Her face was warm. She knew she was nervous, but did she have to be so nervous that she was turning red? After taking a deep breath she opened the door...
Months before she had met him at a friend's house. She didn't think he was the greatest looking guy she had ever met, but there was something about the way he looked at her - he didn't look at her chest, which was a nice change, he looked at her eyes... and into them. He talked about things she had wanted to hear and actually listened to what she said while they sat and talked! He didn't try being funny - he had honest humor... she felt like she liked him, but she didn't know him. Something inside him was sad and lonely. Damn.. She didn't want to be "filler" for someone. But he didn't push - he just held out his hand and let her make up her mind.
So here she was. She flew up to see him and after a short drive to the little perfect house with the white picket fence, she put her things in the room he arranged for her - It was really nice and if she wanted she could relax and not have to worry. Then he said she could relax and watch TV or make calls to people to let them know she got in ok. That was really sweet, and it gave her the feeling that she was safe. No that he ever did or said anything to make her feel that she couldn't trust him, but that was what he did. He let her find out things for herself instead of making a point of them.
By the time she got off the phone she was ready to just sit and do what they promised they would do before he left... Finish a conversation and just relax without worrying about other people intruding or being pests. Some privacy and relaxation was what she needed.
When she came out through the kitchen (the extra room was built onto the house where people could come and go as they pleased without bothering anyone) there was a note on the doorframe.
"Go to the living room and make a left"
The lights were out, but there was dim light coming in through a set of glass doors at one end of the living room. She was curious and just a little nervous. What was he doing?
She opened the door and her heart felt like it skipped a beat and tried to break through her chest at the same time. The hot tub was open and the ledge around it was covered in candles. The moon was streaming in through the bay window that looked out into the back yard - it was very normal, but the way the window was set you could see the sky framed by trees and the moon - the rest of the world was gone.
Floating in the water were roses - not petals, but roses. Each one had been set so that it floated upright and they played across the surface like small laughing fish.
She felt him come up behind her and she turned. He held a glass in each hand -the Champaign he had chilled in the back of the fridge and was hoping she hadn't seen. He looked like a little boy who had made a present and was afraid that it wasn't good enough. To see that look on the face of a man she knew to be so strong willed made her want to laugh and hug him - but she wanted to hear what he had to say first.
"Well... at least we have someplace to sit and look at the moon on the water." His smile made her weak...
She kissed him on the cheek as she took her glass and said "thank you" in his ear. Their cheeks touched and he turned towards her almost without knowing it - he didn't mean to, but it was as though he wasn't in control of where his lips went. There was almost a moment where they kissed - just close enough to feel the warmth and sense the how close they were... but she looked down and blushed as he smiled and lifted his glass between them.
She caught herself not breathing and thought, "This is crazy! I've never been shy when I wanted to kiss someone, and he certainly wants to! What the hell is wrong with us? We're acting like a couple of kids on their first date."
They sat and talked next to the tub while a cool breeze drifted though the window. She didn't remember moving closer and he never seemed to move, but some where in the conversation she found herself sitting so close she could here his breathing and he could feel the warmth of her leg against his.
She didn't move and neither did he, but they were face to face and she moved her mouth to tell him to kiss her - and her lips brushed against his. They were both breathing like they had run a mile but it was soft. He didn't rush and she didn't pull away - they were soft and beneath that softness they were both wanting this - She opened her lips only enough to let her tongue touch his lip and he moaned... he took her lower lip lightly between his and then touched the side of her face with his hand....
They stopped kissing, but only because they needed to breath. Her head felt light and she didn't want to open her eyes... she was afraid that she would see that he didn't have the same reaction to the kiss she did.
When she did he was still sitting with his eyes closed - and a single tear was on his cheek. Her eyes opened wide and she bit her lip! What had she done wrong? Was he that disappointed? She reached out to brush the tear away... H caught her hand.
"No.," his voice barely even a whisper. "Let me enjoy this." He kissed the palm of her hand and she felt him smile.
"You’re crying," she said in the same hushed tones, as if too much sound would shatter the room like glass. "Why? I never thought that one kiss could be that wrong."
He smiled into her eyes and she couldn't help but smile back... there was more to that smile - something she felt warm and pulsing inside her.
"It wasn't wrong." He moved his face to hers and as his lips brushed against hers, he said, "there are only so many perfect things in life - you should never let one of them pass without taking the time to savor it." He continued speaking with his mouth tracing along her jaw to her ear. "And that kiss was something to savor."
