Loving David (10 page)

“Thanks for giving me a reason to dust off my cooking skills.”

“You’re sure you didn’t have help?” Charlotte cracked. “I mean, that was quite a bit more than scrambling an egg and making toast.”

“I swear! My mum was a fabulous cook, and she always had me in the kitchen. She told me that while the quickest way to a man’s heart is food, it’s an even faster way to a woman’s.”

“Your mother was a very smart woman,” she said as she leaned in for a kiss.

“
Hmmm
,” David pulled back. “I have a present for you.” he whispered.

“Oh my gosh David; you’ve done enough---- the flowers, the amazing dinner----”

David placed two fingers over her lips. “
Shh
. Let me have my moment.”

He walked over to the mantle and retrieved a small black gift box.

“Something else your co-conspirators’ picked up in town?” She asked.

“No,” he said.

“Oh. Something you had delivered?”

“Wrong again.”

David placed the box in Charlotte’s hand and sat down next to her. “What I’m giving you ---- you will have forever.” he breathed.

Her curiosity piqued, Charlotte took the lid off the tiny box. Inside was a small piece of paper folded in two. She took the paper out and unfolded it. As she read it, her eyes filled with tears. Charlotte looked at him, shocked.

David extracted the paper from Charlotte’s fingers. “Here; let me read it to you,” he said, never taking his eyes from hers “I love you.”

“David, we just met.” she whispered.

“You’ve never heard of ‘love at first sight’?” David said as he leaned in for a kiss.

She caressed his face, and he smiled. Without a word he tugged on her arm, and they slid down to the rug in front of the fireplace. They continued their sweet kisses, their hands running all over each other’s bodies. Her brain went into overdrive ---- did this amazing man really see past their age difference? Did he truly love her? What did she do to deserve this---- him? She’d been writing about this kind of love and passion for years but had never fully experienced it.

David dredged his fingers over Charlotte’s breast, and moans escaped from them both as her nipple hardened beneath his touch. He moved over to caress the other breast, and Charlotte wrapped one leg around his waist, arching her body toward him. She began to unbutton his shirt, but she was too impatient and ripped the whole thing open. Buttons popped and flew across the room.

David pulled back and laughed. “I knew you were like your characters,” he growled.

“I guess so,” she panted as she pulled him back into a kiss and pushed his shirt off. Charlotte let her fingers roam over the vast expanse of his smooth chest. She squeezed his pecs and groaned again, the center of her body throbbing. David read her mind and undid the top button of her jeans before he changed his mind and tucked his hand under her sweater instead. He whipped Charlotte’s sweater over her head before he undid the clasp of her bra and pulled her firm, full breasts out of their prison. He cast an admiring leer over her unbound breasts.

“My God; your breasts are flawless.” he murmured and shook his head in stunned amazement.

“I’m glad you like them.”

“Oh, no, no. I love them,” he corrected her. “Absolutely love them.” he whispered as he lowered his head to flick his tongue over one nipple. Charlotte cried out as he made contact with her sizzling flesh. He alternated between nibbling on her nipples and lapping at them like a cat with a bowl of milk. David stopped for a moment and finished what he had started with her jeans by lowering the zipper. Charlotte began to wriggle out of her jeans as he peeled them down her legs in aching slow motion, his eyes traveling over the lush landscape in front of him.

“You’re beautiful,” he said as he caught her eye. Charlotte smiled and ran her hands through his forest of wavy hair, gently stretching him back toward her. Their lips collided again, and this time the kisses intensified, like fiery clashes between them. He continued to stroke her breasts with warm, soft hands while Charlotte licked at the silky, salty skin of David’s neck. It felt like an inferno was erupting between Charlotte’s legs, and just when she thought she could take no more, David slipped two fingers inside the slippery space. Charlotte wailed with pleasure as he began to pump his fingers inside of her as if she were a well of water. She spread her legs apart even farther and grasped his lips with hers. David stopped and began to drop soft kisses all over her body, which made Charlotte twitch and writhe in exquisite ecstasy.

