Requited Love

She felt his eyes on her and looked up from her hands and smiled at him, revealing very white and very neat teeth. "Finally, we can warm up!" She said. Her breath caught as she looked into his eyes and saw something she'd not seen from him before. He was paying attention to her, in a deeper way, more interested way than she'd ever seen from him, and her heart beat faster and her cheeks reddened. Grace had known from early in her life that she was attractive to men, and she knew how it felt for men to notice and pay attention to her. Often as not, the men who did were not men whom she wanted to notice her, but Jimmy was different. She'd always wanted him to notice her, to feel his gaze upon her like she did now... She felt a stirring in her body and goose bumps sprouted all along her neck and arms as a chill of excitement passed through her.

Throughout dinner, which Jimmy insisted he pay for, they flirted, casually and ambiguously at first, but by the end of the meal they'd progressed to staring into each other's eyes for several seconds beyond the point at which they could pass it off as casual introspection over his sirloin burger or her salmon on rice pilaf.

"So, where are you from, Grace?" Jimmy asked as he finished his second pint of the house draft.

"Originally, my family is from Argentina, and I lived there until I was seven." She said, now leaning forward on her elbows and holding her head in her hands. She'd discarded her jacket shortly after their arrival (immediately after she realized Jimmy was looking at her admiringly rather than simply with collegial bonhomie), and had also put her feet forward, slowly moving them until she'd found his feet. Her shoes had remained alongside and blatantly touching his Danner Corvalis boots for the last hour.

"But we moved to the US and became Americans 20 years ago." She kept her eyes locked on his, feeling goose bumps again rise along her neck and shoulders as he nodded and the blue of his eyes seemed so deep and bright to her. "You know, that term bothers a lot of people in Latin America, we in the US calling ourselves, "Americans.""

"Why?"

Grace smiled, knowing Jimmy, like most people in the US who first heard this fact, was truly perplexed rather than in any way offended. "Because they're also from 'the Americas,' and all of Latin America is in either South or North America. They feel they are also "Americans," the same way that anyone who lives in Europe is "European," regardless of which country they come from."

"Hmm. Makes sense, except that "America" is such a new place, culturally, and the US rose to dominate so much of the world so quickly, it just seems that whenever you say "American," you think of the US, rather than Brazil, or Mexico or Argentina."

"You're right, and honestly, most people I've met from Europe, Africa or Asia really do mean "US citizens" when they say Americans, which only makes Latinos even more angry. Anyway, I'm glad to be a "real" American." Grace said, smiling mischievously and winking at Jimmy.

Jimmy smiled back at her and asked, "Do you speak Spanish?"

Grace nodded, "Yes, but I've lost a lot of my speaking skills... I can still understand most of what I hear, and I have been watching Univision and Telemundo a lot more, lately, trying to improve my Spanish. But after we immigrated, I only ever used it in my house or when I was talking on the phone or computer with my relatives back in Argentina."

"Grace, you are really talented. And I hope this isn't too forward or awkward for our friendship, but you're also really beautiful; I can't stop admiring how gorgeous you are. How are you single?!" Jimmy told her this and immediately felt his vision sharpen, his pupils dilate and his palms begin to sweat slightly.

Grace felt her pulse hammering in her neck and her loins tingle and feel hot and wet. She unconsciously rubbed her feet against his, noticing he didn't move his feet away. She smiled at him, and softly cleared her throat, which suddenly felt very tight and dry. She took a sip from her wine that she'd nursed all evening, and only managed a loud whisper in reply.

"Thank you, Jimmy. I think you're very handsome, in fact, I've thought so for a long time... Since I first met you, really." She loved how his smile started as a cheeky smirk of the right corner of his mouth, and noticed his five o'clock shadow of stubble that'd grown on his face during the day, and reveled in the broadness of his shoulders and lean, solid muscle where his neck met his collarbone.

"I'm so jealous of Jenny..." She blurted out, and then bit her lower lip and looked down at the table. Her revelation surprised her, and then she began feeling embarrassed, concerned she'd been too brazen.

Jimmy swallowed once, but his eyes never registered shock, outrage, anger or disappointment. If anything, his body language showed he was relaxed at her disclosure, and then he leaned forward so that their faces were only a foot apart. She could smell a slight hint of his beer on his breath, but also noticed something else, some instinctual registration of his essence or pheromones perhaps, and she knew she wanted him, badly, no matter the consequences.

