***Warning: Sexual content/scene below.***
For what it was worth, Veronica and Courtland tried their best to remain as positive as they could regarding the magazine publication. Thus far, it meant nothing but good things for Courtland’s art work. There were a few critics that just liked to see their name in print but Courtland paid no never mind to them. They were undecided on if the story would prove to be a fatal or strengthening test for their relationship. If asked they both would have said that they were ready for anything, they would not hide their relationship or lie about it to people. There was absolutely no reason to. Veronica was just a woman and Courtland was just a man as Arturo Kosinsky pointed out, flesh and blood. They would face whatever was coming, even if they were both afraid.
As she had told her sister, Veronica, went about informing her family that she was indeed dating Courtland and that he would be her date to her sister’s wedding as well as the soon approaching Family Fiesta. But first she wanted to at least give Courtland the chance to win over her parents on a triple date dinner. It would be she and Courtland, her mother and father as well as Claudia and Norm. She made reservations at a restaurant her family frequented often and was elated that they had a handicap ramp for Courtland to enter. It was strange to her that as of recent she had begun paying much more attention to the accessibility of places for persons with a handicap, making mental notes to herself just in case Courtland and she decided to dine there.
The night of the family dinner, Courtland and Veronica were the first ones there at the restaurant. Veronica liked to think that it was because she was practical but Courtland thought it was the best way to introduce him to Veronica’s parents, sort of like tempering. He understood that for some being around anyone with a disability was disconcerting, or just down right uncomfortable. He got that while some people had been exposed to different things in their lives being around a person with disability was like adding a new factor to an already stable element. The best way to ensure that no one would walk into a situation blind was to slowly bring in the new factor so that nothing went awry and he was happy that that was the way Veronica was handling it. Not only for the sake of keeping the peace within the family but also for Courtland’s sake also.
Veronica and Claudia’s parents both tried their best to remain a close family even though each of them did have their own lives to live. They scheduled dinners just to catch up with each other. Mr. Cipriano Varges, Veronica’s father, was a banker and Mrs. Paloma Varges, her mother, was a full time housewife and a part time nurse’s aid at a Senior Citizen’s Facility. Both mother and father had held those same positions for over two and a half decades with a steady dedication that they passed down to their girls.
For as much as the she and Courtland fretted over the evening, it was all for naught. Courtland was just as dazzling, regaling them with tales of his family life. For instance, the time boy twins got into trouble at daycare was he found amusing to himself even still. Then there was the Halloween both sets of twins dressed alike as the twin girls from Stephen King’s inspired ‘The Shinning’ film. Living with five other siblings and having the parents that were as eccentric as Courtland’s was a lifetime of experience that he wouldn’t trade for the world. He liked to talk about his family because they were so interesting to other people and because it answered a lot of questions that some people may not have wanted to ask. Often times, people wanted to know when he took his first step or how his family dealt with his cerebral palsy. On some occasions, it was as if he could read their minds. It was sense that he got from people that they had a question that was on the tip of their tongue that they dare not ask for fear of over stepping some line or offending him. But, like that evening with Veronica’s parents, he enjoyed sharing those small bits and pieces of his life with them. It seemed to him that it was his way of trying to make them believe that he came from a regular family just as they had.
And it seemed to work. Knowing her father was not known to mince words, a quality he surely inherited from his mother, Abuela Sonja, he spoke up at the table making eye contact with Courtland throughout the evening. When the young man met his gaze, steadily, he neither averted his eyes nor did he back down from Mr. Varges’s stare, which made him take a liking to Courtland immediately. He admired that the young man was intent on being with his daughter. He liked even more that Courtland was a man with a plan and did the right thing by his daughter. In his opinion Courtland was a much better man than the other men he had heard about Veronica dating. And was glad to have met him he said before dinner was done, even going so far as to invite Courtland over to their home to watch a soccer match. At that last statement all three Varges women turned to Cipriano, shocked. He had never invited anyone of his daughters’ male friends to his home, especially upon first meeting them. Cipriano even caught Norm by surprise with the invitation. He had to wait months before Mr. Varges could even set foot in the man’s house on invitation and that still didn’t happened until he had bought the man enough scotch to fill a liquor cabinet.
When the night was over Courtland and Veronica parted ways with a not so sweet and innocent kiss, promising to call each other once they were settled into their homes well enough. It seemed as if the night had gone off better than expected. She hadn’t expected her father to be so warm and welcoming with Courtland. She smiled to herself thinking about how hard Norm had had to impress her father to get into his good graces. And all it took was one single dinner for Courtland. Veronica thought that Courtland could even call her father Papito and Cipriano wouldn’t bat an eyelash. It gave her a little bit of an ego boost to know that she had one-upped Claudia that time.
