At The End Of The Road

"I thought you'd be gone by now," Tina said.

"Yeah, common sense would have told me to leave but...well, if you want me gone, just say so."

"That's not what I meant."

"Okay," I said, "in any case, I guess I'll be going."

"You don't have to," Tina said impatiently, and I stood up quickly to face her.

"Tina what the hell do you want from me? What do you want me to say?"

"I don't need anything from you," she answered defensively.

"That's not what I asked you," I said. I paused for a moment, trying to gather the thoughts that my emotions were threatening to drown. "I want to know why the hell you lied to me."

"I never lied to you," she said, "you were there, you knew exactly what happened. I slipped, WE slipped, it was a mistake, it didn't go any further."

"Then why did you have to tell Brett. Why did you have to almost get me fucking killed because--"

"There were no shells in that gun, for Christ's sake," she said, "not a single one, he was just trying to scare you."

"How the hell am I supposed to know that? He pointed a gun at my face, bullets or not, that's unforgivable. So answer my fucking question, why did you tell him?"

"Because he deserved to know," she said.

"Why does that loser deserve to know anything?"

"He's NOT a loser!"

I could feel the frustration building up like steam in my head. The asshole had just threatened me with a shotgun; that seemed like a loser move to me. "Why do you keep defending him?" I asked.

"Why the fuck do you hate him so much?" she shouted at me, tears building up in her eyes. That was it, I'd had enough.

"Because he doesn't love you the way I do!" I roared back at her, and that was it. I could deal with the fact that Brett was an asshole, I could deal with the fact that he had money and he thought it made him important. I could deal with everything except the fact that he had a wonderful girl and he didn't seem to appreciate her like she deserved.

He had called her a slut. I hated him for that.

My heart was thundering in my chest, and my head hurt so badly it felt like it was going to explode. I felt relieved and stupid all at the same time; I'd never intended to tell her what I'd told her, especially not in that way.

I knew I had to go now. "If he really loved you," I said calmly, "he'd never treat you the way he does." I knew it was a low blow, but I didn't care. I turned away from her and began to walk away, but when I heard her voice again, it was full of tears.

"Please..."

I turned back to her to see tears pouring down her face.

"Please don't leave me here, take me with you."

I was speechless.

I went to her and held her for as long as I possibly could.

* * *

We walked silently back to the barn, her hand in mine, both of us unwilling to ever let go. The sky was dark with storm clouds that had blocked out the setting sun, and a light rain began to fall. As we got closer to the barn, the skies began to open and the rain poured down harder. Next to me, I felt Tina stop in her tracks.

I turned to her and could see that she was drenched. I'd barely even noticed the rain soaking us.

"We need to get you inside," I said. She said nothing, just smiled sweetly at me, a soft glow in her eyes. She reached her hand to my face, then slipped it around the back of my neck, pulling to her, pressing her soft, wet lips to mine, the rain drizzling down between us. After a moment, she pulled away from me, and I realized how beautiful she looked, her rain-soaked hair hanging in tangles, her clothes plastered to her petite body.

I remember the sensation of having her pressed against me closely that night a month ago, remembered it as clearly as if it had happened only the day before. I wanted to feel it again, only this time, I wanted to be closer, I wanted to be inside her.

"Tina," I said as she looked up at me, "tomorrow, when this is all over, he'll come back to you, he'll apologize for what he's done...you're going to take him back, aren't you?"

The sadness crept back into her eyes again, and she looked down at her feet. "It doesn't matter," she said, "tonight, it doesn't matter."

She took my hand again and led me into the barn. Except for the rain pattering against the roof and the occasional clap of thunder, it was quiet. She pulled me towards the ladder to the loft, then turned and stopped me with a hand on my chest.

"Go in the house," she said, "there's a bottle of wine in the cupboard. Get it and meet me here, okay?" Before I could get a word in, she leaned forward and kissed me deeply, her tongue slipping by to explore my lips momentarily, then she pulled away again. There was no turning back now, I knew it in my heart. I also knew this whole situation was destined to end painfully, but Tina was right, that night it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except that we would be together, even if just for one night.

I watched as she started up the ladder to the loft.

"Tina?"

She turned and smiled sensually down at me. "Yes?"

