CREE (5 page)

Cree’s breathing picked up. Cameron’s hands were busy as he parted her now wet folds. Slowly and deliberately, he moved his fingers up and down until he pulled her bud in-between his thumb and forefinger. Cree arched her back. She saw stars and whimpered. He captured her mouth in an intense kiss to keep her quiet.

She rotated the lower half of her body against the huge bulge in his pants. Cameron had warned Cree about being quiet but she wasn’t sure he would be able to.

He inserted a finger and then another. Thrusting in and out in a circular motion, Cameron rubbed against her clit as he stroked her. Cree broke the kiss as she hissed and sucked in a breath. Cameron struggled to keep a steady rhythm when all he wanted was to be embedded fully inside her body.

The train continued to jerk along the tracks; however, they were in their own world as Cree reached behind her and lifted slightly to unbutton and unzip his jeans. She managed to pull him out and center her core directly on top of him. She slid up and down his length at the same rhythm his fingers moved in and out of her. The friction between the two was incredible.

The excitement of almost getting caught heightened the intensity of their pleasure. Cameron could tell by the way Cree was starting to clench around his fingers that she on the verge of coming. He’d be inside her when that happened.

Cameron pulled his hands away and she immediately missed the contact. He whispered into her ear. “Lift up.” He pushed her pants down her hips.

She did as she was told while he lined himself up with her opening. His voice was low but gruff. “Now, slide down…slowly.” The thick head of his hardness slowly disappeared into her throbbing heat. Cameron hissed. Cree fit him like a glove.

The fullness of him filling her with the heat of his breath on the back of her neck made her toes curl. He dug his fingers into her hips as Cree slid all the way down to the base of his body then ground and rolled her hips.

He embedded himself to the hilt and she was stretched almost beyond her limits. Cree tried to breathe through her nose but it was impossible. Instead, she blew out a long steady breath. Her muscles continued to tighten around him as she rose with the same unhurried speed as when she came down. She bit her lip almost to the point of pain to keep quiet.

The pace of their lovemaking was torture. It was his fault. This was his idea, and now all Cameron wanted to do was pound her. Cree continued to rise and lower her body agonizingly slow. He shifted ever so slightly, then lifted into her at the same time she came down on him for a deeper penetration.

Her orgasm was building, but so was his. Instead of picking up the pace, Cree continued to writhe and grind her sex into him in drawn-out and painfully slow strokes.

She whispered his name and arched her back. “Cam…I…”

He knew. He took her mouth in his as she mewled and spasmed around him. Her body squeezing his pushed him over the edge too. Moments later, he released himself inside of her. They stayed in the same position, connected for a while. He held her close to his chest until after their breathing returned to normal. He grinned and spoke softly into her ear. “I think I’ll travel by train for the rest of my life.”

*****

Cree had been living in New York for several weeks now and hated it. She wasn’t used to so many people. She also wondered why everyone was always in such a hurry. What shocked her the most was how much she missed her broken down Kia. Having to take the bus everywhere was driving her crazy. Still, she was determined to make it work. A week after she’d moved into Cameron’s one bedroom flat, he started his residency and was rarely home. When he was home, he was typically dog tired. Their roles had reversed. He was the one working ten and twelve hour shifts with only a few hours in-between to rest. There were days when he would just sleep at the hospital.

Cree had gone from working a full-time and a part-time job to nothing. She felt somewhat guilty for already being restless. She was still a couple of months away before her classes would begin in the fall. Summer was just starting! What in the world was she going to do with herself? So far, her days consisted of reading a lot of books and taking a yoga class at the local YMCA. Melody would probably die of laughter if she knew that.

She had just finished class and stepped out onto the sidewalk. It was such a lovely day. The sun was shining high above, but the oppressive heat and humidity of the previous days were missing. Instead of taking the bus home from yoga, Cree decided to walk, and people watch.

The outrageous things she saw daily were still a shock to her system. One guy wore cowboy boots and a hat that lit up while playing a guitar in his underwear. He garnered a lot of attention. All Cree could think was, did anyone have a pair of jeans they could give him?

