Life is Too Short

Life is Too Short

Chapter Seven – A Real Date

The next few days were as fantastic as the first of the week had been. We talked about my move to Oregon and planned for it, Haldir sounding as excited about it as I was. Housing prices in my town had skyrocketed lately and I was sure that I could sell my condo easily and make a nice profit. It overlooked the lake and I had been shocked by what the condo down the street had just sold for. My view was even better so I was sure that I would do well. I mentioned this to Haldir as we sat by the lake drinking wine coolers on Saturday afternoon.

“I can buy you a nice house overlooking the ocean, Sinda,” he told me.

“No, Haldir,” I replied. “I’ll buy my own place.”

“I would like to help you. It would make me feel good,” he said, rubbing the back of my neck. “I have enough money.”

“Keep it,” I told him. “You’ll need it to get you through the next few thousand years.”

He turned to look at me and again I thought that he looked haunted. He looked away quickly and stared at the water.

“Haldir?” I asked.

He just shook his head at first, but when he spoke, he turned towards me and placed his hands on my legs.

“When we chose to stay here rather than sailing west with the others, it seemed like the right thing to do and for a long time, it was. Lately, my brothers and I have been regretting the choice we made so long ago. Some, like Thranduil, still feel that they made the right decision, but we do not. Both of my brothers have women now that they are falling in love with, and so do I. Orophin told me last week that he wished he could bind himself to Neume. I have heard the same thing from Rúmil about Amalee. Until I met you, I didn’t understand how they could even consider it, but unless we all make the same decision I will not do it.”

“Do what?” I asked, confused. I felt a cold chill pass over my body.

“Give up our immortality,” he said, staring deeply into my eyes.

“No, of course not, you can’t do that,” I said in almost a panic. “No!”

“You would not wish for me to bind myself to you?” he asked, his eyes locked with mine. “We could have children, Sinda, and grow old together.”

Oh, that was so unfair. I hesitated only briefly, though. “And see your life cut short, don’t you dare!” I told him. The idea of this beautiful creature dying to be with me was inconceivable.

“Sinda…”

“Haldir, if you keep talking like this, I won’t move to Oregon. I won’t have your blood on my hands,” I told him, meaning it.

He gave me that half laugh again and looked away. “It is basically what the others told my brothers. We all grow weary of living a long, loveless life. Some things are worse than death.”

“Having just died, myself, I can tell you that death is no great thrill either,” I informed him. “Haldir, don’t talk like this. We’ll have our time together and then I’ll move on before I become a burden to you.”

“Sinda,” he said, pulling me out of my chair and into his arms. “You do not understand…”

“We have another day here, let’s enjoy it,” I told him, firmly. “We don’t need to speak about what will happen later. Please?”

He nodded and hugged me closely. I had to wonder now if moving to Oregon was the right decision. If I stayed in Nevada we would see much less of each other and he would stay safe, at least from me. On the other hand I wondered about the coincidence that Haldir and both brothers were having these feelings at the same time. Did it mean something? I could contemplate it later. There were better things to think about now. He was watching me closely and I realized that I had not shielded my thoughts.

“You are right, Sinda,” he said, pulling me closer for a kiss. “We will enjoy the time we have together and not speak of the future.”

Blocking the thought, I wondered if he were just saying the words to make me feel better. I would stay in Nevada and keep my distance from him if he kept talking about giving up his immortality. Lifting me into his arms now, he began to carry me towards the water. I forced the serious thoughts away and looked forward to getting my wet-elf fix. I smiled as he stepped into the lake but the minute I felt the water on me I suffered the first true panic attack of my life.

“No, Haldir, get out of the water!” I told him, struggling but not wanting to be dropped into the murky lake. I clung to him so hard that my fingers were turning white and my body was shaking as he finally walked back to the shore.

“What is it, Sinda?” he asked, perplexed.

Looking over my shoulder, I shuddered. “There is something in there, under the water.”

He frowned.

“I don’t know who or what, but I remember seeing somebody down there, on the bottom of the lake. I need to remember…” I told him as my mind tried to recall what it had seen.

“Was it something bad?” he asked, glancing towards the water. “Did you feel that it would harm you?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, frustrated. “That’s why I need to remember. I made a promise to someone… I just don’t want to go in there right now.”

“Than we shall do something else,” he suggested, lowering his mouth to mine. I loved kissing him. It’s something I could have done all day long without ever growing tired of it. I knew without a doubt that I could never enjoy being with a man again after having kissed an elf. That meant that I would never marry or have children, but right now that did not seem like such a great loss. The day might come when I changed my mind, but I doubted it. I could easily dedicate the rest of my life to being with Haldir whenever he was available. Once again, thoughts of him being with other women sent a terrible wave of jealousy through my heart and I had to remind myself that I would have Thranduil to keep me occupied during those times. It wouldn’t help much, I knew, but still it was better than nothing. Haldir smiled a little and I knew that he had read my thoughts again.

“Stop that,” I told him. “It isn’t fair.”