"Gracie, you have nothing to be jealous of. It's Jenny who should be jealous of you." Just as he concluded speaking, their server, a middle aged woman, arrived with the bill and asked if there was anything else they wanted.

Grace shifted her attention to the server and sat back against the booth as though she'd been caught cheating on a math test. Jimmy didn't move or shift his gaze from her eyes.

"Ah, I think we're good. I mean, I think we're ready for the cheque." Grace stammered out, smiling in a guilty, sheepish way. Jimmy reached out and quietly took the faux-leather folder holding the cheque, took out several paper bills and left $100 on $68.45, putting the money inside the folder and handing it back to the server.

"Keep the change, thank you for your service tonight, Ada." Jimmy said, looking from Grace to the server, who seemed both delighted with the tip and surprised he'd remembered her name considering how smitten he'd seemed with his blond companion and the two pints of beer he'd downed in short order.

"I'm going to the latrine, er, bathroom, and then we'll head out." Jimmy said and stood up and walked to the restroom.

Ada, their server moved back to their table after Jimmy'd left and leaned over toward Grace. "You may want to drive him home, the cops are out in force tonight."

Grace thanked Ada and gave her the still half-full glass of wine she'd ordered after they first sat down.

Her heart was still racing and her skin felt tight and hot as waves of excitement passed along her nerves every time she thought about how good it felt to touch him, speak candidly with him and know that he liked her, too. Grace made a decision on her next move and instantly felt relief, her nervousness and hesitation at an end as her desire and anticipation began to build.

As Jimmy walked, perhaps a bit unsteadily, back to their booth, Grace stood up and put her jacket on, but left it unzipped, and picked up her purse. "How about I drive?"

V

Jimmy thought about it a moment. "You know how to drive a manual transmission?"

Grace smiled, as she held out her hand for the keys. "Yes, my father made us learn how to drive manual."

"A man after my own heart." Jimmy said as he smiled and placed the keys to his Wrangler in her hand. She closed her fingers on the keys and her fingertips and nails touched his fingers; the skin of his fingers was warm and rough, his nails short and clean. It was the first time she'd felt the touch of his skin against hers since shaking his hand when they first met. She audibly sighed, and he let his fingers linger in her grasp for a moment, before he turned around and put on his wool cruiser. "He didn't ask where we were going..." She thought, a smile forming on her lips as she led the way to the restaurant door (which he opened and held for her), and then to the Jeep in the still cold, but no longer windy night.

Grace was a careful driver, never driving above the speed limit and politely yielding to anyone who wanted to merge in front of them. She also, Jimmy noted with approval, shifted gears smoothly, never grinding them nor once coming close to stalling at traffic lights or other stops. He thought back to how nice her ass and her legs looked as she'd walked ahead of him through the parking lot. He found her Adidas sneakers very cute, both in terms of their design and in how they accentuated the smallness of her feet. He also liked the tight jeans she wore which made the innately seductive, feminine swaying of her hips a clear and easy sight to enjoy. While they were in the Wrangler driving away from the brewery ("Wait, where the hell are we going?" he asked himself), he also noticed the faint botanical and cucumber, very feminine scent she brought with her to his cube, earlier that evening; it was a very welcome and alluring change to the dry, and dusty smell of the now raging heaters that blasted hot air into the Jeep.

"Grace, I know it's late," Jimmy said, looking at the dashboard clock which read 10:30. "but, would you be ok with watching a movie or something?"

She wrinkled her nose and squinted her eyes as she considered his question. "Not really, I mean I'm not really interested in a movie. It's pretty late." She kept her face looking straight ahead, but was sure she could sense him deflating a bit. She smiled inwardly, knowing that even more than most men she'd encountered, Jimmy was very literal and almost never read into what she said, and in this case, did not say in response to his question.

"I understand." he said, and this time she did look over and see that he smiled in a way that she knew he meant to be friendly but was quite plainly disappointed. She almost managed to completely hide her own amused smile and then pulled in to the parking lot of her apartment complex. She cast another quick look at Jimmy and saw that he was staring forward but likely lost in thought, as they passed the sign indicating the entrance to the apartment complex which was decidedly not the house he lived in. It wasn't until she'd pulled into a parking space and began to turn off the car that he looked around and saw they had stopped somewhere he'd not expected. He looked over at her quizzically.

