Spellman Ch. 24

After school, while I was packing up my stuff for the weekend, Riley knocked on my classroom door then came in.

"Hey, Ryan. I've got a book for you," she said, walking over to my desk. She was wearing a shirtdress with a fitted waist and long skirt, its color and pattern evoking an ocean wave. It was a striking look that fit her perfectly.

She set the book down on my desk, and I glanced at the cover. It was A Thousand Splendid Suns, which I had heard of but didn't know much about besides the title. I picked it up and looked it over, giving the back cover a quick read.

"Thanks, this looks really interesting. How's Never Let Me Go been for you?"

"Fantastic. I'll probably finish it this weekend. We could maybe talk about it over lunch sometime next week, if you still want to."

"Yeah, that would be fun. Let me know when you finish and we'll figure out a day to discuss it. Then once I finish this one we can do it again."

"Perfect," she said. She smiled as she tucked a strand of blonde hair back behind her ear. "What are you up to this weekend?"

"Going to the Padres game with Melissa on Saturday, but I'm going to see a friend's band play tonight."

"Oh, that sounds fun. Where's the band playing at?"

"Collin's. It's a bar not too far from here."

"Do you think it might be something I'd like? Maybe Tiff and I will stop by."

I hesitated. I didn't want to put her off too harshly, and I wasn't sure if her question was truly innocent or if she was still interested in something more, but I didn't think it would be a great idea to run into either her or her roommate while I was on my date with Cece.

Riley noticed my hesitation. "Sorry, that was presumptuous of me. I understand if you don't really feel like seeing me outside of work."

"It's not that," I said, shaking my head. "I think it would be nice if we could be friends and hang out. It's just that I'm going to see the show as part of a date."

"Oh," she said, her face dropping a bit. "That makes sense. Sorry. I definitely don't want to be crashing your date with Melissa."

"Melissa and I aren't dating, we're just friends. I'm going out with a girl I met at the gym."

"I see," Riley said. "So you and Melissa hooking up was just a one-time thing?" My face twisted up. "Sorry, that's none of my business." There was an awkward silence that stretched for several moments. "I should get going."

"Yeah, me too." I stood up and slung my bag over my shoulder. "Thanks again for the book. I'll probably start it this weekend."

Riley nodded. "I'm interested to hear what you think about it." We walked out the door together. "I'll see you on Monday. Have a good weekend."

"You, too."

I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to get some fresh ingredients for the dinner I planned to make for Cece. It wasn't going to be anything too over-the-top, but I did hope to impress her a bit with my abilities.

Cooking was something that I had never really been into until Amanda and I started living together. Before that, my culinary skills were mostly limited to heating up frozen foods. Once we started cohabitating we made trying new recipes part of our regular routine, and it became a great way for us to spend time together doing something fun at home. Our cooking time together eventually became one of the highlights of my week. Amanda was always the better cook, but I picked up quite a lot.

When I made it home with my groceries I quickly changed into jeans and a short-sleeve shirt, then got to work on preparing everything for the meal. I didn't have time--or the desire, really--to bake fresh bread, but I had picked up a nice loaf of French bread that I was going to make into garlic bread. Some people would say it was a bad idea to eat any sort of garlic dish before a date, but those people failed to consider that garlic bread is fucking delicious.

The main dish would be an herb-roasted chicken. I covered its skin lightly with olive oil, sprinkled a liberal portion of rosemary and thyme, and then finished it with a pinch of salt. A medley of roughly chopped carrots, potatoes, and red onions filled the roasting pan around the chicken, all covered in the same herbs. The heat of the oven washed over me when I opened it to place the pan inside.

I started preparing the garlic bread while the chicken and vegetables cooked. I melted the butter, minced the garlic, and added a bit of parsley. After slicing the loaf in half lengthwise, then cutting those in half, I brushed the mixture over the bread. I also pulled out some parmesan cheese, which I would sprinkle on top in the last minute or two of the bread's cooking time. I let the chicken cook for a bit longer before I stuck the bread in the oven as well.

