Evie was bored. She was bored with her job — a marketer for a household name in tech. She was bored with her city — Boston. She was bored with her boyfriend Miles — pretty and narcissistic about it. She was bored with sex — meh. She watched the city flow by on her train ride home and had no idea what to do about her boredom. She had no idea what the hell she should do about any of it.
When she got home Evie poured herself a glass of wine and stepped out on her balcony. It was early October in New England, but the last warmth of summer had decided to hang on for one more week, so it felt nice out. As she sat down and took a deep whiff of the cabernet her parents had sent her from their last trip to California and thought, “This is not boring.” She loved a good glass of wine. After the first glass, she poured a second and called her mother back — she had missed a call earlier that afternoon.
“Hey Mom.”
“Hey Baby, how are you doing?”
“Ugh. Bored. How are you?
“Well, I am good, your dad is traveling on business again, so I am a little bored too. But you brother is coming home at Halloween so he can take Bryce to Mr. Farland’s.”
“The pumpkin place? He’s coming all the way back to Georgia for that?”
“Well, yes… they don’t get much of a ‘Fall’ in Orlando, and you know they want to see me and your dad…”
“Okay, point taken. Sorry.”
“It’s okay baby, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just what I said. I am bored and don’t know what to do about it.”
“Why don’t you and Miles come down in a few weeks too?” her mom asked. “It would be good to see your nephew, right?”
“I don’t know Mom. I am bored with Miles too.” Evie said.
“Ouch Baby. He’s…?”
“No, no, he’s… I don’t know. Just not that interesting.”
“Sounds like you just need a break.”
“Yeah. Maybe.”
“Either way, you know you are always welcome here.”
“I know Mom.”
From there the conversation drifted across topics, her mom was just calling to check in. Twenty minutes later Evie hung up the phone and returned to her glass of wine and her balcony.
—
Friday was on her and Evie was trying to figure out how to avoid spending time with Miles this weekend. It was not that she had something else to do, she just did not want to spend time with him, did not want to listen to him talk about his workouts and eating routine, and she did not want to have sex with him. Evie picked up her phone and started a text to Miles.
[Hey Miles]
Almost right away Miles responded.
[what’s up?]
[I have some stuff that I need to take care of on Saturday and Sunday morning]
[we might be able to hang out Sunday night]
A longer pause this time.
[cool]
Okay… well, that was taken care of. She would not text him again, but if he asked about Sunday, she guessed she would need to meet him.
—
After a weekend of reading and lazing around, it was Sunday evening and no response from Miles. Good. Evie decided to take a bath. Her apartment was small and a little dumpy, but it had a balcony, and it had a great bathtub — the real reasons she had picked this one over some nicer places. She was only 27 so it was not like she had a ton of options in the city, even with her solid salary for someone her age.
As the tub was filing up, she poured herself a third glass of red wine. She was a little buzzy already, but she had nothing to do for the rest of the evening, and no one would care if she rolled in at 9:30 on Monday. This was a really great bottle too; so there was that. As she walked back into the bathroom, she sat the wine glass down and slipped her cotton pants off — no panties, why bother? It was just her. As they fell to the white tile floor, she crossed her arms slipping her fingers under the edge of her t-shirt and hooked them under her sports bra as she came to it, pulling the whole bunch over her head. She glanced over as she dropped the clothes and could see her naked body in the full-length mirror.
Evie was pretty enough, she had yellow-blonde hair with a bit of curl, especially at the tips. Her eyes were a blue-gray color, a small nose, and medium lips with the slightest bit of pout. Her belly was flat, flatter now that Miles had been pushing her on her workouts.
She slid her hands up her ribs and cupped her breasts — they were more like b-cups at this point with the more intense workouts. She had been in c’s, now it depended on the fit. They were super perky for 27 — defying all of gravity’s attempts to change that. Very light areolas surrounded firm, small nipples which meant that despite them being mostly flush, their firmness gave her two options — either wear a padded bra or have perpetual pokies. Evie turned her head from the mirror and looked down her body, tipping her head so she could see her vagina and legs past her boobs. Tone legs led up to a triangular patch of blonde curls, though since she had not shaved this week, she was getting a little fuzzy in a big patch around the triangle.
The bath was nearly full, so she climbed in and sat her glass on the little table beside the claw-foot tub. She leaned back and let the water cover her body with its warmth. It felt good, though she still felt the tenseness that had been hanging around her for the last weeks. Maybe an orgasm would help.
She tried to think about Miles, again pretty, but well… boring. Then she tried an old boyfriend from college who had been just mad about her. It had felt good to be so wanted. Nope, that was not doing it either. And now she came to why sex had been so meh. She could have an orgasm, and she enjoyed them — they just had never happened with one of the guys she had been with. Evie had only had five partners in total. The first was a boy in high school, but he was a virgin too and it stayed awkward for the few months they dated. Evie got bored and moved on. The next guy was in college — the one who wanted her so bad. It was too much. It was smothering. And he had learned how to have sex from porn. It was all fever and fast. He would ram his dick in her as hard as he could every time they were together. Since that guy she had a couple of one-night-stands with guys from bars — drunk sex sounds fun, but the first one reminded her of her college boyfriend with his frantic sex, and the second guy made about ten strokes, came, and fell asleep on top of her. Then she came back to Miles. He was so in love with himself. Sex with Miles was all about positioning them to see himself in a mirror. He liked to ‘fuck’ her, but he mostly got off on watching himself fucking her.
Ugh. Okay, she closed her eyes and started rubbing slow circles around her clit. She just tried to clear her mind and focus on what it felt like. Within a couple of minutes and an intensifying of her motions, Evie came. It was not so much good as functional. She leaned back against the tub again and picked up her glass in one hand and her phone in the other. As she took another sip, she was again stuck by the quality and flavor. This was another bottle her parents had sent her after a trip to the Central Coast of Cali this summer; Monterey for this bottle though. Hmm.
Evie went first to a travel site to see what tickets to California would cost, then to Airbnb to look at houses. It seemed like she could go out for a few days and it not cost her too much. The wine was the most interesting thing in her life lately, so… Why not chase that down for some adventure? She really liked where this idea was going. She should invite Miles. No, she shouldn’t. He would probably not want to go anyway — too many calories and carbs in wine. Fuck him — she would rather go alone anyway. Okay, so when. “Probably depends on when I can get a place to stay,” she said aloud.
