A Surprising Two Days

"We have a week together, Grams. We'll see. And thanks for the help. And if there's anything I can do to help you while I'm here, just let me know.

She closed one eye, thinking. "There might be. I'll let you know later."

"What time is Ari going to pick you up in the morning?"

"About eight-thirty, I think."

"Okay, you be over here no later than eight-ten, and I'll have a good breakfast for you."

"You don't have to do that. I'm sure--"

"--I know I don't have to do it," she interrupted. "But I want to. So be here."

No further discussion was needed.

I bid Grams good night and headed to the apartment. It was warm and just looked comfortable. I had settled into an overstuffed chair to check my email when my phone buzzed. I knew it had to be Ari.

"Hi," she said, those hazel eyes looking right at me.

"Hi, yourself, and am I supposed to be seeing you in your pjs?"

"If you can cuddle me in a bikini on a deserted island, I think seeing me in my flannel pjs isn't too risque."

"You're probably right," I laughed.

"Did Grams fill you in on everything...and try to fill you out as well.?"

"Sure, but it wasn't bad. She told me about Bill."

"Did she cry?"

"I could see a tear."

"They were the neatest couple, Noah. She was older when her kids were born, and she's, I think, seventy-eight now. Everywhere she and Bill went, they held hands. They acted like newlyweds all the time, and he bought her flowers for every occasion you could think of. If there wasn't one, he'd manufacture it."

"It must have been hard for her to lose him."

"Everyone in Latrobe knew them, I think. There was a huge crowd at his funeral, and practically everyone who came honored Bill by bringing flowers for Grams. It was spellbinding to watch everyone who came by hand her a bouquet or maybe just a single rose."

"That must have been amazing."

"I'll surely never forget it. Anyway, I just wanted to say goodnight and tell you I"m so glad you got here safely. And I hope you can snowboard safely as well."

"I do water ski and wakeboard, which is similar, so I hope I can adapt some of that to snowboarding."

"You seem fit, so that should help."

"And I did play football, basketball, and baseball in high school."

"Are you trying to impress me?"

I laughed. "I'm not sure you're impressionable, so consider it just background."

"I'm sure I'll get more background from Grams, too."

"I figured that. You sleep well. Grams insisted I have breakfast with her in the morning, so I'll be ready at eight-thirty."

A big laugh from Ari. "See you then."

Arianna

I fell asleep trying to imagine what Grams had told Noah about me and what questions she had asked to find out about him. That she'd included Bill in the conversation told me part of what I wanted to know, but it wasn't a surprise.

I knocked on Grams' door at twenty-five past eight.

Noah opened the door, smiling broadly, and I had a sudden urge to give him a good morning kiss.

I didn't.

He did put his arm around my shoulder and guided me to the kitchen.

"Did you have breakfast, hon?"

"Mom got dad off to work and fixed mine before she left."

"Are you ready to look like an idiot, get a face full of snow, and freeze to death doing it?"

Grams laughed, and I could tell that Noah wasn't quite sure how to take it.

"Just kidding. Let's go get you dressed very warmly."

I was still surprised at how warm the apartment remained and how cozy it felt. It almost made me want to stay right there and just talk with Noah. But I anticipated having lots of fun in the snow.

"How about we do this, or at least I'll do this. I looked up what to wear and ordered it, and brought it with me. I'll dress, and you tell me if it's okay."

"I suggested you just use lots of layers, but you bought these things new?"

The smile and look I received as he answered had me taken aback.

"If I like this, I'll want to come back and do it again."

I heard what he said, but his look said, "If I like YOU, I'll want to come back and see YOU again. That would be something different for me, and I'd have to face it if it happened. But he was beginning the dressing process, and I needed to pay attention.

First, he pulled off his shirt, which displayed his fit and tanned torso. I'd seen him in a bathing suit, but watching him strip off his shirt in the warmth and coziness of the apartment was...I smiled to myself...was different.

When he began to remove his pants, it startled me."

"Noah!"

"I have long underwear," he said with a laugh. "No shows...today."

The pause caught my attention, but I didn't react. With the snug pants and bare top, he looked, well, good.

He pulled on the top of the underwear, an additional fleece shirt, heavy socks, insulated pants, and a warm snowboarding jacket. He pulled on the boots and showed me his gloves. He was dressed much as I was.

