It's love

by K. C. Harper

  I tried to sit up but my body was having none of it.

  “Don’t get up, you’re tired. I’ll be back in a little while.” He kissed my cheek and rubbed a hand down my back. I was still naked, only covered by a thin white sheet, my hair was all over the place on the pillow and around my face. “You are so beautiful, even when you are sleeping.”

  In my half asleep state I could feel my body responding to him, wanting him. He smelled so good, like soap and cologne. If I had an ounce of energy left in my body I would have pulled him back in bed with me. The last thing I remembered before drifting off to sleep again was him kissing me one last time, and the sound of the lock of the door as it closed. I slept for what felt like the entire day. I sat up stretching feeling the soreness in my body and smiled at the thought of what happened the night before. It was a little past nine as I got out of bed. Opening the curtains to the balcony doors, I let light into the room. It was a beautiful morning. The sky was clear blue, not a cloud in sight, as the sun shone through the trees it made everything look even more breathtaking. I showered, brushed my teeth and got dressed. I wasn’t sure what TJ had planned for today, so I dressed in comfortable clothes.

  A blue v-neck T-shirt, my faded skinny jeans and my tan ankle boots, my favorite pair of boots actually. I finished drying my hair and putting on makeup when a knock at the door startled me. Breakfast was here and it made me realize how hungry I was. I finished my breakfast and was checking my phone for any missed calls but found none. “I should call my mom, she is probably worrying if I’m alright.” I thought before dialing her number.

  “Hello.”

  “Hi mom.”

  “Danni, how is your weekend going? Are you and TJ enjoying yourselves?”

  I blushed, thinking about just how much we enjoyed ourselves last night. “Yeah mom, we are. He has a meeting at the hospital this morning, but he should be back later. And he has something planned for today.” I was curious to what we would be doing and was getting butterflies again.

  “Oh, that’s wonderful, Danni. I’m glad you are having fun, you were always so busy with college, and now you have work, you need to have fun sometimes.” Her voice was sweet and loving.

  Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t remember the last time I had fun. “I know, mom, I am enjoying myself, we are actually at the Biltmore.”

  “The Biltmore! Wow, that is a very romantic place, Danni and very beautiful. It’s a perfect place to fall in love.”

  My stomach felt like it spun a little at the word love. In the past couple of months my mom kept bringing up the subject of love and marriage. “Mom, we are not in love, I barely know TJ.” I could tell where my mom was going with this conversation.

  “Honey, you grew up next door to the boy, what more do you need to know?”

  She was right, I did grow up next door to him, and we even played in my backyard together all through elementary school. It brought back some of the memories we had when we were kids. I fell off my bike one day and my knee was bleeding. I remember TJ being so worried, even as my mom told him it was ok. He was always worried about me when I would get hurt, and then I remembered something else. “Mom, do you remember the time you let me wear one of your fancy dresses and heels to play outside with TJ?” She must have been thinking because it took her a while to answer me.

  “Oh yes, Danni, I do remember that day. You told me TJ asked you to marry him, and you needed a fancy dress. I believe it was Mr. Walton, TJ’s dog, who married you guys.”

  I smiled at that memory and again wondered what happened after middle school and how we ended up barely even speaking to each other. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten about that day.

  “You two were always so sweet with each other. I never understood why you didn’t date in high school. TJ was always nicer than that, Jackson boy you went out with.”

  I didn’t answer her because I knew I didn’t have the right answer for her. The truth was, I barely knew TJ in middle school or even high school. “I don’t know, mom. I barely knew him in high school and when he was fourteen he left.” We talked for another few minutes before she hung up. I knew my mom was hoping that TJ and I would work out. She always told me he was special.

  And he was.

  ***

  I was starting to get bored in the room after channel surfing, and decided I would go take a walk and see some of the Biltmore. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The estate was like a fairy tale come to life. The paintings, the history, and the story of the Biltmore brought even more elegance and beauty to everything. I was in the garden, walking around and enjoying the outdoors when someone grabbed my hand, pulling me around to him.

  It was TJ.

  “You’re back!”

  He slid his arm around my waist. “You look beautiful, Danielle. You smell good, like vanilla and cookies.” He took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of my hair.

  I laughed as he said that. “Thank you. No one has ever told me I smell like a cookie.”

  He leaned closer, smelling my hair again. “It’s like sugar cookies or something, good enough to eat.”

  I could feel the blush creeping up my cheeks as he said that.

  “I’m sorry it took me so long to get back. You didn’t get too bored, did you?” He was holding both of my hands as he stood in front of me.

  “I spent some time walking around and seeing the estate; it really is amazing.” There really was nothing more beautiful and breathtaking than the view. He looked at me for a moment and looked around taking in the surroundings, never letting go of my hands.

  “Yeah, it is. Being here reminds me of the times I would come up here with my mom.” I could hear the sadness in his voice when he talked about his mother. It was the same sadness I felt when I talked about my father. I found myself looking up at him, mesmerized by every curve of his face. The shade of hazel in his eyes made him really handsome and sexy. It made my stomach flip-flop and my heart skip a beat.

