First Class Stamp (16 page)

Unable to speak, Sophia all but ran to keep up with Ben who
continued to drag her down the street. At the corner, he flagged down a taxi
and ushered Sophia inside, climbing in beside her. He gave the driver his
address and they drove in silence for the almost thirty minute trip down to the
Financial District.

There were questions she wanted answers to but she didn’t
trust herself to speak. Her hand in his had opened the flood gates of desire
for him and now she sat with his thigh brushing against hers. She had no faith
in her ability to think straight so remained silent.

As the cab pulled in front of Ben’s building, he pulled cash
from his pocket and handed it over to the driver. As he hauled her from the
car, Sophia could hear the man trying to return the change but Ben was stomping
towards the front door giving no heed to the driver.

The doorman opened the door and nodded in polite greeting
and Ben strode through the lobby and straight to the bank of elevators.

“Where are we going?” Sophia asked, immediately regretting
she’d asked such a stupid question. It didn’t matter though because Ben didn’t
respond, just pulled her into the elevator behind him and pushed the button.

He was stone-faced…expressionless and if Sophia hadn’t known
him better would possibly be fearing for her safety about now. But she didn’t
fear him, even though her heart was pounding in her chest and desire pooled
between her legs. Never had a man made her feel this vulnerable and excited…two
feelings that didn’t really go together at all.

At last the doors opened and once again she found herself
trying to keep up with Ben as he stalked down the hall to his apartment. Once
inside, he commanded her to “sit” and then he disappeared down the hall,
presumably to the bedroom. Doing as she was told, Sophia sat on the sofa,
sinking into the plush velvet pillows and leaning her head back and closing her
eyes. Her breath was shallow and her heart still beat wildly out of control and
as she desperately tried to control both, the hairs on the back of her neck
pricked and she slowly opened her eyes to see Ben sitting on the coffee table
directly in front of her, leaning forward, resting his forearms on his thighs,
inches from her.

“Why won’t you talk to me?” he growled. “I called you dozens
of times and you didn’t answer. I left message after message and you didn’t
call me back.”

His eyes were cold, almost black, not the usual beautiful
blue she was used to seeing. His lips were pursed and she could feel the simmer
underneath the controlled tone of his voice.

“Where did you go that Saturday night? What was your
previous
engagement
?” She knew she sounded like a jilted lover. In fact, she
felt
like a jilted lover. And she didn’t like it, not one bit.

“To a friend’s for dinner. Is that what this is all about?”

Sophia refused to answer him. He had broken her heart and if
she let down her guard she couldn’t guarantee she could hide it from him.

“I would have gotten out of it, but I couldn’t.”

“You mean you didn’t want to.”

“Sophia? Tell me what you’re not saying,” he pleaded.

“I saw her…your date.”

“How?” There was no possible way she’d seen him go to
Maria’s apartment.

“At your office. She gave you a drawing of
the three of
you
.”

In an instant, Ben realized what it must look like to her
and hoped he could explain it so she would understand there was nothing between
him and Maria. But it wasn’t going to be easy. He recalled Maria’s words to him
in his office when he’d admitted that he was in love.
If I was your woman I
don’t think I would’ve wanted you there at all!
Trying to see it from her
perspective made him feel even worse.

“I know that I said that I wasn’t looking for a relationship
or anything serious,” she continued. “But then I slept with you. I opened
myself up to you and I left your bed and you ran straight into someone else’s
and I won’t…”

“No!” Ben yelled. “I did
NOT
sleep with her, nor have
I ever, nor will I
ever
sleep with her.”

“It’s irrational,” Sophia admitted. “I know. I have no claim
to you and…”

“Yes you do,” he whispered. “You do.”

Sophia looked up at him, her eyes wide open.

“Maria, the woman you saw, worked in Brazil. I hired her
personally many years ago and met her son, a sweet five year old who I have
been a pen pal with ever since. The company recently relocated them to New York
where she received a promotion. She invited me to dinner as a way of saying
thank you. Nothing more.” He decided it didn’t do any good to divulge the rest
of the story. It was irrelevant.

“You didn’t sleep with her?”

“I already told you I didn’t,” he smiled. “I didn’t kiss
her. I didn’t touch her. After dinner, I tucked Luca in and said goodnight and
left.”

“Luca,” she mouthed. The boy Alex had seen from their
window.

“Luca is now ten and a very sweet kid. He’s had a rough go
of it but is still a really great kid.”

“He came here,” she said.

“He did,” Ben acknowledged. “I babysat while his mom went on
a date.”

“A date?” That revelation surprised her.

“Mmhmm,” he grinned.

Sophia looked down at her lap, now deeply embarrassed in her
assumptions and subsequent behavior.

“Look at me,” he whispered. “Look. At. Me,” he said more
forcefully when her head didn’t move.

Sophia sighed and lifted her chin, her eyes gazing into his,
noting the change in color from the harsh black back to the deep brilliant
blue.