As pleasant as the apartment was, we'd soon overheat if we stayed there, so I led Noah to the car and showed him the helmet and goggles I'd borrowed. He ran back inside and returned with a small duffel.

At Seven Springs, Noah had a chance to to join a thirty-minute beginners class, but he insisted that I teach him, pleading that he only had a week with me, and he didn't want to waste even thirty minutes.

So, I did.

One foot in and one foot out, learning to scooter around to get where you need to go. Both feet in and going down a gentle slope. Then toes and heels and slow turns.

He convinced me he was ready, and we went partway up a slightly steeper hill. When he was ready to start down, I cautioned him about going mostly back and forth across the hill and only minimally down the hill.

It started well, but on his third traverse, somehow Noah ended up going mostly downhill...way too fast. He tried to turn but was headed toward the deep snow and the woods. I was right behind him when he hit the snow bank and went down.

Noah

My board hit the deep snow, followed quickly by my face. With the board on my feet, I'd never felt so awkward. But I heard her voice...and laughter.

"Are you okay, rocket man?"

She'd evidently removed her board because she was beside me in the snow, working to clear it from my face.

I rolled sideways and pulled her on top of me.

"Noah, I'm trying to help," she squealed, her face just inches from mine.

It would have been easy to kiss her. I often wondered what would have happened if I had.

But I didn't.

Others were coming toward us to see if we needed help, and I didn't want to embarrass her. Some of them might be friends or acquaintances.

I released her, and she quickly stood, then helped me stand, a little wobbly on the board. One of the "helpers" was smiling at Arianna.

"Hi, Cali. Haven't seen you for a while."

"Nope. Going to different schools lets that happen."

"Oh, and I'm sorry. This is my friend, Noah Brown. He's a brand snowboarder."

"Hi, Noah. Arianna and I went to high school together."

She turned back to Ari and smiled, a sort of special smile.

"Good to see you again." She glanced at me, then back at Ari. "Good luck with your lessons. Nice to meet you, Noah," and she was away down the hill.

I was glad I hadn't kissed her...in a way.

With Arianna going down the hill ahead of me, traversing from side to side to show me where to aim when I turned, we made it to the bottom.

One more trip up the small hill, and Ari told me to take off, and she'd follow me. I was feeling much more comfortable now and made the trip to the bottom much faster than the first time down. It was fun.

We went to the little restaurant inside for some lunch that included grilled cheese sandwiches and chili, good cold-weather fare Ari told me. I had to take her word for that.

Back outside, we went to the top of the medium hill, Arianna cautioning me to be careful. I felt confident and was able to move down the Hill faster than I'd anticipated, Ari right behind me yelling, "Not too fast, not too fast," over and over. At the bottom, she surprised me with a big hug.

Arianna

Noah had surprised me. I'd expected to be helping him up all day, but he only fell three or four times. I think his athletic ability and water skiing experience had served him well.

I certainly remembered one of the falls when he had pulled me on top of him. I'd definitely seen the look I was getting and knew I was about to be kissed.

It didn't happen.

I wondered what would have happened if it did.

I think I would have heard more from Cali.

Was that why he stopped? Not Cali, but because there were lots of people.

I wasn't used to guys in that situation thinking about what I might want. About me.

I glanced at him as we headed back to Grams. He was looking at me, a soft smile on his face.

"So, these two profs you're waiting for, are they your favorites or ones that have specialties you want to latch onto?"

"A little, I guess." I'm sure Noah could see the question on my face, but he said nothing, waiting for me to continue. "It was one of them that talked me into taking physics. The other teaches stuff I want to see if I understand."

I looked straight ahead, wondering what he was thinking. He hadn't said anything yet.

"So, are you excited?"

I sighed. "No."

"Ari, what's going on?"

"I'm twenty-two, Noah. I've been going to school for sixteen years. I'm not sure I want to go another four or five years."

I'd never talked of this to anyone previously and didn't know why I had shared it with Noah. I'd known him for a couple of months and been with him just a couple of days.

"I know the sixteen-year feeling, but you must be thinking of an alternative...in place of the five years.

"I don't know, Noah. Right this minute, it seems like an overwhelming question. I hope this next semester will sort it out."