Evie spent an hour in the bath and found a couple of places she liked after researching the area a little more. Napa was so expensive that she opted to be close to Monterey — it was the Monterey wine that had inspired her anyway. She could stay in Monterey where there were a bunch of tasting rooms, but when she found Carmel, she knew she had the spot — cute downtown, access to a valley where there were also a lot of tasting rooms, right on the ocean — yep this was it. She found a little cottage one row back from the ocean that had a peekaboo view and a good bathtub; she emailed the owner right then.
After her bath, she heated some left over boxed Chinese food and sat down on her couch to watch a movie. About an hour into the movie her phone pinged with an email. The movie was kind of boring, so she checked her phone to see the mail. It was the Airbnb owner confirming that they did indeed have a long weekend available at the end of November. They had added a little note that asked if she might be interested in next weekend. They had a cancellation and apparently the area was really nice in October. They were even offering a 25% discount off the normal price.
Next week? Um. Well she guessed she could get a Friday and Monday without too much trouble at work. She had projects, but nothing with a looming due date. What about plane tickets? She checked out the tickets — they were more expensive, but the discount on the house was more than enough to offset the increased cost. Well… it looked like she was headed to California next weekend. She felt excited for the first time in a while.
—
Getting the time off proved to be no issue at all. She had lied to Miles and told him it was a last-minute work trip; she did not want to explain she did not want him coming. This was about her finding a bit of adventure in wine country.
Evie reclined her seat as they hit “Our cruising altitude of 36,000 feet.” This was a longish flight from LaGuardia to San Fran — she booked the flight from New York because it was both cheaper and got her there earlier. It was Friday morning, but her flight back was Monday afternoon and she wanted as much time in California as possible. The long flight did not bother her though; she could sleep off some of that 3:00 a.m. wakeup call she had to do to catch the train into the City.
—
Bing. “We have begun our decent into San Francisco. We should be on the ground in about 25 minutes. The weather is foggy and 62 with a light wind. Flight attendants please prepare the cabin for landing.”
Evie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stretched. Well, at least that was fast. She had one more short flight to catch, but she only had just under an hour until she was in the air again. So she had to hustle; part of the price of getting there quickly.
Evie had to change terminals, but her second flight was right at the beginning of the next terminal over, so she even had time to grab a real cup of coffee from the Caribou place — Starbucks was overrun.
The plane lifted off and was above the fog in less than 30 seconds. It looked like she was already above the clouds, but as the plane banked south to her left she could see the fog play out to the East. Evie stared out the plane window the whole way south. Brown hills, farms, back into the fog again — and she was on the ground again.
“… and welcome to Monterey.” the flight attendant finished as they taxied to the terminal. Evie felt a little thrill. By most people’s standards this would be a rather tame adventure, but she had been so bland feeling lately that Evie was nearly bouncing out loud to get off the plane.
Monterey was a tiny airport, and she found the taxi area right away. There were however, no taxis… Being near the back of the plane meant that she got to the taxi pick up spot after everyone else. So… Uber or wait. She decided to wait, it could not be long. And it was not — within a few minutes a black sedan with a taxi sign pulled up. She leaned her head down as the car pulled up to the curb. It was a fat man with two days of stubbly growth on his tan face. “Hi,” she said “can you take me to an address in Carmel?”
“Sure, do you need help with your bag?” he asked.
“No, I just have my carry-on. Thanks.” Evie climbed in and gave the driver the address. As the driver pulled away from the airport and into the city of Monterey, she found it quaint — maybe a little rundown, but that seemed to add to the charm. They crested a hill, and the ocean filled the windshield of the car. “Wow” she said out loud.
“Beautiful here.” The driver added.
“Yeah, I live on the east coast, but it looks very different here. And it smells different too.”
The driver chuckled a bit “I bet. Here for vacation?”
“Yeah, just for a few days to get away.”
“You picked a great spot, that address is right by the ocean and Carmel is a cool little town” he said. “Are you here for the ocean? ”
“Actually, I am here for the wine, the ocean is a bonus.”
“Ah. There are some great places in the Valley.”
“So, you recommend going to Carmel Valley versus staying in town and doing the tasting rooms?” she asked.
“How long are you here?”
“I leave on Monday” she answered.
“Then, yeah. I would start in the Valley because there are so many wineries to explore. There are some great wines in Carmel BTS, but they are just little storefronts.”
“BTS?”
“Sorry, there is Carmel by the Sea which is where your address is, and Carmel Valley.”
“Got it” Evie said. “Any of the wineries that you recommend?”
“Well… that kinda depends on your tastes. Do you prefer red or white?”
“Both” she said. This time he laughed out loud.
“Good answer. If you don’t already have a driver, then I would recommend getting on one of the tours. They will take you to some great places, and you will learn a lot. That way on the rest of the days, you have a lay of the land and can go places you missed, or that sound interesting.”
Evie thought that sounded like a great plan. “Is there one that you recommend?”
“Sure, when we stop I will give you a couple of cards of good tours.”
Evie thanked the driver as she got out of the cab and looked at her rental. It was cozy and cute. She went inside after she got the key from the lockbox and found what she had seen in pictures. A tiny kitchen, a small living area with a single couch, and a well decorated bedroom with French doors to a great bathroom with a soaking tub.
After she unpacked, Evie dug out the two cards that the driver had given her and looked up both tours. One showed availability for this afternoon — that was perfect. She quickly booked the slot with her credit card. Now she needed some food. She had a couple of hours before the tour picked her up downtown. She was close to the pickup spot so she decided to walk that way and look for a place to eat on the way.
She found a bright, open little spot and had a slow lunch. She ordered a glass of white to go with her lunch of a salad with salmon. It was good enough. She had to remind herself that she would taste a lot of okay-ish wine in her trip. Not everything out here was going to be amazing.
After lunch she walked down to the pick-up point and was surprised to find there were probably a dozen people all there waiting. She walked up and joined the group. Over the next few minutes a group of three women and two more couples joined them. This was going to be a big group. The charter van pulled up shortly after that. This was a group of twenty going to six wineries up and down Carmel Valley. The first stop was a place called Seagull – not that creative, but okay.
