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Chocolate Kisses Ch. 01

By: calibeachgirl



copyright @ calibeachgirl

All rights reserved 2011



Venice, California

Tuesday, December 8th, 1931

James Ewart drove north along the coastline to Albert Kinney's vanishing dream. Venice, built with such fanfare twenty-five years ago had become nothing more than the backwash of an oil field. In 1930, amid much enthusiasm, the Ohio Oil Company struck oil. While it boosted the local economy with new wealth, the physical degradation caused by the drilling just changed the nature of the area's problems. 

The oil wells stretched along the seam from the duck-filled marshes of Ballona Creek north toward Santa Monica. As those monuments to gasoline neared Venice, though, the once sought-after beach houses became their companions and the oil-soaked neighborhood became known as the Negro District filled with dilapidated bungalows and abandoned buildings. While the number of colored people never numbered above a few hundred, they were all crowded into their own private slum.

Driving his gray '29 Chevrolet sedan down to the intersection, he couldn't help but notice the same woman standing there each morning. Ever since the October 'Crash' two years earlier, people were desperately looking for work and he knew it was almost impossible for even formerly middle-class colored women to find any work and they were reduced to working for whatever they could get.

In many cities and towns such as Venice, there were street corners known as 'slave markets.' The colored women would wait for wealthy white women to come by to choose from women desperately seeking domestic work.

The white women would get their domestic servants for the lowest amount they could get away with, knowing there would be always someone else willing to work for even less. 

Economic slavery had returned to the United States and the women were expected to be on-call at all hours of the day and night.



This woman was different. Unlike the others he had seen, she was neatly dressed for Sunday church in a dark blue skirt and sweater. He noticed that she had not gotten her hair straightened and wore it in a natural frizz. So many colored women had tried to emulate the expectations and styles of their new employers and had their hair chemically straightened or ironed out. 

Even through his momentary lust for the woman, he thought she was pretty. She was tall, slim but had wonderfully expressed curves, just like his wife. Her breasts beckoned to be touched and her waistline led his attention to her hips and, as he thought of it, an ass that so needed to be loved. 

She was a dark milk chocolate contrast to Catherine. His wife, a tall, blue-eyed blond from Germany... he met her at the end of the great war in Europe when she helped him escape from the Kaiser's men after he was finally shot down on November 1st, 1918. They married two months later in a small French village church and he brought his sixteen-year-old pregnant bride back to Los Angeles.

He felt himself harden with the thought of stretching out sandwiched between her thighs and resting his head on her hair.

He desperately tried to put those thoughts out of his head and fought himself as he kept driving north. 

Mixing of the races was not only frowned upon in small town America, it was downright illegal and even in California, far removed from the Civil War battlefields, the possibility of a white man romantically involved with a colored woman...

He didn't know exactly why, but he turned the car around, pulled over to the curb and got out. Walking up to her, almost timidly, he politely asked, "Excuse me, ma'am, are you looking for housework?" Was je doing the right thing for all the wrong reasons? This was probably a big mistake... but he had been obsessed his with her for the last week.

She was shocked a white man would even bother to talk to her, let alone speak in such a kind manner. 'What does he want?' she thought, 'it's usually miserable women that come here.' 

She wasn'tt a cheap whore... but, they did need the money. She decided to listen to what he was selling, there was nothing better to do, after all.

"Yes, sir, I am. I can keep house, cook quite well and sew what you need repaired. I can read and write and know my mathematics." She saw no need to hide her skills nor act like an ill-educated, near illiterate girl from the South.

"My name is James Ewart. I live in El Segundo with a house... in a house, I mean. I could use a.... a housekeeper, that is, if you're, perhaps, interested?"

"Yes, sir, I truly am. When would you like me to start?"

"Right now, if that's all right with you..." He opened the passenger door to the car and wondered if she would actually come with him. He waited until she was comfortably seated before closing it, surprised that she actually accepted his spur of the moment offer, his heart suddenly pounding in his chest.

Somehow it never occurred to her he might be a rapist or murderer. Some white men did seem to think colored women were for their own personal use, illegally or otherwise. He didn't look the type to her but then, what did the type look like?

Standing there all that time, she saw him drive by each morning for the past week, watching her. He didn't seem dangerous but sometimes there were chances that had to be taken. She said a prayer to her Southern Baptist God.

He started the car and they headed back through the oil-soaked streets and then the coast road toward his home in the countryside farther south. She hadn't asked how much it paid and he didn't even ask her name. It was about as impersonal as it could get, almost like it would be to really whore herself out.

"I'm sorry; I didn't even ask your name. Please forgive me."

She was uncomfortable with how he was treating her. The expected social expectations weren't here. This white man was politely treating her as an equal, something she never expected in her life. But, then, she never had much to do with white men, anyway. All she ever heard is that they were the devil's own and just wanted colored women as servants and whores.

"My name is Bethany Rose... Bethany Rose Carrolton, sir."

"That is such a beautiful name, Bethany Rose." His thoughts seemed to scatter around her name, her figure and her seemingly educated manner. The young colored girl was starting to cloud his mind, obscuring thoughts of anything else.

He was confusing, so different from the few white men she'd talked to and he seemed much kinder than colored boys were. They seemed to take their frustrations out on whoever they were with.

'What is it he really wants?' The thought entered her head, again. 'Does he think that I would be... no, that couldn't be it?' 

She was dressed nicely, not like some more desperate woman or one of what people said was of 'easy virtue. She glanced left to watch him as he drove the car. Whatever was going on in his mind, he was smiling.

'

She began to wonder if this had been a terrible mistake all along and began to pray to her Christian God who had forgotten her people for so many years.

Even so, she made no move to leave the car and sat quietly during the ride to his house, determined to see it through. Times were too hard to turn down any opportunity to put food on the table.



El Segundo, California

James Ewart's house

The large two-story house was magnificent, with a covered porch that ran three sides around and surrounded by a large well-kept lawn with flower gardens and fruit trees on the each side. The deep windbreak rows of eucalyptus trees acted as a barrier to the rest of the world and she felt there was no 'rest of the world' for anyone living here.

Even two years into what they were now calling the 'depression,' she could see that the house was well maintained with the smell of fresh paint even now filling the air.

Before she could open the door, he had quickly come around the car and did it for her, extending his hand as if in welcome. What white man would ever do that for a colored girl?

Bethany Rose was sure this was one of the strangest days in her life.

"Welcome to my home... please, please come in." He gently took her hand and for a moment she pretended she was a real lady, as good as any white woman. They went into the front room as she was still trying to take in the sight of the wide porch stretching in each direction around the house.

Instead of the expected dark, stuffy parlor with well-worn furniture, the room was bright and cheery and the furniture, if not new, was cared for, polished, and looked so comfortable she thought she had died and gone to heaven. Even so, she knew she would never get to sit there unless it was while he was gone.

"This is the front room... well, I guess you figured that out and through here is the dining room and there's the kitchen and the pantry and over there are my office and that's my library through there. If you ever want to read anything, just write down what you've taken so that I don't go crazy wondering where it went."

Once again, he took her hand and led her upstairs; she wondered if that was how a bride going to love her husband for the very first time would have felt. 

"There are four bedrooms up here, each has its own bathroom and this one is mine and that one... oh, my God, I didn't even ask you if you were able to be a live-in... are you married? Will that be a problem?"

She looked at the bedroom he was showing her. It was almost as big as the small, rundown old house she had been living in with her sister and her three children and each day it was smaller and smaller and smaller. 

Eliza's husband, that damn Henry... took off without even a goodbye, god damn shiftless fool, he was.

"No... not married... no boyfriend, either." Why did she ever say that? What had ever brought that on?

"That's great! Oh, I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry. Will there be a problem staying here, then?" 

The look on his face told the whole story to her. He wanted her, if not like that, at least in the house with him. This was an awfully large house for just a single man. From the look of it, though, someone had been living with him.

Another maid? Some female relative? This house has the look of a feminine touch but sometime in the past. The furniture looked untouched to her.

Bethany Rose looked at the room again. "No, Mr. Ewart, I can do that." There was no way, she decided, that she was going to lose this chance. Besides, the bedroom door probably had a lock on it, wouldn't it?

"Let's get something straight, right now, all right? I know that outside in public you may have to call me Mr. Ewart, but this is my house and inside you will call me James, Bethany Rose. Is that clear? James."

The conviction in his voice almost scared her until she realized what he was saying to her. Inside the house, he wanted her to be, if not his complete equal, at least some personal level above that of a servant. He seemed to be searching for something that might or might not be there.

She wasn't sure if she was at ease with that but refused to let this chance vanish like all her other dreams since that miserable October day when the country collapsed. There might never be another chance, she worried.

"Yes, sir... I mean, James. I can stay here but I have to let my sister know that I won't be coming home."

"Well, there's no sense in going all the way back into Venice for that. I'll just call... what's her nummmm... OK, that was stupid; she doesn't have a phone, does she?"

Bethany Rose could only shake her head. How simple it was for him to think that everyone had a phone to use. To her, that was a fundamental difference between the rich white folk and the poor colored folk... simple expectations.

What does he do for a living, anyway? she wondered. What am she getting herself into, this strange man with an odd manner about him, talking in such a way to her

She wondered if he was a gangster... a bootlegger. For some reason, that possibility uneasily excited her... the attraction of good girls for bad boys.

"What's her address?" 

That's was a good question; it wasn't like there were any real house numbers down there. 

"She lives out on Bagler Street, just past the Pacific Electric tracks."

"Good, just give me a second." He rang up the operator. "Hello, Jenny, it's James Ewart. Please get me the store, will you?"

He put his hand over the receiver and whispered, "I'm going to... Hello, Bill, it's Jim Ewart... fine, how about you? Look, I would like ten dollars worth of soup, flour and tinned meat sent over to Mrs. Henry Washington, at..." He looked at her again.

"Bagler Street..."

"Bagler Street, yes, that's right, in Venice, down by the tracks... yes, I know where it is... tell the boy to ask; give the boy a two dollar tip and I want a message put with it. Throw some soaps and stuff in there. You ready? All right... Bethany Rose is now working for me and won't be home. Expect groceries every Saturday from me. Yes, yes... yes, damn it, that's right."

He hung up the phone, muttering something about 'I ought to fire that stupid dumbass...'

"Sorry you had to hear that last part, Miss Bethany; I usually don't lose my temper like that. Remind me tomorrow... we're going to go to the house and make sure that everything was delivered."

She let her mouth hang open. The things she'd heard in her life made his little disagreement sound like a prayer at Sunday church... and he called her 'Miss Bethany.' He was a very strange man, indeed.

Ten dollars of food every week for Eliza! Now, she knew he would be expecting something at night, there was no way a white man... any man... would do what he just did without expecting something in return. That was just the way the world turned.

She looked for the door. Every colored girl over the age of ten knew what that was and some men would expect something for so much less.

She started to leave, slowly backing up. It still wasn't too late. It would be a long walk back into Venice and then to that little hovel called home but... at, least her pride would remain intact.

"It's getting on toward dinner. What would you like to eat?"

What did he say? What did she want to eat? She'd fallen down the rabbit hole.

"I have a couple of nice steaks, if that's all right and some potatoes, you could mash those and there's store-bought cake and ice cream." 

Steak? She never had steak.

He once again took her by the hand and they went into kitchen. He seemed to like touching her. Each time, she experienced a sharp tingle that went from her hand to her... Even Deacon Jackson who thought he was courting her could never touch her like that.

Now that she considered it, Deacon Jackson was dried up old man twenty years her senior who though the sun didn't shine unless he was outside. Everyone expected her to marry him and raise his four children from his first wife who left him for another man three years earlier. It would have been a life worse than a white man's maid... a white man's bed partner.

This was the perfect escape from his attentions. She could just disappear and let him wonder what happened.

"If you cook and mash the spuds, I'll get the grill started out back. We can eat on the patio if you'd like, it's a nice day for December." 

Leaving her standing there alone in the kitchen, James walked outside and began putting some kindling into the brick bar-be-que in the side yard. 

"Well, might as well get to work and earn my thirty cents a day," she said to herself. She took off her sweater and after putting it on the back of one of the kitchen chairs, walked into the pantry looking for the potatoes. 

There were a couple of aprons hanging there and taking the first one, she settled into becoming the cook. She found some onions and a garlic clove. Starting the water to boil, she sliced the onions and the garlic and put them in a skillet to caramelize with some butter she found in the refrigerator. Her family had always depended on either some ice or doing without.

For such a large pantry, there wasn't much food. Maybe, he ate at diners a lot. Maybe, he wasn't very hungry. There wasn't anyone else living with him. He doesn't seem to have much variety with what he did have, either. It was going to be difficult cooking for him if that was the way of things.

Opening the cupboards, she found the dishes and set the table for him. She, of course, would eat by herself in the servants' area. It had to be about here somewhere. If he had pointed it out, she must have missed it.

Putting her attention to the stove, she was startled by the sound of dishes on the table and the clatter of silverware. Turning, she saw him adding another place to the table. She had forgotten about eating outside.

"I didn't know you were having company. I should have asked." How could she have made such a mistake so quickly?

"Miss Bethany, this is for you. Where did you think you were going to eat?" His face was so innocent that whatever apprehension she had about staying with him disappeared in a flash.

Her face flushed with embarrassment. He had said they were going to eat and she wasn't even paying that much attention to what he said. Somehow, his presence was making her thinking muddied. Clearly the man had different expectations from the few others she had worked for. Horrid women with their sour faces who thought the days of slavery had returned.

"Yes, sir... James." What kind of white man was he?

He left the kitchen with the steaks. They were at least an inch thick and must have weighed a half-pound each. That was more meat than her sister could feed her children all month. Maybe, with the food he had delivered, they would be able to eat better.

"This ice cream was delicious. Thank you, sirrrr... James. I haven't had any since..."

"The 'Crash'?" He looked intently at her, looking deep into her dark eyes, letting him look deep into her soul. That tingle was back, this time moving through her heart.

She was taken aback by his attentiveness. No white man and very few colored men had ever paid her any attention at all, let alone in such an intimate personal manner... listening to her thoughts.

"Yes. I was in my second year at Bennett College..." Those few, almost impossible carefree months when she thought she could actually succeed in life.

"Bennett College?"

"Yes, it's in North Carolina. I was studying biology; I wanted to be a nurse."

"I see."

What was that supposed to mean? 'I see. Didn't he believe her? Why should he, she guessed. She probably wouldn't have believed it, either.

"Yes, don't you believe me?" Her voice was getting upset. If she lost the job, this glorious job, well, so be it. She couldn't work for someone who didn't believe her. She wasn't old enough to have a subservient attitude ingrained into her like her mother.

"Were you able to finish your second year?" He actually was listening to her. Unbelievable, she thought.

"No, the scholarship money disappeared and then that shiftless Henry... he's my sister's husband, he took off when he lost the Pullman job he had. I came home."

He amazed her again. He reached over and took her hand in his... vanilla ice cream covered in Hershey's chocolate syrup. His gentle touch calmed her temper and she felt ashamed. Not everyone, evidently, was the son of the devil. Was he bad boy enough for her good girl attraction? She was so confused.

"Well, we'll see what we can do about that one of these days. Would you like anything else, Miss Bethany Rose?" His voice was filled with a light, friendly laughter.

Bethany Rose was surprised. When he said her name like that it sounded like music to her.

"No, thank you. This was more than I've eaten in a week and I don't remember when I've had meat last, when we get some it goes to the children."

"How old are they?"


Chocolate Kisses! Ch. 01



Authors note:This is based on factual events. If not mentioned, all characters that engage in sexual activity are over the age of 18. 

In this variation of the story, I choose to focus on the main heterosexual coupling, so this will be a plot and character driven romance with a fair amount of erotica throughout; however if your looking for a quick fix, you might wanna come back to this one. If not, grab your snacks and enjoy. 

****

Chapter 1: Pinky Promise! 

"Mhhhhhhh," I moaned. My eyes closed, drawing a deep breath through my nose, "I want you in me so bad." My eyes shot open and stared at the oven's timer: five more minutes. "Dammit chicken, hurry up and cook!"

I pivoted in the barstool and let my head tilt back, spilling my black hair over the counter as if it were a waterfall. The slowly baking chicken's savory aroma hung in the air temping me. "If only I didn't have company tonight," I thought and bit my lip, chiding myself for comment.

My friend Taylor was moving to New York from Florida, and she wanted to stay with me while she was in the city looking for an apartment. I owed her more than a few favors for letting me room with her back in Florida before moving to New York. She was a good friend who I have missed since moving here. I was more than glad to see her, not to mention I would have another friend in the city.

Ding! I jumped off the stool and walked around the counter. My feet carried me down the hallway to the door automatically. My hand wrapped itself around the metallic knob, and in one motion flicked the lock open, twisted the doorknob clockwise, and swung the door open. And there she was just as I remembered her: her straightened shoulder-length brown hair—matching her eyes--swooped to the side, her face and ears pierced aplenty, and her curvy five-foot-ten figure was not so hidden in a pair of skinny jeans and a black Tee.

"Hey," she spoke. 

"Hey" I replied.

"You need a new bra, Alice," she leaned forward, facing my breasts as if she was talking down to a child, "They're still growing."

I recoiled crossing my arms and guarding my front from her penetrating gaze. By the time I recovered, she had ninja'd though the door past me and was following her nose down the hall, dragging a suitcase in her wake. "What's for dinner?" she called back.

"Chicken" I shouted back. I shut the door, and still flustered, I followed Taylor down the hall stopping at the kitchen. 

By the time I entered the kitchen the stove was beeping, signaling that its contents of its belly were ready to be eaten. I donned a pair of oven mitts and approached the oven, like a surgeon prepping for a C-section. I removed the chicken, spinning around and placing it on the adjacent counter below the bar where Taylor now sat. After tearing off the mitts, I doubled-back, closed the oven, and turned it off. 

Turning all the stove top burners off with a click, I began to transfer the multiple pots to the counter. After sorting all the dishes to fit on the counter, I fetched the last dish from the fridge, baked macaroni and cheese. Upon setting down the glass dish on the last bit of available counter, I held out my hands, "ta-da."

Taylor stared at me utterly flabbergasted, "you cooked all this?"

"Yes."

"By yourself"

"Yep, I just followed the recipes," I gestured to a number of note cards taped to the cabinets. 

"And you didn't set anything on fire?" She was still in complete disbelief, which was completely understandable given the last time I attempted to cook I almost burnt down her apartment.

"Nope," I smiled with pride.

"Um, okay, um, is it—edible?" 

"I guess we'll find out" I chuckled nervously. I pulled a scrunchy off my wrist and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. Then I washed my hands in the sink and grabbed two plates from a cabinet. I caught Taylor getting off the stool to fix her own plate but stopped her, "nu uh, be my guest." 

Taylor hopped back unto the barstool and started singing her favorite song from Beauty and the Beast. I fixed her plate as she pointed to what she wanted while she sang. She stopped when I slid her full plate in front of her and asked what she wanted to drink.

"Beer?" she answered, unsure if I had any.

I pulled a bottle out of the fridge, "this okay?"

"Yeah," she smiled; I had remembered the kind she liked when I bought it for her. I handed it to her and poured her a tall glass of water along with it. Then I fixed my own plate and sat beside her. We ate, filling the room with munching and moaning: yes, it was that good.

"Your right," I sighed, "I didn't cook this. It tasted amazing. I must be delusional."

"Agreed, you're crazy," she said as I took our clean plates, "do crazy people have cable? Or is that a sane people thing?" She grabbed her beer and headed for the Japanese Katatsu--a Japanese low lying table that has a quilt sandwiched underneath the top--in front of the TV.

"No cable," I replied, "Netflix's on the Xbox though." 

I cleaned up and saved the leftovers in the fridge; meanwhile, much to my dismay, Taylor had discovered the new episodes of Doctor Who on Netflix.

"I don't understand how you can watch this," I placed another beer in front of her on the table and sprawled out half underneath the Katatsu's quilt.

"I don't understand how you can like anime," she countered.

"Point taken," I was too inoculated from the food to think of an intelligent answer in my defense, "Different people have different tastes."

"I'll drink to that," She took a swig. 

"You drink to anything." 

"Your point?" She took another swig.

"Don't you have to go apartment hunting tomorrow?"

"Don't remind me," she finished off her second beer, "I might need another."

"You could always stay here," I said without thinking, "I have a spare room." I sat back up.

"You'd be okay with that?"

"I don't see why not," I smiled, "just us two girls living together, no drugs or smoking though."

Her face lit up, "You finally got everything sorted down there?"

"Yeah," I said bashfully, "I had the surgery about two months ago—I'm serious 'bout the smoking and drugs thing, Taylor." 

Her face flashed back to normal, "Yeah, I know. I won't be doing drugs anyways; they were very adamant on the drug testing in my job interview, and I don't smoke." 

"You already got the job?"

"Yep," she finished off her second beer, "starting in two weeks I'll be a new secretary for the Anderson, Beckworth, and Holly and associates law firm and soon I'll be a Mrs. Anderson, Beckworth, or Holly."

"You're still going through with that?" Taylor had developed this plan: she would get a job at some law firm as a secretary, use her charms to marry some rich lawyer and never work another day of her life. 

"Yeah," she laughed, "It'll be a piece of cake—so does everything," she motioned to my lower half, "—work down there."

"Yeah, kinda," I sighed, "The um-equipment is still kinda unresponsive."

"Is that supposed to be that way?"

"Yeah, it's different for everybody, I think." 

"Oh that's good, I guess." She got up and walked over the kitchen and trashed her two empty bottles. She returned and plopped herself back down. She put her fist out, extending her pinky finger.

Puzzled, I looked at her, and she said, "Pinky promise."

"What for?"

"Best friends and roomies, and that I'll marry a lawyer and you a doctor."

"Why a doctor?"

"Because doctors and lawyers go together."

"Since when?"

"Since ever, just do it."

"Okay," I laughed and wrapped my pinky around hers.

"Pinky promise."

"Pinky promise," we shook.

She let go and smiled, "good, now we have time tomorrow."

"For what?"

"Shopping, and on that note our first stop is to get you new bras." She broke into a lighthearted laugh her eyes stuck to my chest.

My lips scrunched to the side in protest, "well sorry."

"Awww! God, you're cute! It won't be hard for you to find a nice guy." She smiled, blushing: the alcohol showing on her face.

I highly doubt that. The one thing I've noticed about Taylor is that the minute the alcohol starts to influence her she has an instant case of puppy syndrome: anything and everything is cute. 

She yawned, "Jet lag."

"You can crash on my bed. Come on." I got up and led her down the hall a little ways past the guest bathroom to the second door on the right, my room. She entered quickly behind me with her suitcase, and I went into the connected bathroom and grabbed a stealthy, travel-bag looking black bag. I caught my reflection the moment I flicked on the bathroom lights: my blue eyes shone like azure sapphires against my soft black hair witch draped down the sides of my face and over my breasts protruding from the low-cut v-neck I wore. I stood six feet tall, and my body not-so-proportional: my breasts now—according to Taylor—c-cups made the rest of me look like a stick. 

By the time I retrieved the bag and reentered the bedroom, Taylor had stripped to her underwear: a pair of black lace panties with matching bra. Undressed her figure was gorgeous. Her bust was rivaled by her hips, and her slim stomach pierced at her navel. Her legs toned, and her entire body evenly tanned and freckled from the harsh Floridian sun. 

"Like what you see?" She flaunted.

"Your gorgeous Taylor, I'm jealous," My heart sunk.

"Don't be so honest, kiddo." She said softly.

"Well," I stuck out my tongue, "I wouldn't be a real best friend if I didn't say what I really thought."

"In that case, you're not so bad yourself hot-stuff," she winked at me sarcastically.

"Uhuh, sure," I ran over to the mattress on the floor and stole one of the blankets and a pillow and then ran out of the room. 

By the time I was situated in the living room, Taylor reappeared in an oversized t-shirt, "Do you have work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll be back a little past twelve."

"Okay, Good night,"

"Good night Taylor."

She retired for the night, and I was alone again. I powered on the Xbox and played matchmaking on the newest C.O.D. After a few matches I decided that Taylor was most likely passed out, and I should head to bed soon.

I produced my smart phone from my pocket and pulled up the erotic novel I was reading. I laid back and started to read where I left off. It took only a few pages before my imagination took off and I was feeling flushed. I shed my shirt and jeans and scooted away from the Katatsu to stretch out on the floor. I grabbed the little black bag and unzipped it, producing a dilator and lube. 

I lay back down and squeezed the dilator in between my legs, warming it up. I continued reading; the sexual tension built as the novel climaxed into a vivid sex scene. The cocktail of my horny imagination and the kiss of the cold A.C. made my nipples hard and gave me goosebumps.

My free hand fumbled with the hook on the front of my bra, but I managed to undo it and throw the bra to the side, freeing my breasts. I began to tweak my nipples, pulling, twisting, and squeezing them sending shivers of pleasure throughout my entire body. I bit my lip and tried to quiet the involuntary moans.

My body was squirming; I could no longer concentrate on the tiny print on my phone. I glanced at the time and grabbed the tube of lube. Squeezing a large glob of the clear stuff on my hands, I spread it on the lukewarm dilator. 

Completely skipping to remove my last piece of clothing, I pulled the already wet fabric to the side and work the dilator in to the humid sex. Too fast! I grimaced and gritted my teeth as the sharp pain from stretching too quickly. The pain was quickly killing my mood as I tried to work the dilator in and out without hurting myself any further. I get it all the way in and pulled my panties over it, trapping it in. I felt full, completely stretched. 

I begin to relax again. Closing my eyes, I replaced myself with the girl in the novel:

An average built blonde haired man stared back at me. We are connected at the groin. He begins to pump me, pulling out almost all the way and bottoming out at each stroke. I receipted the movement with my hips, shifting the dilator in and out. My right hand found my clit and started to strum it, sending jolts of tingling electricity up my spine and across my body.

The man flipped me on my stomach. He was pounding me into the ground with each stroke, my hand furiously rubbing my clit in response. My body was livid. 

And then I hit the wall, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't climax. With a frustrated groan, I flipped myself back over, and I let myself continue for a while enjoying the sensations and slowly started to wind down. I felt warm from head to toe despite lying almost naked in a 55 degree air conditioned apartment. I checked the time. I spent more than enough time dilating. I removed the dilator: I felt empty. 

I got up and walked to the kitchen and cleaned up and then disinfected and washed the dilator. I returned it and the lube to the black bag and threw my tee back on: I was cold again. 

Straightening up the mess of the room I made, I threw my bra, jeans and black bag under the table. Then I flattened out the blanket I was laying on and grabbed the pillow that somehow made it to the opposite side of the room. 

Back in the kitchen I mixed a glass of chocolate milk and took my bi-daily medication, dissolving it under my tongue. I watched my breasts jiggle unrestrained underneath my shirt. The little hard nipples poking through and grinding against the soft, thin fabric; I bit my lip and giggled at the feeling. I finished the glass and returned to dive underneath the blanket. After a quick glance at my phone to set the alarm and turn it off silent, I dozed off.



Chocolate Kisses Ch. 01



"John, he's five, Mary Lizbeth, she's four and Glory, she's the baby and just one." And the cutest little girl she'd ever seen but, of course, she was prejudiced, she was her loving aunt.

It was getting dark outside and a late fall chill began to seep into the house as the coastal fog came ashore. So much, she thought, for a nice day outside.

"Would you please close the windows here and upstairs and I'll get the furnace going." He stood up and flicked on the lights as if the miracle of electricity was no amazing feat.

Bethany Rose went around the house, using the opportunity to explore each room as she went around the house. Everything downstairs was as he described it and her curiosity satisfied, she went upstairs and started closing the bedroom windows there.

One room seemed to be locked and no matter how hard she rattled the knob, it wouldn't open. It was like those scary rooms in the murder mysteries she saved up to buy. It was the one vice she could afford.

"It stays locked. Please leave it alone." 

She almost jumped out of her shoes. How was he able to walk up behind her and not make a sound? And they called colored people 'spooks.' He was a ghost, himself.

His demeanor had changed. There seemed to be a scowl on his face, now and then he said, "It's been a long day, why don't we turn in? Good night, Bethany Rose."

He left her standing in the hallway, went into his own bedroom and closed the door. Whatever she had thought would happen, she ashamedly admitted to herself, was wrong. 

There was something in that room, something so dark he wanted nothing to do with it. She knew that much and swore to stay away from it.

Her bed, naturally, had not been made and she found clean sheets in the closet along with enough blankets to keep ten people warm. Not expecting to stay overnight, she had no clothes other than what she had worn during the day and was going to sleep without when there was a quiet knock on the door.

Damn it! She knew she had been right! What to do? What to do? Open the door and invite him in or open the door and run?

"Yes?" She walked over to the door, putting one hand against it.

"I realized you didn't have any night clothes so I brought these."

She opened the door and he gave her an evening robe and a filmy, pink negligee. 

"Good night, I'm sorry I snapped at you. Someday, maybe, I'll explain." He turned and went back to his room, closing the door with a finality she heard all the way down the hallway.

She looked at the unfolded negligee in shock. Putting it on would be more erotic than if she just slept in the nude. Oh, my God, she wondered, just where did this come from?



Wednesday morning, December 9th, 1931

He awoke with a sore head. What time was it, anyway? And, what's that smell? Pancakes? He groggily slipped on his robe and slowly headed downstairs to the kitchen. He was greeted by a table set for breakfast, hot coffee on the stove and a glass of orange juice. Orange juice? He didn't remember having any orange juice in the house.

She smiled at him, wearing the robe tightly wrapped over her borrowed negligee. "I hope it was all right, I picked some from the trees outside. Are you ready to eat now, James?"

"Uh, yes, Miss uhh... Bethany, thank you."

He sat down and while he drank the orange juice, she poured him an incredible, hot cup of coffee, much better than any he had burnt himself and then she took the pan of pancakes out of the oven, put the cakes onto a serving plate and brought it to the table.

Breakfast was eaten nervously, it seemed, more for him than her. He knew what she was wearing under that robe, or more to the point, what she wasn't wearing under that robe. 

What was worse, that knowledge caused his arousal to be quite obvious to himself. He knew what he was looking at and did his best to scoot under the table to hide an almost painful erection, he was so hard. The robe, while not tight like a pair of pants, did nothing to control his erection seeking to find its way out.

Since his loss, he hadn't even tried to have another woman, as easy as they were to get due to the collapsed economy. There was that Susan at the store, always dropping hints, wanting to get laid, probably wanting to get married.

Bethany Rose seemed amused he was so cautious with whatever he said. 

It was almost as if he is trying to please her while her job was to please him. Well, she thought, that could be interpreted in so many different ways. What would Eliza think if she could only see her now?

They cleared the table together. As she washed and he dried, there were memories of what had been for him and might have been for her; it made her feel like she was the man's wife more than his housekeeper, a dangerous thought for her. What an impossible domestic scene that was, white man, colored girl...

She shook her head clear of those thoughts. He was her employer, that's all. Dreaming will just lead to heartbreak and a life of misery... for both of them, but especially for her. It would come to no good.

After the last dish was put away, she said, "I have to go and get my clothes from my sister; I wasn't expecting to live here. Do you go to church?" Why on earth did she ask him that?

That caught him off guard.

She couldn't know.

For the last four years, Sunday was just another day and his anger toward God refused to leave his heart no matter what stupid platitudes the minister had tried to tell him... God wanted them in heaven. What stupidity! If God was eternal, he couldn't wait an extra eighty years or so? What about him, left behind? And why with such violence?

