Mid Life Love (17 page)

“Any particular reason why you chose the
Michael
Mina
menu?” I smiled at Jonathan.

“I was stood up there once.” He sipped his wine. “I
never had the chance to enjoy it with the beautiful woman I was supposed to
meet.”

I looked over the menu, appreciating the fact that
he’d remembered I didn’t like seafood. I decided to order the nine course
option that featured baked lamb and caramelized chicken.

Jonathan ordered the same and the first course was
brought out within minutes.

The presentation of the food was surreal. Every
vegetable was bright and plump; every piece of meat was tender and brown. It
almost looked too perfect to eat.

I took it all in once more before picking up my fork
and tasting a bite of the appetizer. 

This is amazing...

I tried to think of something to say, something to
discuss, but I was utterly speechless. No man had ever paid so much attention
to a date’s details before, not even Ryan.

“Do you like the food, Claire?” He looked into my
eyes.

“I love it...Its perfect.” I smiled. “If you don’t
mind me asking, how much did you have to pay to get the city to let you do
this?”

“You really want to know?”

I nodded.

“Why?”

“I just want to know...It cost us fifty thousand to
rent a quarter mile
with traffic
. Did this cost you one million? Two?”

“A lot more than that, but you’re worth it.” He
smiled and sipped his wine. “Ready for the next course?”

The waiter brought out course after course, and by
the time dessert was brought out, I could only eat a spoonful of the peach
flavored mousse.

“Come on.” Jonathan stood up and reached for my
hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”

––––––––

I
stepped over to the railing of the bridge, looking
down at the ocean. A strong gust of wind blew against me and I shivered.

“You’re cold?” Jonathan took off his jacket and
placed it over me.

“Thank you...I know we’re barely in spring, but have
you ever wondered why it’s so cold here in the summers? When I first moved here
I was looking forward to sunny summer days but they’re worse than the winter
months.”

“
The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in
San Francisco
. That’s what every local says when people ask about the
summers.”

“A Mark Twain quote?”

“Supposedly.” He laughed. “They claim he said it but
I’m not completely convinced...I like to read a lot too.”

Really?
“What’s
your favorite book?” I asked.

“I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to
laugh...”

“I promise.”

“
Harry Potter
.”

I tossed my head back and laughed hysterically. “
What
?”

“You promised.” He pulled me close and kissed my
hair.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting that at all. Were you
one of those people who went to all the midnight book releases?”

“No.” He shook his head. “No one ever took me to anything
like that. I snuck off to the bookstore on the weekends and read the entire
book in the store until I went off to college. As a matter of fact, the first
purchase I made once I started making money was the entire collection in
hardback and paperback. I even have the signed editions. What’s your favorite
book?”

“I have way too many...”

“Top five?”

“What genre?”

He looked down at me and smiled. “Are you naturally
difficult or do you work extra hard to be?”

“I’m not difficult...I like
Animal Farm
by
George Orwell,
Eat, Pray, Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert,
Pride and
Prejudice
by Jane Austen, any book written by Joan Didion, and
The True
Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
by Avi.”

“Hmmm. I’ve read all of those except
Eat, Pray,
Love
. I’ll have to check that one out to see where your head is...Can I ask
you something personal?” He backed me against the red railing.

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?” He lowered his voice and looked into
my eyes. “It’s a really
personal
question...” He tugged at my necklace.

“Yes...”

He pressed his chest against mine. “In the past, how
many guys have you been with?”

“Two.”

“
Two
?”

I nodded.

He smiled and clasped my hand, walking me further
and further down the bridge, towards a group of black benches that were spread
out across the lanes.

“So, is the third guy the charm, Claire?”

“No, that’s not what I....I meant two
including
you.”

“What?” He stopped walking. “Your ex-husband was
your
first
?”

“Yeah, we were high school sweethearts...Before him I
messed around with a few guys here or there, but we never had traditional
sex—just kisses and dry humping and...” I sighed. “Are you in desperate need of
an ego boost right now? Are you going to ask me which one of you is better?”

“I don’t ask questions I already know the answer to.
What is
traditional sex
?”

