The Cost To Play (Slivers of Love) (13 page)

Disappointment is such an unusual feeling. Especially when it is unclear as to the reason a person senses a letdown. Toshi was uncertain what Jayne had in store for the afternoon. Displeasure was all over his face when she received the call that she was needed back at the office right away. The annoyance Jayne felt became audible as she righted her clothing providing him a hasty kiss in front of the other staff members who seemed genuinely shocked at her presence in his office. Discontentment hung around her neck as she returned to her job to find out that the VP of Operations for Mr. Whisker’s Cat Food, did not like the last designs.

Jayne kicked off her shoes and hunkered down.  The romantic dinner she had planned had to be cancelled.  A saving grace was that her boyfriend was unaware that she had planned to take him out. Dinner instead was a cold sub sandwich on thick bread with a side of wilted lettuce, which was masquerading itself as a salad. Frank wasn’t in a very good mood, which caused him some distress. This resulted in the production of some more foul gas. Grammy Pearl always said,
“it doesn’t matter your plan. If it is not what God intended, it just ain’t gonna happen for you
.” Today was one of the only days when Jayne felt her Grammy talked too damned much. They worked until 11 pm and wasn’t certain about the new design. 

At 7:30 am, she, Frank and Celia, another team member, boarded themselves up in the conference room and worked nonstop on new designs.  Kris Cawley sent in sugary snacks, bad pizza, and loads of caffeine at lunch.  By 3:30, they had something workable.  She and Frank headed back to the drawing board to begin again.

The dissatisfaction in Toshi’s voice was evident when he called and was informed that she would be working late. This time, they continued until 11:30, with final touches still needing to be made. As they made their way toward the door, tired and disillusioned, Frank turned too fast and his bag knocked over the ink pots, ruining the boards.

“I am so sorry, Jayne. I am just so damned tired,” he said with a sorrowful voice that was followed by a fart.

She couldn’t blame the big galoot. It was truly accidental. “We both are exhausted Frank.  I will see you back here at 7:30 in the morning.”

It took the better part of Saturday to redo the concept boards, shoot the images, and upload the designs to Mr. Whiskers, but it was done.  If they hated it, she and Frank would start over on Monday. What she needed right now was a hot shower, some dinner, and her bed. As proud as she was for remaining calm with Frank yesterday, her tension and frustration was compounded as she hit dead stop traffic on Washington Road.  Evidently an accident and flashing lights in Augusta, means that everyone should slow down to personally inspect the scene.  The fifteen minute drive home was now creeping into 45 minutes and Jayne’s knuckles were ashen from gripping the steering wheel. The text message that came from Toshi inquiring if they were still meeting tonight received the response of only, “ggggrrrrrr.”

A slow drizzle had started by the time Jayne finally reached home. The gush of rain which followed from the dark clouds drenched her hair, clothing, and spirit as she entered her front door. Even after the hot shower, a glass of wine, and the playing of some Norman Brown, her disposition had not improved. In her comfortable beige leggings covered by an oversized tee, Jayne could not relax.  Tension in her shoulders and back prevented her from getting comfortable and she wanted to punch something.

A light tap was heard at the door.  Dread crept through her bones as she flatfootedly trudged to the entry to see who was planning to make her evening worse. The look on her face when she open the door made Toshi balk. “I am sorry. I should have called first.”

“It’s okay. Come on in.” There was no enthusiasm in her voice.

As he removed his shoes and sat the bags with their dinner on the counter, he told her, “you look really tense.”

Jayne plopped down on the couch. “I am really tired.”

Toshi took a seat on the ottoman which was always nestled in the corner but he dragged to the front of the couch, “Jayne, allow me take care of you tonight.”

“If you can bring my shoulders down from around my ears, go for it,” she said with a hint of sarcasm, but the expression on his face changed her tune. “I hope you can accomplish whatever you have in mind without removing any of my clothing.”

A wry smile covered his face, “I will take good care of you Jayne, but first, I need some lotion or body oil.”

She was too tired to even sit up, so she pointed toward the bedroom. “My bathroom…on the sink...choices.” She waved her hand as if swatting away a pesky fly.

It was his first entry in her bedroom.  It smelled of lavender and lilacs with one wall painted light purple. The quilt which covered the bed appeared to be handmade with bright splashes of vivid colors.  The headboard was covered in a bright yellow fabric with small periwinkle flowers with green stems. The furniture was a heavy dark wood that appeared to be antique. A soft rug was by the bed and to his amazement, there were no paintings on the walls. Not even a simple plaque.  The bed taunted him like some evil fat kid with the last piece of cake. 
This is where she rests that amazing body
.
What does she sleep in, a gown, shorts, nothing?
The last idea made his body react.
Focus, man….focus…you can’t walk back out there with your dinky poking at her.

In the bathroom, the same color theme continued with a pretty shower curtain, frilly girl towels, and a few items on the counter.  He saw the body oil and lotion, opening each and sniffing the containers. Jayne yelled at him. “Stay out from under my sink!”  He laughed out loud because when she called to him, his hand was on the door of the cabinet. “Keep out of my medicine cabinet too!”

The jibes were irrelevant to his master plan to move their relationship forward tonight.  Armed with only a bottle of body oil, Toshi walked into the living room, perched himself upon the ottoman, and set to work.  After tonight, the two of them would form a new connection as a couple.

The woman slumped on the couch was not the sexy ingénue that graced his office two days prior.  This woman that stared back at him through half open eyes was the cocoon which housed his beautiful Jayne.  He was about to set her free.

