First Taste of Longtime Desire

This is only my second erotic work, so any constructive feedback will be greatly appreciated!

***

"My first impression?" Juliet smiled to herself as she thought about the first time she had laid eyes on Matthew. Her smile grew a little wider, and she hoped her mischievous thoughts weren't visible from her face alone. She remembered seeing him looking at her from across the room the first time they met, he was wearing a suit with a blue tie that matched his eyes. And her first thought after that was an inappropriate one. "I remember thinking that your tie matched your eyes. Then when you introduced yourself, I had this feeling that you were such a gentleman. I couldn't get over how nice you were." Matthew seemed taken aback by this, slightly surprised by her sincerity. Juliet laughed lightly at his reaction. "So what was yours?"

These types of questions were common during their almost daily after-work coffee 'dates.' It was the perfect time for the two co-workers turned friends to talk about any and everything.

Matthew thought back to when he first saw her, he was immediately captivated and it wasn't simply her beauty, it was her smile. The way she smiled made him immensely happy all day long. He knew her positivity wasn't forced, he could tell by looking at her eyes. And smiling was something that was natural to her, her preferred state in fact, which was definitely rare in this professional environment. From across the room, he decided he needed to get to know her. "I thought you had the most gorgeous and kind smile I had ever seen." He took a sip of his coffee and looked away nonchalantly.

She smiled as her heart pounded in her chest. She knew they were strictly friends, but often times Matt said or did things that made her wonder if he ever thought otherwise. More recently, she had been able to control her reactions to these statements, not showing him how much they had affected her.

But unbeknownst to her, Matthew thought about her more than he should have. From the beginning he knew they could only ever be friends and their relationship would need to remain professional if they were to avoid trouble from the higher ups. So while he secretly fawned over her positive personality, gorgeous face, and professional ambitiousness, he hoped they could both maintain this friendship without true feelings surfacing.

***

"Okay Matthew, of all people I thought you would be the happiest about this news." His supervisor shook her head in mock disappointment. "I mean look at Juliet, she is practically vibrating out of the chair. That is the type of excitement I am looking for!"

"Thank you for this opportunity, Mrs. Woods!" Juliet practically shouted. Matt looked over at her beaming smile. As if reading his thoughts, Juliet could sense that something was wrong with him. His jaw was set and in his eyes she caught a glimpse of conflict.

"You deserved it. You all have been working very diligently these last few months, and we are proud to have you representing our hospital." At that Juliet and Matthew left, with their co-workers Andrew and Caitlyn trailing behind. The four of them were those selected to attend the biannual conference in New York.

"Can you believe it?" Juliet looked over at Matt, who seemed upset. She grabbed his arm lightly and shook him, "10 days Matt, in New York! You're not excited?" He looked over at her and forced a smile, but over a year of friendship made it easy to recognize that something was wrong. "Are you okay?"

"Of course." He looked away. Matt could feel her staring at him, analyzing his face, observing his lie. Within the previous ten minutes he had just gone through a rollercoaster of realizations. First, the delight he felt when he found out that Juliet and him would be practically on a vacation for over a week was overwhelming. He thought about all the things they could do together, exploring New York mostly on the company's dime. He wanted to joke with her over dinner, then share a dessert. He wanted to see her in her pajamas just before she went to sleep, and then maybe again when she woke up.

Then it hit him. This could never happen, and he absolutely should not be thinking that way. Even though they disregarded the distinction unless absolutely necessary, technically Matt was a supervisory level above her. Relationships with subordinates, even the reported ones, were highly looked down upon and complicated their delicate workplace environment. Throughout his time with the company he had even seen people get unofficially blacklisted for the more public or raunchier relationships. Now instead of all of the wonderful things that they could do together, he began to wonder how he was going to keep her at an arm's length. He looked over at her again, her smile had faded and her brow was slightly furrowed. Unsurprisingly, he thought, he had already screwed things up. He hated knowing that he was the reason her smile had faded. Matt nudged her playfully, "Sorry, I was lost in thought." She looked over at him and searched his face, not yet believing that he was okay.

