Fire Down Below (8 page)

***

I wish I could say the hike back
was easy, but if anything it was even more arduous. It was sundown by the time
we arrived back at the house and I nearly kissed the floor when we got inside,
throwing my backpack down, and flinging myself on the couch.

“I’m never leaving this spot
again. Ever!”

Ben chuckled. He came over and sat
beside me, kicking his shoes off. “Here, give me your leg.”

I flung my right leg over his knee
and he pulled it up to his lap, untied the laces on my shoe, and took it off. I
gave him my other leg and he took that shoe off too, while I lay there like a
lump.

“How do you feel?” he asked,
resting his hands on my ankles. “I’ll bet you’re sore.”

I nodded, too tired to speak.

“Where are you sore?”

“Everywhere.”

He grinned. “I know something that
will help.”

He got up and left the room and a
few moments later I heard water running in another part of the house. I decided
to investigate and found him in the master bathroom, filling the large sunken
tub. He grabbed a bottle of bubble bath and poured some of it under the faucet.

“Go ahead and take your clothes
off,” he said over his shoulder as he swished his hand around in the water, re-adjusting
the temperature.

I remained in the doorway, leaning
against the frame, trying to muster the energy to move. When he saw me still
standing, he came over.

“Poor baby. Come on, I’ll help
you. Lift your arms.”

I did as he asked, lifting my arms
so he could pull my shirt off. I stood there then while he gently undressed me.
Afterwards he guided me over to the tub, which was nearly full, and I climbed
inside.

Sitting down in that hot soapy
water was pure heaven. I’ve always loved baths, but at that moment—aching from
head to toe, covered in dirt and sweat, exhausted beyond belief—taking a bath felt
like a religious experience. I was so deep in bliss that I barely even noticed
when Ben climbed in opposite me and turned off the tap.

I felt him reach down for my left foot.
He massaged it with his warm hands and it felt so good that I could barely
speak, so I didn’t even try. I put my head back against the edge of the tub,
closed my eyes and moaned.

A lot.

I could hear Ben chuckling as he
continued massaging me, moving up to my calf, and then eventually my thigh.
When he started on my right foot, I opened my eyes and watched him. I was still
in bliss and still moaning.

“I take it this feels pretty
good?”

“You have no idea. You’re a
genius.”

He just smiled and patiently moved
up my leg, sliding his soapy hands all over my aching muscles.

“Aren’t you tired too?” I asked,
suddenly feeling guilty at the way he was pampering me.

He shrugged. “Not really.”

“Are you serious? God, you must be
in incredible shape. I feel like I’ve just spent a week at boot camp.”

“You have to remember I do this
all the time, so I’m used to it. You’re going to be sore tomorrow, but the more
you get out there, the easier it gets. You’ll see.”

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t
know how to tell him that I didn’t want to get out there again. It’s hard
because I knew how much he wanted me to do all these outdoorsy things with him.
I felt flattered that he wanted to spend so much time with me and I wanted to
spend time with him too. I’ve never been in love like this before. Never. Ben
was wonderful and even my parents liked him. He was always willing to lend a
hand or help when needed. It was frustrating though because we didn’t have the
same interests. I never felt right trying to force mine on him. You didn’t see
me trying to get him to go clubbing, or to gallery showings, or watch art house
movies, or even go shopping at all the funky vintage boutiques I liked. I
really am a downtown girl. I love the city. I feel alive when I’m in the city
and I didn’t want to give that up. Of course, I didn’t want to give up Ben
either.

When he finished massaging my leg,
I scooted over to him and sat on his lap, winding my arms around his neck and
resting my head on his shoulder. He held me in his arms so sweetly that I
wished I could stay there forever. Sometimes Ben was so kind to me that it
nearly broke my heart. He’d take my breath away and leave me wondering how I
ever lived all these years without him.

“Thanks for all this,” I said. “It’s
nice of you to take care of me.”

“I love taking care of you.”

I didn’t say anything, but met his
eyes. We stayed like that for a long while, gazing at each other. Ben opened
his mouth to say something, but then closed it.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head.

“You look like you want to say something.”

“Just that I love you.”

I smiled. “I love you too.”

