Insufferable Proximity (49 page)

“Away from here.”

“That sounds perfect.” she said and he leaned over and kissed her before buckling his seat belt and pulling off.

***

Their trip started on a good note, Julian blasted the radio and they both nodded their heads to the catchy beat. They stopped and grabbed a bite to eat despite the large picnic baskets and before she knew it, she found herself walking to his personal plane.

“I’ve never been on a private plane before.” she said feeling the excitement rush through her, she loved the air and had always wanted to skydive but never had the opportunity.

“You’ll love it.” he said taking her hand and leading her inside. He watched her excitement grow as she looked out the small window, he was happy to see her finally smile after such a horrific day. He wished he could do something to make things better, he did not like seeing her sad and could not wait to get his hands on the person who was making her feel this way. He was not used to feeling such intense compassion for anyone, but he had no choice but to let his feelings flow, since he was unable to hold his emotion back any longer.

After a long ride through the sky, they finally landed and Julian held her hand as he helped her off the jet. Heavens eyes grew wide at the sights around her, the deep-blue sky was illuminated by the silvery moon that looked as if it bounced on top the mirrored surface of the endless dark sea. Even in the dim light, she could see the vibrant colors of the overgrown tropical plants and trees that shielded the small landing from the road beyond.

“Where are we?” she asked him as she stood entranced by the land’s dazzling display of earthly beauty.

“Hawaii, this is my grandfather’s little hideaway, he left it to me in his will.” he took her hand and led her over to a small black go-cart as the pilot began piling their luggage in the back.

“This place is unbelievable.” she took a deep breath, pulling in the sweet floral air.

“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” he grinned as he drove down the designated trail that led straight to the house.

“It is beautiful.” she said looking up at the off-white, two-story home, there were wrap-around porches on both floors and thick white columns in the front. The warm amber lights from the porch were beckoning them and they drove down the sienna-hued, stone walkway that led to the enormous glass, front doors.

“Of all the grand scale homes my grandfather owned, he always used to tell me that this one was his favorite. He said he liked it best because it was cozy and private, the closest neighbors are a couple of miles down the beach.” he led her inside and she felt the comfort that his grandfather had been talking about. The whole house, from the outside to the inside, had a very welcoming and cozy atmosphere.

“This place is perfect and relaxing.” she looked around at the earth-toned décor. The ivory-colored velvet furniture was topped with cinnamon toned faux-fur and chocolate-colored, leather throw pillows. The highly-polished, teak wood floors were graced with a large fluffy ivory rug in the middle. There was a grand fireplace off to the side, done in shades of sand and coral.

“Good, because I want you to relax while we are here.” he instructed her, grabbing a bottle of wine from one of the picnic baskets. He poured them both a glass and then handed one to her, “Come with me.” he took her hand and led her to the back porch.

“Wow,” she gasped in awe looking out at the magnificent view, the lush tropical setting looked like something straight out of a magazine, “I always thought the pictures they took of these type of vacation spots were embellished so tourists would come spend money. I had no idea they were really this beautiful.” she sighed again as he led her over to the thick, round, mahogany table, pulling out one of the matching chairs for her to sit in.

“Still not as beautiful as you.” he said with a grin.

“That was corny.” she tried to look bored but could not stop the smile from spreading across her face.

“Alright, how about- the night cannot compare to your beauty.”

“Even cornier,” she chuckled taking a sip of her wine, “especially coming from you.”

“Why do I make it cornier?”

“Romantic phrases coming from you are the equivalent of braiding your leg hair and attaching a bow, it’s just weird.”

“Really? Then what would sound more natural coming from me?”

“Strip down and get up on the table so we can fuck.” she said and they both started laughing.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“Don’t even think about it, I’ve had enough of the whole public nudity thing.” she shook her head, “Just when I was getting over the shock of someone actually watching us and taking pictures, this happens and now everybody knows.”

“My dad held a meeting and told everyone the photo was a fake.”

“Even if he had proof there will still be substantial doubt.” she took a sip of her drink, “We work with a bunch of lawyers, they are going to question it.”

“So what if they do?”

“How can you even say that Julian? We work with these people and they think that we are having sex!”

“So! We are having sex and I don’t care if they all know It.” he shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s because they’ll just continue to think that you’re this big stud and they will start looking at me like the office whore.” she frowned looking into her glass, “Or worse they’ll compare me to Lila Strain.”

“No one would ever think that you were a whore, even after having sex with me, and you’re nothing like Lila.”

“Why because she’s so amazing in bed?” Heaven snapped at him aware that she sounded a little jealous.

“No because Lila really is a whore, who just happens to be plotting her own husband’s death.” he said trying to distract her attention.

“What? Are you serious?”

“Yes.” he said pulling her chair closer to his, “Now, why don’t you strip down and get on the table so we can fuck.”

“Why don’t you strip down and get on the table.”

“I’m not getting on the table.” he grinned before standing up and stripping off his shirt. Heaven took a sip of her wine, using the glass to hide her mouth as she watched him undress, since she was to tipsy to hide her emotions and could not wipe the satisfied smirk off her face. She watched in awe as he revealed his large muscular chest and mile-wide shoulders, tossing his shirt to the side. She felt an automatic humming in the very center of her sex as he slid his pants and boxers down at the same time. He stood before her fully naked for a moment before sitting back down. “Your turn.”

