Taming the Shrew

"True, but is it working?" was all he asked in reply.

"Like a charm," she said putting her arms around his neck.

"You really do look sensational, Lindsay. I mean...truly. Words fail me," he said as he kissed her hello.

"You look very dashing yourself." She straightened his tie, something women seemed to do as second nature and said, "I love that you chose this dark blue tie. It goes so perfectly with my dress."

"I'd like to claim that was intentional, but it was purely by chance."

"I'll take it," she said with a smile as she lowered her arms.

On the way to the art museum Peter asked how the young man in the hospital was doing.

"Oh, right. Jessie." Lindsay realized she hadn't heard from Aria all day and reached for her cell phone and sent her a text.

The reply came back seconds later: "He's doing much better. They expect a full recovery. We spent a lot of time talking today and it's like we never broke up. In fact, I have some very exciting news to share with you tonight. Will you be home?"

Lindsay let her know she was out with Peter again but couldn't wait to hear the good news.

Aria texted back: "In that case, it can wait. Have a wonderful time and please do anything I'd do if I could."

Lindsay laughed out loud and Peter said, "I take it things are okay?"

She put her cell phone away and said, "Better than okay. Jessie's doing very well and it seems like my daughter is back." She looked over at Peter and said, "The good one. The one you haven't met yet."

Peter laughed too, and said, "She seemed different last night."

"You are perceptive!" Lindsay replied. "I noticed that immediately but then I've known her pretty much all her life."

"Pretty much?" Peter said with a smile.

"Well, there've been a few years I wasn't exactly thrilled with knowing her, but I've always loved her."

Peter smiled again and said, "I could kind of tell. I mean, how many mothers would do what you did for their daughter?"

"It wasn't exactly my finest hour," she said with some resignation.

"As I said last night, whatever your motivations were, I couldn't be happier with the way things worked out for us and judging by what you just said, it sounds like things are going well for Aria, too."

"All's well that ends well?" she offered.

He reached for her hand and said, "I'm kind of hoping there won't be an end, but...okay."

Lindsay's stomach—and her heart—did that flip-flop thing again. She squeezed his hand and said, "So it's not just me?" His smile told her her instincts were correct.

After two hours of leisurely walking through the entire exhibit, stopping to discuss and admire every painting they saw, Lindsay couldn't remember a time in her life she'd enjoyed more. Peter was not only gorgeous and dashing, he was intelligent, well-informed, charming and an amazing listener. Whatever feelings Lindsay had been having early that morning in the privacy of her lonely bedroom, they were all replaced by a feeling of hope that this wouldn't end in a few days or weeks or even...ever.

As they sipped a glass of complimentary chardonnay Peter said, "I don't think I've ever had a more enjoyable evening, Lindsay."

She also didn't believe in heaven or even signs, for that matter. But what were the chances he would say virtually the very words she'd just been thinking?

"Nor can I," she told him truthfully.

He put his hand on her cheek and told her, "I would very much like this evening not to end once we leave here."

As she looked into his eyes she felt her heart pounding in her chest and she felt a kind of warmth spread from her most private of places throughout her body as she allowed herself to really believe she might be with this man a short time later. "Well, this is a second date, right? I would like that very much, too," she said as he stared into her eyes.

On the way home he said, "I've seen your home and it's very impressive, Lindsay. How would you feel about seeing mine?"

This time she reached for his hand and told him, "I would like that very much, Peter."

His home wasn't as large as hers but it was very tastefully decorated and Lindsay felt very much at home.

"May I?" he asked offering to help her with her long, formal coat.

"Oh, thank you," she told him.

He then took her wrap and offered her a glass of wine which she accepted with pleasure.

"You have a lovely home, Peter," she told him.

"Thank you. It's comfortable and just as important—quiet."

"Did you decorate it all yourself?" she wanted to know.

"Guilty," he said. "Do you not care for it?"

Lindsay smiled and said, "Au contraire. I love it." She laughed out loud and Peter asked her what was so funny. "You're not secretly gay, are you?" she asked with a straight face.