The fact that Courtland had charmed her parents and for her father to actually like Courtland seemed to have lifted a heavy weight from her shoulders. Though she tried to tell herself that she didn’t need the approval of anyone the fact that she had wanted it so badly made it feel like she needed that validation, especially for Courtland because she felt like he could be the one for her. Though the beginning of Summer Fiesta was soon approaching, her stress level had gone down markedly. At that point in time in her life things couldn’t have been better, yet there was still one thing she wanted.
The next evening, Veronica set out of her house with a plan. She had called ahead and made sure that the club she made reservations at had a ramp for Courtland and even making sure that they would have a secluded corner from the rest of the club goers. She was going to seduce Courtland in sweetest way she knew how; sabotage. She purposely set things up so that she would end up over his house the next evening. Dressed comfortably in a cocktail dress Veronica and Courtland arrived at the club before the musicians just enjoyed being with eachother. The beautiful night with the moon so full and aglow, lighting the streets was nothing compared to the sight Courtland had his eyes set on for the entire night.
They had gone out to listen to jazz music from some varying artists that Courtland wouldn’t have been able to name if someone had paid him. During a brief intermission, when the band left the stage and the crowd mingled with each other Courtland attracted the attention of the club owner and was treated to a complimentary bottle of sweet tasting wine. He also got more than his fare share of looks from a few of the single ladies in the crowd. When Veronica spotted them she made sure to lean in closer to him. It was a warm night but she still found reason to snuggle up closer to him and just inhale his scent and calmed by his demeanor. Through the middle of the set, she lovingly fed him fruits and cheeses as she sipped at the intoxicating mix of berries from the wine. And he bought her a single white rose to place in her hair, and he fell a little more in love with her.
By the time the club was set to close Veronica feigned a slight buzz. She contemplated slurring her words even, to make it believable but she didn’t want to make it seem as if she were a complete drunkard. In the off chance that he sent her home with a solitary goodnight kiss she still wanted to be able to retain the ability to call for her own cab. She exclaimed that she didn’t want the night to end so he let her into his apartment where Veronica slipped her heels off and he got a glass of water for her. They sat and talked for a while and they kissed for a while longer until Veronica slid into his lap as he carried her to his bedroom, flipping the lights on as they entered.
For whatever reason she became nervous, butterflies fluttering in her belly, fit to lift her off her feet. The way Courtland affected her both scared and surprised her all at the same time. But when she stared deep into his eyes, her nerves melted all the way down to her core. Veronica slowly undressed before Courtland and he let his eyes take a tour of her softly curved body. When she thought he had had his fill, she climbed into bed as he did the same.
They sat and held each other, getting use to the feel of each other’s nakedness before they returned to kissing. Their mouths imitated a sweet sensual act as their hands traveled each other’s bodies slowly gliding over the very plains of their smooth skin. He nibbled at her lips, then her chin and ear lobe, while his hand settled atop the curls at the apex of her thighs.
She grew brave and pushed him down unto the mattress and straddled his waist, then placed his hands on her body. She leaned down and kissed his lips and then his neck. Using her tongue, she trailed her way down the rest of his torso and stopped, turning her heated gaze to him as if seeking permission. She took for consent him licking his lips and grasped the length of him, molding her hand to him. He groaned once and then she placed him inside her mouth. She coaxed him to his full girth and then raised herself up. She wanted to be with Courtland the only other way that they could be and Courtland wanted only to please her.
She mounted him slowly and eased him inside her damp, snug heat. They came together then, gliding into the warm welcome of each other, groaning in unison, as they became one. They wrapped each other in the embrace of passion and lost time. Where she ebbed, he flowed and they gave themselves over to the rhythmic flow of their bodies meeting each others. The steady, constant onslaught of heat between the two of them, made their bodies slick with the sweet tension of their ministrations. Try as she might she wanted to make it all last longer than her body was willing to but she couldn’t. Sooner than she thought she felt herself rising up, higher, passed the peaks of conscious thought and she let go screaming her release just as she felt Courtland unleash his bellow of satiation. Together they descended their rapturous heights and lay snuggling each other.
When she awakened she did so alone. She padded around the apartment barefoot until she found him in his front room naked save a pair of shorts, painting. She leaned down and kissed his neck before she finally noticed that the picture coming forth from Courtland’s hands was of her. It was merely a silhouette of her body, entangled in the bed sheets that now adorned his bed, but it was clearly her, entirely with her mass of stubborn curls.
“Courtland, it’s beautiful,” she commented in awe.
“Not really. Not compared to the real thing,” he said turning to her then. He reached for her and pulled her unto his lap. “Let’s go shower together.”
“Okay.”
“And Veronica.”
“Yes?”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“How so?”
“I knew you weren’t drunk.”
Veronica laughed. Some how she knew that he knew it was all a ruse but that still didn’t stop her, “For you sweetie, I will be anything.”
***Aren't they a cute couple?***