by Box Set
“Why did we wait so long?” I asked aloud, not expecting an answer.
“We were idiots, Iris. But now, I don’t think I’ll be able to spend a day without you.” He smirked, and I knew he was right.
He accelerated his movements, and I moaned at full volume, with all the passion I had in me. I couldn’t hold back, there was no way to control my reaction to him.
Thrust after thrust, he grew stronger, more determined. Sweat rolled down his back as the air in the room warmed. My legs tightened around him, drawing him closer to me. It seemed impossible to control my desire. Every muscle in my lower body tightened, and I knew what was coming. Euphoria. The hyper sensitivity and his touch, mixed with his scent, sent me right into a climax. I was exhausted, sated and confused by my love life. Zach groaned and breathed against the hollow of my neck. We stayed positioned for a moment, catching our breath and enjoying what he had done, yet again.
In my mind, I slapped myself. I hadn’t been quiet and I expected everyone on the floor knew what we were (finally) doing. I hoped I hadn’t been too loud the first two times, or else facing every other resident would be embarrassing this morning.
Calvin had been more rough and dominant, while Zach’s concern was my well-being and there was gentleness in everything he did to me. I couldn’t believe that I was here having sex with Zach, and comparing him to Calvin. They were so different. There was no point in comparing them.
I had never been this type of girl. It went beyond my values. I tried not thinking about it, but I couldn’t ignore my actions.
After a few minutes of rest, Zach rolled onto his side and held me close. His caresses tickled when his fingers danced and swirled across my ribs and hips. A trail of wet kisses followed and I closed my eyes, loving every second of being in his arms. A moment like this wouldn't last forever and no matter how much I hated myself right now, it made me feel good.
Both tired by our morning workout, we went back to sleep in each other’s arms. Zach had reached perfection in my eyes, everything I had ever wished for, and he had given it to me. My feelings for him had taken another step closer to me having to admit to being in love with him.
He left in the afternoon to go to his own room. His lips on my lips, with a lingering kiss on my chin and forehead woke me enough to say goodbye.
All three of us had finals to face on Monday, and the rest of the weekend was uneventful. I studied for my last exam, most of the time forcing myself not to think of the mess I was in from sleeping with two different men. My boss had agreed to let me take the weekend off. After some intense studying, my head was full with everything I needed to remember.
Monday morning came, and when I checked my email, I had an email from Zach. The subject line was empty, which didn't seem right. I clicked to open it and all I could see was a link, which made me nervous. Zach was usually much more talkative in his emails. My heart started beating faster as I double clicked on the link. What I saw when the new screen opened, drained all the blood from my face. It was a newspaper article about the grand opening of The Whiskey Bar with a picture of me kissing Calvin outside the bar. I didn't even remember it happening, but we did appear to be a couple. I hated that I loved the picture. I hated that it gave me butterflies when all it caused me was to hurt my friend.
I stared at the picture for a very long time. My hands were flat on Calvin’s chest, his hands sitting on my waist owing me. My lips were on his and I stood on the tips of my toes. It looked like a picture from a fashion magazine or a photo taken on a movie set, but I knew it was real, not faked. Even I couldn't deny that there was something between Calvin and I in the picture, but it sucked that Zach had to be the one who revealed it to me. He should have never seen that picture. If I could at least remember the picture being taken. I was so furious at myself and at the amount of alcohol I had drunk. What an idiot!
I didn't know what to tell Zach. I couldn't deny it. We both knew it was me; he had no idea of what else had happened that night. What if he found out? No, I thought, this couldn’t be happening. I blushed as I clicked on ‘reply’.
To: Zachary Reynolds
From: Iris Hartwell
Subject: Re:
There isn't much I can say about this picture. I’m sorry. I can see that this is hurting your feelings. Nothing I can say will make me or you feel better. Again, I’m sorry, Zach. We have to talk about this. I don’t want it to ruin everything, okay?
I pressed send. I couldn't lie or try to work a story around it. The picture said it all and I felt terrible.
To: Iris Hartwell
From: Zachary Reynolds
Subject: Re: Re:
A picture is worth a thousand words. Nothing you can say will make it better. What’s done is done.
Good luck with your exam. I’m leaving town right after mine. I won’t see you until I return.
x
Fuck. He seemed abrupt in the email, and I figured he was angry and had every reason to be. I hated that he was running away. No goodbye or Merry Christmas before his departure. I had to do something to try and make it right. Could we even be saved? I didn’t think so but I had to try.
Still wearing my pyjamas, I knocked on Zach's door not giving a care in the world about what I looked like. Noises were coming from his room.
“Open the door, Zach, please.” I begged and knocked again.
The door opened and I saw he had his luggage ready by the door, and his backpack in hand.
“Iris.” His face was expressionless. “I have to go. I have my biology final in a few minutes.”
“It's not what you think,” I muttered. Sadness overwhelmed me. I had hurt him, and I hated myself for doing this. Zach had been so good to me, from the beginning of our friendship he’d always done everything he could for me, but I had destroyed everything by kissing Calvin. If he only knew what else I’d done. “Let me talk to you, let me explain. It’s not what you think.” I repeated, hoping that he would listen.
