Catching Caitlin (9 page)

“That’s great though!” I
tried to console him. “You worked really hard and are getting rewarded...” I
lowered my voice, “Two million a year Hugh. That’s... a lot of money. More than
I can conceive.”

“I know it is, but...”
His expression had softened. I felt a sharp pain, like it was my fault for
ruining his mood.

“It’s okay, you don’t
have to talk about it. Let’s just have breakfast,” I said.

The server came back and
asked us if we were ready. I hadn’t even had a chance to look, but nodded
anyway. She took our menus after we ordered.

Hugh was going to have
the eggs benedict, so I just copied him. I figured he knew what he was doing
here better than I did.

We were only together for
a short time in high school, but he had been married to this woman. While I was
with him now, eating breakfast out in Massachusetts, I couldn’t help but feel
like my relationship with him was a joke compared to the reality that he had
with Marcia. Our first relationship wasn’t a joke to me. I knew I was being
ridiculous, but how could I compete with a ghost? She couldn’t have flaws,
while I was real and breathing. I tripped and dropped things.

The only time he might
remember her dropping things is in a nostalgic way. A painful way. I dropped my
fork on the ground right after taking my first bite. If he was remembering her
being a bit clumsy, it might be in a cute way, but when I had to ask a waiter for
another fork, I just felt embarrassed.

I didn’t talk much for
the rest of the meal, responding to his jokes and banter with half-hearted
responses. I felt bad, but somehow justified too. I could tell he wasn’t
letting it bother him, but maybe it was a kind of practiced dance. He had to
have done it all the time after she died.

***

A
fter breakfast, we
walked down the little main street. It was lovely and not much bigger than some
of the smaller towns in Maine. Which made it feel familiar but new.

The slight wind added a
little chill to our walk, which was remedied when Hugh slipped his arm around
me and pulled me close to him. It was a kind gesture and it made me feel a lot
better.

Hugh slowed his pace in
front of a little boutique, and peered at the dresses in the window.

“You want to stop in
here? I can get you something,” he said. His grin told me he
really
wanted to.

What little modesty I had
told me to decline, but how could I? “That sounds great.”

The shop wasn’t very big,
but what it lacked in size it made up for with quality.

Glimmering and shimmering
dresses lined the different racks, carefully organized by style, color and
size. I gravitated towards the back, where a backless dress was hung on the
rack.

“Mmm, backless? That’s
very sexy,” he said, a slight growl in his voice. I blushed, glancing at him
and back at the dress. I held it in my hands, the material feeling divine.

I couldn’t help but smile
just touching it, and dreaming of it being on my body.

“This is way too nice for
just tromping around town though,” I said.

“You’re right. It is,” he
said, matter-of-factly. “That’s why we’re going to go out tonight, on a date.”

I looked at him, somewhat
astonished. “A date? Isn’t it a little late to be dating?”

“Because we’ve had sex?”

I looked to see if anyone
overheard us and lowered my voice. “Well...”

“It’s never the wrong
time to go on a date with someone I care about.”

“I hope this isn’t a ploy
to get me to put out,” I teased. “But seriously, it’s probably a ridiculous
amount of money. I don’t want you to be my sugar daddy.”

He cocked his head, “Why
not? If I have the ability... why not let me use it?”

Thankfully, a young woman
stepped up to us. She greeted us: “Hello, thanks for coming in to Daisys’. My
name is Sara, and I’m here to help.” She flashed us a smile. “I see you’ve got
you eye on that dress...” she traced my hand up and caught my eyes. “Would you
like to try it on? If anything is amiss, we can alter it before you leave
today,” she said.

I never had a single
thing in my life altered. I barely knew what it meant, but it sure sounded
fancy. Hugh nodded to Sara, who seemed to recognize him.

“Hugh? Is that you?”

“Don't tell me you're
little Sara Medina? Wow, it’s been a long time,” Hugh said. He saw my
expression and explained: “My family used to be friends with the Medina’s, they
had a summer home right next to ours.” He planted his hands on his hips, “It’s
been years though.”

“Yeah, I decided to move
here a couple years ago. Summer is nice... but year round is better,” she said.

I felt removed from the
conversation, but I never really knew how to deal with things like this. Do I
just force myself on them?

I watched Hugh, he was
never really good at including me either.

“I work at an energy
company in Reno.”

“Oh wow, that’s
awesome." Her eyes moved down and back up. I wondered if she thought I was
his wife.

