by Kay Harris
“You do? I thought maybe my…inexperience would turn you off.”
“No way. I love that I’m the only one.”
Amy bit her lip, suddenly feeling like a student in a conversations with the professor.
“What do you want to know?” he encouraged.
Amy took a deep breath. If she didn’t get this off her chest she might never be able to get to the next level with Carlos. “Well. First of all, I have a really hard time picturing you two together.”
“Me, too.”
“But you were together.”
“Things were different then.”
“She was different?” Amy asked.
He gave a morose chuckle. “No. She hasn’t ever changed. I was different. I was young and very successful.” Amy remembered that people said Carlos had the ‘Midas touch’ when it came to business. “In my work life, I made careful decisions, good decisions. And I made them with absolute confidence. But my personal life was a mess. I was never good with women.”
“I find that very hard to believe.”
He smiled at her. “Well it’s true. All these men I worked with had trophy wives, and the women had trophy husbands. They were all super alpha in their relationships. But I didn’t have a clue what to do with a trophy anybody. And I was suffering through all these social events. Kim knew exactly what to do, how to act, and she could tell me exactly what I needed to do and how I needed to act. At that time in my life, it was perfect.”
Carlos closed the distance between them further and ran his hand up her lower leg to her knee. “But I changed. I found myself, I guess. I figured out what I wanted in my professional life and not long after that, I figured out what I wanted in my personal life. And Kim didn’t fit. I divorced her and she’s never forgiven me for it.”
“This is going to sound awful but I keep thinking about you and her…I mean, she probably wasn’t your only…”
“No. She wasn’t. There were a few women before her,” he said honestly, holding Amy’s gaze.
“But she’s the only one I know?”
He nodded.
“Sometimes I can’t help but think that she and you…did the same things we do…” Amy bit her lip.
Carlos leaned all the way in and pulled that lip out from between her teeth with his own. “What we do is different because it feels different.” He shifted so she sunk further into the couch and he hovered above her. His lips were right beside hers as he whispered to her. “I can’t change the past and make it so I was never with her. And I wouldn’t. Because that experience shaped who I am.” His hand ran down her stomach to the top of her thigh. “And I think you like who I am today.”
Amy moaned. “Yes. I do.”
“And I swear to you, the very last thing I am ever thinking about when I’m with you is her. It would be like you thinking about your Uncle Clint when you’re with me.”
That snapped Amy out of her lust-induced haze. Her eyes grew wide. “Gross!”
“Exactly. Now cleanse your mind and kiss me.”
Once his lips hit hers it was easy to leave all thoughts of Kimberly, and Uncle Clint for that matter, far behind.
Chapter 14
Carlos looked up at the ornate ceiling and felt incredibly small and very uncultured. “I’ve never been to the Symphony before.”
She squeezed his hand. “No? Well, I think you’ll like it.” She didn’t sound shocked or disappointed.
“I’ve never been to the opera either.” He looked over at her. “Can we do that sometime?”
She smiled. “I’ve never been to the opera, either. I’d love to go with you.”
Carlos might have been dressed up in a very expensive suit, and he may have been a successful businessman who owned a high-rise condo, but he felt like a street scrapper next to this beautiful woman in the front row of Davies Symphony Hall.
“I have been to the Ballet,” he told her, sounding a bit like a desperate kid trying to impress his high school sweetheart.
“Oh yeah?” She looked interested.
“Everett took me. He was dating a ballerina at the time.”
“A ballerina?”
“Yeah. She was so tiny.” He perused her slight frame. “I mean, you’re little. But she was like ‘put her in your pocket and take her home’ tiny.”
She laughed. “Everett has a bit of a reputation for being a playboy,” she told him.
“He got a little…promiscuous after his fiancé took off with his best friend.” Her jaw dropped. “I’ll have to tell you that story sometime.” The lights flickered, warning that the performance was about to start.
“You two are tight.”
He nodded. “I suppose we initially bonded over girl troubles.”
“You still have girl troubles, Carlos?” she asked, a glint of mischief in her eye.
He leaned toward her. “The only trouble I have right now is figuring out how to spend as much time as possible with you.”
At intermission, Amy ran to the bathroom while Carlos got them both a drink. They met up at the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city.
He drank her in as he approached. She wore a floor length gown in midnight blue. The spaghetti straps showed off the light, smooth skin at her shoulders. The dress scooped down over perfectly rounded breasts then sloped to her narrow waist.
Around her neck she wore a simple silver necklace with a small sapphire. Carlos wanted to buy her huge diamonds to drip down over that beautiful chest.
He handed her the flute of champagne and clicked his own to hers. “To a night at the symphony.”
She smiled and took a sip. He glanced at her lips, hunger in his gaze.
“Have I told you how amazing you look tonight?” He moved closer to her, his hand snaking around her hip.
She blushed, the action turning her cheeks a delicious shade of red. “I never knew how to be sexy before. I mean, I never tried.”
“You don’t have to try, sweetheart. You are sexy, just by being you.”
She ducked her head demurely and he nearly groaned. “You really think so?”
