Darden's Pursuit of Happiness: Darden and Willow (4 page)

              Darden was feeling the most alive he has felt in a while. He could attribute this feeling to the kisses he shared with Willow.  Now it is just about convincing her that he is truly the right man for her. First, he has to convince her he did the right thing by distancing himself from her. She had to know if they had gone into the house and continued to kiss he would have wanted to make love to her.  He wouldn’t have taken the rejection well.  But who says there would have been rejection? Darden wasn’t willing to take that chance.  Nothing had changed.  She felt perfect in his arms.  Her body pressed tightly against his put him in a state of arousal unparalleled by anyone else.  And he should know that better that anyone.  He had enough notches on his bedpost to last a lifetime and yet, no woman had him thinking about them even two weeks after he ended the so-called relationship. He hadn’t even touched her intimately yet and sharing a kiss with her drove him wild. He couldn’t wait to be with her.  But he knew he had to take his time and dig deep for patience. That wasn’t his usual method of operating but it had to be with her. Sean is going to be a problem.  Now that he knows I am on the playing field he is going to step his game.  I have to be more than ready for anything he throws at me. 
I have to be smooth and unflappable.  

Alicia Keys, debut single
Fallin'
is playing.  I love that song, it is so sensual. It describes everything people go through while in the throes of love. Sometimes they are in a love so deep they can’t see straight. Then, at other times they simply hate the person and can’t take the pain. It describes the back and forth of love when you aren’t sure you are in love but then you believe it is the only thing you are sure of.  Right now he was damn sure he loved her. The music want so loud that you could hear it down the hallway but you can hear the notes coming from around the door and the muffled sound of Alicia’s beautiful contralto voice. Before knocking on the door he glances down at his shoes and says a brief prayer. He raises his hand to knock then takes a deep breath to follow through.  Time to finally get his woman. . .

He knocks on the door. “Come in”, yells Willow loud enough to be sure she is heard over the music. “Hang your jacket on the coatrack and make yourself comfortable.  I am running a little behind schedule.” Willow giggles a little bit.  “I had some technical difficulties.”

He takes the opportunity to check her out.  Willow was five feet seven inches with wide shoulders and ample breasts. She had an unusually small waist for a woman her size and height and her hips flared out. They were too narrow to be considered child-bearing hips. But, he could imagine her now flat belly growing with his child on the inside. He gave himself a mental shake.  I have to convince to he spend her life with me first.  Willow was in jean capris with a Pink Michigan t-shirt. He knew what it was because of the tell-tale block M just below the collar. The short sleeves look to have been rolled twice. The t-shirt and jeans appeared to have even been ironed.  Willow’s hair was up in its customary ponytail except for a few tendrils near her ears and the nape of her neck. The tendrils made her neck look very sexy. She looked very sexy. Her hips were slowly rocking back in forth to the music.  He was willing to bet she didn’t even realize she was doing it.  He would love to be holding her hips as she rocked back and forth. He would love to be holding her hips still as he . . .

Oops (Oh My)
by Tweet was playing. Damn that was a sexy ass song. What he wouldn’t do to be a voyeur as Willow touched her body all over. Did she have large nipples or pearl-like nipples? Did she have large areola area or a non-existent areola? Would she pull her nipples with her thumb and index finger? Would she twist them like a volume dial? Could she bring her nipples to her lips and lick them? Were her nipples sensitive enough that they sent an electric current to her clitoris and she could orgasm just from pleasuring her breasts? That is freaking hot as hell! Would she spread her legs wide for me to see her womanly folds? Would she finger herself between her legs? How many fingers does it take for her to get off? Does she pinch or pull her clitoris? Does she rub her clitoris in a circle or does she use two fingers to rub on either side of her clitoris? Or does she give it an occasional slap? How large does it get? Does she have to pull back the hood to expose it or does it expose itself? Would she allow him to make love to her with his mouth between her legs? Could he hold her folds open like a book and allow her juices to fill so he could drink from her and quench a thirst that he believes only she could quench?

