Freaks Of Nature

Marie liked to imagine herself as a woman who knew the risks of her behaviour. For example; when she found Jacks number on her caller I.D and pressed redial she was very aware of the dangerous little game she had started. It had been months since he'd called her apartment and it had taken her a great deal of time to convince herself not to sit around all night waiting for him to call. It rang only one time before she heard the click and the masculine voice speaking on the other end of the line. “Hello Marie. I suppose you figured out that I called you earlier? I figured you would have some way of redialing the number so I didn't bother to leave a message. I'm not an answering machine sort of guy.”

“Jack. So it really was you. I'm not going crazy or imagining things.” Her hands trembled as she slowly sat down on the chair inside her living room. Hearing him speak with a friendly tone was unusual. It had been so long since she'd heard it that Marie found it alien sounding to her ears. Clenching her shoulders she composed herself, recovering from the shock as she sat up straight and firmly replied; “Why did you call me?”

“Whoa, whoa. What's up with the hostile voice?” He laughed, taking her serious tone for granted as the sound of a cupboard being closed echoed in the background. “I kind of found the number to our old place in my phone book the other day and remembered that you still lived there so I decided to give you a call and see how you are doing. It's been awhile since we actually talked to one another you know.”

“Yea, that's because you dumped me!” Marie exclaimed feeling her body tense up as she looked over at her bedroom door, wondering if she should just hang up and go to sleep. It would have served him right considering how he had forgotten the times she had called the first few weeks they broke up wanting to talk and he had laughingly hung up on her. “We don't talk anymore because you dumped me and ran off with another woman. That's how it works.”

“Really? You're still going on about that? Sheesh I figured you would have let it go by now. I know we didn't exactly part on good terms but that's no reason to hold onto it like it's a grudge or something. I'm human; I made a mistake. Plus it happened a long time ago, and don't you have that new boyfriend in the picture right now? ”

'Of course you would say that', she thought while gazing over at the fridge before realizing the gallon of ice cream she used to keep in the upper freezer had been disposed of many weeks ago out of some desperation to remove anything fattening from her life. With nothing else for her to do Marie gave her head a shake, clearing the angry thoughts that had been swirling around inside of them. “I'm sorry Jack.” She said to him with a low sigh. “It's just been a really, really long day for me.”

“Well are you doing anything tonight?” He chirped on the other end of the phone. “Because I figured we could hang out together or something. Maybe go for a drink or have dinner and relax together. I'd really like to try to become friends with you again.”

It was odd seeing Jack out in the open without Tricia there to hang off his arm. When Marie saw him waiting for her at the end of the street she felt like he was missing a part of himself. He smiled when he saw her coming, shoving his hands into his coat pockets while he waited there on the sidewalk for her to catch up. “I was worried you wouldn't bother showing up.” He exclaimed when she finally reached him. “I figured you might still feel some anger about what happened between us and bail on me or something. I'm glad you didn't.”

“I don't do stuff like that. If somebody asks me to go out and I agree I show up.” She responded wondering if he could tell that how uneasy she felt. Lifting her chin she stared up at the sky, admiring the sunset briefly before she turned her heads to look at him once again. “So what do you want to do tonight? Anything in mind?”

“Yea, there's a really nice place up ahead that I figured we could go. It's brand new and I don't think I've ever been there before. It looks really cool.” He laughed.

They sat together in a bar that she had never even heard of, sipping drinks and exchanging small talk like two awkward teenagers on a first date. “You look really nice tonight.” He commented while toying with the half empty beer bottle resting in front of him. “I can't tell you how strange it is looking at you know. You're a lot different from the person I met five years ago. Loosing all those extra pounds that you had has really done wonders. You look... less heavy.”