"You'll still be graduating with a degree in physics, right?"

"Oh, yeah," I answered as we pulled up to Grams' garage.

"Come on up," he said, grabbing my hand. "I'm enjoying being with you too much to let you go."

This was where I'd normally say, "Thanks, but I'd better get home and see what Mom and Dad are up to." I'd leave and tell the parents that he was okay, but no sparks.

That wasn't going to happen tonight because the squeezing of my hand and the look I was getting already had my blood heating.

We went up the stairs to the apartment, Noah still clinging tightly to my hand as if there was no way he was going to let me go.

He needn't have worried.

Sparks.

Noah

I wanted to be alone with Ari, just as we'd been on the island. We'd only been together a couple of days, but two months of facetime and two months of dreams made it seem as if we'd been together all that time.

"It's always so warm here," she said softly once we were inside.

We stripped off our heavy coats but still had on the fleecy sweatshirts and the heavy pants. I looked at Ari, then pulled off the sweatshirt.

"Are you daring me?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"It's different now, but I remember a pink bikini."

She laughed. "Just long underwear this time," she said as she shed the sweatshirt.

One thing I noticed immediately--she hadn't bothered to wear a bra.

We were halfway there.

She smiled, shrugged, and the heavy pants were off.

Mine were off seconds later.

Ari giggled. "We look a little goofy."

"But we march."

Ari headed toward the small kitchen area and began looking through the cabinets.

"I knew Grams could be counted on," she said, holding up a bottle of wine.

Quickly, we were sitting together on the couch, sipping a tasty red.

"What tomorrow?"

"Well, we can hit the snow again, or we can go see Fort Ligonier."

"What's that?"

"Revolutionary war period fort."

"Let's do that."

But there was something I wanted to do right now. I leaned toward Arianna so that our faces were inches apart. She didn't move.

"Today, when I fell that first time and I pulled you on top of me, I wanted to kiss you so badly."

"But you didn't," she whispered, moving even closer.

This time I did.

Our lips met, and the tiny sound I heard from Ari made my heart pound.

"Was it worth the wait?" she asked when we parted.

I kissed her again, my tongue pressing against those soft and welcoming lips, which parted, our tongues touching and gently exploring each other.

"You didn't answer my question," she whispered against my lips, her tongue probing once more.

My arms around her now, my hands caressing the soft skin of her back, I laid back, pulling her on top of me.

"Noah, do you have any idea what you're getting into?"

I knew what I wanted to get into, and I hoped I could be patient enough to see that happen.

The feel of her warm skin wasn't helping my patience. When she slid her hands under my shit and began to play with my nipples, the questions lurking in my brain seemed to be answered. But there was still her question.

"What am I getting into," I asked as I kissed each of her eyelids in turn.

"A mess," she said weakly. "I'm a mess."

Other than her confusion about her physics, I hadn't seen anything to indicate she was a mess.

"I haven't seen it."

"No, you wouldn't have. Noah, my longest relationship has been...less than two weeks."

Arianna certainly was beautiful, and that seemed to be true both externally and internally. I certainly imagined that she would have had a multitude of boyfriends.

"Ari, we've been kind of together for two months."

"Kind of," she replied. "Really together only two days...including right now."

"So, at the end of this week, when I head back home, that's it? I'll never see you again."

I watched her take a deep breath, and I knew she was considering how to answer. Despite what she'd been saying, I was optimistic.

"I...I don't... want that, Noah. I've indoctrinated my brain for so long to run from commitment that..."

Slowly I moved toward her until our faces were inches apart...and waited. She was beautiful with those hazel eyes, and being so close had my heart pounding once again?

Arianna

I didn't know what to do. I knew what I wanted to do, but it seemed so far removed from the "rules" I'd established for myself without even realizing I was doing it. The last thing I wanted was to hurt Noah. He seemed so different from my one-week wonders.

As I gazed into his eyes from so close, I realized I had answered my question.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and fairly smashed my lips against his. If he was willing, so was I.

"When you leave here, if I could, I would go with you and never let you out of my sight. The same goes for while you're here."

I could feel his hands on my bare back again as I kissed him like I'd never kissed anyone before. I heard myself moan as he was lifting the fleecy shirt. I didn't want to break away from his lips to allow the shirt to come off.

