Can't Help Falling in Love (15 page)

    
Allison grabbed her telephone. “Daddy thinks he only moved to
New York
to manage the show’s national
advertising staff. I bet he never imagined that he’d be in a position to help
out his daughters in a big way!”

     
Later that morning, Karen left to have brunch with a friend. Allison decided to
begin her bath, but she kept being delayed. Seven times, the telephone rang
with one friend after another calling to congratulate her on her nomination for
the
AIM
Award. When Karen returned briefly,
Allison was still fielding calls.

    
“I’m not sticking around for this,” Karen declared.  “It’s going to be a
circus around here all day. I’ll see you this evening.”

    
Finally the calls subsided. With a little time to herself, Allison was able to
take a relaxing bath. She had just finished, stepped from the tub, and wrapped
herself in a bath sheet when the doorbell rang. When she opened the door to the
hall she discovered a large, professionally wrapped package from a local
florist. She picked the package up and brought it into the kitchen where she
tore the wrapping and discovered inside a lovely flower arrangement, a vase
containing 100 blooms of Autumn Peruvian Lilies. She pulled out the little
attached card, opened the envelope, and read:

“These are only half as beautiful as you.

Thank you for the best day of my life,

and
congrats on your nomination.

I’ll see you soon.”

    
Instead of signature, he had drawn a little guitar. Of course, she knew who had
sent them. She put the arrangement on her dresser across from her bed, where
she was able to admire and appreciate his selection. The flowers were truly
lovely and their wonderful fragrance permeated the room, adding a cheery note
to a room grossly in need of merriment. She was finding escaping from the cloud
that
Sharon
had cast over her life difficult, but
the flowers—and the nomination—helped buoy her spirit.

    
Another interruption came with another knock on the door.

    
More
flowers!
she
presumed. Before turning the knob, she asked, “Who’s
there?”

    
“It’s me.”

    
It’s
him!
She clutched the
towel that was about to fall loose, and her heart leapt. The sound of his voice
always caused her to go weak in the knees. There was no one she wished to be
with more, but once again, he had caught her off guard and she was not ready to
receive company.
Still, I can’t reject him and
leave him standing out in the hall!
 
She could not contain her excitement, and
she laughed, partly out of nervousness and partly out of sheer delight. She
called out, “What are you doing here?”

    
“I said in the note I’d see you soon, didn’t I?”

    
“This is sooner than I expected.”

    
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

    
She quickly brushed her hair back in an attempt to look poised and presentable
and said, “Just a minute!”

    
She ran to her bedroom, grabbed her robe, and quickly slung it around herself,
tying the belt as she raced back. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

    
“As always, you look terrific!” he declared, giving her a big, friendly hug.

    
“If you’d call me next time before coming over, I’ll be much more presentable.
Still, I’m glad to see you!”

    
Wasting no time making
himself
immediately at home, he
sat down on the couch. Allison followed. Despite the fact that he had decided
to arrive with no advance warning, she felt the least she could do was be
cordial, especially considering how attentive he was being. She forgot about
the robe she wore and her bare feet, until she went back to the bedroom to get
the floral arrangement to use as a center piece. She brought the arrangement
into the living room and placed them where they would look their best, which
seemed like the right thing to do.

    
“I just had to see you this morning,” he said. “We were so busy last night we
didn’t read the whole newspaper. After I got wind of the announcement about
your nomination, I just had to tell you how proud I am of you. I told you
before that you’re the best, and now this proves it!”

    
Allison laughed. He was irresistible to her.
His mannerisms.
 
His attentiveness.
His way of
cutting to the chase.
The loose curl hanging over his tanned forehead.
Once again, she found herself as comfortable with him as he was with her.

    
“Do you want to see some of the things I’ve been working on
?.
”

    
“No,” he replied immediately. “That can wait. I’ve put in my time today. I’m ready
for some relaxation and recreation. I haven’t had a good back rub in a while.
Will you give me one?”

    
Before she could answer, he turned his back to her. She was somewhat surprised
that he would suddenly request such a personal thing, but since friends help
friends, she started to massage his shoulders.

    
“
Mmm
.
This feels so nice.
But would you mind if I took off my shirt? It would feel even nicer if your
fingers and hands were rubbing directly on my skin.”

    
He unbuttoned his shirt, figuring she would go along with his request. In one
swoop, his knit shirt was over his head and discarded.

    
With his shirt off, Allison admired more closely his strong, well-developed
build. She knew before that he took good care of himself, but she could not
have imagined the perfect development of his muscles that were only observable
without clothes. She began to massage his neck and shoulders again.
I
wonder what kind of sports or exercise he participates in to maintain his hard,
muscular body. It’s so titillating and enjoyable to see and touch his masculine
frame. I’m glad that he can’t see my face. He’d know what I was thinking!

    
Allison rubbed and massaged his back carefully paying attention to every inch
of skin and muscle. She gave of herself as she wished he would have had the
situation been reversed, and while she thought he could not possibly know what
she was thinking and feeling as she worked, he did. He knew by the gentle and
loving way she touched him.

    
“That’s enough,” he finally told her, still wanting more but also wanting to be
considerate of her. “You must be getting tired.”