She turned to me. “So,
would you like to try it on?” She seemed genuinely cheerful, not salesperson
cheerful.

“Sure, that sounds nice,”
I finally said, my tongue working itself loose.

“Just follow me to the
changing rooms, and I’ll measure the fit while we’re getting you dressed. If
you decide you like how it looks on you, we can alter it before you leave
today.”

Sara joined me in the
changing room, which was unexpected. It made me vaguely uncomfortable.

“It’s alright hun, we're
friends here," she explained.

I slipped off my clothes
and stepped into the dress. I guided it up my body and pulled it onto my
shoulders.

I looked in the mirror.
It was dazzling. The red color accented my hair in a way that was
just so.

“Well I’ll be damned,”
Sara said. "We don’t even need to alter it. It’s already a perfect fit.”

“Yeah it is,” my voice
had vanished, and I was smoothing out the little wrinkles that had appeared
around my hips. “I look like royalty.”

Sara chuckled, “If you’re
sticking with Hugh, you’ll feel like it too.”

“Were you and Hugh
...close?”

“We were just kids back
then, dear, don’t worry yourself.” Then she lowered her voice. "Although
he did grow up to be quite delicious.”

“I know it,” I stared at
myself in the mirror, “I know it.” I found the price tag hanging off the side,
and I looked at it, cupping it in my hand like a secret.

Two thousand dollars. I
gasped and let the tag slip out of my fingers.

“This is way too much,” I
whispered. “I can’t let him get this for me.”

“I only knew Hugh when he
was little, but I can already tell you one thing hasn’t changed: you don’t let
Hugh do anything. He just does it.”

I nodded, and started
getting undressed. My heart was racing from just looking at the price tag. It
was more than I ever had in my savings account, let alone my checking account.

Dumbstruck was the word.

There was a gentle knock
on the door.

“Can I take a look?” Hugh
asked.

“Come on in,” Sara said,
grabbing the handle and swinging it open.

Hugh was breathless,
“It’s gorgeous Caitlin. You look absolutely ravishing.” He shot a glance at
Sara, and she nodded.

“I have to walk the
floor, I’ll be ready when you two are,” she said. She smiled and left us alone
in the dressing room. Hugh waited for a moment, then stepped closer. He put his
hand on the small of my back, touching my skin. It was a very low cut dress.

He pulled me close to
him, making me lose my footing.

“You’re going to get it
right?” he asked. “It’s perfect. It was made for you.”

“I don’t think it was
made
for
me,” I teased. “I do like it though... but it’s too much.” I
showed him the price tag. He ignored it. “You can get more things too, you
know,” Hugh said.

I gawked at him. “More?
This isn’t too much?”

“Too much? You were then
when I got the raise.” He paused. “I insist, let me splurge on you.”

I finally agreed, raising
my hands in surrender. “Okay, I'll let you get me the ridiculously expensive
dress.”

“That’s better.”

I admired myself in the
mirror, before realizing something. “You’re not going to get
anything
?”
I asked.

He shrugged. “I don’t
need anything.”

“No, that won’t do. You
have to get something. I’ll feel terrible if you don’t.”

He moved his hands to my
hips and squeezed me, before leaning in and kissing me.

I opened my mouth for
him, my face still flushed with warmth and my heart racing from it all. Was
this what my life was going to be like? How could I go back to living the way I
had before?

The kiss lasted, and
evolved. I moaned under his touch for a moment, and he caressed my skin. His
hands explored the dress, lightly touching my shoulders. He moved up and cupped
my face, as if he didn’t want it to end.

He whispered in my ear,
making my skin sweat. “We’ll get you this dress, then I’ll take you out to a
dinner tonight. Lobster, soaked in butter. Afterwards we’ll head home, and I’ll
have you tied to the bed, begging me choke you, fuck you, and make you scream.”
I gulped at the image of my hands and arms bound to the bed posts, the cool
breeze sifting off the harbor. His body towering over mine, making me his.

All his.

“That... sounds like
heaven.”

“You don’t even know the
half of it,” he kissed my neck. I shivered, feeling myself grow hotter and
hotter.

He pulled away and spoke
in his normal voice again. “I’ll let you get dressed, then we’ll buy that
dress. We can go get other clothes too while we’re in town, or just walk
around.”

He stepped out of the
dressing room, leaving me a sweaty mess.

I got dressed back into
my ‘real’ clothes and carefully held the dress on its hanger. It felt like
something precious I had to be careful with, otherwise it might shatter.