But I did.

"What about Grams?" he asked.

"She's hoping you take off more than my shirt." As a huge grin filled his face, I made my second major decision that would totally impact my life. "Before you touch me again, I'm going to call Mom and tell her..." I watched Noah's eyes widen. "...tell her I won't be coming home tonight...or tomorrow night."

"Ari, are you sure? I don't want to..."

"Noah, shuddup," I said with a giggle. "I've finally made a good decision. Don't tempt me to change it."

I had my phone and was talking with my mother when I realized I was topless. I could tell that Noah had noticed, too. Mom was thrilled with what I told her, commenting, "Well, it's about time." As we talked more, I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder and slowly slid the bottoms of my long underwear down my legs. I was naked in front of Noah, the first time I'd ever been totally naked in front of a guy, and talking with my mother about it.

Life was full of unique twists and turns.

I told my mother I needed to hang up as Noah was walking toward me, his long underwear not doing a very good job of hiding his erection which I was anxious to share.

"You are gorgeous," he said, stopping a few feet from me and slowly moving his eyes from my head to my feet. "And the tan lines haven't disappeared, which gives you an extremely alluring look."

While I loved to hear his compliments, and they certainly warmed me completely, I was after more than compliments now that I had stepped across that line that I had drawn years ago. I took one step and reached for the waistband of his long johns.

"Ari, if you do that..."

I smiled and began sliding them down, lifting the elastic bank carefully over his erection. When I got them to the floor and he stepped out of them, I was on my knees, something bumping my face with each movement either of us made.

I knew what I should do...but I had never done it before. My two prior sexual experiences were simply experiments to see what sex was like--my skirt was pulled up, and it was over in a few minutes. Probably why it hadn't happened in a while.

Feeling helpless, I looked up at Noah. A nearly ecstatic feeling raced through me as I could see that he understood.

He dropped to his knees in front of me, a look of warmth and empathy such as I'd never experienced before filling his face.

"Tonight, this is all about you, Ari. Do you trust me?"

What was not to trust? "Yes, with everything I have within me," I said.

Noah

When I heard those words, it was all I could do to keep from devouring her. She wasn't a virgin, technically. But that didn't keep her from being virginal...and innocent. I sensed a certain fragility about her--I had missed it on the island, but in the two months since, it had become more apparent. I heard those few words again.

"Ari, if...I mean, should...well, just say something." I was so overwhelmed I could barely speak.

I kissed her forehead, her eyes, her nose, her lips, and her chin. Her neck was soft, the aroma of just Arianne making me want more.

I nibbled on her one shoulder, the soft sound I heard close to my ear the most enticing sound I think I'd ever heard. A touch to her lips as I moved to the other shoulder, nibbling there as well.

"Don't move," I whispered as i moved behind her, kissing each tattoo in turn, giving special attention to the one with the NB on it.

"Noah," she murmured as I moved back in front of her.

"What," I said into her ear, my tongue quickly following my words.

The tiny squeal was a new sound.

"Just, Noah." she murmured again. "My blood is boiling."

I kissed down from her shoulder to the top of her breast, pausing there just a few seconds until I moved to her now very hard and erect nipple. My tongue circled it before my lips closed on it.

Another louder moan, and she squeezed my face against her body, her breast, very soft, yet firm, against my face.

With my face unable to move, my hands needed something to do. One of them found her muff and then some very wet labia. That brought another delightful moan, followed by a second one when a finger slipped between them.

She was squeezing me so hard now I could barely breath, that enchanting nipple still between my lips, my tongue caressing it over and over.

At last, she released me.

"Noah, do more. Do more."

It wasn't like I needed encouragement. I was going to do everything she'd allow me to do. I moved to the other nipple as my finger probed, easily sliding inside a tight and slippery place I'd only been able to imagine. But, my dreams hadn't come close to reality. I pressed in until I couldn't move any further.

"Noah, you're the first and...and don't stop."

I knew she wasn't a virgin, but if I was the first to... I could only imagine what her experiences had been.

I wasn't about to stop, my single finger searching for a nub that I knew would have her feeling things she'd never experienced before. When I touched it, she groaned, and her body reacted.