Uncorked (11 page)

His hands dug into her scalp. Her
wet, curly, brown hair cascaded over his wrists. He rapidly pulled away from
her, an indication she came close to tipping him over the edge.

As he looked deep into her eyes,
he descended upon her lips, forcing her to slip her body up the bed. He
continued to kiss her, savoring her lips, enticing her, until she surrendered
her entire body to him. His kisses grew more intense. She responded.

He slipped his fingers over her
clit, starting slowly then reacting more firmly and rapidly as she cried out
with pleasure. He placed soft kisses down her body, making his way down to her
core. He continued to arouse her, working over her clit with his fingers and
tongue. She was completely saturated, and her rotating hips told him she was
eager to welcome him in.

He took one of the foil packets
and ripped it open. She watched as he slid the condom on his shaft. Kneeling
between her thighs, he continued to tease her with his warm tip. Then with one
knee on the bed and his other foot grounded, he raised her hips so they were
suspended in mid-air, propelling her body repeatedly into his throbbing pelvis,
sending earth-shattering sensations through her.

She cried out his name. Placing
her back on the bed, he held her hands and draped himself on top of her,
looking deep into her eyes he moved in an erotic dance over her. Sensations
escalated between her thighs. She could feel that he, too, was near. As he
leaned into her and kissed her, it set them off into simultaneous,
unadulterated bliss.

She lay in his arms, too
comfortable to move. They had finally made love. She was falling hard for this
man.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?

“The best I’ve been in all my
life. Mitch, that was fantastic. I’m so happy, I feel like I’m going to
explode.”

“I love seeing you like this,
Chell. You’re literally glowing. You’re beautiful. Is there anything I can do
to make you any happier?”

“Yes, make love to me all night
long,” she replied.

He did not respond with words but
simply fulfilled her request. They made love until the early hours of the
morning, finally falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Mitch awoke to
the smell of coffee and cooking.
He replayed the night over in his head and couldn’t believe what he had done.
For a few moments, he had let his penis do the talking. This issue now had the
potential to cause Chella a world of hurt and pain—something he never intended.
Things had gotten so intense between them. He hadn’t wanted to lay too much
about his life on her too soon. But now that he’d made love to her, he was left
with no choice but to tell her the truth, and that scared him. The news had the
potential to make her cut all ties to him—immediately. He couldn’t lie to her,
either. The longer he took to tell her, the more complicated things would get…

Fuck, what have I done?

He walked into the great room and
stood silently watching Chella from a distance. She was making breakfast, but
strangely, she did seem to have everything under control. Wearing headphones
and singing Adele’s
Rolling In The Deep
at the top of her lungs, she
looked adorable dressed in one of his oversized shirts.

Very sexy. She looks better in
that shirt than I do. God, please don’t make this hurt her…

So caught up in her task, Chella
did not notice Mitch standing there until she lifted the plates and started
walking toward the patio.

“Oh my goodness!” Two plates in
her hand nearly went crashing to the floor. “You scared me to death.”

Stepping quickly toward her,
Mitch snatched the plates from her just in time and placed them on the nearby
counter.

She removed her headphones.

“Nice song,” he said, grinning.
“Your voice woke me. Probably the neighbors, too.”

“Was I
that
loud?” Chella
asked, covering her face with her hands, completely mortified.

Laughing, he pulled her into his
arms, “I’m just kidding. The smell of your coffee and your breakfast woke me.”

“How long have you been standing
there?”

“Long enough to see that you’ve
made breakfast, and you seem to have everything under control.”

“I don’t necessarily like
cooking, but if I do, dessert and breakfast are my specialty. Come on, let’s
eat.”

“Not before you kiss me good
morning,” he responded, kissing her lightly on the lips.

After breakfast, Chella
and Mitch cleaned up the kitchen
and went for a walk at the nearby harbor. They sat on the pier watching boats
drift in and out of the bay, their brightly colored sails a beautiful contrast
against the blue skies.

“You know, I have a boat back in
Santa Monica. I miss it sometimes,” Mitch said as a sport fishing boat went by
and the anglers prepared their bait.

“Really? What kind?”

“A seventy-foot Bertram.”

“Why didn’t you bring it to San
Diego?”

“I didn’t have time. When I moved
here, I brought what was most important with me first. I’ll go up one of these
weekends and get it. Of course, you’re welcome to join me.”

“I can play captain while you
organize the appetizers.”

“You know how to drive a boat?”

“I’m full of surprises, didn’t
you know? Don’t forget I’m an island girl at heart. My best friend’s dad owned
a boat and showed me a little.” She glanced at Mitch and realized he probably
hadn’t heard her. He appeared to be in another world, and he had a very serious
look on his face.

“Mitch, is something wrong?”
Chella asked with concern.

“There is something I have to
tell you...” He looked into her eyes as if expecting her to say something, but
she simply waited, eager to hear what he was going to say.

“Look, Chell, I’m sorry I didn’t
tell you this sooner, but I want you to please try and understand.”

At the sound of his words, her
heart sank into her stomach. She knew something bad—very bad—was coming.

“What, Mitch? What is it?” she
asked impatiently.

“There’s something that you need
to know about me…”

“I was married eight years ago,”
said Mitch. “I’m divorced now, but I have a five-year-old daughter.”

“You what?” Chella’s heart
dropped to her toes as his words penetrated. She couldn’t believe he lied to
her. She rose from the bench and put some distance between them.

