Isabel and Giacobi - San Francisco Story # 6

April 1998

From New Jersey to San Jose, from San Jose to Boston, from Boston to San Francisco, from San Francisco to Cape Cod, two young people sought their destiny, lost each other, found each other again… 
   



Part I
 
Introduction

When I closed my eyes I could feel his existence, sending electricity all over my spine, his tongue skillfully explored all of my sensitive insides, taking my breath away, shooting a jolt of disbelief into my brain cell. Outside the Cape Cod coast, I could hear the wind brushing the old porch, the water washing to the shore; I could see the morning sun beaming through the floral southern style curtains, a pair of lesbian couples walking by, holding hands, necking by the dam. The crack of the window sent fresh early spring air, mixed with the salty ocean wind, carried by the early high tides. Above it all, I saw my own self, surrendering to the enormous joy and overwhelming intensity.

It was a warm Easter Sunday in Provincetown Massachusetts, three thousand miles from home. Here we met again. 
I let out a sigh. It was surreal, so surreal that I couldn't expect any more in life. I would die at that moment, and I'd die with no regrets. Cape Cod could never be the same to me. It was just like Giacobi said, it was truly heaven on earth. 
  



Part II

 
Chapter 1     California sushi 


Isabel was twenty-two, Giacobi was twenty-nine. They met in California. He’s 6’2, obviously Italian, athletic, broad built, dark hair, olive skin, with two light dimples on his boyish face. Giacobi had moved from New Jersey four years ago. Isabel left the Far East at age fifteen. She was a petite 5’2, with long dark hair and bright eyes, and a voluptuous body type unlike an average Asian girl. Yet in her own mind, she felt fat and awkward. The best feature of her was her smile. So she smiled a lot, even when she was sad or disappointed, her face would be fixed with a smile. She was one of the shy ones, her passion was so intense that she thought everyone could see through her. Instead, what the outsiders saw was a confident, no non-sense business woman who knew where she was headed. She had lived alone in the bay area of California for seven years and was a CPA with an accounting firm. 


Their first date was in Miyaki’s, a popular Japanese restaurant in Cupertino. Giacobi was then an up and rising controller with a Silicon Valley based semi-conductor company. Isabel was leaving to Philadelphia to get her first SAP training. They shared a few things in common: Japanese food, finance career, CPA and stock market. 
As Isabel quietly ate her sushi, she found herself attracted to this tall dark stranger with a Jersey accent. She could never predict what would happen in the future. Especially after their second date, Isabel thought for sure they’d never talk or see each other again. 
Their second date followed the Japanese food tradition. It was a small restaurant in Japan town in downtown San Jose.

Giacobi had come to pick her up, with a bottle of Merlot in his hand. He was dressed in a dark sports jacket and a pair of slacks. Isabel was in her purple Bebe pantsuit. Giacobi had called her earlier to tell her that he had some big news for her. 
"I was accepted by Harvard Business School." When the check came he told her. 
"I know you’d be disappointed. We just start to get to know one another. But I have to leave town soon. It’s such a great opportunity. I am certainly very excited." 
Isabel was one of those girls who played safe in her personal life. She rarely revealed her disappointments, sadness or affection. 1996 had not been a good year for her, though it was only early in the year, the trend was already showing. Three of her good friends were moving away.

Giacobi would make No. four. She had lost some of her directions, she yearned for her true love, she sought hard and she wanted to be loved back. This dark haired tall stranger, who had seemed a good catch at the time, had turned out to be another pass by. Isabel hid her disappointment, showed just the right amount of enthusiasm and congratulated Giacobi. 
When the dinner ended they took off to the Palace, back then a popular nightclub in the south bay. Though the music was good, Isabel wanted to go home bad. She didn’t want to know Giacobi more than she already did. She didn’t think he’d remember her once he left for Boston.

Giacobi talked about his plans, and how he would definitely keep in touch with her. 
Isabel thought to herself, "Who is he kidding? I’d be stupid if I believed him." He took her back, downstairs of her Campbell apartment, he kissed and hugged her good night. She felt his hard body pressing against her own, under the full moon, the balcony flowers blooming, the streetlight dimming, and the sky bright with the millions of stars, which one belongs to Isabel? No one could answer her prayers. 
  


 

Chapter 2    

Let the emails take care of you and me

Giacobi had kept his end of promise. He left his company and took a six months leave to travel the world before he started his school in Harvard. He sent her post cards wherever he traveled to, he left her messages when he stopped back to the bay area, and he sent her emails when he settled down in Harvard Business School. 
Isabel went through a few changes of her own. She started traveling for her new assignments. She practically lived out of her suitcases. Then she met someone. Someone from New Jersey also, a Kurt Russell look alike man who was doing a fellowship in Stanford University in Palo Alto. She felt in love, with a schoolgirl’s enthusiasm, she drained herself to full exhaustion when the relationship ended and completely lost her faith.

She then devoted her energy to work and started to develop long-term career goals. 
She kept in touch with Giacobi and told him in one of her emails, "I will never ever date another guy from New Jersey again." Giacobi had always teased her. "Baby doll, you just haven’t met the right Jersey guy yet." 


When Isabel turned twenty four she realized that perhaps relationship won’t just happen over night, perhaps she should start taking on some new responsibilities to occupy her emotional emptiness. She placed a down payment on a townhouse just outside of San Francisco. A few months later, she moved in, changed her job and got a fifty percent raise. She was doing well, financially and professionally.

