Page 9 of The White Enchantress

“We’ll do that one first in case we bomb it miserably. Then let’s doAin’t No Mountain High EnoughandRewrite the Stars.”

“Very romantic setlist, Josh. But I love the theme. Nothing gets in the way of love. Death, mountains, fate. I love it!”

“Hmm,” Josh grunts, his broody face taking over, but he shrugs it off. “I didn’t even mean to put a theme together. Those were just the songs off the top of my head.”

Everyone in the audience loved our unique covers.Yay!Josh and I stay at the bar hours after our set. I am still a bit flushed from the performance though. Looking into Josh’s eyes as we sang songs about love brought back that feeling from the other morning. His hazel eyes had turned a shade of golden I’ve seen before, but not from him. I remember how my mother’s hazel eyes would glow that same golden shade when she was with Ed.

I know Josh loves me; he’s said it to me many times and I’ve returned the sentiment. But something has shifted since Josh arrived in America to spend time with me as I figure out what I want out of life. I know he feels it too. The way he pulled me down into his bed the other day, nearly kissing me, his lips brushing gently against my palm, and that golden gaze piercing my soul.

We head back to our hotel just after midnight, stumbling down the busy sidewalk in a drunken haze. I pull my water bottle out of my bag, chugging half of it to sober up a bit and offer the rest to Josh but he doesn’t take any. Instead, he asks if we can pick up a six-pack for the hotel.

“You want to keep drinking? How are you not wasted after all those shots and beers we had at the bar?”

“I’m Irish?” Josh shrugs.

There is a convenience store on the way, so we stop in for some booze, snacks and more hydration. I am still a youthful twenty-three-year-old, but I know the mix of drinks I had will leave me with a hangover if I don’t hydrate before falling asleep.

As I step into our hotel room, the one king-size bed looks much smaller than I remembered. I booked this room because only the king rooms have balconies. The idea of sharing a bed with Josh hadn’t been a big deal before. In fact, we’ve slept in smaller beds together without any funny business happening between us. But that boundary we put up all those years ago seems to have faded. I feel vulnerable.

“Are you gonna stand here in the doorway all night, love?” Josh asks, pulling me out of my own mind. I shake myself as if chills run down my spine and make my way into our hotel room. Plopping my bag down on the ground, I grab a bag of chips and a water bottle, then head straight for the balcony. Josh follows, bringing a beer with him. “Everything all right?”

“Yeah, why? Do I not look all right?” I say a bit too sharply.

“You just seem out of sorts, is all.”

“I’m fine,” I say as I sit down on one of the chairs. I open the bag of chips and chomp away. The junk food and water seem to be helping with my drunkenness. At least I can see straight again. “Isn’t this city beautiful? Chaotic, but beautiful.”

Josh agrees, sitting down next to me with an open beer in hand. “So, what’s on the itinerary for tomorrow?”

“I thought we’d discover downtown and visit Battery Park and World Trade Center, have lunch at Beecher’s, then we have tickets forOklahoma!which starts at 3:00.”

“Sounds perfect, Guin. Thank you for organizing all this. I didn’t know how much I needed a vacation. And just so you know, I’m paying for half of this trip so just tell me what I owe you.”

“Not gonna happen, pal. This is my treat, my thank you to you for crossing the Atlantic to be with me during what is probably a super early mid-life crisis.”

“Hmm. You are definitely having a breakdown. But I think you are handling it pretty well. I honestly thought you would have run away to America much sooner.”

“Really? Well, Ed turned out to be a pretty decent dad and honestly, I didn’t like the idea of life without you in it.”

“I know.” Josh’s face is unreadable, transforming back into his default brood while looking out into the view of Times Square from our balcony. The lights from the digital screen make him look ghostly. His gaze is fixed on something I can’t see, thoughts churning around in his mind.

The urge to caress his rigid brow, cradle his face in my hands and bring him to my lips is so strong I need to step away from him for a moment. I stand up a little too quickly and lose my balance. Josh is beside me in an instant holding me up as the dizzy spell passes.

“Are you okay, love?” He says in a soft, husky voice. Before I can answer, Josh pulls me closer, putting his lips to mine. I kiss himback with the same passion and need he shows me. Then his hands are all over me, searching, seeking for skin underneath my clothes.

There is no hesitation, no thought. We move as one, tearing each other’s clothes off. I don’t remember moving, but the next thing I know, my legs are against the bed. After tossing my naked body down, Josh quickly moves on top of me, parting my thighs gently to massage the wet folds between.

The sensation of his strong, warm hands on such a private part of my body is enough for me to lose myself at once. As he slides a finger inside me, massaging my inner walls, I moan softly in his ear, giving the lobe a little nip. In one swift motion, he removes his finger, replacing it with a much larger extremity. He enters me fully with one strong thrust, making me cry out in blissful agony.

Resuming his assault on my lips, we fall instep to a perfect rhythm until we begin to reach a climax. I dig my fingers into his curly hair, pulling him closer to me as his thrusts quicken with urgency. Wrapping my legs around his hips, I push him deeper inside me, needing him to leave an impression, a physical branding of his presence.

He grabs my legs, pushing them up as he continues to drill his entire length inside me. I suddenly feel his whole body shudder as he loses his strength, falling down beside me on the bed.

“Guin…fuck.” Josh is out of breath from the spontaneous exercise that had just taken place in our bed. Sweat glistens on his brow. “I’m so sorry for jumping you like that. I’m drunker thanI thought. But fuck, I didn’t mean for it to go that far. You just looked so damn sexy in those ripped jeans I couldn’t help myself.”

“I could have easily stopped it if I wanted.”

“I don’t know if you could have. I was a bit crazed, might still be.” He looks away as though ashamed. “What happens now? I don’t want this to ruin what we have.”

---