Unrequited Pt. 03

Kayleigh grabbed a small box with the word 'Patchwork' on the side. I will state, unequivocally, that this game is awesome, especially if you love puzzles and spatial sort of games. You're given a nine by nine grid, which you're trying to cover with these oddly, shaped, Tetris-like cardboard quilting pieces. You lose points for any part of your grid you don't get covered, so it's definitely possible to get a negative score, as I demonstrated.

It's safe to say I lost. Badly. But I also wanted to play again right away, as I knew I could do better. And I did. My second score was at least a positive number, but Kayleigh still won.

"Man! I thought I had that one."

Kayleigh giggled and came over to sit in my lap again. "Oh, poor Bethany."

"No fair. You've played this more than I have."

My girlfriend pouted for a second, speaking to me like I was four. "Are you gonna be a sore loser?" She leaned in and kissed my neck, running her tongue up to my ear before whispering, "'Cause I still want my reward."

Her breath on my skin sent a tingle down my spine as I remembered what we'd wagered. I've gotten so wrapped up in the game I'd forgotten.

I turned and kissed for a moment, before resting my forehead against hers. "I always pay my debts." I matched her grin with one of my own. "So, bedroom, or couch?"

Kayleigh stood up, kicking off the house shoes she was wearing. "Couch is fine." She turned and walked toward the living room, hips swaying under her loose, pleated blue skirt. When she reached the threshold, her thumbs ran up her legs and she slipped off her panties, tossing them onto a nearby chair.

She sat on the couch, head to the side, one leg still on the floor while the other was thrown up over the back. She tossed her long, straight, dark hair out behind her and called to me. "Oh, Bethany!" She curled one finger, beckoning me to her. I stood slowly, savoring the sight of my lover reclining on the couch, smiling at me in that devilishly innocent way only she can. She slowly pulled up her skirt, revealing her newly bare sex, which made my eyes go wide.

"Wow, Kayleigh. You do that for me?"

She playfully bit her lip. "Maybe."

I went to my knees in front of the couch, running my hands over her shapely legs. "You had this whole thing planned out, huh?" My mouth was already watering as the aroma of her arousal hit me.

"Just a little."

I kept my fingers running over her skin, coming closer and closer to her sex. "And if I had won?"

"Then, oh, I'd've paid up. Mmm, Bethany, that's nice."

"OK, I guess fair is fair." I breathed down her inner thigh to her knees. "But I'm going to take it slow, just like you like it." I kissed her ankle as I feathered a finger over her dampening pussy, making her jump.

"Damn, Bethany, I don't know how slow I can take."

"We'll see." With that I pulled her big toe into my mouth, Kayleigh's back arched the moment I did, a long 'Oh!' issuing from her mouth.

I continued, sucking and licking on her toes as her body twisted in ecstasy. "Oh, Bethany, that's so nice."

Eventually I let her piggies slip free, massaging her foot with my hand. "You like that. Why didn't you say anything?"

Kayleigh looked sheepish for a moment. "Patricia thought it was gross, wouldn't do it. A girlfriend before would only do it if I begged and wheedled her. I guess I just stopped asking."

I ran my tongue up under her sole. "I don't mind at all. You've got cute feet."

With that I gobbled up her small toes, which caused her head to fall back into the cushions with an "Oh, fuck."

I spent a good deal of time on both feet before slowly working my way down her perfect calves to the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. I could smell her arousal, and I had to stop myself from just diving in. Instead I focused on how smooth her skin felt on my fingers and tongue.

Soon I had her writhing on the couch, so by the time I ran my tongue up over her sex she was literally dripping with need. I moaned as her exquisite flavor coated my taste buds, and I matched the lustful sounds emanating from the other end of the couch. Kayleigh's high-pitched, almost girlish coos and moans were the cutest thing ever, and I buckled down to earn more of them.

Kayleigh's sounds of pleasure became rhythmic, and her palm slipped behind my head, holding me to her. I knew that she was close, so I slipped my hand under her top to massage her firm nipples through her bra. That did the trick, all sound stopping as Kayleigh closed her thighs around my head while her body seized in ecstasy.

When she started breathing again I kissed her gently on either side of her sex.

"Damn, Bethany, that was, mmm, really good."

"I aim to please." I flicked her clit with my tongue, making her gasp. "Y'know, I did lose two games." I looked up to see her grinning down at me.

"That's true. So, should I get another one?"