“Umm....Thank you.” Marie answered with a polite smile, unable to shake the feeling that her weight was an inappropriate drinking conversation. And what did he mean by 'less heavy'? She chewed on a loose piece of skin anxiously, wondering if that was some subtle way of being informed that she had not reached an appropriate weight like she had assumed. “I've been getting a lot more exercise lately and I've started to eat healthier. I figured I should start now before it really starts to affect me. It's feels strange having so much energy now. I feel so alive and refreshed.”

“So how is everything with that new boyfriend of yours? That really tall painter that Tricia always talks about?”

Surprisingly Marie found herself awaiting the question long before it had been asked. With a shrug of her shoulders she replied; “His name is Carlos Romero, and as far as our 'relationship' or where it currently stands I am not really sure. Up until recently I only considered us to be friends. But now I'm just not sure. I like him, but I just don't know if we're right for each other...”

Jack chuckled at her confusion, twirling the bottle in the palm of both hands as he looked over at her from across the table. “Well that's a damn shame. But to be very honest I never actually pictured you dating someone like that. I mean, could you imagine the jokes that people would have made if you two actually got together? You'd look like a couple of freaks walking around together. He's so god damned tall. Like the bastard son of that grl in “Attack of the 50ft woman” or something. What the hell did he do to himself to get that freakishly tall anyways? Steroids?”

Marie chewed on her bottom lip, dismayed to think that a part of her actually agreed with what Jack was saying. They would be a very strange couple. She was much shorter than the average human being and he was much, much taller. The jokes would never end. “He's not a drug addict Jack.” She sighed with a shake of her head. “He had a tumour on the gland that controls your growth when he was a child. That's what caused it. Not some overuse of drugs or something. Steroids don't affect your height.”

“Oh really? Geez I'm sorry.” He said but as she could see he was not paying much attention when she went off on her little medical ramble. “I didn't know that it was medical. I guess I owe Tricia an apology for making fun of him whenever she brings him up. She gets really pissed off when I do it. Especially right now because she's trying to get a portrait commissioned from him. She thinks it will make our place look more refined, I think it's creepy. Just between you and I; everything I said to you in that art gallery was complete bullshit. I don't give two shits about art. It's all fuzzy pictures and weird shapes to me. But she likes it and we always end up bickering about that.”

“You two fight?” Marie asked as she took another sip from her drink. “But...whenever I see you two out in public you always look like the perfect couple. I cannot imagine ever seeing you fight. You seem so happy...”

“Meh, it's nothing. All couples fight.” Jack gave his head a shake, uninterested in going further into the subject clearly. “So tell me, how is work going for you? I hear you're a lot less busy around this time of the year. Must be nice.”

“Yea, the place that I work is a hotel that caters to wealthy tourists and people on businessmen trips. But we're in the off season right now so I don't have as much work to do as I usually would. It gets kind of boring having to sit there when nobody is coming in.” A waitress came by to collect her empty glass, smiling brightly as she asked Marie if she wanted anything else.

“Why don't you try a screwdriver?” Jack suggested as he drained the rest of his beer in one long swig. “It's got vodka and orange juice in it. It tastes really good.”

She tried it, though much to her dismay as the intense flavour was something she didn't care for. The conversation stopped being personal around that point. They spent the next hour or two talking about other things. They exchanged friendly banter over what t.v showers the other person liked and vaguely dabbled around the latest 'hit' song that every radio was playing non-stop. Marie did not drink anymore after that although the intensity of the screwdriver had given her a tingling feeling in her hands and face. “I think they put way too much vodka in that.” She joked as they gathered their coats and headed for the door. They split the bill, but only after she insisted on it, and with a faint buzz in her system she strolled behind him as they slowly headed out the door and back onto the street.

“Hey Marie, can I ask you a personal question?” He said, interrupting the peaceful silence of their walk while they headed back in the direction of her apartment.

“Sure.” Marie shrugged her shoulders, forcing herself to smile even when she didn't want to. “You don't have to ask permission Jack. Just say whatever it is that you want to say.”

“Were you still a virgin when we first got together?”

