The Eyes Have It
Chapter Fourteen - Strawberries
It was several days later and John and Marlena were enjoying a lazy, rainy day in John's apartment. Marlena was lying on a pile of blankets by the fireplace watching John cook dinner for her. She loved to watch him in the kitchen and he loved to cook for her. For one thing it gave them privacy and for another it kept her out of the kitchen because even though John loved everything about Marlena, she really was a lousy cook. John finished pouring the sauce on the pasta and brought their plates over by the fireplace.
"Ummm…..it looks delicious" Marlena said hungrily.
"Yes, it does." John replied, leaning over and kissing her. Marlena just smiled and gave him a knowing look.
As they were both enjoying their dinner, John let out a sigh, "Marlena I have something to tell you." He sounded serious.
Marlena finished chewing the bite in her mouth…. "What?" she asked concerned.
"Well, actually it's something I want to ask you. You know that I have to leave again next week for the annual meeting in Dubai…"
"Why did you have to bring that up?" Marlena said as she dropped her fork, looking very unhappy.
"Well, I decided to make it a longer trip and get a lot of business out of the way at once…I'll be going to several locations and I'll probably be gone for several weeks."
"But you just got back…" Marlena whined. She couldn't stand the thought of not seeing him for several weeks…..3 days had been torture.
"I know….and I don't want to be away from you for that long…so this is what I wanted to ask you….how would you like to join me in Paris?"
"Paris?" Marlena began to perk up a bit.
"After Dubai, I thought I'd check in on the Paris office and I would love to have you there with me. I'd love to show you Paris. Say you'll come."
Marlena jumped into his arms, knocking him backwards and spilling their plates in the process, "I'd love to join you in Paris."
John laughed and wrapped his arms around her, rolling around on the floor and making a terrible mess. They ended up on their backs, lying next to each other and talking about what they would see and do in Paris. Marlena had never been there before and the thought of seeing it with John was absolutely thrilling . She didn't know how she was going to wait. She wanted to leave right now. John held her and laughed at her excitement. He had big plans for her in Paris and he couldn't wait either.
As Marlena finally began to get up and clean the mess they had made on the floor, John told her not to bother...they still had dessert coming up. Marlena looked at him strangely, wondering what he was planning. John went into the kitchen and quickly returned with a tray. He'd been thinking about this ever since that night at dinner when she had been teasing him at the table. Marlena saw the strawberries and whipped cream and grinned deliciously at him.
"Marlena, would you care for a strawberry?" he asked, very seductively.
"I would love a strawberry," she replied, licking her lips.
John sat down on the floor next to her and placed the berries and cream down in front of them. He picked up a strawberry and dipped it generously in the whipped cream. He placed the berry between her lips. She slowly licked the cream off and then bit it in half, staring into his eyes the entire time. He finished the other half, licking the cream off of his fingers. Then it was her turn.
"Let me show you how that's done," she whispered. She dipped a berry in the cream and then slowly ran it around the edge of his mouth, covering his lips with the sweet, white cream. When he began to lick it off, she stopped him. "No, no…let me," and she leaned over and began to slowly lick the cream off of his lips. As her kiss became more passionate and she began devouring his mouth, he pushed her away. She whined her displeasure.
"I think I've got it now," he said with a wicked grin as he raised his eyebrow. He pushed her down so she was lying on her back and then he slowly opened the satin robe she was wearing, revealing her bare skin underneath. He dipped his finger in the whipped cream and began to draw a circle around her belly button, then he made a trail up her tummy and in between her breasts. Marlena squirmed underneath his touch. The combination of his warm finger touching her and the cold whipped cream was giving her goose bumps all over her body. He then bent down and began to lick it off, starting with her belly button and traveling up her torso. When he got to her neck, Marlena tried to pull his mouth up to hers, but he kept pulling away.
"I'm not done with my dessert yet." John continued to make a buffet of her body. He teased her with the strawberries and left dollops of whipped cream in several different places which he slowly removed with his mouth and tongue. Marlena was going absolutely insane with the sensations he was causing inside her. She finally managed to grab him and roll him over onto his back where she took her turn, making love to his body. They went back and forth, teasing, touching, kissing, tasting. There were never two people who worshipped or adored each other more than they did that night.
John & Marlena spent every possible moment with each other before he had to leave on his trip. Marlena was dreading the day that he left, but just kept reminding herself that she would be joining him in just two weeks in Paris. That made it a little less painful. They spent their last night together at Blondie's, holding each other on the dance floor. They slow danced like they were the only two people on the planet, holding each other, smelling each other, kissing each other, staring into each other's eyes...oblivious of everyone else.
When they returned to Marlena's apartment, John noticed that Marlena had gotten very quiet. She just stood and stared out the window. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Are you okay, baby?"
Marlena hugged his arms that were wrapped around her and leaned her head back against him. "Umm-hmm," she mumbled. She didn't want to tell John what she was thinking. She didn't want to ruin their last evening together. But she had this incredible feeling of sadness and uneasiness ...like something was going to go wrong. She couldn't shake it. Even knowing that she would be meeting John in just two weeks, wasn't making her feel any better. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about Don & Roman and what happened when they left her for their business trips. She was making herself miserable.
"The two weeks will be over before you know it," he whispered in her ear. "And then I promise you the most romantic week of your life." John held her tightly and began nuzzling her soft neck. He found that spot that she loved, right behind her ear.
Marlena tried to get out of her head and just enjoy this last night with John. She tilted her head so he could get to her neck more easily, "oh... I love it when you do just that," she sighed.
John worked his way around her neck, up her chin and found her mouth. Marlena turned and wrapped her arms around his neck as their tongues slowly started to dance. Without breaking their kiss, John scooped her up in his arms and headed upstairs. They made love all night, slowly and tenderly...making a memory that would last them both for these two long weeks that they would be apart.