Edge of Tomorrow (4 page)

Think fast, Hatcher! You can’t afford to
blow your own cover!

“I know some of the guys you dated. You know,
from the piano bar. A couple of them told me they thought you were
pumping them. And you came on with the sexiness. I put two and two
together,” he lied. “If I may say so, you’re not a very good
spy.”

Jeez, that’s weak, Hatcher. She’ll never buy
that explanation!

“And they said they slept with me?” she
sniffed, missing the weakness of his statement.

“Not in so many words, but you know how guys
are. They will never admit that they struck out.”

“But you assumed I was?”

“Yes.”

“Well, then maybe my superiors will think so,
too!” she said with a sigh. “It is important that they do.
Otherwise, I am in even bigger trouble. Are you going to turn me
in, or have you already?”

“I haven’t yet,” he responded.

“And I know why you haven’t. You wanted to
take my pants off first, right?” she accused.

“You mean
get
into your pants
,” he corrected.

She thought for a moment, then said, “That
does not make much sense. Your American idioms are very strange
sometimes. I was trying not to use a more vulgar expression. What I
meant to say is that you wanted to screw me. Is that more
understandable?”

She laughed as she said that, starting to
feel better.

“Now, Kat,” he soothed, stroking her
hair.

She moved away from his chest and took his
left hand in both of hers and pulled it to her chest, resting it
between her breasts.

“I have an idea. Let me go wash my face and
fix my makeup. Order us another of these rum drinks while I am
gone. Then we will start over. No more talk today of what a poor
spy I am, or that you are trying to screw me. We will enjoy the
rest of the day as we were before I spoiled it!”

With that, she grabbed her handbag and headed
for the Ladies’ Room.

Hatcher took a quick trip to the Men’s Room
and splashed cold water on his face, trying to pull himself
together. Her revelations had shaken him deeply. He knew the right
thing to do was to take her home, forget her, and move on with his
life. Or he could give her name to the appropriate people in the
CIA and let her become their problem. Somehow, he could not bring
himself to do either. He had to see how this strange scenario would
play out. He trudged back to the couch in front of the huge
fireplace, ordering more drinks on the way.

When she returned, there was no trace of her
previous tears. She had a wide smile and looked radiant again. She
had unbuttoned her sweater and he saw she was wearing a white,
vee-necked top underneath it. She sat down next to him, picked up
her drink, and then faced him.

“To better relations between us,” she
smiled.

He retrieved his glass from the table and
clinked it against hers.

“To women like you, who put men like me in
their places,” he smiled back.

“Now let us talk of more pleasant things,”
she continued. “May I have a cigarette, please?”

• • •

For dinner, he took her to an Italian
restaurant. She insisted on spaghetti, over the more exotic dishes
available, and he delighted in watching her try to eat it. She
managed to get sauce all over her pretty face. They laughed a lot
and drank red wine that came from a bottle wrapped in straw. He did
not try the martini ploy as he had planned earlier. After dessert
and coffee, he hailed the waiter and asked for the bill.

“You know, Bob, I have never had such a
nice day. I have comfortable feelings toward you. I am willing to
make a deal with you. I will break my rule about no kissing on the
first date, if you will promise me you will not pursue
your
goal tonight. I would very much
enjoy snuggling with you and—how do you Americans say—petting?” she
said as the waiter left the table with Bob Kelly’s credit
card.

He had not heard that term in years. He knew
what it meant. A lot of kissing and no screwing! He had not spent a
lot of time immersed in that scenario. Not since high school. Could
he promise Kat that he would not try to go farther than just
kissing? Somehow, he thought he could. Besides, he was dying to
kiss this woman! He experienced a warm feeling just thinking about
snuggling with her in front of a roaring fire, and kissing those
sweet lips. Yes, he thought he would like that.

“Petting?” he said with an arched eyebrow.
“That would really be breaking your rules! In America, that’s
something teenagers do. Are you a teenager, Kat?”