The tour guide explained the brief history of the winery, that it was under relatively new ownership and that most of the wines would be “young,” but they would “lay down well.” The guide seemed really excited because there was a well-known wine maker that had been brought in to select the grapes and blend the wines.
There were some really good wines in the mix. Her favorite had been, surprisingly, a sweet Gewurztraminer. Evie did not usually go for sweet wines, but she liked this one. She had committed to herself that on her first day she would not buy anything though, unless it was phenomenal. The grounds were amazing with flowers in bloom everywhere, and it was kind of warm. It had been so foggy and cool at her rental that she had dressed in a long-sleeve blouse and cotton skirt that went to mid-calf. But now that she was into the valley, she found it was a bit too much for the temperature. She undid the last two buttons on the blouse to catch more of the breeze on her chest.
The tour bus was loading up again after about 30 minutes. The next winery was going to include a light lunch for the tour members. That did not sound super appealing to Evie since she had lunch right before the tour; her internal clock had not caught up to the three-hour time change. That was okay, she was here for the wine anyway. As they pulled up to the next place, she was really impressed by the location. The sign said “Triomphe Winery” and there was an old-looking house that had open doors all the way around the bottom floor. It was a completely open except for a large tasting bar in the center and several standing-height, round tables.
The tasting offered just five wines, three of which were excellent. Each of the tour guests got to pick a full glass after the tasting to have with lunch. Evie picked a red blend of Cab Sav, Cab Franc, and Syrah, it was rich, and oaky, and reminded her of leather and something gummy. It was incredible. Since she was skipping the lunch, she wandered outside the house and found a man sitting at a solitary small table just off the porch. He had about a half a glass of red himself and was looking at a tablet. She did not recognize him from the tour group, but there had been other tasters at both of the last two wineries. She walked over to where he was sitting and asked if she could sit in the other chair. He glanced up at her and pulled his glasses off and stuck them on top of his head in his sandy brown hair. “Sure” he said and smiled. When he smiled, she saw small lines crinkle at the edges. He was maybe early-to-mid forties and handsome – much more so when he smiled. His look lingered on her face for an extra beat and then he looked back down at his tablet.
“I’m Evie.”
He looked back up at her. “Hi Evie, nice to meet you. Is that short for Evelyn?”
“Ugh. Yes. It was my grandmother’s name, she died shortly before I was born, and my dad really wanted to name me after her. No one really calls me that though, not even dad.”
He gave a big smile again and said, “I like Evie, nothing wrong with Evelyn though.” He went back to looking at his tablet.
Evie could not help herself, when she got nervous, she talked. A lot. “What’s your name?” Wait… why was she feeling nervous? His smile. That was it.
This time he sat his tablet down on the table and turned off the screen. “My name is Jose, Evie.”
“I have not heard that name before.”
This time he laughed. “You have, well kind of anyway. If I spelled it for you, it is J-O-S-E.”
“Like Jose?” she said using the Spanish pronunciation. “But you pronounce the “J” as a “J” though?”
“Just so” he said. “My grandparents immigrated here from France, so it is the French pronunciation for me. They worked in the wine industry in France, and when they got to the U. S., they made their way to California and started working for this winery.”
“Oh,” Evie said.
“They worked for the winemaker here, but he did not have children and he ultimately sold it to my grandparents before he passed. My dad ran the place for a while, but it was never his passion. I grew up here, always on Gran Pop’s heels. The winemaking just worked its way into my blood over those years I guess.”
“Wait… so this place is yours?”
“It is indeed” Jose said.
“Oh! Oh… I am sorry. I did not mean to interrupt, I thought that you were just here to taste. Sorry.” Evie was stumbling over her words now trying to get out her apology. She felt silly for some reason for interrupting this man.
“Evie… Evie.”
“Yes?”
“It’s completely fine. I needed a break. You are a nice diversion.” She blushed at that for some reason and looked away taking a drink of her wine; and nearly draining it.
“Like the wine, do you?” he asked.
“Oh, uh, yes. It’s very good.”
“Would you like another glass?”
“Um, this was my glass with lunch. I just was not hungry. I had lunch just before the tour.” She was talking too much again.
“It’s okay. I think they will pour another glass for me.” Jose stood up and picked up her glass and his own in a single hand, his thick finger slipping inside the glass.
He blotted out the sun as he stood over her. She glanced up at his face as he was turning back toward the house. She caught him take a quick glance at her chest as he tuned his head. When he turned his back, she could see he was not super thin, but he had nice broad shoulders and thick, dark arms sticking from the rolled-up sleeves on his button-down – he did much of the work himself around the winery she guessed.
Once he was in the house she looked down at her chest and saw what Jose must have seen and blushed again. Because she had undone those buttons, her blouse was very open – showing plenty of cleavage from his top-down view. What embarrassed her though was that she was wearing one of those c-cup bras that was a little too big and gapping enough for him to have seen all the way down to her nipple. She could see it, so he could have too. She sat up straighter and went to re-button those open buttons… and stopped. So what if he saw her boobs? So what if he saw her nipple? She was a grown-ass woman, and it made her feel good to think he saw her.
As she was having this conversation with herself, she noticed Jose coming back out of the house. He had two empty glasses and a bottle in his hands. She raised one blonde eyebrow at the bottle as he sat it down on the table. “I could smell our red blend in your cup. Given that you picked that one, I assumed you liked it?”
“I did, it was very good.”
“Good. This is an older vintage, but with the same idea of blending each grape for that roundness of mouthfeel. You got leather and earth in the other one?” Evie nodded — well, she did get leather if not the earth. “Right. So with this one,” he popped the cork out and dropped the opener into his pocket “you want to start with the nose. Someone has shown you how to taste wine before?” This time she kind of bobbed her head back and forth. Her mom and dad loved wine and she had seen them taste a lot. He smiled again at her.
As he sat one glass in front of her, she realized he was still standing over her. She leaned forward a little and pushed her boobs together with her arms to make her bra gap again; if he wanted to look at her, she wanted to make it easy for him. She felt her chest getting a little red as she thought about it — it did that when she got nervous or excited. He poured about a half a glass for her and stepped back so she could get to the glass. “Put your nose in the glass and breathe it in.” She did. “What do you smell?”
