Puppy Love Ch. 03

The following week, I replayed the events of my first day with David over and over. Especially the parts involving his mouth. I had forgotten how sweet the beginning of a relationship felt, and it was so exciting. We talked online Tuesday night, and he called me late on Thursday because I hadn't been on the computer. He said he was thinking about me.

Normally, I'm irritated when I'm getting into a novel and something distracts me from my escape from reality, but when I heard the ringtone I had set for David (Nine Inch Nails "Closer"), I was happy for the interruption.

For the first time in a very long time, I didn't feel the need to escape from my reality.

Saturday, we had fun playing mini-golf then went out to dinner. When he brought me home, we spent quite a long time saying goodbye in his car, groping and making out like a couple of high school kids.

Initially, I had been worried that my wanting to take it slow would make him look elsewhere, however it seemed to be having the opposite effect. Sunday, on the phone, he admitted to me that waiting was making him remember how fun it was to do all the "other stuff." And it let us know that we truly enjoyed spending time together, and weren't just feeling enamored of one another because we were sexually compatible.

A part of me was afraid the build-up might lead to disappointment instead of enhancing the experience when we did finally sleep together. But then I remembered the heat of our encounter on that first day and knew that if our feelings for each other had grown, certainly the experience couldn't be anything short of amazing.

At least, this was what I hoped. Hmm.

The leaves were starting to change color, and evenings were becoming quite cool, which meant one thing: Pumpkin picking. Every year, my brother and I went with my sister's family for the hayride and pumpkin patch experience. My niece had just turned five, so this was our sixth annual trip. The first year, she was a cute, yet useless, lump that we laid in the crate filled with gourds so we could snap a photo for her scrapbook.

After much apprehension over whether David would want to meet my family, I decided to ask him if he'd accompany us. I was filled with nervous excitement when he said yes. If my filter had tears, my older sister's was tattered to shreds. I couldn't think of a reason why Lizzie wouldn't love Dave, but she'd certainly let him know if she didn't.

In contrast, her husband was quite reserved. You'd have to be to put up with her shit on a daily basis. My younger brother, Ethan (I know, my parents were lame to give their 3 children "E" names), was very easygoing. I guess when you grew up with two bossy older sisters who made you the target of their premenstrual aggression, you learned to fly under the radar.

As we drove out to the farm, I warned David about my sister and told him a little bit about the rest of the family. I asked him about his family, because I realized I didn't even know if he had any siblings.

"I have a younger brother, but we don't hear from him much." His tone had changed from one of good humor to quiet and somber.

I quickly tried to rectify the situation. "I'm sorry, I won't pry."

"It's okay. I was always good at school and sports and that kind of thing, but things didn't come that easily for James. I'd have hated me too if I was in his shoes. When my parents would try to help him he just got defensive, and then he became withdrawn. He started hanging out with a bad crowd, got into drugs. Didn't come home a lot of nights, and when he did it was World War III. Eventually he stopped coming around at all. He asks my parents for money every once in a while. That's pretty much the only time anyone hears from him. He never calls me, though. And he's never at the same number for very long, so trying to get in touch with him is nearly impossible."

I squeezed his thigh reassuringly. "That's terrible. I can't imagine not seeing or talking to my sister or brother for years."

He shrugged. "To be honest, it's not like we were ever close. He wouldn't allow it. I guess what bothers me is not so much that I miss him, but realizing what I missed out on."

My heart ached for him, and for the first time, I wanted to tell him that I loved him. As I realized this, the ache in my chest was forgotten as my stomach fluttered nervously.

I wanted so badly to say the words and try to take away some of his pain, to let him know that even though he never had love from his brother, I chose to love him. The fear that he may not say it back kept me tight-lipped. After all, we had only been dating for a few weeks.

We drove in a comfortable silence for the last ten minutes of our ride, holding hands. Even though our hands were the only parts of us touching, I hadn't felt that close to him ever before. I didn't want to ruin it by saying something trite.

When we got out of the car, he took my hand and we walked across the straw-covered field that served as a parking lot this time of year. I thought of pulling out my phone to call my sister, then spied her blue minivan. I could hear Nicolette's high-pitched voice loudly informing my sister that hats are for babies and she wasn't a baby.

