Getting Even

GETTING EVEN Part 2

That Tuesday, Luke sank 3-pointers like a man possessed. He was also physically aggressive: if we were really counting fouls, he would have fouled out twice - in the first quarter.

When we went for beers with Marco, Luke let off some steam.

After their first date (and sexual athletics), Anita had given him the cold shoulder. She hadn't answered any of his calls or texts, and he suspected that she'd arranged the seating at Millie's birthday dinner to keep him far away from her.

Neither Marco nor I knew what to say to that.

- "That sucks." was the best I could come up with.

- "Damn straight it sucks."

Luke went to the john for a piss.

- "Ben." said Marco. "Maybe it's just me, man - but you and Anita seemed to have a lot going on... you know?"

- "Just some books we both like." I said. "That's about it. I'm going out with Kira this weekend. Second date."

- "Yeah? Good for you."

Good for me, indeed.

***

I chose a Thai restaurant, hoping that Kira would like it.

- "I don't think I've ever eaten Thai food before." she said.

Shit.

She saw my face. "It's okay, Ben. I've always meant to try it - I just... never did. This is perfect. I know I'll like it."

- "Are you sure? It's not too late to go somewhere else."

- "Positive. This will be good."

Kira seemed comfortable enough, but she still manoeuvred me into ordering food for both of us. And then she was quite pleased with the results.

- "This is excellent." she said.

- "Glad you like it."

- "Tell me something." said Kira. "Do you think that Left Hand of Darkness was LeGuin's best book?"

What? I was stunned. A week ago, Anita and I had talked about LeGuin for half an hour. Kira and Marco had suffered in silence as we geeked out. I'd apologized, but I still felt guilty about excluding them for so long.

And now Kira was asking for more?

"Why do you like LeGuin so much?" she said. "I read Left Hand of Darkness - and I liked it - but I'm still not sure if I'm missing something..."

- "Wait - you read the whole book? This week?"

Kira nodded. "You made it sound so interesting. I wanted to... to know more about it. But I'm not sure if I'm supposed to relate to Genly Ai. I mean... I didn't even know his full name until 30 or 40 pages in."

- "You read Left Hand of Darkness?"

- "Yes." She blushed. "I... I wanted to know why you were so interested in it."

- "That's amazing." I said.

It was. Kira had gone out, found a copy of the book, and read it all - in the space of a week - so that she could understand what Anita and I had been raving about.

- "You made it sound so good." she said.

She was more familiar with Harry Potter, but she'd never analyzed it as Anita and I had.

- "I still can't believe you read 'Left Hand'." I said.

- "I wanted to be able to talk to you about it."

I was floored. Kira had heard me talk about a book, and its author. She'd realized how important it was to me... so she'd bought the book, and read it. To understand me better.

- "Kira - that's... that's incredible." It was incredibly flattering, too.

I drove her home, after our meal. This time, I got out of the car and walked her to the door of her apartment complex. It was one of those square, three-storey buildings.

- "I should've walked to the door last time." I said. "And I'm not, ah..." I wasn't trying to suggest that she should invite me in. Kira was a nice girl - a good girl. I didn't want to rush her, or make her feel uncomfortable.

We stood on her front step for a moment, in awkward silence.

"Kira - will you go out with me again?" I asked.

She just smiled. "Of course I will."

- "Are you free on Wednesday?" I didn't think I could wait a whole week to see her again. I recognized the symptoms: I had it bad. And why not? She was sweet, and so nice to be with.

- "I think so." she said.

- "I'll call you."

We stood there for another 10 seconds, smiling at each other. That's a long time, when you're not doing anything other than looking another person in the eye.

Maybe it was nerves. Maybe it was a really good idea. I leaned forward and kissed her.

Kira didn't back away. She met my kiss, and raised the stakes by wrapping her arms around me.

I hadn't prepared very well; I had to break off the kiss first, because I was having trouble breathing.

- "How about tomorrow?" I said.

Kira smiled, and lightly tapped my chest. "Wednesday is fine."

- "Okay. See you then."

- "You will."

***

Anita was hotter. Anita was a swimmer, with an athletic body. She was a reader, who liked many of the authors I did. She liked beer, for crying out loud. Good beer. If you calculated all of those factors, Anita sounded perfect for me.

Except that she'd fucked Luke right after meeting me.