“I am sorry,” he said, but he didn’t look sorry. I decided that if he wanted to read my mind I’d give him something good. I sent him a very graphic mind video of what I would like to be doing with him, soon. His gaze became distant, though his eyes were still looking directly at mine. Suddenly they seemed to focus again and he quickly lifted me into his arms to carry me inside. We spent the next couple of hours in the cottage, as well as much of the next day. Our time at the lake was drawing to an end and I think that we were both trying to ignore that fact. Neither of us brought the subject up until Sunday afternoon when Haldir finally asked me when I had to be back to Glen’s parents’ house.

“We’ll be leaving there tomorrow morning at 6:00,” I told him, feeling like I was breaking a spell by uttering the words.

“Ride back with me, Sinda,” he suggested, gazing into my eyes with that look again.

“I wish I could but I promised I’d help him drive,” I sighed.

“How much driving do you actually do?” he asked, tickling my neck with his hair.

“Not much,” I admitted. “I think that I keep him company more than anything. Believe me, I would give anything to be able to ride back with you instead of Glen and those kids, anything…”

I stopped suddenly when the feeling of déja vous settled over me. I had recently uttered almost those exact words, but in a different context. I had meant them, too, as a promise. I stopped to think and suddenly pictured myself in a void, repeating those words. I pictured Haldir saying them as well.

“Sinda?” Haldir asked now.

“I made a promise,” I told him. “I said that I would give up anything…but that’s all I remember.” Had I bargained for my life, I wondered? I pictured Haldir on the beach holding my still body. No, it wasn’t my life. It had to do with Haldir.

“Stop thinking about it, Sinda,” he insisted, lowering me to the rug. “This is our last evening here. Let us not spend it dwelling on what happened.”

I thought that he was trying to distract me and he managed to do it rather well. I didn’t think of anything else but Haldir for the rest of the night. When my alarm clock went off at 4:00, we were still awake on the rug in front of the fire. Reluctantly, I got up and hit the ‘off’ button, knowing I should dress and get ready to leave, but not wanting my time with Haldir to end. I finally compromised and dragged him into the shower with me. By 4:30, we were packed and on the road, heading back towards Glen and his kids and another week of fun on the road. It depressed me to think about it and I fell asleep with my head on Haldir’s lap, not wanting to face the day.

I woke up several times, usually falling right back to sleep, but always noting that Haldir’s arm was laying across my body or his fingers were running through my hair. There was constant contact and I loved it. I loved him. This felt so right and the idea that it was a temporary situation brought a lump to my throat. When we pulled up in front of Glen’s parents’ house, I wanted to cry. I felt like I was being led away to be executed. How could I give up the chance to drive across the country with this beautiful elf, and instead go through another week of hell? I saw Glen loading the last of their things into the back of the van as the kids hugged their grandparents.

“Will you still come to me at night, on the way back?” I asked him now, wanting to postpone our separation.

“Yes, though not every night,” he said. It looked like it bothered him to say it as much as it hurt me to hear it. He knew that when he was with somebody else that I would be with Thranduil. Good thing I’d kept both elves, I thought. There was much more incentive for Haldir to visit me often that way. When I finally exited the car, Haldir got out with me to retrieve my bag from the trunk and I wondered what Glen’s mom would think of him. Actually, I didn’t really care. I’d never see the woman again after today.

I quickly grabbed my purse and laptop computer from the front seat of the car to join Haldir as he walked to the van. I introduced him to Glen but before I could say his name, Haldir introduced himself as Hal. This was it, I thought. This was when Glen would tell me that there was nobody standing next to me and I would finally understand that I was truly insane. They shook hands and I hadn’t expected that. Was it part of the fantasy? The thought hit me like a thunderbolt that maybe Haldir was real, but not really an elf. Maybe he was a guy with long hair and I’d just imagined everything else. The Witch laid that possibility to rest quickly.

“You’re the guy from the movie!” she said, awed. “The elf! I saw you talking to Sinda back in Kingman.”

Haldir smiled. I felt a cold chill wash over my body.

“Does he look like the elf from the movie to you?” I asked, tentatively.

“Yes,” Glen said, still staring. Dex agreed.

“Exactly!” the Witch replied. “Are you the actor?”

“No,” Haldir told them. “But I’ve been told that I look like him many times.”

Glen’s parents had walked up in the meantime and I introduced him to them as Hal. Glen’s mother just stared, arms crossed and a frown on her face.

“You ought to cut that long hair off,” she told the elf. “You’d look more respectable, like my Glen.”

Mr. Respectable had run back inside for something so he missed the comment but it was the last straw for me.

“Oh, but I love running my fingers through his hair and I couldn’t do that if he cut it short,” I told her, demonstrating as I pulled the elf close for a long kiss. The woman was sputtering so badly by the time we finished that I thought she was going to choke. I expected to see her pop a nitroglycerine tablet under her tongue any second now, to forestall her impending heart attack.

