56 #MasterClass

He remembered?  How in the world could he do that now, twenty-eight years later, when he hadn’t remembered the very next day?  He walked right past her in the lobby of that same hotel without a flicker of recognition.  Not even when she’d waved and held up a bottle of the Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio he admitted to preferring the night before – after he drank the tequila, of course. 

 

Given their current relationship, Teddi thought showing him this little “shrine” of memorabilia would be fun. She would offer her youthful antics as proof she’d always seen beyond the celebrity, and he would act remorseful for not recalling it. Then they’d laugh and have sex while she kept the rest of the story to herself.

 

It was possible to still laugh it off, in theory.  She could simply continue to accept the same explanation for his brush-off that she’d held onto for almost three decades, which was her poor sexual performance.  That idea was what initially triggered her obsession with all things carnal, after all.  She spent hours upon hours reading both fact and fiction on sexuality, watching videos – yes, those videos – and experimenting until she knew exactly how to produce maximum pleasure for both partners.

 

That was the reason he stood here tonight, touching her cheek and skimming easy fingertips through her hair. 

 

Was there really a need to question something that had ended up coming full circle?  She was beyond happy with where things stood between them.  Rocking the boat by demanding explanations for ancient history couldn’t make her any happier with their current situation than she already was. 

 

This is a fun bit of nostalgia.  Don’t turn it maudlin. 

 

She pasted on a purposeful smile while continuing to stroke his tummy, and the texture of hair against fingertips grounded her in gratitude.  He was here now by conscious choice.  Anything that happened in nineteen eighty-nine was just trivia. 

 

“You’re right,” she praised lightly.  “I didn’t use my first name that night; I used my middle. Teddi wasn’t bold enough to try what Meredith did.”

 

“Meredith.  That sounds more familiar, although….  To be honest, I was so drunk that a lot of things are fuzzy.”

 

“What do you remember?”  There.  That wasn’t maudlin.  That was simply giving him the opportunity to reminisce.  “If you’re missing anything good, I’ll help fill in the blanks.”

 

The sly tip of his mouth was her reward for keeping things light.  She savored the way blue irises warmed while scouring her features, presumably trying to reconcile Teddi to the girl in his mind.

 

“I was just a kid.  You might get mad at what stuck with me.”

 

“No, I won’t.”  She’d spent ages thinking nothing about her had made an impression.  Good or bad, she was interested in finding out the truth.

 

“You say that now…”

 

She playfully tugged a patch of belly hair.  “Just tell me.”

 

“Okay, okay.  I remember black.  Lots of black,” he mused.  “Leather, lace, your hair… the mascara running down your face while you were gagging on my cock.”

 

“And you’re afraid that offends me?  Hardly.  I still think back on the sounds you made and how you watched me with such rapt fascination.  You obviously liked it, and I liked pleasing you.”

 

“That’s why you did it the other morning,” he said with dawning awareness.  “Because you knew.”

 

“Yes, and I plan on getting to the other perversions you confessed that night.  A drunk Jon is a chatty one.  I wouldn’t mind visiting with him again sometime.” 

 

A stern finger waggled at Teddi’s nose, although he didn’t look all that stern when accusing, “Now that dark desires reward system of yours makes sense.  You had an inside track on information.”

 

“I did,” was her shameless confession.  “I may have been a rookie, but you gave me a master class in what a man wants.  What you want.”

 

“What do you mean, rookie?”

 

Well, this could take a turn for the awkward.

 

“I, uh… guess we found one of those fuzzy spots you were talking about.”  Teddi cleared her throat.  “I’ll put it tastefully by saying you captained my maiden voyage.”

 

It took a minute for that metaphor to sink in, and even when it did, Jon didn’t quite believe it.  “Wait.  What?  Are you saying you were a virgin when you broke into that hotel room?”

 

“Yes.” 

 

Even antisocial girls attract boys, and she dated a few during college; she’d just never had sex with them.   It wasn’t that she was opposed to physical pleasure.  Masturbation was a favorite nighttime – and sometimes daytime – hobby. 

