by Amy Stephens
“Can we talk about us? What’s going to happen when you’re back home and I’m still here?”
“I … I don’t know Erica. I’ve been trying to figure this out myself.”
“Don’t you want to see me again?”
“I do baby. I really do, but I have to ask, am I somebody you want to be with? To have a future with?”
If he could only read minds then he’d know the answers to his questions. I’ve thought about it non-stop for how many weeks now? Even while I slept, I couldn’t escape the reality of it all.
“I’d really like to try. That is, if you still will want to see me. Although you may get back to Miami and find someone else, someone your own age.”
“Look, baby. You are such an incredible woman with the chance to do anything you want with your life. But I also don’t want to hold you back from doing something you’ve always dreamed of doing either. I’ve got a lot on my plate to deal with and it’s not going to be easy these next few months. Just going back home scares the hell out of me. I’ve got demons that I still need to face. I’ve been gone for ten long years and I’ve got things to settle.”
“So you’re saying this is it then? That none of this meant anything to you?” I could feel myself turning angry and that’s not what I wanted to happen. But how could he throw all of this away?
“No, I’m not saying that. Not at all.”
“Then what are you saying then? I had fun and thanks for helping me to pass the time. Is that what you’re telling me?”
“I, I just need time. I need to get control of my life again. I’ve been locked away for ten fucking years Erica!”
He stood up and began to pace the floor. I’d never heard him cuss before. He reached up to run his fingers through his hair that had already started to grow back out some. I wondered if he’d continue to keep it short or would he let it grow back long again.
I hated seeing him get upset, especially knowing I was the cause of it, but we knew this day would come. We had to face it eventually.
I bent down to pick up my purse. I couldn’t take it anymore. My heart was breaking into a million pieces and this was not the way I’d wanted it to end. No, I couldn’t do this. I stood up and just looked at him for a moment trying to find the courage to walk away. I took a couple of steps then stopped.
Jaime came running up behind me. He reached out and grabbed on to my shoulder, turning me around to face him. “Look at me.” And before either of us could say anything more, his mouth was all over mine. He was like an animal the way he fiercely came on to me. Over and over, we shared deep, intense kisses, unlike any I’d ever experienced before.
“Please don’t hurt me Jaime.” I told him.
“Erica.” He whispered my name. “It was never my intention to hurt you. Not ever. And I’m sorry. I’m just so scared. My life. Your life. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“What do you mean? It wasn’t supposed to happen?”
“Erica, I love you.”
“Whhh….what? What did you say?”
“I said I love you. So don’t think you’re the only one who’s been worried.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
I let him take my hand as I followed him to our secret spot in the storage room again. Once inside, I pulled out my phone and turned on the flashlight app so we’d be able to see where we were going. I was nervous and excited all at the same time. I wanted to show this man just how much I cared for him too. I just couldn’t bring myself to say those three words to him yet.
Instead of going over near the windows again, we went further back into the room. In the back corner we spotted a well-worn couch but neither of us cared what kind of condition it was in. He dropped my hand and I placed the phone down on a nearby stack of boxes. I turned off the flashlight and waited for the glow of the phone to fade, eventually turning itself off. There was no need to use the light any longer. Everything we needed to find, we’d use our hands to guide us.
Jaime fumbled with the buttons on my shirt and I slid it off once he’d unbuttoned it all of the way. His had brushed over my tank top and I felt my nipples respond to his touch. I unfastened the button on my jeans then stepped out of my shoes. As I pulled off my tank top, followed by my jeans, I could hear Jaime unzipping and eventually removing his jumpsuit. I couldn’t wait to see what he looked like in normal clothes all of the time. I didn’t want to see it in just a picture of him, I wanted to see it forever.
He placed his hands on my shoulders then lowered them down to unhook the back clasp on my bra. I pressed my body into his and I was amazed at how perfect we fit together. It didn’t take long before I felt him bulging against my lower abdomen. Not exactly sure how I needed to respond to this, I let my hands linger over his bare chest until I felt comfortable touching him more. He was so hard and I wanted to rip his underwear off but I held back. I brought my hand down even lower trying to gain the courage to go further.
Jaime reached down and placed his hand on top of mine. I let him guide my hand where he wanted it to go then he placed it just inside of his underwear. He was huge and straining against the fabric. Did I really know what I was getting into? Was I ready for this?
I attempted to push them down until finally, they fell to the floor. Jaime took a seat on the couch and I removed my panties before climbing on top and straddling him. He rubbed his fingers over my pussy feeling the juices that had already erupted and was flowing from inside of me. I yearned to feel more of him--to ride him, up and down.
I lifted my body up, just slightly, allowing his dick to tease my pussy as he rubbed against it. It took everything within me not to shove him inside me. That’s how bad I wanted to feel him. Pressure was building and I needed some kind of release.
“Are you sure you want this?” He whispered in my ear.
“Yes, I need to feel you inside me. Now.”
“But I don’t have a condom.”
“Just do it, please. Now!” I commanded. I was on birth control and that was all that I was concerned with at the moment.
