What the Heart Desires (Contemporary Erotic Romance) (2 page)

Aft
er a long work day, Kimberly was pretty tired.  She’d been on her feet much of the day and still had to go buy groceries on her way home.  Because of that, her visit with Felix was briefer than she would have liked.  It was, nonetheless, nice.  They each bought a coffee and wandered through a nearby park, chatting like old friends who’d known each other forever.

She was
surprised she felt so at ease with Felix.  Usually it took her ages to warm up to people; it was in her nature to proceed with caution.

The
late-afternoon sun felt warm on Kimberly’s skin and she liked the way Felix gestured animatedly with his hands when he spoke.  There was something endearing about how enthusiastic he was about everything they discussed. 

It felt good to unwind
in the sun after a long day running lab work in the dingy basement of the local hospital.

Kimberly hadn’t seen Felix in the light of day before. 
Now, she kept stealing sideways glances at him.  He looked the same as she remembered: clean cut and dressed in preppy clothes.  He had kind eyes and a dorky sense of humor that made her laugh.  She was glad she’d suggested they meet up.

After that day at the park,
Kimberly and Felix began to hang out regularly.  They started going to the tiny theater on 5th Avenue together every Monday evening, which was Foreign Film Night.  Kimberly found herself looking forward to Mondays like never before.

The friendship was strictly platonic. 
They each paid their own way when they went to the movies and, if they decided to stop for hot dogs on the way home, they always went Dutch.  There was never any hand holding or long, lingering stares, but Kimberly was always genuinely happy to spend time with Felix.

It
was refreshing to have a male friend – especially one as sincere and kind as Felix.  Jane, who quickly ditched her latest fling in search of a new one, couldn’t seem to wrap her head around it.

“Is he straight?”
she demanded after Kimberly introduced her to Felix for the first time.

“Yes.”

“Single?”

“Yes.”

“Well then why the hell haven’t you banged him yet?” Jane wanted to know.

Kimberly suppressed smile.  If Jane was one thing, it was blunt.  Sometimes it was refreshing and other times it was tiresome. 
Thankfully, today it was the former.  “It’s not like that,” Kimberly insisted, crossing her arms.

“Well why not?” Jane pressed
, unwilling to let it go.  “I mean, he’s cute if you’re into that nerdy prep sort of look, right?”

Kimberly laughed the comments off, but they stuck in her mind.  Felix
was
a good looking guy in a conservative, straight-laced sort of way.  He had a lean, boyish build, a sweet smile and, behind his glasses, kind, intelligent eyes. 

As time went on, Kimberly found herself unable to stop thinking about Jane’s comments.  She’d always expected that when she met the person she was meant to be with, there would be fireworks.  But maybe it wasn’t like that.  Maybe she’d watched too many sappy romance movies. 

Maybe it was supposed to be exactly like it was: a slow, easy friendship gradually developing into something more. 

Although Kimberly wasn’t an experienced flirt, she knew a thing or two – mostly from watching Jane shamelessly pick guys up.  She
understood that if she wanted to take things with Felix to the next level, she had to let him know she was interested.

Jane’s style would be to pull her tits halfway out of her slinky tank top, saunter up to a guy at a club and brazenly say something along the lines of “hi, want to screw me in the ladies’ room?” 

Kimberly preferred something a little more subtle. 

She started putting more effort into her appearance on Monday nights.  In the past, she’d regularly shown up at the movie theater straight from work. 
Often, after a long day in the lab at the hospital where she worked, Kimberly didn’t even bother to change out of her scrubs.

That would never do if she wanted Felix to know she was interested in romance. 

The first time she showed up at the theater in form fitting jeans and a casual yet stylish black and white print blouse, Felix looked surprised.  She triumphantly noted that his eyes travelled up and down her body with appreciation before he regained his composure and, flustered, looked away. 

“You look nice,” he’d said.  The expression on his face had been priceless.

After that initial incident, their eye contact lasted just a little longer and they sat just a bit closer.  Sometimes in the tiny, cramped theater, Felix’s arm brushed against hers.  It sent a tiny chill up her spine every single time.  She wished he’d do the classic awkward teenager move, feign a yawn and put his arm around her, but alas, he didn’t.

Kimberly couldn’t tell if it was because Felix was biding his time or what.  Doubt began to creep into the corners of her mind and she started questioning the signals she thought she’d seen.  What if she’d misinterpreted the lingering gazes?  What if he wasn’t interested in her after all? 

Finally, one night when they were leaving the movie theater, it happened.

It was dark outside.  Felix held the door for Kimberly as they exited the building.  There was never a huge audience on Foreign Film Night,
so there weren’t many people around.  Felix paused out there on the street.  He looked like he had something on his mind.

“What is it?” Kimberly asked.

Felix looked down at his feet and then, as though he was working up his courage, squared his shoulders and took a deep breath.  “You look really pretty tonight,” he told her. 

Kimberly blushed.  “Thanks.” 

Felix took a step closer.  “I – is it alright if I kiss you?” he asked.

The pretty brunette’s breath caught in her throat.  “Yes,” she whispered, feeling her pulse quicken. 

Felix leaned down and brushed a lock of her long dark hair out of her face.  Then he pressed his lips against hers.

The kiss was
closed-mouthed, gentle and tender, intimate yet respectful.  Felix’s fingertips brushed lightly against the underside of Kimberly’s jaw as his lips grazed hers.  She wrapped her arms around his waist, enjoying the close physical contact.

She was beginning to realize just how much she’d been craving intimacy.

All too soon, the kiss was over.  Felix pulled back and studied her face anxiously, as though trying to determine whether she was okay with what had just happened. 

