Authors: Chamein Canton
“Oh, definitely.”
They kissed each other tenderly, letting the passion
build with each moment that passed. Once again Marcus
took her by the hand to the bedroom.
Face to face in the bedroom, Marcus took Cathy’s
sweater off and he stopped her before she could undress
herself. “I want to do it.”
She let him. After years of submitting to religious
doctrine, Cathy had a need to maintain control so it was a
big deal to let him undress her a second time.
Things were different for Marcus too. In the past he’d
watched a woman get undressed just to get to the ultimate
finish. Now he wanted the pleasure of taking his time. Piece
by piece he gently removed her clothes.
Having been a big girl all her life, Cathy felt he treated
her as a treasured porcelain doll he was afraid to break. He
made her feel delicate, even fragile.
Marcus turned the lights down low, but not off. He
stopped for a moment. “I love looking at you.”
Cathy’s stomach fluttered. Marcus teased her with stop
and go kisses down her neck and shoulders. It tickled but
she didn’t laugh. She stood behind him and took his shirt
off. She rubbed his sculpted back.
Michelangelo’s
David
has
nothing on him
, she thought
.
The hairs on the back of Marcus’s neck stood straight
up from the warmth of her breath.
If she kisses the nape of
my neck, she’s going to have to peel me off her.
Just then she
lightly kissed the nape of his neck.
It’s on
. He quickly
turned around and kissed her; within minutes their bodies
were so entangled it was impossible to tell where he ended
and she began.
Cathy’s hands grabbed the covers to anchor her body to
the bed as Marcus took her higher and deeper to a place
where she didn’t know her own name, but knew his. “Oh
God, Marcus,” she moaned.
Oh my God! Did I just moan his
name?
She asked herself for just a moment and then quickly
forgot her own question as making love turned into a religious experience like none other.
Nestled in each other’s arms they drifted off to sleep.
During her limited sex life, Cathy had never been comfortable sleeping with someone else after they’d made love.
However there was safely in “his nook,” which she thought
was strictly a
Sex and the City
concoction since she didn’t
think her body was made to fit with that of anyone else.
Something was different this time; she could sleep with
Marcus near her. It felt as if he and she fit together so well
that she could rest her body, mind and maybe even soul
without reservation.
Saturday morning meant an afternoon game. Cathy left
Marcus sleeping soundly in bed. They’d had quite a night
and he needed to get some rest. She quietly slid out of bed
and grabbed his robe before going to the kitchen.
Once she opened the bedroom door she could see the
sun was shining brightly on New York City. She stopped to
enjoy the breathtaking view from Marcus’s living room.
Feeling more like the happy homemaker than the happy
hooker, Cathy went to the kitchen to make breakfast.
She wasn’t quite sure whether it was elves or a secret
team of maids that came in and re-stocked Marcus’s refrigerator. Whoever did it didn’t matter. She was happy to see
the ingredients she needed to make blueberry pancakes.
While she made up the batter for pancakes, she turned the
griddle on and placed a couple of plates in the warming
drawer before making blueberry compote, scrambled eggs
and sausage to go with the pancakes. Orange juice and
coffee rounded out the breakfast tray.
Bringing the tray out of the kitchen, Cathy set it on the
dining room table for a moment. The only thing that was
missing to complete her breakfast in bed service was a
newspaper. In a fancy building like this, she figured all the
newspapers would be right outside the door. So she poked
her head out the door and hit pay dirt. All the papers were
there.
As she started to put the newspapers on the tray she
remembered what they’d talked about last night. She
hurriedly opened
The Journal
to the celebrity section and
scanned it for her name. She didn’t have to look too hard;
there were two photos of her and Marcus just as he’d said.
New York Yankee Marcus Fox was seen canoodling with
Catherine Chambers, literary agent and managing partner of
the Chambers-Stevens Literary Agency in New York
.
Onlookers
said the two were quite chummy over dinner. Fox, whose last
main squeeze was supermodel Cybil George, seems to be quite
taken with the voluptuous Chambers. Sources close to Fox say
Chambers has even met his parents. Could this be the real
thing? Stay tuned.