Emotionally she was still a wreck from the last heartbreak. 
One day, she got an email from Giacobi. 
"Hello baby doll, how are you? I’m coming back to the bay area for a summer internship interview. I will be in town on Wednesday. Will you be around?" 
It turned out the interview was only two floors below her office and she gladly met Giacobi for lunch. They chose a dim sum place on Grant Street in Chinatown of San Francisco. Giacobi looked more polished, a bit more scholar like, and completely happy. He was interviewing for an investment bank job and had received an offer. 
"We’d be neighbors. I can’t wait to start to hang out with you this summer." Isabel had lost some of the energies. Her heart was closed. She had not planned Giacobi’s return. She couldn’t forget how she felt that night when he had dropped her off at her Campbell apartment, but things had changed, time had gone by, Giacobi was no more than just a simple acquaintance. She could not possibly fall for another guy again, especially not another man from New Jersey. 
 

Giacobi was interested in her life as he always was. 
"So tell me, what is that this New Jersey guy had that made you so crazy about him?" 
Isabel raised her eyebrows. She wasn’t prepared to talk about him yet. It was such a sacred memory, only she knew who he really was. Giacobi was as easy going as he always was. Isabel sat by the table, sipping tea, and thought to herself, "What do you know Giacobi? With your looks and your education background, you’d be able to get any girl you want!" Though she didn’t say a word, instead she smiled. 
On the street corner, a new film was shooting. Giacobi grabbed her shoulders and stroke a pose. He waived to the movie crew cameramen, and said,

"Babe doll, we will be famous. We’d be in movies."

Isabel had to laugh. There was no one she knew who was as carefree and as optimistic as Giacobi. He certainly knew how to cheer her up and make her smile. Giacobi came back into town and started his 14 hours a day internship. He was always working and she was trying to forget.

They had only managed to meet once in Gorden Biech. A brewery and restaurant by Embarcadero. She had a light summer suit on, Giacobi was in his usual dark color suit. They ordered sashimi for appetizers. Giacobi wanted her to fix him up with her girlfriends. 
"Come on, Isabel, since you are not going to go out with me, at least you should try to set me up with one of your girlfriends." Isabel had few girlfriends who were still single. She had no time to develop friendships.

She wanted all work and no play. By burying herself into work, she could stop thinking about that last relationship, and questioning why she always managed to fall for the wrong kind of guys – they were either emotional or physical unavailable. 
"Baby doll, maybe that man is very nearby, you already know who he is, you just don’t know he is the one yet." Isabel thought to herself, "yeah right, you are just trying to make me feel better. I doubt that you know what you are talking about." But she smiled, and said nothing. She knew that Giacobi meant well. 


After dinner, she dropped Giacobi off at his summer home, a house by Twin Peaks. Whiny road to his home, she wished that she could tell him how much she enjoyed his friendship and unconditional support; she wished she could stop the car and lean over and kiss him, but somehow the urge was suppressed. It would be a non-sense. He would go away, back to Harvard, she would continue her never ending traveling assignments and he would graduate, get a job in New York city and they’d never see each other again. Why ruin a friendship? She asked herself. 
It was a full moon night. She parked her car and let Giacobi out. 

She promised that she’d call soon, but she knew she would never see him again. On the way home, she found tears dripping, it was not unusual back then to cry so much. When Isabel fought her loneliness and struggled to build trust again, she at times forgot how precious her life had already been, and how accomplished she was compared to people her own age. There were no lights at the end of the tunnel. She chose to be miserable. She chose not to hope again. 
Could clock be turned backwards? Why was timing always off for them both? 
  




Part III


Chapter 3     The tall and handsome stranger at Logan Airport 
 

When summer ended and Giacobi went back to Harvard, Isabel started a new assignment in the middle of the country. Giacobi had sent her a few emails, but few were returned. By the next spring, Isabel had finally gotten over her last heartache, or at least, she had finally learnt to let it go and started to smell the roses again. 
It was March 1998. she had turned twenty-five and started to really cultivate friendship and build her professional career. She remembered Giacodi, the always smiling, often light hearted, always supportive Jersey boy in Harvard. 


Shortly after her first hello email of the year, she received an invitation to visit Giacodi in Boston. She needed a change of pace: she was facing yet another career decision, and an uneasiness she couldn’t put into words.

As the flight landed in Logan airport, she had not idea about what the weekend would turn out. After all, they both needed a break from the hectic routine and as she sought out her explanations, she realized that she was somewhat hoping for something more, something decadent, something forbidden. She wasn’t sure what it was yet but she could feel it. 
Far away a man with a dark sport jacket and jeans was heading towards her. She had no idea it was Giacobi. He looked erect, taller than she had remembered and extremely handsome. He took her luggage and kissed her on the cheeks.

"Welcome to Boston, baby doll."

She was giddy, excited and totally pumped. 
 

"Finally you made it out here." Giacobi commented. 

She remembered now that he had asked her to come out to visit him ever since he started school two years ago, somehow she found reasons one after another to postpone the trip. But she was finally there. A weekend packed with actions: Giacobi had brought the maps, reserved the hotels, and printed her email with the returning flight information. He’d been making plans for this trip for a while now. 



Chapter 4    

Foxwood Casino – checking me out in the mirror reflection 


Isabel: 


After two hours of driving, we reached Foxwood Casino of Connecticut. At the crap table, Giacobi was the only man in a sports jacket. He cracked me up when he used verbiage such as "methodology" and "hedging" while placing his bet. It was obvious that Harvard Business School had gotten into him, to the point that he started to throw B school lingoes as he gambled in the casino. That night, his strategy didn’t work well. But I had a good laugh. He was definitely a fun pal to hang out with.

Giacobi: 


Isabel looked divine. She was in this zipper up black suit dress, her hair was long and curly, with gold and red highlights. She claimed it was just a one-day deal and tomorrow she can wash it off. I’m not too keen on that. She had high heels on, it was one of those CFM pumps. I couldn’t take my eyes off her bosom. I knew I shouldn’t. We had been friends for a long time now. Her friendship meant a lot to me, more than my desires for her. But I had to check her out in the mirror reflections. I couldn’t help myself. I was only a normal guy with normal desires. 