She froze, stopping in mid step at the hollow echo that the question left in her mind. “Yes. I thought that you already knew that. The first time we slept together you got angry at me because I would not stop crying. I wanted to tell you but I was afraid it would only make you madder.” It felt like someone had punched her in the stomach at that moment. She remembering being so excited about it at first, because she could not believe that her first time would be with someone like Jack. But then he tried to push inside of her and the pain was so intense that it made her cry out.

“I thought you were just being melodramatic to be honest.” He replied, stopping when he noticed that she had. “If I had known it was your first time I probably would have been more patient with you. I'm sorry that I was such an asshole to you. I was an idiot when I was younger.” A part of her wondered if he remembered the cold treatment that he gave her the morning after it happened. He'd ignored her all day long, refusing to speak to her, ignoring her every word. Treating her, Marie thought, like she were some sort of outcast.

“No.” She replied while shaking her head, rattling the bad memories out of her mind simultaneously. “Don't worry about it. I got over it. Plus that happened a really long time ago when we were both young and stupid.”

The rest of the walk was quiet, and when they approached the front of her apartment building she was already fumbling to get her keys out. “It was nice spending time with you Jack. I guess I'll see you around.” She was attempting to say but in the middle of her sentence she felt two hands reach across her shoulders, pulling her into a suffocating hug. Smashed up against Jack's chest, Marie felt her heart race wildly. She was frozen stiff, unable to move or speak. All she could think about was the fact that he was touching her. His grip was stronger than she remembered it being. And when she paused and took a deep inhale she could smell the cologne that he'd always worn.

“Good night Marie.” She heard him say as he loosened his grip on her. “I missed being able to talk to you. Call me sometime will you?” With only that he left, and she watched his figure vanish into the distance, moving slowly across the darkened sidewalk. Marie didn't sleep properly. She tossed and turned in her bed long after the darkness had settled in and the apartment had gone quiet. The memory of that hug haunted her. Even when she finally did fall asleep the only thing she dreamt of was Jack.

“Have you lost you mind!?” Was the first thing Paige had to say when she called her the next morning. “You actually went out with that two-timing little prick?!”

“I didn't think it would matter.” She said sheepishly, cringing at the angry noises that she heard on the other end of the line.

“Marie did you fall on the sidewalk and hit your head or something? Jack screwed you over for five years by keep you in a relationship with him when he didn't even give a rats ass about you. Then, while you were working and keeping the apartment clean he was busy bringing that cow Tricia over so they could have their nasty skeletor sex together.”

“Skeletor?”

“Yes “skeletor”. Because they're both so bony when they fuck it's probably like listening to two skeletons humping.” Paige hissed into the receiver but all Marie could do was giggle at her explanation.

“You have an awful lot of time on your hands if you've managed to come up with that conclusion about them.” She said with a gentle laugh. “Besides, Jack isn't bony anymore. He gained weight after he left me.”

“Marie you're missing the point. After everything that he's done to you the last thing you should be doing is letting him come scuttling back into your life again. Don't you remember how long it took for you to get over him? You were inconsolable for months!”

“Well it couldn't hurt to try. He says that he wants to be friends with me again.” She said with a yawn. The two cups of coffee she had drank earlier were doing nothing to keep her awake.

“Suit yourself Marie.” Paige sighed through the receiver. “Just be careful when you're around him, okay? I'd hate to see you get hurt by Jack a second time around. In the very least you should tell Carlos so that there's no misunderstandings.”

“Yea, I guess so.” She sighed, eyeing the empty bowl on her coffee table that had once been this mornings breakfast. She had cheated on her diet after a stressful morning of dragging herself out of bed and contemplating whether to call Heidi or Paige with her problem. She'd found the box of sugary cereal stashed in her pantry and had wolfed down a large helping of it. “Listen, I have to get to work now. I'll see you later okay.”

