Chapter6
Kevin opened the door and Celeste walked in with a big smile on her face, her eyes dancing with anticipation. “You got the same room again!” She laughed softly.
He closed the door and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I did… it’s kind of becoming ‘our room’ isn’t it?” He gave her a soft kiss and looked at her thoughtfully. “I like that. I like the continuity of it.”
“I like it too,” she agreed, and lifted her mouth to meet his, kissing him again. The fires of desire began to build between them quickly and as their mouths grew ravenous and their hands grew desperate, clothes fell to the floor in a trail.
“Do you think we’re going to make it to the bed?” he gasped breathlessly as his lips and tongue moved down her neck to her breasts, which were held firm in his hands.
“If we don’t make it to the bed, I’m fine with the floor, or the desk, or the chair…” she mumbled through her kisses along his neck and shoulder. “I just want you, I don’t care where it is.” She half-smiled as she clung to him, her body beginning to burn and ache for him.
He moved quickly with her to the bed, and in moments she had straddled him as he laid back there, moving her body on top of his and positioning herself above his thick, solid erection. She wanted to take her time, but the urgency in her was too great, and she slid herself over him, filling herself with him and finding almost immediate release just in the feel of him inside of her.
Kevin groaned loudly and clung to her hips as she began to sway them over him, pushing him in all the way, feeling mounting electricity move through them, sparking and catching fire. Light poured in from the window, spilling all over them both, and he stared at her as she moved over him, his hands canvassing her curves and lines, touching every part of her that he could as they wrestled against each other passionately, until at last extreme pleasure overtook them and they held on to each other with all of their might as their climaxes mingled, and they cried out together with their release.
Celeste laid her spent body alongside his, and they entwined their legs and faced each other, touching softly, kissing softly, speaking softly. He was still staring at her.
“What is it?” she asked quietly.
He shook his head slightly and ran his fingertip over her lips, her chin, her cheek, and then over her shoulder and down her arm, her breast and her hip. “We’ve met at night each time we’ve come together, and this is the first time I’ve seen you in the daytime. It’s the first time I’ve seen you in the light. I feel like I’m looking at you for the first time. You’re so beautiful. So very beautiful.”
Kevin leaned forward and kissed her, and she smiled at him and kissed him back. “I know what you mean. I didn’t know there were so many different small flecks of color in your eyes, and different highlights and lowlights in your hair. It really is like seeing you for the first time. You’re so right.”
He grinned and leaned toward her, kissing her again. “I thought I couldn’t get enough of you in the dark, but now that I’ve seen you in the light, my growing addiction to you might grow even more.” He chuckled and tasted her mouth long and slow.
When he leaned back and looked at her again, he propped his head up on the palm of his hand and gazed at her thoughtfully. “I want to do something nice for you.”
She blinked in surprise. “What do you mean do something nice for me?”
He hesitated a moment. I want to take you to dinner. Would you come out to dinner with me please?”
It felt to Celeste as if the morning sun had just risen inside of her, giving her warmth and brilliant light, all wrapped up in a ball of happiness. “Yes! Yes, I’d love that. That would be very nice, thank you!”
She hadn’t expected it at all. Not ever. Their arrangement was for sex, not for romance or dating. Yet, even though it wasn’t part of their deal, it could not have been more appealing to her, and she was delighted that he had asked. It was a sweet surprise that he wanted her company for more than just the bedroom.
“Let’s go tomorrow evening!” He sounded as excited about it as she felt. “I can pick you up. We’ll make a whole night of it.”
A shadowy cloud moved over the bright sunshine inside of her. “I can’t tomorrow night.” She sighed heavily. “I have to work.”
Consternation came over his face. “What do you mean you have to work? You aren’t working late at the office, are you? You should be out of there every evening at five.”
Celeste shook her head. “No, it’s not the office. I’m still working at the grocery store. I work at the office during the day and I have to work at the grocery store at night.”
