by Kay Harris
She sank into the fluffy blue comforter at her back as Carlos held his weight above her. He pulled away from the kiss and she arched up, trying to follow. But she was unsuccessful and he got away.
“I do not want you to date, kiss, or touch any man other than me. Ever. I want to be everything. I want to be your first and your only.”
Amy was completely overwhelmed by his statement. She stared into his eyes, sure that if the world was exploding around her she couldn’t care less.
But he wasn’t done. “I know it’s not right. I know it may not be what’s best for you. But I simply don’t care.” His voice was a low growl. “That’s the truth.”
Amy tugged on his head, trying to bring his mouth back to hers. “I don’t want anyone else,” she breathed.
Her statement had its intended affect and he lowered his mouth to hers, taking her in a searing kiss. When, after a short eternity, he moved his mouth to her neck she suggested, “Let’s just skip third.”
“Not a chance,” he replied.
Carlos showed little patience in getting Amy out of her dress, bra, and panties. By the time she was completely naked she’d managed to only get his shirt off. He was sucking at her nipples, moving greedily from one to the other and causing her to keep losing track of her goal.
“Stop,” she cried.
Carlos went completely still. He looked down at her, concern etched on his face.
“Sorry.” She smiled. “I just want you to get naked.”
Looking like he was in the middle of a board meeting, Carlos stripped off the rest of his clothes quickly and methodically. With an expression of utter concentration on his face, he went back to straddling her on the bed.
Amy was able to run her hands over every part of him she could reach as he labored over her sensitized skin. Seamlessly, his mouth moved down from her breasts to her ribs, then over her stomach. He dipped his tongue in her belly button. Before she had either the time or inclination to freak out about this very significant first, Carlos was poised between her legs, his breath hitting her where, until now, only his fingers had been. Those talented fingers played lightly at her inner thighs as he stayed there, heated pants hitting her flesh, for what seemed like a very long time.
“Carlos,” she whispered. She was so desperate it sounded like a plea.
He rushed forward, his lips and tongue wreaking havoc on her senses. Carlos had teased her that someday the fire department was going to knock on his door when they were engaged in sexual play. This time it really could happen. She had no control over the sounds coming from her, the heavy pants, the way she called out his name.
When the aftershocks of her orgasm were finally settling, Carlos moved up the bed to lie beside her. Shaky, but determined, Amy rolled to her side and kissed him.
She pulled back to look at him. “Amazing.”
He grinned smugly and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Sleep now?”
“Not a chance.” She reached down and took hold of him. He was so hard it was as if it were made of diamonds. She’d found her prize. “My turn.”
“It’s okay,” he practically groaned.
She stroked. “No. My turn,” she commanded.
“As you wish.” He rolled over onto his back. Amy followed.
Using his technique as a guide, along with the porn movie she’d watched with Marcel last week, she slid down his chest and stomach, kissing slowly as she went. When she reached her destination, Carlos’ stomach twitched and he let out a soft moan.
She knew how to make him feel good with her hands. How different could this be? She started by tasting him. It was slow and soft. And he seemed to be struggling. He squirmed and groaned, but he didn’t ask her to hurry up or instruct her to do anything different. He was letting her do as she pleased.
She tested different things. How his tip felt on her tongue. What it was like to lick all the way up. How her lips wrapped around the head. And finally, how it felt to take him all the way to the back of her throat.
“Oh God, sweetheart!”
He definitely liked that. And so did she. The hand jobs had made her feel powerful. Controlling his pleasure and giving him an orgasm was a heady thing. But this was more, so much more. Amy got completely caught up in it. She concentrated so hard on what she was doing she didn’t realize how close Carlos was getting until he tried to pry her mouth away from him. At first she didn’t understand why.
Then she listened to his words. “Baby. I’m gonna come. You have to move.”
But she didn’t want to move. She wanted to know what it was like to take him all the way. She wanted to taste him. So she resisted his pleas and was rewarded as he shouted out her name again and again.
FEBRUARY
Chapter 13
“Okay birthday buddies,” Julia said, slapping her hands together. “Progress report time!”
The four women had met up at Rudolpho’s to do a check in with one another on the progress they’d made toward their birthday wishes. Amy took a sip of her Moscow Mule and hoped no one suspected how drastically her birthday wish had changed.
It wasn’t that finding her dream job had slipped in importance, but lately all of her concentration was focused on getting around those bases with Carlos. And so far, she was still one short.
“Well, Julia. You’re the one who’s supposed to be giving birth in seven months,” Alice said. “So you should start.”
Julia laughed. “I didn’t say I had to be having the kid by our next birthday. I just need the bun to be in the oven.”
“And? What’s the verdict on how the bun is going to get in the oven?” Maya asked.
“I am working with a sperm bank,” Julia said. “I’ve been looking through binders of men. So far I have a list of about two dozen.”
Amy nearly spit her drink out. “Two dozen?”
“Yeah,” Julia said casually. “I will narrow it down from there and do interviews with the final candidates.”
Maya whistled. “This is some serious shit.”