As she continued to walk amongst the throngs of people, her eyes lit up. It was as if Christmas had arrived in June when she spotted a fabric store. Sewing had always given her a sense of peace and calm. The last time Cree fired up her sewing machine was right before Cameron came home and changed her life forever.

She quickened her step and crossed the street. When she finally arrived at the store and went inside, it was a giant warehouse filled with rows and rows of fabric for as far as her eyes could see. Cree was so giddy about her find that she had to call and tell someone. She tried Cameron first, knowing that he was probably on rounds. Of course, it went directly to voice-mail.

Two seconds later, she called Melody. She immediately picked up and the sound of her voice on the other end was more than welcome.

“Hey, Mel! Are you busy? You won’t believe this.”

“No, I’m just getting off work about to go pick up some wedding magazines. What’s up? What won’t I believe?”

“I’m still in shock that you and David are getting married considering you both swore off the whole institution. I’m so excited for you two.”

“I know. I might swear it off again. Do you know how expensive weddings are? My goodness. We should just fly to Vegas.”

“Are you kidding? No way. I’m looking forward to coming home next fall for the wedding. Let me know if you want me to make something now that I’ve just walked into fabric heaven!” Her eyes were huge trying to soak it all in. Cree turned around and around before walking down an aisle unable to stop herself from touching all the different fabrics. “Talk about touch the rainbow. This store has everything in every color and every type of material. It’s about a gazillion times bigger than the one in Jackson.”

“Really? Then, you better create something fantastic and New Yorkish for my wedding.”

Cree laughed. “I’m not that good yet.”

“Hey, I’ve meant to ask you, how was your dinner with Cameron’s friends last week?”

Her laughter died. “The restaurant was excellent and the food was delicious. We hadn’t been out like that in a while.”

Melody chuckled. “You started off with the restaurant. That’s not a good sign. What about the people?”

Even though Melody couldn’t see her, Cree shrugged. “They seem to be a pretty tight knit group. Even finishing each other’s sentences.”

“
Ugh
. I don’t think I would like it if someone else was finishing David’s sentences.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t like it either. But, I guess that’s part of the consequences of spending more time with Cameron than I have over these last few years.” She decided to keep it to herself that she especially didn’t like the way his friend Delia finished Cameron’s sentences. The giggle and the toss of her hair were a bit much, but Cree trusted Cameron and refused to be one of those jealous wives; unless he gave her a reason. “I sat and smiled a lot. His friend, Robert, he was pretty nice. He seems to be a man of very few words, though.”

“What about the rest of his friends? How many of you were there?”

“They were all pretty nice. And there were six of us, Cameron and me, his friends Robert Priestly, Freddie McAdams, Delia Thornton, and Gwen Franks. They are all doing their medical residency at Presbyterian too. Well, not Gwen. She’s doing hers at Bellevue Hospital.”

“Two bimbos, huh?”

That was why Cree loved Melody. She always understood her without having to spell out how she was feeling. “Well, I think Robert is dating Gwen. But, Delia is flying solo.”

“How did they treat you?”

Cree fell in love with a chartreuse fabric. Tentatively, she ran her fingers over it before continuing. “Like I said, they were nice. Although, it could just be me feeling like the outsider, it seemed like when I tried to offer something to the conversation, they weren’t very interested to what I had to say. I felt mostly invisible.”

“What about Cameron? Did he notice?”

“I doubt it. He’s still on cloud nine that I’m here and he’s at Presbyterian. Seriously, it’s no big deal. Hopefully, once they get to know me, they’ll loosen up.”

“Hmm…well, trust your gut. It’s very possible to have friends of the opposite sex like you and David but keep one eye open with Gwen and Delia. Their little group was nice and tight before you arrived. Things are going to change for them now that you’re in the mix. Keep me posted.”

“You know I will.” Cree looked at the price of the material. The sale was unbelievable. “These prices are unreal. I can buy enough fabric for several projects. I think that it just may be time for me to put my own special touches to our apartment.”

