His Touch

He had asked her to come at 6 pm. She spent the entire morning dreaming of what would happen this evening. Would he touch her like he had the last time? Would she blush and hope that he had not seen? Would she get goose bumps? Would she stay focused or be overpowered by vague thoughts as he touched her toes? The shrill ring tone on her cellphone shook her out of her reverie and she realized that she had hardly focused on her work today. She looked blankly at the computer screen and counted the hours. SIX MORE HOURS...and she would be lying there, before him, naked...

Nancy decided to leave during lunch time. She was not being productive anyway, she thought. As she took the elevator down to the parking lot, she grimaced as she saw her finger nails. She could not allow him to see her nails like that. That would be so embarrassing, she thought to herself, appalled that she had not noticed them earlier. She headed directly to the nail spa and prayed fervently that they accepted walk-ins. Thankfully they did. An hour later, Nancy walked out with sparkling red nails freshly manicured.

At home, Nancy glanced at her legs disapprovingly as she took her pantyhose off. She probably needed to shave them, she observed critically. She looked at the clock and knew she did not have more than an hour to spend in the shower. And yet, she had to be very careful that there were no visible nicks and cuts.

Nancy started driving at 5:15 pm even though he was only 20 minutes away. She was not willing to take any chances, especially in rush hour traffic. She was careful to apply vaseline to her lips at every traffic light lest they appear chapped. And she brushed her hair vigorously 20 times before she stepped out of the car onto his parking lot. Every step she took excited her more. She had been waiting for today for over four weeks. And finally the day had arrived.

Nancy opened the door, and there he was, greeting her with a smile. She looked at him and took in every detail. His long brown hair, angular jawline, broad shoulders, and his toothy smile. Sigh! How she wished he would kiss her. But he never did. Nancy could not wait for him to touch her bare skin. She did not have to wait too long. Within moments of her disrobing, he had touched her..on her neck. She held her breath as if hoping that the moment would come to a standstill. That first touch..it never failed to enamor her, each time.

Nancy felt out of this world for the next 45 minutes. She felt her nipples tighten when he stroked her arm, running his fingers from top to bottom with a feather-light touch. Had she ever told him that she loved it when he did that? Guess not, she thought. She began experiencing fleeting thoughts. She imagined she was on a raft in an ocean being swept away by the soothing waves. She felt light headed. She felt numb and yet she felt some wetness between her legs. Nancy tried to bring her legs closer together but in a very soft tone, he asked her not to. And then he touched her thigh. Nancy hoped that the vibrations that she experienced within herself were not evident. As he moved his way downwards, Nancy felt like she would explode. She could hear herself screaming in her head. Should she ask him to stop or should she ask him to continue? She struggled within herself, lost, and yet enjoying every minute of his touch.

"Did he notice my manicure?", "Does he think my arms are fat?", "I wonder what the expression on my face is", she thought as her mind tried hard to focus on what he was doing to her. While she struggled in vain, she heard him say. "Ma'm, our one hour is up. Please step out whenever you are ready. I will be waiting outside."

"Damn, these one hour massages. Next time, I must remember to schedule a longer one.", she thought as she pushed herself to sit upright and reach out for her clothes.

Innocent Love

He heard the doctor say, "kidney stones" several times and had no idea what they were. All he knew was that his father was not feeling well and that their mother was hardly home. And then one fine day, when he was only 13, his father died. As aunts and uncles came home to comfort his mother, him, and his younger sister, grieving, wailing, and moaning, he heard them say, "You are now the man of the house" over and over again.

Days turned into months and gradually he realized that relatives no longer stopped by. His mother was snickered at in social gatherings for wearing bright colors, putting on a huge bindi, and chewing tobacco despite being a widow. He never understood what the big deal was just like he never understood why his mother was never home, even in the evenings. But one evening, as he rocked himself on their antique swing in their yard, waiting for nightfall so that he could cry himself to sleep, he saw his mother bring home a stranger.

He was surprised. They never had any visitors. And yet, this man's demeanor seemed like he was strangely comfortable with his mother. That night, his mother told him and his sister that she was in love, and was going to marry this strange man. The 42-year-old lanky man with grey hair and smelly feet would now be his step-father. He retreated to his room without much display of emotion. After all, he was the man of the house. And men don't cry. They only toss and turn for hours before they fall asleep at dawn in an eerie house.

Weeks later, when he was convinced that he had lost his mother's love to the stranger who never came home after that, he saw HER, the love of his life. She was sitting demurely on the couch watching TV with a vacant gaze that made her look even beautiful. "How is it that I hardly talk to her when she is so beautiful?", he thought. He approached her without any hesitation as if he had done this all his life. He sat down next to her and asked her how she was. She turned her head towards him, and instantly burst into tears. "I feel so lost", she said. "Shhhh...I am with you." he responded, as he cradled her, stroking her curly hair, and resting her head on his shoulder. That day, they watched TV together, hand in hand. That night, he fell asleep, with a smile on his face.

As months passed, their love for each other blossomed. When his mother was gone in the evenings, he spent every moment with her. They hugged, held hands, kissed, giggled, had pillow fights, snuggled, and gave each other everything that was missing from their lives..LOVE, COMFORT, COMPANIONSHIP. His mother had no idea what her son was upto for she never returned before midnight by which he was always fast asleep in his bedroom.

One evening, he overheard his mother talking to the strange man. And he realized that she would not return home that night before 2 am. He felt elated. These days he looked forward to some alone time, unlike the times when he would crave for his mother's company. Without a tinge of guilt, he realized that tonight was the night that he could plan something. Something romantic..for the love of his life.

That evening, after dinner, he invited her into his bedroom. She coyly observed the candles that lit the room brightly. "Is this for me?", she giggled nervously. "Yes", he said, and pulled her towards him. "Did you like it?", he asked. She could barely answer him as she felt his lips against his neck and as his hand unbuttoned her shirt gingerly. "Oh my God!", should we be doing this, she whispered. He chose not to answer her. Within minutes, they were sprawled on his bed, half naked. While in their own little paradise, they did not hear the door open, and their mother enter his bedroom. She screamed as she saw both her children in bed together....