Soul Dancing with the Brass Band (The Brass Band Series) (20 page)

Will towered over Gilbert, but I was sure Gilbert out-weighed him. They looked each other squarely in the eyes and then their hands dropped. Later I’d have to ask what their first impression was of one another. They both smiled and before I knew what was happening, I was heading outside with Will.

“It’s nice of you to bring us the hot chocolate,” Will said walking through the door, but once we were out of earsho
t of the boys, he turned toward me with his deep blue eyes burning into me.

“I’ve been patiently waiting for this day to come for months and thank God, it’s finally arrived. I haven’t been able to think of anything but you. My meditating has gone downhill because you have become the only thing occupying my mind. I’m not complaining! It’s just far different than what I’m used to. I’ve got to settle down and I think the only answer to my conundrum is to spend more time with you. I hope, a lot of time.”

I took a breath and ignored my normal tendency to be shy.

“I’ve been waiting for you, too, Will. I’ve been dreaming of spending time together and now here we are.” I wanted to kiss him in the worse way, but couldn’t risk it so close to the boys.

“We’ll be back in the morning to stay. Can I see you then?” He had to know my answer by the way I was trembling.

“What time? I’ll be waiting,
” I managed to say calmly.

“We’ll be here at nine. I’ll come get you as soon as I can,” Will promised, pushing back the hair that had fallen into his face.

“Anytime is good. I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight anyway, so just come up as soon as you can.”

I began to hear voices as the boys emerged from the apartment. The kids were beginning to pile back into the truck bed as George, Ruth and Gilbert brought up the rear.

“Come on, Will,” George yelled. “We’ve got to get back for evening meditation. It’s our last one for a while. The boys are promising to give us a big send off!”

I could tell by the boy
s’ faces that even though today was an awesome adventure, none of them were looking forward to tomorrow when Will and George would be leaving.

Will turned to catch up with the boys and didn’t give me another look, at least not until he was in the truck and driving away. Ruth, Gilbert and I waved goodbye and then went back inside to gather up the cups.

“What a nice group of boys,” Gilbert marveled. “I can only hope that someday I’ll have some of them as students in my class. They would be an interesting group to have a discussion with.”

“What makes you say that?” Ruth asked.

“You’re kidding me, right? You’re really kidding me.” Gilbert turned to look at me and then at Ruth. “You didn’t feel that?”

“What?” Ruth was oblivious to everything except George. “Feel what?”

“Feel the Shakti, the current of energy running through the room. It was tangible,” Gilbert answered looking at us with disbelief. “This is a very elevated group of humans that you are hanging out with. I loved standing next to that Will of yours, Hils. You can get high just being close to him.”

“I know!” I was excited to have someone to talk to about that weird hum I felt when I was near Will. “When he holds my hand, it feels like I’ve been hooked up to something electrical. My body begins to buzz and I’m exhausted when he leaves me.”

“Yeah, that’s the Shaktipat. I went to see a Guru once to receive Shaktipat. It seems ridiculous, to travel a long distance to see a guru and then just sit there without a word being spoken. But you do it for the high. The great ones, the ones near enlightenment, have a more powerful life force than the rest of us. Just sitting in their presence causes your own life force to increase and it’s like no other feeling. It’s as if the secrets of the universe are revealed. Unfortunately, it dissipates shortly after leaving their presence. The trick is to eventually learn to create it within yourself.” Gilbert shrugged, “Of course there are junkies, people that just want to steal the life force. That’s very hard on the Masters. The relationship between a teacher and student is meant to be very sacred.”

“You’re losing me, big bro. What do you mean
I can learn
? All I feel is stupefied when Will leaves me,” I said.

“You need to open up, let that energy flow through you.” Gilbert closed his eyes and held his hands palms up to illustrate what he meant. “This is a gift, girls. In this state of consciousness you just naturally become more
, understand more! Your body becomes an expanded vessel. It has
more
room for everything, creativity, thoughts… transcendence. You two have just been too enamored with Will and George to take full advantage of what they have to offer you,” Gilbert said dropping his hands and giving us a big smile. “Call me, I’ll come over and hang out with Will and George anytime or even those kids, for that matter! And unlike you girls, I won’t waste a minute swooning over them. I’ll spend my time with them learning. After all, Dr. Edwards says we have until the end of 2012.”

AT SUNRISE, Will tapped on our front door with a knock so light I could barely hear it. I ran to answer it in my ratty t-shirt and panties, robe in hand, but he had already let himself in. He was just standing there, looking beautiful and staring at me with those piercing blue eyes. His hair looked like he had just gotten out of bed.

I stopped dead in my tracks and felt my robe slip from my fingers to the floor and before I knew what was happening, I launched myself into his arms. My legs wrapped around his waist, my arms around his shoulders and my face nuzzled into his neck.
All of my worries about what I didn’t know fell away as my sexual inexperience was replaced with the security of pure love.

He turned his head to run his lips lightly over my neck before tenderly kissing me beneath my ear. He let his coat drop to the floor as he slipped his hands under my bottom, so I didn’t slip out of his embrace. Slowly he carried me to my bedroom and softly closed the door while still holding me in his strong arms. He sat down on the edge of the bed, me still wrapped tightly around him.

