Fighting Perfection (The Perfection Series Book 2) (10 page)

     “I…I don’t know.  No one has ever spanked me before.” I replied honestly.  My own mother had never spanked me, although I was sure if she had it would have been nothing like this.

     His hand traveled leisurely over my backside, caressing and sometimes cupping it.  “Hmmm,” he hummed.  “Sounds like someone has been a little sheltered.  I’ll fix that.”

     I wondered what sort of thing he had in mind.  It was true that the sex I’d had up to this point wasn’t all that adventurous even though most of it had been satisfying.  I have to admit, I may have squirmed a little in response.

     “You like that idea, do you?  Mimi, I’m going to make it my mission to show you everything you’ve ever fantasized about and then some.”

     I may have whimpered as he said this.  He pulled me up from his lap and laid me back over the sofa.  He caressed the length of my torso while looking earnestly into my eyes.  “Seriously, I’m going to leave such an impression on you that you’ll never forget me as long as you live.  You’ll wear my mark on your brain.”

     Once again, a delicious shiver ran through me.  I was completely willing to follow his lead.  I leaned up and kissed him thoroughly, my sign that he could do what he pleased, and I’d be his attentive pupil.  He took control of the kiss and we lay there like that, kissing and caressing each other until he pulled back grinning at me.

     “As much as I’d love to spend the next several hours buried deep inside you again, I should probably put some pants on for when the delivery guy gets here.”  He smirked as he started getting dressed.  Just as he was zipping up his pants, the doorbell rang.

     Once James had paid for the food and brought it inside, he declared we were going eat picnic style.  He promised that since I had been so ‘sheltered,’ he was going to put me on a training program to expand my horizons.  Insisting we start small, we were going to enjoy an indoor naked picnic promising that someday we’d have an outdoor one.  I was skeptical, but he just winked at me and said, “You’ll see.”

     So, we laid out a well-worn quilt I’d had since my college days and set the food out on it.  We spent the next hour laughing and eating often feeding our food to each other.  It was romantic in a way being so intimate with each other as we shared the meal.  I realized that when you are completely naked with someone else not engaged in some kind of sexual activity, you’re very vulnerable, emotionally as well as physically.  Once you’ve dropped all your exterior guards, it’s surprisingly easy to let your emotional guards follow.  Our conversation flowed deeper into the ‘getting to know you’ topics we had skimmed during our trip to Lake Havasu. 

     “Did you go into the Navy right out of high school?”  I asked before topping a chunk of naan with my lamb and stuffing it into my mouth.

     James finished chewing the bite he had just put into his mouth while shaking his head.  “No, not right away.  I tried the traditional college thing, but after two years, I still had an undeclared major and no idea what I wanted to do.  I’d always been fascinated by airplanes so I started taking flight lessons while I was in school.  I loved it.  I suddenly felt a freedom I’d never known before and such a sense of control.  I thought about continuing my education and working for an airline, but to me that seemed to be the equivalent of a glorified bus driver.  Not that I have anything against bus drivers, of course, I just wanted something a bit more challenging as well.  It was my Dad who suggested I talk with a recruiter.  After speaking with him, I got involved with the ROTC at my university and began preparing for life in the military.  I found it suited me.  So that’s what got me through university.   After I graduated, I went to Officer Candidate School to get my commission, and well, let’s just say the rest is history because I see your eyes glazing over.”  He chuckled as he reached over to wipe a bit of sauce at the corner of my mouth.

     I couldn’t help but laugh.  “No, no!  I’m very interested!” I said as I pushed our empty plates to the side and crawled toward him.  

     He opened his arms wide to receive me, and I crawled across his lap.  We kissed a little, talked a little bit more about our histories, but nothing too deep.  I suggested we watch a movie but it was starting to get late, and he had to get up early in the morning.  He also had a long drive back to Lemoore.  We each put on our clothes, and I walked him to the door.  He gave me a lingering kiss and promised to call me soon.  Once the door was shut behind him, I leaned against it and sighed.  I had no idea where this ‘relationship’ was going to lead and while my natural instinct was to dissect it and label it somehow, I decided once again I was just going to go with the flow. 

