The Vineyard
- 2 years ago
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In The Vineyard Ch. 05 free porn video
Miles drove well above the speed limit once he got on the interstate. He hated to risk the ticket, but he didn’t want to lose time. Fifteen minutes into the drive, he called Ana’s home number. No answer. He tried the cell number. The voicemail came on immediately, she must have the phone turned off. He drove even faster, starting to get worried.
Ana walked into the bookstore. Tonight’s act was a string quartet playing classical music. She had hoped for something livelier. She ordered a glass of her usual, the Domaine Tempier Rose, thinking about the precious bottle left at home in her refrigerator. She sat at a table by herself. Books were spread around and she looked at the titles. ‘Home Winemaking,’ ‘How to grow grapes,’ ‘Grapes into Wine,’ ‘The Guide to Italian wines.’ It was like a curse! She was surrounded by wine books.
She looked at the next table. An illustrated volume of ‘Cinderella’ sat there. Her mother’s words echoed in her head ‘Those Prince Charming types aren’t always what they seem.’ The string quartet launched into another somber slow piece, the third in a row. She couldn’t take anymore of the depressing music, so she drank the wine and ambled around the store for a few minutes. She paused over a book of daily affirmations for those with lost loves. You did lose Greg, she reminded herself. But it wasn’t Greg she was hurting over. Ana, you should have known better. Acting like some teenager with a crush!
When Miles finally pulled up to the address on the card, just after nine thirty, the parking lot was empty and the condo was dark. He double checked the number. This was it. And, he would recognize her yellow car. He tried the phone numbers again, still no answer. He banged on the steering wheel. What was she trying to pull! Making him drive an hour! After what he went through to get here, on a day like today, and she stood him up.
He stopped to consider his next move. The idea of spending another hour in the truck was not appealing. Then, he remembered Ana mentioned a bookstore that served wine by the glass. She might even be there, he thought. Anyway, he could relax with a glass of wine for a few minutes before starting the drive back. It was probably in the mall complex near the highway interchange.
As Miles drove, he became angrier. Ana knew he was going to be late, Jimmy had called. He drove to the mall and around for the bookstore. He spotted it – a busy late night bookstore café across the street – and headed over. He drove around, looking for both a parking space and a flashy yellow car. Sure enough, there it was. He was certain that was hers – there wouldn’t be two of those in the same neighborhood. Miles considered that he was being petty. If she wanted to stand him up, that was her business. But, if that was the case, then why go to the bother, the written invitation? Why not just leave things as they stood after last weekend? No, she must have some other motive, maybe getting back at him for his blow up last Saturday.
Something inside of him was aching to see her, even if he was mad at her. He parked his truck and got out. He went into the huge store and started walking around. He was amused that he found himself almost immediately tailed by a threesome of high school aged girls. They followed him at a distance, trying to stifle their giggles.
Ana spotted a group of giggling young girls, following some man around. She got just a glimpse of the man as he rounded the corner, she could see that he was tall, but couldn’t see his face. The schoolgirls reminded her how foolish she’d been about Miles. She needed a diversion, she decided. I’ll find something funny to read. Maybe some Kinky Friedman, his books always made her laugh. She headed for the fiction section.
Miles started a slow exploration, working his way out from the door so he wouldn’t miss Ana if she left. She wasn’t at the check out, or sitting at the bar or a table. He smiled when he saw the pile of wine books on one table. He wondered if Ana had selected those to read. Once he reached the center of the huge store, he looked all around. Then saw her, a blue dress swaying and clinging to her body as she walked forward. He bit his lip as he watched her moving, she was both graceful and determined. He set toward her, walking quickly.
Ana found it annoying that the giggling girls seemed to be moving in the same direction. She decided to avoid them by looking at music first, afterward she would head back and look through the books. She made an abrupt turn around and ran straight into someone. As she started to apologize, she looked up. ‘You!’ she gasped.
He didn’t look surprised to see her. ‘I’ve got something to say to you. But not in here. Outside.’ Miles had been startled by her sudden turn, and moved back a little just in time. Otherwise he was afraid that his hands would end up somewhere awkward. Stay cool, Miles, he told himself. She may be beautiful, but she’s just playing games with you.
She gave him an icy stare. What was he doing here? It didn’t make any sense. ‘I’m not certain I want to hear anything you have to say,’
He took her wrist firmly, his other hand pressuring her back, guiding her toward the exit door.
