by P. G. Van
We both laughed remembering how many times Nate was sitting in the car oblivious to the fact that a parking ticket was being written at that moment.
Nick and Srini came downstairs almost an hour later. Nate and I were trying to contain our laughter while watching a funny video on her phone when they came downstairs. Srini walked towards the kitchen and Nick walked over to where I was sitting and sat down beside me. He pulled me into his embrace and planted a tight kiss on my cheeks.
“Nick, Nate will attack you if you do this in front of her,” I teased him.
“I won’t do that,” Nate said looking at her phone and added laughing, “I will ask you guys to get a room.”
Nick smiled and whispered in my ear, “We can most definitely get a room.”
“Stop it, Nick,” I said smiling and blushed.
Srini walked back into the living area with a drink in his hand. I looked at Nate and asked her, “Nate, are you Srini’s designated driver tonight?”
“Nope, Mitch is,” Nate said cheerfully and added, “Thanks to Nick.”
“Oh good, I didn’t realize Mitch picked you guys up,” I said relieved.
“How do you think we got in without Mitch through this secure setup that your boyfriend has for his apartment?” Nate said teasing Nick.
Srini and Nate stayed for another hour and headed out with some biryani packed up for the next day. After they left, I saw Nick punch in a code on the keypad next to the elevator, and the light on the keypad turned red from green.
“Is that how you lock your doors from the inside?” I asked curiously.
“Yes, he said and I will give you the codes and the instructions for everything tomorrow,” Nick said as he took me into his arms and whispered in my ear, “I don’t want you running away in the middle of the night.”
I laughed and said, “That should be the least of your concerns Nick. I am technically your roommate now, watch out.”
“I can’t wait to be your roommate,” Nick said bringing his lips to mine with brute force.
‘Nick, let’s go upstairs,” I said against his lips gently pushing him away and taking his hand in mine.
“Hang on, Sameera,” Nick said taking a minute to turn off the lights and checked the kitchen to make sure everything was turned off before he let me lead him up the stairs to the master bedroom. He turned on the lights on the dim setting taking me to the closet and stood where we stood a few hours ago looking straight into my eyes, “Please continue with what you were going to do earlier tonight.”
I smiled and looked into his eyes and without saying another word, took my lips to his neck. As he drew in a deep breath, he reached for the zipper pull on the back of my dress. I clung to him as he very slowly pulled the zipper all the way down my lower back. Taking his action as the trigger for me to take the next action, I very slowly and gently ran my hands down on his white shirt until I reached the waistband of his jeans. I grabbed the zipper pull on his jeans and slid it down in a swift movement. Nick let out a moaning sound, and I could feel his body shudder as I slipped my fingers through the zipper opening. My hand came in contact with his desire through the soft material of his boxers. Nick was breathing heavily digging his chin into my shoulder and crushing me with his arm strength.
I gently pushed him urging him to move towards the large circular ottoman in the closet. As he sat on the low ottoman, I sat on his lap facing him with my legs around him.
“Nick, take off my dress,” I instructed him, and as he pulled the black lace dress over my head, he caught sight of the bright red lace matching undergarments and pulled me to him. I reached for his shirt buttons as he planted slow and gentle kisses along my bra strap moving towards the center of my chest. I gently put my weight on him making his back flat on the cushiony ottoman. As he looked at me with a primitive longing, I smiled at him and moved south towards his core. Nick’s initial reaction was to sit up to come close to me, but I managed to push him back on to the ottoman with my hand. In one quick move, I snapped open Nick’s jeans button and pulled his jeans and boxers down at the same time. Nick sat up again and pulled me back to his arms. I pushed back on him and lay on his chest as he fell back on the ottoman again.
“Stay put, Nick,” I whispered in his ear and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Nick smiled and ran his fingers through my hair, and I slowly reached for his erect shaft, gently wrapping my fingers around the hardness. I heard Nick groan loud and clear against my ear as I lay on his chest gently stroking and massaging his hardness, increasing the pressure and pace as I made patterns with my tongue on his chest.
“Meera…” Nick said his voice barely audible. Encouraged by the raw arousal in his voice, I decided to turn the heat up a notch and with one hand pulsating at the base of his hardness, I took my cool lips to the warm pink tip of his virility and ran my tongue in circles around it. I felt Nick shudder and collapse internally as I took his entirety into my mouth and continued to set Nick on fire. I heard him grunt and almost immediately, he pulled himself out of my mouth and pulled me into his embrace collapsing back on the ottoman. Realizing that he was about to hit the peaks, I took his shaft in my hands and continued the pulsation and within seconds, I felt his grip on my hair tighten and felt his body relax as the warm fluid slid down on my hand. Nick lay on the ottoman in a peaceful yet breathless state, and I planted a kiss on his lips and whispered, “I will be right back.”
I went into the bathroom, washed my hands, and went back into the closet with the tissue box to find Nick sitting up on the ottoman looking at me in wonder. I smiled at him totally enjoying his expression sitting on the closet floor next to him and grabbed a few tissues. He put out his hand to take the tissues from my hand, but instead I took the tissue to his now sensitive area and wiped him off.
