Chapter One
It was two weeks before finals. I sat alone at the table, rapidly bouncing my leg in nervous anticipation. But it wasn't the test or materials that had me so anxious. After a very long day, I had one last thing I had to do.
I was in a suit and tie, sitting in a dimly lit restaurant. My eyes were locked on the bathroom on the other side of the dining area. Under the table, I fidgeted with a small blue velvet box. People laughed, talked, and ate all around me, but my focus was narrowed on the door, looking out for its slightest movement.
Finally, it opened, and a slim figure cautiously stepped out. My heart started racing. I watched her move slowly back to the table with grace and humility. A familiar smile ripped across her face when her eyes met mine. I got out of my chair to take a knee only to have my legs give out under me. I slammed hard on the floor, but I ignored the pain. This was a seminal moment of my life.
Suddenly, the room became a vacuum, and everything stopped. All eyes were on me as I faltered with my words.
I presented the blue velvet box and stuttered, "Emily?"
"Yes!" she replied.
"Will you ma.." I continued.
"Yes!" she cut me off, "I said yes already!"
I swallowed my fear and drew in a long breath, "Emily, will you marry me?"
She said no more words but fell into my embrace as I rose. There was a soft applause from the surrounding tables. I kissed her, feeling the sincerity in her trembling body. She was mine forever.
We spent the rest of the night in a red wine haze. Emily played with the new ring on her finger while I hungrily eyed her up. Her hair had grown several inches these past three years. It was wild and feathered, used to being pulled back in a ponytail. Platinum blond, it was white in dim lighting. Her rosy cheeks glowed cherry from her near-perpetual smile. They matched her plump lips, which peeled back away from her glossy white teeth.
I was getting dizzy, darting my eyes up and down. Her beautiful face was only the crown jewel of her gorgeous self. The low-cut and slim-fitting little black dress had been a secret she had kept until tonight.
Her heaving pale breasts were practically falling from the light material. Earlier, I hadn't even made it to our taxi before pulling them out. The dress was nearly floor-length. A slit along the left side ran up to her hip. Only a thin gold chain kept her sculpted ass from hanging out when she walked. I would have to dismantle this dress when I got home to figure out how she does it.
Time passed too quickly. I felt like I was only starting our conversation when the waiter interrupted us.
"Excuse me, Sir, Ma'am," the young man said politely, "We're closing up."
"Oh! We're sorry!" Emily said, looking at her phone, "It is getting pretty late."
I checked mine, and it was midnight, "You're right! I'll call our cab."
She turned back to the young man, "I'm going to use the lady's room. Then we'll be out of here."
Emily got up with a bounce in her step while I paid up and phoned the cab. We met again ten minutes later by the door and stood on the curb. Late spring in Galveston, the air was still hot and humid, even at night. It was only relieved by a cool ocean breeze.
I had moved down here to go to school and be with Emily shortly after I left the Army. At first, I was genuinely pessimistic about us. She was too perfect, and it had all been so fast. Within hours of leaving her intoxicating presence, I was convinced it was all a dream. I'd wake up from it and find she had no interest in me at all. A. Who meets someone like Emily while serving a dominatrix? But as things usually go, they went unexpectedly.
She texted me the following day, and we met for dinner after work, then again the next day and every other day for the next few months. I tried to rationalize saying I love you to her in the bathroom for a time. I told myself, "I didn't know what love was," or "It was just an orgasm." But every day, that irrational joy returned when I was with her, and it got stronger. I took too long to call it love again, but that's what it was.
When I finally separated from the Army and left her on base, I again thought that was it and the feeling would fade. Yet, we still talked on the phone every night.
It only took a visit for her to convince me to apply for school in Texas. That summer, I moved down there. I got a job and used my GI Bill to go to school. We moved in together a few months after that. The next three years were a blur.