     I took a shower and got ready for bed.  I thought about watching a movie On Demand, but it was already just before midnight.  I thought I might as well turn in since I was meeting the girls for brunch in the morning.

     I ended up sleeping later than I wanted to but was still on time to meet the girls at Farmers Market.  We went to The French Crepe Company where I ordered La Sorbonne which is a fantastic indulgence of crepe, bananas, and chocolate syrup and a very large Caffe Mocha.  Once we had our orders, we wandered over to the seating area and sat down for our weekly ‘Gossip and Grub’.

     “Okay, it’s Liz’ turn to update us first on the goings on in her life,” Grace declared with a slap of her palm on the table top.

     Intensely private Liz just gave her a look that said, ‘Yeah, right.’ 

     “Oh come on, Liz.  We come here every week and listen to the rest of us, but you never share!  You’d better start or we’re going to excommunicate you from the group.”

      “Please,” she droned sarcastically.  “One of us has to be the stable voice of reason among you three.  Besides, my life is very sedate.  You know I spend my weekends with a good book.  I doubt you want a play by play of my reading list.”

     I spoke up, being a book lover myself.  “I’d like to hear what you’ve been reading.  What was the last book you finished?”

     Liz suddenly blushed a very deep red.  We all looked at each other and instantly became much, much more interested.  We all leaned forward, waiting to hear about whatever embarrassed her so.

     “Um… well it was a book by a new author, but it was extremely well written.  Very vivid.”  She cleared her throat and looked around at the people milling about the market.

     Grace prodded, “It was dirty, wasn’t it?  You can tell us.”

     “Well, it had its graphic scenes, this is true, but it was actually a very suspenseful and gripping read as well.”

     “Gripping…sheet gripping, you mean,” Jessica offered devilishly.

     Liz nodded bashfully.  “There might have been a little of that, yes.”

     “Let Mimi borrow it now that you’re done.  She also needs a little sheet gripping in her life.”  Grace chuckled.

     I cleared my own throat and looked around wide-eyed doing my best to look innocent.  I considered whistling.  Seeing the look on my face, and very likely eager to have the spotlight taken off her, Liz looked at me closely.  “I think maybe Mimi is holding out on us, ladies.”

     They all stared at me intently waiting for me to spill my guts.  I still wasn’t in a hurry to share with my three very nosy friends.  They’d all dissect everything and analyze it.  I didn’t want to do that, especially with the Justin thing, since I had no idea what was up with that.  I just wanted to let things come as they would for once in my life, but after my reaction, I had to give them something. 

     “Well, I have some stuff going on, but nothing to report, yet,” I hedged.

     “I know it’s got to do with that Jammer guy.  You were tight lipped when you first met him, and then you two seemed to get pretty cozy once we were on the boat,” Grace prodded pointing at me with the rim of her coffee cup.

     “I did have a date with him last night.  We had a very nice time.”  Wasn’t that the understatement of the year?

     “So tell us, what did you do?  What happened?  Did you do the nasty?”  Grace asked, pushing for details as I had known she would.

     “We just had dinner at my house.  Nothing exciting,” I lied.  I needed to get off this subject as fast as I could.  I was never very good at concealing the truth and these girls would ferret out the story if they were given enough of a chance.  “If anything comes of it, I’ll let you know.  Now let’s move on to Grace, she always has some juicy morsel.”

     Grace, eager to turn the conversation to something more titillating, launched into a long story about how she’d met this wealthy man the night before who was apparently hung like a horse and killer in the sack.  No, really killer.  She kept referring to him as Meester Beeg.  She complained that she didn’t think her nether parts would be serviceable in the near future after spending the night with him.  She kept us entertained in her bawdy way, and we spent the next hour discussing whether or not she should go for round two.

     The conversation eventually got back around to me and my job prospects.  I shared my plans to go back to school and mentioned the fundraising program.  Everyone thought that with my history it was a great idea.  We moved on to other mundane discussions about work at my old firm, and finally decided to call ‘Gossip and Grub’ adjourned for another week.

     The rest of the day proceeded in a leisurely fashion as did the following week.  On Wednesday, I got a call from Justin who wanted to go out the next day.  He had finished up his most recent project and had nothing going on for the next few days.  Since I had another week and a half before my new classes began, we agreed it would be a good time to get out of town for a while. 

