Convenience and Compatibility (10 page)

“Okay.”

Dean sits next to me on the bed. I try to fix
my hair a bit, I went to bed with it wet and I’m sure it is
pointing in crazy directions. He looks down at my bare chest.

“You have the most beautiful breasts.”

His comment takes me off-guard and makes me a
little self-conscience. What’s even worse is that I can feel myself
blushing. I decide to change the subject and hope that he doesn’t
notice.

“How long have you been up?”

“Only about an hour.” He pecks me on the
cheek, “Come on, breakfast is getting cold.” As he’s walking out
the room he tells me he left something for me on the bed. I look
down and see a grey nightgown laid out carefully on his side of the
bed. I slide it on; it’s silky with a lacy bodice, form-fitting and
slightly stretchy, falling just below my knees. I look at myself in
his full length mirror and turn around, admiring the nightie. It
hugs in all the right places and I feel sexy. I inspect the hickey
on my neck with satisfaction. Some people may think it’s juvenile,
but I’ll wear it with honor.

I put on some socks and walk downstairs to
see Dean drinking coffee at the dining table. He looks up and
smiles at me; he must like what he sees. I sit at my place setting
and see that in addition to breakfast, he has made me a cup of tea.
I take a sip and notice that it is the same tea that I made the
other morning. Was that yesterday? It feels like we have been
together more than just a few days.

“So what is the plan for today?” I start
eating and look at Dean expectantly.

“I think we’ll head to the coast via Olympia,
spend the night somewhere, then come back sometime tomorrow. I
thought we could go for a hike, that is, if we can get out of the
hotel room.” Dean smirks.

“Sounds great. When do you want to
leave?”

“After breakfast sound okay?”

“Sure. Oh and thank you for this. When did
you have time to buy it? Or, did you have it already?” I give him a
half smile and hope to god he doesn’t tell me a woman left it
here.

He laughs at this last comment and assures me
that he bought it new. He then winks at me and my heart melts.

“And when did you have time to get on birth
control? Or did you have it already?”

“Ha, ha. I’ve been on the pill for
years.”

His eyebrows rise in surprise. I shrug, he
probably thinks I’m a slut.

“I just stayed on it because I like the side
effects – better skin and no period.”

“Oh,” Dean nods. He opens his mouth and then
shakes his head.

“What?”

“That was my first time without a
condom.”

“Really?” I’m afraid to pry too much into his
past, but I want to ask why. I’m pretty sure that he was with his
last girlfriend for awhile.

“It was amazing.”

I look down at my food, away from his gaze.
“It was.”

“I’m going to go get dressed.” He pecks me on
the cheek and walks upstairs. I watch his tight ass as he walks
away from me. He is too hot. How did I end up with this guy?

I hurry and finish my breakfast so we can get
on the road.

Chapter 11

We’re headed down Interstate Five and talk
has drifted to our families. I tell Dean about my family, how we
are not that close but I can count on them if I need them. My
sister and I rarely talk, with her time being filled with kids and
a husband. We all have busy lives, and we give each other lots of
space. In contrast, Dean has the opposite relationship with his
family. He tells me how he has dinner with his parents every
Sunday, sometimes lunch as well if they go to church together.
Since the accident and moving back into his place, he tries to
visit an additional day in the week, usually for dinner. He
explains that his parents are very protective of him and he finds
this stifling at times, but otherwise, they get along pretty
well.

“Are you going to dinner with them this
Sunday?”

“No, I already told them that I had plans
with you.”

I’m shocked that he mentioned anything, since
we just started going out, then remember that they’re tight and he
probably doesn’t keep anything from them.

I can’t help but ask, fearing for the worst,
“And what do they think of that?”

Dean doesn’t answer right away and I look
over to him. He licks his lips and starts talking but I cut him
off. “Nevermind. I don’t think I want to know.” My nervous laugh
returns and I look out the side window. I knew I shouldn’t of
asked.

“No Mallory, it’s just that they don’t know
you yet.”

