With His Touch

It’s just a crush. They had crushes on each other. All they had to do was let it fade—like having a sex dream about someone you knew. As the day wore on, the memory extinguished.

He lifted the lid from a smaller plate, which held a tiny cheesecake, crusted with nuts and topped with sliced strawberries. “Five carbs per piece. The crust is cashews. Strawberries are low carb.”

“The lowest of any fruit,” she added, her throat tight. “You went to so much trouble, Gage. I’m so sorry that this meal didn’t go like—”

“Don’t worry. I arranged the meal yesterday, so you wouldn’t feel guilty about indulging.”

Not even knowing he loved her, he’d fussed like this? That was supposed to make her feel better?

“I brought the wine with me. The guy said it has a clean taste and nice finish.”

She turned the bottle to read the label and saw that it was the low-carb merlot she’d read about. “You are such a dear friend.”

“Don’t rub it in.” Another joke that fell flat. “So dig in,” he said, gesturing for her to start.

She bit into a morsel of duck, feeling his eyes on her. “Mmm,” she said. “Exquisite. Try it.”

He began to eat, too. She paused to watch, enjoying how his fingers moved on his utensils, the muscular workings of his jaw and throat as he chewed and swallowed, his tongue, which had felt so perfect in her mouth. That kiss had made her feel a way she didn’t remember feeling in a long time, maybe ever.

But it wasn’t love. It was lust and longing and surprise and denial and…God, she wanted him so bad. Heat flooded her face and her body, reached down her arms and legs, flew up through the roots of every hair so that the strands that brushed her cheek felt like flames licking her skin.

“Sugar? You okay?”

“Uh, fine,” she said, embarrassed. “Just savoring…everything.” She held her wineglass with both hands to keep from grabbing Gage by the collar of his oxford shirt and savoring him. For hours.

The sex couldn’t possibly be that good. Or maybe only at first. Lots of couples came to Spice It Up because their sex life had gone flat as day-old soda.

And even if the sex stayed hot, what about the day-to-day dullness? Gage would read the paper every morning over breakfast and want his eggs a certain way—he’d probably fix them, at least, since he was a great cook. They would set off for the resort together, listening to public radio news in the car, making observations about the traffic, the weather, the work ahead.

After work, repeat conversation. Back at home, ritual chitchat, The NewsHour on PBS, the Daily Show on Comedy Central, early to bed, a quickie and the next day the same routine. On the weekends, movies and concerts, the monotony broken by the occasional vacation. Gage wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise. What could be duller than being trapped on a boat with nothing to do but eat and lounge and play bingo?

She would try to make him happy, to be happy herself, but she’d be miserable. She’d end up buying herself a café racer just for the rush of taking the curves fast.

“Was it good?” Gage asked.

“Uh, what?” For a second, she thought he meant her fantasy, but he meant the food. “Scrumptious. The duck. The polenta. The salad.” In the time it took to nibble a few bites of the meal, she’d had them on the brink of divorce. Good grief. “I’m just so full. Why don’t you open your gift?” She was too upset to eat.

He wiped his mouth, tossed his napkin on the table, then turned to the bed to grab her gift to him. He cut the ribbon with his pocketknife—Gage was ever prepared—tore open the paper and smiled at the box he saw. “You got me a GPS unit. Great.”

“The guy at the store said it’s the best nonprofessional model. And you can download more maps if you want.”

“I’ve wanted one for a while.” His eyes connected with hers, full of affection and appreciation. “Thank you.”

“I saw you checking them out.” It seemed that she’d been watching him pretty closely, too.

“Your turn,” he said and handed her the remaining packages. “Open the little one first.”

“You shouldn’t have gotten me two gifts.”

He only shrugged.

In the small box was a Palm Pilot. “How did you know? Mine is—”

“Failing. Yeah. I noticed.”

Of course. “Thank you.”

“Now the other.” His eyes lit with anticipation.

She tore open the paper. In the candlelight, the red leather suit she’d almost bought gleamed up at her. It had been very expensive. “This is too much, Gage.”

“It seemed right at the time.”

When he’d planned to declare his love. Her heart ached at the thought. She held the jacket under her chin, breathing in the leather smell. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Is the size is right?”

She checked the label. “Perfect.”

“Maybe you should try it. That way you can exchange it before we leave if you need to.” He swallowed. He wanted to see her in it.

She wanted him to. “Okay. I’ll try it on.”

The suit fit like a second skin, she saw in the bathroom mirror, with a front zipper for the jacket and a side one for the skirt, and she even looked slimmer in it. She stepped, barefoot, into the heels she’d kicked off earlier and walked out to him.

Gage’s jaw dropped at the sight of her. “Men will follow you like dogs. Howling.”

“Hardly.” She blushed, walking closer, stopping when she was a breath away.

“Are you kidding? They’ll rip each other apart to get to you first. But then, I knew that when I bought it.”

“It feels good on.” She ran her hands down the sides of the skirt. Gage’s eyes followed like a breath on her skin.

“Let me see.” He fingered the open collar, brushing her collarbone with his knuckle. “Glove leather. Very soft.” She could tell he was contemplating ripping the suit right off her.

She swayed in the magnetic pull of his desire. Two zipper yanks and she’d be nude except for panties. She’d skipped a bra, which she did whenever her clothes were opaque enough.

“It’s gorgeous, Gage, but you spent too much on me.”

“Worth every penny to see you in it.”

Or out of it?

She forced herself to step back, breaking the force field. “So, did you bring birthday candles?”

He patted his pocket. “What do you think?”

“You’re always prepared.” Did he have condoms? She had some in her purse….