CHAPTER 32 FIVE SENSES AND MORE

Chapter 32 – FIVE SENSES AND MORE

In Kurt’s mind, the evening could not have gone better so far. He was discovering that a taxi was the easiest way to get around San Diego, unless you had long commutes to work or school. It depended on the area of the city you lived in, but for now neither he nor Adam had to bother with a car. Javi owned one, but rarely drove it.

When the taxi arrived, Kurt stepped out of the foyer of the building and Javi got out to open the car door for him. Had anyone ever done that for him?, he wondered. Kurt didn’t notice but Javi was stunned into silence by Kurt as he walked from the building. My God! He looked like he was getting ready for a photo shoot. And watching him walk toward him was like standing at the end of the runway. He actually had to try not to stare. What had he done to deserve this Adonis of a man? Whatever it was he hoped he’d never have to do it again. Kurt was far more than he had ever bargained for and having more than one of him in a lifetime….he wasn’t sure all of him could handle it.

Once they arrived at the restaurant, Full Moon, were seated and had ordered, Javi leaned over the table and said, “Kurt! You look fabulous! Have you ever considered working as a model?” Kurt could tell that the question was not rhetorical, he looked down at his lap, blushing, and then turned his attention back to Javi, “Well, I did some modeling in New York, but nothing serious. It helped pay the bills.” He shrugged as if this were something that anybody could do for a living. Javi smiled and said, “You could easily do that here. You might have to travel to LA once in a while, but if you’re interested I can look into it. Seriously, you have everything it takes.”

They spent the next two hours talking about how things had gone in LA, enjoying one of the most delicious meals Kurt could ever remember having. They had decided beforehand to forego wine. Javi had simply said, “I don’t want alcohol to interfere with our senses, unless we want something later,” he looked up at Kurt as he took a drink from his sparkling water with a mischievous grin. Kurt felt that stab of electricity hit his body so quickly he almost gasped. This man was going to drive him crazy! And then he thought, “Oh, please, let’s hope so….”

When they’d run out of conversation and food, Javi called a cab again. Something Javi hadn’t thought of was what he’d asked Kurt to bring with him, that he’d need to bring it with him beforehand, so they stopped by Kurt’s and then went back to Javi’s house. Kurt had brought extra clothes and the necessary toiletries, which in Kurt’s case could be quite extensive, if he wanted to spend the night. Javi told him he was totally free to stay or go. He didn’t want to put any pressure on Kurt and he told him so. Kurt said he was quite comfortable with that, and he really was.

When they arrived at Javi’s home, as Javi was taking care of the cab fare, he noticed that the windows revealed a soft glow, maybe candles? No, he couldn’t see Javi leaving a houseful of burning candles for any length of time, but whatever he’d done it was very inviting. They walked to the door and Javi took Kurt’s fingers into his. They hadn’t touched all night, apparently by design he realized, because just like the first time Javi had held his fingers like this, the spark that had become Javi travelled up each arm. He wanted to draw him close, so close….but he knew this was one time he really did need to follow the lead of this captivating man who held him spellbound. He was heading into uncharted territory and it was always best to follow the one who knew the lay of the land.

Javi unlocked the door and without saying a word led Kurt into the living room, where Kurt literally dropped his overnight bag and satchel, along with his jaw. Every window had a flameless candle on the sill. He could smell the faint scent of roses. On the dining room table there was a cut crystal vase with at least a dozen of the palest yellow roses he’d ever seen, his favorite. The light from the candles was just bright enough to create a calming atmosphere. He could hear the soft sound of rain….or a waterfall? He wasn’t sure it had rained since they’d arrived in San Diego, and it was something he suddenly realized he’d missed. Sight, smell, sound – three of the five senses. That left two – taste and touch.

Kurt turned to Javi and just stared….”How could you know about the rain? I…..I didn’t even realize I missed it until just now!” Javi looked back at him with a crooked smile and shrugged his shoulders. Without saying a word he led Kurt further into the living room. On each arm of the couch was a new, oversized, cushy pillow – one was covered in red velvet, the other in blue silk, big enough to rest your head on or sit on the floor with. He looked over at Javi as if asking what he should do next. Javi said, “The couch, the floor, one of the chairs….wherever you feel most comfortable. Kurt was still in a daze…so he sat on the couch, just to sit down somewhere. On the round coffee table, that could actually serve as a dining table if you sat on the floor, were three bowls; one held fresh grapes, tangelo slices, as well as slices of apricot. Again, Kurt looked up at Javi, questioning, “How did you know…about the grapes and…” Javi gave him that mysterious smile…and didn’t say a word.

