19. Collie
Collie
Three weeks later
On a Friday afternoon, nine very long weeks after my surgery, my doctor finally cleared me to drive, lift more than ten pounds—oh yeah, and have sex. She’d erred on the side of caution and made me wait even longer than usual, but now she was finally convinced I was fully healed.
As soon as I left her office, I snapped a photo of the paper in my hand and texted it to Miller. He called a moment later, sounding amused when he asked, “Did your doctor really sign that?”
“Yup. Here, let me read it to you, in case the photo was blurry. It says: I hereby release Collin Souza from any and all physical restrictions related to his surgery. That means he and his husband can now have sex, AKA: hump, smash, bone, screw, boink, fuck, play hide the salami, and/or do the nasty. This also includes any and all sex-related activities that may come to mind.”
“You obviously wrote that.”
“I typed it up ahead of time, and she signed it for me. That’s her nice, big John Hancock at the bottom. And I could have kept going with the euphemisms. I know at least twenty more, but you get the idea. I also opted not to name the ‘sex-related activities,’ like sucking, rimming—”
“I get it, and now I’m doubly sorry I couldn’t be there for that appointment. I would have loved to see her reaction.”
“She’s used to me by now,” I said. “She barely batted an eye when I produced the note. And you don’t have to be sorry for missing the appointment.
I knew it coincided with your weekly team meeting when I scheduled it, but it was the last one she had available this week.
I didn’t want another weekend to go by without getting to tear your clothes off. ”
“Good call. I’m about to head into my meeting, but I’ll see you in a couple of hours. I love you, Collie.”
“I love you, too.”
After we ended the call, I requested a Lyft, which pulled up in front of the building ten minutes later. I fully intended to keep my news to myself, but I was practically vibrating with excitement, which made the woman behind the wheel say, “You seem happy.”
“I am! I finally get to have sex with my husband. It’s going to be our first time.”
“It’s your first time, and you’re already married? What are you, Amish or something?”
“Do I look Amish?”
She glanced at me in the rearview mirror and said, “Kind of. Maybe it’s the haircut, or the fact that you’re dressed all in black.”
“Do Amish people do that?”
“No idea.”
“Then why… never mind.”
She glanced at me again when we pulled up to a stoplight and asked, “Are you nervous?”
“Should I be?”
“I mean, I would be. You never really know how a first time is going to go. Maybe it’ll be great, or maybe it’ll be super awkward, you know?
Sometimes two people can be totally compatible in every other way, but they just don’t click in the bedroom.
” She quickly added, “But I’m sure you two will be fine. ”
That had occurred to me more than once, but I’d tried to let it go.
Now I was worried all over again. Miller and I had clicked since the day we met, and the last three weeks after coming home from Idaho had been pure bliss.
Now that we were officially a couple, it felt like our entire lives had fallen into place.
But what if we just didn’t work in the bedroom?
My driver dropped me at the curb in front of my house, and I sent a text to Jeannie as I climbed the stairs: I had my checkup and it went great. Miller and I finally get to have sex tonight. But what if it’s terrible?
She replied a few seconds later with: I thought you’d moved past this. It’s not going to be terrible! You and Miller love each other.
I wrote back: Still, though. What if he finds the whole thing underwhelming?
The phone rang in my hand. When I answered it, Jeannie told me, “You need to get out of your head, Collie.”
“Oh, I know.” I sat down on the top step and asked, “How are you? What’s new?”
“In the three hours since I last spoke to you? Oh wait, something actually is new. My dad sent me a photo of a place that’s for sale three blocks from their house.
Do I want to be that close to my parents?
I’ve gotten used to a several-state buffer between myself and my mom, because as you know, she tends to be… ”
“A lot.”
“Exactly. But they’re paying for the house with the money they make from the sale of this one, so—”
“Suck it up, buttercup.”
“I was going to say I know I should be grateful.”
“That, too.”
“It’s a cute house. Here, let me send you the photo.”
It popped up a moment later. It was a pretty, Spanish-style home with stucco walls and a red tile roof. It couldn’t have been more different than the house she’d grown up in, and maybe that was a good thing.
I meant it when I said, “I think it’s gorgeous.”
“Right? Apparently it has a courtyard in the center of it and plenty of bedrooms for the kids, with one left over for a guest room.”
