Max began kissing every inch of my body. All these sensations were so foreign to me, every single one of them was a carnival in itself. I was so self-conscious of the scars that I reached to turn the light off. Max must have understood because he said, “You’re beautiful – leave it on.”
“Max, I’ve waited so long, don’t make me wait anymore.”
Max shook his head at me, in a cool voice confiding, “I waited too long for this moment to rush any part of it. Relax, and let me savor you a little while longer. I need to see if I can make time stand still.” He went back to my abdomen and continued working his way all over me. Eventually, he pulled a condom from his bedside table.
There are no words to describe the magic between us. Although our first time together was more painful than I had imagined, I could see it was a completely different experience for him. I could see his love for me through his eyes, and I could feel it in his touch.
I finally dozed off, his body wrapped around mine, exactly where I wanted to be. I didn’t care about what happened two years ago, or a week ago, or anything that might happen in the future. As of today - I had everything I would ever need.
Somewhere around three a.m. I awoke and reveled in the safety and warmth of his arms, his body still wedged to mine. The comfortable feeling began to evaporate, replaced by my desire for round two. The initial soreness I had felt diminished as we wound ourselves together a second time. When we had finished, Max asked, “Are you okay, did I hurt you?”
“Are you kidding me? I’ve been waiting for you forever. It’s nice to know sometimes reality is better than fantasy.”
Max whispered back, “I’m going to close my eyes and see if I wake up tomorrow.” He paused while I tried to understand what he meant. “I’m not sure if I was blown up by a roadside bomb today and I’m in heaven, or if I’m really with you. Either way is a win-win, but I can’t wait to find out.” He kissed the top of my head and held me tight until I drifted off to sleep again.
Chapter 8
Our days together flew by, daylight hours filled with outdoor activities: mowing, trimming hedges, mulching flower beds, power washing buildings, feeding animals and anything else that needed to be done. Max and I did everything together; no chore was ever a one-person job. I began to wonder if the novelty would ever wear off, but I couldn’t get enough of him and he seemed to feel the same.
Having Joe around was great comic relief. He wasn’t nearly as handy with the manual labor, but he was so thrilled to be with Max and me that he was eager to assist wherever he could. I believe this time in my life could only be called pure bliss.
It had been nearly two weeks since Max returned. We were outside finishing up some bush trimming when I asked if he wanted some tea. He stopped trimming and walked over to me, “Sure, I’ll go with you.”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll bring you a glass.”
“That’s all right, I’m done here for now. I’ll go along.”
I didn’t want to argue, but we probably needed to talk about the fact that more than a week had gone by and he had never been further than twenty feet from me. As we started back for the house I said, “You know you can’t keep me at arm’s distance for the rest of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I love that you’re always with me, but it might be a little unrealistic.”
Max reached out and grabbed my hand but said nothing. I didn’t want to push it, because I really did like being the center of his universe, but I could see in his face that this was more of a protective posture than anything.
I heard a loud whinney from the horse barn. “Geeze, I haven’t seen the horses all week. Let’s go say hi.”
“Let’s stop by later. I’d rather get a drink.”
“Okay, go get a drink. I’m going to stop by to see the horses.”
His grip held my hand tighter for a second as he gently pulled me back toward the house. When I tried to nonchalantly loosen my hand from his, he pulled me to him, and wrapped his arms around me. This was a tender moment from out of nowhere, but I wasn’t complaining. I could hear Joe yell from the kitchen window, “Am I going to have to turn the hose on you two?”
Max let go of me. We feigned embarrassment at Joe standing on the porch with a garden hose. Max started back for the kitchen, and I said, “I’ll catch up. I’m going to the barn for a minute.”
As I turned to walk away, I caught Max following me out of the corner of my eye. We got to just outside the barn door - I entered, Max stopped short. I saw Christy in her stall, and she began prancing around pawing a greeting into the floor. I petted her and turned around to say something to Max. He hadn’t followed me in; he just stood outside the door watching me. Puzzled I asked, “What’s wrong, aren’t you coming?”
He shook his head but didn’t say anything. I went down to the other stalls. They were empty.
“Where are Ursula and Mischief?”
His voice sounded different when he answered, “I got rid of them right after the - accident.”
