by Adele Huxley
They sat in folding beach chairs around the fire pit, the embers glowing white hot. Lauren leaned back and watched the sparks float to the sky, dancing with the static stars above. Dane toyed around on his guitar, playing nothing in particular but somehow creating the perfect soundtrack to a California beach day. Somehow it was all perfect, even drinking chilled white wine out of plastic cups. Their conversation was light compared to the night before. The inevitability of their final night together had put everyone in an odd mood.
At the opposite side of the fire, Ali leaned over to kiss Dane. She’s always been a sucker for a musician. As their kiss intensified, he set the guitar down, his fingers delving deep into her hair.
“Want to go for a walk?” Landon touched her shoulder softly, his fingers sliding down the back of her bare arm.
“Yeah, sure,” she said glancing at Ali, who was now straddling Dane in the camp chair, her legs looped through the space under the armrests. “She’s gonna fall in the fire when she tries to get up.”
“Oh, they’ll be fine. They could probably stand to be doused with a bucket of cold water.”
They strolled toward the glimmering line of water, the strength of the firelight fading quickly and giving way to darkness. Kids with sparklers danced in the sand in a campsite several spots down, laughing and signing their names in streaks of gold. Lauren looked up at the sky, the thin moon generously letting the stars steal the show. The familiar constellations suddenly seemed too familiar and she had an urge to look up from the Southern Hemisphere. The beauty and peace of this place made her unusually introspective. As she opened her mouth to ask Landon if he’d ever traveled below the equator his hand reached for hers, tender lacing their fingers together. She held the thought. They wordlessly walked to the water and turned right toward an outcropping of rocks.
She stepped out of her flip flops and Landon helped her scramble up the rock, the surface worn smooth from ages of erosion. They sat close, Lauren with her knees drawn up to her chest, their proximity creating a delicious, palpable tension. After a moment she realized he was watching her, his expression difficult to read in the shadows.
“What’s up?” she giggled.
“I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
She smiled self-consciously and shook her head. “Come on, don’t give me that line.” She rocked her shoulders against him playfully, trying to diffuse the situation.
“It isn’t a line. My position attracts a certain kind of woman, whether I want it to or not. It starts to feel like just another business deal. I pay for everything and in return they let me show them off like a shiny new acquisition. I guess like most men I thought that’s what I wanted, you know, gorgeous women. Well, it’s what boys want, not men. But then I met you...”
“Right...”
“God, it sounds so cheesy,” he said running his fingers through his hair. “You aren’t like those other women.”
“What, gorgeous?” she laughed.
He shook his head almost forlornly. “You’re beautiful and smart and just so, natural. You aren’t pretending to be anything you aren’t. I’ve never had so much fun...God, I know you’re going back home tomorrow and I’m not proposing anything here. I guess I just wanted to thank you.”
“Thank me? What for?”
“For showing me what I’ve been missing from my life.”
She had no words. It was the nicest, most genuine thing anyone had ever said to her. She wanted to tell him that meeting him had changed her as well, that spending time with him had brought the differences between her and Nick into focus. His drive and success made her feel okay about wanting more from life, for wanting more for herself. She looked into his eyes and searched for a way to say it all, to thank him as well. No words came; only a kiss.
Leaning into Landon’s soft lips, it was a kiss that quickly consumed the both of them. The words they didn’t have the courage to yet say translated through that kiss. Landon’s hand slipped under her shirt, hot and urgent against her skin. Gently holding the back of her head, he guided her back on the smooth, curved rock. Propping himself up on his elbow beside, he explored her exposed stomach, wandering slowly to the waistband of her shorts, slipping just underneath.
Lauren grunted against his mouth and rolled away with an apology, sweeping a sharp rock from under her back. No matter how much he shifted, he couldn’t find a spot in which some part of his body was grinding painfully against the cold stone. The elements were against them. After trying a third position Landon collapsed next to her with a frustrated sigh.
“I think maybe we should move,” he laughed, burying his face in her neck and nibbling. “This isn’t working here.”
“Sure but there are some places I’d prefer to keep sand-free.”
“Ditto. Let’s go back to the tent. Come on, I’ll help you down.”
As they walked barefoot through the sand, their arms wrapped around one another, Lauren couldn’t stop smiling. This delicious delayed gratification was better than anything she’d experienced. As they drew closer, it was clear the dying campfire was unattended, Ali and Dane most likely preoccupied in their tent.
“Let me douse this and I’ll meet you in there,” he said.
Lauren left her flip flops outside the tent, brushed off any loose sand and climbed in on her hands and knees. A naughty thought crossed her mind and after a moment’s hesitation, she quickly stripped off her clothes. She lay down on the sleeping bags and had just enough time to pull a blanket over her chest as she heard him approach.
“Where are you? I can’t really see.”
“I’m just here, you can walk straight in,” she whispered.
After zipping up the door, he crawled forward to the sound of her voice, finding her with his hands. “I had to put away the food too, they left some of it—oh, hmmm,” he said as found the smooth curve of her hip, her waist, her bare shoulder. “Are you...”
“Maybe.”
He chuckled appreciatively. “Well then...”