Using his hand, Jaime placed the tip of his dick at my entrance and rubbed it around my opening. I was so slick that we shouldn’t have any trouble with him entering me other than it had been quite a while since I’d last had sex. As he began to enter inside of me, I could feel the tightness of my walls and wondered if he’d fit. He was freaking huge just from the way he had felt in my hands. I lifted up when I felt slight pressure then lowered myself back down on him again. This time was much easier but he still wasn’t fully inside of me yet. Dear God what if he couldn’t go all the way in?
As I slid up and down on his shaft trying to allow as much of him inside as possible, I could feel the sensation that was building, needing to be released. He was deep in me, even hitting the top of my cervix, but there was still more of him that wasn’t fully inside yet. It wouldn’t be long before I came. Jaime took turns biting at my nipples and I loved it. It brought out a certain wildness in me and before long, I was riding him faster. The harder he would bite and pinch my nipples, the more intoxicated I became with all of the feelings that were coursing throughout my body. With his hands dropping down to my hips now, I tossed my head back and he had to hold me up from leaning back too far. This slight change in position added more intensity. He would lift me up then I’d plunge back down on top of him.
Jaime slid both of his thumbs down to slowly massage my clit. This sensation……was almost….more…..than I could ….handle. My body suddenly began to buck, no longer able to fight it. I was riding up and down as fast as I could go and his fingers continued to flick more against my clit. Faster, faster. I couldn’t get enough. This was the most intense orgasm I’d ever had before in my life. Before I knew it Jaime was gripping my ass cheeks in his hands and I could hear his breathing quickening. Then, he gripped my hips again and forced me down hard on his cock.
“Deeper, baby. Deeper. Come on, now ride me.”
He grunted each time I landed all t
he way down on him. Eventually, the muscles let go of their grip on him and my orgasm was over. I left him inside of me and could feel him slowly returning back to his normal size again before finally falling out of me. He had come too.
With both of us now tired with and covered in sweat, I rested my head down on his shoulder. He held me in his arms and it was a moment I’d never forget. Neither of us said anything and I could feel his heart beating against my chest while our breathing slowly returned to normal again. I could now hear the sound of rain falling, along with the occasional rumble of thunder, and it was the most romantic sound. I’d just made love to man I had longed for and it couldn’t have been more perfect.
“Thank you.” I looked towards his face even though I couldn’t see it in the darkness.
“For what? I should be thanking you.”
“Thank you for making love to me.”
“Well, it wasn’t exactly the most appropriate spot and I did go against my promise.”
“I don’t care Jaime. It was beautiful. It was incredible.”
My legs started to cramp so I stood up off of the couch. I reached over to retrieve my phone again and turned on the light so we could see to get dressed. It was important we didn’t leave anything behind.
Using the light to guide us back to the door again, Jaime slowly cracked the door open and peered out to make sure it was safe for us to walk back out.
“The lights are back on.” He told me. “Looks like it’s all clear.”
“I’m going to go get cleaned up in the bathroom then I’ll meet you back at the table.”
“Yeah, I kind of need to get cleaned up too.”
Once in the bathroom, I wiped myself off as best I could but it was obvious I needed another bath to get rid of all the stickiness from our lovemaking. I could still smell him on me and I couldn’t deny it, I felt like I conquered the world. Before leaving the bathroom, I looked around and wondered if I’d ever come back to visit here again.
When I returned, he was waiting for me with a grin on his face. My eyes were still trying to focus in the bright light and I used that as an excuse to cover for the tears that had managed to work their way back again. I knew this was about to be it. The time for us to say goodbye.
“I’ll miss you Jaime.”
“I’m already missing you, beautiful.”
I reached into my purse and pulled out a piece of paper. Earlier, I had written down every possible way to contact me: my address, my phone number, my work phone number, my email, my name on social media sites. I don’t think I’d forgotten anything and he’d have no excuse not to be able to get in touch with me. I rolled up the paper, fidgeting with it in my hands.
“Here, this is for you.” I told him as I passed it over to him. “Just don’t forget me. That’s all I ask.” I tried to offer a smile but it was more than I could handle.
He reached down to brush away the tear that was on my cheek. “I won’t forget you. I promise.”
Before we parted, I jotted down his mom’s phone number and address. That’s all he could give me right now until he could get a phone of his own. Even though he’d be living with his mom again, he would be reporting to a halfway house every day that would offer him assistance with adjusting to being back in the real world again. They’d even help him find a job. At least he wasn’t being thrown out to the wolves and he had a place to go. I realized it wasn’t going to be easy for him, but I had confidence he’d do fine.
“I’ll see you at graduation then?” I asked sort of questioningly.
“We better.” He said and I could see by the look on his face that he truly meant it. “My mom is coming to meet me on base for a short period of time before the ceremony but I’ll still have to take a bus or a van down to the auditorium. I’m not allowed to ride there with her. I may be close to getting released but the government’s not going to let me out of their site for long. Once graduation is over, I won’t even get to see them again until I’m released.”
“Well, I know she’ll be glad to see you even if it is only briefly.”
