Authors: Anne Leigh
His answer was him kissing my shoulders, his hands massaging and lightly pinching my breasts, and
his lower body penetrating all the way inside of me.
“Ahh, baby,” he groaned. In a matter of minutes, our limbs were entangled once again.
“I’ll just have to score more touchdowns,” he grinned from ear-to-ear, while sitting on my bed. Now fully clothed and freshly showered, I had the urge to push him back to bed.
My whole body was definitely sore. Zander looked utterly satisfied. I lost count after 3 times. My body was making me remember just well-used it was. I smiled at him, “Babe, I don’t think I can take it.”
He wanted to stay in for the rest of the night. I rebelled against the idea. The reason was that if we stayed in, I’d be thoroughly tempted to keep doing what we did a few hours ago. Plus, I was really craving for some burgers and fries.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door, “Come on, handsome. I gave you dessert. Now, you owe me dinner.”
Inside Burger Joint and Shakes, we talked about his trip. He didn’t like playing on the road but he relished the challenge of playing against the home team. With 2 wins in a row, his team was one to beat. I liked seeing him this way. He looked happy, content.
He asked me a few questions about the game. I gave my honest opinion, his team really worked well together and they were on top form. He smiled when I said, “You know, the quarterback for the San Francisco Mariners is smoldering.”
That earned me a couple of kisses.
I was halfway through
with my strawberry shake, when I asked him about Holly.
His eyes darkened, he stopped eating his burger, and said, “Babe, we were on for like, 4 months. The relationship just fizzled. She’s a cool girl but I don’t know, I guess we just wanted different things.”
I nudged him with my eyes.
He said, “She wanted to be more serious. I guess I just wasn’t ready.”
“Did you ever wonder why she knocked on your door at such an ungodly hour?” My eyebrows were arched, irritation lined my voice.
His blue-green gaze was unreadable. “I have no idea why she knocked on my door in the first place,” he said, “I just know that I wasn’t going to let her in.”
I gave him a big grin. Yes, it didn’t really matter why Holly came. Zander had control of the situation and he wasn’t going to jeopardize what we had going because some ex-girlfriend knocked on his door. He could have easily opened it, let her in, and did something with her, without me knowing. I trusted him. This was just the reassurance that I was looking for, the confirmation that he didn’t want anything with her.
I waited to talk to him about this in person, because his eyes, told me the truth.
“Surprises create excitement. Always aim to be surprised.”
Sedona
Zander and I fell into a comfortable routine.
A text greeted me every morning, “Mornin’ my hot stuff.” On the mornings, when I had no clinicals, he usually stopped by my place with a steaming hot mocha, cinnamon rolls, and banana muffin from Yany’s Donuts before he went to class.
I sent him an electronic copy of my schedule so he had an idea of what I was doing. His schedule varied, plus he said he wasn’t as organized as I was so he couldn’t send me one. I didn’t understand how a person did not a schedule. How could they know what and how to go about their day? Kieran was like him so maybe guys just generally ‘went with the flow.’
Zander and I saw each other every other day on weekdays and on weekends. Whenever he slept over, he slept way past midnight but he managed to stay quiet in bed while I slept. In the beginning, it was not easy having him in my bed or me sleeping in his bed. He took up most of the space in my bed and he liked to put his arms around me. I had to recite Pi to its 30
th
integer to actually fall asleep the first two weeks he stayed over.
He was a spontaneous guy, full of surprises. For someone like me who liked to plan and wasn’t into surprises, it was a constant battle between him and me.
I was scheduled to tutor 2 students on a Wednesday afternoon after my Critical Medical Surgical III class. I looked at the schedule and saw unfamiliar names –Tariq and Shaun. We were already in the middle of the semester so I had become acquainted with students who came in for regular tutoring services.
Tariq and Shaun were new names. Maybe, these guys failed an exam in Physiology so they needed tutoring. Anyone could come in for tutoring. All they had to do was sign up at the Information Desk.
Tariq, the first one my list, was a giant. He was like a wrestler with his towering height and bulging biceps. When he spoke, I hinted a Canadian accent. He asked me to explain the structure and function of cell proteins.
Was this guy in some advanced class? The students that I tutored in Physiology were barely learning the names of the cell proteins. I asked him if he failed an exam and he nodded his military-cut head. He listened attentively when I showed him the formula for the cell protein and how the body systems worked according to the biochemical reactions in the presence of proteins.
His eyes would glaze multiple times and he asked weird questions like, “What is your favorite food and what types of movies do you like to watch?” I answered because I thought it would get him out of his bored look. I replied with “Japanese and action-sports hero movies.” He did not take up the 45-minute tutoring time. He politely left at 4:15 PM because he had a group study to go to.
Shaun was scheduled for 4:30 PM. He came in 5 minutes after Tariq left. He had a lazy, cool, Southern California look to him. His facial profile reminded me of Tanya’s. He was blonde while Tanya was a redhead but with their deep, emerald eyes and high cheekbones, people might think they were related. Shaun said he had trouble learning the structure of the nervous system; he needed to find ways on how to study better. I gave him some pointers on how to study and he graciously nodded. I was in the middle of explaining the function of the nervous system, when he asked a question that was so out of the blue.