"My thoughts exactly."

I bent to it, focusing on her vagina and labia while her sensitive clit recovered. "Oh, Bethany," Kayleigh sighed as she relaxed back into the cushions, and I was happy to take her higher and higher.

When we were finished I sat up on the couch, pulling her into my lap, kissing her deeply, each of our tongues gently caressing its partner. After a few delicious moments I turned her back towards me, my finger running up along her thigh as her legs spread and her head fell back against my shoulder.

I slipped my middle finger inside her as my thumb circled her clit. My lips alternated between hers and the sensitive skin of her neck. After a few lovely minutes she pressed herself back into me, her body trembling for a few moments before another orgasm claimed her.

God, is there anything more erotic than seeing a woman orgasm, completely given over to her pleasure? If there is, I don't know what it might be.

When she stilled, Kayleigh turned in my arms so she could embrace my neck, sighing contentedly. "That was nice, but I don't think I earned that one."

I kissed her on the forehead, "That was on the house." Unfortunately the clock on her wall was showing it to be half past nine. "But I have to go."

"Really?" She tightened her arms around me. "You can't stay?"

"Sweetie, I don't have any toiletries, or clothes for tomorrow."

"OK." She let go and sat up. "We could try it, though. Maybe Thursday night? You could come over and bring clothes for Friday?"

My mind did the math in an instant. That would be three straight nights at Kayleigh's, assuming I didn't bollocks things up over the weekend. Soon I'll be keeping stuff here, and then a drawer in Kayleigh's dresser, space in her closet. It seemed a short step from there to U-hauling and, shit, was I ready for that? Breathe, just breathe.

"Too fast? That's too fast, I'm sorry."

The concern and fear in Kayleigh's voice snapped me out of my terror. "No! No, I think we can."

"Are you sure? You look terrified. I don't want you to do it because I want it. Okay?"

"Okay. Can we wait, just a bit?" I hated how small and scared my voice sounded. And I hated the place it came from, which was filled with fear and doubt.

"Yeah, sure it is." Kayleigh rubbed my arm and smiled. "We could still go out Thursday night. There's a new Ethiopian place that opened nearby that I wanted to try."

Dinner, that I could handle, so I responded with enthusiasm, trying to dispel the disappointment from Kayleigh's voice. It didn't work, not completely, and my shame rose again in me as I drove home, alone with my thoughts. I kept trying to tell myself there were reasons I was so scared of things progressing with Kayleigh, other than the real one.

If I moved in with Kayleigh, that was a real commitment, one that could end up being lifelong. And that meant closing the door on Sally forever.

*****

I got out of work late Thursday, spending the last two hours of the day trying to solve a connectivity issue for one of our VPs. Of course, the issue turned out not to exist. The moron had changed one of the settings on his laptop accidentally, even though I'd repeatedly asked him to check that for me. I really need to learn to investigate wetware possibilities myself first.

Anyway, I wasn't in the best mood when I met Kayleigh at the restaurant, venting at her for a solid ten minutes.

She just smiled and looked concerned, asking questions. Eventually she just reached out and took my hand. Her touch calmed me instantly, and I took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I'm not making this a fun date, am I?"

"It's OK. I don't mind."

"Yeah, but you listen to people's troubles all day, you don't want to hear about mine."

"Says who?"

"You told me that the first day I met you. At the bar, remember?"

Kayleigh giggled, flashing that adorable wide smile of hers. "Sweetie, I was trying to pick you up. I'd seen you shoot down half the bar, so when I took my shot I tried a different tactic."

"Pretending you didn't want to talk to me?"

"Of course." There was a wicked glint in her eye. "And it worked."

I felt a grin spread across my face. "Yeah, I guess it did." I let myself look at her. I remembered thinking when I met her that she wasn't classically beautiful. I may have been right about that, but I loved looking at her face, so alive with wit, humor, and joy. She was beautiful to me. I squeezed her hand a little tighter, letting myself sink into her sparkling green eyes.

Suddenly our food arrived, much to my surprise. Kayleigh let my hand go, clapping hers together, her mouth forming into an excited 'O'.

I looked confused. "I haven't even seen the menu yet!"

Kayleigh grinned at me. "I ordered for us. It's kind of family style."

I tried to keep the uncertainty out of my voice. "What is it?" The large, round plate in front of us was like nothing I'd ever seen. It looked to be covered in an enormous brown pancake, with different colored piles of, well, of I don't know what, scattered around.

