“You’ll have to see Chef Mark, and he’ll wonder what you’re doing with a giant bowl of whipped cream.”
“I’m going to eat it.” He smiled innocently. “What’d you think I was going to do with it, Kate? God, you have such a dirty mind.”
“Ha-ha.”
“Truthfully, who cares? Chef Mark has seven kids. I’m sure he knows his way around this kind of thing.” He smiled and then slipped his hand inside my robe and up my thigh. “Especially when you add food to the mix.” He scrunched up his nose and shook his head. “Ugh, I don’t want to think about Chef Mark anymore. I just want to think about you and me and dessert.”
As promised, Jamie ate the entire bowl of Chef Mark’s special sugar-free homemade whipped cream off of my body while I squirmed around underneath him. He made it more silly than sexy, so when we were both thoroughly sticky and full from dinner, he ran a bath and poured us each a glass of wine. We sunk into the bubbles in silence. I rested my head back, closed my eyes, and thought about what would become of Jamie and me. Thoughts of Chicago invaded my mind. I sat up abruptly and opened my eyes.
Jamie watched me with concern. “What is it, Katy?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head in exasperation.
“Tell me.” His eyes were pleading as he pulled me onto his lap.
“What are we doing, Jamie?”
“We’re taking a bath.” He dropped his head and circled my nipple with his tongue. I didn’t stop him as he slowly kissed his way up my neck.
“I want to talk to you.”
“Talk.”
“How long should I stay here?”
“As long as you want.”
Wrong answer.
“Jamie,” I said in the most serious tone I could muster.
He pulled away and then cupped my face. “When do you have to be back?” I just shrugged. “Well, when do you have to turn in the article?”
“I should go back sometime next week, maybe Tuesday, to turn in the article, and then I don’t know what.”
“Well, today is Friday, so we have some time.” By that point Jamie was kissing me all over. Between nuzzling my neck and biting my ear, he said, “Doesn’t it feel good to just be . . . together?”
“Yes,” I said. And then I scooted forward and guided him inside of me.
After sloshing water all over the bathroom floor, Jamie picked me up sopping wet and carried me to the bed, pausing only to say, “This is one of the nicer rooms here. You have a view.” It was a gorgeous view, especially at that time of day when the sun had gone down but the sky still glowed with the memory of light. It was magic hour as we looked out at the expansive vineyard, with its endless rows of vines. It was like watching a Terrence Malick film: quiet, poetic, reflective, and the imagery overflowing with beauty.
Our bodies dried quickly. We fell back into lazy mode, like we had that morning. He kissed my back and shoulders and I flipped through a brochure of the winery while he explained the fermentation process to me. I learned everything I ever wanted to know about the difference between naturally occurring yeast and cultured yeast.
“God, Jamie, you could teach a class on this stuff. What was your major in college?”
“Seducing young journalists,” he said just before he disappeared under the covers.
? ? ?
I only remember hearing my room phone ring once. I was in a deep, comfortable sleep, nestled between Jamie’s arm and his chest. When he picked it up, he was abrupt. “Yes? Okay. Okay.” He hung up and I dozed off. I don’t know how much later it was, but I stirred in the middle of the night and felt the empty space beside me. I sat up. Jamie was still naked but sitting at the end of the bed with his feet on the floor. His elbows were propped on his knees, his hands holding his sunken head.
“Jamie?” I said as I shuffled out of the comforter and moved to the end of the bed next to him. He wiped his face. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
I kissed his back once. He turned immediately, stood, and lifted me from under my arms, tossing me up higher on the bed. I couldn’t see the expression on his face as he crawled up between my legs, but I could feel his intensity.
“Jamie . . .”
“Shh.” He kissed me hard and fast on the mouth, then moved down my body, rubbing his face against my bare skin between kisses. It was like he was consuming me and he couldn’t get enough. I tangled my hands in his hair as he moved down my body, kissing and sucking. He sat up quickly and then leaned back on his heels. A small amount of light from the moon was peeking through the side of the curtain and lighting Jamie’s face just enough so that I could see his expression. His eyebrows were downcast and his mouth was very slightly open. The movement of his chest pumping in and out looked dramatic as he took long, deep breaths. He stared down at me.