The Bar and Grill Pt. 04

"That was so good," she murmured into her outstretched arms.

I looked up, standing as I did so.

"You liked?"

"I liked," she said, her eyes closed.

"Well let's see if you like this," I said, guiding her hips to turn over until she was on her back.

I gazed at her smooth pussy, mesmerized.

"I've never seen," I started, then let the words die as I leaned in to kiss her bare mound. From there, I trailed my tongue and lips up her flat belly to her breasts. She'd be too sensitive for my lips to continue their assault on her clit, and I wanted to get familiar with the rest of her.

Nicole's hands found my head, and her fingers brushed through my hair as I sucked on her nipples and all over her breasts. Then I felt her hands tugging my hair, and I followed her direction and was assaulted by her mouth, her tongue frantically searching then attacking mine.

"Hurry," she urged, a hand going down between us and guiding me toward her.

I allowed her to guide the tip to her opening, easing just the head into her. She was an inferno, and I gasped with the sensations. Her hands went to my ass, trying to pull me in deeper, but I resisted. Instead, I withdrew slowly before again pushing just the head into her. I kept this up, teasing her with bare penetration and making sure I rubbed against her clit with every re-entry.

Nicole's panting turned to whimpers of frustration, and I smiled down at her. Her mouth opened to say something, and I chose that moment to slide the rest of the way into her. Her words were lost as her head tilted back and a long, soft moan escaped her lips. I leaned in and kissed her neck, then up to her earlobes.

"You're on fire," I whispered into her ear, holding myself fully inside her and grinding my pelvis against her.

Nicole gave a brief "Oh, oh" in reply. I felt her walls clamping around me, her fiery, spasming core driving me to the edge. My God, it had been forever since I'd been laid, and I was doing my damnedest to hold back.

Then her hands were in my hair, her lips and tongue seeking mine as her pelvis started bucking and her upper body went tight.

"Oh Jesus," she moaned into my mouth.

As her slick, silken walls convulsed around me, I felt my resistance shatter and I groaned as I came. Her right leg clamped over and around me, her hands going to my ass and holding me deep inside her as I shuddered with the force of my release. Her lips were all over me, kissing my face and neck and ears as my tension released and I relaxed atop her.

I looked down at Nicole, and she was staring back at me with eyes wide open.

"That was pretty fucking wow," I smiled at her.

She nodded, her face a mixture of sated and exhausted.

"I've never . . . ." Her thoughts seemed to be mixed, and she couldn't get the words out.

I stayed above her, my weight on my forearms and my softening cock still inside her.

"Was it as bad as Jenny told you it would be."

"That's not what she said," Nicole said, closing her eyes and her smile getting wider. "'Excitable boy.' That's what she called you. She said you're like no one she's ever been with before. More than once, at least."

"How so?" I said, my embarrassment gone in our postcoital bliss.

Nicole opened her eyes and stared at me, her eyes twinkling. "She said you're like a little boy in your excitement. Not slow and methodical and tender, but not rough and aggressive, either. It's like every time's the first time for you."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Oh yeah," she said. "Now I know what she was talking about, and I can tell you from firsthand experience now that it's a real good thing."

"So you don't prefer that I be more, what, tender?"

She shook her head. "This is just fine, thank you."

We kissed a couple of times, me still atop her and her not seeming to mind. Then she snorted into a kiss.

"What?" I said.

"Just thinking about some things."

"Such as?"

"Jennifer said you were like a kid in a candy store."

"And?" I prodded.

"I'm just thinking how right she was. Like my body was for you to toy with however much you wanted, and you were really turned on getting to do it. It makes me feel beautiful. Sexy." She paused, her voice getting lower. "And I was just remembering how you got to taste some candy that no one else has ever tasted before."

"You mean when I?" My eyes traveled around her side toward her beautiful bottom.

She nodded.

"Did you like it?" I asked.

"Oh yeah," she said. "Which surprised me."

I withdrew from her and laid on my side, looking at her face while stroking her belly down to her legs.

"So maybe we'll get to do this again sometime?" I asked.

"Like right now," she said. "I still owe you some kisses, don't I? Some areas we got you all sparkling clean, right?"

She slid down, kissing a trail down my belly to my softened cock as she did so. I felt my excitement returning as I watched her, my hands stroking her back and shoulders as she licked up and down before taking me fully into her mouth.

