Stephanie
Your flight arrives in ten minutes and I've been waiting for half an hour already. I left much earlier than I needed to, but I wanted to make sure I was waiting for you when you got off the plane. We had planed this weekend together for months on chat, the details of how we would stroll the town, shop for mementos and mostly spend long hours enjoying each other. I had to make sure I was waiting for you, reassure you that I'd be there, that you had done the right thing in coming. So I waited.
My heart beats faster as the time approaches, feeling like a kid on a first date. Get it together, I think to myself, you'll be fumbling for words when she gets here if you don't hyperventilate and pass out before then. Then I smile, laughing inwardly at my almost childish excitement. That you can make me feel this way when I am well past childhood is a major part of why I am here now.
Its time now, your flight is on the ground according to the monitor. My heart skips a beat knowing you're here, within half a mile of me. Closing my eyes just for a moment, wondering if I can reach out and feel your presence, your warmth and soft embrace, from this distance.
"Stephanie," I say, your name slips from my lips in a quiet whisper, the sound of it sending a shudder through my body. "Stephanie," again, like warm honey down my throat. Since I've learned your name, since we made that leap, trusting each other with that critical bit of personal information, your name has been my drug. "Stephanie," I whisper again. I know I'm in an airport, I know I'm standing in a cold hard terminal but I feel you near me. My mind drifts into a waking dream of warmth and softness...
"Michael?" your voice coming from close to me. My eyes snap open ... you're there! Disoriented, not sure if I am dreaming. I can't speak, fixed in place I can't move a muscle. It is you, you came, it really is you! You are finally there, for the first time close enough to touch. I want to look at you so I can burn this image into my memory, remember you and the electric feeling through my body as I see you.
"Stephanie," I finally whisper, stepping toward you. Automatically we embrace, my arms around you, pulling you close, feeling your soft, warm body against mine.
Whispering in your ear, "Stephanie, you came, you really came". A flood of warmth, of relief, of doubts swept aside by the reality of you, by your warmth, my arms around you, by your sparkling blue eyes inches from mine for the first time.
"Stephanie," I whisper again like a magic spell from my lips.
Our lips are close together, not touching yet. Hesitant maybe because we both realize this is our first kiss. This is the step from the virtual world, from mere words describing how we would feel, how your lips would meet mine and how our bodies would mesh together in embrace and now to the first hesitant brush of your real lips against mine. A shock through my body at that first brush, then in a torrent of passion and desire our mouths open, our lips press together, tongues gently but insistently intertwining like amorous snakes. For a moment we're alone in the crowd, just you and I, the world beyond the boundary of us ceases to exist.
You pull away and I literally shake my head to clear it. "We better get out of here before we cause a scene," you say.
Taking your hand and picking up your carry-on I lead you down to pick up you luggage.
We make small talk as we wait for your luggage. "Was your flight okay? No fat guys halfway into your seat?" I ask. We both laugh at that private joke. The reminder that we know so much about each other serves to break the ice a bit. There is still a little distance between us, the knowledge that we are meeting for the first time even though we have talked about the most intimate details on-line. We've shared our wants and desires with each other no matter how deeply hidden we have kept them from others. Now, this person that we've trusted with this awesome power over us is there right beside us. Like standing at the base of a dam, it is a little bit scary. I wrap my arm around your waist and pull you close, pushing the fear and doubts back with your physical touch.
"There it is," you say quietly, indicating your bag on the conveyor belt. I slip away for the moment it takes to retrieve it, sling it over my shoulder, and take your hand again.
"Lets go, Stephanie," I say as I lead you from the terminal.
"I had to bring the big car," I say. As much fun as having the sports car would be, driving with a suitcase on your lap would not be, so we settle into the big comfortable sedan. "It will take an hour or so to get to St Michaels, do you want to eat dinner on the way? There are plenty of seafood places just over the bridge .... and on the water ... with candles," I ask, smiling a bit as I add that last description, knowing you enjoy being near the water and can't resist a romantic candlelit dinner. I've been expecting your affirmative answer long enough to have made reservations a week ago, at just the right place and at just the right table to watch the last rays of the sun setting over the bay.
A short, but quiet, drive later we pull into the restaurant parking lot. The sunset almost over as we arrive but the sky streaked with dark crimson and gray. The colors reflected off your light hair catch my eye and I stop and watch you just for a moment. The excitement of our initial meeting has worn off just a bit and the flight is catching up to you.
I remark, "You look a bit tired from your flight sweetheart, lets just get a quick bite to eat, and you can nap on the rest of the ride."
We have a light dinner, salads and the clam chowder I've been promising you for months. You seem happy now, bright conversation about how you are looking forward to sailing and how the hotel looked so nice in the pictures. But I can tell you are tired and still running on the adrenaline of our meeting so we get the check, pay and leave.
On the short walk to the car, our arms intertwine and you lean against my shoulder. I lean my head over and kiss the top of yours, breathing in the fresh aroma of your shampoo, perfume and most importantly the aroma of you. That soft but primal scent unique to you, the scent that will stay with me for weeks after you return home. "Stephanie," I whisper in your hair. You just pull yourself closer.
I expected you to nap in the car and we had not gotten back on the highway before you fall asleep. I pull over for a second and reach back and get a blanket from the back seat. I cover you to keep you warm then I lift your head gently and slip a pillow under you. You smile in your sleep and curl up as best you can on the car seat.
The rest of the drive was peaceful, the car purring along quietly enough that I can hear your breathing. I'm in no hurry and would rather let you sleep so I drive in the right lane gently avoiding rough spots in the road. I am enjoying the ride and the closeness to you, and we get to the hotel too quickly. I entertain the notion of driving around town for a while to make it last but decide that you would be more comfortable in a real bed.
I lock the car, leaving you sleeping, parked under the entrance portico. The bellhop takes our bags while I go to check in and I slip him a tip to get them up to the room quickly. The room number is exactly the one I asked for, looking over the river so we can watch the sunrise. I return to the car and open the door, making sure to catch you because you are leaning on it.
Whispering in your ear I say, "Stephanie, wake up sweetheart, we're at the hotel and I'd make a scene carrying you through the lobby."
Reluctantly your eyes flutter open, I smile at you. "Okay Michael, you may have to hold me up though," you say but you are only flirting with me. Standing, I wrap my arm around you and toss the key to the valet.
We walk through the lobby to the elevator, you heavy and warm against me. I'm enjoying the feeling of taking care of you, even in this little way. Knowing that fully awake you can be fiercely independent, this is a little pleasure I'll sneak in, (forgiving myself for this as I could have worse vices).
The elevator arrives and we walk on. I lean against the back of the car, you heavy against me, your head against my chest and my arms around you, supporting you. I rub your back lightly as the elevator lifts us to the top floor and you purr in response.
Walking down the hall, we reach the door, another threshold. Like revealing our names and our first passionate kiss, this is the next big step. This one I face alone though, you nearly asleep in my arms. I hesitate a bit then draw strength from the simple fact that you are almost asleep in my arms and that you trust me so. I slip the card key in, open the door and flip the light switch on. Should I carry you over the threshold? No, maybe romantic but the symbolism there cannot be missed and we're not at that point yet. You don't seem to give it a second thought, or maybe the lure of a real bed is too much, and you head right into the room. I smile a bit at your practicality, or just your lack of drama and facade. I follow you in and find that our bags are already there.