“Oak, leather, and something… I don’t know. Dark, lush, spicy?”
“Very good. I would call it tobacco. Have you ever smelled dried tobacco?”
“Oh! That’s it, like a cigar” she said.
“Wow, you have a beautiful nose. Uh, I mean that its excellent at picking out notes in the wine.” This time he seemed to be the one stammering. He sat the second glass down and slid his thick, calloused finger out of it. He poured a second glass, but he filled his well past the halfway point. As she went to put her nose back in the glass, she saw him let his eyes drift to her open blouse again.
As he finished pouring, he pulled the chair around the table so he could sit more next to her than across; presumably so he could keep enjoying the view. Evie was buzzing now in more ways than one. He was half-again her age, and not super trim and fit like Miles, and he clearly worked with his hands instead of her white-collar world, but damn, something about this situation had her turned on in a way she could not remember having felt.
“Okay, we really should let it open up a bit before we start drinking it. Let’s give it a few minutes. Why don’t you tell me about you?” Jose asked.
“There’s not much to tell. I grew up through middle school in a small mountain town in North Georgia, then we moved to Charleston for my high school years. Mom and Dad have moved back to Georgia now. I have a brother, younger than me, who already has a three-year old.”
“Mmmm. You catch flack about that from your mom?”
Evie gave a humorless laugh. “Yep. If she had her way, I’d be on my third kid by now. I live outside Boston now and work for a big tech firm doing marketing.”
“So what brings you to California?”
“Well, I don’t know. I was so bored back home. I guess I am looking for a bit of adventure, for something different, for you,” WTF did she just say? “I mean your wine, like wineries. God, I am sorry, that came out wrong. I just got inspired one night in the bath drinking a great glass of wine from here while I was in the bath.” Did she just tell him she was in the bath? Twice? Why did she add that? What was wrong with her, she had not had that much wine.
“That’s a nice mental picture” Jose said.
“Yeah, it’s silly, I know,” she trailed off. “Wait, what’s a nice picture?” she asked.
“You in the bath.” Evie’s heart jumped about thirty beats a minute. “Bubbles?”
The blush was back, dammit. “Uh, no. I don’t really like bubbles.”
“Well, that’s an even better picture.” Blushing, AGAIN, but she found that directness suuuuper sexy right now.
“Jose,” but she was interrupted by the tour guide calling her.
“Ma’am, we are loading the bus for the next stop” the guide called.
Evie glanced back at the guide and then around to Jose and back to the guide. “Um, uh,” she stuttered.
“Oh, hey Jose, how are things?” the guide asked Jose.
“Jennifer, great to see you. I cannot thank you enough for including us on your tour” Jose said standing up to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“Jose, come on. You have some of the best wines in the Valley. I need to take your friend here; we are headed to Altius next.” Evie had silently watched the interaction between the two. Jennifer was a busty brunette with tasteful make up and a natural beauty to her. Evie found herself feeling jealous of this woman. What the hell was going on with her?
“I see” he said. “We were just about to taste the 2012 Victor.”
Evie saw Jennifer’s eyes widen a bit. “Well, Evie was it?” Evie nodded. “What you have there is a well-aged, vintage. It is rich mouthful of jammy fullness.” Evie got the impression that Jennifer was talking about more than wine. Jose smiled that big smile at Jennifer again, and Evie felt her hackles rising.
“Evie, if you are okay with it, you can have this glass with me and I will drive you to… Jennifer, what is after Altius, Fick’s?”
“That’s right” Jennifer said.
“Yes, I will stay.” Evie blurted out.
“Good. Jennifer, always a pleasure to see you.” Jose pulled his chair back out and sat down again as Jennifer headed back toward the house and the rest of the tour guests. Jose looked at Evie, “Where were we?”
“I believe you were thinking about me taking a bath without bubbles…”
“Oh. Right. Ahem. Uh, so”
“So what? Did you like what you were seeing?” Evie pressed him with a half grin on her face.
“Evie, you are a beautiful woman. I am quite certain that seeing you in the bath is like seeing one of the nymphs bathing.” Jose’s confidence had wavered there for just a second, but he was not backing down from this flirtation – he was leaning in.
“Ancient, fake, and angry?” she asked.
This got a full belly laugh. “Not quite. More like erotic and intoxicating.” Nice parry sir, she thought. “Shall we try the wine?” he asked.
“Sure, let’s see if it is as much a mouthful as Jennifer thinks.” As Evie tipped up her glass and got the first taste on her tongue, she could tell this was on a very different level than the blend she had been drinking first. It was rich, and full, and jammy. Evie let slip a little involuntary sound somewhere between an ‘mmmm’ and an ‘oh.’
“Do you like it then?” Jose asked.
“Yes, I do. Is this one the tasting menu, I definitely did not try this?” she asked.
“No, it’s not. I only have a dozen cases or so left of this one.”
“Then this bottle is kind of a wild splurge on someone you just met then, isn’t it?”
“Maybe, but I am betting it’s worth it.”
Evie showed mock offense on her face “Are you saying that you think you can get me naked and bathing for a single bottle of wine?”
There was that smile again. “I don’t know, can I?”
They were interrupted again. “Mr. Lavigne?” It was one of the women who had been serving the tasting inside.
“Hey Cat, how can I help?” Jose responded.
“They were the last tour scheduled today and we are pretty slow, even for a Friday. Would you be okay with us closing up at 3:00 instead of 4:00 today?” Jose looked at his watch and nodded.
“It’s already 2:00, why don’t you put the closed sign out now and prep for tomorrow, then head out?” he suggested.
“That would be great!” Cat bubbled. “Thank you.” And with that Cat turned to head back to the house.
“Hey Cat?”
“Yes Mr. Lavigne?”
“Oh my gosh Cat — Jose, okay?”
“Right.”
“Do we have any of the brie left from lunch?”
“Yes, there was a half wheel that we did not use.”
“Great, before you go, can you bring me the cheese, a jar of our honey, and some crackers?” he asked.
“Of course Mr. Lavigne” and she hurried back to the house as Jose shook his head.
“She is maybe 21, and she grew up somewhere in the South too. She is determined to not call me Jose” he lamented.
“Well why should she Mr. Lavigne?” Evie teased.