The next morning
we drove
into town. The nearest small town was about seven miles away. It had a cute little
diner where we’d eaten breakfast in a few times. It was only eight in the
morning, but the place was already busy when we arrived, packed with various
lumberjack types. Luckily a table by the front window was open, so we were
seated immediately.

After the waitress poured us
coffee and left with our orders, Ben told me he was thinking about going back
to school.

“What about writing?”

“I can’t make a living writing and
I don’t think I’ll ever finish the novel I’m working on. I’m just not cut out
for this.”

“But you’ve sold two pieces. That’s
something, isn’t it? Maybe it takes more time.” Ben had sold the article that
I’d read on hiking in Oregon to a travel magazine, and then he’d written a
short story that he’d sold to a literary journal. “I think you’re a good
writer. You shouldn’t give it up.”

“I’m not giving it up. I can
always write. I’m just realizing it isn’t enough for me.”

“What are you thinking about
doing?”

Ben took a drink from his coffee
and put the cup back down. “Law school, I’ve already signed up to take the LSAT
in a few weeks. That’s why I majored in political science to begin with. I had law
in mind. I just needed a break after graduation, but I feel ready now.”

“Where do you want to go to
school?”

“I haven’t decided yet for sure,
but probably the University of Washington. I know what you’re thinking Kate,
but this won’t affect us. We’ll still be together, though obviously I’ll be
studying a lot.”

I picked up the creamer and poured
some more into my coffee, trying to mellow the bitter taste. It occurred to me
that this would be the perfect time for me to tell Ben about my own plans for
going back to school, but for some reason I didn’t say anything. Probably
because I felt uneasy with how he was factoring me into his plans. The selfish
truth was that I wanted to go to whatever school I chose and I was hoping he
would work around it.

“Have you told your parents?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I told them last
week.”

“And what did they say?” As if I
didn’t already know. I’m sure they were both in ecstasy, especially his mom.
Neither of them were comfortable with Ben stepping outside the status quo for
even one second.

“They were extremely supportive,”
he chuckled. “I think they’re relieved I’m finally doing something else besides
writing.”

I nodded, but didn’t say anything.
In general I tried to avoid negative comments about his parents, since
obviously Ben loved them and I didn’t think it would be appropriate for me to
say anything anyway. Our parents were so different. I could only imagine what
he thought of my hippie, Birkenstock-wearing mom, and my laid back, pot-smoking
dad. Yes, my dad still smokes pot on occasion, something I once made the
mistake of telling Ben. He was so shocked. You’d think I’d told him he was
shooting up heroin.

“But that’s illegal,” he
sputtered. “Your dad could go to jail!”

“Only if you call the police.” I rolled
my eyes. “Really, it’s not that big of a deal. He just smokes it sometimes to
relax.”

Ben nodded, but he still looked
horrorstruck and I was careful never to mention it again. I’m sure in the same way
that I could never imagine what it would be like to have Ben’s parents, he
could never imagine having mine and, truthfully, I felt like I had the better
deal. My parents were always supportive of me. And they were supportive of Ben
too. They’d gotten to know him well this past year. Despite how different they
were from his own family, he seemed comfortable around them. They both
understood his wanting to try writing, even if it turned out to be a mistake. My
mom has always said she’s learned more in life from her mistakes than anything
else and that I shouldn’t be afraid of failure. It’s the things that you
wished
you had tried that will always haunt you.

“What about going to graduate
school for writing?” I asked, nodding politely at the waitress when she brought
over some more coffee, watching as she filled my cup. “You could always get
your Masters in Fine Arts.”

“Yeah, I thought of that, but in
the end I realized I want a career that pays well. Someday I may have a family
to support.” He paused and met my eyes briefly before looking away. “Plus I
think law could be interesting, though I haven’t decided what kind of law I
want to practice yet.”

I nodded, though I still felt a
growing sense of unease. “If it’s what you really want then you should do it.”

“You think so?”

“Definitely.”

Our food arrived. Ben had an egg
white omelet with veggies while I had a stack of pancakes. I thought about what
Ben had just told me and felt worried that our goals might conflict with each
other, but then decided I was probably making too much of it. Ben and I were
both still young and with enough time we’d figure things out. Plus we loved
each other and what could be more important than that?

