Reunion

"Hey, where you at?" I asked. Honestly, I was so nervous I was surprised I could even speak.

"I'm walking into the lobby. Where you at?" He replied. My heart started beating faster. So fast I could hear it in my ears above all the music, tourists, and slot machines going off in the distance.

"Um, I'm here. I'm in a long white skirt and navy blue tank top. You can't miss me. I'm taller than everyone here." As soon as the words came out of my mouth I thought, "Shannon, really? A tall joke? That's the best you can come up with?"

"Okay..." He said. His voice has such an appealing tone to it. Not too deep. Not too high...Just right...Now that I think about it, last I remembered, everything about him was just right.

Moments passed that seemed like forever. "Does he see me? Calm down. It's not that serious. Has it really been years? Time flies so fast when you're distracted."

"Hello? Shannon?" His voice reminded me of the fact that I was not on Planet Shannon, but in the lobby of the Circus Circus.

"Yeah, my bad. I'm here. I just got distracted a bit." I said, as I watched the tourists come in and out of the hotel lobby doors. It's amazing to me how different tourists seem but usually, when you see them they will either be one of two things -- absolutely confused or in complete awe. At least when they're sober. But that's another tangent for another time.

"Turn around..." I heard not only through my cell phone, but through my free ear. Before I could think, my body turned around, right into him...I would have probably knocked us both over if he hadn't grabbed hold of me to steady me.

"Ooh. That grip..." My subconscious started to distract me again, but I reigned it in...quickly.

"Oh my goodness! It's been so long! Look at you!" I hugged him. His strong arms wrapped around my slim waist. I remember last I saw him, I was definitely not this size. I was bigger. Not that I look bad now. Just different. He smelled so good...

"I know! Too long. You look amazing." He said. After we let go of each other we stood for a second just looking at each other. I couldn't believe he was standing here. He hadn't changed too much. He had, of course, matured. His chocolate skin was still smooth. His lips were still strong and defined, but looked so soft and enticing. His eyes still read every emotion going through his brain. And right now they were looking me up and down...

"So...What do you want to do?" I asked. Hoping he would ignore the sexual tension vibrating between us. I am pretty sure everyone else around us could feel it, but I think part of me figured if I just ignored it, it would fade away.

"Um, I don't now. What do YOU feel like doing?" He asked.

"Fucking like rabbits," was the thought that popped into my head, but what came out of my mouth was, "I guess we can go to the food court and walk around a bit."

"Um...Okay. Sure." He complied. I say complied because he didn't sound exactly thrilled. Honestly, they say great minds think alike, and I am pretty sure that we were thinking the same thing. I inhaled deeply and started to walk. "So how have you been? I mean, tell me something I don't know. How have you been aside from telephone conversations and text messages?"

"I've been alright. Still in Atlanta for now, so I'm just dealing with that. Honestly, this past few days here back home have made me realize how much I miss it. You know?" I said. I almost started to think about all the drama and stress I had waiting for me back in Atlanta, but I had to catch myself and remind myself not to ruin a good reunion.

"That's good. I've been alright. It's good to see you again though...You know..." He started to speak, but while we were passing the Adventuredome, the sound of everything go to be so distracting, I couldn't hear what he was saying, let alone pay attention to him. When he stopped speaking, I replied with some kind of generic answer. He became quiet. When I looked at him, he had this, "What the fuck?" face on.

"What?" I asked. Almost as confused as he was.

"I asked how things were going with you and your ex or whatever he is right now, and you said, 'I can dig it.'" He told me. My face turned red.

"Oh. Wow...Um. My bad. Yeah. But we are still ex's. He wants to get back together, but quite frankly, I enjoy being single. I think I am going to stay this way a very long time. And no matter what, I am definitely getting back into a relationship with that man. We are way too incompatible." I said. I started to keep talking and almost venting about it all, but I stopped myself. Not like a man wants to hear about another man anyway, right?

"Oh. Good for me. Bad for him!" He commented. I wasn't sure if he was just joking or not, but my guess was that even if he was joking, there was a sprig of truth to it. I laughed the nervous, courtesy laugh before we both faded back into silence. What do I say to him? I mean, this is the first time I have seen him in forever. But it's not like we didn't talk all the time and keep up with each other. So "catching up" wasn't relevant...