Kayleigh dropped her napkin in her lap. "It's called yetsom beyaynetu, a mixed vegetarian platter."

"Have you ever had it before?"

Kayleigh's eyes were shining. "Nope! Daniel and Marianne have talked about it though."

I'll be honest. It didn't look appetizing at all. There was a pile of greens, and something that looked to be cabbage and carrots. But the rest was unrecognizable glop, and I was deeply skeptical. My attitude was not helped by the rotten day I was having to that point.

Kayleigh's face started to fall, and I gave myself an inward shake. I tried to brighten my voice. "So, how do you eat this?"

Kayleigh's face was clearly worried. "You'll try it?"

"Of course. I'll try anything once."

Kayleigh smiled and leaned forward. "See you tear off a piece of the injera, that's the bread, and then you scoop up some of the wot."

"The what?"

"Yes, the wot." She giggled at my confused expression. "The stews," she pointed at the various brown heaps of food, "they're called wots."

"You've been waiting to do that to me all day, haven't you?"

"Little bit." She grinned, pulling off a piece of bread and running it through one of the darker offerings before popping it into her mouth.

Her eyes closed and she sighed as she chewed. I knew that sound; it was a good sound.

"Good?"

"My God, that's amazing! You have to try this." Kayleigh tore off another piece of bread and gathered up some of the same substance holding it out to me. I leaned forward, steeling myself, and let her put it in my mouth.

It was awesome. It was a little like curry, some similar spices, but it wasn't the same as any curry I'd ever had. The base consisted of lentils, I think, and there was so much rich flavor. The bread was slightly sour, so I'm not sure I would have liked it by itself, but it complemented the stew perfectly.

We dug in, and I felt my rotten mood melt away as I savored the experience. I was just starting to worry about running out of injera when our waitress dropped off fresh rolls of the bread.

"Oh, goody!" I clapped my hands together, and Kayleigh giggled.

"You're really liking it."

"Oh, yeah." I scooped up a bit of a chickpea concoction from the center of the plate, "it's so good. I never get to try stuff like this. What's that called?" I pointed at the goop I'd just tried.

"Um, shiro, I think. I'm really glad you're having fun."

I smiled shyly, cocking my head to the side and looking sheepish. "I'm sorry about earlier."

She reached out and took my hand. "It's okay. I'm just happy to be with you."

Kayleigh returned my soft smile, and my heart melted inside. And I was happy, too. Being with Kayleigh was amazing. And I never would've gotten Sally to do anything like this. She wouldn't have touched the food we'd just eaten with a ten-foot pole.

"I am so happy you got me to try this. I doubt I ever would have."

"I love trying ethnic food, especially new ones, or fusions. I guess it comes from growing up in a multicultural home. Mom was really adventurous with food, always trying out new recipes."

I chuckled. "Not mine. If you couldn't find it in the Betty Crocker cookbook my mom wouldn't even attempt it."

We finished off one of the wots and I pulled a section of the Injera that had been underneath. The flavor of that section of the bread was so intense. "Oh, wow, Kayleigh you've got to try that."

We continued to work through the plate until we were both full to bursting. As we exited the restaurant, my hand slipped into hers as we walked over to her silver Yaris hatchback. I really wished we weren't saying goodbye, and that was all on me.

I took her other hand. Turning her towards me. "I'm sorry. I should've taken you up on your offer to spend the night tonight. I don't know what I was thinking."

"You were scared. Relationships are scary."

"I don't know why I'm scared. I love being with you."

"I love being with you too." It felt like there was something else she wasn't saying. She probably had an idea of the source of my fear, and since it was so obvious to me I couldn't imagine she would get it wrong. That made me all the more nervous for Saturday.

Kayleigh's hands slid up over my arms until they were around my neck. My own went around her waist as we kissed in the fading light.

When we broke apart my lips were still tingling from the contact, and Kayleigh's bright green eyes were dancing above her wide smile. She was beautiful.

"Bethany?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna try this again next Thursday? With the sleepover part?"

"Yeah, I think I do."

Her grin got even wider, if that were possible. "Okay. I'll pick a restaurant, you bring some work clothes for the morning."

I nodded brightly. "Yeah." I was smiling now, too, lost in Kayleigh's eyes.

"OK then. See you tomorrow?"

"Definitely."

"You're coming straight after work, right?"

I nodded. "That's my plan."

