Until the End of Time (22 page)

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Authors: Melanie Schuster

BOOK: Until the End of Time
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Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

 

Renee was so touched that tears filled her eyes. Andrew leaned over and kissed away the tears. “That wasn’t supposed to make you cry,” he said gruffly. “I must not recite very well.”
Renee kissed him back, very gently. “Oh no, Andy, you did it just right. You’re so sweet, I don’t think I deserve you,” she said softly.
Andrew disagreed with her. “Well, I don’t know about all that. But I know I deserve to eat. You worked me hard, woman. Feed me, so I get my strength back,” he said comically.
Renee kissed him once more and then did as he asked and fed him the tray of fruit, cheese and croissants that she had prepared. He moaned his appreciation as she fed him a piece of canary melon wrapped in prosciutto. His eyes lit up as she offered him a raspberry Bellini to follow the saltiness of the Italian ham; raspberries were another passion that they shared.
“
You know, Renee, I could get used to this kind of treatment and want it all the time,” he warned her. “What would you do then?”
Renee had gotten out of the bed to remove the tray and put it back on the trunk. She turned to look at Andrew, whose arms were crossed behind his head and who was wearing an extremely happy expression and nothing else.
“
Well, I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” she said with a smile. “In the meantime, how about the only bubble bath you may ever get in this house,” she said over her shoulder as she walked towards the bathroom. Andrew was out of the bed before she finished the sentence.
***
The next few weeks were as sweet and rhapsodic as anything either of them could have imagined, although not nearly as discreet. By some tacit agreement they still hadn’t revealed their relationship to the world at large. It was still much too new and tender to be subjected to scrutiny, although various family members found out bits and pieces here and there. One weekend they were shopping at the Somerset Collection, ostensibly to find a suitable shower gift for Bennie. The wedding was getting closer and closer, as it was taking place in October, and Renee was throwing a shower for her best friend whether she liked it or not. Bennie felt that she and Clay had way too much stuff as it was, and wasn’t looking forward to more things. Renee was ignoring that—Bennie was her best friend and she was getting something wonderful.
She and Andrew had wandered around the huge mall aimlessly, enjoying each other’s company more than anything. It was there that Andrew’s sister-in-law Tina had seen them hand in hand and oblivious to anyone else. Their intimate demeanor suggested that this was way more than an outing of two old friends.
Hmmph. It’s about time,
thought Tina. She didn’t make her presence known; she knew all too well that privacy was critical in the early stages of love. She couldn’t stop smiling all the way, though.
Donnie was the next Cochran to discover the truth of their relationship. The occasion was a cookout at Bennie and Renee’s the day after the shower. Bennie was outdoors watching Alan and Andre grill the meat. Renee was in the kitchen arranging vegetables on kabobs to grill after the meat was done. Andrew was entering the kitchen with Donnie when Donnie got a wicked gleam in his eye. He picked up a dishtowel and wrapped it around Andrew’s hand and doused the hand with a bottle of hot sauce that was on the cooking island. Before Andrew could protest, Donnie picked up a large knife and put it in Andrew’s other hand. Renee’s back was to the two men and she wasn’t paying them a bit of attention until Donnie’s dramatic announcement.
“
Damn! Renee, Andrew cut his hand!”
She whirled around with a look of total panic on her face. She had turned as pale as the French Vanilla walls of the kitchen. Covering her mouth with her hand she ran to Andrew. “Oh, my God! Oh baby, are you hurt? Donnie call an ambulance,
now
! Oh Andy, baby, let me see,” she implored, trying to remove the dishtowel.
Andrew looked daggers at Donnie and took the towel off his arm. “Renee, sweetheart, it’s just hot sauce. I’m not hurt; Donnie was just trying to be funny, that’s all. I’m sorry baby, really, I am,” he said gently.
Renee’s relief was audible as she sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around Andrew’s neck. She stayed there until her heart stopped pounding while he stroked her back with his clean hand. They stayed in each other’s arms murmuring to each other and doing a lot of kissing, forgetting that Donnie was in the room.
Donnie was totally dumbfounded. He had meant absolutely no harm; it was the kind of stunt that Andrew was forever playing on Renee. Who knew that the two of them had hooked up? And from all appearances it was quite serious, too. Donnie decided it was time for him to vacate the premises, but it was too late. Andrew’s voice caught him before he could leave the room. “You can apologize later, Adonis, but just make sure you keep this to yourself, okay?”
Donnie cringed. Andrew never called him by his full name of Adonis unless he was really serious. He mumbled something and got the heck out of there before he did something else stupid.
Andrew and Renee. Who would have thought it possible?
He smiled as he left the room. His big brother really did have game after all.
***
It was getting harder and harder to keep her relationship a secret from Bennie. Not the actual dating part; Bennie was so wrapped up in wedding plans and moving to Atlanta plans that she hardly noticed what was going on around her, of that Renee was sure. It was the not telling part that was hard; it was such a delightful secret that it was killing Renee not to confide in Bennie. She couldn’t wait to see the look on her best friend’s face when she found out they were a couple. But the timing wasn’t quite right for Renee—she didn’t want to distract Bennie in any way from the monumental tasks ahead of her. So she bided her time and thought she did a great job of keeping it under wraps. She would have been crushed to know that she was failing miserably.
Her entire staff at Urban Oasis was well aware that something incredible had happened to their boss. Renee had always been a pleasant person to work for and with; now she was a veritable goddess of joy. She floated into the salon in the mornings, she was charming and vivacious all day long and she was constantly thinking up things to show her staff how much she appreciated them. She would bring lunch in that she had prepared herself, or she would order out for everyone. There were added incentives, too, in the form of bonuses for outstanding performance. Urban Oasis was now the most sought after salon in town as a place to work as well as a place to be royally pampered.
