Opening the Door Read online

  "I want to see you again," he told me. There was nothing I wanted more in this world than to see him, even just once more. I agreed and we hastily made plans before he finally slipped away.

  "It was lovely to meet you, Emily," he admitted. I nodded my agreement as he disappeared, until next time. We arranged to meet at my house the next day and I could not be more pleased. It had been so boring in this small town for so long, with no friends to interest me in this way. Not to mention how dreamy he was, especially up-close. He took my breath away.

  I walked home slowly, encapsulated in my own world. I imagined what tomorrow would bring. The evening seemed to pass in a flash like it does when you have something to look forward to. I went to bed peacefully and awaited the next stage of my weekend. Suddenly, it did not seem so bleak. The world was somewhat brighter through my eyes.

  I awoke to the sunlight beaming through my window. It stung my eyes as I stirred. Then I realized that it was a mere matter of hours before I could see him again. My heart skipped a beat as I jumped from my bed and raced downstairs. My feet pounded against the wooden floorboards as I ran down the halls. I prepared breakfast hastily and threw myself into the shower to start my day. The stream of warm water kissed my skin as it trickled down my bosom and thighs to the tiled floor. It was so inviting. I spent several minutes standing there with my eyes firmly closed, washing all my worries away along with the dirt from my trek through the woods the day previous.

  That was when it all fell apart. After a long and needed wash, I opened my closet to find that I had nothing to wear. Nothing I wanted to wear anyway. I tried on outfits, one after the other, but nothing seemed right. I sighed and decided to go shopping. It had been awhile since I had sprung for new clothes and this occasion called for something stunning. I grabbed the keys from the kitchen table and sped out of the front door. I was almost in my car when my neighbor stopped me in my tracks.

  “Good morning!” he greeted me cheerfully. Dave was an elderly man who loved to get out and in the garden on a weekend. As usual, he was watering the pot plants that stood out the front on his porch. I waved and smiled as I continued to the car.

  “Did you hear that noise last night?” he asked me. I paused, with the keys raised toward the car. I was intrigued. He rarely ever had any news to share so this was out of the ordinary yet again.

  “No, what noise?” I asked, naïve to the happenings on the night I had slept so soundly. He beaconed me closer, his face flooded with worry. I did as he gestured and walked toward his neatly trimmed hedges. I leaned in close to hear what he was about to say, gingerly he whispered,

  “I heard howling out in the woods somewhere. Rumor has it that it was a … well, a werewolf.” My jaw dropped. My town was old-fashioned and, at times, superstitious, but this was ridiculous. I chuckled instinctively, but still, he looked at me with a serious and mortified stare. Could it be true? Surely not.

  “You people come up with the craziest explanations sometimes,” I responded. As I attempted to walk away, he grabbed my arm, giving his final warning before I dismissed it for good.

  “Just take care of yourself. James swears that he saw it up on the hill past the edge of the forest and I would hate to see you get hurt, whatever it may be,” I nodded and he let me go. I made my way to the car and unlocked it, driving toward the shopping center with the strange explanation still playing on my mind. A werewolf? It could not be. I mean, it was not true.

  At the center, I was overwhelmed by the array of clothing that I had to choose from. Dresses came at me from all angles as I tried desperately to pick the right one for the occasion. It seemed hopeless. I had never had an eye for fashion, so this was my idea of a nightmare. I had been so hopeful before my arrival, but this proved I should have just picked something from my closet.

  I stopped at the front of one of the boutiques. It was exactly what I was looking for. The dress hung from the petite manikin in the window. It sat perfectly against the plastic physique. The black silk material draped over the body of the figure, hanging with the hem just below the knee. It was stylish and modern, but not overly formal. I ran in and scoured the racks for the exact outfit in my size. There it was, staring back at me.

  A swift change in the fitting room confirmed my thoughts quickly. I looked myself up and down in the mirror, imagining myself in this dress and the matching shoes at home in my closet. Whatever it cost, I had to have it. I took it straight to the counter without a second glance at the tag. My credit card would take a beating, but it was all worth it for Alex to see me looking like this. For once, I felt confident. I felt sexy. All the things that had escaped me for so long. It was awe-inspiring.

  I did not look at the receipt as I shoved it into the plastic bag with my new purchase. I was so happy to finally make headway on my plans for the evening. I wondered what we would do when we crossed paths again. I hastily dressed once I returned home and spent a long while in the mirror, doing my makeup to perfection. Soon, it was just one hour remaining until we were together again.

  I was sure that this would make him look at me in a new light. We were already on what could only be described as a date, but I wanted more---I had to have him. This lustful desire welled up inside of me. It had been too long and I was aching for a man's touch and I had found mine. The time arrived all too quickly. I looked out the window and there he was. He was early, but his eagerness was a testament to his feelings for me.

  As he looked up and caught my staring face, I waved awkwardly. He waved back. We smiled at each other momentarily. I shook my head and made my way downstairs, grabbing my purse from the dressing table and I was gone, not to return for the foreseeable future.

  We greeted each other once we were face-to-face. He kissed me on the cheek as he shook nervously.

