The Road to the Country, Part IV

If you missed out on the first part of the love story, you can catch up here:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Now on to the continuation, but not the conclusion....

Days passed in a whirl. I talked to or saw my new guy every day. We would talk on the phone or he often came over in the late evenings after I got off work at the tux shop. My heart never stopped fluttering when I was with him and my mind couldn’t stop thinking about him when we were apart. My roommate was often there and we chatted together until she went to bed. Then, the two of us, finally alone, talked about everything important and everything not so important. He made me laugh. Our time together ticked off like seconds instead of hours. How did it get to be 2 in the morning? we often wondered as we sat cuddled up on my couch. The goodbye hugs got longer and I waited in anticipation for our first kiss. But true to his word, he waited for me to give the word that I was ready.

The conversation where I told him I wanted to wait to kiss until we were engaged haunted me. Why did I say that? I knew him well enough now and longed to be with him so badly, that the lack of a kiss was like torture. I tried in vain to figure out how to bring it up.

“Come on, Baby, plant one on me,” sounded a bit too forward.

“Let’s do it,” gave completely the wrong impression.

“I’m ready,” was like an After School Special waiting to happen.

Almost a month after our first official date to the State Fair, we were invited for dinner at the beach with his grandma. She was staying at her time-share condo and her two granddaughters were with her. I had never met any of them and I was terribly nervous. It was early Fall and the day was perfect. We drove the hour to the coast and found the right room. Immediately when the door was opened, I was welcomed by the most kindly grandmother. She folded me in a hug that sent sweetness clear down to my toes. I was the first girl her dear grandson had brought around for awhile and it seemed she planned to keep me there, by her embrace alone. I felt accepted and my nerves dissipated in the welcoming environment.

Dinner wasn’t ready for awhile, so me and the object of my affection walked down to the beach. Early Autumn is the best time at the Oregon coast. It was warmer than summertime and there was no wind. We sat down in the warm sand and stared out at the majestic sea. Could life get any better than this? I thought. Well, yes. He could kiss me! Again my mind stumbled around for a totally cool way to bring up the kissing conversation.

I jumped right in, so totally cool and collected, “So, do you remember that conversation we had awhile ago? Um, like a month ago, where I said that I wanted to wait for, uh, you know, more than, um, 

hugging?”

He gave me a knowing smile and said, “I’m not sure what you are getting at. More than hugging? This sounds interesting.”

He calmly laid back onto the sandy beach with his arms behind his head. He closed his eyes against the late afternoon sun without a care in the world. Embarrassed and mildly humored, I poked at his stomach in retribution. He flinched and my fingers met the tightly coiled muscles of his lean abs. My eyes followed the lines of his broad chest and up to his strong biceps. I could barely catch my breath and I groaned in frustration as I flopped down in the sand beside him.

“Are you going to make me come right out and say it?” I asked.

“That is what you requested. And I am a gentleman who would never do something that you specifically asked me not to do.”

“That is so unromantic!” I whined as I kicked my bare feet in the sand.

My eyes were closed, but I knew that he was now on his side, leaning on his elbow looking at me with that irritatingly gorgeous, cocky grin.

“Why don’t you just say it and get it over with?” He prodded.

“Now that you want me to, I think I can wait a few months longer. Maybe years.”

“Just say, ‘I would like you to kiss me.’”

I shook my head in defiance. “Never.”

“Please.” He said quieter now. I opened one eye to peak at his expression, but quickly continued my joking, believing he should be tortured some more.

“No” – The word was silenced as his lips came down on mine. The kiss was strong and tender and far too short. He moved away from me and smiled. I lifted my head up and kissed him again, wanting to lose control, but he resisted and laid back again in the sand.

“Now, was that so hard?” He teased. 

I jumped up and tickled his stomach as I raced away from him, knowing that he would catch me in less than two paces. And he did. He swept me off my feet and held me close as the ocean roared around us. He kissed me again, slower this time. And I knew that I was dangerously close to being flat-out, head over heals in love as I absorbed the perfection of his embrace.