The Witch actually giggled as she walked past, surprising me, and even Dex snickered. Haldir walked me to the passenger door of the van where we had a moment of privacy while the others finished up their own farewells.

“I will see you tonight, Sinda,” he promised me.

“Good,” I said, “it’s going to be a long day and I’ll need some serious elf-loving by tonight.”

He bit my lower lip. “I am just the elf for the job. Do you believe that I am real now?”

“Yes, but I’m still not sure that you’re really an elf,” I said. “I wish you’d show Glen your ears or something so I could be certain that I’m not insane.”

“No, not Glen,” he said, thinking. “Which of the kids do you trust the most?”

“Probably Dex, the boy,” I replied. Haldir glanced at Dex for a moment and the boy suddenly stopped what he was doing and walked around to their side of the van.

“Do me a favor,” Haldir told him.

“Sure,” Dex replied, already thumbing the controls for his Game Boy.

“Take a good look at my ears and tell Sinda whether or not they are real, but please do not say anything to anybody else.”

Dex reached out and touched Haldir’s ears when the elf bent down out of sight of the others.

“Wow!” he said, quietly. “You really are that guy! You’re an elf!”

“Our secret,” Haldir reminded him.

There was sudden commotion as everybody was loaded into the van and I gave Haldir a tight hug and another kiss before letting him go. My mind was reeling with a million thoughts but right now all I cared about was Haldir. I watched him get in his car and I turned to follow him with my eyes as he drove away. I knew that I’d see him tonight, but there were too many hours between now and then. I didn’t want to be away from him.

We got around the corner and Glen let out what had to be a sigh of relief, much as I’d done when I had left his parents’ house. I couldn’t help but laugh. The kids were already putting a movie on, so they couldn’t hear him, but he still spoke quietly.

“A week,” he said. “I was there a whole week.”

“I pity you,” I said. “I couldn’t have stayed another minute.”

“Why do you think I live in Nevada?” he asked. “It’s about as far from her as I can get.”

I laughed again, understanding completely. His words brought up another issue, though.

“I’m moving, Glen. I’m going to Oregon to live closer to Hal…” I cut the name short in time.

“He seems like a nice enough guy,” Glen said, eventually, “but there’s one thing I don’t understand.”

“What?” I asked. There were lots of things I didn’t understand but I would wait until I could have some peace and quiet before thinking them over.

“How did he just happen to show up at the border? Is he following us?” Glen asked.

“He was that day,” I admitted. “He isn’t always doing that because he has other…commitments, but he’s following our basic route.”

“Why?” Glen asked. “That seems a little weird, kind of possessive, like a stalker or something.”

“No, it’s not like that,” I told him, not sure if I could explain how it was. I couldn’t tell him that Haldir was following me just to give me comfort at night after going through the trauma of spending the days with Glen and his kids. I also couldn’t tell him that Haldir was not possessive and in fact shared me with his friend, the King of Mirkwood. I froze as the thoughts that had been trying to seep into my brain suddenly broke through my muddled mind. If this was all real and not my imagination, then not only was I having sex with two elves, but I had spent a whole night having sex with both of them together. I could feel my face flushing and Glen asked if everything was all right.

“Glen, this is going to sound like a really strange question, but is there any chance whatsoever that Haldir…Hal isn’t real, that I’m imagining him.”

Glen’s eyes snapped over to mine then back to the road after far too long of a gap.

“Isn’t real?” he asked.

“Did he really look like the elf in the movie to you?” I tried again.

“Yes, exactly like him,” he said.

“Does he seem like a typical guy to you?” I asked.

“No. Not really. I don’t know if it’s the hair or the way he talked,” he shrugged, embarrassed. “I don’t know what I mean. I was just a little surprised when I met him.”

“You mean surprised that he’d be with me?” I asked, not quite sure what he was saying. I knew that Haldir was too good for me if that was what he meant.

“Oh, no, not at all,” he said. “You two look really good together, actually.” He said it kind of reluctantly. “He just seems a little too good to be true or something; too perfect. Just be careful.”

It was too late to be careful but I didn’t tell Glen that. He asked me about the move and we talked about it for a while. He offered to help and I quickly thanked him but told him it wouldn’t be necessary. The last thing I wanted was to somehow get pulled into another long trip with him and his kids. I did appreciate the thought, though.

I was seriously considering a nap when Dex leaned over the front and asked if I’d trade him a Pokemon. We worked out a deal before hooking the link cable to both games and transferring the data. I had the feeling that I was getting the raw end of the transaction, but for now I didn’t care. My mind was still churning with the idea that what was happening to me was real. Now the question was what to do about it. How would it change things? It would be easier to move to Oregon, because I wasn’t nuts after all. But what about having two elves? Could I really continue seeing Thranduil now that I knew that he was real? It was fine when it was all a fantasy, but now I wasn’t sure.

I leaned back in my seat to think it over, closing my eyes to look like I was asleep. After only about ten minutes, I came to the conclusion that I still had to keep my relationship with Thranduil. Maybe it was even more crucial now because I was falling even deeper in love with Haldir. The day dragged. All I could think about was Haldir and being with him again. I was beginning to wonder if we’d ever stop for the night, but Glen wanted to make extra time and we drove late. He promised that we’d stop earlier the next day.

