"That evening in the club, when you were there with Pat, was the third time I had seen you. You were with your friend, Paul I think, the previous two times. The first time I saw you I was on my way home from work when I spotted you and Paul walk up to the bouncer to get in. From that one glimpse, I just knew I had to get to know you. I entered the club shortly after you and tried to get your attention by dancing close and bumping into you regularly but you didn't notice me at all.
From that day on I would regularly go to that club hoping I would get another chance to meet you. About a month later you were there again but you just sat with him at a table and it didn't give me an opportunity to approach you. But I spoke to the bouncer and he confirmed that you were a regular guest. So I knew that as long as I went there, I would get another chance.
Then came that day where you were there with Pat. I had just come in when I saw you standing next to the bar, drinking water from a bottle and looking genuinely bored. It took me several minutes to come up with the courage to address you and you fended me off like an annoying insect. That should have been the end of it. But I couldn't get you out of my mind. Then, only a few days later, you came to the restaurant and I had the chance to give you my number and I felt so sure you would call during the week but you didn't. I was devastated. So when I got invited to go out, I agreed just to take my mind off you.
Then suddenly you showed up and I didn't have the quick-wittedness to end my date and join you. And later I saw you pick up an Asian chick.
However, soon after I ended the date. Richard didn't get lucky that night. I went home and buried myself in my studies. Not a day passed when I didn't scold myself for missing out on you. Then Sandra invited me to the barbeque, mainly to get me out of my bad mood. The moment I saw you I almost cried because of the luck. I had to muster all the composure I could find to not jump your bones right then and there. When you didn't call and didn't reply to my calls I was devastated. When Sandra told me that you were in the hospital, potentially dying, I decided that I would not give up.
So if you think I will let you slip through my fingers again, you are utterly mistaken. The way I see it, I have approximately two weeks to convince you that I'm different than all those dumb chicks you have run into so far."
"I hope you are."
"Then I have just one remaining question."
"Go ahead."
"If you agree with me that we will get together sooner rather than later, why don't we cut it short and hook up right now?"
I smiled, turned towards her and spread my arms wide, inviting her into my embrace, "Just remember, you're handling damaged goods. And when it's time to break up, please make it quick. Don't go behind my back."
"I have never before felt as sure about something as I do with you. I will not break up, I will not cheat on you and I will not exploit you."
With these words she cuddled up against my side, pushing one arm behind my back, laying the other over my chest and squeezed me as hard as she could. This caused me to start coughing. She jumped up, alarmed, and apologised.
"I'm sorry, I was careless. You are still the patient and I'm the nurse."
"It was just a cough."
"Only a few days ago you were on the brink of death. For the time being, I will treat you as if you were made of the most delicate glass. Let me get you something to drink?"
I asked for a coffee. Melissa left and, when she came back, I immediately noticed that she had also changed clothes. She had gone upstairs and changed her tight-fitting, good-looking jeans for a short-cut pair of tracksuit pants while the blouse she had been wearing had been replaced by a loose shirt which had been cut off just under her boobs. She had also obviously shed her bra.
She looked absolutely stunning. Five feet, eight inches tall, estimated one hundred and forty pounds, C-cup breasts sitting high and firm on her chest, flat stomach and long, slender legs.
"Seriously? That's how you intend to sit next to me? Are you planning on giving me a heart attack?"
"Don't get your hopes up. No strenuous activities," she replied with a devious smile on her beautiful face. "But I was told that a high body temperature would support you getting back to full health."
She sat down on the far side of the couch and patted her lap, "Come here, lay down."
"I'm not a child. I can sit on my own. And I can't drink my coffee when lying."
"Doctor's orders. In fact, the orders I received were to keep you in bed for the next few days so when I let you into the living room, I insist on you lying on the couch. Not sitting, not slouching. Lying. Under a cover. And if I want to join you on the couch either your feet or your head will be in my lap."
Reaching for the coffee I let out an exaggerated sigh, "If it makes you happy I sacrifice myself to be cuddled by you. But this is tea, not coffee!"
"Tea is better for you right now," she stated with an assertiveness which left no room for contradiction. Before I lay down with my head on her lap, I handed her the remote control and while she zapped through the channels she played with the hairs on my temple. I closed my eyes and basked in the sensations of her caresses. At one point I noticed that she had settled on a rom-com, not that I really cared as her ministrations made it impossible for me to follow the story. It felt so wonderful. For the first time ever I got a glimpse of what a caring, loving relationship might be like, to be regarded as a person with own needs that want fulfilment, to be perceived as something more than just a means to an end.
When the movie had ended with its obligatory happy end, she left me alone in front of the TV to make dinner, a rich chicken soup with cheese and noodles. We had our first little fight over the question whether or not I would have a coffee after dinner. I won, but I had to exchange the coffee after a meal for a promise to follow her other instructions without much fuss.
After dinner, we settled back in front of the TV and watched another movie. After my promise to follow her instructions I was soon back lying on her lap, enjoying the same treatment as before. After having a good yawn I was wondering what our sleeping arrangement would be. While we had agreed that we would give us a try, I was not sure if I wanted to be sharing the bed just yet. As was rapidly becoming usual between us, Melissa seemed to have read my mind.
"Time to sleep. I hope you don't mind but I will stay in one of the smaller bedrooms for the first few days. As much as I want to snuggle up to you, it is, for several reasons, not a good idea. First and most important, you are still convalescent and need rest and recuperation. I would most likely disturb you. And second, I can feel that you have not yet come to terms of being in a relationship. That's not surprising considering what has happened in the last week."
Nevertheless, she accompanied me to my bedroom and waited while I brushed my teeth and changed into my pyjamas. She wouldn't accept that I slept nude as I usually did. After I had lain down under the covers she tucked me in and sat on the edge of the bed.
"You know it's getting ridiculous and this is only the first evening. I'm really not a small, helpless child. I can go to bed on my own."
She replied with a warm smile while tracing the lines of my jaw softly with her hand, "Doctor's orders. And you agreed to not complain and follow my instructions."
She bent down towards me, approaching my face. She let her own face hover above mine for an eternally long second before she softly brushed her lips over mine. As I pulled my arms out from the covers to pull her closer she held onto them, stopping me and instead lasciviously continued to tease my lips, to fan my desire.
"Holy shit," I moaned as she broke the kiss, collecting herself with closed eyes for a moment, before getting up.
"Sleep well."
"Are you fucking serious? You kiss me like that and then you leave?"
"That's just a promise of what is to come. I promise it will be worth the wait."
She left and pulled the door almost closed. I took some deep breaths which caused some coughing. Within seconds Melissa stormed back into my room, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just tried to calm my pulse rate by taking some deep breaths. Seriously, Melissa, you don't have to treat me like a porcelain doll. Just relax and go to bed."
She did so, but only after providing me with a glass of water on my night stand. I still took me a few minutes to suppress the fire in my loins, which wasn't easy because I kept thinking about Melissa. It felt different with her than it had with anyone before. I felt safe, I felt respected, I felt treated as a human being. What was even more surprising is what I didn't feel: I didn't feel like a means to an end.
I finally fell asleep contended that I had reached a clear conclusion. Not only would I give a relationship with Melissa a try, I would pursue it.
To be continued...
