Wilson's Hard Lesson (97 page)

 The rest of that week was probably the most boring and
frustrating week of Anna’s life, because all she could think of and concentrate
on was Carl.

They kept in touch via e-mail, sending several a day back
and forth, and even instant messaging in the evening and sending voice
messages.

The first time she heard his voice was on Wednesday evening,
and it sent a shiver down her spine. It was quite deep, and his accent was pure
New York. The only time it fluctuated was when he laughed, and then he had the
most adorable high pitched giggle that came as a complete surprise, but one she
hoped to hear a lot more of.

By Friday evening, they were Skyping, and by the time it
came for Anna to pack her bags and leave for his house on Sunday morning, she
felt as if she knew him so well already that it would be like meeting a friend.
A friend she was starting to fall in love with.

They talked about their favorite movies and TV shows,
discovering they had a lot more in common than just the genres, but the actual
specifics too, such as them both preferring DC to Marvel. She couldn’t believe
she’d found such a handsome, funny and adorable nerd who thought she was
gorgeous too. She felt like the luckiest woman on the planet. And she was going
to be his wife. Hopefully.

They loved the same books, the same bands and artists, and
although Carl definitely knew a lot more about games than her, she loved to
listen to him talk about something he was obviously so passionate about. He
told her all about his business and how he’d first started it up with a friend
of his from college, how he’d trained for this on a business and gaming course,
and dreamt of it all his life. In return, he asked about her job, and Anna told
him about her time at the office and how boring it was most of the time, how it
wasn’t what she’d imagined herself doing and how she was dissatisfied with
life, and had always wanted a family and to settle down.

Then they talked about Jason. It was obvious Carl loved him
very much, just from the things he said, and the fond look he got in his eyes
whenever he mentioned him. He told Anna about all the progress the six month
old had made already and how he was developing so quickly.

She couldn’t wait to meet him. That was the only thing she
was actually nervous about as she drove down his quiet residential street that
Sunday morning, her suitcase all packed up for the next two weeks. She just
hoped the child would take to her, and that she’d be able to be a suitable replacement
for his lost mother. Anna hadn’t asked how she’d died. She presumed Carl would
tell her when he felt like it.

He was waiting for her outside the front door as she pulled
up. She’d texted him when she was leaving so he knew what time to expect her. Jason
was in his arms, his big wide baby eyes open and awake, looking around him
eagerly as he leant against his Dad’s shoulder.

Carl smiled and gave her a little wave.

She waved back then turned off the engine, parking up just
on the street at the bottom of his drive.

“You can put it in the garage if you like,” he told her as
she got out.

“Oh, maybe later,” she waved a hand dismissively, not really
wanting to move it again.

“It’ll be fine on the street. It’s a really low crime area.”

“That’ll make a difference from where I’ve been living
then,” she chuckled and went around to the trunk to get her suitcase out. “I
had a tyre robbed a couple of months back.”

Carl tutted and shook his head.

The two of them were chatting so easily already, she thought
to herself with a smile. This was great. She went over to him and he extended a
hand towards her, very formally considering they’d been talking every night
that week and ending all of their texts with plenty of kisses.

“It’s lovely to meet you,” he said warmly. “In person.”

“Yeah, you too,” she grinned, then allowed herself to let
out an excited squeal. She’d done one of those on Skype last night and he’d
giggled, not having minded it in the slightest. “I’m really happy to be here.”

He laughed, showing a set of sparkling, gleaming teeth as he
did so. “And this is Jason.” He turned the little baby around so Anna could get
a good look at him.

He was beautiful, and had his dad’s eyes and wavy black
hair.

“Hello Jason,” she smiled at the baby then looked up at
Carl. “Oh my gosh, he’s adorable.”

“Isn’t he? Want to hold him?”

“Please.”

Carl offered out his child towards her and Anna very
carefully took the precious cargo into her arms, cradling him against her chest
comfortably. She’d always been happy and relaxed around children, and wasn’t
nervous or awkward about holding him like some people might be.