He leaned in so close their lips were almost in kissing range. “One word and I will fall to my knees right here and worship you for the chance to touch you later.”
Her eyes were saucers, her mouth parted in awe. “And here I thought you were supposed to be my teacher.”
He put his lips beside her ear. “I am.”
“I…I’m…”
“Yes?”
“I’m wet,” she whispered.
Carlos felt on top of the world.
****
“I’m nervous,” Carlos admitted as they walked toward the area where friends and family could meet up with the symphony players after the concert.
“Why?”
“I already know your family members want to set you up with someone other than me. And now I’m meeting the first one. This is my chance to make a good impression. I don’t want to screw it up.”
“YaYa will love you,” Amy reassured him.
“Hey, girl!” YaYa squealed as they came into sight.
She ran toward Amy, her light brown hair flowing behind her and her slightly taller frame lurching forward as she enveloped Amy in thicker, tanner arms. Carlos couldn’t help but think that Amy looked delicate next to her younger cousin.
“I finally made it to a concert this season.” Amy pulled YaYa away from her and held her at arm’s length. “And look! I brought Carlos. Carlos, this is YaYa.”
He reached out and shook YaYa’s hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”
YaYa literally looked him up and down. Then she put her hand on her hip in a display of sheer sass. “Damn. You’re even better looking in person.”
“Wow, YaYa. Way to be couth.” Amy shifted on her feet and looked away from them both.
YaYa leaned toward Carlos and narrowed her eyes. “You are really freaking hot, you know that?” She sounded angry about it.
“Um…thank you?” He was at a los
s as to how he was supposed to respond.
YaYa turned to Amy. “This is not what you need.”
“What?” Even as the shock painted Amy’s face, she moved closer to Carlos.
“You.” YaYa pointed at Carlos. “Are a wet dream, honey. Hell, half the women in here are looking you over right now.” Carlos peered over her shoulder and noticed at least four women looking his way, and one guy, too. “All you would have to do is say the word,” she continued, in a rather loud voice. “And any one of them would go home with you right now.”
“I will,” a woman with purple hair shouted.
“She.” YaYa pointed at Amy. “Needs a nice dorky guy she can fumble through some heavy petting with for a while before she moves on to someone a little more…you-ish. Not some sex god from above who can unsnap a bra in a nanosecond.”
Amy took a moment to blush and Carlos imagined that she, like him, was remembering all the times he’d done just that. But then her anger took over. She railed at her cousin. “I can’t believe you! I am with Carlos and you are just going to have to accept that.”
YaYa folded her arms over her chest. “We’ll see.”
Amy dragged Carlos out of there riding high on her mad. They reached the parking lot without any words. And it wasn’t until they were in the car and headed down the road that she fully exploded.
“My stupid family! I have absolutely had it with them coddling me like I’m a child! They are fucking smothering me!”
Carlos reached out and took hold of her hand. He let her vent on the way to his place. She yelled and cursed them all, calling all her relatives out by name one by one and listing their transgressions.
“What can I do?” he asked when she finally calmed down, just minutes from his condo.
“Take me back to your place and make love to me,” she said, her tone so different from how it had been a few moments before.
As tempting as it was to finally make love to Amy, this was not how it was supposed to go down. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to do this because you are reacting to your family.” It was so hard to say those words. After all, he’d wanted to be with her like that for weeks now. He could hardly think of anything else.
“I’m sure. This isn’t about them. I wanted tonight to be the night. I planned it. But then my dumb cousin put me in a snit. I want to back up and pretend that didn’t happen and go on with our night, and all the things I had planned.”
****
Amy did not lose her virginity that night. After they got to Carlos’ condo they talked for a long time, letting Amy get out years of frustration with her family. They lay in bed, both exhausted, and discussed everything she needed to get off her chest. There was a make-out session at one point and they visited their old friend second base. But after that they fell asleep tangled up in each other.
Amy woke up cuddled against Carlos, her ass pressed against his crotch. He was hard and smooth against her and she wanted to do all the things she’d planned to the night before.
But she had more immediate concerns. So she carefully pulled herself out of his arms and went to the bathroom that was connected to his room.
After she took care of her bladder, she picked up the small toiletries bag she’d started keeping in one of the drawers under the sink and brushed her teeth. Amy examined herself in the mirror. She looked every one of her thirty years in the morning. Her long, normally straight, hair was kinked and snarled. Her eyes looked tired and dark. A wrinkle from the pillow played along one cheek.
She ran a brush through her hair but didn’t do more than that. This was who she was. She also didn’t bother putting on a pair of sexy panties or a teddy. Instead, she left the bathroom as she’d gone in, stark naked.
Carlos was propped up on a couple of pillows. He was chewing on something and Amy spotted an open box of mints on the bedside table. He watched her as she slid across the room, his thirsty gaze drinking her up. She tucked into bed, slipping under the covers and into Carlos’ arms.
His minty breath fanned over her. “Good morning.”