Kimberly simply smiled at him and then leaned her head against his chest.  She liked the way she could hear his heart pounding beneath his soft, warm sweater. 
Clearly his reaction to the kiss had been every bit as strong as hers. 

It was nice to know where she stood.

As time went on,
Kimberley’s relationship with Felix blossomed.  They started spending much of their spare time together. 

They settled into a comfortable routine.  On Monday nights, they’d go to the theater.  On Tuesday evenings, they’d go grocery shopping together.  Wednesdays and Thursdays were off the table because Felix taught night classes at the local community college – such was the life of an aspiring academic.  On Friday nights Felix cooked Kimberly dinner at his apartment and on Saturday night she returned the f
avor at her place.  Sundays were usually lazy days reserved for doing household chores and watching television together.

Kimberly was content with the new routine.  It wasn’t exciting, but it was familiar and predictable and safe.  She liked that. 
Maybe, she reasoned, excitement was overrated.

It seemed Felix came into Kimberly’s life at the right time because he was the one constant when everything else was up in the air.  While all was well on the relationship front, Kimberly’s work situation was something else entirely.

Being a science major, Kimberly had figured the lab tech job at the hospital was perfect for her.  Sometimes it was a little dull, but it paid the bills and was generally tolerable.  Or at least it was until a change in management occurred.  Then, it became a hostile, awful environment.

The new manager was the devil in disguise.  She was bossy and opinionated, critical and demanding.  She had unrealistic expectations, no compassion and imposed all sorts of crazy rules that made no sense whatsoever.

The effect it had on the staff was clear.  Two of them quit after the first week.  A few others displayed irritability and a lack of motivation.  It was an incredibly difficult situation to be in.  Going into that hostile place day after day zapped Kimberly’s energy and her professional drive.  She found herself listless and upset more often than not.

Felix listened to Kimberly vent night after night.  She tried not to complain about her work situation constantly, but he assured her he didn’t mind.  He was patient and tried his best to be supportive. 

“Have you considered a career change?” Felix finally asked one Friday evening after Kimberly finished telling him about a particularly brutal, soul-crushing week.  They were standing in the tiny kitchen of his apartment, where he was chopping vegetables for a salad.

“Yes, only every minute of every day!” Kimberly replied, frustrated.  “You know how hard it is to find jobs relevant to our field.  I’ll need specialized training to get the type of career I want and even then, who knows what the job market will be like.
  I’m planning to follow up on a couple opportunities I came across, but they’re probably long shots.”

“Think positive,” Felix encouraged her.  “Things just have a way of working out.” 

“I hope you’re right,” Kimberly sighed.  “But enough about my evil manager and the hospital’s stupid new policies,” she said decidedly.  “Let’s just have a good time tonight.  Hey, do you want to go out to eat?”

Felix looked up.  His salad was half-prepared and water was boiling for pasta.  “What, you don’t like my cooking?” he teased, sounding surprised.

“You know I do,” Kimberly assured him, “but maybe a change would be nice.  I think I need to get out and be distracted, you know?” 

“Alright,” Felix replied, shutting off the stove burner.  “Where do you want to go?”

Kimberly shrugged and then reached for the phone book that always sat exactly two inches from the kitchen phone.  She opened it to a random page, scanned the restaurant listings and pointed at a Thai place neither of them had ever heard of.  “How about here?” she suggested.

~~~

Spontaneity wasn’t something that came naturally to the couple.  Kimberly and Felix were both very much creatures of habit.  Even so, Felix dutifully indulged Kimberly’s request to try something different. 

That was how they found themselves at a small
hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant filled with strange yet enticing smells.  The menu, unfortunately, wasn’t in English.

“You order now?” the young server said in broken English.

“Um, we’ve never been here before,” Felix informed her.  “What do you recommend?”

The young woman held up her hands apologetically.  “You order now?” she asked again.  It was evident she didn’t speak much English. 

“Why don’t we just point to some random things on the menu?” Kimberly suggested.  “Our dinner will be a surprise but that’s okay, isn’t it?” 

“As long as there’s no shellfish,” Felix agreed somewhat reluctantly. 
“I’m allergic.”

A well-dressed man sitting at the bar turned around.  It was evident that in the close quarters, he’d overhear
d the conversation.  He had an amused grin on his face and a drink in his hand.  “Need some help?” he offered.  “There’s a lot of shellfish on the menu, actually, but I can suggest a few dishes if you want.  The food here is fuckin’ amazing.” 

Felix’s eyes widened at the man’s colorful language. 
He wore a Rolex and a high quality suit.  He was probably a businessman of some sort, and a successful one at that.  He didn’t seem to be the type to throw curse words around in every day conversation, yet there he was doing exactly that. 

“Um, that would be great,” Felix replied politely, regaining his composure.  “Thank you.”

The food, it turned out,
was
fuckin’ amazing.  The stranger at the bar made excellent selections and Kimberly found herself absolutely salivating over the meal.  It was to die for. 

“Thanks again for your help,” Kimberly said to the guy at the bar as she and Felix were leaving the restaurant.

He turned around, his piercing green eyes slightly bloodshot.  Day old stubble covered his strong jaw.  He’d loosened his tie and it hung haphazardly from his unbuttoned shirt collar.  He was incredibly attractive in a slightly inebriated, rough around the edges sort of way.  “No worries,” he replied, raising his glass and taking a swig of whiskey.  “Have a good one.”

~~~

Kimberly did, in fact, have a good one.  Maybe it was the wine she’d had with dinner or maybe it was her desperate need to relieve some stress, but when Felix drove her home she found herself feeling rather frisky.

“Come inside,” she demanded as Felix walked her to the front entrance of her condo and prepared to kiss her goodnight as he always did.  “Stay.”