I thought I was the only one losing my mind, but apparently, it's a catching condition. Maybe if I hobble really slowly, they won't notice I've escaped.
TRAFFIC IN SAN FRANCISCO wasn't known for being smooth, but late evening on New Year's? Liam probably could've jogged home faster.
“Is this seriously the fastest we can go?” he bitched while he struggled to get into his dress shirt.
“You wanna get out and ask them to move?” the cabbie replied, gesturing to the sea of tail lights in front of them.
“No, but isn't there like ...” he paused while he laid back and shimmied into a pair of slacks. “Side streets? Some secret back alley only taxi drivers know about?”
“Are you for real, buddy?”
“Well, do you at least know how to tie a bow-tie?”
Turned out, the cab driver did. While they were stuck in one place, they both got out of the car and the absurdly short driver stood on the curb, deftly turning the scrap of fabric into a perfect bow-tie.
Liam glanced at his reflection in a shop window. His hair was a little wild and crazy, but after he tucked in his shirt, he had to admit it – he looked good. Damn good. Good enough to set foot in any fancy winery, in any part of wine country.
Good thing she doesn't like wine.
“Hey, have a Happy New Year, alright?” he said as he pulled out his wallet and handed some bills to the cabbie.
“You, too. What about your clothes!?”
“Keep 'em!” Liam had to shout because he was already running down the block.
He actually wasn't too far from home, maybe half a mile. The streets were busy, slowing him down, and it was after ten when he finally skidded to a stop in front of Twin Estates building number two. He ran through the revolving door, almost sending a little old lady flying out into the street.
When he got to the party, he stood in the doorway and struggled to catch his breath. He'd been so busy running out of the club, he hadn't stopped to think about what he was doing. What he would say. Hi? Wanna go out on a real date? If you'd let me, I would fall in love with you so far? I hate wine, too? And then there was the fear she wouldn't be there. It was late, she was injured, she wasn't a big partier. Maybe she'd already gone home. Maybe she'd never even come.
She was there, though.
Liam was tall enough he could pretty much see over everyone elses heads. The crowd was standing in a circle around the dance floor, clearly waiting for the music to start. At the far end of the circle, Wulf and Katya were facing his direction, standing a little inside the crowd.
Facing away from him was an angel. She practically glowed under the shiny lights. She was wearing a stunning dress that complimented her amazing body perfectly, and every inch of her gorgeous hair had been pulled up onto the top of her head, making her look regal and proud.
How could she possibly ever think she wasn't good enough for me?
He went on autopilot. He walked into the room and shoved his way through the wall of people. Strode across the center of the empty dance floor. When he was half way to his friends, Katya finally noticed him. Wulf looked his way, as well, but Ayumi was completely unaware of the fact that her biggest fear and her greatest hope were swooping down on her.
“What's wrong?” he heard her asking when he got close enough. “What are you guys -”
She'd already started to turn when he reached them, so he grabbed her arm and completed the rotation for her. She gasped when she saw who was touching her, but he didn't give her any more time to react. He pulled her as close as their clothing would allow and kissed her like there was no one else in the room. In the whole world.
Like we're in the dark, under the stars, and no one else exists but you.
It was cheesy, but Liam loved cheese, so he smiled against her lips when he heard people clapping.
“What are you doing?” she breathed. He pulled away just enough to look down in her eyes.
“Showing everyone exactly how we feel about each other,” he whispered back.
“I ...” she stammered. “I ... I don't know what you mean.”
“That's okay,” he replied. “Because I'm going to spend a long time explaining it to you, and an even longer time proving it.”
Her eyes filled with tears and she tried to look away, but he cupped his hand around her jaw and forced her to face him.
“I wanted to call you in the hospital,” she cried. “I really did. I didn't mean to hurt you. I want to be with you, but I might be horrible, I don't know. I just want to be with you, and I keep making all these stupid mistakes.”
“I know. So do I. We're going to make a lot more, and it's going to be awesome.”
“Awesome!?”
“Yeah, because we'll be making them together.”
She laughed. Cried a little more. Then laughed again.
“Your definition of 'awesome' and mine are pretty different,” she told him.
“Please be quiet now, I'm trying to sweep you off your feet,” he informed her as his gaze shifted back down to her lips.
“Too late, Mr. Edenhoff,” she breathed. “You did that a long time ago.”
He smiled again.
“I fucking knew it.”
26
They didn't stay at the party very long.
Since he was already on a role with feet-sweeping, Liam had picked her up and carried her out of the room, much to everyone's delight.
Well, everyone but hers. She still wasn't a fan of attention, but he knew she'd get used to it. Liam liked having all eyes on him, and he loved making her the center of attention.
Though he didn't love it quiet as much as the sounds she made when he took her to his apartment and peeled off her dress and laid her down in his bed.
A couple hours later and Ayumi was laughing while he attempted to prop her bad ankle up. After the third pillow was balanced under her foot, she finally pushed him away.