"Not since... no, not in a while. We can go when you're ready. Do you... never mind." 

The almost unknown luxury of a full stomach, how she felt when she was with him and now a hot shower were too much and Bethany Rose began to cry, her tears mixing with the water splashing on her body as she leaned back against the wet light-blue tiles, trying not to slip down onto the bottom of the tub but finally sinking down into the water. 

What a chance God had given her.

Several hours later, James and Bethany Rose arrived at her sister's weather-beaten house near the Venice oil fields. Across the way were the last canals still filled with stinking, oily water. He doubted the house had ever seen better days and imagined it springing to life already falling apart. 

He saw the colored boys staring at him as he got out of his car. There were only a few of them, but...

Bethany Rose didn't wait for him and walked right in. He slowly followed her, keeping an eye on his car and admittedly was both unsettled and embarrassed. Even the poorest white people he knew had a better home and yet, this impossibly humble house was as neat and clean as possible. 

He was Scrooge before the first ghost's visit and only now beginning to understand what living on the other side of the tracks actually meant. The chasm between white and colored was never greater than what lay before him.

As the two sisters were packing Bethany Rose's clothes into his car, he began looking in the kitchen to see what had been delivered the night before. All he found were a few dented cans and a patched bag of flour.

He felt his anger rising. The grocery manager had sent unsellable food to the woman and not very much of it, either. 'God damn it,' he thought. What good he tried to do was ruined and left a sour taste in his mouth.

Just in case he was wrong, he searched every cupboard seeking the food that should have been there. "Where was the goddamn food?" he said to himself.

"Miss Eliza, would you mind showing me the groceries that were sent over yesterday?"

The bewilderment on her face told him the unacceptable truth. No food had arrived at all. No food at all. Son of a bitch!

"Mr. Ewart, sir, there was no food sent here." He had to hear it to make it real.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I would speak with Miss Bethany, alone." 

Bethany Rose is right, Eliza felt, this was one strange white man, acting like she was some kind of a lady.

James took his new housekeeper outside to the meager shade of a few eucalyptus trees. He saw more and more colored boys gathering across the way; there must have been at fifteen, now. "Ah, shit, what do they want?'" 

He leaned against a tree to subtly make sure his automatic was in his belt where he thought it was. He only had the one clip.

"Miss Bethany, that was the correct address, last night? Please, say you made a mistake..."

She looked around and decided to take no chances; calling him anything but 'sir' would be a disaster.

"Yes, sir, it is. Maybe..." She was desperate for a reason. She, too, noticed the ever growing crowd and became nervous. Not for herself but for him. If something did happen, it wouldn't be good. It was time for a prayer and yet she couldn't find the words.

"Maybe, what, Bethany Rose? Maybe, they delivered it to the wrong house? Or, maybe, they didn't deliver it at all?" He watched the restless crowd just fifty feet away. It was time to go.

"It's not my place, sir. Please, sir, keep your voice down. I don't like what I see across the way. Those aren't boys that live around here, I don't know who they are."

"Don't tell me that, Bethany Rose. You're an intelligent woman. Let's not pretend, shall we?" He kept one eye on her and one on the crowd. It was time to go.

"Keep your voice, down, James. There's going to be trouble." She looked him in the face but then looked down onto the ground. 

"I thought so. Listen, Bethany Rose, I expect you to speak your mind when I ask you something. Well, you know what I mean..."

Now, it was his turn to embarrassedly look downward. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I honestly don't know why I'm speaking to you like this."

His eyes begged her forgiveness. 

Every moment she was with him, Bethany Rose was more and more confused. Was this man... why was this man... if only she knew what was really going on. 'If I were a white woman,' she thought, 'it would be obvious what his intentions are, but I'm... not.'

"Look, James," she whispered, "we have to leave before something starts. I'm getting afraid for you." 

That made him scared. Not for himself, he had been in the Escadrille but for her because if his gun came out, it was coming out shooting, no questions asked.

"Your sister own this..." 'Piece of shit,' he almost said.

"No, sir. She rents it for a dollar a week."

Why were they still talking? It was time to leave... maybe the time to leave had already passed and now it was too late. He couldn't seem to hurry up, trapped by the poverty before him.

Staring at the building, he was thinking it was a huge waste of a dollar. The surrounding houses weren't much better. Ever since the 'Crash,' as everyone was now calling it, the coloreds had become more and more marginalized into less and less desirable neighborhoods and gangs of desperate boys preyed on both white and colored alike.

"Do you... would you consider... I mean, would you allow them to come live with me? I'll share my room and the children will be quiet, I promise, and she could help me... whatever you decide, I'll accept but we've got to leave, James."

Her voice disappeared and she wondered if she had crossed the line with him. As nice a man as he seemed to be, taking in another four people, four people not related to him, four colored people...

He never told her what her wages would be. She had been happy just to have some good food and a decent place to live. She was now worried he must think that she was a pushy colored girl; there were enough of them around to make anyone prejudiced. It was time to go.

He wasn't going to tell her he was going to ask her the same thing. He had to draw the line with her somewhere before she would control his life just by looking at him, so strongly she affected him with just a look. He wasn't a wimp; he was besotted with her.

He dug his polished shoe into the sandy soil. It was time to go.

"Well, Miss Bethany, I don't..." He kept looking at the boys across the dirt road and inched his gun out of his belt. It was time to go.

Bethany Rose gave him the saddest look she could make while she was trying to get him to hurry up, whatever they were going to do. The time was probably long past. "We've got to get out of here."

"Oh, all right, but I do need a quiet evening." As soon as he said it, he knew he was lying. He missed the sound of children in the house. It was time to go.

"Yes, oh, thank you, thank you." She ran into the house. "Eliza, Eliza!"

He moved closer to the car and slowly brought his gun around against his leg and chambered a round. It really was time to go.



On the crowded ride home, he knew the two had conspired while they were gathering Bethany Rose's clothes. And, for once, he didn't care at all that two women thought they got the best of him. He knew he had to get them all out of there as soon as he saw what squalor the house was surrounded with. He knew he was getting the better of the deal, even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone, least of all, himself. 

Watching Bethany Rose sit next to him on the front seat, that was thanks enough. He knew who really was better off.

After dropping them off at the house, he drove over to the El Segundo supermarket. 

Secretly, he was glad they left when they finally did. He didn't stomach the idea of killing anyone again; enough of that had been done in the skies over Northern France. Sixteen men he had personally sent to a fiery death miles below the gray clouds.



Even though he was scheduled to work, Bill was nowhere to be found.

"Susan, where's Bill?" If he found that guy in the mood he was in, there was going to be hell to pay. He already was flying high, back among the clouds, looking for someone to kill. He could taste blood.

The assistant manager nodded her head toward the upstairs office. There was a bit of fear and a lot of disgust in her eyes. She followed just to watch the coming confrontation between the young war hero and the pompous old store manager. This would finally make the entire day worthwhile.

James took the stairs two at a time, he was so angry. He was still high on adrenalin from the confrontation that did occur in Venice. Fortunately, two shots close to their heads was enough to set them off running. He knew they were never going back.

The office door was locked. He could hear a man's voice grunting and a girl's voice moaning and the thud of furniture pushing against the floor. He was so dead!

He kicked the door open to find the Bill, his pants around his ankles and his sorry ass hanging out, pounding into a girl bent over his desk. He was so caught up he continued even while James walked in. 

"Wait a minute, you have no..."

Neither man saw Susan standing in the hallway, her hand over her mouth. A satisfied smile was forming on her face as the young owner grabbed Bill.

"... you're fired. Get the hell out now, you thieving, miserable son of a ..."

"You can't fire me! I'm in the..." 

He never finished as James's right fist smashed into his nose, crushing it and then another blow to the face broke his jaw.

James grabbed his hand. "Damn it!" He knew better than to hit someone in the face with his fist and yet, he did it anyway. It felt so good and so painful all at the same time. Son of a bitch!

The moaning man fell to the floor in the middle of the room, it was shriveled and hanging pathetically from his crotch, his pants wrapped around his shoes. 

James turned his attention to the woman still face down on the desk, her uniform and slip on the floor between her legs.

"Make it quick, what's your excuse?"

"He told me he'd fire me. I'm sorry, but I need this job. Who are you?" She refused to look at him, ashamed at what she had done.

"Never mind about that. Are you willing to testify to that?"

"Will I have to? What about my husband? Oh, Jesus..."

"Only if you want to keep working here... well?" He knew things weren't that simple, though. Nothing ever is.

She wiped her face with her sleeve. "Yeah, I'll testify against the bastard... I told him it was the wrong time of the month. He's probably knocked me up. My husband is going to kill me."

James thought it over. There was nothing to be gained by having her testify about the rape. Bill would just say it was consensual. "Sit down, then. Don't touch anything. I'll see what I can do." He picked up the phone and called the police, telling them that there had been theft at the store and that Bill had done it.

The police easily arrested Bill who was still crying on the floor, holding the shattered bones of his jaw together with his hand. They were so disgusted they dragged him out of the store, his pants still hanging from his shoes.

"Susan, talk to her, calm her down. We've got to figure something out for her. She's right, her husband will probably leave her."

What had started out as such a simple Sunday morning had quickly turned into a series of maddening incidents, one after another. All this because he wanted to go see the oil fields... James shook his head, wondering how things got so out of hand in such a short time.

At least he found Bethany Rose.

"Mr. Ewart, I know a doctor that..." What would she tell him, that she knew an abortionist? It was better left unsaid.

"All right, talk to her and make sure that's really what she wants to do or maybe pass it off as her husband's. I guess, in this case, what he doesn't know won't kill him. If she wants, you go with her.

"Susan, you're the new manager. We'll talk about it later and if that girl comes back from the doctor, keep her up front where you can keep an eye on her, just in case. 

"I'm going to take a couple of guys from the back to make a delivery. They'll be back in about two hours, I think." It was time to get out of there before something else happened, crazy damn day.

He walked back into the warehouse and soon had everything he could think of packed up to send to the house.

"I'll be by in the morning... I want to talk with everyone at once so there are no misunderstandings. If necessary, keep the store closed until we're done, put up a sign saying we won't open until nine o'clock.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Susan could see his agitation as he almost seemed to bounce on his feet without moving an inch. She noticed his hand was swelling.

"Mr. Ewart, wait, your hand needs some help. Joey, get some ice from the meat department. Hurry up!"

As she wrapped his hand with a clean towel and ice, he could feel the sting.

"Ah, Jesus, that hurts!" 'Why expect anything else? All that training forgotten in a moment of frustration.'

"I think you broke a knuckle or two, maybe, on his thick skull. I'll have Sam drive you home."

They were almost out the door when he remembered they needed baby stuff.

"Susan! I need some help, here, please."

Susan wondered why he needed baby diapers and clothes. What had happened when she wasn't looking? Did some other woman snare him? Now what was she going to do? She had almost laid down and invited him in but he never seemed to grasp her intimations.



"Take the truck around the back and you'll find the kitchen there. Put everything where the housekeeper tells you... and be polite." 'Damn well better be...'

The three men unloaded the truck quickly and were surprised when he gave each of them five dollars. It was an unexpected, simple gesture that seemed to calm him down. He needed to calm down before he did something stupid in front of the two girls...

"Do you want me to pick you up, tomorrow morning, Mr. Ewart?" asked Sam. Driving the man's light gray car was suddenly the highlight of his life. He never thought he'd be behind the wheel of such a magnificent machine.

"Thanks, Sam, but I think I'll be all right. If not, I'll let you know."




Chocolate Kisses Ch. 01



"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." James could sense the man's disappointment but there was nothing he could do about it. Buying another car as an unneeded expense right now.

The three men left, narrowly missing several fruit trees as they backed up the truck down the drive. 

James cringed as he watched. Those apricot trees were almost ten years old and he didn't want to have to start over with some of them. Catherine had planted them.

Inside, the sound of laughter... How long has it been since there was laughter in this house?' ...two laughing women putting the last cans of food away. He had forgotten what it sounded like.

"Do you think it will be enough?" he ventured. "I mean, for the week?"

"James, it's more than enough... and the toys, that was so nice of you. You know, canned food is good but we can fix fresh better with...

"Oh, my God! You're hurt! Sit down, here and let me look at it. C'mon, sit down. Eliza, get me some hot water and soap. Hurry up."

Her sister was speechless. Bethany Rose, talking to a white man like that, a white man that's her employer. And he is doing what she told him to. What is the world coming to?

What's next? Eating at the same table? 

'Oh, sweet Jesus,' Eliza thought, 'she's already sleeping with him after one day? Little sister, so pure and sweet, already the white man's slut...'

Eliza watched her sister closely, searching for that far away look Henry said she had after they... that far away look disappeared soon enough as he became as selfish as the rest of the men she'd been with.

Bethany Rose was happy, smiling, laughing and her eyes sparkled. 

Eliza saw he wasn't treating her like a housemaid at all. They must have done it... and she seems to have liked it or at least tolerated it. Maybe he is as nice under the sheets as he was in the house.

He wasn't treating her badly, either. Maybe, it was just the way he was.

James meekly sat down. Bethany Rose carefully unwrapped the cold, wet compress that Susan had put on and then gently touched his puffy, purpling hand. It didn't feel broken. That was good. What had he done? She so wanted to ask but it wasn't her business... or was it?

"Well, James, you could have really hurt yourself, you know. But, you're lucky, just a little skin bruising. The swelling is down quite a bit, already, from what I think it was. Whoever wrapped this up has saved you a lot of painful swelling. You'll be fine by tomorrow. I'll kiss it and make it all better." 

Bethany raised his hand to her open lips and she did, to the total shock of her sister and the pleasurable surprise to him. "Now, what do you want for dinner, James?"

What happened to Eliza's going-to-church, prim-and-proper sister? Was this the price for leaving everything behind? Being his lover? Eliza looked at her sister. Whatever they were doing behind closed doors, Bethany seemed to be the instigator. Her little sister...

Eliza left the kitchen and walked into the pantry, pretending to look for something. She didn't know whether to laugh... her perfect little sister the white man's slut... or cry... her perfect little sister the white man's slut. 

Maybe, she wasn't being fair to him. He did seem awfully nice. Not at all like she expected... especially when she saw him shoot his gun. How nice he was being to them. 

If he just wanted a woman in his bed, he could have gotten a white woman for that. These days, even that came cheap. He didn't need to go find a couple of colored girls and even if he wanted to cross the color line, why would he find someone bringing four extra mouths to feed and take care of?

Eliza wondered about these questions as she stood in the pantry, leaning against the shelves now full of food.

What will he want from her? Oh, sweet Jesus! Did he think she would be easy just because that goddamn Henry ran away and he's opened his home to all of them? Better to let Bethany sleep with him and he could leave her alone. Three children were enough.

Her fingers clutched the apron she had found in the pantry. 

'Oh, sweet Jesus!' She smiled, thinking... Bethany Rose didn't seem to complain about anything this morning. Maybe he is good in bed. Lord knows colored men weren't, all selfish and leaving as soon as they came. Probably most men... they're all alike... except, maybe this one?

She could hear them talking back in the kitchen. Not one to pry... 'but, it was her sister, after all...'

"You know what? I've been such a good patient, Nurse Bethany; I could use a big bowl of ice cream with some of that chocolate sauce. 

"Where are the children? Maybe they'd like some, too. What do you say, nurse?"

Bethany Rose quickly shook her head. 

"Oh, no, you don't, James, remember how you want a quiet evening? Filling any child with sugar is not the way to get it, especially at night. I know you want them to feel comfortable here but, please, let's take things slowly. It might not work out."

She looked at her sister after saying that, warning Eliza to keep the children under control before the whole house of cards she experienced the last two days came falling down.

"Well, all right, if you say so, you're the boss. I've some work to do, so I'll be in the library if you need me."

"What time would you like supper?"

"A couple of hours... if you have to feed the children... that might be better, feed them first, so that you don't have to worry about them while we eat. Can you make them take a nap or something?"

"I'll give them their lessons."

Not quite the answer he expected but he was quickly learning that Bethany Rose was anything but what he expected, exactly what she was thinking about him. As he left the room, he missed seeing her shy smile just as she missed his.



"This pot roast is excellent! I haven't eaten like this since..."

Bethany Rose noticed that every time he talked about the past, he went into a funk. She had to find out what happened, if only to make sure that she could avoid anything that would upset him and make her own life harder. 

There was some bad hurt hiding.



While Eliza was clearing the table, James told Bethany Rose that he wanted to discuss some new duties he had in mind. 

Eliza's mind flew through all the possibilities she could think of. She understood men much better than her sister and as far as she was concerned, this rich white man, as nice as he seemed to be, wasn't any different from any other man, white or colored. They only wanted one thing and once they got it, they always found a way to leave you... usually with their bastard children.

So, as dishes were washed and dried, Eliza imagined her sister and the man in his library; she was probably already on her knees or maybe he just bent her over his desk and took her that way. 'Why sully the bed when that was good enough for a colored whore?

'Truthfully, though,' Eliza wondered, 'would I be willing to do that for a good place to live for my children?

'There didn't seem any end in sight to the country's problems... at dinner, he did say he thought it was going to get much worse.'

Next year were the elections and James doubted Hoover had a chance to win re-election. It probably didn't matter who the Democrats ran, he had said, the inaction of the Hoover administration had only made things worse. The whole world was going to ruin. 

She did notice he was careful how he spoke around them and the children. For whatever faults she imagined he had as a man, he was at least a gentleman with them.

'They've been in that library an awful long time,' she noticed. She licked her lips as she pictured the two them, together... her sister on her knees, her mouth full with his hard... he's probably good for at least twice, maybe three times. Eliza's thoughts aroused her as she thought of that... she saw he was in good shape and wondered what he would taste like.

Just as she put herself into that dream, "Momma, hold me." It was Mary Lizbeth, quickly pulling her back into reality.

"Bethany Rose, I would like to go over these books with you. I'm hoping you to make sense of what's been going on with the store and see if we can find a way to cut even more costs. I don't want to let anyone go if I don't have to so that's not going to be an acceptable answer. I've been sort of an absentee-owner and it's time to come back."

"Yes, James, I'm sure I can do that. Just show me what you want to find out."

For almost the next three hours, they went over the books, line by line... and an unsettling fact came to light: there were more people on the books than could ever have worked at the store. There were people that James had never met and even though he had retreated from the world he still came into each of his supermarkets at least once a week just to see how things were. He was surprised that neither he nor the girl with Bill knew who the other one was.

Since that horrible day, James's former manager had taken advantage of his personal depression and had been stealing him blind at the El Segundo store.

Well, that was over, he hoped and with Bethany Rose watching his financial back, things should soon return to a better bottom line. An educated, well-mannered woman was hard to find during the depression and a colored one... that was near impossible. 

'Maybe,' he thought, 'things are going to get better. What would Catherine think, a colored woman... colored women... and their children, living in the house?'

He remembered she never had a bad thing to say and had tempered his own hard attitudes over the years.

An hour after that, they decided that it would be possible to give everyone a raise... not a large one, but a raise just the same. The average full-time worker was making almost less than twenty-five cents an hour after taxes and a raise of even ten cents an hour was an incredible increase.

"Wow! That guy was really fucking... oh, Bethany Rose, forgive me, I'm just so angry at him. Well, he's in jail so that ought to end that problem, I hope. Boy, have I let things go to hell."

He smiled at her, almost staring and she felt herself melting under his attention. She had never considered herself very pretty. When she looked in a mirror, she saw a woman she considered too dark, almost the shade of chocolate milk with that syrup she was becoming addicted to. If she kept that up, she knew she would soon be as fat as Aunt Jemima. 

Each night, her fingers traced her curves, not those of the skinny flappers a few years ago but those of a real woman with real breasts and real hips and a real flashing white smile centered in that milk chocolate.

"Looks like you've earned yourself a fine raise, too," he laughed. He closed the ledger for the last quarter. There was no sense worrying about what happened further back, that money was long gone.

"We need to leave the house about 7:30 tomorrow morning, so please tell Eliza to have breakfast about seven or so. Tell her she's the new housekeeper, if she wants it."

"We?" What was this we? What crazy idea did he have in mind, now?

"Yes, Bethany Rose, we've got to get to the store. I'm going to tell everyone about what happened yesterday, introduce you and then you can tell them about the raise."

"Me? I really don't understand, James. What does the store have to do with me? This won't be good... colored girl with a bunch of white people... there were no colored people in El Segundo" '...at least, until now.'

"Well, I've been thinking. With your sister here and God bless her, but she doesn't have the education you do; she can take care of the house and the children and you can come to the store with me and take over the office there. And, of course, I'll pay your sister what I was going to pay you and you'll get a nice raise and you won't have to do the housework. You're much too valuable to me for that." 

'Too valuable to me... that's one way of putting it,' he thought. His unexpected arousal last night... thinking of her across the hall... thinking of chocolate kisses. It had been a long time he had bothered to pleasure himself.

Bethany Rose still sat closely next to him since she had needed to see the small handwritten print. 'Too closely,' she thought now, 'but I can't just pull away. It would be too great an insult to him and he didn't deserve that from me.'

'My problem is, she believed, 'he was the too nice, too friendly and now, too close.'

She saw the marked contrast between her darker hand holding her pencil and his much lighter one. He was one of those white men with dark reddish-brown hair that seemed always to be pale. She had seen some sharecroppers in the South like him that just burnt under the sun rather than tan. And, he lived walking distance to the beach... 'who had time to go to the beach? If I did... oh, not so not good.'

"A raise?" She wasn't paying attention at all, lost in her dream of swimming in the ocean. She had never been in the ocean. 'Probably wouldn't like it, anyway.'

"Why, of course. Why?"

"It's just that..."

"I never told you what you would be making did I? That was stupid. Why didn't you say anything?" 'How could I have forgotten so simple as that?' 

He hated being out of control. Bethany Rose was his salvation and would be his ruin, if he wasn't careful.

"I... I don't know. I just never thought about it." And, she hadn't. Any money would have only gone to pay for what meager food they could buy... and now, that seemed to be taken care of by his generosity toward her family.

She looked away. 'How could I tell him I am so glad to have a job, especially one like this, that whatever he gives me is a gift. How could I tell him something like that? That I would have worked for free just to be with someone like him?

'Did Jesus keep me standing there for over a week waiting for him to stop and talk with me?'

"What clothes do you have for tomorrow? I think what you were wearing yesterday is a little too good for the store."

"I only have a few dresses good enough for outside the house." ...all going to Sunday church... which she didn't do... any longer.

"All right, let's see what we can do. Why don't you wait in your room and I'll meet you there in a short bit?"

He quickly left the room, leaving her to put everything away and close the door.

By the time she came to her room, he was standing in the hallway with dresses draped over his arm. He respected her privacy, she saw, waiting for her to open the door to her room in what was still his own home. 'When did I start thinking of it as home and not house?'

Several were a perfect fit. She especially liked the dark emerald dress but, she decided, it was too good for her. No sense in getting uppity. Bethany Rose took a light pink one and held it before her to see how it looked in the mirror.

"You..." Oh. God, look at her, so much like Catherine and so, so different.

She glanced up into the mirror and saw him standing by the bed, staring at her. 'How long had he been standing there like that?'

"You look beautiful, Bethany Rose." There was apprehension, now. "I'll see you in the morning, please make sure that Eliza understands the changes. Good night."

He left the room so fast she thought he was running away. Maybe, he was. Where did these dresses come from? The locked room? Oh, Jesus, she now had part of the mystery. How could she have been so stupid?

Those and other vague impressions came and went through her heart as she desperately tried to find sleep as her hands frantically roamed her body seeking relief. Oh, Jesus...



Chocolate Kisses Ch. 04



"We have to have sex, Jimmy, otherwise..."

Copyright @

All rights reserved, 2011

*

Christmas Evening, 1931

Rather than fall down and look foolish, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim light still present in the room from the moonlight.

Bethany slid out of her slippers and sat on the edge of the bed. "Jimmy, I'm sorry that Lizbeth brought back sad memories."

He moved over on the bed to give her more room.

"No, Bethany, they weren't sad memories, they were good memories. I needed someone like her to remind me of that. I'm sorry I missed Christmas."

She put out her hand, seeking his.

"Jimmy, Mrs. Hunt told me what happened... everything. I'm so sorry, Jimmy. I'm sorry I can't change the past but I can change the future if you'll have me."

"Bethany Rose, almost from the first moment you came into this house I wanted you. But..."

"Yes, but... I'm colored."

"No, that isn't it. I didn't want you to think I offered you the opportunity just so I could sleep with you. I didn't want you to think I was the same as..."

"Almost every other man with the opportunity?"

"Yes. So many times, I dreamed of coming into your room and making love to you. I tried my best to hide my feelings for you. There was no way for me to know what you were thinking and, yes, the color issue was there but it was way in the back.

"I wanted you with me so much that I was unwilling to take a chance on losing you. I was caught between heaven and hell with you... and, then there's your sister."

"What did she do?"

"Nothing. That's it. She did nothing but every time I saw her she seemed to think that we were already sleeping together, that you already were my..."

"Whore? I think mistress is reserved for white women."

She slid sideways on the bed, lifted both legs onto it and lay next to him. Her hand held his even tighter.

"Jimmy..."

"Yes?" He rolled to his right side.

"My sister is a very proud person. She hates it when she's wrong. There's no living with her when she finds out she's wrong about something.

I love my sister very much, Jimmy, and I don't want her to be embarrassed."

"Huh?" His left hand had found her flat stomach and moved across her body, feeling and touching.

"We have to have sex, Jimmy, otherwise..."

"For your sister?"

"Yes, for my sister."

"And... for me."

He moved closer and kissed her open lips. He had waited to taste that sweetness too long. Her tongue hesitantly touched his. He could feel the warmth of her mouth as he sought to please her.

"Jimmy..."

"Mmmm?"

"You'll be the first, Jimmy."

"Bethany, are you?"

"Yes, I want you... I truly want you. I have thought about you every night ever since you trusted me with the store. You took a great chance with me. Your employees could have all quit. I could have made such mistakes..."

"Shhh... why do you want to discuss business on a night like this?"

His fingers traced the rise of her breasts, firm with youth and already showing her arousal.

"Jimmy, it might be better if we took our clothes off. At least, that's what I heard."

Her laughter was infectious and the tension that was in bed with them got up and left.

He turned on the night-lamp. 

"For the first time, I want to see."

He sat up on the bed and used both hands to unbutton her dress, uncovering her breasts still confined. He lightly ran his fingers on the cloth, his hand trembling in anticipation.

And then, he stopped.

"What's the matter, Jimmy. Did I do something wrong?"

"No... it's been so long. I don't have any condoms."

"I'm OK, it was last week, thank God. I would want to feel you for the first time, anyway. Is that the last thing you're going to worry about, Jimmy?

"Make love to me. Give me a Christmas present for my life." 

She rested back against his chest, leaning her head back on his shoulder, rubbing her cheek against his. He surrendered to his passion and began to touch her, his fingers running lazy circles around her stomach, lightly, carefully, easily feeling the softness of her dark skin. His hands met below her navel and interlocked, holding her tightly against him. He began to kiss her neck and as he heard her softly moan, his lips moved, moved, moved on her skin.

He found her magic spot just where her neck came under her jaw. He could feel her tense as he began to kiss harder, starting to suck her skin into his mouth, while his right hand caressed her nipple through the soft fabric of her bra.

She could only moan, everything she had imagined about making love faded away as the real event overwhelmed her. Anticipation was controlling her emotions now and she trembled the first time ever, touched by a man... and not some clumsy boy.

Her first orgasm rumbled through her body and she felt herself becoming first moist and then so wet. She would have been embarrassed... would have been but not now.

His fingers opened the back of her bra and she felt its pressure disappear and it fell onto her lap, laying there as silent witness to her decadence.

His hands cupped her breasts, heavy in his hands as he gently pulled them back against her body, his fingers lightly touching, her nipples expanding, tightening, rising. He held one between his thumb and finger and gently squeezed it and she almost jumped off the bed.

"uhhhhhhhhhh," she moaned, lost in the new feelings overwhelming her.

His kisses continued on her neck, bringing her higher. His left hand reached down to the waistline of her panties and moved to push them down. She felt him and lifted up and grabbed the garment herself and slid it down her legs and threw onto the floor. 

His fingers sought out and found that patch of tightly curled hair above her pussy. He pressed his index finger against the hair and moved it back and forth, enjoying the feel of the curls. It was as he imagined it, springy under his palm as he moved two fingers onto her clit, bringing it to attention and begging for attention. 

First one finger and then a second slipped inside, so easily, so wet, so inviting. He moved within her while she groaned and writhed back, pushing, pushing back and down, desperately trying to sink down onto him to drive him even deeper.

"Oh, Jimmmmmeeeeeee..." she moaned. Ohhhhh, God."

His thumb had been rubbing her clit just enough to keep her excited but not enough to purposely make her orgasm. That was something he wanted to do personally.

"Bethany..." he hardly could say her name, his mind moving five steps ahead what he wished for her to experience under his body.

"Lay down, lay down, Bethany." He moved as she moved, putting her head on his pillow. He gloried in the sight of her chocolate body, laid bare for him. 

With his right hand cupping her left breast, he bent down and took her dark nipple into his mouth, rolling his tongue across the tip, bringing it even harder, even prouder as he scraped his teeth against it causing her to have another orgasm.

Her shaking body thrilled him. She was so easily excitable under his touch. Whether her sensuality was from the adventure of her first time with a man, or his hoped for skill as a lover or just her instinctive subconscious personality. James didn't care as long as she was satisfied with his loving of her.

He slid his mouth down onto her stomach, tracing his path with his tongue, leaving a slick trail toward her pussy.

Finally, his tongue reached her tight curls and tickled her, bringing out her first laughter of the evening. She moved, trying to move up against his mouth, trying to capture his tongue in her now wet and open pussy, pushing up, pushing up.

He took mercy on his lover and moved lower, sliding his tongue over her clit and into her demanding pussy. He took her folds into his mouth and moved the flatness of his tongue up and down, slowly, deliberately, teasingly slipping just a bit between, opening her just that much and tasting the untouched virgin treasures awaiting him.

She exploded under his intimate touch and arching her back gave out such a moan that Eliza heard her two rooms away.

With his thumb and forefinger massaging her clit, he dipped his tongue into her warmth, in, in, in and then into her tightness as far as he could, bringing another almost-scream from her.

Her body shook uncontrollably and she almost bucked him from between her silky thighs. Only his hands holding her tightly to his face kept him from losing his grasp on her. 

His subconscious was already anticipating plunging into her wildly moving wet heat.

He didn't try and control himself, it was a lost cause. Moving forward on her body, his right hand hooked behind her knee and brought her leg up and toward her face. His left hand held his throbbing cock and he slowly pushed himself into her tightness, opening her unbelievably tight virgin passage and then he felt her virginity and she moaned and he pushed.

"OOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

He tried to wait a moment but couldn't and began to move within her heat, so hot, so slick, so tightly hold him.

He tried to build a rhythm but couldn't concentrate so great was his need for her.

It didn't matter for her own fingers had moved down to massage herself and as she brought herself to an almost magical orgasm, her wild movements caused him to explode.

She felt the strength, the force of his orgasm surging inside her once, twice, now four times and came again one final time.

Her cries were heard again by her sister, so alone in her own bed, wishing she was anywhere but listening to her baby sister scream as Bethany's lover pounded into her once virginal body.

"Huh... huh... huh..." he was breathing so hard, the first time in four years. She lay there, her body still giving little tremblings as she came down from her own high.