Moving one hand up to hold my face, he whispered, “I’ve missed you,” and I was completely lost in the moment.

I had waited for this perfect moment all of my life and now I wanted nothing more than to feel his skin next to mine. Running my hands under his t-shirt, he lifted his arms to help me slide it over his head. Warmth radiated from him and I buried my head tight against his neck… scared, but knowing this was
right
for me. Still holding me against him, Will stood, turning to gently lay me across my rumpled bedding. I watched him, as his jeans slipped to the floor. He was beautiful with dark hair across his chest and the flexing of his muscular legs as he bent to climb into my bed beside me. He made me breathless. I reached down to pull the comforter over us and felt our bodies instantly melt into each others. As I breathed in the irresistible smell of him, my face against his chest, I found myself saying ever so softly, “I love you, I love you, I love you…”

The rest was like a dream, my body exploding with sensations I had never felt before. As Will rolled on top of me, everything came so naturally. I felt him inside of me, moving so slowly that the ecstasy was beyond what I ever had imagined it could be.

“Don’t move,” I managed to whisper. “I want to remember this moment forever.”

The rippling sensation threatened to unhinge us. Will’s breath was heavy as he tried to hold everything together, as goose bumps followed my hands when I ran them up his back.

“I can’t Hillary. I have to move,” he said softly.

As I felt Will begin to move his hips, my body followed every movement, rising to meet him, each movement provoking one strong emotion after another.

“Oh God, Will...” My mind and body seemed to no longer be connected. I began to lose perception as the dimension our bodies existed in and the room around us dissolved. I wanted to scream because the feeling of pure love was ecstasy. I heard Will’s breathing quicken and then, gasped as he lifted his body along with a warm liquid across my belly.

Will lowered his body against mine, holding his weight with his elbows. Pushing my wet hair back from my face, he kissed my forehead, my eyes, the tip of my nose and then my lips. He rolled off of me, still holding me tight. We held each other, not talking, but gently rocking back and forth until we both entered a place where we weren’t actually sleeping, but rather, floating.

We held each other the whole day, hidden away in my room not even leaving to eat or drink. Neither of us wanted the magic of our first day together to end. We spent hours exploring each other, talking about our past and what the future held for us now that we were together. I told him a story for each scar on my body and in return he told me his.

I don’t think we would have ever gotten up if it weren’t for the interruption of Ruth and George outside of my bedroom door.

“I don’t know George. Do you think they just evaporated or were beamed up by the mother ship or something? I see a robe and a coat. They must have both been here at some point,” Ruth said loudly with a quick reply from George.

“It would be too bad, if on Will’s first day in our new apartment, he starved to death or even worse, died of thirst,” George agreed.

“Okay, okay,” Will finally shouted loud enough for Ruth and George to hear. Then looking at me suggested, “Maybe we should eat something.”

I laughed the most joyous laugh of my life. I was giddy, drunk with the humming in my body, which I was sure would become a way of life with Will. Gilbert had called it
Will’s gift
, the ability to raise a life force and I knew beyond a doubt, Gilbert was right. But there was much more to consider, I thought as this incredible human being got out of my bed and put on his clothes. William Emerald is the gift, not just his life force, all of him from his smile to the depth of his soul. The second gift is that he was mine.

Will reached down and pulled me to my feet. “Come on, get dressed. I don’t want you to starve either and I think our roommates want to say hello!”

We squeezed into the bathroom to freshen up a little, laughing non-stop. My new mantra was
I love my life, I love my life, I love my life
. Dr. Edwards would absolutely approve of my new self-talk.

Looking as good as possible after only ten minutes of splashing water on our faces, we tugged on
the rest of our wrinkled clothes. Will placed his arm around my shoulder and we opened the bedroom door only to be greeted with a roar of laughter and applause.

“McCollum knew what he was doing when he wouldn’t let you out of the house,” George teased. “Are you okay, Hillary?”

I could feel the heat of blush on my face.

“She’s just fine, George,” Will defended joyfully, “but I do think we should get her something to eat.”

“I bet you do. You’ve burned quite a few calories,” Ruth sputtered as she headed toward the kitchen. “Let me see what I can throw together.”

Ruth actually had become a very good cook, but it didn’t matter what I ate, anything would taste delicious.

Other friends might get annoyed with the fact that Will and I were unable to let go of each other, but Ruth and George took everything in stride. When we weren’t totally wrapped around one another, we at least held hands.

After dinner, we adjourned to the downstairs apartment. Ruth and George had been unpacking all day and the place looked great. The apartment was definitely a shoe free zone with the most luxurious rugs spread on the floors. It felt incredibly cozy with the smell of George’s spice tea permeating the air and the fireplace blazing.

“The pictures on the walls are mostly Mandala’s and Gurus,” Ruth said. Seeing the confused look on my face, she put her arm around my shoulder. “They are spiritual teaching tools. I’ll explain more later, sweetie, when you return to being yourself.” I saw a mock look of sympathy between George and Ruth before they once again broke into laughter.

I found a space to curl up by the hearth while Will and George continued talking.

“You weren’t around, Will, so I picked the bedroom I wanted. That one is yours,” George explained, pointing to the room on the right.

“You receive with your left and give with your right,” Will acknowledged.