She could read him like a book. Where would he find the balance of remaining friendly and not falling for her even more? Matt smiled at her, "I was wondering how much fun we would be able to have, while still staying 'responsible.'" He leaned in closer to her, "How about you and me hit up a bar or two on one of our free nights?" She chuckled back at him, seemingly convinced that everything was okay. "Although I guess, we'd invite Andrew and Caitlyn."

"Sure we will, it'll be great!"

***

On the flight to New York, Juliet practically begged Matthew for the window seat, her excitement overflowing. They would arrive early Friday and have a quick check in session. The rest of the weekend free to do as they pleased, within the realm of remaining professional of course. And they wouldn't be leaving until Tuesday of the next week. At their large hospital, the opportunity to be an administrator or physician selected to attend this convention was the most sought after. Not only was it hosted in New York, but there were two free weekends during the conference and a majority of the networking was done informally at events that were more fun than work.

Matthew looked over at Juliet, she was wearing boots, yoga pants, and a slightly oversized knit sweater. When he teased her about her outfit, she had given him a small piece of hell. Repeating over and over how 'comfy' it was and how quickly it would get her through the checkpoints. In all actuality he loved those yoga pants. He could only imagine those long slim legs wrapped around his waist. If it wasn't for that adorable sweater, not much would have been left to the imagination.

Three hours into the flight, Juliet gently tapped him. "Sorry for waking you up."

"Don't worry, it was a light nap." Consistently throughout the flight, they had been encountering what they pilot called, 'slight weather disturbances' which gave the plane a few good bumps before settling again.

"I seriously need to use the bathroom." She glanced past him, the smaller plane they were on had two seats and then the aisle, meaning Juliet would only need to get past Matthew. "I can just climb over you, don't worry about getting up."

After a quick bathroom break, Juliet freshened up with face wipe and a small Wisk toothbrush. 3 hours down, 3 to go she thought to herself. Heading back to her seat she was still just as excited to land in New York as when they first started. Matthew saw her on her way back, and made a motion to unbuckle himself and get up. "No, no. I already climbed over you once, I can do it again." She laughed lightly. The first time she climbed over him she faced the front of the plane, meaning her yoga pants clad bottom was ridiculously close to his face. He looked away of course as she profusely apologized, but the problem was how much he liked it. This time maybe to try and make things better, she faced him as she climbed over. If anything it made things worse. She was practically straddling him, as her delicious floral scent wafted over him. Without warning the plane shook, and Juliet lurched towards him. Quickly, Matthew grabbed her hips, steadying her. Her hair draped forward, brushing across his face. It was as if a curtain has closed around them. Even in the crowded plane, they were alone, face-to-face.

Juliet broke the silence with a breathy whisper, "God, you are really hot."

Matthew's face expressed a mixture of confusion and appreciation and Juliet's eyes widened in surprise of what just came out of her mouth. Suddenly she righted herself, let Matthew's hands drop, and sat down into her seat. Her ears were on fire with embarrassment and she began to visibly blush. "I really did not mean to say that out loud. I was thinking more of temperature wise....Your hand was hot I mean." She looked over at him and made a hilarious cringe-y face.

Matthew chuckled, he could see through her lie like a window. "Well, you are utterly adorable....I mean temperature wise of course." Balance seemed to have been restored, and the tension was broken yet again. Still, his mind wandered to his hands on her body. He longed to run them up under her sweater, all the way up. He wanted to kiss her lips, her neck, along her collarbone. To remove her bra, while she moaned underneath him, begging him to touch her. And he would. Grab her perky small breast and wrap his warm mouth around her nipples. Maybe she would moan out his name sending shivers down his body. His tongue would roam over her and his fingers would find themselves in her lacey underwear, slowly rubbing her wet...

NO. This trip had not even started yet, and he already began failing at his goal. No more touching. Or looking. Or thinking. Shit, Matthew thought, this is going to be a long trip.

***

After a check in session that lasted until 5PM, Matt, Juliet, Andrew, and Caitlyn each went to their rooms. Thankfully, they were all adjacent to each other. Agreeing to meet for dinner in an hour they parted ways. The rest of the weekend was essentially free except for some materials to review and presentations to prep. At 6, Juliet stepped out into the hallway and waited

for the rest of the group to arrive. After a couple of minutes her impatient side took over and she knocked on Matt's door. After a few moments he opened the door, his face was fresh and his hair damp from a shower. Juliet smiled at him and reached out to tousle his hair. "You smell so fresh. Like a garden or maybe fresh laundry." As he stepped outside, he playfully leaned forward closing the gap between them. She stood on her tiptoes, her slender 5'4" frame just a small space away from him. She closed her eyes and breathed in, "Like a sexy spring meadow." She giggled and looked up at him. He looked down at her smiling face, so close to his. It would only take a moment, a quick lean forward and their lips would be touching.

