Page 31 of Sex, Love & Lingerie

“Take off your shoes,” I ordered as we were about to step onto the sand.

She reluctantly kicked them off. “We’re going for a walk on the beach?”

“A very short one.” I bent down to pick up her gazillion dollar stilettos and then I removed her mask.

Gloria gazed at the white-crested ocean before looking up at the starry sky. A loud gasp escaped her throat.

Hovering above us was the Goodyear blimp, with its panel of multi-color LED lights. I’d had the blimp operators customize my message to Gloria: Happy anniversary, my angel. To toi et moi forever. The last word was followed by two entwined hearts that resembled our recent tattoos. The lit up words scrolled across the side of the blimp.

Gloria was still speechless. Finally, she managed to find her voice.

“Oh my God, Jaime! This blimp is going to fly all around LA?”

I nuzzled the back of her neck. “No, baby. We’re going to fly all around LA.”

She spun around and glared at me. “What?”

“Yup.” I grinned wickedly. Very few people in the world were allowed to take a ride on the famous blimp. Usually just corporate guests and members of the press. My ad agency had recently done a very successful Goodyear tire campaign that had aired during the Super Bowl to worldwide accolades, and this was my reward.

Gloria still harbored a fear of flying, but that was going to make our journey all the more fun. Holding her in my arms, I watched as the huge aircraft slowly descended onto the wide sandy beach. Like a giant whale floating in the sky. I’d read it was close to two hundred feet long (twice the length of a blue whale), fifty feet wide, sixty feet tall and weighed close to thirteen thousand pounds.

The steady drone of the engine kept getting louder as the gentle monster got closer. Finally, it touched down. Close up, it looked astonishingly bigger. Several ground crew members, who’d been sent to meet it, sprung into action, one group grabbing the mooring lines on the blimp’s nose, and the other holding down the gondola by handrails. As they held the monstrosity steady, a boarding ladder was hung on the side of the passenger gondola, just below the cabin door. The fun was about to begin.

I grasped Gloria’s hand. “Come on, angel, it’s time to board.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Get over it, angel,” I said with a laugh as I lifted her into my arms and carried her to the humongous aircraft. I told her the tour operator had promised a smooth, quiet, slow ride that offered an unmatched view of the Los Angeles landscape. A memorable experience that couldn’t be surpassed.

I’d chortled silently when he’d told me that. I was going to give Gloria a ride okay. An unforgettable experience. Except it wasn’t going to be the smooth or quiet one the tour operator promised. There was going to be some bumps. And some shrieks. But for sure, an unmatched, spectacular view.

Five minutes later, we were seated side by side in the last row of the dimly lit, six-person cabin. The pilot was seated in the first row before a hi-tech display of flight controls. Because of the deafening drone of the engine, Gloria and I had been given headsets so we could communicate.

Gloria looked frightened. “There aren’t any seatbelts.”

I smirked at her. “Don’t worry. You can hold on to me shortly.”

“Where exactly are we going again?” she asked nervously as the ground crew launched the helium-propelled aircraft. With a bounce, it glided into the air.

“Oh my God,” screamed Gloria as it lifted off and continued its ascent. Gloria was fucking turning me on. My cock was ascending too.

Her hands clenched. “What if it crashes into a building and explodes?”

“Don’t worry, baby. It won’t. Relax, you’re going to love it.” Oh was she. Ten minutes later, we were at our maximum altitude of fifteen hundred feet and cruising at about thirty miles an hour. Gloria calmed down.

“Wow! The view is spectacular,” she said in awe.

Indeed it was. Below us was the lit up Santa Monica Pier, and in the distance, we could see the moonlit Malibu mountains.

“Where exactly are we going again?”

It was time to tell her the truth. “The blimp is taking us on a cruise around LA. But I’m taking you on a trip to heaven, my angel.”

She turned to face me. “Mon amour, I’ve been there already.”

Gloria was still convinced she’d been to heaven. And the truth, I was beginning to believe her because the things she told me about my father could only be known by meeting him. For example, that his pinky was as long as his fourth finger.

“Come here, you.” I signaled with a wag of my forefinger.

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