“Are you
twelve
or
twenty eight
?”

“Twenty-nine in the summer.”

“It’s just sex. You know, what you and I have been
doing for a while.”

“Does ‘traditional sex’ include
oral
?” He
joked.

I stilled. I looked out over the ocean and focused
on a small tugboat that was making its way towards us. I needed to figure out a
way to change the subject.

“Claire?” He cupped my chin. “Did you say yes?”

“That’s too personal...”

“No it’s not. Tell me.”

I sighed. “Of course I gave him—”

“I’m not talking about
him
. I’m talking about
you
.”

“No...But that doesn’t mean—”

“
Ever
?” His eyes widened.

“My ex was very straightforward. He always said that
wasn’t his thing. I was a virgin when we got together so it never really
bothered me. You can’t miss what you’ve never experienced, you know? What we
had was good.”

He stared at me a long time, slowly blinking,
shaking his head in disbelief. “Okay...Let me ask you another question. Did you
two ever have sex outside of your bedroom?”

“He never fucked me in a room full of people if
that’s what you’re asking.”

“Did he talk dirty to you?” he whispered in my ear.

“
Jonathan
!”

“Did he?”

“These questions are completely—”

“
Necessary
. I’ll take that as a no...” He
trailed his fingers down my backside. “Did he ever explore you here?”

“No...And that’s not something I ever wanted him to
do.”

“Why not?” He gently squeezed my ass.

“Because that’s...It’s—”

“
Immoral
?” He laughed and pulled me down onto
a bench. “We’ll discuss it one day.”

“How many women have
you
been with, Jonathan?
Fifty?”

“Fifty?” He smirked. “
Including
you?”

Oh my god, there’s MORE?
“Is
that number too low?”

“Too high.”

“
Forty nine
?”

He laughed. “Seventeen.”

“Wow...”

“Why do you look so shocked?”

“It’s...It’s less than what I expected, but that’s
still
a lot
of women...Were you in relationships with any of them?”

“A few. One was a friend with benefits who I saw
whenever I wasn’t in a relationship.”

“And before you had sex with me, when was the last
time you’d had sex?”

“Six months before you.”

“Well, that’s actually quite shocking. Were there no
other women at corporate who wanted to be dragged into secret rooms or bent
over your desk afterhours?”

He shrugged. “No reason, really. I was too busy and
I have to be extremely careful when it comes to women.”

“Because you have attachment issues?”

“Would you like to be fucked on the Golden Gate
Bridge tonight?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t have
attachment issues
...I
have to be careful because some women are only into me for my money, or are
more interested in going to the press and blackmailing me than dating me.”

“Has that ever happened?”

“Not unless you’re going to attempt it. Should I be
worried?”

“No...” I leaned back. “So, where do you honestly
think you and I are—”

“I told you to stop thinking about that.” He moved
me so my back was flat against his lap.

“I just want to know if—”

He bent down and kissed me. “It doesn’t matter right
now,” he whispered. “I’m not dating anyone else and neither are you. Let’s just
see where it goes...”

I lay like that for a long time, gazing into his
eyes as he gazed back into mine. I wanted to ask him more questions, questions
about all those women he’d slept with, but after he kissed me for the umpteenth
time, I forgot what I was going to say.

Over the sound of the sloshing waters, I heard the
roaring of a car in the distance and realized the limo was driving back towards
us.

“Mr. Statham, the bridge will re-open in ten minutes
sir.” His driver pulled in front of us and rolled down the window.

“Thank you, Greg.” Jonathan eased me out of his lap
and helped me back inside the car.

I thought we were going to continue our
epic-long-silence-saga and ride back to my place without talking, but he pulled
me into his arms as soon as the car pulled off. 

He crushed his lips onto mine and kissed me
passionately, making me wish he would take things further and undress me. But
he didn’t. He used every single second of the ride to explore my mouth with his
tongue and possess my lips with his.

When the car stopped outside of my house, he slowly
moved away from me and sighed. He walked me up to my door and slipped his arms
around my waist. “Did you have a good time tonight?”