Paige had the day off. Heidi was visiting her parents in another town. And all day long Marie saw only three or four customers check in. Work had become tedious now that the tourism had eased to a standstill. She found herself cleaning the windows so many times that the entire lobby reeked of windex. The plants were watered almost every two hours and the assortment of pens that she kept by her side had been rearranged more times than she could recall. A few moments before her shift ended she found herself busily scrubbing at a stain near the front of her desk. It was the product of a younger woman who had spilled the contents of her purse onto the floor last year, including a bottle of bright red nail polish, and though both she and Paige had complained a few times about how garish it looked against the white flooring neither of them seemed to want to fix the problem.

“Damn this thing.” She grunted as she scrubbed at it with the bottle of cleaner she had found in a supplies closet. “I wish we hadn't left it for so long. Now it might be permanent.”

“I see procrastination is an enemy of yours too.”

Marie jumped, dropping the rag she had been using to clean the floor and looking up over her shoulder. Carlos was standing a few paces behind her, smiling down at her rather awkward position with his hands shoved in his pockets. “What are you doing here?!” She exclaimed, having just realized that he had been listening to her rambling to herself. “You nearly scared me half to death. For a split second there I thought you were a customer.”

“I came by to see if you had gotten off work yet. You mentioned working here to me a few times and I was kind of in the mood to surprise you.” He paused, looking around the lobby for a minute and slowly absorbing the atmosphere. “Really nice place. I'll bet they pay you really well to work the front desk for them.”

“Not really. It's a living but it's nothing glamorous. Just people on vacation with expensive tastes and businessmen who like to waste company money.” She sighed while clambering up off the floor. “I'm sorry about the way I acted yesterday. I felt really bad for taking off on you like that.”

“Don't worry about it. I understand why you left. I'm not angry at you for it. Even the best of us clam up from time to time. It's only natural.” He smiled, reaching down to pick the bottle of cleaner up off the floor. “So I know it's kind of last minute but I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere tonight.” He said as he reached over, placing it on the top of her desk quietly while she stood off to the side watching him.

“I guess so. As long as it isn't anything big. I'm really not in the mood for dealing with loud noises right now. I kind of had a stressful morning.” She answered him while wringing the cloth in her hands. “And a bad night.”

“Want to talk about it?” She heard him say as he reached over, placing one hand across her shoulder and rubbing it gently. “We could always go that that coffee shop right next to your apartment. Do you remember it? That was the first place that I ever took you. It's always nice and quiet.”

“Yes! God yes! I'm in desperate need of something with caffeine in it. I've been walking around like a zombie all afternoon.” She exclaimed loudly as she reached over the top of her desk for her coat. It was slumped over her chair and required a great deal of stretching to obtain it but she managed none the less. Draping it over one arm she turned to him and smiled. “Lead the way Mr. Romero!”

A half an hour later they were there, face to face in a quiet little corner while she drank cup after cup of fresh coffee. “So, I don't want to throw this at you like a curveball or anything but my ex boyfriend sort of called me the other night after I left your place.” She blurted out when she was in the middle of starting her third cup. “We hung out for a little awhile and had drinks. He's the one that you met in your gallery awhile ago. The blonde who was with Tricia.”

“Ahhh I remember that fellow. Very well actually. He looked uncomfortable when he was there. You said his name was Jack right?” He smiled while lifting his own drink up towards his lips. “I appreciate you telling me Marie but I really don't care if you want to socialize with him. I'm not the type to get overly jealous over petty things like that.”

“One of my friends kind of pressured me into telling you.” She admitted with resting her elbows against the table. “She said it was better to tell you myself than leave it alone and have it sneak up on you and I sort of agreed with her. So...yea.”

“Is there some reason that you're so uncomfortable with telling me? No offence Marie but you're acting like you just admitted to smuggling a bomb across the border.”

“I don't know I'm just weirded out to be honest.” She sighed while looking out the nearby window at a passing group of teenagers. “Jack hasn't spoken to me in months and now all of a sudden he calls me wanting to be friends. Plus he's being so nice about it that it makes me feel bad for wanting to smack him.”