He leaned all the way up on his elbow and looked at her astounded. “Why are you working both jobs? You should only be working at the office! The whole point of you getting the job at the office was to eliminate you having to work at the store so that you could go to school at night!”
Celeste rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. “In theory, yes. It was supposed to work that way, and it will work that way, but I have to work for two weeks before I can quit, for my two weeks’ notice.”
He shook his head. “No, you don’t. You don’t have to do that. Why are you doing that?”
She turned her head and looked over at him. “I’m doing it because I have to do it, because my boss at the grocery store is making me do it. I’m doing it because if I don’t, he swore to me that he would give me a terrible recommendation for the job at the office and for any other job I ever have in the future when they contact him for a reference. He said I either have to work the two weeks or he’ll never say a good word about me to anyone and he’ll ruin me in the business world anytime he gets a chance to. I have to give him two weeks.”
Kevin was visibly disgusted. “You don’t have to do that.” He shook his head and sighed with a frown.
“I do have to do it,” she said quietly. “I want a good work history.”
“I don’t like it,” he grumbled.
“I don’t like it either.” She gave him a little smile and leaned over to kiss his cheek, somewhat sated that he at least agreed with her that it was an awful requirement.
He was quiet a moment, then he looked at her with a smile. “So, what if we do it really fast. We’ll have a fast dinner and then I’ll make sure you get home in time to get some sleep. Would you like that?” he asked with a tender look.
“I would like it, but I’m not sure I’d be good company. I’m going to be tired.” She knew already that she wouldn’t be able to stay awake very long, though she would love to see him for dinner.
He leaned close and kissed her long and soft as his fingers made their way between her thighs and he began to massage the tender folds there. Celeste drew in a sharp breath and arched her back slightly as intense pleasure began to move through her.
“I won’t keep you long.” He breathed into her ear as he kissed his way there from her mouth and bit at her earlobe, sliding his fingers into her as he moved them.
Her heart began to race and she closed her fingers tight around his arm as her chest heaved with short breath. “I don’t know, I do want to see you but it’s such a long day…” She trailed off, barely able to think, let alone speak well.
The driving force of desire and pleasure that was burning her where his fingers manipulated her was creating a spiral inside of her mind, and everything else seemed to be fading away.
“Say yes, let me have dinner with you tomorrow night. Please… I want to see you,” he persisted, gently biting at her neck and the swell of her breast before going to take her hardened nipple into his mouth.
She could hardly breathe at all, and he pulled his hand from between her legs, pushed her thighs apart and thrust himself into the depths of her, making her cry out loudly with ecstasy.
“Say yes,” he spoke huskily in her ear as he moved deep inside of her, his own voice wavering from the passion.
There was nothing else for it. No way to combat her common sense. She wanted to be with him, no matter if it made her a little more tired the next day. She wanted more time with him, just like he wanted with her. Her arms locked around his neck and shoulders as he buried himself in her and she pushed her head back into the pillows.
“Yes! Yes…” she called out softly, and he grinned and kissed her mouth hungrily.
“Good,” he answered when their lips parted and he gazed down at her, pushing himself far into her over and over again. “That’s my girl.”
***
When Celeste dressed for work the next day, she chose a dress that would work for both the office and for her special dinner with Kevin. It was her nicest sweater dress, and it hugged her curves like her lover’s hands did so well, yet it was still nice enough to wear to work without causing too much of a stir.
She started her day at the office with a big mug of coffee, and she tried to stifle recurring yawns as she worked hard. Hector made only two trips past her desk, eyeing her closely, before he finally stopped and took a seat in one of the chairs before her desk.
“I want to talk with you. Something’s going on here and I want to know what it is.” Concern shone in his eyes.
Celeste looked up at him in utter surprise. “What? What’s wrong? Did I make a mistake on something?”
He sighed softly and shook his head. “No, you haven’t made any mistakes. Actually, I’m really impressed with all of the work that you’re doing. You’ve caught on like aces and you’re doing a great job, but I’m not blind.”