"Just a second." Kayleigh opened her driver side door and crawled in, giving me a lovely view of her backside as she grabbed a white envelope out of her glove compartment. "Here."

"What's this?" The envelope wasn't sealed, and I pulled out a heavy piece of folded paper. As I opened it a shiny piece of metal dropped into my palm.

"In case you get there before I do."

"Wow, Kayleigh, are you sure?" I turned the key over in my hand.

"Yeah, I'm sure. The paper has the alarm code on it. See? I trust you. And Patches will be happy to see you." She went up on her tiptoes and pecked me on the cheek before whispering, "If it freaks you out too much you can give it back after tomorrow."

I closed my first round the key, feeling the freshly cut teeth dig into my skin. "Not a chance." Kayleigh's grin widened, her eyes dancing, and I covered her lips with mine. She gave a happy little sigh as she melted into our kiss. My whole body tingled as she pressed herself against me.

We stayed like that for several seconds, neither of us wanting to end the moment. But end it did, and I waved as she drove away.

I looked down at the key. Did it freak me out? Yep. But that didn't mean I wanted to let it go.

*****

"Do you know what this reminds me of, Bethy? Sophomore year? Fall break?"

"Oh God." I lowered my voice to a drunken sailor. "There's bears out there."

Sally giggled. "No there aren't, Travis, go to sleep."

"Invasion of the bear - coons."

"And he comes flying out in his undies!" Sally and I were both laughing while Kayleigh wore a bemused look on her face.

"What are you two talking about?"

Tim looked up at her in the rearview mirror. "You just have to ignore them when they get like that, Kayleigh."

"College stories we'll never understand?"

"Exactly."

I wiped a tear for my eye. "No, it was just a friend of ours. We were camping and he got drunk and went to take a leak in the woods at night. He came back saying there were bears in the woods watching him."

Kayleigh's eyes went wide. "Were there?"

Sally laughed. "No. Raccoons. Lots of them."

I grinned. "Yeah. So they were in our campsite that night, and one of them must've pressed on the side of his tent, and he comes tearing out, screaming, in nothing but a pair of tightie whities."

Sally continued. "He woke up everyone in the camp screaming 'Bear!' The only ones not worried were the raccoons on our picnic table, who continued to casually chew through the graham crackers we forgot to put away."

We continued down I-44 towards Castlewood. Tim was driving, since his crossover definitely had the most backseat legroom, along with plenty of space for our coolers.

I looked at Sally, who was riding in the front seat. Tim said something to her I didn't catch and the bright, pure tone of her laughter sounded in the car as she took his hand. I felt my heart twist in my chest as their fingers entwined together. She smiled at her lover, bright blue eyes soft with happiness.

I forced myself to look away, staring out the window where the suburbs were flying past. I leaned my head against the glass and took a deep breath,

A small hand settled on my elbow. "Bethany?" I almost jumped, and the flash of shame swept through me as I realized I'd almost forgotten Kayleigh was there. Her face was concerned, so I forced a smile.

"I'm fine." I moved my arm so her hand was resting in mine, and I gave it a reassuring squeeze. I felt better immediately. Not perfect, but better. Why couldn't I focus on Kayleigh for once? I should never have invited Sally along. Instead I was going to spend all day fighting that sick feeling I had whenever Sally and Tim were around. And Kayleigh was going to know everything I was feeling. I was totally crap at hiding my emotions, especially from her.

Sally turned around to look at us. "So, I was thinking when we get there we could do the Riverscene Trail? It's supposed to be really nice, about a two and a half hour hike, then we can do lunch?"

Kayleigh squeezed my hand. "That sounds great, Sally." She looked at me. "Have you done that one before?"

I shrugged. "I doubt it. I've only been out here once, when I was a kid."

"How about after lunch we go try to get away, just the two of us."

Oh, God, yes, please. I nodded at her, tears stinging my eyes.

It was still early, but the park was rapidly becoming busy, since it was shaping up to be a beautiful Saturday. We were able to find a parking spot near both a picnic area and the trailhead, so we grabbed our water bottles and headed out.

The sign at the trailhead said 3.4 miles, but I think that's a dirty lie. Or maybe I'm just really out of shape. Tim and Sally started off in front of us, walking side-by-side and holding hands like they've been doing it all their lives. There were a few people around, and I didn't want our day marred by some bigoted asshole saying something stupid, so I didn't take Kayleigh's hand like I wanted to.