Cathy breathed a sigh of relief.
At least they said voluptuous
rather than fat. She was sorely tempted to read the
other papers but decided to quit while she was ahead. She
refolded
The Journal
and put it on the tray with the other
papers.
Marcus was still asleep when she brought the tray in.
“Hey, sleepy head.”
He turned over and slowly opened his eyes.
“Hey.”
“Good morning. Are you ready for a little breakfast in
bed?”
It looked as if his eyes were slowly getting focused.
“Would you look at that? You made me breakfast?”
“Yes, I did. Now sit up so I can put this tray down. It’s
“Much.” She gave him the tray. “Now you are almost all
set. I just have to get the half and half for your coffee. Or
do you use milk?”
“Half and half is fine.”
“Okay. I’ll get it and the sugar.”
Just as she was about to leave he grabbed her hand.
She smiled and gave him a kiss. “Now let me get the
cream and sugar. I’ll only be a minute or two.”
“Hurry back.”
She went to the kitchen and returned with the cream
and sugar in hand.
“See. I told you it wouldn’t take me long.”
Marcus was a little too busy chewing. “Thanks. This is
fantastic. Don’t tell me you made the compote, too.”
“If you don’t want me to tell you I made it, then I
won’t.”
“You are a little character.”
“Thanks. Is everything okay?”
“It’s great. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve
had a breakfast like this at home. Not including yesterday’s
breakfast.”
She climbed back into bed. “You mean your other girlfriends never made breakfast for you?” Cathy couldn’t
believe she’d said ‘girlfriends,’ as if she were sure she ranked
right in there.
“No. I never had a girlfriend like you before.”
She was secretly tickled to have him refer to her as his
girlfriend.
“Cooking was not their strong suit.” He stopped to eat.
“Aren’t you having breakfast?”
“I already ate.”
“You didn’t want to have breakfast with me?”
“It’s not that. I’m just not much of a breakfast person
this early. Toast and coffee this time of day is more than
enough for me.”
“If you say so.” He opened up the paper. She’d put
The
Journal
on top.
“Did you read the paper?” he asked.
“I glanced at
The Journal
, but that’s the only one. The
rest I don’t know about.” As he opened up to the gossip
pages she watched for his expression.
“They crack me up with this stuff.”
“They do have a flair for words. But you did date for a
while.”
“We dated for three years.”
“That’s practically a lifetime in fashion and
Hollywood.”
“I can tell you it wasn’t all glitz, glamour, high profile
outings, fashion shows and premieres. There were some not
so pretty times with the beautiful people.”
“Be that as it may, this is the kind of stuff that sells
papers and gossip magazines. You were dating the ideal
woman, a sex symbol and top model. Now you’re dating a
woman six years your senior, divorced with two kids and to
top it off she’s full-figured. I can see why they’re baiting
her.”
Marcus dismissed the idea. “Cybil can’t be bothered
enough to read in the first place. She used to leaf through
the fashion magazines for the photos. The only time she
read was if some outfit or bag caught her eye.”
“Marcus, you may have dated her for three years, but I
know women and regardless of whether she sees this or not,
someone is going to tell her and then it’s just a matter of
time before there’s another little item in the paper or on
E
Hollywood News
.”
“That relationship is in the past for the both of us.”
“I’m sure it is, but right, wrong or indifferent, the press
is seeking to stir things up.”
“Maybe. They did get a few things right.” He put the
tray on the night table and came towards her. She
pretended to try to get away.
“Really? What part did they get right?”
“The part about me being taken with you. Come here,
my voluptuous woman.”
He kept kissing her neck.
“Wait a minute, Marcus. Are you trying to give me a
hickey?”
“Mmm? Me? Would I do that to you?” he asked coyly.
It tickled her. “Stop, Marcus. Not only am I too old to
have a hickey, it’s still a little bit warm. I can’t cover up with
a turtleneck.”