He sat down his glass and moved closer to her. "The first time I kissed you I did so to show you something. Right now, I'd like very much to prove to you I am 100% straight."

The smile faded from Lindsay's face as Peter's hand caressed her cheek. He took her glass from her and set it next to his. He put his other hand on her other cheek and kissed her. As he did, Lindsay put her arms around him and said, "I want to believe you, but I may need a little more proof."

"Then come with me. Seek and ye shall find...out," he said as he stood and offered her his hand.

Lindsay was afraid to do the math and actually count the number of years it had been since she'd made love with a man. She was afraid it might be as large as the difference in their ages so she chose not to as he closed the bedroom door.

He turned down the light in the bedroom until it was very dim and very soft. "This way you won't have to see how old I look," Lindsay said nervously.

"I've already seen how young you look, Lindsay. More importantly, I've seen how timelessly you think and write." He unhooked belt and then the back of her dress and it fell to the floor around her feet. "Just I suspected," he said as he looked at her body naked but for her stockings and heels.

"What was it you suspected?" she asked, her entire being trembling with anticipation.

"You're even more beautiful than I'd imagined," he told her as he pulled her close and kissed her.

She stepped out of her dress and kissed him back. The kiss was passionate and deep and Lindsay groped to remove his jacket, his tie, and then his shirt as they kissed. He helped her with his belt and pants and moments later he was also naked before her.

"Oh, my God," she said as she saw him for the first time. She'd never seen a man who looked like him before. Muscled, chiseled, and...gorgeous. "I may start calling you Apollo," she told him.

"I don't care what you call me, Lindsay. All I want is to be with you." He kissed her again and said, "All of the time."

As they kissed he slowly walked her backward until she got to the bed. He gently lifted her up and slowly pushed her over then leaned over and kissed her. Lindsay's tongue slid inside his mouth and was rewarded as his met hers. She opened her legs as he stood next to the bed bent over and kissing her.

"Make love to me, Peter," she begged as she kissed him back. Her heart and her head were pounding. Her body was wild with emotion; with feelings she'd never before felt. Years of pent-up needs were coursing through her; needs demanding to be met.

Expecting him to take her right then and there, she gasped when his hands began gently kneading her breasts. Lindsay moaned softly as he rolled her nipples with his fingers while she reached for him. She'd seen him when he was flaccid and knew he was much bigger than Harold, but when she took his growing shaft in her hand, she cried out with pleasure. It was unbelievably thick and long and Lindsay was desperate to have him inside her. But to experience these other, new pleasures, she was willing to wait. They weren't just having sex, Peter was making love to her—something she'd dreamed about all her life but never experienced.

He got on his knees and Lindsay felt abandoned until his lips met hers. She grabbed a pillow and propped herself up not wanting to have to take her eyes off of his beautiful face for even a second. She couldn't believe Peter was doing this for her but she was seeing it with her own eyes and his were staring into hers as his tongue slowly and softly crawled across her engorged love button. "Oooo!" she cried. "That feels...SO...good!"

She had no idea how long he spent doing just that one thing as time was meaningless to her, but she was very aware of what her body was doing as he slowly inserted a finger inside her very wet pussy. Lindsay had become very adept at pleasuring herself over these many long, lonely years and every orgasm felt wonderful. But she had never experienced anything close to what was happening at that very moment.

She put her hands on the bed beside her and felt her entire upper body rise up involuntarily as she shook and trembled so hard it scared her. "My fucking...GOD!!" she called out wanting to scream at the top of her lungs. Only a lifetime of forced restraint kept her from doing so and yet she'd just been louder than she'd ever been before. She threw her head back on the pillow as her body relaxed only to realize a second thick finger was now inside her while her lover's tongue continued to work its magic.

"You're not only Apollo, you're also Eros," she moaned. "That was the most amazing thing I've ever felt!"

"There's more to come, my love," he assured her. "Much more."