He reached for her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers, smiling into her chocolate face as she looked up at him, knowing that nothing would ever be the same between them.

The fog rolled from the beach, so thick he could see almost nothing through the bedroom window but the white dampness looking back at him. In the misty distance, several town lights gave off a blurry glow.

He stood there only a few moments but it still seemed forever, reflecting on everything since he impetuously met her that morning in Venice.

It had started so simply, a curiosity on his part and then that fateful decision to actually stop the car and talk with her, somehow hoping that she would say 'yes' and yet fearing that she would just laugh and walk away.

His fear of loneliness hidden by his boyish enthusiasm to please her, an unknown person she was then and now he knew he could describe every inch of her body, every smile she ever had on her face, every piece of her soul.

How pleased he was to find a sharp intelligence fine enough to match the beauty of her face, the gentle caress of her touch, the silky smoothness of her skin, the sound of her laughter, the smile in her eyes, the taste of her lips.

How he desperately spent those early days suppressing his growing infatuation, fighting his desire and then it was she who came to him at last.

He turned from the window to watch her sleeping. She had turned away from him and in the room's dimness he could just see the curve of her waist and hip.

For a moment, she reminded him of Catherine. 

"James, it's time for dinner, James." 

He rushed downstairs and kissed his wife, running his hands through her long blond hair.

"Catherine, Merry Christmas, darling. I do so love you. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me."

The two girls came in, the little one still eager for attention, the older one just starting to distance herself from him but he knew she was still Daddy's girl... so much like their mother.

There was a rustle from the covers and he could sense more than see Bethany's arm beckon him back to bed.

It was too early to get out of bed and too late to try and fall asleep again.

There were always other things to do, he thought, pulling back the covers and sliding in next to her warmth...

He lay on his side and lightly ran his left hand up her back, stopping at her neck... and then back down again to the rise of her waist, sliding his fingers over her cheeks, feeling, touching, rubbing then moving between her thighs to her pussy. The second time, she clenched her muscles, trapping him. He curled his finger as she moaned in both surprise and pleasure.

"Oh, Jimmy... what... oh, I like that. How..." His finger gliding between her thighs... how could she enjoy such an intimate act and yet she did.

"Shhh... just relax and feel good." She felt so good beneath his fingers, massaging her, arousing her with such new feelings.

He could feel her tense, both afraid and yet still wanting the adventure. He whispered into her ear. She laughed. It sounded like small bells tinkling in the wind. And then, the moment of truth for him.

"Bethany, I love you. I want you to be my wife. I don't know how but if you say yes, we'll find a way to make this work. I swear." There it was. He said it.

She lay there, quietly considering what he had said.

"Did you do it this way with her? Often?" What kind of life did her lover have before her? A man who had just asked her to be his wife, an impossible wish for either of them, especially for her... she knew it was an impossible dream... but what are dreams for except to dream of a world that could never exist outside the walls of this house, outside the walls of the bedroom, outside the covers of this bed.

"Yes... it was her idea. Does that bother you?" 

"No, I hope that I enjoy it as much as she did. Uh... Jimmy?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Will it hurt, this way, in the beginning?" How much was she prepared to endure to please him? But, Catherine had done it.

"Don't be tense, just relax. I'll be very slow, I promise." He had no desire to cause her any pain and yet his desire to share another way to love with her...

"All right, go ahead; I'll try my best for you." She tried her best to relax... relax, unsure how it would feel to be taken this way, an almost impersonal way, almost as if there were a phantom lover, unseen, just felt.

His fingers traveled over her dusky skin, massaging her crack, then slid over her cheeks, moving his hands around, kissing everywhere he went. Her moans increased and she began to move her hips in rhythm with his hand and then he returned his finger to its prize, slipping almost all inside her once virginal prize.

"...oooooooooo..." she moaned as his finger probed her. He continued to slowly move inside, preparing her for this new way to make love. Leaving one finger there, he kissed her neck at just the right spot, bringing her arousal higher still and focusing her attention to his lips as he slipped a second finger in.

"...aaaaaaaaaa..." A sound not of pain but one of astonishment. She had moved her own fingers to her clit and was tweaking it gently and then harder, finally pushing into herself, joining her fingers with his deep inside.

He knew he was harder than ever before. All he could see was that fine chocolate skin beneath his fingers.

Catherine, his beautiful loving Catherine, had wanted to do it during their honeymoon. He knew European girls were supposedly more sophisticated than their American cousins but her request still shocked him. She had been his sixteen-year-old virgin bride, he knew that and yet she had been talking with someone.

Ever since, it had been a pleasant and exciting addition to their lovemaking. He eventually thanked his mother for her wedding night talk with her daughter. Europeans... ah, even now the memory gave him a greater desire to enter Bethany.

He gently moved between her welcoming open legs and slowly pulled her waist back toward him.

She could feel it touch her. Oh, God, this was it, wasn't it? He was going to take her in the most intimate way possible, something she had heard of but never expected to experience herself. Oh, God, she could feel him starting to slip inside, opening her up and then he was moving deeper, deeper, so easily deeper into her so tight pussy.

"Mmmmmmm... oh, goddamn, Jimmy..." 

He waited a moment, not so much for her as for himself. Four years had been a long time and he had no desire to have it finish in a few moments.

He pulled back slowly, gently, pulling her out a little as it was dragged along and then he pushed back in even deeper this time, over and over until almost all of his cock was buried out of sight.

He tried so hard to think of something else, anything else: the mountains, the beaches, the 1919 Sox scandal, anything else but he couldn't except for the image of both women, bared before him, inviting, enticing, demanding...

Moving at a much faster pace, he held her even more tightly against him as he began to force himself harder and harder into her. Her now continuous moans only spurred his need that much more.

He could feel himself almost there, the heat moving from deep inside him and racing to explode into Bethany. She felt him swell even harder, longer, hotter... if any of that was possible. It seemed like nothing was impossible with him.

He knew this was going to be it. She knew this was going to be it. He burst again and again and again, flooding her for the second time in their brief but so intense courtship. Was that what it was? A very strange courtship, working past so many different levels of impossibility... each trying to stop but unable to consider life now without the other.

She had been using her fingers on her clit and came just a few moments later, moaning so loudly this time it woke her sister from her own dreams of love.

They collapsed together onto the sheet. Still buried deep inside, her thighs clenching his cock tightly; he was content to just lie on her, kissing her between her shoulders.

When his heart and breathing had calmed, he heard her saying something...

"...uhhhh... Bethany Rose, are you all right? Did I hurt you? I'm sorry, I thought you'd like it."

"So, this was doggee style, huh? Can you do it again?" She began stroking in earnest, willing to pretend they would be married some day if it made him happy.



Chocolate Kisses Ch. 05



She knew damn well what those noises were.

Copyright @ calibeachgirl

All rights reserved, 2011

Saturday, December 26th, 1931

James Ewart's home

El Segundo, California

The pancake batter sat covered and waiting in the refrigerator. The canned blueberries had all sunk to the bottom of the bowl, nothing a spoon couldn't correct, easy enough.

She kept wanting to call it the 'ice box.' Her new way of life was harder than she thought. Fancy names for fancy ice boxes...

After two weeks, Eliza considered the kitchen her domain and Bethany Rose was now getting on her nerves with her new fancy ways... forgetting where she'd come from... trying to be the man's wife inside the house, telling her what to do, like she didn't know how to cook and clean well enough. Mr. Ewart hadn't made any complaints.

Eliza walked over to the kitchen sink window and looked out at the yard. Bethany had John rake up the fallen oranges and throw them on the compost heap but more were ripening and if they didn't start eating them... Never in her life... white people... and now, Bethany Rose. 

Even the radio was off, now. She was tired of listening to goddamn 'Sister Aimee,' that self-righteous fake. Once she was found out shacking up with her married boyfriend, Ken Ormiston in Santa Barbara... everyone thought she had drowned in Santa Monica Bay.

"Guess I better go out there and get some more," she said to herself, upset that she was in the empty kitchen without anyone to talk to, "before the rest of the damn things fall down." 

Walking outside, she starting picking oranges from the trees and putting them into her basket. He told her he wanted the children to drink orange juice every morning. 'Vitamin C.' he had said. 'Vitamin C.' 

'Well, here was plenty of Vitamin C, all right. Good thing it tasted sweet. Trying to get children to eat anything 'good' for them was a lost cause.'

Eliza put the oranges on the counter and became upset, again. Bethany promised to help pick up the Christmas toys all over the house... she was still upstairs, somewhere.

Eliza stopped to peel an orange and eat it. ''Vitamin C' or not, this is a very nice, juicy treat.'

As far as she knew, Mr. Ewart was always an early riser but this morning it was already half-past eight and there was no sign of him... or Bethany Rose, for that matter.

She'd like to believe her sister when she said that she was working hard at night with the books. The books... was that what she was calling it, now? 

As smart as her sister was, did Bethany really expect her to believe that? She knew the truth, especially this morning. Bethany wasn't in her room, her bed hadn't been slept in and the noises coming from his room had kept her up half the night... she knew damn well what those noises were.

The knock on the door woke Bethany Rose. Looking at James, sound asleep and lightly snoring, she pulled the blankets back and slipped out, opening the door just enough to peek out.

"I thought I'd find you here, Bethany."

"What do you want, Eliza? What time is it, anyway?"

"What time is it? Little Sister, what time do you think it is?"

"Shhh, stop..." Bethany looked back into the room and lowered her voice. "Stop bothering me, Eliza, what do you want? Can't you just be happy, once in a while?"

"Oh, nothing, forget it. Go back to sleep." Eliza went back to her kitchen to decide what she wanted for supper.

Close to ten o'clock, she could hear Bethany Rose moving around upstairs. 

'It's about time. Thank the Lord the children are too young to understand any of it.'

Eliza heard the water running upstairs. She also heard her sister's giggling... just like a young girl... a young, silly girl. 

'Lord, help us.' Eliza looked up as if trying to see through the kitchen ceiling into the upstairs bedrooms.

She looked at her reflection on the back of the copper-clad pot. She touched her face, touching a wrinkle here, a white hair there. 

She put the pot down and sat at the kitchen table, her head down to hide her sobs. 

At ten-thirty, Bethany came down to the kitchen, wearing a different robe from the one she had on yesterday. Peeking out from the opening folds was a light-green negligee, so sheer as to be nothing. 

If there had ever been any doubt in Eliza's mind, it was over now. She wanted to reach out and just touch the silk. 'Silk. I've got cotton and she get's silk..."

"What?"

Eliza just looked at her younger sister and then turned away. When he finally decided to come down, he'd probably be hungry, considering what they'd been doing. 

'Pancakes aren't going to be enough; especially considering what time it is... especially considering what he's been doing all night... especially considering that big damn smile Bethany is wearing.'

She opened the ice... 'the refrigerator,' she reminded herself, the refrigerator and took out the ham from yesterday's dinner.

"Is he coming down anytime soon?"

"Now, how would I know..."

"Be quiet, Bethany Rose, just be quiet. Is he coming down for... lunch, now, you've both missed breakfast."

"I could go back up and ask, I suppose." She started to rise from the table.

"Oh, just sit down, you go up there and I won't see either of you until tomorrow." 

Bethany smiled. That seemed like such a good suggestion.

Bethany looked out the kitchen window as she washed tomatoes for the evening dinner. Tonight was spaghetti night. She was going to make a salad and pineapple upside down cake for dessert, giving Eliza a break. She felt a little guilty keeping Eliza up all night with her noisy lovemaking with James. Later, she had a surprise... vanilla ice cream and 7-Up.

It was much more fun cooking when there was food in the house.

James was playing 'horsey' with Lizbeth and John, letting them jump up and down on his back and push him onto the grass. The sound of their screaming didn't seem to bother him at all. His quiet afternoons had evolved into something else entirely.

On one of the Adirondack chairs under the shade of the willow trees, Eliza was feeding Glory some of the new Gerber's strained carrots and watching her other two children knock him down once again.

John and Lizbeth were going to have to take a bath before going to bed, Eliza realized.

James was going to have to take a bath before going to bed with her, Bethany realized.

He was hungry and really looking forward to eating both the spaghetti and the cook. James smiled, licking his lips.

As Eliza sat watching James play with her two older children, she realized Bethany sleeping with James had indeed aroused feelings of jealousy. Her sister had found a lover that not only cared for her in the house but in the bedroom, oh, yes, the bedroom as she well knew, hearing her sister's loud moaning almost all night long... he truly was a considerate man. Henry had never once given her something to moan about... not once.

There was no reason whatsoever for him to be crawling around the grass playing horsey with her two older children, none whatsoever other than he was a better man than most.

She was ashamed of her behavior. At least, as far as she knew, he was unaware of it and she hoped to keep it that way. 

Early Sunday morning, December 27th, 1931

Eliza had the table set for breakfast. Her little spat with Bethany Rose had quickly blown over as it does with all sisters. It had been a stupid argument, she realized and after watching him with her children yesterday... was it indeed jealousy rising in her heart?

She cringed when she thought about the hovel they were living in only a few weeks before.

She stopped justifying Bethany in her mind and stared out the window into the brightness of the lingering mist. 

'Thank God,' she smiled, 'for Mr. Ewart... or Jimmy, as Bethany insists on calling him, now.'

Whatever she was going to think next was interrupted by Bethany Rose entering the kitchen.

"Good morning, sister, dear. I hope you slept well." Bethany Rose stretched her arms into the air, yawning for effect, forgetting the robe was never tied for she had used the belt for another one of his bedroom games.

"Bethany Rose!"

"What? Oh, I forgot." Bethany hurriedly closed her robe, smiling. Her negligee had been left in the bedroom, somewhere... probably wrapped in the bed covers strewn all over the floor.

"Eliza," she quickly said, trying to change her sister's attention to something else. "Can I have some coffee, please?"

"Since when did you start drinking coffee?"

"Since I'm getting woke up at half-past three, that's when. What time is it, anyway? I lose all track of time with him."

"It's almost nine o'clock. What are you doing to him that he can't get up?"

"Oh, he can get it up. It's what he's doing to me. There's no satisfying him." She gently rubbed her ass through the robe, smiling. This was something she was going to like... a lot.

"Well, are you going to tell me or not?" If she couldn't do it she could still hear about it. Eliza put the cups of coffee down on the table and they both sat down, heads together like the conspirators they were.

"Well, this morning..." She stopped and looked to make sure they were alone. "This morning, he..."

"Good morning, ladies. I hope you all slept well."

Eliza laughed as Bethany dropped her cup and splashed coffee all over the table. She jumped up and away from her chair.

"Don't just laugh, give me a towel!" How did he keep sneaking up on her without a sound? She had no clue.

James took the towel from Eliza and began to wipe up the coffee from Bethany's robe. 

It was then that he saw she was without her negligee. He stopped wiping and moved closer to her face, kissing her, pulling her onto his lap as he sat down.

As much Eliza knew what her sister was doing every night, for him to come right out and kiss her, right on the mouth in the kitchen... and, now, on his lap!

He set Bethany Rose up on her feet again and gave her a slap on the butt as she giggled like a little girl.

"Eliza," he said, "thank you for being here." He stood up and kissed her on the cheek.

Eliza touched her cheek, the kiss so sudden, so unexpected, so... so exciting. 

As she turned to the ice... 'the refrigerator,' she reminded herself, to get breakfast started, there was just the hint of a smile.

"Good morning, Mr. Ewart..."

"Eliza, let's forget that foolishness, at least in the house, please. You know my name is James."

Bethany poured the orange juice. 'Your name is..."

"No, you don't, you little vixen." He moved to her and began tickling her waist.

"James, stop, I'll drop the juice. Please!"

"Plenty of oranges, only one of you."

She just managed to get the pitcher down on the table before his hands disappeared between the folds of her open robe and pulled her to him, kissing her so deeply Eliza could see her sister tremble from his touch.

'She's going to have a baby if this keeps up...' she thought at first. 'Where's my man? Why can't I have a man?' was second. 

"Bethany," he whispered, tickling, tickling, tickling, "want to eat now... or, later?"

"Why, Jimmy, what do you want to eat?" As if she didn't already know him by now.

"Pie?" He had become so free with her, laughing and touching.

"Later, then. I'm going to need the extra strength to keep up with you. 

"Eliza, are we ready? I'm starving!"

"Just you sit down, little sister. I'm almost finished." Eliza's emotions wavered whenever she saw him, now. 

"Sure smells good, Eliza," he said, "what fantastic breakfast have you planned for us this morning, dear sister?"

"I hope you don't mind, Mr... James, but I found the cookbook and let it open by itself. There were enough marks to tell me it was something you liked and I've been doing that since the second day."

"That was very nice, Eliza, thank you." 'That explains that,' he thought, now knowing how Eliza knew just what he liked to eat.

The breakfast conversations centered on having the children have at least some schooling. He was insistent. Without education, no child had a future.

Even then, the loving looks between the two told Eliza more than any words could ever express. She wouldn't be surprised if they headed back upstairs after breakfast and not come down until dinnertime.

"Look, if we can't find someone able or willing to do it, I'll do it myself."

Both women looked at him in disbelief. A white man teaching colored children... it would never happen, not in a million years.

"Ladies, subject closed. More pancakes, please."

He looked at both sisters, smiling. Eliza's demeanor had indeed changed this last day. Whatever caused that, he didn't care, as long as it was permanent.

He reached under the table to his left and held Bethany's hand. She moved it down to her thigh and left it there.

Eliza's hand, he took into his above the tabletop and he told her how grateful she had come to live with them. Eliza felt herself blushing like a schoolgirl. She looked to see if Bethany was watching but her sister seemed to just be eating her waffle, saying nothing.



Chocolate Kisses Ch. 06



Chapter 6

There's no glory in death...

Copyright @ calibeachgirl

All rights reserved, 2011

Monday, December 28, 1931

At seven o'clock sharp, James sat down to the breakfast. Eliza, surprised to see him returning to his usual pattern, poured him a glass of cold fresh orange juice and went to fry a couple of pancakes and an egg, 'sunny-side up.' 

She glanced at him several times while the food was cooking; wondering if there was any significance to his early rising.

As he finished his second pancake, he motioned her to sit down. She was going to sit in her usual place but he pulled out the chair opposite Bethany's.

"Please, sit here. Children, all right?"

"Yes, James." Eliza, even after three weeks, was nervous talking to him, afraid one wrong word could put them all on the street, afraid that her hidden emotions would surface and ruin her fantasy.

"Are you all right, Eliza?" She looked like death warmed over, so nervous was she.

"Yes, I am, thank you." She knew she wasn't but how could she explain her desire to the man sleeping with her sister, the man that she herself wanted? What was it about him that attracted both sisters? Was it because he was the first man to treat them courteously, warmly, lovingly? 

"Eliza, does it bother you I'm sleeping with Bethany?" It had to come out into the open some time, might as well be now, he thought. 

She was afraid to answer and just sat there. There's no answer that would work for any of them. How could she tell him that she desired him? How could she tell her sister that she desired him? It was hard enough admitting it to herself each lonely night as she touched herself in her empty bed.

"Eliza, please tell me the truth. Don't worry about her, she's still sound asleep." At least, she was when he left her.

"Well..." She still didn't know what to say.

"It bothers you, doesn't it? Do you think I'm taking advantage of her? Is that it?" It never occurred to him that sibling rivalry and just plain female jealousy would...

"No, sir, that's not it. You've brought us into your home and treated us very... well, like family, even before she..." Even before she became his mistress, she struggled to say but just couldn't seem to form the words. 'Mistress' was for white women, 'whore' was for coloreds, that was the way of the world, just the same.

"There's a 'but' coming, isn't there?"

"Yes, sir." She liked him, she desired him but at that moment, she feared him.

"Eliza, please... call me James in the house." How long would it take for these girls to start living a real life? Did he really think he could break years of conditioning in just a few weeks?

"It's just..." She still couldn't say it... it was hard enough just thinking those thoughts.

"Eliza, please." 

"It's just that I don't see how she's not going to get her heart broken and probably yours, too." She looked at him, almost staring at him, daring him.

"You're going to meet a white woman at some point and marry her. Where does that leave her? Where does that leave me and mine? What then?"

He sat there in silence. "Eliza, it's not like that and you know it."

Silence.

"Mr. Ewart..."

"Please, Eliza... James."

"Fine, James, then. That's what you say, now. How is she ever going to be any more than your whore? And what if you put a baby in her? Answer me that?"

"She's not my whore," he said, truthfully, defensively. 

Silence.

"I don't know." He pushed the remnants of the egg yolk around the plate.

"At least you're honest. Few men seem to be." That damned Henry certainly wasn't, sleeping around, getting drunk and gambling what little money he did have, running away was the only good thing he ever did for her once they were married.

Whatever James was going to say was lost with the appearance of Bethany Rose, wearing another new robe covering most of a different negligee. This one, peaking out, was light yellow and just as filmy as the other three Eliza had seen. 

She doubted they got much use, though, considering... She started to rise from the chair but James put his hand on her wrist and she sat back down.

"Bethany, would you please get your sister some... coffee or tea, Eliza?"

Bethany looked at her sister who only shrugged her shoulders.

"Yes, Jimmy, what would you like, Eliza?"

"Coffee's fine..." Eliza said, softly and somewhat dejected. 'What was he doing?' she wondered.

Bethany was soon serving breakfast to Eliza and then the children came sleepily in. 

James grabbed up the little girl and put her on his lap. "Good morning, sweetheart. Are you hungry? Let's ask Aunt Bethany for some food."

"Anty Betny, can I have some cakes, please?"

Bethany looked in the refrigerator for the batter and lit the stove. The smell of pancakes frying on the griddle filled the room again and the little girl carefully watched her aunt get more orange juice.

James cut up the pancakes for Lizbeth. "Let me put some maple syrup on there for you.

"Do we have any sausage, Bethany?"

"No, but we do have bacon, would you like that?"

"Would you like that, my little sweetheart?"

"Yes, please, Uncle Jimmy."

"OK! Let's have some bacon for my little sweetheart, here. Oops, let me get that." He wiped the dripping syrup from her face. "Guess I'm not doing such a good job, after all."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Are you going to be my new daddy?" The little girl seemed more honest than her mother when it came to expressing her needs with James.

Eliza looked at her daughter in shock, unaware that the little girl had already asked him the same question Christmas day, causing him to spend the rest of the day in his room, lying on his bed in the darkness.

She picked up her daughter and left the room, looking back at him.

Bethany put the bacon back. He looked at her, wondering what she was thinking. She knew the little girl's question caused him to spend Christmas day alone... at, least, she laughed, until she came in to give him her Christmas gift.

Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Eliza's questions weighed heavily on his mind. What was he going to do about Bethany? What was he going to do about her? 

Unbelievably, this beautiful chocolate girl had given him her virginity on Christmas night and hadn't left his bed since.

The solace he found with her... somehow, he knew Catherine didn't mind.

"Can I have some of that bacon, Bethany?"

She nodded and took the bacon back out to fry for him. She was unsure what her sister was going to say to Lizbeth but knew it would stop her from asking that question again. Poor little girl, only asking for love...

That same question, or at least one like it, had also been bothering her. What was he going to be? Friend, lover, uncle, father? What was he going to be? All or eventually none?

Staring out the kitchen window, she was startled when he yelled. The bacon grease had caught fire and the flames were licking the ceiling.

He tore her robe from her and yelled at her to get out of the kitchen and take the children outside. 

He put the robe over the burning griddle and quickly took it out the back door and onto the lawn away from the house. Dropping it on the grass, he ran back into the kitchen to see if there was anything else burning.

The kitchen was full of oily smoke and some smudging that was going to take all day to clean. Everything was going to have to washed down, hopefully just in the kitchen.

He opened all the windows to air out the house.

As the cool winter air began to glow through the house, the smoke and smell slowly dissipated and then finally disappeared. 

He took a towel and snapped it around, trying to hurry things up but decided he just looked stupid and wasn't even sure if he was doing any good anyway. He decided to stop before he broke something and made an even bigger mess.

A half-hour later, he yelled out the window for them to come back in and then laughed. Bethany Rose had stood outside wearing just the filmy negligee and ran upstairs to her room, slamming the door.

"Guess Eliza won't have to worry about losing the housekeeper's job. What was Bethany thinking?" he muttered to himself. What WAS she thinking?

The three of them spent the rest of the morning washing everything in the kitchen. Eliza so wanted to say something to her sister but with James in the room, kept quiet. By the time they were finished, though, the two sisters were laughing again.

Dinnertime...

The baking cornbread was almost done when Eliza's cherry pie was ready for the oven. The opportunity to really cook had unleashed within her a passion for the kitchen.

"I'll be in the library reading for a while. What time do you plan on having dinner?" If he kept eating her Southern cooking, he knew he would soon become a fat caricature of himself and that was the last thing he desired. If he kept eating her sister... well, no weight gains there.

"The pie's going to take about two hours, if you want it with dinner."

"Could we eat earlier and have it later? With some ice cream?"

"Whatever you'd like, James... fried chicken, half an hour?" 

"Great. If I forget, just come and get me." As if he'd miss a chance to eat her... cooking. He never thought like that before.

Bethany Rose fed Glory and watched the other two children as they finished their dinner of chicken and mashed potatoes. As soon as the children were away, the adults could...

As soon as they were finished, all three were going to bed. Bethany wondered if she had hurried them up a little too fast. 

Three little children, even in as large a house as it was, were underfoot almost all of the time and she knew James wanted a quiet evening most days even when he was the cause of the children acting crazy. The man was a continual source of contradictions... but then, wasn't everyone?

"That book sure made him upset." Eliza didn't like James to be upset. His demeanor set the tone for the entire family. Why did she think family? Is that what they'd become? 

There definitely wasn't a master-servant relationship existing between James and the two sisters. What there was, Eliza had no idea, at least as far as it concerned her.

While she continued to be the housekeeper in both duties and name, he treated her more like a sister but looked at her more like a woman. It both thrilled her and worried her because she knew she was looking back and he was Bethany's man... or, at least she thought. Men!

"I know. It must have brought back memories of Catherine. I just know it's been eating away at him all this time, but I don't know what to do."

Eliza looked at her sister. "You're sleeping with him. You're his friend. What more can you do? Does he still tell you he loves you? That's a hard line for any man to cross, even if it's true. He's in love with you, Bethany. You know that and I know that and he knows that. What are you going to do about it?"

James, reading a popular history of the War in the library, wasn't surprised how much of it was incorrect. He wondered if the author had ever been to Europe, let alone in uniform.

He started making notations along the margins in red and forcibly underlining passages that particularly irked him for their inaccuracies. 

He closed the book and put away his favorite fountain pen, his last birthday gift from Catherine.

Eliza pulled the cornbread out of the oven, put in the pie and started cutting up the chicken. Dipping each piece into the seasoned flour, she put them into the hot oil and soon the comforting smell of frying chicken filled the house, replacing whatever leftover bacon smells still lingered in the house.

It was enough to bring James out of his self-imposed exile, a hungry look on his face. 

Leaving him to watch the kitchen, the sisters took the children upstairs to bathe and put to bed. He liked to watch the two walk away, the sway of their hips continued to capture his interest in the most prurient manner possible. One time he wondered what it might be like...

After they were gone, his imagination on that particular notion cooled and he cleared and reset the table for the three of them. Ever since he had told Eliza to sit next to his other side, he had noticed a lift in her spirits. Something as innocent as that made her feel special and less a servant, something both sisters had needed from him and he hoped he was able to give whatever support he could.

"Why don't you write your own book, Jimmy?" Bethany asked after she returned. Maybe it would keep his mind off having sex with her every time they were alone... not that she minded. Whatever he was doing to her, she never wanted him to stop.

"Nobody would read it. There's no glory in death, only fools will tell you otherwise." Tell that to the boys still resting beneath the poppy-strewn soil of Flanders along the Western Front. All quiet on the Western Front, indeed. People would be still talking about the War a hundred years from now, he was sure.

She took the butter and coleslaw from the refrigerator. "Is there anything else you want, Jimmy?" She knew what he was going to say but liked to ask him, anyway.

"Just you... just you." Oh, yes, not the only cherry pie he'd eaten since they moved in... his mind kept coming back to her chocolate body silhouetted against the whiteness of the sheets, thrilling him as he remembered last night.

She could only giggle as she sat to his left. Eliza returned and she sat down to his right. It was time to enjoy the quiet of the evening surrounded by the new women in his life. 

Still, he missed his Catherine and his two little angels and if he ever found who really destroyed his family, there wasn't anything on earth strong enough to protect them from him. Even now, responsible for these five new people, he knew what he would do without hesitation just as he fought in the skies over eastern France.

He willingly pushed those dark thoughts back into the box he had built around them and turning to the sisters let his mind wander off in a more personal direction. What it his imagination playing with his mind or did both sisters now start wearing tighter sweaters in the evening?

"James?" Eliza touched his arm, startling him from his reverie.

"Huh? Most have... what, dear Eliza? I... what?" 

He had to stop daydreaming about them. Reality was so much better. Once Bethany had gotten over her initial hesitation, she became an amazingly sensuous woman, anticipating his desires before he was aware of them himself.

He relaxed on the sofa, his right leg stretched out against the back, his left down on the floor pushing his slippers away. Bethany had spooned herself there, leaning back against his chest, reading The Great Gatsby. 

The book was absolutely scandalous, filled with affairs. She knew her love for James was even more illicit than any in Fitzgerald's story and that both thrilled and terrified her.

She closed both the book and her eyes, desperately trying to lose that last thought before it made her cry.

His left arm around her waist would occasionally move up so his hand could caress her breast while he nuzzled her neck. Once he discovered how easily aroused she became...

Eliza, sitting across the room, was knitting a sweater for him, a dark russet-brown to match his hair. Aside from keeping the house in order and cooking his favorite foods from his wife's cookbook, there was little more she could do for him to express her gratitude.

She prayed Henry would just disappear and never return. She was so much better off without him and his miserable, selfish ways.

In the corner, the phonograph was softly playing one of his Italian operas. She couldn't understand much but James had explained the story of the little Bohemian girl to her and she just let the music flow around her. Love and sadness were universal.

James had brought back the full-length recording of La bohème after the War. Recorded early in 1917 with the La Scala Orchestra in Milan, it had prompted him to learn enough Italian to translate the lyrics and he would tease Catherine with romantic phrases that she couldn't understand but knew what he meant.

He had played it for his young wife on their honeymoon but he would never tell the two sisters that. Some memories belong only to those who... the music brought a vision of Catherine to him, waiting for him their first night together, so eager to please, so eager to become his woman, so eager to be the mother of his children.

Bethany had her eyes closed; his right hand covered hers resting on his leg and she shifted once in a while to accommodate his growing erection.

While she might have thought it was her, he knew it was only his memories.

How much longer this idyllic scene could continue, she didn't know. If life were fair, it would have lasted forever.

He could feel her purring like a cat, the vibrations running from her body to his like the love she had for him.



Chocolate Kisses Ch. 07



Chapter 7

Lose your wife, lose your life and lose your soul

Copyright @ calibeachgirl

All rights reserved, 2011

Tuesday, December 29, 1931

They didn't return from the airfield until well after dark. 

It had taken several weeks to get the plane safely flyable again. James wanted it to be a surprise and tried to have at least a few hours each day working on the Jenny before coming home for dinner. 

Bethany had found his calendar with 'Jenny' and times and dates and thought he was stepping out on her until he took her to the airfield and surprised her with the plane. After that, they worked on it together and kept the secret to themselves.

Subconsciously, he had wanted her to find the calendar, leaving it on his desk, open like that. It was too wonderful a secret to keep and with her help he met his self-imposed deadline of New Year's Eve. He couldn't wait to get her into the air... the plane, too.

