CHAPTER NINE
Ramon stammered, “Why? How long?” The evening was not ending the way he hoped.
Jocelyn explained she was lousy with relationships, always falling in love with the wrong guy and related the tale of her brief marriage to her self-centered ex-husband. She added, “I decided at the end of my marriage to be celibate and only have friendships with men. I’ve found things are much simpler that way.”
Ramon figured building a relationship with Jocelyn was going to be harder than he thought. He said to her, “Jocelyn I’m not the kind of guy you’ve been with in the past.” There is something about you that has captivated my heart. I would hurt myself before I even allowed a thought into my head that would hurt you.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her across the seat into his arms. He asked, “Can a celibate person kiss?”
In silent answer, Jocelyn lifted her lips to his. He bent his head and as soon as his lips touched hers, intense heat surged through him. He wasn’t a man who gave in to defeat easily. He wanted this woman and he was willing to do whatever it took to get her.
He got out of the car and walked around to open Jocelyn’s door. He took her hand to help her out of the car. He escorted her to her door. Once he was inside her living room, he kissed her again.
Jocelyn couldn’t help herself; her hand went under his shirt. When the kiss ended, he whispered, “You’re so beautiful.”
Jocelyn returning the whisper, said, “You’re beautiful too.”
Ramon removed her hands from his perfectly starched white shirt and stood before her. Jocelyn breathed the word, “Oh my,” when she noticed his erection thrusting against his zipper.
“Surely you’re not surprised that I want you.”
“Ramon, I haven’t slept with anybody in three years. I’m really committed to remaining celibate. It’s not supposed to be a challenge for you to conquer.”
Ramon pleaded, “Please tell me this isn’t where you tell me you only want to be friends with me.”
Jocelyn grasping at anything to stop herself before they went any further, said, “That’s it. We need to be friends. We need to get to know each other better.”
Ramon said discouraged, “Okay you’re in the driver’s seat. But surely, you realize I don’t want to be your friend at this moment. Nevertheless, I have never forced a woman to make love with me.” He said backing up away from her.
Jocelyn followed him. He removed his jacket from the back of her couch and without turning around asked, “How about spending the day with me tomorrow? I’ll call you later.”
He left her alone, celibacy intact.
Jocelyn was thrilled that Ramon still wanted to spend time with her. She felt bad about the way the evening ended, but she was going to stick to her celibacy even if it killed her.
She started to think about places they could go the next day. The Maryland State fair had been open for a couple of days. Jocelyn loved the fair, but didn’t want to go alone.
With Reese still in a cast, it had looked as though she would have to skip it this year. When she and her sisters were little girls, her parents took them to the fair every year. Her two youngest sisters were now adults and had long since given up going to the fair. But she and Reese still loved the exhibits, the rides, the candy, the funnel cakes and the animals. The fair would only last two more days.
She wondered if Ramon would be willing to go with her. He might enjoy himself and think about something else besides sleeping with her. When he called, Jocelyn asked him, “How do you feel about going to the fair with me?”
Ramon hesitated for a minute and said, “When I said I wanted to spend the day with you, I thought that we would probably see a movie and then have dinner.”
Jocelyn said, “We can see a movie and eat dinner anytime. The fair is over after Labor Day and I’d really like to go today. You’ll have fun. It’ll be my treat. When was the last time you went to a fair?”
Ramon thought about it and replied, “I can’t ever remember going to a fair.”
“Well then you’re in for some fun.”
“Okay, I’ll pick you up in about thirty minutes.”
When they got to the fair, even though the day was a little overcast, Ramon was amazed to see how popular the fair was. There were huge numbers of people walking around the fair grounds.
Jocelyn grabbed his hand and said excitedly, “The first thing we need to do is get funnel cake. I’m hungry and I get gigantic cravings for it every year about this time.”
Ramon smiled at her and said, “Okay, let’s find you some funnel cake and maybe a couple of hot dogs.”
After finding a place to sit, they ate their hot dogs and together attacked the sweet sticky funnel cake. When they were finished, Jocelyn licked the last the sugar from the funnel cake off her fingers. She didn’t realize that Ramon was watching her until she looked up from her hand and saw the hungry look in his eyes. She knew instantly what he hungered for. No man had ever looked at her the way Ramon did. She found she liked it.
When they left the table, with new enthusiasm, he grabbed her hand and led her to the ticket booth so that they could go on the rides. He exclaimed, “Come on Jocelyn! I haven’t seen a ‘tilt a whirl’ since I was a kid. I’ve always wanted to ride one. Let’s get in line.”
“Okay, I’m game if you are.”
Once Ramon and Jocelyn were seated inside the ride, the attendant secured their safety belts. When the ride started, Ramon grinned and yelled, “Hold on, here we go!”