“Maybe he realized what a jerk he was towards you and now wants to make it up by establishing a friendship.” Carlos suggested as he took a long sip from his coffee. “Stuff like that happens all the time. I'm still friends with a few of my exes. It's just a matter of reaching some common ground and not letting your romantic past muck up your friendship. It's not easy but it can work.”

“You have exes?” She laughed weakly while returning her focus back to the man in front of her. “What sort of crazy person would ever want to dump you? You're so nice.”

“A few women living here and over in Spain seem to disagree with you.” He said with a low chuckle. “I made a few stupid mistakes in the past and ran into a few women who weren't so kind towards me. It happens. Nothing to get all worked up over. Like I said I'm still really good friends with a few of them.”

Marie smiled, amused by the calmness in his tone while he spoke. “So how did things go with Tricia the other day? Jack mentioned that she wants to hire you to make her a painting or something like that. Was that why she was there the other day?”

“No, she's just been dropping by my place ever since she figured out where I live. She seems to think that I'm lonely being on my own so she comes by. She's also a little obsessive about the progress of my artwork.” He sighed, placing the coffee cup down in front of him. “Interesting woman. A little on the bubbly side though.”

“Yea, she's bubbly all right.” Marie groaned while gripping the side of her cup. “And quite the art lover.” She recalled the events of the previous day with mild disgust, repulsed by her inability to find flaw in Tricia's behaviour. All she had done was behave friendly towards someone who she admired. There was no crime against that. Her stomach rumbled noisily and she grimaced as she squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. “I guess I should get going now. It's starting to get late and I know how far away you live.”

“Certainly.” He replied without missing a beat. “Can I walk you back to your place?”

Marie was surprisingly indifferent to the idea. He walked beside her quietly, smiling whenever she looked in his direction and never saying a word. 'No awkward personal questions.' She thought with a sigh of relief and the images of her conversation with Jack briefly drifted through her mind. “I know it's stupid but I'm still sorry for just taking off on you like that. I guess I was just overacting towards the idea of Tricia walking in on us. I felt really silly afterwards. I mean, we're not 16 or anything.”

“Still, it was very unexpected for someone to just appear like that. Even in you're an adult. I couldn't look her in the eye the whole time she was there to be very honest with you.” He was laughing again. The sound wafted pleasantly through the cool air filling her with an unusual feeling of warmth and comfort. She hugged her arms across her chest, staring out at the empty street as they approached her apartment building.“Out of curiosity what is it like to live in something like that?” He asked her when they had reached the front steps. “Is it like being in a small house or do you hear every sound your upstairs neighbour makes?”

“You never lived in an apartment?” She asked curiously as she spun around to face him. “Really it's not that different from a house other than having people live much closer to you and having to use stairs or the elevator to get outside. This one in particular is really nicely insulated. I couldn't hear a thing from my upstairs neighbour if I pressed by ear against the ceiling while they screamed bloody murder. That's the main reason I was so attracted by living here. The reasonably cost of rent only sweetened the deal.”

“Well I did live in an apartment once, but it wasn't exactly the nicest place you could get.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders. “It was the first place I lived in on my own and I hated it. After my job stabilized and I was making decent money I pretty much swore I'd never live in another one again.”

“Mmm you shouldn't make decisions like that based on being in only one place.” Marie giggled softly feeling an intense wave of caffeine surging through her system. She was awake now. Wide awake in fact, but still feeling strange and delirious. “Do you want to come up and take a look at mine before you go?” The words escaped her mouth but she didn't remember mentally considering them. He nodded and followed behind her as she fished out her keys and forced the front door open. A strange tingling sensation coursed through her hands. 'What's wrong with me?' She wondered as she lead him up the stairs and down the hallway towards her personal dwelling space. 'And why do I feel so calm about all of this?'