I entered my room at 11:00 and was asleep ten minutes later. Haldir climbed into bed with me not long after and I was so happy to see him that I felt like crying. He seemed to feel the same way and we just clung to each other for the first hour, talking a little more about the move. As usual he was gone before I woke in the morning, but not before ruining my day by telling me that he had plans for that night.

Tuesday night was an early night and I thought that it was ironic. I would have loved to stop early on Monday to have more time to spend with Haldir. Instead, the extra time would go to Thranduil who did not need it because he always wore me out in six hours or less. We found a hotel and when Glen asked if I wanted to join them for dinner, I declined, saying that I might get room service if I got hungry. Instead, I decided that a trip to the vending machine was in order. Hoping that the Princess didn’t see my purchases, I dropped my money in and grabbed a small bag of corn chips. Sounded like dinner to me. I considered buying a soda to round out my meal but didn’t think I could stand all that junk food at once. I bought a bottle of water instead.

The motel where we were staying was not in the best part of town and I didn’t feel comfortable outside my room. I had kept my eyes and ears open on the way down the dark corridor to the vending machine and that was why I was so shocked when an arm grabbed me roughly around the waist. A large hand covered my mouth before I could scream. My arms were free, though, and I quickly dropped my bottle of water to grab my assailant’s right hand. I pressed my thumb into the small bones on the back of his hand and at the same time twisted the arm up enabling me to step forward. As soon as I was loose, I swung my arm towards his face in a back-fist, but was surprised to find my wrist grabbed. Normally that move caught people off guard, but not this time. Now I was scared. When I was turned suddenly around to face Thranduil, I was so mad that I kicked him. He stopped my leg before it made contact, then swung me over his shoulder to carry me to my room. I was furious, now. I didn’t like being scared and it bothered me that he had done this. I struggled to free myself, but to no avail. I don’t know how he knew which room it was, unless he had seen me leave it, but he grabbed the key card out of my pocket and easily opened the door, depositing me on the bed.

After locking the door and hooking the chain, he turned to me smiling. I did not smile back, but sat on the bed glaring at him.

“Sinda, are you upset with me?” he asked, knowing that I was.

“What do you think?” I asked him. “You scared the hell out of me. It wasn’t funny.”

“I apologize,” he said, kneeling down in front of me and hugging me.

I stayed as stiff as a board, my arms crossed.

“Sinda, I would not have done that if I thought it would scare you. I did not think that anything scared you. I truly am sorry.”

He kissed me lightly and I didn’t respond. He worked his way over to my ear and let his lips linger, speeding up my heartbeat a little, against my will. By the time he got to my neck, my traitorous body was ready to jump into bed and have sex with him, but I tried not to let him see this. He probably figured it out anyway by the way I was pulling at his clothing and breathing hard.

“I would like to do something different tonight,” he informed me, out of the blue.

I looked at him, nervously wondering what he could possibly have in mind. I thought that we had done almost everything there was to do, except for a few things that I refused to even contemplate.

“I want to take you on a date. Maybe that will make up for scaring you, too,” he told me.

“A date?” I asked, still waiting for the catch.

“Yes, dinner, maybe dancing or a movie,” he explained.

I held up the bag of chips. “I already have plans for dinner.”

Smiling, he tossed the chips on the dresser. “You will need to change, first.”

“It’s a very nice thought,” I told him, “but I didn’t bring any good clothes with me. I can’t go dancing in a t-shirt and shorts.”

“And you will not,” he told me, pulling out a bag that I had not noticed before. I eyed it warily. If it contained clothes, they didn’t take up much space. He pulled out a very small piece of shiny, black material and brought it over to me.

“What is that?” I asked.

“A dress,” he told me.

I tried to hold the laugh back but it burst forth in a rush of air. It wasn’t very ladylike, I guess, but I couldn’t help it. The piece of material he was holding appeared to be roughly the size of a bandana. He looked at me with an amused air and told me to take my clothes off. When I began to argue, he did it for me and he took everything off, even the items that I wanted to leave on. Before I had a chance to protest further, he slipped the garment over my head and stood back to look at it. He seemed to like what he saw because he smiled the whole time that his eyes caressed my body. I felt like something under a microscope. When he came towards me, his eyes were fixed on mine and he kissed me, pulling me into a tight embrace as his hands explored the fabric of the dress and my body beneath. He turned me around, forcing me to look into the mirror. It covered everything that needed to be covered, though I thought that I needed a bra and mentioned it. Thranduil disagreed, saying that it concealed enough. I thought that it showed a bit more cleavage than I was used to exposing, but it did look good on me. I never in a million years would have chosen the dress myself and would have ended up with something far more conservative. Thranduil had a good eye. I turned to grab my underwear from where he had tossed them, but he shook his head, no, pulling something else out of the bag. If I thought the first piece of black material was small, this one was almost non-existent. When he proceeded to put them on me, I seriously had to wonder what they were going to cover. In fact, I noticed something strange and pointed it out.

