Sandalwood Pt. 01

His self-torture ended when he saw a lone figure working her way across a two-car driveway with a snow shovel, her slight frame strained by the amount of snow she tried to push aside.

"Hey there," he called out, getting out of his truck. Maya looked up and squinted.

"Hi. How... how did you know I still live here?" she asked, the corners of her mouth threatening a smile.

"Uhhhh... I... I looked it up," Cole stammered.

"Really," she said, setting the shovel upright and leaning both arms atop it, "This house isn't registered under Maya Kumar in the city directory, though."

Fuck, Cole thought, closing his eyes for a second, feeling his cheeks heat up. "Are you feeling better?" Maya asked. "Slept off the alcohol over the weekend?"

"Yes, yes, I am," Cole replied, grateful she gave him that out. "Listen, I really want to thank you for giving me company that night, and I want to apologize for being such a sloppy drunk. That's not who I am." He paused and took a breath. "Could I... could I make it up to you by taking you out for a proper meal?" Maya simply looked at him for what seemed like eternity. Finally, she threw her shovel toward him.

"Here. Help me with this driveway, and then come in for a coffee. We'll call it even." Cole caught the shovel, which prompted a little laugh from her. "Well good, you've properly sobered up."

Cole smiled to himself while starting on the bottom of the driveway where his truck was parked. Maya retrieved a second shovel from the garage and continued at the top. They cleared everything within 15 minutes and Cole pulled his truck in from the street and joined her inside.

"So what are the boys doing, letting their mom deal with all that snow alone?" he asked, taking off his jacket and boots.

"Oh, we decided not to have them commute every day. They stay with my sister downtown. Property prices are nuts and I didn't want to move, plus Sunitha enjoys her nephews' company. Whenever they have a few days off at a time, they come home." She handed him a mug and put the milk and sugar out on the counter. "I didn't really feel it when only Manav was away last year, but now Tejas is also gone and it's hit me in the last couple of months."

"I know," Cole nodded. "It's my ex's week with Izzy and I can't wait until I pick her up from school Friday. Then the following Thursday night is the worst because I have to drop her off the next morning and I don't see her again for a week."

He made his coffee as they talked, carefully cleaning up the bit of sugar that spilled, then wiping down the surrounding counter space. Maya watched, thinking about how Ram would be oblivious to the mess he left--that is, whenever he made his own coffee instead of asking her to do it.

"I get a lot of time to catch up on marking, though, so there's that," Cole continued, not realizing how closely Maya was observing his movements. "But otherwise it gets kind of boring."

"Do you... do you want to stay for dinner and maybe watch a movie afterwards?" Maya asked, surprised at her own boldness. The fact that he'd tried to track her down after all this time encouraged her. Cole coughed, choking on his coffee.

"Look, I was supposed to take you out," he said once he cleared his throat. "You helped me the other day and it's not fair that you'd also cook for us tonight."

"First of all, I didn't say anything about me doing all the cooking alone," she smirked. "Second, we're supposed to get another 10 centimeters later tonight, and it's already dark. Do you really want to go out?" She paused. "Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't even think you might want something with meat for dinner and I don't--"

"No, no," Cole said, not wanting any reason to leave her company and go back to an empty apartment. "I'm not someone who needs meat at every meal. What if we just made a pasta with veggies or a bruschetta or something?"

He sliced vegetables while she minded the stove, and they talked about school and his students. He told her the only part about teaching he wasn't wild about was not getting too attached to the kids because he had to send them on their way at the end of the year. Maybe he'd consider applying to be a vice-principal or principal one day but being around kids more than adults was the major draw in remaining a teacher.

Maya couldn't help but be reminded of her husband, who'd always struggled to be patient with just their own kids. She wondered how he'd have dealt with 25 of them every day in his job. After they ate and cleaned up, she turned on the TV and motioned for him to turn off the kitchen lights and join her.

Cole's heart quickened but he'd grown more relaxed over the last couple of hours. He tried to think back to when he'd last felt so comfortable with a striking woman he was attracted to but barely knew.

Shit, how close to her do I sit? he wondered, his anxiety setting in. Enough space to fit another person? Closer? Further? He settled on leaving enough space that a small child could fit between them, but found it became a bit closer when Maya curled her legs beneath her. She briefly got up and reached across him for the remotes, and ended up sitting even closer.

Is... is she doing this on purpose? Cole questioned himself, an eyebrow arched. Does she like me? No, no. She's been alone for three years and now even her kids are out of the house. She just wants a friend so you sit here and stare at the TV, got it, asshole? Still, Maya's perfume surrounded him.

"You wouldn't be interested in Indian cinema, would you?" she asked, absentmindedly browsing Netflix. "It might be an experience. And I don't mind explaining the nuances. I mean, from what I know, myself. I'm not exactly an expert being born and raised here anyway."

"Sure," he answered, thinking he'd rather concentrate on understanding a foreign film than imagine touching her hair again.

"Okay," she whispered once the movie was on, "what they're doing here is common in arranged marriages; the boy's family sort of meets for tea and snacks with the girl's family, and they see if they like each other. If it works out, sometimes they just set a wedding date. Sometimes they have a bit of an engagement period and maybe date each other." She leaned in while talking to him and he could feel her sweet breath on his beard.

"Sometimes both families go to a major temple together when the marriage is fixed," she told him a few minutes later, right up against his ear. Cole felt a familiar stirring in his pants and looked straight ahead at the wall. "Oh, sorry," Maya said, "did you want something to drink?"

