The Best Of Men: Treasures Of Loving

Leigh and I kissed a lot after. The kisses of lovers and of friends, or some friends. I felt very close to Leigh. Maybe I felt too close. We smoked a cigar while we lay there, watching the smoke clouds.

I mused privately about my cosmic philosophy about men and women. All guys are born ignorant and grow up learning ignorance like a field or a subject. We could all learn so much, even without talk shows If men stay loyal to the the ignorant way, deny the real and important things about women, then the system of dislocation and disconnection works. After all, its the ignorant men of the world who usually have beautiful mates like Leigh.

...............

Leigh and I got out of bed. Neither of us wanted to. There was this thing: Leigh was not going to make her body available to me anymore.

I did not know that yet, but I had an idea. The woman and I were friends, had been for a long time. Leigh would still be friends. Besides, I could not meet her at a motel in Goldbug, and I had no place private enough right now.

I was a lucky, lucky guy these past few weeks. Klein I felt was not a jerk, but he was a type of man. He took Leigh for granted. I took Leigh because by my own male logic, it was right. Leigh saw me for the passion she was not getting from her old man. But she liked me. I was glad somebody did. The local meteorologist hated me, and did not know me at all.

Both of us sat back down in the entertaining room again, and had crackers with the warm meat and cheese. We drank the rest of the pomegranate cocktail. Then I saw Leigh with a slow deliberation take the cell phone out of her purse.

Leigh called her wireless provider. With her arm around me, I heard her tell the service rep to cancel her service. I found out after she ended the call Leigh had a second cellular phone and phone account. It was the number the two of us had used, but I did not know why she had canceled. I was right there beside her.

It dawned on me what was happening. Though it seemed a strange way to end with me, Leigh was doing the right thing. It was a classy way to stop the ride, though I wasn't ready.

Leigh reached over to take my hand and held it to her face. She kissed my hand all over. It was so tenderly she began. It was no fucking Dear John letter, because Leigh had more class.

"Ray, do I need to tell you anything?" Leigh said. Her voice was softer. "Do you know my thoughts?" I told Leigh she was naked without her sunglasses. Leigh leaned over and kissed me hard. She hugged me tightly and she kissed me again, her hands holding both my hands.

Leigh said "Every time was wonderful. I feel born again or like I have a new lease on life." I did not look away.

I said "I am grateful to you for letting me inside you, Leigh. For having the chance to be intimate with you, I mean." I was sincere. It was all over, or it appeared that it was over.

Leigh still had to get dressed. But she only had her bathrobe on. Her baby doll was on the bed. Leigh looked over at me beside her, biting her lip. Her face was serious now.

Leigh turned the light off by the leather couch. Leigh and I made love one more time, right there on the leather couch. She made me lie on my back on the big cushions, and let herself down until I was all the way inside of her. Her arms were strong, and she pushed herself up and down on the back of the couch.

I never had a woman ride me that way, that good, like Leigh did in the motel in Feltford. She looked down at me with pure warmth. Leigh rode me to my climax, and she had spasms of pleasure, her mouth open. She fell down on top of me, satisfied.

I knew now, I was in touch with this female. At the moment she was my top priority.

I'd think of her, and worry about her, and wonder what life was dishing out to Leigh.

She only required attention and affection. Even if I had five minutes, I gave it to her.

Leigh got in the shower. I insisted in washing her off with warm water. Then I dried Leigh off. She went to get dressed while I waited on the sofa.

We rode down to the lobby in silence. It was late afternoon. When we got out to Leigh's car, I kissed her quickly on the mouth. Leigh squeezed my hand and kissed me back.

She got into her car and looked out at me. I knew what to say. It was easy with her.

"I'm gonna think about this last few weeks. I'm going to think about how much fun it was, and I am going to think about your body."

Leigh looked out the windshield. She turned her face to me and pulled up her sunglasses. At that moment Leigh's eyes were both green. She never wore colored contact lenses, I hated them. Leigh's eyes were different colors at different times, but I am not sure what that meant.

Leigh said to me "You are a wonderful and pleasing lover. You are a gentleman." She put her glued-on fingernails on my arm and spoke. "If one falls in love, Ray, I wanted you inside me, and wanted you to come inside me. You could fall. But maybe I will fall in love. You might not get rid of me. I might break a North Carolina code by having too much sex with you. Or with somebody." I started laughing. "I might decide I want you on a continuous basis. How does that sound?"

This woman from I-don't-know-where leaned over the window. Here eyes were green.We kissed. Her smile was sexy and bright. Leigh told me goodbye, her eyes shining with moisture.

We both knew what I'd say to sexual misconduct on a continuous basis. It was almost a rhetorical question, I didn't know. My own eyes were wet.

I had goose bumps on my butt. I watched her go, out the back parking lot of the John Hobbit Hotel. She blew me a kiss riding to the boulevard, and waved her white handkerchief. I looked down at my arm at the light scratches, where one or two tiny drops of blood were.