"So...to be honest, I am not really in a walking kind of mood. I mean, it's not like there's much to see here at the Circus Circus, anyway. Want to go outside and walk the Strip?" I offered. Anything to distract me from this dark, handsome man that was walking but a couple of inches from me. Every now and then we would bump each other lightly, just close enough to brush each other's skin. And every time my hand touched his arm, I recoiled slightly, hoping he didn't notice the electricity sparking from my fingers.

"Honestly, not really. You forget it's June and it's Vegas. It's damn near 100 plus outside. I'd really rather be inside in the air conditioning." He laughed.

"Yeah. You're right..." I replied, while I debated with myself as to what to do. My head kept tempting me to just tell him let's go back to my room and chill. I can smoke and we can talk. But the logical side of myself kept getting in the way, "Shannon, are you that horny right now? I mean, I know a year is a long time, but aren't you supposed to NOT be getting distracted? Sex and feelings and relationships and all that will just distract you from everything else."

You know how you always have that angel and devil fighting with each other on your shoulder? Well, right after that angelic logical side of me spoke, the devilish realistic side of me scoffed, "Haha. Yeah, whatever. You knew when you told him you wanted to see him again what the deal was! And he does, too. We're all grown, right? So what's wrong with really good sex with no strings attached? As long as you let him know you just want the sex, then what's the problem?"

My angel spoke in my defense, "There's no such thing as sex with no strings attached. You know that. It's happened before. You try to have that 'define the relationship' conversation, but eventually either he or you will end up catching feelings. It is inevitable. Besides, sex isn't something you've ever taken casually anyway, so why start now?"

"You know," he started, knocking me back down to earth, "you seem so much quieter now than you did back in the day. It's like you're a lot more introverted now."

"Oh, really? Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind. That's all." I said. It's the typical answer I gave everyone. I figure if I say that most people will just be polite and let me be, and not ask me a whole bunch of probing questions about what's going on in my head because I know if I told them everything I thought, they wouldn't look at me the same again.

"Like what? Is everything okay?" He asked, looking concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing serious. Just stuff, that's all." I reply. "So, have you come up with any new ideas as to what you would like to do for the day, or no?"

"Okay, well you can tell me anything, while you're trying to avoid the subject. But I won't force it. And no, I don't know what else we can really do." He said, with a bit of frustration in his voice. I wondered if it was from the fact that we both knew we were acting as if we weren't attracted to each other...and always have been. Or was it because he genuinely wanted to know what was on my brain. If it was the second one, he'd have to just be disappointed. I learned from my last relationship that the more silent you are the better. That way they don't have any leverage. Is it a control thing, or a fright thing? I don't know. Irrational, I know.

I sighed. "Well, I guess we can always go back up to my room and just chill there for a while. At least there we can be some what less distracted."

He cocked an eyebrow at my last sentence as if to ask what "less distracted" meant, but didn't want to ask. "I mean," he said, "If you're not comfortable we don't have to."

I laughed. "Why wouldn't I be comfortable around you? How long have we known each other?"

"Okay. I am down with that then." He said. I turned to walk towards the elevator. For the first time in the history of Las Vegas casinos, the elevator hallway was empty. Which meant that I would be with him...alone...in the elevator...for 4 floors...

"It's so crazy how different we look. I guess that's what time does to you, you know?" I stated, reminiscing more than anything. Time seemed such a bittersweet entity to me at this point in my life...We stepped into the elevator, and instead of standing near him, I stood across from him. I didn't want to be so close to him when I don't trust myself. We're already in this small box they call an elevator, so my slight claustrophobia started to kick in. I white-knuckled the rail behind me, and stared at my reflection in the mirrored wall.

"Yeah, but you don't look bad at all. You're still beautiful." He said. For a split second I think my face registered about 50 different emotions that went like this, "Huh? Oh, how sweet. Yeah, I know it's probably just sweet talk though." Beautiful isn't something I'm called too often. Sexy, hot, sexy, sexy...Never beautiful though...

"Thanks. You look good, too. You're in a lot better shape than I am, that's for sure," I said. The bad part about a man like him is he pays attention to me. And I know that sounds crazy, but being in a relationship for so long where the man couldn't tell if I was mad until the steam literally came out of my ears, and constantly forgot things like anniversaries, birthdays, historical events even...It's so odd having someone pay attention to my facial expressions, and my body language...or just notice me.