She blinked in confusion and gave her head a subtle shake. “You’re not blind? I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean.”
“No, I’m not. I can see that you’re coming in exhausted every day. Why is that? What’s going on that you’re not getting enough sleep at night and you’re trying to compensate that with gallons of coffee every morning? And why do you keep working through your lunch hour?”
Biting at her lip, she wondered for a passing moment if she should tell him the truth. She was afraid that it might cost her the job she had just gotten, but then she let the worry go. It was always best to tell the truth, or at least almost always, and this was one of the times when she knew that it would be the right thing to do.
“Well, I have another job, but it’s only for a little while longer.” She felt her heart begin to beat rapidly, and she hoped that he couldn’t see that it made her nervous to talk about it.
“Another job?” Hector asked, looking at her in confusion.
“Yes, the job I had before getting this job was at the grocery store. You saw that on my resume. The thing is, my boss there is requiring that I work two weeks before I end my employment there. My two-week notice, I guess.” She tried to keep the dismal feelings she had about it out of her voice and the expression off of her face. She didn’t want Hector to think that she wanted to just walk away from the job that she was leaving.
He blinked and frowned at her. “Wait… you’re still working at the grocery store at night?”
“Every night,” she answered, wondering if it was going to be a problem for him.
“How many hours a night are you working?” He was nothing short of astounded.
“Eight,” she said. “It’s a full-time position.”
His mouth fell open slightly. “Eight? You’re working eight hours here and then driving to the store in Glenrose Heights and working eight hours there? So, sixteen-hour workdays?”
Celeste felt her heart nearly stop in her chest. “Yes.”
Hector’s brow furrowed deeply. “Are you still going to school?”
She tried to stop from rolling her eyes. “I wish I was still going to school. I can’t go while I’m working at the grocery store. Right now, I’m just doing the homework and sending that in online. It’s the best I can do while I finish up my time at the supermarket.”
Hector was floored. “That’s insane! Why didn’t you just quit the job at the grocery store?”
Celeste knew that it was best to keep telling him the truth. “I wanted a good job recommendation for the future, and the only way to get it was to finish out my two weeks, so that’s what I’m doing. It wasn’t really an option.”
He pursed his lips and looked away from her, averting his eyes and shielding his thoughts about it. After a long moment he stood up and sighed, pushing his hands down into the pockets of his suit pants.
“All right. Well, that stack of files that you’re working on today isn’t all in a dire state of emergency. The four on the bottom can wait for tomorrow if you want to do them then if you don’t get them done in time today. That’s not an issue.” He gritted his teeth silently and then gave her a nod and walked back into his office.
Celeste only thought about it for a minute before she shook her own head and decided to work through lunch to make sure that she got all of the work done that she needed to. She didn’t want anything left over for the next day, and she didn’t want to leave any work undone.
She was going through the files getting as much work done as she could when her cell phone buzzed and she picked it up to see the message. It was from Kevin. He texted, ‘I can’t wait to see you.’
Giddy with excitement and delight, she answered back simply, ‘Me too,’ and then she went back to work.
At five that evening she left the office with a wave to Hector, who was still sitting at his desk. He gave her a sort of empathetic smile and wished her a good night. It felt to her as if the bond between them was softening some, and that was a welcome change for her. She wanted to have a good working relationship with him. She wanted more than anything to succeed in her new job, and to do so well with it that she was able to be promoted to other positions within the company and work her way up. It was what she had dreamed of and hoped for a long time, and now it was within her grasp; it was a reality.
She left the office and drove her old car to the grocery store, slipping her apron on over her dress. As she opened her register to get her line going for the night, Keisha and Tonia eyed her curiously.
Keisha opened her mouth first. “Well look at you! Ain’t you looking fancy tonight! What are you all dressed up for?” She raised a brow and gave Celeste a half smile.