She made them tea and they sat together on her couch listening to a night time radio talk show and chatting quietly. It was not nearly as uncomfortable as she had imagined though every now and then she would wonder why he had even agreed to enter. Her place was just as quiet as she had described it but not nearly as fancy or modern looking as the place that he lived in. She wondered about what was going on inside him mind, whether he was angry at her for what she had said about Jack, or if the whole “I don't really care” speech he had given her was a complete facade. Somewhere in between one radio host switching over to a late night D.J with a soothing speech his hand found a way along the heavily worn sofa and on top of her knee. His fingertips were surprisingly warm against the bare skin and a hue of red flushed over her cheek when she realized a few of them had slipped under the the hem of her skirt.

He didn't hurt her. He didn't do anything really. Even though the opportunity was there his hand never left that one spot and when Marie looked over she found him watching her quietly. She hesitated, suddenly feeling the urge to flinch. He noticed it. “I'm not going to do whatever it is that your thinking about Marie. I'm not that type of person. I would never hurt you like that...” Carlos spoke as the lightbulb above them flickered helplessly, struggling for a last moment of life. “You should know me better than that by now.”

“I'm sorry.” She mumbled as she slumped forward in her seat, the hand moved off of her lap but it did not retreat the way that she thought it would. “I have a bad habit of assuming the worst in every situation.” She felt it sliding up her arm, eventually reaching the side of her head where it coursed through a tangled mess of hair. “That feels...nice.” She found herself shivering with delight as she leaned closer to him, delighted by the tingling sensation that she could now whenever he touched her. “I'm lying to everyone when I keep on saying that we're not together.” She mused out loud as he gently pulled her body closer to his. “I lied to all of them. We really are a couple. Aren't we?” Tears brimmed her eyes but she couldn't understand why. When the words came out it didn't made her squirm in repulsion. Being a girlfriend to Carlos was something she really did not mind. Even if she didn't fit comfortably into the artistic world that he belonged to. It was the other things that popped in her head that made her stomach knot up. Things that Heidi and Paige would joke about once they knew she was in fact dating this man. Things that made her cringe inwardly just thinking about them.

“Marie, you need to relax. Like I just said I'm not going to hurt you.” She heard him say as he wrapped both arms around her waist and carefully lifted her onto his lap. Her head fell softly again his chest, pressing into the warm fabric as if it had always belonged there. She could hear the racing sound of his heart and felt the rhythmic lowering and rising every time he took in a breath. She could have fallen asleep there, she thought while closing her eyes once again. He was warm and calm and soft all over causing her to mewl happily as she pressed the palms of both hands against his stomach.

“Carlos.” She whispered, smiling weakly in spite of herself. “Why do you have to be so wonderful?”

Marie wasn't surprised when he kissed her. She embraced it hungrily, delighted by the tingling sensation she felt in her stomach when their lips met. The same sensation that she had felt the day before overwhelmed her. She hungrily accepted him, parting her lips and shivering when she felt the slippery feeling of his tongue as it slid between her teeth. Her head felt like it had been submerged in a hazy fog. She lost track of time and could not recall if it was hours or minutes that had passed. His hands gently ghosted across the thin skin of her neck, caressing her gently and luring her into a state of comfortable bliss. “Carlos...” Marie cooed when their lips parted for the briefest moment. Her hands were lost in a sea of thick back hair. She delighted in the low growling noises that rumbled through his chest as she gently coursed her fingers through it. Cool air lapped across her collar bones. Then her breasts. Then finally her stomach before she realized that her blouse had come undone. “Oh no.” She mumbled incoherently as she looked down at her exposed torso, embarrassed by the realization that he had steadily undone each button without her ever noticing. Instinctively she flinched, reacting to the sudden exposure with the kind of alarm one might expect from an antsy teenager.

"Don't be frightened. Trust me.” He beckoned softly into her ear as he placed a hand across her stomach, pressing so that she could feel the warm seep into her flesh. “I don't want to hurt you Marie. I want to make you feel good. But you need to learn to trust me in order for me to do it.”

