Island Love

by Curtis Bennett

  When I returned to work I settled into a more familiar routine. I went over my emails, saving some while deleting others, and I also checked my voice mail via computer. Then I checked my schedule for any meetings to be held that day, if any. Finally, I’d meet with each one of my staff members individually and go over any project they had been assigned. I’d then return to my office and review contracts, any information I had on locations we were interest in, and review growth charts and profit projections we had collected on that location. That usually filled up my morning time slot. Depending on what time I’d finish up my morning routine I’d break for lunch. After lunch I’d attend staff or planning meetings, participate in phone conferences, or conduct training. Then it was back to my office to finish up any paperwork or project that was time sensitive and needed my direct involvement, or signature.

  I was just about to go to lunch when Juanita, my devoted assistant, burst into my office with an excited look. She stopped right in front of my desk, panting heavily.

  “What’s up?” I inquired, standing up.

  “We just found out that another company has been inquiring about our Gainesville location,” she said as she steadied her breathing.

  “You sure it isn’t just surface inquiries?” I asked.

  “This particular conglomerate is doing a lot more than inquiring,” Juanita quipped.

  “Who is it?”

  “Mohawk International Enterprises.”

  “Yeah, they’re pretty big.”

  “Believe me; they are doing title and deed searches, and a few other things.”

  “Other things like what?”

  “My source at the Alachua County Health Department said that inquiries have been made there about permits and information on environmental studies done at our propose location,” she replied.

  “Of course, this is a source you trust,” I asked.

  “With my life,” she came back. “It’s my cousin Ira.”

  “Okay,” I said, leaning against the front end of my desk with a thoughtful gaze.

  “You’ll have to get up there Marcus and within forty-eight hours and try to secure this site before we lose it,” she said with urgency evident in her voice. “I know that you weren’t scheduled to go up to Gainesville for another week but this is mission critical.”

  “I have to agree with you on that,” I said rising up. “I’ll get on the phone with my uncle to let him know about this new development. In the meantime, go ahead and make arrangements for me to fly into Gainesville day after tomorrow, okay.”

  “I’m on it now,” she said as she turned and vanished from sight.

  I wasn’t prepared to go up to Gainesville this soon but business is business and this was my business. I’d have to move my evening outing with Tina up one day.

  Rounding my desk I sat down and called Tina on my cellphone. Leaning back in my padded leather chair, I propped my feet on the top of my desk and listened to my phone ring hers.

  “Hello Tina,” I said into my cell, while rubbing the side of my head with my hand. “Yes, everything’s fine. I just had something I needed to tell you.”

  I then told her about my sudden change of plans and my unexpected early trip to Gainesville and asked if she felt like going out tonight instead of the following night and she said that she was fine with that. We then agreed on a time and place to meet, traded pleasantries, then hung up our phones.

  Placing my feet on the floor, I leaned forward in my chair and called my uncle and gave him an update on the new development. He agreed that I should head up to Gainesville and make a deal on the property as soon as possible if it met our requirements.

  Tina appeared solemn, almost detached, for the better part of dinner, and then as we drove to A1A to walk the beach. The moon was low in the sky but there was still daylight, though not for long. As a gentle breeze caressed our faces, her hair blowing slightly in the wind, I paused and turned to her and gripped her gently by the shoulders.

  “Okay, what’s wrong?” I asked, my calm voice belying true concern within me.

  She seemed hesitant to say at first, but looking up she replied, “I’m all right, just tired, I guess.”

  “No, there’s something going on and I think this is a good time to discuss it,” I said pressing her for specifics. “Please.”

  “Look, Marcus,” she began, her eyes averted at first, “I know that you are still carrying a torch for your beauty contest winner, or rather your lost island love. But I was wondering how you felt about me, Tina. I mean, we’ve been going out for nearly three weeks and you have yet to kiss me or even invite me over to your place. You say you find me interesting but I am left to wonder if you find me just as attractive.”

  Releasing my grip on her, I turned slightly and looked over her shoulder into the distant ocean as if in search for the perfect response. There was none. And though I knew that this issue might come up at any time, I was still unprepared to deal with it when it did and in a direct and sensitive way.

  Returning my gaze to her I said, “Tina, you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever met and spent quality time with. And no, I cannot deny that I am very attracted to you. God, you just don’t know how much. I just did not want to get too close to you and on an emotional level because I did not want to disappoint you or hurt you.”

  By now the moon had risen to its highest point in the sky as it reached down with its silvery moonbeams to cast a bright sheen across Tina’s Latin features. Her face appeared more enchanting than ever.

  “Marcus, I understand your concern,” she said, her eyes now moist. “But after a point, a woman has to know that she is more than just interesting. She has to know that a man finds her attractive and above all things, desirable. Okay, you say you are attracted to me, but it would be nice to know if you find me desirable, as well. Do you?”

  “Beyond words Tina,” I responded unhesitantly, my heart pounding wildly inside of my chest.

  As we faced one another, her eyes probed mine with a tenderness that would melt a block of Swiss cheese. Her full lips trembled slightly as if in urgent need of attention from another’s lips. My lips. The clarity I had hoped to shed on the inner conflict brewing deep inside of me had just gotten a lot murkier. By holding onto my feelings for Leïla I was denying the feelings I had for Tina.