Jocelyn grabbed the handle as the ride went around the tracks faster and faster. As the ride retraced circles on the tracks, Jocelyn was pushed by the centrifugal force of the ride into Ramon’s side. The ride lasted only a few minutes, but when they both got off the ride they were grinning like fools and hugging each other.
All that touching, grinning and spinning around in the ride hadn’t cooled Ramon’s ardor. It had only made his situation worse. Each time Jocelyn’s body touched his, his temperature soared.
Since there was nothing that Ramon could do about his untimely libido at the fair, he tucked Jocelyn’s arm under his and led her to the animal exhibits. He was surprised to see so many different kinds of rabbits and chickens that were raised by local farmers. Some were so colorful; he hoped that they were raised for their beauty and not for food.
Next they went to the Cow Palace and wandered through the pens housing the cows and their owner’s sleeping quarters. They stopped to talk to some of the owners about the particulars of each breed.
Ramon bought two ice cream cones from the stand outside the cow exhibit. He gave one to Jocelyn. As she licked the ice cream with her tongue, he watched. He was fascinated with way her tongue circled the cone as she licked the sweet sticky cream into her mouth. He wondered what else that tongue was good for.
He groaned. He just couldn’t take anymore. He grabbed her hand and led her toward the exit closest to his car. When she voiced a slight protest, he told her he felt that they had seen everything and he was exhausted.
Once they were in his car, and the AC was on, cooling them both down, she said, “Thank you for going to the fair with me today. Did you have a good time?”
“I had a wonderful time.”
When they arrived back at her condo, she asked Ramon if he wanted to come in. “Definitely,” he replied. “I need to kiss you.”
As soon as they closed the front door, Ramon immediately embraced Jocelyn and kissed her deeply. Each moment the kiss lasted, the more and more Jocelyn’s long standing resolve of celibacy threatened to become a mere memory.
Ramon’s kisses took her to heights she had never experienced with another man, not even her ex-husband. Ramon was making her hot to her core. She felt her panties start to get moist.
He took her hand and looked deeply into her eyes. She continued to melt. She gave up and led him into her bedroom.
He said, “Wait, you said you’re-.”
Jocelyn put her finger in front of her lips and whis
pered, “Hush.” She tried to hurry him by pulling his shirt from his pants. She wasn’t fast enough because he already had his hands on her jeans, trying to tug them down her legs. Once they had rid themselves of their pesky clothing; Ramon swooped Jocelyn up into his arms and laid her on the bed. He moaned, “Let me slow down a little. I want to remember each touch.”
Jocelyn couldn’t help but be excited by Ramon’s perfectly proportioned body. It was golden and beautifully portioned. His erection was already glistening because he was so aroused. She felt as though she had lava running through her veins and wanted to fan her face to dissipate some of the heat.
Jocelyn lay back on the bed, slightly nervous in anticipation of what would come next. Ramon joined her there and started to caress her gently. He kissed her neck while simultaneously licking and blowing in her ears. She whimpered in ecstasy. He started working his way down, paying special attention to her nipples causing her hips to lift off the bed.
He kissed her gently down to her navel. Jocelyn couldn’t stand it anymore. She had to touch him. He grabbed her hand to stop her.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if you touch me, I’ll explode. I need for this to last. I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you.”
Jocelyn rose up on her elbows to give him a kiss. She took his hand and placed it between her legs. Ramon could feel her heat. He dipped a finger inside her and began to massage her clit. She couldn’t stand it any longer.
She was almost reduced to begging. She said, “Hurry Ramon. I can’t wait any longer. You have condoms don’t you?”
Ramon rolled away, grabbed his pants and fumbled with his wallet. He took the packet out and handed it to her. Jocelyn sat up’ tore the packet open with her teeth and hurriedly put it on him.
Once he had the condom on, she lay back on the bed and reached her arms up to welcome him. He entered her and looked deeply into her eyes until her eyes closed in pleasure. They started to move together.
They slowly found their rhythm. When the pleasure became unbearable, Ramon moaned, “I’m coming.”
Jocelyn screamed, “Oh, yes! Oh, yes!”
When they were finished, Ramon went into the bathroom. When he returned, he slid into the bed and held Jocelyn in his arms. He whispered, “You are so beautiful. You are my only love.”
Her heart pounded because Ramon had mentioned the word love. Why did he have to say that word, her mind questioned. Ramon’s sweet honesty brought tears to her eyes. She realized with certainty she was slowly falling in love with this handsome, low key, paint company owner.
Ramon was almost asleep when he heard Jocelyn ask, “You don’t really want to paint a wall in my apartment, do you?”
“You found me out,” he answered softly. “No, I just wanted to get you alone so I could kiss you, hold you and touch you. Come here.”
