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Continued from Part 1

“You know, you could come with me some time,” he said. She was sat next to him, leaning in to hear his deep baritone over the chatter of the other patrons. His friend had saved good seats for them, their table was tucked away in a back corner of the dining room, allowing them just enough privacy to feel like they weren’t being stared at. Their age difference was obvious, and their body language too familiar to simply be friendly. People gossip in small towns, though she preferred not to think about that right now.

“I would really like that,” she replied. “But I don’t have any of my own gear, I’d have to rent or buy a lot of it.” He laughed.

“Don’t worry about that. Just bring a toothbrush, and a pair of comfortable walking shoes. I’ll take care of the rest.” She smiled at his offer, it really did sound fun. Mountain climbing in the Sierra Nevadas was something she had always wanted to do, but paying for a guide and equipment was expensive, and here this man was offering to take care of all of it. Apparently, he could even guide her himself.

She looked up at him. Even sitting down, shoulder to shoulder, she felt like he was towering over her, and normally that would be intimidating, but his quiet and calm demeanor was reassuring. He felt solid, and made her feel small in a way that made her want him to hold her. He was watching her in silence, his kind looking eyes admiring her face. She was usually shy, but the wine relaxed her and made her feel that the prolonged eye contact wasn’t strange. She leaned in further, her subconscious moving her body towards what it wanted. His head bent down to her, until their noses gently brushed each other. A thought intruded at the last minute, and she pulled back slightly.

“I should tell you,” she said, hesitantly. She wasn’t sure what she would do at this moment, but now she was sure that this was the right thing to do. This man was genuinely kind to her, and had treated her with respect the whole night. He deserved her honesty. “I have a boyfriend.”His face changed the slightest bit, a tiny hint of disappointment? But he leaned back, giving her space. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to assume…”

“No, no. It’s okay.” She said quickly, cutting him off. “He knows I’m here, I told him everything. He even encouraged me to come.” His eyebrows raised at that.

“You know…. I wasn’t trying to stop you.” She said quietly. “I just thought I should tell you, you know, before…”

“Before what?” He had one eyebrow cocked, playfully, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. She laughed and looked away, hiding her face in her hands. “I’m embarrassed now, you’re gonna make me say it?”She was taken by surprise when she felt his hand on her chin, his fingers gently but firmly guiding her face to look at him, and before she had time to react his lips were on hers. She sighed and closed her eyes, parting her lips and allowing his welcome intrusion, drawing his tongue into her mouth and caressing it with her own. His whiskers teased her skin, he tasted like wine. She felt as though the whole night had lead to this moment, and the release of tension was every bit as good as she had hoped. The noise and chatter from the room faded into the background, as she melted into his warm, strong touch, his arm wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her in closer, she held his large wrist with her hand tightly, loving the way he easily surrounded her completely with his body.It might have only been a minute, or it could have been an hour, but eventually they broke their kiss, and stayed there for a moment. She could smell the wine on his breath, and his subtle cologne mixed with his natural scent. She’d had just a taste, and she wanted more, and now his eyes had changed from kind to hungry. But he moved away, slightly, maybe realizing that if they kept going here they wouldn’t want to stop.

She became aware, on her periphery, of eyes on them, furtive glances from the other patrons trying to look at them without obviously staring. Darren’s bartender friend wasn’t being subtle though, chuckling to himself as he looked over at them, shaking his head and looking down as he picked up another wine glass to polish. She wondered if any of her customers were here tonight, she was sure that many of the same people she sold clothing to during the day would end up at an establishment like this one. She downed the rest of her glass in one gulp, and Darren laughed.He ordered another bottle, and they resolved to behave, though he now gently stroked her back, his fingertips occasionally dipping to tease the bare skin exposed under her cropped t shirt. She rested her head on his large shoulder, one hand on his thigh, stroking the muscles under the fabric of his jeans, wondering what she would find if she allowed her hand to travel further up, wondering if she maybe she would find out later. The crowd in the winery was beginning to thin out, people leaving as it got late, though not before stealing looks towards the back corner at the big man with the salt and pepper hair, and the girl who was obviously not his daughter. Finally, it was just the two of them, and the bartender. He invited them to sit at the bar while he finished closing.

“You two caused quite the stir tonight,” he teased, while loading the dishwasher. “I heard more than a few people talking about you." Liz felt her face flush, she dropped her head in embarrassment.

“Oh, god.” She said. “What were they saying?”

"About what you can expect, people love gossip. I don't think any of them knew you, though."