They stood exactly where they were on the lawn and Carl
watched with a delighted expression as Anna gently swung little Jason to and
fro, causing him to giggle and cackle, giving her a big toothless grin.

“Oh wow, he likes you already,” Carl beamed, obviously very
happy that this was working out. And Anna was too, no longer worried about the
next two weeks as Carl picked up her suitcase and carried it inside for her to
‘give her the full tour.’

He showed her around every room in the house, with Anna
cradling Jason in her arms the whole time. At one point, she tried to put him
down his crib but he started crying, his little arms reaching up for her and
his big wide eyes staring at her.

“I think he’s missed a female presence in his life,” Carl
frowned slightly.

Anna nodded quietly in agreement, her eyes falling on a
family photograph framed and resting on the mantelpiece of the master bedroom –
the three of them together, Carl, Jason and his wife. They looked like the
perfect family. Happy, smiling.

Carl followed her gaze and then gave a quiet, sad sigh, his
fingers reaching up to trace over the edge of the photograph.

“Sarah,” he murmured. “My wife.”

“How long ago did she…”

“A month after Jason was born.”

“Must have been terrible.”

He nodded. “I miss her a lot.”

Anna felt a small pang in her chest. It wasn’t jealousy so
much as sadness. She felt sorry for Carl and wanted to comfort him, but she
also hoped he was ready to have another woman in his and Jason’s lives.

The house itself was wonderful. It was big, much bigger than
her own tiny apartment, of course. Carl was obviously a decent earner with his
gaming business. She didn’t ask what his wife had done for a living. She
thought, perhaps, the fewer questions about her, the better. Carl had seemed to
get sad when she’d mentioned her, and she wanted this to be a happy two weeks
for them both, if possible.

Upstairs, there were three bedrooms – the master bedroom,
Jason’s nursery, and a spare room, which was also an office with a desk in the
corner. The master had an en suite, and there was another separate bathroom for
guests, and for Jason when he got older.

Downstairs, there was a spacious living room; a separate
kitchen with it’s own dining area and a breakfast bar dividing the dining area
from the actual kitchen; another bathroom; and a small study, which had another
desk, a comfy lounge chair, and a couple of bookcases stacked high with books,
the ones Carl had been telling her about. They spent some time in there, with
Anna looking through the collection and Carl picking out some of his favorite
ones.

Then he showed her back through to the living room and to
his record collection, stacked in the corner on specially made shelves, with a
CD player and an LP turntable. They spent another half an hour or so there
looking through the music, but by that time, Jason was starting to get sleepy.
He’d been rolling around on the floor while they got all the records out and
looked at them, but then Carl said it was time for his nap.

He swept the child into his arms and Anna followed him
through to the kitchen so she could learn how to prepare his bottle. Carl
started feeding, then Anna took over, the child nuzzling into her a little as
he suckled on the bottle, his eyes starting to grow heavy as he fell asleep.
They laid him down in his crib, then went back to their fun exploration of the
record collection, soon putting one on they could listen to before Carl dragged
her over to look at the DVD and games collection, stacked up next to the TV.

The day seemed to just whizz by them. When Jason woke up,
they brought him back downstairs again and he played with some of his toys on a
baby mat on the floor while the two of them watched TV together and chatted.

Carl made toasted sandwiches for lunch, and pasta for
dinner. Anna sat at the breakfast bar and watched him cook, and they talked
some more, although silences between them weren’t an issue. They were already
comfortable and easy

They didn’t kiss that first day. They spent the evening
watching movies and Anna slept in the spare room, with Carl giving her a
discreet kiss on the cheek as he said goodnight.

The second day, Carl behaved like the perfect gentleman
again. He was up and making breakfast for her before she’d even roused. She got
up at half nine and wandered downstairs to the smell of bacon.

“You’re up early,” she yawned, still in her onesie.

Jason was in his baby chair, happily babbling and playing
with one of his toys.

“You get used to that with a kid,” Carl chuckled, leaning in
to give her a kiss on the cheek. “He woke me up at 6.”

