Uncorked (30 page)

Mitch opened his
eyes and realized Chella was not
in bed. The sounds of the shower running came from the bathroom.

He glanced at his watch. It was
almost three in the morning.

Strange… she showered just a few
hours ago.

He slipped from the bed, and
after knocking on the bathroom door, he entered the steamy hot bathroom. He
tore away his clothing and joined her in the shower.

“Why are you showering and not in
bed?” he asked as she turned to face him.

“I couldn’t sleep. I thought a
nice hot shower would help me relax.”

“What’s on your mind?” He picked
up the nearby shampoo bottle and after pouring a bit into his palms, he worked
it through her hair, massaging her scalp.

“That feels good,” she replied.

“Tell me…”

“You know what’s on my mind.”

“I don’t want you to worry. The
boat can be replaced. That’s what insurance is for. And if I want to, I can
name it
Ciao Bella
. You’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

“So it doesn’t bother you that
one of your most prized possessions blew up?” she asked.

“You’re one of my prized
possessions, not the boat.”

She blushed at his response.

“Chella, this afternoon when I
realized that the explosion came from the marina and I was trying to get back
to you, the boat was the last thing on my mind.”

Chella kissed him lightly on the
lips then gazed into his eyes. She felt an overwhelming surge of love for him,
so powerful; she could feel her heart pounding.

“Your heart is racing.”

She touched her forehead to his.
Warm water cascaded over their bodies. One breath trembled out.

He backed away to look into her
eyes. “What’s wrong, Sweetheart?”

“Nothing. I’ve fallen so deeply
in love with you.”

And it scares me like crazy.

At that precise moment, she was
completely vulnerable to him and that was what scared her, not the love she
felt for him.

He cupped her face like a
chalice, looked deeply into her eyes and said, “That’s really good news,
because I’ve fallen deeply in love with you, too.”

She sighed with relief. He lifted
her into a warm embrace and kissed her.

“This scares me. The way I feel
scares me,” she whispered.

“Don’t be scared. I’ll take care
of your heart. Trust me.”

Mitch held her and drew her in
even tighter. The woman he loved had handed her heart right back to him.

Slipping one hand to the back of
her head, he teased her lips lightly with his. He pinned her against the marble
wall with his body. She wrapped her hands around his neck and responded
enticingly to his kiss, encouraging him as his tongue occupied her mouth.

As he repeatedly tantalized her
lips, his erection grew between them. He caressed her body. His hands travelled
from her neck, detouring at her breasts and hips, before slipping his fingers
inside the deep contours between her thighs.

Her body responded to his every
touch, returning his deep kisses as he worked over her clit. Her knees
weakened. He directed her over to the shower bench and kneeled between her legs
on the shower floor. He kissed her swollen, rounded breasts and sucked them
while he penetrated her with his fingers.

He lowered his head between her
thighs and pleasured her core with his tongue, loving every inch of her deep
trenches. She sunk her fingers into his hair as she cried with sheer
gratification. Swinging her hips as he pleased her, she tightened her hold on
his hair as the pressure began to rise.

“Oh God, Mitch. You’re going to
make me come,” she said then quickly backed away.

He laughed devilishly. “I think
that’s the point, Sweetheart.”

He pulled her to her feet and
continued to kiss her feverishly. Plastering her back against the walls, he
raised her body and slowly entered her. She wrapped her slender legs around
him, tightening them as he continued to press inside her. Intense sensations
radiated deep within her, and the soft impressions he left on her neck brought
her closer to release.

“Not yet,” Mitch whispered,
tenderly pulling away.

He shut off the faucet and guided
her out of the shower. He kissed her again then lifted her by her waist and
placed her dripping wet body on the granite countertop. He pleasured her lips
while she took his hard, slippery shaft into her hand and massaged him. 

She slid off the counter and
planted light kisses over his body. Starting from his lips, she worked her way
down to his throat, his chest, his belly button. She kissed his erection.
Between his muscular thighs, she took him into her mouth. She welcomed him deep
inside, licking him, kissing him and lovingly welcoming him deep into her
throat. She continued kneading him and jerking him off while pleasuring him
with her mouth. She worked over his head, using her tongue and lips to get him
closer, so close he stopped her.

“Oh fuck, Chella!”

He urgently pulled her to her
feet, flipping her around so her back was to him. He placed her left leg on the
countertop and slowly entered her from behind. Circling his arms around her, he
shifted inside her while cupping her enlarged breasts in his palms.

Bracing her body against the
vanity, Chella’s cries of pleasure permeated the room.

“Baby, you feel so good,” Mitch
whispered, kissing her softly on her ear.

“So do you,” she murmured between
kisses. “Take me to bed.”

He fulfilled her request, taking
her to their room. He lay down on the bed. She straddled him, absorbing all of
him within her. She moved in a slow, sensual sway above him, evoking feelings
from deep within and sending titillating sensations through her body. He guided
her as she glided over him. She felt the pressure mounting as she moved over
him. He returned her deep kisses, occupying one palm with the feel of her
awesome body. With the other palm, he caressed her profile. He sat up and
enveloped her in his arms as he continued to kiss her. She sank her fingers
into his silky dark hair while he invaded her mouth with his tongue.

