I was trying hard to make it through a long and boring Friday afternoon at work. My mood was as gloomy as the gray overcast skies. I should have been excited about a new client and two new job orders to work on. But I wasn't. My mind was elsewhere.
My eyes kept moving to the windows; hoping to see a certain man who had teased me about showing up unannounced at my window. A modern day Romeo. I was eager to see his smile; more eager to feel his arms around me and his kisses covering my face.
The internet holds a wealth of information about a variety of different topics, but the censors on the work computers limited my ability to pursue my current interest. So I trudged through Linked In, Zoom and Hoovers building a file of information on my new client, their market niche and competitors. I was trying, although admittedly not too hard to concentrate on my work. In reality my mind was elsewhere.
My reverie was interrupted by the deep throaty unmistakable sounds of a Harley. I looked out the window and saw a shiny black Sportster with red and orange flames painted on the tank. The chrome gleamed in spite of the dreary day. It looked brand new. The man straddled over the leather seat was dressed all in black. I noticed the black leather boots with silver buckles that most of the riders favored, the tight black jeans, and the black leather jacket. He wore a helmet, so I couldn't see his face right away.
Could it be the man that was laying claim to my imagination even though I thought he was miles away; the man whose touch I was feeling even though I was sitting alone at my desk?
I watched in silent anticipation as he unhooked the strap and took off his helmet. He shook his head a bit and I noted the dark, wavy brown hair peppered with grey. My heart was racing. Then he turned his face to the window and smiled.
I jumped up from my desk and rushed out the back door. In the moments that it took me to arrive in front of him, he had gotten off the bike and hit the kick stand. His arms opened to me as I rushed into them. He held me tight against him and I could feel the power and strength of his body against mine. He took a moment to smile down at me before covering my mouth with his. His kisses were sweet and warm; just like I remembered. "Oh my gosh," I thought, he meant what he said. "What a wonderful surprise." My arms circled up around his neck and my fingers ran through his hair. I pulled my face from his to smile up at him and whispered, "Thank you."
"The pleasure is mine," he said softly as his mouth covered mine again. Kissing with this man was different than kissing had ever been before. He seemed to have the widest repertoire of kisses I'd ever known. Some were soft and gentle, barely there butterfly kisses. Some were soft and yielding, but at the same time firm and sure. Sounds maybe like a funny combination, but he made it work. It was the kiss of equals. A strong man meeting a strong woman face to face on equal ground. Then there were the kisses that were all about power and dominance. I liked those kisses. His lips became firm and demanding. He was staking a claim. At least in this moment, I became his and he was clearly in control. In the heat of the moment, as our mouths opened to each other, our tongues circled in an ancient game of pursuit and pleasure. I rubbed my tongue against the smoothness of his teeth. He gently took my bottom lip between his teeth and alternately sucked gently and bit down softly. It was magic and I could feel my knees buckle. His arms, circling my body, clasped me tighter and closer against him so that I would not fall.
"Easy there. Maybe we should find someplace else to go. Can you take off a little early?"
"Oh yes," I breathed more than spoke. "Just give me a minute to grab my stuff."
I headed back into the office only to find several of my office mates including the boss moving quickly away from the back windows. They all had little smiles on their faces and twinkles in their eyes. It was only then that I realized we had been putting on a bit of a show.
"Is that the new man that we've been hearing about?" the boss asked.
"Yes." I blushed. "I'm taking off a bit early, if that's ok," I stammered.
"Have fun," he said with a wink.
I saved my work and then shut down my computer. I quickly realized that the briefcase would have to wait until later to make it home. I reached for my hat. As I started to put it on, I glanced outside. He was watching me and at that point shook his head and held up a helmet. I remembered the second helmet, size medium that he had bought; supposedly a two for one deal, hoping that it would fit me. I guess the hat would have to wait too. I grabbed my purse, holding it up and saw him shake his head in the affirmative. I smiled as I said goodbye to everyone and headed out the door.
Outside, he helped me into the helmet and then onto the back of the bike. He took my purse and pushed it into one of the saddle bags that I just noticed on either side of the bike. "Just move close against my back, hold tight to my waist and try to lean with me. You'll be fine." Then he hopped on, started up the bike and off we went. My last glance at the office windows showed several smiling faces still gazing out at us as we departed.
To where I had no clue. But it didn't matter. I knew that everything was going to be more than fine.
As we headed out of town and into the more rural areas to the west, I must admit that I did begin to wonder where he was taking me. My curiosity was one of my strongest character traits. Sometimes even my beloved daughter called me "nosey." I usually didn't like surprises. Past experiences had made me wary. Often surprises turned out to be of the negative variety rather than the positive. But in this new relationship, I had made the conscious decision to leave the past behind and not bring preconceived notions and ideas into the freshness of this relationship. So I pushed the curiosity out of my mind and chose to trust this man that was carefully guiding us through the summer countryside.
We rode for about 30 minutes. As we did, miraculously, the skies cleared and the sun came out. It looked like it might be turning into a nice summer evening. Finally we turned into the LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve. At least now I knew where we were going, although not why. He ratcheted down the gears on the bike and took the curvy path through the preserve slowly. We traveled perhaps another 15 minutes to what seemed to be the far south end of the preserve. We hadn't seen any other cars, bikes or people since we first turned in. He finally pulled the bike into a small parking lot and got off, stretching his legs. He helped me off the bike and I immediately fell into his arms again. My legs were stiff from the ride, plus his arms were welcoming. They were always a good place to land.
He looked down into my eyes and smiled like a kid with a secret. He kissed me on the tip of my nose and said, "You ok to stand here for a minute by yourself while I get our gear?"
"Sure," I said and caught myself right before, "What gear?" came out of my mouth.
He moved around the bike and started emptying the saddle bags. He pulled out a small picnic basket, a small cooler, a large blanket and my purse.
"You ready," he asked.
"Sure," I said again, not really sure what I was ready for.
He gathered up the provisions and started walking down the trail. I followed.