 

Young Teddi just held a silly notion of saving herself for something better, and the opportunity for “better” hadn’t arrived until she overheard two girls talking in Abnormal Psych. 

 

One of them was excited to rush down to the Four Seasons after class, because Bon Jovi had just checked into the hotel.  Her cousin was a desk clerk there and had confirmed it but wouldn’t give up the room number, so the girl was going to stake out the lobby in hopes of catching a glimpse of the band. 

 

Teddi’s connection was more accommodating than that, and she used the information – along with Housekeeping’s master key – to her advantage. 

 

The piece of manhood that she now stroked through a pair of cargo shorts was the first she ever tasted, and the first to slide between her legs.   Rather than being disappointed he didn’t remember, she simply cherished the fact that she did.

 

“How the hell could I forget something like that?”

 

“I’m sure you deflowered your share of innocents back in the day,” she reasoned graciously.  “That aside, I didn’t really want you to know.  You probably wouldn’t have if I’d shown more finesse.  As it was, you laughed and asked me if I knew what the hell I was doing.”

 

Fifty-five-year-old Jon winced at his twenty-seven-year-old self. “Ah, shit.  I guess it’s too late to apologize?”

 

“No need,” she assured.  “You were playful about taking control.”

 

He’d flipped her underneath him with a sexy laugh, hooking hands behind both Teddi’s knees and bringing them to her waist.  Nerves pounded her heart as she lay there spread wide, but she didn’t move when he released one leg to guide into her exposed opening. 

 

 Reflexively tensing, she tried to pretend it didn’t hurt when he breached the physical barrier to womanhood, but the gasp of pain wouldn’t be withheld.  It had him pausing briefly, but when she built it into a groan of pleasure, he lunged ahead on the ride that changed her life.    

 

Masturbation was nothing like the feel of a hairy body scraping against a smooth one.  The fullness in her womb was exciting in a brand-new way, as was the man who feverishly bucked it until he filled the condom with a rabid growl. 

 

Even though Teddi hadn’t climaxed, she’d experienced an awakening in her body that felt almost like a rebirth.  She’d discovered something inside her that wasn’t wrong or broken.  Something that didn’t need fixing, and Jon was the one who showed it to her. 

 

She stroked his jaw, filled with appreciation for both past and present.

 

“There was a moment when my body resisted that you might’ve realized what was happening, but by then it was a moot point, so you finished the job.  I assume you felt a little bad about it after, since you didn’t kick me out right away.”

 

“I asked you to do the Tarot cards for me, didn’t I?”

 

“Yes.” 

 

She’d found it to be quite sweet.  Maybe not as sweet her memories romanticized in the years since, but still a nice gesture.  That’s why she’d felt bad about the news she delivered in the “reading”. 

 

“That I remember quite plainly.  Dave hasn’t let me forget since I told him about it the next day. I assume you remember, too?”

 

Teddi dipped her head and quoted, “’Your relationship happiness is only contentment, and it’s one-sided.  The strong-willed woman in your life doesn’t share it, and resentment will eventually split your paths.  It’s the sensitive one who sees and appreciates you for who you are.  That will never change.’” 

 

“I never told Dave the last part,” he admitted.  “Didn’t want him trying to find me the ‘sensitive one’.  You painted that role for yourself, didn’t you?”

 

“No.  I’ve never thought of myself as particularly sensitive.” 

 

“Then who did you have in mind?”

 

“No one.  That reading came from Maggie.  All I did was repeat it.”

 

She’d taken the senior year of college to “find herself” and explore her Gypsy heritage.  That included dying her hair sable, spending the holidays with the Biharis, and actually trying to learn the Tarot cards she received as a Christmas gift from Maggie. 

 

It was during one of those tutorials that her cousin had done a spontaneous reading on Jon’s behalf, to amuse Teddi.  She found it amusing, alright, but Maggie had taken a serious turn when the Ten of Swords presented itself.  She’d insisted that the woman in Jon’s life wouldn’t last and pronounced the Queen of Cups as the one who would provide stability and support. 

