s voice grew more heated. He stroked two of the dangling balls in his Newton ’ s Cradle desk toy , weighing them in his hand. “ It ’ s gonna happen for us , you know. It ’ s gonna be so hot , so sweet. ”
Still on her back , Chrissy ’ s legs were extended straight up in the air and she opened them widely , then closed them tightly , only to open them yet again. Her breath remained steady but her voice had an odd rasp to it. “ Sweet ?” she asked expectantly.
Kevin smiled. He ’ d found the soft spot. “ Yes , I ’ m going to start with hot fudge. And raspberries. ” He paused for effect , long enough for her to gain a mental picture , something he anticipated might take a few seconds , considering all. Then he said , “ Have you ever really looked at my tongue ?”
Chrissy was on her feet , bending over , reaching down to her toes. She hung there in the air a long while , her backside way above her head. “ No ,” she said sincerely , “ Marshmallows. ”
“ Ooh ,” cooed Kevin , “ Those little marshmallows that I can…. And nuts. Almonds , like…. ” The silver balls clanked in his hand until he jumped at the sound and let up the pressure a bit.
Chrissy stood serenely , her palms raised as if in prayer and she pressed them gently and then harder , flexing her Pecs repeatedly. She quickly interrupted him and said , “ No , rich nuts , like Macadamias. ”
Kevin smiled , his voice seductive yet coyly amused. “ Yes , Macadamias , nibbled out of…. ”
Chrissy had climbed up onto the Stairmaster and was frenetically stepping up and down , up and down , up and down. Her pace was frenzied despite all the Yoga , and she looked flushed and agitated. Marching even more swiftly , she said , “ And whipped cream , blasting out of the can. ”
Kevin closed his eyes briefly , then said , “ Have you ever seen my…. ”
Chrissy ’ s breath was raspy , her heart thundering. She touched her wrist and then with eyes wide with shock , dropped her arm as though she ’ d burned herself. Her eyes bulged—her pulse was racing—this wasn ’ t good , not good at all—her heart rate was the one thing she counted on to be ever steady. She jumped off the Stairmaster and began doing Yoga again , raising her arms high overhead , touching palms together and bringing them down straight in front of her body , touching her belly button , then gracefully separating her palms and fluttering her arms out to the sides to make a big circle back to the top of her head where her palms once again met. She focused on her breathing , attempting to normalize her heart rate.
“ You have to stop doing this to me , Kevin. I ’ m serious. We can talk about… ” she paused for a long moment , her eyes getting glassy , and then she said , “ Fudge…. ” And she paused once more , coming into focus again and continued , “ But you know Bill is my rock. He ’ s not a player like you. He ’ d never cheat on me. I ’ d go crazy if he did , I ’ d…. ”
Kevin laughed. He had her. It was just a matter of time. “ Oh c ’ mon. Bill is no saint. He ’ s just never been improperly tempted…. ” Kevin laughed again , lowered his voice to its most seductive register , then said , “ We didn ’ t even get to salty. ”
Chrissy was down on her knees , raising her hands over head and leaning forward , her arms stretched outward as her body folded down over her knees and out against the floor. “ Salty ,” she repeated , tantalized by the thought.
Kevin started raking his little sand pit , making swirl after swirl in the sand with the tiny rake. “ I could pack you in popcorn….Eat my way in. ”
Chrissy sat flat on the floor , her legs open widely. Arms behind her head , she leaned first left then right , touching elbow to knee and up again. “ No ,” she said adamantly. “ Chips. ”
At last. They were together at