  “What’s wrong, Danielle? Are you not having a good time? I knew I should have rescheduled the meeting.”

  I never felt happier in my life. “No, TJ, it’s fine. I am having a good time.”

  His eyes were searching my face looking for some sign of unhappiness. “Are you sure? You can tell me if something is wrong.”

  I leaned up and kissed him, feeling my heart squeeze again as our lips touched.

  “Mmmm… Your lips taste like vanilla; you really are good enough to eat.”

  “You’re making me blush, stop.”

  He was smiling now. “I love it when you blush, it’s very sexy. I can only imagine what you’re thinking of when you blush like that.”

  I was sure I was completely red now.

  “Come on, let’s go! I want to take you up to the Apple Orchards.”

  “We’re going to pick apples?” I asked.

  He looked at me trying to hold back a smirk. “No, I was thinking we could throw them at each other,” he said in a playful tone.

  “Very funny, but I have a very good arm and my aim is always right on target… just letting you know.”

  He nodded; not really concerned about getting hit with an apple, especially by a girl. “I’ll make sure to duck then.”

  ***

  The afternoon with TJ was amazing. We ate lunch outside and then walked around for a little, while talking.

  “So how was your meeting? Did it go well?”

  “Yeah, they made an offer and discussed timelines involving the delivery of the robot.”

  I thought back to the days of TJ on his porch, building robots. “Wow, I still can’t believe you build something so important.”

  He shrugged. “Well, I actually don’t build them by hand myself. I draw up the plans, sort out the specifications, and then a company I partner with builds them. It’s basically my idea, they just bring it to life.”

  He was truly amazing at everything and being sexy and smart didn’t hurt. A girl couldn’t ask for more. It h
ad just dawned on me that he’s probably rich too. They used a robot in my father’s last open heart surgery and gave the whole spiel to us in his hospital room beforehand. “Wait! Aren’t those surgical robots like millions of dollars or something?” We stopped walking now as we were standing in the middle of a long row of apple trees.

  “Yep, roughly about two point five million,” he said.

  Whoa.

  “I’m sorry. Let me get this right. You come up with these surgical robots and sell them to hospitals then they pay you two point five million dollars for them?” I still couldn’t believe how much money he made. He looked as if he was summing up what I was saying.

  “Basically, I create the concept. The way it works is that I create the blueprint, and then send that off to the company that builds them. I get paid and they get their cut.”

  I was still amazed at all of this. “How many of these robots have you made and sold?”

  He thought for a brief second, doing mental calculations. “I don’t keep count anymore. I have robots in almost every hospital in the Carolinas and have started to work on a contract with two hospitals in Georgia.”

  TJ really had made a successful business for himself and I still couldn’t believe it was the same boy next door. “Wow! So I guess playing with robots when you were little paid off.”

  “Well, I never thought of it like that, but I guess you could say that.”

  The sun was starting to go down as we headed back toward the Biltmore.

  “I had a really nice time today, TJ. Thank you.”

  He looked over at me and smiled. “You’re very welcome, Danielle”. He reached for my hand locking our fingers together as he drove toward town. We had dinner in a small, romantic, and quiet restaurant. We talked more over dinner. The more I learned about TJ, the more I realized my mom was right about this being the perfect place to get to know someone and fall in love.

  “Would you like some more wine, Ma’am?” The waiter was an older man and had made sure we had everything we needed.

  “Yes, please. Thank you,” I said, as I handed him my glass.

  “Sir, would you like another beer?”

  TJ was looking at me as he answered the waiter. “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

  I had three glasses of white wine with dinner and could feel the alcohol already taking its effect. “Dinner was very good TJ. Thank you. This entire weekend has been amazing.”

  He was leaning back in his chair, looking sexy. His hair was in place, but had that ‘combed with my fingers’ look to it. He was wearing a white button down shirt which was un-tucked and open at the collar, giving a small peek of skin. He also had on a pair of blue jeans and brown boots. My heart skipped a few beats just looking at him from across the table. The desire started growing slowly deep in my belly, and moving down in-between my legs.

  “I’m glad you had a good time, because I know I did. Are you ready to go?”

  It took me a second to take my eyes off of him as he was getting up. “Yeah, let’s go.”

  We walked quietly back to the car as he held my hand, pulling me close to him. I waited for him to pull the keys out of his pocket, still holding on to my hand. He unlocked the doors. I was about to open mine when he turned me around and pushed me up against the door.

  “I have wanted to kiss you all night, Danielle,” he said, before leaning in. He was kissing me now, pulling me in as his fingers found their way into my hair. “You taste good just like wine and vanilla.” He licked my bottom lip as he tugged it gently between his teeth. I could feel the shivers run down my body as he bit my bottom lip. He knew exactly what to do to make me feel things like no one else could.