Nick did not utter a single word all along, and I was wondering what was going on in his head.
When he finally spoke his voice was deep and husky, “You turned out to be a firecracker that knows how to set me on fire.”
I laughed with pure joy and hugged him.
“Thank you my love. That was mind-blowing,” he said in my ear digging his tongue into my outer ear.
“I am glad you enjoyed it,” I said and added in a sultry tone, “Now you know what we can do during my downtime.”
Nick laughed and said, “Then I am going to do what I can during your uptime.” I giggled and put my arms around him, and his mouth found mine with a raging need.
Chapter Fifteen
A distant single long horn from a ship on the bay brought me out of my sleep, and I immediately felt the warm body of the man I love curled next to me. I lay in his arms without moving an inch so I could hear the music playing in his chest. The heartbeat that lulled me to sleep was a more rapid one that was a result of the passionate lovemaking last night. It was probably a few hours past midnight by the time we both collapsed in each other’s arms and lost control of our mind and body.
I very gently looked up wanting to see Nick’s beautiful face while he slept. The man who showed me how much he loves me, and in the process, teaching me what it meant to truly love a person. Everything seemed surreal. Last night was surreal. I only read about lovers like him in the romance novels and knew there was very less truth to the content. After Nick came into my life, I started to believe in destiny and that destiny decides whom you meet in your life. My body ached to reach out and hug him, and my heart ached to see the love in his eyes.
Hoping that my movement would not wake him up and cursing myself for being selfish, I moved up gently so my head was on the pillow at the same level as Nick’s face. His breathing was soft and steady. The wonders this man was capable of doing to make me experience the heights of pleasure and the sweet pain that made my body resonate to his vibrations was out of this world. As I looked at his perfectly symmetrical face, I had a sudden urge to kiss him. Knowing that he barely got any sleep last night, I bit my lip to suppress my action that would surely wake him up. Is i
t normal to feel like I have no control over my bodily needs? I smiled to myself wondering how I managed to be a virgin all this while.
Lying on the bed, I noticed the beautiful handwork on the bedposts that I had failed to notice in the past couple of days. The posts actually had a beautiful trim with a very light gold tone to them that almost blended in but had a lot of detailed work on them. Nick was ready to share his space with me, and I really didn’t know what it meant. Would I be able to survive when my initial feeling was that I did not belong in this setting? How does living together work from a financial perspective? I needed to talk to him about this, but kept wondering how? Should I take Nate’s advice and not bring it up? I wondered if I would be risking what we had and what we could have in the future. I suddenly felt a chill down my spine and pulled up the sheets over my shoulders.
As if Nick caught the negative vibe, his eyes flew open and looked at me with so much love and tenderness that my thoughts just melted away. All I could think of doing was taking my lips to his as his hands wrapped around my hungry body.
“Good morning baby,” I said, my heart swelling with love as he released me gently to look into my eyes.
“Hey you, how long have you been awake?” he asked and added, “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I was up barely for a few minutes and managed to wake you up,” I confessed.
“Why do you say it as if it’s a bad thing?” he said surprised and added, “I would shamelessly wake you up if I had woken up before you.”
“Nick, you didn’t do that yesterday morning, you let me hibernate like a bear all day,” I said sheepishly.
“You know why I did not wake you up yesterday,” he said kissing the back of my hand.
“I love you, Nick,” I said softly, “I love you so much that it scares me,” and I clung to him.
“Sweetheart, what are you scared of?” he asked tenderly.
“I am scared of what would happen if something were to go wrong between us.” I said terrified and added, “It would mean complete devastation for me.”
Nick tightened his arms around me, but it was obvious that he was tongue tied being hit by a wave of deep and intense emotions. I could feel his body tremble at the same thought I had and as he regained his composure, he gently released me to look at my face and asked, “Remember the time I met you at the tequila bar for the first time?”
“Yes,” I said weakly looking into his eyes.
“As soon as I saw you, I knew I needed you in my life forever. I had no clue how, but forever. I need you forever,” Nick said his eyes filled with confidence. As I looked at him, my heart pounding in my chest, he continued, “Anytime we have an obstacle or a hurdle, all I need to do is think about that feeling, and I know I will figure out a way for us to overcome the challenge.”
“Nick…” I paused unable to contain my emotion and asked, “Why didn’t we meet sooner?”
Nick laughed and said, “Trust me baby, I came as soon as I could.”
“What?” I asked confused.
Nick laughed and said, “Let’s talk about that later.”
“Nick, why do you keep saying weird things like that? What are you not telling me?” I asked as he had made a few odd statements about us meeting again in the past weeks.
“Sameera, it’s nothing,” he said and asked “Are you hungry?”
“I am, but I want to eat you,” I said digging my teeth into his biceps.
“I am pretty sure cannibalism is illegal and inhumane,” Nick teased as he got out of the bed.
“I am going to go take a quick shower in the guest bathroom, and you can use the master bath so we can get out of the house,” Nick said as if he had something planned already.
“Are you scared to take a shower with me?” I asked in a provocative tone.
