Ameile

Ameile lifted her head from her computer desk and drug her eyelids across the cold pools of green which had replaced her eyes overnight. The e-mail which had been sent yesterday morning, the day before her birthday, stood motionless and heavy with his words. "Karen and I are moving to Montreal next month for my job. I'm sorry you had to find out like this, but I don't have the time to sit down and have lunch with you. All my best, Jim." Her throat vibrated and ached with rage. All of the money she had spent on French lessons, all of the new clothes for cold weather, all of the extra shifts she had worked in order to save up both of their plane tickets – it meant nothing. Ameile wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up in her chair. She'd still fix him dinner, just in case.

The morning was blue and promising. Every cloud in the sky was in the shape of an animal. Ameile couldn't quite remember if it was always that way, it had been so long since she had actually looked up, but she didn't care. She inhaled as deeply as she could and exhaled slowly. A hand came to rest on her shoulder and she spun around, immediately apologising and defending her daydreaming.

"Oh, Jim, I'm sorry I just wanted to see the – "

However, instead of meeting the empty brown eyes of Jim, she found herself staring into the brightest pair of blue eyes she had ever seen.

"Don't apologise. Are you okay?"

The words were soft, but alien. This man's lips arched perfectly as he formed an 'o' and his eyes smiled and sparkled, reflecting the clouds.

She stood staring blankly at the man for quite a while before he spoke again. He introduced himself as Cash, a writer from Arizona. He barely looked twenty-five and that added to the embarrassment of Ameile being caught daydreaming by him. She had been pretty when she was in her twenties, even her thirties, but now at forty, she felt like a weathered stone statue.

"Ma'am? Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

Her cheeks flushed rogue.

"I'm fine. Just out running errands. Thank you."

She began to walk away, but stopped when his hand touched her arm. He was still smiling, but this time it was filled with worry.

"I'd like to give you a hand if you wouldn't mind. A pretty lady such as yourself shouldn't be walking around alone in this city."

Her cheeks turned to a bruised purple and she spoke softly.

"I - I would like that very much, thank you."

* * *

Cash had proved to be a quick learner when she had told him where everything needed to go. He had put most of the groceries away before she could even finish unpacking her first bag. When they were done, Ameile asked him to stay for coffee or tea. He declined and sat down at the kitchen table. She couldn't help but smile.

"This is a very lovely home, Ameile, will you be having a party later?"

Ameile choked on her coffee and looked up at him.

"Excuse me?"

Cash smiled, or continued smiling, she wasn't sure he ever stopped.

"It is your birthday, is it not?"

She sat down opposite him at the table and placed her mug on a coaster.

"How would you know something like that?"

"There's a card on the message board by the door."

She picked the mug back up and took a sip.

"Oh, yes, it's my birthday. I'm not having a party."

"Why not? I'm sure you have a bunch of friends who want to help celebrate."

She looked down at the faux-wood and sighed. His smile faded.

"I see."

Cash leaned across the table and placed his hands over hers and wrapped them around the warm mug. All of the muscles in her shoulders, neck and back relaxed.

"Let's go."

She floated off of her chair and allowed herself to be lead into her bedroom. Ameile wasn't sure how he had found it, but once they were inside, she forgot everything but Cash. It was the first time in fifteen years that she felt wanted.

His fingertips traced the outline of her eyes and slid down the path which her tears had created, stopping at the tip of her chin. His hand fanned outwards and tenderly grasped her bottom jaw, causing her lip to purse slightly as he pulled her closer to him. They began to kiss passionately, never losing the feeling of him being in charge, but it wasn't like when she and Jim would kiss. He was always forceful and made each kiss feel like a business deal, never romantic. Ameile shut her eyes to make the thought of Jim disappear. She didn't want to think about him while she was with Cash.