“No, I am twenty-eight! But today I feel like
a teenager! How do you feel? Do you think you can behave like a
teenager, and not a leecher?” she teased with a broad smile.

“You mean
lecher
, I think. And you know, Kat, I think I
can. I promise, for tonight at least, that I will not pursue taking
your pants off,” he said. She giggled at that.

“You make fun of my English,” she answered
coyly, batting her eyelashes in an exaggerated manner.

“Does your apartment have a fireplace?
Snuggling and petting is best done in front of a roaring fire, I’m
told,” he stated.

“My poor apartment? Heavens no!” she
exclaimed.

“Well, mine does. Will you come to my place?
Or would that make you feel too uncomfortable?” he asked.

“If you have a fireplace that is much better.
We will go to your place,” she said with conviction.

• • •

When she entered his apartment she was
in awe. It was much, much larger than hers. It had a large front
room with a fireplace made of stone, was well furnished, and had a
comfortable look. It had a separate kitchen, a spacious bedroom,
and a bathroom with a shower and a
tub
. Hatcher, because of the nature of his
business, had few personal belongings. He had made this place look
as if he did have possessions, however. He had bought books, art
for the walls, a television set, a stereo tape player, and so on.
It had the look of a comfortable bachelor’s apartment. While she
toured the place room by room, he started a fire. Plenty of wood
was stacked in a niche beside the fireplace.

“How about a drink, Kat?” he yelled, not
knowing exactly where she had wandered off to.

“Yes, that would be nice,” she answered from
the bathroom, where she was admiring the tub. Her apartment had a
shower only, and she was lucky to have that. Some apartments had
communal showers. She had not soaked in a tub for a long time, and
she wished she could do so right now.

“I have some rum. Do you want another hot rum
drink, or something else?” he yelled again.

“Another rum sounds delicious,” she said,
coming back into the living room. She found him in the kitchen. She
put her arms around his neck, pulled him down and kissed him with
moist lips.

“I just love your apartment! It is so homey!”
she exclaimed.

He put some water on to heat and gathered
some rum and spices from a cabinet. She wandered back into the
living room, speaking as she admired the pictures on the walls.

“I just love your bathroom, especially the
tub. I really miss having one. My mother has one on the farm where
she lives. I love to soak in it.”

“Feel free to use it, Kat. I’ll bring your
drink to you and wash your back,” he teased, wishing she would
actually take him up on the suggestion.

“You would use any ploy to get a girl’s pants
off, wouldn’t you?” she laughed.

“OK, Kat! I promised, so I’ll keep my
promise. But you are welcome to use the tub anytime you wish,” he
stated sincerely.

He finished fixing the drinks and brought
them into the living room and put them on the table in front of the
couch that faced the fireplace. The fire was roaring now, snapping
and popping behind the fire screen. She had removed her sweater,
because it was now getting warm in the room. He followed her lead
and took his off also. He sat on the left end of the couch and she
sat next to him, taking off her boots and pulling her legs up on
the couch. They sipped their drinks and watched the fire in
silence. The tape he had started playing when he lit the fire
softly wafted Mozart strains around them. She leaned her head on
his right shoulder and hummed softly to the music. He put his arm
around her, and she continued to hum and watch the flames do a
crazy dance.

“This is such a nice end to the
most
vonderful
day of my
life. I hope you had some enjoyment, too,” she sighed
contentedly.

“I have to admit, Kat, that I really had a
great time with you today. You seem to bring out some of my basic
humanity, and stir feelings I haven’t felt for a long time,” he
replied wistfully, and honestly.

She put her drink down, then took his and
placed it next to hers. Then she stretched out on the couch, her
upper body in his lap, her head on his left arm, which rested on
the arm of the couch. He pulled her up and put his right arm around
her body, kissing her gently. She began tasting his lips with her
own and he followed suit. It was the most sensuous kiss he could
remember. They continued like that for what seemed like several
minutes. Finally, they broke the kiss.