She smiled again, this time putting her hand on top of his, her right on his left, and explained, "I said I wasn't interested in a movie and that it's late. Well, you're not good to drive and if I drove you home, I'd either have to take your Jeep and drive here and leave you at home with no Jeep, or I'd have to walk home. This way, you stay at my place until you sober up, then you can drive home."

He nodded and smiled, but again, she saw through his forced casualness and read his excitement. "Okay, makes sense." he said, and continued to smile as he disengaged his seatbelt and stepped out of the Wrangler.

He waited for her outside the Jeep and followed her up the concrete pathway through the again raging and abysmally cold wind to her apartment building. From the lobby they rode the elevator in silence up to her fifth floor, one bedroom apartment. As they crossed into her apartment, she removed her shoes and he took off his boots without needing be told, and she smiled in thanks and then proceeded him to the small living room between her small kitchen and the door to her bedroom.

"Have a seat and get comfortable. I'm going to shower, feel free to watch tv." She said, unable to keep a smile off her face. She fidgeted constantly with her hands, clasping and unclasping them, waving them and finally holding them at her sides as she spoke.

"Okay. Thanks for letting me crash here until I can drive, Grace. You sleep well and I'll let myself out quietly when I'm good."

"Oh, I'll be back out after my shower. I'm not sleepy yet and I'll keep you company." She said, and reveled inwardly when he smiled at her words.

"Okay, see you soon!" He said and she almost danced into her room and took the fastest shower she'd taken in a long time.

VI

While she was gone, Jimmy sat back on the sofa and held his breath for a moment, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart before exhaling slowly and deeply. He closed his eyes and gently massaged his temples, trying to relax but unable to do so. He wondered at the way his life had so drastically changed in the space of one evening, going from lonely detachment from his girlfriend ('girlfriend' in name only), to obvious, gentle, feminine affection from a woman he'd scarcely thought of as more than a solid, hard working colleague.... His eyes were closed and he didn't hear her bedroom door open and quietly close, nor did he notice until she sat down next to him, the soft tread of her small feet with her bright pink, neatly pedicured toes as she moved to the couch.

As she sat down right next to him, he felt the touch of her hand on his head, and looked up to see her more angelic and comforting than he'd remembered ever seeing any other woman in his life. His breath caught in his throat, which felt as though he had a lump in it, she was so beautiful. Her long, light blond hair was still damp and slightly wavy from the hot shower, hanging loose around her shoulders. She wore no make-up, but her lashes still appeared long and dark, her warm brown eyes were enthralling, and her lips were full and naturally red. She wore a white terrycloth robe which made the caramel hue of her skin ( scrubbed free, now, of her pale makeup), stand out from the bleached white color of the fabric. The soft, pillowy fabric of her robe radiated warmth and comfort, but its overall effect was to Jimmy's eye incredibly sexy, as while she'd tied the belt tightly around her waist, it still hung open enough to expose the generous cleavage of her full breasts, and the blushing triangle of her soft skin, spreading from the top of her cleavage to her collar bone. The contrast of her round hips and generous cleavage to her slim waist accentuated by the robe's belt made her seem the sexiest woman Jimmy had ever known.

He could smell again that subtle, clean, floral smell as she leaned in close to him. Her warm, dark brown eyes looked deeply into his blue eyes from only a few inches away. When she smiled he noticed how her neck and cheeks had flushed, and the cinnamon and vanilla scent of her warm breath as it blew softly against him. Her left hand, which still lay gently on his head, moved down to the back of his neck and she gently caressed him while she raised her right hand up to offer him a cool glass of water she'd brought with her.

"Does your head still hurt, Jimmy?" She asked him, offering him water. He took it and drank it, savoring the cold temperature. He noticed the throb of her heartbeat in the veins along each side of her neck, and felt the soothingly warm feel of her soft hands on his skin. He thanked her and gave her back the empty glass, which she set on the floor to the right of the couch, smiling gently, her eyes sparkling again. He wondered what made her warm brown eyes sparkle like that, and then he noticed how cute her small, gently up-turned nose seemed to him. "Why did I not see her like this before?" He asked himself again, marveling at this woman whom he thought he'd known so well.