“Oh gosh, you should have got me up too.”

“No, there’s no need for that.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” she insisted. “If I’m going to be his
main caregiver while you’re at work then I need to get used to it. I can’t
believe I didn’t hear him.”

“I’m used to his cries. I sleep really lightly now because
of it, always listening out for him, y’know?”

She smiled.

He flipped the bacon over and then tossed it out onto a
couple of plates.

“But if you really want to be up when he is, I can maybe put
the baby monitor in your room until you get used to his cries.”

“That’s a good idea. Thank you. Although uh…I hope I won’t
be in the spare room for the whole two weeks,” she added tentatively, looking
at him with a shy smile.

“I hope not either.” He gave her a little flirtatious wink,
then picked up the plates and carried the breakfast over to the dining table.

It was a Monday, and Anna really wasn’t used to having
Mondays off, although it felt pretty good. After she’d eaten breakfast, she
grabbed a shower and got dressed, then offered to take Jason for a walk in his
stroller for him to get some fresh air and allow them time to bond with each
other. She knew it was just as important to bond with the child as it was with
Carl.

Carl himself seemed delighted by the idea, and he set
everything up for them, then gave her another kiss on the cheek as he waved
them goodbye at the door.

She walked Jason around a couple of blocks looking around
the area and learning where everything was, occasionally leaning over and
talking to him in a soft baby voice, doing lots of cooing and smiling and
trying to make him laugh. They were out for about half an hour, during which
Jason dozed off.

When they got back, Carl was doing some work on his
computer, so Anna grabbed a book from the library and read while keeping an eye
on Jason, then changing his nappy once he woke up. It was the first time she’d
actually done it all by herself, but after watching Carl do it a few times the
day before, she’d got the hang of it and felt confident enough.

When Carl came back out of his office an hour or so later,
he was obviously impressed and pleased. They spent the rest of the day together
as a family, bonding. They put some children’s cartoons on, and although Jason
was too young to really pay attention to them properly, he sat in his baby
chair and giggled a few times, shaking his rattle and putting the foot of his
favorite stuffie into his mouth.

It was later on that night that they ended up sharing their
first ever kiss.

They’d been talking, and Carl had made her laugh. Then the
two of them had ended up in fits of giggles, rolling around a little on the
couch.

When their laughter died down they were looking into each
other's sparkling eyes, both still smiling, both still happy and full of life.
The record they’d been listening to came to an end, the needle scratching
slightly on the surface of the vinyl before automatically lifting up and
returning to its rest with a small pop of the speakers, the room becoming
silent apart from the beating of their hearts and their breathing, and the
distant ticking of the old clock in the hallway, little Jason having been put
to sleep a good half an hour earlier.

It was one of those moments; one of those moments when they
both knew they'd been staring into each other's eyes for a little while longer
than would be considered normal between friends. Except they weren't just
friends, were they? They were future husband and wife, and in order to see
whether this trial period was going to work, Anna knew she would need to take things
one step further between them. She'd been expecting it from her moment of
arrival, had come fully prepared, even bringing condoms. But perhaps a kiss
would be a good start. 

She'd looked at his lips more than once since they'd met and
now she found herself gazing at them again, breaking off from the eye contact
and feeling her heart flutter slightly as she noticed - not for the first time
- how luscious, pink and perfect they looked, with that artistic and beautiful
Cupid's bow shape to them. 

Carl caught her looking, and smiled a little.

Then she smiled too, and blushed. 

He gave a soft laugh and took hold of her hand in his,
running his thumb gently over the back of her knuckles. "I... kind of want
to kiss you," he admitted softly.

"I kind of want to kiss you too," she whispered
back. 

"Good. That's uh...that's a good start."

The intense moment had been broken, but in many ways, that
made Anna feel more relaxed about the whole thing. It wasn’t so serious
anymore. They were smiling, joking around. And that was when she did it.

