by Zuri Day
She placed her small overnight bag on the bed nearest the window, then walked over and watched the cars whizzing by on the highway. Suddenly she felt awkward and shy, like the flower who used to hold up the wall at school dances. What am I doing in a hotel alone with this man? Am I a glutton for punishment or what?
Gwen’s shoulders tensed as she felt Ransom’s hands on them. Remembering his strong fingers and deft touch from the night before, she tried to move around him.
“Hey, be still. You need to learn to relax more and worry less.”
“Who says I’m worried?”
“Your body does. You’re worried about losing control every time I come near you.”
“You sure are cocky.”
“Hardly. I just know how I feel around you, and I know it’s how you feel around me. I can sense it, smell it.”
He deepened the pressure of his thumbs between Gwen’s shoulder blades. An involuntary moan escaped her.
“Don’t worry,” Ransom whispered. “I’m only going to kiss you tonight. Nothing more. And when we go to sleep, it will be in separate beds…as you’ve requested.”
Gwen could only nod. She was melting under his expert ministrations.
“Turn around,” Ransom whispered.
Gwen slowly did as she was told. They stood about a foot apart, not touching. Ransom appeared to look into the depth of her very soul, his eyes shielded by those ridiculously long lashes.
“What?” Gwen asked tentatively. His staring made her nervous.
“I’m just looking at you,” Ransom responded. “Loving you.”
Gwen tried to go around him. Ransom blocked her path. “No, don’t move. Just look at me. Love me back.”
“I don’t know what you mean. I—”
“Shh, don’t talk. Send your love into the silence, and the space that’s between us. Love me with your eyes.”
Gwen closed her eyes, swallowed, and took a deep breath. When she opened them, she looked at Ransom with what she hoped was a neutral expression. A part of her wanted to laugh, the part that was nervous, and another part wanted to run away…the part that was nervous. She forced herself to stand there and look at him, as he’d instructed. And then she felt it, a subtle warmth spreading throughout her insides.
“This feels weird,” she admitted. “And I feel warm.”
Ransom smiled. “People tend not to look at each other. We do briefly, in passing, and if necessary. But most people, especially lovers, spend very little time really getting to know what their partner looks like, not only on the outside…but on the inside.”
“What do I look like inside?”
“Shh.”
They stood this way for another moment, until Gwen felt she could not take his scrutiny or the warmth enveloping her a moment longer.
“Kiss me,” Ransom softly commanded.
Gwen’s heart quickened.
“With only our mouths touching. Don’t use your hands, or any other part of your body. And I won’t touch you. I want to explore the depth of you, one part at a time, starting with your mouth.”
Gwen tilted her head as Ransom lowered his. She licked her lips just before their mouths joined. The kiss started soft, slow, lips barely touching. Her fingers itched; she longed to put her hands on Ransom’s shoulders. She pushed her head forward and tried to deepen the kiss. Ransom resisted, pulled his head back a bit, while continuing to brush his lips over Gwen’s. He flicked his tongue at the corner of her mouth, then outlined her lips with its wetness. Gwen mirrored his movements, noting the beginning growth of a mustache, and how Ransom’s lower lip was thicker than his upper one. Soon, their tongues met, swirled, and teased. Again, Ransom pulled back, and placed light kisses on each side of Gwen’s mouth.
Gwen’s body began to hum in both anticipation and aggravation. She stepped closer and placed her arms around Ransom’s neck to deepen the kiss.
“Uh-uh, only lips touching,” he admonished, before gently removing her arms. But this time when he reclaimed her mouth, his assault was fierce, his tongue hard and probing. The sudden intensity took Gwen’s breath away, even as a bolt of desire shot through her pulsating heat. Ransom lapped her mouth as a thirsty dog would water, using his tongue to probe every crevice and corner of her oral cavity. Their kiss went on forever, two, three, five minutes. Gwen shook with the need to hug him, to feel his body close to hers, on top of hers.