  “You look beautiful,” he complimented. I felt my cheeks flush red from the attention he was giving me. He took my hand and began to lead me to the woods.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, confused. Back into the woods? It made no sense to me.

  “I wanted to show you something,” he did not explain well enough. I followed him anyway despite the warnings my neighbor had given that same morning. What if he was right? I did not want to think about it. I felt safe in Alex's company. I may not have known him long, but my intuition was generally pretty accurate when it came to people.

  We got to the same clearing where we had met and continued. It was further than I had ever dared to venture. We climbed the hill that Dave had mentioned and was greeted by a grassy knoll where he had already laid out a picnic blanket with a bottle of wine and various treats, strawberries, and chocolate. It was entirely unexpected.

  “For a moment, I thought I picked the wrong outfit,” I admitted. He laughed at my comment. He took my hand once more and offered me a seat while he poured the wine into our respective glasses. I took a sip of the full-bodied red wine as we gazed into the dimly lit sky. It all felt so right.

  “I have been waiting all day for this moment and it is finally here,” he whispered in my ear. We spoke for a while, picking up where we had left off before. We had so much in common that I was astounded we had not met prior to that week. We liked the same shows, the same books, and even shared some of the same hobbies. I could not believe it. It seemed he was too good to be true!

  Before the evening came to an end, I was pleasantly surprised by his advances.

  “I had a wonderful time today,” he told me, getting closer with each breath. I hung on to his every word. I was intoxicated by his presence.

  “So have I,” I confirmed, not ever wanting this moment to end.

  He leaned in and kissed me tenderly on the lips. I closed my eyes and let myself fall into his warm embrace. His arms wrapped around my waist as he pushed his tongue into my mouth, parting my lips gently as he did so. I had never had such a romantic kiss before and I was completely captivated by his apparent spell. His hand slid up my short dress and fondled my soft thighs as I pushed myself against him
harder. He moved his hand up my skirt and with the other, laid me back against the outstretched picnic blanket. It was the perfect moment. But like any perfection in life, it ended all too suddenly.

  The sun had long set and the full moon was slowly making an appearance above us. Alex's eyes widened as he stared back at me in panic.

  “I have to go,” he told me. I was confused, bewildered by his abrupt change of heart. What had I done to deserve this? I grabbed his arm as he tried to pull away.

  “Please, don't leave,” I begged. He stood there, torn between leaving me and wishing he could stay. He wanted to be with me, I could see it in his soul. His eyes told a story that he could not bear to speak out loud.

  “I wish I could stay...” he thought back and forth between the pros and cons of his upcoming decision. Finally, he decided to sit down next to me. He calmly took a seat, although his leg would not stop shaking. I placed my hand on him as he began his drawn out explanation of the events that were to follow.

  “Our family is…well, different I guess,” he started. I was curious to see where this was going. Then it hit me. My mind was cast back to the conversation I had had earlier with my kooky neighbor in the front yard. Alex had not even finished his story yet, but I knew deep down that this was the conclusion.

  “...Werewolves,” I mumbled. He stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth clamped shut before he spoke again in a quiet tone.

  “How did you know?” he asked me. It all made sense, every last clue that had been staring me in the face all this time. The disappearing at the sight of the full moon, our sudden and abrupt meeting in the forest, the rumors running rampant around town, the mysterious creatures that no one could explain. It was all him. Right there and then, I was hit with the startling reality. Yet somehow, for some unknown reason, I thought I could make it work.

  “I just know,” I said directly. The moon had almost reached the middle of the sky as our conversation neared a sudden end. His pupils dilated, fur began to pierce through his skin from the inside. There was no stopping this transformation.

  “Please, run!” he told me. I had no choice. With the creature who was once Alex running behind me, I made my way quickly back home. I darted in and out of the trees and shrubbery as I convinced myself not to look back. He was not the same man he had been all that night. It was not Alex who stalked me so instinctively.

  I got to the back garden and leaped through the back door. I locked it from the inside and collapsed against the wooden frame. As I slid down toward the floor, I could hear him sniffing around outside. Quietly, I made my way up the stairs and to my bed. I lay under the covers and wondered what I could possibly do for him. Was there any way to stop this madness? My mind raced until I finally found sleep. My eyes drifted closed as my exhausted body relaxed and each tense muscle found some relief.

  I had not been asleep for very long---an hour or two at the most---when I was awoken again by someone opening the door. My thoughts sped to the conclusion that Alex had gotten inside, and not the Alex I had been kissing so passionately that evening before his inevitable transformation. I flicked on the lamp by my bed and looked up only to find I was wrong. In tattered and torn clothing, Alex stood in the doorway, panting and tired from his strange and paranormal night.

  “Are you OK?” Despite my fear of what he had become, I cared for him deeply. He nodded at me and asked if he could sit. I patted the place on the covers beside me and he took it. I placed an arm around his shoulder, trying my best to comfort him.