"Ha! Whatever. I'm so out of shape." He claimed. Looking down at his body.

"By the look of those arms, you look like you can bench press me with no problem...Matter of fact, that sounds pretty good right now. I wonder...if I just push the emergency stop button and make the elevator stop, how long would it take for emergency crews to come get us," I thought to myself. Those strong arms just holding me, enveloping me in a great combination of hard muscles and smooth skin...mmmm...

I just smiled.

4th floor. DING. Time to get off. I finally exhaled and stepped off of the elevator. Thank God. Just get me away from this man and this thing he is doing to me! Room 417. I paused for a second at the door. "Please, whatever happens, do not let me make an utter fool of myself." I thought. I slid the key into the door, and popped it open. I grabbed the remote control from the bed and turned the TV on.

"Sit down, get comfy. I would say take off your shoes, but this is a hotel and not my mother's house so it's up to you." I stated as I switched my heels to flip flops. I hate wearing shoes, to be honest. If I could get away with wearing flip flops and high heels everywhere, I would. I was nervous, so I knew it was time to fire up a blunt. "Oh, hold on real quick," I said as I walked into the bathroom.

I emerged with a towel, a scrunchie, and a plastic shower cap. He was looking at me crazy. "No, I'm not taking a shower." I said, as I stood on the bed closest to the smoke detector. I wrapped the shower cap around the smoke detector, and put the scrunchie around the cap to keep it in place. I jumped down from the bed and tucked the towel underneath the door. "It's so they can't detect the smoke," I said.

"Why didn't you just get a smoking room?" He asked, laughing a bit at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Well, for one the smell of cigarettes and cheap cigars nauseates me, and two, I am allergic to nicotine, so I technically can't be in a room where the residue is all over every thing." I explained.

"Oh. Okay."

I sat at the desk and split my vanilla dutch. Always dutches if I don't have a bowl. No exceptions. I hoped he wouldn't notice me shaking a bit because I was nervous. His presence just...does something. It's like this magnetic pull...And I have to focus on distracting myself from it or I would get lost...But now...I wanted nothing more than to just give in and get lost. I wet my lips and rolled the dutch nice and tight. I took my lighter and dried it out a little, before I got up and sat next to him in front of the TV. I sparked it up and started smoking. He just looked at me and smiled.

"So would you ever think about moving back?" He asked, while we channel surfed.

"I might. Atlanta's okay, but it has a lot of work to do. It's a lot of old men running a city full of young people. Like, the political garbage Atlanta has become would be compared to like, if America would have elected McCain instead of Obama. A bunch of old principles trying to fight the new era. And it just doesn't work."

"I don't know about anyone else, but I know if you did move back, I'd be happy. I would get to see you more often." He said. I just smiled. The weed was starting to hit my lungs, and there is nothing like a smooth high from some dutch passion purp rolled in a vanilla dutch.

"You say the simplest things, but they always leave me speechless. I guess that's why I always liked you so much. You're so different from most other men. And it's so refreshing." I said. I had thought I was saying it in my head, but apparently I didn't. So he had heard everything. I turned beet red. "I'm sorry. Did I really just say that out loud? I am so sorry. I gotta stop smoking weed..."

He laughed. "You are hilarious, you know that?"

"I know it was a dumb thing to say. Sorry."

"I never understood how a girl like you thinks and says the things you think and say about yourself."

"Huh?" I looked at him. He looked at me. And for some reason, my instinct told me that this was the point of no return. My heart was beating fast. My palms started to moisten. My breath started to shorten. I almost felt dizzy, but I wasn't sure if it was me being nervous or if it was the weed talking. I was right, though.

The silence told enough. He leaned over, and softly kissed me. I swear it was like a vacuum took all my breath out of my body. I felt a tingle from my lips to my toes and back. "Damn, and he's a good kisser, too!"

I never really knew what it was like to be completely turned on by someone until then. Of course, physical attraction is always a turn on, but to be mentally and physically attracted to someone takes it to a completely different level. Deeper. More meaningful. When we pulled apart, I just looked at him. What do I say? What do I do? All I could do was get up. So I did. I put my blunt out and set it on the desk. I heard some movement behind me, and when I turned around, he was standing up. My dumb self blurts out, "Are you leaving?"