Showing her how to inspect and polish the propeller, he went about rechecking the radiator connections and the water level. 

Walking around the plane, he carefully examined the wire rigging one last time.

Four years the plane sat in the hanger, protected from the weather, but it needed to be carefully taken apart and inspected. He would never risk her life with it. Never. One last walk-around and they were finished.

He couldn't wait for tomorrow. He saw she was excited, the smile on Bethany's face lit up his heart.

She was still polishing the propeller when came from behind the wings. 

"Bethany, it's good, baby, it's good. It's time to go home."

"I'd rather spend some time here with you, Jimmy."

"Are you ready for tomorrow? You're not afraid, are you?"

"Just a little, but I'll be with you and that makes me feel safe. I know that you wouldn't let anything happen to me."

They sat on a couple of wooden crates and looked at the airplane.

"You'd take Catherine flying, didn't you?"

"Yes. We flew almost from the beginning. She loved the sky... said it made her free from her cares. 

"Yes, we flew."

"And, now you want to take me. Do you think she'd mind. I mean..."

"I thought about a lot of things since you came to live with me. Even before... you know... even before that. Catherine would be happy for us. I don't think she ever envisioned someone like you as far as..."

"Being colored."

"Well, yeah, I guess you could say that. But, I'm sure that the color of your mind and heart and soul would be so natural to her that she would think of you as an excellent wife for me.

"We'd be married now if things were different. Bethany Rose," he went to his knee and offered in his hand a simple gold band to her. "Would do me the honor of being my wife?"

He was insane, that she was sure of. He had already asked her once but she gave no reply. It was insane then and it was insane now.

If she continued to offer her silence in reply, how would he feel? She was madly in love with him. That was the right word, 'madly.' It was insane to think they ever would, ever could be married.

She looked at the ring. It was symbolic of their relationship: plain, simple, understated, complete. And yet, it pleased her that he would even consider marrying her. She already was sleeping with him. She smiled at that thought. Oh, yes, she was sleeping with him.

She was already... yes, she already might as well be.

"Yes. But, I don't..."

"Shhh, baby. We'll find a way. We'll find a way."

He slipped the gold ring onto her chocolate finger and kissed her as he always wanted to, as his wife. 

Even though they were alone, she whispered, "Tonight, darling, tonight."

Eliza made simple ham-on-rye sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes and coleslaw between the slices. She brought out cold bottles of Coke as they came into the kitchen. "I hope this is good enough, James. I wasn't sure what time you'd be coming home."

Bethany had wanted to bathe first but if she went upstairs, she wouldn't be coming back down. The lure of the bed was too much once she was in his room. And if he was there, it wasn't a ham sandwich he'd be eating anytime soon. She started to giggle; her sister looked at her, wondering just what was going on in her mind and then saw the ring.

'Oh, Jesus, what had they done?' 

James sat wearily in his chair and laid his head down on the table. These long days were so tiring. He had one woman with him all day wanting nothing more than to love him and make love with him. The other, waiting at the house, desired at least some adult conversation. Eliza, surrounded by two small children and a sometimes cranky toddler all day, was sometimes more tired than they.

Bethany washed her hands in the sink and took the wet towel to him. Her attention to his needs... She'd attend to his other needs later, that she was sure of. Each night under the blankets, she found an eagerness that kept them awake for hours, leading to an even more exhausting next day... and now, it was going to be more special than ever before.

"This is a very good sandwich, Eliza, thank you. God, I'm so tired. You'll never believe what happened today in Redondo," said Bethany.

"We were down at the market there and Bethany was going over the books with Blaine Johnson. She was all business and you could see how nervous he was. I don't think he's ever been that close to a colored girl before."

"Did he faint? That would have been funny."

Bethany laughed. "Almost, I bet. His fingers were shaking the pages of the ledger so much I thought they were going to be ripped in two. For a while, I thought it was because there was money missing but he is clean as a whistle.

"Actually, I feel sorry for him. He's seen the future and doesn't know what to make of it. Can you get me another Coke, please?"

Eliza handed her another bottle. "Do you really think we're in the future? Really? I've my doubts on that."

"Eliza, look at us here."

Eliza was more interested in looking at Bethany's ring.

"Would you have believed we'd be living like this? Even if I had become a nurse, to live like this? I don't think so."

"So, what was so funny? That couldn't have been it."

"No, there was loud band music and then this huge noise outside the market. I went downstairs to the store windows; there was a circus parade going down Main and this elephant..." She started laughing; she couldn't speak. "...this elephant... oh, 'Liza."

Eliza waited impatiently. A circus parade! Another thing she missed out on... but then, if she had stayed in Venice, she'd have never seen it anyway and this arrangement they had... so much better.

Bethany's hand moved under to the table and brushed against James' thigh. His eyes widened slightly as he felt her touch. Even after all this time, he was excited by her brazenness. Suddenly, he wasn't as tired as he thought and gave her a wicked smile. Tonight would be interesting, that he was sure of.

"This elephant decided to stop and it sat on somebody's car. You could hear the car crunch! Oh, Eliza, it was so funny! That car was smashed. Oh, my..."

Eliza was aware of her sister's hand moving under the table; she was sitting across from her at the table, after all. She wasn't sure why Bethany Rose displayed her affection so openly. Her affection must be returned as strongly as she wanted. 

Was she having a honeymoon experience? Eliza never had anything like that, already pregnant with the boy. How stupid she had been but the constant berating did nothing to change the present.

Eliza tried to put her maddening interest in her sister's relationship with James away. She was lonely; she knew that and the two lovers no longer hid their affair from her. It bothered her because she was alone and cried herself to sleep too many nights now. Where was someone for her?

She still wondered how it would all turn out for them. She couldn't see how it would end well unless they maintained the pretense for the rest of their lives. Was that how life would be? 

It still did nothing for her own personal life. Three children all at the house... There were no colored men in this town and probably never would be and the idea that there was another James out there waiting for her was laughable. 

Things weren't going to change, even with kind men like James. She knew in her heart that not every white person hated colored people, but they just didn't find it a pressing issue to worry about. Even white women only got the right to vote ten years ago. How much longer would it take for anything better?

Each night she prayed for James. Prayed that he would be happy with them every day... prayed that he would live a long, happy life with Bethany, with her, with her children. Prayed every night to keep him safe...

"Ahhhh," Bethany yawned. "I'm going to bed. Thank you for dinner, Eliza. Do you know what we're eating tomorrow?"

Eliza looked at James. It was always her call but she still asked.

This time, he took an interest. "Can we have some chicken. Maybe make a salad and some homemade bread. Chocolate cake?" 

"What time do you think you'll be coming home?" That was always the question. With those two, who knew when they'd arrive? Sometimes, Eliza was sure they were making love somewhere whenever the mood struck them.

"Not like today, I'm telling you. I'll be there in a moment, Bethany." 

He looked at Bethany Rose just disappearing up the back stairs. "Eliza, I know this is hard for you, seeing Bethany and me like this. I never meant to cause you any grief. 

"I don't know what to say. I'm in love with your sister and I hope that she's in love with me and not just saying it because living here might be better than what you had.

"After my wife..." He looked at Eliza. "After my wife died, I wanted to die. Everyone was dead. How could I write her mother and say she was dead. How could I write her mother and say her granddaughters had been murdered most savagely. I couldn't and I still can't.

"When I write to her I tell her everything's fine. As long as I believed it, it was real for me. I couldn't let go of them.

"And then, I met Bethany Rose and you and your children and here we are, wherever that is.

"Love is blind, Eliza. Did I fall for her because she was there and I was so lonely? God, I hope that wasn't the reason.

"What if I had met you that morning? Would it be you and me sharing a bed together, instead? Have you ever thought about that?" Oh, yes, she had, every time she saw them together, oh, yes, she had.

"Goodnight, Eliza." He got up from the table. Suddenly she rushed into his arms and kissed him, running her hands across his face.

"Oh, James... I don't know what to do. I've been so jealous of her, having you and each night I hear... what you're doing. I...

"Oh, my God, how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough, I see. Eliza, how could..." Bethany turned and ran up the stairs, crying. How could Eliza do that to her? How could she? Bethany Rose fell on her bed, sobbing into her pillow, heartbroken, and tonight, of all nights. She looked at the ring and pulled it off. Without even looking, she flung it across the darkened room and heard it hit the wall and then nothing.

He honestly didn't know what to do. "Ah, Jesus Christ," was all he could say. He didn't need this, not now, not ever. Was it inevitable that this would happen? He should have known but he was so blinded by Bethany Rose he saw nothing else when they were together. The conflict between sisters, he had no experience... the conflict between two women in the same house, never before... and now, this...

He moved to follow Bethany but Eliza held him back by the arm. "No,' she said, "I'll go. It's my fault. Please, just stay here. I'll call you."

Eliza went to the freezer, got some ice cream and a couple of spoons and walked up the stairs to face her sister. The stairs were never steeper. She wondered if she finally had said that something that would have them all leave this sanctuary from the world. Her problem was that she could never hold her tongue.

After what seemed forever, he went upstairs prepared to hear the two screaming but it was all silent. Now, he was worried. Could they have killed each other? While unlikely, it was still possible. Who knows how women really think, anyway? Men didn't have even the smallest hint.

He knocked on Bethany's door.

"Please, Jimmy, go to bed. We'll talk to you in the morning."

He could have sworn he heard a giggle. At least, he thought, they weren't screaming at each other.

After showering, he crawled into the empty bed. How lonely it was to sleep alone, again. Sleep took a long time before it came upon him, more from mental exhaustion than restful peace and he tossed throughout the night. 

Wednesday morning, December 30, 1931

High above Santa Monica Bay

Far below, the blue waters of the Pacific gave way to the shallow green waves that built up and incessantly crashed upon the beach. The inviting waters from Alaska were so cold only some fools on New Year's Day ever ventured off the sand and not for very long. 

Like most things in California, looks could be deceiving to the naïve, innocent eye.

Just offshore, hungry schools of barracuda and the occasional Great White roamed what seemed a peaceful sea, waiting for any unsuspecting meal to come along, be it seal or swimmer.

So tiny compared to the vast ocean below, the flamboyantly yellow Curtiss Jenny swooped down and almost kissed the waters, a bright speeding spot against the blue aloofness of the deep.

Bethany held tightly to her belts as he put the plane into another series of slow gentle loops and carefully spun the plane upside down. 

Three miles out, the flotilla of gambling ships floated outside the legal state jurisdiction. Bethany could just make out the small ferry boats carrying gamblers hurrying to lose what little money they had.

James brought the plane down and they skimmed the waves next to the Rex, the most famous of the floating casinos.

Up, up, up it went until it stalled out and began falling down like a lazy leaf only to be caught by his skilled hand and then swoop down again toward the water. 

The headlong rush toward possible death aroused her and she found herself in a headlong rush to an impossibly strong orgasm as the plane once again made a lazy loop and headed back up into the sky.

He was overjoyed to be back in the air, the first time since evil had torn his life apart. The aerobatics of the plane mirrored his new outlook and hopes for the coming new year. He was free once more from his worries.

Flying was almost as good as making love but just as dangerous. Lose your mind, lose your life and lose your soul.

The sound of the low-flying plane grew loud enough to Eliza ran out of the kitchen and into the back yard to see it. Circling around, it headed back toward the house.

It buzzed the house with maybe fifty feet to spare and finally headed back to the new airport just to the north.

She went back into the house and started fixing dinner. James wanted early dinners on Sunday so he could have more time with Bethany. Lately, though, she noticed he was paying her more attention, talking to her, helping her in the kitchen when he could and playing longer with the children.

The Lord may have rested on the seventh day but James surely didn't. While the initial, almost continual lovemaking had tempered somewhat, she was still treated to the sound of her sister's sultry moans and the creaking of the bed.

"Oh, Eliza, it was incredible!" Bethany undressed, laying his leather flying pants and helmet upon the bed. "We went SO high! Did you see us? We flew right over the house..."

"That was YOU?" Eliza was astonished. He had taken Bethany up in an airplane. How was that even possible?

"He's got his own airplane; he's been keeping it over at the airport all this time. Oh, Eliza, it was so much fun. I can't wait to do it again. You must try it!"

She walked over to the dresser mirror and tried to comb her matted hair out. She looked closely, wiping some of the engine oil that had sprayed back. Someday, people should be able to ride inside the plane instead of having the weather fly into your face. Someday, planes were going to be fast enough to demand it. Someday...

"Oh, right, and when it comes down and hits something, then what?"

"Don't be silly. You know he was a pilot in the War. He's been flying for years now and it's his plane.

"What's for lunch?" Flying, she discovered, made her hungry.

"Baked chicken, salad, sweet potatoes and chocolate brownies for dessert. Don't tell me you're not hungry."

"Sister, don't worry about that. I'm famished. Just let me shower, though, and I'll be down and help you."

"Thank you." Eliza left Bethany to wash and went downstairs. With them both showering, she was surprised they weren't in the same bathroom.

No mention of last night, thank God. What madness had possessed her to kiss him, she still did not understand. Loneliness, yes, but no excuse to jeopardize everyone's life. 

How easily he could have taken advantage of her weakness and used her. What would have happened if Bethany Rose hadn't seen them together? It was a scary, scary question and she shuddered, just thinking about it.

Very late evening...

Bethany Rose knelt between his legs, sliding her mouth down onto his cock, saliva dripping from her lips. Her right hand moved his skin up and down, in time with her head. She could feel him swell just a bit more and then the huge rush of semen flooded her throat. She couldn't swallow fast enough and much of it spurted out from her almost closed lips.

He almost grabbed the back of her head but stopped. This was her gift to him. Any action on his part besides filling her mouth would spoil the moment.

She smiled at him, white stickiness smeared on her chin as her tongue came out and licked. Seeing that... he came again, strongly enough to spray onto her milk chocolate face and splash back onto his cock.

"So... you're full of surprises, tonight. Care to try it again?" She began to move her hand faster, tighter and she spit on his cock to ease the friction and make it last longer.

"Ahhhhhh, Jesus," he barely said before he came again. This time she was prepared and opened her mouth wide as he spurted three heavy streams.

She kept her mouth open and moved forward; taking him in, four inches, five inches, six... her hand was sandwiched between her lips and his balls. He could feel himself pushing against the back of her mouth and then slipping down her throat.

She moved forward just a little more and could feel his cock expanding in her mouth just before he exploded again. She pulled it out, dripping its precious white cream and she rubbed it across her face, moaning unintelligibly.

Holding his cock with her right hand, she opened her now creamy mouth and took in his left ball. With her left, she continued to move the skin of his cock up and down, faster now, so much faster.

"Oh, God..." he moaned, lost in his own rush. 

She went back to swallowing his cock, using both hands now to grasp his slipper skin, keeping her lips on its head while he continued to moan, not believing that something this good was happening to him.

She looked up at him and smiled, saliva dripping from her mouth to the tip of his cock. Taking him back in, the slurping sounds only served to drive him harder into her throat as he finally held the back of her head with one hand and the bottom of her chin with the other. Several times he could hear her gag but she continued to bob her head, taking him as deeply as she could. It was a strange sound, like two hands washing each other, the suction and release causing an almost hypnotic drum beat for so primitive a passion.

"Jimmy..." she almost couldn't speak. "Jimmy, lay back on the bed."




Chocolate Kisses Ch. 07



He quickly moved to the bed and lay back, his back leaning against the bedstead. His cock was so hard, so strong, with only a slight bend to the left. She moved again to his balls and swallowed his left one, spitting every so often to make it easier for both of them. He, for his part, continued to stroke himself, keeping it as hard as he could without releasing a torrent of semen before they were ready.

She licked upward from his balls to the tip and took him in again. Less than four minutes had gone by but neither was wearing a watch or anything else, for that matter. With his cock safely held in her mouth, she took her left hand and not really knowing why hit herself on the ass with it. 

The loud smack echoed in the bedroom, waking Eliza. It was going to be another of those nights, she said to herself, and pulled up the covers over her head and tried to block out the sounds from his room.

Bethany took her fingers and wiped her face, licking them clean one at a time. "You're tasty, did you know that? Want some?" How did this woman, a virgin until a few weeks ago, have such a kinky attitude? 

James smiled, looking at her shiny face. He touched her cheek, still a little sticky and put his finger into his mouth, sucking it clean. Then, he kissed her deeply, tasting himself on her lips and tongue.

He got up from the bed and holding her gently, kissed her over and over. 

She laughed and moved to the nightstand. Holding it with both hands, she looked over her shoulder at him and bent forward.

He didn't know what to do first: kiss her neck on that special, secret place only he knew, hold her by the waist and sandwich his cock between them or what he finally decided in just a second, hold his cock in his left hand, spread her cheeks apart with his other and push into her oh so wet, waiting pussy. With his cock deeply embedded, he held her with both hands and began to move in and out, trying to control himself, making it last as long as he could.

Ten massive strokes, twenty. She was moaning again and he slowed, thinking he was hurting her in some way.

"No," she gasped, "don't... keep pushing... harder. Do me."

Thirty... he bent forward and grabbed her left breast, found her nipple and gave it a little squeeze. 

"Nyuh...' was her response, pushing back as hard as she could.

Fifty... "Oh, yeah," he said, "oh, yeah." Seeing her hit herself had excited him and he gave her a sharp smack across her ass.

Her left hand continued to hold her cheeks apart while her right was working hard to keep her from falling forward as he slammed into her even harder than before.

"Ahhh!" Bethany Rose yelled. 

Eliza pulled her pillow tighter around her head, hoping to escape her sister's joyful moaning. 'This was ridiculous,' she thought. 'Oh, God, have mercy on me, I need to sleep.'

Seventy... "Oh, my God," was all he could say, looking at her ass as his cock went in and out of her dripping pussy. "Oh, God."

SMACK! SMACK! went his hand.

"Nyuh, nyuh..." just sounds, now, no thinking past a primeval need for sex. His hand gave her another one. He could feel her skin warming under his touch. She brought her own hand back and slapped.

He pulled out for a moment, and turning around, she spat upon the tip of his cock, saliva dripping from her now puffy, almost abused lips. A string of thick saliva ran from her mouth down to his hand.

He used the saliva to coat his cock again and holding it in his left hand, he bent her over again and moved to push back in.

"Nnnnnnuh, ah fuck!" she groaned. She had never used that word before; he would have noticed it if he had been able to.

They moved to the edge of the bed and she put her left leg upon the covers, leaving her right on the floor to support herself. Bending away from him once more, she was wide open, waiting for him.

"Oh, baby, it's good," he could barely get out as he pushed back in. She, for her part, could only moan more sounds. "Ooooooo."

Before he could cum, he pulled out and asked her to get back on her knees. She reached out with her hands and holding his slippery cock, opened her mouth and took him in.

Only eleven minutes had gone by if they had bothered to notice.

He held her head with both hands now and moved her head back and forth on his cock. She looked up at with widening eyes, amazed at his stamina. He still hadn't cum this time around while she had already twice.

He lifted her up from the floor, gently kissing her for several minutes. The sweet, salty taste he now knew was his, he relished it, sharing the experience with her. He took her back to the bed, and she lay down on her back, her ass close to the edge. He stood there, enjoying the incredible view of both her breasts and her wide open legs leading to her drenched pussy.

She held her legs open for him and he entered once again that unbelievable tightness, that warmth that he couldn't believe he had been missing all these years.

Push. Pull. Faster. Faster. Her moans increased in volume as his pumping quickened.

She let go of her legs and held the edge of the bed with both hands, keeping her from sliding back on the bed each time he pushed deeply into her. Now, he captured them against his chest, and as she moved toward him, he saw her nipples standing at attention.

"Ahhhuh..." she moaned. 

Push... pull... push...

"Ahhhhh, fuck me, Jimmy, ahhhhh..."

His right hand had moved around to the front of her legs, holding her tightly against his pelvis. She had somehow crossed her right leg over her left, tightening herself around his pistoning cock.

He split her legs apart and kept slamming into her. Their lovemaking bordered on the violent.

Eliza gave up and with her pillow left her bedroom and dragging a blanket behind her, went downstairs to the sofa. 

"Ahuhhhh... she moaned, "ahuhhhh... fuck... fuck me... ahuhhhh..."

He stopped, catching his breath. "Oh, God, oh, fuck..." Her insatiable appetite was starting to wear him out. This time, he did look at the clock. Over a half-hour, he saw. 

She reached out for him, pulling him back to her. She knew it was for the last time.

Thursday, December 31st, 1931 

James paced back and forth in the living room, staring at the grandfather's clock near the front window, one of the few things brought back from Europe besides his young 16-year-old pregnant wife.

The clock's hand seemed to slow as it inched toward midnight. The only memorable event he could think of for the year was bringing Bethany's family to live with him. His attraction to her had grown into a romantic involvement and he knew they were now illicitly living as man and wife.

There had been that one moment... that one moment when Eliza allowed her loneliness to overwhelm her good sense and loyalty to her sister and then Bethany walked in.

Seeing Bethany Rose run away crying... he was sure his life had come to an end again. Somehow, the sisters worked it out that evening as only sisters could and everyone pretended it never happened.

Eleven o'clock... one hour to go and 1931 would become a memory. The sisters had set the dining room table with the best china and silverware. The house looked wonderful; they had spent all day decorating the room.

In a bucket of ice three bottles of French champagne waited. Prohibition or not, New Year's Eve required the bubbly wine. These particular ones had gone through the canal and then up the coast to San Pedro. A few dollars here and there did wonders to quickly move special merchandise around.

Eleven-thirty... bong bong... the radio was tuned to music from Duke Ellington's band at the Dunbar Hotel on Central Avenue, the first upscale hotel expressly for Negroes. 

Both women were smiling... good, honest, happy smiles. Life was good. The new year had so many promises.

Eleven-forty-five... bong bong bong... fifteen minutes left. He stared at the minute hand, begging it to move faster.

Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

One...

Happy New Year!!! 

1932!!!

Bethany moved into his welcoming embrace and gave him a deep loving kiss. He could not hold her enough and loved the feel of her.

She whispered into his ear. 

He gave Eliza a kiss on the cheek and a hug, then popping a bottle open, he filled the three glasses and proposed a toast.

"Thank God for the children. They are our future. May they have a long, happy, prosperous life and children of their own.

"Thank God for Eliza. She has brought happiness to this house and made it a home, again. 

"And, thank God for Bethany Rose. She has brought me love and a new life. 

"I will always have memories of my wife and children and I guess this is the time when we remember those who we no longer have with us. I would be a liar if I said that I wasn't thinking of them each day. I do."

"I am grateful." Eliza said, "for you bringing me and my children into your home. It was an act of unselfish kindness that I never expected to see... I mean, you know, you being white and all. I didn't mean it like that, James, I'm just happy to be here. Thank you so much.

"And my dear sister, Bethany Rose... I am grateful to God for you. Instead of being the little sister, you have led me to a better life."

Bethany stood up and raised her glass. "To you, Jimmy, for everything." She emptied the glass and smiled. "I must admit that morning you stopped the car, I wasn't sure what to do. One side of me said, don't get in the car he might be... The other side of me said, why not? I'm glad I listened to that other voice.

"I never expected to fall in love with you. I DID think you wanted to sleep with me, especially that first night when you knocked on the door. I was SO sure that was what you wanted and I opened the door anyway. I guess that says something about me, doesn't it?

I love you, Jimmy. I want to walk with you at my side... as my lover."

"I would like to believe that I have a new family now. It's different and yet it's the same. Any family is built on love and I hope and believe that is what we have here, our little family.

"Eliza, I have asked Bethany to marry me. Before you say anything, yes, I know that seems to be impossible.

"Yes, if we continue as we are, living as we are, we are married in our hearts and souls but not in the eyes of the public. Do we really care what others think? Yes... and no... 

"The very fact that we are sitting here, together, tonight... shows that we do what we want. But, I want to be able to walk down the street with Bethany as my wife, with you as my sister and I can't do that here, I can't do that now. I don't know how to fix that but I will, somehow."

New Year's Day, 1932

Early afternoon

Bethany carefully laid out the simple white dress on her bed. 

The marriage ceremony, illegal in the eyes of the State of California... how could it be wrong in the eyes of God?

There was a soft knocking at the door, startling her. She had been staring at the dress for almost ten minutes.

"Bethany?" asked Eliza, "can I come in?"

She looked at the door, almost not seeing it through her tears.

"Uh, sure, Eliza."

Her sister came in to see Bethany crying in the middle of the room. "Bethany, are you all right?" Eliza smiled; at least this room wasn't as funky as his bedroom. The smell of sex lingered there because they never stopped; she aired out the room each morning after they... each night... oh, each night how they carried on. Eliza blushed.

Bethany Rose brought her hands up to her face, trying to wipe away the tears.

"This is supposed to be the most important day of your life. C'mon, stop crying, lil' sister. Have you changed your mind? Oh, God, don't tell me that."

Eliza was terrified if that was the case. She wasn't quite sure how James would react to something like that but was sure it wouldn't be good. 

There was no answer.

"What is it, then?"

"It's just that this is all make-believe. None of it is real."

"You silly girl, now you listen to me. He's the best thing that's ever happened to us. Since when has a law decided what's right or wrong? People marry each other, Bethany, not the government.

"You do love him, don't you?"

No matter the answer, Eliza was determined to see this through and if it took more than gentle persuasion to have her sister endure a meaningless ceremony, then so be it.

"Yes." Her voice was almost silent. She was afraid to admit that even to herself, this morning of all mornings.

"That man downstairs loves you. I think he's proven it time and again since we've come here. You're already his wife in your actions, if not in name. Don't you understand he wants this for you? He could go on sleeping with you and never even consider what's happening today... and, Bethany, you know that.

"He's a good man, Bethany... and they're hard to find, especially for us."

"It's just that..."

A knock on the door broke her thought.

"May I come in?" It was the minister's wife.

Bethany walked to the window overlooking the backyard, staring at the orange trees in the distance. Eliza opened the door and the older woman walked in.

"Bethany, are you all right, dear? James is waiting and he looks like he's going to start panicking any minute now. He thinks that you don't want to marry him."

"I... I don't." She started sobbing again.

"Oh, Jesus." Eliza sat on the bed, totally shocked and not knowing what to do. 

Ruby was speechless. She never considered THIS possibility. "Oh, my," was all she could say, "oh, my."

"But, why, Bethany, but why? How can you do this to him?"

She shook her head, refusing to answer. It was too much for her to explain; how could she explain; she didn't understand herself.

"I... I have to talk to him, make him understand..." She was distant, almost in a dream, wondering how this had all come to pass.

"I'll ask him to come up," said Ruby. The old lady left the room, dreading going downstairs.

A short while later she heard a hesitant knock at the door. "Bethany? It's Jim, Bethany. Please, darling, open the door. What have I done?"

Eliza looked at her sister, silhouetted by the window's light. "Do you want me to let him in?"

She could only nod her head, words... there were no words. What could she possibly say to the man whose shattered heart lay shattered at her feet.

"Do you want me to stay?"

Bethany shook her head 'no.'

Eliza left, afraid for her sister. Not from James, but from herself. Her behavior was irrational, that she was sure of.

James stood in the doorway, unsure of himself, of the situation, of his future, of his life.

He slowly walked in and shut the door. He saw the dress, still laying untouched on the bedcovers.

He moved behind her, wanting to take her into his arms but afraid it would drive her away further away from him. What had he done? He wracked his brain, trying to think of something, anything but could find nothing he knowingly did.

She suddenly turned and moved into his arms, her head down o his chest, her arms up between them, pounding his chest until she could no more. She had been crying and was now sobbing again.

He held her closely, hoping to take her sorrow to himself.

Later, Eliza knocked on the door but received no reply. She carefully opened the door to find them still standing by the window, still unmoving, still... there.

She left, closing the door quietly behind her. Not quite sure what to do, she went downstairs and talked to the minister and his wife.

"They're still there, by the window. It's deathly quiet in there."

"Maybe we should be going," said Ruby. She made to leave but he motioned her to sit down. Being a minister sometimes meant staying when you wanted to leave. James was their ride home.

"Let me fix you something to eat. We were going to have a special dinner, tonight. Now... I don't know. Let me get you something."

Eliza almost ran into the kitchen trying to be alone. What had Bethany Rose done? Aside from the security he had offered, she knew James loved her sister. A love, it seemed, that wasn't enough for her. If it wasn't, then no one ever would be.

She almost cut herself, so distracted was she. Roast beef on rye was all she could think of. 'Oh, God... what had Bethany done to him?' He had pledged his love to her more than once and now, it was rejected one last time. She knew he wasn't going to offer his heart again.

A freshly scrubbed face greeted them as Bethany came down the stairs. Trying to smile, she invited their two guests into the dining room, decorated for the wedding dinner. Lizbeth held her leg, begging to be picked up. Lifting the child, she traced the girl's lips with her finger.

"Aunt Betney, where's your ring?"

"Shhhh, baby."

The minister and his wife had no choice but to see this event to the end. James came down several minutes later, no longer wearing his suit, now just slacks, shirt and sweater.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting. Let's eat, shall we?"

For the first time since she had come into his house, she sat on the other end of the table, their emotional separation so evident it hurt to see. The symbolism of the missing ring wasn't lost on Eliza, whose heart sank even further into despair. The new year was going to be a disturbing time.

Dinner progressed as well as could be hoped for, useless small talk filling the pervasive silence, neither looking at the other.

Dessert by default became bowls of ice cream with chocolate sauce; the hopeless wedding cake a lost casualty to the afternoon's events.

James drove them home and thanked them for their patience. He handed the minister the envelope with his offering.

"James, you don't have to... maybe she'll change her mind."

"Look, Reverend, it's just one of those things, I guess. I don't know, I thought she loved me more than that, more than... forget it. It's over. Thanks for your help. Good night."

He waited until they were safely inside their little house and headed home. How could he have been so foolish? They had been so happy and now it was gone. Would she even be able to stay in the house, as a friend? Would he even want her in the house? He knew every time he saw her, his heart would break. This new year was going to be as miserable as the last; even more so, her presence a constant reminder of his paradise lost.

He went to the kitchen, opened the 'fridge' and took out the cake. Without even opening the box, he went outside and flung it as far as he could into the darkness before breaking down to cry for the first and only time since his family died.

'It was over. No sense in acting the fool,' he thought. He sat on the grass, surrounded by darkness. 

He was still there the next morning, shivering against the damp, winter cold.



Chocolate Kisses Ch. 08



Chapter 8

God, I hope we never have to do that again

Copyright @ calibeachgirl

All rights reserved, 2011

*

Monday, January 4th, 1932

Eliza pushed the vacuum across the rug. The noise was enough to wake the dead, as far as she was concerned, but it made cleaning the house so much easier she was willing to put up with noise. 

She was worried. James had not come out of his room for two days, now. There had been several calls from the different stores asking to speak to him, almost demanding to speak with him. She could only tell them he was sick. 

'Yes,' she thought, 'sick in his heart.' It was bothering her more than it seemed possible. She knew she liked him but didn't realize how much until Bethany had broken his heart. There was no chance for her, she knew, resigned to her own foolish dreams. 

She glanced at Bethany Rose, sitting quietly at the kitchen table, reading the morning paper as if life were normal, at least, normal for what had been happening the last few weeks. Every now and then the rustle of the turning page would disrupt the quiet.

Eliza wished Bethany would go somewhere else. Her anger with her younger sister was indescribable. How could Bethany do that to him? She just could not understand her sister, not matter how hard she tried.