“This is my kid’s genes we’re talking about,” Julia argued. “And they are already stuck with half mine. I want the other half to be perfect.”
Julia was smart, successful, and beautiful. But she had some sort of eye problem. Amy wasn’t entirely sure what it was all about, but she knew that Julia was very self-conscious about it and worried about eventually losing her sight.
Julia turned to Alice, taking the focus off her and the hunt for the perfect sperm donor. “What about you? How’s the search for the groom going?”
Alice smiled slyly. “Actually, I have three potentials right now.”
“Three!” Maya exclaimed. “You’re seeing three guys at once?”
“Not seeing,” Alice clarified. “I have three candidates for marriage.” It did not escape Amy’s notice that she used the same language as Julia had when talking about her sperm donors.
It all seemed very unromantic to Amy, who had just recently discovered her own sense of lust and romance. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m not looking for someone to date,” Alice told them all, as if she were explaining basic math to a small child. “I am looking for a spouse. This isn’t about romance. It’s about compatibility.”
All three of her companions stared at her.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got this covered,” Alice said before taking a healthy swig of her Long Island Iced Tea. “Let’s talk about you, Maya,” she suggested, placing her near empty glass down on the table between them.
“I scored a gallery show this summer.” Maya pulled three postcards with information about the show out of her purse and passed them around. “I’d like you all to come to the opening reception.”
“We’ll be there,” Julia reassured her.
“Totally,” Alice agreed.
“With bells on,” Amy said.
“So that leaves you, Amy,” Maya said. “How’s the search for the perfect career going?”
“Well, thanks to Julia,
I am in that program. I’m working in the production department now. And as you know, Maya, it’s going well.” Amy winked at her co-worker. They’d seen more of each other since Amy was now walking through the factory floor nearly every day. “I start in compliance next month.”
“And you already did finance, right?” Alice asked.
“Yeah.”
“What was that like? Working with Carlos, the hottie who never smiles? That must have been interesting,” Alice said.
“I like Carlos. He’s a nice guy,” Julia interjected. “He’s just quiet.”
“I’d be quiet, too, if I had to work with my ex-wife,” Maya said.
“God. I know. I can’t believe that nice man was once married to the Dragon Lady.” Julia raised her glass as if toasting her observation.
The other women laughed. But Amy’s chest felt tight. This very thought had been weighing on her mind lately. She couldn’t imagine Carlos with Kimberly. The idea of him married to her, kissing her, having sex with her, was completely unfathomable, not to mention repulsive.
Amy had been well on her way to giving this man her virginity. And it wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but she’d been having unexplainable hang-ups about it. Carlos was completely patient and didn’t push at all. He hadn’t even asked her about the hold-up. Instead, he’d gladly reviewed all the basics with her over and over. Suddenly, her hesitation to go all the way seemed to have a name—Kimberly.
“Well, it sounds like we’re all making progress,” Amy said to distract her co-workers and herself from these errant thoughts. “To us.” She raised her glass and waited while the others joined her in a toast.
****
“What’s going on with you lately?” Everett asked.
Carlos looked over at his best friend as they slowed to do the cool off portion of their run. They were making their way around the indoor track at the health club Everett had purchased a company membership to. Keeping each other’s pace easily, they jogged around the oval that hung suspended over the rest of the gym.
Carlos decided to treat the question with ignorance. “What are you talking about?”
Everett was extremely intuitive. This line of ‘play dumb’ would get Carlos nowhere and he knew it.
“Well, for starters you’ve been leaving work on time, or nearly on time.”
“You complaining?” Carlos asked his boss.
“Please.” Everett knew what an asset Carlos was to him and that he would never shirk his responsibilities.
“What does leaving on time have to do with anything?” Carlos asked.
Everett ignored that and continued. “Also, you always either have a giant fucking smile on your face or a really fucking tense look on your face.”
Despite being named the Bay Area’s Entrepreneur of the year, being young and incredibly successful as a private business owner, and looking damn good in a suit, Everett had a terrible potty mouth.
“I don’t know.” Carlos shrugged.
“All right.” Everett stopped and grabbed Carlos by the upper arm. The two men were nearly matched in size, but Everett had the element of surprise. He pulled Carlos nearly off his feet and shoved him to the side of the track. “Let’s have it.”
“Have what?” At this point Carlos wasn’t even sure why he was still being evasive. It was pointless.
“It’s a woman isn’t it?”
Of course it was a woman. Why else would he be constantly riding the line between the intense high of being with an incredible woman and the hard tension of not knowing how it would turn out?
“Yeah, I’ve been seeing someone,” he admitted.
“Why the secrecy, C?”
“She works for you.”
“So? As long as she isn’t some nineteen-year old intern or you didn’t promise her a promotion in exchange for a little somethin’ somethin’ you know I don’t care.”
“I know but...” Carlos ran his hand through his hair. “It’s really new. I mean we’re still working things out. And I’d just rather keep it between her and me right now.”
“Fuck, Carlos! Please. Please tell me you haven’t gotten back together with the Wicked Witch from West of the Bay.”