“Ohh don’t get me started now, we will never get out of the shower if we go in together,” he mocked and added, “and I feel like kicking myself for being this practical.”
“Nick, come back,” I invited patting the mattress.
“We have not stepped out of the house in almost two days,” he said and added laughing, “We need to get some vitamin D.”
“Nick, I don’t feel like getting out of the house,” I whined.
“I can go pick up breakfast for you,” he said as he slipped on his boxers.
“I don’t want you to go either,” I continued my whining.
“That is borderline silly, Sameera. Please get your butt into the shower,” he said laughing as he left the master bedroom.
*****
Nick and I went for a walk along the bay and ate at a local coffee house. The wind was blowing strong, but the sun managed to warm up the city to an optimal temperature. Nick and I returned to the apartment late morning and sat down to plan the week ahead.
“Nick, can I write down the codes somewhere until I can memorize them?” I asked looking at the list of codes and key combinations that I needed to access the apartment.
Nick laughed and said, “It’s not that complicated. Why don’t I do the drop off and pick up for a few days if that’s easier?”
“Sounds very tempting, but I am not sure if the timings are going to work for us,” I said softly.
“Let’s make it work then,” he said encouragingly.
“Okay, onto food,” I said, and asked, “What do you eat for breakfast and lunch?” I asked curiously.
Nick laughed and said, “The fridge was empty because I was out of town,” and added, “I have my groceries delivered once or twice a week, and if there is something you specifically need, let me know.”
“Sounds good,” I said and then asked, “Where can I do my laundry?”
“I am sorry. I didn’t give you the formal tour of the apartment,” Nick said softly.
The laundry was in the closet in the master bedroom. The wall-to-wall doors covered up a decent size laundry room that was well equipped with a tiny sink, a full size stackable washer and dryer and a small shelf with all the supplies. Nick opened another shelf in the closet that was empty and said, “This side is yours,” and smiled at me when I looked with wonder at another full size walk-in closet inside his walk-in closet. The walk-in closet had a feminine touch to it with a softer carpet, an area to sit down and get dressed, and was well lit with windows on one side. The color scheme was neutral with an elegant combination of pastel colors. Nick stood at the door of the closet observing me, and as if he sensed the discomfort that was taking over me, he gently walked to where I was standing and put his arms around me and said in a teasing tone, “If you don’t like this closet, you can have mine.”
I laughed and said, “You know what I would like in here?” Nick shook his head and I added with a wink, “The ottoman that is in your closet.”
“Oh no, that is now my favorite piece of furniture,” he said laughing.
“Mine too,” I said looking up at him with fire in my eyes.
“Sameera, we still have a few things that we need to go over before we do anything together,” he said planting a kiss on my forehead.
Nick walked me through the instructions for the intercom, the Internet setup, everything in the pantry, and finally the calendar in the kitchen with the cleaning and replenishment of groceries schedule.
“Nick, I am impressed. You are very organized for a single guy,” I said smiling.
“Who said I am single?” he teased and pulled me into his arms.
I giggled and said, “You know what I mean, and oh, before I forget, I have a photo shoot next weekend.”
Taken back, Nick said, “You are a model and how did I not know that?”
“Ohh stop it Nick. I model for one of my friend’s traditional Indian jewelry,” I said looking up at him.
“My girlfriend is hot and is also a model, how cool is that?” he said with pride in his voice and sounded like a teenager.
“You sound very mature, Nick,” I mocked.
“When and where is it?” Nick asked with excitement.
“It’s close to my apartment, and it’s on Saturday in the afternoon so I was planning to stay the night at my place,” I said planning out the events.
“Correction, this is your apartment and this is your place,” Nick said in a soft but firm voice.
‘Nick, we need to talk about that,” I said taking the opportunity to have the difficult conversation.
“Now what?” Nick asked alarmed.
I paused for a moment looking into his questioning eyes and said, “You know how I feel about people paying for my stuff?”
He nodded gently looking at me.
I held my breath gathering some courage and spoke in a flat tone, “I want to contribute to the overall maintenance of this place if I am going to live here.”
Nick started laughing and when I looked at him with a serious expression, he stopped laughing and asked, “Do you remember Bhavaze?”
“You mean our team name?” I asked in a soft voice.
“Yes, our team name, and also the name of the company that I merged with the family-owned company in the last couple of years,” Nick said quietly. I looked at him and wondered why he was telling me about his company.
“You were a silent partner and owned a quarter of that company share. This apartment was purchased with the profits from that company merger so your house has been waiting for you for a while now,” he said in steady voice.
My initial reaction was shock, and I looked at him with disbelief.
“What the crap, Nick?” I said in a shaky voice.
“Sit down please,” Nick said taking me to sit on the chaise in the bedroom. I sat next to him on the chaise and looked at him in silence.
“Do you remember our ‘soundproofing’ science project in high school?” Nick asked in a steady voice. I remembered the project that made us win the school science competition and nodded.
“I developed a product while in college and started my own company with some independent investments after graduation. The product was inspired by that project.” Nick said taking my hand in his and added, “It didn’t feel right for me to take all the credit, and that’s why I added you as a partner.”