Until I Saw Your Smile

by J. J. Murray

  “One mirror coming up,” he said. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

  Matthew rushed to the other bedroom door, which complained with a harsh creak as it opened to a room covered in a layer of dust.

  Angela hasn’t been in here in a long time. A vacuum cleaner would die a dusty death in five minutes in here.

  The room had a larger bed, a small couch at its foot, a massive twelve-drawer dresser, and two wingback chairs in front of a broad window facing another part of the alley. After Matthew looked behind the door and found the rectangular mirror, he turned the top two clips to the side and slid the mirror free.

  He carried it into Angela’s bedroom and propped it up next to the window. “How’s that?”

  “Get beside me,” she whispered.

  He jumped into the bed, resting his cheek on hers.

  “Move it to the right some,” she said.

  He adjusted the mirror and returned to her side. “Can you see my eyes?” he whispered.

  “Yes.” Her breathing slowed substantially. “Hi.”

  “Hi. You’re kinda cute.”

  She reached her left arm up to caress his face. “I like you behind me.”

  “May I kiss on you while you watch?” Matthew asked.

  Angela smiled. “Yes.”

  Matthew kissed the top and sides of her head. He kissed her left ear, left cheek, and the left side of her neck.

  “You still watching?” Matthew whispered.

  “Yes,” Angela whispered.

  He pulled up her shirt, exposing her breasts and kissed her side, her breast, and her stomach.

  “Can you still see me?” Matthew asked as he kissed her hip.

  “Yes.”

  Matthew looked at Angela’s eyes in the mirror. “I don’t remember your eyes sparkling like that. You look dreamy. Are you relaxed?”

  “Yes and no. You missed a spot.” She pressed back with her booty.

  “Hmm,” Matthew said. “You’ll have to turn onto your stomach for me.”

  Angela turned onto her stomach, her head facing the mirror. “Like this?”

  So eager. “Yes.”

  Matthew tugged at the elastic of her underwear. “You still watching?”

  Angela nodded.

  He smoothly removed her underwear, kissing down her booty and legs as he did.

  “You’re wearing too many clothes,” Angela whispered.

  Matthew set a personal record for disrobing. “Is this better?”

  “Much better,” she said. “You still missed a spot.”

  He kissed each cheek of her booty. “Did I get it that time?”

  “No.”

  “You want to see me kiss your ass,” Matthew said.

  Angela nodded.

  Matthew started at the top of her booty, gripping her firm flesh, and worked his way down, in between, and under. Angela raised her hips, and he ran his tongue to her clitoris.

  “Oh shit,” Angela sighed.

  Matthew moved up the bed. “Are you okay?”

  Angela lowered her hips. “Yes. That was . . .” She seemed to shiver. “Go back.”

  He rubbed her back. “You want me to finish the job.”

  “Well, um, stay here for a second.” She smiled at him in the mirror. “Is this what you see when you watch me sleep?”

  “I don’t see myself at all,” Matthew said. “I only see you.”

  “I see us. I like this mirror.” She turned onto her back. “I want to watch you kissing me other places.”

  “Only if I can use my tongue, too,” Matthew whispered.

  She sighed. “You better.”

  Matthew started at her neck, lingered a while at her nipples and breasts, devoured her stomach, and parted her legs, letting his tongue run wild. He turned so he could see Angela’s eyes opening and closing, the arch of her neck and back, and her tongue licking her lips. When she gripped the covers with her hands, Matthew knew she was close. He moved his left hand up her left leg, extended a finger, and slid it inside her.

  “Oh yes! Shit! Oh my God!”

  And now it’s my turn. Damn. Why’d she have to shout like that? Matthew tried to stop himself, but he couldn’t. “Angela, I can’t stop it,” he whispered as he found release, mostly on the comforter. “I’m so sorry.”

  She reached out and stroked him. “Don’t be.”

  What a mess. Gee, I’m up to all of ten seconds.

  “We’ll just have to do more laundry,” Angela whispered. “You came because I did?”

  “Yes.”