I notice he has said the word ‘yet.’ This
makes me feel a little better. I want to grill Dean, but instead
drop the subject and look out the window again.

It takes about three hours
to get to
Quinault Beach Resort. The place is nice, beautifully landscaped
with natural vegetation. It’s situated right on the beach where I’m
itching to go for a walk. After dropping our bags in the room, we
do exactly that. I’m starving but Dean brings a baguette, smoked
cheese, salami, and wine for us to nosh on during our walk. I’m
amazed at his planning abilities and wonder how he sneaked this
past me.

The sky is overcast and the mist from the
ocean chilling. We walk plastered next to each other down the
beach, mostly to stay warm. The beach seems deserted, but then
again, I remind myself that it is February and not exactly the
Washington Coast’s busy season.

We decide to sit down and find a cozy spot
that’s semi-protected from the ocean spray, but also affords an
excellent view. Dean lays down a blanket and I huddle close to him
for warmth as he opens the bottle of wine.

We have our little snack on the beach and I
bring up the courage to ask Dean about what he said the night
before.

“What did you mean about things happening for
a reason?”

He hesitates and I watch him as he looks at
the view. “I was just thinking about all the steps that needed to
happen in order for us to meet.”

I think Dean anticipated a response because
he then looks at me, expectant. I must have a look of confusion on
my face because Dean then clarifies.

“I mean, if I hadn’t have been in essentially
a coma for three years, and my mom hadn’t of hired John, who in
turn scraped my knee the day you were working that booth… well
then, we wouldn’t be here right now.” Dean puts his arm around me
and looks into my eyes. “It’s the fragility of it all that really
gets to me. You change any little factor, and maybe we don’t meet.
What I’m saying is that I’m glad for the past three years, because
that brought me to you.”

Oh wow! I don’t know what I expected, but it
wasn’t that explanation. How do I respond to that? It makes me a
little uncomfortable and I look down and play with a stick in the
sand.

“So how is John doing?”

Dean smiles at me, probably guessing why I
changed the subject. “He’s fine. He’s finishing up medical school
at the U-Dub, and then he’ll head back to France for his
residency.”

I raise my eyebrows, surprised.

“Well good for him. Do you think you’ll stay
in touch?”

“Definitely. He’s just about the only friend
I have left.”

“Why’s that?”

It’s Dean’s turn to be bashful and he looks
down. “I don’t know. I’ve just changed. Other things are important
to me know.”

I nod. I can relate to growing apart from
your friends.

“Let’s walk.” Without waiting for an answer,
I pull him onto his feet and we stroll the beach again. By the time
we get back to our room, it’s well past twilight. I don’t realize
how chilled I am until we are inside the warmth of the hotel.

“I’m going to take a shower to warm up before
dinner.”

Dean raises his eyebrows at me and I know
what he is thinking.

“Oh no. Alone. I want to eat dinner soon.” I
roll my eyes at him as I shut the door to the bathroom as I hear
him laughing on the other side of the door.

We decide on eating at the Casino restaurant
and are both pleasantly surprised at the amazing meal we get. Dean
orders lobster; I laugh at his messy attempts to get the slippery
flesh to his mouth. I order steak and am able to keep my dignity
while eating. During one of our laughing fits I realize that Dean
is the whole package. He is easy to talk to, we have a lot of fun
together, and I love fucking him. I could easily fall in love with
this guy.

“Have you been here before?”

Dessert has just arrived, a chocolate mousse,
and I take a bite looking at him expectantly for an answer.

“We used to come all the time when I was a
kid. I loved it; flying kites on the beach, making sand castles,
beach-combing. The best, though, was having my own room and
watching all the cartoons I wanted before my parents got up. The
staff was so nice to me; I think they felt sorry for me that I
didn’t have any other kids to play with.”

I smile at Dean, trying to imagine him as a
small boy, running around the grounds.

“I was sad when we stopped coming.”

“Why was that?”

“My parents built a house up the road about
ten years ago.” His eyes dart to mine and I know that he has said
something that he was trying to keep from me. I contemplate asking
him why then, did we not stay there, but he must know what I’m
thinking and beats me to the punch. He runs a hand through his hair
and validates my fear. “I, um… my parents... um, preferred us to
not stay there.”