“You have a bit of snarkiness to you, don’t you?” She just smiled at him. “Okay,” he said.
Evie took another sip of the excellent wine and just looked at him over the rim of her glass. Cat was already on her way back out with the things Jose had asked for. She had dropped them in a little basket and was briskly walking back out. “Here you go, anything else you need?” Cat asked.
“No Cat, thank you. How long do you think it will take you two to close down?”
“Well Dana is serving the last couple now and I am about to get the last batch of glasses out of the dishwasher. Maybe another twenty minutes to polish them and lock up?” she said it with a questioning rise to her voice at the end.
“Yeah, go ahead and lock up. I will let myself back in if I need anything else. We are going to take a turn around the property, so I will see you tomorrow.”
“Okay, thank you Mr. Lavigne, have a good night” Cat said as she turned to leave.
“You to Miss Simms.” This got a smile from Cat over her shoulder at Jose. With that Jose stood up and sat the basket in his chair and started to fold up the blue-checked tablecloth that was on the little table they had been sitting at. “Hold your glass up?” he asked Evie. As she picked up her glass, he finished folding the cloth and dropped it and the bottle in the basket with the other things. “Want to go for a walk?”
“Sure” Evie said.
Over the course of the next hour Jose walked Evie around the dozen or so acres of the property. He showed her the cellar and barrel room, the barn where Jose had two beautiful horses, and then on through to where the mechanical press and collection tanks were. He told her about how they made the wine, how it had been slowly converted to a mechanical process over the years, but how his family still had a one-day traditional grape stomping to make a few barrels the old way that were just for them.
As they were walking through rows of grapes Evie asked him, “So these are all of your grapes?” gesturing to the vines round them.
“Oh no. These are just the grapes we use to make our port. I have a fair amount of land in the county where we grow most of the grapes. This is just where we do most of the storing of the wine.”
“I see” she said. They had walked to the very back of his property and there she found three white little boxes that kind of looked like small dressers. “What are those?” she asked.
“Bees” he said simply. “These are to pollinate the few grapes here; we have dozens of hives on the vineyard.” Evie had stopped walking forward when he said ‘bees.’ He smiled back at her “You don’t like bees?”
“I like them fine; I just do not want to get stung.”
“Just don’t sit on one. They are pretty wrapped up in their world and don’t much care about us.” Jose had started pulling things out of the basket. Evie raised a questioning eyebrow at Jose.
“Picnic?” Jose asked.
She just smiled and helped open up the former tablecloth. As she sat down Jose was emptying the bottle of wine into their two glasses. He pulled out the rest of the things that Cat had packed, including a small bottle of wine that she had not heard Jose ask for.
“What’s that?” she asked pointing at the small bottle.
“That is a bottle of my port wine, its sweet. I did not ask Cat for that, but I am glad she dropped it in.” She had also packed a little plate for the cheese and crackers. Jose put out all the things and sat down beside her. “What do you think?”
“Jose, this place is incredible. It’s so different than anything I am used to. Somehow it feels rustic and luxurious at the same time.” She looked down at their little spread and asked, “Cheese goes on the crackers I am guessing?”
He laughed at this. “Can I show you?”
“Please show me Jose” she said with a smile she hoped was sexy. He used the knife to slice of a piece of cheese, rind on, and put it on the flat cracker. Then he opened the honey and dipped a small spoon to drizzle the thick honey over the cheese. He scooted over until his hips were even with hers but facing the opposite direction. He was so close now. She could smell the rich wine on his breath, a faint mix of cologne and sweat, and something else? Dirt? No, that was too plain. More like earth — something natural and heady.
He raised the cracker to her mouth and said simply, “Open.” She obediently opened her mouth, and he placed the end of the cracker in her mouth. She tasted the blandness of the cracker first. As she bit down, she got the soft saltiness of the cheese. The cracker broke spilling crumbs and a single drop of honey down her open blouse. Jose’s eyes tracked the honey down. As she chewed, the sweetness of the honey wrapped around the crunch of the cracker and the salt and cream of the cheese. It might have been the single best bite she had ever had. She closed her eyes and let out a gentle moan. It was so good. Then her eyes popped open as she felt Jose nuzzling his mouth between her breasts chasing the lost drop of honey. She looked down at the top of his head as he licked her skin and she felt something uncoil in her — something down low; very low. She pulled her hand up and ran it through the hair on the back of his head. And she let out another little moan.
He leaned his head back and smiled at her. “Did you like that?”
“Which, uh.” She had to clear her throat and try again. “Which part?”
“You tell me” he said. In response she reached for the honey jar and the spoon. She dipped the spoon down into the sticky sweetness of the honey and drizzled a lazy line of honey down her blouse, between her breasts and running up her chest. Jose obliged her, licking down the line, starting at the top and tracing the line down.
When she was clean again, he leaned back. She crossed her arms reaching down under the edges of her shirt and lifting it over her head. Jose gripped her arms over her head pinning them in place with her shirt up and exposing her body to the warm air and late afternoon sunlight. While he held her still, he kissed a line just above the fabric at the top of each side of her bra. Her skin was tingling; Evie did not think she had ever been so turned on in her whole life. Already Jose was spending more time attending to her body than any lover she had been with.
He let go of her arms and she finished taking off her shirt. She saw him lean back and just drink in her body. She stood to her feet and slipped out of her sandals and let her skirt slip down and pool around her ankles. She stepped back and out of the dress. She was left with a black bra with white ribbon and a matching set of thongs. Jose seemed completely transfixed by her. Evie felt very sexy in that moment, and did a complete turn so Jose could drink all of her in.
“Beautiful” was all he said.
She was not happy with the bra, it still felt a little too big, so that came off next. Despite the warmness of the air, her nipples stiffened in the afternoon breeze. She looked down at herself. Evie had great boobs and she knew it. She had seen naked women, and playboy, and porn — if a guy did not need them to be double Ds or bigger, then hers were a ten out of ten. They were high on her chest, firm, round, with just a little drop, and her nipples pointed slightly up. Her areolas were light, and the tips poked just past the level of her skin unless she was cold… or really aroused apparently. Right now, they were tight and pokey, and flushed a darker shade than usual. That was nice — and sexy.
Jose seemed genuinely impressed with her nudity. “Incredible” she heard him whisper.