While it seemed he had no intention of asking them to leave, at least she didn't think so; his lack of interest in anything frightened her more than anything else. What had Bethany told him, standing there in her bedroom? It just made no sense to Eliza, wishing her sister would just read the paper somewhere else.

Once again, Eliza took a tray of food up to his room, if for no other reason than to flee the presence of her sister. This time, she found the door open and the room empty. It was surprisingly neat and fresh. He had moved everything around and the bed now was on the opposite wall. The bedding had been changed. The windows were wide open and the fresh sea breeze wafted through removing the last traces of sex still lingering.

She carefully carried the food down the stairs to the library. 

"James? Please, open the door, James. I'm worried about you; you have to eat, James." Taking matters into her own hands, she opened the door and walked in.

Sitting behind his desk, he was writing something and listening to the radio. The Japanese, moving further into China, were using any pretense possible no matter how unbelievable. They seemed to know America wouldn't do anything about it, wrapped up in its own problems. Besides, what happened on the other side of the Pacific... it would never affect the United States.

He looked up, glad that it was her and not her sister. He couldn't face Bethany. "Ah, good morning, Eliza, I'm sorry for not getting up sooner, I have just... well, you know." 

He smiled at her, something he always did but this time, but this time, she thought she saw something more. It was just her imagination; wasn't it?

She nodded her head. He was shaved, showered and dressed well but casually. She had ironed the very shirt he was now wearing, a nice light blue 'Sanforized' Arrow shirt. The pre-shrunk process made it so much easier for her to iron his Arrow shirts.

"I, uh, brought you, well, lunch, now, I guess."

James cleared his writing and she set the tray down. He motioned her to sit and she nervously did. It was the first time she ever actually sat down in the room. She ran her hand over the leather, so soft, so supple.

"Eliza, how are you? I'm sorry. I know you've come up several times with food but I just wasn't... let's say I wasn't very hungry and let it go at that." He bit into the egg-salad sandwich. "Mmm, this is really good." 

He hungrily took another bite and then drank some coffee. "You sure know how to cook. I am so glad you're here. Ah, good, Jello." He spooned the cherry gelatin from the plate, enjoying the wiggling dessert. 

When he finished, he pulled open the bottom drawer and pulled out two Baby Ruth candy bars and two O Henrys. Giving one each to Eliza, he tore open the wrapping open and bit into the nutty chocolate. 

"C'mon, Eliza, have some chocolate. Shhh. It'll be our secret." He smiled at her, trying to put her at ease. He could tell she was nervous but if the two women were going to continue living in his house, at least Eliza had to be easy to approach.

She bit into the Baby Ruth. "Mmmm," she said, chewing the caramel. "Thank you, James." A little secret wouldn't hurt. She acknowledged that he was trying to make calm her down from the sharp edge she was sitting on. She thought, however, that it would take more than a few candy bars.

"They're here, anytime you want one. I'll just remember to bring more home from the store. I'll bring some others that you can try." He was already thinking of the Hershey kisses. Those things were addictive. Eat one... then another... well, another wouldn't hurt, after all, it's small and it's just one.

He ticked off in his mind the other candy bars the market carried: Milky Way, Butterfinger, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Bit-O-Honey, Butterfinger. Might as well get a box of each. No sense in running out, after all. Of course, the possibility that Eliza would gain weight never occurred to him, just like a typical man unaware of the love affair between women and chocolate.

Now that every waking minute wasn't preoccupied with Bethany, he had resumed other interests in life. "I've been writing my own history of the War... might as well, I suppose." He pointed to a stack of papers covered with his tight, precise handwriting. Nearby were some photographs of a younger man and his plane. It had been taken just after he had arrived from America. He soon lost the smile and the naiveté everyone had at first.

Uneasily, almost painfully, she waited for him to ask about Bethany Rose but he said nothing. The silence of the room was only broken by the sound of the coffee cup settling back down on its saucer and the chewing of caramel.

She really wanted to leave but knew it was impossible. Regardless of what relationship he had had with Bethany Rose, he was still her employer. 

He watched her sitting there as she squirmed a little on the chair. He knew she was ill at ease but needed her to stay with him. As much as he did not want to see Bethany any time soon, he still wanted someone to keep him company. His two day self-imposed exile had finally gotten to him.

"James," she started to say, but his look stopped her. She had never seen him this way. There was a darkness to his eyes and she felt he could look right into her lonely heart.

"Eliza, just relax. I'm sure you're worried about a great many things right now. Your family can stay here as long as you want, just like you're doing now. Everything can stay the same. 

"Well, most things... Bethany, too. I don't hate her; I just can't deal with her right now. 

"You know, she didn't say a word... not a goddamn word. Just stood there, you know, like there wasn't anything to say to me. Even after I held her... after all that's happened, you'd think I'd have at least deserved an explanation... something. 

"Jesus Christ, Eliza, was marrying me so awful she couldn't consider doing it? Haven't I treated her right? all of you? She came to me! She came into my bed!"

His voiced dropped down, almost inaudible. "She said she loved me." 

It was painful to watch. A fighter pilot, 16 kills, a successful businessman, a risk-taker... brought to his knees by Bethany Rose. Love is a strange thing. It can elevate you higher than the stars and drop you to the depths of hell.

"I love her. I thought she loved me. I was just her 'sugar daddy,' wasn't I? She left me holding the bag, didn't she? I... ah, forget it."

She nodded her head in agreement. One fear had been assuaged, at least. His mention of Bethany Rose made her uneasy... but it seemed to leave an opportunity open. For what, though, she wasn't sure. 'Would Bethany realize she made the greatest mistake of her life and beg forgiveness from him? Would she become his mistress and leave it at that? No love, just sex? Would she just stay and remind him daily what he lost? Would she leave, unable to face him day after day? Would he even want her back?' These thoughts raced through Eliza's mind as she sat there.

"I would appreciate it very much if you could somehow arrange for me to eat in here when I'm home. I know that it's going to cause a little more work for you..."

Once again, she could only nod her head. At least, he wasn't leaving to eat somewhere else. If he stayed away from the house, soon enough he would realize he didn't need her... or anyone else.

"May I?" she asked. 

He nodded.

"James, right now it feels like your whole world has crumbled into dust, especially with her still here. You need to focus on your own happiness... move the bad thoughts out of your head.

"I don't know why she did what she did. It must have nothing to do with you. I heard you just the other night with her. If indeed this is the end of you and Bethany, be sure of yourself and someday you'll find another to love.

"Don't dwell on it... there are no answers. Maybe even she doesn't know. You're writing your history. That's great. It's just what you need to do to get your mind off what's happened.

"Someone will come along, I'm sure of it. Maybe you just fell in love because you were so lonely there wasn't anything else you could do." She was out of breath, trying to get it all out before he could stop her.

"What would you like for dinner, James? Are you staying here for the day?"

"You know what I'd like? Polish sausage and sauerkraut... I haven't had that since my wife... anyway, I haven't had it in a long while. I'll go to the store and get some. Can you fix that?"

"I'll look in her cookbook. James, she had all your favorites marked. She must have loved you very much."

He hesitated. "Yes, she did. I never told either of you how we met, did I?"

"No. Do you really want to talk about it? I know things aren't..."

"It's all right, I guess. I had come to an acceptance with it after you and... after you two had moved here.

"It was my last flight. The skies were gray and a low ceiling of clouds so I was a lot lower than usual. I looked around for about a half-hour and saw nothing so I was heading back to the field. It probably would have been my last flight, anyway, even if I hadn't taken ground fire that holed the oil line."

She nodded her head, listening to James take her back to the War.

"I came down in a field; fortunately it was pretty flat and not plowed up. Most of Europe is fields and small villages with less than a hundred people. I could have flown the plane out if I could have gotten some tools and more oil but the Bosch, you know, the Germans had seen me come down and were half-heartedly coming. They knew the war was over, it was just a matter of weeks at that time and weren't very enthusiastic, thank God.

"I didn't want to shoot any of them. Most of them were either old men or young teenagers. That's no way to fight a war. God, I hope we never have to do that again.

"Catherine had come outside her house after hearing the plane come down. She waved me to come and I ran as fast as I could. I didn't know what she was going to do but it seemed a better alternative than standing around waiting for a scared kid to put a bullet into me.

"I took off my boots. Tracking mud into the house would have been a dead give-away and would have caused her grief for nothing, so I took them off and carried them in with me. She helped me boost myself into the attic.

"The older men, I guess, had no stomach for killing anyone else and the young ones were probably scared to death. They soon left after doing a cursory check of the house and a few days later the war was over.

"Her mother knew Catherine had to leave Europe. The future was in America and so we were married. She was sixteen and eager to have someone to love; all the eligible men were gone.

"I'll admit that I was overwhelmed by her youth and beauty and couldn't see any reason not to. I know, that sounds pretty mercenary but I was young and lonely and had no one here. If I had died, there would have been no one to grieve for me.

"We fell in love over the next couple of years. I mean, we liked each other well enough, but love took its own time coming. We had the two girls and... well, you know the rest."

It was the first time he had ever shared anything so personal with her. She knew he had to get something out; there was no other reason to talk.

"That morning, when I first met Bethany Rose, I had no idea we'd be sitting here now like this. I never expected to fall in love with her; I think you can understand that. No offense meant."

"That's all right, James, I really do understand." The racial issue always seemed to be waiting in the background, no matter how people tried to ignore it.

"I was so sure that she loved me enough, you know? We'd already..." He took another sip of the still hot coffee, using the break to think through carefully what he was going to say.

"I don't know what happened. It was as if she just slammed the door in my face, you know. She didn't have to say anything. I know you saw us standing there. I'm sorry, Eliza, for everything. 

"Right now, I'd rather not speak with her. I'm going to the store, now and get that sausage and 'kraut. Is there anything else you need? Would you like to come with me? Get out of the house for a while?"

She could see the invitation was more a need for company than anything else.

"All right, James, just let me tell Bethany." 

"OK, get a wiggle on, then, girl." He laughed and got ready to leave. He looked at the pages covered with ink. Was it more an answer to the idiocy of the other book? Or was it something to take his soul away from his broken heart? Or was it to keep Catherine alive?

He picked them up, tapped them against the desktop and put them into the top drawer of the desk. 'Maybe more, maybe not... does it really matter,' he wondered. It was the last war, anyway. Who'd be insane enough to have another one?

She cleared the desktop and took the tray back to the kitchen. By the time he was standing at the door, she was coming down the stairs, pulling on a sweater that once belonged to Catherine. The cashmere sweater... it's softness called to her. Eliza didn't mind. There was a connection she felt with his lost wife and the clothes were so much better than anything either she or her sister had.

He tried hard not to notice how nicely the sweater fit her.

Opening the car door for her as he had done so many times for Bethany Rose, he waited until she was comfortable and then shut the door, started the car and they drove away. It was only the second time she'd ever ridden in a car, this time in the front seat like a lady.

Bethany Rose looked out the window at the car as it headed into town, a tear forming. The last two nights in an otherwise empty bed had hurt much more than she ever realized. Once, she left her room to walk to his and got all the way to his door before turning around and going back her own cold bed. 

She wouldn't have found him there, anyway. He had been sleeping on the backyard grass, lost in his own private hell, as far away from her as he could get.

She missed going to the market and wondered what was going to happen with that. If she waited at the door ready to go, would he leave her behind? Would that be a final, crushing hurt? She knew she deserved whatever he would eventually do; even take her back into his bed to be used like a whore.

Eliza was excited. Although she had run his house since she arrived three weeks earlier, not once had she gone to the store, instead relying on Bethany taking her list and bringing the groceries and cleaning products home each day.

James introduced her to Susan and went upstairs to the office. Several days worth of receipts were neatly waiting on the desk. With a heavy sigh, he sat down and began to go through them.

Susan had 'Old John' escort her around the market. Even now, more than two years into the Depression, there were so many different things she'd never seen before. She realized that next time, if there was a next time, she would copy out recipe lists from Catherine's cookbook first.

"You a friend of Miss Carrolton?" Anyone hearing John referring to Bethany Rose in such a way would have been shocked. It seemed common knowledge that he was still in the Klan even though it seemed to be dying out. 

'Old John,' though, remembered how Bethany had found extra money and saved his house for him. John was a lot of things, he even admitted to himself, but he recognized when someone had helped him. Her help was more than anyone else ever did except for James, who continued to keep him on the payroll despite his usual grumpy nature.

"She's my sister. I work for... Mr. Ewart." She had caught herself just in time. To have referred to him as 'James' would have created a new set of problems for him, ones he didn't deserve, not now, not ever.

Her thoughts about him had changed so much since they first met. It was inevitable, now that she thought about it. He was more than just an employer, he was a friend. He was more than that, even if he didn't know it. She decided to do her best to make him happy and forget about her sister and what she did.

"Is she sick or something?" He was genuinely concerned, surprising himself. 

"Yes, sick." 'Sick in her heart and sick in her head,' Eliza thought. "I don't know when she'll be back."

"Please tell her I said, 'hi,' uh, OK?"

"Yes, I will. Thank you."

John carried the hand basket and Eliza started filling it with food. He showed her how to tell which brands were better, how to tell the butcher for the better cuts and how to tell if the bread was fresh by the wrapper code, if she wanted the new sliced sandwich breads.

James took the papers from his desk, put them into his briefcase and walked downstairs. He found them standing in front of the meat case, Eliza looking at all the different cuts, John pointing to something in the case. He seemed almost protective of her.

"There you are, Eliza. Good morning, John. How are you, today?"

"Well, thank you. We're almost finished here, I think. Miss Eliza?" His tone was pleasant, almost friendly. What had happened to John?

"Mr. Ewart, what would you like for dinner? Pork roast? Something else for tomorrow? I've got the sausage and sauerkraut."

"Just get something you want, Eliza. It doesn't matter all that much, right now."

"Yes, sir." She turned back to the case and asked for a leg of lamb and two chickens. After Louis had wrapped them up, Eliza thanked him and John.

"Louis," James said. "Please get a box of ice to keep the meat cold. I'm not going home right away."

"Yes, Mr. Ewart." The butcher quickly iced a box and after laying the meat inside, put more ice on top.

"Let me carry these out for you, Miss Eliza." John took the hand basket and followed her out the store. 

"Goodbye, Mr. Ewart."

James nodded his head. "John." He started the car and they drove back to the house. "Looks like you've an admirer, Eliza. Can't say I blame him." He glanced sideways.

It was the first indication that he ever considered her attractive. She looked out the side window and smiled. What had Bethany given up? She must have been crazy. And John, such a nice, friendly man.

He drove down to the beach and parked the car.

"C'mon, let's go for a walk." He pulled out a pair of sandals for her. "I got these from the store. You can leave your shoes here."

When they got to the sand, he headed to the packed wet sand. "How many times have you been to the beach, Eliza?"

"Just once, about five years ago. There was no one here and we ran to the water as quick as we could and then ran away. Silly, I know."




Chocolate Kisses Ch. 08



"Eliza, what am I going to do with Bethany? What am I going to do? I can't walk around on eggshells with her. There's got to be a way. What do you think? Me, hiding in the library? Is that the coward's way out?"

"James, you're not a coward. Don't hurt yourself. I know she's broken your heart. I don't know why anymore than you do. There's something that happened. Something so horrible she couldn't face it. She has to work this out. If you still love her, you will have to wait. If it takes too long, I wouldn't blame you one bit for moving on from her." 

She dug her sandal into the sand, tracing lines to be washed out by the water.

"If she doesn't love me enough now, how will tomorrow be any better?" The water came in enough to make him jump back.

"How much do you care? How much of your life is she worth? That's a question only you can answer, James, only you."

He looked out at the gray sea. "C'mon, let's go. Thanks."

Dinner that evening was a strained affair. Bethany was firmly ensconced at the other end of the table, keeping her head down, stealing glances in his direction every so often. James had decided to just try and act as normally as possible, if not for her, then for himself.

"This is very good, Eliza. Thank you." He put down his fork and wiped his mouth with the linen napkin. 

"You're welcome; would you care for any dessert?"

He patted his rock-hard stomach, laughing. "Oh, no. I've put on a little weight ever since you've been cooking for me."

Bethany stood up, cleared the table and after excusing herself, went upstairs. James watched her walk away.

Eliza looked at him, wondering what was going to happen. She was torn between the two of them. 

Bethany was her sister and yet she had done something so wrong without any explanation. She would have thought Bethany would have at least told James why but he never indicated that she did. 

At least his dark mood had lifted somewhat and he was beginning to go through the motions of living again. She hoped he had listened to what she had said.



Chocolate Kisses Ch. 09



Copyright @ calibeachgirl
All rights reserved, 2011



Tuesday, January 5th, 1932

The next morning, Bethany Rose stood by the car, nervously waiting for him to come out. He saw her standing there, watching through his library window.

"Well, how about that?" He finished dressing and went downstairs. He grabbed a doughnut from the plate and now found both women next outside, Bethany still at the car and Eliza waiting in the doorway. 

"Who's going to watch the children? Can't just leave them here, alone."

"The reverend's wife is coming, if you can wait."

"All right, I'll get some coffee, then." He turned to go back into the house but then he heard Bethany walking up.

"I'll get it for you." It seemed like a breakthrough to him. Not a major one, by any means, but a start. At least, they were talking after two days of silence. The best thing was to be very careful at what they'd say. A single word could bring back all the pain of New Year's morning.

He saw Ruby Hunt walking up the street and hurried down to greet her. "Ruby, if I knew you were coming, I would have gone to get you."

"That's all right, James. It's not that far from the Pacific Electric. I needed the walk for these old bones, anyway." 

He took her knitting basket and went back to the house with her. Eliza introduced her to the children, admonishing them to obey. Satisfied she had put the fear of God into her young son, she went back outside.

"I was thinking, I could do the grocery shopping and someone could give me a ride home?"

"That's a great idea. I don't know if the reverend's wife can keep coming over, though."

"I'll figure something out, James."

Bethany quickly got into the back seat. Eliza sat in the front and he closed the door. He decided Bethany went in first in case he decided to leave her behind. 

As crushed as he was by her last minute rejection, he wouldn't do that to her. He wanted her back but was still mystified how that was going to happen and each day that went by made it seem less and less likely. 

He found himself once again feeling like a cork on the water, completely out of control, depending on others to give him direction. He was tired of it and if Bethany Rose didn't give him some indication of her intentions...

The ride to the market was quiet. Eliza tried once to make some small talk but it died an early death. 

Once there, Bethany quickly went upstairs. Eliza got a basket and with her list, began walking the aisles. She had not reached the middle of the second aisle when John approached her and took the basket.

"Good morning, Miss Eliza. Shopping again? You look well, this morning." His upbeat demeanor amazed both of them. Another clerk nearby was astonished at John's behavior and knew it would be the day's gossip later.

"Thank you. You... you look very nice, yourself. I've just a few things today, if you need to do something."

"No. I asked... I asked Mr. Ewart if I could help you and he said to drive you home afterwards... that is, if you'd like me to."

She paused, just enough to worry him. Had he been to forward and frightened her? He felt like a fool, standing here waiting for her to give him an answer. He was aware of the others in the aisle and had tried to keep his voice low.

"I... I would like that very much, John. There's just a few more things. Mr. Ewart wants these candies. He said he wanted full boxes, please."

John looked at the list she gave him. "Somebody's got a sweet tooth. That wouldn't be you, would it?" God, he sounded so... "I'll get them. Please wait for me here."

He almost ran into the back and quickly found a box big enough to hold the chocolate bars. 'What am I doing? She's a colored woman, for Christ's sake.'

He was happy to find her exactly where he had left her. "I've got your chocolate," he said, stating the obvious. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, thank you."

They walked out of the market to his car, she with her store basket and he with the box of chocolates. Driving back on State Route 1 toward Ewart's house, he glanced at her several times, seeing her silhouetted by the morning sun.

Pulling into the drive, John took the car around the back. After carrying in the box, he stood there like a boy waiting to be patted on the head, his cap in his hands.

"Would you like some coffee? We've some doughnuts. They're from yesterday, but..."

"Thank you, Miss Eliza, thank you." He sat down at the kitchen table while she set the coffee pot on the stove. As it was heating, she brought a plate and napkin to him.

"Why do the call you 'Old John'? You don't seem all that old to me."

"I was almost 26 when the War started. I guess the name just stuck when the people here found out." She did a quick calculation in her head. He was 40 years old. He didn't look it, she thought, appraising his athletic build.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the insistent bubbling of the coffee pot calling her. Filling a cup for him and bringing the sugar to the table, she set the coffee down; the cup was rattling from her shaking hand.

Ruby walked into the kitchen. Eliza stood up. 'John, this is Mrs. Hunt, she's the Reverend Hunt's wife."

John stood up. "Good morning, ma'am."

Ruby looked at him. "Yes, good morning. I'll be in the boy's room, keep them there." She left, wondering just what Eliza was doing. As much as she liked James, what he and Bethany were doing was crazy enough, but now, Eliza, too? What was the world coming to?

"May I ask you a question?" Eliza asked. She was leaning against the counter near the sink, her hands gripping the edge behind her.

"Yes... thanks for the doughnut."

"This morning, when you went to get the chocolate, I heard some of the others there talk about you. I don't know if they knew I could hear them or if they did it on purpose. They said you were in the Klan."

There it was, lying on the table between them. What answer could there be?

He didn't hesitate one moment. "Yes, that's true. I was. That's all over, now. The Duluth lynching started me thinking that maybe the Klan wasn't what I thought it was. There was a photograph taken that night that I saw. People were standing around wanting to be in the picture... like they were proud of what they'd done.

"I had seen enough killing during the War. This was just plain murder. Those boys weren't even the ones accused of the rape."

He looked at her, waiting for a reaction. She just sat there, waiting, hoping for everything, anything to justify liking him.

"I joined the Marines so that people would be free from the Hun and then came home and came face to face with that."

"Why did you join, then?"

"Look, when we came back, we were different. I was in the trenches watching men die. The ground was so full of blood it turned black and the flies, oh, Jesus, the flies. We'd fight over and over for the same hundred yards of dirt."

He took a sip of the hot coffee, his mouth suddenly dry.

"I never seen colored people... well, you know, like we're here right now. They were always in the background. We didn't have any servants. I grew up on a farm. Pretty isolated. Pa lost the farm with the Crash. Couldn't pay the seed debts."

He took another sip, watching her face. She seemed impassive, just listening, but her hands were holding the counter so tightly that her fingers hurt.

"More and more stuff happened and I finally said the hell with it and didn't go anymore. The Pacific Beach fire down by Huntington Beach was the end of it.

"What did I fight for? It seemed like for nothing.

"Why did I join? They talked about patriotism and foreigners taking all the work and the people around you are doing it. Stupid, I guess."

He wondered what she would say, for some reason, seeking acceptance from the woman. When did he stop thinking of her as a 'girl' and started thinking of her as a 'woman'?

"More coffee? I made some pineapple upside-down cake. Would you like some?"

"Why, yes I would. Thank you, very much." There seemed to be some kind of recognition of his past, both good and bad.

"Don't you have to go back to the market?" Why she wanted him to stay, she didn't know clearly, just that she did.

"No, I asked Ewart for the day off. I had to tell him I might be here; it's his house, after all. He was good about it."

Opening the refrigerator, she took out the cake and cut him a generous slice. "Here, John, tell me if you like it."

The cake was half gone before he said anything. "Miss Eliza, this is one fine cake. I... nothing. Could I have some more coffee?"

She almost jumped up to get the pot. 'Calm down, calm down,' she tried to tell herself to no avail. He was affecting her. Was this what Bethany had felt for James? Then, why did she crush his heart minutes before the wedding?

"I've got to prepare lunch. Would you like to stay?" Her eyes almost implored him to stay.

He nodded his head. The last two hours had been very interesting. It had taken him a while to understand his infatuation with her. Once he had stopped thinking of her as a 'colored girl' and began thinking of her as a woman...

All people, no matter who, well, at least most people, he decided, all they wanted was to be left alone, have a decent life, a family and a better tomorrow. He had succeeded in being alone. The other three eluded him.

"I'm fixing some roast beef sandwiches. Is that all right?"

"Yes, anything would be fine. Thank you." The morning was quite different from what he expected, waking up in his empty, almost cold room in the boarding house. "I can set the table, if you want."

She pointed to the cabinet and continued slicing the beef. He stopped. 

"How many plates?"

"Five." 

'Five?' Who else was upstairs, he wondered. He put out glasses and then rattled some drawers looking for the silverware. 

"Over here, John." She finished the sandwiches and put them on a serving plate, then walked to the stairs. "Ruby! Time for lunch!"

The two older children walked in, neatly dressed and washed and sat down. They didn't seem at all surprised to see a white man sitting at the table. Ruby came down carrying Glory. 'What a cute little girl,' he thought. Now, he knew he was in trouble.

"Hello," John said. He got two smiles back, not at all what he expected. Whatever children he had seen in the market were little hellions. A couple, he wanted to put a boot up their ass... and their mothers, too.

He was quite surprised to learn Ruby's sons had been executed for the murders of Ewart's daughters. Ewart had insisted they were innocent, even when his wife committed suicide a few months later when she found she was pregnant from the attack.

There was more to Ewart than he thought. 'What if he was wrong and they really did it? Oh, God,' John thought, 'that would be the worst thing possible, especially with these women here.' John set his sandwich down, having lost his appetite.

"Not hungry, John?" she asked. "I can fix you something else, if you'd like."

"No, no, I'm full... you know, the cake and all." 'Oh, God, oh, God... what if it was true?'

While Eliza fed the baby, Ruby watched the children, making sure they ate slowly and drank all their milk. Each got a small piece of cake.

Lunch over, they were left alone again. He didn't know where the time went. Usually it took forever to do anything, especially at the store. 

Everything was good until that question entered his mind. Now, he was worried. He knew, sadly, what the Klan was capable of. Ewart wasn't in the Klan but what if he had his own agenda? What if there was some kind of payback coming? He tried to calm down, calm down, calm down.

"I'm going to bake another cake. We've destroyed this one."

He was satisfied, he finally found, to sit there and watch her make a new cake. Without asking, he got some more coffee and although it was just warm, he drank it without complaint.

"That'll be ready, soon enough. Good thing I had another can of pineapple. Mr. Ewart has been waiting all day for this cake."

"Sweet tooth? He the one the chocolate's for?"

She smiled. "No, those are all for me."

"Oh?" She didn't look like someone who ate a lot of chocolate. Not at all.

"Yesterday, he decided I needed a treat now and then. That reminds me, I've got to put these away before Bethany or the children find them."

"I'll get the box." He followed her into the library where he put the box down in the corner. Looking at the desk, he saw the photographs of Ewart and his fighter plane lying on the handwritten papers.

"Those pilots were crazy, you know. Going up there with just sticks and cloth keeping them alive. Crazy. What's this?" He held James' writings.

"Please put those down. He's writing a real history of the War. We shouldn't be in here." As she walked out, she noticed that James' photos of his wife and children had returned to his desk. During his two-week affair with Bethany, they had disappeared.

He put the papers back as well as he could and walked out, closing the door behind him, determined to talk to Ewart before things got out of hand.

"I should be going, Miss Eliza. Thank you for the cake and lunch."

"Wait, I have some cake for you." She went into the kitchen and wrapped a linen napkin over a plate with the rest of the first cake. "I can get it back from you later."

"Why, thank you, Miss Eliza."

"You can call me 'Eliza', if you wish."

"Eliza. I like that. Will you be coming to the market tomorrow?"

"I don't think so. Ruby's got other things to do besides watching my three kids. Soon enough, though. Goodbye, John." Her hand touched his for just a moment as she gave him the dish. 

On the drive back to his rooming house, he felt silly. How could he be interested in the girl? ... the woman, he corrected himself. He was at least ten years older than she was and she was colored. So, why was he smiling and whistling as he ate the cake that evening with his dinner?

Wednesday, January 6th, 1932

The conversation that morning was polite but carefully worded. Inane words about the weather... couldn't do anything about it. What's for dinner? ...didn't matter because it mostly depended upon Eliza. Any discrepancies with the books? ...no, everything seems to balance.

John was waiting for them after James parked the car. Bethany walked into the store and the two men came together.

"We need to talk. You can fire me, if you want, but we need to talk."

"All right, get in the car."

James drove the car north to Imperial Highway and then west to the beach. Parking the car along the roadway there, he turned to John and said, "OK, John, what's on your mind?"

"Who really killed your family?" John was prepared to take a hit if James decided to hit him. He could see the man's hands grip the steering wheel tightly, keeping his displeasure in check.

"Why, John, why would that concern you?"

"You've got a family of coloreds living with you and I happen to like Eliza, that's why. I want to know what you've got planned for them."

"Oh ho! The Klansman is worried about a colored girl. How the fuck did that happen? And, just what the hell do you think I am going to do, anyway? Shit, John, you've really gone over the line with this one.

"You know, I kept you on because you were in the War and that meant something to me. What the hell, John, what do you take me for? I oughta kick your goddam ass. Shit!"

"Listen... I'm just worried about Eliza, that's all. You know who killed your daughters, don't you?"

James smashed his fist into the car's dash. "Son of a bitch!" He stared out the window toward the sea. It seemed every time he was angry, he looked at the water to ease his rage.

John was prepared to fight James. He was prepared to let James beat him, if that was necessary. He had to know the truth.

"Yes, I know who did it. It WAS those two bastards. Catherine told me. She knew them from helping out at the church. God damn it! She was helping them out and they raped and killed my little girls! They raped Catherine and almost killed her! She killed herself because she was pregnant. Oh, yeah, they did it."

John was scared, now. The answer he feared was the answer he got. Oh, Jesus Christ, now what? He was afraid to say anything, now, but knew he had to.

"Why did you get them a lawyer, then. From what I hear, he was a pretty good one, too."

"I wanted them free so I could kill them." He remembered his anger when they were found guilty. His vengeance had been stolen from him and he was left with nothing. No family and no vengeance... and he sank into a four year abyss of misery.

"What about these women? What about them? And, how can you talk with old lady? She's their mother, for Christ's sake."

James continued looking at the ocean, seeking an answer that would make sense. None of it made sense, nothing. Never did then and doesn't now. 

Life was full of contradictions and disappointments and disasters.

Several minutes went by. John waited. He had nowhere to go and still hadn't received the answer he needed.

"It was an accident, I met Bethany by accident, I suppose you could call it. She was walking down the street. I saw her every day for about a week and for some crazy reason I stopped and offered her a job as my housekeeper. She was too well educated to do that so I brought her to the store.

"When we went to get her clothes from her sister's house, there was no way I could leave them there. As angry as I was about what happened, I knew I couldn't leave them there."

"You're sleeping with her, aren't you? It is so damn obvious, the way she acts around you."

"I was. That's over. I don't know why, it was her choice to start and it was her choice to stop. I... ah, fuck it, John."

"What about the parents? What's that all about?"

"That was Catherine's doing. She was helping them out for a couple of years before what happened. It seemed like I had to continue, even as I wanted to kill their boys for what they had done."

"Do they know?"

"That their boys were murderers? No, I never told them, they deserved better than that. I'm not... ah, I didn't."

The car was quiet.

"Am I fired?"

"No. It's all right; I had to get that out to someone. Everybody believes I think they were innocent. Leave it at that. Catherine and my girls are still dead, so are they. 

"What happened with these two has nothing to do with that, I don't think... I don't know, maybe it does but not like that."

"I would like to see Eliza. Will that cause a problem with you?"

"Who am I to talk? John, if it makes you happy, fine with me. Just remember, women are different from us. They have different desires and different ways of thinking. What makes sense to us... well, sometimes it just doesn't.

