Kiss Me Cate Pt. 05

"You have never looked hideous, ever." I whispered.

We got to the house, the porch lights glowed in the cold darkness. We walked carefully up the walk and I let her in ahead of me. I turned off the lights and locked up. In the bedroom she sat and removed her shoes, and stood and turned her back to me pulling her ponytail over her shoulder. I leaned forward and kissed the nape of her neck softly before I unhooked her dress. I unzipped it slowly, kissing my way down until it stopped. I stood and placed my hands on her back and pushed the dress off her shoulders, letting it slide down her arms, and her body. She stepped out of it, and I zipped it back up and hung it up. She didn't move and I came back and pushed the little slip off and she stepped free, I laid it over her bag. I reached up and undid her bra and slid it off her shoulders, she shrugged and it came free in my hand and it laid across the slip. She turned to me, her face glowed in the dim light of the lamp. I took her face in my hands and gently kissed her. Her fingers tugged at the knot of my tie, and she began to undress me, as I had her. Our lovemaking was unhurried, soft like the roll of the surf on a moonlit beach. We lay nested together in our warm cocoon of blankets, the quiet so deep that our breathing sounded loud to my ears. A sliver of moonlight peeked between the curtains and left a pale white line across the floor. I was tired but my mind was restless keeping me from drifting off to sleep. Her chest rose and fell slowly, the unlabored breath of slumber.

"I love you so much." I whispered softly. The admission was so real to me. I couldn't imagine a life without her, the fear of simple infatuation was gone, replaced by a tie, a pull so strong that not only did I not want to escape it, I wanted to pull it closer until there was no space between her and I. I believed that she pulled towards me too. I started wondering about our future. Our age, a point she brought up occasionally, was not an issue for me. I didn't know why it was for her but I hoped to overcome that. Our situation, being students and teacher had been overcome, and I hoped that would fade away soon. I had no idea what her plans were after graduation, or for that matter what mine were. I'd envisioned a move out west, maybe Silicon Valley or somewhere nearby and hopefully getting work with one of the technology companies there. Right now, I only wanted to be where Cate was. I smiled and realized that I was willing to give up everything for her, and she'd argue that idea until we were both red-faced. I finally felt myself relaxing and I started to slip off to sleep. The darkness washed over me, warmth surrounded me, and I'd nearly lost consciousness when I thought I heard something, a whisper in the darkness.

"I would have said yes."

I wasn't sure if my mind was playing tricks on me, Cate's chest rose and fell in a slow unbroken rhythm, and I wondered if it was my subconscious playing tricks on me. I closed my eyes and sighed, letting sleep finally overtake me.

Cate gazed out into the darkness. She was fairly certain that Dylan was asleep. His grip on her had relaxed, though his arm was tucked up between her breasts over her heart where he usually had it when they slept. She wondered about their future. How her family was going to react. Her sisters would accept him easily, her mother wouldn't be much tougher. He was a handsome, intelligent, hard-working man who loved her without question. He was unlike any boy she'd ever dated. At first there were the usual bounders that thought highly of themselves when she was just starting at uni. Then the attack. She had never elaborated on it until very recently. "It wasn't rape, he was too drunk for it. I'm sure it would have been had he been able." Then she met Samar, he had been the epitome of tall, dark and handsome at the time, but the luster wore off as she got to know him. Just the opposite was happening with Dylan, the more she got to know him, the deeper her feelings became. She whispered softly. "I would have said yes."