by TC Rybicki
“Oh, Dane. I didn’t think you could get any better after the massage, but you rock as a best friend.” She didn’t wait for me. Sydney slipped into her old flip-flops when we took a walk to the creek after our lunch, so she took off running without hesitation.
I met her at the desk. I told them who I was and Sydney’s appointment time. I’m sure they had a good laugh when I asked over the phone what was best and which kind of mani-pedi a fancy woman would want.
The gentleman with the appointment book looked at me, “You want one too?”
“Who me? No, no way.”
The massage was good, but I wasn’t letting anyone touch my feet.
“Yes, please. Do it with me, Dane. It’ll be fun.”
I leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear. “Don’t ever say that to me in public again or we’re going to get arrested.”
I grabbed firm to her elbow before she launched her signature assault for my inappropriate talk, but honestly, she started it. I kept saying no thanks the whole walk to the back. Sydney pulled me by the hand and wasn’t taking no for an answer. If I acted the way she did about no all those times I wanted to take her to my room, I’d be considered a scoundrel.
They got me in a chair. I wore casual slacks, so I had no problem rolling them up after pulling off my shoes. I was sure this was the most embarrassment I’d ever subjected myself to until I saw a big burly looking cowboy a few feet from us.
He waved. “Don’t knock it, buddy. It’s a stellar experience; my lady drags me in every six weeks.”
Once they offered alcohol, I decided it wasn’t too bad. I had red wine and Sydney took a diet soda. I tried to get her to give those nasty things up, but she drank one a few times a week. I guess it wasn’t too bad of a habit. Now my habit of Sydney was another story. I had to have a little of Sydney every day and today was making me crave a lot. A little wasn’t satisfying my wicked habit. If she didn’t make that call to Grant, I was sure to need an intervention.
She kept waving her hands in front of her face at dinner. Sydney changed her mind and stuck with her original nails, no acrylics which would make Nina less likely to destroy them.
“For the hundredth time, the color is perfect.” Sydney had a long debate on the best color. She ended up with something peachy but had gold glitter accents on a couple of fingernails.
“They’re pure summer, aren’t they?”
“You’re pure summer. The nails fit nicely with your entire look. I’m starved. Want to split a Porterhouse with me?”
“I’ll have a bite, but I’m getting stuffed chicken.” She pointed to the one she was talking about. I didn’t break it to her that my steak was less indulgent when I read about her stuffed chicken smothered in two kinds of cheese. Oh well, it was her birthday. She could afford the indulgence. I liked to think my influence helped Sydney get back to her healthy weight. She had a warm, restored glow to her fuller cheeks. Maybe it was the Texas heat and I was overthinking, but we both seemed flushed. We had this nervous energy all through dinner. She’d look up at me and I’d grin until she rolled her eyes and look away. Our day was winding down. This truly was the last stop I had planned. After the nail shop, we went antiquing or browsing antiques. We didn’t make any purchases. The only thing I had left were the gifts tucked away in the truck. She most likely thought the pampering was the gift, but that was only part of it. She deserved something lasting as well.
Sydney pushed her plate away. “No more. I’m stuffed. I need a box.”
“Oh, come on, what about cake? It’s your birthday.”
“No way. I can’t handle dessert.”
I had an idea for keeping our night going. There was a spot on the ranch perfect for star gazing. Sydney only knew it from riding during the day, but I could drive us there before taking her home. I assumed after the two-hour drive back she might have room for one bite of birthday cake. This restaurant had lived up to its reputation. The food was excellent. I figured they made good desserts so when the waitress stopped off with the dessert menu while Sydney was in the restroom, I put in a special request to surprise her with and asked for a box for her leftovers.
Sydney sat back down as I was signing the ticket, “This was nice, huh?”
“Yes, I loved it. It’s a treat not having to clean up the kitchen. I used to eat out a lot and never appreciate it, but now I do. Thanks, Dane. Thanks again for everything.”