There was a knock on my door just before seven. When I opened it, Cece was standing there, looking as gorgeous as ever even though she was more dressed-down than she had been for our previous dates. Her hair was curled, red ringlets falling down to her shoulders. She wore a long-sleeved, floral-patterned blouse and a dark denim skirt.

"Wow, you look great. Come on in," I said, stepping to the side.

She gave me a kiss on her way in. "It smells amazing in here. I didn't know what to expect when you said you were going to cook dinner, but this is promising." She handed me the bottle of wine she had been holding. "Here, I hope this goes with what you're making."

I inspected the bottle, which was already cold to the touch. Though far from a wine expert, I at least knew that white wine worked well with chicken. Cece had brought a bottle of Kongsgaard Chardonnay. "Thanks. I'm making chicken, so I think this will work just fine. Dinner should be ready in just a few minutes."

I took the wine into the kitchen and opened it up, pouring a glass for each of us. Cece had started to look around my living room, poking at my bookshelves. When I brought her a glass of wine, she turned to smile at me. "Thank you," she said, clinking her glass with mine.

We each took a sip. "Wow, this wine is fantastic," I said. I may not know much about wine, but I knew a good one when I drank it.

Cece smiled over the rim of her wine glass. "I'm glad you like it." She turned back to the bookshelf. "I know you said you liked poetry, but I didn't expect you to have this much of a collection in your apartment. You'd get along great with my brother Kevin. He actually studied literature in undergrad before he decided to go to law school."

"My best friend is named Kevin, too."

"He lives up in the Bay Area?" Cece asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, him and my whole crew. I actually was just talking to him yesterday about going up there next month. He's throwing a party for his girlfriend's birthday and is going to propose to her, so he wants me there for that."

"Aw, how sweet."

"They're great together. I'm very excited for both of them. Kevin's already asked me to be his best man." The oven timer started beeping. "And that's our dinner. Here, have a seat while I get everything plated."

I grabbed some oven mitts and took the chicken out of the oven, then sprinkled the parmesan over the garlic bread so it could melt while I got the chicken and veggies onto the plates. Once that was done, I took the bread out and added two slices to each of our plates.

Cece closed her eyes and breathed in the aroma when I placed her plate in front of her. "Wow, Ryan, this looks fantastic. Thank you so much."

"It's my pleasure. I'm happy to have you here," I said, raising my wine glass to her. We clinked glasses once more then got to eating.

Cece made all of the right appreciative noises as she ate. "This is so good. Where'd you learn to cook like this?" she asked me.

"Just picked it up over the years. Made a habit of trying new recipes."

"Did you cook a lot with your fiancée? Sorry, ex-fiancée."

I had tried to avoid talking about Amanda while on a date with Cece, but if she was the one bringing it up then I guessed it was fine. "Yeah, we did. It was one of our favorite things to do."

Cece was no dummy, and she sensed my hesitation. She reached out and placed her hand on top of mine. "Ryan, it's fine. I know you have a past. I do too. You don't need to feel weird talking about that part of your life with me. It's not like you can just erase all of those years. It's actually a point in your favor that you have been in a relationship like that, as far as I'm concerned."

"Thanks," I said, nodding. She had given me an opening to ask about her own past, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to take it right now. "Anyways, yeah, Amanda and I would cook together all of the time, and I really grew to love it."

"That's great. It's not like I'm hopeless in the kitchen or anything, but I don't really make meals like this. Maybe you could teach me some things." Her green eyes glittered as she squeezed my hand.

I felt my heart race as I imagined spending time together teaching her some things in the kitchen, and then teaching her some other things in the bedroom. "I'd love to."

We finished eating, and I took the plates over to the sink. Cece sat down on the couch, then patted the spot next to her. "We still have a bit of time before we have to leave, right? Come read me a poem."

I walked over to the bookshelf. "What sort of poem?" I asked her.

"Something beautiful and romantic. We are on a date, after all."