"Mmmm. That can't be possible," she said quietly. "This can't be possible."

As a third finger joined the other two, Lindsay felt her body lose control again. At some level she realized this orgasm would be even more intense as every muscle in her body contracted. She kept her head back this time but she threw off the shackles of restraint screaming, "My...fucking...GOD that feels so GOOD!!" She had two fistfuls of comforter in her hands as though letting go of it would cause her to float off into oblivion.

Peter stood up and in two quick movements had a condom ready to go. "Uh-uh. You first," she said knocking the little package to the floor. She pulled him alongside her then rolled over on top of him.

Lindsay had tried doing this to Harold several times when they were first dating but he steadfastly refused telling her it was unnecessary. Peter said no such thing as her warm mouth slid down over his thick cock. Lindsay instinctively reached for her pussy and played with her clit with one hand as she held his massive organ with the other and slid up and down its length.

"Oh...fffuck!" he groaned.

"Is that okay?" she asked genuinely looking for reassurance unaware Peter had no idea how inexperienced she was at this.

"Okay?" he hissed. "That feels...amazing!"

Lindsay smiled pleased to know she was on the right path as she hungrily took him back in her mouth. She happily bobbed up and down finally able to please a man she...she...cared about...deeply...for the first time in her life. She loved how he felt. Full and thick and...so hard. She could even feel the huge veins with her tongue and every little detail of this new experience thrilled her.

Peter was getting close to the point of no return and said, "Roll over for me, okay?"

Lindsay happily complied and spread her thin, shapely legs wide for him. "I want you SO bad," she hissed as he climbed on top of her.

"Condom?" he asked.

"Uh-uh. No way," she said pulling him down and inside her at the same time. She couldn't believe how wet she was or that it not only didn't hurt, but felt so wonderful as he expanded her love canal. Most of her self pleasuring involved her fingers and a vibrator but she occasionally used a toy that kept her ready—just in case. At that moment, she was very happy she was.

"You are SO wet," he groaned as he began making love to her.

"And you are SO...big," she gasped as she took all of him. "Oooo. Stay right there. Please?" The way he was filling her felt unbelievably good as she pushed down as hard as she could, her clit making contact with his cock. When she stopped, Peter began moving again taking her all the way in and out as deeply as he could each time.

"Oh...sshit!" she hissed as he fucked her harder and harder. "Oh, God..." he heard her say.

Peter was kissing her as he made love to her. "Harder...please!" he heard her ask.

He broke their kiss and hammered her as hard as he could until he felt her body go tense again. "Yes...yes...YES!!" she screamed as he came inside of her.

Peter grunted loudly as gasped for air as he shot what felt like gallons of cum insider of her until there was nothing left to shoot.

As he lay there supporting himself on top of her he felt her hands all over him. "Hey? You okay?" he asked her. He looked into her eyes and saw tears and said, "What's going on?"

She hook her head and just kept feeling him. "I...I'm so afraid to let this moment end. I've waited for it for SO long and it was even more wonderful than I'd dreamed a thousand times and I don't want it to end. Ever. I feel like if I stop touching you...if I stop holding you...you'll go away and this will only be a dream." He wiped her tears then heard her say, "Please don't go away, Peter. Please?"

He kissed her and told her, "I won't. I'm not going anywhere, Lindsay."

"Promise?" she asked, her eyes showing a kind of desperation.

"I promise," he told her. He brushed back her hair and said, "Why would I go away when I love you?"

The desperation in her eyes faded and Peter saw a different emotion in them. He saw what looked like...hope. They were moving rapidly back and forth looking into his searching for any hint of deception. "You really do love me, don't you?" she said barely able to speak.

"Of course I do," he said smiling at her. "I loved you from the first time you answered one of my poems with one of your own. Do you remember that?"

Unable to speak, Lindsay nodded. "Do you remember the words you wrote?" She nodded again. "That's when I fell in love with you. You could have been 25 or 55 and it wouldn't have mattered." Her face was still racked with emotion so he softened the mood by saying, "The fact that you're a complete freaking babe doesn't hurt, though."