  She turned her booty to him. “Let me feel it on me.”

  He positioned his penis between her cheeks.

  “I may never fall asleep again,” she whispered. “Did you want to be inside me just then?”

  “Yes, and you would have had quintuplets,” Matthew said. “Tomorrow.”

  “Only two, remember?” Angela whispered.

  “They would have been twins, each weighing in at twenty pounds,” Matthew said.

  “Ouch.”

  Matthew laughed at the woman in the mirror. “Do you realize that we’re probably the only two people in the world who use a mirror not to have sex?”

  “We are so dysfunctional.” She turned into him and climbed up on his body.

  “Oh, now she mounts me,” Matthew said.

  Angela laughed. “Because it’s safe. There’s no chance of anything large going into a small space to make twenty-pound babies coming out of a small space.” She kissed his lips tenderly and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his chest.

  “I don’t know how you can sleep like that,” Matthew said.

  “I just listen to your heartbeat until I fall asleep,” Angela said. “Th-dum, th-dum, th-dum.”

  “What’s my heart saying now?” Matthew asked, stroking her hair.

  “I love you,” Angela whispered.

  My heart can articulate that phrase? Wait. She said it.

  Angela lifted her head. “I love you, Matthew.”

  “I love you, too.” Matthew pulled her higher, kissing her tenderly. “That was unexpected. I didn’t expect you to say that to me for a long time.”

  She rested her head on the pillow. “Why?”

  “After what you’ve been through, I thought it would take longer,” Matthew said. “I even decided that I didn’t need to hear you say it as long as I felt it. I have felt your love since the first time you poured me a cup of coffee.”

  “I’m really not that loving,” she said.

  He hugged her. “You are. I feel loved. Therefore, you are full of love.”

  “For you,” she said with a sigh. “I think I have loved you from the moment you got me out the door to get some pizza.”

  “There’s something ironic about that,” Matthew said. “Especially since we walked fourteen blocks round-trip that night. That’s our record.”

  “I guess my love for you made me walk all that way,” Angela said.

  Matthew did the math. “That means you fell in love with me ten days ago. I’ve only been in love with you for the last hour or so.”

  Angela plucked one of Matthew’s chest hairs.

  Ow.

  She grabbed and twisted his left nipple. “This is next. Do you wish to rephrase your answer?”

  Rephrasing. “Angela, I have loved you all my life, and I’m sorry it took this long to find you. Please don’t hurt my nipple. It’s very sensitive.”

  Angela released his nipple. “When did you really know?”

  “I knew I was falling in love with you when you asked if I had ever been in love.” And there’s something ironic about that, too.

  “So I got you thinking about it,” Angela said.

  “Not about it—you,” Matthew said. “You are love, love is you. If anyone ever asked me to define love, I’ll just say your name.”

  “That’s . . . that’s so sweet.” She sighed. “I wish I didn’t have such a long road ahead of me.”

  “We have a long road ahead o
f us,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week or next month. But you know what? I don’t care. I don’t care what happens as long as I’m with you.”

  “I don’t care either,” Angela whispered. “Mmm.”

  “What’s that ‘mmm’ for?” Matthew asked.

  “I have a feeling I’ll have a very erotic dream tonight,” she said.

  Matthew pouted. “Without me?”

  “Oh, you’ll be there,” Angela said. “And when I really get going, I will start grinding on you in my sleep, and one thing might lead to another . . .”

  “Don’t tease me, Angela,” Matthew said.

  “What if I’m not teasing you and this is my dream?” Angela asked.

  I love how she thinks! “Say it is.”

  “Do you want to hear what I’m going to dream about?” she whispered.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m lying on top of a good man, a handsome man, a gorgeous man, whom I love very much,” Angela said.

  “I wish I had popcorn,” Matthew said. “This is going to be a great movie.”

  “Shh. I kiss him tenderly.” She kissed him with some serious tongue. “He looks into my eyes and says . . .”

  Oh, it’s my turn. “I’m hungry.”

  “No, he doesn’t!” Angela said, laughing.

  I am, kind of.