She kissed him, pouring all her desire into that simple connection between them. She pressed herself against Carlos, trying to fuse her skin to his. The kiss quickly turned to more. He rolled Amy onto her back. His upper body covered her. His hand moved down her torso to that spot she most wanted him to touch her.
“Carlos, I’m ready,” she breathed.
He didn’t answer her with words. Instead he kissed her deeply and pushed one finger inside her. Amy moaned and arched her back.
“More,” she begged as he kissed his way down her neck and across her chest.
Carlos slid another finger inside, stretching her. She loved the sensation of having a part of him inside her, of being wrapped around him. But she wanted more than his fingers.
“Please,” she said softly.
Carlos pulled his hand away as he shifted to position himself between her legs.
A month and a half ago, when they’d started all this, they’d had a stilted and awkward conversation about protection. Carlos had gotten tested and Amy had started on birth control pills. It meant they could be together with nothing between them.
Amy put her hand on Carlos’ firm ass and pulled him toward her. “Please,” she said again.
“It might hurt,” he warned, concern etched on his face.
“It’s okay. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”
He smiled and kissed her sweetly. Then he inched his way inside. Amy’s body stretch to accommodate him. It hurt a little, but that was easily overshadowed by the incredible sensation of having Carlos so close to her, in her, surrounded by her.
He moved slowly, each smooth thrust pinpointing a place inside her that made her entire being shiver with pleasure. Then, without warning, he held her close so their connection was not lost, as he rolled them both over.
Amy found herself sitting on top of him, straddling his waist. His hands rested on her hips, but he didn’t grip them or guide them. “You be in charge, baby,” he said, looking up at her with an intense gaze.
Amy experimented. She moved her body, testing the ways it felt and the sounds it created from his throat. One tilt and Carlos moaned, another and he bucked. She watched him closely, caught up in the responses he made to each movement of her body.
Without warning, his hands grew tight on her flesh and he whirled them around again, landing on top. He thrust into her hard and deep.
“Holy shit!” she cried.
“Sorry, sweetheart. The teacher is taking over,” he said, his breath heavy. But even as he said it he looked at her with a question in his eyes.
“Yes,” she said firmly.
Carlos thrust into her, hitting an exquisite spot inside her again and again. She felt an orgasm rising, only this time it was so different from the others. It felt as though she were melting from the inside out. She rose in a seemingly unending flight toward her climax.
Carlos buried his face in her neck. “Jesus, baby,” he mumbled, his lips buried in her skin. “You are so amazing.”
“I think…I think I’m going to…Oh! Carlos!” Despite being completely wrapped up in her own sensations, she was aware that he, too was crying out in ecstasy as they came together.
Carlos rolled over and pulled Amy into his arms. His lips brushed her ear. “Are you all right?”
“I’m literally better than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
His soft chuckle made her stomach quiver. “Glad to hear it.”
“You?” she asked.
He kissed her cheek. “Sweetheart. You are incredible. I am at your mercy. Don’t ever doubt that.”
MARCH
Chapter 15
Carlos lay on his bed, Amy wrapped up in his arms, just as she’d been every night since they’d gone to the symphony and then gone all way. Only tonight he was deeply buried in his own psyche.
All his life, he’d sought out contentment and peace. As a young child he’d grab it in moments: nibbl
ing on a cookie his grandmother gave him while perched on a stool in the warm kitchen, nestling in his mother’s lap, a quiet conversation with his oldest brother in the backyard.
In college he’d had to resort to more drastic measures to find peace. He’d tried to learn how to meditate, but never quite mastered the ability to shut down the constant whirring of thoughts that would plague him in the quiet.
Early in his career, when he was a rising star who could do no wrong, he became increasingly tense. He tried Tai Chi and Yoga. It wasn’t until he went to work for Everett that he found happiness in business. It continued to elude him in his personal life, however. Whatever little peace he may have had earlier had completely abandoned him when Kim came into his life.
But right there, lying in that bed in a post-coital haze with Amy, it all came together for him. He was truly content, calm, happy, peaceful. He’d finally found everything he’d been searching for all his life.
Hoping she hadn’t yet fallen asleep, he gently rolled her over so she was facing him. Her bright eyes penetrated his and she gave him a sleepy smile. He kissed her lips quickly, because he just had to.
“I need to tell you something.”
“Okay.” She ran one of her soft hands up his chest until it rested right over his heart.
“Amy, I’m in love with you.”
He held his breath as he watched her face. At first, it didn’t move, then her lips exploded into a massive smile and one tiny tear formed at the corner of each eye.
“Yeah?” she asked, her voice cracking.
“Yeah.”
She put one hand on the back of his head and pulled his mouth to hers for a sweet kiss. “I figured out that I was in love you a while ago, Carlos. But I was too afraid to tell you.”
He ran his thumb over her cheek and took a deep breath. “Why would you be afraid?”
“I don’t know. I guess I was afraid you didn’t feel the same way or that you wouldn’t want me to be so attached to you…” What she was saying to him was unfathomable and it must have shown on his face. “Obviously, my fears were dumb,” she said softly. “But the other one was…”
“Tell me.”