of that discovery truly surprised me. It surprised me so much that all I could do was stare lovingly at her when I saw her by coincidence at the liquor mart with a friend.
Ramsie, an old friend of mine, was coming with me to buy some fine wine – unknowing that I planned on getting it to surprise my ex. Ramsie was always a supportive and helpful friend, and that was why she whacked me on the shoulder for looking at Naomi like that.
“What are you doing?!” she hissed quietly, continuing to lecture me about Naomi’s toxic effect on me. She was a good friend for trying to protect me, but I started to feel really terribly about my feelings for Naomi. My ex-wife was my present lover. It was such a mess.
“I know, I know,” I insisted as each of us turned to one another. Then suddenly, Naomi stepped by and nearly tripped over a set-up of Schnapps. She managed to stumble around it, excusing herself and racing off to the cashier.
Just seeing her there tormented me because I wanted to be there with her. I knew we had once been bad for each other, but I wanted it to be good. As much as we teased one another, my fantasies also involved us waking up together and going out again. I wondered what it might be like to date Naomi all over again.
I watched her hurry through the check-out even as Ramsie was pulling me away from her.
“What is going on with you?!” she demanded, re-focusing my attention to her.
“I … don’t know. Nothing.” It was an excuse that wouldn’t work for long, but I didn’t know what to do or say. I wondered then what Naomi’s friends would say, because in Naomi’s eyes, I had cheated on her. If they saw Naomi and me together, their reaction would probably have been worse.
I decided that I would have to woo Naomi all over again, and show them that I was a different woman. I wouldn’t look at anyone else or want anyone else – only her. I had been lost at the time of my grave mistake, and that would never happen again.
Talking Naomi onto a real date was another story altogether, but it wasn’t impossible. She agreed for the sake of compromise, but we had actually enjoyed each other’s company! I was expecting a short dinner with a sweet dessert, but what I got was another thing entirely. Halfway through dinner, she looked up at me with the same sizzle in her eyes that I’d seen that first night in the bar. It was then I realized that she’d wanted me all that time, too. She had been excited by the thought of me, and even fantasized about our time together. As soon as I saw that hopeful lust in her eyes, I was finished with dinner. I was dragging her out the door with that intoxicating laughter she shared with me so effortlessly.
“Erin! … What’re you doing?!”
“Are you tipsy? – Do I need to carry you to my car?”
She tugged her hand away and grinned all at once. I was quick to grab it back, but she tugged it away again, and headed to my car on her own.
“You’re crazy, you know that?”
I chased after her, and helped her into the car. I even winked and teased her about a quickie in the backseat, but she was surprisingly calm about everything. I really didn’t have any idea just how much she wanted me then or I think I would have sped all the way home.
Her eyes were on me all the way, and I have to admit it felt nice. Naomi wanted me, and I felt the warmth growing between my legs – I was wet and wanting. Naomi wanted me: the woman who had once hated me. She wanted me again, and I was burning with desire for her. I wanted her in so many ways and positions that it was hard to focus on driving. I forced my eyes onto the road until we got to my place, where I could finally unbuckle my seatbelt and kiss her. She always liked to act like she had no idea what my intentions were, but her lips were just as heated. Her tongue was just as invasive.
Out of the blue, while we were making out in my car, she started whispering to me between her panted breaths: “Do you … still