“
Yes
. Thank you very much...Are you sure—”

“No one saw anything. You and I are a secret—just
like you wanted.” He gave me another open mouthed kiss that made me lose my
balance and fall right into him. He held me tighter, rubbing his hands up and
down my back, kissing me so intensely I lost all my thoughts.

I didn’t want our kiss to end. I didn’t want
our
night
to end, but I wasn’t sure if Ashley and Caroline were in the living
room; I hadn’t told them anything about him yet.

Before I could consider the idea any further,
Jonathan gave me one last passionate kiss and stepped back. “Goodnight,
Claire.”

J
onathan

“Any word on where Harrison stands on the Uni-tech
investment?” “Are we sure we want to buy Livingston Corp. before we go public?
Their sales were dismal last quarter.” “We need to finalize our predictions for
the market at least three weeks before the IPO launch.” “The
s
Phone blue
has officially broken our last record for preorder sales.”

I was sitting in another late night board meeting
and I was tempted to say, “I honestly don’t give a damn about what any of you
are talking about. Let’s just get the hell out of here.” Yet, some of the
shareholders were tuning in from overseas and I knew that wasn’t the smartest
idea.

We’d been fine tuning the details for the IPO that
was still a long while away: Renegotiating stock options, finalizing the
requirements for employee buy-ins, and preparing hundreds of public statements
and in-house events. 

I’d been so busy that I hadn’t seen or spoken to
Claire all week. I didn’t have time to attend any of her directors’ meetings or
talk to her on the phone at night. My meetings always ended around three in the
morning, and since her department was so busy with the
s
Tablet, we only
texted each other a few times a day.

I didn’t think not seeing her for a week would
bother me, but it did. Anytime the meetings became boring—which was every
fifteen minutes, I pictured her bent over my desk, pushed up against the walls
of my office, or screaming my name as I pushed her into another climax.

Where else in this building should we
have sex?

“Mr. Statham? Mr. Statham?” One of the board members
cleared his throat.

Maybe on the roof...
“Yes?”

“Is it okay if we end tonight’s meeting a little
early?”

I looked at my watch. Two thirty in the morning.

“That’s fine with me.” I tried not to look relieved.
“See you all on Monday.”

They stood up at once and shuffled out of the room.
There were no “See you later” or “Great job team” goodbyes. The friendly
salutations had worn off much earlier in the week, as soon as the first meeting
went past midnight.

I closed my folder and realized Vanessa was standing
by the door.

“Hey, Vanessa. It hasn’t been the same at the
negotiating sessions without you. How was France?”

“It was phenomenal.” She bit her lip. “Did you miss
me?”

“In what sense?”

“
Funny
. Are you sleeping in your office suite
tonight?”

“Probably so.” I started stacking my files. “Why?”

“Can I stay the night?”

I looked up and raised my eyebrow. “
What
?”

“I’m too tired to drive home...”

“I can get Greg to take you in the town car.” I
pulled out my phone. “Do you want me to have your car taken to your house too
or do you—”

“Jonathan, no one is around right now. Everyone has
gone home. There’s no need for you to act like we’re platonic.”

“We are platonic. You
don’t
want a ride
home?”

“No, I don’t want a ride home. I—” She stopped and
shook her head. “You changed the employee fraternization policy while I was
gone, and I’m finally back so...I took that to mean that you finally decided to
give us a chance.”

“Vanessa, I’ve never—”

“Don’t worry. I’m not trying to rush things between
us.” She walked over and touched my shoulder. “I wasn’t implying that we sleep
together tonight—unless you want to of course...I was thinking we could just
talk
,
you know? We’ve been friends for so long but we don’t really know each other
outside
of the boardroom.”

I sighed. “I’m dating someone else.”

“
Someone else
? Since when?”

“Since—” It wasn’t any of her damn business. “It
hasn’t been that long.”

“So it’s not serious, right?” She shrugged. “You’ve
always kept your options open. I’ll go grab my bag out of my car and we can—”

“I’m dating her and
only
her, Vanessa. I’ve
told you over and over that you and I are just friends. I want to keep it that
way.”
Forever...