As we approached, we could hear my sister trying to reason with her daughter. Ethan and Joe saw us and I gave a little wave, but Lizzie was paying attention to my feisty niece.

"It's very windy, Nic. Don't you like this hat? You'll look like you have a cupcake on your head. Isn't that cute?"

She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"This should be good," I muttered.

"It's for babies. Why don't you just make a new baby so it can be your cupcake-head?"

My sister made this frustrated, strangled sound. "Because you make me crazy!!! Why would I want another one?" At that point, her eyes took in our approach. "Big kids get cold ears, too," she said smartly, shoving the hat down on my niece's head and taking her hand to lead her toward us. "Look who's here!" she shouted in an attempt to distract the child.

The rest of us were laughing as we formed a group. I introduced David, and after a few pleasantries we went to get in line for the hayride. As we waited, Joe asked him what he does for a living.

After his reply, in typical Lizzie fashion, she asked, "Why eyes? It seems to me that would get boring."

"Well it's not just eyeglass examinations. I became interested in the field because my father is an ophthalmologist, but I wouldn't have gone through all the schooling and spend my life doing it if it was boring." He smiled and we exchanged a glance.

"To each his own, then. I don't know how my sister plays with stinky dogs all day, either. Or why she loves that stinky little dog of hers," she teased.

"I like George. He's not that stinky."

"George likes you too, Nic. Where did you get that fantastic hat? I have to get one." I patted her head.

The last few people were filing off of the wagon that had pulled up a few minutes before. We climbed aboard and arranged ourselves along the corner at the back of the wagon. When Nicolette complained about the hay stabbing her legs through her pants, Ethan lifted her onto his lap. He teased her about her hat, and my sister shot him a deadly glare.

I thoroughly enjoyed the bumpy hayride jostling me into David. Out in the field, we watched my brother try to keep up as Nic raced around in search of the perfect pumpkin, constantly tripping over vines.

The bright blue, nearly cloudless sky and the contrast of the large green leaves and brown soil of the field, sprinkled with orange pumpkins, made for a beautiful backdrop. Her parents were standing close together, arms around each others' waists, and I watched Joe plant a kiss on top of my sister's head. I felt a pang in my chest.

They were still so in love after all this time, yet my marriage had crumbled before we even had the chance to start a family. I was glad that we hadn't had children, though. Because I'm sure the outcome of our relationship would have been the same, and our divorce would have been infinitely more painful.

"It's pretty awesome that you guys do this every year." David's voice broke my reverie. "Your niece is something else."

"She takes after her mother. I don't want to be in that house in 10 years."

"Do you want to pick a pumpkin? I haven't carved one since I was a kid."

I admitted that it did sound like fun, so we found the best-looking one we could and loaded it onto the wagon when the tractor returned. When we returned from the field, Nicolette ran ahead to grab one of the metal wagons they had to cart around your pumpkins and such while you shopped in their little store. She struggled to pull it to where we were, but we reached her before she moved it more than a few feet.

"I want to put my pumpkin in!" she snapped as Ethan moved to do so. She took it from him and placed it just so in the cart. "You can put yours in my wagon with my pumpkin... Friend." She smiled at David. "I forget your name."

As he unloaded our pumpkin, he reminded her. "It's Dave. Do you want to go for a ride with the pumpkins?"

Her eyes lit up and she climbed in, rearranging her pumpkin so it was nestled between her legs, so he would be safe, she said. She held on to either side of the wagon and David took a couple of slow steps, then stopped.

"Was that a good ride?" Her mouth dropped open and her eyes looked hurt. With a laugh, he took off at a run, and she squealed with delight, bouncing around as the wagon flew over the bumpy dirt.

As I watched them circle back, I couldn't help the grin plastered to my face. I was so happy that he was having fun, and it was so sweet to see him playing with my niece. I felt that love-feeling bubble up again, making my throat feel tight. I wondered if I had felt it this strongly at the start of my relationship with Kevin.

