“Promise me you won’t order only a salad because I don’t
want to look like a pig,” I said with a grin, then ordered the
crabmeat Karen. She impressed me when she ordered the filet
mignon Charlemond.
“I know, I’m drinking red wine with a crustacean.” I raised
my glass. “I’m uncivilized.”
Hailey grinned back at me. “I would’ve done the same thing.”
She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Screw propriety.”
“A rebel, I like that in a woman.”
Hailey ran her finger lightly around the rim of her glass as
she looked across the table at me suddenly serious. “You’ve torn
down every defense I have,” she said with a slight smile.
“I’ve torn down a few of my own in the process.”
“You know what I find irresistible about you?” She drummed
her fingers on the table as I gave her a questioning look. “You’re
just you. There’s no pretense, no smooth-sounding lines, just
a woman honestly offering her heart and hoping that it will be
taken by someone who’ll cherish it.”
“The woman I want to give it to keeps running away.” I
smiled.
10
Pitifully Ugly
“Not anymore,” Hailey said seriously. “There are some
opportunities too sweet to pass up.”
Salads were placed in front of us, our wineglasses topped off.
“Thank you,” I said, but my gaze was locked with Hailey’s. “So
this means we’ll have a second date?” I asked when the waiter
left us.
“I was kind of thinking it would mean breakfast.” Hailey took
a sip of her wine as her meaning sank in.
“I think my crabmeat would enjoy a ride in a doggie bag.”
Hailey threw back her head and laughed.
I barely tasted my salad. The crab was delicious, but my
appetite for it had gone right out the window as I thought about
what this night would bring. Hailey fed me pieces of her steak,
and I shared the crab. I knew that Hailey was as ready as I was
to leave when the waiter asked if we wanted dessert. “Just the
check, please,” she said with a smile, but something behind her
eyes burned hot. I took that as my cue to call the cab.
The ride home seemed infinitely longer than it took to get
there. I thought I would be nervous, but I wasn’t. I felt longing
and desire that I thought only happened in books and movies. I
wanted to touch and be touched. To share a part of myself that
I realized I’d never truly given to anyone else. I’d had sex and
called it making love, but as I sat next to Hailey, it dawned on me
that this was how it was truly supposed to feel. Like two halves
merging together to make a whole. I would give as much as she
desired and take as much as she allowed.
Hailey squeezed my hand as we stepped into the elevator.
“As bad as I hate to say this, I’ll forgive you if you want to
back out now,” I said, watching her intently. “We’re about to
cross a line that for me is going to make being just friends again
impossible.”
“I know, but I think we’ve crossed that line already.” Hailey
squeezed my hand tighter and held it as if to say she wasn’t
backing down and wouldn’t let me, either.
I watched as Hailey’s hands shook slightly as she put her key
in the lock and pushed open the door. Fuzzy greeted us with a
11
Robin Alexander
doggie smile, even though the movie had ended and was showing
the scene index over and over. Hailey gave her a scratch behind
the ears before she popped the DVD out and put in Grease. Fuzzy
walked over to me, expecting the same treatment. I scratched her
behind the ears and rubbed her chest and gave her a wink.
Fuzzy grabbed her sheep and settled back down on the rug
as Hailey took my hand and led me to the bedroom. As I closed
the door behind us, she stepped into the bathroom and washed
her hands. I watched as she looked at herself in the mirror and
exhaled a long breath. Her eyes met mine in the reflection.
I stepped in and reached around her to wash my hands. She
took them between hers and rubbed them with soap. It was a
luxurious feeling to feel her slippery hands move against mine,
something so simple was torturously sensual. Her gaze locked
onto mine when I leaned down and kissed her bare shoulder. Her
sigh as her eyes fluttered shut made my knees weak, and I leaned
heavily against her. She pushed back against me as she fumbled
with the faucet and cut the water off.
The only sound then was her breathing as I kissed my way to
her neck and softly bit into her skin. She leaned her head forward
as her hands gripped the sink. I felt like I was dreaming as my
hands slid down her hips, leaving wet marks on her dress. I pulled
back slightly and kissed down her back as my hands slid down her
thighs until I touched her skin. It was warm and smooth against
my mouth, and her thighs were hot to my touch as my fingertips
grazed against them while I pulled the dress higher.
“I used to dream about this, but I never thought it would
happen,” Hailey said. Her voice sounded shaky and breathless. It
came out in a hiss when I pressed my hand against the dampness
between her thighs. I wanted to be inside of her so badly as my
fingers found the seam of her underwear. “Don’t,” she rasped as
she grabbed my hand. “I want to be facing you when you touch
me.”I pulled my hand away and stepped back. I had to restrain
myself from ripping the clasp of her dress open and taking her
on the floor of the bathroom. Hailey spun around and pushed me
roughly against the bathroom wall. Her mouth was on mine in an
12
Pitifully Ugly
instant as she pulled my belt loose. It landed with a clank on the
tiled floor. She pulled away long enough to pull my shirt over my
head, and her mouth found mine again.
I fumbled with the clasp to her dress as she unbuttoned my
pants and slid her hands around my hips. I shuddered as her dress
fell to her waist, and she pushed her thigh between mine. Her
hands pulled me tightly against her as the friction between my
legs became unbearable. I broke the kiss, unable to breathe, and
buried my face in her hair. I didn’t want to let her go when she
stepped away.
Hailey reached over my shoulder and turned off the light.
I watched her in the dim glow coming from the lamp in her
bedroom as she let the dress fall away. My gaze went to her bare
breasts first, then to her hands as she slipped her silky underwear
down her legs and stepped out of them along with her heels.
I pushed at my boot heel with the toe of the other. I knew I
was scuffing them, but I wanted them off. I wanted to be rid of
every barrier between me and Hailey’s warm skin. She grabbed
at my hands when I started to slide my pants down. “Let me do
it,” she said as she knelt and pulled them away. She kissed and
nibbled at the insides of my shaking thighs until I didn’t think I
could stand any longer. I fisted both hands in her hair and pulled
her up gently.
The sensation of her mouth on mine and her naked skin
pressing against me was more than I could handle. I pushed her
away and held her at arm’s length. “We’re not going to make it to