“It is what I think, Iris! I'm not stupid, okay? You were with him most of the evening at the bar. I know what happened. Don't act like it didn't.”
Tears escaped when I realized that what I’d done to him was pretty close to what Damien and Carolina had done to me. I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around his neck. I took a deep breath. His smell, the one I had gotten so used to, the one that comforted me, had become so cold. I knew then that I was too late, what I had done to him had ruined everything.
“I'm so sorry. Being with you, spending the night in your arms meant so much to me. I loved every second of it, Zach.” I wanted to be in his arms again. I needed to feel his love.
“I did too, but this picture killed everything. It's not him kissing you, it's you kissing him,” Zach said, sounding disgusted. “I have to get going. I'll see you when I get back.”
I just about had time to kiss his cheek before he pulled away and left.
“Zach, please.” I begged him.
Zach stared at me in disgust, no longer the tender look of love in his eyes and it hurt me. I hated what I had done to him, he didn’t deserve this.
I watched him go, powerless to stop him and sobbing in the middle of the hall. I had ruined everything and had lost my friend. Everything about that night became a nightmare.
Shower, final and Calvin – I had to get through today and then I could cry all night if I needed to. Be strong, Iris, you came here to study after all.
After a much needed pep talk from Krystal, I went through the motions of taking my last exam and managed to gather up enough courage to meet with Calvin.
This office was nothing like the one where we had met on the weekend. The walls were painted in a pale shade of blue and every accessory was made of stainless steel. Large abstract paintings covered the walls and beautiful modern lights illuminate them. I could have stared at the painting a lot longer than I did.
On top of being a wealthy man, he had good taste. I waited for him on the chair facing his desk. His secretary h
ad said it wouldn't be long.
“Iris, I'm glad you came.” His voice sent me to the other night, and the double meaning of his words didn't go unobserved. I took a deep breath. I needed to focus.
I stood up and turned to face him with the intention of shaking hands, but he cupped my cheek in his palm and watched me as if he could see into my soul.
“What made you change your mind?”
“Curiosity. I want to know what it is that you want to suggest.”
“You can sit if you want.” He offered. “I’m offering you a job at the gym as a receptionist with some administrative tasks. We’ll plan our schedule depending on yours. The proposed salary is written down over here with all the details you’ll need about vacations and sick days.”
He took the document from the corner of his desk and gave it to me.
I took it and went directly to the salary details. Excitement took over when I saw that he was giving me over six dollars more hourly than what I was currently making.
“Offer accepted.”
He started laughing at me. “That’s it?”
I nodded with excitement.
“I thought you were going to give me a hard time.”
“The salary is better. It’s all I hoped for.”
“Welcome to Banks Fitness and Health.” We shook hands to seal the deal. If only mine could stop shaking. “We made the front page of the nightlife and restaurant section. Nice picture, too.” He changed the subject of our conversation without a warning.
“I'm not happy about it at all. It cost me my best friend.” I paused and thought for moment, before eyeing him, suspicious. “Did you have something to do with this?”
“I chose the best picture. Stunning!”
“Zach left for the holidays, feeling like shit because of that picture.” A tiny smile appeared on Calvin’s lips and I snapped. “You did this. You said you didn't like sharing and you’ve done everything in your power to make sure Zach would leave me alone. My life isn’t a game for you to play with.” My voice rose and with it my frustration with Calvin.
I pulled away from him and he drew me right back to where I’d been.
“I'm sorry; I didn't want to upset you,” Calvin said. “I enjoyed my time with you, Iris, and it might have blurred the lines of what’s right and what’s not.”
“Look, Calvin, we don't know each other and we — I don't know what you expect from me, but I won't be doing this again. I'm not like that!”
“I still have your mark on my skin, to prove you how much you loved it.” His eyes charmed me while his murmured words hit me. He pulled at the collar of his shirt, revealing a small glimpse of reddened skin.
“Enough, Calvin, it’s embarrassing. I’m sorry I did that to you. You deserved it, though.” I sniggered.
“I guess I did deserve it.”
I blushed cherry red from mortification. “Calvin.” His name rolled across my tongue and my body responded to his touch. How could he manage to get me riled up so fast?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” He brushed his thumb on my lips like he had done the other night. “Maybe, I should keep my distance.” He said pulling away from me.
“I’ve never met anyone like you before. You’re in control. You know what you’re doing all too well and I don’t.”
“With you, there’s something I can’t deny. I would say chemistry but I’m not quite sure it’s the right word.”
“Attraction. Opposite attraction because let’s face it, we are nothing alike.” Well said, Iris.
“It’s not a problem for me. I like a challenge.” He winked and I blushed, again. A few seconds went in silence. “I am sorry about your friend.”
“Do you mean it?”
“Yes.” He crooked his eyebrow. “I do not lie.”
“Okay. He won’t be talking to me anymore, not that you care.”