I looked at the men’s
section of the store. It was serviceable, but relatively empty compared to the
women’s side. Then I saw exactly what he needed.

I picked up a paisley
yellow and blue tie.

I joined Hugh at the
counter, where he was waiting for me.

“How about this?” I held
it up to his neck. “It really makes your eyes pop.”

“I never owned a paisley
tie before...” He took and held it delicately, as if he were scrutinizing it.
“Okay. I’ll get this. Will that make you happy?”

“It’s a start.” I winked.

Sara rushed over to meet
us. She slipped the dress off the store’s hanger and carefully folded the tie.

“Any big plans for you
two tonight?” she asked.

“Nothing special, just a
little date.” Hugh’s gaze found me. I felt like melting.

“That sounds nice.” She
gestured for Hugh to finalize the transaction, and he swiped his card. She
slipped the dress into a black bagged hanger into a black bag and handed it to
me.

As we left the store,
Hugh grabbed my hand and gave me a gentle squeeze.

H
ugh admitted that while
a lot had changed since he was younger, there were still a bunch of old staples
around town. The Daisys’ clothing store was there before, but under a different
name. He didn’t know that Sara worked there.

“The town has really
grown, which is kind of sad,” he said.

“Sad? I think it’s great.
When I was at college, the town was tiny. Everyone said it was always like
that.”

“Yeah, but I get the city
lifestyle back in Reno, so it’s kind of nice to be able to get away from that.”

I shrugged, “I love the
city atmosphere. But I can see what you’re saying, a little countryside house
is really lovely.”

He chuckled and nodded,
“Exactly. Some variety is okay.”

***

W
e headed back home in
the late afternoon to get ready for our date. He was quick to dress, throwing
on a new button-up and suit jacket. He put the finishing touches on his
ensemble with the paisley tie I picked out for him. Just when I was getting
undressed, he moved back into the bedroom and watched me. He was practically
salivating, his hands running all over my skin, which made me tingle inside.

“Hey! No, you have to
leave the room. It has to be a surprise.” His eagerness gave me goosebumps, but
I had to put my foot down. It was going to take me all night to get ready with
his constant distractions.

“I already saw the
dress,” he whined.

“You didn’t see the whole
package, now shoo.” I pushed him out of his own bedroom and locked the door.

I pulled out my modest
collection of jewelry and dumped it on the bed. I raked my fingers through it.
Gold
or silver?
I held up each to the dress.
Definitely gold.
I popped
the gold hoops in my ears. I had gotten them as a birthday gift years ago, but
never wore them. I never had anything that looked good with them. Until now.

I pulled out my shoes,
and sighed in disgust. Why hadn’t I thought of getting new shoes?

I had a pair of red ones
that would work, but they weren’t perfect. All I needed now was a necklace.
Gold to match my earrings.

I dug in the pile and
found a pendant I thought I had lost. It was from high school. Hugh had given
it to me. I  forgot I even owned it. It was a small bundle of grapes, gold
vines circling amethyst jewels. It was beyond words.

I put it on and latched
it. Just my hair now.

I moved into the bathroom
and started fussing with it. It was thick and unwieldy most times, but I had to
make it work for tonight.

A handful of bobby pins
and some creative braiding, and I was finally presentable.

I unlocked his bedroom
door, and cracked it open. “Hugh, you can come in now.” I stepped back and
opened the door all the way.

His mouth gaped open.
“Caitlin... wow...”

“I clean up well don’t
I?” My hair was slung over my shoulder, but a small part of it was hanging on
my exposed back, slightly tickling me.

He stepped closer, and
his eyes widened when he saw the pendant.

“You... kept it?” He
touched it, holding it between two fingers.

“I actually forgot I
still had it,” I bit my lip. “I’m glad I found it though, it’s perfect.”

“I’ll say so. You look
amazing.”

Plenty of people had
called me gorgeous, but not like he did. His tone, his eyes, and everything
just made it mean so much more. I wasn’t used to feeling so torn from a
compliment. I turned red, and wanted to look away. I moved into the kitchen,
and pulled down two glasses.

“Shall we have a little
drink before we go? To start our evening off right?”

He nodded. I poured us
two small glasses of wine, splashing a bit of extra into mine.

He knocked mine with his,
and we drank. I was a bit faster than him.

The past wouldn’t get in
the way tonight.

***

W
e arrived at the
restaurant at seven. The sun was hanging in the sky, but not quite low enough
to wash the sky in pastel.

