With many thanks to Kumani for editing this story.
*
Beginning with a single kiss less than an hour earlier the dynamic between Stephanie and me, tortuously stagnant for so long, had suddenly begun to surge. In roughly the same time it took the summer storm passing over our city to release the rain and electricity charging the air, Stephanie and I had released a charge of our own, one that had been building unabated between us for the past two years.
Now we lay wrapped in each other's embrace, kissing on an uneven and improvised bed of coarse white work towels atop an old wooden table in the Donut King's kitchen.
"That was a nice surprise Jason," Stephanie complemented me between quick and panted breaths. "I wasn't sure you had it in you."
"Oh, I had it in me all right," I replied, a bit short-winded myself, "and I'm pretty sure I got most of it in you."
She laughed but her comment had stung me slightly as she had no doubt intended it to, but I understood what Stephanie meant. Her parents owned the donut shop where we worked and she'd had a steady boyfriend until recently so I'd kept a somewhat reserved demeanor around her, at least until this morning. Although she had sensed and encouraged my desire for her clearly she'd begun to wonder if I would ever act on it.
"So does this mean you'll go out with me?" I asked as I gave her sweet and yielding lips another light brief kiss.
"Was that your way of asking?"
"You didn't answer my question."
Stephanie's coal dark eyes gleamed as she coyly bit one corner of her lower lip while she pretended to ponder my question.
"Sure," she said after a requisite pause. "Now you can answer --"
She might have had more to say but having already waited two years for the chance to be with her in any way other than as a co-worker and all that time wondering what her lips would feel like pressed to mine, I kissed her again slowly and deeply, savoring her tender sweetness.
Her heated body pressed beneath mine radiated a mesmerizing mix of aromas into the cool morning air of the kitchen. Stephanie's breath brushed feather light on my face while I reveled in every deliciously laden inhalation that I drew from across her flushed skin. It enticed me enough for me to pause here and there to breathe in deeply as I kissed my way down her neck. With a long, soft sigh she laced her fingers in my hair and held my head close to her as I kissed the hollow between her breasts.
Citrus-like scents drew me to Stephanie's wet ebony hair still clinging in dark streaks to her glowing face and shoulders. Its coolness chilled me in a good way as I buried my face in the black tangled locks. While Stephanie purred I lightly bit the soft skin of her throat, then she gave a contented sigh as I kissed my way slowly back up her neck seeking her pliant and inviting lips again.
The sweat and rain mix of moisture coating the silver cross and chain Stephanie wore about her neck caused the metal to shine brightly under the fluorescent lights above us. Laying amidst the tangles of her jet hair the ornament seemed to direct me to the spot on her tawny skin just below her left ear where she had daubed some of the maddeningly compelling perfume she wore each day.
Then Stephanie's warm lips brushed my ear and she whispered.
"Kiss me."
Complying, my lips pressed once more to hers as I cradled her face in my hands. With the raw pungency of her musk still clinging to my fingers, I pulled her closer to me.
We wrapped ourselves tightly about each other and I luxuriated in the warming press of Stephanie's body as it held the chill of the still cold kitchen off my own wet skin like the softest of blankets. Closing my eyes I kissed Stephanie again and wondered if I'd ever enjoyed a kiss more. The electric pulse of delight that ran the length of my spine when her tongue touched mine gave me the clear answer.
No.
Who knew laying rain soaked and naked on an old wood table could ever feel so good?
It was then that the bells over the shop's front door clanged, shattering our all too brief moment of fulfillment. The dissonance of those damn things was as jarring as if lighting had struck in the parking lot just outside.
"Oh, FUCK!" Stephanie swore and unapologetically pushed me off of her and the table at the same time.
We scrambled for our clothes and hurriedly dressed. She decided to skip putting on her underwear, opting instead to just step back into the soggy uniform that lay clumped on the floor for the sake of speed. Stephanie hadn't taken off her tennis shoes for our feverish encounter, so once she'd snapped up her wrinkled and damp front-fastening jumper, she simply pushed the hair back out of her face and headed out front to greet the customer.
With the arrival of that first patron it occurred to me that there wasn't much in the way of donuts to start the day with other than some of the previous day's leftovers, something that Stephanie's dad, Mr. Nick, would not have accepted had he been there. Chances are he wouldn't have been too accepting of me doing his daughter on top of the kitchen table either, but then I've heard fathers can be kind of old fashioned that way.
Chuckling at the thought of him chasing me around the kitchen with a large knife, I none the less realized that without Stephanie's parents who were back in Greece visiting family for two weeks, that we'd be hard pressed to keep up with the day's demands, especially for the house specialty -- cream filled donuts -- unless I could clear my head and get a fresh batch started soon. Otherwise we'd be ill prepared for the invariable rush of customers after Sunday morning services began to let out.
"What do you put in these things that make them so good?" I'd often heard people ask Mr. Nick to which he would waggle a finger in gentle admonishment.
"It's a secret," he'd reply smiling proudly.
If there really was a secret ingredient to Mr. Nick's recipe it wasn't on the copy I had. Still people loved the damned things and were willing to line up for them, so I began gathering the bowls and ingredients for the batter mixes and got started.
Stephanie burst through the double swinging doors and strode back into the kitchen. She smiled at me, aglow in that way girls should be after good sex and began sifting through the towels we had spread on the table top until she found a dry one. Keeping one eye on her and one on my work I earnestly began mixing some batter.