‘You damn well will listen.’
I can just scream, she thought. The security people will help me. All I have to do is yell. But she didn’t make a sound. She was angry at him, and decided to give him a piece of her mind. Outside would be better – the bookstore was too public, too crowded.
They reached the door and he opened it, keeping one hand on her arm. Ana wanted to pull her arm away, but she couldn’t help feeling something of the sensation she’d felt when he touched her before. He started to walked into the parking lot, but changed his mind. He considered taking her to his truck, more private than standing outside, but he didn’t want her to see the flowers and the other things. It just made him look more idiotic. He pulled her around the corner to the side and tried to maneuver between two of the many windows lining the store. He stood facing her, she with her back to the wall of the store.
‘I don’t know what your game is, Ms. Palmer,’ he started, ‘but….’
She interrupted. ‘Wait a minute. You, who have women falling at your feet, you’re accusing me of playing some game? Where have you been? Why are you here now?’
‘What do you mean where have I been? I’ve been on my way to your place for the past hour. And, I know for a fact that Jimmy called to tell you I was late.’
Ana flushed. The phone call. It was an excuse, not a cancellation. She could see that Miles was getting angrier and she didn’t know what to say to him. Try the truth. ‘He might have called, but he didn’t speak to me. I didn’t answer the phone. I thought it was you, calling me hours late to say you weren’t coming. And, I didn’t want you to think I was waiting for you. So, I left.’
He was breathing slowly now, the anger fading. Miles started to feel uncomfortable. ‘Look, Ana, I’m sorry. The truth is, I didn’t see your card until tonight – it got lost in a pile of mail somehow. And, to make matter worse, I had a poker party last night and really tied one on. I’ve been in bed all day. Jimmy dragged me out when he found the card, and insisted that I come late. I wanted to call and make an excuse, but he insisted that I go. And then, when you weren’t there, I thought you were playing me for a fool, trying to get even for last Saturday, or something. I remembered that you mentioned a bookstore near your home. So, I came here, thinking I might find you and tell you I was onto you. ‘ He looked at her. She could see that he was both tired and upset. Her own anger was replaced by a feeling of relief. He did want to see her, after all.
Miles was suddenly weary, drained after the confrontation. So, she was interested. But, what now? He looked at her, standing there, and he knew what he had to do. Forget common sense, he said to himself and leaned forward to kiss
her.
Ana was longing to be kissed, but the quickness of Miles’ move startled her. He pulled on her lips with his, then started to probe with his tongue. He kissed with an aggression she wasn’t used to – and it made her feel powerless. Then, the kiss turned gentle and seductive, his tongue moving slowly and deliberately through her mouth. He ended the kiss by pressing again on her lips, then he took her hand and kissed the back of it as he had the other night. She could feel her heart racing, she was breathing hard, almost panting. He gently lowered her hand.
‘I hope I’m not coming on too strong,’ he said, his voice softer. Ana shook her head. ‘No,’ was all she said.
‘Look, Ana. I’m not in great shape tonight. I don’t think I would be very good company.’ I am tired, he told himself. But he was afraid of what would happen if he didn’t go. Kissing her didn’t make him want her any less, it magnified his desire. ‘Maybe we can make it some other time. I should go home now.’ And clear my head, he thought.
She put her hand on his arm as he turned. ‘Wait!’ She tried to think fast. ‘I still have this wine at home. You could at least try some before you go back.’
Miles shook his head. ‘I don’t know. I have a way to go. And it’s getting late.’
‘All the more reason you should relax before you make that long drive back.’ Ana the salesperson was taking over. ‘Besides, I really want your opinion on this wine. I went to great lengths to get it ready for tonight. And, I don’t want to drink it all by myself.’
Miles thought for a minute. She was right, taking the drive back right now would be a mistake. He raised an eyebrow. ‘OK, you’ve twisted my arm. I’ll follow you there.’
She smiled back and walked to her car. Miles watched her get in and drive down the road. He unlocked the truck and started it. Now he was getting in over his head. What had he been thinking all along? If he hadn’t been hung over, if Jimmy hadn’t been there, he would have just called her and begged off until he could spend some time thinking about things in a logical way. Well, one quick glass and he’d leave.