Would she trust him enough to allow him to make love to her anywhere? And he did mean anywhere, the grocery store, inside museums, on the bus, in the park just to name a few. Many of his bedmates did all of these things and more.  But the funny thing was no matter of the color of their skin he always imagined Willow’s face.  He only heard her voice as they screamed out in pleasure or if they were screaming his name. Would she allow him to teach her how he liked to be touched? Would she let him show her how he liked to be stroked? He had a mildly freakish nature.  He like having his penis pounded hard. He liked the stress of his scrotum being pulled to the limit. He liked rough textures rubbed over his penis. Could she accept that? Could she be a partner in his sexual escapades? He had had multiple women in his bed just to try to assuage his desire for Willow.  He had never led anyone to believe they were in a relationship. It was only about satisfying an itch.  They were essentially just time fillers until he could get Willow ready to become the woman he really wanted. His penis had jumped in his pants. His penis only jumped like that for Willow. He was so very excited over the prospect, he needed to calm down.

I need to focus on something else. In contrast, the apartment had a Spartan appearance.  I should cut my tongue out I am in Wolverine territory. He allowed a small smile to play on his lips. No pictures of friends or family. Just a lone spiral pocket calendar was opened to the monthly section on the breakfast bar.  Everything was written in pencil. She had very precise hand writing. It was slightly slanted to the left. The walls were stark white. There was the furniture and that that was it. Nothing was out of place. There wasn’t a speck of dirt, anywhere not even a stray piece of lint. She had a beautiful view being on the tenth floor. For one person, it was a nice sized apartment. It was a nice sized apartment for two people. He could see the neatly made bed with specialty linens.  He loved the Jacquard stripe of the tan, dark green and maroon.  There was even a light golden sheen to it. Bedding suited for a king and his queen.  He remembered helping her look online one early rainy morning.  She fell in love with the pattern on first sight.  He purchased it for her.  When she received the shipment she waited for him so they could open the package together.  It was if they had received a bridal shower or a wedding gift from a registry. She thanked him over and over. But, he was pleased to do it.

“So do you just let anyone in the apartment or were you somehow expecting me?” Willow whipped around so fast that the onion she was peeling slammed to the floor.

“Darden why are you here? I thought I told you not to comeback.” Willow picked up the onion and tossed into the garbage pail under the sink.  She walked to the door and held it open for Darden.  Just then Sean was walking up. “Darden please, don’t make a scene.” Darden swept her into his arms and kissed her soundly.  There was nothing chaste about the kiss. He took her mouth by storm. Willow felt like she was being devoured alive. She didn’t even put up a fight nor did she bite him when his tongue entered her mouth. Darden felt Willow give in to the kiss. And press her body more fully against him. Her thighs seemed to be cradling his semi-engorged sex. Darden pulled his mouth away slowly and glanced at her before giving his full attention to Sean.

“Why don’t you go to the bathroom so you can get yourself together?” Willow was dazed and reeling from the hot as lightning kiss, she couldn’t speak because her lips were still tingling, and she could only nod her head. Willow excused herself to go into to the bathroom on wobbly legs to get her head on straight.

I Need A Girl (Part 1)
by Diddy was playing now.  Well these lyrics were somewhat apropos. He did need a girl and her name was Willow.  Darden had had just about enough, now it was time to stake claim to
his
woman. .“Sean, I don’t know why you can’t take the hint. But, I will be more than happy to spell it out for you. She belongs with me and only me.  As you can plainly see, we aren’t j
ust
friends. I intend to marry her.  I want forever and always, you on the other hand don’t want anything honorable.”

“She invited me here.” Sean couldn’t believe Darden had just kissed her like that and she said and did nothing. Well besides seeming to melt under the onslaught of the kiss. It was obvious that there was more going on than he realized and quite possibly more than Willow realized. A blind man could see that he had kissed her senseless.

“I am sure she did but, only because she is mad at me. She is
using
you to get back at me. Why else would she have invited you here? Whether she admits it or not we’re in love and always have been. So why don’t you just leave now before any further embarrassment occurs for you.”

“I am not going anywhere until I hear it from her.”

Darden gave a small chuckle. “Are you having trouble believing your own eyes? Then let me give you something more to think about. You know and have seen for yourself that I have kissed her.  And knowing Willow the way I do, she wouldn’t allow me to kiss her if you were somehow in the picture. You’re not even a thought right now.  She had no problem kissing me in front of you. She wasn’t even the least bit apologetic. So again, why are you still standing here?” Darden stood looking very confident.