Our waitress boxed up Sydney’s chicken and handed me the bag with her birthday cake.
She squinched up her face. “What’s in the bag?”
“Later. We need to get going.”
“Trying to put an end to this night?”
“Nope, trying to make it last as long as possible.”
Sydney held my arm on the way to the truck. She didn’t pull me toward the passenger side, so I let her take the lead. I unlocked the door with my hand on the keys inside my pocket. She opened my driver’s side door. We didn’t say anything when Sydney climbed in, pushed up the console and plopped her ass in the middle seat.
“What? It’s far over there, and I might want rest. You have a nice shoulder.” I lifted one eyebrow. “Fine. Forget it. If you’re going to make a big deal about me sitting next to you, I won’t.”
I held her arm. “I didn’t say a word. The only one making a spectacle is you. Stay put. Use my shoulder or any other parts you think are good. We’ve spent the night together, sitting by each other isn’t scandalous.”
“You fell asleep in my bed. That’s not spending the night together.”
“It wasn’t just once.” I had issues tearing myself away from her since the first time I drifted off. It was my biggest fear, one morning Josie Littlefield was going to catch me skipping across her property in the pre-dawn hours. She might shoot me even though I think she liked me with Sydney.
“Oh yeah, I never notice when you sleep with me.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“No.”
“Because I assure you if I want to be noticed, you’ll be fully aware I’m there.”
“Cut it out. Are you taking me home or not?”
“Nope, I’m not because I figure it’s only going to be ten, so I have one more stop for us unless you get on my nerves and I call it a night when we roll into town.”
“How am I getting on your nerves?”
“For one, you haven’t buckled up and because where should I put my hand. I don’t want to get elbowed.”
Sydney grabbed my arm and pulled it over her head to rest it on her shoulders. She buckled her seatbelt and snuggled further into my side. I started up the truck and left the restaurant parking lot.
“Happy birthday, honey. I like you sitting here.”
One of Sydney’s hands found a resting place on my thigh. It was going to be a long two hours with so much contact. But good. It was such a nice way to travel with my girl in my arms.
“Thanks again, Dane. You outdid yourself and that’s saying something. Once Daddy gave me a car and today still beat that birthday.”
Sydney being perfectly still and quiet only meant one thing; she drifted off after the first fifty miles. I drove as slow as I could over the cattle guard, but that woke her. “We’re going to your place?”
“Kind of. I have a place I want to show you close to the river and I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some cake.”
“You, goofball. I knew you were getting cake.”
“Still don’t have any room?”
“No, actually that sounds kind of good. We can share, I guess.”
As soon as I parked, Sydney sat up and took notice. “Jeez, it’s a nice night. There’s so many stars out.”
“They came out to celebrate you on your birthday.”
“Ha-ha, I doubt it.”
“Come on. The truck bed was a good spot for our picnic earlier. I want you to get the full effect of the night sky.”
The cake was excellent. The company was even better. The waitress stuck in a can
dle and a match. Sydney made a wish and blew out her candle in front of me. We stargazed and ate chocolate cake. I told her to hold still for the last surprise of the evening. I brought out the gifts.
“You did not. Dane Ellsworth, you spoil me.”
“Not exactly, you were already spoiled before I met you. I’m just continuing the tradition.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. I had a rush of blood pool in my lower region. I pulled out my phone and turned on the flashlight, so she could see. Sydney ripped into the paper.
“What’s this?” I held my light over the frame. “No, really. What is all this? Poems. Pictures.”
“Just some stuff we’ve read, some of my favorites and a few pictures we’ve taken together.” Sydney started breathing funny, and then the sniffling commenced. “Oh, come on, don’t cry. I thought you’d like this idea.”
“I do. I love it, but I can’t believe you made me something. I don’t think anyone’s ever given me a homemade gift before.”
“Now you made me sound like a tool.”