I'm pretty sure I acquitted myself well in the second bout.

I mean, she napped for at least an hour afterward, and the smile never left her sleeping face.

So that's good, right?

THIRTY

Sunday morning, I awoke early. Nicole was sleeping next to me, and I felt a feeling of tenderness as I watched her.

"What're you looking at?" she mumbled, her eyes still closed.

"How'd you know I was looking at you?"

"I just do." A faint smile played over her lips.

"Banish those thoughts from your mind," I teased. "I couldn't again if I wanted to. And I do, but I'm pretty sure I can't."

Her eyes opened and stared into mine, an evil glint sparkling as her lips turned upward more.

"How do you know that's what I was thinking?"

"I just do," I said.

She nodded.

"Get up," I said.

She moaned. "Why can't we just stay in bed for awhile?"

"Because I want to get an early start."

"On what?"

"I want to take you and Alistair to the zoo," I said. "Show him the gorillas and giraffes."

Nicole said nothing, her lascivious smile transforming to simple pleasure.

"He's never been to the zoo," she said.

"Then let's have an adventure, okay?"

"An adventure?"

I nodded. "I'll pack us a picnic, and we'll take him to see the wild animals."

"You always like this?" she said.

"Like what?"

"So . . . so nice. All happy, and trying to make sure we're--Alistair and me--are happy all the time, too."

I chuckled. "No. Usually I'm a prick. But you've managed to bribe me with your . . . your incredibly hot body . . . and I'm trying to get in your good graces."

"I should be saying the same," she whispered.

I raised an eyebrow, hoping she'd continue. Seeing my look, she explained.

"I never really knew how it could be," she said. "Alistair was my first. He was . . . well, he was pretty good. But we were young, not much experience. And he was a bit of a prude. You know, unwilling to really push the envelope."

Her smile went tender at the memory, like any deficiencies he may have had in the sack didn't matter because she loved him anyway and, by virtue of that, it was special every time. Then her face lost all happiness.

"And Randy," she said. "Let's just say with Randy, it was all about Randy, okay?"

I nodded. "And with me?"

"I've never come like that," she said. "From just having it in me, you know?"

I didn't know. "Is it different?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Not better, but different. Every other time, I'd come from, you know, fingers or from . . . kissing down there. But never from just having it in me." She was blushing as she spoke. "Not without some help from fingers, at least."

It was cute, her shyness in talking about sex. The difference between how she had been the day and night before--completely unreserved and more than a bit naughty--was at odds with her reluctance to openly discuss any of it.

"And it's way different with you than with them," she continued. "Not just, you know, how excitable you are." A giggle twitched at her lips as she remembered Jenny's description. Then she looked up, her shyness leaving and her face getting earnest. "I trust you, Tim. Like I've never really trusted anyone before. I don't know why. Can't explain it, really. But I do. And that makes it . . . you know, us . . . in bed . . . it makes it different. Like no matter how wild you get--we get together--it's gonna be good. You won't hurt me. It'll be really good."

I smiled. Then I leaned in and kissed her forehead, brushing her hair from her face as I did so.

"Well," I said, "it's pretty special for me, too."

And I realized I was telling the truth. I wasn't just saying this to make her feel better or because it seemed the thing to say. Moreover, it wasn't like I was now in love with her because I'd slept with her, which is what Jenny had pretty much accused me of falling for in the past.

No, I was pretty sure I was in love with her before she'd joined me in the shower. But that didn't seem right, did it? I mean, come on, she'd rarely let her guard down around me, so I still didn't know if I knew the real Nicole. Then again, our months together, both in the kitchen and then as roommates, had allowed me to get to know her in ways I'd never known another woman before falling in love, or lust, with her. We anticipated each other's actions and needs and could almost finish the other's sentences. The way she treated and raised little Alistair was spot on, too, at least so far as I was concerned. She loved him, but she was a parent rather than a friend. And she was neat, and getting easier to talk with, and her moods were getting predictable, and--

"What're you thinking?" Nicole said, interrupting my thoughts.

I shook my head.

"Tell me," she urged.

I took a breath, hoping I wasn't going to scare her away.

"I'm thinking," I said, "that maybe I love you."

"Maybe?" Her smile told me she wasn't afraid of this announcement.

