Matchmaker 11: November

"You ready?" I asked as my thoughts returned to the moment.

"Yes, and thank you for my clothes and dinner."

"You're welcome."

Her gaze held mine as a teasing smile played at her lips. "I'll try to make it worth your time when we get back to the cabin."

Her comment bothered me. "You know that's not required, right?"

"But what if I want to?" she asked, her eyes crinkling as she smiled.

I sniffed out a single laugh as I slowly shook my head. "Far be it for me to deny the lady something she wants."

"I'm glad you said that," she purred.

Will and I followed the narrow gravel path as we sauntered through the woods, his warm hand clasping mine. Being from Chicago, I was used to it being cold, but Will was from North Carolina, and I could tell by the tightness in his body that he was suffering, even though he wouldn't admit to his discomfort. It was only thirty-five with little to no wind, so I didn't think it was that bad, but I leaned in a little closer anyway. He should visit Chicago on a cold, windy, January day, when the wind chills were ten or twenty below zero, if he wanted to find out what cold was really like.

After two weeks, we were beginning to settle into a routine. I'd been in other long-term relationships, if you could call being with the same guy a couple of months long term, but I'd never been so comfortable with anyone before. I couldn't put my finger on why I felt so relaxed, but for the first time in memory, I didn't feel like I was under pressure to do or accomplish anything. Part of it was probably what Will was doing to me each night and again the next morning, but there was more to it than that.

I'd started calling him Will because Billy-Ray sounded so hillbilly, I hated it, and he didn't seem to mind the name change. He could be Billy-Ray to the world if he wanted, but I simply couldn't think of him in those terms. He might have a slow southern drawl, but over the last couple of weeks, my initial opinion of him had changed. Now that I knew him a little better, I no longer thought of his deep slow drawl as a sign of backwardness or stupidity, but rather sexy as hell, especially when he was muttering sweet nothings in my ear as he fucked me.

In hindsight it should have been obvious that he wasn't stupid. You can't grow an airline like he had if you were a total dumbass, but somewhat to my chagrin, I'd fallen back on old stereotypes and prejudices. Maybe his slow way of speaking gave him time to think because he'd picked up on some inconsistencies in my story, forcing me to scramble and improvise to cover my mistakes.

When I'd been selected to be his companion, I'd prepared myself to endure almost anything in order to make this work. Not because I was looking for romance or some kind of fairytale happily ever after ending, but because I wanted to marry up. I was an infant when my dad had left Mom, and while that hadn't left us in abject poverty, nobody would have called us wealthy. Raising two kids on a nurse's salary hadn't been easy, and while there'd always been enough food on our table, Mom, my older brother, and I had lived in a tiny, three bedroom apartment in a less than desirable part of town until I graduated college.

While Greg was content being a store manager at a Mariano's and raising a family, I wanted more for myself. I never wanted to be poor again and would do what I had to in order to make sure I'd never had to worry about money. If I could find someone I could tolerate, great. I could find enough outside activities to keep me busy and happy, and if I had to, there were always toys, or if I was lucky, maybe a little more on the side. If not, I was willing to tolerate a lot in order to get established in a marriage so I could get my share during a divorce.

Will was definitely someone I could tolerate, and if things remained as they were, I wouldn't have the time or energy to make use of toys, much less a pool boy. The problem was, I couldn't find the hook I needed to reel him in. He was so... gentlemanly... for lack of a better word. In my two last relationships, I'd been able to find the thing my lover valued most and given it to him while I used them to get what I wanted, namely, contacts and introductions.

Both were older than me, one by thirteen years, the other twenty-two. One wanted lots of sex, the other wanted the freedom to spend his nights jamming with his band without being nagged by a girlfriend, but I hadn't found Will's need. Like most men, he liked sex, but he didn't pressure me. Good thing, too, because he was the first man I couldn't master, and he was wearing my ass out between the sheets. He also wasn't needy, insecure, or smothering. He gave me space when I wanted it without complaint, yet was right there when I wanted his company.