“You mean mark your territory. You’re not slick!”

Somehow she managed to keep the smile that threatened to burst out in check, “Whatever Mel. I’ll talk to you later.

“Talk to you later.”

*****

That evening, Cameron texted Cree to let her know that he was going to be home late…again. After he’d already called to say he’d be home in time for dinner.

She glanced up at the clock. It was almost midnight, and he still wasn’t home. After sitting in the same position at her sewing machine for several hours, Cree forced herself to get up. She stretched and rolled her neck and shoulders attempting to get some of the kinks out of her body.

Cree had already gotten dressed for bed in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Cameron before she went to sleep.

“I’d better put his dinner away,” she said to herself as she went into the kitchen to wrap up the plate she’d spent several hours preparing and put it in the refrigerator.

Even though they were living under the same roof, they didn’t get to see each other very much. So far, that had been incredibly disappointing. Tomorrow they would have an entire day to themselves since he was off.

Finally, she heard the sound she’d been waiting for all day. The front door opened and closed. Quickly, she left the kitchen and came out into the living room.

The tiredness immediately left her body. She smiled. “Hey.”

Cameron looked pure worn out. “Hey, babe.” He kissed her on the cheek.

“Rough day?”

He shrugged. “All par for the course, I guess.”

“Are you hungry? I made dinner.”

He yawned. “You didn’t have to cook. I grabbed a quick bite to eat at the hospital.”

Cree was doing her best not to be angry. It wasn’t his fault that she spent all that time trying to make him a home cooked meal. She scratched her eyebrow. “I thought I would surprise you since you’ve been working so hard. I just thought it might be nice to have a meal together.”

“Maybe I’ll eat it in the morning for breakfast. Right now, I just want to get a shower and go to bed. I’ve got to be back at the hospital at seven tomorrow morning.”

“I thought you were off tomorrow?”

“I was. But, another resident had an emergency, and I have to cover for him. I’ll get Friday off instead.”

Cree did her best to hide her disappointment.

“Speaking of time off, everybody’s getting together at Char’s Restaurant for Delia’s birthday on Friday. I thought we could hang out with them for a bit.”

That was the last thing Cree wanted to do. “I was hoping we’d have a quiet night together. It’s her birthday?”

Cameron pulled Cree into his body and held her close by the small of her back. “I know. That sounds amazing, but yeah, it’s her birthday.”

Cree didn’t care one bit that it was her birthday.

He touched his nose to hers. “I promise I’ll make it up to you. And, we’ll only stay a couple of hours.”

She let out a breath. “You promise?”

“I promise.”

“I don’t want to seem difficult. It’s just I miss you and want us to spend some quality time together. You get to see most of them at the hospital. I don’t have that luxury.”

“You’re right. And, if it weren’t her birthday, I promise we’d be snuggled up for the night.” He yawned again. “Man, I’m tired. I’m going to hit the shower. Meet me in the bed?”

Cree nodded.

He kissed the tip of her nose and went to get in the shower. Cree turned off her sewing machine and put her patterns away, then turned off the lights. As soon as she entered the bedroom, she undressed and got into bed. Ten minutes later the mattress dipped under the weight of Cameron’s body. He turned off the lights. Cree scooted back so that they were in a spooning position.

He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips into the soft curve of her neck. He whispered into the dark. “What did you do today?”

Cree basked in the warmth of his body. “I went to my yoga class.”

Cameron blinked a few times trying to shake the heaviness from his eyes. “That’s right. You started that last week, right?”

“Yeah. It’s only my third class, but I think I like it. I haven’t had a chance to meet anyone there yet. However, the people seem friendly and open. I’ve been dying to tell you about the best part of my day. The weather was so perfect that I decided to walk instead of taking the bus.” It was hard to contain the excitement in her voice. “You won’t believe what I found on my way home!”

He didn’t respond.

“Cameron?”

Silence.

All she heard was the quiet in the room and the low hum of the ceiling fan. Cree turned around to another more familiar sound. It was a soft snore. He’d fallen asleep.