“Fine.” she took another sip of her drink then stood up and took a step back before unbuttoning her shirt. Julian in return moved his chair closer to her and Heaven took another step backwards before tossing her shirt on his head. He quickly moved it out of the way, afraid he would miss something, then scooted his chair closer to her as she took another step back before sliding out of her skirt. She then reached behind and unsnapped her bra, watching his lust heighten as she slowly slid it off. She stood there fully naked for a moment before he grabbed her and pulled her down to his lap. He held her tightly as he scooted his chair back to the table, then in one swift move, he lifted her up and sat her down on top of it.

She sat with her back straight as he kissed her knee, spreading her legs a little, as he carried those kisses up her thigh. She felt her strength leaving her as his mouth neared her bare sex, his warm breath was stimulating her enough to make her lean back on her hands. She felt the muscles in her thighs twitch as his lips came closer. She arched her back and tensed her body up as she waited for it, her belly fluttering in anticipation. Julian was relishing her reaction and smiled when she attempted to slide her sex closer to his face. After a long, agonizing moment he finally slid the tip of his tongue down the center of her sensitive flesh.

***

Heaven opened her eyes and stretched lazily on the bed before sitting up. There had been no piercing-ring from her alarm clock attempting to shatter her eardrums. Instead she had woken up to the lovely sound of singing birds and the rich floral scent in the air filled her nostrils as it claimed her senses. She woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the new day, making it a mission to not dwell on past events she could not change. It seemed foolish to be worrying unnecessarily while she was surrounded by earth’s tranquil beauty, this was neither the time nor place to be wasted on sadness.

She watched Julian sleeping, still wondering what she was feeling but still not ready to delve into it. She knew she did not hate him any longer, but that was as far as her intellect regarding her own feelings went. Her confusion was simple, she did not want to leave him, but she did not want to stay with him either. She did not think of him as a rival but she could not think of him as a friend and she was unable to find a middle ground for anything she felt. The thought of being far away from him sounded so appealing, but at the same time brought a wave of devastation that she could not understand. Maybe she just wanted to hate him, maybe he was right, maybe she did feel something but refused to accept it. She did not know and it would give her a headache to try to analyze it any longer, so she decided to get dressed then go downstairs to the kitchen and cook to get her mind off things.

She left Julian asleep, but she could still hear his loud snoring as she descended the stairs. She walked into the kitchen and smiled at the bright cheery room, the artful way they had mixed the pale khaki and rich chocolate colors with a dusty pale blue. She walked over to cupboard running her hand over the marble countertop, it was a deep mahogany color, swirled with a light dust of tan and sporadic drops of the matching blue. She liked the airy kitchen and knew she would especially enjoy cooking with all of the crazy kitchen gadgets that were stored in the cupboard.

Heaven looked through the refrigerator, the freezer, the pantry and all of the cupboards seeing the pale blue dishes, matching glasses and a whole cupboard full of every pot and pan ever invented, but no trace of food. She was just reaching up to the top shelf of the pantry when she heard Julian walk into the room.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” he asked right before he yawned.

“I figured you’d want to sleep in.” she shrugged, “Are there any stores nearby?” she asked more concerned with getting some food in the house.

“There’s a pretty big market a couple miles down the road. Why?”

“There is no food in this house and I really feel like cooking today, so we need to go.

“That sounds good, I still get flashes of joy over that breakfast you made that morning at your house.” he moaned with delight, just thinking about that meal.

“We’ll get a bunch of breakfast stuff, too.” she said.

“Sounds good, let me just throw on some clothes.” he said before leaving the kitchen then returning moments later fully dressed. Heaven still couldn’t figure out how he was able to get dressed so quickly. “Ready.” he said and led her out to the garage.

“Nice car.” she said sliding her finger over the cherry red convertible.

“It was my grandfathers, he had a thing for the color red too.”

“That man had impeccable taste.” she winked at him as she got in.

He drove his grandfather’s convertible down the long dirt road, suddenly overcome with thoughts of his childhood that he had purposely forgotten about. He remembered all the times he and his grandfather had made the same journey down the same road to shop at the same market on the same street that teetered above the water. When they got there, Julian smiled to himself realizing it looked almost exactly as it did the last time he had come.

“Wow, this place is amazing.” she smiled from ear to ear, looking at the large food market that covered the entire center of the town and the tiny little shops on the street looking over the endless body of water. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“How about you start with the meat table over there.” he pointed to a butcher stand with four large tables of freshly cut meat, “I want another steak like that last one you made, that was delicious.”

“Clever idea, steak sounds good.” she agreed walking towards the stand.

“I swear your steak could rival any five star chef‘s”

“Aw, thank you Julian.” she stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek, “I’m glad you liked it.”

She bought enough meat to feed a small army and enough fruit and vegetables to feed the entire state. Julian was excited, just imagining what she would create in the kitchen and was ready to get back home when he saw the little shop’s display window out of the corner of his eye. It was a mannequin in the tiniest gold bikini he had ever seen, it was a scandalous design that would expose more than it would hide. Julian was immediately overwhelmed with the image of Heaven’s lush curves under the thin straps of material, the top so tiny he wondered if it would even be able to hold her large breasts.

“What is it?” she asked as he stopped to stare at the window.

“I want to see you in that bathing suit.” he said and she raised her brows looking at the microscopic thong bikini.

“that’s not a bathing suit, it looks more like a dissected eye patch, besides I told you I don‘t like bikini‘s.”

“So you prefer to swim naked?”

“No I prefer to wear a full piece suit.”