Sex, Love, and Food

"So, that was... I mean... I have no words", he said in a coarse voice, gasping for air.

"No words necessary...", she said softly and came in for an even softer kiss.

They were sitting at a kitchen table in her small apartment, across from each other, with a window overlooking the park. It was an unusually warm night for early fall. But they were warm from having have made love just moments before.

"Was I worth the wait?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Oh, most definitely you were. It felt, well, magical...".

"But you don't believe in magic! Are you just saying it to get under my skin?"

"Oh no, no. I do now. Truly. Honestly. Look me in the eyes and see if you believe me or not."

He leaned across the table to get his face as close to hers as possible.

Oh, how I have missed those eyes, she thought to herself. They were blue like hers, but slightly darker, with a hint of sadness. When her gaze first fell onto his eyes all those years back, she knew this was it, and that falling in love was going to be inevitable. That fateful night, neither of them could even imagine that their encounter was the beginning of something much more than a regular love story.

There was a moment of silence.

He also missed her eyes. They were blue, with hints of purple and green. These were the eyes that seduced his soul and made him fall madly in love with a woman he had just met, a decade ago now. He knew right then that she would either be his biggest happiness, or his biggest misery, nothing in between. Well, it turned out she was both. Tonight, it was pure happiness.

"So?" She asked, inquisitively.

"Oh... yes. Yes, I do. "

"You do what?" She said in a teasing voice.

"Oh... I love you! "

"Yes, I know silly. But do you believe in magic? "

"Oh, that... right. Sorry. I got mesmerized again. Your eyes, they are so magical, you know that? "

" Oh yeah, I've heard that one. Nothing new. They are cool, aren't they?"

"I thought you were a witch the first time I met you. The way you stared into my eyes was so... powerful. I thought I was being cursed. Which I was, wasn't I?"

" Hmm, I probably am a witch. But I'm a good witch. At least I like to think that I am".

"Well you're a bad witch in bed, that's for sure!" he said in a seductive voice.

"Oh, I'm so bad, so bad. You should do something about that, Sir!" she nearly whispered, with a wink at the end.

He was starting to get up, and she followed lead. He grabbed her by her waist and picked her up onto the table. He pulled down her satin black robe from her shoulders as he kissed her neck while she pulled back her head in pleasure, allowing him to caress her.

"I'm all yours", she whispered into his ear.

This phrase lit up his whole body on fire and -

Yes, this would have been a tremendous sex scene, but it was cut short by the sudden whistle of the kettle (they had forgotten all about the tea, these love-birds). The suddenness of the whistle startled them both. Especially her, who had a habit of becoming completely side-tracked by out-of-no-where sounds after being so focused. Indeed, she really was focused - on the chemistry between them, and this moment; it was too late, and her brain was now taking her in the direction of being a good host.

"Let me make the tea", she said pulling away.

"How about we finish this first", he said in a very deep, masculine voice, and he pulled her in closer to his body

"I want you on this table!"

"I do too, but I told you, once something distracts me, I can't refocus so fast. ADHD."

"But..." he said slowly, grabbing her waist a little harder and pulling her in with a bit more force than the first time.

"No buts!" she said firmly, putting her hand on his mouth and pushing him away just as he went in to kiss her, "Be patient".

"Damn patience. Fine. I waited for you for ten years, I can wait a bit more", he said in a bit of a sulky voice.

"You haven't changed in that regard. Impatient and wild as before…" she said as she was now out of his arms and already opening her tea cabinet.

" That's right. Same old. An impatient, crazy, borderline psychotic man- that's me -oh my you have quite the selection!"

"I do!" she exclaimed in a happy tone, "by the way, which do you want?" she asked while turning her head back to glance at him.

"Oh, I even get to choose! Hmm, let me see…”

He came up close behind her, gently hugged her, and kissed the back of her neck. She let her head down onto his shoulder. From the first time he ever touched her body, she felt his power over her, and it drove her mad that it did.

"Not right now. Please pick something", she said rather firmly, having have learned to fight his magnetizing energy, and lightly pushed him aside. "I need a bit of a break. Let's just have a bit of tea."

There was a sudden note of sadness in her voice.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly as he took a seat, "Is it because of the sex? I am not upset by that. It can wait. Let's drink some tea to cool off just a bit from all the bedroom steam. You're right. The hottest tea in the world will not even come close to what transpired between us in there... But I digress, I... darling- " he finally noticed the tears.