"You're absolutely beautiful."

"Hurry."

And hurry I did, although I didn't think I could run fast enough. The distance between the barn and the house had never seemed longer, knowing that Tina was waiting for me. I was past the point of reason; if I hadn't been, I would have talked myself out of the whole thing before it had even started.

I snatched the wine out of the cupboard and rooted through a drawer for a corkscrew. I was quickly on my way out, but before I hit the door again, I noticed a note on the kitchen table. It had my name on the front written in a flowing, feminine hand that I recognized as Tina's. I paused for a moment, knowing Tina was waiting, but wondering if she'd meant for me to see the note.

Swallowing down the lust that was threatening to eat me up, I put the wine on the table and opened the note. It read:

"Dearest, From the first day you came back, I've known you feel about me the same way I feel about you. I can see it in the way you look at me, the way you smile at me, the way you try to pretend you're not watching me while you're working. But I can always feel you there with me, and if only I had the words to describe how wonderful it makes me feel. All I can tell you is that I love you. I love you with all my heart...but we can never be together. I don't expect you to understand, but hopefully you'll accept that I have my reasons. Love always, Tina"

I stared at the note for a long while. It was beautiful and painful all at the same time, but above all, it confused me. I took the note and the wine, and headed for the barn.

* * *

When I returned to the barn, the rain had already dissipated to a light drizzle which pelted the tin roof softly, but off in the distance I could hear more rolling thunder signaling the impending storm. I glanced up to the loft where a soft glow seemed to be the only light. I carefully made my way up the ladder and looked around. The loft was stacked with bales of hay, and the entire floor was covered in the stuff. I could see the glow of light coming from a corner beside one of the windows.

As I quietly approached, I could see that Tina had set up a crate with a small lantern burning on top of it, casting a faint light throughout the area. She had laid out a blanket on the floor. She sat, bathed in the gentle glow, watching me. Even in the shadows, I could see her eyes drop to my hand, and the rest of her face dropped when she saw that I held her note.

I placed the wine bottle on the crate and sat down beside her, the note still between my fingers.

"What made you change your mind?" I asked her softly.

She looked at me for a long moment before she answered. "It was you. You made me change my mind. I was terrible to you, but you stayed, and there was nothing but love in your eyes when you looked at me. I just--even if tomorrow you left and we never saw each other again, I didn't want to go for the rest of my life not knowing what it would be like to spend a night in your arms."

Looking down at her note, I considered what she had told me, and she was right. I'd loved her every moment, even when I thought she hated me.

She leaned over and kissed me for a long moment. She stopped and brushed her lips along my cheek until I could feel her warm breath on my ear sending a tingle down my spine.

"I love you," she whispered to me, and I remembered that night, the night I had thought was a dream when she had come to me. She had told me that she loved me even then, and I never fully realized it.

As if she were reading my thoughts, she slipped her leg over my lap and straddled me as she had that night. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close. There was a fire behind her eyes that I hadn't seen there before.

"I never got to apologize," she whispered in a sultry tone.

"For what?"

"For not getting to finish what we started." I couldn't help but smile, and she smiled back, pressing herself as close as possible.

"I thought it was a dream," I said absently.

"I know," she said, a slightly guilty look passing over her face, "I knew it that night, but the next morning I just couldn't..."

"It's okay," I said, stroking her face gently with my finger, enjoying her soft skin, "as long as we're here now, that's all that matters." With that, the sad look on her face was replaced by lust. She slowly reached down, grabbed the bottom of her shirt, and slipped it up over her head revealing the lacy white bra underneath.

My head was absolutely spinning, her scent filled me up and made me crazy. I slipped my hands around her waist, letting them drift up her stomach, to her breasts. She closed her eyes and let her head drop back as I touched her. As I leaned forward and gently kissed the soft curve of her breast above her bra, her hips began to rock against me, and I could feel myself very quickly growing fully aroused. She snaked her arms around my head and held me close to her chest, shallow moans of desire escaping her lips.

"I want you so bad," she whispered, "I want you inside me."

As she leaned back to look at me, I pressed a finger gently to her lips before she could say any more. "Be patient," I told her, "I promise I'll give you everything you want."

