“Stop.Please stop.”I wriggle out of his hold, laughing, but the momentum causes me to stumble and fall with my back to the mountainside.
Jimmy lands on me, his hands on either side of my head.“Who is braying now?”He kisses me.
A thick drop of rain splatters on my specks, drawing me from this lust-filled haze.Shit, what were we about to do?This trail beyond my house is not well-travelled, but I have seen an occasional villager crossing this way.Jimmy lowers his face again, but I push him and stand.“Jimmy, we should be careful.What if someone sees us?”
He ignores my warning and traces his knuckle on my cheek.
“Don't worry.No one walks down this trail.”
The raindrops fall, saving me from my worries.“Well, the Gods are saying otherwise.We better hurry home.”
Jimmy extends his palm and gathers the falling raindrops.He turns to me.“Race you to your home.”He dashes off.
“Oh yeah!”I chase after him.The slight decline helps my momentum.We reach my house, soaked in the rain, and with mud splattered all over our clothes.“So, did the walk and run take care of your bloated stomach?”I ask Jimmy between our loud panting.He had overindulged in thealoo-matarcurry and parathas Kiron and I had made for our group lunch.
He pushes me to the door and smothers my face with kisses.His long, damp hair drips water from his forehead.Our faces are wet, making the kisses loud and sloppy.
“Inside.”I push him away and fumble to open the door.We stumble in and go for each other's clothes.They are wet and cling to our bodies, taking extra effort to pull them off, but the need for skin-on-skin contact keeps our hands moving.We help each other out till both of us are naked.Jimmy gathers me in his arms.The damp skin, acting as glue, seals our bodies together, setting off a fire of lust.
His kisses are like lighting a fuse.I can either kindle this growing heat and keep myself warm or let the flames turn into an inferno.My midlife crisis has the perfect combination of dry wood, sawdust, and leaves.One foot in the closet, a broken marriage, and loneliness are enough to light a raging forest fire.
Only one outcome is possible.A wasteland of dead, darkened stumps bereft of any green shade of companionship.Or any chance of the blooms of love.NoBuranshflowers to carry me through the rest of my life.I cannot control the situation, threatening to get out of my hands.The air is already blowing in the wrong direction with this entire fake author act.
“Your mind is busy.Should I go?”Jimmy whispers in my ear.
I squeeze him tighter.Let me live for a bit if the coming days, weeks, or months are all I have with him.
“Clean.Food and bed.”I list the order of our priorities.Jimmy chortles and picks me up, carrying me to the bathroom.
Chapter 16
The upright man andthe devil
JIMMY
“Umm, I find his lilt sexy.Jimmy's voice is his identity.Why change?”