Charlotte gasped when he buried his head between her legs, probing her folds with soft, light touches before thrusting his tongue deep into her core. Charlotte whimpered, knowing she could hold back no more, feeling the tidal wave rumble deep within her. David clamped his hands on either side of her hips and yanked her even closer to him, showing her no mercy. Charlotte gripped the rug beside her, one nail scratching against the wood floor. Like a speeding bullet, her orgasm ricocheted throughout her body, causing her to convulse and screech out with superb pleasure. Panting and drenched with sweat, Charlotte collapsed back on the floor, her flesh seething. David drummed his fingertips across her belly, and she squealed.

“Don’t touch me for, like, two minutes,” she wheezed.

“Don’t take too long, because I’m not through with you yet,” David nuzzled in her ear.

Charlotte let out a weak laugh and closed her eyes. “That was amazing,”

David planted a kiss on the tip of Charlotte’s nose before bringing his lips down to hers. They groped for each other again when Charlotte broke away and searched David’s face.

“I’m almost afraid to ask if there were condoms on that magic grocery list you gave Hendra and Shirley.”

David opened his mouth to speak but then snapped it shut. He sat up slowly and hooked his arm around one knee. Charlotte propped herself up on her elbows.

“Damn,” he muttered. “Didn’t even think about it.” He looked back at her and grinned. “Well, at least you know I didn’t set out to seduce you.”

Charlotte sat all the way up, and together they leaned back against the couch. “So much for mister smooth Movie Star,” she said as she gave him a poke in the ribs. “I hope you don’t think I meant anything----”

“Oh, no, no. Of course not. I mean, this is ----- was our first time being together. And we’re both responsible adults----”

“Very responsible.”

“Yes, exactly,” David said. “I do hope I get a rain check though,” he said as he stroked her hair.

Charlotte stood up and pulled a blanket from the couch and wrapped herself in it.

“I’m holding you to that.” She started toward the bedroom. “In the meantime, are you coming to bed?”

David looked at her, perplexed. “But, I though you said…”

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. “Well, just because we can’t
sleep
together doesn’t mean we can’t
sleep
together.” She turned her back and threw him a glance over her shoulder.

“Coming?” she repeated.

David scrambled up and ran after her.

“Indeed.”

#

Charlotte and David remained intertwined all night long and though they were tempted to make love, they decided to stick to their vow to wait until all protection was in place. David woke her with a kiss before trotting off to make the coffee and get his workout in. Charlotte decided to wash the dishes and was so inspired by David cooking dinner for her that she decided to share one of her favorite rituals with him. She made a quick call to Hendra and got ready. She scribbled a quick note for David to meet her at the dining cabin and dashed off.

Twenty minutes later David ambled into the dining room, where Charlotte had packed a picnic lunch into the cooler that normally resided in the big kitchen. David placed a hand on Charlotte’s waist and kissed her.

“What’s all this?” he asked. “You whisking me away somewhere?”

“Yes. Yes I am.” Charlotte beamed.

“Well, can I ask where?” he grinned.

Charlotte shook her head and handed him the cooler. “Nope.”

David took the cooler and nodded. “Ah ha. Giving me a taste of my own medicine, I see.”

Charlotte just giggled and grabbed David’s hand. They headed down to the lake and a small boathouse where Hendra kept a rowboat. They hauled it out and Charlotte went in search of the oars.

“So we’re going rowing, then?” David yelled after her.

Charlotte emerged from the boathouse, dragging two oars behind her. “Something like that,” she smiled. “We’re going to spend the day fishing.”

David placed his hand over his chest and stumbled back. “My dear Charlotte. How you continue to amaze me.”

Charlotte grinned and ducked back into the boathouse to retrieve the fishing rods; while he loaded the boat with a cooler and some bait that Hendra kept in the freezer. “My dad would take me fishing every spring, so I learned from him.”

“I thought you said he treated you like a princess.”

“Yes, well, he did always want a boy,” Charlotte winked. “Normally, they don’t allow public fishing in Lake Arrowhead, but because Hendra is a member of the Lake Association, so we’re good.”

They launched the boat, and when Charlotte started to give David a precursor on how to row, he reminded her that he had had to learn how to row for a movie he had done few years earlier.