Sean turned on his heel and slammed the door.  It was obvious to Darden that Sean wants more but how much more he doesn’t know.  It was also obvious that Sean might not talk to Willow anymore since he put that little tidbit of information in his ear.

Willow came out of the bathroom her eyes darting around the apartment. “Where is Sean?”

“He left.” Darden had what looked like humor, satisfaction and mischief all rolled into one showing in his eyes.

“He left? Why would he leave?  I invited him here. What did you say to him?” She was still reeling from the kiss. But, at this point her main concern was for Sean. Lord only knows what Darden would have said.

“Nothing, I am willing to bet he saw the kiss and came to his own conclusions.”

“Why did you kiss me like that? You gave him the wrong impression.”

“No, I didn’t. I gave him the right impression. I want a relationship, a long term relationship.  I want you. I don’t know how to be any clearer. Besides you didn’t fight the kiss and you participated in it fully.  Sean had to have seen that as well. Maybe you need to start listening to you heart and stop listening to your brain.” Darden moved to the stove and turned it off.  Then he moved to the door and locked it. After a quick glance around, he walked back to where Willow was still standing. He reached for both of her hands and brought them up to his lips and kissed each of them while he looked deep into her eyes.  “I want forever with you but, I need you to give us a chance. We have a beautiful chemistry together. We always have.  We used to be able to complete each other sentences. I would be willing to bet our hearts beat exactly the same.” He placed her hand over his heart and her other hand over hers. He watched her eyes widen in the realization that he was right.

“How do you expect me to trust you when you crushed my hopes and dreams in the past? I am so afraid of being hurt by you. I am even more afraid of disappointing you.”

Darden frowned.  “How could you ever be able to disappoint me?” Darden pulled her in to his embrace.

“I don’t know if I can be . . . you know . . . intimate with you. I am not so naïve to believe that you are willing to go without sex.”

“I am not some asshole off the street who, doesn’t know and understand about the past. I know we will have to take things very slowly.  We may need to get professional help. We may need to talk with a sex therapist.  I don’t know. What I do know is, for right now I am more than satisfied with our kisses and holding you in my arms.  I have never forced myself on anyone. And I won’t do anything that you don’t want me to. We will work through this together.” Darden’s arm tightened possessively around her. He gave her a soft kiss. He slowly deepened the kiss.  Darden lifted her and cradled her in his arms and walked over the sofa and sat down.  He rearranged her so she was straddling him.  He placed his hand on either side of her face and gently pulled her face to his and kissed her. “When you want me to stop I will stop. We will start and stop then start all over from the beginning. I want you to be able to trust me and eventually let go of all your inhibitions with me. I want it to be fun never a chore or a duty. I want you to feel comfortable telling me yes or no.  I want you to tell me what feels good and what doesn’t.  I want you to let me know if you feel uncomfortable. I never want you to be afraid because you could never disappoint me.”

Willow didn’t know what to say. “Sweetheart, do you trust me?”

“What about the other women? Will I have to endure embarrassment?” Willow wasn’t sure she could take any more heartache an especially not over this man.

Darden frowned at her? Didn’t she know no one else held so as little as a candle to her? That in his eyes it was only her. Yes, he had had his share of women.  But none of them meant a damn thing to them. “There won’t be any other women. There will only be you. 
I am ready to do the right thing. I am not going to lie to you, I have had many women that I fucked or had sex with.  But none of them have I ever made love to or with. There is a difference. When we make love each and every time my heart will be it. You will know from the beginning I love only you and will give myself only to you. With you my only intention is to make love to you. That eventually we will make love together.

“Willow, do you trust me? You should know me well enough to know I would never hurt you.  You said so yourself that I was your protector.  So allow me to protect your heart. To keep your heart safe, allow me once again to keep you safe and make you feel secure.”

“You are asking so much, so soon.”

He stood abruptly.  He asked her to wrap her legs around him. Willow was hesitant at first.  Willow asked, “What are you doing?”

Darden simply grinned. He started walking toward her bedroom. Willow’s eyes grew huge.  “Darden, I am not ready for this!”

“You are ready for what we are going to do.  I have waited three years to hold you in my arms again as I slept. I plan to have the best sleep I have had since we left your parent’s house.”