Utianle

Seated on the edge of the bed, hands in between my legs, I stared at nothing in particular. King's bedroom was as I last remembered it: spacious, neat and well organized. A distinct but gentle scent lingered in the air, making it easy to forget what the outside world smelt like. 

His walls were coated in cream paint, reminding me of the one in my room that had changed colours, all thanks to having children who thought it fun to rub their hands on the wall. The bedsheets were as usual: very white and spotless, laid without wrinkles on a bed that could accommodate three more people of my size. 

Buzzing from the AC reached my ears but it was comforting. I folded my arms on my laps and sighed; maybe my attitude from earlier was a bit extreme. His crushed expression when I didn't return his hug or tried to remain aloof was weighing down on my conscience. But I had to remember that I was doing it for both of our sake.

If only he was one to easily accept no for an answer, then it wouldn't have been this difficult. I wouldn't even be here battling with Cynthia's voice in my head that was repeatedly going on and on about how unfair it was to lead King on.

Patting one of the pillows that were lining the centre of the bed eased some of my worries. Maybe it was the tiredness that was making me think too much about this.

"What are you doing?" 

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of King's voice. My left hand pressed against my chest which was heaving and my head turned to glare at him softly.

He was standing in front of the navy blue sofa, a white towel draped around his waist with a shorter towel wiping his wet hair. For some reasons, seeing him in front of that couch made me smile, the memories from that day only helping to broaden the smile on my lips. I could still remember how gentle he had been with me.

"Uti?"

"Yes?" He chuckled, throwing the short towel on the couch. Then I remembered his question, "I'm creating boundaries." 

My eyes trailed to his upper body, landing on the tiny nipples that seemed to harden under my gaze and I quickly averted my eyes. I bit down on my lip to keep from taking a second look at him, trying to find something of interest on the tiled floors.

It was futile and my eyes soon found his torso again. Drops of water gleamed on his chocolate skin, rolling down his neck to his toned chest. Following the straight line in the middle of his abs, the droplets continued until they finally disappeared into the towel hanging from his waist.

When my gaze landed back on King's face, there was a smirk adorning his lips and one hand now on his hip. 

"If you use all the pillows to create 'boundaries', where will we rest our heads?"

There were six pillows on his bed and all six of them were in the middle, serving as some kind of barrier between us. Though he promised not to do anything without my permission, I couldn't trust myself with him in such close proximity.

I should never have agreed to this.

"Sleeping without a pillow is good for your spine," I defended, already standing up.

"Really?"

His hand dropped from his hip, the smile on his face faltered. His eyes grew darker, challenging me and my confidence wavered. His body on display did nothing to help my cause and I would have very much appreciated if he had a shirt on, anything to conceal his gorgeous body.

"I think so."

"Usually, I sleep naked," he took one step forward then paused as if to let his words sink in. "I won't be doing that tonight but if you don't return the pillows ..."

He deliberately left the rest of his statement hanging, giving my imagination a chance to tease me with what could happen next. Taking another step forward, his brow raised questioningly, his gaze darting between me and the bed.

The thought of seeing him naked excited and frightened me at the same time but the excitement was stronger. Spurred by this same silly emotion, I folded my arms across my chest, glaring back at him with as much intensity I could manage at this point. 

Bad move. 

His hands immediately went to the knot on the towel, loosening it tortuously slow. The knot finally came undone, his towel lowered by a few inches and I sucked in a sharp breath. He looked pleased with himself, carelessly holding the ends of the towel in one hand like a weapon.

"I'm pu-putting the pillows back."

Blood rushed to my ears as those words left my lips and my heart hammered against my ribcage. My hands quickly worked as quickly as they could to return the pillows to their initial position while keeping an eye on him.

Maybe it was punishment for delaying but the towel dropped another inch. This time, I could see the V line of his waist clearly, another inch down and I would be seeing more than that. I shivered, I didn't want to see him naked anymore.

"King. You can put on your clothes," I murmured in a voice that sounded nothing like mine, gesturing to the pillows that were all in place now.

His proximity was really messing with my head. I wanted to pull him closer, touch every inch of his body and I also wanted him to stay far away from me.

He took a few more steps towards me and I hopped on the bed. The current distance between us was one that could be crossed in two steps and the smirk on his face told me he wasn't going to be stopped by my words. So, with my knees pressed to the soft bed, I held a pillow out in front of me.

"Don't come any closer."

No sooner did those words get past my lips when his towel dropped to the floor. I screamed, smashing my face into the pillow. My eyes were shut very tight, almost like they were glued together.

"Uti," his voice sounded closer than it did before. I took a deep breath, tentatively opening my eyes with the pillow still in front of my face. "You can look now."

After giving myself a pep talk, reminding myself that I was a 35-year-old lady who had already seen more than her own fair share of naked men, I lowered the pillow.

King's laughter greeted me first, the annoying creature even had the audacity to wink at me. His upper body was still bare but a grey short had replaced the towel. 

"You are an idiot." I tossed a pillow at him which he effortlessly dodged. Hissing loudly, I scampered off to the bathroom.

The heater was already on, so I hopped into the shower, taking a bath that barely lasted five minutes. Not like it was the first time for me; shorter baths were the best.