"John, I don't know what happened with Bethany Rose and me. Be careful with Eliza. She's a good woman and I like her, too.

"I'm sorry, John. I really was ready to hit you."

"I know... and I was prepared to take it."

"Anything else, John?"

"Can I come by, tonight, I mean?"

"Sure, John, just be careful and don't get her heart broken or yours, either. Call her up and find out what time is dinner. And keep your mouth shut."

James had quietly told Eliza that he would appreciate the two of them going to Catherine's wardrobe and finding something appropriate. Each woman was similar in size to Catherine but just enough different to tighten the dresses at the bust and hips to show off some inviting curves.

He had felt himself getting aroused seeing the sisters and retreated to the living room to calm down and wait for John to arrive.

The knock on the door announced John's arrival. Since Eliza was busy with the kitchen and Bethany was still upstairs, James answered the door. 

He shook hands with the man, their relationship forever changed by the afternoon drive to the sea and they appraised each other in a different light.




Chocolate Kisses Ch. 09



"Evening, John, glad you could come."

James offered the best chair to John and they started talking about the War, the one major event they had in common. 

"You were at Belleau Wood? Jesus Christ, John. Why didn't you ever say anything? Damn."

"It was a total fuck-up. We lost almost the entire battalion to the Germans. I'm lucky to be alive, just lucky. There was no glory to that battle."

"You need to write this down, John. Look at me. I'm trying to do that before I forget everything."

"No, James, that story's already been written in blood. I want to put that so far behind me it's not even a memory.

"You were a pilot. You ever get scared up there? Sure you did... give you nightmares? It took me three years before I could sleep all the way through without screaming myself awake. That's why I never married. Who'd want to live with someone like me?"

James took him into the library and showed him the photographs and share what he had already written. He used his hand to show how he escaped three German planes at dusk, flying his fingers around the room.

"Hey, John, I've an idea. We just finished bringing my plane back to life. Want to go flying, sometime?

"I promise not to get into any 'dogfights'."

The flushed look on John's face was his answer.

Dinner was served. The dining room was darkened, lit only by candles on the table, lending a romantic and yet mysterious feel to the evening. The gentle flickering shown on the two ebony faces looking at them, expectant... but, for what? 

Eliza knew why John was there. 

She thought she had known what she was doing and yet realized she knew nothing.

The leg of lamb Eliza had brought from the store was the centerpiece of her hard work and its aroma filled the house, causing both men to lick their lips in anticipation. 

She had set the place settings so that she sat next to John, forcing Bethany to once again sit next to James. Part of him thanked her, part of him, not, but the table was only so big. 

Bethany was self-conscious sitting with James. She knew she had destroyed him that morning and wished she could relive the day and have a different outcome. Now that it had been done, she didn't know what to do. 

Although he and Bethany had timidly started talking again, there was still an almost insurmountable barrier between them.

Most of the conversation was between Eliza and John, which pleased James. Seeing the two together as they walked around the market and yesterday's lunch and the incident earlier today had all convinced him that John's intentions were honorable.

James pushed his diced carrots around the plate. He had already eaten the potatoes with melted cheese but now was trying to listen to the couple while keeping an eye on Bethany. He knew he was going to have to talk to her, probably tonight... most definitely, tonight.

John stood next to Eliza drying each dish as she handed it to him. He stacked them on the counter, watching her work through the rest of the dinnerware. He admired her strength of character. She had told him about her man who had run off when the Crash occurred and she was glad he was gone.

After everything was done, they went out onto the patio and sat on the swing. James had started a small fire in the pit for warmth and left them alone.

Bethany had gone to her room. He knew she was avoiding him, afraid to be alone with him, afraid of what she might say, afraid of what he might say, and afraid of what he might do.

James knocked on her door. "Bethany... we have to talk, Bethany. We can't go one like this, it's killing me. What did I do? What did I do, Bethany that you turned away from me? You know I love you. Please, baby, open the door."

She stared at the closed door and cried. She turned over on her bed and buried her head into her pillow, sobbing.

He could almost hear something. He knocked again and then just walked away. He went to his own room, the one they had shared for two glorious weeks and tried to sleep.

Outside, Bethany could her sister and John talking softly, and then Eliza would giggle and then there would be a silence. 

Eventually, John said goodnight and went home.

Thursday, January 8th, 1932

Bethany called the market to have John come and give her a ride to work. James was finally sound asleep; awake all night, he worked out his frustrations writing his history.

He was still asleep at noon when Eliza came into his bedroom and shook him. "James, wake up, James. It's noon, James."

"Wha? Oh, Eliza... Eliza! What are you doing in here?" He pulled the covers up. Bethany had neglected to share with her sister the fact that James always slept in the nude.

Eliza laughed. "James, I've seen what a man looks like. I don't think you're too much different from any other."

o

The blankets moved, announcing his morning interest.

"Well, I see that I was mistaken. No wonder Bethany... uh, sorry, James."

"As long as you're here, might as well sit-down. How did last night go with John?"

"Well, thank you. He'd like to come calling, if you don't mind. I could see him when I'm finished with everything. We could sit in the kitchen. That's if it's OK with you."

'Oh, my,' he thought, 'she's got it bad. But then it was only a week before Bethany was sharing...' He stopped thinking about Bethany.

"Where's your sister?" His tone was as forceful as she ever heard him. Something had happened to him during the night and whatever it was, Eliza hoped he would take Bethany and pound some sense into her.

"She went to the market with John. She called him to get her."

"Turn around or leave. I'm getting up."

She turned around, refusing to leave the situation alone now that James seemed to have found some answer, any answer, even if it was the wrong answer.

She could hear the rustling of the bedcovers and he got out of bed. She caught a good view of him, though, in the dresser mirror and wondered how Bethany could give that up. What was wrong with her?

Although she could see he had his trousers on, she waited for him to say something. No sense in letting him know what she had seen. He had enough to fixate on without worrying about her seeing his cock. She knew she'd be seeing it tonight in her imagination.

"Ok, would you please get me a shirt?" He was tying his shoe. She brought him a nice white shirt which he quickly put on. "I'm going to the store and then, I don't know. Don't let her know I'm coming, you hear?"

"Yes, sir." This more aggressive attitude excited her. She had not seen it during the last month. The closest was when he fired above the crowd the day he took her family to his house, to what she considered home, now.

"James?"

"Yes?"

"Do what you have to do."

He had never driven so quickly to the market before. Each stop sign was a quick 'look both ways and keep going'.

Arriving, he stopped right in front of the store and almost ran in. He took the stairs two at a time, one time almost tripping and opened the door to the office. She was sitting there, working on the ledgers and as she looked up, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, kissing her so deeply she suddenly came so hard her knees buckled and she would have fell to the floor if he hadn't been holding her so tightly.

James took Bethany Rose by the hand and practically dragged her down the stairs, out the store and into his car. Putting it into gear, he headed back to the house. 

Parking behind the house, not even waiting to lock the car, he ran around, pulled open the door and pulled her out. Kissing her again, he picked her up and carried her inside, practically flying up the stairs to his bedroom. He kicked the door shut and brought her to stand in the middle of the room, the only light from the nightstand and proceeded to kiss her as he removed her clothes, one piece at a time, kissing each inch of skin as it appeared to his eyes. Then they walked to the bed and he gently helped her lie down.

She began to moan, in appreciation, in anticipation, in excitement, in love for him, then man she had left for nothing but an empty future. Each touch of his fingers brought a greater gasp as she began to squirm. His lips began to trace a path on the skin he had known so intimately and as his mouth stopped on her nipple, she shuddered as she had only a week earlier under his touch... the last time they had made love before she had broken his heart by rejecting him.

His right hand slid down to her kinky hair guarding her pussy. He loved the feel of her hair as it scratched his palm and his first two fingers entered her already dripping warmth. 

"Uhhhh... oh, Jesus, Jimmy..." She could hardly speak, the waves of electricity surging through from below her breasts down to between her thighs. "God, I was such a fool..."

He put in another finger and began to touch her clit with his thumb. "Uhhhh... oh, fuck me, damn..." 

He quickened his careful rubbing, her clit hard to his touch and she came for the first time since they had their one-sided break-up.

Pleased she had come so quickly, he used the few moments before she started down from her high and undressed. Dropping his clothes on the floor, he held her legs open, dipped his face between her thighs and licked her clit, sending her back into the sky. His tongue circled and moved back and forth, causing her to shudder again... and again... and once more. He dipped inside, she moaned and he slid his tongue around and plunged into her depths.

She lifted her pelvis against him and started to bounce so violently that he needed to grab both her ass cheeks with his hands just to keep his tongue deep inside. Just as she started to slow down, he moved forward and moved himself smoothly, deeply inside in one massive push. 

"Ahhhhhh... uhhhhhh..." she began as he pushed and pulled within her. Her fingers moved down to her clit and began to move against it, soon in time with his thrusts. 

How much time went by, she had no idea but sensed it was forever and finally with one hand still on her clit, she took the other and held his balls and he exploded into her... over and over and over again. The sounds of their lovemaking had changed from slapping as skin hit skin to splashing.

All his pent-up emotions had culminated in the most fantastic sex she ever had and as she held him tightly with her arms and crossed legs, she whispered, "I'm never leaving you again."



Chocolate Kisses Ch. 10



Cake?

Copyright @ calibeachgirl
All rights reserved, 2011



Sunday, February 14th, 1932
Valentine's Day

The sound of laughter filled James' library as he read the Sunday paper. Al Capone was now serving time at the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta. Should have sent him to Alcatraz, see how he'd like that.

A knock on the doorjamb caught his attention. He saw her standing in the doorway... the sight of her was enough and he put his hand down trying to keep his arousal down. She walked in and sat on his lap, bringing his erection to full attention. 

With one arm around his neck, she kissed and teased him, moving against him until he started to moan. "Time for lunch, baby." 

"You damn tease." He put the paper down and followed Bethany Rose back to the kitchen. Eliza had already set the table and seeing him, began to bring out the food. Egg salad sandwiches, his favorite... he knew Eliza found Catherine's notes when she had read his wife's cookbook. 

He hesitated to ask how the sisters felt about living with the ghosts of his family. They eventually were comfortable wearing her clothes and every now and then, he thought he had seen them walking through the house. It was just his imagination, he was sure.

He had given both girls a pearl necklace for Valentine's Day and the creamy white spheres glowed around their dark chocolate necks.

While dinner was always an 'adult' affair, lunch usually included the children. He knew it was necessary for them to consider him as a 'parent'. More importantly, e didn't want to lose touch with them. 

The children would become more interesting as they grew older and James was thinking of things he could do with them. Having a boy in the house was a new experience for him... he didn't think his daughters would resent his interest in the boy.

He expected John to arrive sometime around three. After he and John had come to terms that day at the beach, their common interests, mainly the sisters and the War, far outweighed any differences that still remained.

Over the last five weeks, John had come for dinner each night. His interest in Eliza had grown slowly, carefully since that morning coffee she had offered. He still couldn't believe how stupid he had been, joining the Klan when he did.

James made John promise to respect Eliza and never go beyond anything she was comfortable with. They usually sat in the kitchen or the living room. Thankfully, James and Bethany retreating to the library each night gave them the needed privacy to continue what became a serious two-sided courtship.

At least twice a week, he brought Eliza or 'Liza' as he was calling her now, a box of See's chocolates. The other days, he surprised her with flowers or books or small jewelry and sometimes sea shells.

James treated her quite well but she knew he would always be Bethany's lover. Even though she had flirted with the idea of sleeping with him when she first moved in, John's interest put a stop to those ideas.

'Liza', she liked that. Such an intimate changing of her name... she started cooking the foods he liked for dinner. 

Whether James was acutely aware of this shift in the menu or not, he made no mention of it. Bethany, however, quickly noticed and protective of her own lover's needs, reminded her sister that James' favorite foods should be served at least every other day.

Yesterday, Eliza gave John a hand-knit scarf she had tirelessly worked on for three days, the soft blue color matching his eyes. Tonight, she had another type of gift in mind.

She knew she was falling love with him, the same entrapment that had captured Bethany Rose. It would only add a new layer of complexity to their lives but she didn't care anymore. Love is blind, they say and for once, she understood what that really meant.



"Eliza?" said Bethany, "what are you doing?"

Eliza stood next to the kitchen table, her dark hands covered in flour, her face white-streaked where she had touched herself.

"What does it look like? I'm baking bread." She pounded the dough one more time, put it into the bowl and covered it with the waiting cloth.

"I mean, about John. Where's this all going?" Bethany pulled a chair from the table and took it to the corner so she could sit out of the way.

"You! You are asking me? Jesus Christ, Bethany, how can you do that?" Bethany was uncomfortable. Eliza was right.

"You saw what happened with us. I don't want that to happen to you." 

"It happens, it happens. I'm tired of being alone every day, every night. Anything else you'd like to know, little sister?"

"No. I... just don't want you to get hurt, that's all."

Eliza pulled out the turkey from the refrigerator and started washing it. "Tonight's going to be special, I hope. He's been such a gentleman, sometimes I think he's afraid of me. I don't know; maybe he's just wanting take it slow, like a real romance." 

After putting some carrots and celery inside the bird, she sewed it closed, put the turkey upside down into a roasting pan and covered it with another cloth. Washing her hands at the sink, she set the oven to 400 degrees and started making the dressing. Thanksgiving in February... why not? Time to be thankful for something.

"A real romance? What do you mean? What's going on?"

"I'm not stupid, Bethany. I know we'll never be able to be a couple outside of this house, just like you must have realized that with James, why else would you have done what you did."

Bethany was silent. Only James' deep love for her had kept them together after she had broken his heart and thrown the ring away. She looked at her finger and guiltily touched the gold band shining on her dark finger.

Eliza took the turkey and put it into the oven. Setting the timer for thirty minutes, she started making the stuffing.

"Why don't you take the rolling pin and crush this toast?" she asked, taking some butter from the refrigerator.

Bethany got the pin and started smashing the bread.

"Look, Bethany, I think I'm in love with him. He must feel something for me; why else would he keep coming here each night? It couldn't just be for the free meals, could it?"

Bethany laughed. "No, he'd have left as soon as dinner was over. Besides, he keeps bringing you all those gifts. Dinner may be good but it ain't free. How much of this bread you got?"

"There's some more over there. 

"Bethany, do you think things will ever change? I mean, you know?"

"I don't know, maybe. Look at what James wanted to do. He could have just left things the way they were and I would still be his mistress. Sounds a little better than..."

She rolled the pin over the bread, mashing it forcefully, taking out her frustration on the food.

"And, look at John. He used to be in the Klan, for Christ's sake. The Klan, Eliza! And, now look at him, your puppy dog, hanging onto your every word." She laughed. "You know, if we knew we had this much power, we could have owned the world."

"When you're done with that, put it into this bowl and then melt the butter. Bethany, is James good with you? I mean, he must be, you kept sleeping with him even before he asked you to marry him, or were you just doing it so we could live here?"

A more personal question she could not have posed. Was James good to her? He had treated her like a woman... no, like a queen from the first second she had stepped into the house, never mentioning anything... and in the bedroom... 

"My God, Eliza," she said. "What a question." She turned to the stove to watch the melting butter.

"Answer the question, sister. Don't play all shy with me now. I've heard you two for weeks. Or, were you just play acting for him?"

"Damn! You heard us? Why didn't you say anything? Oh, this is so embarrassing. Eliza!" Bethany looked at the stove top; the butter kept melting and she absent-mindedly stirred it with the spoon.

"You still haven't answered me. Here, put these onions in there."

"I... he... he's incredible, Eliza, I can't believe it. He... oh, I can't talk about it."

"Why not? I've heard everything, already." Eliza cracked two eggs into the bowl and poured in the broth. "Well?"

"All right. He always pleasures me first and, oh, God, the things he does to me. I... take him, you know, I mean, I kiss it and then... damn, you want me to talk about this?"

"Look, little sister, there's no one here except us and the children and they're in the living room with their coloring books. And, even if they did hear us, they wouldn't understand a word, anyway. C'mon, just tell me. I... 

"Bethany, I need to know what pleases a man. You know that worthless fool I had wasn't even good for a few minutes and then he was asleep. Listening to you and James... I KNEW there had to be more than I was getting. He never satisfied me even once."

Eliza continued mixing the dressing with her hands, now adding the rest of the ingredients until it became a moist jumble. 

The timer rang and she reduced the heat. She looked at Bethany, waiting.

"Give me something to drink, first. I'm going to need it." 

Eliza put a glass of red wine down in front of her sister. How James kept finding alcohol was a mystery to her.

Bethany drank half the glass and sat there, waiting for the wine to ease her.

"He taught me what he and his wife would do. It's amazing, the feelings you get, and loving the man you want. I would kiss his cock, you know and then I would take it into my mouth. Eventually, I could take it down my throat and he would cum, spurting down my throat. Sometimes, I'd keep it in my mouth so I could taste it. I thought, at first, it would be so nasty but, somehow, I came to enjoy it.

"And, he'd kiss and touch my pussy and oh, Eliza... it's incredible how he makes me feel and when we do it, God, it's like I died and gone to heaven. 

"Your food must be really good because he doesn't seem to quit. One night, we were still... well, it was almost an hour and a half before we even took a break to..."

The timer went off again, startling both women to almost jump out of their chairs. They looked at each other and started laughing. 

"Let's finish this dinner."

Ever since John started coming to the house for dinner, Eliza started wearing some of the nicer clothes James gave her.

Bethany set the dining table while Eliza talked with John in the kitchen. James was checking some of the deeds to the properties. An idea that had taken root in his subconscious was starting to grow.

Roast turkey with chestnut stuffing, Giblet gravy, Mashed potatoes, Buttered onions, Spinach or another green vegetable, Cranberry relish, Celery and olives, Grapefruit salad, Plum pudding with hard sauce, Nuts and fruit, Coffee...

"Thanksgiving, in February?"

"Sure, why not, John? Sometimes, everyday is Thanksgiving... when you're here." Did she really say that out loud?

John smiled as he was taking the turkey to the table. Eliza looked prettier than ever and he knew he was getting into a very complicated situation. 'Yes,' he admitted to himself, 'I like her very much and she's been very nice to me. But, would she really want me?' 

His mind had been going around and around, no matter what he felt one minute, the next he was thinking the other way. How could a woman affect him so much? What did he think was going to happen when he decided to talk to her that morning?

Eliza excused herself and went upstairs. It was now or never, she felt, entering her bedroom.

Eliza stood in her room, working quickly as she opened the bed for what she hoped would be a first night of passion with John. Unbuttoning her blouse, she removed her brassiere and left her breasts loose. Dropping her skirt to the floor, she stepped out of her panties. Swiftly redressing, she turned on the night light and was satisfied it would be bright enough for what she wanted. She put on her slippers and hurried back down to the kitchen.

Bethany immediately saw the change in her sister's clothing but said nothing. John seemed oblivious to what Eliza had done, just looking at her face. James noticed and smiled.

The two sisters were clearing the table when James and John went into the library and closed the door. They were in there for quite a while which piqued the interest of the sisters but they could not hear anything through the door. They ran back to the kitchen when they heard the chairs moving inside the room.

James understood what Eliza was hoping to do and soon John and Eliza found themselves alone in the kitchen. 

Eliza began slipping the dishes into the soapy water and John picked up the towel.

The last dish finally dried and put away, Eliza went to the refrigerator and pulled out a small pineapple upside-down cake.

"I made it for you, John, special." She offered the cake to him with a smile, her white teeth shining behind her sweet, pouty lips and chocolate face. "It's sweet, like you."

As he took the plate from her, their fingers touched, sending a tingling to her heart. She couldn't understand how enamored she had become with this man, so quickly, so deeply; how she waited all day for him to arrive at dinnertime. 

There wasn't anything special anyone would notice about him but for the fact he was willing to accept her, to love her as she was, a thirty-year old colored woman with three children and no husband.

"Eliza, I don't know what to say. Thank you... that was most kind of you. Thank you."

What seemed a small gesture was the final deciding moment for him. He had spent all of his adult life alone after the War, wandering from one town to the next, one job to the next until finally, El Segundo. Here, he found a place to stay, a place to live and now, a place to love someone.

He managed to smile but she could see he was starting to cry. How was that possible? An American Marine, war veteran, so emotional that he's crying?

"What's the matter, John? Please, don't cry." She put a finger to his face to wipe the tear away. "It's only a..."

He set the cake down on the kitchen table, took her in his arms and kissed her, gently, carefully and then with greater passion. His hands held her tightly and she could feel his chest pressing against her breasts, his hands now cupping her cheeks and then the burning hardness of his erection.

Eliza's breathing quickened as it thrust between her thighs, only the thin cloth of her dress and his trousers keeping them apart.

Her hand came down and touched it. It felt like a long, hard cucumber. It twitched as she moved her hand along its length.

"Eliza..." John gasped. "Don't... you're going to make me..." She could feel it spasm under her fingers three, no four times and a hot dampness touched her skin.

His face was red, whether from a sense of awkwardness or exertion, she could not tell but she held his head down to hers and slipped her tongue past his lips and into his mouth.

His hands pulled her tighter to him, caressing, squeezing, and almost pinching. She gave in to the fire building deep within her and crushed herself as hard as she could to him.

"John," she whispered, "come with me to bed." He looked at the cake resting on the table and picked it up. She took his hand and led him up the stairs to the door of her room. She had taken him this far; she wasn't going to stop now.

"John, before you come in, I want you know that I want you. I know it's crazy but I've fallen in love with you. It's been almost two-and-a-half years since I've... you know..."

Whatever Eliza was going to say was smothered as he kissed her, gave her the cake and picking her up, carried her into the room.

Holding her in his arms, John continued to kiss her as he looked around the room and seeing the dresser in the faint light, took her there to put the cake down.

Gently, he laid her down on the sheets, wondering for just a single moment why the bed was already open. As he knelt by the side of the bed that thought quickly disappeared from his mind. His hands moved over her blouse, feeling her breasts through the cloth, smoothing over the flatness of her stomach, tracing the soft curve of her thighs through her skirt. He was overwhelmed by what she wanted him to do, what she wanted to do, what they would do together.

He started to unbutton the top of her dress, but Eliza stopped him; she wanted to do it herself, to give herself willingly. Her hands rapidly moved down the front of the blouse and she pulled it open, exposing her breasts to him, her dark chocolate nipples standing proud.

John began to focus all his energy making her feel as wonderful as possible and he touched her with his lips and tongue. As he licked her nipple, she began to moan softly and as she rocked from side to side her fingers squeezed the other one.

He took her motions as encouragement and began to focus all his energy on making her feel as good as possible with his lips and tongue, bringing his fingers up to help after a few minutes. 

"Take my skirt..." she could barely speak, her body acting on its own.

He fumbled with the zipper, his fingers shaking too much to grab the tab and move the slider down. She moved his hand and pulled it open herself; lifting herself from the bed, she pulled the skirt away and kicked it off.

Taking his hand, she brought it to the lips of her pussy and said, "Touch me."

Even though he had been with women over the years, none had ever interested him as a person and several, he was ashamed to admit, he had paid for their time. None of them excited him like Eliza.

Eliza was dripping wet and when John slid his finger into her, she felt perfectly complete. The sensation sent her thighs into a series of shakes and shudders that she could not control.

With his fingers deep within her and his thumb gently touching her clit, she moved her hips against his hand, seeking to swallow it up.

"John, kiss me there, kiss me." Even as she was finding herself moving toward her first orgasm with a man, she remembered enough of what Bethany had said to tell him what she wanted.

She opened her legs and as he moved between, wetting his lips and licking the sides of her inner thighs, he moved closer and closer. Her hips began thrusting up against his face, her hand frantically pulling his head to her, her legs crossing over his back, trapping him within her almost volcanic heat. He felt rather than heard her moans, so tightly did she have him crushed between her thighs.

His lips licking, his mouth sucking, her clit throbbing, her mouth moaning... 

The tip of his tongue, seeking the sweetness of her coming orgasm, was enough to push her over the cliff and fall into a screaming canyon of pleasure.

Her hands seized the bed sheet, pulling it loose from the bed; her body starting to bounce off the bed, her hands gripping his head, pulling his hair, making him see stars in the dim light of the room.

"Ahhhhhhhh," she began as the magic moved from between her thighs straight to her mind, her heart, her soul and she screamed again. "OOOOOOOOO!!! OH, SWEET JESUS, OH, GOD, OH!!!"

While John was pleased that he could bring her to such heights of ecstasy, he was amazed at the hunger that she now had.

Without even thinking, Eliza's back arched upward and as her feet pushed against the bed, she forced herself harder against his face until she finally lost all control, the orgasm flooding through her once, again and then again even as he continued to move his mouth on her, his hands gripping her cheeks as hard as he could without hurting her.

Breath gasping, face and neck burning, body trembling, hips leaping off the bed...

"Huh, huh, huh..." breathing finally calming, eyes fluttering, opening...

Eliza looked past her stomach to John, totally mesmerized by her uninhibited lust and still trapped between her thighs.

"What... what did you do to me?" Her hand moved to his head and tousled his hair.




Chocolate Kisses Ch. 10



She released him and he rested his face against her pelvis, smiling, his fingers moving up to caress her breast.

"Come to me, John," she whispered as her body still trembled. "Come to me." 

John moved up next to her, his face to hers. Kissing her, his cheek to hers, his left hand moving to her hair and teasing it as she had done his, he smiled. "Hi, baby. You OK?"

John moved onto his side, resting his head on her right breast; his left hand was between her thighs keeping her aroused. He felt more than saw her relax and her heartbeat gradually slowing.

"Liza..." 

"Shhh, baby, just give me a minute... God, you are fantastic..."

He moved his hand up to her stomach and drawing circles around her belly button, he moved to take her left nipple into his mouth, using his tongue to bring it up and hard.

"Mmmmmm," she moaned, "oh, John, damn, you're good." She moved just a little, putting more of her breast within his mouth's reach.

His tongue swirled around her nipple and it became a welcoming feeling to his mouth. He sucked easily, just enough to elicit another deep moan from her.

He had seen women with the look of love in their eyes but this was the first time he saw that look for him.

"More... give me more..." she shifted on the bed. He decided it was time to love her completely.

He moved to the edge of the bed and stood up. She sat up and faced him and unzipped his trousers. Holding the sides, she pulled them down and he kicked them off.

Her eyes were fixated on his bulging erection, almost hidden by his underwear. Lying on her stomach, she reached out to touch it, the cloth still damp from her first time holding it.

Standing there, he feasted on her nakedness. He cherished her hips, so full of promise. He treasured her ass, so full of pleasure; he ran his hand over her back, the smoothness so exciting he almost came again. 

This was going to be the beginning of a lifetime with her. Tonight, he would do his best to bring her such joy that she would remember it for the rest of her life.

Her desire for him glowed in her eyes; her wishes for love so entwined with his that nothing need be said.

Eliza reached out timidly, her hand finally touching him. It felt like a steel rod, now, much harder than in the kitchen.

"You want me, don't you, baby?"

Eliza let out a purring sound and nodded her head, writhing on her bed, still on her stomach. Her love, her lust controlled her actions, now and she realized how much bigger he was than that fool she had been living with. 

Colored men with big cocks? What a myth! John was almost twice that idiot's size.

"I love you..." she whispered, "don't tease me, make love to me, John, please," her voice growing stronger and more demanding with each word. She wanted to have a real man for the first time in her life.

Eliza pulled down the waistband of his underwear, releasing him to her completely. 

She stared at John's cock. 'My God,' she thought, 'there's no way...'

She touched it for the first time, skin to skin. She could see a little liquid coming from the tip of his cock and she thought for a moment to kneel down and take his perfect cock into her mouth until he could stand no more. But, no! She wanted him to come inside her, to feel that wonderful cock that now stared her in the face.

Eliza shifted on the bed, moving to middle and raised her arms to him. He crawled between her legs, seeking that warmth he had kissed just a moment ago. On his knees, he spread her legs gently apart and moved closer, finally reaching his quest. He rubbed his cock against her pussy, now open from his loving and with his left arm under her right knee, lowered himself slowly into her heat and then let go of her leg.

He could feel her stretching around him and he stopped several times, pulling back just an inch and then pushing down again. By the time he had completely reached his depth, she was almost screaming in his ear, calling upon God and the rest of the saints in her surprise. 

He waited, as much for himself as her, enjoying the hot tightness surrounding him... his mouth moved to her breasts, licking each one in turn as he finally stirred within her and then she felt his slow withdrawal, feeling him leave until just the tip was still inside and then he moved back, dragging the edges of her lips with him.

"Oh, my God," she almost screamed again and her arms went around his back and she instinctively enclosed him with her legs, crossing them at the ankles.

Raising and lowering himself faster and faster, John soon was breathing hard as he heard her gasp his name and felt her fingers near his pounding cock as she touched herself. 

She sounded like a moaning driver riding on a bumpy potholed road as he slammed into her even faster, desperately trying to keep from coming until she had at least one more time.

"Uh uh uh uh uh uh..." she gasped over and over, bringing John closer and closer to the edge he was trying to avoid. Her hands began scratching his back and the sharp pain finally did it. His cock pulsated again and again, filling her with his hot creamy fluids. She had never been so fully loved, so deeply loved, so completely loved.

She came again, her pussy squeezing tightly on his cock, trapping it, forcing it empty.

Neither John nor Eliza could say anything, having neither the inclination nor the ability to speak. It had all been said already and as he rolled slightly to his right, she still clasped her legs around him and kept him in.

The next morning, they were still lying entwined together.

"A little noisy, last night..." James said, waiting for his coffee. Bethany almost spilled the coffee in his lap. "Whoa! Spill that here and there'll be some screaming, right here."

"It's all about you, isn't it?" She filled his cup and passed the sugar bowl. "Oh, I don't know..." she laughed. "It's the first time she's ever had a man who knew what he was doing."

"You're talking about John? OUR John? Well, there's more to him than meets the eye. God, I hope this works out.

"Bethany? John and I have been talking." He saw her flinch. Oh, great!

"Oh? What about?" 

"I'd like to sell out and move away... far away... far away from all the stupidity here." How was she taking this? Did she even understand?

"Look... I want to move to Hawaii."

"Hawaii..." She sat down. "That's in the middle of the ocean!"

"Well, yeah. It is a bunch of islands. Listen, there are no laws stopping us from getting married. That is, if you still want to."

"You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do that for us, Bethany, I'd do that for us." He smiled. "It's going to take a little while, though. I've got a lot of stuff I got to sell and arrange to move. 

"Are you in?" Not the most romantic of words but to the point, he thought. He already did romantic and that didn't turn out well.

"Liza, honey?" He rested his hand on her back as she lay facing him.

"What, John?" She began to feel tingly again. She moved her hand down between them, seeking him out.

"Have you ever thought about moving away from here? I don't mean to somewhere else in Los Angeles or even California, I mean just out of here altogether." There, he said it, what he and James had been discussing for the last week.

"What do you mean, John, out of here altogether?"

"Well, James and I have been thinking... and we came up with a plan, sort of." This wasn't coming out right, not at all.

"John, please, just tell me." She hated to wait.

"He and I want to get the hell out of here and move to Hawaii."

"You've got to be joking." Hawaii? Oh, my God! Hawaii!

"No, baby, I'm not. There's no law against us, all of us, getting married there. We could live as man and wife, openly, legally, have a real life together, raise a family. That is, if you want."

"Are you asking me to marry you?" She tensed, having said it out loud, hoping...