“This doesn’t make any sense.” She crossed her arms.
“You’re honestly not attracted to me?”

“I am.”

“You don’t enjoy hanging out with me? You don’t
think we have great conversations? ”

“I do.”

“But you don’t want to date me?”

“No.”
Can it get any clearer?

“Okay...” She took a deep breath and stepped back. “I
take it that the woman you’re dating is an
employee
here?”

I didn’t answer. I just raised my eyebrow.

“Does she have
a name
?”

“She does.”

“What is it?
Friends
can tell each other who
they’re dating.”

“Can they?” I stood up. “I never meant to lead you
on. If I did that in any way I’m sorry. I think you’re extremely pretty, smart,
and—”

“Spare me your pity shit, Jonathan.” She scoffed and
headed for the door. “Don’t come crying to me when your low-level employee runs
to the press and tries to blackmail you. I might help her.”

“See you on Monday, Vanessa. I liked the skirt you
wore today.”

“
Fuck you
.” She rolled her eyes and left.

I waited ten minutes before walking out of the
conference room. I didn’t want to run into her or anyone else on my way
upstairs.

I swiped my key at my private elevator and sighed. I
thought about calling Claire, but I figured she was already asleep.

I walked into my bedroom and lay across the bed.

Nothing was on TV except those renovation shows that
Claire liked to watch. The one I was currently watching featured two men who
were tearing down a dilapidated porch and turning it into a wrap-around
veranda.

How can she watch this without falling
asleep?

I changed the channel to an infomercial—a ‘Magic
Soap Bar’ that could clean “any and everything!”—and slid under the covers. I
pulled out my laptop and started going over the week’s meeting notes, reading
all the things I hadn’t bothered listening to earlier.

I heard my phone ringing and assumed it was one of
the board members emailing the meeting notes from tonight, but it kept ringing.

I flipped it over and looked at the screen.
Claire?

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hey...”

“Are you okay?” I sat up. “Is something wrong?”

“No, I was just...calling to talk to you.”

“At three in the morning?”

“Is there a time frame on when I’m allowed to call
you? Could you forward me the schedule so I can better understand the ‘do’s and
don’ts’?”

“I’ll have my secretary email it to you in the
morning. How are you?”

“I’m okay...”

I placed my reading glasses on the side table. “Why
do you sound like that?”

“Sound like what?”

“Like you’re almost out of breath, like you’re
whispering. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes. I’m quite fine. I was calling you to talk
about work.”

“
Work
?”

“Are you going deaf?”

“What about work, Claire?”

“Well...I was thinking that...That...That there were a lot
of—”

“You called me because you’re
horny
?”

“
What
?” She sucked in her breath. “No, I’m
not horny. I’m—”

“Yes you are.”

“Jonathan, I was calling because—”

“Admit it.” I smiled.

“That’s not why I...That’s not why I called you.”

“Go get your laptop.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to help you with your problem.”

She was silent. I could only hear her soft breaths
over the line. 

“Claire?”

“Yes?”

“Go. Get. Your. Laptop.”

“Um...Hold on a second...” She came back on the line
seconds later. “I have it.”

“Good. Log into your email.” I stepped out of bed
and walked into my office suite’s living room. I poured myself a glass of
scotch and sat in a chair.

“I’m logged in now,” she murmured.

I logged into my own account and opened up the
web-chat app. I typed in her name and hit “Connect.”

Within seconds, her beautiful face appeared on my
screen. She was sitting in front of a stack of red pillows and I could see her
gold colored duvet.

She moved the laptop back a bit, allowing me to get
a better picture of her. She was wearing a thin white T-shirt and her hair was
in large pink rollers.

She’s so fucking sexy...

“You can hang up the phone now,” I said, still
smiling.

She rolled her eyes and set her phone down.

“So, since you’re
not
horny, what exactly did
you call to talk to me about?”

“The
s
Tablet.” She blinked twice, giving me
further indication that she was lying.

“The
s
Tablet? What about it?”