“These seem to be defective. There’s a rip down the middle or something,” I explained.

He looked up at me to see if I was serious. I was.

“That is exactly how they are supposed to be,” he informed me.

I blinked. There was dead silence for a good minute. “You want me to wear crotchless panties?”

He nodded, smoothing the dress over them.

“And you expect me to go out in public wearing these?” I asked. I was sure that this was his idea of a joke.

“Are you planning on showing anybody what is under your dress?” he asked me.

“Well, no, of course not but…”

“Then there shouldn’t be a problem,” he said, halting the discussion.

I knew that it wasn’t worth arguing with him so I acquiesced, moving to put my sandals on.

“Let me do it, Sinda,” he said, lifting me to sit on the edge of the counter next to the sink. When Thranduil reached into the bag for the final time, he pulled out a pair of very high-heeled black shoes. Again, I laughed.

“I’ll kill myself on those,” I told him. “I’ve got a nice pair of hiking boots in the van, though.”

He ignored me and leaned over to place the left one on my foot, taking time to kiss my ankle then trailing his lips up the rest of my leg up to where the dress started. He repeated his actions with the other foot, but this time he slid the dress up to my waist and continued feathering kisses further up the inside of my thigh. I suddenly gained a whole new appreciation for his taste in lingerie as he introduced me to the benefits of this particular type. I leaned back onto my elbows as he continued to use his tongue on me, and I had to be careful not to gouge him with the heels when he put my legs over his shoulders. When I thought I couldn’t take any more, he stood and undid his pants, dropping them to his ankles before plunging into me. I wrapped my legs around him, again watching the pointed heels. It was the most intense sex I’d ever had with him and that was saying a lot. I wondered if it was for him also because after we finished, he collapsed against me for a long time.

“That was very enjoyable,” he said, still panting. I had to agree.

“That was as good as the car sex,” I informed him, running my fingers through his thick hair.

“What car sex?” he asked, confused.

Oops, I thought, wrong elf. They were starting to blend in my mind at times and that wasn’t good.

“Oh, nothing,” I told him, but he wasn’t going to let it go until I finally told him about Haldir and the car sex. He seemed amused.

“But have you had sex in a moving car?” he asked me.

“You don’t mean on the hood then, I take it,” I stated.

“No, inside. We shall have to try it,” he told me before lifting me down from the counter. I didn’t argue, but I hoped he would forget that idea. I ran a brush through my hair and just for the heck of it, added some lipstick. Normally, I just used Dr. Pepper flavored lip balm, but I wanted to look a little dressier if we were going out. I also thought that having my lips smell like a soft drink wasn’t the image I was looking for. That was as far as I was willing to go with the makeup, but I was lucky to have dark lashes and didn’t need mascara. It had always bugged my sister, but then, she had gotten the height that I wanted.

Thranduil looked me over again and nodded appreciatively. I guessed that I had passed inspection. He took my hand as we left, pulling the door closed behind us. For some reason, I had a sudden thought of Haldir and I had to quickly push it away. He was busy with somebody else tonight so I would enjoy my time with Thranduil. I would not think about the elf that I loved no matter how tempting it was to do so.

I did as well as could be expected on the impossibly tall shoes, narrowly avoiding the temptation to kick them off and go barefooted. I was supposed to dance in these? I didn’t see it happening. Thranduil opened the door for me and helped me into his rental Corvette. This time it was a red one. When I got settled into the seat, I laughed.

“What is it, Sinda?” he asked, as he backed out of the parking lot.

“I’d like to see anyone have sex inside this car, especially while it’s moving,” I indicated the small interior.

He raised an eyebrow, “It is not difficult. We only need enough room for your head on my lap.”

“Oh, I see,” I think I actually snorted. “When you said ‘having sex’ I assumed that you meant both parties would...participate equally.”

“Oh, did you?” he asked with a wry smile. “I am sure that some means could be found to make it mutual.” He reached over and slipped his hand between my legs and began to show me just what he had in mind.

Dredging up some will power, I placed his hand back firmly in his lap and told him, “I don’t think it’s going to happen while you’re driving.”

“I will have complete control of the car, especially when it is your turn,” he promised.

I was not convinced but I dropped the subject, hoping that he would do the same. I was actually pretty conservative about sex, though that hadn’t been the case since I’d met the elves. Sex in a moving vehicle was just not an option. Of course, if anybody had asked me a month earlier, I would have said that sex on the hood of a car in broad daylight was also not an option. I shrugged to myself. Who knew what I’d do next? I sure didn’t.