Chapter 5    

Two Tree Inn – taking me to another universe 


Isabel: 


After three hours of casino actions, we came back to our hotel room. Giacobi was having problems with the card key to the room. I was trying to act like an expert in hotel lives. "All you have to do is to slide it in, gently." He winked at me. I realized what I just said and burst out an uncomfortable laugh. 
There were two twin size beds inside the room. I was pleasantly surprised. I was glad that he didn’t make any assumptions and pick a king-size bed for the both of us. Yet, part of me wondered about the other possibility, the other which was taboo.

The thought of me lying next to him kept on popping up, vivid and inviting. It was so unexpected, after all, we’ve never been more than just friends. 
I never slept with any clothes on. 

In the dark, I took off my red negligée. I heard Giacobi tossing and turning on the other side of the room. He too had other things in mind? 
"Giacobi, I can’t go to sleep." 
"Me either." 
"I’m naked in bed. This is too strange." 
 

"What do you want me to do?" 
 

"Nothing".

The room felt warm.

Giacobi got up and turned down the heat. My contact lenses were out.

I could only barely see the shadow of Giacobi.

Tall, erect and shirtless. 
The room dropped into silence. Five minutes passed. More shuffling under the sheets. 


I took a sip of the Kendall Jackson Merlot. It was not helping. 


"My heart is beating really fast". 


"Mine too." 


More silence. More tossing and turning. The dawn has brought the first beam of lights to the room. It was 6 am and we had not fallen into sleep. 


"We should go to bed now. We have to get up and drive." 
 

"Yes you are right." 


Ten more minutes passed by. The small conversation carried on. We both knew something was up and there was no way it would just end there, whatever it was. 


"Would you like me to tuck you in?" 


"That would be nice." 


It was the last signal he needed. Giacobi took a big sip of Merlot and slipped under the cover of my bed. After what seemed like an eternity of subtle seduction, we realized all of the pretenses were false. 


There was not much foreplay at that point. Giacobi wanted our friendship to last more than his sexual desires, yet it would be unfair for me to tease him or to resist his physical attractiveness.

Our lips touched. I could taste the wine lingering on the tip of his tongue. He slipped down and embraced his kisses around my hard erect nipples, sending a sensation I’d never felt before. 

He then completed his exploration, tracing down my trembling body. Before I knew it, he had entered me, and the rest of it was simply a blur. 
 

Giacobi: 


When Isabel started to send signals, I felt like a dork. I could have picked up the signals but I was so afraid if it didn’t work out, I’d lose her as a friend. We’ve been friends for so long now, to give it all up for my sexual desires of her would seem stupid at this point. 

But I loved her body. She was exactly what I always liked in a woman. Firm breasts, tight ass, strong legs.

I wanted to take her home the night when we went to the Palace three years ago. I could never forget how good she looked in those erotic pictures she sent me through the internet. She was a seducer, but she didn’t want to be perceived that way.

The Asian side of her seemed to stop her when her wild self tried to take over. But as the night went on and our conversation became more explicit, I realized that she wanted me as much as I wanted her. 


After I gobbled down one more glass of Merlot, I finally was able to gather my courage and slip under the sheets with Isabel. My God, she was soaking wet. Her body arched the way a lazy cat did, she moaned when I touched her and all of sudden the whole room was nothing but a sizzling sexual fantasy coming true. 


I’m thirty-two. I’ve been with women before, quite a few actually. But there was never been anyone like Isabel. Maybe we’ve been friends too long, I could never imagine her being so sexual, so sensuous and so erotic. Her rhythm was so perfect, she guided me in without any hesitation, and her puddle of water was invitingly delicious. 

I couldn’t help but wondering why all this time I’ve never tried to make love to her. There was nothing that she wouldn’t do. But it was the sight of her riding on me sent me to the land of ecstasies. I admitted it - I've always been a breast man. Her bouncing melons were a sight I’d never forget for as long as I would live. 
 

Isabel: 


Maybe it happened so fast so thunderstorm like, both Giacobi and I felt a bit awkward afterwards. He moved back to his side of the room, still naked, his body half covered by the sheets.

We didn’t exchange a lot of words. I was pretty much out of it. I could hardly finish a complete sentence before drifting into sleep. Three hours later. I woke up by the sound of a maid knocking on the door. 


Giacobi was still half asleep. I was more alert than usual. The left over sensation from last night drove me into a new state of awareness. Awareness of the roomful scent, awareness of Giacobi. I found my hands slowly stroking my poised body with more anticipation.

"Hello Giacobi. Good morning."

"Baby doll, how are you?" 


"Good I guess. A little tired." 


A long pause. 


"Was it my dream or did something happen between us last night?"

Giacobi approached it cautiously. 


"Oh yes, I think. We did it."

I tried to act casual and non-committal. 
 

"Oh it was real!"

Giacobi couldn’t hide his excitement in his voice. 


"It was the best thing ever happened to me. You are so beautiful, more than I can ever imagine." 


"Don’t try to flatter me. I’m only O.K." 

I couldn’t help but feeling sexier than usual. Giacobi was always good at complimenting me. His charm was very Italian and arguably East Coast. 


"Baby doll, why don’t you come over and snuggle up with me?" He asked.

"No." I was playing hard to get. 
 

A few more convincing sentences, I was getting restless. So I went into the bathroom and started brushing my teeth. When I returned Giacobi had slipped into my bed. We realized how much we’d missed each other, though it was only three hours of separation.

Giacobi was absolutely amazing in bed. Being on the road and out of relationship for years, I forgot how good sex could be, when it was with the right partner. 