“I have spent the last several years laughing at my father
and mocking my brothers and their
whipped
state of marriage.” He used
air quotes for effect. “I have told myself repeatedly that I didn’t need a
woman to complete me, that I was happy and content with my life.”

Sophia’s eyes lowered and she wished that she hadn’t agreed
to accompany her parents to dinner at the Lathem’s. She could be sulking at
home right now in the privacy of her bedroom instead of allowing Ben to witness
it in person.

With a gentle touch, Ben lifted her chin with his finger and
smiled. “Sophia, you have proved me wrong. It was only when I met a woman, my
equal, that I understood why my brothers had chosen to marry and commit
themselves to a lifetime of monogamy…to a lifetime of love and fulfillment.”

There was a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his lips.
“Sophia,” he said as he dropped to his knees in front of her. “You are that
woman. I don’t want anyone else but you. I love you.”

A lone tear dropped down her cheek. “Really?”

“Really,” he whispered and kissed away the saltiness from
her smooth skin.

*****

After stripping her clothes, Ben slipped out of his and lay
next to her on the bed with her head on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around
her, his hand possessively on her hip. He kissed her hair and her forehead and
with his free hand he caressed her silky skin.

“I love the way you smell,” he whispered into her hair and
inhaled her scent. He kissed her again and Sophia climbed atop him and took his
mouth with hers and kissed him with all the passion she felt, the feelings of
embarrassment and shame gone, love and desire taking their place.

She felt his staff beneath her, hard and long and she could
wait no longer to feel him inside her. Pushing herself up, she lifted her hips
and poised at his tip. Grabbing her head with his hands he pulled her lips back
to his and darted his tongue in an out, replicating the most intimate act. As
she slid down and down over his length, he let go and she straightened her
spine and sat erect over his hips as she felt him deep in her core. He moaned
with pleasure as he bucked to her and she responded by lifting herself upwards
and then gliding back down, the movement driving him crazy. The perfect rhythm was
soon established and their eyes locked as they pleasured each other until at
the brink of ecstasy. In one swift movement Ben locked his arms around her and
rolled so that he was on top and pounded into her until her eyes rolled back
and she cried out his name as her body trembled and pulsed in sublime bliss.
Ben arched his back and spilled his warm seed inside her and then collapsed
next to her as he panted for air.

The laid together, limbs twisted and lust satisfied, eyes
closed and relaxed but not sleepy. Ben played with the silky strands of her hair
and Sophia traced her finger over the ridges in his torso.

“You didn’t use a condom,” she finally said.

“I didn’t.” He paused and then said. “Would it be so bad if
we had a baby?”

Sophia longed to have his baby although it was only as he
spoke the words that she let herself feel the desire.

“Alex will make a wonderful big brother and I already know
that you are a devoted and loving mother. I could not make a better choice than
you as the mother of my children.”

“Children?” she asked, surprise apparent.

Ben pulled his arm from beneath her and sat up. Turning to
her he placed his hand on her cheek and smiled. “We will be the most beautiful
family. Marry me. Be my wife. Be my partner…my equal. Be the mother to our
children. Love me forever and I you.”

A tear escaped as he spoke. How could she deny herself the
man whom she loved, the man whom she desired, the man that made her understand
what her parents had enjoyed for all these years?

“I love you with all my heart,” she whispered. “And I will
marry you.”

Ben kissed her. It was a sweet kiss…one that held the
promise of their future.

*****

As they showered together later that afternoon, Ben soaped
her body into a lather and then rubbed himself all over her, laughing as she
called him her own personal loofa. They played and laughed and loved and were
deliriously happy. Sophia took the soap in her hands and rubbed it gently and
lovingly over his body, under his arms, down his thighs, between his toes and
reveled in the intimacy of it all. This was love. This was desire. This is what
is was supposed to be. This is what she’d dreamed of. This is what she’d read
about in the romance novels that were purely fiction. But not anymore. She’d
won the prize. She’d found her prince and he’d been worth waiting for.

Sophia dropped to her knees, the water cascading over her
shoulders and dripping from her taut nipples. She took his penis in her hands
and caressed him. She felt him shudder and step back, finding the wall for
support. She leaned in and kissed his tip, tasting the saltiness of the bead of
moisture waiting for her, and only her. Then gently, she opened her mouth and
took him in, feeling the steel under his velvety skin. She pushed from her mind
the memories of whoring herself to her ex-husband in order to get what she
needed for her son. Those memories would now be replaced with new ones, of
loving moments like this one, of unions that were yoking them together for
their life that lay ahead, of the promise of a beautiful future.

She gently sucked and licked and she could feel Ben’s
muscles tighten, fighting for control. But she didn’t want him to control it.
She wanted him to feel pleasure and to know her love for him so she nipped and
sucked and kissed until he grabbed her hair and held her mouth to him as his hips
thrusted forward and she tasted him again as she swallowed the warm liquid that
filled her mouth.