“Stop it, I'm fine,” she insisted, shoving at his shoulders.
“I still can't believe this happened,” he sighed, tracing a finger over the ugly bruise which covered most of her foot and calf.
“Me, neither.”
“I'm still going to kill him.”
“Okay,” she said. “But don't call me for bail money.”
He shifted around and stretched out next to her before pulling a sheet over them both.
“So. What do you want to do tomorrow?” he asked. She thought for a second.
“Breakfast?”
“Sweetheart, it's New Year's. No one gets up for breakfast on New Year's.”
“Brunch?”
He leaned forward and bit her on the shoulder, then soothed the sting with his tongue.
“And what about the day after? And the day after that one?” he murmured, kissing his way to her neck.
“I think we should ...” she took a deep breath when he reached her ear. “Take it one day at a time. Preferably together.”
“Definitely together.”
“And I want ...” she struggled with her words for a moment. “I want you to help me.”
He paused, then pulled away from her.
“What do you mean?”
“It's like you said, we're going to make mistakes. I'm going to freak out,” she told him. “Help me to not ruin this. I really don't want to ruin this.”
“You won't,” he sighed. “You can't. I won't let you.”
“And maybe just ... I know you're you, and I don't want to change you. I love the way you are, I really do. Disgusting food and all,” she assured him. “But just please maybe remember it's hard for me. Hearing the way you talk to other people sometimes. I have to get used to it.”
She felt like a silly little jealous girl and she expected him to laugh at her. Or to be upset that she was already trying to change him. He didn't do either, though. He simply smiled and pushed a heavy hank of hair over her shoulder.
“You shouldn't have to get used to it,” he replied. “I told you those kinds of momen
t were only for you, and I meant it. I shouldn't be having them with other people, even only for fun. You're the only one who gets to hear my boyfriend voice, from now on.”
Ayumi laughed even as her eyes filled up with tears.
“Oh, what joy for me. Women the world over are weeping,” she teased.
“Hey, they probably are.”
“Does this make you my boyfriend?”
“I think maybe it does.”
“I've never had a real boyfriend,” she told him. He smiled again, then forced her to lay flat so they could snuggle up together.
“Wanna know a secret?” he asked as they stared up his ceiling.
“What?” she whispered, finding his hand in the darkness and lacing their fingers together.
“I've never had a real girlfriend.”
“I guess if you have to be my first,” she spoke carefully. “Then I'm glad I also get to be yours.”
“And maybe, if we work really hard and I'm not too much of an idiot and you're not too much of a nut case,” he started, and she slapped him in the arm. “We'll get to be each others lasts.”
Ayumi held very still. Held her breath for a long time, then slowly let it out.
“I think ... I think I might like that, a lot. Thank you for believing in me, Liam.”
“Any time, sweetheart. Any time.”
Epilogue
“This is grossly unfair,” Ayumi insisted. Liam snorted.
“Do you really think I care about that?”
“I'll report you for sexual harassment,” she threatened him.
“Go ahead. Hi, I'm Liam Edenhoff, head of HR for The Garden. What can I help you with?”
“My boss is trying to have sex with me in a utility room at work.”
“Sounds awesome. You should send him a thank you card.”
Ayumi burst out laughing, then it turned into a groan as his hand found its way inside her panties.
A month after New Year's, and she still hadn't ruined things between them. Even better, neither had he.
Of course things weren't perfect. They were opposites, after all, and full of so many issues, they made a Maury Povich episode look normal. There'd been a couple nasty fights, one of which had ended with her running back to her own home. But when she'd woken up in the morning, it had been to find him camping in her tiny vestibule, and she couldn't be angry at him anymore.
Mostly, though, it was the most fun she'd ever had in her whole life. Every weekend, they drove down to see Liam's family. She learned how to make tamales, she watched him surf, he taught her how to swim, and he learned that just maybe, he'd misunderstood his family's feelings. That just because they were in awe of one son, didn't mean they loved the other any less.
He also spent a lot of time trying to stop his mother from planning their wedding.
“Or at least for now – check back in a month or two.”
Then they'd all laughed.
Months ago, Ayumi never would've considered Liam the perfect boyfriend, and she was sure he'd felt the same way about her. He was a slob who didn't know the meaning of the phrase “on time” and made friends as easily as he breathed. She was borderline OCD and a workaholic who literally didn't have any friends.
Yet they just worked. She taught him how to run his office efficiently and she helped him clean his apartment. He taught her how to love herself and trust other people. And together, they both helped each other realize that no matter what happened, no matter who they were dealing with, they were always good enough. For any situation.
“This is so bad,” she whispered. “What if someone hears us?”
“It's a sex club, Ayumi. It would be weirder if we weren't having sex in here,” he pointed out.
“Yeah, but you're the owner. I'm the accountant.”
“I'm also a member, and you're my girlfriend. Shut up now.”
“Don't tell me to -”
His tongue was thrusting in and out of her mouth, mimicking what his finger was doing to her body, and suddenly she didn't care where they were – he'd always been so good at driving reason from her mind.