As a hotel veteran, I had not forgotten to call the front desk and asked for a late check out before we indulged ourselves again. 


Giacobi: 


I couldn't believe it took place. In fact, when I first woke up, I thought all of it was just a fantasy. I had to confirm with Isabel just to be sure. I was so afraid that she would get all weird. But her giggling voice told me otherwise. 
Her body was so exquisite. I had imagined making love to her so many times before, but I was actually holding her breasts and feeling her firm ass bouncing this time for real.

I simply thought it was a hallucination of mine. I wanted her the time we went to the Palace, and it took good three years before it actually happened. I guess it’s like a good bottle of wine, the longer you waited, the better it tasted. I really hoped that she would not think that I was a sex maniac, I never even felt this sex-crazed before. 

I really was worried that she would get weird and not talk to me again last night afterwards. 
I had no more complaints in life. This was all too wonderful and unbelievable. I couldn’t believe the way her body curved, when I first entered her; I couldn’t believe how flexible she was, when she wrapped her legs around my neck or when I told her to spread them wide; and I couldn’t believe how sexy she looked, when her knees bent, back arched, head lowered and waited for me to enter from behind. My God, this was just way too awesome. What a treat. I really needed this. 




Chapter 6    

Providence – where Giacobi went to college 
 

Isabel: 


Believe or not, we actually got out of bed, took showers, got dressed and drove into Providence, Rhode Island, where Giacobi went to college. It was really cool for me. In California, I could be driving for a whole day and I’d still be in California. But not in the East Coast.

We had crossed three states in one hour and before I knew it, we had driven into Rhode Island. We stopped by a local brewery for some lunch, or as Giacobi called it, for some chow. He still kept his California license plate for his car.

We were the obvious tourists to the locals even though he couldn’t conceal his New Jersey accent. 
We ordered appetizers and entrees. When in Rome, do the Romans do. I went nuts on the seafood. It was delicious as I remembered from my last trip to Boston years ago for work. 


Afterwards we drove around town and saw the outside of Brown University. I remembered that I had a girlfriend who lived in Rhode Island, we met on a project together. I fumbled in my purse trying to find my palm pilot, but her number was not on it. I also remembered another good friend who had moved from Rhode Island to San Francisco, and it all made me feel more connected to this small state. 
 

Giacobi’s school was not too far out. It was a catholic school with two hundred aces of land attached to it. The guard had let us in without any problems. We drove around the campus. Giacobi showed me his dorm rooms and then the off campus apartment which he stayed for his senior year.

It was a white two-story house with a front porch painted in white. A pair of sneakers lazily lying on the floor. It reminded me of the deep south. I could envision the beer bottles stacked up in the boys’ bedrooms, noises from the weekend parties woke up the neighbors.

I could also picture the young Giacobi, tall and handsome, carrying his accounting books around the campus, hurrying from one classroom to the next. 
On the way out of Providence, we drove around a few residential areas. The flowers had started blooming, I could only wish that I knew what those plants were: pink and white bulbs, blossoming into a street of spring fairy tale. 

Giacobi took out his CD player from his trunk while I behaved like a tourist and shot a few photos of the town. The warm April sun beamed down on us, inside the car it was getting warm. Giacobi took off his leather jacket and was only wearing his white T-shirt and jeans. 
I had always been a very visual person and I, like most women, loved a man who knew how to dress.

West Coast's casualness never thrilled me. Giacobi was a prime example of men who not only knew how to dress, but looked good in everything he wore. 


Giacobi: 


Isabel was really indifferent about our detour to Providence. Although she showed her enthusiasm, I knew she was a little bored. What kept our trip interesting was the fact we kept on talking about last night and this morning. We still couldn’t quite believe it. We also realized how great it felt with one another, it was as if we had known each other’s body all our lives.

 We also laughed at ourselves, for being so silly and cautious before we jumped on each other’s bones. I still couldn’t get over how sexy and erotic Isabel was in bed. It was way beyond my wildest expectations. Her presence alone already got me excited. The thought of her in various positions brought me instant hard-on’s. I could only hope that in my days ahead, there would be women to match up with Isabel. 


 My school had changed quite a bit. I’ve not been back there for a long time now. It felt good to be back to the old stumping ground. 
Through out the drive in Providence, Isabel kept on whispering to my ears, "Giacobi, you are so much better looking than I remembered you." 
"Giacobi, you are getting better looking every minute." 
"Giacobi, I love your New Jersey accent. It’s so cute."

 She corrected them on occasion or simply mimicked me. 
"Giacobi, I just want to take your clothes off and do you now." She was a wild girl. She loved sex and wasn’t afraid of asking for it. She flattered me and I could tell that she really dig me, and she really dig sex. I can’t wait to leave Providence and get on the road to Cape Cod. 




Chapter 7

Cape Cod – "Are we there yet?""Baby doll, we’ve been driving on it for an hour now" 


Isabel: 


We seemed to be driving on the same road forever. There were quite a few confusing roundabouts, they called them circles or rotaries there. I never liked how the road was designed in the East Coast. Being a Californian driver, I liked freeways and wide streets. I had this strange habit of checking out license plates wherever I went.

Driving in New England was an exciting experience for me. In California, I'd never seen this many different license plates from so many different states. Every time I saw a New Jersey license plate my heart would go into temporary freeze, and the ghostly figure of that long hair New Jersey man would emerge. I tried to think about something else. 


Maybe I was the extreme case of being too sentimental. My gay friend K was my other "collection" from New Jersey. We shared airplane rides together every Monday from San Francisco and we’d go grab Starbucks coffee before heading to work. I had always told him about my weekend activities. I knew he would get on my case if I mentioned about this weekend because I wouldn't be able to resist telling him that Giacobi was from New Jersey. 


