Shattered Perfection (11 page)

“A lot,” he agreed with a quick nod.  “Just as soon as I’m sure you didn’t break my dick with your magic pussy.”

I burst out laughing.  “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.  I, on the other hand, should be more concerned about my pussy, what with the ninja orgasms and all.”

He lazily rolled his head to the side to look at me.  “Ninja orgasms?”

“Oh, don’t look so innocent.  You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“I haven’t got the slightest clue, precious.”  He said rolling onto his side to face me.

I rose up onto my elbows so I could look him in the eye. “You know, the orgasms that just came out of nowhere?  Twice, I was laying there, enjoying myself immeasurably mind you, but with no signs of orgasm on the horizon, when WHAM!  I’m suddenly set upon by stealth orgasms.  A sneak attack, if you will.   You have crazy, mad, ninja orgasm skills,” I said flopping back down onto the bed.

He chuckled and rolled over onto me, trapping me beneath him once again.  He kissed me deeply before pulling back and smiling down at me.  “Do these crazy, mad, ninja orgasms satisfy you?”

I raised my hand and shook it in a little see-saw motion, all the while grinning like a loon.

He kissed my forehead and flopped back down.  “Good enough for me,” he said. 

I burst out laughing again.

Vance made good on his word and did not let me out of bed for the entire following day.  It wasn’t until eight that night, when we were ordering our third meal from room service that I realized we haven’t heard a peep from Laurel all day.  I made note of this after Vance placed our orders.  He gave me a mischievous smile.

“What is it?”  I asked suspiciously.

“Do you remember last night, when you got all twisted up because I wouldn’t tell you what Pete and I were talking about?” 

I huffed.  “Oh, yeah.  I forgot I was mad at you about that.  What does that have to do with this?”

“Well, he was telling me he had the exact same plans for her today as I did for you.  We were basically agreeing to keep you two away from your phones today,” he admitted.

My jaw dropped in shock.  I didn’t know whether to laugh or to be ticked off at being manipulated.  If I had really stopped to think about it, I would freely admit to myself that I was exactly where I wanted to be, and quite likely so was Laurel, otherwise nothing would have stopped us from calling each other.  

“Maybe I should call her now and make sure everything is okay,” I said, feeling guilty when I realized I hadn’t thought about her once all day.

“She’s fine.  If she weren’t, she would have called.  Pete wouldn’t have stopped her if there were something wrong or if she were unhappy, no matter what we agreed upon,” Vance reassured me.  “Now, come over here.”  He said from his place on the bed, his arms open wide.

I happily climbed on and snuggled into his embrace.  We were both wrapped up in the robes provided by the hotel following a nice, long, shared bath in the soaking tub.  Our muscles were pleasantly warm and relaxed, although some parts that shall remain nameless were sore.  I expected those areas would require rest and time to recover.  Although if I had anything to say about it, there would be no rest in the near future.  My flight back to Los Angeles was a little over a day away, and we were to spend part of the next day driving back to the city.  Then, I wouldn’t see Vance for another week, at least.  No, rest was not on the immediate agenda at that time.

Vance nudged me a little with his shoulder.  “What are you thinking about, Mimi?  You seem far away all of a sudden.”

I sighed softly.  “Rest,” I said, turning slightly so I could look at his face.

His eyebrows rose.  “Rest?  Have I worn you out?” he teased.

I laughed and pushed his shoulder playfully.  “No.  I was thinking how I wasn’t going to let you get any between now and Monday morning when I leave.”

His look immediately sobered.  “Our time is ticking away, isn’t it?”

I inhaled deeply and blew it out in a huff.  “Yes.  Whenever I think of it, I just feel so… bummed.”

“I don’t like thinking about it, either, but maybe it’s something we should talk about,” he said.  “We haven’t discussed it at all.  Do you even want to see me when we get back home?”

I looked at him like he just asked me if I wanted to have a third breast implanted.  “Of all the ridiculous questions I have ever been asked… try to keep me away from you!  I hate to inform you, buddy, but you are stuck with my ass.”  Rolling my eyes, I muttered, “Do I want to see you when we get back home…” 

He laughed, raising both hands in surrender.  “It was a fair question.  We only planned that one dinner date, and then this spontaneous trip.  I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”

“News flash, genius.  The minute I went to bed with you was a pretty good indicator.”  I crossed my arms and just looked at him.  “What about all that other stuff we talked about?  That wasn’t a great big clue, either?”

