Pitching a Tent

I did my best to adjust to life without Nora after we got back from the camping trip. By the time school started back up I was ready to clear my head of thoughts of her. I went out with a bunch of girls from school. Some were dates. Some were just hookups. Everything fizzled out quickly and I never felt anything as exciting as my fling with Nora. After her, everything just kind of felt flat.

School wasn't going that well in general. I was getting burned out in my classes and only started to realize that Engineering may not be for me when I had failed classes two semesters in a row. I was at a pretty low point. So when my buddy, Cole, suggested that I take a year off and come work with him in the mechanic shop that he ran with his dad, I was relieved to have an out. It was nice to have some sort of a plan, even if it wasn't a particularly ambitious one.

At the time I really did think of it as a break. Just a chance to clear my head and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Then I fell in love with it. I loved working with my hands. I felt capable under the hood of a car in a way that I never felt sitting at a desk. I really let myself relax into it. The summer turned into fall and then winter and spring and back to summer. All without a thought given to going back to school.

I fell into a bit of a rut without any plans for the future. It was just a relief to stop feeling weighed down by the past. Most days I was perfectly happy in my own little world. That's where Nora found me when she walked back into my life one day.

I was in the shop underneath a truck when Cole walked over and kicked my boots. "Hey, there's someone here to see you, Man," he said.

"Who?"

"I don't know. This girl came in and asked if you worked here. Dude, she's gorgeous."

I slid out from under the truck. I half-expected that Cole was fucking with me. "Who is she?"

"Hey, Grant," I turned and found Nora walking over to us. She looked amazing. Older and somehow more beautiful than the last time I had seen her. Words formed and then died on my lips. Cole gave me another not-so-subtle kick.

"Hey, Nora," I breathed. I found that I was unable to stop smiling.

"Grant, uh, I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner with me?" she asked.

God, yes. Of course I wanted to get dinner with her. But I couldn't figure out what had changed. After all this time, why was she showing up at my job, looking drop-dead gorgeous, and asking me out? I got to my feet and suddenly felt self-conscious about the way I looked. I was covered in the typical sweat and grease that accumulate over the course of a day spent crawling underneath cars. I looked down at my hands, which were almost permanently stained from my line of work. "I would love to," I told Nora, "but I should probably run home and shower and change into some decent clothes."

Nora shook her head, "Oh, you don't have to change for me."

"Man, if you don't take this young lady out to dinner, I'd be happy to," Cole interjected. It was my turn to give him a kick. Nora seemed amused. Cole was a jackass, but it was kind of endearing.

"Ok, let's go get dinner," I said, desperately trying to seem casual though my heart was racing. I led Nora out of the garage to my truck. I grabbed the door for her and used all of my self-control to avert my eyes from checking out her ass as she hopped up in passenger seat. I went around to my side and got in. Nora was quite a sight sitting in my truck. She always looked great in a pair of jeans, but these seemed painted on. I had no idea what to say to her now that we were alone.

I asked where she wanted to eat and she mercifully said she just wanted something casual. Of course, I wanted to take her out to a nice restaurant. Something to impress her. Something she deserved. But tonight, in my dirty, sweaty clothes I was all too happy to find somewhere a little less uptight.

I decided on an outdoor burger stand that I knew made pretty good food. I figured the picnic tables would be a perfect mix of casual and quiet for us to have a conversation. We were making small talk, catching up on each other's lives, but it felt like we were skirting around the real issue between us. I wanted to ask her what had changed and why she was asking to grab dinner with me, but I couldn't figure out how to turn the conversation in that direction.

Even if the conversation felt stilted as we danced around the elephant in the room, it was still so nice to be near Nora. I felt like I hadn't stop smiling since I laid eyes on her back at the garage. Once we had our food, I led her to a table under a tree a little out of the way. We sat down on opposite sides of the table with our trays of food. I took the foil off my burger, but I wasn't interested at all in eating. I was too high-strung; too nervous in Nora's presence again after all this time. I looked up at her to ask her why she had come to see me. Nora was already looking at me. There was a question half-formed on her lips, too. We both let out a nervous laugh.

"What were you gonna say?" I asked her.

"No, you first," she said, blushing.

"I'll be honest. I have no idea what I was going to say."

"Me either!" We both laughed.

I took a deep breath and tried to gather my courage. "Nora, it's so nice to see you. Trust me, I'm not complaining, but why did you come see me?" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized they sounded more harsh than I meant. "That sounded awful. I'm so sorry."

Nora looked down at her food. She was dragging a fry around her little plastic cup of ketchup, but she also didn't show any real interest in eating. She looked back up at me and quietly asked, "Would it sound crazy if I said I missed you?"

My heart was in my throat. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Nora, I-"

"Hold on, Grant," she cut me off, "let me finish or I'll never be able to say what I need to." She turned off to the side, blinking away tears. I grabbed a napkin off the table and handed it to her. Nora dabbed her eyes with the napkin and gathered herself. "Ok, I wanted to see you because I have something to ask you."