He ignored her. After another couple of minutes of her
protesting, he stopped.
He looked at his handiwork. “There it is.”
Cathy put her hand on her neck then dashed to the
mirror. “Oh, Marcus. What am I supposed to do?”
“If anyone asks, tell them I did it.”
“You know how long it takes to get rid of the mark?”
“No. How long?”
“I don’t know. I was asking you. I haven’t had a hickey
since I was…” Cathy stopped to think. “When was the last
time I had a hickey? I think I was 29.”
“Twenty-nine? You never got a little love bite as a
teenager?”
“No. Together my parents were strict but once they split
up my mother tightened the religious reins.”
“Your dad didn’t have a say in it?” He was incredulous.
“Not really.”
“So you weren’t allowed to date?”
“No. According to the rules of this religion you couldn’t
date until you were ready to get married.”
Marcus was floored. “What?”
“You heard right. We didn’t date, period. We didn’t get
to go to the junior or senior prom either.”
“What was wrong with going to the prom? It’s just a rite
of passage.”
“A night of degradation.”
“So you never really dated until you got married.”
“Right.”
“Is this the same religion that doesn’t celebrate birthdays?”
“Yes.”
“So you couldn’t celebrate birthdays and you had to be
ready to get married in order to date.”
“There was a high rate of young people getting married
in this religion.”
“With rules like that, I bet there was.”
“It’s still like that. I was an oddball because I stayed in
college after I got married. It was the one thing my father
really put his foot down about.”
“I think that’s great. Where did you go to college?”
“Haven’t I told you before?”
“No.”
“Oh. I went to Yale,” Cathy said nonchalantly. “All
three of us did. Madison is a graduate of Yale Law School
and Anna has her master’s in finance and accounting from
Yale. I have degrees in political science and business
management.”
“That’s some accomplishment for all of you. How in
the world did you combine being married, having twins
and college?” He was impressed
“I didn’t have the twins until I was 22. By then I was a
senior. I graduated and gave birth in the same month. I got
divorced when I was 23.”
“Was your ex-husband part of this religion thing too?”
“Yes, he was. He still turned out to be lousy.” Cathy was
surprised at how matter of fact she was with Marcus. “Still,
I had to prove I was one of the faithful and I stayed the religious course until I was twenty-eight. By then I was done
living like a nun without the habit. So I didn’t get my first
hickey until I was 29.” It happened so long ago it was as if
she was talking about another person in another lifetime.
“So you really didn’t start dating until you were almost
30.”
“Pathetic, isn’t it?” Cathy said.
“No, not at all.” He looked thoughtful. “You said your
last relationship was about two years ago, right?”
“Almost three years ago.”
“So you dated him for a while.”
“Eight years.”
Marcus looked as if he was finally doing the math. “So
I’m only the…” The light bulb flashed over his head. “Oh
my God.”
“That’s right, and I’m forty years old.” Cathy looked in
the mirror again. “This thing is getting more black and blue
by the minute.”
He playfully threw his pillow at her. “Wait a second. Is
that my robe you have on?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t bring a robe?”
“No.”
“In that case I want my robe back.”
“You can’t have it back, otherwise I won’t have anything
to wear.”
“That will teach you to come prepared.”
“Oh, so it’s like that now?”
“Uh huh.”
Cathy dropped the robe to her ankles. “Satisfied?”
“Very.” He got out of bed, came to her, put his hands
around her waist and kissed her.
They didn’t make it back to the bed in time.
After stealing the robe back while Marcus was sound
asleep, Cathy quietly got lost in the majesty of New York
City spread out in front of her.
“Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.” Marcus slipped his arms
around her waist.
“I didn’t know you were awake.” She was a little startled.
“I was just dozing. The view was too enticing to miss.”
“It is. The city looks so beautiful from here.”
“I wasn’t talking about the city.” He kissed her neck.
“You’re gorgeous.”
“You better watch out, you’re spoiling me,” she said
bashfully.
“I think you deserve to be spoiled.”
She closed her eyes. “I could get used to this.”