Our drive took us down a country highway for quite a while, eventually bringing us to another town. We ended up at an expensive looking steak and seafood restaurant and I felt a little funny in my very short, clingy dress. We were able to get a booth in a dark corner and I was grateful for that, tired of wondering if people thought I was a hooker or something. When the waiter arrived, Thranduil ordered two lobster dinners and a bottle of wine without asking me what I wanted. Normally, that would have bothered me, but since it’s exactly what I liked, I didn’t complain. He even picked the right kind of dressing for my salad. I would have chosen something much cheaper, since I assumed he was buying, and I wondered if he suspected this.

“How did you know that I liked lobster?” I asked him, taking a sip of my water.

“I know that you and Haldir had steak and lobster and he said that you seemed to really enjoy the lobster,” he replied.

“Do you two sit around and discuss what I like and don’t like in other areas as well?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes,” he replied, honestly.

When I looked shocked, he laughed, explaining that it was only because I had been recovering from the drowning experience and they had to do something to fill the time besides watch me sleep. His face seemed to darken when he mentioned my drowning and that made me feel good. He did care about me, in his own way.

Pulling me against his shoulder in the padded booth, the Elfking asked how the trip back was going and I admitted that it was much better so far than the trip out. Dex and I were getting along great and both girls were tolerating me. Maybe now that they had met Haldir, they realized that I wasn’t after their dad.

“And how have you been spending your time?” I asked, curious about what he did during the day.

“I went sailing with a lady friend on Monday and yesterday I drove to Washington to see someone else,” he told me, watching for my reaction.

“That sounds like fun,” I told him. “I’ve never tried sailing.”

It didn’t bother me a bit. I didn’t love him and his visits to other women were expected and had nothing to do with me. I thought it was strange in a way because to hear Haldir say the same words would have just about killed me. No, I reminded myself, I would not think about the Marchwarden and what he was doing at the moment. I took a sip of wine and soon our salads arrived. I only ate about half of mine, wanting to save room for the lobster, and as soon as I pushed my plate away, I felt Thranduil’s hand on my leg beneath the table. He slid my dress up and by the time the food arrived, I had something other than lobster on my mind as I discovered another benefit to the undergarment he had purchased for me. I tried to discreetly pull his hand away, but he was much stronger than I was and I was forced to act like nothing was happening as he continued his actions. By that time, I was sure that I must be sweating and I wondered what would happen if I had an orgasm at that moment. It seemed like the waiter was taking a long time to set up our food, lighting a candle under the melted butter to keep it warm, taking the plates out of covering trays and making a show of presenting them. All the while, Thranduil calmly sat right beside me and continued to torment me beneath the table. I was biting my lip by that time, not knowing how much more I could take. I couldn’t tell him to stop it, but if he kept going, I was going to be screaming out his name, right there at the table. If that didn’t get me locked up, nothing would.

The waiter finally left and I turned to tell Thranduil that he needed to stop, but he leaned over to kiss me deeply, switching hands to give him better access. His mouth left mine to hover just above my ear, where he could whisper naughty little things to me and still watch in case the waiter returned. At the same time, he was plunging his fingers into me as he continued to use his thumb as well. I was sure that if anybody walked by, it would just look like we were kissing but when I came I was barely able to hold back my cries. He placed his mouth over mine, softening the sounds I made as shudders began to wrack my body.

I lay back against the padded seat back and let my breathing and heartbeat return to normal as Thranduil nonchalantly began to butter some bread. I noticed him watching me out of the corner of his eye with a slight smirk on his face, but other than that, he acted as though nothing had ever happened. He finally turned to me, an eyebrow raised in question.

“Are you not hungry, Sinda?” he asked innocently. “The food looks wonderful.”

“Right now, I’m too busy trying to decide whether to be upset with you or to thank you,” I told him.

“You should thank me,” he said, leaning over to steal a kiss.

“Yes, I think I’ll do that. I just need to pick the right time and place for it,” I said. “I’d like to see just how much self control you have when it’s your turn.”

“I cannot wait,” he told me, bringing a piece of buttered bread to my lips. I took a bite and it was good, reminding me that I was hungry. I sat up to eat and found that the food was wonderful as well as the wine. I also found that Thranduil was very good company. If I hadn’t already been in love with Haldir, I would have fallen for the king, hard, and that would have been a mistake. I still suspected that the reason he was keeping me around was simply because I loved Haldir and not him and it bothered the Mirkwood ruler, who was used to getting his way. It was a strategy game that the three of us were playing, but I would enjoy it while I could and have wonderful memories to look back upon as I grew old…alone.

The wine was getting to me and I was giggling far too much as I ate my lobster and vegetables and picked at my potatoes. I shouldn’t say giggling, really, because I tend to laugh loudly when I’ve been drinking. It didn’t seem to bother Thranduil; in fact I think he was enjoying himself tremendously because he kept filling my glass. He ordered a second bottle and I told him that I didn’t think it was a good idea, but he ignored my concerns. As an elf, he explained, he had a different metabolism than I did and it would take much more wine than this to impair him. Since he was driving, I was free to drink as much as I liked.

“Yes, but I don’t want to be drunk and miss out on anything,” I informed him.

“I will not let that happen,” he promised me, placing a small piece of lobster between my lips.

