Free Unforgettable by P J Gilbers

toys. They get charged up and can’t stop. They
haven’t learned what us more mature men have mastered.”
    “ Which is…”
    “ Enjoying the moment.
Knowing that one hard-on that doesn’t end in an orgasm is not the
last hard-on you’ll ever have. Knowing that the richness of
intimacy is much more than slam/bam. It’s a touch, a word.” He
touched my face with such tenderness I thought I would
melt.
    Questions were darting through my mind.
I wanted to trust him. I wanted his help, but, the thought was so
scary.
    “ I had therapy for a long
time to deal with all of this and my therapist suggested a
surrogate lover. I’ve thought about asking Jack or Fritz but…it’s
so tangled up with everything else right now I just didn’t think it
would work.”
    “ So…” He moved
closer.
    “ This is very
difficult.”
    “ I know,” he rested his hand
on my inner thigh. It wasn’t too scary.
    “ But I do know a bit about
panic attacks. I lived with a woman who had them. Crowds were a
real problem. I took her to a Lakers’ game and we ended up calling
an ambulance for her. So we worked on smaller crowds, working our
way up to big, pushy crowds. Took a while, but she made
it.”
    I stared into his crystalline green
eyes for a long time, thinking, wondering.
    “ So, if you would be this
sort of ‘healing’ lover for me we would start…”
    “ Maybe just spending time
together, time in bed, time in various states of clothing. But
agreeing no sex until you feel you want to start some foreplay…See,
you and this unfortunate fellow were like throwing a kid in the
deep end who’s terrified of the water. You were breathing in water
and he simply pushed you further down. You and I, dear lady, will
start together with just a touch of the water while on the safety
of land.”
    “ No one could know. And, no
promises about any long term relationship. No promises.”
    “ You’re getting scared now.
No need to think that far ahead. But…no promises. Just our very
special secret.”
    “ Why would you do this for
me? We just met.”
    He laughed and lay on his back. “Oh, my
naive young woman…Number one, I can’t stop thinking of you. Number
two, I can’t stand the thought that you’ve been through hell and
you’re still going through hell. And number three, men are fixers.
I want to fix this. And, to be honest, once you make it through
this I’m going to enjoy the hell out of celebrating with
you.”
    He grinned.
    I kissed him and we kissed for a long
time.
    “ Trust you?”I
whispered.
    “ Trust me. Completely. I
would never hurt you. Tomorrow night. Seven. Dinner. The
beach.”
    He took my hand.
    “ Where are we
going?”
    “ To drive Jack
crazy.”
    He laughed.
     
    George approached Martha
McMorris with a smile.
    "Good evening, I'm working
with the Girls and Boys Club and we're asking for donations to put
in a new basketball court."
    He handed her an official
looking flyer.
    "Oh, that's
wonderful."
    He leaned heavily on the
cane he'd just purchased from the thrift store.
    "It's a great program. Ever
since I got back from Afghanistan it's been my focus. Really a life
saver for me..."
    "My son was there. He won't
talk about it... would you like to come in for some iced
tea?"
    George smiled.
    "Thank you. That's so kind.
My leg is hurting a bit..."
    He put the bug in their
phone while she was in the kitchen.
    Easy. So fucking
easy.
     
    Sunday
    I woke in Jack’s bedroom. And then I
remembered that “my” room had been occupied with partiers when I
went to bed. The room was huge, with deep brown carpeting, an old,
weathered wooden gate hanging over the bed.
    Above the fireplace was a drawing, a
striking woman with a beckoning face, full breasts and long
hair…and wings.
    I stared at the signature. It was J
Nolan.
    “ Jack’s an artist. ‘Didn’t
know that.”
    Jack was sleeping in the den. The red
head was gone.
    Silverman had just walked
in.
    “ Do you have good news for
me?”
    He hesitated and then