 "Hey why don’t you just move out there?"

 K would say. 


 "Yeah right. So I could wear my big hair?"

That was my typical response. 
But then I started to day dream about the activities Giacobi and I shared earlier that morning. The thought of us making out glued a permanent smile on my face. Giacobi stole a few glances and he knew instantly what I was thinking about. 


"Isabel, you are a bad girl last night."


"It’s all your fault." 


I rest my head on his shoulder. I felt comfortable and affectionate. It was not something I experienced often. In fact, it had been a good two years since I last felt this affectionate towards someone. I had always been a touchy and feeling kind of gal. But I was afraid of it. It was like this enormous passion, which buried underneath of my heart, it was the deepest and darkest secret, once I crossed that path, there would be no return. 


Giacobi was the first one who had the ability to ignite and replenish me. I felt relieved and somewhat superstitious about this whole turning event. Could it be true, like Giacobi said last night jokingly, "Once again, Jersey guy scored". 
  


Giacobi: 


 I couldn’t think much else at that point. I was happy. I was walking on top of cloud nine. Isabel was even more than I expected. I thought our sex would be good, but not this good. This was absolutely amazing. Her taste lingered over my mouth as I drove on the narrow one lane road. When she put her hand on my thigh, I felt like a king walking in his own kingdom. She was so passionate and loving. I could tell. There was so much in her that I didn’t know before. 


She told me that she had never been to Cape Cod. I was glad my month ahead planning was paying off. She was like a curious and excited child. For every yellow license plate, she yelled, "Hey another New Jersey license plate."

There were actually quite a few of them. She wanted to take a Jersey toll token from my car as a souvenir. That was quite bizarre. Now, about her erect nipples… God damn it, my mind kept on wondering back to her naked body. She had cleverly taken off her bra in the car without taking off her green sports jacket. Here nipples were like perpetual erection from where I could see.

Yummy, as tired as I was, I wanted to strip her down and do her all over again. 


"Are we there yet?" Isabel whined with her singing voice. 


"Baby doll, we’ve been driving on Cape Cod for an hour now." 


I explained to Isabel about the lay out of Cape Cod. She was positively charged with the anticipation of seeing the ocean soon. 




Chapter 8    

Provincetown - Eat your lobster, drink your Bloody Marry, and save the bib ;-) 


Isabel: 


We finally arrived Provincetown. It’s a small quaint town with a large gay and lesbian population, at least that was what my friend S from Rhode Island said to me once. I didn’t think Giacobi knew about it. But it didn’t matter to me, nor to him.

We found our love pad of the night by the water, a small hotel room on the dam of Cape Cod. It was on the end of Commercial Street. We requested a room that was somewhat isolated for the obvious reasons. 
Though we had talked about not having sex until we took a nap, it was thrown out of the window as soon as we got into the room. I couldn’t believe how much I wanted him. It was like we both were coming off a dry spell and we knew we didn’t have much time before we must depart from each other again. 
 

We dozed off after the session. Me in Giacobi’s arms. 
When I woke up it was half past eight. We got dressed and headed out to the town. 
It was not much of a town yet. Since it was still in the middle of slow season, there were few restaurants opened. A red neon sign said "Lobster Pot." We thought it was going to be a dive. But the restaurant was quite big and rather elegant for such a sleepy town. It was crowded with early arrived tourists like us. 


Giacobi ordered me a Bloody Marry. It was the biggest, coolest BM I’d ever seen: celery stick, yellow chili pepper, salt, stir - the whole nine yards. We waited for our tables. When I sat down, I ordered the obvious thing on the menu – 1 and ¼ pound lobsters with the famous New England clam chowder. 
The truth was, I couldn’t really care what I had to eat.

One drink and I was out. I was smiling, but I didn’t know why. I told Giacobi that I was drunk. He didn’t believe me until he saw that my neck was turning red. Nearby a gay couple shared their mouse cake desert.

I could see out to the window, the Atlantic Ocean shined: reflecting the full moon, it was dark and mysterious. It was as if we were stranded in a deserted island, only a few of us survived. 

We crashed into this town, and determined to celebrate our survival with the end of world like frenzies. 
When our waiter served lobster to us, he skillfully wrapped bibs around our necks. 


"Hey, can we save the bib?" I was feeling rather daring. 
The waiter let out a brisk and knowing laugh. I knew I shouldn’t have said that but I couldn’t control myself.

 It was like the alcohol in the Bloody Marry had enslaved my better half and turned me into a sex maniac. 


Giacobi: 


At that point, I was tired. The food was delicious. Isabel was having such a good time that her happiness infected me. I was so glad we were there, sharing a piece of memory. She played tiptoe with me under the table. Isabel the wild thing. 

My mind stuck on the previous session we had. She was absolutely in an ecstasy. It was like a wave hit her and she couldn’t come back down to earth. She told me it was the longest orgasm she’d ever had. I loved the way I made her feel. It was obviously good for my ego. Isabel brought the animal side of me out, and I found myself wanting her again, it was a drug. Sex with Isabel was a drug, an addiction, and a rare discovery. 




Chapter 9    

Walk on the beach – glad you are with me 


Isabel: 


We took a walk along the wharf. I was born a Scorpio who could not live without water. My attachment towards water probably had to do with the fact I grew up near a tropical beach in the Far East. I remembered those classical Chinese poems with references to the beach I recited as a little girl. We set the self-timers on our cameras and took a bunch of pictures of us together.

It was such a gorgeous night. The full moon tenderly brushed against the ocean, the gleaming and burnished glassy surface. I could really fall in love. I could really fall in love again under the moon. 