“No, most definitely not. I’ve called you a lot of choice names since meeting you, but this gift and all today proves you’re the most thoughtful man in existence. I better get to planning your birthday right away if I’m going to compete.”
“You just missed it before you moved here. I think there’s plenty of time before you need to worry, but there’s still one more thing. Here.”
I handed her the small box. She shook her head. “No, this is too much. I’m sure.”
“It’s not expensive, I swear, but I figured a young woman with your upbringing had some nice jewelry, and you probably lost it all in the judgment. You never wear any, so I wanted you to have this.”
Sydney opened the gift from the silver shop I visited on one of my trips to San Antonio. I bought her a charm bracelet. It really wasn’t fancy, and she could add to it. I added her birthstone inside a silver heart charm and a horse one because Cash was kinda my wingman getting me closer to her.
“I love it.”
“You want me to put it on you?”
Sydney held out her right hand. “Sure. If you can see in the dark.”
“I’ll feel my way in between the starlight and glimmer in your eyes.”
“We’ve been reading entirely too much poetry, Dane.”
“I agree. Maybe we should start living it.”
It took a few tries to attach the tiny clasp, but once the bracelet was secure, I didn’t exactly pull away. Sydney and I had come a long way in a short amount of time. She was the best thing that ever happened to me even if she was only meant to be a friend. Her skin was soft and warm where I rubbed her wrist. I knew damn well we weren’t only friends.
“Was it a good birthday?”
Sydney snuggled closer, “You know it was. I never expected any of this.”
“I’m glad. I had fun, and that pedicure thing might become a regular occurrence, but never solo. I’ll need you to come along.”
“Oh, regular pedicures again. Gee, I don’t know. Maybe if you insist or subdue me.”
I tickled her side. Sydney tried to stop me, but I was too quick. We wrestled around in the truck bed because I was curious what it might feel like to subdue her sensually. She was feisty and those freshly painted nails clawed me a couple of times. Finally, I got both her hands secured behind her back. “Now what are you going to do?”
“Let me go, jerk. No fair.”
“Fine. You suggested it; my male mind had to see what subduing you was like. I’ll let go but promise no more pinching. That shit hurts.” Sydney fought dirty. I already knew from experience.
“Stop tickling me.”
“I stopped already.”
“Let go!”
“I’m letting go on three. We should go, anyway. Duty calls in the morning for both of us. One, two…” I released her hands from behind her back as I said three. I accomplished everything that I set out to do for Sydney. Her smile was all I craved. She deserved to feel special.
Sydney grabbed my wrist. I thought at first, she wasn’t done having the last say about our tickle fight. She liked to win. “Dane, wait. I know I said thanks for everything, but really, this was all so amazing. I need you to know for certain how much I appreciate it.”
“Come here, kid.” I pulled her in for one more hug, and I used the term kid loosely to thwart off what I was seriously tempted to do next. The hug was more for me than her. Feeling her against me did too much to remind me Sydney was all woman. I planned to take that last hit off her hair until the next time I had the opportunity to be this close. My lips were always drawn to her skin. I place one quick kiss on her forehead. “I’m glad, babe.”
Sydney normally pulled back if she thought I was getting the wrong idea. Tonight, something was different. If I thought hard enough, most of today had been different. We kept experiencing these long silent stares and the fact she sat against me the last two hours was a new occurrence. Our faces remained only a slight distance from each other and then Sydney did a little shift with her body. We were even closer now, only facing more directly instead of side to side.
I made myself a promise when we first embarked on this new friendship. I would wait until she said Grant was out of the picture. It had never been an easy promise to keep. A war raged on inside my heart and mind each time we were together. Don’t get me started on my body, but tonight, the body was winning. I couldn’t stop myself. Sydney should be stopping me about now. She wasn’t. Once I felt her breath on my lips, there was no turning back. She smelled like chocolate. I wondered if she tasted the same way. My mouth was no more than a centimeter from contact. Her sweet lips slightly parted and one of us moved because when she closed them back, mine were in the mix.