When she opened her eyes again, she was met by piercing blue eyes. She began crying a little harder, holding in the sobs. Cash placed his left hand on the back of her neck and laid her onto the bed. She stared up at him with large, round eyes filled with fear. She hoped he didn't sense her reluctance, after all, she wanted to be with him, she just didn't want him to see her undressed. He ran his fingers through her hair and over her lips, smiling before leaning down to kiss her. His right hand slid down her shoulder and over the rise of her bust; she tensed with the sensation of being tickled and he continued down her body. His fingers found the button on her pants and it came open with hardly a movement on Cash's part. She smiled, nearly cheek-to-cheek.

He moved down her body and hovered over her stomach as he slowly removed her pants. He looked into her eyes before moving back up her body to undo the buttons of her shirt and kissed her navel. She shivered with pleasure and giggled. She looked across the room to the light switch and Cash spoke before she could look back at him.

"No. Let them stay on."

His fingers slid between her thighs, pushing her underwear to the side as he inserted two into her. She gasped and he bent down, kissing the spot just above her vaginal lips. He had been hard since placing his hands over hers in the kitchen, but the genuine gasping and look of surprise on Ameile's face made Cash throb. He felt like ravaging her, but knew it wouldn't be right. Instead, he removed his fingers and unzipped his fly, pulling himself out to present his offering. Her cheeks flushed and she giggled, not mockingly.

He rose up so that his body was nearly perfectly aligned with every curve of her. He could feel her breath through her chest and on his cheek. He leaned in and kissed her neck as he slid himself into her, being careful to watch for any signs that she may not want to go any further. She inhaled suddenly and startled him, but quickly after Ameile began to arch her back with his motions. He was just pumping slowly, but each movement seemed to cause her to shiver and arch more. He looked down at her plump breasts and buried his face between them. She placed her hand on the back of his head and dug her fingers in slightly. Cash began pumping a bit faster, enchanted by the rhythmic bounce Ameile's breasts began with the increased speed.

She moaned slightly, wanting to feel him deep inside of her. Every inch of her skin seemed to be heating up as if she were submerged in warm water. Her eyes were closed, but she didn't need for them to be open in order to see that Cash was smiling. His smile made her feel like she was in her twenties again, before she had met Jim, when she was pretty and wanted by guys at school. She brought her legs up and wrapped them around his waist, allowing each pump to push his pulsating penis deeper inside of her. When she did this, he picked up the pace and increased the force just enough to cause her moaning to grow louder.

His hands ran down her body, his lips caressed her nipples and her neck. She felt warmer and wet, very wet. Her breathing was getting heavier and she wasn't sure if she could last much longer. Cash was pumping furiously now, grinding his hips into her as he went in and out. She looked up into his eyes and felt that she didn't have to try and go any longer than she felt comfortable. She began relaxing. Cash slid his hand back between her thighs and started rubbing her clit. He used two fingers, the same two fingers which had been inside of her. Ameile's eyes began rolling backwards into her head. She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from screaming out loud.

Cash was pounding her now. His thrusts were filled with power and passion. Ameile could feel her body tense and immediately knew what was happening, although she didn't quite believe it at first. Cash never took his fingers away from her clit, even as her entire body went rigid and then jerked as she orgasmed. When she thought she had finished, he played with her clit a little longer, each flick sent shivers up her spine and caused her to squeak and gasp with pleasure.

He released her and kissed her lips gently, sitting up and moving to the edge of the bed. She sat up as quickly as she could, still light-headed from her first orgasm in five or six years. Cash already had his pants and shirt fixed and was beginning to pull on his boots. Her heart sank into her chest and beat furiously. She wasn't even sure if he had, orgasmed, too. He turned back to smile at her as if he knew she had been staring. Then, he stood up and walked to the doorway. Jim seemed to be a ghost, nothing more than a bad dream. The man standing in her bedroom doorway was the man she wanted. She felt like getting up and kissing him, begging him to stay, but she knew he wouldn't. Instead, she just watched as he turned around and uttered the last words she would ever hear him speak.

"Happy birthday, Ameile. You're beautiful."