“Panties too?” Evie asked. Jose just nodded. She turned around so he could watch her butt and add a little to the suspense of the final reveal. She was not as proud of her ass. Oh, it was fine she guessed, but more run of the mill. She started to rush through getting the thong off and remembered Jose’s reactions thus far. He seemed completely enraptured by her; so, she played into it. She slowly, slowly pulled them down over her cheeks wiggling side to side as she slid them off. As they got below her butt and she slid them further, they kind of sprung down off her. They were a little clingy with moisture. Then she stepped out of them too and looked back over her shoulder to see Jose only to find him right on top of her. She had not heard him move, but there he was, his arms around her waist with his hands running gently up from her hips to her belly to cup her breasts in his hands.
She let out a little “mmmm” as he held her. She could feel his hardness pressed against her, but he just stood there holding her in his hands and arms. She could feel the callouses on his hands as he slowly slid his rough fingers to ever so slightly squeeze her nipples. Evie almost came right then, this was like no experience with sex she had ever even experienced. Finally, he slid one hand down and over the mound of hair between her legs, resting the heel of his hand against her clit and stoking two fingers gently from back to front over her lips. She shivered against him.
“Are you cold?” he whispered in her ear. She just shook her head against him, she did not think she could speak right now. He turned her around and into him then and kissed her. His kiss was passionate and warm and hard. There was pent up energy in that kiss. She was surprised, he had seemed so restrained in all his touch up to this point. Jose pulled her down to a sitting position as he sat with her. He reached in his pocket and pulled out that wine opener and reached over to grab the little bottle. Evie felt a little confused by this, she just wanted him to take her, to lay her back and take her. He deftly opened the small bottle and poured a small portion in one of the cups, handing it to her as he finished. She took the cup and sniffed it. It smelled like, well, kind of like raisins but richer. She took a small sip and it coated her tongue. She tasted the grapes, but also a thick sweetness. She liked it, but still felt a little bit confused with the sudden change of direction.
“You like it?” Jose asked. She nodded to him again, still not quite trusting her voice. “Good, I wanted you to know what I was tasting” he said. With this he leaned over to her again and let a thin line of the dark wine dribble out of the bottle and down her chest. The line ran down from her shoulder over the top of her boobs and right over one nipple. Jose pulled the bottle back and began to drink his wine right off her body. He followed the line quickly to her chest, sliding his hands up to cup her again and finally, Oh My God – Finally! putting her nipple in his mouth. He pushed his mouth down and ran his warm tongue in slow loops around her areola. Yep, that was doing it for her. Then he pulled his lips tighter and used a gentle sucking to pull her nipple back and forth into his mouth. That was doing it too. He leaned back and dribble more wine on the other nipple repeating the whole process. God she was worked up – she was not sure what she would do when he finally put his dick in her, but boy was she ready to find out.
When he pulled his mouth back this time, he pushed her down flat on the blanket. He picked up the bottle again and filled her navel with the wine until it ran in rivulets over her stomach and to the ground. He just kept pouring until a line of it ran down her belly to pool in her hair and then down over her lips. Jose put the bottle down and started at her navel sucking up the wine, then tracking the line down to the V between her legs. Evie started to lift up at this — boys had tried licking her before, but it never did much for her. Again, she guessed they had learned how to do this from some porno. Jose obviously knew what he was doing so far, so she stopped and just focused on what he was doing to her. Jose was running his tongue up her lips like he had done with his fingers, gentle strokes from back to front, up one side then the other. After a minute he put a gentle kiss right on her clit then a second kiss, and a third. On the third he pulled on her clit, sliding her into his mouth.
After a few back-and-forth strokes he pulled back and moved himself around, so his body was fully positioned between her legs and lowered his head back down to her. He took her into his mouth again, slowly sliding his tongue up and down her clit. He began to both increase the speed of his tongue and the pressure he was applying to her. Evie had her hands buried in the blanket, gripping it between her fingers like she was holding on for dear life. She arched her back, pushing her chest up and her head back. She was moaning now — the noises were as involuntary as her arching back or her fingers gripping the blanket. She was going to cum “oh… oh… mmmmmm” and she came so hard, pushing herself toward his wonderful mouth. Jose sucked her clit a few more times then pulled back.
But he was not done with her yet. He had pulled his own shirt off and was sliding his pants off now. Evie looked sideways past her heaving chest to see him coming up between her legs again. She opened her legs to him, and he lowered himself on to her. He leaned down and kissed her then, full on the mouth – then her neck and then her nipples again. After a few seconds, he pushed up on his strong arms and looked down at her. She felt his hardness pressed right up against her, but he was not pushing in yet. He smiled at her then, lowered himself, and began to push his hips forward – and his hard dick – into her. Oh, it felt good. He slid fully into her, and she let out another low moan. At first, he started sliding in and out, in and out, but then he pushed himself up on his arms again. At first she thought that he was trying to keep his weight off her, but as his hips matched the angle of his chest it put pressure right against her clit. Now he was sliding a little less deep in her, but it was putting that sliding pressure on her clit too.
Jose was getting lost in the passion of the moment, rocking her hips hard as he rode her. Within just a couple of minutes Evie was on the edge of cumming again. She ran her hands up and down his strong arms as he pushed them against the ground. They were thick and rigid, like his dick that was pushing in and out of her. The noises coming from her throat crested and she came again. He just kept pushing into her and pushing into her. Evie’s orgasm lingered as he kept riding her. Within another short moment Jose was shuddering over her, releasing all that pent up passion into her.
He leaned down and kissed her then, passionate but gentle. Then he pulled himself out of her and moved around her legs to lay beside her. They both lay there catching their breath for a few minutes. Evie was about to ask Jose where he learned all that when she heard him subtly snoring and let out a little laugh. Well, she guessed Jose was human after all – after the last half hour she was starting to wonder. She just laid there naked in the last rays of the afternoon light – processing.
First, wow — that was incredible, no one had ever made her feel that way. Second, she guessed she had found some of that adventure she was looking for, this was not boring. Third, Miles… nevermind, she and Miles were over before she left Boston. Finally, now what? She was not sure, but she was on the train now and she was just going to go along for the ride and see what happened.