Celeste was too happy inside to let her coworkers give her too much hell. She shrugged off the answer dismissively. “Oh, I’m just having dinner with a friend after work. I wanted to look nice. That’s all.” She turned to her register, but Keisha wasn’t about to let it go that easily.
“A friend?” Keisha leaned over and looked across Celeste’s register at Tonia. “Did you hear that? She’s having dinner with a friend. I bet it’s her special friend. Her secret boyfriend!”
Celeste frowned slightly. “He’s just a friend. It’s really not like that. He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Yeah, whatever. I know you didn’t dress up like that to go have dinner with an old buddy of yours. You look that good because you either want this man or you are already having this man and you want to keep up appearances. Ain’t nobody dressing up that nice for no friend.” Keisha just wasn’t going to quit, but luckily for Celeste, the store was unusually busy that night, and their lines kept them occupied enough that she didn’t have to listen to too much of their guff.
At least, she didn’t have to listen to too much of it until their shift was ending, and Tonia suddenly gasped, grabbing Keisha’s arm. Keisha howled loudly, and Celeste turned sharply to see what her two friends were going on about.
Walking into the store in a suit so fine and with such a polished look that he could have been modeling on the cover of a men’s fashion magazine, was Kevin, and he was carrying a gorgeous bouquet of a dozen red roses.
Celeste felt fire rise in her cheeks as her heart nearly beat right out of her chest. She knew that there was no way that the two women next to her were ever going to let their hassling go after that.
Keisha’s mouth fell open. “That’s your friend? He’s white!” she began, but Tonia grabbed Keisha’s arm and pulled her away as Kevin made his way to Celeste. Celeste felt trapped between her real world and the draw to her new world which seemed to her just then as much more of a dream than a reality.
She didn’t know if she should run or stay put, but she didn’t have to decide because before she could make up her mind, Kevin was there beside her, handing her the big bouquet of red roses and leaning down to kiss her softly. She heard Keisha howl again, and then she heard Tonia shush her up.
Kevin grinned at her. “Are you ready? Is it okay to leave?”
Celeste nodded. “Yes, we can go right now.” She wished that he had just waited for her outside instead of walking into the store to pick her up, but she knew that from his perspective, he was being a gentleman with her, and wasn’t intentionally trying to make her life harder, though that was precisely what he had just done by walking in.
He held his arm out and she slid her hand around it and walked side by side with him out of the store and to his waiting car. It was a silver BMW, sitting just outside of the door. She heard Tonia and Keisha behind her and she didn’t dare turn around and look when Kevin opened her side of the car and helped her into it. She knew that they were watching her, and that there was no way she wasn’t going to hear about every bit of it later on.
Kevin closed the door and a moment later he was in the driver’s seat, heading away from the grocery store and out of the dark, poor end of town into the center of town, where the city lights shone like diamonds against a black velvet sky.
She was a kaleidoscope of mixed feelings; part shame for what she knew her coworkers were thinking, part pride for being with such a good-looking and well-put-together man instead of the train wrecks that they were so often associated with in her neighborhood, excitement for the night ahead no matter what it brought, and anxiety about all of it together.
“It’s awfully late. Are you sure we’ll be able to find something open? We don’t have to do this tonight. I mean, I want to,” she assured him with confliction, “I just feel like there probably isn’t anything open and I am worried we won’t find any place to go.”
Kevin looked over at her and reached his hand to take hers and hold it. “We’re going to a very nice place, and they’re keeping it open just for us. There’s nothing to worry about.”
She decided to trust him and just enjoy herself. With some effort, she let go of the knot of anxiety deep in her stomach, and let the feelings of joy and delight that had come with seeing him and being with him fill her. It was their first date, she told herself, and she didn’t want to ruin it by worrying about anything. She wanted to have fun, to savor his company and his time, and to make a memory with him that she would cherish for a long while to come.