Throwing off his clothes, he pulled the blanket over, pressing his warm body against hers. She wrapped her leg around his hips as they kissed and drew him close, the heat building between them. Any hesitation she’d felt the previous night disappeared. Their bodies melded together, fit and folded in just the right ways. His hand slid down her thigh and gripped her ass, pulling her closer to his hard cock. She moaned against his lips, wanting nothing more than to shift her hips ever so slightly and push him inside. Free to roam, his hand carefully slipped between her legs where for a moment he rested, fingers toying with the small patch of hair on top. He pulled away from their kiss and looked deep into her eyes as his fingers slid easily between her wet lips. He teased her, softly caressing the sensitive skin with little pressure. Landon watched the lust bloom in her face with a satisfied expression.
Lauren’s breath quickened, her body reacting, her mind along for the ride. He delved deep inside, the tiny release causing her muscles to grip his finger. He groaned at the tightness and had to control himself from losing control. His wet finger ran circles around her sensitive clit, eliciting a soft gasp. Lauren gave into him completely, her body thrumming from his skilled touch. She softly bit his shoulder to keep from crying out, his skin tasting like sun and salt. Arching her hips to meet his hand, wanting more, wanting it all but still he teased. His fingers brought her close to the edge but she pulled away, wanting a chance to make him squirm.
With a sly grin, she snatched the back of his head and kissed him forcefully, her tongue urgent in his mouth. Gently pushing his shoulder, she pressed him back on the ground and leapt on top in one quick motion. She found herself straddling his hips rather than his stomach and for a moment she feared she didn’t have the control to stop. The look of surprise on his face was worth the risk. She pressed her slick skin against his cock, rocking her hips so he slipped against her sensitive clit. The only thing she wanted more than ride him and that was to drive him crazy with her tongue. With all the will
power she could muster she pulled away.
Kissing her way down his chest and stomach, she knelt and took his dick in her hand. She stroked him a few times while running her tongue along the ridge, looking up to watch his reactions. A little above average in length, he was quite thick and Lauren had to use both hands. She teased him, taking him into her open mouth without touching him, hot breath rippling down his skin. He twisted and groaned beneath her, straining for contact. She giggled and licked him with the flat of her tongue. Pursing her wet lips, she rubbed the tip against her mouth and pushed slowly down. Her lips tight, she pushed and retreated, pushed and retreated, as if he were breaching the tightest pussy.
Landon moaned loudly as she finally took him deep inside her mouth. Lauren too felt satisfaction as she teased and licked, loving that she was able to bring such pleasure to him. After a few moments he reached down and pulled her back up to him.
“Ungh, you’re too good at that, I had to stop you,” he groaned with a smile. He kissed her deeply, his hand cupping her face. He rolled on top of her, his weight on his elbows, and looked down. The head of his cock pressed against her pussy he whispered, “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I want to, I really want to.”
Their foreheads pressed together, hot breath mingling between them, he pushed inside. She wrapped her legs around his hips, heels digging into his ass. Lauren’s moans were muffled against his lips as sank in inch by inch.
She looked up at him wide-eyed and breathless. “Holy shit,” she said rising to kiss his neck.
“You feel incredible,” he whispered into her ear. She buried her face in the crook of his shoulder as he slowly began to thrust. Landon gathered her into his arms, his hand cradling her head as their bodies moved together. He circled his hips, grinding his pelvis against her clit with nearly every drive, bringing her quickly back to where his fingers had left off. Every so often he pulled completely out, paused, and reentered sending a ripple of pleasure through her body.
He grabbed a pillow and folded it under her hips, tilting her pelvis up toward him. Sitting back on his knees, Lauren quickly learned this position freed his hands to explore her body. He gently rolled her nipples across his palms before his right thumb found her clit. Lightly at first, just barely touching, he circled and circled. The tension grew inside of her, building as he increased the pressure and speed. In moments he effortlessly took her over the brink, her body shuddering with a powerful orgasm as he continued to thrust deep inside. She tightly clenched his cock, stifling a loud moan with her arm. He scooped her into his arms, her body still quivering, and buried his face in the hollow of her neck. Her fingers dug into his back, her hips rocking in time with his. Moments later he too cried out, his body stiffening against her. She kissed his neck, his shoulders, his jaw, and held him close as he finished inside her. She wanted to hold him right there in that moment forever.
Tender kisses led to a deep sleep, still wrapped in each other’s arms. Some time later she was awoken by his lips on her neck, his hard cock pressed against her from behind. She sleepily rolled her legs open and he entered her, their motions slow but no less passionate. Several times that night they woke pawing at each other, lips tantalizing parts of each others bodies but eventually they fell into a satisfied, exhausted sleep.
9.
After a prolonged breakfast and a haphazard packing of the tents, Ali and Dane said their goodbyes at the campsite. They exchanged numbers and promised to talk soon and much to Lauren’s surprise, she seemed genuinely sad to see him drive away. It was a bitter reminder that her departure from Landon was only hours away. The trip back to the house was much more subdued. Lauren leaned her head back, the sun on her skin and wind in her hair, relishing the fulfilled yet complicated happiness deep inside. They stopped off in town to get snacks for the flight and Lauren managed to find a couple bottles of wine from Paul’s vineyard.