“Jayne, I am going to do a series of massages on you to release you and free you up a bit. Okay?”

The response was a groan, mixed with a “whatever,” and “my panties are staying on Mister.”

Her right foot was raised from the floor, with the sole planted in the middle of his chest.  Toshi leaned forward to take hold of the bottom of her tee shirt, asking her permission to touch her abdomen before he raised the cotton top exposing her belly while pushing the fabric of the pants down.  Warm hands explored her stomach pressing lightly until he found two lumps.  Using his index and middle fingers, he applied pressure under both sides of her navel in two quick thumps followed by adding compression in three other spots.  Jayne sat up on the couch, eyes wide. “What in the world?”

“Two days of bad food. I moved it forward, so now you should not feel so sluggish.” His hand slowly rubbed her calf as he stared into her eyes.  “I am also ready for us to move forward as well.”  He applied pressure to a sore spot on her leg, that she had not been aware was tender.  Three swift movements of his hand released the aching spot causing Jayne to say, “Oohh that felt good.”

“Lie back and let me work my magic. The rest is going to feel even better,” he said as he lifted her foot, massaging the soles with his thumbs. The start of his seductive assault started at her heels, with small circles.  Jayne felt her lower region begin to heat up. He locked eyes with her as he pressed deeper, making small, then medium purposeful circles with his thumbs. Fingers enclosed across the top of her feet as his thumbs pressed outward on the foot bones.
Is this supposed to be turning me on? Because it is…it really is.
The warmth she had felt earlier was intensifying, sending signals to her pocketbook to start making change.

Jayne tried to pull her foot back, but he stopped her, massaging the toes. “What are you afraid of Jayne? I move closer, you pull away.”

Wide eyes watched him massage her toes. She cooed a bit as he took the big toe into his mouth and suckled it. She swore she could smell everything in the room and feel her ovaries release an egg!  His tongue flicked over the neck of the big toe while his hands had moved back to her calf sliding up and down, with the lotion serving as a lubing agent. He nibbled at the meaty portion on the big toe. “Tonight Jayne. We are advancing our relationship. But first, I want you tell me what is holding you back?”

This question was posed as he suddenly grabbed her left leg throwing it over his right shoulder and her right leg over his left.  If anyone walked in the room, they would swear they were in the act of coitus. “Toshi, there are some cultural differences between us that can’t be ignored. A few of them are serious points of concerns for me.”
Like the position I currently find myself in
.

His hands were on her thighs, massaging the tissue of her quadriceps. “Unless we talk about what is on our minds Jayne, we will never grow.” He had moved to the ottoman closer which placed her butt in his lap.  The heat radiated through the polyester of his running pants. Concentration was escaping through her pores as her body began to respond to his touch. His hands were working her thighs like a bass player in a juke joint. “Damn,” was all she could muster at the moment as he lowered her right leg to the floor.  What Jayne had been afraid he would see, was now very evident. The seat of her pants were wet. With the light colored fabric, he could see it clearly.

“Now we are getting somewhere,” he said as he went to work on her left foot, repeating what he had done to the right. Toes in his mouth and all.

Thoughts pinged about her head as she tried to mentally will her nipples to flatten back out, so she threw something out to throw him off track. “Toshi, our two races are so different. I mean mine came to America on a boat.”

It did not stop his tongue from flickering across the neck of her big toe as he responded. “So did mine.”

Feeling vulnerable, she told him through gritted teeth, “well my people were in the bottom of the ship rowing it.”

He picked her right leg up and placed it upon his shoulder again, using his thumbs to press into the muscle and the base of her glutes. “In some instances, Jayne, mine were as well.  If not in the bottom, then in the kitchens cooking and doing the laundry.” He pulled her back into his lap, pushing the base of her top upward where it rested under her small breasts, exposing her midriff. His hands were hot as they moved across her taut abdomen, feeling as if he were stealing all of her breath. It did not take him long to spot the birth control patch. An index finger explored the fabric of the patch, letting Jayne know, that he saw it. “Is this new?”

“Yes, I got it on Thursday,” she told him as she exhaled loudly.

His hands moved lower, almost touching the top of her girly curls. “So you are thinking what I am thinking as well?”

Jayne couldn’t concentrate. “No, I am thinking Toshi, my people built the most of the east coast and the railways to connect to the west.”
Why didn’t I put on a bra?
She could feel his thumbs now at the base of her breasts, coming close, but not touching.  His fingers slid underneath her body, moving one digit at a time along her spinal column as if he were playing a private recital on the ivories.  Somewhere between T7 and T18 on her spinal column, he hit a nerve and her legs turned to jelly flopping open at the knees.

“And my people settled the west and built the railroad east to connect with the railways, often dying in camps.” His hands moved lower on her spine.  Her shoulders were on the couch while the largest part of her was in his lap.  “All of that is history Jayne. I am trying to discuss a future.” His finger went lower to her lumbar nerves, stroking L1 as he moved down through L5.

“You can’t…” she mumbled, trying to say more, but her mouth felt as if she had sucked on a bowl of cotton balls. “…discuss a future, if you can’t understand your past, is what I am trying to say. Ooh shit, Toshi. Hit that spot again.”  Toshi went back to the spot giving it a bit more attention and Jayne moaned out loud. “Yes, that feels so damn good! A bit harder Toshi! Just a bit deeper!”
A few more of those and he is going to see my O face
.