11. We Were All Alone

"Good night Ms. Henry and thanks for everything."

They both said, waving as they hurried back to the cabin. The snow outside was falling heavier. But once inside, they were now alone under the same roof. Even though Taesha felt exhausted, her nerves wouldn't let her relax. The uneasiness of being alone with a man; on top of that, he was a stranger kept going through her mind. "Is this counted as a one-night stand?' Taesha begins to reflect on her many conversations with her best friend, Cameron. Taesha remembers telling her how she could never have a one-night stand. Well, this is the closes she'll ever come to having one.

She watched Dexter remove his long black coat from his slender frame, hanging it on the coat rack. Taesha asks herself, 'what are you doing?' It wasn't the first time she's had to check herself when it came to him tonight. Taesha feels the need to fill the awkward silence. Taesha walked around the cabin, exploring and talking out loud. "It feels so good in here," she said, taking off her white jacket and dropping it on the chair.

"Now let me see what our $250.00 was spent on." She opens the first door she sees in the cabin and switches on the light.

"Not bad. Here is the bathroom. It has a nice large shower and soaker tub. I can use that. Now, what does the bedroom look like?' She says, making her way to the other side of the living room where it's located.

"Oh boy! The sight of a bed never looked so good!"

Dexter shakes his head at her, listening to Taesha ramble as he plops down on the couch, letting out a sigh of relief. All he could think about now was how busy his night had been. He's done more standing and lifting than in his gym workout. Even swooping a girl into his arms, carrying her through calf-high snow, pounded in the face by icy flakes. Dexter exhales. Despite it all, he felt good because he has his sight. "What a long night." He uttered, letting his head relax back against the sofa. 

"Since you are going to be bunking out here on the couch. I would share a sheet, pillow, and quilt with you. There you go. Oh, and don't forget to lock the door when you use the bathroom, and if it's not locked, always knock before entering. Well, that's everything. So, good night."

"Good night Taesha, and thank you."

Dexter let out a huge exhale when she left the living room. It was getting harder to fight his desire to tell her what she had done for him.

But he knew this wasn't the time to declare his feelings of joy and appreciation. It wasn't the time to bombard her with many questions either.

Someone had done something so wonderful for him, and to be truthful, he even ached to hug her. Yet he knew that impossible. So when he felt the unexplainable shiver when their hands grazed one another, he didn't want further to ignite a cascade of physical and emotional sensations.

He knew she had no idea what he was going through and what had happened to him. So he had to settle for tomorrow. He removed his coat, suit jacket, shirt, skirt, leather boots, and socks and then stretched back on the sofa.

His fantasies immediately take over when his head lies against the pillow. When his eyes closed, he could feel his hands exploring every inch of her body. With her lying naked beneath him, eyes closed, lips parted. The sound of pleasure she'd make as he thrust himself inside her. He is satisfying her and himself, over and over. The situation he's in right now, having to keep his distance, makes him feel like that giddy teenager.

Dexter settled with their chaste parting as she left him all alone. Her in bed sleeping alone but not for long.

~~~~~

After the door to her bedroom clicked shut. Taesha stood in the middle of the room and took a moment to calm her frazzled nerves. She wanted to pinch herself because this night didn't feel real. Why was she thinking about the overwhelming, erotic feelings when they were together? How could someone who is not her type make her have these feelings in his presence?

Now that they are apart, she's still thinking about him, which perplexes her. "I must be exhausted."

Taesha looks at her hands. Her palms were sweaty, and her heart was beating fast. The thought of him being right on the other side of that door was almost unbearable.

"Ugh," she said as she changed. Why had she found Dexter frightening and downright irresistible from the very beginning? Of course, he wasn't her type. But that voice was deep, sultry when Dexter spoke—making her legs tingle. I could never tell Cameron how he made my heart and body feel.

"Oh my! Cameron! I know she must be worried sick about me. I have so much to share with her.:

"I wonder if what's his face is asleep already? What a face. It was almost too pretty to be handsome." The awareness of her attraction to this guy surprises her. 'That's it. I'm traumatized by it all today.

Taesha let out a deep breath trying to get her emotions under control. Reasoning with herself. "Since no one knows my attraction, 'I will pretend this isn't happening and chuck it up to my tiredness.' Since her breakup, she's only dated. Here and there and only first dates. It kept her from dealing with things she didn't want to handle.

Like dithering about what to freaking wear to bed. she was trying to make sense of tonight. How could this be a significant problem? She shakes her head, picks up her flannel pajamas, and puts them on.

"I'm putting on my flannel pajama set, which I always wear when it's cold outside."

A pile of pillows is what Dexter rested his head on as he watched her bedroom light finally go out. Everything about her was tentative, cautious, and hesitant around him. Taesha's reaction around him was disappointing. Dexter couldn't understand. He knew other girls would invite him to the bedroom for a one-night stand. But tonight, he had been the perfect gentleman and had gone out of his way to be helpful, yet she was different. 

Women are so confusing, especially this one. He let his eyes look around the cabin for a while. She had brought him something so precious, his sight. Yet he couldn't thank her or even explore how or why. He held out hopes for tomorrow. Then, finally, they can talk and get to know one another. He will be able to do that much with the lady who opened his eyes in this new way.

He could feel his lids getting heavier, but for some reason, fear crept in, making him not want to close his eyes. "What if I wake up and Taesha's gift given to me is gone?"