“Okay,” she said, writhing against him when he finally pulled away. “Okay, but it has to be fast. They're coming here in like an hour.”
“No problem. A quick fuck. I'm on the job.”
“Your jokes are literally the worst,” she laughed as he pulled her across the room.
“Yeah, but you love them, anyway.”
“I really, really do.”
He shoved her up against a wall between a utility sink and a bunch of shelving. She wiggled out of her panties and kicked them out of the way before helping him with his pants.
“Remember your tights?” he asked, moving up to his shirt and undoing the buttons. “Now look at you, just dropping your panties at the slightest provocation.”
“You've turned me into a wanton slut, Mr. Edenhoff.”
“Damn, it feels good to be me.”
Then her hand was around his dick and his hands were on her ass, pulling her tight against him. He picked her up, forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist, then he leaned them both up against the wall.
“This feels like deja vu,” she whispered, stroking up and down his hard length.
“Yeah, it kinda does. You still have to pay for that broken sheet rock in my laundry room,” he managed to say.
“What? That's my ass print on your wall. It's practically a collector's item.”
“Let's not get carried away.”
Ayumi took her hand away and he groaned.
“No more jokes, please? We only have forty-five minutes now,” she whined.
“Okay, let's see if we can make another ass print.”
His pants fell to the ground, then both their hands were between their bodies, guiding her onto his shaft. She groaned and her head hit the wall behind her with a thunk.
“Deja vu ...” she panted. “Is the best ... thing ever.”
“Next to my dick, I hope.”
“Let's not get carried away.”
She shrieked when he started pounding into her, not giving her any warning at all. She kept one arm around his shoulders, trying to hold on, and she covered her mouth with her free hand. She didn't want everyone to hear her; she still wasn't quite as sexually open as Liam.
Though he did try to help with that as often as possible.
“Oh no,” he breathed, and he yanked her hand away from her face. “No, no, no, everyone should hear you like this. Needy. Breathy. Fucking hot.”
“God, it's so fucking hot,” she cried out, finally looking at him. “Is it always going to be like this?”
“Jesus christ, I hope so.”
“One of us might die.”
“I vote me, because no other pussy could ever be as good as yours,” he groaned, dropping his forehead to her chest.
“Oh my god.”
Things got chaotic after that – he pushed and shoved at her blouse, forcing the front up over her head. While she was still struggling to get the material behind her neck, he was yanking at her bra. Squeezing her bare breast before cutting his teeth across her nipple. She shrieked and raked her nails across his scalp.
“Liam,” she breathed his name, her legs starting to tremble and shake around him. He was thrusting against her so hard, things were beginning to rattle and shake in the room. A couple boxes of straws fell off a shelf. The sink shuddered and groaned next to them, pipes clanged in the wall behind them.
“Fuck, what?” he groaned, moving to her other breast.
“Please,” she whined, dragging both her hands down his chest.
“Please what?”
“I want ... I want ...”
“What do you want?” he breathed, grabbing one of her hands and forcing her fingers around his dick as it pumped in and out of her.
“I want you to make me come,” she whispered. “Please, please.”
“You are so fucking sexy when you beg,” he groaned, and his thrusts grew even hard
er, slamming her ass back against the wall.
“I'd only ever beg for you,” she gasped out. “Just for you.”
“Goddamn right it's only for me,” he growled, then he kissed her hard.
There was a milk crate under the sink and he put one foot on it, which allowed him to reach even deeper inside her. She started crying out in earnest, babbling curse words and his name, over and over. He let go of her entirely, she had to hold onto him to stay up, and he pressed his hands flat against the wall on either side of her head.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he grunted. “I'm going to come so fuck hard.”
“Me, too,” she managed to say. “Just please ... more. Faster. More.”
I always want more.
And of course, Liam always complied. His hips were reaching record breaking speeds and she was positive that when they were done, she wouldn't be able to stand up. She didn't even care, though, not one little bit.
No, she was too focused on the monster orgasm that was exploding between them. She screamed and trembled all over him, clawing at his back and his hair, begging him to stop. Begging him to never stop.
He was right behind her, flattening his entire body against her length and coming with a roar. He cut it of by biting down hard on the side of her neck, which just intensified her own pleasure. She sobbed and coiled around him, every muscle locking up in intense pleasure.
“Holy shit,” he panted into her ear. “You're too fucking much.”
“Me?” she managed to breathe. “You're the one who dragged me in here.”
“You're the one who showed up down here.”
“You called me down here.”
“You answered the phone. You know what your voice does to me.”
She laughed and pushed him away a little.
“Well, then. I guess I'm sorry for inconveniencing you and making you fuck me in the middle of the day,” she teased him.
“Uh, I can think of a way you can make up for it,” he said, glancing down between their bodies.
“No. We don't have fifteen minutes to wait for you to recharge.”
“If you'd get on your knees, I'm sure we could cut it down to ten minutes.”
Block Party Page 28