Without warning, Caitlyn stepped out of her room, and Matt and Juliet jumped apart. Caitlyn looked over, "Why the heck do you two look so guilty?" Juliet looked like a deer caught in the headlights, "God damn, chill out." Caitlyn's relaxed and blunt attitude always so transparent.

Juliet's light olive skin was fiery red across her freckled cheeks and the tips of her ears. She wouldn't look up at Matt or Caitlyn. Her thoughts were flooded with how close she just came to kissing Matt. She thought the signs were there, and that maybe he was on the same page as her. She normally knew what he was thinking, which made them great coworkers, but lately it was all mixed signals. Moments of intense sexual tension mixed with times of odd coolness. Finally, she looked up at Matt who was talking with Caitlyn while she was lost in thought.

"Have fun." Matthew said as Caitlyn walked away.

"Sorry I was totally distracted what's happening?" Juliet's confusion was apparent.

"Andrew and Caitlyn are going to grab dinner and drinks with another rep team that they met earlier today. I figured we could just grab dinner, relax, and then do some New York sightseeing tomorrow?"

"Yea that sounds good." A whole night together. Juliet thought, I'm sure I can not jump his bones in that time frame.

***

After a drink and a half at the bar (Matt graciously offered to drink the other half for her if she was too 'tiny' to handle it), Juliet was definitely tipsy. Matt felt the familiar warmness of alcohol as well, "Let's go upstairs." Matt's hand found the small of Juliet's back and led her to the elevator.

"We are so lame. It's not even midnight yet and we are calling it a night. What the heck?" Juliet leaned on Matt slightly, glad for his support as the combination of being tipsy and her new heels was not going well. The mild drunken urge to dance was slowly making it's way through her body.

"I didn't say we had to go straight to bed. We can do something fun. I just want to change into a T-shirt and lounge for a little bit." After making it back upstairs, Juliet joined in Matt's comfort and went to her room to changed into an oversized T-shirt and short shorts that were almost invisible under her shirt. Letting her dark curly hair down she walked over to Matt's room.

"Is it alright if I sit on your bed?" Matt looked her up and down, in what he suspected was a very obvious manner. Her long legs were on display, and yet again her bulky top left him wanting so much more. One thing that was obvious was the lack of a bra, leaving her breast vibrantly free. Her long brown hair reached her lower back, it was refreshing to see it down instead of her usual bun. Taking her all, caused an unwanted warmth in his groin.

"Of course! Get comfortable." Matt adjusted himself in an attempt to hide the beginning signs of his arousal.

After watching an episode of a baking show, playing charades on their phone, the conversation turned to their goals. Juliet was laying on her stomach, kicking her feet around while Matthew sat up on a pillow and looked up at the ceiling. While talking he avoided looking at her. After a long explanation of why he thought taking risk at work made him successful, Juliet lightly poked him in the ribs asked, "Do you always think it's preferable to take risk than to play it safe?"

He finally looked over at her and smirked "It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission."

Juliet stood up. Slightly confused since it was so sudden, Matt leaned forward. "Where are you going?" Juliet walked away, "Just to the bathroom."

He got up and walked over the window. He realized the hypocrisy of using that quote and sighed. It was almost 1AM and he was starting to think it might be time to wind down, maybe it was the flight or maybe it was the alcohol but he was finally getting tired. As he turned around Juliet walked out of the bathroom and straight towards him. She didn't stop until she was a few inches from his face, "I think I am going to sleep now." She looked up at Matt, their positions mimicking their closeness this morning. "But can I tell you a secret first?"

"Of course." He replied quietly, taken aback by her sudden closeness and change of manner. His mind and body raced with the possibilities. This could be the moment all of their animalistic urges and tensions were released. His previously subsided erection, began to return at the thought of finally seeing her in the throes of pleasure. Snapping back to the moment he added, "Anything."

