her so I could help her remove her coat.
“My, aren’t we the gentleman?” she said as I took the coat from her and set it on top of her bag. She turned toward me and smiled. “Thanks for that greeting. No one has ever shown such enthusiasm when I’ve walked in a room before. Your flattery has not gone unnoticed and is sincerely appreciated.”
That was an interesting revelation I didn’t expect. I couldn’t imagine how dismal her relationship must have been. More than ever I was determined to rock her world.
“You deserve a greeting like that every time you walk into a room.” I gave her another quick kiss, put my hand at the small of her back, and led her toward the kitchen.