Normally he would have laughed at Everett’s long-time nickname for his ex. But not when it implicated him in this. “Kim? No. No. Hell no!”
Everett let out his breath. “Thank God. Okay. So, it’s just someone you want to take it slow with?”
“Yes.” Carlos was relieved his friend seemed to understand.
“Okay. I’ll make a deal with you. If you are still with this girl six weeks from now, you bring her to my birthday party. In the meantime, I’ll leave you alone about it. I won’t ask. I won’t try to figure it out. And I won’t imply shit in front of other people.”
Six weeks. He hoped to hell he was still with Amy, and surely they would want to go public by then.
“Deal.”
“Cool. Let’s get showered and head to work.” Everett patted him on the back and they both headed toward the locker room.
Carlos had just barely walked inside when he stopped. “Hey, Ev. I forgot my water bottle. I’m gonna grab it.”
“Kay. See you later.” Everett headed toward the showers.
Carlos made his way back into the main part of the club. He rounded a corner and saw something spectacular.
****
Amy put away her mat and rushed out into the blissfully cool air-conditioned main portion of the club. Hot Yoga always seemed like a good idea. But by the end of it Amy felt like a limp, sweaty, Gumby doll.
She’d gone to the health club early that morning in hopes of calming her body and mind, both of which seemed to be constantly buzzing with all things Carlos. She hadn’t seen him last night, since she was out with the girls, but it was Friday now and she expected to spend some quality time with him over the weekend.
She was imaging what she might want to do when she got her hands on him. In fact, she was thinking about it so hard she managed to hallucinate him. He was walking toward her, a pair of workout shorts and a light gray T-shirt clinging to his sweat-soaked body. His hair was in sexy disarray and he wore a massive grin on his face as his chocolate eyes gazed at her.
She came to an abrupt stop near a door that read “Exit” and took in the fact that he actually was right there in front of her.
“Hi.” He came to a stop just inches away.
“Um…hi.”
“Came to work out?”
“Um…yeah. Yoga. You?”
“I meet up with Everett three times a week here.” He said it in a strange tone, because she knew this already. He’d even left her in bed a few times to go work out and then came back before driving them both to E.E.R.
They’d figured out the riding together thing in the last few weeks. When Amy spent the night, he dropped her off a block away from the office. She used that short walk to clear her mind of Carlos Diaz so she could function at her job. That was not happening right now.
He moved a hair closer to her. “Did you have fun with the girls last night?”
“Yeah. Definitely.”
Because of that appointment and some damn meeting Carlos had attended the night before, it had been forty-eight hours since she’d touched him. Her hand twitched while his eyes roamed up and down the leggings and tank top she wore.
As the tense, sexually-laden silence settled between them, his eyes peeled away from her and swiveled around the room. Then he grabbed her arm and pulled her through the door behind them.
The stairwell—gray, drab, and harshly lit—was thankfully empty, and that was all that mattered. Pressing her back against the wall, Carlos moved in close.
“I’m super sweaty and gross,” she said weakly.
“You’re gorgeous,” he growled before giving her a deep kiss. He pulled his head back but kept his body fused to hers. “Tell me you’re coming to my place after work tonight.”
“I am. And…um…I have tickets for the symphony for tomo
rrow night. So we could hopefully go see YaYa perform.”
“I’d love to. If you’ll come with me to a swim meet Ellie and Phoebe are competing in that afternoon.”
“I’d love to.”
He grinned and gave her a quick kiss before ducking out of the stairwell. Amy stayed there for a few minutes, catching her breath. Eventually, some massive guy with tattoo sleeves and a sour look on this face interrupted the Carlos-spell and she headed to the locker room to change and go to work.
****
Carlos had made spaghetti for dinner. And after they’d filled up, he and Amy ended up on the couch, two glasses of wine perched on the coffee table in front of them and Amy’s bare feet resting in Carlos’ lap. Amy tried not to completely drift off as Carlos kneaded her feet in his talented hands. After all, they had a conversation to get through.
“I have something I want to talk to you about,” she told him.
“Did you tell the birthday girls about us?”
“What? No…Why? Did you tell Everett?”
“Not exactly.” His face definitely reflected at least a hint of guilt. “He kind of guessed that something is up with me. He asked if there is a woman in my life and I told the truth. I told him she’s at the company but I didn’t want to say who it is. He was cool with me not telling him.”
“He was?” Everett and Carlos were very close. She was shocked he hadn’t insisted on knowing. She would have.
“Yes, but there’s a catch. I kind of agreed to bring to you to his birthday party in late April.”
“Okay.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. You know I love a deadline,” she said slyly.
“You do,” he agreed. “Now what did you want to talk about?”
“Um…I don’t want you to get mad.”
“Why would I get mad?”
“It’s about Kimberly.”
He leaned toward her. “Amy, I may not enjoy talking about my ex-wife. But I get it. If you had an ex-husband, I would want to talk about him.”
“But I don’t have an ex-anything.”
He grinned. “And don’t think I don’t really like that.”