"Okay," I said. "Probably."

"Not definite yet?"

"We'll see how you do at the zoo," I said, getting out of bed.

"Tim," she called as I padded down the hall toward the shower.

I stopped and turned around, looking at her as she swung her legs off the bed.

"Just wanted you to know," she said, sitting there with her hands in her lap and her face a touch pensive.

"Know what?"

"That I love you, too," she said. "Definitely."

I felt a rush of warmth wash through me.

"Well," I started, looking at her and seeing the look on her face. She was nervous. Why?

"Well what?" she said.

I gave her a lopsided grin. "You're still on probation until I see how you do at the zoo."

She flashed her eyes at me. "You shit," she said, picking up a pillow and tossing it at me.

I chuckled as I got undressed and hopped in the shower. I gasped when she joined me a few moments later. I groaned in ecstasy as she did her best to get little Timmy up for another round before getting dressed. She mewed in excitement as I reciprocated on her with my mouth. The noises and sensations after that are just a blur.

Is there any better way to start a day than by telling the person you love that you love them; then having them say they love you, too; then each of you proving your love to the other with a spirited romp under the sheets, all by seven in the morning?

If there's anything better than all of that, I'd never before been privy to such an experience.

Not with any of my past girlfriends.

Certainly not with Nina.

THIRTY-ONE

I won't keep you in suspense: The trip to the zoo was a lot of fun for all involved, and I confirmed upon returning home that my love for Nicole was pretty definite by that point.

"Just pretty definite?" she smirked. "Not definite definite?"

"Don't get cocky," I warned.

"Oh, don't you worry about that," she teased. "I won't be getting any cocky of any kind until I know where I stand here."

So, of course, I crumbled. Immediately and without further ado. Call me weak, call me spineless, call me the poor victim of sexual blackmail. Guilty as charged.

Yet, for the first time in my life I felt real love. Or, at least, what I assumed was real love. Love beyond wanting to get in someone's pants and shag them silly. Love beyond wanting to please someone like an attention-starved puppy dog. Without a doubt, this was a love where I couldn't wait to get home to be with Nicole and Alistair rather than dreading coming home to Nina, Emily, Nadine, and a house full of tense drama. Love where getting Nicole to smile was now reciprocated with her getting me to smile even bigger.

Where the fuck had I been all these years?

Apparently, the change in both of us was tattooed across our foreheads.

"It's about time," Clara smirked bright and early Monday morning, a frown playing over her lips as she tied her apron strings, watching Nicole and I playing grab ass around the onions we were chopping.

"What?" I protested, tears from the onions streaming down my smiling face.

She only huffed and walked out. Nicole and I shrugged at each other.

Later, Uncle Jack came in and took one look at me and Nicole prepping plates for some early diners.

"Jesus," he rumbled, "what the hell took you so long?"

I gave him my best innocent, earnest look.

"I always knew you were slow, Timmer," he continued. "For a while, though, I was beginning to think you were seriously fucking stupid."

Nicole punched my arm at that, laughing.

"You're supposed to defend me here," I said.

"Why?" she said. "He's right."

I laughed.

The next night, Jammer and Jenny were all smiles at their table watching me kiss Nicole good night before I took off to pick up Alistair.

"Well?" Jenny said to Nicole.

Nicole beamed. "You were right," she said. "Wow."

"Told you so," Jenny laughed.

"For Chrissakes," Jammer moaned. "Will someone tell me what the hell is so special about this shithead? You both praise him like he's some kind of fuckin' porn star."

"Close," Jenny replied. "Then again, I've never been with a porn star. Maybe he's better, right?"

Nicole got a serious look, contemplating the question. "Probably better," she finally said.

"Don't worry," I said, slapping Jammer on the back. "I'll write something up for you. You know, like a list of pointers on how to do it right."

"Eat shit," he said, taking a slug of his beer.

"So you two?" Nicole said, her finger wagging between Jenny and Jammer.

"Taking it slow," Jenny said.

"But I've got her coming home early at least one night a week," Jammer boasted. "And staying out of that goddamned office on Sundays."

"Well, well," I said, realizing I wasn't upset with them getting together.

Jenny seemed relieved by my reaction and smiled. "I guess people can change a little, huh?"

I nodded.