Vance suddenly looked like a little boy, very young and unsure.  “Sometimes guys need to be reassured too, Mimi,” he said quietly.

I hurried to curl in close to him and wrap my arm around his waist.  I hadn’t expected to hear such a serious and vulnerable response.  I wanted to assure him of my feelings as honestly as I could.

“I want to see you again and again and again, Vance.  As often as I can,” I whispered.  “I don’t know how I’m going to last a week without you.”

I looked up into his face hopefully.  “Is your car parked at the airport or do you need a ride?” 

“I took a car service to the airport.  If you are hinting at your services as a chauffeur, I would be grateful for a ride,” he said.

“Yay!  Just text me your flight information and I will be waiting for you at baggage claim.”

“Then I’ll take you out to dinner again,” he offered.

“I was more in the market for an invite to your place.”

“Well, depending on what time I get in, we may be able to do both.”  He grinned at me.  “In the meantime, I will call and text you every day.”

“You’d better, or I will blow up your phone and embarrass you in front of all the ‘big boys,’” I warned him teasingly as I relaxed back into his chest.

After a filling meal of roasted chicken, new potatoes and asparagus, we discussed our plans for the evening.  The idea of staying in and spending the night the way we spent the day was very tempting.  However, it was our last night in Atlantic City and we both felt like we should experience more of the city than just Caesar’s casino and security offices.  We decided to head back over to the boardwalk and just stroll until we found someplace that interested us.

We took our time getting ready and it was nearly eleven when we left our room.  Vance looked edible in his simple outfit of a gray button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up his forearms, black pressed dress slacks and black leather belt and shoes.  He was wearing his signature cologne that always made me want to do my best impression of a gold medalist for the pommel horse and vault onto him. I was wearing a short red dress-fairly plain with its scoop neckline and tank straps, but covered in a short fringe.  I had bought it a few months earlier with no idea where I would wear it, but thought it was too hot to pass up.  My look was completed by a pair of red, modest heeled shoes, with a strap running across my ankle.  Very retro. 

There were plenty of people out along the boardwalk. Clearly the party was just getting started.  We strolled with our arms wrapped around each other and simply took in the sights around us.  The fresh sea air was peppered with the pungent scents of food wafting from each of the restaurants.  A cacophony of voices, sounds from slot machines and music drifted from many of the doors as they opened and closed as we walked by.

In the distance, I could hear the throbbing of a lively beat.  My heart picked up its cadence and I felt a wild hum begin to buzz in my veins.  I knew that sound.  As we drew closer, I could pick out the pulsing rhythm of Latin music, which was by far my favorite kind of music to dance to.  Ever since I was a little girl, I found the sound to be infectious, the drums, the horns, the guitars calling me to move my body.  I looked at Vance excitedly.  He was looking at me with a wide grin on his face, as well. 

At the same time, we both blurted out, “Do you know how to salsa?”

Nodding in unison, we both rushed to the door of the club where the music was coming from like a couple of kids with a handful of cash heading to the candy store.  We stumbled through the door and into nineteen-fifties Cuba.  It was absolutely amazing.  We headed toward the bar to warm up a little bit and survey the crowd.  The music was loud and the crowd a little heavy, but not so thick that you couldn’t move, and we could still hear ourselves speak. 

We both ordered mojitos, as we watched the dancers dip, whirl and twirl around the dance floor.  They seemed to be of all skill levels, which was a relief.  While I was a passable dancer, I certainly didn’t do it often enough possess any fancy skills.  I needed a strong partner with a good lead to feel certain that I wasn’t making a total ass of myself on the dance floor, but either way, every time I danced, I had a blast.  Being swung, spun and twirled around, reminded me of pretending to be a princess when I was a little girl, when I would go out into our yard in a fancy dress and spin around to watch my skirt billow around me.  I got that same carefree, beautiful feeling from dancing salsa.

Once we finished our drinks, Vance took my glass and set it on the bar along with his.  He grabbed me by the hand and led me to the edge of the floor.  We stood and watched a little closer for a few minutes, before he leaned closer and asked in my ear “What is your skill level?”