My heart sinks and I look down at the
dessert. I take another bite and hope he doesn’t notice that I’m
disappointed. I’m wondering how this is going to work out between
us when he grabs both my hands.

“Mallory, look at me.”

I meet his gaze and don’t even try to
disguise my disappointment.

“Fuck them. Come on, let’s go back to the
room.”

Dean drops some money on the table as he
grabs my wrist and pulls me up. I think this is odd because we
haven’t gotten the check yet – how does he know how much the meal
cost? I try to look back at the table to see how much he has left,
but his body blocks my view. We pass our server on our way out and
Dean mentions something to him in passing, too quietly for me to
hear.

We get back to our room and silently remove
our clothes and get ready for bed. I put on my grey nightie and
brush my teeth while Dean takes a shower. I climb into bed and turn
on the TV while waiting for him.

The Godfather II is just starting and barely
notice when Dean climbs into bed next to me.

“I love this movie.”

“Me too.”

He leans me forward and puts his arm under my
neck and we watch the movie snuggled up next to each other. We have
an old married couple sort of evening, but it feels right. When the
movie is over I take off my nightie before spooning up next to him.
We kiss slowly, passionately for a few minutes, but that is all.
Dean tucks my head under his and he falls asleep instantly.

Lately I’ve learned that Dean is the kind of
person that can decide to go to sleep, and when his head hits the
pillow, he’s out. In contrast I’m a thinker. It’s hard for me to
turn my thoughts off at the end of the day, especially when
something has upset me. And so I’m left thinking about Dean’s
parents while I listen to him snoring softly.

Against my wishes my thoughts compare my
relationship with Greg, whose parents were as in love with me as he
was. Greg’s mom, Eleni, and I would go out to lunch together and go
shopping. We were truly friends. I frown in the darkness - I miss
her.

My dreams are odd again
and I end up
having a nightmare about black birds chasing me around and pecking
at my head. No wonder, I wake up to Dean playing with my hair.

I blink up at him and turn over onto my
stomach. “You must be a morning person.” I grumble.

“You’re probably right.” Dean laughs as his
hand slides up and down my body. His erection is pushing into my
leg as he starts kissing my back. He slides his hand from the top
of my ass crack slowly down until he reaches my legs. I open them
slightly and he slides a finger inside.

I smile at the deep guttural noise he makes
and spread my legs wider. Dean pulls me by my hips until my back is
against his chest and slowly slides his cock inside. I didn’t
realize how lubricated I was as he effortlessly glides in up to the
hilt. Dean rolls onto me so I’m lying on my stomach again and
slowly moves in and out. After a few minutes, the moment moves from
loving and gentle, into passion and frenzy. I’m pretty sure Dean
will come soon and that’s why I’m surprised when he pulls out and
moves away from me.

He sits on the edge of the bed and pulls on
my arms. “Come here. I want to watch your face as I fuck you.”

I scramble to sit on his lap and wedge his
cock into me. Dean pulls my hips back and forth, grinding on him,
as I move my legs around his torso and hook them at his back.

It’s kind of unnerving, but he does watch my
face while he fucks me. He’s looking at me, but it’s like he
doesn’t really see me as his eyes are locked onto mine. Or maybe
I’m reading him wrong? I close my eyes to focus on my own needs and
I almost forget that Dean is below me as I grind my way closer to
orgasm.

My breathing is ragged and I gasp as Dean
lifts me and swiftly puts me below him on the bed. I’m close and he
knows it. It’s amazing when you have been with someone for so long
that they know what you’re feeling by physical cues. I’m surprised
that Dean has picked up on mine so early in our relationship. He
pumps into me furiously like he knows I need it.

My orgasm comes just a few seconds before his
and we both hold onto each other as our harsh breathing turns into
cries of pleasure. I’m still pulsating around him when Dean falls
next to me and I lie motionless, my limbs almost numb from pure
exhaustion.