I smiled as I looked up at him, his nose and cheeks red with the cold and his breath ghosting into visibility in the frigid air. The strange thing was, for the first time in my life, I actually wanted to be with a guy simply because I enjoyed his company, rather than because I thought he could benefit me in some way.

I looked away so he wouldn't see me smile. How he looked didn't hurt him any, and the fact he was an absolute beast in bed didn't hurt either. Not only was he a walking wet dream with his muscular arms and chest, thick legs, narrow waist, tight ass, and a hint of ripples in his abs, he was also well endowed in other ways. Better, he knew how to use the equipment God gave him to please a woman, and best of all, he was a giving lover.

Before I'd met him, I'd prepared myself to fuck him no matter how he looked while pretending he was the best lover I'd ever taken, but once I'd gotten a taste of him, wanting to fuck him hadn't been an issue, with no faking was required. He was the best lover I'd ever had, a hard-fucking stud when I wanted it, but he could also be gentle and giving, which, much to my surprise, I'd discovered I enjoyed as well.

We hadn't fucked yesterday, the first day we'd missed, because the day before we'd spent a lazy, sleety Thursday doing nothing but fucking. From the time we woke up that morning until we'd slept through the night, we'd fucked six times, leaving the bed only for two meals and restroom breaks. Sometimes our fucking was hard, fast, and energetic, sometimes slow, easy, and loving, but each and every time he had me wailing and quaking in orgasmic bliss.

Friday I was too sore to take him, the first time that had ever happened to me, and he'd accepted the rejection with good humor and without complaining or pouting. The only other lover I'd taken that even came close to matching his stamina pouted like a child if he didn't get his daily dose of pussy, regardless of reason. Suffering from the flu? He didn't care. Me getting hit by a bike messenger, leaving me banged up and sore? No excuse for not putting out. Because Will wasn't like that, I wanted to put out for him even more. That, and because I was enjoying getting my toes curled at least twice a day. I was still a little tender this morning, so I'd begged off, but tonight we were going to pick up where we left of Thursday night.

Despite how well he took care of me in bed, I was more impressed by how he treated me the other times. He genuinely seemed to care about me, and he was a gentleman unlike anyone else I'd ever dated. I didn't know guys opened doors for ladies anymore, but Will did. It might be old-fashioned, but despite myself, I liked it. It was more than opening doors, though. It was his whole attitude. I wouldn't say he put me on a pedestal, but he deferred to my preferences in most matters. I hadn't tried, not wanting to do anything to piss him off or give him pause to think I might be more trouble than I was worth, but I had the sense I wouldn't be able to control him. He was affable because he wanted to be and not because he wasn't his own man.

He had boundless energy, and the third day he'd started spending a couple of hours after lunch walking in the woods. He'd asked me each time before he left if I wanted to join him. Since I wanted to walk in the woods about as much as I'd want to stand in the rain, I'd demurred. He'd smiled, nodded, and went without me with no whining, pouting, or complaints.

After a couple of days, I'd tried an experiment and offered him another form of exercise in lieu of his walks. He'd smiled, took me to bed, fucked me to nirvana, held me until I slept, and then took his walk, returning home as the sky began to darken.

Yesterday, right on schedule, he'd asked me if I wanted to join him, and I'm not sure who was more surprised I'd accepted, me or him. With no internet or cell phone reception, when he wasn't fucking me, I sometimes felt like I was going stir-crazy. I could play downloaded games on my phone only so much. I'd even started helping him in the kitchen just to have something to do. Somewhat to my surprise, I found cooking wasn't the drudgery I thought it would be, not while doing it with him. We'd had some good laughs as we fumbled through recipes, and thus far nobody had lost a finger to an ill-conceived knife cut.

I surprised myself at how much I enjoyed the walk, and I'd quickly agreed again today. Yesterday, after we returned to the cabin, the luxurious warmth after the cold walk had made me sleepy and I'd fallen asleep on the couch, not waking until his soft kisses roused me for dinner. If I felt myself getting sleepy today, he was taking me to bed, fucking me good, and then we could sleep together.

"Look!" he said softly, pulling me to a stop and pointing at the trees.

His whispered command snapped me out of my daydream. I looked in the direction he was pointing. "I don't see anything," I murmured, straining to see what he was pointing at.