“I would say that I’m above a beginner, but just below an intermediate dancer.  I don’t go often enough to really practice my skills, but I’ve mastered the basics and know a few intermediate steps.  I can’t really do anything fancy though.”

“How long has it been since you last danced?” he asked.

“It’s probably been at least eight months.”  I admitted.

“Do you trust me enough to lead you through a few steps that you may not have tried before?  I will help you through them.  If you’re not embarrassed, I’ll walk you through them first,” he offered.

“I don’t know, I don’t want to look like such a newbie in front of everyone else.  I mean I know I will if I just stick to very basic moves, but no one will be paying attention to me.  If I stop and walk through something, that might attract attention.”

“So what?  I’m sure it’ll happen more than once tonight.  If it increases your enjoyment of the evening, that’s all that really matters.  We’ll stay here over at the corner where we’re out of the way of the more advanced dancers, and no one will mind,” he said, doing his best to convince me.  It worked.  The man could talk me into anything.

“Alright.  I’ll give it a shot,” I said with a giddy grin.  The fact was that I totally trusted Vance with my body.  I knew instinctively he would guide me easily and keep me from crashing into anybody.  I felt very safe putting myself in his arms.

He took my hand again and led me the rest of the way onto the floor.  Turning, he placed his other hand at my hip while I rested my left hand on his shoulder.  He guided me into the basic step on the down beat, for the first three counts of eight, giving me a chance to warm up and shake the rust off.

Next, he moved me into a right turn, then back to a basic step, then to a side step and another turn, back to basic, a hammerlock, and so on.  He led me expertly through all the beginning steps, letting me familiarize myself with them again before we moved on to more complicated movements.  Before long, I was comfortable and nodded while smiling at him to let him know I was ready to conquer more elaborate steps.  The next thing I knew, Vance had me performing intricate sequences that I’d never dreamed I could do.  Our eyes were locked on the other’s the entire time, and the hum of electricity between us began to throb along with the music.  The touch of his hands as he spun me around or caressed me as he brought me close in to him, intoxicated me.  My pulse began to pound, and the fringe on my dress flew wildly with every shake and shimmy of my body. 

The thin sheen of perspiration that began to slick my body only heightened my awareness of the seductiveness of the evening.  It was like making love all over again in a way.  We were touching, our bodies sliding against each other, moving apart, coming back together again. We were connected physically, mentally and emotionally.  Our breathing was labored and heavy; and though we were clothed this time, we were still creating a kind of magic together.  One that made sparks fly and hearts swell.  Though different than making love with Vance for obvious reasons, it was just as exhilarating and I couldn’t stop smiling and laughing the entire time. 

We danced for over an hour before we decided to refresh with more mojitos.  There was a seat available at the bar, so Vance lifted me up on it and moved to stand in the space between my knees.  I rested the cold glass against my forehead to help cool me down.  Strands of my hair were plastered to my sweaty neck, and I figured I must look like wet death after all that physical exertion.

“You are an excellent lead, Vance.  You should teach classes,” I said.

“I used to, actually, when I was in college,” he responded.  “I told you I grew up in the East Valley?”  I nodded.  “Well it’s a predominantly Latino area.  My friends taught me how to dance when I was in high school, and I got ‘salsa fever’ as they say.  I got pretty good, and it was a natural progression that I should teach.  I didn’t make a ton of money, but it was enough to cover my text books each semester and I had a blast doing it.  It always made me feel good to take someone who knew nothing and give them skills to do something that brought them joy.”

“I hope that I can learn more from you.  Apart from this weekend I spent with you, nothing else has ever made me feel so alive,” I said with a blush.

Vance’s cheeks colored slightly as well, and he got the most humble look on his face.  “Mimi that is the most… wonderful thing anyone has ever said to me.”

I leaned in close to his ear so he could hear me better as I whispered the most heartfelt words I had ever spoken to that point.  “It’s true, Vance.  Nobody has ever affected me the way you do.  This feeling I have when I’m with you?  I want to feel it forever.”

He looked me deep in the eyes and said just one word, shaking his head in amazement.  “Fearless.” 

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulling me in close to his chest, he squeezed me tightly.

We spent the rest of the night dancing and drinking mojitos until the bar closed, simply enjoying the time we had together being young and free and feeling the beginnings of love growing between us.