"No, it's not that... I'm just... happy-sad, you know. Sad that we lost all this time, but happy right now. It's like bitter-sweet.... and... I'm just so overwhelmed by everything, this night..."

She sat down rather quickly, tears filling her eyes even more. He hated those tears. They burned like acid right through his heart. He kneeled by her.

"Look at me. Please. My love, just look at me."

"I am looking", she said through the sobs and lifted her beautiful tearful eyes to meet his.

He hugged her as tight as he could, more so because he couldn't bear looking at her crying. She felt a little calmer in his arms, and he felt like a true protector of her peace at last. He almost cried himself thinking about the many times she had cried about their impossible love over the years, and how he wasn't there to protect her like this. He had way too much power over this woman, he thought to himself, ironic, isn't it, that the witch who cursed him also cursed herself?

Their embrace was exactly what she needed to come to her senses. There were in fact other times, such as these, when the way he held her had a relaxing effect on her body. How can a person’s touch be such a dichotomy of seducing and calming? she wondered to herself.

He decided to change things up a bit and let go of her first.

"Let me make us the tea. Go on, do your own thing. Don't worry about being a host."

"I'm going to go out unto the balcony then. I need fresh air".

"Sure. Do what makes you happy. I'll do this".

He heard the balcony door click, then a soft tune. She must be listening to some French love songs; she always does in these moments, he thought. And the truth was that she was doing just that.

He allowed himself into the fridge and took out milk, butter, and eggs. Next mission: find flour, salt, and sugar. He was going to make one of her favourite dishes: crepes. He took out the raspberries next. She joked once that she would marry the guy who gives her a bucket of them. That's how much she loved these soft little berries. He never was that guy, but he knew he was coming over tonight and made sure to bring them for her. Not quite a bucket, but enough to fill one, and although there was going to be no engagement, she did jump with joy like a child on Christmas day and her smile filled his soul with so much light. When they first met, it was this very smile that radiated and warmed the darkest corners of his soul. It was his second favourite feature about her. After her eyes.

The kitchen was booming. A night-time feast was being prepared.

She walked in a little dreamily and saw the scene. He was so focused on flipping pancakes that he didn't realize she had come inside. Her jaw dropped. A very good-looking man in only his underwear, making a late-night meal in her own kitchen, and on top of that, someone she was crazily in love with after all this time- this is perfection, she thought. Just when she was about to go back out to let him finish, he noticed her and their eyes suddenly met. He glanced at the watermelon on the table he had just taken out and smiled at her. She smiled back because she understood. There was no time to waste, that they also knew, so he continued on with being a chef and she went back out onto the balcony. He heard happier tunes and knew that she must be feeling much better.

She thought about that watermelon. She had bought it at the farmer's market earlier that day. He loved watermelons, but unfortunately, he was not very good at picking them. She, on the other hand, wasn’t such a huge fan of the fruit, but she was an expert at choosing the best one; she had a trick! She was remembering one of their first dates. They went to a local market together and that's when she taught him her ways. It was quite an experience for him then. She had learned this skill from her grandfather but didn't think of it as a skill at all until that day. She was remembering now his eyes that were glistening for joy like a small child who had just seen a cool magic trick. He was really impressed with something that was so trivial to her and that made her feel very important. That afternoon, she truly felt like a knowledge imparter, like a wise woman, like someone very, very talented. No one before him, nor after, has ever been so awestruck by this skill as he was. This is one of many other reasons she knew that they would eventually be together…

The tea party prep was over. On the table where they nearly made love earlier that night, there was now an assortment of a different kind of love: warm tea and soft pancakes, sliced watermelon, fresh raspberries in little tea- cups with polka dots, and Nutella in little flowery pails. When she came in to sit down, he poured them both some tea: ginger lemon and mint for her, and a peppermint for himself. The tea party was officially about to begin!

"Thank you. This is nice. I appreciate this”, she said as she was taking a piece out of her thickly layered pancake with Nutella and raspberries.

"This is so... good", she said, licking her lips.

"Oh, it's basic. This is the least I can do after-"

"Shh, don't talk about that! Just eat with me. Enjoy the food and enjoy this moment".

He took a bite.

"Oh wow! I really am not that bad at this. Maybe you should keep me as your personal chef." He said, with a wink.

"I just might."

"Seriously?"

"Well... we will see about that."

"Ugh, you're such a tease!"

They continued talking as best friends and lovers all through the night. The food was good, but each other's company was all the sweetness they needed and craved for, a craving which lasted a whole decade. Have you ever been this hungry for someone for that long?