I liked that last bit about him not being able to live without me, but I didn’t want to tell him that the phrase “dropping all the women in his life” made me imagine him coming home from the grocery store cradling paper grocery bags in his arms, the bags overflowing with dozens of miniature naked women, each with a label that read:
Step 1: Add water to create a full-sized floozy.
Step 2: Insert tab A into slot B.
Step 3: Repeat step 2 until desired result is achieved.
Step 4: Have fun!
I took a deep breath and let it out. I knew Christos was right. I had to accept him as-is. He was used goods. Or pre-owned, as the luxury car dealerships liked to say.
Hold on. What was I thinking? Christos wasn’t an object. He was a person. And people were messy things. I was a recovering hot mess myself. I leaned into him. “You’re right, Christos. I’m sorry. I’m being totally lame.”
“It’s okay. I understand, agápi mou. But I want you to know that the last thing I thought about when I realized I was crazy in love with you was how we were going to work out the sex thing. I just thought about the fact that I desperately loved you and needed you in my life, no matter what. I figured everything else would work itself out if we loved each other. You love me, don’t you?”
I gazed into his mesmerizing blue eyes. They swallowed my heart every time. I also realized that this man standing in front of me had heard my darkest secrets, yet he still accepted me unconditionally. How could I give him any less of myself than everything?
“I do love you, Christos. I love you more than I ever thought I could love another human being.”
“You two are so darling together,” an old woman standing behind a grocery cart loaded with cheap wine said to both of us, her eyes twinkling.
OMG, How long had she been listening? She pushed her cart past us.
“Mmm, mmm,” she hummed, “young love gets me every time. You better hold onto this one,” she said to me as she squeezed my arm gently. “They broke the mold when they made him, I can tell you. I’ve been around the block once or twice in my time, and they don’t usually look like him. Mmmm, mmmm,” she shook her head. “And I suggest you buy the extra large,” she nodded toward the condoms.
I gasped. How the hell would she know that?
“It’s the hands,” she whispered surreptitiously, “I can always tell.” She nodded confidently as she walked away. “The hands,” she mouthed silently before turning the corner.
Christos did have ginormous hands.
“What she said,” Christos said with a pussy-eating grin on his face.
I say pussy-eating, because, based on the look in his eyes, that’s probably what he was thinking about right at that moment.
I’m only slightly ashamed to admit I was sort of thinking about it too.
And other things.
Christos finally grabbed a box from the display.
“That’s a big box!” I goggled. “How big are those extra large condoms?”
Gulp!
“The box is big because it has a lot of condoms,” he said.
“How many do we need?! Isn’t one enough?”
Christos smirked. “No.”
Double gulp!
“How many are in that box?” I asked.
“Thirty-six,” he said matter-of-factly.
Triple gulp!
“Should I get two boxes?” he asked casually, “so we can have more for tomorrow?”
“Uhhhh….” Part of me wanted to run screaming from the grocery store with my knees clamped together. I wouldn’t be running per se, it would be more of a potato-sack race-hop, but it would be effective. Instead of bolting for the door, I took a good look at Christos.
He was tall. Like, mythically tall. His face was model hot. He was extremely well-built. His chiseled, muscled arms, covered in sexy tattoos, danced hypnotically every time he moved them. I knew from first-hand experience that his eight pack was ribbed and rock hard. I would be lying if I denied that I wanted to learn everything I could about his hard things.
Oh yeah, and I loved him.
I think I was drooling.
Shiver.
Waiter! Check, please!
Oh wait, where was I again?
I think I’d just lost my mind.
Chapter 8
SAMANTHA
When we brought the box of condoms to the cashier, I decided to woman-up and proudly pay for them myself.
The cashier looked sort of like my dad, but had a mustache. Although this made me fidgety and uncomfortable, I was determined to go through with it. I almost blurted, “I’m buying condoms because my boyfriend and I are going to have sex right now.” Instead, I said, “We’re going to fill these up and have a water balloon fight.”
I grimaced because I half expected the guy to ask what we were going to fill them with. Eww.
Christos rubbed the small of my back while we walked to my car. “Well done, Samantha. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Except for the fact the cashier reminded me of my dad.”
“I noticed that.”
“Now it’s like my dad knows I’m about to have sex.”
“I’m pretty sure that guy doesn’t know your dad, but I can run back inside and give him your parents’ number, if you want,” Christos joked. “He can call them and let them know.”
“No, don’t!”
“Totally kidding,” he smiled.
I huffed a sigh, “Is it possible to have my anxiety surgically removed?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. But my bet is that you’re going to forget your own name in about an hour. An hour after that, you won’t even know what planet you’re on. And then…”
“Whoa, how long does sex take? I thought it was like ten or fifteen minutes, tops.”
“Maybe with an ordinary mortal,” he winked. “You might want to consider clearing you calendar for the rest of the week.”
“Get in the car!” I ordered. “Now!”
“Yes, ma’am,” he grinned, and casually swung himself into the passenger seat of my VW.
If there were any stops signs or red lights between the grocery store and my apartment, I may have skipped one or two of them.
I was burning up when I pulled into my parking space and turned off the car. My nipples were tight against the cups of my bra. My panties were noticeably damp. I squirmed in my seat while my heart raced. I looked over at Christos.
“So, um, from this point forward,” I said nervously, “you’re pretty much in charge, because I have no idea how this is supposed to work.”
He leveled a penetrating gaze at me. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Well, you still have the safe word, just in case.”
“You mean grapes?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think I’m going to need any fruit tonight. I’ve got you,” I winked.
“You going to peel my banana?”
“What?” I was confused. “Oh! No! Gross!”
He chuckled as we got out of the car. I held the bag with the condoms in my hand.
“Stay right there.”
“Okay.”
Christos came around to my side and picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and we instantly started kissing. His tongue probed deeply into my mouth. I welcomed it. Our tongues danced and explored as our lips twisted wetly together.
We continued kissing while he carried me up the stairs to my apartment.
“I have to warn you,” he cautioned, “once we walk through this door, you may never want to come out.”
“I’m okay with that.”
Christos carried me inside and with a soft click, closed the door behind us.
I don’t know how long we made out in the living room with Christos holding me in his arms. My legs got tired at some point, but the way his strong hands cupped my ass made me want to stay right where I was. Not because I was scared to go further, but because he was kneading my ass, which sent pleasurable jolts rocketing throughout my entire body.