Giacobi: 


I’ve always been an intense guy. I loved romancing a woman. Isabel was a very intense girl. She had fires burning in her eyes. There was a very quick moment, I could swear that she had seen those same intense emotions behind my eyes.

There was a little pause, before she stepped out of the car, before she acted all casual, wild and jittery again, I caught a glimpse of her deep, calm, sensational eyes, staring right into mine. I wonder what had happened to her over the past three years. 
She rarely talked about the details. I knew she had a physically abusive relationship, I knew that one Jersey guy who was hot and cold towards her but in the end he wanted nothing more than a wild sex ride with her, I knew there were others in between. But I didn’t know much else. 

We exchanged emails often and I’d asked her why there wasn’t some lucky guy who had swept her feet off the ground. I even asked her why she and I never became an item. She never answered those questions. She somehow always managed to talk about her work, her new hobbies, her friends and her next assignment. She always supported me and encouraged my school life. Her friendship was very important to me. I had always been amazed to see what a special bond we had built together. 
 

Even when she and I became physically intimate, I could feel there was a certain amount of unknown about her. Her wildness in bed seemed to be an expression of her ultimate release of passion. But what was under her brilliant smiles? What was under her cheerful voice? What would it take to find out about the real Isabel? Would I like what I would see? 
Isabel, my wild crazy girl Isabel… 


When we got back to hotel, Isabel made love to me again. She drained me and sucked my last breath out. She brought me into a stage of wooziness that I never thought it existed. She felt asleep in my arms, her breath even and calm, I watched her and listened to the waves. I never felt this comfortable with a woman. 


In the middle of night, I woke up by Isabel’s scream. She was obviously having a nightmare. Her arms had gone cold and she was fighting with something or someone invisible. I pulled the sheets up, kissed her forehead, and murmured something intangible to her. She snuggled her face into my chest, unconscious about what just took place and fell back to her even breathing deep sleep. 
Isabel, my sexual energetic yet fragile girl Isabel… 




Chapter 10    

Cape Cod’s morning – wake him up with my mouth 
 

Isabel:


I was woken up by the first set of sunlight escaped from the floral southern style curtains. I had not slept this well for a long time now. I knew this might sound pathetic or even unreal, but I’ve never ever fallen asleep in a man’s arms before. In fact, I thought it was only in the movie did the screen lovers do that. My parents always had separate beds. The men I dated before had turned their backs on me before they go to sleep. Some of them would only have sex and then leave my place right after it. I've not waken up with a guy like this from as long as I could remember.

Giacobi broke the rules. 
Giacobi was still half asleep. I wanted to make love to him again. I swirled down and had him in my mouth in no time. I always wanted to do this to a guy, to wake him up with my mouth and see him growing hard. I’ve never tried that either.

 Giacobi was positively pleased. 


 "Baby doll, what are you doing?"

 His eyes closed, a big smile on his face. 


 "Hmmm… what do you think that I’m doing?"

I managed to speak while worked on him. 
It was a miracle. I loved the sight of him growing inside of my mouth. I loved the fact that he was aroused again, after such a long night session. I sucked on his balls. He sighed, heavy manly groaning sound. I took him all the way down deep inside of my throat. His eyes finally opened, his breath hard and heavy. 


"Baby doll, come and sit on me."

He lifted me up with ease, his arms bare and strong. I rode him, bouncing my body on top of him. I lowered my body, caressing him with my bosoms. I loved the way he nibbled my breasts - gentle, caressing and teasing. My Giacobi, my Italian love boy Giacobi. 


After yet another exhausting work out, we finally got ourselves together and stepped out of the back porch. It was a very sunny day. There was this long narrow stone path that took us to the deeper ocean front line, the water so clear, the wind so sweet. I glowed like a woman in heat, like a satisfied cat, stretching on the porch. 

I said hi to the lesbian couple walking by me. They were seriously necking as if they owned the whole world and no one else existed. I called out Giacobi’s name. 
 

"Come and sit with me, Giacobi. You ought to look at this view." 


Freshly showered Giacobi looked like a Michael Angelo’s sculpture coming alive. His tall broad frame was a sight I’d never forget. His unshaved face added a little bit ruggedness to his otherwise preppy Harvard Business School image. 
I had set my camera to self-timer again. 


Giacobi wanted me to sit on his lap while the pictures were taken. 


"You can send that one to your parents."

He was teasing me. I remembered how rigid my parents have been over the past ten years. 

"You need to find a Chinese man. American guys are not reliable. They will hurt you and they do not understand you." 
Lately they had been seeing me as somewhat a delinquent child. Being twenty-five and still single, I was considered irresponsible for not taking care of the supposedly most important thing in my life – finding a good husband. Dad was a bit more merciful than the rest of my relatives. He wanted me to go to Harvard instead of chasing dollar signs. He could care less if I had a good job, so long I had done my MBA at Harvard. As a result, he would be delighted if I had told him about Giacobi – even if he wasn’t Chinese. 


To my dad, the most important element for a successful relationship had to do with which college my boyfriend went and what type of degree he earned. At times it almost seemed unimportant whether this boyfriend would treat me well. Giacobi would be the perfect boyfriend type for my parents, despite of the fact he was not Chinese. Of course in my Dad’s mind I would meet some guy, fall in love, not have sex until we get married. I would be a virgin until the white gown was worn.

My exploration of sexual pleasures without the commitment of life long love was definitely a deviation from the traditional conservative upbringings. 
Thank God I was in America alone. 


Giacobi: 


What could I say? Sex with Isabel was like a never-ending journey. She had no rules, no reservations, and no inhibitions. She always managed to surprise me and arouse me. Before I knew it she had taken me to yet another level of exultation. I was walking on seventh heaven. She brought the best out of me.