“I-I-I can't.” She stammered as her blouse gently slipped off her shoulders and onto the floor bellow. He was reaching around her back now, fumbling with the back of her bra while she was pressed firmly up against his torso. “Carlos please. I can't do this right now!” If Marie hadn't been so hazy she might have screamed, but a part of her was glad she didn't. Screaming wasn't what she wanted. That would have scared him away, and right now, slumped against his warm torso while the warmth of his body slowly flared through her senses, that was the last thing that Marie wanted. “I'm sorry.” She whispered as her trembling fingered hooked gingerly around the hem of his shirt, tugging gingerly at it like she thought it was a security blanket.

“Do you really want me to stop Marie?” He asked while his hands fell limp against her shoulders. “I can always leave if that's what you want right now...”

“No! No stay! Stay here with me! I don't want you to go!” She panicked. The thought of him going away was just too much for her right now. Her fingers tightened around the stretchy fabric, slipping beneath it and lightly grazing across his bare stomach. She gasped quietly, embarrassed at first, but when she lifted her head and saw him smiling down at her an overwhelming desire took over. She rolled it up, guiding it beyond his ribcage and up over his neck without a sound or hint of resistance. He placed the discorded shirt on the floor where it huddled next to her blouse like a forgotten rag. Her eyes traveled across the vicinity of his exposed chest. Her hands clasped together to soothe the alarm of wanting to reach out and touch it. It had been a long time since Marie had been around a man who was willing to be exposed to her. Too close perhaps and she was somewhat ashamed to admit that she enjoyed the sight of all that naked skin.

She wasn't herself at that moment. She was confused from lack of sleep and far too many cups of coffee. Or at least that is what Marie tried to tell herself when her hands reached behind her back and began to unfasten her bra. It was all so sudden. She had it undone far too quickly it seemed and an intense heat rose to her chests as she watched it slowly slide off the front of her chest, down her arms, and onto his lap. It took every ounce of will not to get up and run away. She hated the idea of the intimate parts of her body being seen by someone else. Especially when she was not down to her goal weight and still felt round and swollen all over.

“Mmm your skin is so pale.” He commented while gently nudging her forward. Her throat tightened up when he cupped one breast in his hand, stretching his long fingers across the sensitive mound and lightly pressing against her nipple. The tip of his thumb traveled towards the soft pink nub without hesitation. “Nice and soft too. Like silk.” She could feel his eyes watching her. They pierced through the dim lighting of the room, surprising her for the second time since they had met and causing a violent shiver to course through her body.

Like a rag doll Marie was completely limp when he picked her up and slowly lowered her onto the floor. Even the course texture of the carpet beneath her back was not enough to get her to wake up from the spell she had fallen under. His body seemed to shadow her entirely when he crouched over top of her, leaning so that his head was only inches away from her bare chest. She wasn't scared for whatever reason. Even submerged beneath the dark outline of his form she felt intensely comfortable. His hands cupped her breasts, squeezing them gingerly so that she cried out in surprise. Marie heard him gasp softly as her back arch, beckoning him to continue.

“Ahh! That feels so wonderful.” She cried out as her hands pinned themselves to the floor. “Please don't stop. I like it.”

He was gentle. Much gentler than she would have expected from someone who was so large. Marie found herself moaning with surprise when she suddenly felt his warm wet tongue reach out and graze across the hardened tip of one nipple. The sensation that it gave her was marvellous. Like a flare of electricity coursing through her veins or the first sparks of a fire. He rolled the other one between two fingers, teasing it and squeezing it until she cried out with alarm.

“Oh Carlos!” There was a distinct tingling sensation between her thighs as she lay beneath him, purring gently while his mouth and hands roamed across her breast, licking and squeezing and massaging them until she could hardly stand all of it. “I-It feels so good.” She hesitated to say as her arms draped tenderly around the back of his head, stroking it and clutching it like it were a fond household pet. Her stomach quivered like a host of butterflies were all fluttering around inside of it. Mewling noises bubbled out from her lips as the tingling sensation intensified and she felt something warm and moist gathering on the inside of her panties.