Twenty minutes later, he was parking the car just outside the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Peachtree Street. He helped her out of the car and kept her hand in his as he walked toward the Atlanta Grill that was part of the Ritz.
She gasped with surprise and delight. “This is where we’re going? I’ve never eaten here. I always wanted to, though. They aren’t open this late, are they? It’s after one-thirty in the morning! There isn’t even anyone here!”
The lights were on inside, but she couldn’t see any customers.
“I reserved it for us. The chef is a friend of mine. It wasn’t a problem at all.” He winked at her as he knocked on the door, and a moment later it was opened by a young man who nodded and smiled widely at them.
“Good evening! Welcome to the Atlanta Grill! Your table is right this way.” He led them through the empty restaurant as old jazz music played over the speakers and filled the air. The whole place was done with an art deco design in black and white with silver accents; a steakhouse with flair and style. It was elegant with just a touch of casual added to it.
They were seated at a booth that had a high rounded back and could have seated six people comfortably. There was candlelight glowing there already, and two plates were set with some of the finest dishes that she had ever seen, including crystal stemware.
“Dinner will be served immediately,” the young man told them with a bow, and then he poured champagne for them and discreetly disappeared.
Celeste could only laugh in amazement and shake her head gently in disbelief. “This is… I can’t…” She shook her head again as she looked over at Kevin. “You’re incredible. I have no idea how you pulled this off, but this is already the best date that I’ve ever been on. Thank you so much. It means a lot to me, and I appreciate it.”
He grinned at her and handed a glass of champagne to her as he lifted his own in the air. “A toast, to our first date, and to each other. Friends and lovers.”
She could do nothing but grin right back at him. “To friends and lovers, and each other,” she agreed. They toasted and sipped their champagne, and then she leaned close to him and kissed his mouth softly. He returned her kiss and lingered in it with her for a long moment, savoring her, and when they parted it was as if the whole world around them fell away, and they might have been the only people in the universe.
Minutes later a silver tray on wheels was rolled out to their table and an elaborate dinner was placed before them. Kevin turned to her with a slightly apologetic look on his face. “Normally this would be a five-course meal served one course at a time and we’d go through a couple of bottles of champagne, and then I’d take you upstairs and wrap myself around you in one of the beds all night long, but I know you’re tired and you need some sleep. So, it’s far less champagne, and all of the meal will be served at once to save on time. I do hope you enjoy it!” He gave her a wide smile and she leaned over and kissed him again.
“I’m just glad to spend the evening with you, but all of this… picking me up and bringing me here, and spoiling me this way, this is all so wonderful. I love it, thank you.” She could see how happy it made him to do so much for her, and they both enjoyed themselves enormously.
They enjoyed their dinner, and when it was finished, he danced with her to one song before walking her out to the car and tucking her into the passenger seat. She fell asleep on the way home, and when he got to her apartments, he helped her out and walked with his arm around her to her door.
She was so tired that she didn’t see the look of dismay and near disgust on his face as he eyed the apartments that she lived in. She only focused on the feel of his arm around her. There was a brief moment when she sighed with relief that Darnell wasn’t out slumped in his chair drunk or passed out, sparing her the embarrassment of Kevin having to see or hear the old man.
Celeste unlocked her front door and Kevin had it closed and locked just a moment later. She turned to look at him with a shy but tired smile. “Are you staying here with me tonight?”
He shook his head and kept his arm around her. “No, you’re much too tired for me to stay, though I wish I could spend the night with you. You need to sleep.”
He walked with her to her bedroom and kissed her goodnight just before she crawled into bed. He left then, closing her bedroom door behind him and looking around her home as he started to walk out. Kevin only paused a moment in front of the little makeshift desk where her old, broken down laptop sat, and he ran his fingers over it and frowned, furrowing his brow as he pursed his lips and headed for the door, making sure that it was locked after he walked out and closed it tightly.
Safe and warm in her bed, Celeste fell asleep to sweet dreams of him.