"The deer. You don't see her?"

I continued looking where he pointed but saw nothing. "No."

He slowly moved in front of me and crouched so I could look down his arm. I still saw nothing, and was about to say so, when the animal moved, the motion making her visible as the deer took a tentative step while staring at us.

"I see her!" I whispered, my excitement clear in my voice.

I'd seen pictures of deer, but this was the first time I'd ever seen a real one. I was almost in awe of how beautiful the animal was. More movement caught my eye, and I saw another, smaller deer, then a third about the same size as the second.

"Are those her babies?" I whispered, my heart thumping in my chest.

"Fawns. Probably."

Deer and human stared at each other, her large dark eyes mesmerizing me. After a moment, the three deer began slowly walking, their white tails flicking and twitching. I tracked them with my gaze until they disappeared, afraid if I looked away I'd lose sight of them. When I could no longer see them, I relaxed, releasing the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"That was amazing," I whispered.

He nodded. "Yeah. They must live around here. I've seen her before."

"She's a girl... a female? You could tell because she didn't have horns?"

"Antlers," he corrected. "Yeah, a doe, and probably her two fawns."

"Is the male around?"

He shrugged. "Maybe, but if he is, we probably won't see him. There are a lot more does than bucks."

"That was so amazing!"

"See what you miss holing up in the cabin all the time?" he asked. He was smiling at me, his voice more teasing than reproachful, but a wave of guilty heat washed over me anyway.

"Yeah."

He jerked his head down the path. "Come on, we're not even halfway."

We continued strolling along the path, saying little, going where the trail led us and in no hurry to arrive at our destination. The track wound its way through the woods before ending at the edge of the lake on the cabin's lawn. We ambled past the cabin's dock and boathouse, staring over the beautiful, almost mirror-like lake, until we returned to the woods on the other side of the manicured grounds to follow another meandering route before popping out on the drive almost where we started.

It took us almost an hour to walk the entire distance, and when we reached the gravel drive, I was still bubbling with excitement from seeing the deer. I stepped in front of him and turned to face him. He knew what I wanted and pulled me into a slow, warm kiss.

"Thank you for asking me to walk with you. I enjoyed it."

"You're welcome, and so have I."

"You getting used to having me around?" I wheedled, trying to get a feel if I was winning him over.

He kissed me again and released his embrace. "Mmm... maybe," he replied with a smile.

He took my elbow and nudged me down the drive toward the cabin. It was getting colder as the predicted cold front moved in, so I snuggled into his side. I couldn't believe how right it felt, hanging on his arm while tucked in close. I'd been prepared to do almost anything, to pretend I was in love, to act like he was the one for me, but there wasn't any pretending or acting required. I didn't love the guy, but liking him was going to make being married to him so much easier to tolerate, if I could get him hooked.

That was the big if. I knew how Brooklyn presented her services, that she was using her skills to find compatible matches for wealthy customers, matches that led to lasting relationships, and perhaps more. She'd done a damn good job, I'd give her that. Rich, handsome, funny, kind, and not to mention a fantastic lover, he was the stuff dreams were made of. But I didn't want or need love. I'd seen what love brought with my mother. She'd fallen in love with my dad, and he'd broken her heart and left her with two young children to raise on her own. Whether it was because she still loved the jerk, or life had simply ground her down, I didn't know. All I knew was I'd never seen Mom with a man. Ever. Even after Greg and I were out on our own. She had her two cats, Mac and Tosh, she seemed content coming home to them each night, and apparently had no desire to have any life outside of work and her cats.

That wasn't what I wanted. For me, marriage was a business deal, a way to make sure I had my financial needs met, and if I were lucky, my physical needs met as well. I didn't need a man to complete me. The only thing I needed a man for was certain services where toys were a damn poor substitute.

Will fit that bill perfectly. He had the resources so that I didn't have to worry about my future, no matter what it held, and he certainly put every toy I owned to shame. I glanced up him and smiled. Better, he was just a good guy, so I wouldn't have to grit my teeth and pretend all the time or find enough stuff to do outside the home so the only time I saw him was when he was scratching an itch.