“She’ll leave the others at the hotel when she comes to see me since they still don’t know why I’m here. I’ll be able to see them afterwards before coming back here but it will only be briefly during the time they’re serving refreshments. And then it will be just a matter of days before it’s all over.”
“Sounds nice, huh?”
“You have no idea. I’ve waited for this day for a long time.”
“Well, I’ll see you Thursday then.”
He leaned down to kiss me goodbye and, even though I hated to turn and walk away, it was what I needed to do.
By the time I made it back out to my car, I was drenched. From the pouring down rain and from the tears that continued to fall, I was a mess.
I watched as Jaime stood out by the road in the pouring down rain. It’s a shame the bus couldn’t pull up to the front door for him but if he wasn’t standing out by the road then no one would know he was ready to be picked up.
Not much longer and you’ll be a free man, Jaime.
Chapter Sixteen
I parked in the parking deck since all of the other lots were full. I hated coming downtown to this area but I wouldn’t miss this ceremony for the world. One day I’d be graduating from here too, but this was a time to celebrate someone else’s achievements and not my own.
My heels tapped against the concrete as I walked over to the elevator that would take me down to the lobby. From there I would go down the hallway and turn right into the auditorium. It was expected to be a large crowd since this graduating class was one of the biggest ever and I was glad I’d gotten here in plenty of time.
There were people standing around everywhere and it was difficult making my way through. I looked both directions hoping to spot a glimpse of Jaime or even someone I might recognize from class. According to him, there were fifteen inmates total that were graduating tonight and surely I’d be able to pick out someone amongst this crowd.
I felt like everyone was staring at me as I made my way through the hordes of people. I thought my high school graduation had been a big celebration but it was obvious that more had come out to celebrate this huge achievement. For a moment I thought that maybe they were staring at my outfit. I’d chosen a chevron print dress with an elastic scoop neckline. The dress came to my knees and I’d worn a pair of simple, black three inch heels. To me, I didn’t look any different than some of the others I’d seen tonight. Nothing about it screamed too much or excessive. But the more I pushed through the people, I realized it wasn’t me they were staring at. It was only a figment of my imagination. None of them knew me or knew who I was here to see. It was only my mind playing with my head.
Since Jaime’s family was of Hispanic descent, I thought they’d be easy to pick out but I was wrong. Being that Bishop was nationwide and on every military base in addition to their primary campus, there were all kinds of nationalities being represented today.
And even if I had been able to spot his family, there was no way I’d be able to approach them without him being here. I’m pretty sure they still didn’t know anything of me and I was okay with that, for now.
I could tell the people were starting to make their way inside the auditorium so I filed in behind them. Disappointed I hadn’t seen Jaime beforehand, I figured I’d do my best to sit at the end of an aisle so maybe I’d be able to see him when the graduates were marching in. The time was drawing near to start.
I listened as person after person stood up on the stage and gave speeches. I wasn’t interested in what they had to say, I just wanted to see him, to hear his name announced. Finally, when the names started being called l, I followed along in the program that had been provided when I had walked in. Jaime’s name was listed with the School of Business and there were still a couple of departments ahead of his before reaching his.
When his group stood to make their way to the front, I almost didn’t recognize him. I saw he was lookin
g around, hopefully trying to spot me, but with the lighting, he wasn’t having much luck. I wanted to wave my hands in the air so he’d see me but because I’d had to take a seat close to the back instead of at the end of the aisle like I’d tried to do, there was no way he could find me.
As his name was announced I fought back the tears. I watched as he made his way up the steps and walked across the stage to shake hands and receive his degree from the dean. He blended in well amongst the other students, no one knowing he’d been incarcerated for the last ten years. To them, he was just another student being recognized for his achievements.
When the last name was called, I stood and walked out of the main room. I wanted to make sure he saw me when the procession filed out and made their way down to turn in their caps and gowns. I had to see him.
I watched a small family standing down about ten feet from me. The family consisted of an older woman, even though she probably wasn’t as old as she appeared to be, who was surrounded by a young lady and a young guy, both probably in their mid to late twenties. Next to them in a wheelchair, sat an even older lady that had a thin patch of hair on her head and had a blanket thrown over her lap. I knew this had to be his family. I knew it was them.
I kept glancing over at them then back to the doorway as the graduates were coming out one by one. When the woman who I suspected as his mother brought her hands up to cover her mouth, I turned to see Jaime just a few feet from me. His eyes were focused on them until I reached out for his hand. He quickly turned to look at where the hand was coming from, then we briefly made eye contact. He smiled at me and it melted my heart. I was glad to finally see his face again. He continued walking past everyone and had already started to remove his gown.
I focused my attention on them once he was out of my sight. If they moved, I moved too. I didn’t want to lose sight of them because I knew he’d find them before he found me. About ten minutes passed and I watched his mother run up to him. She wrapped her arms around him and held on to him for the longest time before stepping back for his sister to have her turn. Then, his brother shook his hand. Next, he bent down and kissed his grandmother on the cheek. Is was a beautiful site.