“What’re you doing?” I asked, almost laughing a little. Justin was sitting cross-legged on the bed with a pomegranate in his hand, studying it like he would learn something if he stared long enough.
Justin’s head snapped up and his cheeks went a little pink. “I’m trying to figure out how this thing works.”
“Works?” I asked, unable to keep from grinning. I crawled on all fours to sit beside him on the bed. “You’ve never had a pomegranate before?”
He shook his head no.
“Are you serious, Justin?” I almost-shouted, incredulous. “You have to try it – it’s the most awesome fruit ever!”
“Get it open and I will,” He decided, his eyebrows still raised a little. He was skeptical.
“Fine, but they’re really messy,” I told him, setting it down on the bed between us and beginning to roll up the sleeves of my shirt. “Get a towel from the bathroom.”
Justin obeyed, still looking apprehensive, and was back in a few seconds with a medium-sized white towel which I spread out in front of me. Justin made himself comfortable on the bed beside me and watched apprehensively as I went to work.
The pomegranates were large and ripe and I could tell they would be sweet. I dug my fingernails into the top to start it and the sides peeled easily away. Justin’s eyes widened a little as I pulled it in half to reveal the glittering fruit.
“Cool, huh?”
Justin nodded a little and I watched as his eyes took in the color and the dozens of tiny drop-sized pieces of fruit. “How do you eat it?”
I peeled some of the fleshy part away from the sides until a hunk fruit was protruding and broke it off into my hand. The droplets broke into individual pieces with the slightest squeeze, spreading prettily in my palm. A few of them broke, their purple juice seeping into my skin.
“Open up,” I instructed, bringing my cupped palm a little closer to Justin’s mouth. He obeyed me, letting his lips fall open. I crawled up on my knees and scooted closer. I placed the edge of my palm against his lips. “Bite down to get all the juice out and then swallow. Don’t worry about the tiny pits.”
I tilted my hand and the small handful of sparkling pomegranate tipped easily into his mouth. I couldn’t say the contrast of the purple against the white flash of his teeth wasn’t nice. A little of the juice from my hand trickled onto his chin as he clenched his jaw shut. His eyes widened in surprise at what I knew was the tangy-sweetness.
“Nice?”
He lifted his eyebrows up and then let them fall in response. A yes.
“Got all the juice out?” I prompted a second later, to which he nodded. “Now swallow.”
He did, and I watched as it slid down his throat with more interest than was decent. Justin ran his tongue over his lips when he was done and I could see his teeth had a purple tint.
“Damn, that’s really good, baby,” he swore, reaching for the fruit and I was glad. I could watch him eat it all day.
For a person who never tried a pomegranate before, Justin caught on quick and hardly burst any of the tiny pomegranate seeds as he peeled them, gathering them together in his huge palm and then splitting them evenly with me.
I was right: it was the perfect amount of sour and sweet, and I held the fruit in my mouth for awhile after I knew I would get no more juice from it. I felt it spread through my mouth and teeth with a strange pleasure, almost felt it staining my mouth a dirty purple.
Justin emptied the very last of the pomegranate into his palm and held his hand out in offering to me but evaded my purple-stained fingers when I reached up to take them.
“Open up, Sel,” he said, too quietly, and my stomach twisted once again in anticipation.
I knew without a doubt what was coming, and now I just had to wait. If I could.
I tilted my head back and parted my lips obediently. Justin’s hand was quick to lift to my mouth, his palm pressing gently into the edge of my lip. The sweet-tangy smell of the pomegranate mixed with Justin’s scent in my nose and sent my head spinning. For a second, I wasn’t sure which I wanted more.
The fruit tasted sweeter than the mouthfuls before it had, but probably because it was being fed to me by Justin. Still, I chewed and swallowed quickly, eager to make my mouth free again.
“Want another one?” I forced myself to ask, since somebody had to say something.
Justin shook his head slowly. “Not right now.”
I waited. Justin’s hand slid itself down to my shoulder and I could feel the shirt becoming sticky from the juice on his hand. I waited. Justin still had a line of juice running down his neck from earlier – I guess he either didn’t feel it or it didn’t bother him. I was tired of waiting.
I reached out and licked it.
His skin was hot and sweet under my tongue and he moaned loudly. I could feel the vibrations against my mouth and it made my stomach clench. Justin’s hand gripped my waist hard and pulled me into his lap. We were both breathing hard now.
His hand came up to clasp my neck and press our foreheads together. His breath smelled like warm forest air and pomegranates. I knew he would taste like them too. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his, lightly but parted a little to taste him better. His lips and tongue were quick to fill the gap, kissing me back with vigor. I pulled back, breathing even harder than before.
“You taste sweet,” we both said at the same time and then laughed.
Justin made the mmm sound and kissed me again, fragilely, as though I might break.
“I love pomegranates,” he whispered, his voice rough but quiet, his lips still pressed against mine. “But, I love you more.”
Pomegranates are definitely my favorite fruit.