She leaned in and pressed her lips to his in a soft, gentle
kiss, their mouths barely brushing up against one another’s. She felt a jolt
shoot through her body and a tingling sensation where their lips had met when
she pulled away.

She looked up into his eyes, both of them serious now, no
longer smiling, looking at each other with an intent need and desire.

Then Carl quickly leant in again, obviously wanting more,
and Anna wasn’t going to say no. This time though, he parted his lips and the
kiss was more open, passionate. It lasted for longer too, both of them giving
in to their desires.

Anna gave a soft moan of satisfaction and closed her eyes,
tilting her head in the opposite direction to Carl’s, parting her lips too and
returning his slightly wet, tender kiss. His arms slid around her waist and
held her gently, giving her a little squeeze to reassure her that everything
was going fine. And it was. Her heart felt as though it was flooded with
happiness and beating in time to his. She had never been kissed so lovingly and
so perfectly. She wished it could have gone on forever.

It did last for a good few minutes, with her wrapping her
arms around him in return, her hands slowly exploring up and down his back,
wanting to touch every part of him and finding the fact that they both had
clothes on slightly annoying. She suddenly wanted to see what he was like underneath
them, to touch his skin, to kiss it, to learn every inch of him and take this
whole thing much further. But one step at a time, she inwardly warned herself,
reigning herself in. It had been such a long time since her last sexual
experience it would have been very easy for her to get carried away in the heat
of the moment. She didn’t want Carl to think she was some kind of slut and only
interested in one thing.

After a few minutes of slow, opened mouthed kissing, the
sounds of their smacking lips and their gasping breaths filling up the quiet
room, Carl made the next move and carefully slid out his tongue, running it
along Anna’s bottom lip and dancing over her teeth as if asking for permission.

Anna gave a soft whine and opened her mouth even wider if
possible, tilting her head again and applying renewed pressure to the kiss,
tugging at his shirt and inviting him in. He duly accepted, dancing his tongue
over hers. The two of them explored each other’s mouths in as much detail as
possible, taking their time, learning every centimetre.

Anna didn’t know how long they were kissing for, but it felt
like a long time. It felt as though the rest of the world had been shut out
completely and, in that moment, only the two of them existed, the two of them
and their rapidly developing love for one another. Anna wasn’t sure whether she
believed in love at first sight, but she was certainly falling for Carl pretty
quickly. The fact that he was incredibly good looking and just her type
obviously helped a lot too, but she could have quite literally carried on
kissing him all night.

In the end, it was Carl who pulled away first, breathless
and panting, needing some kind of break from the continued onslaught of Anna’s
tongue, which was getting more confident and needy with every passing second.
She could feel herself wet and uncomfortable in her pants and wanted some more
of him.

When he pulled back, she gave a small whine of protest and
then fluttered open her eyes to look at him, discovering that she was actually
slightly dizzy and couldn’t really focus properly. Her heart was racing and
fluttering with what she could only describe as adrenalin. It gave her a rush
she’d never really experienced before.

“That…that was incredible,” she whispered, also breathless.

Carl gave a quiet chuckle and nodded in agreement.

“It was the best kiss I’ve ever had,” she added. That
wouldn’t have been hard though. She could count the amount of kisses she’d had
in her life on one hand, and all but one of them had been with immature college
kids who didn’t know what they were doing. The only other guy she’d kissed had
been the one night stand she’d had a good while back, but that hadn’t been
satisfying in the slightest, not like this one had. There was something
different about the way Carl kissed her, and she couldn’t get enough of it.

He smiled at her and reached to push some hair back out of
her eyes. It had all become a little ruffled and unruly during their five to
ten minutes of making out.

“It was definitely one of the best kisses I’ve ever had,” he
returned the compliment reassuringly, looking into her eyes. “Your lips are
so…soft and…warm…”

“So are yours,” she giggled.

“I don’t think it’s going to be difficult to fall for you,”
he murmured. “I was worried about doing this…but I just thought I’d take a leap
into the unknown and see what happened. I really had nothing left to lose.
You’re almost as good as Sarah.”