Plus I was beginning to crush on Kira. She was so sweet. She'd gone to a hockey game - the equivalent of me going to a nightclub - just to please me. She'd read a book, just to get a better understanding of what I was interested in.

I didn't have as many common interests with her. Kira wasn't a perfect match for me. But she was so easy to talk to.

We went for a drink at the Office - that was the name of the pub. Great name, don't you think? I always imagined a beleaguered husband telling his wife 'I'm still at the Office' - which would be the exact truth.

Kira wasn't the most beautiful woman I'd ever met. I mean, she was attractive - just not in the same league as Millie and Carla, or Anita. I'd seen all four, so the comparison was in my head, whether I wanted it there or not.

But Kira was the one I was interested in.

- "I still can't believe you read 'Left Hand of Darkness'." I said.

- "I started 'The Dispossessed' on Monday."

- "You don't have to work that hard, Kira. I already like you. In fact, I think you're really special. You don't have to try to impress me."

- "I just want to know more about you, Ben." she said. "To understand what you like - and why you like it."

Damn. How could I

not

be impressed?

- "Kira - I don't want to order another drink here. It wouldn't be a good idea to drive home, after that. But what would you say... if I invited you back to my place? We could have another drink, and I could get you a cab, whenever you want to go home."

Kira considered my offer. She was seriously thinking about it.

- "I don't know, Ben. We both have to work tomorrow. What if... what if we got together at your place Friday night?"

- "That sounds... great."

I'd thought that Kira was shy. She was... and she wasn't. She knew exactly what I was asking.

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi

?

But she had the good sense to postpone that decision to a better time. I was over-eager; she was the voice of reason. I liked her even more.

Kira arrived at my door that Friday with a six-pack of Hoegaarden and a bag of oranges.

- "The beer is welcome." I said. "Oranges I have, but I appreciate the thought."

I put her contribution in the fridge. She saw that I hadn't been kidding about the oranges. I also had enough grapefruit to sink a ship.

"I like fresh juice." I explained. I opened a cold beer for her, poured half into a chilled glass, and then gave the bottle a little shake and a twirl before pouring the rest.

Kira was watching me.

- "There's a ritual?" she asked.

- "That's the recommended Hoegaarden pour." I said, as I sliced an orange.

- "And the official Hoegaarden glass?"

- "Believe it or not, the shape of the glass makes a big difference. In Belgium, the bars have specialized glasses for

every

type of beer. They take their beer very seriously."

- "Have you been there?"

I had. Before Rachel. Best trip of my life.

"I'd love to travel, someday." said Kira.

- "Where would you like to go?"

- "Anywhere. I've only ever been to Florida, and to British Columbia. Now I want to go to Belgium, and Thailand... just about anywhere."

We moved into my living room, where Kira began examining my bookshelf. She had questions about my favourite authors. We talked about books for a while. Only after that did she move on to look at my trophies.

I should put the damn things away, I thought.

I

certainly didn't need a daily reminder. Kira was only the second woman I'd brought to my apartment. I'd never realized before that a shelf full of trophies pretty much forced my guest to ask about them.

- "Would you like another beer?" I asked, as the levels in our glasses were getting low.

- "Yes, please."

When I returned, Kira was back to studying my bookshelf.

"So what should I read after Dispossessed?" she asked. "Abercrombie? Gemmell? Or Pratchett?" She'd named the three authors with the most titles in my collection.

- "Dispossessed is going to take you a while." I said.

- "But it's nice to have something else lined up." she said. "To know what comes next."

- "Kira - you don't have to read all of my books."

- "LeGuin is very good, Ben. So is Hoegaarden, and Thai food. I'm just asking for another recommendation. If I don't like it, I'll certainly let you know. But I enjoy finding out about the things that motivate you. Just pick one for me - please?"

She was hard to resist. I knelt down and ran my hand across the lowest shelf. I pulled out a slim volume.

- "The Hobbit?" she said. "Oh - is it okay if I saw the Lord of the Rings movies?"

- "They're good. They're very good. But this is better."

- "Can I borrow it?" she asked, shyly.

- "Of course you can."

I'm not sure exactly how it happened. I might have stepped a little too close to her. Or maybe it was when Kira went to put down the book next to her purse - and then she turned around, and suddenly

she

was standing too close to me.