  Angela sighed. “Let’s try this again. He looks into my eyes and says . . .”

  Don’t say, “You complete me,” though it’s true. “I love you.”

  “No.”

  No? “It’s a romantic line.”

  “ ‘I love you’ is not romantic,” Angela said. “This is supposed to be a dream, man. I want a fiery, passionate, sweaty dream.”

  And I want her to have one of those instead of a nightmare. “Oh. How about . . . I want to make love to you, Angela.”

  “Better, but . . .”

  She is so hard to please. “How’s this: I want you to make love to me.”

  “Well, all you did was change the order of the words,” Angela said.

  She caught that. “Yeah, that was a little selfish. Oh, I have a good line.”

  “It better be,” Angela said with a yawn. “My dream is becoming a bore. I may wake up.”

  No you won’t. “Let’s do it,” Matthew growled.

  Angela gasped. “That’s . . . that’s better. Go on.”

  “Get on me now,” he growled. “Rock my world. Grind me until I go off like a rocket.”

  “Like a rocket?” She laughed. “Really?”

  A rocket is hot. What else is hot? “Like a . . . geyser. A hot geyser. A hot, thick, steaming geyser.”

  “Much better.” Her hands strayed across his chest as she sat up, inching her booty lower and lower.

  This is nice. “What do you do next in your dream?”

  “I reach behind me and . . .”

  We have a strong hand gripping my package.

  “Already?” Angela said.

  “Your dream is making me hard, and your whispers are making me harder,” Matthew whispered. “You arouse me whenever you whisper. I think I have an antenna down there that amplifies your sexy whispers. Please. Finish your dream.” And don’t let go!

  “You’re my dream,” Angela whispered.

  “I’m just a guy from Williamsburg,” Matthew whispered.

  “You are so much more than a guy from Williamsburg,” Angela said. “You’re the only one I want.”

  “The feelings are supremely mutual.” And now she’s moving that hand up and down.

  “Really?” she whispered. “You’ve never wanted anyone else?”

  It’s so hard to concentrate! “I thought I did. I just didn’t know you were the only one at the time. Angela, I wasted my time with other women. I only want to spend my time with you.”

  “Okay,” Angela whispered. “Let me finish my dream. I move lower . . .” She slid her booty closer to her hand. “And I guide him inside of me . . .”

  Does she mean to do this? I’m inside of her. “Angela . . .”

  “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m ready, Matthew.”

  She means to.

  “I put him . . . wow . . . I put him deep inside me . . . as gently as I can . . . and I start . . . slowly . . .” Angela rose and plunged. “Oh.” She pressed on his chest with her hands. “You’re inside me, Matthew. Oh yes . . .” She arched her back and started to grind. “Please sit up and kiss me before I die.”

  Matthew shot up, grabbing her booty and kissing her neck as Angela rode him forcefully, her nails tearing at his chest.

  “Angela . . . I’m about to . . . I shouldn’t stay inside . . .”

  Angela hugged him tight to her. “Stay inside me, Matthew. Stay inside me. Don’t ever leave me . . .”

  Matthew could contain himself no longer, thrusting up as Angela’s legs quivered, sweat rolled off his body, and Angela broke into a glorious smile.

  “Oh God, yes!” Matthew shouted. He fell back.

  Angela fell forward. “Am I allowed to curse again?”

  “Shit, yeah,” Matthew said.

  “Holy shit,” she said. “Don’t take this the wrong way. But we can’t do that until I heal sometime this summer. Geez, what do you feed that thing?”

  “Coffee and pastries,” Matthew said.

  She shook her head. “I’m cutting you back to half a cup and one pastry. Damn, you’re good.”

  “I didn’t do much, and I didn’t last as long as I wanted to,” Matthew said. “You were cooking. I was merely along for the ride.”

  “I had all the right ingredients.” She eased off him, wincing. “Maybe we can do that again next . . . January. I will need some substantial recovery time.”

  “That long?” Matthew asked.

  “I don’t want you talking about length in this little bed at any time,” she said. “I’ll let you know, okay?”