I scanned the shelf, almost grabbing a collection of Byron before stopping myself. My mind flashed back to that first night with Riley, and how I had recited some Byron to her when we first met. I didn't want to use the same poem for a different woman. I kept looking, finally settling on a collection that I knew contained the poem I was looking for from Robert Burns.

Settling down on the couch next to Cece, I opened the book and found the right page. She leaned over, resting her head on my shoulder. I cleared my throat, then started to read.

"O my Luve's like a red, red rose,

That's newly sprung in June;

O my Luve's like the melodie

That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair are thou, my bonie lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my Dear,

Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my Dear,

And the rocks melt wi' the sun:

I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve!

And fare thee weel, a while!

And I will come again, my Luve,

Tho' it were ten thousand mile!"

My reading was more anglicized than the Scottish text that Burns meant the poem to be, but I think it got the point across.

"Very nice," Cece said, after a few moments had passed. "You have a wonderful reading voice. I bet your students love to listen to you read." She stared into my eyes.

I leaned down to kiss her. Her lips parted as they met mine, and soon our tongues were dancing, a much more intimate choreography than the waltzes we had shared on Tuesday. I brushed a ruby ringlet out of her face and tucked it behind her ear, before kissing along her jawline. She moaned softly and shuddered as my lips touched the soft skin of her neck.

We made out on the couch for several minutes before she pulled away. "We should probably get going to the bar, yeah?"

I glanced over at the clock and sighed. "Yeah, we probably should." I stood, then offered my hand to help Cece up. She took it, giving me another quick kiss once she was up.

We drove over in my car, Cece holding my hand the whole way. She couldn't seem to stop smiling, which caused me to smile too. When we got to Collin's, I paid the cover charge and we went inside. The place was crowded, and bigger than where I'd seen Violet Riot play last week.

"Do you want another drink?" I asked Cece over the noise. She nodded. I thought back to our first date. "Another gin and tonic?"

"Sure."

We walked over to the bar together. It took a while, but eventually I was able to get a bartender's attention and order our drinks. Things didn't look as crowded over by the stage, so I took Cece's hand and led her over in that direction. Just like last time, the band was starting to set up, but there was no Beth in sight.

Brandon started pounding out his steady rhythm on the drums, then Chuy joined in with the bassline before Thorn went to work on the keyboards. People started to cheer and crowd towards the stage, pushing Cece and I towards the front. I maneuvered her in front of me, right next to the band. Chuy noticed me and gave me a nod, which I returned.

Finally, Beth appeared and hopped onto the stage, eliciting another cheer from the crowd. She still had her purple hair, but this time she was dressed in a black tube top with a skull and crossbones printed on the front, with black fishnet sleeves to go along with it. Her skirt was super short once again, though this time it looked like someone had taken a blue skirt from a Catholic schoolgirl uniform and cut it up until it barely covered her ass. Black leather high-heeled boots covered in studs completed the look.

"That's your friend?" Cece asked me, shouting over the crowd. I just nodded.

"What's up, bitches?" Beth yelled into the microphone. "You ready to rock?" The crowd cheered again. "We're Violet Riot, and we're here to have some fun. Let's go!"

The band started up, and we were off to the races. Their setlist was similar to the one I had heard before, still lots of female-led rock classics, though they mixed in a few songs that they hadn't played last time, like Paranoid and Celebrity Skin. Beth spotted me almost immediately, and directed a fair bit of her performance in my direction, giving me a wink.

Cece seemed to really enjoy the show, throwing her hands in the air and bouncing around, her head banging to the beat. When the set was over, I wondered if they were going to do I Kissed A Girl as an encore again, but when they came back to the stage they did a cover of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, which was just as awesome but not quite as sexy as Beth's Katy Perry cover had been. The crowd still seemed to love it. Once they had finished, I led Cece over to where Beth and her bandmates were packing up their stuff.

Beth gave me a big hug and a kiss on the check. "Ryan! I didn't know you were coming tonight."

"You guys were just so good last time, I couldn't stay away." I put my arm around Cece. "Beth, this is Cece. Cece, this is Beth."