“Mmmm, I love the way you moan. It's sexy as hell.” She heard him whisper to her as he sat himself up. “I wonder if the rest of your body loves what's happening to you.” Carlos smiled down at her for a moment while his hand slowly traveled beneath the hem of her skirt, threatening to invade an even more intimate part of her being. Marie felt a loud gasp seize up within her chest as a set of long spidery fingers playfully traveled up the length of one thigh creamy white thigh. He ignored her surprise, or perhaps he just simply failed to notice it while he reached up and hooked around the bottom of her panties. She closed her eyes as he gave them a gentle tug, sliding them down her legs and all the way past her feet. “Relax Marie. You need to relax...”

A little voice in the back of her mind began to scream violently. It cried out in protest as he pushed the flimsy garment aside for her. When he reached between her legs again it got even louder, until it felt like there was a siren going off in the far regions of her mind. And then, as if on cue, he plunged two fingers inside of her. Marie cried out indistinctly, surprised and alarmed by the way her body reacted to the invasion. They filled her wonderfully, sliding in and out of her opening in a steady rhythm. “Oh god!” She moaned out loud as her pulse suddenly quickened. “It feels so good! I can't take it!”

Her face felt like it was on fire. The heat that rose to her cheek was intense and while he pumped gently in and out of her she found herself blindly clawing at the carpet beneath. He slumped over on the floor beside her, using the hand that was free to guide one of her breasts into his mouth. “Carlos!” She moaned loudly was an intense wave of please washed over her whole body.

“That's it..” He muttered as his tongue swirled around her nipple. “Don't hold anything inside. Let it all out. Let everything go.”

Her hips began to buck upwardly as the pleasure slowly consumed her. Beads of sweat slowly formed across her skin but they did nothing to cool the intense heat that seemed to engulf every part of her body. Something was happening to her. Something that had happened so few times in the past that she had nearly forgotten how it felt. “Don't stop.” She mewled as she gently bit down on her bottom lip. “Please don't stop.”

Like a flash of lightening it happened. With only a few hints of warning her body suddenly reached it's limit and forcing her into a trembling climax, one that coursed violently through her and caused her to cry out so loudly that she feared someone might hear. It only lasted for a few moments, but when it had subsided she was left feeling as worn and as exhausted as if it had lingered on for hours. Her legs shuddered when it was all over, weakening along with the rest of her body as she fixated her gaze towards the living room ceiling. A hint of shame crept over her thoughts, causing her to lower her arms across her breasts.

Why had she allowed that to happen? Suddenly she felt strange, like she was recovering from having an alien inhabiting her body, one that had coaxed her into completely loosing her mind and convinced her to do things with Carlos that had shattered whatever threads of a platonic relationship that she might have ever wanted to have with him.

He was kneeling silently beside her while she recovered, panting softly as if he too had received some gratification in what had happened. When she rolled over and stumbled back onto her feet she felt her legs wobble unsteadily beneath her, threatening to buckle under her weight. “Are you alright Marie?” He asked as she narrowly escaped bumping into the corner of her own coffee table. “You can't seem to catch you balance right now.”

“I know. All of a sudden I just feel so damn tired.” She blabbered out of the corner of her mouth as he sprang up onto his feet and caught her before she toppled over onto the floor. “Mmm you're so warm.” She added with a tender smile, remembering only when her cheek touched the bare skin that he was not wearing a shirt. “Are you going to go home now?”

He held her tightly, preventing her from falling over and running his fingers through her hair. “If you want me to go I'll go. If not, then I will stay. The choice is yours, not mine.”

“Good.” Marie sighed happily, closing her eyes as she listened to the soothing sound of his breathing. “Then I want you to stay.” She said with the firmest voice that she could possibly muster. “I want you to stay right here and keep me warm.”