“I think you should say yes to it, Jeannie.”
“I think so too, especially since someone already put in an offer on this place.” It had only been on the market for a week, but it turned out one of her neighbors had had their eye on it for years.
“How are you feeling about selling that house?”
“A little sad, but better things await, right?”
“For sure.”
“I’d better go. I’m trying to assemble a lasagna before the baby wakes up from her nap, and you need to get ready for your sex date.”
“Is Dwight coming for dinner?”
“Yup, just like every Friday night.”
He’d recently given notice at his job and with his landlord, and he was all in when it came to Jeannie and New Mexico. She was still taking it slowly, but she really liked him, and I just knew they were going to be a wonderful couple when she was ready to take that step.
“Have fun, Jeannie.”
“You, too. Just relax, and get out of your head! It’s going to be amazing.” I hoped she was right.
Just as I stood up, JoJo stepped onto her front porch with a watering can in her hand. She waved when she saw me and yelled, “How was your doctor’s appointment?”
I flashed two thumbs up and yelled back, “All systems go!”
“Woohoo! That’s great news!”
I thought it was funny that so many people knew about our sex countdown. It wouldn’t have surprised me if it was one of the topics on the agenda for Miller’s team meeting.
When I went inside, I found the cat waiting for me as usual.
I petted her and greeted her with, “Hi there, pretty kitty.” She wove all around my ankles as I walked down the hall, and I pleaded, “Please don’t trip me, Kate.
The last thing I need is to fall down, hit my head, end up back in the hospital, and be told I can’t have sex until my concussion clears. ”
Okay, so I really needed to cool it with the worst case scenarios.
I checked the time. Miller would be home in about ninety minutes, so I went into the bathroom, got naked, and began my totally planned out grooming routine.
It started with douching, went on to a very thorough shower, moved to the application of all sorts of creams and lotions, and finally ended with blowing out my hair to make it as smooth and silky as possible.
Once I’d done absolutely everything I could to make myself irresistible, I went to the walk-in closet and assessed the wardrobe options I’d set aside for this occasion. My tiniest, sexiest briefs were a definite yes. But then I looked down at the huge scar on my chest and frowned.
Miller wouldn’t be put off by it. I knew that. But it made me self-conscious, and I wanted to be able to totally let go when we were together without that as a distraction. I ended up putting on a form-fitting, cropped tank top, so now the scar was out of sight and out of mind.
I went into the bedroom, draped myself seductively across the mattress, and waited. This lasted about ten seconds. I felt silly, and like I was being way too eager. What if Miller wasn’t raring to go the minute he walked in the door?
I returned to the closet and looked for stuff to put on over the tank top and sexy briefs.
Eventually, I settled on a pair of jeans that were intentionally ripped at the knees and one of Miller’s sweaters.
It was a bit oversized on him, and pretty huge on me.
But it felt soft against my skin, and it carried a faint trace of his wonderfully familiar scent, so it was pure comfort.
Just then, I heard the garage door rattle open. My pulse sped up in anticipation. I took a few deep breaths before leaving the closet.
I’d made it halfway across the bedroom when Miller appeared in the doorway, looking flushed and a little winded. He paused when he saw me, bracing his hands on the doorframe, and a huge smile spread across his face.
When I saw how revved up he was, I exclaimed, “What are you waiting for? Get over here and ravage me already!”
I burst out laughing as he ran to me and threw me onto his shoulder. He brought me to the bed and tossed me onto it, and then he pulled off his sweater and T-shirt in one go. As he took off his shoes and socks, he grinned at me and said, “Hi.”
“Hi yourself.”
“You good?”
“Fantastic. You?”
“Oh, I’m great. You ready to do this?”
“So damn ready.”
I unzipped my jeans and shimmied out of them. He said, “I like it when you wear my clothes,” before pulling the sweater over my head and tossing it aside.
His jeans were next. He unzipped them and pushed them down, but then his feet got tangled in them. He ended up stomping up and down several times to free himself, which made me chuckle.
Finally, he pushed me onto my back and climbed on top of me, supporting his weight with his knees and elbows. When he kissed me, it was deep and hungry and intoxicating.
My body began to thrum with need as he worked his way down, kissing my neck, then my stomach, before nuzzling my cock through my silky briefs. He paused to look up at me as he asked, “Can I suck you?”