The Science of Loving

by Candace Vianna

  I licked her again then shifted up on my elbows. “You might want to grab hold of the headboard, sweetness; you’re going to need it. Now open wide—” I parted her folds. “—and say aaahh.” I curved a finger inside her, stroking the spongy bundle of nerves that made up her g-spot while my mouth went to work on her engorged clit until she was drenched and dancing underneath my tongue.

  “Oh God, Mat.”

  My fingers continued pumping, although I stopped tonguing long enough to tease. “Not, ‘Oh God, Mat,’ Ahhhhh…” I went back to sucking her clit, whipping my tongue furiously even after she came apart. Her pussy clutched and sucked at my fingers as I made her twitch and twist until she begged me to stop.

  I finally relented, easing my fingers out as she shivered. Feeling devilish, I caught her eye. “That’s one.” The look on her face was priceless. I let her scramble away, giving her a head start before I lunged after her, turning her laughter into breathy squeals when I caught her.

  I growled, giving her a look that said she was lucky the phone interrupted our wrestling. “Yeah?”

  “Hello, this is Detective Ledesma with the SDPD. I’m trying to reach Dr. Angelina Martin.”

  “Yeah, she’s right here. Hold on, I’ll put you on speaker.”

  “Dr. Martin?”

  “Yes, I’m here.”

  “Are you okay talking with…”

  “Mathew James? Yes it’s fine.” She smirked. “He’s my bodyguard.”

  “And boyfriend.” I added, pulling her close.

  “And my boyfriend.” She agreed, batting my hands away from her tits. I didn’t know how she expected me to keep my hands off her when she was in her birthday suit. It was my favorite outfit.

  The detective cleared his throat and continued. “Well, we’ve had a surprise development in your case—a good development. Weird, but good—we have your attacker in custody. He was arrested last night in an unrelated assault. When we ran his prints, they matched the ones left on your car as well as ones from a cold vehicular homicide case.”

  “That’s great—not the homicide—I meant catching the bad guy.” She clapped a hand over her mouth then mumbled red faced. “You know what I mean.” She was adorable when she rambled.

  “Yes Dr. Martin, I do.” The detective’s grin came over the phone clearly before he turned serious. “Can either of you tell me anything about Avery Johnson?” Motherfucker.

  “He’s an ex-employee of mine. We’re in the process of filing a complaint against him for unauthorized use of a company credit card.”

  “Could Mr.Johnson’s attack on Dr. Martin be out of revenge?”

  “That’s possible. You also might want to check his connection to Angie’s mother. The two of them ambushed her at a coffee shop. Her folks are in the middle of a divorce and it’s getting nasty. There’s a lot of money involved.”

  “No, that doesn’t make sense; Mom would lose even more if I died. Without an heir the trust goes to the National Science Foundation.”

  “Maybe he wasn’t trying to kill you. What if your dad’s mishap wasn’t really a mishap? When it didn’t end the way they’d planned, they decided to grab you. How much would your dad pay to get you back? Or me and my family? We’d liquidate everything to see you safe.”

  “What happened to your father?” the detective asked after a brief pause. He was probably taking notes.

  “He had a hit and run with a bicyclist that almost knocked him into traffic.”

  “Yeah, and if anything happens to him, Angie becomes trustee to the family fortune. After your mom’s earlier freak-out, I wouldn’t put anything past either one of them. We know Avery’s not above extortion. He blackmailed Max.”

  “Blackmailed?” The detective sighed heavily.

  “Maximilian Karlson. Yeah, we have all the ingredients for our own soap opera: a sex scandal, big money, divorce, intrigue, blackmail.”

  “You wouldn’t happen to know the nature of the blackmail?”

  “Only second hand, Max recently confessed to my other partner, Tom Reid, so you’ll want to ask him. The three of us met in college and after we graduated, we started an architecture firm, James, Karlson and Reid Enterprises. Avery was the catalyst for our split. So who did the douchebag assault?”

  “A stripper. He allegedly smacked her when she refused to give him a lap dance. Big mistake. Her boyfriend’s an MMA trainer.”

  “Un-fucking-believable.”