“I liked that very much, Bob. Very much!” she
sighed. “I am glad I broke my rule!”

“So did I, Kat! You are a champion kisser!”
he replied in a nearly inaudible voice.

They sipped their drinks for a moment in
silence.

Then she said, “I think I try to do even
better.”

He pulled her close again and this time her
tongue began exploring his mouth. Her small breasts were against
his chest as he held her tightly to him. His tongue dueled with
hers, frantically. They broke for air and he stroked her hair with
his right hand and she leaned back into the cradle of his left
arm.

“I think petting includes this,” she
whispered. She took his right hand from her hair and placed it on
her left breast. His hand was on fire as he squeezed the firm mound
of her breast. He could feel her nipple strain against her bra. He
kissed her again, furiously. They broke the kiss again, and he ran
his hand over her breasts, first one, then the other. He ran his
hand under her shirt, the better to feel them.

“Undo my bra,” she whispered. “It unfastens
in the front.”

He found the hooks, but had trouble unhooking
the bra with one hand. She pulled her shirt up and helped him. Her
white bra fell away and he saw her breasts in all their glory, pink
erect nipples rising from smooth pink areolas. He ran his hand over
them, playing with her nipples. Her breasts were as white as the
snow falling outside. She looked like a porcelain doll, or more
like a Varga Girl created with an air brush. He could not believe
she was allowing him to view this gorgeous sight.

“May I kiss your gorgeous breasts, Kat?” he
said hoarsely.

“I don’t know. Is that part of petting?
I know petting allows ‘feeling up,’ as you Americans say, but I do
not know if breast
kissing
is
allowed,” she taunted him.

“Yes, in America, petting definitely includes
breast kissing,” he said, not knowing if that was true or not.

“Well, then I guess I must allow them to be
kissed. But be gentle. For some reason, my nipples are very
sensitive right now,” she giggled.

She rose up so they could shift her position
to one that would allow his mouth access to her breasts. She took
off her shirt and bra and threw them on the floor. As he bent to
suck her nipples, his right hand moved down her body, across her
flat stomach, and reached her belly button.

“Keep your attention on my breasts, please.
Your hand is going in the wrong direction. Remember your promise!”
she chided.

Christ! That was just a reflex action on my
part. I hope I didn’t get her upset! This is way too good to screw
up now.

“Sorry, Kat! I’ll try to stay more focused,”
he said, moving his hand back to her left breast, cupping it gently
as he sucked its nipple.

“Ah, that feels very nice, Bob. Isn’t petting
fun, like I said it would be?” she said, arching her back so her
breast was forced further into his mouth.

“I just love petting,” he mumbled through his
breast-filled mouth.

“I want to kiss you again. You may get back
to my breasts later. Come up here!” she demanded. He obeyed.

• • •

They “petted” for another half-hour or so,
then sat up to sip their drinks. He was still amazed at the sight
of her sitting there naked from the waist up. He went to the
kitchen and started heating some water for more hot drinks.

This is unbelievable! I am about to explode!
She must have felt my erection, but never said a word. How can she
have such self-control? By all rights, we should be fucking our
brains out by now! She is either trying to torture me, or trying to
teach me some kind of lesson about self-control. Either way, I’ll
keep my promise. She is too gorgeous and sexy to lose. And I am
really having a whale of a time!

He brought the warm drinks back and they
drank from those, she sitting there half-naked and showing no
embarrassment or uneasiness. She seemed so relaxed and at ease, he
finally calmed down and became more comfortable with the situation.
They each had a cigarette, and smoked quietly for a while.

“I have tomorrow off as well as today, so we
do not have to be in a hurry tonight. We can sleep late tomorrow,”
she informed him.

My God! She’s going to
spend the night? And I have to keep my hands north of her belly
button? She must also be in charge of the
Stasi
torture squad!

“That’s just great, Kat! You can spend the
night here then?” he managed to say.