“Ransom,” she whispered.
Finally, she felt his arms around her, pressing his hardness against her stomach. She wrapped one arm around his hard body, and placed a hand through thick hair as she pushed his head forward to deepen the kiss. Her kitty was throbbing so badly that it would have meowed if it had a voice. Gwen wanted to tear off Ransom’s clothes and make wild, passionate love, the kind she’d only dreamed of before. If I can just stop kissing him long enough, she thought. Long enough to ask him to make love to me.
Ransom’s arms went from around her body to her shoulders, the kiss becoming light and playful once again. Gwen’s heartbeat quickened even more in anticipation of what was to come. Ransom ended the kiss and looked deep into her eyes.
“Thank you,” he said simply. “Now, let’s go to bed.”
Yes! Gwen thought. She watched Ransom turn and go into the bathroom. Soon, she heard the shower going. She stood awkwardly for a moment, trying to decide whether to join him in the shower or to wait and take one separately. Before she could decide, the water stopped. After another moment, Ransom opened the bathroom door and came back into the room. A towel wrapped around him was his only covering.
“I forgot to tell you that I sleep in the nude,” he said as he folded back the covers on the bed next to the door. “Of course, that won’t bother you, since you have your own bed. I just didn’t want you to think I was trying to send a mixed signal or anything. I intend to honor you, and your marital status. In case I’m asleep when you get out of the shower, I had a wonderful time today. We can sleep in tomorrow if you’d like. Good night.”
Good night? Did this man just light me up like a firecracker and then tell me good night? “You know, Ransom, I’ve been thinking about what I said today, about my marital status and all. It really is just a technicality, you know. It will be officially over in six weeks.”
“Then that’s when we’ll make love.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. But don’t look so disappointed. You did very well with your lesson on the art of the kiss.”
“My lesson on…excuse me?”
“Have you forgotten already, Ms. Smith? Outside your classroom, you’re the student. I’m the teacher. Now, if you shower and go to bed like a good little girl, you might wake up tomorrow to another lesson.”
Gwen, speechless, all but stomped into the bathroom. She closed the door, crossed her arms, and didn’t try and stop the pout that formed on her face. She was precariously close to wriggling her hands in her ears and sticking her tongue out. She eyed her reflection in the mirror and almost laughed at the petulant expression she saw there.
“It’s my own fault,” she hissed to herself as she undressed and turned on the water. “Trying to be so goody-goody. And now I’ve got to go out there and sleep in the big and empty bed I made.”
25
Ransom had relieved his sexual tension in the shower, but sleep still remained elusive for hours. The perfume Gwen wore tantalized his nostrils and made him hard for her all over again. Gwen fared no better. She got goose bumps at the memory of his kisses, and knowing he was naked underneath the comforter drove her crazy for most of the night. Only pride stopped her from getting out of her bed, jumping into his, and demanding they finish what he started. Both woke up cranky, and both tried to hide it.
“Good morning, Butterfly.”
“Good morning.”
“Did you sleep well?”
“Like a baby,” Gwen lied. “And you?”
“Like a log.”
“You liar.”
“Takes one to
They both laughed. “So is it time?” Gwen asked.
“For what?”
“You know what.”
“No, I don’t.”
“What you talked about last night, before we went to sleep…to bed at least.”
“Ah, the lesson.” Ransom’s eyes twinkled. “Eager student, are we?”
“You don’t have to be so smug about it.”
“First I was cocky, and now I’m smug. Tell me, what is it exactly that you like about me?” Ransom’s iPhone beeped. “Hold that thought; this is work.” He tapped the screen to accept the call. “Blake.”
Gwen walked into the bathroom, to give Ransom privacy and to take a quick shower. Just the thought of another “lesson” from her “teacher” made her heart beat faster. She didn’t know exactly what today’s class would entail but she was pretty sure that for whatever it was she would want to be clean. She hummed a verse of “Boogie Wonderland” as she stepped into the shower.
