Little Wonders

Experience

Bo and Ruth from Light Up Night

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"I don't know, don't get me wrong, Bo, I did love him." Ruth shrugged delicate shoulders partly uncovered in a sundress. "At least, at first. And I'm sure he loved me or he wouldn't have married me."

"I know," he said softly. They were sitting on the sofa in the home that had been his for years and would be theirs in a few weeks time when they married. "I never quite understood why you stayed though."

Ruth chuckled, picking at the throw behind him. "I'm possibly loyal to a fault. Honestly I think I stayed because of Naomi. She was the mother I never had. And Lon's brother was the brother I never had. They were my family and I know both of them would have totally understood if I'd left him . . . .I don't know. I mean he didn't beat me or treat me bad. He just loved his vices more than me. "She shrugged. "So sex was sort of an obligation in that marriage until it became something that just stopped happening completely and I didn't even miss it. Not that I'm saying that's gonna happen with us, I'm just saying I'm not really bothered waiting. I kinda like the idea of us having something special. After all," she beamed at him. "We're the real deal, you and I."

Bo beamed back, but there was something in his eyes, something almost scared. "Bo? What's the matter?"

Bo moved a little bit away from her. "Uh, Ruth, there's something I have to tell you. Um, about sex." He ran his hand through his hair and looked at the floor. Something mumbled and rushed came out that sounded a lot like "I don't have a lot of um experience."

This was far from the confident Boaz Perez that Ruth knew and loved with all of her heart. "Bo? You didn't . . .I mean I know you're way more religious than me, but you haven't been saving yourself . . . ."

He flushed pink but finally looked up at her. "No, um, I'm not . . ." he coughed softly, "a virgin. Uh prom night."

"Same."

"And uh one relationship since, well that went that far. But basically I'm in my 40s and I have far, far less experience than . . . Well, I don't want your building up our wedding night in your head that it's gonna .. .well negate previous disappoints. Not when frankly I don't know what I'm doing!"

"Bo Perez!" Ruth scolded. "You could never disappoint me! Though I am pretty shocked at the women in this town that they haven't been breaking down your door."

He jumped up which Ruth had already learned meant that he needed to pace to get his thoughts together and didn't mean he needed to get away from her. So she joined him on the floor.

"It's me, Ruth. I had no interest at all. Aside from Cindy in high school and you, I pretty much forced myself to be with anyone."

"Oh . . .are you umm gay?"

Bo chuckled, trust Ruth. "No, I had less interest in men than I did women and the very few attractions I've had have been to women. It's not that."

"Oh!" Ruth stopped dead, nearly causing Bo to run into her in his pacing. "You're asexual! I read about that. Okay, well that's fine. Because I mean you love me, I know you do. Just because you don't really care about sex doesn't mean you don't love me. I mean it might make it even harder for us to have a baby but that's fine. After all, I'm not all that big on sex and . . . ." the rest of Ruth's rambling was cut off by Bo's lips on hers. By the time he was done, both of them were having trouble breathing.

"Does that feel like I'm asexual?" he finally asked when he could breathe.

"Uh, no?" she squeaked.

"I honestly thought I was at first too. Though I was attracted to Cindy in a sexual way and I faked it with my other girlfriend. Then I met you. And it was like coming to life. My mom always said that God created one person for me and I just had to wait for her." He shrugged, "maybe Mom was right. I guess there's a thing, I read about it not long after I met you, an article about how some people just don't feel attraction unless they're in love. So maybe that's me? I don't know. "

Ruth nodded. "Well that makes sense to me. Both your mom's theory and yours from reading. You probably were in love with your prom date, or at least the teenage version of it. And," she smiled sweetly, "you fell in love, probably for the first time, with me and that's why you feel things you never felt before." She blushed a little as the thought hit home. That this wonderful man had truly never loved anyone before her . . .and if she was honest, her love for him was more than she'd ever felt, not even when her love for Lon had been new and real.

There was relief in his smile as he turned to her. "I'm glad you understand. I really am very attracted to you, sweetheart, lots of cold showers." He shook his head and laughed at himself. "But I felt like I needed to tell you this, because it's been years and I'm really rusty and . . .well I don't want you to be disappointed. I mean I'm sure I'll figure it out, eventually. It's just I love you so much and . . ."

Ruth shook her head and cut him off by grabbing hold of both of his arms. "Well, you just listen to me Boaz Perez, what did I say earlier? We will have disappointments in our life. We both know that'll happen, that's just how life is." He was staring at her, looking sheepish and she took one hand off his arm, and reached up to cup his cheek. "But our wedding night? It will not be one of life's disappointments. You just be you. That's all I've ever asked of you, all I've ever wanted, is you. I'm sure you won't have a single issue."

"I love you so much." And it wasn't too long before another breathtaking, knee wobbling kiss was threatening to overtake their resolve to wait to said wedding night. "Okay, you need to get back to Naomi's. Because this new found attraction stuff is way too overwhelming for restraint I have never needed to use."

Ruth giggled but kissed his nose. "Yeah, I think we both need cold showers. 3 weeks, Bo, we can do this."

"Good night, love."

Good night, sweetheart," and Ruth slipped out the door. Bo could hear her singing on the way to her car.

Bo watched her pull away out his window, resting his head against the glass. Another cold shower was calling his name. But he was grateful once again for his little desert tornado. She'd blow into his life and turned it upside down, but in very good way. He was glad he'd told her, his nerves had faded because she had made it better. Maybe if he hadn't talked about his inexperience, their wedding night might have been the disaster he was fearing. But it wouldn't be now. Maybe it wouldn't be the best ever, but it wouldn't be the worst. And the rest they'd figure out, they had a week long honeymoon and he had a lot of ideas that were best tried out in person than voiced. He took a deep breath, yeah, cold shower right now.

They went to Myrtle Beach for their honeymoon. . .they couldn't have told you what the place looked like. But they could have told you in detail about every inch of that hotel room. And after that week, Bo never worried about pleasing his wife again.