Satisfied for the moment, Tina remained quiet, but slowly sucked my finger into her mouth, running her tongue along its entire length before letting it go and turning her attention to my thumb. With my free hand, I reached behind her back, and using just about the only knowledge I'd retained from my few years of college, I unsnapped the clasp of her bra with two fingers. I heard her giggle slightly as she released my thumb; she seemed impressed.

Arms crossed, she slid the straps of her bra down over her shoulders. She smiled at me slyly as she kept herself covered and her bra dropped away to the floor. I leaned forward again to kiss her breasts, but she leaned away and shook her head defiantly.

"Uh-uh," she said playfully, "first you have to tell me you love me."

"I do love you. With all my heart."

"And you'll never ever forget me?"

"Never."

"Promise," she said a little sadly, "promise me you'll write about us, and you'll never forget."

"Cross my heart. I'll never forget."

The sadness on her face went away, replaced by the sweetest smile and a twinkle in her eye. She let her arms fall away from her chest, and I took her face in my hands and kissed her, our tongues slipping together, her breath growing quicker, her hips resuming their rhythmic rocking against mine. The kiss was broken, and she leaned back, chest pushed out, allowing me a better view of her gorgeous breasts.

My hands slid lovingly up and down her back as I kissed her taut belly. I let my tongue slide up her body to the rise of her breast, tracing her luscious contours, tasting every inch of her. A moment later, I heard the hiss of her breath as I circled her hardened nipple with my tongue, then ran my lips over it, mingling the soft moistness with tiny warm breaths.

And again I felt her hands on my head, her fingers in my hair, pulling me closer to her, her hips grinding even harder against me. Glancing up at her, my heart skipped several beats. Her head dropped back, eyes squeezed shut, blonde hair cascading almost to the floor as she rolled her pelvis back and forth and in slow circles against me making the smooth muscles in her stomach flex just a little. It was a vision of pure erotic passion I wouldn't soon forget, let alone ever forget.

I pressed forward against her, sucking her nipple into my mouth more eagerly, suckling the hardened nub between my lips, my tongue massaging, my teeth nibbling gently making her moan with delight. I took her other breast in my hand and squeezed delicately, toying with her nipple between my fingers, a tender mix of lightly pinching and pulling which sent a shudder through her. Her chest was flush, and I could feel the pure heat emanating from her.

"Oh, God," I heard her cry out hoarsely, which only made me continue more enthusiastically. The faint scent of her sex drifted to my nose, and I knew she wouldn't stand for me teasing her much longer. I felt as if I was going to explode. She looked at me, her breath almost frantic now, the gleam in her eye brighter than ever before, the look on her face making it perfectly clear that there would be no turning back tonight, there would be no quitting, and she would not be fading away into the darkness. Both of us were now running on lust and sheer sexual instinct, and we couldn't stop if we wanted.

Tina pulled away and got to her feet. Still standing over me, she licked her lips suggestively, unbuttoned her shorts, and slid them down her trim legs. Without any further hesitation, I pressed my mouth to the soft cotton of her panties, taking in her scent completely, savoring the fragrance of the lust I had created in her. She uttered a soft whimper as I pressed my mouth to her firmly, rubbing the soft mound up and down with my lips until I didn't think she could take any more and her knees would buckle.

With a gasp, she took my head in her hands to stop me. She took a long moment to regain her composure as I gazed up at her. My throbbing erection was threatening to burst through my pants, but I was determined to draw everything out as long as I could. I wanted her all night long, as long as I could have her, in as many ways and as many times as I could please her.

"This is torture," she said despite the sunny grin spreading across her lips.

"I don't hear you complaining."

She ran her fingers through my hair while she watched me lovingly. "Love, not to sound crude, but I've wanted to fuck you since the first day you came back."

I couldn't help but laugh a little. Being raunchy was obviously not something she did often, but hearing her talk like that was almost...sweet.

"All things will come in good time, sweetheart. I promised you, didn't I? Anything you want."