He cocked an eyebrow and let out a little laugh like, "Are you serious?"

He grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. I am 5'10" tall, 140 pounds, and for some reason, I felt so small. He put a hand behind my neck, an arm around my waist, and kissed me. Passionately. Strong, but not overbearing. Holding me tight, but not suffocating me. "Dear God, if I have ever asked for anything in this world, I am asking you right now not to let this moment end." I thought, as I placed my hands on his back.

It's what I had been missing -- true passion. My knees started to melt, and I almost fell over. He held me a little tighter to support me. His other hand intertwined into my hair and he pulled back gently. I tried to breathe, but all I could manage was a tiny inhale before his lips touched my neck. I bit my lip so hard I almost expected it to start bleeding. "Control. Stop! You shouldn't be doing this. Distractions, remember!" My angel started to scream. I think the demon either killed the angel or the angel gave up and flew away because that was the last I heard from it.

My grip tightened on his back as his lips explored my neck and collarbone, only to move slowly down towards his waist. All the clothes we had on seemed like such a huge burden. They had to come off. I think he was thinking the same thing, too, but apparently I wasn't quick enough. By the time I started to tug on his shirt, it was on the floor behind us, and miraculously so was mine. I took my hands and tried to cover myself up. I felt so self-conscious around him. Not like I needed to be. I mean, if we've come this far, I'm pretty sure he has no qualms about my body. Right?

He took my hands and pulled me towards the bed. Could he hear my heart humming through my chest? I sat down on the edge, while he stood in front of me. I wondered what he tasted like. I looked up at him, and he looked down at me. By the looks of his breathing patters, he was having the same control issues I was...I unbuttoned his pants. I was still shaking. I saw it pop out of his boxers. It was so big...so dark...so...enticing. I liked how it jumped in my hand when I ran my fingers down it. It's smooth, too...I took one last glance at him staring at me before I wrapped my fingers around him and kissed the tip. I could feel him get harder. I smiled a little. I saw a little drop of pre-cum and leaned over to lick it off. Yummy...He groaned and put his fingers through my hair. I wrapped my lips around the tip and slid my mouth up and down. His hands had grip of my hair, and I wasn't sure if it was for his control or mine, but I didn't care. I was so wet I was shocked I hadn't soaked through my skirt.

It didn't last long before he pulled me back. I let out this little moan. I wanted him so badly...

"Scoot back," he said, his voice low and feral. I obeyed. He grabbed my skirt as I did, and pulled it off of me. Here I was in front of him completely naked and vulnerable. He shook his pants off and climbed onto the bed. He paused a moment on top of me and kissed me again...back down my neck...to my collar bone...I've always had this thing about my breasts ( I never liked them. Still don't.) so the lower he got, the more I wanted to cover them up, but he wasn't having any of that. I could feel him hard against my thigh as he took my little nipple into his mouth and started sucking on it. My back arched at the sensation, and my insides were pulsating. He licked it before he left to explore my stomach, his tongue circling my navel ring.

"Ooh," was all I could manage. His hand had slipped in between my legs, and he took a single finger and started exploring. I gripped the blanket and bit my lip. He had made his way back up to me, but his hand was not done. He kissed me again and again. I was almost lost. I wanted him so badly inside me. Almost as soon as I had that thought, his hand stopped. He placed himself between my thighs, and his lips on my neck. He slid inside me in one smooth movement. I inhaled because as big as he is, it kind of hurt. He paused.

"You okay? Am I hurting you?" he asked. I took a deep breath as my body got used to his size. It'd been what seemed like forever since I had even had sex, so I knew I was tight, but I wasn't sure if it was because I was just that small or if he was just that big... I kissed him to let him know I was okay. I wrapped my legs around his waist and let him in a little deeper. I felt so...complete. The weight of him on top of me felt so right. "Please, don't let anything ruin this." Being engaged twice and having long term relationships, none of the sex had ever felt like this. Then again, now that I think about it, I don't think that what we were doing was just having sex. That makes it sound so...plain. And it was anything but. The rhythm started slow and sensual. In and out, so deep and enveloping. I hoped I hadn't left any scratches on his back. He was groaning low in my hear, and the vibrations in my ear just made me even more wet. He took his had and grabbed my hair again, and pulled my head back.