The concern I had became increasingly irritating: how the heck was I going to live through my last three weeks of school without her? It sure would be difficult. I wanted to see her again. I wanted to have a girlfriend like her, someone who would fuck the brains out of me every single day. 
Isabel was spoiling me. That tiny tight body of hers was all I could think about for the days to come. 




Chapter 11    

Temple of Love – Easter Sunday Brunch 


Isabel: 


I had this habit of buying sweatshirts everywhere I went. I told Giacobi that I wanted a Cape Cod sweatshirt. We came back to Commercial Street. We both were pretty full with last night’s lobster feast. But it was Easter Sunday and we should find a place to have brunch.

After a couple stops to the sweatshirt store and salt water taffy shop, we walked by a deli looking restaurant. 
It must have been the New England restaurant style. The outside of it was not so stirring, the walkway to the inside of the restaurant was often narrow, but once you walked half way into the restaurant, the place would suddenly open up and all you could say was "wow."` 
 

Temple of Love was no exception to the rule. It looked like a small deli/espresso shop from the outside, but the restaurant extended to the oceanfront. Everyone was still in the Easter Sunday Mass. We were the only customers there. 
It was a Mediterranean restaurant. The menus served tapas, pizza, seafood and pasta. The tables were painted with bright tropical colors and flowers, the lamps were made of stain glass, but each piece of glass was molded into the shape of a rock. I wondered if they were made by the local craftsmen or shipped directly from Italy. Outside of the deck we saw ocean and sandy beach, a lesbian couple were kissing and sunbathing away. 
 

If the night before gave us the illusion that we had crash landed on a deserted pirate town, then that morning we felt like we were vacationing in the Mediterranean Sea, sipping our first cups of latte, and enjoying life as it was handed to us. 
The trip was ending soon. We knew that. But none of us wanted to acknowledge that. I certainly didn’t. 


Giacobi spoke fluent Italian. He murmured something imperceptible – all I could catch was "Bella". 


Giacobi: 


Isabel came into town, took up a storm, and she was leaving soon. Our trip had turned out to be more than I could ever ask for. I was glad that she and I really did click. I’ve always wondered about us.

This sexual tension was like an over extended rubber band, one day it was bound to break loose, fly across the sky and shoot the stars. Isabel’s favorite phase was "live a little". She seemed to be so at ease. She wasn’t worried about going anywhere, she wasn’t pressed for anything, she had a lot of drive in her, and she’s successful in her own ways. We would have a good weekend get away one-way or another. But it was the wondrous sex that drew me closer to her, in ways I’d never imagined. Sex did change a lot of things. The potential was unlimited. 




Chapter 12    

Harvard Business School – Giacobi’s small dorm room 


Isabel: 


I drove us back to Boston. Giacobi took a little nap. He had his small shining sunglasses on. He felt asleep like a baby. I really adored him. I knew my impression of him had changed since we became sexually involved two days ago.

Maybe it was more or less a generation X syndrome: we lived a little, played a little, got carried away a little, and we indulged ourselves a little. 
I didn’t feel the urge of rushing into anything with him. Life would take me to wherever I need to go, so I didn’t think too deep into it. None of us could really predict the future. No one wanted a promise that could not be kept. 
While driving along and counting license plates with New Jersey signs on it, I replayed our weekend together. It was flawless. O.K., maybe Giacobi and I should have eliminated the whole two hours worth of agony and went right down to business the first night we met, but I realized the break of ice was not necessary but essential to our future relationship. I knew that we’d see each other again and that alone would be enough for me.

I’ve done worse. I’ve hung on a thread of hope and expected miracles. I’ve lived on the one out of one thousandth of chance someone would take a genuine interest in me. I’ve lived through two years worth of perturbation, in hoping that that person would have wanted me for my friendship in addition to the sex. I had once lost faith. 
Giacobi and I would always be friends no matter what would happen. It was probably the best scenario I could come up with. 


Swiping his card through, Giacobi directed me into the designated Harvard Business School’s parking lot. 
Through the underground tunnel, we arrived to his dorm. His room was small, like a dollhouse but it contained the essentials: a study table, a small refrigerator, an Ethernet connection, a fax machine, a phone, a small single bed and a laptop. It was like a monk’s life style. I’ve lived extravagantly in comparison. I must say it was inspirational to see that side of him. The solemnity of it all brought me back down to reality. 
 

Giacobi had three weeks to go before he would graduate and then he would be traveling for a while. He would then take a job, most likely in New York, and then we would probably see each other once in a while, but nothing would probably develop more than that. It was a typical Generation X story.

I often wondered about that. Could it be just me, or could it be just fate? I never tempered fate, I wouldn't dare to expect anything more from Giacobi or anyone else. 


Giacobi: 


Isabel was not impressed with my small dorm. Who would be? It was a matchbox but it was enough for me to study. Now she knew where I lived for the last two years. I took her around the campus, showed her some classrooms and our work out facility. She was a little bit uncomfortable. Part of her wanted to pursue an academic life, part of her wanted to stay where she was at and cash in on her skillset. 

She wouldn't be making more money by going to Harvard. Her field was as hot as it could be. Money wouldn’t be an issue. But I could feel a bit of her competitiveness. She was one of the kind. She wanted everything: love, family, career, sex and success. She was super-competitive in nature. I could see that she was playing it off like nothing, but I knew she wanted this, this academic lifestyle. 

From what I gathered, her last guy from Jersey had been a scholar at Stanford University when they met and I thought he had made some impact on her as well. She couldn’t escape coincidences. Her life was like a daytime soap opera, she had not planned to turn out this way. At some point, she needed to make a choice. But at this point, it seemed that she had made up her mind, her career was up and rising, she would not give it up now.