“Well...” She paused. “We’ve narrowed down the
potential slogans to four, and the campaign directives are going to be
finalized by the end of—”

“Take off your shirt.”

“What?”

“
Take it off
.”

She hesitated for a few seconds, and I thought I was
going to have to repeat myself, but she slowly pulled the shirt over her head,
revealing a lacy red bra.

I should’ve had Greg pick her up...

“Like I was saying...” She was clearly trying to make
this more difficult than it needed to be. “By the end of next week—”

“Were you touching yourself before you called me?”

She turned bright red.

“What were you thinking about?” I tilted my screen.
“And don’t you dare lie to me.”

“I was thinking about...” Her voice trailed off.

“Yes?”

“You...”

“Me
fucking
you? Be specific.”

Her cheeks turned scarlet. “Jonathan—”

“Take off your bra—and your panties if you’re
actually wearing any today...”

She looked shocked, but she unsnapped the button on
the front of her bra and pulled the straps down over her shoulders, revealing
her voluptuous breasts and strawberry colored nipples.

She didn’t make another move and I smiled; I loved
the fact that she went bare so often.

“Are you going to tell me what you were thinking
about, Claire? Or are you going to make me guess?”

Her breath hitched and she looked off to the side
for a few seconds. “I was...I—”

“Touch your tits...”

She slowly reached up and palmed her breasts,
slightly squeezing them.

“No, not like that,” I shook my head. “Touch them
like I do when I’m fucking you from behind.”

“Jon—”

“
Do it
.”

She gasped and sat frozen.

“
Claire
...” I narrowed my eyes at her.

She blinked a few times, but then she roughly
grabbed her breasts and pinched her hardened nipples—twisting them harshly,
pulling them out as far as they could go.

“You’re not going to tell me what you were thinking
about? What you want me to do to you? How you like to be fucked?”

“No...” Her breaths were becoming choppy and the
expression on her face made me wish she was here with me in person, made me
wish she could take care of my swelling erection.

“Are you wet?” I saw one of her hands moving away
from her breasts, down the screen, down to the part I couldn’t see.

She didn’t answer. She just bit her lip and looked
into my eyes with a sense of longing, desire.

“Since you’re not going to tell me what
you
want me to do to you...” I adjusted my screen. “I want to fuck your mouth.”

Her jaw dropped.

“I’ve wanted to feel your lips wrapped around my
dick since the first day we met.”

“Oh god...” She shut her eyes.

“Open your eyes back up...Look at me.
Look
.
At
.
Me
.”

She let out a muffled moan and slowly blinked.

“I want to be the first man to taste you. I want to
kiss your clit and fuck you with my tongue. Are you going to let me do that?”

“
Ahhhh
...”

“Answer me.”

“
Yessss
...”

“You like me talking to you like this, don’t you?”

She was shutting her eyes again; slowly rocking her
body back and forth against fingers that I wished weren’t hidden from me.

“I can’t wait to see you in person again.” I lowered
my voice. “I’m going to fuck the shit out of you.”

“
Stop
...Stop talking...”

“Tell me you’re mine.” I could tell she was about to
cum; she was biting down on her lip and shaking her head. “Tell me right now.”

“
Yes
...
Yes
...” She let go and fell back
onto her pillows, “
yours
.”

I watched her gasp for air and convulse, watched the
vibrations rip through her sexy body, and waited for her to calm down.

It took several minutes for her breathing to get
under control, for her chest to stop heaving uncontrollably.

When she was finally coherent, she reached for the
laptop and brought it up to her chest.

“Is your problem fixed now?” I raised my eyebrow.

She lay back against her pillows and suppressed a
smile. “I never had a problem...”

“Of course you didn’t. What are your plans for
today?”

“I’m going to go for a run around seven at Golden
Gate Park...You?”

“A very long cold shower.” I noticed her holding
back a laugh. “I don’t think too many people will be at that park around
seven.”

“Are you trying to ask if you can join me?”

“I don’t need to.” I smiled. “I’ll see you in a few
hours.”

––––––––

C
laire stopped running and plopped down on a bench
right by the lake.