As we drove home, we chatted idly about our afternoon, and tried to decide what we'd make our pumpkin look like. David asked if I wanted to stop to pick up George so I wouldn't have to rush home, and we swung past my place before going back to his. It was nice to hang out at his place because the dogs could run around in a fenced-in yard. We decided that we should wait until it was closer to Halloween to cut up the pumpkin so it didn't rot too soon, and the conversation turned to dinner. We decided to stay in.

We went to the supermarket, and walking with him as he pushed the shopping cart through the aisles felt very domestic and homey. We bought steaks to put on the grill, fresh asparagus, and the fixings for stuffed mushrooms. Back at his place, he opened a bottle of wine and we started to prepare dinner together in companionable silence. While he dealt with the steaks, I prepped the asparagus and mushrooms, then slid them under the broiler.

I wandered over to the sliding glass door, sipping my glass of wine, feeling very contented. David's back was facing me as he grilled, and I let my eyes wander slowly over his tousled hair, the back of his neck, down to his broad shoulders, the slight taper of his torso. I watched his shoulder blades flex as he moved his arms, and felt a pleasant tingling sensation, brought on by wine and eye candy. I sighed happily.

I had a panicked thought that this couldn't last. Then it appeared that he felt my gaze, because he turned his head and made eye contact. I felt my lips turn up in a smile in response to the easy grin that spread across his face the moment our eyes met, and my fear vanished.

He grabbed his glass and raised it in a silent toast before turning back to his steaks. I set the table and started looking through his CD's while I waited for the veggies to soften in the oven. I found an old Goo Goo Dolls album and put it on.

As he came through the back door, he commented on my finding his CD collection.

"I thought I was the only person left in the world who still listened to CD's," I said.

"Well, I do have music downloaded in my phone, but I like to bust out the CD's every once in a while. There's something about listening to a whole album, it always takes me back to whatever age I was when I bought it."

"I know what you mean, I get that nostalgic feeling, too."

We sat down to dinner a few minutes later, and the food was delicious. As he poured the rest of the wine into our glasses, I thought back to his laughter as he took off pulling the wagon across the field.

"How come you and your ex-wife never had children?" I felt myself blush as I realized this was potentially a sensitive subject, and regretted blurting it out so carelessly. "I'm sorry," I stammered, "You don't have to answer that. It was just a thought that occurred to me because you seemed to have so much fun with Nic."

I saw that sad smile that broke my heart the first day we met, when we realized we had recent failed marriages in common. I reached out to place my hand over his, and he rubbed his thumb across my own.

"It's okay, I'm used to things just popping out of your mouth," he teased. "I always wanted kids, and didn't realize for a long time that Maggie would dance around the subject if it ever came up. She never committed to anything, but somehow had me under the impression that children were in our future. She had always been driven, but after her career took off she didn't seem to care about anything else. Then she was offered a transfer to the U.K. and expected me to just go along with it. When I told her that I didn't want to leave, that I wanted to be here near my family so our children could grow up near their grandparents, she told me flat out that she wasn't having children because she didn't have the time for it. I hadn't wanted to admit it, but the relationship had been dying and that was the final straw for me. So she left."

"You think you know someone... but the truth always comes out, doesn't it?"

He squeezed my hand. "What about you?"

"Well, I guess since hindsight is 20/20, I would say that a part of me always felt like Kevin wasn't really "the one," for lack of a better term. We got along okay, and I was pretty young when we started dating, so I didn't realize how crummy he was in bed for a long time. After a while, I got tired of giving without ever getting much of anything in return. It wasn't just that it was sexually frustrating, it..." I tried to find the right words.

"I guess it really hurt my feelings, too. I'd buy toys and movies and lingerie, but he never showed much interest and we started having sex less and less. We grew apart, and when I finally talked to him about it he told me that he wanted to try to fix our relationship because he thought it was worth saving. But he didn't make any effort to talk about it and try to make changes, and then he started acting weird about his cell phone, which made me suspicious. Long story short, he cheated on me after begging me not to give up on him." My voice wavered with the last sentence, and I cleared my throat self-consciously.

"I guess we both picked the wrong people the first time around. I'm really sorry that he did that to you."

"Hey, not your fault he's a prick, right?" I forced a smile, but didn't need to fake it for more than a moment. "I may not have met you first, but I'm so glad that I'm with you now."