 

Teddi never accepted the assertation that she could fit the role.   

 

“Then Dave was kinda right the other day on the driveway when he thought Maggie was Naked Tarot Girl.  You’re just here to fulfill the prophecy?”

 

She shrugged.  “I’m not discounting Maggie’s gift, but the cards don’t hang on my wall as a symbol of destiny.  They’re just my souvenir of a special night.   I’m certainly not claiming to be the woman she painted, although I will support you until the end.  Lots of fans fit that bill.”

 

Fabric inched its way up the back of her legs as Jon’s fists once again began bunching her dress.

 

“But you’re more than a fan,” he pointed out quietly.  “You’re my girlfriend.”

 

It was embarrassing that such a juvenile word could cause her pulse to jump like a fish out of water, but hearing it used for the first time had that very effect.  ‘Girlfriend’ carried a different level of intimacy than ‘lover’.  A lover fulfilled sexual needs and desires.  A girlfriend…

 

A girlfriend bakes cookies, prepares dinner, discusses the day over cocktails and badgers him into doing what’s in his best interest.

 

Well, that pretty much summed it up.  She was Jon’s girlfriend.

 

“I’m a lot of things,” was what she whispered up into his face as the heat of heavy palms warmed her backside.  “The first and foremost of which is horny.  Are you going to help me with that?”

 

Under the pressure of those palms, her hips danced forward until they were flush with his.  She could feel his breath filtering into her nostrils.  Could smell the tang of wine that it carried.  Most importantly, she could see herself reflected in the black mirrors of desire that expanded with his dilating eyes.

 

The confession of her youth hadn’t changed their relationship for him.  It only added a layer of history, and he was a man who enjoyed history.

 

“I’m game for that tantric sex thing if you are.”

 

The husky suggestion sent a flood of excitement and fear coursing through her veins.  Her study of it had always included mental pictures of him.  To actually experience it with him would be…

 

Tantra isn’t just about flesh, Theodosia.  It’s an exploration of souls.  More importantly, it’s an exchange of souls.  There’s no turning back after that.  You’ll never be whole again without him.

 

“Tantra is very intimate,” she cautioned slowly.  “It’s more than sex, it’s an emotional journey that can be quite… intense.  Or so I understand.”

 

The mirrors of black held steady as gentle fingers feathered wisps of hair from Teddi’s forehead.  “You’ve never done it before?”

 

“I’ve only done some research on the subject.”

 

“So, I would be your first for that, too.” 

 

Was she imagining the satisfaction in that simple statement?  The thought that it may be more than wishful thinking drove Teddi to lift a hand to her throat, but in the absence of a necklace, she was left rubbing the hollow there. 

 

There was a breeze around her thighs as the released skirt settled back in place, and Jon’s fingers folded gently around hers.  He must’ve felt the thumping behind her breastbone because the knuckles of his other hand skimmed soothingly over her cheek.      

 

“Why are you nervous?  You’re in your safe place.”

 

“This room is a playpen for mindless fun.  Tantra doesn’t fit that mold.  It doesn’t belong in here.”

 

“Okay,” he agreed easily.  “We take it to your bedroom then.”

 

Teddi’s fingers dug into her chest.  That was a double whammy to her comfort zone and completely out of the question.  She wasn’t ready for it.  She’d barely reached the stage of sleeping in the same bed.  It was too soon to take another step.   

 

“Can’t we just enjoy the mindless fun tonight?” she coaxed, scooting in to wrap arms around a trim waist and swaying against him.  “I promise to indulge one of your perversions.”

 

There was a quiet span of one second, then three, then five before knuckles moved against her face again.  “Which one?”

 

He wasn’t going to push.  Jon was submitting to her in a manner more profound than begging, and her relief came out in a breathy, “Any one you want.”

 

The black mirrors of his pupils glimmered back to life, and in them she caught a glimpse of the young man from the Four Seasons.

 

Which was appropriate since he chose, “I want you to be a virgin again.  I want to know I’m taking it.”