But some people don't change. Not even a little.

People like that rotten prick Randy.

And that's a lesson I was about to learn the hard way.

THIRTY-TWO

It was Friday night, and Nicole was going to be waiting tables after her shift in the kitchen. Nicole and I were prepping the final pieces of cod for the fish fry when the conversation turned in a direction I didn't see coming.

"You really do . . . ," Nicole stuttered, her face getting red and her eyes avoiding mine. "Your favorite thing on a girl."

I turned and smiled. "Any girl or you girl?"

"Both," she said. "It's . . . you really get turned on by-- "

"Your ass," I confirmed. "Don't get me wrong, you're beautiful. The whole package. I mean, the face is the first thing I look at, and you're absolutely stunning. And the rest of you is perfect, too."

"But you really get turned on by . . . my bottom," she said.

"You can say ass," I teased. "I won't wash your mouth out with soap. Promise."

She smiled, but it was a shy smile.

"So that first time," she pressed on.

"First time what?"

"You know. Last Saturday. When you kissed me there. And touched me there with your fingers."

I nodded. "Yes?" I encouraged.

"Have you ever. . . ." Her voice trailed off.

"Nicole," I said, lifting her chin with my fingers and staring into her eyes. "Don't be embarrassed. You ask, I'll answer. Anything."

She nodded into my chin, but still said nothing.

"Have I ever what?" I encouraged.

"Done more? You know, with a girl's . . . ass."

"Like what?" I said. I knew what she was asking, but I was taking a perverse pleasure in trying to draw her out, trying to get her to speak more openly.

"I don't know," she muttered. "Like maybe put your finger in there for awhile?"

"Sure," I said. "A couple of times."

"With Nina?" she pressed.

I laughed aloud at that. "No, never with Nina. That area was strictly off limits with Nina."

"Jenny?"

"Never tried with her," I said. "We weren't together that many times."

She nodded. I could tell she wanted to say more, but her lips were pressed together, as if she was forcing herself to keep the words in.

"What?"

"Have you ever, you know, put your . . . done a girl there?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. She had hit on my ultimate fantasy. Being an ass man, I'd long dreamed of trying anal sex, but I'd been shot down with the four women I'd been with, and I was afraid to go too fast in bringing it up with Nicole, the fifth woman.

"Why do you ask?" I said, my voice lower.

She looked away. "I lied to you," she said. "That time--the last time when Randy beat me--that's what it was. He came home, dragged me into the bedroom, and told me that's what he was going to do. Put it there. And when I refused, when I fought back, he got really mad. Madder than I'd ever seen him. Like my body was his to do with as he liked. Like I had no right to refuse him."

God, I wanted to strangle that fucker. He'd ruined my shot at it before I'd even met her.

"Did he?" I whispered.

She shook her head. "He'd have hurt me," she said, turning back to me with anguish on her face. "I've never done it, but I know you can't just go right to it, you know? He'd have just . . . torn into me. And hurt me. He liked that."

I put my hand over hers. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to do, okay? Ever. If you don't want to do something, you just say the word and I'll stop."

She nodded. "But I'm thinking that maybe I want to try it sometime."

She was looking straight into my eyes as she said it. I couldn't read her reaction to her own words.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because," she whispered, "I know you won't hurt me. And I can tell--when we're together--I can tell you really want to do it. And I want to make you happy, to give you something special. Something I know you really want."

This was it, when I really knew I loved Nicole. No, you shallow bastards, not because she was offering me my ultimate fantasy. (Okay, it took me a moment to realize that, too.) No, the reason this was when I realized I really loved her was because she was willing to try something that she dreaded, that she had come so close to having brutally inflicted on her. And she was willing to do it just to make me happy, damn her own fears and needs.

Contrary to what I'd told Nina four months before, sometimes intentions really are way more important than the actual actions.

"What I really want," I assured her, "is to love you. To make you happy. I don't want to force you into anything. I don't want you doing something you really don't want to do just to make me happy. You're . . . well, you're the best goddamned thing that's ever happened to me, okay? And just knowing you'd even consider . . . after all you've been through-- "

"Don't you understand?" she said. "Doing something for you, something that really makes you happy, that's what makes me happy. That's what makes it special."

There are really women out there like this? I thought. Women who really thought this way? Where the fuck have I been my whole life?