A couple minutes later, there was a knock on the bathroom door. “Gwen.”
“Yes?”
Ransom opened the door but spoke from the hallway. “Sorry, Butterfly, but I need to run out to a job site.”
“What? Wait a minute.” Gwen stopped the water and stuck her head out from behind the shower curtain.
“That was the foreman from a job we’re doing here, in LA,” Ransom continued. “We’re behind schedule and he has a problem. I need to run over there real quick.”
“Now?”
Ransom grinned in spite of himself. He stuck his head inside the door, looked at Gwen and the water droplets running down her bare shoulders, and imaged the taut naked behind just beyond his view. “Sucks, doesn’t it?”
“What I mean is…”
Ransom began walking toward her. “I know what you mean, Butterfly.” He stopped at the curtain and blessed her with a deep, sensual kiss. “The teacher is as frustrated as the student. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Gwen finished her shower quickly and tried not to be angry. It wasn’t Ransom’s fault that his foreman’s timing could not have been worse. Although it was only a few minutes past eight, she dialed Chantay. As expected, a groggy voice answered.
“It’s eight o’clock in the morning, what the hell you want?”
“Good morning to you too,” Gwen said, laughing.
“Girl, what are you doing up? Y’all must not have fucked long enough.”
“Chantay, you’d better not be saying that if Derek’s right there.”
“He’s not.” Chantay yawned, loud and long. “He had to go to early morning service. He plays drums at his church.”
“Maybe you should have gone with him.”
“And chance getting struck by lightning? God knows I don’t belong up in His house. Plus, that brothah wore me out last night.”
“Please, spare me the details.”
“You’re just saying that because you don’t want to give me the four-one-one. But you know I’m not having that.”
“I tell you what. Come over here to the Sheraton and I’ll tell you all about it. Breakfast is on me.”
“I’m on my way.”
Chantay was patient, waiting until after she had ordered two eggs, scrambled, French toast, sausage, and hash browns, and Gwen had ordered the same, except with bacon, crispy. She sipped her orange juice and watched Gwen pour two packets of sugar and three creamers into her steaming black coffee. She even let her take a sip before she exploded.
“Girl, tell me what happened.”
“What happened?” Gwen teased, taking another sip of coffee. “When?”
“Gwen Andrews, you are about to get a Sunday morning beat down.”
“Okay, okay,” Gwen said, laughing. “But I’m telling you now, you’re going to be disappointed.” Gwen proceeded to tell Chantay about the lesson: the staring, the touching, and finally, the kiss.
“And then what happened?” Chantay prompted when Gwen finished with a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes.
“We went to bed.”
“And?” Chantay huffed.
“Oh, right, you’re assuming we went to sleep in the same bed. We didn’t. He slept in one bed and I slept in the other.”
“You’re a lie and the truth ain’t in you.”
“Cross my heart.”
“You’re lying, Gwendolyn Marie!” Chantay whooped. “Ain’t no way you’re going to convince me that after all that foreplay nothing didn’t go down in that hotel room.”
Gwen shrugged. “Believe what you want but trust me…that’s the whole story, unfortunately. Not that I didn’t want more to happen. I even told him I changed my mind about waiting until the divorce was final.”
“And what did he say?”
“That he was going to honor my initial wish and wait until the divorce is official. Doesn’t want me to have any regrets, I guess.”
“Something is wrong with that man.”
“Why do you say that?”
Chantay’s answer was interrupted by the waiter bringing their food. Chantay poured a liberal amount of syrup on the French toast and then took a large bite. “Look,” she began around a mouthful of food, “you tell me a man is going to stare at you until your coochie catches fire, which sounds like some juju shit to me, and then…” She finished her bite, licked her fingers, and continued. “And next, kiss you to within an inch of your life, and then say good night? That’s it? Just like that? He’s either crazy, or gay, or has a dick the size of my pinkie.”