Water trailed behind me as I strolled out of the shower to the mirror adjacent the bathroom door. I stared wistfully at the reflection of the naked lady that stared back at me. It felt like ages since I last stood here. 

A knock sounded on the door, saving me the stress of putting on the same clothes I wore earlier. Standing behind the door, I opened it up just enough for King to stick his hand with a pile of clothes inside. 

"I brought you the biggest size, let me know if it's okay." I nodded even though he couldn't see me.

The first item from the pile was a shirt that smelt like it was freshly laundered. Underneath it was a white towel which I used to dry up my body before changing into the shirt. It was more of a gown than a shirt and it stopped below my knees. 

His shorts were loose around my waist and after folding it about two times with no difference, I ended up discarding it. With the length of this gown shirt, there was no need for extra clothing.

A knock sounded again, accompanied by King's voice. "Does it fit?"

Pushing the door open for him to come in, I played with my fingers while waiting for his assessment. He didn't come in, instead, he stood by the entrance. His eyes dropped to my face and then ran over my body, not once, not twice. When he didn't say anything, I felt extra conscious under his scrutiny.

"It looks better on you," he finally said with his gaze coming to rest on my face. "There's something here," he touched a side of his head and I imitated him.

"No. Here," his fingers switched to a different part on his head and I mimicked his actions on my scalp. 

My fingers came in contact with remnant soap lather from my bath, the embarrassment making me look down as I wiped it off. I glanced at him to see if it was all gone but he shook his head. "Let me help."

At first, his touches were feather-like, almost as if he was afraid of touching my scalp. But he got over that quickly. His fingers moved around my scalp, that same spot he pointed out to me and I felt tingles run from my scalp down to my feet. 

His fingers stilled and I mentally willed him to continue, I wanted to experience those heavenly sensations again. When he resumed his caresses on my skull, my toes curled and I shifted closer to him, moaning softly at the feel of his hands.

"Uti." His voice was husky. Peering at him, I could also see that his eyes were glazed.

He ran a finger across my lower lip, heightening the sensations that were already coursing through me. My lips parted of their own accord and his thumb met the tip of my tongue. His fingers had stopped their ministrations on my scalp and I wished they would move to other parts of my body. 

The distance between us shortened, his breath fanned my face as his head came a few inches closer. He tilted my chin up without breaking eye contact, barely concealing the lust in his brown orbs.

I expected him to kiss me, he didn't. Then I realised his hesitance was his way of asking me to walk away if I didn't want to go through with it but I couldn't move. My feet were glued to the ground and the nonlogical part of me wanted that kiss too.

His head dipped and he caught my lower lip in between his, releasing it slowly with his eyes keeping mine captive.

"Don't think, just do it," he whispered when I remained rigid. It was probably all the push I needed because I palmed his cheeks and smashed my lips against his.

It took less than a second for him to get over the surprise, then he took over. Before I could process what was happening, my back was pressed against the door.

His lips descended back on mine, hungrily kissing me like he was trying to make up for the last time. And I kissed back with the same passion. The bristles of his beard scratched against my cheek causing me to moan and his tongue slipped into my mouth. Our tongues tangoed like lovers at a dance, a dance I didn't want to end. 

I broke from the kiss first but his lip was back on mine almost immediately. He was gentler this time, letting me lead the pace. And my lips brushed his gently like I was giving him a chance to change his mind.

On sensing his impatience, my tongue pushed past his clenched teeth, touching his tongue with mine. It was slow, delicate at first until he groaned into my lips, then our kiss grew into something more urgent, determined and delicious. 

We pulled apart to take in air, then he pressed his forehead against mine. I could see it, the lust and some other nameless emotions in his eyes and I was certain that I had the same lustful look. I attempted to pull away, push past him but his hand gripped both of mine, placing them above my head.

He rubbed his nose against mine, tapped on the tip of my nose with his index finger and smiled. I smiled too. His hold on my wrists loosened and my fingers instinctively worked their way to his beards. I had always imagined myself doing it and King didn't seem to mind.

When my arms came to rest at my sides, King took a step back. I couldn't fathom what he was thinking so I only stared back. His eyebrows raised then he smiled at me. This smile felt different, almost too personal, reserved for special people. 

I didn't get a chance to say or do anything before my phone rang. I was about to walk past him when he drew me back, peppering kisses all over my face. I giggled, then snaked an arm around his waist before squeezing his buttocks; it was as firm as I thought it would be.

The phone stopped ringing and I managed to push him away, playfully pulling on his nose. My ringtone sounded again causing both of us to groan, I shook my head when he tried to stop me from attending to it. It had to be important for the person to call twice.

After bribing him with a quick peck to his lips, I shuffled to my ringing phone on the bedside drawer. And all traces of smile disappeared from my face as I sighted the caller.

"Who's that?"

King was seated on the bed, one leg crossed over the door. I looked at him as if just seeing him for the first time, trying to memorise every bit of his body, commit his face into memory. 

Taking another look at the phone that had stopped ringing. "Umoh." 

*****

They kissed again *sighs and rolls eyes*, I'm just wondering what will happen next with the two of them.

Question:  When was your first kiss?