Amala had never been on a date, never been kissed, never
been intimately held, and she certainly never had never been sexually involved
with another person. Etienne was a very
loving, romantic, and sexual man and although he had held her heart for years now
she did not know how to respond to the date.
She was nauseous from the nerves and the Arizona heat, even in the early
morning, was a terrible combination.
By the time Amala was done with the run and back home she
was all too happy to dive into the pool with her clothing on to escape the
world for a little while. The water had
soothed her for the most part and she spent an hour just swimming laps across
the Olympic sized pool.
She quickly ate her breakfast, bathed, meditated, and headed
out to handle her usual work day and tried with much difficulty not to think
about the date later that evening. It
was so bad that even in all her divine dexterousness Amala still managed to be
a bit clumsy. She felt like she was
knocking over everything but luckily she was able to catch the majority of it
and she was pretty sure she did not catch the pen cup because she really did
not care about the metal container.
Getting home and into the hot shower was a relief. All the talking and requests for her
assistance had not helped her develop any sense of calm and the brief period of
time to herself in the water was a great way to connect to her parents, whom
both had to do with the primordial waters.
Amala desperately attempted to remember the things Etienne
had mentioned he liked about other women’s appearances and about her own while
she looked in the mirror at her nude body and applied oils to her already very
soft and smooth skin, she felt she was oddly flawless and wondered if Etienne
would like that about her or think it was creepy.
She was in a panic, unable to keep herself calm enough to
finish getting ready. Amala could not remember if he liked her hair
up or her hair down or even if he had ever said. She was unsure if she should dress in comfort
for herself or dress a little less modestly to appeal more to his eyes. Her mind buzzed with questions and her eyes
watered with tears from the frustration of having no answers for herself.
With no other choice Amala wrapped herself in a towel and
sat down in front of her parent’s shrines.
There were several statues of the band’s parents around the house and a
couple shrines to them on the first basement level but this was the private
ones she kept in her room for when she really wanted to just be alone with them
and not have the risk of Chloe or Marcus walking in on her while she was
praying to them.
She knew they would rarely have the time to answer her but
she knew they would always hear her and so Amala prayed to them at least twice
a day. Every morning and every
night. They were her first and her last
priority. They were her parents and she
loved them more than she could ever explain.
Amala would be devastated if she disappointed them and one
of her big hopes was to join the Deva and be able to be part of her parent’s
lives on a daily basis… but it was something she had to earn through building
her legend. It was not a desire she
would easily satisfy and not one her parents could assist her with. In this task, Amala was mostly on her own,
independent of her parent’s care.
Even though they were busy, Amala cooked them dinner every
night. She knew most nights they would
never show up but on the rare occasion that they might she made it for them
anyways. To honor them, Amala would take
the food they did not eat and bring it to a shelter before work the next
day.
Tonight, Amala did not cook for them and while she sat there
at the shrines in tears over her quickly approaching date she apologized to
them for her failure to have prepared something for them. About ten minutes into her prayer she felt
the warmth surround her and calm her.
She had always wondered if it was in her head or if it was her parents
way of soothing her when she was upset but Amala had always been grateful for
what she assumed was the equivalent of a soothing hug from them.
Tonight she thought it might have come from her mother because
she stood up and went to her closet and looked through her dozens of sarees and
pulled from it a red and brown saree that was very modest but hugged her body
in an appealing way. She slid herself
into it and with the warmth still about her, Amala began to carefully braid her
hair into a very long braid and securing it with her Jadangam.
It left her neck exposed, showing some skin which she felt should
so that she was not entirely attempting to be reserved on their date… well that
and how well the saree fit to her body.
It kept her covered and put a bit of mystery into what was beneath the
clothing but it did not flaunt her skin and show off her body the way she saw
most American women doing.
Finally, Amala was dressed and waiting nervously for Etienne
to show up. She paced back and forth
near the door, biting at her lower lip and twirling the straps of her hand bag,
until he finally showed up in his silver Mercedes.
She waited for him to ring the doorbell and then opened the
door a bit quickly, it was the first tell of just how nervous the woman
was. “Et-tienne.” She bowed to him, placing her palms together in
a show of respect. “Namaste.” She rose to see that he was returning the bow
and her cheeks blushed in response to the respect she was being shown.
But it stunner her further when he lifted her hand to his
lips and placed a kiss on her knuckles.
The touch of his lips on her skin, mixed with the spicy smell of tobacco,
rum, and the mystery of a forbidden man caused her breathing to quicken in an
attempt to keep up with her now racing heart.
The drive to the Kai felt like an eternity. He looked and smelled wonderful and Amala had
to will herself to keep her eyes out the window and on the passing city. Getting to the restaurant and not being stuck
in the car with the man was liberating, her heart finally started to slow and
her breathing became even as they sat down in a public place.
It was not that she did not trust him, she trusted him just
fine, she was even alone with him for private dance lessons regularly… it was
just that the date implied romantic interest in him that she had never
verbalized to anyone and she was so worried about if she could please a man
like him if it did end up passing into a more complex relationship.
Several minutes had passed before Amala realized that she
was just staring at the sky and had said nothing to him. Had the waitress not approached them to ask
for their orders she may never have snapped out of her silence.
After dinner is ordered Amala forced herself not to look
into his eyes, although she really wanted to do so, it was just so much more
difficult than usual to keep her eyes averted.
She chewed on the inside of her cheek and after a few seconds of
debating with herself she finally spoke, lifting her gaze to his face.
“I am sorry if I am not very conversational tonight… I am
more than a bit nervous.” She could feel
that her cheeks were red from admitting it out loud but they only stayed that
way when she thought of exactly how nervous she had been and for how long today
she had been nervous.
