Chapter 36

I woke. I was momentarily disoriented having slept in so many different beds over the last few months. Then I smelled her, and us, and I smiled. I turned to look at the clock. It was a little after midnight and there was no sign of Leslie.

I got up, picked my robe off the floor, made a quick trip to the bathroom and quietly walked into the living room. I stopped for a moment and just watched her. She was sitting on the big overstuffed sofa wearing her white robe; her feet tucked under her as she sipped at a glass of champagne. The only light in the room came from a small lamp near the windows, and the dying fire. "God, she's beautiful!" Her golden hair shimmered in the firelight. She looked thoughtful as she sat there staring into the fire.

Leslie looked up at me. My heart jumped as she smiled.

I walked to her and she took my hand and pulled me down for a kiss. Our kiss lasted a long time. We ended up with Leslie on my lap wrapped in my arms, her head on my shoulder.

"God James... this is so unbelievable. I've never been this happy. I keep thinking I'm going to wake and..."

I kissed her.

"This is our dream Leslie... our whole world... right here... just us."

She snuggled closer arms around my neck."

"James... I've been thinking."

"Oh oh..." I thought. I hate it when women say that.

She looked up at me, then picked up her glass of champagne and took a sip.

"Here it comes..."

"James... this hardly makes a difference..." I hate it even more when women say "this hardly makes a difference", because what she really means is it makes a hell of a lot of difference!

"How old are you... James?"

I smiled thinking I should tell her I was 18, but her look had turned serious.

"Twenty-one"

"Oh."

"Oh, what?"

"Well... for some reason, I though you were older... the way you handle yourself... how you treat people..." Her voice trailed off.

"Leslie... what's this all about?"

"James, I'll be 29 in a few months..."

"So?"

"It's just that... well... the difference in our ages... I need to know what you think... and what your family will think. Does it make any difference to... well how you feel... about me?"

I gently removed her arms from around my shoulders and slipped her off my lap and just looked at her. We sat knees to knees and she saw the brief flash of anger in my eyes. I took a deep breath and gently took her hands.

"Leslie... this is not age... or age difference... or about my family... or even your family... what we've discovered is about us. The idiot you were married to... only thought about himself... and about what his parents and family and friends would think and say. He didn't put you first. He was a fool and he lost you... I'm not him... and I'm not a fool."

I said the last part in almost a whisper, but she got the message.

Leslie hugged me.

"It's what I wanted to hear... I was just being silly..."

She looked at me for a long moment, a tear streaked her cheek.

"James... in the bed... after... after we made love... just as I was drifting off... you said... "I love you Leslie". Did you mean it?"

I saw the uncertainty in her eyes as I paused.

"I do love you Leslie... I know we've only been together a short time... but from the moment I saw you I knew... knew that there was a special something... From the moment you touched my face and got the ice for my ear I knew I never wanted to be separated from you... and when we kissed... I've never experienced anything like that... it was if..."

"As if our souls had joined." She said.

"I felt it too James... I never want us to be apart."

And then she said it, looking at me with her intensely blue eyes.

"I love you James."

We kissed for a long time. The fire was long out by the time I picked her up and took her back to bed.

We made love slowly, letting the passion build and then we slept, Leslie in her favorite place, cradled in the crook of my left arm, half laying on top of me, head on my shoulder.

"My word James... what's all this?" she laughed as she eyed the plates and plates of breakfast I had ordered from room service.

She was beautiful; all sleep tousled and looking at me with love in her eyes, white robe wrapped around her. I moved to her and took her in my arms and kissed her, tasting toothpaste.

We spent the next couple of minutes just holding each other and kissing. It was wonderful to hold her and feel the love that seemed to pour out of her soul.

Finally she looked at me and said,

"As much as I love you James, you're going to have to feed me. A girl needs nourishment if she's going to keep up with all the things I've planned for you today! You'd better eat too!"

She reached inside the front of my robe and caressed my stiffening cock.

"I'm so glad you're happy to see me too!" She laughed.

The room service staff had set up two small folding tables near the couch to hold all the food selections. I had been famished when I ordered. Hotel room service is an expensive proposition at best but it can be downright ruinous if you are starving and you're with a woman who will require all your stamina. I had ordered a good portion of the breakfast menu.

Leslie made her way to the tables and started pulling off the silver warming tops. She smiled as she got the full impact of the wonderful presentation and delicious smells. Leslie munched a piece of perfectly cooked bacon as she filled her plate with poached eggs, hash browns, toast and bacon. She put fruit in a smaller bowl. I joined her and grabbed the coffee pot and set it on the coffee table with our plates.

My second course was pancakes and waffles smothered with butter and warm maple syrup. Leslie insisted she couldn't eat another bite but insisted on "helping" me with my pancakes and French toast.

We ate in silence. Leslie with her feet tucked up on the sofa. She was so beautiful and I told her so.

"James... you are a treasure. I come in looking like Medusa and you still want to have breakfast with me... and what a breakfast it is. Is there anything you didn't order?"

"Hummmm... Well I didn't get the scrambled eggs, since I've had quite enough scrambled eggs in the last couple of years to last a lifetime!"

She hugged me.

"I'll make a note of that... no scrambled eggs for my man... ever!"