“I’ve felt the proof that it’s definitely not the latter. I don’t think he’s crazy or gay either. I just think he’s…special.”
“Yeah, so was Urkel. Did you want to screw him, too?”
Gwen and Chantay finished breakfast, and Ransom still hadn’t called. Gwen returned to the hotel room, packed her overnight bag, and switched between church services, football, and an old movie on television. As it neared checkout time, she called Ransom.
“Blake.”
“Ransom, it’s Gwen.”
“Oh, sorry for not calling you, baby. I’m swamped here.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Not really, but it’s under control. We’ve got a very particular client who chose today of all days to come over and request last minute changes on a job that has to be done next week.”
“Sounds like you could be a while.”
“I’m sorry, Gwen, but it looks that way.”
“What do you want me to do?”
Ransom sighed audibly. “I’m not sure, Butterfly. It’s hard to say how long I’m going to be here. Have you checked out already?”
“No.”
“It’s a lot to ask for you to stay until I’m finished….”
“I don’t mind.”
“Maybe your friend, Chantay, can come over. Lunch is on me.”
“She came by for breakfast. But no worries, I’m a big girl. I’ll be okay.”
“Good. You might want to get some rest. If I finish soon enough, there may be time for a lesson before we head back to Sienna.”
Gwen got her rest, but not her lesson. Ransom was at his job site all day, and after Derek got out of church, Chantay spent the day with him. Gwen had a nice long phone conversation with her mother, who seemed to be responding positively both to her new environment, where there were constant activities and new friends, and to the new medication prescribed to slow her illness. Feeling upbeat after reminiscing with her mother about her father, with Lorraine bringing up childhood incidents that Gwen had forgotten, she took the shuttle over to Universal City Walk. Mama remembered well today, sounded like her old self. Gwen called Ransom again, got voice mail, left a message, and then took in a movie. Once the movie was over she checked her messages. Ransom had called and was waiting for her at the hotel.
“Butterfly, I’m so sorry,” he said as he met her in the lobby. “Did you enjoy your day at least?”
“More than you, I expect.” She recapped her day for Ransom as they walked to his car.
The drive back to Sienna was quick, quiet. Ransom was obviously tired and drained from his unexpected workday, and Gwen was battling a slew of mixed emotions for which there were no words. Both were happy to let an array of artists, from Tupac to Terence Trent D’Arby, and Bob Marley to Joss Stone, fill the quiet space. As they entered the town limits, a part of Gwen became wistful, almost melancholy. She didn’t want their time together to end.
They pulled up in front of Gwen’s house. Ransom turned off the motor.
“Thank you for a wonderful weekend,” Gwen said sincerely.
“A wonderful day, anyway,” Ransom responded.
“We’ll have more days…maybe,” Gwen quickly added lest she sound too eager.
“Definitely. Now let’s get you inside.”
“It’s okay, Ransom. I know you’re tired. You don’t have to walk me to the door. I didn’t even know guys still did that anyway.”
“Guys may not. But I do. And don’t touch that handle either. I’ve been meaning to tell you about that.”
Gwen smiled as Ransom walked around to her side of the car, opened the door, and helped her out. He took her key and unlocked the front door to her home, and then stood back so she could enter.
“Thanks again, Ransom. Get good rest.”
Ransom enveloped her in a hug and kissed her on her forehead. “Don’t think I forgot.”
“About what?”
“About the lesson. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Gwen said good-bye and closed the door. Two thoughts came to mind as she walked to her bedroom. One, she was falling in love with Ransom Blake. Two, tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.
26
Gwen’s car tires had barely stopped rolling before Adam was at her door. He yanked it open. “Where were you all weekend?”
“Well, good morning to you too, Mr. Johnson,” Gwen replied. She got out of the car, reached back inside for her oversized tote bag, and headed toward the school entrance with Adam on her heels.
“I tried reaching you.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t get your message until late last night.”
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