Calvin remained silent. He didn’t care about Zach.
“I think I’m going to go now.” We didn’t have much to say and this conversation was going nowhere.
“Please stay. I want you to stay.” Closing in the distance between us, he took my hand into his. It seemed like he had to find a way to touch me. I let him. “Iris, I’m not a bad guy. Sometimes I know I act like one but...” He paused. “Asking you to trust me would be too much but I’m hoping you can anyway.
“I’ll think about it.” I murmured staring at his eyes and lips, one after the other. I tried controlling myself but I failed. There was something about Calvin Banks that made it impossible to keep my control.
We kissed, our tongues intertwined, and he pressed his knee between my legs, rubbing against my groin. It was an intense sensation, one that had my heart skipping a beat. I believed this had to be the perfect time where I would say stop or go with it. Did I want to stop everything and go back to the Iris I knew or would I let Calvin push me to the unknown version of me? I thought of Zach, about all the broken promises and how we had left things this morning. It broke my heart but Calvin’s perfume and touches made me forget about it all in one second. As soon as his lips locked around my earlobe I was done.
I tried to control myself but next thing I knew; I was undoing his leather belt and pushing his tailored pants down from his hips.
The next second, I was pushed down onto the white leather couch, and he pulled off my boots and pants. I might have dressed in casual attire on the outside, but I knew a man could never ignore a woman in lace. That much I had learned from Damien. Maybe in my subconscious I had planned this moment. I had to admit to myself – I craved Calvin Banks.
“Holy shit, woman. This is why it's you that I want. Unexpected and sexy, everything I need. I don't care about the business women or whoever you mentioned earlier, they are all boring and predictable.”
Jesus Christ, I could see a hint of a tattoo under his shirt. I wanted to see it all. “Now the tattoos, they’re a turn on, Calvin.”
“I'll show you how I can turn you on without you even seeing my tattoos.”
He kneeled before me and forced me to lie back against the couch. He pinched my nipples with his fingers one last time, before moving down, down there. Oh, god. I had never let anyone do this to me before. He rubbed his fingers around my clit in tiny circles, with the smallest amount of pressure. The pleasure he created was unbearable. I grabbed his arms, trying to push him away, but he wouldn’t move, instead he kissed and sucked on my clit while I moaned in pure ecstasy.
“Quiet, Iris. We’re not alone on this floor,” he warned.
What?
His tongue danced at my entrance while his fingers thrust deep inside me in a fast tempo. So deep, each time he reached a spot where my body convulsed and the tension built closer to my breaking point. Calvin kept the rhythm smooth while he nibbled my over-sensitive clit. My back arched as my breasts got his attention.
“Calvin, you have to stop, I can't.” I pleaded. This situation was getting out of hand.
Just like that he ignored me and a few seconds later, I had my first real orgasm. My whole body shook, while everything came apart inside me. All the way through my almost silent orgasm he never moved away or stopped pleasuring me.
“You taste sweet, Iris.” He swept his tongue over his lips.
If I could have melted into the couch, I would have.
“Turn around and hold on to the couch, sweetness.”
“Calvin. I’m not sure I want the world to see us.” The way I was positioned, I could give quite a show to anyone turning in our direction from outside.
“Nice try, sweetness, but they can't see into the building. Now, hold on tight.”
He caressed my buttocks with a tender touch before he spanked my right cheek, drawing me fast out of my dreamy state. As the pain radiated through my body, he pushed apart my knees, held my hips in place, put on protection and thrust into me without pity. He pounded hard and fast, claiming me as his.
My inside tightened and jolts of excitement invaded my
lower body. I hadn't realized I was biting on the inside of my cheeks until it hurt. It was so easy to get lost in the moment with him. “Calvin.” I groaned his name. His whole body covered me and I fell flat on the couch, arching my back to give him better access. Holy fuck, he was going to do it again.
He slowed down and pushed all of my hair to one side. He kissed and sucked on the back of my neck. I heard him chuckle against my skin as he pulled out of me. “Turn around again, sweetness, and sit on me.”
I turned around and watched him settle on the couch, sitting on his knees. He offered me a hand and guided me to what he had in mind. “Put your legs on each side of my thighs and lower yourself on me.”
I nodded and did what he said. The proximity of my breasts against his chest made me self-conscious and nervous. I had never seen him naked from head to toe and there he was, all muscles and tattoos where I was boring white and curvaceous.
“Lower, Iris, it might overwhelm you now, but it'll be nicer this time.”
Each of his inches entered me, and the deepness he reached made me uncomfortable.
“Now, hold me tight.”
I slung my arms around his shoulders and he held the sides of my thighs. He moved his hips and he started moving me up and down over his length. My breasts bounced with the force of his movements. Jesus Christ, I had tried more positions with him than I had in all the years with Damien. As Calvin started to get into the rhythm he wanted, I moved with him in sync. The more time I spent with him, the more some undefinable emotion grew for him. It was the way our bodies reacted to one another. The physical chemistry took possession of us.