We were both lost for words. Standing too close, looking into her eyes - were they actually turquoise? If they weren't, it was the most amazing shade of blue I'd ever seen in my life.

And then my head tipped forward, even as my free hand slid around her waist, to pull her even closer. Our lips met, and I stopped thinking.

Our tongues were tangled, and I was holding her tight. She was eager - I could feel it. But I was the one who was having trouble breathing.

Not the couch - not for our first time. I tried to steer her toward my bedroom without breaking lip contact. It wasn't easy. Actually, it was downright distracting. We nearly tripped over my running shoes.

We both had to stop moving - and kissing - to recover our balance. That pause allowed me to recover my breath for a second. Kira was smiling.

- "I've been thinking about this for a while." I said.

- "Me too. Since the hockey game."

- "Can I undress you, Kira?"

- "

Yes.

"

As I slowly reached for the top button of her shirt, I realized that Kira always wore loose, button-down shirts. She rarely undid more than the top button - in fact, I couldn't remember her ever showing any cleavage. She was chesty, but never flaunted her bust.

I was about to discover the hows and whys of that. Under her shirt, Kira was wearing a rather heavy type of sports bra. Rather than lifting and accentuating her breasts, it seemed designed to suppress and conceal them.

- "I used to get a lot of attention." she said. "For the wrong reasons."

- "Oh." I could only imagine. How many guys had she had to fend off, who were only interested in her because of the size of her bust?

Kira finished removing her shirt, and draped it over my dresser. Then she reached for her bra with both hands.

- "It's not very glamourous, or sexy." she said. "But -"

With that, she pulled up on the bottom of her bra. There was no catch in the back; she simply pulled it over her head.

I wasn't quite ready for the breasts that came tumbling out. Tumbling... that's actually the correct word to describe the mini-avalanche of boobs that occurred as a result. They plunged out from under the bra, bounced twice, jiggled once more, and settled.

Kira placed her bra atop her shirt.

I was momentarily stunned.

I've described Kira as chesty. Even so, I wasn't prepared for my first sight of her full breasts. I'm not obsessed with tits. A woman's face is always the first I notice. Some girls have spectacular asses, and some have extraordinary legs. But all women have breasts, and I think that males are hard-wired to like them,

regardless of their size

.

It's the shape that gets us - and the vast majority of shapes appeal to me. Millie had small ones. Rachel was a 32B. My first serious girlfriend, Helen, was a 36C - which I thought, at the time, was absolutely huge.

Kira was in a league of her own. She wasn't short, and she certainly wasn't heavy - the tapering of her waist was a thing of beauty, all by itself. But her breasts were just much bigger than I'd expected. She also had amazing crinkly areolas, and lovely nipples.

And... I'd officially been staring at her chest for far too long.

- "I'm sorry." I said. "But I can see why you conceal them. Otherwise, no one in your office would get

any

work done - men

or

women."

She smiled just a bit at that.

I dropped to my knees, and reached for the button on her pants. Kira wore loose slacks, too. She had strong, but surprisingly well-toned thighs, and powerful calves.

And while she'd worn her utilitarian, functional bra, Kira had put on a delicious little pair of white lace panties, just for me.

- "These are lovely." I said. I pressed my nose to the crotch of her panties. Then I lifted her ankles, so that I could completely remove her pants. I stroked my hands up the back up of her legs, from calves to thighs, and back down again.

I stood up, but only so that I could move her a few more feet, to stand next to my bed. With a yank, I pulled down the covers. I was much more gentle about sliding her pretty little panties down her legs.

- "But -

what about you?

" she said.

- "What about me?"

- "I'm naked - and you still have all your clothes on."

- "That's the way I want it." I said. "Here - " I pulled my own shirt off.

I sat Kira down on the edge of my bed. She let me pull her forward a little, so that I could kiss her again. She wasn't all that shy, but she definitely let me take the lead. I chased her tongue with mine.

At the same time, I didn't neglect her magnificent breasts. She didn't respond much, at first, as I stroked the sides of her breast, but she certainly reacted when I ran my thumb across her nipple.

I lowered my head, to kiss her neck and throat. She seemed to really like my lips on her collarbones. She sighed deeply when I reached her nipples with my tongue.

Her navel, apparently, was not one of her erogenous zones, but Kira did seem to appreciate my fingers and fingernails trailing down her ribs and on the edges of her waist.

