Still buzzing from her tremendous orgasm in the tub, Laura dressed in a pair of red silk panties and matching bra, slipped a pair of well-worn jeans over her curvy hips. She pulled a hooded sweatshirt over her damp red curly hair—it always went curly when wet. She smeared on some lipstick, quickly applied some shadow and liner to her cat-like eyes and grinned mischievously.
She was heading to Syracuse and Jake didn’t even know it yet. She shoved her feet into a pair of woolen socks after carefully applying two coats of bright red polish to her toenails, a shade darker than that on her fingers. Yanking on her hiking boots, she flipped off the lights to her home and headed out the front door with her knapsack slung over her shoulder and her leather coat in her hand.
That didn’t take long, she mused, as she looked at her watch. Just a little after nine. She should be in Syracuse before midnight. She had hunted up Jake’s address online and printed out a map. According to the paper, she should be in the city in 2.4 hours, providing she didn’t get lost in the process.
As she hit the border crossing, Laura’s nerves jangled. She was really going to meet him.
“Citizenship?”
“Canadian,” she told the port authority.
“Where are you going?”
“Syracuse,” she said. Saying that word made it seem so real.
“And what is your purpose?”
“I’m meeting a friend,” she told him.
“Have you ever been there before?” The immigration officer looked menacing and his line of questioning seemed a little personal.
“No, actually, I haven’t been there before. I’m meeting a friend for the first time.”
“Another Internet romance,” he stated, matter-of-factly.
“You must get them a lot,” she said.
“Actually, you’d be surprised. There are hundreds of lonely women who travel across the border looking for fun and romance, and sometimes it doesn’t always work out the way you plan. Please, just be careful,” he warned.
“Um, thanks. I’ll be careful.”
She shoved her Grand Am into drive and headed south, her nerves jumping from not only clearing customs but from being questioned by the authority that way. Just who the hell did he think he was anyway? She then laughed out loud. He was an immigration officer! That’s who he was. He had the right to question her that way...besides, the information he passed along was taken to heart. Laura had heard a lot about Internet relationships going haywire. But she trusted Jake. She felt it in her heart.
As she cruised along I-81, Laura flipped open her cell phone and punched in Jake’s number.
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Hello You! What’s going on? I thought you’d be in bed by now.”
“Funny you should ask me that,” she said. “I’m actually about half-hour away from your place.”
She could hear the phone as it hit the floor and after a brief pause, he was back on the line.
“You’re what? Laura, you can’t be serious. I thought you said...”
“I know what I said...I’m on my way. That is if you still want to see me.”
“Of course I want to see you, you wild woman. You’re such a trip! You make me crazy...in a good way.”
“Ok, I’m going to hang up soon because I’m coming into Syracuse right now...I’m passing the airport turn.”
“Holy shit, you’re almost here. Just watch for the signs I told you about...and please, be careful.”
Within a half-hour, Laura was knocking at his front door. Her heart thumped in her chest and the snow glistened under the street lamps. It was a beautiful January night and the moon shone brightly overhead. The stars twinkled and the air was crisp. She could see her breath and she gasped when Jake answered the door.
Time stopped...for a moment, it just stood frozen, like the air between them. Their gazes met and held, electricity bouncing between them like live wires. His blue eyes drank her in. His beard and moustache were trimmed short and his long hair was braided down his back. A baseball cap sat backward on his head. He held the door open with one hand, and with the other, he reached out to take hers.
“Come in here,” he said, as he slowly pulled her inside his home. The warmth of the hallway invaded her lungs and she breathed deeply. “Let me take your coat.”
She slipped out of her leather jacket, handed it to him and watched him as he hung it up. She hadn’t said a word yet. She was still mesmerized by his eyes and his fluid movements. So graceful, yet so masculine. He wore a pair of faded jeans that fit snugly on his hips, a Syracuse University sweatshirt, white socks and a plain black ball cap.
“Now...come here,” he said, and pulled her into his arms. “I can’t believe you’re here. You smell so good. I love the color of your hair, your eyes are so beautiful.” Pulling away he caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. Her heart hammered in her chest. Tears filled her eyes. He wiped at them with the pad of his thumb and gently kissed them away.
“Why the tears?” he asked, as he pulled her back into his warm embrace. “It’s good to see you finally.”
“Oh my God Jake, you’re beautiful.” She held him tightly, crushing him with her arms.
“You are the beautiful one,” he said. “Let me look at you.”
Embarrassed, she looked at the floor and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry...it’s just...this is so overwhelming for me.”
He grasped her chin with his thumb and forefinger and tipped her head up to meet his gaze. “Please, don’t cry...you’re safe here. I would never hurt you.”
He dried her eyes again and sank his fingers into the soft curls. So soft, he whispered. “You are amazing,” he said.
She choked on a laugh and pulled his hands from her hair. She kissed one palm, then the other. Closing her eyes, she let the sensations of his hands fill her heart.
“I’ve never done this before,” she told him truthfully.
“I haven’t either. There is something about you that makes me want to know you better,” he said. “Your perfect mouth...” He kissed her mouth passionately, hungerly, gently probing with his tongue until she felt the nerves of the past three hours escape her. “Your perfect nose.” He pinched her nose and placed a light kiss on the tip. “Your perfect cheeks with the perfect amount of freckles.“ He kissed each cheek. “And your perfect ears.” Jake traced a line of kisses from one ear to the other, sucking on the lobes, licking the rim of one, then the other, stopping in the middle to electrify her senses again with another sensuous kiss to her pouty mouth.