"It did hurt, until I had the privilege of your company tonight; especially the feel of your touch and the tightening of my throat when I look in your eyes. You have a very gentle touch, Gracie." He said. She felt him look deeply into her eyes, and she felt she almost saw his desire in his eyes, and that she could somehow perceive it in air between them. In the two years she'd worked with him, he had from the first moment she'd met him, seemed strong and masculine, but now as he sat so close to her, in her apartment, as she touched him, he seemed more virile, handsome and confident than any man she'd known before. She wanted so badly to kiss him, to feel his arms around her, feel his mouth on hers and ultimately to feel him inside her, but still she hesitated to act, not knowing if he was as willing to really give in to his desire, as was she for him to do it.

She reached up with her right hand so that her fingertips and her brightly colored nails gently trailed down along the left side of his face, her thumb playing gently along the edge of his jaw and his chin, feeling his stubble. "I just...want you to feel better." She said haltingly, her voice was husky and her words sounded thick. She was breathing deeply now and her breasts heaved slowly with each breath she took. She didn't care that Jimmy had a girlfriend or that she wanted another woman's man. She had wanted him for so long, had needed him so badly, and now she knew he wanted her too.

Jimmy was dimly aware of his commitment to Jenny as Grace had sat down next to him and soothingly touched his neck, but as she looked at him so lovingly, with more affection than he could ever remember Jenny showing him, and as she touched his face and he felt those amazingly sexy, long, feminine nails and her warm, soft fingers touching his chin, he made his choice. As she finished telling him her desire for him to feel better, he turned his body decisively toward her on the couch, put his left hand gently on the back of her neck, put his right hand and arm around her back and pulled her to him, kissing her fully and deeply.

Grace inhaled deeply and then moaned softly as he took her in his arms and kissed her. She immediately responded, wrapping both of her arms around his back and shoulders, enjoying the feel of his lips on hers and his rough stubble against her skin.

They became fully engrossed in their kiss, and held each other tightly, Grace spreading her legs and facing him full on, sliding forward, her legs laying on either side of his waist so that they sat in the lotus position. As Grace moved to sit fully in his lap, their height difference evened out, and as she pushed her tongue into his mouth and felt his own slide against hers, she also felt the hard and very noticeable length of his erection.

"Oh God, this feels so good!" She thought to herself, the relief at finally kissing him and feeling his arms holding her tightly was nothing short of cathartic. She had never before felt so safe, protected, desired and beautiful as she now did. Her robe was falling open, her belt became quite loose after she repositioned herself around and upon him, and now she could feel her breasts and nipples pushed free from her robe and moving against the tough, canvas fabric of the shirt he wore under his wool cruiser.

"Take off your clothes, baby." She said, her voice still thick and husky with desire.

Jimmy gently disentangled himself from her and stood and very quickly took off his cruiser, unbuttoned and took off his shirt, then removed his cotton tee shirt, leaving his clothing in a pile upon her carpeted floor. She admired his chiseled arms, solid pecs, lean waist, washboard abdominal muscles and broad shoulders ("no pimples!" she rejoiced inwardly). Grace watched as he almost tore off his jeans, leaving the belt still in its loops, before taking off his socks and then moving to take off his boxer shorts.

"Wait!" She called to him, standing up and yanking her robe off, pulling it over her shoulders like a shirt when the belt's knot proved unwilling to fully disentangle. She stood naked in front of him for a moment and smiled, then kneeled down in front of him, enjoying the way his eyes roved over her body as she silently claimed the right to remove his boxers and reveal his manhood. She noticed that his legs were similarly muscled and lean, and his tight, flat stomach was devoid of any noticeable pubic hair. She slowly hooked her pink nails into the waist band of his boxers, and looked up into his eyes. She saw his desire for her and could feel his cock hard and throbbing against the fabric of his boxers before she'd pulled them down enough to confirm both his desire and his endowment. She wrapped the fingers of her right hand around the shaft of his long, smooth, circumcised penis, and gently cupped his testicles with her left hand. She kissed the bright pink head and noticed the taste of his pre-cum which had already started to accumulate at the tip. She looked up at his eyes and began to take the head into her mouth, but he stopped her and gently pulled her up to her feet and kissed her deeply, holding her naked body tight against his. She put her left hand around his waist but began to stroke and squeeze his cock with her right hand.