Ana drove slowly, trying to see if Miles was following. After two traffic lights, she gave up and just headed for home. Either he’d come or he wouldn’t. And, what would she do where he was there? She kept getting mixed signals – after all, he’d driven all the way here to see her, and even went looking for her. And, found her. That in itself was some luck. She liked that he appeared interested and was pursuing her, but couldn’t see why he was so quick to give up. Maybe he felt sorry for her, was just being nice to her. She couldn’t stand thinking that, so she decided that she would pour him one glass of wine, after that say that she was tired and he should go. She didn’t need to be someone’s charity case! Besides, she was afraid of being alone with him for too long. Afraid of what she wanted to happen.
Ana pulled up and unlocked the door. No sign of a truck following her. She went inside and turned the lights on. Maybe he just went back, after all. The phone rang. Miles, calling to tell her he was going home, she thought. She’d better answer.
‘Hello.’
‘Ana, this is Miles.’
‘I expected that. Look, thank you for calling. If you’ve changed your mind..’
Miles interrupted. ‘I had to stop for gas, I thought I’d better do it now and not later. I turned off the parkway to the Super Oil station. Can I get to your place from this road?’
Ana felt herself start to smile. ‘Yes, just keep going south, and you make a left, not a right, and come up from the bottom of the complex.’
‘I thought so, but I didn’t want to get lost. I’ll be there in a minute.’
Ana took the wine out of the refrigerator. She was suddenly very nervous. She checked herself in the mirror – hair a little less smooth, but it was ok. She placed a CD in the player and turned it on softly. She reapplied lipstick, then heard a vehicle pull up. She looked out the window. Miles was sitting in the truck, and she could see that he was looking at the mirror on the visor. So, she thought, he’s nervous, too. Or, at least concerned about how he looks. She saw him open the truck door and she moved away from the window so he wouldn’t see her watching. She heard the knock and went to the door. She opened it and there he stood, leaning lightly against the frame, holding a large beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers. A paper grocery bag with handles sat on the ground beside him. She noticed for the first time tonight how handsome he looked, and how impeccably neat his clothes were. He smiled at her and handed her the flowers. As she thanked him and took them, he touched her arm. Again, that electricity. She was slightly red where he had grabbed her in the bookstore. He looked at her, concerned.
‘Ana, I’m really sorry. I guess I’m a jerk sometimes. I have a temper, but I usually keep it under control.’
‘Its nothing, really. No pain.’ She paused, uncertain whether to continue. She decided to go for it. ‘I’m glad that you knew where to find me and the evening wasn’t a total loss.’ She turned with the flowers. She had placed a small arrangement of dried flowers in the new blue glass vase. She moved those to a ceramic pitcher on the kitchen counter and placed the fresh flowers in the vase, running water into the bottom. Miles picked up the grocery sack and came inside, closing the door behind him. He clicked the lock. She looked back, a little alarmed.
‘Sorry, its habit. When you live at a place that’s open to the public, you know….do you want me to unlock it?’ He looked at her to see her response.
Ana forced herself to feel natural.’No, of course not. I always look the door.’
Miles looked relieved. He sat the sack on her kitchen counter. He started to pull the items out one by one. Ana came over and started picking up the jars.
‘Dried tomatoes in oil. Roasted peppers! Mmmn. Oh, and this bread looks fresh!’
‘You can thank Jimmy for this, he didn’t want me to show up empty handed. In fact, you can thank him for me being here at all.’ Miles grinned at her. ‘For what that’s worth,’ he said, with a little humor.
‘Its very nice anyway. I had some cheese and crackers, we can put together a nice snack with this.’
She looked up to see Miles staring at her. My god, he was thinking, she’s so beautiful. With her hair around her shoulders and full, her face slightly flush, the batik dress draped to outline parts of her body – he could imagine the curves under the dress. Miles felt himself begin to feel warm and looked away. It had been so long since he’d wanted to make love to someone. There had been a little casual sex, years ago, but he found that to be more bother than it was worth. He was essentially celibate for as long as he could remember. But Ana brought his desire to the surface, he couldn’t think of anything better right now than being able to see and touch Ana. He realized that he was staring at her again. He cleared his throat and looked away again. She was watching him. I hope she can’t see what I’m imagining, he thought.