"Me, too," he smiled. He gave my hand another squeeze before standing to clear the table. We cleaned up in silence, and the air seemed thick between us. Pensive. When we had finished, he took my hand and we sat on the steps of the deck while the dogs roamed the yard.

I looked up at the stars. It was getting dark so early now that it looked like midnight but it was around eight o'clock. I jumped, startled when David nuzzled my neck. He chuckled softly and kissed the sensitive area behind my ear until I sighed, "Mmmmm."

He pulled away, and I turned slightly to face him, answering his sly smile with a kiss. After a few moments, we separated and he looked at me solemnly.

"Would you spend the night with me?"

I was caught off-guard, excited, nervous, and happier than I had felt in a very long time. All I could do was kiss him in reply.

His kisses became more insistent and the anticipation of spending the night with him was making me feel light-headed, in a very pleasant way. As he licked and nipped at my neck in his now-familiar yet still exciting way, I couldn't resist teasing him.

"This was your plan all along. Why you wanted to pick up my dog on our way back here. So I'd have no reason to leave you," I breathed. My soft laugh turned into a gasp as I felt his hands against my skin, sliding under my shirt to caress my hardening nipples through the lace of my bra.

"Is that what you think?" He pressed his forehead against mine, our noses touching, and I closed my eyes so I could focus on what his hands were doing under my shirt. I nodded, breathing shallowly, heart racing.

"Well maybe the thought crossed my mind. But does that change anything? I'm not forcing you to stay."

"Your hands are making it hard to do anything other than stay," I murmured, finding his mouth, arching into him as he pinched my nipples, feeling like I might climax before he even went below my waistline. "Oh, God, David!"

His throaty chuckle sounded so sexy. "We should go inside if you're going to be loud," he said in a stage whisper.

Several minutes later, I was giggling as he pulled me to his room, kicking off his shoes along the way and almost tripping into the wall.

"Take it easy, boy, I won't have you breaking yourself before I get to use you!" The dogs were excited, chasing us down the hall.

"This is people play time, no dogs allowed," David said as he pushed Reggie back with his foot and closed the door. After flicking one of the light switches, bathing the room in the soft glow of a bedside lamp, he turned to me with a wicked grin. "Now who are you calling 'boy?'"

My finger traced a line down his chest and stomach, and grabbed the waistband of his jeans to tug him closer to me. I rubbed against the hardness pressing into me. "Maybe I was mistaken," I murmured. "That's all man."

The amused look in his eye gave way to something else entirely. Lust, perhaps? I watched his face as his gaze swept over my breasts, and he grabbed the hem of my shirt and slowly helped me out of it. I responded in kind, holding my breath as the muscles of his chest and shoulders were exposed to me.

It was all for me, and I was suddenly overwhelmed with disbelief and excitement. As he took my hands in his, I realized they were trembling.

"You're shaking," he said softly. I stared at our hands, feeling a little embarrassed that he was having this effect on me. He unclasped his hands from mine and held my face so I would look up at him.

"You're so beautiful, Emma."

As my palms ran up his chest, shoulders, and neck, and my fingers entwined in his hair, the trembling subsided. He closed his eyes as I massaged his scalp and I tried to memorize every line of his handsome face, wishing this could last forever.

We made our way to his bed, and he undid the fly on my pants and started pushing them down my hips. He pressed into me, kissing me, and I lay back on the bed. I watched him tug my clothing off, hoping he would like my matching plum-colored panties. He hovered over my body, and placed a light kiss at the edge of my panties, his lips grazing over lace and skin. I shivered.

His warm mouth traveled up my stomach to my breasts, drawing a moan from me as he licked the hard peaks of my nipples through the fabric.

"I love what you've got on, baby, but I don't want anything in between us," he murmured.

"So lose those pants," I replied, arching so I could unclasp my bra. He complied. I couldn't help but stare expectantly, waiting to see what those jeans were holding back. He laid back down on the bed and I turned to him, aching to touch the smooth skin of his cock. He was larger than I'd had before, about 8 or 9 inches. I felt a gush of wetness soak my panties in anticipation of his thickness burying itself inside me. He twitched as I stroked him lightly, and I heard his breath catch in his throat with a quick intake of air.