"Hmmph," she grunted in mock impatience. Slipping her thumbs into the waistband, she slipped her panties down her slender legs with a sexy little wiggle of her hips. She kicked them away, bent over, and looking me dead in the eyes, slid her hands up her legs slowly, up her thighs, just barely brushing the small light tuft of blonde hair between her legs. At that very moment, she was like the world's hottest exotic dancer performing a private show just for me. It was a pleasantly surprising side of her I'd never imagined.

I'd never seen anything any sexier in my life, and she knew she had me, as if she were daring me to come take her. She never took her glowing eyes away from mine.

"What do you think?" she asked breathlessly. "Can you be patient now?"

"I--I...that's, uh..." I managed to stutter, trying to make myself coherent. She bent over again and pressed a finger to my lips.

"Save it." She grabbed my shirt and pulled it up over my head, tossing it in the same general direction we'd been tossing all the clothes. A moment later, I felt her fingers slowly making their way up from my stomach to my chest, up my neck, across my jaw, then back down again. This time, they slid below my stomach to the waistline of my jeans, undid the button, and as I waited in anticipation for her to finally free me, she stopped.

"Tina?"

"Wine?"

"Huh?"

She smiled in amusement. "You're not even paying attention anymore, are you?"

"I was a little distracted, sorry. You were saying?"

"Wine," she said, "would you like some?"

"I forgot glasses." At the moment, it was probably the most inane thing that could have come out of my mouth, but I knew my brain wasn't working quite right, and she could tell. The look on her face told me she was going to toy with me as long as she possibly could.

"Glasses? Oh no." Tina grabbed the wine, uncorked it, and took a sip straight from the bottle. She lowered the bottle opening to my lips, but before I could take a sip, she pulled it away and stood straight over me again. "Glasses. You silly man," she said, slipping her hand behind my head and pulling me close to her thighs. My mouth watering, I watched as she tipped the bottle and began pouring wine her body starting at the curve of her breast. It trickled down following the curves of her body, and I pressed my lips to her inner thigh to catch the lightly sweet liquid in my mouth, the warming fluid spreading over my tongue.

I got to my knees and traced the stream of wine up her body. She lowered herself to her knees and I continued to lick the wine from the small rivulets running over her nipple.

"Is it good?" she asked.

"Best I've ever had."

"Well, then..." she said, her voice trailing off. She slowly lay back on the blanket and spread her legs just enough to give me a glimpse of the wet lips between her thighs. I crawled forward up her legs, placing gentle kisses on her inner thighs, my tongue tracing the rounded curve, slowly slipping upward. She inhaled deeply, allowing her thighs to move apart further, and I paused to take in her intoxicating scent.

A moment later, she released a breathless groan as I began to run my tongue along the contour of her lips, tasting her on my tongue. I was back in control again as I probed her gently, just letting my tongue barely part her for moments at a time before slipping away again. Her breathing was growing shallower, her cries growing more desperate, until finally my tongue slipped deeply into her warm, wet folds. Her taste spilled through my mouth like honey, and for the rest of my days I may never hear a more passionate cry like the one she released.

I had kept her waiting for so long that I could almost immediately feel her muscles tense as her first orgasm rocked her body. She wrapped her lower legs around my back as if trying to pull me deeper into her. I kept moving my tongue up and down her, probing deep then pulling back, twisting in small circles as she writhed against me, her pelvis rolling gently against my mouth. A few more moments and the second orgasm swept over her, driving her to the brink. Her cries became frantic, then died down as she shuddered with pleasure.

I felt her pushing me back away from her, and when she had regained her calmness, she got to her knees again.

"Stand up," she ordered, and I could see in her eyes that there would be no more joking for the time being. I did as she said, and my heart quickened as she slipped my jeans off, boxers and all, finally freeing me. The relief of freeing my constantly pulsing erection would have been enough, but almost immediately, she wrapped her hand firmly around me and tickled the tip of my head with her tongue.

I thought she would continue to tease me relentlessly, to turn the tables, and I had prepared myself, but without warning, she sucked me straight into her hot mouth, the sensation surging up my spine and threatening to knock me straight on my back. I couldn't help but let out a cry of pleasure as she pumped back and forth over me, almost to the very base, as if she were trying to suck the life out of me. I could feel my entire body tense, and I knew I had to stop her before she finished me. It wasn't the way I wanted it to happen, not in her mouth, I wanted to be inside her.