"It's not that I am scared. But there is something about this moment, where I feel that I can't leave." she paused and looked down slightly. "If it's alright with you..." The words caught in her throat as feelings of embarrassment returned.

He looked down at her lowered face and crouched down slightly to try and get her to meet his eyes again. Her face looked so concerned and innocent, Matt couldn't help but feel a surge of possessiveness, his hand fell onto her shoulder and squeezed slightly, "Jules what is it?" He smiled at her as she seemed to relax slightly.

"Can I sleep in here? With you?" She smiled back at him shyly, her body burning with the closeness of him, his gentle touch on her shoulder, and his warm but surprised smile.

10 minutes later, with the lights off a shirtless Matt lay in his bed next to the woman he could only describe as a piece of him. Everything he told himself he would need to avoid during this trip had started on the first day. Juliet's breathing evened out and in her oversized T-shirt she rolled on her side to face him. "I'm not drunk Matt."

He looked over at her and smiled in the dark, "I'm not either Jules."

"I wanted you to know that." She sighed, "It's just that I can't do another lonely and quiet night right now." This may have been first time Matt had heard her sound sad, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest. Without speaking he faced Juliet, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close to his chest. She sighed deeply breathing him in and wrapping herself around his torso, tangling her legs in his. In this moment everything felt so right, her body and his body pressed against each other as if they were meant to be, it made her want to cry. Instead she held tight, unsure if this would be a one time experience.

***

Waking up to Juliet was everything Matt imagined it would be. Laid out on his back he looked down to see her sprawled across his body. Her head tucked into the crook of his arm, her arm wrapped around his waist, and of her one legs buried under one of his. Her curly hair looked positively absurd, surrounding her in a wild untamed halo. Her dewy face remained neutral with each deep breath in and out. The urge to smother her with kisses was overwhelming, but one night of comfortable intimacy might have meant something different to her than it did to him, and so with his free arm Matt grabbed his phone and started checking his emails and the weather. Within a few minutes Juliet began to stir and he decided he would treat this morning like any other.

After extricating themselves from each other, the morning continued as if what had just occurred was an innocent sleepover between friends. They both mentioned how wonderful they slept, Juliet padded around the room and stretched, and Matt brought up the possibility of snow this afternoon. Collectively they decided to grab bagels and do some sightseeing on their comfortable Saturday.

"Dress warmly!" Matt shouted as Juliet snuck out of his room.

Weirdly, everything stayed the same, but at the same time everything had changed.

***

Juliet and Matt walked from Battery Park after returning from a trip to Ellis Island. Their day together was comfortable, talking about the weird physician that was too blunt to his patients and the new plans for a rooftop garden, conversation flowed easily. Juliet regularly bumped into Matt's shoulder playfully and he returned her cheerful demeanor with teasing and smiles. After a 30 minute cab ride to Central Park's Conservatory Garden they walked a comfortable pace around the dormant trees and beautiful pergolas. Suddenly, Juliet stopped and a small, "Oh" escaped her lips.

Matt turned around and looked back at her, "What is it?"

She beamed at him. "A snowflake just landed on my nose." She looked upwards where a dusting of snow began to fall. Without waiting for a reply she spread her arms and ran down the uncovered path laughing, "You don't get beauty like this in San Diego!" She shouted back to him while spinning with her head to the sky. Matt looked on a sprinkles of snow caught in her hair and landed on the path around them.

Breathless Juliet lowered her arms and turned to Matt who was approaching her with an unreadable expression. In one motion Matt's hands found her rosy and chilled cheeks and his lips met hers. Soft and sweet, just like the rest of her. Passionately he pressed his body into hers, taking her in his arms as he had imagined hundreds of times before. Her lips and body pressed into him as well, her hands landing on his chest. Her lips parting gently as they kissed deeper and more passionately. Pulling each other closer and closer she felt the beginning stages of his arousal, causing a jolt of pleasure throughout her body. Everything fell away for what felt like a century, leaving them only with the feel and taste of each other; satisfying a craving they had both had for too long. Eventually starved for breath, they pulled away, leaving wisp of vapor where there lips had just met. Matt didn't let her go, caressing her face in the falling snow where he couldn't deny his feelings anymore.