Before he sat down, Javi removed his coat and hat, took Kurt’s and set them on a chair in the dining room. Finally, Javi took a seat next to Kurt, quietly took his hand again, not his fingertips, his hand, and sighed. “I am so glad to be home again. Discovering you has given me a sense of peace I have not felt for a very, very long time, mi querido (my dear) Kurtito.” Kurt laid his head on Javi’s shoulder, he closed his eyes and spoke in a low voice saying, “Y eres todo lo que he estado esperando y asustado, pero ya no tengo miedo, mi corazón.” It had taken him almost a week of practice to learn how to say what was deep inside him, “And you are everything I’ve been waiting for and afraid of, but I’m not afraid anymore, my heart.” He had hoped he’d get an opportunity to say it tonight. “Kurtito, you’ve been practicing Spanish?” Kurt smiled and said, “Well, it started out with how to say friend, boyfriend, sweetheart, darling….but it sounds so much lovelier in Spanish.” Javi turned his head and kissed Kurt’s hair. It smelled of sandalwood and vanilla. After they’d rested peacefully on the couch for a time, Javi turned to Kurt and asked a bit tentatively, “So, mi amor, are you ready to start our adventure?” Kurt smiled, knowing he was as ready as he ever would be, and simply nodded.

Javi said, “Did you bring extra clothes? Would you like to get more comfortable?” Fortunately, Kurt had brought along a couple of outfits, some jeans, some T-shirts, so they both decided to change, but Javi told him to use one of the bathrooms, not any of the bedrooms. When they’d both changed into jeans and T-shirts, Javi patted the couch and kissed Kurt ever so lightly on the nose and both cheeks, then held his eyes for a long moment, “And so we begin…”

When Javi had gotten up to change, he’d brought a pitcher of water with lemon and some ice with him, along with two goblets….now this was different, goblets to drink just water? He saw Kurt’s look and knew what he was thinking. “Water is what keeps us physically alive above all else. It should be celebrated!” He poured water into each goblet, set them on stone coasters, and reached for a grape, just a single grape. He turned to Kurt so they were facing each other. As he picked up the grape he said, “I want you to notice the feel, the sight, the smell…” He handed the grape to Kurt and Kurt did as he was asked. When he was done he handed the grape back to Javi and he did the same thing, closing his eyes. When he opened them, he drew Kurt towards him just touching his shoulders, and whispered, “Besame (kiss me)….Kurt,” not quite staccato but very deliberate. Javi placed the grape between his teeth. Kurt took the other half of the grape into his mouth as his lips lightly touched Javi’s. At that very moment, Javi bit down on the grape, placed each of his hands on each side of Kurt’s face, and as the grape separated into their mouths, he moved the tip of his tongue to the roof of Kurt’s mouth, sending yet another electric jolt through Kurt’s body, both of them moving the grape halves, back and forth between each other’s mouths, the taste made sweeter by the joining of this part of their body, Kurt reaching for Javi’s cheeks and drawing Javi to him to deepen the kiss. Finally, Javi slowly withdrew his lips, raising steady brown eyes to Kurt’s, and saying, “Now, finish the grape, Kurt.”

Kurt wasn’t sure he could breathe, much less finish eating the grape, but somehow he did. Javi handed him the water goblet and asked if he knew what it meant to “cleanse his palate.” He nodded, as they both used the water to remove the taste of the grape.

Then, Javi turned to Kurt and softly smiled, “A slice of the apricot, please, mi amor.” Kurt picked up the slice of apricot and Javi said, “Now, it is your turn.” As Javi quietly waited, Kurt handed the sliver of apricot to Javi, and they each repeated using their senses to explore the apricot. After they were done, Kurt took half of the piece of fruit between his teeth, raised his own crystalline eyes to Javi’s, looked deeply into Javi’s eyes, moved next to Javi so that their bodies were touching each other somewhere, except for their lips. He placed his forehead against Javi’s, whispered “Besame con pasion (kiss me with passion)….Javier. Ramos. Ruiz.” But instead of putting the bit of apricot between his teeth, he kissed the sensitive skin beneath Javi’s chin and face, moving down the slope of his neck as Javi leaned his head back and sighed. When Kurt had reached the hollow at the base of his neck, he stopped and placed half of the bit of apricot into his mouth, draped his arms around Javi’s neck, moved his lips to Javi’s and with eyes closed, Javi took his half of the apricot, as Kurt bit down on it and held their lips closed for just a moment, long enough to taste the juice on their lips, then nudged Javi’s lips apart, grasping his tongue with his lips and slowly drawing Javi’s tongue between his lips and into his mouth, moving the bits of apricot. When he was sure Javi couldn’t stand another minute, he slowly released his tongue, returned his forehead to lean against Javi’s and smiled….”Now, Javi, finish the apricot.” Javi could barely think, what had just happened????? He always expected a bit of challenge from Kurt…but that had been more than a simple challenge. Kurt may not have ever experienced what they were attempting tonight, but his approach had felt almost like an act of defiance….and he liked it! No! He loved it!