  “When the police showed up, she was kicking his ass in the parking lot.” Damn, that was twice in one week a girl had gotten the better of him. Gotta love serendipity.

  Angie was shivering by the time we said our good byes. “You don’t really believe Mom would purposely harm me, do you?”

  I did, but I knew that wasn’t what Angie needed to hear. “Sweetie, all she’d have to do is mention the trust. It wouldn’t matter if she did it on purpose, it’s a twofer… Avery could get revenge and money.” Needing to lighten the mood, I swatted her butt. “Now get into the kitchen woman, and make me a sandwich. You think I can live on pie alone? I’m going to call the folks.”

  The call was short but informative. It was dangerous messing with someone my mom claimed, and she’d claimed Angie right there in that Walmart parking lot. When Mom started cursing in Spanish, I knew Stephanie was about to learn Angie wasn’t alone anymore. Through their work over the years, my parents had made friends with everyone from the low riding, ‘We’re not a gang, we’re a car club, esé.’ to bankers and politicians, and they were owed plenty of favors. Stephanie couldn't imagine the shit storm that was about to rain down on her.

  The police still had my car, so Mat dropped me off for my Sunday caffeinating. I could barely hide my smile as he fled after Danny asked him if he wanted to hear about her latest yeast infection.

  “That was just mean,” I told her as she snickered. Maybe being an only child wasn't so bad after all; she had way too much fun messing with him.

  “Well, how are we supposed to talk, when all the good stuff is on his stupid list?”

  “What list?” Les asked.

  “He has a list of topics he considers unseemly.”

  “There’s just some things he’s not comfortable discussing with his mother and baby sister.” I said, feeling the need to defend him. Lord knows I wouldn’t want to hear intimate details about my dad. I felt weird just thinking about it.

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  “Hey guys, sorry I’m late.” Carla slid in next to Danny. “What happened to your face?”

  “Long story.”

  “So give me the Reader’s Digest version.”

  “Flat tire on Wednesday, asshole jumped me, met my tire iron. Asshole assaulted a stripper on Friday, got his ass kicked again, got arrested.”

  “Wait, what stripper?” Les demanded. “You never said anything about a stripper. As your favorite minion, I have the right to know these things, so I can be the one to break it on the grapevine.”

  “Oh, it gets better.” Danny gloated. “Carla, guess who the asshole is?”

  “It’s somebody we know?”

  “Avery the douche.”

  Carla held a hand to her mouth catching the coffee she was choking on. “Shit, well timed boss. He got his ass handed to him by a stripper? That’s fucking priceless.”

  “Haven’t you guys ever seen a stripper work a pole? They’re freaking strong.” Les looked around the table. “YouTube people, duh.”

  “Yeah, well this pole dancing stripper’s also into MMA.” Danny grinned.

  “Hey, maybe she’d like to go out for coffee sometime.” Les shrugged. “What? She sounds interesting.”

  “So did Avery go after Angie to get back at Mat?” Carla asked.

  “Probably.”

  “That and Angie’s loaded. Well, she’ll be loaded when her dad kicks the bucket,” Les piped in. “Again with the looks? Hey, I’m just saying what everybody’s thinking.”

  See no filter. You always knew where you stood with
her. That was why I threw her a bone. “You were right about Mom. She came by our place and had it out with us. God, it was ugly.”

  “Shit, what’d Mat do?”

  “Offered to throw her out, but let me handle it in the end.”

  “And…”

  “I threatened her with the police if she didn’t leave. I never want to see again.

  “Hallelujah. It’s about damn time.”

  “Yeah, well ‘my come to Jesus’ moment feels like crap.” I was tired of all the attention, so I turned the spotlight on Les. “So has Bob asked you out yet?”

  “You better believe it.” Les fanned herself. “Who knew under that stiff exterior, beats the heart of a freak?”

  “Yeah, you have to watch out for those stiff ones.” Danny snickered then made me blush by winking at me.

  I spent the rest of the morning learning more about my boss’s love life than I was entirely comfortable with, and being alternately appalled and intrigued as Les and Carla enter into lively, and educational discourse on erotic body piercing. I liked having girlfriends. Even Carla was okay once you got past all the metal. By the time I texted Mat, my debauched goddess was humming on a caffeine high and my sides ached from laughing.