  “I'm sorry if I scared you,” he said. I laughed and looked him dead in the eye,

  “You couldn't get rid of me that easily!” I joked. He smiled at me, leaning forward and kissing me, picking up exactly where we had left off. I kissed him back. No matter what he was or what his family was, I could never let him go, not without a fight. He laid me back on the bed and slid under the covers beside me. I welcomed him in and we cuddled for a while with our mouths pressed firmly together.

  He lifted the hem of my panties and moved them down my thighs, removing them completely from my body. I allowed him to take my underwear away until we were both left naked in my bed. He rubbed my clit slowly back and forth as I moaned in pleasure. His hands worked effortlessly to caress my most tender spot, inserting one and then two fingers inside. I could feel myself getting wetter by the second as he played with my pussy gently. It had been so long and with him especially, it felt so good.

  “I don't usually, you know, do this on the first date,” I confessed. He kissed down my neck, speaking between subtle nibbles toward my bare chest,

  “Neither do I, but there is something about you, Emily,” he assured me. I knew exactly how he felt because I felt it too. There was no other way to describe it but love. I leaned back and moaned as he pulled his fingers out from within me. He climbed on top and rubbed the head of his throbbing member against my soaking hole. He held one cheek in his masculine hand as he purposefully inserted himself all the way in. I let out a short squeal as he moved in and out over and over again. It was heavenly. I let myself be swept away by the feeling he was evoking inside of me. No man had ever made me feel this good, and he was doing so with the greatest of ease.

  “That is amazing,” I whispered into his ear. He nodded his agreement. There was no better feeling in the world than the one he was giving me at this very second. All worries just melted away as he pounded me harder and harder. I grasped the sheets in my outstretched hands as I felt myself getting closer to orgasm at the moment. I was about to cum and it had never happened so quickly. I was understandably astounded.

  “I'm almost there,” I moaned, my head tilted back toward the top of the bed frame. He held me close to his warm body as he pushed himself deeper, rubbing his hips against my aching clit. I screamed loudly, bunching my fists as the juices poured down my thighs and onto the sheets below. Evidently, it was too much for him too. Before I had completely finished, his cock exploded inside of me, mixing with my own fluids and pooling together on the bed beneath us both.

  With that, he collapsed beside me in a heap and beckoned me to come closer. With that, we were cuddling together once more on my ruined sheets. He hugged me so tightly that I thought he would never let go.

  “That was incredible,” he sighed, obviously reminiscing already about the night we had just shared. I agreed.

  “I have never felt anything like it,” he knew that I was not just referring to our intimate lovemaking session. There was much more to this than just sex. There was an unexplainable connection we both felt. That night, I fell asleep calmly and satisfied with my day and all of the events that had transpired, even if some were a little strange and ultimately abnormal, to say the least.

  When I awoke in the morning, Alex was already gone. I was saddened until I saw that he had left a note on the pillow beside me. Hesitantly, I read it and my heart skipped a beat.

  'Emily,

  Last night was so incredible and it just goes to show that I was right about you and I chose the right person to reveal my secrets to. Since you were so understanding and possibly the best lover I have ever had, I got up early to make you breakfast. Come downstairs and there will be blueberry pancakes waiting. I hope you like them. You just seem like a blueberry-pancakes-kind-of-girl.

  Love Alex'

  It was not what I had expected at all, but when did Alex ever conform to what I had expected? I should know this by now! I slipped on the slippers that waited for me by the bed and made my way quietly downstairs, hoping to surprise him. Of course, that was not a possibility. With his enhanced hearing, Alex heard me as soon as I set foot on the floor in my bedroom.

  “Good morning!” he said cheerfully as I made my way through the doorway. He turned to me and smiled walking over to give me a passionate kiss, hands still covered in flour from his pancake-making. I wrapped my arms around him and returned the favor. There was nowhere I would rather be than right here in the kitchen with him. I sat down across the table and we chatted about
irrelevant aspects of our day-to-day life, not acknowledging the secrets I had come to know the previous day. The pancake was delicious and he had lived up to his word. They were waiting for me in a tack before I even made it into the kitchen. He had also assessed me accurately; blueberry pancakes were my favorite since I was a little girl.

  I took one bite after another and we sat in silence. Nothing needed to be said, not anymore. With him, I felt complete and this was all I needed. I could tell, even from afar, that he felt exactly the same way as I did. There was nothing in this world that could tear us apart, at least for the moment. If I ever found myself wondering, praying that we would stay as we were now, I would just think back to this moment, happily eating a homemade breakfast at the kitchen table, with not a worry in the world.

  Our lives progressed without a hitch from there. We spent our time just as any other couple would and the rumors of werewolves died down soon after. For each full moon, Alex and his small family would disappear for a time and return days later as if nothing had happened at all. I did not know the extent of their family bonding time away, nor did I wish to ask. I was happy living in ignorance if that was what it took to be together.

  Each moment with him made me realize that he was perfect for me, and I only hoped that I was just as perfect for him. We spent the rest of the day and the start of the following week close by in each other’s company as we got to know each other intimately and on a more personal level. Regardless of what he was, there was no doubt in my mind for even a second that this was the man for me. Despite his obvious flaws, I had the power to overlook any obstacle that came between us. He was the one for me and I was the one for him.

  ***