He saw her smile and it made him smile and then laugh. Moments later they were both laughing and rolling around on the bed together. She ended up on top of him and said, "We cannot live, except thus mutually..." She now brushed aside a shock of his dark hair and said, "I love you, too, Peter."

He smiled at her and said, "Then promise me you'll never leave me, either."

"I promise," she said before reciting the first lines of Shakespeare's Sonnet 40: "Take all my loves, my love, yea, take them all: What hast thou then more than thou hadst before? No love, my love, that thou mayst true love call—All mine was thine before thou hadst this more."

"That was without doubt the most beautiful, most romantic thing I've ever heard," he told her. He kissed her and said, "And you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

"Will you make love to me again?" she asked as though he might not.

"Just once?" he teased.

"For now," she told him as he rolled her over and loved her like there was no tomorrow.

It was almost noon before Lindsay got home and Aria was waiting for her. "Oh, hi there, honey," she said. "I was just..."

"Mom? It's okay. I'm happy for you. All I want is for you to be happy, okay?"

"Okay," her mom told her.

"Are you?" Aria asked.

"Yes," she said before smiling and saying it again. "Yes. Oh, honey. I am so happy!"

"Me, too!" Aria said. "Come in and sit down, okay?"

"Can I change first?" Lindsay asked still wearing her formal.

"Later. This can't wait."

Lindsay joined Aria in the living and sat next to her. "Okay, so what's going on?" she asked.

"Well, this morning Jessie asked his mom to bring him something. Something he bought for me back when...back before...when I was such a bitch."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Aria. You weren't a..." Aria gave her an 'oh-yes-I-was' kind of look so Lindsay said, "A total bitch."

Both of them laughed before Aria said, "So after his mom left, we were talking this morning and he told me...he told me he never stopped loving me."

"I'm not going to say I told you so," her mother said sweetly. "But I told you so."

"You were so right," she said. "And I never stopped loving him. I was just...confused."

"And now?" Lindsay asked her. "Are you still confused?"

"No. Everything is so clear. When I thought I might lose him..." Aria teared up and Lindsay reached for her hand. When she did, what she felt made her flinch. She pulled her hand away then looked down.

"Oh...my...God! Aria, is this what I think it is?"

"Yes! I'm engaged! He asked me to marry him and this is the ring he bought me four years ago and had his mom bring to the hospital. Oh, Mom. It was so romantic. He couldn't even sit up let alone get down on one knee, but it was the most amazing thing ever!"

Lindsay smiled and decided not to tell her daughter she could think of at least one thing that was at least that amazing. Instead she hugged her daughter and said, "I am SO happy for you, sweetheart. Did you guys set a date?"

"June 14th," she said wiping away the tears in her eyes. "Mom? I want you to be my maid of honor. Will you?"

"Of course I will, honey. Hey, we've got a lot of planning to do, right?"

"You know, before Jessie was hurt, the thought of planning a big wedding would have been better than getting married. But now? Now all I care about is him getting better and being with him for the rest of our lives."

"Even if he's 'just' a mechanic?" she asked.

"I don't care if he's a janitor pushing a broom. That's what all this taught me. Love isn't about money or things. It's about the other person and...being the right person. I've been so selfish and so...awful and now I have this second chance and I'm not gonna blow it this time."

"I'm so proud of you, Aria," Lindsay told her daughter. It appeared the shrew had finally been tamed.

It didn't take long for Aria to figure out there was more to her mother's own new relationship than simple friendship, too. In fact, Aria wasn't even surprised when two months later, Peter asked her to marry him by reciting a poem he'd written in which he told Lindsay how much he loved her.

Aria's first reaction was to hug her mother and her second was to suggest the thing that made any sense—a double wedding. Peter agreed immediately wholeheartedly and in the middle of June mother and daughter stood side-by-side wearing white as they said, "I do" to the men they loved.