Isabel, this young and vibrant thing, why did she choose to come into my life so late? 
In the hallway, I showed her our intranet job search site. Her firm was hiring from us. She also showed me her home page, I realized that she was uncomfortable about it. 
 

"Look, I need to clean it up. I posted a lot of pictures before online, I am no longer comfortable about it." 


"Why? It’s sort of cute." 


"I was going through a stage. I really don’t need any one staring at my pictures. It’s not my intention. I was doing it for fun and now I feel like being watched by all of the strangers." 
 

Isabel had grown up. She enjoyed the attention before, but she now wanted to be anonymous, she wanted to be just another face in the city. She was afraid of what I would think of her when she showed her site to me. I told her not to worry. But I could tell that she was worried. She’s an interesting character. Part of her wanted to be noticed; part of her wanted to be conservative; part of her wanted freedom; part of her wanted a family. She often tried to strike a balance, but sometimes she was torn.

Under the happy, upbeat and tough professional appearance, under the erotic and enormous sexual appetite mask, where was the real Isabel hiding, I wanted to know. 




Part IV


Chapter 12     The moon shining above the clouds 
 

A colleague of Isabel’s, Northbrand said that to her once: 

"On my way home to LA one night, 35,000 feet high, I saw the moon reflecting off the cloud tops, as lightning arcs through the clouds from underneath. People are sometimes like that, all clouds and storm and lightning at a certain level, and then you get to know them so well, you reach the altitude above their clouds, above their storms, and see the moon of what they really are floating calmly above it all." 


Isabel saw the moon tonight, as she flew back to where she worked the next day. She didn’t know where Giacobi would be going after graduation, she didn’t know where he’d live, whether he would return to the bay area, or move to New York, would she see him again or when she would see him again. But she did know that they had discovered a brand new world together. 


Delta airline departure gate, Giacobi whispered to her ears,

"It wouldn’t be the same. Sex did change everything." 


She was glad to hear what he had to say. It made her realize something she wasn’t sure about for a long time. She didn’t think someone who would enjoy her friendship, as well as her body. She thought the two were mutually exclusive, she didn’t think sex would be equivocally stimulating as the conversation, she never thought sex could make her feel this good. 


The feeling was so transparent, so fragile, so unexplainable, and only the two of them shared that knowledge. And even if they didn’t see each other again or even if it did fade away, the memories still remained, the sunny afternoon of Cape Code remained, and the pictures of she and Giacobi cuddled up together remained. 




Part V
 The End

Isabel's way of ending: 


Isabel had no guts to tell Giacobi that she would be no good for him, she would be no good for anyone, especially to those who she loved. She would probably be alone all her life. She never had any good luck with relationships. Like her mother, she’s fatalistic and prematurely pessimistic about men. 


She thought Giacobi wouldn’t be an exception either.

Eventually he would move to New York, meet a nice girl, get married, and have kids. He would bring the kids to his parents in New Jersey every weekend. He would forget about her all together like the other New Jersey man did. 


But there would be a moment, when he took his family to Cape Cod one summer, he paused a little on the road side of Ben and Jerry’s, before he went in to get his kids ice cream cones. He recalled that sunny afternoon Easter Sunday. Isabel’s happy voice filled in the car,

"Hey Ben and Jerry’s. Let’s go say hi to my typical weekend dates. I’ll buy you an ice cream cone." 
They parked the car next to the real size 3D Ben and Jerry Posters.

Isabel was in her leopard looking blouse and blue jeans, her highlighted hair blown by the wind from the sea. She was so happy and content; she had her arms around Giacobi, her lips soft, her eyes dreamy, her body a song. 
"Oh yes," Giacobi would think, "She definitely loved me." 


Isabel, as she lived her life precariously alone in California, she’d remember Giacobi, the sweet New Jersey boy, educated in Harvard Business School. In 1998, one month before his graduation, they took a trip together into Cape Cod and everything changed from then on. Isabel could feel Giacobi’s vibes, even though it would be three thousands miles away, and she echoed Giacobi’s thoughts, "I did love you Giacobi, I still do." 


Giacobi, though married and happy, stirred by a hidden desire that he couldn’t face before, and that notion made him a little bit restless. He was anxious to get out of there. It was as if he had heard Isabel’s answer floating in the air, and an inevitable question escaped out of his mind, "What if I had been with Isabel instead?" 
I could not tell you, I wish I knew the whole story, and if that was the only story, I’d tell you everything I know. 


Giacobi’s way of ending

I told Isabel that I wanted a happy ending. She wouldn't listen. She said that it was never her style. Her stories had always been somewhat tragic. 
I must admit I couldn’t predict the future myself. But whatever it would be, the future would be bright for Isabel and me. I couldn’t tell you if we would end up together, but if there was anything I knew, that would be that we not only shared a solid friendship, we also experienced something more, something grandly intimate and precious. She brought the best out of me. And for that, I thank God for having met Isabel.

Epilogue

December 2011 

They met up in 2001 for the last time, in New York, after Isabel had been engaged and was working in her New York office. He told her this: “The next time I see a girl like you, I’ll put a ring on her finger right away”.

Isabel is now 39 years old. She remained in San Francisco, working for a large investment management firm. She married a man who is 7 days younger than Giacobi.  He too had graduated from Harvard.

Giacobi is now 46. He decided to stay in the East Coast. He took a job at the largest investment banking firm and had been working on the Wall Street ever since. He married a girl a year after Isabel had gotten married.

Their children are of the same age, born 1 month apart.

They remained close friends and write and talk to each other frequently. Isabel had turned over her assets to Giacobi to manage.

Isabel had recently commented on how close her husband and Giacobi’s birthdays were.

Giacobi responded by saying:

“Maybe it means you were supposed to marry me instead and something in the stars got misaligned?”