When I gently pushed her knees apart, she obliged me by lying back across my bed. I discovered that Kira had very fleshy, almost meaty labia. That wasn't a turn-off; it was just different - and that made it exciting.

Rachel had trained me thoroughly. In hindsight, she taught me two very useful things:

- Don't let people treat you like shit

- When going down on a woman,

take your time

I wasn't trying to get Kira off, so that I could fuck her. I was trying to give her the very best experience I possibly could, so that she would want to fuck me over and over again.

She was tremendously responsive. Kira let me know - with subtle movements and not-so-subtle vocalizations, especially - exactly what she liked.

I teased her a bit, but only to let her anticipation build. When I looked up, I could see Kira's proud breasts standing up on her chest, nipples erect - and her amazing blue eyes fixed on mine.

She signalled her orgasm with a shudder. Her whole body trembled, and she thrust her pussy forward, jamming her meaty lips into my face. I held her by the thighs until she'd finished shaking.

I stood up, dropped my pants, and shucked my briefs as well. Then I climbed into bed with Kira.

She immediately turned her body, and reached for my erection. She was going to reciprocate immediately by going down on me.

I stopped her.

- "That would be great." I said. "But right now, I really just want to make love to you. Can we do that?"

- "

Oh, God yes

." she said.

I rolled on a condom, and positioned myself between her legs. I'm a fan of the missionary position. You can look your lover in the face, and play with her body (a definite advantage, in this case). It's very intimate.

I don't last as long in that position, though - and most women prefer to have more control. But for our first time, I wanted to see Kira's face as I entered her.

That initial moment was exquisite. As I nestled the head of my cock between her swollen lips, Kira's eyes were on mine - and she was smiling. I was propped up on my arms; her hands went to my shoulders, to encourage me and to pull me forward, as I sank into her.

Is there a better word than exquisite? The sensation was amazing. But the reaction on Kira's face was even better.

I pushed in all the way, and held there for a moment. Then I pulled back. I gave her half-a-dozen slow, deliberate penetrations. Then I pulled out entirely, and lay down beside her.

It's also intimate to spoon, especially when you can reach around to caress your lover's stomach, her pussy, or - in this case - her bountiful breasts. She can also turn her head, if she wants to, to kiss you - and Kira was growing ever more passionate.

There was something else at play here. I couldn't help comparing Kira to my previous experiences. Millie was a sweetheart, but I really didn't discover that until

after

we'd had sex. As for Rachel, for most of our last year together she'd made me earn my way between her legs. There were always hoops to jump through; by the time we actually did fuck, I was usually tired and/or annoyed.

Kira was a revelation. I liked her, and I was attracted to her. She wasn't demanding anything - I just wanted to please her - and that made it wonderful for me.

She

certainly seemed to be enjoying herself.

Kira was more flexible than I'd expected: she turned her head, to kiss me, while she thrust her chest forward, pressing her full breast and engorged nipple into my hand - and still she was able to push her hips and ass back, meeting me halfway as I drove my cock into her from behind.

We got into a fantastic rhythm, as if we'd been rehearsing for ages. It was her doing, mostly; it felt as if Kira was in synch with me.

When she gasped and shook, that did it for me. I grunted, and then called out her name.

- "Unh -

Kira

."

She kept her ass pressed against me, and even reached around with her hand to pull just that little bit closer as I came, filling the condom inside her.

We lay together quietly for a while, recovering our breath.

- "

I want to turn around

." she said.

I was careful with the condom as I pulled back. I removed it and tied it off before dropping my little mess beside the bed. Kira turned over, and wrapped her arm around me. She pressed her body close, and tucked her head in against my chest.

- "

That was wonderful

." I whispered.

- "

It was

." she breathed.

I stroked her hair, and her shoulder, and listened to the sounds of our breathing, all the while feeling very, very lucky.

I'm not sure how much time passed before Kira started stroking me, too. My side, my back. My ass. I felt a little stirring down below. So did she, apparently.

Kira began to slide down the bed, until her breasts were pressed against my thighs, and Little Ben was right in front of her face. Without hesitation, she took me in her mouth.

She didn't suck me to get me hard. She didn't go down on me to get me off. Kira treated me to a slow, luxurious blowjob, a succession of sensations I couldn't remember ever having experienced.