Hugh told me that the
restaurant, simply dubbed
Flame,
was known for its exquisite view of the
harbor. Their outdoor patios extended out across the water, and their lobster
was second to none in the state.

“This place is the best,”
he said, his dimples moving as he spoke.

“It sounds like
everything is the best around this town.”

Hugh stepped forward and
held the solid glass door open. Insider the foyer, two hostesses held the
double doors open, which was a little too much for me.

“Don’t knock it,” he
said. “I remember my father talking about it with my mother,” he said, “but
that’s all.”

The place wasn’t all
talk. The building was more subdued than I expected, but once you reached the
entrance, the mystique was unmistakeable. This was a restaurant that didn’t put
the prices on the menus. Where if you had to ask, you couldn’t afford it.

I felt entirely out of
place. Hugh came up behind me and put his hand on my back, reassuring me. He
whispered in my ear.

“Are you nervous? Don’t
be. You’re the only one who belongs here.” His breath tickled my neck.

The hostess smiled, “Good
evening, do you have a reservation?”

“Yes, under ‘Evans,’” he
said.

“Right this way Mr. And
Mrs. Evans.” I gulped as the words left the hostess’s mouth. She grabbed two
steel menus and guided us to our table.  We had a lone table out on the
patio. “Here you go. I hope you two have a fantastic evening.”

Hugh pulled my chair out
and I sat, feeling awkward. We were the only ones out on the patio, and the
outdoor heaters were turned on and pointing at us.

Between the pillars on
the outside of the deck, the sun was cupped by the ocean. Soon the sky would
bleed color, and it felt like it was all for us.

“Shocking, isn’t it?”
Hugh said, cracking a smile.

“How nice this town is?”

“Yes, it doesn’t seem
like much from the outside. Or when you look at it on a map for that matter.
But once you get here, it sinks its teeth in. You can’t help but be caught up
by it.”

I nodded, picking up my
menu. “What should I get?” I scanned the menu for prices, and I was right.
There weren’t any.

“The lobster. There isn’t
any reason to get anything else. Unless you wanted grilled cheese...?”

“Oh no, I want the
lobster.” I set the menu down. He had wetted my appetite earlier, that was for
sure. I didn’t even remember the last time I had lobster, was it when I turned
sixteen?

Hugh lowered his gaze
over the table, making me smolder. He looked stunning himself, his tie really
did make his eyes pop. His suit jacket was jet black, which nicely contrasted
with his tie.

“Caitlin,” Hugh said.
“I’m glad you here with me. I don’t know if I’ve said it enough.” He reached
out and took my hands, leaning down and kissing my palms, one at a time.

“I know.” I closed my
hands over his, giving him a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad to be here too, Hugh.”

Everything was going
great, just one thing bothered me: why was it all so private? A lump grew in my
throat, and I realized I was scared. What was he really thinking...?

Our server showed up and
took our order: two lobster tails. As she turned to leave, Hugh called out to
her. “Also can we get a bottle of wine? The best you have. It’s a special
night.” The server nodded, and walked back inside.

After she left, I lowered
my voice. “Are you still going to take me home and tie me up?” I touched his
leg with my foot, pushing his pants up and touching his skin. “How’d you know I
wanted wine?”

A sly smile crossed his
face. “How did you know I just didn’t want it for myself?”

“I didn’t,” I said. I
touched my necklace, lightly running my fingers on the polished metal. The
jewels were sharp. I looked back over the harbor, the sun low on the horizon.
Orange and pink colors flooded the white clouds, overpowering the darkening
blue sky.

“It really is beautiful
here, Hugh.”

“I wouldn’t even be here
if you didn’t come.”

I smiled at the thought,
“Really?”

“Yeah, I would have
turned down Scott’s offer, and just gone home probably. I felt like I needed a
good reason to come here.”

“That’s... surprising.”

We watched the harbor
while we waited, basking in the atmosphere. A low chatter could still be heard
from the main section of the restaurant, but it wasn’t distracting.

Dinner arrived, and it
was astounding. The lobster meat wasn’t like anything I had ever tasted before.
I’m convinced that whatever I ate before then had to have been imitation crab
or something.

The juiciness was like
sucking on a oyster, and the butter just ran all over the ridged meat in
channels. I wanted to inhale it as fast as I could, but I tried to stay modest.

Hugh was quiet for a
while, his eyes wandering across the horizon. I was resting after finishing my
plate, two glasses of wine in my stomach, making me a bit buzzed and floaty.