Ramon was already gone when Jocelyn woke up the next morning. Jocelyn smiled and proceeded to make herself a cup of coffee and some toast to have something before she started her day. As she finished her coffee, her doorbell rang. When she opened it, there stood a delivery man holding a bouquet of roses. She signed for the roses and looked for Ramon’s note. It simply said “Thank you.”
What was this? Wham, bam, thank you ma’am? Jocelyn chided herself. She had thought Ramon wanted a serious relationship with her when he had mentioned the word love. Maybe she had made another mistake. Maybe she should have kept her resolution and remained celibate.
Then again, she reminded herself, she was a big girl. She didn’t need him to profess any romantic feelings for her. Sex didn’t have to come with any type of commitment. She decided if he called, he called. If he didn’t, it wasn’t the end of the world. It might make things a little awkward at the Holliday Paint Company but she could deal with it. No she couldn’t. She couldn’t deny her heart was already involved.
She decided she needed to get her mind off her feelings for Ramon and go about her usual routine. She went to her computer to see how her stocks were performing. She needed to do some research on a stock she had been watching. She became so engrossed in the stock she was researching; she was startled when her phone rang.
The caller I.D. said that it was Reese on the line. As she picking up the phone, she could hear Reese trying to talk and hold back her tears, “Clarence came over to the house today with his hoochie momma girlfriend and demanded that I give him the big screen television in my living room.”
“Reese, slow down. Start over.”
“Jackass came over to the house a little while ago and demanded I give him the flat screen television in the living room because the one in his apartment broke. Now he and his girlfriend don’t have a television. God, I hate him with a passion. I am not giving my kids’ only TV away. I don’t care if he did buy it. I can’t afford another one like it.”
Jocelyn closed down her computer and hurried over to Reese’s house. She saw her sister’s tears when she entered her home. Jocelyn walked into the living room and looked at the television. She stood silently in front of it for a minute as though she was frozen.
Reese knew that look. Jocelyn was having one of her brain storms. “Reese, call him and tell him he can pick up the television in a couple of days. You and I have to go shopping.”
Jocelyn and her sister went to Brunson’s Pawn Shop on Broadway. Jocelyn told the salesperson they were looking for a large flat screen television and it had to work well. The salesperson thought for a minute and told her there was a large screen television with all the bells and whistles in the break room.
It had come from a good customer who usually came back for his items. So the staff had put it in the break room to hold it for him but the customer moved to Florida and never returned for it. They just hadn’t placed it on the show-room floor yet.
The pawn shop owner said he would sell it to her for $175, and Jocelyn exclaimed “sold” before he had a chance to rethink his price. A teenage boy she suspected was the owner’s son loaded the TV into her car and gladly accepted the $20 she offered as a tip. She and Reese left the store with a television better than the old one sitting in Reese’s house. When they got to Reese’s house, one of her male neighbors helped them get it inside.
Jocelyn made Reese promise not to give the old television back to Jackass until a package she was waiting for was delivered to Reese’s home.
As soon as Reese notified Jocelyn that the package had arrived, Jocelyn hurried over to Reese’s house. She went behind the old television, unplugged it and took off the back cover. She placed a slightly opened small card board with air holes in the back of the television and screwed the back cover of the television back in place.
Reese looked at her sister, curious as to what was in the box, but she knew better than to ask. Sometimes Jocelyn could be very devious. Jocelyn then told Reese to let Jackass know he could now pick up his beloved TV.
She felt all of the stress leave her body as did as her sister directed. Before Reese’s ex showed up, Reese asked a neighbor to help Jocelyn put the television from the pawn shop into Reese’s bedroom. Reese closed her bedroom door and locked it. Jackass didn’t to see the new television Jocelyn had purchased for them.
Later that night, after he picked up the TV, Reese got a call from her soon to be ex. He told her that he was surprised she hadn’t given him a lot of trouble about “his” TV. While Reese silently fumed about his comment, she suddenly realized he had stopped talking. She asked him, “What’s wrong?”
He replied, “I thought that I just heard a cricket in my apartment. Wait a minute. Is that a cricket I hear inside the television?”
Reese suddenly realized what her sister had done. She quickly told her ex, “Well, I’m sure you’re just imagining it. Well have a goodnight,” and hastily hung up the phone before she exploded with laughter.
Reese called her sister, “You had crickets mailed to my house. Didn’t you?”
Jocelyn said, “I won’t admit to anything, but while I
was on the computer the other day I did see this site that sold live crickets that could be shipped anywhere. Maybe and I’m saying- just maybe, someone placed one or two or twenty- five very cold crickets in the back of the television and when they warmed up, they maybe, just maybe crawled out the of the box and through the ventilation slits in the back of the television, never to be seen, yet always to be heard”
Reese said, “Thanks.”
When Jocelyn hung up the phone, she uttered, “That’s what sisters are for.”