***

Back at the house we decided to
play chess. When we first started playing chess Ben tried to be chivalrous and,
instead of playing his own game, kept trying to help me play mine. Of course I
kept beating him. Even after I explained the rule of en passant, something he’d
never heard of, he still didn’t get it. Finally I told him that I’ve been
playing chess with my father since I was six years old and that I didn’t
require any help from him. “Oh?” He seemed embarrassed. “That explains a lot.”
Ever since then he played his best game, which is just the way I liked it.

“Check,” he said, moving his
bishop in direct line of my king.

I stared at the board for a while
and then blocked it with my knight.

“Knight sacrifice?” He glanced at
me as I shrugged. “I think not.” He studied the situation and I saw that he
noticed my rook in the corner ready to swoop in and take his bishop. “Tricky
girl,” he grinned, “but not tricky enough.” He moved his own rook into a
defensive position. “We should pack tonight,” he said, still staring at the
board. “I have to be at work by noon tomorrow.”

Ben, no longer a bartender, had
taken a job at the downtown REI store, which was obviously a better fit for
him. He made a lot less money, though it hadn’t affected his lifestyle much. I
suspected his parents were supplementing him and I imagined he wasn’t too keen
on it. He wasn’t the kind of guy who’d want his parents paying his rent forever.

“We could leave tonight if you prefer,”
I said.

“Nah, as long as we’re packed I
think it’ll be okay to leave in the morning.”

I watched as he moved his queen
into position, setting up his third piece to corner my king. I was a step ahead
of him though and when I moved my own queen to take his bishop I heard him
groan as he finally saw my subtle attack.

“Check mate.” I smiled sweetly.

“Wow, didn’t even see it coming.
Good one, Kate.”

“My dad taught me that move. I’d
almost forgotten about it. He called it the Queen’s Noose.”

He nodded slowly. “Very nice.” He
met my eyes and held them. I was going to turn away, but then I saw the
way
he
was holding my eyes.

“Hmm, I know that look.”

Ben tilted his head back and gave
me a sexy grin. “I’m sure you do.”

“I take it you have something in
mind?”

 “You could say that.” He
continued to grin at me, his cheeks slightly flushed.

“Would you like to tell me?”

“You, ah, brought that lingerie
along right? Would you put a skirt on too and meet me in the kitchen?”

I raised an eyebrow, but didn’t
say anything. I went to change clothes, wondering what he had in mind. It was
fun indulging Ben his fantasies. So far they’d all been erotic for me too.

When I got to the bedroom I pulled
my bag out of the closet. Ben always put his clothes away in the dresser, but I
seldom bothered and just kept stuff in my bag. Luckily I brought the black
skirt I wore the night we went to that horrible dinner party. I’d also packed a
pair of black heels. I dressed quickly and then refreshed my make-up and
fluffed my hair. Ben had given me a new bottle of
Opium,
so I squirted
some on for good measure. Stepping back I gave myself the once over and decided
that whatever he had in mind I was ready.

Ben was standing in the kitchen gazing
out at the view from the back window when I found him. He had the same distracted
air that he’d had all weekend and I almost asked him what was wrong, but then
realized he’d just brush me off again. I figured it must be the whole law
school thing. Ben had a confident demeanor, but was a worrier and tended to
obsess about something even after the decision was made.

“Reporting for duty.”

He turned around and smiled when
he saw me.

“Shall I get out the whipped cream
and strawberries?” I asked. We’d had more than a few whipped cream and
strawberry parties already.

“No, I have something different in
mind. Come here first though.”

I went over to him and he pulled
me in close, wrapping his arms around me. We stayed like that for a while,
hugging each other. He felt so good in my arms. When we pulled apart he kissed
me softly and then told me he wanted me to cook something for dinner.

“You want me to
cook
dinner?”

He nodded.

“Is this part of your fantasy?”

He nodded again.

“Uh Ben, I hate to break this to
you, but I can’t cook. Haven’t you noticed that before?”

“There must be something you can
make. How do you feed yourself?”

I thought about it. “I could make
you a bowl of cereal…,” I offered tentatively. “Would that work?”

“That should work, but do it
slowly, so that it takes a while.”

I wondered how on earth I was
going to make a bowl of cereal slowly, but I figured I’d do my best.

“Shall I start now?”

“Yeah.”