It was a beautiful day on the water, and David and Charlotte were joined by a few other hopeful fishermen. Charlotte instructed David where to row, and once they got to a fairly secluded spot, she showed him how to bait the hook. It took him a few tries as the bait kept slipping off the hook. Finally he was able to get it to stick, and after a few mishaps that Charlotte had to duck, David managed to cast his line in the water. Charlotte explained that fishing was a waiting game; she told David to prepare to sit for a while.

“So what kind of fish is out here? David asked.

“Catfish, bass, freshwater salmon mostly,” Charlotte replied as she cast her own line.

“Sounds like we could open a seafood restaurant,” David quipped.

“How about I catch it and you cook it?”

“Deal,” he smiled.

They passed the balance of the afternoon with nary a nibble on either line. They left their lines in the water and dug into the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and potato chips that Charlotte had packed, and David even tried a Twinkie for the first time in his life. He became a convert. The sun was beginning to dip as Charlotte looked at her watch; she thought it might be time to go.

“But we didn’t catch anything,” David pouted.

Charlotte shrugged. “It happens in fishing sometimes. There were lots of times my dad and I would sit from sun-up to sun-down and never catch anything more than mosquito bites.”

Just then, David’s line began to jerk in his hand. They both looked at each other and jumped up, excited.

“Am I catching something?” David asked as he grappled with the fishing rod.

Charlotte nodded, adrenaline pumping. “Yes, yes! Hold on and grip the rod tight. Now lean back ---- that’s it!” David bent his knees and lifted his rod out of the water with a huge grunt. Charlotte started to cheer as a gigantic fish emerged, water sluicing down its body, its mouth clenched around David’s hook. David maneuvered the fish in and let it slap to the floor of the boat. It flopped around, splashing water all over them. Charlotte threw her arms around David, who gave her a kiss back.

“Oh my God, David, it’s enormous!” Charlotte shouted as she looked down at it. “It’s a salmon. A big, fat salmon.”

“You must be a good- luck charm!”

Charlotte gasped, still not believing David had landed such a massive fish. She and her dad had never caught anything like that in all the years they’d fished.

“What do we do now? Throw it back?” David wondered.

She gave him a playful slap. “No! We cook it!”

“Well, this goes a bit against our arrangement, doesn’t it? Seeing as how I caught it,” David grinned. “This must mean you have to cook it.”

Charlotte scratched the side of her face and shook her head. “You did want to enjoy eating it, right?”

David chuckled. “How about we cook it together.”

“You got it.”

David and Charlotte wrestled the fish into the tiny cooler, Charlotte wishing she’d remembered to bring newspaper to wrap it in; of course, she hadn’t thought that they’d be bringing any fish back. They rowed to shore and stored the boat, babbling with excitement over their catch. Once they returned to the cabin, they each took quick showers, and David got set up to show Charlotte how to cook a fish. He laid out salt, pepper, olive oil, white wine, and a few cloves of garlic. Charlotte was pulling her hair into a ponytail when she came out to see all the ingredients laid out on the counter.

“Is it too late to rethink this?”

David tugged on her hand and dragged her into the kitchen.

“We’re going to keep it very simple. Baked fish and oven potatoes. A little salad.”

“We can still order a pizza.”

“Come on, Charlotte; it’ll be fun.”

For the next forty-five minutes, David instructed her in the finer points of how to bake salmon and crispy potatoes. He showed her how to peel garlic by smashing the flat blade of a knife against the clove and then tearing it off. He watched her as she sautéed the garlic in a little butter, and then he had her add wine, salt and pepper and let it reduce. After cleaning, scaling, and cutting the fish, David had Charlotte slather it in olive oil and generous amounts of salt and pepper, explaining the need to season well before ladling the wine and garlic mixture over it.

After they put it in the oven, they focused on making crispy potatoes. David had Charlotte quarter the potatoes and helped her toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic before they went into the toaster oven on the counter. David showed her how to make simple vinaigrette of olive oil and lemon juice, and they tossed it into a bowl of greens. Once everything was done, David spooned fish and potatoes onto two plates, and they dropped into the kitchen chairs, both ravenous.