“Aargh” he cried out and when it was over, and she’d
released him from her mouth, he sank to the tiled floor with her and cradled
her in his arms. “I love you,” he whispered into her mouth as he kissed her. “I
love you forever.”

“I have to go,” she said for the third time, unwilling to
extricate herself from his embrace.

“I don’t want to wait,” Ben said, a seriousness in his tone
that made Sophia raise herself onto her elbow to look at him. “I want to be a
family now. I want to make a baby with you. I want to be the father to Alex
that he needs.”

Sophia wiped away another tear that fell. “Nobody has caused
me to feel such love that I cry all the time,” she chuckled, “until you.”

Ben smiled and kissed her. “I’m serious,” he repeated.
“Let’s go tell Alex and be a family.”

How could she argue with that? They quickly got dressed and
Sophia looked in the mirror at her hair. It was a disaster.

“It looks like you’ve been having a good time,” Ben winked
as he grabbed her hand and pulled her from the bedroom.

They walked to the foyer, hand in hand and Ben let go to
retrieve his wallet and keys. It was then that Sophia noticed the overflowing
plate of stamp books. She reached for one and opened it to find all stamps
inside, so she reached for another and another, noting there were no stamps
missing from all but two of the books. She looked up at ben who’d been watching
her.

“First class stamps?” she asked.

Ben shrugged. “I needed a reason to come and see you,” he
grinned.

Sophia pulled him to her lips and kissed him soundly. “I
love you,” she smiled.

Within minutes they were running across the street and up
the stairs to her apartment but Alex wasn’t there. Sophia checked her phone for
messages but there were none, so they ran back down a flight to her parent’s
apartment. The door was locked and no one answered when she pounded on the
wooden door.

Ben looked at his watch. It was just seven o’clock. “You
don’t think they’re still at my parents’, do you?”

With the touch of her finger to her phone she dialed her
father and confirmed they were in fact still at the Lathem home. She heard
Maureen yell in the background, “Tell them to come here. We’ll wait for them.”

Ben rolled his eyes but pulled her back down the stairs and
out to the street where he hailed another cab to take them back up to his
childhood home. “Something is afoot,” he chuckled.

But Sophia didn’t care, she clung to his hand like a life
vest and couldn’t stop her lips from smiling. When they arrived back at the
Lathem’s home, the four parents sat in the living room, with Alex watching a
movie downstairs.

“We need to speak to Alex,” Ben stated as they walked past
the adults to the stairs.

Maureen winked at Gloria, who beamed when she saw her
daughter and Ben holding hands. Peter sighed and Aldo looked confused.

“Sadly, I’m used to this,” Peter announced to Aldo. “You
only have one child. Lucky you.”

As Ben and Sophia sat next to Alex on the couch, he looked
over at them suspiciously, but turned off the television and placed the remote
on the end table. “Where did you guys go?”

“We had some things we needed to discuss,” Ben replied.

“Why is your hair wet, mom?”

She looked at Ben and then back at her son. “Alex, we have
something we need to talk to you about.”

“We want you to tell us how you feel after we tell you,
okay?” said Ben. “Whatever you feel is fine, you just need to tell us.”

Alex nodded but the suspicious look hadn’t left.

Ben continued. “I’ve asked your mom to marry me and she has
said yes.”

“Cool,” came the reply.

“Is that it?” asked Sophia.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “No,” he amended. “Where are we going to
live?”

“Well,” Sophia said. “We haven’t talked about that yet.
Where do you want to live?”

“In Ben’s apartment.”

Ben chuckled. “Actually, we should probably get a new
apartment…a bigger one, but in the same building so we can still be close to
your grandparents. What about that?”

“Cool,” he repeated.

“Do you have any questions?” Sophia asked.

“Do you want me to call him dad?” Alex looked at his mother.

“You can call me whatever you’re comfortable with,” Ben
chuckled.

“Maybe just Ben then,” Alex nodded.

“Ben is good,” Sophia agreed.

“So do you ever go to football games?” Alex asked, as he
picked up the remote and turned the TV back on. 

“I think he’s gonna be fine,” Sophia laughed.

*****

Upstairs, the parents waited for Ben and Sophia to return
and when they finally did Maureen jumped from her chair and took their entwined
hands in her own and smiled.

“I’m so happy for you both,” she gushed.

The look of surprise on Sophia’s face made Peter chuckle
aloud. “She’s a pro,” he offered. “There is nothing you can hide from her.”

Ben bent down and kissed his mom’s cheek. “Yes,” he
announced. “I have asked Sophia to be my wife and she graciously accepted my
offer.”

Gloria stood, with the help of husband, and made her way
over to the couple. “You have made me very happy,” she smiled and kissed her
daughter and then Ben bent over and kissed his soon-to-be mother-in-law.

“I’ll get a bottle of champagne,” Peter smiled. “This is a
good reason to celebrate.”