"Yes, I guess I am. Will you?" Finally, after all these years of loneliness, he offered his commitment to a woman for the first time in his life.

"Oh, yes, John, oh, yes." She reached down, gave him a gentle squeeze and opening her mouth, moved down to try what Bethany had told her about.

"Cake?"



Downstairs, the library was dimly lit by a single table lamp. Bethany sat on the sofa; James lay there with his head on her lap. She stroked his hair as she read love sonnets from Elizabeth Browning.

If thou must love me, let it be for nought

Except for love's sake only. Do not say

I love her for her smile her look her way

"Jimmy?" she asked.

"Mmmm?" He looked up at her serious, dark eyes. His hand came up and stroked her chocolate cheek. 

"I want a baby," she said.



Chocolate Kisses Ch. 11



Chapter 11

We make decisions and we live with them

Copyright @ calibeachgirl

All rights reserved, 2011

Thursday, February 18th, 1932

El Segundo, California

The morning sunlight lit him up and she could see the exhaustion in his eyes. Another lengthy, enthusiastic night had worn him out and the lack of sleep was starting to take its toll. He sat down and laid his head on the table. "Ohhhhhhhhh..." Even though she was 25 years old, he never thought he'd be so tired at only 37 years.

"Jimmy? You all right, Jimmy?" She tousled his hair and then turned back to the stove, smiling. Each night since Christmas, except for that awful time when she had broken his heart, they had slept together. Well, there wasn't much sleeping, that was the problem. Maybe she should sleep in her old bedroom... no, that wouldn't work. She had sworn to him that she would never leave him again. She looked at the plain gold band around her finger.

'Where the hell is Eliza?' Bethany was a little miffed, like any good sister would be. While it was obvious that her sister was finally enjoying a satisfying love life, she still should attend to the business of the house and put some damn breakfast on the table.

Then she remembered the afternoon she and Jimmy didn't come down until well after two. 'Good times,' she thought, 'good times.' She felt herself becoming damp and instinctively, absentmindedly rubbed herself through her dress.

A look out the kitchen window showed John's Model A still sitting next to Jimmy's Chevrolet. That John had spent the night again came as no surprise to her. Ever since Sunday, he had practically moved in and for once, it was Bethany who heard her sister moaning during the night.

She wondered why Jimmy had not said anything to her about it. Another man in the house, especially this house, changed its dynamics. This new relationship between the two men was based on something neither she nor her sister understood but as long as both sisters was happy...

Bethany Rose went upstairs and knocked on her sister's door. "Eliza! Wake your sorry self up and get downstairs! It's almost eight o'clock!"

When there was no answer, she opened the door and turned on the light. Her sister didn't answer because she had taken John in her mouth and was swallowing as fast as she could. John looked at Bethany and just smiled as Eliza began moving her hand faster.

Almost half an hour later, the two lovers came down to the kitchen, John grinning, Eliza shyly keeping her head down, unable to look are her sister.

Bethany Rose sat waiting for the coffee pot to finish percolating. She was still wearing the pearl necklace her Jimmy had given her for Valentine's Day and as she fingered it, she remembered the 'pearl necklace' he gave her earlier that morning. She had aroused him even further when she took her fingers to scoop up the translucent white drops and then to her lips to be licked clean. She was more than damp, now, just thinking about it.

Finally! The mad bubbling of the coffee had stopped and she poured a cup. Eliza, or Liza as she wanted to be called now that John had renamed her more to his own liking, was still shyly looking down. Bethany decided to still call her Eliza just to irritate her. After all, what are sisters for?

She put her cup of coffee in front of James. "Here you go, honey. Drink up. I'll have some bacon and eggs ready for you in a minute."

He ate his breakfast slowly, each bite taking forever, each bite chewed so slowly he forgot what it should have tasted like when he swallowed it.

She poured coffee for Eliza and her lover. Handing the cups to John, she went to her Jimmy, leaned down to kiss him and slowly ran her hand across his crotch.

"What... are you... Oh...uh... uh, oh Jesus..." He was squirming under her groping. "Ah, fuck it," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up the stairs back to their room.

John started laughing, and then realized he was holding both coffees and was standing by himself. He set the mugs down on the table and then went looking for Eliza.

"Damn, we've been up here for over an hour! We've got to get... what are you doing? Now, Beth... oh, Jesus Christ! Spread those..."

"Damn, what time is... oh, baby, that's good, but we've really..."

"Really, Bethany, we've... oh, yeah, do that again..."

"Baby, it's after lunch time... what do you mean you'll give me something to... oh... haha..."

"Well, now that we've all had something to eat, shut up, Bethany, we've really go to get going. We're going to drop you off at the market and then John and I have... well, we had an appointment with the real estate broker. Don't forget to get the shopping list from Eliza. What time is it, anyway?"

"Two-thirty, Jimmy." 

Not a word about what Bethany saw. She kept that to herself, knowing she wasn't any better than her sister when it came to swallowing.

James looked at John. "So, we...?" 

"Yes. I can't believe I'm getting married to her. Jim, there's no way I'm ever going to forget what you've done for me. I can't believe I was so damn stupid all those years. God!"

"Well, great, but I've got to sell everything first or there's not enough money to do it. 

"Ah, here we are."

The two men walked into the real estate office and shook hands with Bill Mines.

William Mines Realty, Los Angeles

In the middle of January, Bill Mines telephoned, representing aircraft companies wishing to relocate near the new airport. Over the next hour, the broker explained the entire proposal. 

Ewart had an idea. "Any chance you could expedite a sale of my markets?"

Mines waited anxiously for James Ewart to arrive. He was worried when Ewart missed his appointment but then, finally, a call came from him. 

The opportunity to broker a second sale this size would set him up for the rest of the year. He had already arranged the airport's original lease for 640 acres and then, the damned stock market collapsed bringing everything to a halt.

Following the Crash, both investors and major airlines had shied away from the new airport. Fortunately, though, several aircraft companies, Douglas, Northrop and North American arrived to establish aircraft factories and both jobs and money were at last starting to come back.

Now, the property just south of the field was needed and as luck would have, the owner was in a position to sell.

James and John walked in and the broker immediately jumped up. "Good morning, gentlemen. Mr. Ewart?" He looked at John but John said nothing.

James shook his hand, "Morning. We're here to listen to your final proposals." While he hoped to maintain a poker face during the negotiations, he knew he would take anything reasonable so they could move to Hawaii. He just wanted to leave.

"Of course, you realize if we could have sold these properties four years ago, you would have gotten five times as much. That's just the sad fact. It's now a buyers' market."

Mines looked sadly out the large window out to the street, mourning the lost commission. "Now, if you hold on to it, it eventually will go back up but God knows when?" 

Ewart nodded his head. Stating the obvious but honest enough to mention it... property values could continue to fall...too many things chasing too little money.

He looked at the bottom line. It was twice what he was hoping for. For just a split second, he considered holding out for more and only one thing stopped him: he wanted to marry Bethany Rose and every day in Los Angeles was one day less as husband and wife.

Mines spoke up. "Good news, bad news. Safeway is interested in the markets but countered at eighty percent."

"That's for ALL the markets?" Damn.

"I'm afraid so. I know you were hoping for more, but..." Mines threw up his hands, what could he do?

Ewart put up his hand while doing a quick calculation in his head. The two offers together were almost forty-two thousand more than he expected. Unbelievable... God must really love him... 'bout time, he felt.

"Done. Where do I sign and how long will it take to close escrow?" He reached for the pen.

"Nothing to worry about, there. Two weeks, tops. You should have both checks on the Thursday, March 3rd or Friday the 4th.

"OK, John. We've got to get everything packed. I'm putting you charge of that, all right?

"I've a stop in Culver City I need to make." He stopped talking after that. John knew there was something more happening than just a quick stop somewhere. Jim's voice had almost chocked to silence.

A half-hour later, they pulled into Holy Cross Cemetery and he walked into the small office.

"Good morning, I'd like to arrange for the disinterment and transport of three graves, please."

John walked in.

"Please fill out this form, sir, and I'll be right with you. What are the names you are looking for?"

"Ewart, Catherine... and my two daughters. They're all together."

The form was relatively simple: name, date, location and destination. Destination... he knew it was going to be Hawaii but exactly where he had no clue.

"Can I make arrangements to have the... the bodies shipped in early March? I can give you the exact date tomorrow when I buy passage."

"That can be arranged easily enough. We'll need a cashier's check or cash for..."

Watching Jim arranging shipment of his wife and two children's bodies was hard enough for John to take. He knew Catherine and her two little girls. "It must be impossible for him,' John thought. 'God, I hope I never have to do that.' 

Through all this, John remained silent. He already respected Jim for his war experiences but since meeting Liza, as he was want to call her, he had come to like the man greatly. Without Jim's unselfish act, the two sisters would still be living in poverty and they all would be alone, still unloved.

"Here," Jim said, "you drive," and tossed him the keys.

While John enjoyed driving, not this time and it was a long, silent trip back to the house.

Sitting at the table while they were eating lunch, Jim outlined the plans for the next day.

"Tomorrow, I'm going down to book passage for us on the Matson Line. They have four ships to Honolulu. I'll get the first one out of here after we get the money.

"Eliza and John, you start packing all the small stuff. The movers will take care of the big stuff. They'll be bringing out the crates early tomorrow morning.

"Could one of you get me another couple of these cookies, please?"

Eliza rose but not to get any cookies. "We're going to Hawaii! We're going to get married!" She kissed him. "Oh, James, thank you so much."

"You're welcome. Now, can I have some cookies?"

Eliza brought over the plate, set it in front of him, poured him a glass of milk and then kissed him on the mouth just enough to fluster John.

She looked at John, his face red and his hands tight and started to laugh. "Oh, John... it's you I love like that but I will always love James... I'm just a thankful, friendly sister, that's all."

She took his hand and led him back up the stairs. Eliza checked on the children. Glory was still sleeping with her nap and the other two were coloring on their bedroom floor. Satisfied, she led John back to her bedroom, closed the door and reached for his belt.

"Hey," James yelled, "remember, there's a lot of work to be done tomorrow; don't wear yourselves out too much!" He stood up, swept Bethany into his arms and then, kissing her deeply, ran his hands down below her ass and lifted her up into the air. "WE are going to Hawaii, baby and WE are getting MARRIED!!! WE ARE GETTING SO MARRIED!!!"

"Hey, shut up down there! We're trying to have sex up here! 

"Hey, where's the kids?"

The next morning...

"All right, I'm leaving now... I'll stop at the bank." He wrote down the amount thinking it would have been more.

Talking from the other side of the line... James continued writing down the information from the ticket agent.

"Maybe hour, hour and a half... depends on how long it takes." Highway One, Pacific Coast Highway as everyone was want to call it, was the best way to get to the harbor but even then, it was going to be a long ride through all the beach cities.

More talking from the other side of the line, much longer this time... He continued writing, each pen stroke another step closer to freedom from the immoral laws keeping them apart.

"All right... Thank you." He hung up the phone and walked to the foot of the stairs. "Bethany, you ready, honey?" Women were all the same... taking forever to get ready. At least, in the bedroom, she was always the first one ready... for anything he might have in mind and some things he never imagined. She was talking to someone.

"Be there in a minute, Jimmy." She knew the way to a man's heart was to keep him wanting more and if that meant making him wait a little... 'Besides, I'm worth it,' she laughed to herself.

When she did finally come down, he had to blink his eyes. She and Eliza had taken to wearing more and more of Catherine's clothes. There was no reason not to but sometimes, it seemed like his wife's spirit was still walking through the house. Rather than feeling upset or nervous, it gave him a warm, comforting secureness like a warm blanket on a chilly winter night. 

Just the same, come Hawaii, there would be a LOT of new clothes. He always wanted to go 'native.' He imagined what she would look like in a sarong... right before he took her hand, led her to whatever bedroom they would have there and watch her remove those new clothes.

He was going to get a beachfront property; that was for sure, he promised himself and they were going to run around naked on the sand.

The chilling morning drive to the harbor did take the time he thought it would. He looked at Bethany, wearing one of the full-length coats she found in the closet, the fur collar gently caressing her neck like a lover's kiss. He wondered how she felt, wearing Catherine's clothes. It seemed like she was becoming Catherine at times. 'No, no, no,' he thought, 'she was like the other side of a golden coin, different yet the same.'

They walked into the Matson ticketing office. There were several people in line and a few looked at Bethany Rose standing with him. The agent behind the counter, himself, looked past him. 'You'd think they'd never seen a well-dressed colored woman. How insular could you get? Well, let them look, we'd be gone soon enough.'

"Good morning, I believe I spoke to you on the phone this morning about passage to Honolulu. James Ewart."

The agent was still looking at Bethany.

"About that passage?"

"Ah, yes, sir... you asked for one double suite and one single suite, starboard side. We have two of the one and six of the other. But there's only one pair that is together."

He pointed to the ship's diagram. 

James looked; they were too far back, he reasoned, too close to the engines.

"Where did you say the others were?

"Here, here and here... The other double is here."

He turned and spoke quietly to her, she smiled and then he faced the agent.

"Fine. I'll take that one there and this one over here."

"Yes, sir, will that be..."

"Cash." He started adding. A few minutes later, the agent was filling out the ticket information. James registered the women and children in the double cabin and John and himself in the single. Knowing full well that would only exist on paper, when the ship sailed, there would be a quick change in sleeping arrangements. He couldn't wait.

The tickets were put into a small folder and handed over. "Will there be anything else, sir?"

"I also have a good deal to ship. Are you able to handle that with this ship or can you arrange for another?"

"It won't be on this ship, it's not set up for cargo. But, we..." He looked in his notebook and said, "I can accommodate you on the Pacifica. It will leave two days earlier and arrive one day later. That should be the best, I think. What do you have?"

"Thank you. I have two cars, an airplane..."

"An airplane?"

"Yes, I'll have it ready to ship. There are three caskets. I want those given special care. And, several large crates of household goods..."

"Please give me a moment and I'll see what I can do." He picked up his phone and dialed the other shipping line. 

"...all right... that's good... I'll send him over right now." He hung up the phone. "They're expecting you at berth eight.

There was no one there except some old fishermen at the end of the pier. They either didn't notice them or didn't care and their evening's dinner was probably still swimming out there.

"I can't wait until we leave and I can kiss you without looking around to see whose watching." Her gloved hand covered his and then her fingers intertwined with his.

"Do you have a place in mind?" He laughed quietly, hoping to keep what little privacy they had.

Her hands reached up and pulled his face down and she covered him with kisses. 'Public, be damned,' she thought, kissing him again.

Bethany Rose knew, at this point in their impossible love affair, he would do anything to please her and told him to take her to the Somerset. 

'He's completely wrapped around my little finger,' she had thought ever since that first night she slept with him. He, on the other hand, was constantly thinking the same thing.

For one time only, there were no stares as they walked into the hotel. She had always wanted to come here and since they were leaving Los Angeles soon, it had become a case of 'now or never.'

Nevertheless, she still surprised him by calling ahead and reserving a room. He had expected they were only going to have an early dinner and maybe some dancing, but he could see she had other plans on her mind. 

Bethany insisted they go up to the room to 'freshen up' as she put it, dragging him to the elevators. He thought she would. Their second-floor room was at the back with none of the traffic noise from the avenue below.

He sat on the bed and watched as she took off the great coat, showing a wondrous dress; the deep gold shone on her rich brown skin like a harvest moon against the night.

His arousal was immediate. When would she stop affecting him this way? Never, she hoped. Walking over, she kissed him and whispered, "Later..."

As good as the dinner probably was, he didn't even remember what he had. 

"Oh, look, Jimmy, they're playing the Balboa. C'mon, I'll teach you." She pulled him up and they went out to the dance floor. 

Named for the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, it was a 'close embrace' style dance. The partners faced each other chest-to-chest in full body contact. They were usually a little offset from each other, so that the right shoe was in between the shoes of the other.

The dance was led with the whole body rather than the arms or some other clue to move, similar to the Tango.

"OK, Jimmy, here, stand like this." Their bodies toching, chest to chest, just offset enough. "Good, now step back with your left, all right, then bring your right one back. Slide your left food forward, then back again. No, like this. Move your right foot up and then your left to it. Slide your right one back pulling your heel off the ground and then forward again."

The swing music began and he tried to keep up with her. She laughed, "I'll get some rhythm into you yet, Jimmy; you've been doing all your dancing in bed with me."

Eventually, he moved with her smoothly enough and held her closely enough the dancing became vertical sex and he felt himself almost cumming several times. Somehow, she held him and stopped it. He had no idea where or how she learned that trick... probably from John through Eliza.

At midnight, they couldn't wait for the elevator and took the stairs.

He set the bottle down on the nightstand. The 1875 Delamain Cognac, bottled ten years earlier, was expensive but he didn't care. Although they had been sleeping together for a good while now, she told him this was their honeymoon night.




Chocolate Kisses Ch. 11



He wanted to wait for that until they were in Hawaii... but, whatever she wanted, he was going to give her. Besides, in Hawaii, whatever was in his mind was in his mind.

He carefully opened the bottle. She was worth it.

He poured the two glasses and gave her one. Clinking glasses, "cin-cin," he told her, he loved her, he told her and all that he had was hers, he told her. She took a sip, her eyes widening as the brandy went down her throat. He noticed her reaction and knew he wanted his cock there.

Bethany Rose sipped it slowly, the warm golden liquid matching her dress and James could hear her breathing a little faster. She put the snifter down and moved into his arms, pulling his head down to hers, making love to his face with her lips.

He kissed her, little touching kisses, their mouths closed, just touching faces, turning this way and that as she sought out the sides of his face.

His hand went to the dress and he slowly pulled the zipper down a bit, then the left side down, exposing Bethany's breast, its dark chocolate nipple just at his fingers. James pulled the other side down and leaning over, began to caress them with his lips as she put her hands beneath and pushed them up to his face. She felt herself become damp.

His lips became more demanding as he sucked her nipple into his mouth and she began to moan quietly. "Ohhhhhh." The slurping sounds of his mouth on her breasts made her smile, a smile that was quickly covered by his as he moved up to kiss her again and again, her hand moving to his shoulder and then the side of his face, caressing. Bethany could feel her own excitement as she felt the wetness spread.

She felt one hand go to her back while the other cupped her right breast and then both hands moved to his shoulders. "Wait," was all she could say and she finished unzipping the dress and let it fall to the floor.

She went to the bed, kneeling down, waiting as he moved behind her, his hands around her waist, one moving down into her panties; her head leaning back to kiss him again as he ran his fingers across her neck.

James began to touch her there, moving his finger gently at first, causing her clit to rise even farther. "Oh... oh..."

His right hand moved up to just below both her breasts, his thumb touching her left nipple, now standing a good half-inch above her areola, his mouth kissing her left ear, whispering, whispering.

"Uha... uha..." Bethany's wheezed as his hand began moving much faster.

Both hands moved to hold, then squeeze her breasts and he kissed her deeply, her own left arm reaching back to pull him to her. He squeezed and molded them with his fingers, sending her into her first orgasm as she pushed her tongue into his mouth.

While his right hand continued holding her breast, his fingers trapping her nipple, his left caressed her face, turning it toward him for another kiss.

He brushed some of her hair that had come onto her face, wet with her sweat. Bethany turned into his embrace, her hands around his shoulders, his around her waist, holding each other tightly, kissing, lips and tongues searching, exploring, searing hot.

She moved up, bringing her breasts to his mouth and as he held her now by the hips, she moaned again as his mouth moved down to her stomach, down to her panties, kissing through the silk, pushing his tongue into her through the cloth, both his hands now holding her ass as she bent over, hands on his shoulders.

"Ohhh uh... ahhh... ahhh..." She moved sinuously now, unable to stay still as the sensations coursed through her. "Oooooo uh..."

James moved up to swallow her right nipple and she put her arms around his neck. They kissed again... once more as she put her hand on his crotch, feeling his erection, trying to hold it through his pants.

Bethany moved her hand back and forth on the fabric and he almost lost it. He pulled her hand away and wrapping both arms around her, kissed her once more and then looked down on her smiling chocolate face.

He unbelted his pants and with his left hand, started to push them down. He got them down past his knees and off; she pressed herself against him once more, waiting.

He held her face to his; slowly kissing her and her arms again went around his neck trying to keep him forever in her embrace. His finger danced across her back bringing music to her soul and her senses overwhelmed her mind.

Open mouthed now, tongues intertwining, James held her tightly as she moved her own hand over her ass while his erection poked out between them.

More deep kissing, more hands moving, more arms embracing, his cock sandwiched, pressing hard against her flesh and then she knelt down and took his cock into her right hand and pulled it into her open mouth.

Bethany's hand was hard against his crotch; three inches hidden in her hand, another two free to the air and then the head stretching and then disappearing into her mouth. She looked up and smiled and then another inch disappeared past her lips and into her mouth.

She pulled it out, the head slapping against her nose and she laughed as once again it moved into her mouth, her head twisting and moving, making love to him as he felt himself becoming hotter and harder the longer she held him in her mouth. 

Strings of saliva stretched from her lips to his cock. Now her hand, still until this moment, began to move. Looking up for approval, she kissed him as he leaned over, her hand still moving, tightly holding him.

His head sideways to hers, he almost crouched down to reach her and her hand kept moving on its own, now, forgotten by her while she kissed him over and over and over.

Just holding the tip in her mouth, Bethany moved her hand faster, now taking in three inches, now four. Her hand continued to stroke James and he began to hum. "Mmmmmmm..."

Stroke, stroke, stroke... he could only see the top of her head, her tight curly black hair tickling his skin as she moved back and forth. She licked its length while one hand went back to move on her own ass. Then, holding his hips she moved against him, taking him in until he hit the back of her mouth and then, she lunged forward and he went down her throat. He exploded.

She lay on the bed, waiting for him to join her. She was slowly fingering herself, keeping her arousal burning and then he joined her, moving between her chocolate thighs and sliding her panties to the side.

He held it in his left hand, rubbing against her slit as her fingers continued to move against her clit. And then the head slipped in and moved back out. She took it in her hand and moved it back and slid against it, pushing herself to take it in. Just the first three inches entered, held there by her hand. 

As each inch disappeared, she moaned, her mouth opened wide, her eyes closed and her head moved side to side. He began to move, just those three inches in and out. Once a second, he repeated the motion, in and out, just those three inches, in and out.

Bethany was moaning now, her body moving back and forth against his cock, her breasts jiggling slightly out of synch. Her head arched back and she stared at the wall behind the bed but not seeing it at all. Her fingers went to her lips, inside her mouth, sliding on her tongue.

"Ohuhhh..." unintelligible noises... She struggled to lift her head high enough to see him. "Ahheeeuh..."

Her left hand went back to rub herself, her fingernails scratching his cock as he continued to pound her just those three inches. "Mmmuhhmm." Her head went back again, this time with her eyes closed. "Hahhhuhahhh..." It sounded almost like a hiss.

One hand began to touch her nipples, again. He now had five inches pummeling in and out and her head turned against the sheets and she faced the wall and then back again.

"OOOOO yeah..."

James moved forward, finally sinking completely inside, his legs wide apart to keep her open for him, her ankles hooked behind his knees, keeping him from slipping away.

With his left arm under her neck and his right keeping his weight off her, her own arms pulled him down and his hips worked their way against her, his ass moving back and forth once a second as he pushed into her over and over.

He was kissing the left side of her neck and she bit his shoulder. Squirming under him, her head swinging from side to side, she kept trying to sink her teeth into him.

"Oh, God," he gasped, "Oh, God." Her mouth was wide open; she released him from her bite and her right arm swung around and waved back.

He continued to push into Bethany, speeding up now, slamming now, her head snapping back each time. Eyes closed, her head lifted away from the bed and he began to lick the front of her neck. "Uhhhhh..."

He pulled her leg away from his knee and sat back on his legs and she propped herself up with her hands. "Wha..."

James still held her against him and continued to thrust his way into her.

Bethany Rose pushed herself up, away from the bed and as she moved toward him, her breasts jiggled happily from his movements in her. She put her fingers back to her clit and circled it round and round and round and then her mouth opened widely and she gasped. 

"Oh, my sweet Jesus!"

Friday, March 11, 1932

Los Angeles Harbor

Ewart accompanied the three white caskets to the ship and despondently watched, as they were carefully stored away. Even flying high over the French countryside escaping German bullets had not terrified him like their deaths.

He remembered the damned Church giving him grief because she died as she did. What did they know of love? What did they know of grief? Present at weddings and funerals, present but not there. Speaking but not heard. Inane platitudes falling to the earth, never to take root but shrivel and die...

"God's will... God's will..." what do they know of God? What sane, loving God would have such innocence destroyed? Better to believe in a God far, far away, who abandoned His creation to its own end... Better to believe in no God than one that allows such evil to exist unchecked. "God's will..." that your daughters be raped and butchered. "God's will..." that your wife commit suicide after being raped and becoming pregnant with a black baby.

He knew that he would have to put everything into a special place and only visit when there were loving memories to be embraced. 

James didn't look on it so much as moving on as embracing an expanding love...

Damned priests and bishops with their foolish, indifferent rules... Always outsiders looking in and understanding nothing... Soulless, heartless shells of men betraying everything that Jesus himself had said. 

His faith in the Church, never strong to begin with, had been thrown away. The War and their deaths had seen to that.

An hour later, both cars and his plane were delivered to the dock, eventually lifted onto the ship and down into the hold. By the time the day was over, everything that he had ever owned or cared for save his new family was locked away for the trip to the islands... a one-way trip. 

He had no plans to ever return to California... the Promised Land lost to its racist attitudes and hatred.

He stayed at the terminal until the ship had disappeared past Angel's Gate.

Now that everything was completed, he wished that Bethany was with him, but he knew this had been something to be done alone. It wasn't explainable and he didn't even bother to try while he cried walking back to his borrowed car.

He couldn't leave his wife and children behind, to lie forgotten, no matter what plans the future had for him.

It was a long, cold, lonely drive back to the house. The rain on the window echoed the tears on his face. He never thought he'd be leaving Southern California. When business was booming, the money coming in... seemed like no end to tomorrow. Catherine and the girls... how that dream was shattered in the most cruel way possible.

He wished he could have killed those two, slowly, painfully. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get any justice in that. His wife and his little angels were still gone, forever.

Leaving... leaving the constant reminders of what was... leaving the attitudes keeping him from Bethany... leaving behind everything but the good memories that still filled his heart.

Honolulu...

Hawaii...

Even the names sounded exotic.



Chocolate Kisses Ch. 12



 Chapter 12

Tickets to Paradise

Copyright @ calibeachgirl

All rights reserved, 2011

With great thanks to Pepper Pace, Elliot and Reverend Joe for reading the rough drafts and support... and to Martine, the love of my life.

*

Late Thursday, March 3rd, 1932

The El Segundo house

Dinner was over. Roast pork with apples sauce, mashed potatoes with butter and peas... how she always knew what he liked, John didn't know but was grateful just the same. 

Of course, after Bethany Rose talked with her sister, he only got his favorites every third day. The way Eliza cooked... every third day was enough.

James cleared the table with Eliza while Bethany Rose took the children upstairs to bed. He turned to his friend and asked, "You've arranged for the citrus to be shipped?"

"Yes, they'll get there about two months after we do so we've plenty of time to find the right piece of property. Two hundred, just like you wanted." He patted his stomach approvingly and then his pocket, looking for his pack. 

"Oh, no, you don't, John. Go outside if you want to smoke. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Liza, it's raining."

"I don't care, John. You should quit smoking, anyway. It's like kissing an ashtray, sometimes... and, John, I love you. I don't like the way you've been coughing."

"Damn," he laughed, "acting like a wife already. Man can't even get..."

"Out," Eliza said, throwing a dish towel at him. "Get out of here with those smelly things."

John went outside for his smoke, laughing. After lighting his cigarette, he leaned against the porch railing and inhaled, pulling the nicotine deep into his lungs. 

The big dog at the next house over started barking. 

"Shut up, you stupid dog! Damn, get some peace and quiet."

The rain had faded into just a light drizzle and combined with the darkness, gave the yard a strange quality to it.

As much as he loved Eliza, sometimes a man had to be alone, away from soon-to-be wife and her three children. A little peace and quiet, sometimes, just a little peace and quiet...

'After all,' he thought, 'smoking outside is worth it to have her sweet brown...'

The four men approached John from the misty shadows near the street, their presence given away by the barking of the neighbor's mastiff. He recognized two of them from long ago.

'...apple betty...' "Ah, shit." John looked at them. "Brought some friends, have you, Will? Where's your sheets? Forgot the cross, huh?"

The others looked around, nervously. They expected him to be afraid and he wasn't.

"There's some stuff we don't like about you and those nigger women you got in the house. That Ewart bastard, he seems mighty interested in that bookkeeper of his. 

"Where is he, anyway?"

John dropped his cigarette and stepped away from the dark porch, silently cursing his decision to leave Jim's .45 in the house. He could probably take two of them... but, four?

"Been fuckin' them both, haven't you? Like that dark meat, do you?

"Well, I don't really care about that, fuck'em all you want; they got to be good for something. But, you've been seen drivin' them around town like they were proper white women and now some..."

"Shut your goddamn mouth and go home, Will, before I kick your fucking fat ass to the beach." Fists clenched, John moved closer, prepared to take a beating, still wishing he had the gun.

It started to rain, again, this time harder and thunder could be heard from the mountains.

"So, it's true, is it? You fuckin' traitor. You've been sleepin' with that nigger slut and now you're sweet on her, too?

"We don't like..."

John hit Will in the face, breaking his nose and knocking the larger man down onto the wet grass. The other three were unsure what to do, waiting for some direction like bleating sheep. Will was kneeling on the lawn, trying to stop the blood flowing onto the grass; the red liquid moving down his chin. John backed away to put some distance between them, holding his hand. He was sure he had broken a bone or two.

Pulling out a switchblade, Will lunged and cut John's arm before he was knocked down again.

The shotgun blast echoed through the night, startling the dog to howl again. Anyone hearing it would have thought it was another distant rumble of thunder rolling across the sky.

All five looked up to see Eliza holding the gun. "Looks like this nigger slut got the drop on your sorry white asses. You damn crackers got about ten seconds to get off our property before I blow your goddamn heads off."

"We'll get you for this, John; we'll get you and your whore for this. Just you wait and see."

The four backed away, warily looking around.

"Time's up, assholes." Eliza brought the gun to bear on them, causing them to turn and run down to the street.

John heard a loud clunk-clunk as she dropped it and fell back against the house, crying. He ran to her and holding her closely, kissed away her tears.

"Don't cry, please don't cry. We'll be out of here soon enough and all this will be behind us." He knew, though, that threats most times came true and this was probably no exception.

"John, I was so afraid they were going to..." She shuddered in his arms.

"Shh, baby," he said softly, all the while peering into the darkness and wondering if they were coming back, praying they wouldn't. Leaving Los Angeles couldn't come soon enough. 'City of the Angels'... who was kidding who?

John realized that his desired 'peace and quiet' was inside with Eliza and her children. Picking up Jim's shotgun and then going into the house, he threw his pack of cigarettes into the trash. 

She took him into the kitchen where Bethany Rose looked carefully at the cut on his arm. "This is going to hurt a little, but you'll be all right after I'm done." She took soap and water and washed his arm while some water was boiling on the stove. While several handkerchiefs were soaking in the hot water, she put her thread and needle into a cup of Mexican tequila and began carefully sewing up the cut. "If you don't fool with it, it'll heal nicely without too much of a scar. Now, hold still while I bandage this up."