  “Is it safe?”

  “For you, but I don’t know about Bob.”

  “????”

  “Les met Carla.”

  “Sh!t.”

  It was too nice a day to spend indoors, so after picking me up, we spent the day strolling through Balboa Park watching street performers and eating snacks at the International Houses. We ended up cuddling in the botanical gardens surrounded by the rich smell of plants and loam. I snuggled closer, and an elderly woman smiled when he kissed my hair as she passed by. I was content. A huge weight lifted from my shoulders as I finally realized, not just in my head, but in my heart, that he genuinely wanted me, that I was enough.

  “Hey Jack, what’s up?”

  “I had the strangest conversation with Stephanie. She’s suddenly ready to sign the divorce settlement, said something about returning to the east coast.”

  “Really.”

  “Yep, you wouldn’t know anything about that would you?”

  “Me? No.”

  “Ah huh. Talk to your folks lately.”

  “As a matter of fact, I talked them last night.” Hurricane Carmen didn’t waste any time. “You heard they arrested Angie’s attacker?”

  “Yes, a detective called.”

  “Maybe he called Stephanie too.”

  “Maybe.” Jack sounded unconvinced, but let it drop. “How’s my baby.”

  “More beautiful than ever.” I smiled seeing her walk in sporting another pair of my boxers and one of my old t-shirts with ‘Erecting Monuments’ written across her chest. I wondered if she realized ‘Monumental Erections’ was written across the back. It was a souvenir from an ‘Over-The-Line’ tournament. For the last sixty years, OMBAC, Old Mission Bay Athletic Club, a.k.a. Old Men Behaving As Children, has hosted the drunken tournament, raising money for a slew of charities. Part of the fun was getting the most juvenile and hopefully vulgar team name you could think of announced over the P.A. Ours was one of the tamer ones actually; Tom could be so touchy.

  “Who was that?” I'd never seen her so relaxed, so open. Yesterday, she might’ve spent a better part of the afternoon blushing as we enjoyed the park, but not once did she hide or look at her feet.

  “Just someone I’m working on a side project with.” Not a lie. “Drawers full of sexy lingerie and you put on my old rags?”

  “Mmmmm, they’re comfy, sexy isn’t. Besides, you steal my sexy when I wear it. What’re you doing with them, hanging them on your secret serial killer alter?”

  “Naw, it’s more like a shrine.” I tugged her down on my lap and she started giggling, “What?”

  “I thought you might be a serial killer the first time I saw you. I even wondered if you’d squeeze me to death or just fuck the life right out of me.”

  “The mouth on you girl, I’m shocked…”

  She blushed. “You’re a vitiating influence.” Vitiating huh, gonna have to look that one up.

  “So, you’ve been obsessing on my dick for the last three weeks?”

  “No…”

  “How about now?”

  “No…” I rubbed my hard-on against her ass. “Maybe…”

  I flipped her on her back, pinning her. “I bet I can change that to absolutely.”

  Epilog

  My face heated as I took one last look around. The winery was fantastic, and had already been featured in several magazines and blogs. He’d whispered during the grand opening that he’d chosen limestone that matched my complexion, and the early morning and late afternoon sun would make it blush the same way I did when I came. So now, I couldn't look at the gleaming surface without my mind going straight to the gutter.

  I fiddle with the ring sparkling on my left hand, making motes of sunlight dance on his cheek as we drove back to San Diego. He’d proposed the first night of our stay over dinner. Unfortunately, the heartfelt proposal, plus the wine from the grand opening and the celebratory blowjobs that followed, had me sentimentally reminiscing about the night we met. Telling him Danny’s friends called him drool worthy had been a mistake. When we returned to our room, he surprised me with a toy bag he’d secretly packed in case my yes—according to him—needed some persuasion.

  At one point, after intriguing me into trying something called bondage tape, he stood over my bound body and strapped a remote controlled device over of my clitoris. After claiming he was Ivan Pavlov, he explained he needed empirical data to support his theory on Classical Conditioning, and would use the device to quote: ‘stimulate vaginal salivation whenever he said the word ‘Sweetness.’ Then—Oh My God—he turned it on.

