Separation Anxiety(91)

I don’t know how I ever lived without Jesse in my life.

We caught back up to our tour group, and it didn’t appear that anyone had noticed we’d been gone for a few hot and sexy minutes. The guide was talking about the fermentation process when we rejoined the group, and it was a lot of the same information we had already heard at the other wineries. The best part came at the end of the tour when we got to sample the wine.

I heard Jesse unsuccessfully stifle a laugh behind me, covering it with a cough, and then he pulled something out of my hair. I turned around to shush him as he held up a twig. I started giggling uncontrollably, trying to be mature and quiet while the tour guide was talking, but it just wasn’t happening.

I couldn’t stop quaking with laughter, so Jesse pulled me back outside, where he burst into laughter as well. We were so close to not being caught… and then there was the random grape branch left in my hair from rolling around in the vineyard.

I wiped tears from my eyes and Jesse grabbed my hand, placing the twig into my palm. “A souvenir,” he said with a grin.

I would keep that twig for the rest of my life.

The rest of our time in Napa passed in much the same way. We were like two people on our honeymoon, spending as much naked time together as we could manage while enjoying the sights of wine country and the food and beverages the area had to offer. We found quiet corners where Jesse would kiss me or shadowed doorways where we found a moment to grope one another. There may have even been a bathroom or two we ducked into to fool around in.

We drove through California slowly. We stayed with some of Jesse’s friends, and he always introduced me as his girlfriend. We spent a night in Malibu and enjoyed the beach; we spent a couple of nights in Los Angeles and hit all of the tourist spots. He even took me to Six Flags Magic Mountain, and the thrill of riding roller coasters while holding his hand had nothing on the thrill of sprawling naked underneath Jesse Drake when we got back to our hotel room.

We ended up back in Santa Monica at his parents’ house for the last week of June. They welcomed me back with open arms, as loving and friendly as they had been the last time.

But this time, when we went back home after our time off the grid together, there wouldn’t be some scandal waiting for us. Now that I wasn’t married anymore, nothing was going to keep us apart.

Plenty of couples who worked together were able to maintain professionalism at work. One of our science teachers was married to one of our math teachers, and no one ever accused them of fucking on the office copiers. The district had issued a public apology shortly after summer break began, and that was good enough for me. I knew that when August came and a new school year started, everyone would forget the scandals the previous year held anyway.

Jesse and I sat on the back patio of the Drake’s house after his parents had gone to bed for the night, our fingers twined as we relaxed in our comfortable Adirondack chairs.

“Want to take a walk?” Jesse asked me. I nodded, and he took my hand and led me down the stairs. He paused and sat on the bottom step just like last time, taking off his shoes and leaving them on the stairs. I mirrored him, taking off my sandals and setting them on the step. He was wearing shorts, but I had jeans on. He patted his knee and I put my foot on it, and just like last time, he rolled the leg of my pants up for me.

I switched legs, and he rolled that pant leg up as well. He took my foot in his hand and kissed the top of it, and just like last time, I inexplicably fell a little harder for him.

“I love this foot,” he said softly, his voice raspy. He set my foot down and ran his hands up my calf. “I love the leg it’s attached to,” he said, his hands reaching my hips. “And most of all, I love the woman who walks on these gorgeous legs.” I leaned down to kiss him softly on the lips, and he took the kiss over, pulling my head toward him and opening his mouth to mine. Somehow I ended up spread across his legs, and he pulled back, kissing me twice at the end. He left me breathless, just as always, and the flutters fired up again. I never knew that it could be like this, that I could still feel the flutters in my belly for a man even after we’d grown used to being together. I always thought that the newness of a relationship was what caused that, but I was discovering that it was attraction that initially caused it, and it was true love that made it last.

I stood up from his lap so we could go for our walk, momentarily dazed by his kiss. I started down the beach, and when I turned around to see if Jesse was following behind me, I saw that he was still sitting on the steps. I walked back toward him, and he took both of my hands in his.

“I’ve learned the hard way that life is too short to waste time. V, I don’t want to waste any more time. I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you because I will never love another woman the way I love you. No other woman will ever make me feel like you make me feel. I want to be your husband. I want to have children with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”