He smiled at her though, Etienne’s response was a
relief. He was okay with her being
nervous and that was a bit soothing.
At some point he spoke words at her and those words caused
her to blush so fiercely that she was pretty certain she was on fire. "The
pleasure of this evening is all mine. There is no need to be nervous, I don't
bite, unless you ask nicely." He had said.
The thought of his mouth anywhere near her again was enough to make her
heart race once again.
She was unsure
why anyone would ask to be bitten by another but she could imagine why they
would want his mouth near them and those thoughts of warm kisses caused her an
almost painful urge to find out if his lips were as warm as she was imagining…
as warm as she had remembered them being on her knuckles not too long ago.
Dinner went by quickly and
had been charming. Amala greatly enjoyed
the fish and wines especially since it was so rare that she would partake in
either. It was however after dinner that
she was most surprised and floored.
Etienne took Amala up to
Canyon Lake after she expressed an interest in water. When she got out of the car and down to the
water Amala wrapped her arms around Etienne, surprising herself.
Hugging was intimate for her in a very
non-sexual way but she was always reserved with them. She gave hugs to children often and to female
friends but she could not recall giving a man other than her father a hug. She might hug Marcus more but for the fact
that she knew he was attracted to her… she did not want to encourage her cousin’s
attraction and so she did not hug him often.
She released the hug after what felt like an eternity and
took a step back from him. “Thank you.” Amala quickly moved to sit on a large rock
that was partially in the water. She
removed her shoes and let her small feet slide into the water, her red nails
disappearing into cold water.
A moment or two later, Etienne joined her there, rolling up
his pant legs and letting his feet join hers in the water. He told her that she looked beautiful bathed in
the light of the moon which caused Amala to smile in appreciation of his
words.
As the night cooled and the word around them
started to descend
Into the dark of night, Etienne placed his own jacket over Amala’s
shoulders. “You look good too Etienne.” The small woman was once again
blushing. “I am so used to seeing you wearing a lot less
in the way of clothing.”
A second after speaking that she looks a big worried…
panicked. “You look good that way
too. I just
mean that you look good tonight and that I think you look good other nights
too..." She took a deep breath and let her nerves calm, placing her
slightly shaking hands beneath her legs and letting her head slowly fall to
rest on one of her knees.
Etienne placed a gentle hand
on her arm to get her attention and was pleased to watch her eyes drift back to
him. “I knew what you meant.” She watches his hand fall away in a longing
way, Amala liked it when he touched her.
His hands were warm against her skin and she enjoyed the sensation.
To distract her, Etienne
engaged conversation about the future.
He explained to her his desire for another wife and children in a very
respectful and romantic way, careful to mind the woman’s boundaries and not
make her uncomfortable. Amala imagined
he was trying to get her to relax and if that was his goal, it was
working.
When he asked her about what
her hopes and dreams for the future was Amala paused to consider the question
and then answered. “I have always seen
myself being a mom someday. I very much
want to marry someone I love and have children with them. In the way of my divine journey I hope to
become a Goddess so that I can help as many people as possible. Whatever I end up doing… whatever kind of
Goddess I might become… that is all I want.
I want to serve the people and see them to their enlightenment.”
After a long conversation,
Etienne looked at his watch and rose from the rock. It was getting late and the date sadly needed
to end. He offered her a hand up and
walked her back to the car, opening her door as he had sweetly opened all doors
for her that evening.
When they got back to her
estate in Chandler, Etienne was very polite and Amala is smiling, her nerves
long since gone. She looked far more
comfortable at that moment than she had before they started talking on the
rock.
When they reached the door
there was a bit of a pause and they began saying goodnight.
She did not know why for a moment but
suddenly her nerves returned. The space
between the two of them had suddenly lessened and he was once again within
range to hug. Amala was okay with this
but it still made her quite nervous. She
wrapped her arms around him once again and smiled up at him. “Thank you, I had a lovely evening with you.”
Etienne smiled and brushed
the braid over her shoulder, letting it fall back behind her. When she did not flinch away from the light
touch of his hand on her shoulder as he moved the hair, he decided to let his
hand moved to gently cradle the back of her head as he slowly leaned down and
in to kiss her.
Amala knew what was coming
and was suddenly keenly aware of nothing but him. She was unsure if she should stop him or let
the kiss happen. In the end, she did not
stop the kiss from happening, she had been in love with Etienne for years and
it was longer than she knew most women would have likely lasted.
She gasped a bit as his
other arm moved to sit on her mid back, gently resting there. She stood there unmoving for a second unsure
how she should move to return the affection.
Her hands came up and rested over his chest before she let instinct take
over and let her lips mimic the motions he was already making.
The kiss was a bit awkward
for her, very obviously her first, but she let it happen and was very happy
with the contact. Amala was a bit
disappointed when he pulled away.
Ultimately, the kiss had only lasted a few seconds. It was brief but sweet and affectionate,
showing her that he cared enough about her not to try and force his way into
her bed or otherwise make her uncomfortable.
She respected and appreciated that more than she thought he could
know.
With a smile she pulled out
her keys and opened the front door, saying good night to him and watching out the
window to make sure he safely got back into his car and drove away from the
window. It was a good end to an evening
that had started off so shaky for her.
The moment she walked into
the kitchen Chloe smiled at Amala. “So…
how did it go?” It was in that moment
Amala knew she was in for a long night… the woman would want all the
details. …well, the one’s she had not
seen through the security cameras anyways.
No comments:
Post a Comment