Love had nothing to do with how I felt or what I wanted from life. I glanced up at him again, and this time, he met my gaze and smiled in return, my own smile spreading involuntarily.

So why did I feel like I was trying to convince myself Will was a business deal and nothing more?

I smiled at Sage as we crept through Ely. She'd developed a taste for fresh squeezed orange juice and had decimated our supply of oranges. Again. Now we were in town to replenish our supply of the fruit and to sample the town's culinary delights. I'd seen her mental eye roll when she'd realized Ely literally had only four places to eat, and one of those only served breakfast, unless we counted the ready-made sandwiches at the town's lone gas station.

We agreed we were going to stop at the Ely Eatery, a standalone place that looked like it had fallen out of the fifties. It shared the parking lot with the Save-A-Lot market where we were going to buy oranges. The restaurant always seemed busy, and the smells coming from it the last time we were in town for produce were divine.

I wheeled the Tahoe to a stop in the parking lot about midway between the restaurant and the market so I didn't have to move the SUV after we finished our lunch. As I put the SUV in park, Sage popped the passenger door, swung it open, and grunted as she looked at the ground.

"What?"

"You put me in a slush puddle."

I opened my own door. The ground on my side wasn't much better. It'd snowed last night, but the snow was turning into a soupy slush as the sun warmed the ground. I glanced around. The entire parking lot had seen better days, so there weren't many better options.

"Hang on," I said as I stepped out.

I walked around the rig and swung her door wide. In my waterproof boots, the ankle-deep slop didn't matter. I stepped in close and held my hands out. She leaned out, I lifted her from the truck, and deposited her on a slightly higher, drier, location before I slammed the Chevy's door. We followed a meandering course from the truck to the front door.

"Why don't they fix their parking lot?" she grumbled as she hopped over another puddle.

"Probably don't have the money."

She sometimes still forgot Ely wasn't Chicago and didn't have the ability to maintain their infrastructure like big cities did, though from my experience, Chicago's roads weren't that great either.

I opened the door to the diner and stepped aside to allow her to enter first. She'd relaxed considerably about me opening doors for her. I didn't make a big production out of it because it was something I did without thinking. The first couple of times I opened doors I saw her hesitation, but now she didn't seem to mind, though if my hands were full or she was well ahead of me, she opened the door for herself and held it for me. I thought it was a nice balance between me trying to be the gentleman and her being the strong, independent woman she was.

I followed her into the café and stepped back in time. I'd bet a considerable sum of money that the Ely Eatery hadn't updated their look since the place was built. If the black and white tile floor, Formica tables, sparkly red vinyl chairs and booths, and the liberal use of chrome were any indication, my initial impression the place had been built in the fifties was spot on.

"Sit anywhere you want and someone will be right with you!" a woman called.

She was wearing jeans and a dark green shirt with Eat in Ely or We'll Both Starve! emblazoned on the back in bright yellow letters. I couldn't help but smile. I liked places that didn't take themselves too seriously. I led Sage to a booth, and as soon as we sat down, she dragged her finger across the top of the table. I snickered.

"Come on, it's not that bad."

"Just checking."

"You've never been in a greasy spoon?"

"Not if I can help it."

I leaned back, smiling as the plastic back of the booth made farting sounds when my leather belt shifted against it. "You don't know what you're missing."

"Food poisoning?"

I snickered. "You're going to tell me you only eat in upscale restaurants? What about when you were in college?"

"In college I ate at home because it was cheaper, and when I went out, yeah, my date took me to nicer places than this."

"Because you're worth it?" I teased.

"You bet your ass. When was the last time you ate at a place like this?"

I thought about. "Okay, it's been a while, but that's just because... well, I haven't had an opportunity. It's not like I try to avoid places like this." I paused as our waitress approached, a woman who was painfully thin and probably pushing sixty.

"Can I get you two something to drink?" the waitress, Milli according to her name tag, asked as she slid a pair of menus to a stop in front of us.

"Beer?" Sage asked, her voice full of hope.

"Sorry."

She looked at me, her annoyance and disappointment clear. "Let me have a... pop."