Heading over to the pantry I opened
the door and pulled out a box of granola—Ben’s favorite, since I wasn’t sure if
he planned to eat it or not—and brought it back over to the counter. Next I
went to the fridge and swung the door open wide as I pretended to look for the
milk. 

When I glanced at Ben I saw that he
was sitting at the kitchen table quietly watching me. I honestly couldn’t
imagine how my making a bowl of cereal could be a turn-on, but then you never
can tell what goes on in a guy’s brain.

I noticed that Ben had gotten up
from his chair and was coming towards me.

Closing the refrigerator, I moved
over to where the bowls were kept and took one down. The milk and cereal were
right in front of me and so I picked up the box and started shaking it into the
bowl.

Ben stood directly behind me now.

As I poured it over the cereal he
moved closer and my stomach began to tense in anticipation.

I slowly stirred the cereal with a
spoon, wondering what he’d do, when I felt his hand on my right elbow.

My breath stopped as his fingers ran
lightly up the length of my arm. The sensation was understated, yet it pulled
me in completely. He brushed my hair to the side and then I felt the softness
of his lips on the back of my neck. His hands moved down over my stomach and
hips. When one hand slipped down and cupped me between my legs something
between a whimper and a moan escaped my throat.

“Keep stirring,” Ben said softly.

I gripped the spoon and continued
with the now soggy bowl of granola. Looking at the gloppy mess I realized there
was no way he was going to eat it and I should have chosen a box of something that
nobody likes. Not to mention that I didn’t know how long I could keep this up,
since his fingers were starting to do all sorts of interesting things down
there. I gasped with pleasure when he found the opening to the crotch-less
panties and slid two of them inside me.

“Does that feel nice?”

“Yes...,” I breathed.

“I have something else that will
feel even better.”

He pressed himself against my back
so I could feel his erection. I pushed back into him and all I could think
about was that I wanted him to take me from behind and I wanted him to do it
now. Ben had other ideas though. Instead he pulled the edges of my t-shirt up
over my head and I felt the immediate coolness of the air against my nipples
from the peek-a-boo bra I was wearing.

“Turn around,” he whispered. When I
did as he asked, he let out a long low breath, looking down at my body, running
his hands over my breasts. “You look so hot.” He bent over me and put his mouth
on one of my nipples, while pinching the other, and I nearly fainted from pleasure.

“I want you,” I said, pulling his
blond hair. I reached down for the zipper on his pants. “I don’t want to wait.”

Ben glanced at me and smiled. “Not
yet,” he murmured. And before I knew it he was kneeling, pushing my skirt over
my hips and burying his face between my legs.

Every rational thought departed
for other regions as I grabbed Ben’s head and squirmed against his mouth. I was
already close to coming and he must have sensed it because he kept swirling his
tongue over my clit very lightly, then harder, then lightly, then harder to the
point where I was ready to scream with frustration because I was so close and
he was prolonging it so much.

“Please, Ben.”

He moved his head from side to
side as if he were saying “no”, but then I felt his tongue hard against me and
this time he didn’t stop and I began to moan at the start of my climax. I kept
moaning and grabbing his head with my hands, squeezing him between my thighs through
wave after wave in what seemed like an eternity.

Ben stood up. His face was flushed
as he unzipped his pants, telling me to turn around and bend over the counter.
I did as he asked and felt his hands between my legs guiding his cock. When I
felt him push inside me, I gasped. He took it slow though, stopping every few
moments, taking deep breaths before moving again. We went on like this for a while
and I could tell he was trying not to come, which I was glad about, but at the
same time I wanted him to do it faster.

“Fuck me...hard,” I finally said in
desperation and as soon as the words were out of my mouth he started to groan,
grabbing my hips, unable to control himself any longer. At the same time I started
screaming, since I was finally getting what I wanted, and between his groaning
and my screaming we made quite a racket.

Afterwards we were both breathing
heavily as he semi-collapsed on top of me, his arm wrapped around my waist. I
could hear him laughing. “Damn Kate, you can’t tell me to fuck you and then
expect me to be able to keep going!”

“I know...I forgot!” I started
laughing too. I honestly had forgotten that if I talk dirty to Ben at all during
sex, he usually comes. “I couldn’t help it. It felt really good, but it was
getting tortuous going so slow.”

“Yeah,” Ben said. “I was just trying
to make it last.”