‘Here is this bottle of wine.’ She carried it toward him and all thoughts of sex melted. He picked up the bottle. He had not seen anything like it. It was carved green glass, with a grape leaf design he could make out, and some scrolled letters around the bottom. There was no back label, or if there was, it was gone, and the front label was so obscured that he couldn’t make out anything other than a letter in a fancy script here and there. He stared, but he was too tired to try to work out the missing letters.
‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ he said.
‘Nor had I. I thought you might know, though.’
‘How old is it? Where did you find it?
‘I know its quite old. It was the oddest place. I’ll have to take you there and you can speak with the owner. Maybe he’ll give you more information than he gave me. But, I want you to taste it. He insisted that I taste
before I bought it. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Here, you do the honors.’ She handed him an upright corkscrew.
‘Thanks, he said. I carry my own.’ He extracted a very fancy waiter’s corkscrew from the inside pocket of his sport coat. He carefully ran it down the aged cork, and twisted it off very slowly. It came off without a sound. Ana handed him one of the crystal glasses. Miles took it and poured the wine. Ana knew that he was no longer aware of her, Miles was alone with the wine. She was witnessing that intensity that had initially attracted her.
Miles, as if in another world, was swirling the wine. He’d occasionally stop to sniff, the continue to swirl. Finally, he took a drink. And sat the glass down with a start.
‘My god,’ he exclaimed. ‘What is this?’ He finally woke from the trance of sorts and looked to Ana. ‘What is this?’ he said, softly. And, ‘where are my manners?’ He poured her a glass. ‘I’m sorry. I get carried away sometimes.’
Ana enjoyed the golden flavor – it was slightly different than yesterday, fresher, if that was possible.
‘This is incredible,’ Miles continued to look amazed. ‘I know I said that I wanted to leave, but I’m going to stay at least long enough to enjoy this. ‘ He looked at her. ‘If you don’t mind.’
Ana was starting the feel the glow again, as she had yesterday. She felt herself becoming giddy. ‘Miles. We’re both adults. You don’t have to go home tonight.’ After the words came out, she wanted to take them back. On the other hand, looking at him, tall and handsome, with those intense blue eyes, she wanted to see what it was like waking up next to him.
Miles was a little taken aback by her forwardness. ‘Ana, let’s drink some of this fine wine. Then have something to eat. Then…’ Miles himself began feeling the glow from the wine. He suddenly heard the music. ‘What’s that?’ he asked.
‘Oh, its Miles Davis.’
‘I thought so. Any reason?’
‘No, its just that I listened to John Coltraine yesterday, and Miles Davis is next over in my rack.’ She looked up. ‘I keep my CDs in alphabetical order. Are you a jazz fan?’
‘My dad was.’
‘I find this really comfortable to listen to, don’t you?’ The work was an earlier recording, complex arrangements of standard tunes. It was intricate and relaxing at the same time.
‘Ana,’ he looked straight at her. ‘I believe in fate, signs, karma, whatever. Lets just say that this music is a sort of sign. I haven’t thought for a long time that I’d have a chance with someone like you. And, for the last I don’t know how many years, I never wanted to be seriously involved with anyone. So, here’s my proposition, and excuse me for being too tired to make it sound better. Let’s drink this wine and eat some food and I will tell you a story. And, if after that, you want me to stay, I will. Or, I will go away, out of your life, forever. ‘
‘Miles. I can’t think of anything that awful, to make me tell you to go away forever….but, I’ll listen to whatever you want to tell me,’ she said.
‘OK, lets get some of this stuff opened. ‘ He pulled on the lid of the roasted peppers. Then, he stopped and turned to her. ‘But first, Ana, just in case…’ He moved close to her. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t let this chance be lost…’ He was right in front of her, she could feel his breath.
Miles lowered his face and placed his lips against hers. He put his arms around her back. She pulled close to him and put her arms around his shoulders. His mouth started to probe and reached for her tongue. She felt her pulse quicken, the rest of her body got excited. He was going deeper and deeper, she started to move her hands, feeling inside his shirt. He wasn’t wearing an undershirt, she was feeling his chest, his flesh. Miles’ hands started to wander as well, grasping her breasts through her dress. His touch was like lightning, and she was ready to yield everything to him.
Miles suddenly pulled away. ‘I’m sorry, ‘ he said, out of breath.
Jane
- 14.02.2022
- 8
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