Javi fell back on the couch and with a ragged breath said, “Dios mi (my God), Kurt! Not only are you, like you said, a fast learner, but a good teacher! I don’t know where that came from, but I’ll take more anytime…except tonight…well, we’ll see…” He took a breath and tried to compose himself. Kurt sat quietly watching him, but Javi could tell he was pleased with himself; his eyes were laughing.

“Mi amor, please go pick out two roses from the vase,” Kurt did as Javi had asked and returned to the living room. Javi was glad he’d remember to get roses without thorns. Sometimes, the thorns could be fun, too, but not tonight. Then he asked Kurt to take the blue silk pillow and he reached for the red velvet one. He instructed Kurt to lay on his stomach and place the pillow under his chest so he was leaning against it with both arms. He asked Kurt if he was comfortable taking off his T-shirt. Kurt reached to take his off as Javi did the same. This was the first time either had seen the other without a shirt, except in photos, and that in itself was a turn-on. Javi planned on going no further that night as far as removing clothing was concerned, but he wanted to engage the sense of touch again, using the roses and the pillows. Kurt laid on the pillow in the same position he’d been in. He instructed Kurt to lay his head on the pillow lying on his side so he could feel the silk against his face and upper body. Javi sat down on the floor with Kurt’s back towards him. He handed the rose to Kurt and asked him to smell it as deeply or as lightly as he liked and then to close his eyes. Kurt did as Javi had asked again and slowly Javi began to run the rosebud across his back, his arms, and his neck, then asked Kurt to roll over onto his back and hold the silk of the pillow against his chest. He asked him to explore the pillow with his fingers, to rub his hands across the fabric until he could picture how the silk felt in his mind. Kurt wasn’t sure what he meant, but as he moved his fingers and hands over the pillow, he could actually see in his mind what Javi had intended. The blue was so bright and the fabric so soft….he couldn’t have described the image if he tried, but it was there and he “felt” it. Javi asked him to open his eyes again and to duplicate the exercise with Javi as the recipient.

As he lightly slid the rose over Javi’s back, part of him was mesmerized by the musculature, his cafe au lait skin, his breathing and the scent of the rose, all coming together into a collision of visual and aromatic and he closed his own eyes to savor it.

Finally, Javi took both pillows, laid them on the floor between them, and sitting yoga style, they both moved their hands and fingers over the pillows until an image was again “fixed” in their minds. Javi slowly removed the pillows from between them, rose to his knees and raised Kurt up until he was in the same position.

He instructed Kurt to open his eyes, and told Kurt he was going to tell him what he saw. “I see a man with the face of an angel. I see what I call kaleidoscope eyes, your eyes change color with each flicker of light. I see the most beautiful dark ginger hair that I could run my fingers through every minute of every day and never get tired of doing it. That is what I see. This is who I see. I see someone with a mind that can take flight and move beyond the earthly realms into worlds that no one has imagined. I see a heart begging to be healed and loved and wanting to give back so much more than he wants to take. That is the Kurt I see. Now, mi Kurtito, tell me what you see.”

Kurt looked back at Javi and with the most earnest expression Javi believed he had ever seen, Kurt said, “I see a man with skin the color and taste of caramel and eyes to match. I see and feel hair so dark and soft and touchable, I can hardly stop myself from reaching for it most of the time I am with him. I see a smile as wide as the sky and just as beautiful. Kissable lips that can be as soft or as demanding as anyone could wish for, that drive me crazy. That is what I see, Javi. This is who I see. A man as much in need of healing and love as me. A man who would go to the ends of the earth to give someone what they wanted or needed. I see a man of endless creativity that permeates not just his mind, but every corner of his being. That is the man I see.”

As they went quiet for a while, the sound of rain surrounded them, the scent of roses arose from where they lay on the pillows beside them.

Javi again drew Kurt towards him, as he grabbed both pillows, placed the silk by Kurt, the velvet by him and said, “Put your head on the pillow.” As they lay down face to face, heads resting on the pillows, they didn’t have to say anything. They reached for each other and with lips and mouths once again tasting each other, they explored each others’ chest and back, almost lazily, knowing that at least for now time was on their side and the evening had just begun.