  “If what you say is true, that you find me desirous, then hold me in your arms,” she pleaded, a tear streaming down her face. “Please hold me Marcus.”

  Bringing her into my warm embrace, I hugged her. At the same time I inhaled the sweet spicy fragrance of her lightly perfumed skin. Instinctively, my lips found the nape of her neck as I began to leave a trail of wet kisses along it. It wasn’t long before those same lips found her tender lips as we indulged in a breathtaking union of earthy passion and with closed eyes. Almost immediately, our kisses radiated heat throughout my entire body. I began to feel heady, almost drunk with passion.

  Tingling nerves, heated sensations, and deep growing urges inside of me would surely claim my better judgment over time if I failed to resist her and allowed myself to give into the passion I felt for her. But there was a much larger problem at hand. Down inside, I knew that I was only prolonging the lie that I had told myself a week earlier, that there was no way I could be in love with two women at the same time.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Tina was quite impressed with my condo and its amenities. She loved the kitchen layout which included a sound system, small television, compact garbage disposal, a hi-tech dishwasher, combination oven/roaster/broiler, hi-tech refrigerator, and a hi-tech combination microwave-convection oven, all which were connected to my smartphone and could be programmed at a moment’s notice. She also loved the ceramic-tiled wet bar in the living room. The 46” HD television and my loaded Alpine sound system blew her away when I first turned them on. Escorting her by the arm into my bedroom, I showed her my master bathroom which featured a wide oval bathtub that also served as a relaxing Jacuzzi. She had
wanted a guided tour and I gave her one.

  For the second time in less than four months, and in my most private of quarters, though in different locations, I beheld an island princess. This was not a conquest in waiting either. This was a woman I suspected of being in love with me and as much as Leïla was. Bewitched by her breathless beauty I stood motionless as I gazed at her, savoring her as one would the finest of wines.

  She was stunning, elegant and poise in statue. The woman just radiated personality and oozed confidence and raw sexuality. She was wearing a long and sexy, loose fitting animal print dress in soft lavender twilight tones. The V-neck design revealed ample cleavage. And this island princess was just as endowed in that department as my lost princess was.

  She’d breached the subject earlier, but I knew exactly my reason for not inviting her over before today. I did not know her then as well as I had come to know her now and I wanted to avoid getting myself in a compromising and potentially intimate situation with her. I did not want to be accused, further down the road, of having taken advantage of her during a period of vulnerability. Such men never regain their good name and reputation after indulging in such follies. Nor did I want her to manipulate my own feelings or exploit my vulnerabilities.

  Settling on a CD of romantic Latin jazz tunes, rich with percussion and melodic brass accompaniments, we embraced and began to sway in place, our eyes locked in a mutual gaze that I found both enchanting and spell-bounding.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked almost in a whisper.

  “Oh, just someone special,” I answered laconically. “Someone I seem to be growing very attached to, you might say.”

  “And who might that be?” she asked, gazing up into my dark brown eyes.

  “A beautiful Latin woman named Tina Marie Cortez,” I replied, kissing her rosy cheeks, one after another, then her moist red lips.

  Pausing, we drank one another’s kisses, our heads moving in slow circular patterns as our hands explored each other’s extremities. Tina had unknowingly aroused a passion inside me that I could no longer repress or control. As such, all bets were off now.

  Leading her by the hand, romantic music playing softly in the background, I led her over to my own private island. She followed quietly and submissively. In unison, we sat down beside one another on the edge of my bed, the soft surface beneath us an ocean of shinning black silk. Facing one another we resumed our embrace and our dizzying mouth to mouth resuscitation. Intoxicating did not describe the heady sensation I felt tasting this woman’s luscious lips and inhaling her sweet fragrance.

  After we came up for air, we smiled and leaned back on our sides, our bodies propped up by our elbows as we faced each other; desire evident in our eyes and hearts. Reaching over her I stroked her back gently, then her round firm bottom, all the while never taking my gaze off of hers. Moving things along, I found her zipper at the back of her dress and unzipped it slowly and unceremoniously until it peeled opened wide.

  Rising up she stepped out of it then resumed her position alongside of me now wearing a sexy lacy blue bra and matching blue lace panties. It was her turn to undress me and she did so slowly and deliberately, unfastening each button on my shirt until my muscular chest and arms were exposed for her to feast on with excited wide eyes. Flesh on warm flesh, we kissed and rolled over one another numerous times, our hands seemingly everywhere, our burning desire increasing incrementally with each second we delayed the inevitable.

  Rolling above her, my knees positioned on either side of her waist, I unfastened her bra and savored her lovely breasts with my eyes and then with my hot mouth. The consummate lover that I had become, I went about nibbling, teasing, titillating, and gently pulling on her excited nipples until she began to moan in pure ecstasy. My ability to please produced the desired response in her for in a matter of seconds her sensitive nipples became swollen from the pleasure of my hot stimulating tongue.