“Caitlin,” Hugh
whispered. I looked at him, my hair brushing into my eyes for a second. “You’re
absolutely incredible.”

I blushed and covered my
mouth. “You’re sweet Hugh. Thank you for the great dinner.”

“The pleasure’s been all
mine.”

The sky was getting
darker, and we started getting ready to head back home. To his summer home.

I was excited.

***

A
s we drove, I nestled
into the passenger seat and watched him. After the seafood and wine, I didn’t
want to wait until we got back home.

I thought about doing
something that might make him pipe up a little bit. Something a little
dangerous. I slid my eyes across the windshield and eventually landed on Hugh.

I placed my hand on his
knee and squeezed his leg. He stirred, shaking his head and looking at me.

“Are you drunk?” he
asked. His voice was flat, but I still remember the slight creak in it.

“Maybe just a little,” I
slurred. “You know,” I giggled. “I thought you were going to propose to me in
there.”

He looked surprised.
“What made you think that?”

I shook my head, my hair
flying up and grabbing onto my eyelashes in thin strands. I didn’t bother
fixing it. “You know... the lobster, the view, the everything.” I moved my hand
further up his leg.

He grimaced a little, “We
should wait until we get home.”

“You think that, but what
about him?” I felt his cock growing harder under my touch. I wiped my mouth.

“Just,” he hesitated. I
moved to unbuckle his belt, and I unzipped his pants. He glanced away from the
road for a minute. “Don’t.”

I pulled his dick out,
holding it in my fingers. “This is what you really wanted me here for, Hugh.” I
glared at him, and stroked my fingers over the head.

He grunted, shifting in
his seat and moving his grip on the steering wheel. “I’m driving,” he repeated,
his breathing growing shallow.

“I know, don’t worry
about it.” I unbuckled my seatbelt and scooted closer to him, leaning down over
his lap. He shifted further into the back of his seat, like he was trying to
give me room from the steering wheel.

I stroked his cock again
and watched him. I wanted him to want me.

Good thing I wasn’t more
drunk, I wouldn’t have been able to go down on him without worrying about my
nausea.

I put my lips on his
cock, and pushed my tongue against his shaft. The angle was different, and I
wasn’t used to taking a man like this.

He moaned and took one
hand off the steering wheel. He placed it on the back of my head, not in a
forceful way, but in a reassured way.

I was noisy, and
unabashed. I swallowed my saliva.

I pulled up for a moment,
and looked at him. I whipped my hair out of my face and stroked him again. “You
like this? I know I do. I want to make you beg for me, Hugh. That’s all I’ve
wanted all day.”

“I shouldn’t encourage
you when you’re like this.”

“I want you to.”

I went down on him again.
I bumped the steering wheel with my head, making the car swerve out of lane
slightly. My heart jumped.

“We’re almost there, just
stop alright?” He didn’t seem as irritated as he was earlier, but more
frustrated. I wiped my mouth and pulled off him before tucking his cock back
into his boxers.

I reclined in the seat,
exhausted and dizzy. I barely noticed him parking the car and climbing out.

He opened my door and
leaned over me. “You’re impossible, Caitlin.”

“I’m not.”

He scooped me up and
carefully pulled me out of the car. I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying
to support my weight. I barely could.

I closed my eyes, and
when I opened them again he was putting me under the sheets in the bed. He
turned to leave the room.

I reached out and grabbed
him his pants, stopping him. “Where’re you going? We’re not done,” I said. He
turned and hesitated. “I’m not done with you,” I added.

“I think you should be,
you’re not really...”

“Hugh.” I managed to
wrangle him closer, pulling him onto the bed. I slipped out from under the
covers and stumbled on top of him, straddling his lap.

“You’re too drunk, it
wouldn’t be right.”

“Do I have to beg you?” I
whispered, kissing his chest. I pushed him down onto the bed, and licked his
sweaty skin. “Do I have to make you? I thought you were gonna tie me up?”

“I might have to,” his
inflection changed. “Just to keep you from molesting me.”

“You say it like you
don’t want it, the way you were looking at me at dinner. That hunger and fire
in your eyes.” I never was so bold before. I was always more bold when I was
full of liquid courage.

He ran his hand through
my hair, threading his fingers. He scratched my scalp, making me moan. I was
way hornier than I ought to have been. I felt all bottled up, all this energy
just trying to burst out of me.