"Ok," I said. I felt like I couldn't breathe while I waited for her to find the words to say what she needed to say.

"I was hanging out with your sister a few days ago. Somehow we got on the topic of you and what you've been up to. She was telling me all about the job you have now and how you seem happy, but that you've had a hard time finding a girlfriend."

"You guys sit around roasting my dating life?" I asked, feigning outrage.

Nora cracked a smile. "It's not like that, Grant. Amy loves you. She just wants you to be with someone who cares about you and she's not really a fan of the girls you've been bringing home." Nora laughed and I couldn't help but join in. "So, anyway," Nora continued, "We were sharing a bottle of wine and I guess we were being a little more honest than we normally would. Amy made a joke about how she wished you could date me instead. She said that you deserved someone like me."

My eyes widened.

"And, Grant, I have no idea why I said it. I was a little drunk and I just blurted out that we hooked up."

"Holy shit," I whispered.

"No, it's ok!" Nora reached out a grabbed my hand. "Grant, she took it so well! She thought it was hilarious."

"Nora, how much did you tell her about that week?"

Nora clamped her mouth shut.

"Nora!"

"Probably too much," she winced. "Like I said, we were drunk."

"Oh Jesus."

"Grant, listen," Nora's expression got serious, "I wanted to talk to you, because I wanted to know if you're still interested in me."

I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it. I think it was relief more than anything. Nora's face fell. "No, Nora, I'm sorry! Of course I'm still interested in you! God, I haven't stopped thinking about you."

"Me either!" she exclaimed, "I've been miserable this whole time!"

"Me too!" We both collapsed in giggles. I could feel the eyes of some of the other burger stand patrons looking at us. I looked down at the food in front of us. Neither of us had taken a bite. I had no interest in eating anything. "Nora, are you hungry?"

"Not really, no."

"Would you want to go to my place instead?"

She had a glint in her eyes at the suggestion. She looked gorgeous. I wanted to pick her up and carry her to my truck. "I would like that a lot, Grant."

I leapt up from the table and dumped our trays in the nearest trash can and practically ran back to her. I scooped her up and spun her around in my arms, both of us laughing. I kissed her and I felt my heart swell two or three sizes. I loved the way she smelled and the way she looked and the way she laughed. I finally had Nora back in my arms and I had no intention of letting her go again.

I set Nora back on the ground and reached for her hand. We walked back to my truck practically glowing.

When we got to my apartment, I felt a pang of self-consciousness that I hadn't had an opportunity to clean up and light some candles. Still, I was thankful that it was relatively clean. It could have been a lot worse, that's for sure. I let us inside and as soon as I had the door closed Nora was pulling me down to her lips. I felt like I had forgotten how to breathe. We stumbled through the apartment, unable to keep our hands off each other.

As much as I didn't want to, I pulled her away for a second. "Nora, I should probably take a shower and change my clothes. I-"

She put a finger to my lips. "Grant," she whispered, "if you don't take me to your bed right this second I'll never forgive you." I needed no more encouragement. I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my hips. I wasted no time carrying her to my bed. With Nora in my arms, I sat down on the edge of the bed so that she was on my lap. Nora slid off me and pulled my t-shirt over my head. She pushed me back on the bed and began undoing my belt. I was more than happy to lean back and watch, drinking in the sight of her.

Nora took a step back and peeled her top off, giving me a little show.

"Fuck," I breathed.

She reached behind her back and unclasped her bra, dropping it to the floor. I couldn't wait any longer. Nora squealed as I pulled her down onto the bed with me. "You're taking too long," I told her. I unbuttoned her pants and tore them off her legs. Her panties came off next. To say that I was ravenous would be selling it short. I pulled my pants off and climbed over her on the bed. I'll never forget the way that she was looking up at me. I could have died right then and there. Her eyes stopped me in my tracks. I was lost in them; lost in the moment. I somehow had Nora naked in my bed. She was looking into my eyes, desperate to have me.

I leaned down and kissed her lips, tasting her. I slid my cock inside her pussy. Nora gasped as I entered her. I found it difficult to remember that I needed to breathe. She was looking up at me and all I could think was, Holy Shit, I think she's in love with me. Then I thrust inside her and she pulled me down for a kiss and stuck her tongue in my mouth and I realized I was probably in love with her too.

We took things very slow that night. We couldn't get enough of each other's bodies. My long, slow thrusts got harder and harder as I felt myself getting closer. Nora was not shy about the noise she was making. She was calling out my name loud enough to wake the neighbors. She must have known I was getting close, because she leaned up and whispered in my ear.

"Come inside me, Grant," she said.

That pushed me over the edge. I filled her up with my cum. Afterwards, we both stared at each other while we tried to catch our breath. I rolled off her and collapsed on the bed next to her. Nora snuggled up next to me. She ran her fingers through my chest hair.

"I missed you, Nora," I whispered.

"I missed you too," she said, resting her head on my chest.

"I really should take a shower," I laughed.

"Only if I can join you."

"I was hoping you'd say that."