I swallowed the lobster then watched his eyes as I caught his finger between my teeth, pulling it into my mouth and sucking on it. His eyes darkened. I swear they did. It amazed me because I had seen Haldir’s do the same thing. He caught my wrist now, and placed my hand beneath the table, showing me exactly what I was doing to him. I considered extracting my revenge upon him, then and there beneath the table, but I wanted to do something more creative. The sex in the restaurant had been done. Instead I simply ran my hand up and down the front of his pants a few times before pulling back.

It was amazing how quickly he got the bill paid and had me out of there. I knew for a fact that he would want to finish what I had started and, sure enough, as soon as we got in the car he attacked. I pushed him back.

“Not yet,” I told him.

“Yes, now,” he disagreed, pulling my dress up to my neck.

“I think you should start driving,” I suggested, pulling the dress back down.

That stopped him. I guess he had forgotten about the car sex. The wine must have made me either brave or stupid or maybe it was simply that I had finally understood that my distant future was not going to be anything special. Who the hell wanted to grow old alone? Whatever the case, I was going to throw caution to the wind.

“Can you drive safely and still have sex at the same time?” I asked him.

“Absolutely,” he replied, moving back behind the wheel and starting the engine.

Before he could shift into reverse, I leaned over and captured his mouth, slipping my tongue between his teeth. My hand dropped down to undo his pants, freeing his erection as he began to back out of the parking spot. Somehow he managed to continue kissing me, though I could see that he was watching the rearview mirror at the same time. I knew that once we got on the road, we had a half hour or so before we would reach the town where the motel was, but he was already growing impatient. I could tell by the way he clutched my hair and kept trying to force my head down into his lap. I finally gave in and let him push me down, giving in to his demands for a short time before I stopped and sat up, freeing my hair from his grip. He had thought that he knew what my intentions were, but he had no idea.

“Will you please slide your seat back, just a bit?” I asked him.

“Why? There is plenty of room?” he pointed out, growing a little agitated. “Do not stop now, Sinda.”

“Move the seat back,” I told him firmly.

He ran his fingers up into my hair again, holding me still as he watched my face for a moment, his breathing ragged. Understanding finally dawned on his face and then was replaced with surprise.

“You must be joking,” he said, glancing at me to see if I was.

“I don’t joke about car sex,” I told him. “Can you handle it?”

“Yes,” he told me, eyes burning.

“Good, because I won’t be wearing a seatbelt,” I reminded him. “I don’t want to end up in a wreck while I’m wearing crotchless panties. It just wouldn’t look good.”

“Come here, Sinda. Ride me,” he said, his voice raspy.

I nodded, sliding my right leg over his lap.

I guess it’s a good thing that I’m short, because he could still see over my shoulder when I straddled him, as long as I hunched down a bit. I let myself sink down onto him and watched his face as he reacted, while still observing the road.

I was impressed at how cool he stayed, under the circumstances. Thank God for cruise control. I began to get a little scared towards the end when his breathing became erratic, but somehow he managed to keep the car on the road, mostly between the centerline and the rumble strip. That was about the time he grabbed me around the waist with one arm and held me in place while he began to thrust up into me. I thought he was going to lose control of the car when he finally erupted inside of me, screaming my name out. The whole thing had been pretty hot and I wondered if it was partly because it had been so dangerous. Once his breathing slowed, he pulled the car over to the side of the road and gathered me against his body in a long, deep kiss.

“I have to admit, I have never done that before,” he told me.

“Neither have I,” I replied. “It was pretty incredible.”

I continued to sit on his lap for a while and we just kissed, which was very out of character for him. I finally crawled back over to my seat and we drove on to a nightclub where he wanted to take me dancing. We had decided against a movie since there was nothing either of us really wanted to see. I was a little nervous as I normally didn’t go out dancing unless some friends dragged me along and then it was a local bar where I could hide in the back and watch everybody else. If I had enough to drink, I might be persuaded to get out on the dance floor, but usually only with somebody I knew. My friends would be shocked to see me in the skimpy little dress I was wearing, dancing with the handsome Mirkwood elf. Thranduil certainly attracted attention, I thought as I saw eyes follow us as we crossed the crowded room to a small table. We ordered drinks and just watched for a while before he finally decided that it was time for us to dance. I let him lead me onto the floor.

I was not shocked to see that the king could dance well. He’d had thousands of years to practice and it showed. He even made me look good and I wasn’t. I also know for a fact that I have never had such fun dancing in my entire life. He taught me the “swing” and we twisted and twirled as I tried to follow his lead. It was a blast. Of course, he also made it into a seduction, pulling me tightly against his body and letting his hands wander over me as often as possible. When the first slow dance occurred, he pulled me close, whispering into my ear what he planned on doing to me later, when we got back to my room. I shivered in anticipation and he smiled at that. It was almost enough to take my mind off of Haldir; almost.

