Authors: Tracy Cottingham
Cassie walked up to the screen door and hesitated before finally deciding to
knock. She was about to give up and walk back to the car when a flash of
light brightened up the covered front porch, part of the walkway, and the tiny
set of steps she was waiting on.
Gunnar leaned out the doorway, exposing a partially naked chest and torso,
still glistening with fresh droplets of water. He was wearing her
favorite scent, the same cologne he’d used for years. It was so familiar to her
she could pick him out of a line- up of a hundred men or more even if she were
blindfolded. The only thing even remotely different about him was his
hair. When it was wet it was darker, and tonight he wore it slicked back
and over to the side for a change. His towel was tucked, just
barely, at the groove of his right hip, exposing everything he had to offer below
the middle of his thighs. This gave Cassie the perfect view of his well-
muscled legs. Her mind wandered and she started to think of all of the fun ways
she could remove that little white washcloth he called a towel. She could
take it slow, like a tango, starting at his backside and slowly moving around
to th-”
“What are you doing?”
Cassie nearly jumped out of her
skin. “Who me? Nothing.” She hoped her cheeks weren’t as red as
they felt. “What are you doing?”
“Just checking,” he moved her
aside, and peeked around behind her.
“For what?”
“Oh I don’t know. Maybe I’m keeping my eyes open for lethal tortillas or
any other weapons of the Mexican food variety lurking around the corner.” He
smiled at her then, dazzling her with his straight, white teeth.
Cassie laughed, pushing at his chest, which was still smooth and wet.
“Stop teasing me Gunnar. I came here to apologize.”
“What?” Gunnar faked a heart attack, but stopped short when she gave him
the evil eye. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” he chuckled, “It’s just that I
think I can count on one hand the number of times in my life you have offered
an apology, without being forced that is.”
“Gee thanks.”
“Am I right, or am I right?”
Cassie was getting mildly annoyed. “Good night Gunnar,” She turned to
leave but he caught her wrist.
“Hey,” he gently pulled her back around to face him, and lovingly pushed a
stray lock of hair out of her eyes. “Hey,” he whispered a second time as
he moved closer. “I’d love to hear your apology. Come inside, and I
promise to give you my full attention.”
Cassie caught the hunger in his eyes, and tried to ignore the warm surge that
coursed through her. “I can’t stay,” her tone wasn’t very convincing even
to her own ears. “Abby’s asleep.” She pointed to her car, to the
precious little bundle curled up and leaning against the back window.
“So.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Go get her already,” Gunnar gave her a quick shove to get her moving.
“She can sleep comfortably in my bed, and if she wakes up, we can break out the
brand new pint of chocolate chip ice cream I just bought and have at it.”
“Really?”
He gestured for Cassie to get a move on and disappeared inside to turn the
lights out before meeting her back at the door. He smiled down into
Abby’s sleeping face as he took her, and walked with her as if she were a tiny
glass doll, tip toeing all the way to the back room to lay her down without
waking her.
Cassie looked around Gunnar’s apartment and was pleasantly surprised. She
didn’t know what she’d expected, but this was far more toned down than anything
she could have imagined. It was definitely a bachelor pad, there was no
mistaking that. It had sparse furniture with little or no knick knacks or
pictures, and a darker single color scheme that clearly showed he didn’t take
much time to consider his personal space. But the fact that it was
immaculate, and well-organized was a pleasant surprise. Her eyes locked
on to the only detail in the room that did attempt to draw any sort of
attention. It was a model airplane, an exact replica of the Pitts.
She walked over to it, fingering the smooth length of the wings, marveling at
how life-like it was.
“I think she’ll be okay,” Gunnar came up behind her and whispered in her
ear. “She didn’t even stir when I laid her down.”
Cassie turned and caught her breath, before forcing herself to do the right
thing and avert her eyes. “Um,” she looked away and pointed.
“You’re towel, it’s… it’s missing.”
“I’m sorry,” he turned her away from him and came up behind her, pressing the
full length of his naked body against hers. “Is there something the
matter?”
“Nooo,” she breathed out and let her body relax fully into him, spreading out
her hands and bracing them against the table.
Her response was all Gunnar needed. He pushed her soft, full skirt
further up her legs, grabbed at the sides of her panties, and lowered them
slowly while showering the back of her body with tiny kisses. When he came back
up behind her neck he nipped and suckled on and around her ear driving her
crazy with the touch of his lips.
“Gunnar, she could wake up at any minute,” she breathed, trying to get ahold of
her senses.
“Then don’t moan too loud when I do this,” He slid into her effortlessly,
thrusting hard and fast, covering her mouth gently with his hand to catch her
cries.
Cassie bit against his fingers, stifling the urge call out as she felt her body
begin to build with the sweet ache of release. He tried to slow down but
she was so wet, so close she reached behind and guided him into her,
controlling his movements until lights exploded behind her eyes and her body
began to give itself over. She opened her legs wider to give Gunnar
better access and gasped when he hooked his arms around the front of her
shoulders, anchoring himself even higher, deeper inside her. He began to
fill her completely, mindlessly pumping at a frenzied pace, and biting her
shoulder to keep from calling out her name when he spilled himself into her.
His body was shaking as he held her close, hugging her and whispering
endearments in her ears as he waited for their breathing to slow. “I don’t
think I can move,” he whispered in her ear and brushed his lips across the bite
mark he’d made on her shoulder only moments before.
“I don’t want you to move,” Cassie nuzzled closer, “Ever.”
