Page 13 of Road Trip
He found his happy place and held me tight. He made me come like the demolition of a ten-story building. The implosion was intense. My body felt as though it was turning in on itself. My legs gave out until he was completely supporting my weight. My voice was hoarse from screaming his name over and over.
When my senses came back online, Kelly was cradling me in his massive arms against his chest. “Was that okay?” he asked timidly.
“Are you crazy? That was amazing! God! Where did you learn to do that and what woman let you out of her bed after you did?”
He blushed innocently and laughed. “Wow, um, thanks? I don’t know, trial and error, I guess.”
“Well, there was no error there! God, Kelly, you gotta give a girl some warning that you have that kind of talent. I’m going to tattoo a warning label on you or something. ‘Use caution: makes you come like a goddamned wrecking ball!’ And how is that you don’t have a huge fucking ego?”
He shrugged. “How do you know I don’t? You’ve only just met me. I could be a real jerk.”
Jerk. Yeah right.
“You wouldn’t be like any other jerk I’ve ever met. Seriously, Kelly. Why don’t you have a girlfriend?”
His hold on me loosened a bit and he stepped back, a frown on his face.
Here you go, Abe. Fuck this up with your big fat mouth.
“The job most likely. I don’t go out much and I don’t date women I work with, or ones I meet in the course of work. That’s about all the women I’m in contact with these days.” He shut off the water and grabbed a towel for me and wrapped me in it. “You’re starting to shiver. Let’s get you warm.”
His gentle treatment of me was almost my undoing. I took care of other people, not the other way around. I didn’t know what to think. He must have noticed a change in my demeanor.
“Abra? Did I do something wrong?”
“You were great. You are great. But now it’s my turn.” I hung my towel on the back of the door and reached for another at the same time he did. When I gave it a tug, he let go with a laugh.
“Your turn for what?”
Kelly
I’d never enjoyed a shower as much in my life. Not after the grimiest patrol shifts, not after mucking horse stalls on my grandparents’ ranch all day, none of that. The gentle way she touched me, the way she appreciated me.
Now, she was looking me over like she was going to eat me and I swear, I wanted her to consume me, I just…I couldn’t believe this night was even happening. At any moment things were going to go south and that would be it. I covered myself with a towel, and she frowned.
She seemed off when we got out of the shower, but when she led me back to the bedroom and over to the bed, that take-control attitude was back. I wanted her, but I needed things to slow down before I had a heart attack.
“Abra, before we go any further, I don’t have any condoms.”
“I do. And I’ve got an IUD.”
She was carrying condoms? That made me wonder just what she was doing on this trip. Who was she supposed to meet? What did she have planned? Was she planning to meet some guy and I just happened to be in the right place? That was an awful thought. As much as I wanted her, was I prepared for the gravity of this situation? Had I thought this through enough?
“Listen, Abra, I—”
“If you’ve got questions about me, get them out of your system. Don’t look at me like you’ve got me figured out, because you don’t.” She crossed her arms over her bare chest and cocked her hip out like she was ready for a fight. It was hard to focus when she was so beautifully naked before me and seemed so comfortable…
“I just meant that nothing else has to happen. I am curious about you, sure, but not because I’m thinking anything bad. This is just new to me. I’ve never had sex with a stranger, and I don’t want you to think I expect anything from you.” There, I said it. There was something about this woman that called to me and I couldn’t help but wonder why she was thrown into my life at this very moment, right when everything else was falling apart, and as much as I wanted to seek solace in her arms, I wasn’t myself. It wouldn’t be fair, wouldn’t be right…
“That was a lot.” She moved over to the bed, pulled the covers back, and crawled under, facing me. “Why don’t you come lie with me. We can just talk, if that makes you feel better. Or we can sleep if you are tired. If it’s a thing for you to have sex with a stranger, then let’s not be strangers to each other.”
I felt terrible for making her uncomfortable. She might be frank about her feelings, but she also seemed to say one thing and then slip into this vulnerable side. I slid into bed next to her and rested my head in my hand.
“I’m sorry, Abra. The shower was unbelievable. I wanted to…I get all up in my head sometimes, though. That’s one thing I think you should know about me. I think about things. Some people tell me I think about them to death. My mind’s just going all the time. I’m kind of an introvert. And I’m rambling,” I said with a chuckle.
She turned over onto her side to face me and mirrored my position. “I understand that. I take calculated risks. That’s what you should know about me. Once I get a read on someone, I decide whether or not I want to invest my time in them. My time is precious. I work my ass off and give myself permission to be selfish with my time and my affections in my personal life. You feel like someone I’d like to invest in, for whatever amount of time our journeys follow the same path.”
That was heavy. Her comments could be taken numerous ways, and the ambiguity was tough for me to take. “I could tell right away that you were a woman who knew what she wanted. I guess I was just surprised you wanted me.” And I was. Not that I didn’t value myself or think I was a good catch for someone. I’d just never imagined a woman like her would pay any attention to me. I pictured her with someone who looked more like her, edgier. Someone who probably wouldn’t have hesitated in the shower. That just wasn’t me. I was predictable, methodical. Everything in my life had to have a purpose, or else I didn’t hang on to it for long. I already knew she had a purpose, just not what that purpose was.