We occasionally returned to our table to sit for a while and sip our drinks, but after a couple of hours, Thranduil grew anxious to return to the room. By that time, I was also ready to go as well. It wasn’t terribly late but I was tired from the dancing and ready for more intimate activities. We finished off our drinks, which I did not need to do, then headed out for the car, his arm wrapped around my waist. He tried to convince me that we needed to work on the car sex so that we could perfect it, but because we were only a couple of miles from the hotel, I didn’t think it was a good idea. Not one to give up easily, he kept suggesting different variations of what we’d already done and while some of them were probably completely impossible, others sounded intriguing enough to make me hot just thinking about them. I think that was the idea and by the time we reached the hotel, we came very close to having sex right there in the parking lot. I finally made a run for it, escaping out my door, knowing that he would be close behind. Sure enough, the shoes slowed me down and before I made it halfway across the parking lot, he’d scooped me up to carry me the rest of the way to the room. I reached my arms around his neck and we kissed while he walked. Elves really are incredibly good at things like that. We had almost reached the room when I heard my name being called.

“Sinda?” Glen asked, shocked.

Thranduil turned me to face the man and though I was still hazy from the effects of too much alcohol, I began to sober very quickly. The kids were already inside the room, thank God, but Glen had gone back to get the Princess’ extra pillow from the van. I didn’t know what to say to him now.

“Hi Glen,” didn’t seem sufficient, but it was all that would come out. “This is…Randy.”

“Randy,” Glen said, not shaking hands because Thranduil’s were busy holding me. The king nodded.

“You’re drunk! What the hell is going on, Sinda?” Glen asked, looking very unhappy with me. “Did you just pick this guy up at a bar?”

Thranduil set me down and took a step towards Glen but I stopped him.

“No, he’s a friend,” I tried to explain.

“A friend. It sounded like you couldn’t even remember his name. Do you know how dangerous it is these days to do what you’re doing? This guy could be a serial killer!”

I don’t know what made me do it. “No, Glen, I lied about his name. His real name is Thranduil and he and Haldir are both elves. I take turns having sex with them different nights. We don’t exactly have a schedule worked out, but they fly out to wherever I am, so I don’t have to be alone at night. Isn’t that nice? I can’t just have one of them because they’re immortal and when I get old and die, they’ll keep on living forever, so we can’t get married and have kids or anything like that. Instead I’ll have fun with them both for a little while until they get tired of me, then I’ll grow old alone and spend my days dreaming about the nights I had spent with them. Usually, it’s just sex, but we had a real date tonight and it was the best date I’ve ever had. So, do you think I’m crazy yet? I do.”

I brushed past him and went into my room, heading straight for the bathroom where I started to cry. I heard the door close about five minutes later, followed by a knock on the bathroom door. I had myself under control now but wasn’t quite ready to face Thranduil.

“What?” I asked.

“What do you think, Sinda? Let me in,” he demanded.

“No,” I said. I was going to ask him to give me a few minutes but the door flew open with a bang before I had the chance to say anything.

“Wrong answer,” he said, stepping towards me.

“That’s going to cost me,” I said, looking the door over for damage. I was surprised that there wasn’t any. Maybe breaking doors down was like dancing. After thousands of years, you got really good at it.

“Come with me, Sinda,” Thranduil said, taking my hand. I didn’t think it was a question and besides, I’d just seen him break the door down. I wasn’t about to disobey. I let him lead me into the other room and pull me onto his lap as he sat down in the chair by the window.

“I’m sorry. I guess I let the cat out of the bag about the whole ‘elf” thing,” I stated, not looking at him.

“It does not matter,” he told me. “I spoke with your friend and he will say nothing.”

“You didn’t…threaten him or anything?” I asked.

“No, of course not,” he told me. “He is concerned about you and I told him that you would explain it all to him later. He believes that I am an elf, now.”

“How?” I asked.

“I showed him my ears. Of course, he insisted on touching them,” he added with disgust.

I had to know. “So, did that turn you on?”

“No, it did not!” he said rather testily.

How was I supposed to know that? For all I knew, it always turned elves on when somebody touched their ears. Looking serious once again, he brushed my cheek with his thumb.

“You are bothered by our relationship,” he stated.

“No,” I sighed. “Not really. I wouldn’t trade what I have right now for anything, at least anything that is possible for me to have. I think that seeing Glen or having him see me just set me off. He knows me as a conservative accountant who rarely dates and doesn’t party. Now all of a sudden, there I am, drunk and being carried to my hotel room by a stranger, a very handsome stranger, I might add.”

He smiled at that.

“I suddenly felt like a whore or something and I’m sure that’s how he saw me, but he doesn’t know what’s going on.”

“You are certain that you want to continue our relationship?” he asked me, eyes intent.

“Absolutely,” I told him, kissing him. We stayed in the chair for another few minutes before moving to the bed, tossing bits and pieces of clothing aside in our wake. I pushed thoughts of the encounter with Glen aside, tucking them neatly next to the thoughts of Haldir that I refused to entertain. It felt good to be safely in Thranduil’s arms, again, though I wondered who I would be with the next night.

~~To Be Continued~~