"Oh my god, you were so incredible," Cece gushed, ignoring Beth's offered hand and giving her a hug instead. "Ryan told me that I'd like the show, but he definitely undersold you."

"Thanks," Beth said, grinning. "It was a fun show. The crowd was great. I'm glad you came tonight and not last night."

"Not a good show last night?" I asked.

"It was fine, but tonight just had a much better energy. You two gonna hang around for a bit?"

I looked down at Cece, and she nodded. "Yeah, we'll hang out for a while," I said.

"Sick. We drink for free, so I'll snag you guys some libations and we can chill."

I grabbed a seat with the band, and Cece plopped herself down in my lap. I introduced her to Brandon and Chuy, but they had already attracted some groupies and were mostly distracted. Thorn came over to chat, though.

"Ryan, right?" he said. "Good to see you again. Glad you brought a friend."

I introduced Cece just as Beth returned with drinks. Before I knew it, she had dragged Cece off to a corner for some girl talk.

"She your girlfriend?" Thorn asked me.

"No, not yet at least. Maybe soon, though."

"Cool, cool. Did she like the show?"

"She loved it. You were great tonight."

"Thanks."

I nodded over at Brandon and Chuy. "No groupies for you tonight?"

He shook his head. "I'm keeping my options open for now, hoping for something better." I thought I caught him glance over at Beth. As far as I knew, band romance was an even bigger landmine than workplace romance, but I couldn't blame him if he was interested in Beth, or if they already had something going on. She looked hot, and the sexual energy she gave off while performing was enough to revive a dead man. The memory of her naked body in my bed, fingering herself while I fucked Tori, flashed through my mind.

We made small talk for a few minutes until Beth and Cece returned, then all four of us discussed the show. Cece continued to rave about how awesome Beth was, and Beth soaked up the attention. I caught her looking over Cece with a predatory eye more than once, and when she noticed me watching her she just winked at me. Images of the two of them together in my bed raced through my head.

After about forty-five minutes of hanging out, Cece and I said our goodbyes to Beth and the band and headed back to my apartment. "That was awesome, thanks for bringing me to see them," she said.

"I'm glad you liked it."

"Beth is so cool. We exchanged numbers, and she said we should hang out sometime."

"That's great. I'm really happy that you two hit it off. She's my oldest friend."

When we made it back to my apartment, I asked Cece if she wanted to come back up for a while. She considered for a moment before agreeing. "I probably should, just to give it a bit more time before I drive."

I got her a large glass of water when we got inside, then we sat down together on the couch. It didn't take long until we were right back where we had left off, making out like a couple of horny teenagers. This time, though, Cece wound up on my lap, straddling me as we kissed. I ran my hands up and down her back, pulling her down onto me. I waited several minutes, but eventually I let my hands trail down until finally they came to rest on her ass.

Finally, I held in my hands the object of my devotion, the bountiful booty of the Glorious Goddess of Glutes, and it was just as amazing as I'd imagined it to be. She moaned into my mouth and I squeezed with both hands. It was truly an ass like no other, worthy of worship beyond anything a mere mortal could offer.

But when I moved to lift her shirt up, she stopped and pulled away. "I should really get going," she said, sliding off my lap. "I need to make sure Dad is still all squared away."

My body, one part in particular, protested vigorously, but I nodded. "Yeah, sure." We stood up from the couch. Cece hurried off to use the restroom, returning a minute later. She downed the rest of her glass of water, then grabbed her purse.

I walked her down to her car, where we kissed for another couple of minutes before she finally got in. "Tonight was amazing," she said.

"It was," I agreed.

"Call me tomorrow?"

"Of course. We'll go to the gym in the afternoon?"

She nodded. "Yeah." She pulled me down by the front of my shirt and gave me another kiss. "I'll see you then."

"Goodnight, Cece."

I watched her drive off, then went back upstairs to my apartment, where I quickly dealt with my unsatisfied erection, fueled by the memory of finally holding Cece's amazing ass in my hands.