“I didn’t want to tell you sooner
for fear of hurting your feelings, and because I didn’t want to lose you. Don’t
you understand? When you told me you had lost your baby, I almost told you
then. Then I found out you couldn’t have kids, and I didn’t want to throw it in
your face that I had a daughter—especially knowing how badly you want a child
of your own someday.” Mitch said walking toward her.

“You betrayed me,” she said
softly, her voice shaky. “How could you? Even after I told you how much honesty
meant to me? After I told you everything about me, things my closest friends
don’t even know. You lied to me Mitch. I trusted you.”

“Chella, I’m sorry. I didn’t want
to hurt you, and it wasn’t my intention to keep secrets from you. Honestly,
there’s also a big part of me that didn’t want to scare you away. Chella, I’m
so sorry. Could you please try and understand?” he pleaded looking into her
glassy eyes.

“You think I didn’t have these
fears too?” she asked angrily. “I’ll tell you what I do understand. What I
understand is that I put my trust in you, and you lied to me. You lied to me
because you didn’t have the guts to tell me the truth. You pity me. And to make
matters worse, you sleep with me first then tell me.”

“Chella, last night blindsided
me. I never expected us to make love. Once I got up this morning, I knew I had
to tell you straightaway. I’m so sorry.” He reached for her hand.

“Don’t touch me.” Chella
recoiled. “Is that all, or are there other details you’ve chosen to keep from
me?”

“There’s nothing else.”

“You just made my decision about
us a hell of a lot easier. I’ll be by later to pick up my things.” She walked
away, ignoring Mitch’s calls from behind.

She felt her world spinning
around her. For the first time since the death of her parents, she had trusted
someone. She now questioned her judgment and everything that had happened in
the last few weeks. If he had lied to her about this, what else would he keep
from her? Could she ever trust him again? This situation reminded her why she
kept to herself all these years. She was surprised at how much it hurt and how
much his lie bothered her. She wasn’t sure how she should handle it or what she
should do next.

Chella took a
walk to a nearby café. She sat
gazing at the water, thinking about what had happened, replaying Mitch’s words
in her head. Her chest was tight, and she felt like her stomach was tied in a
million knots.

“Hey, what’s up with you?” a
familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.

She glanced up to see Vicky and
Kacy towering over her. Their timing could not be worse, but there was no way
to avoid them.

“You looked depressed,” Kacy
said.

“I just have a lot on my mind.
What are you two doing here?”

“I get my car washed down the
street. There’s a wait today, so we decided to get a snack.” Vicky replied as
they sat at the table.

“Oh, great. How are your
husbands?”

“Don’t avoid my question, Chella.
What’s wrong?” Kacy asked after the waiter took their order.

“What would make you think
anything is wrong? Can’t I enjoy a cup of coffee by myself?”

“Well, number one, it’s Saturday
morning,” said Vicky, raising her brows. “You’re fifteen minutes away from home
and five minutes away from your new boyfriend’s home, yet still you’re sitting
here alone.”

Home. Wow, Humphreys. So much has
happened since then.

“Mitch is not my boyfriend.”

“It’s just a matter of time,”
Vicky responded, laughing.

“Don’t be so sure.”

“Did you two have your first
lovers spat?” Kacy asked, smiling.

Chella closed her eyes, resting
her head between her index finger and thumb circling the bridge of her nose.
“It was a little bit more that a lovers spat. He lied to me about something
pretty major.”

“What?” Chella’s two friends
chorused, the smiles on their faces disappearing.

“Vicky, how come you didn’t tell
me he was previously married and had a daughter?”

“I assumed you knew. You know
Chella, you’re not exactly forthcoming about the details of your past relationships—or
anything in your life for that matter.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t understand, though,”
Kacy continued. “You’re both just getting to know each other. You even admit
that he’s not your boyfriend, so why are you so upset?”

“Let’s just say we took things to
another level last night, and he decided to tell me about it this morning.”

“I’m sorry,” said Vicky.

“I don’t understand why he kept
it a secret.”

“He’s just insecure,” Kacy
answered, taking a sip from her water.

“Insecure? Insecure about what?”

“Contrary to popular belief,
especially early in relationships, men have just as much insecurity as women
do.”

“Why? Especially after I told him
told him how much honesty meant to me?”

“This is no excuse, but did it
ever occur to you that he probably had fears about you not wanting to be in a
relationship with a man who had been previously married and had a child?”

“He sort of admitted to that, but
you’re right, that’s no excuse. I shared very private and personal things about
myself with him. I had those same fears, but I didn’t wait to tell him about it
until after we slept together.”

“That may be true, but these
things happen, especially at this stage in your relationship. Don’t put him so
high on a pedestal that when he screws up—and trust me he will—you can’t move
beyond that. He’s going to make mistakes, and so are you. It’s normal. There
are going to be misunderstandings and miscommunications and even the occasional
lie.”

“What if there’s more he hasn’t
told me?”

“That’s a conversation that the
two of you need to have. Give him the opportunity to come clean. Create a safe
environment so he feels comfortable talking to you about issues he may have, or
situations you may need to know about. Don’t go crazy if he says something else
you don’t know.”

“What are you saying? That I
should accept his lies?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m
just saying you are both going to have screw-ups, and if you’re going to have a
relationship, you have to forgive and move past this. If you see a pattern of
lying beyond this, that’s a different situation. But the last few times we
spoke on the phone, you sounded happy. I’ve enjoyed seeing you like that for
the first time in—well, forever. Don’t throw that away because he screwed up
once.”