I loved everything about her and when she smiled at me... well... the pounding of my heart gave new meaning to the term "being in love."

We finished the coffee as we read the Post Intelligencer sitting side by side.

"Paper says we'll get a break from the storm today... just clouds."

"Other than the obvious... what do you want to do today, James?

"I thought that, "other than the obvious" we would do some Christmas shopping and I need to go over to Frederick and Nelson and get my picture taken with Santa in the window... actually I thought I would break with tradition and get our picture taken with Santa. How does that sound?"

She put her arms around my neck and said,

"Wonderful... anywhere with you James."

"And for dinner I thought I would take you to the Golden Lion here in the hotel. It's an intimate continental restaurant with a wine steward with the most amazing knowledge of wine and a baritone voice that's an experience in itself."

"That also sounds wonderful. What would you like me to wear?"

"It's a place where a tux is not over dressed and in fact I sent my tux out this morning to be pressed."

She laughed.

"Why am I not surprised! James you are remarkable. Do you always travel with a tux in your luggage?"

"Only if I know I'm going to dine with a beautiful woman!"

"I've brought my little black cocktail dress... do you think that will do?"

I nodded and kissed her. And for the next hour we did the "obvious".

Leslie fled to the shower when the room service folks returned. She also had me send her dress and a couple of other items down to be pressed.

She insisted I wear my uniform for pictures. Fortunately my freshly pressed uniform had arrived just a few minutes after I got out of the shower.

Leslie looked radiant as she walked out of the bedroom, wearing a wine red silk blouse with a heavy gold chain that she had knotted to fall between her perfect breasts. Her skirt was black and about calf length with a front slit that showed a lot of leg and dark stocking as she walked. She also wore knee-high black high heel boots. She carried a white fox fur jacket over her arm. All in all she looked ravishing and I told her so.

"We'll leave the ravishing for when we get back James... right now I can hardly walk considering what you've been doing to me with that monster between your legs practically non-stop since last night." She smiled as she said it.

"Complaining?"

She put her arms around my neck and said, "Never."

The phone rang. Leslie walked over to the side table on the far end of the couch and picked it up.

"Hello".

She listened for a second.

"Yes... yes... he's here."

Leslie held out the phone and said, "Elaine".

I groaned inwardly as I took the phone.

"James... Why didn't you let anyone know you were coming home? I shouldn't have to hear it from the staff at the Olympic. How soon are you going to get rid of that trollop you're shacked up with and come to the house?"

"Elaine... Elaine... calm down..."

"James... I can't tell you how disappointed I am that you didn't tell anyone you were coming... especially me". Her voice softened a bit.

"I've missed you so much James... and now you're here... that's really all that's important... how soon before I see you James?"

"Elaine... well as to the... "Trollop"..." Leslie looked at me and mouthed the word "trollop?"

"I have to tell you that she and I are a package deal. If you want to see me you have to see her and if you want me to stay she has to stay... otherwise we'll just go out to the Bainbridge house."

Those remarks were greeted with silence.

"Elaine?"

"I'm sorry James... I didn't realize... of course your... friend... is welcome at our house. When can you come?" Her voice was almost pleading now.

"We'll be there for lunch tomorrow."

"Very well James... we'll see you then." Her voice was full of disappointment.

"I'm sorry, I yelled at you and called your... your... friend a trollop. It's just that I love you so much and I've been missing you for so long... I think I lost my head. You do know I love you don't you James?"

"Yes Elaine... and I love you too... and by the way my friend's name is Leslie. I know that once you meet her you'll be quite taken with her. Actually in many ways she's a lot like you."

Leslie stuck out her tongue at me after overhearing that remark.

"I'm sure I'll like her James... as long as she makes you happy."

"She does Elaine... she makes me very happy."

"All right, James, we'll plan on seeing you for lunch tomorrow... and plan on staying through Christmas... yes?"

"Yes, Elaine... through Christmas."

Leslie was disappointed when I told her we were going to be house guests of my grandparents instead of going to the house on Bainbridge, but she perked up when I described their very large house and the fact we would have lots of privacy.

"That's fine then... anywhere with you my love and I guess if I'm going to be part of your life I need to meet your family."

I kissed her.

"I can't wait to show you off... but don't get too close to my grandfather... he's a bottom grabber.

She smiled.

"This sounds more interesting all the time!"

We strolled down Fourth Avenue looking at the lights and the decorations. It was a far cry from where I had been last Christmas. The weather even gave us a break; the sun peeked through the clouds and warmed us as we stood in line to talk to Santa.

"I can't believe we are actually standing in line to talk to Santa!" she laughed.

"I know... but I missed out the last couple of years and I have a lot of things on my list!"

That made her laugh again.

"Leslie, how about you? I'm sure once you sit on old Santa's lap he'll give you anything you want!"

"James, I already have everything I want. You are the most wonderful Christmas present anyone could have"

She put her arms around my neck and kissed me. Several children in line with us made faces. Their parents smiled.

The line was short and soon we were in the presence of the jolly old fat man himself. Actually he sure did look like what I imagined the real thing looked like. The white beard was authentic, his stomach well rounded, and he had a particular way with apprehensive children. His eyes widened as Leslie perched on his lap. I stood next to his chair for the obligatory photo.