  He pulled back, cupping my face in his hands while rubbing his thumb down my cheek and across my lower lip. His eyes were burning straight through me with desire. He reached around and opened the door for me and I slid into the seat. We drove back to the Biltmore in silence. My hand gripped his as he rubbed his thumb over my fingers in a slow circular motion. Between his small, quick glances and the touch of his hand on mine, the anticipation was building deep inside. It felt like it took forever just to get back. He was almost dragging me back to our room by my hand. I giggled a little bit I think, from the butterflies in my stomach and possibly the three glasses of wine. Well, mostly the glasses of wine.

  “What is so funny?” he said, glancing at me.

  I shook my head because I really didn’t know why I was laughing.

  “I think you had too much wine, maybe.”

  I never really had more than two glasses, so he was probably right.

  “It’s more than I usually have, but whatever.”

  He was laughing again as we finally made it to the door of our room. I watched him reach into his pocket for the key as he watched me from over his shoulder. I was struggling while trying to remove one of my boots.

  “Do you need help with that?” He was staring at me now raising an eyebrow.

  “No thank you, I got it. You just worry about getting the door unlocked. “Dammit! This zipper is always getting stuck!” I tugged, trying to get the zipper down while standing on one foot, and leaned forward. I almost fell but he caught me.

  “I got you. Are you alright?” He pushed my hair out of my face as I tried to blow away the strands on my own.

  “I’m sorry, the zipper of my boot got stuck and I lost my balance. I’m ok.”

  He looked at me for another second, making sure I was ok. “Are you sure?” He turned to put the key into the door, but had it backward since he was too busy focusing on me.

  “I am never wearing these boots again, that’s for sure.”

  TJ frowned as he looked at me.

  “What? What is it?”

  Grinning now, he shook his head. “I kind of like the boots on you. I think you look sexy in them.”

  I looked down at my boots, they were just your regular tan leather ankle boots with a heel. “You like my boots?”

  He nodded and grinned at the same time. “Yeah, I do. And tomorrow we are going to buy you a new pair so you can wear them more often, that’s how much I like them.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. I never pictured him as a guy who was into shoes. “You are crazy, you know that? Can we go inside now?”

  He put the key back in the door, the right way this time, and turned around again, looking over his shoulder. “Only if you leave those boots on when we get into bed.”

  I almost fell over again when my knees went weak from his comment. “TJ, open the door already.”

  We were both laughing as we walked into the room. I tried to get the boot off again, but couldn’t.

  “Sit down, Let me help you with the zipper,” he said, pushing me toward the chair. I sat on the chair, sinking into it, and leaned my head back resting it on the back of the chair. He bent down on both knees and slipped one boot off first, then the other, and I felt his hands move up my legs over my jeans. “You have the most beautiful legs.”

  He slid himself between my legs, resting his hands on my thighs, and started rubbing up and down. He was looking up at me now, his eyes hiding something behind his stare. He shifted closer, bringing his hand up to my neck, and pulling me down to kiss him. Our lips touched and his tongue slid into my mouth. He was kissing me slowly, taking his time now and I felt something different in his kiss. He was kissing me with such slowness and ease, like I meant something to him; something more than a friend next door or a girl he just slept with the night before. “I can kiss you forever,” he whispered, in-between kisses, never actually breaking the contact of our lips. My mind was racing now, a million thoughts. I couldn’t get my head cleared. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to jump out of my chest.

  “TJ…”

  Before I could get anything else out, he was biting my lower lip and kissing me again. Pulling me up from the chair and into his arms, he never broke our kiss. Moving us both toward the bed as he kissed me, I felt the bed behind me. My body lowered slowly
onto the bed with him following. At that moment it was as if nothing else existed, only the two of us. Nothing and no one else mattered. It seemed like hours before I was able to breathe again. When I was with him, time stood still. Rolling onto his back, he was breathing heavily. His entire body felt weak as he lay there looking up at the ceiling in the dark. “I don’t know how I went this long without you, Danielle. I swear this––” He was using his finger now pointing at me and him. “It’s never been this good. I’m never going to get enough of you.”

  I finally got my breathing back to normal and sat up in the bed. Every muscle in my body was weak. “I feel like I’ve run a marathon.”

  He looked up at me. “I can assure you that was way better than running a marathon, Danielle.”

  I knew nothing would be better than TJ. “I need something to drink. I’m going to get some water. You want some?” I felt my muscles ache as I got up.

  “No thanks.”

  Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, I could see my lips swollen from his kisses. I ran my finger across them, remembering his tongue and the way he took his time kissing me. He was slowly working his way into my heart forever. I drank my water, setting the glass down and looked back to my suitcase which was just outside the bathroom by the door.

  Tomorrow we were going back to reality and I felt a twinge of sadness at the thought of not sleeping next to TJ.

  It took me a long time to fall asleep, thinking about how my heart felt, and wanted to jump out of my chest when TJ was inside of me. He looked into my eyes as if he could see into my soul. He knew my every need and desire without me speaking a word. I thought about every touch, even something as simple as the brush of an arm when passing each other. The way he held my hand in the car and when we walked in the garden, it was the same ache I felt in my heart when we were kids playing in the backyard and even when we became teenagers. The way he looked at me in his garage and the small, quick glances at school made me realize how much I loved him. I was always in love with him. I just didn’t realize it, until now.