Valerie knew the moment the change had come over Renee; she sensed it as soon as she saw the way Renee was glowing on her first day back at work after her weekend with Andrew. Valerie was discreet enough not to say anything in front of anyone else, but as soon as she got Renee alone she couldn’t resist. She gave her a knowing look and said, “I told you—hot and steamy does the trick every time, doesn’t it?”
“
Hell
, yes,” Renee said promptly. She didn’t even pretend like she didn’t know what Valerie was talking about.
They both cocked their heads in the often-used nod that meant “I-ain’t-mad-atcha-witcha-bad-self” and started laughing. Valerie knew a major corner had been turned when Renee suggested it was time they started thinking about a shower for Charlotte whose wedding was going to be in November. It was plain that Renee’s emotional boundaries had been brought down by Andrew. And it was about time.
Andrew knew that Renee cared for him deeply—it was apparent in the way she talked to him, the way she treated him and the way she looked at him with her heart in her eyes. He didn’t think he would ever get over his happiness at being with Renee as a couple. The time that they spent together was like a gift to him, one that he hadn’t had much time to enjoy lately. The military precision with which his sister’s wedding arrangements was unfolding was terrible and fascinating to behold. Not to mention the fact that she would be moving to Atlanta at the end of it all. As her housemate and best friend, Renee was naturally in the thick of these plans and didn’t have nearly as much free time as Andrew would’ve liked. Plus, she was going to have to use some of that precious time to visit her mother in Cleveland, something that Andrew was trying to be adult about.
“
Andy, it’s my mother’s birthday so of course I have to go,” she said reasonably. “And you’ll be at that medical conference, anyway. So really, it couldn’t have worked out better,” she pointed out.
They were sitting together on Andrew’s huge leather sofa. To be more accurate, Renee was sitting and Andrew was stretched out with his head in her lap. A cooling breeze came through the opened widows and a Jill Scott CD was playing softly. The only light came from the scented candles which lit the room and everything would have been perfect if they had been planning a weekend getaway instead of separate trips. Andrew said as much to Renee without opening his eyes. He was too comfortable for one thing, and he didn’t want to give away how much he was going to miss her for another. They were only going to be apart for a couple of days, but it was looming like a separation of months to Andrew. He inhaled Renee’s unique fragrance before drawing her head down for a long, lingering kiss.
As they pulled apart, he abruptly got up from his reclining position and stood up, pulling Renee up with him. Without a word they began dancing and before Renee could protest, he had danced them up the stairs to his bedroom. Not that she would have said no; Andrew had her completely under his spell. Renee was still overwhelmed by the act of love as she experienced it with Andrew. He was gentle, passionate, inventive and energetic; everything that she had never had in a lover. In Andrew’s arms she truly understood what it was like to be a fulfilled woman.
Andrew’s eyes bored into hers as they removed each other’s clothing, piece by piece until they were completely naked and ready for each other’s love. Andrew was the happy owner of a huge, heated waterbed, a type of furniture Renee had never appreciated until the first time she lay down with Andrew in its warm embrace. With the pliant heat of the mattress underneath her and his firm, hot body on top of hers, it was like being suspended in ecstasy. This time was no exception as she felt herself surrounded by his arms. As he began tracing a line of kisses down her neck, Renee felt as though she was being stroked with a mink glove. The moist heat of his tongue and lips was so profoundly sensual that she was lost in the exquisite pleasure that was building inside.
Renee was conscious only of the sweet fire that had overtaken her; it did not dawn on her exactly what Andrew was about to do until he reached the springy curls at the apex of her femininity. When she realized the depth of the intimacy that she was about to experience, she tried in vain to be nervous or embarrassed and discovered that all she felt was desire. Andrew was touching her with such desire and reverence that she lost the ability to think—she could only feel. And what she felt defied description as wave after wave of hot, consuming passion rolled through her leaving her weak from sensation. By the time Andrew had kissed his way back up her body to her lips she was almost spent from the encounter. But then his lips touched hers and she was again wakened to ecstasy from his touch.
“
Andy, that was…wonderful,” she sighed. She was too honest to hide her eyes; she looked directly at him so that he could see the happiness and desire shining out of them. Andrew did not respond right away, he was too taken with the love in her eyes. Finally he spoke.
“
Do you know why it was so good, Renee?” He waited for her to turn her head from side to side to signify ‘no’ before he told her. “It’s because I love you completely,” he whispered.
Renee smiled and kissed him sweetly before urging him to turn over on his back so that she could straddle him with her long legs. She was poised over him like an African goddess with an incredible expression on her face while she stroked his chest with both hands.
“
I’m going to give you something equally incredible, Andy. And do you know why?
Mon Andrew cheri, vous etes tout a moi. Vous etes ma joie, Mon coeur, Mon plus grand tresor. Je ne Suis avant jamais senti comme ceci et personne ne pourranient jamais m’inciter a sentir cette voie encore. Je vous aime tellement que quand nous sommes distants, Mon coeur casse l’heure par l’heure jusqu’a ceque nous soyons ensemble. Vous etes ma chaque pensee, mon chaque desir et je vous aime avec tout mon coeur.”
(Translation: My darling Andrew, you are everything to me. You are my joy, my heart, my greatest treasure. I have never felt like this before and no one could ever make me feel this way again. I love you so much that when we are apart my heart breaks hour by hour until we are together. You are my every thought, my every desire and I love you with all my heart.)
Renee continued to stroke his muscular chest in preparation for her exploration of his body. She was smugly pleased that she had just told Andrew how much she adored in without him understanding a word of it. She spoke French to him every time they made love because it was easier than pouring out the overflowing emotions that she felt. Love and trust were still quite new to her, after all. So it was quite shocking when Andrew began to speak to her in a low, confident voice full of adoration.

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