He flipped her to her side,
spooned her and entered her from behind. She arched her head up wrapping one of
her arms around his neck so she could reach his lips, kissing him passionately.
He pulled her closer to him, raising one of her legs. She felt him thrust
deeper and more rapidly inside her. Mitch’s groans became louder as he
continually returned into her, sending gratifying ripples through her body. The
pressure began to rise. As he plunged his sweet parts inside her, she pleasured
herself, rubbing her clit—hard.

“God, Mitch. I’m coming…” she
cried as her body erupted in ferocious spasms.

He exploded inside her. His
strengthened grip subsided in calm waves of utter bliss. 

Minutes later, they kiss lightly
on the lips.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too,” he replied,
returning her kiss. “Do you feel better?”

“I do. That was incredible. I
guess that’s one way to forget about all our troubles.”

Mitch was the
first to wake up the next
morning. Chella lay fast asleep next to him. He knew that after the day she’d
had yesterday, she needed rest. He left her a note, kissed her goodbye and went
see his mother.

When he pulled up to the house,
he was happy to see Liz’s car outside. She didn’t know Mitch was coming. He
rang the doorbell and waited for a response.

“Who is it?” came her voice from
the inside.

“Mom, it’s me.”

She opened the door, surprised to
see him. “What are you doing here?”

“There’s something important I
have to talk to you about.”

“Come in,” she said, gesturing to
him to enter. “What did she do?”

“Chella’s fine. This has nothing
to do with her,” he replied tartly, following her into the kitchen and taking a
seat at the island.

“This sounds serious.”

“It is. It’s about my father.”

“What about him?”

“He’s dying. He’s sick, and he
needs my help.”

“How do you know that?”

“Awhile back I received phone
calls from two women, Simone and Olivia Waters. They’re his twin daughters. My
half-sisters.”

“Wow. I knew he was married, but
I didn’t know he had kids.”

“He wants me to forgive him for
what he did to you, what he did to us. His daughters want me to get tested to
see if I’m a bone marrow match. He needs a transplant to survive.”

“I think you should do it.”

“Do what?” Mitch asked, somewhat
confused.

“I think you should forgive him
and check to see if you’re a match.”

“Just like that?”

“Mitch, there’s so much you don’t
know about your father.”

“I know enough.”

“Prior to the incident, he was my
best friend. He always looked out for me, and it all changed in five minutes
after one night of heavy drinking. We were both drinking.”

“He ruined your life.”

“He gave me you.”

The guilt felt like a lead
raincoat to Mitch.

“How can you just forget what he
did?”

“I didn’t forget. I just
remembered what he did for our family and me before and after that day. Mitch,
when your grandma was dying of leukemia, he gave her blood on a regular basis.
I never asked him to do that. He did it for me. And he did it on a regular
basis because they both had the same rare blood type. I never asked him to get
tested, those are all things he did on his own. Then after she died, I was such
a mess, he took a week off and handled all the funeral details together with my
Uncle Tony, God rest his soul. Then a few months after
the incident,
Uncle Tony had a heart attack. Your father was the one who performed CPR and
brought him back to life. Another heart attack killed him years later, but he
saved Uncle Tony’s life that day. I can’t forget that. He’s done so much for
our family.”

“Mom, he violated you. That must
have been difficult for you.”

“It was. This doesn’t make this
easier or better, but it happened very quickly. Once it was over and he
realized what he had done, almost immediately after, he begged me for
forgiveness. The forgiveness only came when I realized that he had gone out and
started doing those talks with teenagers. They started right after he finished
college. He tried reaching out to me for days and weeks after it happened. When
he couldn’t reach me, he sent me weekly letters apologizing and letting me know
what talks he had done. He’d send them to Margery, and she’d forward them to
me.

When you were three years old, I
finally sent him a letter telling him that I forgave him. I really believed he
was sorry. In the eyes of society, he’s a social outcast, and he found some way
to make something out of this horrid situation, something that’s not
self-serving but has the potential to help others. I think, in a way, it’s a
way for him to punish himself, too. I’m sure he’s not well-received everywhere
he goes, especially by women. This is probably a way for him to make up for his
transgressions. An atonement of sorts. I never told him about you though, and
forgiveness didn’t mean that I wanted him back in my life, either.”

“Didn’t you ever want him to pay
for what he did to you? Go to jail?”

“He pays for what he did to me
every single day. In here.” She placed her fist over her heart.

“Why did you keep me? Don’t I
remind you of that night?”

“Halfway through the pregnancy, I
had every intention of giving you up for adoption. But I was so alone. I didn’t
have anyone to talk to—Margery and I weren’t so close back then—so I’d have
conversations with you. I bought a storybook to read to you. In many ways, you
became my best friend. One month before you were due, I made up my mind to keep
you.”

Mitch walked across the room and
embraced her. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered.
She held his hand, leading the way up the stairs.

“I have something for you,” she
said, walking into her room.

“What is it?” he asked curiously.

“Have a seat. I’ll show you.”

Mitch sat on one of the two
armchairs near the window. His mother pulled a large hatbox from the closet and
handed it to him. “I think you should have these.”

He opened the lid and saw
hundreds of letters inside. He randomly pulled one out, and looked over the
envelope. They were apology letters his father wrote his mother.

“Take them with you. Read them
when you’re ready. They might help you get some answers or the closure you
need.”

“Mom, I’m so grateful to you for
bringing me into this world. I appreciate you talking to me about this.”