  Matthew held her close. “Is it okay if I tell you what’s on my mind right this second?”

  Angela sighed. “Yes.”

  “Whoo!” Matthew shouted.

  Angela laughed. “Really? ‘Whoo’ is the only thing on your mind?”

  “That, what we just did, was making love,” Matthew said. “We made it right here in this bed made for much smaller people. We should be in a how-to video. That’s how it’s done, ladies and gentlemen. Try, if you dare, to top that.”

  Angela pulled her hair off her face, resting her head on Matthew’s chest. “Was it really that good?”

  “You didn’t feel the geyser?” Matthew asked.

  “I felt it,” Angela whispered.

  “I felt that all the way from my toes to my nipples to just under my chin,” Matthew said. “It was as if my entire soul was inside you. Angela, please believe me when I say that I have never let it all go like that before. I didn’t hold back a thing. It wasn’t just the act. It was . . .” I have to say this word because it actually fits the freaking definition. “It was amazing. I’m done looking. You’re it. God, I want you so much, even now.”

  Angela raked his stomach with her fingers. “How faithful is that geyser of yours?”

  “That’s a loaded question,” Matthew said.

  “You have a loaded geyser,” Angela said.

  “From now on, until the day I die, I will only do this with you,” Matthew said as he put his hand on his heart. “My geyser will be faithful to you, and to signify that I am totally, completely yours forever, I will do something I have never done before.”

  Matthew slipped out the bed and went to the window, opening it, a burst of icy wind screaming into the room. He stuck his head out the window and yelled, “Hey Billyburg! It’s me, Matthew Mark McConnell!”

  Angela laughed.

  “I have met the love of my life, and her name is Angela Simone Smith!”

  Angela huddled under the covers. “Close the window, man.”

  “And one day! One day soon!” Matthew shivered. “You’re right. It’s freaking c
old.” He closed the window, standing beside the bed. “One day soon, Miss Angela Simone Smith, I will make you my wife.”

  Angela threw back the covers. “Come here.”

  I am a Popsicle. He rolled into the bed, and Angela scrambled on top of him. “I don’t want anyone but you, no one but you.”

  Angela rubbed his chest. “You got me, okay, you got me. Please don’t die of frostbite.” She blinked. “Is that . . .”

  He nodded. It has a mind of its own. It’s bumping on her already. “It’s the, um, the change from cold to warm that’s—”

  “Shh,” she whispered, her eyes welling with tears. “Nobody has ever wanted me as much as you have. And this proves it.” She drifted her nipples across his chest. “I want you again.” She sat back. “Damn, it’s bigger.” She eased onto him. “Matthew, I know what love is now . . .” She grabbed his hands and pulled him up, placing his hands on her breasts and locking her hands behind his head. “Love is never giving up.”

  He kissed her in time to her rhythm. “I like that definition.”

  “I am going to be so useless tomorrow,” Angela said.

  “It’s already tomorrow,” he whispered. “But only tomorrow?”

  Angela threw back her head. “I’m going back to real coffee.”

  “Decaf has to be a plot to keep people from having amazing sex,” Matthew whispered, thrusting up slightly.

  “Shh, I’m working here.” She removed his hands from her breasts and squeezed her breasts in front of him.

  Matthew’s hands cupped her booty. “I like when you do that.”

  She continued to knead her breasts. “It feels good. My nipples are almost as hard as you are.”

  I doubt it.

  Angela ground her hips harder and faster. “I like how you touch me.”

  “I like how you touch you,” Matthew whispered.

  Angela slipped both hands between her legs. “Like this?” She started to stroke herself.

  “Oh yeah.” Matthew looked away.

  “Why aren’t you watching?” Angela moaned.

  “If I do I’ll come.” And I will. The show she’s giving me is amazing. There’s that word again.

  “Isn’t that the point?” Angela whispered.

  Matthew watched her fingers moving in circles. “Don’t stop,” he whispered. “Don’t stop, Angela.”

  Angela’s mouth opened wide. “Oh shit, oh shit . . .”