An almost somber mood fell on them as they reached the house, that irritating inevitable quiet that follows an incredibly fun time. Lauren already dreaded her return to New York, the cramped empty apartment, the stress, work. It was as if she was pulling all those negative feelings into the present, tainting the last few hours she had so the the transition was less abrupt.
Ali excused herself to her bedroom and Lauren curled up on a lounge chair on the patio, soaking up a few rays of sunshine. A few moments later Landon joined her, a fresh carafe of coffee and two mugs in hand. Like an old couple, they sipped their coffee and watched the bugs flit across the surface of the pool in silence until Landon spoke.
“I think we should talk.”
A lump rose in her throat and she nearly begged him to stop. Don’t do this. I’ll just leave, we’ll never speak again, just don’t do this. I don’t need you to be the nice guy. I don’t need another guy dumping me.
“I have to come clean about something. You remember the first night when we sat over there? I said I had to make a call to Japan but that wasn’t true.”
Relieved he didn’t want to talk about their night together, she was still confused. This wasn’t the conversation she was expecting. “Okay...” she replied.
“You told me about that project you’re working on, remember? I never asked, by the way, do you have a name for it?”
“I haven’t really given it much thought but I’ve been calling it My Best Friend’s Closet to myself,” Lauren frowned. “Why? What do you have to come clean about?”
He sighed and put his coffee cup down. “I spent half the night researching competitors, the market, everything. Your pitch set off some kind of domino reaction in my mind and I needed to see if it was as special as I suspected.”
“But I didn’t pitch you...”
Landon swung his legs to the side of the lounge chair to face her, his expression earnest. “I’m so sorry about all this. I try so hard to keep my professional and private life separate and it’s been so long since I’ve even had someone in my life. I didn’t mean to combine the two and in the matter of a couple days...”
“Okay, start over. What are you talking about?”
He took a deep breath. “I still have a lot of research to do but I think your idea is viable. More than that, I think it could be big but I need more time. This weekend...I never thought something like this could happen so quickly.” He laughed to himself. “I’m completely infatuated with you.”
Lauren smiled and reached for his hand. She liked seeing the normally confident Landon a bit confused, a little flustered. It was endearing and made her want to comfort him.
“I am too! Don’t worry, it’ll be alright.”
“The thing is,” he continued, “there’s a bridge on the horizon we might have to cross. I hate to ruin the last couple hours we have together talking shop but I’d feel guilty if you went back to New York without my advice.”
She nodded, her practical side overpowering her crush. Here was one of the most esteemed investors in Silicon Valley offering free advice. “Alright, I understand. What do I need to do?”
“First of all, have you ever worked on your project while in the StyleSpur offices?” Lauren shook her head. “Using company property?”
“No, I just work on it at home on my own computer.”
“Good, that’s good. Keep it that way. There are weird laws that surround ownership of code, gray areas where your employer can claim rights to it. Okay, do you have direct contact with the clients? Like, do you speak directly to Levi’s and other clothing companies?”
“No, the client success and sales teams deal exclusively with them, thank God.”
Landon nodded to himself. “Have you told anyone else about the concept?”
Lauren briefly considered lying to him, not wanting to tarnish his opinion of her. She drew her legs in and sat cross legged, elbows on her knees. He looked at her intently as she spoke. “I had a similar idea months ago and brought it up in a meeting with Parker. He shot it down before I even had a chance to complete my thought, so no one else
in the meeting even paid attention. It’s pretty common for him to do. Then, a couple weeks ago just after we started looking for our Series B funding, I broached it again thinking it might be something investors would like to see, this time in a private meeting.” She picked at her short nails, not wanting to see the look in his eyes as she continued. “He said if I wanted the go-ahead and credit for the project, I had to sleep with him. ‘Give me what I want and you’ll get what you want,’ was the gist of it. He essentially assaulted me. He pushed me up against the wall and when I resisted he got pissed off.”
“Did you tell anyone what happened?”
Lauren shook her head. “Just Ali. You have to understand, I wanted to, I really did. For one thing, try getting a job when you sued your previous boss for sexual harassment. Plus, StyleSpur is my first job and I’ve been there for so long now...Parker knows so many people—”
“He’d just blacklist you,” Landon nodded. “What an asshole. I mean, I knew the guy was a jerk but holy shit.”
“You have no idea.” Lauren felt relieved. A part of her worried Landon would somehow blame her. Coming clean about it felt amazing.
He spent the next hour explaining how she could protect herself should she want to make My Best Friend’s Closet a reality. It was one thing to break off and create her own company while still working at StyleSpur, but because her concept was so closely related she was at risk for a myriad of lawsuits. Lauren would have to keep very quiet about everything, even to people in her own life. Landon referred to it as a stealth startup.
Although she felt overwhelmed with information, Lauren was thankful she had Landon to explain things to her. She knew without his guidance she would’ve ended up making several fatal mistakes that would’ve doomed her chances of building anything successful.