    
Allison wanted to tell him that she would be happy to continue, that the
moments she was spending with him were the most joyous she had experienced in a
long time.  She wanted to say that, but she knew she would never be able
to summon up the courage. She also recognized by the tone in his voice that it
was best to do as he directed her. While her fingers might normally have begun
to ache after such a strenuous exercise, she noticed no strain, and was only
disappointed that he was stopping her. She liked touching him more than she
would have wanted to admit.

    
He turned around to face her and teased, “How much of a good thing can a man
take? I’m glad you’re so good at back rubs!” 

    
Allison’s eyes met his, and as always seemed to happen when she was with him,
she began to blush. She averted her gaze as quickly as possible once she
realized how she was responding. She was embarrassed to find herself staring at
his well-developed chest, muscular
pecs
, and rounded
shoulders, and she wondered what he must be thinking of her.

    
“Now it’s my turn to give you a rub down!”

    
“I didn’t realize that this was a reciprocal situation,” Allison answered,
surprised at his offer.

  
  “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”

    
Allison smiled brightly in response and lay down on the floor, while he drew
himself up close to her. With his left thigh resting against her right side, he
loosened her robe and slid his strong hands inside.

    
Only then did she realize the provocative situation she had put herself in. She
was glad that, as of yet, he was not trying to take advantage of her. She did
not know what she would do if he tried. She felt his strong and powerful hands
gently do their work. He was as attentive to her as she had been to him. His
fingers prodded, nudged, lightly grazed, and rubbed, delivering sensual
pleasures she had never realized could be derived from a back massage. When he
reached the lower limits of her back, she half wished he would move on to her
buttocks, but he did not. At first, she assumed that he was being a gentleman.
Then, she wondered if he merely wanted to tease her. When his fingers lightly
danced across the sides of her breasts, she knew that he wanted to do more than
tease. His touch was ecstasy. He wanted her just as she wanted him.

    
He gently rolled her over on her back. With sensitivity to her and respect of
her modest nature, he carefully managed to leave her loosely fastened robe
closed. He swiftly pulled himself on top of her, being careful to support
himself so she would not feel crushed beneath the weight of his body. 

    
“I think I’m falling in love with you, Allison.” He whispered the words as
tenderly as he knew how.

    
“Don’t.” Allison tried to stop him from saying more. She was not sure why, but
somehow she knew she was not ready to deal with this from him, even though she
knew that he was feeling exactly what she was feeling.

    
“Why should I stop? I’ve waited for—even tried to bring about a time that would
be right to tell you what I really feel, and this seems like the right time.
I’m not going to stop now. I want you more than any woman I’ve ever known. When
I’m not with you, you’re all I find myself thinking about.”

    
He lowered his head and kissed her with a longing she had never known before.
He was loving and passionate all at once. His lips began to search her body,
nibbling at her neck and ear lobes. He continued to embrace her tenderly and
Allison surprised herself with the openness with which she enjoyed every moment
they were sharing. She realized that the intensity of their physical encounter
was about to become more serious.

    
“Allison! Allison!”

    
Karen’s voice was all too easy to ignore. She had heard her timber and tone all
her life, and she was quite adept at tuning her out when she wished. At the
moment, she chose to pay no attention. Thinking of the day before had lulled
her into a glorious stupor. She remembered feeling him loosen her robe, his
strong and powerful hands gently massaging her body, and the words of love the
two of them exchanged, so soft and tender, sending her somewhere she had never
been before. She had to smile when recalling how she first assumed that he was
just being a gentleman and merely teasing her when his fingers lightly danced
across the sides of her breasts, but that was the beginning of what turned out
to be more than a tease. He was all man, and his touch was ecstasy. He had
wanted to fulfill her, and she had wanted him to. She sighed. The memory of
every moment she spent with him would remain with her for a lifetime.

     
“Allison!” Karen persisted.
“How can I direct you if you’re
not listening?”

    
Allison shook her head as if waking from a deep sleep. “What did you say? Am I
doing something wrong?”

    
“I know you’re not a professional model, but you’ll do just fine if you’ll
listen to me. Move when I tell you to move, okay?”

    
Allison responded apologetically. “Sure. I guess my mind just started to
wander.”

    
The photography session had been going extraordinarily well. Luckily, the
weather was holding up, which meant that their work would be completed fast like
they wanted. Their father had vowed to do everything he could to secure a few
minutes on
The Ed Sullivan Show
for the band. Fortunately, he had a good
reason to request the booking: they had a hit song that was moving up the
charts and gaining national exposure in record time. From state to state, disc
jockeys were jumping on board with the rock ‘n’ roll craze, an unusual
occurrence for stations that had previously only played music that sounded like
leftovers from their parent’s generation. Yet, the new sound was not to be
ignored, and securing a spot on
The
Ed Sullivan Show
was sure to
bring the revolutionary new sound to the masses, as well as be the greatest
blessing of their lives.  

    
Karen shot picture after picture of Allison at minutely different angles. “We
have to get the big promotional picture to Dad tonight, which means I’ve got to
spend hours with the developer creating a composite that blends some adoring
girls looking at the band’s lead singer. We’ve got the first two done, so now if
we can just get this third one at the right angle, we’ll be done!”

    
Karen’s idea was terrific. In fact, the entire reformulation of the campaign
had taken a dramatic turn and was sure to draw the right kind of attention.
This new angle brought them an opportunity of a lifetime, and Allison wanted to
make sure she did her part right.