     Justin picked me up early the next morning around 6:00 am.  We caught breakfast at a nearby family restaurant and then set out for the Port of Long Beach.  We arrived just in time to catch our eight o’clock trip to Catalina Island.  We planned to spend the day taking some of the island tours and doing some parasailing.  It was a nice ride lasting only about an hour.  We were stunned when a large pod of dolphins surrounded our boat.  The captain stopped for about fifteen minutes so we could watch them swim and jump around us.  I quickly snapped off several pictures using my phone.  It was a magical beginning to the day, and for me only foretold of a great trip ahead.

     After checking our luggage at the dock for delivery to our hotel, we signed up for a few boat tours, then wandered around Avalon for a little while until our first tour, a voyage on a                  semi-submersible vessel that allowed us to get up-close views of the marine life surrounding the island.  I was thrilled to see the bat rays as they glided through the water.  The other fish were just as fascinating, but for some reason I was drawn to the stealthy rays.

     After our boat tour, we checked in at the Pavilion Hotel, which was just steps from the beach with lush tropical landscaping.  We had gotten just one room but with two beds.  It was nicely appointed, not particularly fancy, but comfortable, and had a semi-private patio.  Our luggage was conveniently waiting for us near each bed.  We quickly changed our clothes opting for our bathing suits under shorts and t-shirts.

     Next, we went SNUBA diving on the Sea Trek Eco Tour.  SNUBA combined snorkeling with SCUBA diving.  We wore these space-looking dive helmets and weights with wet suits, and we were able to walk along the sea floor for an hour and a half.  We got to see the giant kelp forest and several more varieties of fish. We even got to see a sea lion shoot by.

     Once we were done with the SNUBA, we decided to stop for lunch at one of the shoreline restaurants.  We dined at the Avalon Grille for a light lunch of salads and iced tea. 

     “That was really incredible wasn’t it?” I asked between bites of my Cobb Salad.  “I loved being able to walk with the marine life like that!”

     “And the sea lion!”  Justin exclaimed.  “It was all something I never thought I’d see.  I’m now convinced to take diving lessons and get my SCUBA certification.  This is something I want to do again and again.  I can’t imagine what it would be like in more exotic locales.”

     “I think that’s a good idea.  You’ve been in need of a new hobby.  All you’ve done over the last three years is work and take care of me.  You more than deserve to get out and have some fun.”

     “I’ve hardly been taking care of you, Peaches.  You’ve become my best friend, and I love spending time with you.  You haven’t needed any real looking after for a while.  The last two years have been nothing but me wanting to be with you.”  He looked at me softly as he said the last sentence.

     “I’ve loved every minute we spent together, too.  Aside from Laurel, I can’t think of anyone I’m more comfortable with in my life right now.”  A sudden thought of Vance made my stomach twinge, but I brushed it aside.   He was my soul mate; how could I ever hold anyone up to that standard?  Although there was plenty of comfort between us, he and I had so very much more than that.

     Justin smiled broadly and reached for my hand across the table.  He gave it a quick squeeze before bringing it to his lips and kissing my palm.  My mouth instantly went dry and all thoughts slipped to my subconscious mind.  I gave him a somewhat shaky smile in response.  There was no denying that these new intimate steps with Justin caused my heart to race.  I just didn’t know if it was because of my new-found attraction to him or if it was nerves over the changing landscape of our friendship.  As I withdrew my hand, I looked into his soft smiling face.  All I did know in that moment was that I loved Justin deeply.  He had become my best friend in California and had been through the bleakest, darkest time of my life with me unfailingly--even during the times when I was difficult and not much of a friend to him.  We would forever be bound to each other for that.  Nevertheless, I still felt conflicted about the strange sort of triangle I’d found myself in.  I wanted to be fair to everyone, but I wasn’t sure of the right way to go about it.  I’d never had feelings for any more than one man in my life at a time, and here I was with two.  Having a physically intimate relationship with James kind of put Justin on the back-burner in that respect, as I couldn’t imagine myself sleeping with two different guys in the same span of time.  Based upon our mutual history, there was no denying that I had deep feelings for Justin.  It was a predicament I felt I was not handling in the best possible way, but I’d be damned if I knew what to do about it.