  It was apparent that the heat inside of her was growing in leaps and bounds. It was growing inside of me as well. With my hand closed around one of her breasts I suckled her until I could taste her honey-sweet nectar which had begun to flow. I then stimulated her other lovely round breast. This young buck was not neglecting anything tonight. That included her inner thighs and her dark black forest. At one point I nearly lost her to the inner pangs of desire when I hung around that area a little too long so I returned my attention to her mammary glands and rededicated my efforts there.

  Unable to help herself, she closed her eyes tightly and softly moaned as her breasts filled my hungry mouth. Taking things to another level, I introduced her to my patented dual action suction technique, which I reserved for special occasions.

  “Please take me,” she murmured, almost begged over and over.

  “You’re not aroused enough, yet,” I’d tease her verbally.

  “Baby, I am way beyond aroused,” she’d come back in a desperate tone, “take me Marcus, please take me now!”

  At some point, having taken her to the very edge of sexual frustration, I decided it was time to fulfill her primal longings and sexual urges with one final assault. I had delayed satisfying her long enough. With the front door now cracked opened and the welcome mat extended, I eased into her moist fiery orifice. Once inside, we both let out a sigh of passion in greeting.

  Slowly at first, our tempo picked up as we matched one another’s gyrations until our lovemaking resembled a new form of synchronized ballet dancing. Like a young buck ten years my junior, I gave this woman all that I had in my effort to please her. Above all, I wanted to set off the Fourth of July inside of her. The look of ecstasy on her face, along with her heaving sweat-beaded breasts, nearly made me go off into orbit prematurely as she undulated beneath me with closed eyes, her grip on me becoming stronger. But I fought back the urge and went on about the business of firing up all of her rockets for the final liftoff.

  As I pressed myself into her repeatedly, like a piston inside of a combustible engine, her moans grew more pronounced and more intense. My intent was to pleasure her in ways and in areas she had not experienced before now, then take her into deep space. To heighten her arousal I’d often withdraw from her for several seconds then eased back inside for another round of sweet punishment. The rising desire I felt growing inside became more intense and I knew it was only a matter of seconds before I lost complete control.

  Moving inside of her and in a way that I hoped would bring on the desired response, I slowed down my pace but not my intensity. Before I knew it, she exploded all over my thick probe and with a loud outburst. Arching my back, I followed with an eruption of my own as we wrestled one another as if to milk this erotic of sensations for all it was worth. After exhausting ourselves, we collapsed in one another’s arms, panting aloud. Both of our bodies were beaded in sweat.

  I was satisfied beyond words and the expression on Tina’s lovely face told me that she was just as satisfied, perhaps even more so. After we collected ourselves, we lay gazing across at each other, smiling. Running my hand along the full-length of her body, I gazed at her in silent repose. I noted that for the first time while in Tina’s company, Leïla did not cross my mind. Was this some kind of sign, I asked myself? Was this cerebral omission some sort of omen, I had to wonder? Was our lovemaking some sort of rite of passage, from Leïla to Tina, I pondered?

  After our passionate lovemaking, we enjoyed a warm refreshing bubble bath in my oval tub. After a glass of wine, cheese and crackers, we ended the night in my bed and in each other’s embrace. Tomorrow I would drop her off at her place and head out to the airport for a flight to Gainesville, Florida.

  My shuttle plane landed at Gainesville Regional Airport the following afternoon. Clear blue skies, a soft landing, and no prolonged waiting at the baggage claim area; it was the perfect flight. And one of my shortest. Thirty four minutes total, I counted. I barely had time to enjoy the small pack of cookies and orange juice I had been served.

  I picked up my Hertz rental
and headed west on 39th Avenue. Fortunately, my arrival came after the lunch hour and traffic was reasonably tolerable. Several country miles later I made a left turn on 34th Street and drove another six miles until I reached the Holiday Inn on 34th and University Avenue. The hotel was right across the street from the University of Florida, my alma mater, and deep inside of what was known as Gator Land.

  After checking in I drove over to a Chinese restaurant I used to frequent often when I was enrolled at the university and ordered their lunch buffet. Later I drove over to the site of interest on Archer Road, one of the busiest arteries inside of Gainesville, and looked it over. I didn’t want to stay any longer on this outing than I had to. I wanted to get back to Ft Lauderdale within a day or two. So the sooner I tackled the business at hand, the sooner I could return home. Besides, I did not want to be away from Tina any longer than I had to be.

  Withdrawing my telescopic tape measure from my back pocket I took a few measurements, jotted down some notes on a pad I had brought along, then returned to the hotel for a reprieve from the hot sun. I called Tina and we chatted for a short while. She was en route to work. Next, I called the realtor and set up a time to meet with her at the site the following day.

  Getting into my rental, I headed over to the main public library to do some research. I was there with my laptop until closing that night. On the way back to the hotel I grabbed a takeout order from KFC and settled in for the night. After completing my meal, I spent nearly an hour on the phone with Tina. She spent most of that time telling me how much she missed me. She was unabashed in letting it be known that she was becoming quite serious about me. I knew that if I wasn’t quite where she was in our relationship, I knew that I was very close. I just wasn’t willing to say how close. There was still that part of me that was hanging onto Leïla.