What Cole really wanted to do was pop every button on Maya's denim shirt and peel off her bootcut jeans. And then spend the rest of that cold night naked with her under a blanket. He hardened at the mental image but looked straight up at the ceiling, trying to picture the most boring hockey game he'd ever watched.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Not really getting into it, huh? We can watch something el--" she suddenly noticed Cole's piercing stare in the dim light, right into her eyes. He gingerly shifted toward her, took her face in his hands and covered her mouth with his. The kiss was slow like molasses and just as sweet.

"I'm sorry," he said breathlessly, breaking away. "I didn't mean to--"

This time Maya cut him off, grabbing his collar and pulling him close for an even deeper kiss. Cole lost any semblance of self-control and tugged her closer with both hands around her waist. As she drank in kiss after kiss, he turned her body toward him and lifted her legs up across his lap. Her tongue probed his mouth, with the fingers of one hand in his hair while the other hand scratched his sweatshirt-covered chest.

He stopped for a moment and tore off the shirt, impatient to feel Maya's fingers on his bare skin. Her honey-coloured skin glowed in the light of the TV and he worried if he would come off as pasty white in comparison. She didn't seem to care as she put her hand on his heart and turned to suck on the side of his neck. Cole's fingers shook as he went for the snaps on her shirt, trying to think straight as her fingernails scratched his chest a little more roughly this time.

One by one, all but the last of snaps popped open and Maya didn't resist at all. Instead, she sighed lightly as Cole caressed the delicate skin of her collarbone and traced his finger to the edge of her black bra. Since he was sure she'd given him a hickey, he gently pushed her off and went for her neck in turn. She giggled as his beard tickled her, but then her laughs dissolved into sighs as his kisses dipped lower and lower.

Cole lifted her to fully sit on his lap and looked up into Maya's eyes, not sure if he should go further. She guided his fingers to her left bra strap, her chest heaving. With a low growl, Cole slipped off the strap and took Maya's milk chocolate brown nipple into his mouth as she cried out. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, sucking and kissing until--

BZZZZZZZZZZZZ... BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

"Cole..." It took all of Maya's willpower to not ignore his phone on the coffee table.

"Leave it," he mumbled, brushing his nose against her hardened nipple.

"Cole, it says Janice," Maya gasped.

Fuck, he thought, letting go of her and squeezing his eyes shut. FUUUUUUUUCK. Why can that woman not stop ruining my life? He picked it up and stood, not without strain as his erection threatened to rip the front of his jeans.

"What do you want?" he practically spat into the phone as he switched it on speaker.

"Cole, I'm really sorry," his ex-wife started, "but Jack had a minor accident just now and it looks like his foot might be broken."

"Good," Cole said with mock cheer.

"I have to take him to the hospital," Janice continued, ignoring the barb. "and Isabel is just about to fall asleep. I can't leave her home alone. But if you'd rather I drag her to the hospital with me at this hour..." Cole grimaced and turned toward Maya peering up at him, her hair disheveled, her shirt and bra hanging off her shoulder. God, what a dream.

"You can have a longer week with her, too," Janice bargained when he didn't answer. "Take her now instead of Friday after school." Her pursed his lips and slowly exhaled.

"Okay," he finally said. "Get her stuff ready, I'll be there in 15."

When it seemed Cole's daughter was okay, Maya allowed herself to slowly admire every curve on his bare upper half. His shoulders were broad and strong, and he still had definition on his biceps. Maya followed the curve of his back down his spine with her eyes, holding back from reaching out and tracing the line with her fingers.

She found herself wondering what sounds he would make if she started licking those little pink nipples, but she pushed the thought away. Cole ran his hand through his hair in exasperation as he ended the call, and Maya stood up to hug him.

"It's okay, she said," nuzzling her face up against his bare shoulder. "Go. She needs you."

"I can't come back until next Friday night though," he muttered, putting an arm around her and turning his face downward.

"Oh." Maya paused. "You can't come back until even later, then. The boys' exam break starts next Friday and they'll be back and forth. It's 10 days long."

"And then it's winter break," he realized. Shit, I'm gonna be blue-balled for a month. "This may be the only time in my life I'm not excited about Christmas."

"Nonsense, of course you are," Maya gave him a little smile as she pulled back and buttoned her shirt. "You told me just an hour and a half ago you were excited because you were getting Izzy for the whole break."

"Yeah, but that was before--" Cole stopped. "Before."

"So to clarify, you're no longer happy to spend two whole weeks with your little girl because the opportunity for sex presented itself?" Maya put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes, and Cole resisted the urge to grab her again.

No, the opportunity for sex with the woman I've low-key been in love with for years presented itself, and she's more explosive than I ever imagined.

"You're right. I'm an ass," Cole admitted with a flirty smile, as he pulled his shirt back on and put his phone in his pocket. "Nah, I'm still excited about getting her. A little pissed that her mom decided to take a trip with her new husband and not bring Izzy along, but it's my gain. Plus, you're probably going to have Christmas with your kids as well."

"We don't actually celebrate Christmas," Maya said. She switched off the TV and straightened the pillows on the couch. "Not with a tree and presents or anything. But we get together with my sister and we have fun." She handed Cole his wallet at the door while he was pulling on his jacket. "I think it snowed again while you were here. Drive safe, okay?"

Cole looked at her wistfully, not wanting to leave. Then he nodded and hit the switch to open the garage door.

Grinning in disbelief to himself the entire drive over, Cole pulled onto his old street. He was glad Janice had gotten Isabel ready and waiting with her bags so he wouldn't have to talk to either adult. When he spotted her, he bounded out of his truck and scooped up his daughter.

"Why were you late, Daddy?" she frowned at him. Cole's heart melted as soon as he saw her little face scrunch up. Her hazel eyes were a photocopy of his own, as was her wavy chestnut brown hair.

"Daddy was with a friend, munchkin," he said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Must be a fun friend," she said with a yawn, climbing into the truck.

"You have no idea," he mumbled to himself.

***********