A kiss.
We were kissing, but not totally engaged in how I pictured our first kiss. I assumed after all these weeks of tension we’d erupt from the first contact, but this was opposite of a frenzy. Sydney and I continued that slow back and forth touching with only the fullest part of our lips. I touched her top lip between mine; then she alternated pulling my bottom lip between hers. Back and forth, an even exchange of our mouths, not touching anything else, but feeling like we were completely connected. The brushes were feather-like, barely there. And they were also so hot. I was instantly rock hard from the restrained passion.
Sydney caved before I did. So unexpected. She was just that from the first day she fell in my arms. Unexpected. She made a sound and dug that fresh manicure into my scalp. The slow build was over. We reached a crescendo. I staked a claim with my hands, one on her neck and the other at her waist. Then we were kissing like I imagined it would be: hard, heavy, and deep. She tasted like chocolate, but not for long. I was determined she would taste like me when I was done except now that we started, I could never be done.
It’s not too late to stop. I said that to myself every millimeter as I crossed over the line. I’d been skirting the boundary all day. Lies. Quit lying. All summer not only today. I enjoyed Dane’s companionship. Enjoyment turned to need a time or two or maybe a dozen. I needed to know. Then I could make an informed decision. What was I hanging onto with Grant? What did I want with Dane? The two men existed in parallel universes as far as I was concerned. Grant was pre-life implosion; Dane was postwar clean-up. I was blossoming into a new person, a better person that I liked so much more than my previous self.
This haste decision in the back of Stud escalated quickly. First, I’d share the same air, then I’d taste his lips before pulling back and insist he drive me home at once. It would be so easy to blame Dane. He was always on the frisky side of joking and mischief. This would give me the chance to kiss him and get myself off the hook for being a cheat.
I was a cheater.
And a liar.
It was me. I pushed forward. I kissed him while Dane hesitated. The one kiss never ended, and now we were falling. The two of us were falling back to the blanket and I swear if I didn’t know better, we were fal
ling head over heels in love. Were lust and love really that different? Now I didn’t know. I couldn’t differentiate, so I quit all this ridiculous speculating in my mind and decided to enjoy my time laying down with him to the fullest. If I was a cheater, I might as well make it count.
There were certain moments in my life I would record in my memory for safe keeping. Dane falling against me in the bed of his truck was one of them. I can never go back to the second before I felt his penis in a fully aroused state. A state I put him in. There’s something empowering for a woman to know she is the cause of that much want and desire. I doubt men Dane’s age need much cause, but I was proud just the same, so I kissed on, wrapping my arms and one leg around him. Two legs would have been far too forward, practically slutty of me. I was a virgin. Could one be a virgin slut? This was as real as I’d ever been with a man. I didn’t want to cheapen our moment thinking about how I’d experimented with Grant. I had this hard and fast rule about not letting him do much to me, or maybe it was his hard and fast rule. ‘If you aren’t going to put out then get me off, hard and fast, please. Then I know you care because you don’t show me your tits, and rarely let me even have a squeeze.’
Here I was. On my back, feeling Dane against my thigh and letting him take his first squeeze realizing it was not nearly enough. I was going to need so much more with him.
Dane pulled back, out of breath and questioning me with his eyes. It wasn’t time for words, but he spoke, “Sydney. We should stop.”
I did what I’d been programmed to do in hopes of proving to him I wasn’t ready to stop. I grabbed him. My hand found that ripple of manliness that was loudly proclaiming its value every second Dane moved against me. How could something so silent be that vocal? I was impressed. Sure, leave it to him to wow me with his privates. It was so Dane and I was sure I could please him, but not hard and fast. He deserved more attention than that and I didn’t want any part of this experience to go fast.
He allowed me one stroke before clamping his firm fingers on my wrist. “Easy there, princess. Not today. You’re the birthday girl and I’m not out of presents just yet.”