The bartender went to the back room to restock, leaving Darren and Liz alone at the bar. The bar was much quieter now, soft music playing and the lights down low, it felt very intimate. Darren stroked the inside of her thigh absentmindedly, swishing his glass around with his other hand, swirling the last bit of wine before drinking. She felt good, a little wine drunk, and very relaxed. She wondered for a moment how Isaiah was doing, the last time she had texted him was when they were leaving the restaurant. She looked at her phone, and it was later than she had thought, her last text to him was a few hours ago. He might be worried. The night had been fun, but should she call it here? He'd told her to have enjoy herself, and she had, but how far did she really want things to go tonight? Darren leaned over to ask her a question, and made her decision a lot easier.

"You know," he said. "I know a spot, not far from here, where we you can see the whole valley. There's a full moon tonight, and no clouds in the sky. I've never seen it at night, but I'll bet it's pretty spectacular." He had a mischievous glint in his eye, and was wearing the same smile as right before he had kissed her. Decision made.

"Yes," she said. "I'm down." His smile widened into a grin. "Perfect," he said, standing up. "I'll go say goodbye to Jamie, then we'll go. I'll be back in a minute." He followed the bartender into the back, a moment later she could hear Darren's good natured laughter and the two of them talking. She thought of Isaiah, she should text him and let him know what was up.

"Hiii, we're having a really good time, I just wanted to check on you. What are you up to?" She typed, sent.

My reply only took a second, and then she felt kinda bad. She now knew I must have been glued to my phone, waiting to hear from her.

"I'm good. J chillin. Are you still at the winery?" My response lit up on her screen.

"Leaving in a minute, time kinda got away from us. They actually closed a little while ago, we've just been hanging out and drinking more with the owner, we're the last ones here." She typed.

"Sounds fun, you'll have to take me there some time ;). What are you up to now?"

She had agreed to go with Darren, quickly, but now she was having second thoughts. Was Isaiah really okay with this? He had all but told her to make out with Darren, without using so many words. But knowing herself, and the way that Darren was looking at her, things were about to go much further. Was he really okay with all that? The last thing she wanted was to hurt him.

"Well, Darren says there's something he wants to show me. Tonight is a full moon, and there are no clouds in the sky. He says there's a ridge not far from here where you can see the whole valley, and he thinks the view will be incredible tonight. Is that okay?" She typed. "Can I go with him?" Sent.A pause this time, a full minute. She'd gone too far, this was a bad idea. She started typing that she had changed her mind, and was just going to have him drive her home. It had been a fun night, but it could stop here. She was okay with that. Then my response came through.

"How much have you been drinking? Are you sober?"

She stopped typing, and deleted everything she had written. New text.

"Sober? Ummm haha no. But I'm not drunk either. I don't know, do you think it's a bad idea? I can just tell him to take me home." She still wanted to give me an out, a chance to say something if I really was uncomfortable.

A pause again, but this time she waited for my response.

"Do you want to go? If you're having fun, and you want to, then you should."

Yes, she wanted. Butterflies started dancing in her stomach, this was happening. But she still needed to check, she wanted to be sure I knew what I was agreeing to.

"Yes, I want to go. Okay, I'll tell him yes. And, um, are you sure you're okay with everything? He's been a gentleman all night, but I think we can both see where this is going. I don't want to freak you out, but something may have already happened..."

My response was immediate this time.

"What happened???"

She could hear Darren and Jamie coming back up to the front, time to go. And aside from that... Now that she knew I was on board, she kinda liked the idea of me anxiously waiting for her at home. Her loving boyfriend, going crazy, wondering what she was doing with this man. He's going to be so pent up, she thought. That'll be fun for me, later. She decided to leave me with a tease.

"We have to go in a minute, he's just saying goodbye to his friend. I'll tell you all about it when I get home, I promise. But I'm just saying, if you want to stop things going any further, I need to know now."Darren and Jamie returned to the dining room, each carrying a big crate of wine. Jamie was laughing at something Darren had said, they put their loads on the bar and Darren walked over towards her. My response lit up on her screen."Thanks for telling me baby, but tonight is about you. Have fun, just be safe. If I don't hear from you by sunrise, I'm gonna come looking for you :)"

Darren wrapped her up in his big arms from behind, and kissed her on the side of the head. "Ready to go?" He said.

"Yes," She replied, stuffing her phone into her purse.

​

*art by Antonin Gallo, for your viewing pleasure. Part 3 coming soon.