He chuckled at the thought. “That might not go over too well for the
little one in there,” he motioned to his bedroom where Abby was thankfully
still sleeping. “That and the fact that I didn’t get much to eat earlier,
because of a certain someone, has forced me to have to admit that I am
starving.”
“Oh God, me too,” Cassie slowly removed herself from him and winced at the
emptiness that simple act created. She straightened out her skirt and
turned in time to be folded into his arms. He held her and kissed her for
a few more moments before fetching his towel from the floor and heading back to
the bathroom to get dressed.
Cassie decided to just sit for a moment, and ended up zoning out in front of
the empty television screen before her. She had always loved Gunnar,
first as a young girl who had found her knight in shining armor, someone who
always had her back, and now as a woman who loved every possible aspect of a
man. It wasn’t the baby, or how they made love, or even her old memories
that confirmed such a terrifying admonition for her. It was who he was,
and all of the fantastic things she knew were there if he ever really decided
to let them start over and love her again. They had shared so many years
as friends and confidants, and for her, making love to him had only deepened a
connection she already felt. But did he feel the same way? Or was
their time together just a way for him to take what she’d denied him when they
were younger?
“Did you miss me?” Gunnar sat down beside her.
“Desperately,” Cassie joked, relaxing into his arms as they sat together.
“So tell me,” Gunnar lifted the remote from her and tossed it on to the coffee
table. “What exactly was all of that about earlier today?” His eyes
filled with laughter as he watched her squirm. “I mean, why did I end up
wearing the tortillas instead of eating them?”
Cassie could tell that Gunnar was expecting a more light hearted, comical
reply, but she opted for
the truth instead.
“Well,” Cassie reached out and pushed the raised corners of his mouth back
down. “Stop smiling, this is serious.”
“Oh, sorry,” he changed his expression to match her more somber mood.
“First of all, I really would like to tell you how sorry I am for going off on
you like that. It’s just that- well, it’s hard for me to hear you talking
so flippantly about marriage and children. There was a time when you
would have never dreamed of taking two of the most important aspects of a
relationship and making them seem so trivial. I mean, one minute you say
things to me that are so moving and tender, and then in the next instant it’s
like there’s this whole other person inside you. I know how you act and
what you say are really none of my business, but I guess it just hit me the
wrong way today that’s all.
“Wow,” Gunnar shook his head. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were
feeling serious were you?”
“You’re right,” Cassie smacked her
hands flat against her knees and pushed herself up. “I didn’t mean to
make you uncomfortable or start another one of our many disagreements, I really
just wanted to apologize, and let you know why I reacted so strongly.”
She reached over to fetch her purse.
“Wait,” Gunnar’s hand brushed against her shoulder and blocked her from getting
her purse. “You know, it’s been a long time since we sat up all night
watching the waves pounding against the Malibu shoreline, pouring out our
hearts. I’m just a little rusty that’s all.”
Cassie remembered each one of those nights so well she could smell the Canadian
Bacon and Pineapple Pizza they used to get from Zippy’s before heading off to
find a stretch of beach that was so remote, that the stars that were usually
masked by the lights of the city came out to shine just for them. “You
know,” Cassie mused, “it used to blow me away how well I could read your
thoughts back then. Now a days, I haven’t got a clue.”
Gunnar eyed her playfully. “Well I don’t know about that,” he
quipped. “I’d imagine it would just depend on the type of thoughts I was
having, that’s all.”
“Ha, ha,” Cassie wasn’t feeling especially playful. She looked at her
watch again and moved around the couch. “Well, I guess I’d better get-”
“Cassandra, sit down.” Gunnar grabbed her hand and pulled her back around
to face him. “You don’t get to just come in here, drop all of this heavy
stuff on me like that, and then just leave.” When Cassie didn’t move
right away he tugged at her hand again. “I said, sit. And
listen.”
Cassie sat down and smiled as she watched him work really hard to pull his
thoughts together.
Gunnar reached out and turned the corners of her mouth down with his
fingers. “Stop smiling,” he admonished. “This is serious.”
“Oh,” Cassie mimicked the same words he’d said to her and forced a straight
face.
“Maybe I wasn’t being specific enough earlier when you asked me why I hadn’t
settled down. I told you that the one woman who had caught my attention
had lied about being pregnant, and that at the time I felt that the only reason
to marry was due to the child.”
“Okay so I misunderstood you. What about now? How do you feel about
it now?”
“Whew,” Gunnar pretended to wipe
the sweat from his brow. “You really are out to do away with me
today. First by physically throwing things at me and embarrassing me in
front of a room full of strangers, and now by putting me through my paces with
these brutal, piercing questions.” He rubbed at his neck with the back of
his hand. “If I say something you find even remotely dissatisfactory,
does that mean you’re going to pull a gun and shoot me next?”
“I don’t know,” Cassie was enjoying watching him struggle. “How about you
just start to answer the question, hand me my purse, and we’ll take it from
there.”
He laughed, and moved her purse further away. “The truth is the same
answer I gave you that day in the plane,” he hesitated, “When we made love.”
The memory of his naked body tensing and filling her so completely invaded her
thoughts.
She instantly recognized the same look in Gunnar’s
eyes and knew he was right there with her, sharing those hot memories. She
smiled, realizing he was right about her still being able to read his mind, at
least where certain topics were concerned.
“There are times that I think about the fact that I’m not getting any younger,
and about how being with one woman for the rest of my life, filling her with
lots of babies and raising a family together is so appealing that I could
almost reach out, and grab a chance at that kind of lifestyle.”