Putting his arm around Eliza, they went upstairs to bed. Their lovemaking was a gentle affair, more loving reassurance than physical sex.

Neither of them had seen James coming out of the darkness, holding his own gun. He knew the importance of being a wingman, even if the other person didn't know you were there. 

It was, and always would be, Eliza's night.

Sunday afternoon, March 5th

He had closed all the stores for the day and invited everyone to the house for a picnic. It was sad, he thought, the very first company picnic was also its last.

Bethany and Eliza were working in the kitchen with several other cooks. "How many do you think will come today, Jimmy?" she asked, following him into the living room where the baked goods from the various stores were piled high.

"I'm hoping all of them, but you never know. Maybe two-fifty, three hundred. I'm going to check on the bar-be-que in the back. When John gets back, have him come out to see me."

James left the kitchen to see how the meat was coming along. He could smell it as soon as he walked outside. "Buenos días, ¿cuándo estará listo todo?"

"Una hora más, el señor James. ¿Qué más usted necesitan?"

"¿Está su madre aquí?"

"Sí, sir, gracias mucho por lo que usted ha hecho para nosotros..."

"Espero que usted acabe la escuela convertirse en un buen hombre."

"Sí, señor."

By three o'clock, most the employees and their families had arrived and were eating picnic style on the back lawn. James and Bethany Rose walked around greeting people, thanking them for their years with the company and expressing sadness about leaving them. She was carrying a basket filled with envelopes and a checklist and while James handed out the one-hundred dollar bonuses, she carefully noted each family down.

Some of the women who had secretly loved him were saddened to the point of tears to see him leave but romantically understood the forbidden love he had for her. The men were of mixed opinion but most kept quiet about it and wished them well.

Evening, Monday, March 14th

SS Malalo, ten miles west of the California coast toward Hawaii

"I thought I'd find you here," Bethany Rose quietly said. "It'll be all right, Jimmy. It'll be all right." 

Standing at the rail, they watched the last of California disappear on the eastern horizon. 

He noticed Bethany was wearing another of Catherine's dinner dresses, a light green one this time, accentuating her dark complexion; her face, just visible in the pale light from the passageway, could not hide her concern for him.

'Of course,' he thought, 'why not?' After a while, neither sister was uncomfortable wearing his wife's clothes. It seemed like an erotic mix of both women, a blending of his wife's memory and his lover's presence. Vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce... good separate, mixed together something altogether different and better.

"Beer?" he asked, unable to say anything else. He church-keyed another bottle and gave it to her.

She put her arm through his and leaned against him, seeking warmth against the last winter cold of the year. "You know I don't..." she started to say but then took the beer, not wanting to argue the point. She took a sip from the still cold bottle. 

"You know," he said, "I never thought I'd leave; they were there and then they weren't; even after all that, I didn't leave.

"Then, there you were; I vowed to do whatever was necessary for us to be together and got a new family for it. John was the surprise, kind of like a brother, now, I guess.

"My God, what a change... what a chance..." He stared at the dark blue-black water churned up by the ship's passage, the foam brightly fluorescing in its wake. He threw his empty bottle into the water and opened another.

"Oh, look!" she exclaimed and pointed to the water. Flying fish gave chase for a while and then disappeared as something flew by in the dark.

"Jimmy... what is it with you and John? He worked for you all these years and now, you're best friends. It can't be just because Eliza's in love with him could it? What's changed?"

He turned to her with a dark look on his face. "I don't think you'd like it, Bethany, not at all. Can't we just be happy with what we now have?" He stared back out at the black water.

"Are you worried I'll leave you? What could you possibly say to me that would make me do that?"

He gripped her hand instinctively, painfully.

"Jimmy! You're hurting me!" She tried to pull away.

He let go of her, ashamed. "Baby, it's a very bad thing. Please, don't ask again." 

Now, she put her hand on his, seeking to reassure him of her love. "Just tell me. What did you do, kill someone?" She meant it as a joke, trying to break the tension but then, she saw his reaction. "Oh, Jesus. What did you do? Oh, God, you didn't..."

And then a change came over her. She didn't care. She silently finished her bottle and dropped it over the side.

"Whatever it was... whoever it was... they had it coming. I know you. I trust you but I have to know. A man and wife should never have secrets, Jimmy. Just tell me."

"God! All right... let's sit over there."

She huddled against him, cold. The movement of the ship made the brisk cold wind chill her... or was it what he might say? She shivered.

He looked around. There was no one there as far as he could tell, everyone was at the party in the salon.

"Bethany, you know I love you. That will never change.

"But, as much as I love you now is as much as I loved Catherine and my girls. I still love them. That's why I couldn't leave them behind."

She nodded her head; she understood the most basic needs of this man. This was not a time for talking; it was a time for listening.

"They arrested those two for the rapes and murders. I told everyone they were innocent and tried my best to get them out.

"Everyone thought I was crazy. I... Bethany, Catherine told me it was them. It was THEM, Bethany, it was them. She knew them from the reverend's church."

She put her hand to her mouth, shocked to the depths of her soul. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, Jesus. But..." She stopped talking and grabbed his coat, trying to keep from shaking... from falling to the deck.

"It wasn't 'till later that I discovered they were the reverend and Ruby's boys. They didn't know and I wasn't going to tell them. They didn't deserve that.

"At the trial, I watched them... their smug faces watching me back. They were sure I was going to get them off with my testimony about what Catherine supposedly told me."

He stopped talking and looked at her. All he saw was love in her dark eyes. He took a long breath and turning to her, he put both his hands on her shoulders.

"The prosecuting attorney said it was something called 'hearsay' evidence and got it thrown out. We were all surprised but I thought the jury would still acquit."

"Imagine their surprise when they were found guilty and then executed."

"But, Jimmy, what's so bad? I don't understand." But, she did; she just needed to hear the truth from him. It was so primal, so Biblical.

"I wanted to kill them, myself, Bethany. I thought, after they were released, I would kill them. I was going to hurt them as much as I could before I put a bullet into their goddamn heads.

"I'm sorry. If you want to leave me... I'll understand. I'll take care of you and Eliza in Hawaii..." He looked down to the deck, unable to face her. She had left him once, that New Year's Day... she could do it again.

"James Ewart... who do you think I am? I told you I love you and nothing you could say or do would ever change that."

Her hand turned his head. "If I knew you then, I would have helped you do it. Hell, I would have pulled the damn trigger. What were you worried about? That I would think you were a murderer? I already know you killed sixteen men, maybe more.

"That they were colored and so am I? You've already proven color doesn't matter to you. I don't know why but...

"Jimmy, listen to me. They deserved to die. They couldn't be punished enough for what they did. It's just you didn't get to do it, that's all.

"I'm so sorry that this happened to your daughters, to your wife, to you. 

"I'd like to think that if Catherine knew me, she would like me and be happy for us. I won't say I'll be the best wife you'll ever have, that would be disrespectful to her. I will be the best wife that I can be for you. I will never replace her, I know that and I'm not trying to. I understand why you brought them with us and I hope we find a place where they can be with us, where ever that might be. 

"I love you, Jimmy and I'm so sorry... what I did New Year's Day was horrible. I'm just glad we're together again and you forgave me."

Her gloved hand touched his face, the leather smooth against his skin.

"C'mon, it's cold out here, take me to bed."

Morning, Tuesday, March 15th, 1932

"Good morning, lover." Her head disappeared beneath the covers. 

"Ahhhh! Jesus, Bethany!" The blankets rose and fell until there was no motion and a gasp from his lips and with his eyes closed and his hands gripping the covers, he happily trembled several times.

A while later, he lay flat on his back and she covered him face to face, one hand still between his legs, stroking him. He smiled. "You know, we really should get something to eat."

"I'll give you something to eat. How hungry are you?"

"Hungry enough to satisfy you, baby." He rolled her over and moved down the bed.

An hour later, James lifted Glory into his arms and kissed her. "Let's get something to eat, little girl." But, he was looking at his Bethany Rose as he spoke. She was blushing; he could just see a little purple tinge cover her face.

"Let's take the other two to the salon and get some food into them. Hey, John, give me a hand, here, will you?"

Fortunately, Lizbeth had accepted John as her new father. She came out into the hallway, her little hand wrapped tightly around his finger.

James was already heading up the stairway to the next deck, Glory laughing in his arms as he tickled her. He turned. "Well, coming? I'm hungry, Bethany Rose."

She put both hands to her face, laughing so hard she couldn't move. Eliza, finally understanding what had transpired, laughed with them. She never thought she would ever enjoy life as much as she was.

Later, as they sat around a large table in the salon, James held up a pineapple wedge. "C'mon, Glory, take a bite, it's nice and sweet." He touched it to her lips. She tasted the fruit and smiling, opened her mouth, letting him push it in. She took the wedge from him and finished eating it herself.

Balancing her on his lap, he took a forkful of his waffle. She reached for his fork, which he pulled away. "Glory, you want some waffle? Say, 'waffle', baby, c'mon, say 'waffle'."

"Waffo..." Her hand went out again.

"Close enough... here..." The syrup covered waffle disappeared into her mouth and she chewed it, watching him for another piece.

"Unko Jimmy..."

He wondered if he and Bethany would ever have a child together. It wouldn't be from lack of trying, he thought. He'd like another daughter, another little chocolate to kiss.

Later that afternoon...

"You're never going to believe who I just saw!" James said as he hurried into the cabin, slamming the door behind him.

"Who?" Bethany already had her hand on the zipper, pulling it down and dropping the light-pink dress onto the floor.

"Bethany, listen... it was Clarence Darrow, for God's sake!"

"That's nice," she said, reaching behind to unhook her bra and reveal her welcoming breasts, so much like large Hershey kisses. "So what?" she asked.

"He's going to defend muhhhhhh..." He had to stop talking; his mouth was full of dark chocolate. 

"Ahhhhhhhh..." Her hands were in his hair, pulling him against her, demanding his attention. "Lick me, Jimmy, and then love me."

All thoughts of the old lawyer disappeared as he picked her up and took her to the cabin's bed. 

"Ah, yes... my little chocolate kiss... let me enjoy your sweetness.

"Bethany," he moaned, clearly intending to get her attention. Her dark curly hair moved. She looked back over her shoulder at him to see the incredibly erotic sight of her ass in the air and him kneeling behind her

Their eyes locked as she felt the head of his thick cock pressing slowly in. 

"Ohhhhhhh... oh, yes... right there... ooooooo..."

He pushed slightly and she gasped at the forever welcome sensation. He continued inch by inch, taking his time, his eyes never leaving hers until he was buried deep inside of her.

Bethany was trembling beneath him. She brought her arms up to grip the sheets as he slowly, teasingly withdrew from her. A moan escaped her and to her lover it was the sweet sound of her begging for more.

He drove back into her gently, not too hard yet. Each time, the exquisite feeling of her pussy wrapped tightly around his cock was more than he had hoped for and though he knew it wasn't going to be long, he wanted to make it last as long as possible for her.

She whimpered softly, wanting him back inside of her... and he obeyed. 

He slid back in, loving the wet sound they made when their bodies came together. One hand stayed planted firmly on the curve of her dark brown hip while the other meandered around her body, searching.

Much, much later... 

"You mean that monkey evolution lawyer? That's who you want to talk to? I don't know, Jimmy. I mean, he doesn't even believe in God. I mean, what the hell?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Think of it, Bethany... all in one court, Darrow, Bryan and Mencken... it was amazing and crazy all at the same time. People will still be talking about that trial a hundred years from now."




Chocolate Kisses Ch. 12



"What's he doing here?" she asked, being lovingly polite while not caring one whit what the old lawyer was doing anywhere; her only interests were her lover, their future life together and when they would make love again. He had ignited a passion in her soul and whenever they touched, it only burned hotter.

She looked at her finger, the one with the gold ring, the one she had him wrapped around. She smiled.

Two days later, he had to the opportunity to approach the lawyer and his wife, Ruby, as they were eating lunch. The 75-year-old Darrow sat slightly stooped from age and pulled out a silver flask from his coat pocket. 

His wife seemed contemptuous of her husband, forever angry at his numerous affairs over the years. She admitted to herself she only stayed for the money, all love lost between the two.

James hoped the cantankerous old man would be agreeable to talking with him. His reputation for being argumentative was well known.

"Mr. Darrow? May I speak with you a moment? I'd like to think it's important, at least, to me."

"Well... all right, I have a few minutes free." The lawyer took a drink from his flask. "What do you want?"

"Lawyer-client privilege... that requires a retainer, doesn't it? How much for an hour of your time?"

James could see the old man thinking it over as he took another swallow.

"This is just advice? Just an hour?"

"Yes, sir. Just advice."

"You're with those colored women, aren't you?"

"Is that going to be a problem for you?" he asked, expecting to leave.

"Sit down, sit down. I'd have thought you knew more about me than to ask that question. What happens, happens; it's not like you have a real choice in the matter, not like you have any free will, really. We're all helpless pawns in some incomprehensible cosmic game."

Darrow thought of his own secret love, Mary Field Parton, saving him from suicide back in '12 when he was on trial for jury tampering and had to leave California.

He remembered that chance meeting in '08, some rally for a damn Russian revolutionary or something. That young woman with fire in her eyes, almost the same age as his daughter, had caught his eye. Even though they were both married, their affair soon began and continued over the years. Of all the women he had slept with, she was the one mistress he kept returning to. 

Her foolish husband never had a clue she was cuckolding him every chance she had.

Whether his wife knew or not, he didn't care. She stayed with him all these years, where was she going to go, now? It was all futile, anyway.

James looked at Darrow. He never expected such a strange comment. If there were no free will, what was the point to life? That they were destined to die so he would meet and love Bethany Rose? It was too uncomfortable, too impossible, to damning to accept. Maybe talking to Darrow wasn't such a good idea, after all.

"Sounds a little fatalistic, don't you think?"

"Give me two hundred dollars; you have that much?"

James handed the bright greenbacks over. For that kind of money, he looked at his pocket watch. Darrow wasn't quite what he expected. But, then what ever was?

"What's your problem? You look like you've got the world in your pocket."

James looked nervously at Ruby Darrow. She didn't seem the least interested in his conversation. She knew what her husband was.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Darrow, but... I had a wife and two daughters. They were raped and the children murdered. My wife became pregnant from the rape and killed herself. The men were colored."

"Colored, you say. And, yet you..."

"Are sleeping with a colored woman? Yes, that's true. It's just..."

"That's all right, boy, don't worry about it, at least not with me. You do what you will. It's not like you have a choice.

"Now, as I understand it... wait a minute... what's your name?" 

"Ewart, James Ewart, Los Angeles."

Darrow was quiet for a few moments. "I remember that trial... four, five years ago, wasn't it? Very strange at the time. You testified for the defense for those two boys and yet, they were still convicted. How do you explain that?"

James looked around the salon. "The prosecutor had it thrown out, 'hearsay,'" he said.

"Yes, that's right, he did. That's what I think convicted them in the jury's mind... and they were colored, after all. One's the same as the other to a lot of people."

Darrow picked at his veal cutlet. He knew there was something bothering the man in front of him. Taking another drink of rum, he motioned James to sit down.

"All right, let's hear what you've got to say."

After James explained the situation he had been in, the old man sat back quietly, contemplating the man before him...

"You want to know if you could have gotten off, killing them... a revenge killing."

"If you put it that way, yes."

"There's the whole concept of the 'unwritten law.' It's been used quite a bit in the South. Kill the man who laid your wife, seduced your daughter... what have you..."

He decided to take a bite of his veal before it became too cold to eat.

"It all depends on the jury. Most of the time, the jury lets the man off, feeling that whoever he killed had it coming. Now, add in the fact that the two were colored and the girls were very young and your wife became pregnant with a colored man's get and killed herself... damn, man, they'd probably give you a damn medal. 

"The courts are starting to not allow that, though. Stupid courts, don't understand the real meaning of justice at all. 

"Back in '24, there was a case of two men, originally friends. The one, Roberts, had been sleeping with the wife of the other, Bailey. It became common knowledge in the town. Roberts and Bailey's wife straight out told him they were sleeping together and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Roberts was shot in the head by Bailey. He got nine years because the judge wouldn't let the jury vote for acquittal. It went to appeal and he lost. Poor bastard should have gotten off. I mean, it's your wife, for Christ's sake.

"Now, in some states, homicide is justifiable when committed by anyone in a sudden heat of passion caused by the attempt to rape a man's wife, daughter, sister, mother or when the act has actually been committed. Problem is, with you, you would have had to do it within a certain amount of time, so as to plead an act of passion.

"In some states, homicide in retribution for adultery, that's allowable.

"But, I can only imagine what you must have felt... but, the courts are taking that away, saying that there is no justifiable homicide allowed, even for rape, adultery... it's ridiculous to think that way. It allows people to act without consequence, destroying marriages and families."

It never occurred to Darrow that his own reasoning was contradictory to his own life's many affairs.

"That's why I'm going to Honolulu to defend Massie, a Navy officer, for the same thing. Seems his wife was raped by a bunch of natives there and he killed one of them. His wife's mother was involved, also. This should be very interesting.

"Would you have walked? Maybe or got a slap on the wrist, if they even bothered to look into it at all, especially them being colored...

"That answer your question?"

James nodded. It was a coin toss as to whether he would have gotten away with it. At the time, he didn't care but now, with his woman waiting for him, it would have been an unthinkable risk.

"Anything else? You still have a half-hour."

Thursday, March 24th, 1932

Dockside at the Aloha Tower, Honolulu

Bethany looked out the porthole to the dock. "That's quite a crowd down there."

The noise of the people started to bother her and she closed the glass.

"Yeah, they're here for Darrow. You know, I thought moving here would take us away from all those problems we were looking at in Los Angeles, but I guess I was wrong."

"People are people, Jim, you know that. At least, here, we can marry and not worry about it. And look at this place, it's beautiful, so green, so warm, so..."

"You're right, baby, it's just...'

He was interrupted by a great shout from the waiting people down below as Darrow and his wife appeared. The famous lawyer, occasionally on the side of the underdog, was defending the accused murderers in the Massie trial. The forty-thousand dollar fee probably made his decision that much easier.

The original case against the dead man, so full of inconsistencies by the woman, herself had resulted in a hung jury. The furor erupted across the country, demanding justice any way possible. 

Even the Navy had gotten involved, demanding 'justice,' martial law and protection for every white woman on the island.

As the Darrows were led away by local officials, the two lovers turned to one another and nervously laughed.

"You realize that's not funny. I'm trying to remember if he ever won any of these big cases or if he just likes to hear himself talk."

"Why, Jimmy, you're a philosopher. Do you think they're packed up? I think we've hidden out here long enough, don't you?" Bethany took a deep breath of the moist tropical air. "I can smell love and freedom in the air, Jimmy."

"Yeah, I'm starting to feel a little guilty about it."

John approached. "Bethany, Liza would like to see you, please."

As James watched her sway back through the promenade, John laughed. "Taste your last chance of freedom... it's all over after this."

John looked at his friend. "So, you like this married life you've been living?"

"Well... I mean, you know..." James watched the crowd below start to leave.

John looked over the wharf to the green mountains beyond the city. "She drives you crazy in bed, you mean?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Does she...?"

"Hell, yeah. Guess the two might be comparing notes, maybe?"

"Must be..." Jim said. "Bethany has been doing some things that only could have come from you through her sister... I've been meaning to thank you for that, by the way."

John's response was a slow blush that crept up his neck. "Might as well face the music and get ready to leave this tub."

"Tub? Are you kidding? This is one of the finest ships afloat. We were lucky to get on board for this trip. They only had a few compartments left."

"Jim?" John took a more serious tone.

"What?"

"Thanks. Thanks for everything. I know you didn't have to do any of it."

"It's OK, John. Let's try and enjoy life, for a change. Old soldiers like us deserve a couple of 'twists' like them."

"Oh, I've been enjoying it, all right, maybe a little too much." He made a show of rubbing his back, laughing.

An hour later, James was in the compartment, watching Bethany's figure backlit by the tropical sun streaming through the portholes. "Got everything?" He took one last look around the compartment's cabin.

"Do we REALLY have to leave right now?" she asked, running her hand over the bed. "I mean, John and Eliza could... you know, take the children on ahead to the hotel, I mean."

"Baby, wouldn't you rather be... um, 'resting' at the hotel?"

"We're never going to take another trip like this, are we?"

"Probably not." He looked at his watch. "Wait a minute..." James walked down the passageway to the other compartment.

Returning a few minutes later, he locked the door and started kissing her. "Bethany, I'll always love you but, right now, I'm going to fuh..."

He never finished what he was going to say and within moments, clothes were strewn about the floor before she pulled him down onto the bed.

Now, face down on the bed, Bethany felt the weight of his body and as he pressed against her an electric shock went through her. 

She thought she knew everything about him now yet, each time, it was a new experience, a virgin experience, a glorious experience.

Bethany felt his tongue slick across her shoulder and she shuddered, grinding her hips down into the damp sheet while her hands desperately tried to shred the pillowcase. 

James continued kissing across the top of her back and neck and below her ear, giving rise to a heat that spread down between her legs, adding to the warm slippery juices already there.

She slid open for him, arching her back up from the bed, feeling his hard length slide between her legs and along her perfect wetness. 

James groaned in her ear, his breath burning and wanting, his hands sliding down her waist to her hips, pulling her body up onto her hands and knees and then back to him as he raised himself into a better position. 

He slipped his hands along her ass cheeks, cupping them, digging his fingers in and feeling all of her. She loved him; he could never touch her enough when they made love. Each time, she was sure she'd never felt so sexy before, so desired, so loved. 

He knew that he had to feel her cum before he did. His fingers slid across her wetness and he felt her hips jerk when he found the right pinpoint spot. He kept soft pressure there in little circles as he began sliding in and out in an easy rhythm that she quickly, eagerly matched.

As he picked up speed and strength, Bethany threw her head back, moaning loudly, begging for more. The hand that had been planted on her hip slid smoothly up her back and wrapped gently around her neck. Jimmy moved his hand from her slender neck up through her wild curly hair, gently tugging as they loved each other. 

Jimmy felt her body begin to shake and he knew he was no match for her at that moment. He drove into her harder and faster, his fingers still working wetly on her throbbing clit. He felt her body tense as she slipped over the edge once again. He kept his hips moving for as long as he could before her pulsing and clenching drove him over with her. He drove in deep, holding himself inside as he exploded, moaning her name huskily in her ear.

Joined together for several moments as he emptied himself fully inside of her, her body squirmed, twisted and bounced as she rode it out with him.

Bethany finally collapsed forward onto her stomach and he fell with her, landing with his weight to the side of her, still buried in her. She took several deep breaths, trying to quiet her shaking body before turning to look at him once more, smiling softly.

James returned her grin. All she could do was nod as her smile grew. She wanted to say something, anything, but couldn't... it was too much, too overwhelming, too fantastic. 

She rolled onto her side facing him and reached to pull the sheet over their cooling bodies.

""Get some rest," she said softly, "We still have some time and if you're a really good boy..."

"Bethany, Bethany Rose, I love you now more than my life. I know that sounds so silly but it's the truth. You and I are going to grow old together surrounded by our children and live and love forever."

An hour later, they took a taxi over to the hotel, registered as Mr. and Mrs. Ewart and after picking up their room key, they went to the elevator.

Later that afternoon, James was on the phone for the better part of an hour with the real estate broker he had contacted before leaving Los Angeles.

They had dinner in the room. They promised for the rest of their lives, they would never be apart. No word was ever said of those miserable nights they slept alone. 

"Front desk..."

"Yes, this is Mr. Ewart in 407. I have some friends that want to get married. What is necessary and how soon can it take place?"

"I can place the call for you. I'll ring your room this evening."

"Thanks. I'll be waiting.

"It'll be just a bit, Bethany. Would you like to go the beach, later?"

The next morning, it was a very long ride along the Kamehameha highway from Honolulu to the North Shore. After stopping several times to attend to the children and then eat the picnic from the hotel, they finally arrived at the open land for sale.

They were stunned by the magical view. The deep blue of the Pacific stretched to the north and west, seemingly forever. The view along the coast was breathtaking; the green-covered cliffs rose almost straight to heaven and they could see the vibrant Hawaiian rainbow living above the island.

"It's beautiful, Jimmy, just beautiful." Bethany Rose put her arm around her lover, drawing him tightly to her. Even now, she still could not believe how lucky she was with him and going to be married. 

"Not as beautiful as you, darling, not as beautiful as you."

She turned her dark chocolate face, touched his suntanned one and moved her open lips to his. "Kiss me, Jimmy..." she moaned, and as his hands caressed her body, she could feel a warm rush through her. 'My God, how does he do this to me?' she wondered, hoping he would never stop.

"You really like this place? We can look at some others if you want, baby. There were some properties overlooking Pearl, but I thought we could get away from everyone here."

"This could be our own paradise, Jimmy. It's so... so serene. So far away from all we left behind. Let's stay here."

"I was going to ask John and Eliza but if this is what you want, then that's all that matters. You want to tell them or shall I?"

John walked over, holding Glory. "Jim, we think it's fantastic, but, let's face it... it's your show."

"Eliza! Oh, Eliza..." She held her sister to her. "We're home."

The broker coughed, gaining their attention. He didn't want any possible discussion to deter the sale. People had a tendency to talk themselves out of buying things. Buyer's remorse before the purchase...

Now, in the third year of the Depression, any land sale was to be appreciated. It wasn't to say that Pupukea wasn't a nice little place, but this property, so far from Honolulu...

While the white beaches were pretty, they were too far removed from the city and the waves were too large to swim comfortably. It was doubtful, he believed, that anyone would seriously come here.

"Over there, you can see Waimea Bay and that way is Sunset, and..." He pointed out to the water. "Those are surfers. They really come out here during the winter. The waters calm down during the summer, though."

James looked at the waves rushing ashore. He knew living here would be paradise with his own Eve. "Fantastic. Let's talk price."

When the broker hung up the phone an hour later, he gave James the counter-offer. 

"We'll take it." James handed the broker the $2000 deposit. He was right, he thought, the sellers were more desperate than either he or the broker thought and sold the property for half the asking price. The savings would go to pay for building the house.

"I'll have that architect contact you tomorrow after the papers are all signed. You'll still be at the hotel?"

"Yes, there're a few things we have to take care of.

"Thanks for your assistance. We'll see you tomorrow; say after eleven, we can have lunch there."

The long ride back to Honolulu seemed to pass quickly. 'Why was that always the case,' James wondered, 'the ride home was always shorter than the ride out?'

The next morning, he woke to the feel of her lips on his morning erection. As she opened her mouth, her tongue slipped out and licked the head of his cock. A moment later, she began moving down, slowly taking it in to the back of her mouth and then, smoothly took him down her throat. His moans spurred Bethany on and after bobbing several times, she felt his cock swell and then the hot rush as burst after burst filled her.

She slid over his body, moving fore and back, her crotch pushing against his thigh, arousing her even further. "Oh, God, Jimmy, please..."

Her hand had already brought him erect again and grasping it tightly, sank her body down onto it, savoring every inch until she could fall no farther. Waiting, waiting as she felt herself expand and then she twisted to the left and then to the right and finally, Bethany rose and then plunged down, gasping as her first orgasm of the day spread its heat through her.




Chocolate Kisses Ch. 12



"Time for breakfast, baby," he moaned as she continued to move, much faster now. "Oh, Jesus!" He erupted again, spurting hard into her.

"I'll... ohhhh... give you something... uuuuuh... for breakfast... God!"

Much later, James picked up a strip of bacon from his plate. "These Hawaiians sure know how to fix breakfast. Want some more pineapple, baby?"

"Are we going to grow these?"

"We'll grow whatever you wish, Bethany, but these would probably easier to just buy from one of the plantations. We have those orange and lemon trees coming next month. That'll be a good start and we can go from there. There's a good market and a good profit waiting for us. This tropical climate is heaven on earth for plants.

"Well, pretty woman, we've still need to see about making an honest woman of you. First, we need to get you a wedding dress."

"Oh, Jimmy!!!" Bethany Rose cried, seeking his lips once more. 

Much, much later, they found a clothing store in Waikiki that sold wedding dresses. Bethany and Eliza went through the racks, looking for just that special piece of clothing to mark their wedding day.

James was surprised she chose a loose fitting white sarong and not something to highlight her figure. He was getting aroused just thinking of her, finally to be his wife.

While they had been sleeping together for months, now, the wedding night would be special. No, he thought, it would be unbelievable.

When he had married Catherine, it was a gamble that resulted in a ten-year love affair that grew richer each day that passed. When she died, he never thought he would love another. For years, it seemed that he was right.

Then, that fateful day he drove past Bethany Rose, his Bethany Rose, so different from Catherine, oh so different... and yet, so much the same... two sides of the same coin.

By evening, the lovers were walking along the sand, watching the last rays of the setting sun turn the sky slightly golden and then deep blue before finally sparkling with diamonds across the blackness of the universe.

Hand in hand, warm comforting water splashing against their ankles, nothing being said... it had all been said. An occasional stop to kiss, an occasional stop to touch, and occasional stop to laugh softly...

His fingers traced her dark curly hair, hers sliding through his slicked back dark-auburn... gentle lips touching again and again, demanding more attention than humanly possible...

"Jimmy?"

"Yes, baby?"

"I wish it would stay... forever... I mean, like this."

"Bethany Rose Carrolton, I love you. There's no way I can... there're no words enough to tell you..."

"Actions speak louder than words, Jimmy, make love to me, now, right here on the beach."

"Here?" He nervously moved his foot through the sand.

"Yes, right here, right now..." She dropped to her knees onto the soft sand and unzipped his pants. "Yes, that's what I want..."

The sound of his moans was lost in the roar of the late winter storm's waves now smashing onto the shore.

If there had been someone there, they would never have seen the lovers, wrapped in the protective darkness of the night. Only the lightness of his skin would have given them away but soon that was covered by her chocolate one as she knelt over him, rising and falling to a musical beat that only they heard.

The next morning, she felt his tongue tenderly touching her nipple. It immediately stood proud and he took it into his mouth, causing her to moan for the first time in the morning as his tongue began to move and his lips sucked her deeper into his mouth. 

"Ah, Jesus, Jimmy... ahhhhh..." Her fingers pushed his down away. "Go down on me, Jimmy..."

The following day, they met with the minister, the Reverend Joseph Smith, for lunch to discuss the wedding and the minister listened to their tale love, despair and reconciliation. 

"You know, even with the different laws here, a mixed race couple, especially one such as yours, still have problems here. Are you prepared for that?"

Bethany laughed. "Anything's better than Los Angeles."

"So, James and Bethany Rose, I take it you have both come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?"

James gazed upon his lover, took her hand and said, "Oh, God, yes."

"Will you honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives?"

Holding his hand tighter, she could only nod her head and say, "yes."

"Will you accept children lovingly from God?"

Smith saw her shyly smile and knew there was something she was keeping for another time and another place.

Two days later, the ceremony was short, simple and on the beach with the green mountains on one side, the deep blue of the Pacific on the other and the setting sun giving everything a deep golden glow. 

"We are gathered here in the sight of God, and in the presence of this family, to unite James and Bethany Rose in holy matrimony."

"I, James Ewart, take you, Bethany Rose Carrolton, to be my wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as we both shall live. This is my solemn vow."

"I, Bethany Rose Carrolton, take you, James Ewart, to be my husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as we both shall live. This is my solemn vow."

"Jimmy," she whispered, "I'm having our baby."

*

James and Bethany Rose will return in "Chocolate Kisses -- Pearl". 

Thank you for reading and your kind responses.