As the sun went down behind the horizon, the temperature started to drop quickly. While she did not want to disturb Jose, she was getting cold, so she sat up and starting looking for all her clothes. She felt a little sticky between her legs, but also down her whole front. The sweet wine had left a stickiness all over her. She grabbed her panties and slid them back up, and as she reached to grab her skirt, she saw that Jose was up on one arm watching her dress. “Good morning” she said. That got a laugh.
“Good evening, madam.”
She smiled back at him. She could not find her bra anywhere. Well, fine. She just slipped her thin white blouse over her head. Jose just watched every move she made. She looked over at him and said “Well, I don’t think I am going to catch up to my tour…”
“No” Jose said, “they don’t generally run this late. What now Evie?” This caught her off guard, she was just about to put that ball in his court, but he beat her to it. She was in his space, without a ride, and now, without a bra.
“Food? That one bite of cheese did not quite do it for me.” His easy laugh came out again at that.
“I think I can handle that. Shall we head back to the house?”
“That sounds good.”
“If you are looking for your bra, its over in the clover” he said as he pointed to his right. She went over to get it but found a bee on it and pulled back.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“There’s a bee on it.”
“Ah, I can get it.”
“It’s fine, the damn thing is too big anyway. Which I think you were taking advantage of?” she asked.
“Oh, that bra is definitely part of what got you into this” he said with another chuckle. And with that, he stood up and started gathering up their things. Once all the pieces were back in the basket, they started walking back toward the house. It was almost full dark now and thankfully he seemed to know the steps by heart, because she would have been completely lost.
As they came up to the house Evie asked, “Do you have more than cheese?”
“You are hungry huh? We are not going into the same part of the house, and yes, I have a full kitchen.” With that he led them around to the back and a staircase built on to the outside of the house. They ascended the stairs, and he opened the door going in first so he could flip on lights for her to see. The top floor was open like the bottom, but there was a well-appointed kitchen, a couch, tv, a messy bed, and a single door to the side — a bathroom she assumed.
“Nice flat, is that a bathroom?”
Jose looked where she was pointing and said, “Thank you, and yes that is the bathroom.”
“Can I use you shower? Your wine made me sticky.”
“Sure, there are towels in the cabinet under the sink. I will work on us something to eat while you shower. Are you a vegetarian or anything like that?” Jose asked.
“Nope, I am not picky, just starving” Evie responded. With that she made her way to the bathroom, gently closing the door behind her. The bathroom ran the length of the house but was narrow. She found the towels where he said they would be and started the water. Even over the water she heard music drifting into the bathroom. Something Spanish; Cuban maybe?
She showered herself off quickly. Now she had a dilemma. She did not really want to put those panties back on, she had no bra, and her clothes were quite rumpled. His closet was at one end of the bathroom, so she padded naked down to that end. His closet was mostly filled with practical clothes, it seemed he mostly wore khakis and light colored cotton button-downs. She found a white linen shirt and wrapped it around her and buttoned it up. She stepped out of the bathroom and into the smell of herbs and cooking meat – it smelled absolutely glorious.
Jose just stared at her as she walked out of the bathroom. She felt just a little self-conscious, she had not asked about the shirt, and while she thought he wanted her to stick around, she was not sure. Maybe she was his version of a one-night-stand. She gave him a small smile and he beamed back at her. “I love your choice. I was not sure if you were going to start to regret this afternoon once you got some separation and time to think in the shower. That shirt suggests otherwise.”
“It does” was her only response. Jose had made them chicken breasts, some broccoli, and a bit of pasta. The pasta had a thin light sauce with big pieces of rosemary leaf. “This smells, and looks, amazing.”
“I needed something quick, and this is one of my favorites, so…” he stopped and looked at her. She had not buttoned the top two buttons on his shirt, and it was open showing off her boobs again. “You are very sexy in that. You know it?”
“I feel sexy. It’s not my default, but the way you look at me like that makes me feel it.”
They had dinner together and talked more about her parents and her job in Boston. She asked him about his family. He had been married once, but no kids. His dad was still alive, and he had two sisters, one in San Fran, the other was actually a women’s golf pro at Pebble Beach. Both sisters had three kids, so he had a clutch of nieces and nephews. None of the rest of his family had shown any interest in the winery, other than drinking the product of it.
They finished their dinner and Jose was cleaning things up at the sink. Evie reached down and undid another button while he was not looking. Jose finished at the sink grabbing a bright white dishtowel and dried his hands as he turned around and leaned against the sink. He noticed her adjustment to the shirt and threw the towel down on the counter. “Let’s go to the couch” he said.
He caught up to her and came up behind her right as she got to the couch. It had high rounded arms and a soft fabric. Jose pushed her into that arm and leaned her over it. She felt the shirt ride up over her ass. His hands gripped her hips and pulled her against him. She straightened and leaned back against him, and he kissed her just under her ear. He had slipped his pants off again and she could feel he was already hard and pushing against her leg. He put his hand in the middle of her back and pushed her over the arm of the couch, grabbed her hips, and pushed himself into her again. Evie let out a little gasp as he entered her.
He was not frantic, but slowly slid in and out of her. As he slid in and out, in and out at a steady rhythm, he pushed her shirt up and ran his fingers up and down her back, over her ass, he slid them down her sides and hips, his callouses rough against her skin on his gentle hands. She wanted him when he pushed his way into her, but with every stroke she felt her desire building even more.
He was pulling her to him again, pushing her off her elbows and completely over the couch arm. As she wrapped herself over it, her body changed angles and his dick was now pushing against what she assumed was her g-spot with each stroke. She did not even know she had a g-spot, but now he was pushing his dick over it in slow rhythm.
He never changed pace, but the feeling built and built until she knew she was going to cum again. She was encouraging him with the sounds she was making. No way he did not know that she was about to cum. And she did then, and explosion deep inside her as she contracted tightly around his hard dick. That’s when he picked up the pace. She leaned further back into him to give him even more leverage. He came then, pushing hard into her as he did. Her legs were shaking as she stood and took his hand leading him to the bed. They laid down together and slept then.