  He even used that damn voice of his to get me to walk around wearing the damn thing. Over the next few days, he said ‘sweetness’ often, and at the most inopportune times—if they don’t make something like that for guys, I just might have to re-purpose the toaster. He’s definitely due for some payback.

  Traffic was light and we made good time, arriving home in little over an hour. I was puzzled when Mat parked on the street rather than pulling inside. “I’ve got one more surprise for you.” I shivered when I noticed the cloth he was stroking—look at me. I want you to have a good look at what you’re gonna to get before I take your sight from you.

  “I’m not sure I can handle any more surprises.”

  “Trust me baby, you can take it.” He knotted the cloth snuggly behind my head then adjusted the front until there were only slivers of light by my nose. “Sit tight a minute.”

  He left me anxious and squirming. Then I heard a door rattle. Seconds later the car door opened and he carefully guided me into the building. We were in what I assumed was the ground floor of his warehouse. But instead of smelling concrete, engine oil and metal, I smelled wood shavings and fresh paint. Not only that, someone’s stifled giggle told me we weren’t alone.

  “Angie, several months ago a very wise woman told me, ‘When your love is too great for words, say it with a grand gesture.’ So baby, this is my grand gesture, my promise to love all of you.”

  The blindfold slid off and I was stunned. We were in the middle of a beautifully appointed workshop with my dad’s tools artfully arranged on a custom crafted workbench—even Daddy’s ugly couch looked—well, not so ugly. And everyone was here: Daddy, Mat’s family, all our friends.

  “I love you babe,” Mat whispered. Tears started rolling down my cheeks.

  “I love you too.” I sniffed, hugging him with all my strength, listening to the thud of his heart. I even refrained from wiping my nose on his shirt.

  “Holy shit, look at the size of that rock!” Les broke the silence as only she can. Then everyone started congratulating us.

  I looked around while Daddy laughed, helping Stewart pour champagne, and Carmen and Danny set out trays filled with tamales and rice.
What had once been bare concrete floors and grey institutional walls, was now a raised kitchenette and lounge. Daddy’s not so ugly sofa and a glowing coffee table that could’ve been carved from a huge piece of amber sat in front of a ridiculously large flat screen TV. Above it hung a weird chandelier with lots of tiny lights that looked like—oh my God! Fruit flies. Well, if they were super-sized.

  Mat wrapped himself around me. “That part’s for me when you’re busy tinkering, and the upstairs gets too lonely.” Shit, I would not start crying again. His grin turned sheepish when I notice the punching bag hanging off to one side with its chain attached to a rail. “For when I piss you off. It slides out. You can work all that naked aggression out of your system; then look, there’s a nearby sofa perfect for makeup sex.”

  I blushed filled with happiness. I no longer lurked on the fringes; I lived in the middle, surrounded by people who still loved me even when they didn’t get me. And it was all because of him, this beautiful man who loved me.

  “Jack designed that area.” Across the room, I noticed a track mounted shop hoist and the prettiest engine stand parked underneath.

  “Yeah, and I’m trying to convince him to come work with us,” Tom said as Daddy gave me a cup of champagne and a kiss. He was also trying to convince Mat to open a commercial division and give Max a second chance. He said they’d been unfairly holding him back, and they’d been friends too long to let a lowlife like Avery wreck everything.

  “Thanks Sweet-cheeks,” Mat said, taking the cup Tom offered with a smile, and presented the side of his face for a kiss as well.

  “Whatever Cupcake.” Tom grinned pinching his cheek then adding a slap.

  “All right, everyone—if I could have your attention for a moment,” Daddy said. “I’d like to propose a toast. To my daughter and future son-in-law. Baby girl, you’ve always… always, been my pride and joy… My world.” Daddy faltered and swallowed. “The day you were born was the day I started living.” He nodded to Mat. “You chose well. I know you’re in good hands. And Mat, I’ll be watching, so you’d better take good care of her.” He glared at him for a moment then his lips twitched. “Or I’ll sic Carmen on you.”