“What makes you nervous?”
“Huh?” I asked, completely sidetracked by his question.
“Well, we’re talking about the nervous system,” his eyes intently focused, “So, what makes you nervous?”
Maybe he wanted to take a breather off the topic, I sighed, “Being out of my comfort zone makes me nervous.”
“Oh yeah?” His eyes encouraged me to go on.
“Yes, like being asked by a total stranger like you about what makes me nervous, actually makes me nervous” my tone, challenging.
“You’re funny,” he snickered with a laugh.
I went back to explaining the nervous system and he gave me curious glances. I was about to hand him a mini-test to evaluate what he learned, when he inquired, “Where is your favorite place?”
It was a completely inappropriate question for a tutorial. I looked at him, ‘Was this guy for real?’ He put out a very friendly demeanor. He really could be Tanya’s brother, if she had a brother. Juggling work, school, friends, and Zander was taking a toll on me. So when Shaun asked that question, tranquility swept over me, thinking of favorite place, I replied, “The beach. Where the surf and sand meet. I could stare at the waters for hours and never move. Just listening to the waves as they rush to the shore, the beautiful panorama created by the water, sky, and sand, and the stretch of miles and miles of nature at its absolute beauty….that is my favorite place.”
He stared at me as he said, “Wow.”
His voice broke into my daydream and I let out a dry cough. This day was getting stranger every minute. I was always focused when I tutored. I didn’t know why I was being asked random questions by strangers. The stranger thing was that I kept answering their questions. Before I got back to the actual anatomy topic at hand, he excused himself to catch an appointment. He thanked me for my time and left.
I told Zander about the strange tutoring sessions while we were lounging on his bed. He was all ears as I described to him what had happened. He was nibbling on my palm, as I replayed the scenario, “So after Tariq, this cute guy named Shaun came in and needed tutoring for Anatomy.”
The nibbling stopped, his sharp gaze zoomed on me.
“What?” I wondered why he stopped.
“Babe, did you just say this Shaun guy is ‘cute’?” his eyes demanding.
“Well, yeah, he is cute. He has this cool and friendly vibe and he has a great smile.” That was my honest assessment. I withheld the information that I also thought he could pass for Tanya’s brother, if she had one.
“Hmmm,” he muttered. He stood up and grabbed his phone which was lying on the small table by his bed.
What was he doing?
He dialed a number on his phone and when he spoke, he said, “Shaun, it’s me.”
My eyes almost bulged out of my head!
Zander continued, “My girlfriend thinks you’re butt ugly and if I so much as see you glance at her, I’m going to rearrange your ugly face to make it even uglier.”
He finished the conversation by saying, “Right. See you at practice tomorrow.”
I was already standing up when I quizzed him, “You know Shaun? What about Tariq?”
He grinned slyly, “Yeah. I know those guys. I should have sent someone else instead of Shaun.”
He was so not getting my point. He sent them to me? To be tutored? Were they even taking Anatomy and Physiology classes?
“Zander, are they actually taking those classes?” I asked incredulously.
“Well, yeah. They’re both pre-med, which is why I asked them. I figured they knew the right questions to ask.”
I was getting annoyed. He wasted my time tutoring those two.
“Grrrr. This is just unbelievable. I thought I was in the twilight zone teaching those two. They probably didn’t even fail their exams!” My frustration was loud and clear. I was ready to stomp out of his room when he grabbed me by my waist.
I fell on top of him in his bed; my back side was flushed against his front.
“Come on, baby. I wanted to give you a break. I thought if I sent those two, you’d have an easier time today,” his mouth was nibbling on my exposed ear.
“Easier?” My breath shuddered out as he slowly outlined his fingers over the front of my leggings, “I thought it was weird having them ask those questions. I mean, they looked bored when I started explaining the subject matter to them.”
“So you still think Shaun’s cute?” Of course, his one-track mind focused on that.
He continued to trail kisses down my neck, his hand was now unclasping my bra after he deftly removed the shirt I was wearing.
“Oohhh,” I responded. His question was forgotten. The sensation of his fingers over my breasts was tantalizingly good.
He cupped the inside of my breasts. I felt his lips sucking on the back of my neck and his tongue gliding down the top of my spine. His breath was hot and I felt tingling sensations all over my body. The pressure was building up inside me.
“Is he cuter than me?” his voice husky.
Who was cuter than him? Oh, that was right, Shaun. For a man who looked as good as he did and left a trail of female hearts fluttering around him, Zander had a bit of a jealous streak.
I adjusted myself to face him. My breasts were exposed to his hungry eyes. I grabbed his shirt and helped him out of it.
“Babe, you’re way hotter,” I said, my voice hoarse with want and desire. I needed him inside me now.
In between strangled breaths, he asked, “How hot?”