“I hope you do.”
She turned around and kissed him. “You are so sweet.”
She caressed his face.
He looked into her eyes. “I know you’re happy but there
is a little something in your eyes.”
She walked away from the window and sat on the bed.
“It’s probably guilt.”
“Guilt? What do you have to feel guilty about?”
“Everything and nothing at all.”
He sat down next to her. “You can talk to me. I’ll listen.
I won’t judge you.”
“Nobody could be a harder judge than I am.”
“Why are you judging yourself?”
“It’s so hard to explain, Marcus.” She sighed. “Even
though I haven’t lived that religious life for more than a
decade, still there are remnants.”
“Like what?”
“Remember we were talking about celebrating birthdays?”
“Yes.”
Cathy was ashamed to say it out loud. “I didn’t celebrate my sons’ birthdays until they were about eight years
old. They had no parties or anything for eight years and I
feel like I let them miss out.”
“But they’ve had parties for the last ten years, right?”
“Oh yeah. I’ve been crazy about giving them the biggest
parties ever since.”
“So you’re a good mom. I’m sure they don’t hold it
against you.”
“But I hold it against me.”
He hugged her. “Well, you should stop.”
“I know.”
“But this guilt isn’t just about birthday parties, is it?”
“No.”
“This is about dating and sex.”
“Those are two areas I still feel guilty about.”
“Cathy, it’s obvious to me that you are a moral person.
I know you aren’t the kind of woman who sleeps around.”
“I know, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty.”
“It should.”
“You’re right. It should. I used to feel guilty about my
last relationship too. So when he cheated on me it felt like
God was punishing me for not doing the right thing in the
first place.”
“If the guy was stupid enough to cheat, that was on
him, not you. It certainly wasn’t God punishing you.”
“Intellectually I know it, but I was in a religion that
teaches if you leave it, God won’t bless you, and you’re on
the same level as a dog returning to its vomit.”
Marcus cringed. “They teach you that about God? I’m
not terribly religious but I don’t think God goes around
handing out punishments. People reap what they sow.”
Cathy nodded her head. “You’re lucky you don’t have
my mother’s voice in your head.”
Marcus thought about his mother’s relationship with
his sisters. “It’s real easy for me to tell you not to think
about it, but she is your mother so I get why you’re so bothered.”
“It would be nice if she’d be more of a mother and less
of a religious zealot.” She sighed. “I guess I have to get over
it.”
“I do have a solution to take your mind off it for
tonight,” Marcus said sweetly.
“You do?”
“Yes. How about we go out to dinner and then maybe
a little dancing tonight?”
Cathy was thrilled. “I’d like that.”
“Good. I’ll make all the arrangements. All you have to
do is look pretty.”
“Oh no. I can’t go anywhere. I don’t have anything to
wear out tonight.”
“Don’t be silly. You can go shopping before the game.”
“I did see a dress I liked about a week ago. I bet they
still have it.”
“Good.” He looked at the clock. “It’s still early enough
for me to leave in time for practice. I‘ll take my car. This
way Louis can take you shopping, then drive you over to
the stadium.”
“A night on the town sounds wonderful. I’m really
looking forward to it.”
“Me too.” He stood up and took her by the hand.
“Now let’s say we do our part for water conservation.”
“Do our part for water conservation?” Cathy was
puzzled. “I didn’t know there was a water alert in the city.”
“There isn’t. But who says we can’t be environmentally
conscious anyway?” He had a naughty look in his eyes.
He untied the robe and slowly led Cathy into the bathroom.
“Are you sure you want to be in the cold spot?”
“What cold spot? There are shower heads on both
sides.”
“I see.”
He turned on the water.
“What if you don’t use the same shower gel as me?”
“We’ll use yours. I don’t care if I smell like a flower.”
The robe fell to the floor.
“A raspberry, you’ll smell like a raspberry. Or we can use
the vanilla if you like.”
They stepped into the warm shower
“Vanilla and chocolate. Sounds good to me.”
He closed the shower door.