—
Evie felt sunlight on her skin as she woke. It only took a minute to replay the previous day and remember where she was. She looked around but did not see Jose anywhere. The clock by the bed told her it was just after 7:00 a.m. She could hear voices outside, including one she thought was Jose. She still had his shirt on, so she padded to the window where the voices were coming from and looked out. Jose was there directing a truck backing a trailer up to the barn. It looked like a horse trailer to Evie, and given that the horses were in the barn, she supposed it probably was.
Evie had no idea what to do now. She had clothes, but if she walked outside in those everyone would know what she and Jose had been up to. This was his business his people, she was not sure how he would feel about it, so she decided to shower again, try to do something with her messy hair and wait to see if Jose would come back up.
While she was in the shower, Evie heard the bathroom door open. Jose peeked around the shower curtain. “Good morning” he said with a giant toothy grin on his face. She just arched a wet eyebrow at him. Somehow his big grin got bigger as he looked her up and down.
“Enjoying yourself” she asked.
“Yes, yes I am. Breakfast?”
“That sounds great.” But he did not leave, he just looked at her body again.
He shook his head slightly and said “Right, breakfast.” He pulled his head out of the shower and she heard the bathroom door close again.
Ten minutes later Evie was sitting at the counter again with a towel around her hair and one around her body. Jose had made a simple breakfast of figs, toast, and avocado. “What now?” Evie asked as she spread a pat of butter on her toast.
Jose kind of scrunched his eyebrows, “Well, that is complicated. Summer came a little late this year, so the grapes are late getting ready for the harvest too. Which is basically now. Which means I need to head East to the vineyard to oversee the harvest.”
“I see” she said. “So, you need to leave?”
“I do. When are you going back to Boston?”
“Monday.”
“Okay, I can send the guys over today and have them start prepping. That will take them maybe a day and a half, but I have to be there by Sunday night. Do you want to spend the next day and a half with me? I can show you…”
“Yes!” she interrupted; it was a dumb question — of course she wanted more of him. He grinned at her again.
“Okay. I need to take care of some things around here. Do you need to get some of your things, or do you want to just stay half-dressed for the next couple of days? I mean… I am okay staying right here with you stark naked, but you came all this way?”
“I guess I will wear some clothes” she said sarcastically.
“Okay, would you rather one of my guys drive you back to Carmel, or I can call a cab?”
“I will just get an Uber, assuming I can find my phone?”
“You dropped it in the basket we used yesterday” he said, and she remembered now. She found it quickly; 9% battery left. Yeah, she needed to get her stuff, actually get ready.
“Okay, how long do you need Jose?”
“I really need a couple of hours.”
“That’s perfect. It might take me a little longer than that, but it should be about right. Should I meet you back here?”
“Yeah, we can spend today in the Valley and try a few of the better wineries. Tomorrow, I can take you around outside the Valley. I will need to skip the wine tomorrow so I can make the drive over.” He was almost musing out loud, but it sounded good to her.
“Okay,” she said, “meet you back here as soon as I can.”
—
Thirty minutes and one uncomfortable ride later – no bra, with severely rumpled clothes – she was back at her cottage gathering a smaller bag of things that she would need over the next day and a half. She was pretty unhappy with what she had brought. She had planned this trip as a comfortable, casual jaunt through California wine country, not a sex saturated romance. Well, nothing for it. She had to work with what she had.
She dressed in a black pair of leggings with a white and black sweater and black flats. No. He said they were going to be in the Valley and the Valley had been warm. Three outfits later she had the black leggings back on, but with a white tank and a sloppy white cutoff sweatshirt and her Converses. This was better, if she got hot she could pull the sweatshirt off. She would be plain, but cute in the tank and leggings. The sports bra compressed her boobs, but there was nothing for it. It was the only bra she brought that worked with the tank.
It was just after 10:30, a bit more than two hours since she left the winery. Her Uber should be here any minute. A white Prius pulled into the drive, and she got in. “Evelyn Moore?”
Ugh. “Yes.”
“And we are headed to Triomphe Winery?”
“That’s right, thank you.” He just nodded and started driving.
—
It was almost 11:00 when they pulled back into the winery. She thanked the driver again as she got out of the car with a bag over each shoulder. One was a canvas bag with her clothes and the other things she would need. The second was a woven grass, oversized purse. She walked into the front door of the bottom floor and was greeted by the girl Cat. “Good morning, we are not open… Oh. Hello again.” Evie smiled at the girl, but she caught the quick glance made at the other woman prepping behind the bar. “Um,” Cat said.
“Is Jose upstairs?” Evie asked.
“Um, no. He is out back in the barn. Should I let me know that you are here?” Cat asked.
“It’s okay, I can get there.” Another glance at the woman behind the bar. This time Evie looked at the woman as well. She was a matronly lady — maybe mid-fifties. She had long brown hair run through with gray.
“Good morning, I am Dana” the woman said.
“Nice to meet you, I am Evie.”
“You are welcome to go find Jose. I am sure he will be excited to see you.” Dana smiled as she said this and went back to polishing the bar.
She found Jose quickly as he was right where Cat said. He had cleaned himself up and dressed in a pair of broken in chinos and… well, the same white linen shirt she had been wearing all night. It looked less rumpled than she had left it, so maybe he ironed it, or maybe it was one just like it? She stopped by a big pickup and let him finish what he was doing — throwing some sort of heavy bags in the bed. He spotted her on the second bag and smiled at her. “Well don’t you look great.” That made her feel good. She was not happy with her clothing options, but he beamed at her. He seemed to like it.
“Thank you,” she said and bit her lower lip a bit.
“Wow. Okay, are you ready to head out?”
“Um,” Evie said. “Can I drop my bag off?”
“Oh sure. Just head up and drop it off. The house is never locked. I will pull the truck around front and meet you downstairs.”
When Evie came down the outside stairs and around the porch to the interior of the house Jose was there talking to Dana. When he spotted her, he called her over, “Dana, this is Evie.”
“We met,” she said as she smiled at Evie.
“Good, Dana I am going to be out for the day. I will stop by Fick’s place and pick up those extra wooden boxes for you.”
Dana said, “That’s good, but you have to get me a name for the logo to go on the boxes, or we can’t do anything with them.”
“Right. Okay, I will think about it.”
“Mm hmm.” There was clearly an eyeroll in those words from Dana. Jose just smiled at her. He reached down and took Evie’s hand and led her to the truck.
“Let’s go” he said.