Withholding Nothing

by Victoria Bright

  “Why is it complicated?” I asked, genuinely curious.

  She shrugged. “Sex complicates everything. I’m not in the market for a relationship.”

  “Who said anything about a relationship? That’s the furthest thing on my mind right now,” I said. Her facial expression didn’t change, but the look in her eyes did. A mixture of disappointment and rejection flashed through them at my words, which didn’t make any sense considering what she’d just said about relationships.

  “Whatever. I’m not really into the whole ‘no strings attached’ thing either,” she said, sitting back down at the island to finish her breakfast.

  “Eh, it’s not so bad.”

  “It is when I’m a territorial person,” she mused with a smirk. “Who’s to say we start something and I get jealous that you bring another girl over?”

  “That, my dear, would be a sign that you’re addicted to the D, which would be completely understandable,” I said with a grin. She scoffed. “But no, seriously, you could join us. I’ve always had a threesome on my bucket list.”

  “As fucking if, you cocky bastard,” she scoffed. “See? This is why I don’t like telling you things.”

  “You can keep telling yourself that,” I said with a chuckle. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have to get to work. Your car won’t fix itself,” I said.

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said, waving me off. I headed back to my room with a smile on my face. She was playing hard to get now, but that was okay. It would make my reward so much better once I finally got my hands on her.

  ∞∞∞

  “Hey, Smith, those parts for Ashton’s car came in today,” Rocky said when I arrived to work. “I put them in the car port for ya.”

  “Cool, thanks,” I responded, looking over at the large boxes stacked up against the wall on the side of Ashton’s car when I walked in. I quickly got to work, unpacking the parts and putting them on the cart next to me. The next few hours flew by without incident. I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I didn’t even notice Rocky standing next to me.

  “I wish Chris had your work ethic,” he suddenly said. I damn near hit my head on the raised hood of the car when I jumped.

  “How long have you been standing there?” I asked, my heart racing in my chest. Rocky shrugged.

  “Long enough. But go get yourself some lunch. It’s almost one,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder. No sooner than he said that, my stomach growled. Rocky let out a tired laugh. “Looks like your stomach agrees with me.”

  “I guess so,” I said with a chuckle. I straightened my workspace up and wiped my hands on a towel, following Rocky inside. After washing my hands, I headed to the break room, seeing Chris lounging against the couch.

  “Sup,” he said when he saw me.

  “What’s up, man?” I asked, grabbing my lunch bag from the fridge.

  “The usual. Dad busting my balls for one reason or another.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” I asked with a smirk. Chris sat up and slid to the edge of the couch.

  “So how is it rooming with Ashton?” he asked, a mischievous grin on his lips. I gave him a nonchalant shrug. There was no need to divulge in all the details, especially when I already knew what he wanted to know.

  “It’s cool, I guess,” I finally said, taking out a turkey and cheese sandwich.

  “Just cool? So you haven’t seen her in anything sexy yet?” Chris asked with a slight pout. I’ve seen her in the midst of an orgasm if that’s what you mean.

  “Why would I? She’s just my roommate, not my girlfriend.”

  “You’re way too much of a gentleman. There’s no way I could live with a woman that sexy and not try to bang her,” Chris stated, shaking his head in what looked like pity.

  I rolled my eyes, but didn’t say anything. Of course he was right in a sense, but I couldn’t agree with him without telling him the whole story. Sure, when I first saw her, I was instantly attracted to her, but learning that she’d been the phone sex operator I’d been talking to sparked something else inside of me. I hadn’t really pinpointed what it was exactly, but it was hard to ignore, even more so now that the truth was out in the open.

  My mind flashed back to the events of last night. I thought she and Natasha invaded my thoughts before, but now I almost thought about her nonstop. I could still vividly picture the look in her eyes when I first slipped my fingers inside of her and could still hear the needy moan that fell from her lips. My fingertips tingle as I thought of how tight her walls gripped my fingers, as if begging me to never remove them from her. I blew out a breath. If I didn’t get my thoughts together, I was going to have to find another conquest for tonight. A simple hand job wouldn’t do with all the sexual frustration building up inside of me.

  “Anyway, you doing anything tonight? Was thinking about going to the bar for some drinks or something,” Chris asked, breaking into my thoughts.

  “I’ll have to check, but I don’t think so. I’ll let you know,” I said, taking a bite out of my sandwich. He nodded as he stood.

  “Sounds legit. Just let me know,” he said and left the break room. My phone vibrated on the table, displaying the number I wish I could forget. I hit ignore and continued chewing, cringing when a text message notification sounded. This whole situation with Kayla was infuriating and confusing. The last thing she'd said to me before I left was that we were pretty much in denial that our relationship would permanently work despite years of her telling me otherwise. I’d expressed to her many times how I’d felt inadequate when it came to being with her. She was the woman with the successful career and all the money; what the hell would she want with a blue-collar average Joe like me? She’d always reassure me that she loved me for how I made her feel, not for what I could do for her since she could “do for herself.”

  I sighed and pushed thoughts of the past out of my mind. My phone chimed with another text message, this time from Ashton.

  A: Since you think you’re the only person around here who can cook, I wanted to know what you’d like for dinner tonight.

  Snickering to myself, I typed a quick reply.

  O: Surprise me. As long as it’s not one of your many TV dinners you have in the freezer, I’ll be fine.

  Her reply was swift.

  A: If you keep talking trash, you’ll come home to a completely burnt Hot Pocket and overcooked broccoli.

  O: Then I guess I’d just have to have you for dinner then.

  A playful smirk pulled at my lips as I pressed send. The reply bubble popped up for a few moments, feeling like eternity before it disappeared. Radio silence. I shook my head and put my phone back down. I had to give her credit; aside from being caught up in the moment last night, she sure knew how to keep up a strong front. Maybe this wouldn’t be as easy as I originally thought.

  ∞∞∞

  Garlic, cheese, and pepperoni smacked me in the face as soon as I entered the apartment. I smirked to myself. “Frozen pizza doesn’t count!” I called out as I kicked my work shoes off and picked them up.

  “Shut up, it isn’t pizza!” she replied. “Everything should be done by the time you get out of the shower!”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said mostly to myself, walking to my bedroom. I stripped out of my greasy uniform, tossing it into the laundry basket in the corner of the room before heading to the bathroom.

  The hot water felt good against my tired muscles as I lathered up with Old Spice body wash, cleaning away the grease of today’s hard work. I ended up having to take a rain check with Chris, too fatigued by the end of the workday to want to go out anymore. The only thing I wanted to do was relax tonight, and maybe mess with Ashton depending on how I felt after dinner. No sooner than the thought of her crossed my mind, a cool burst of air broke through the hot steam. A slow grin spread across my lips as I saw movement on the other side of the shower curtain.

  “I thought you were supposed to be cooking,” I said over the noise of the showerhead. No one responded, instead, she
pulled back the curtain and stepped in behind me, completely naked. I turned to face her, meeting her heated gaze. Her eyes traveled along my body, her fingertips tracing the muscles in my chest and stomach.

  “Do you know what you’re getting yourself into by being in here?” I asked, my voice low.

  “Yes,” she breathed, taking my cock into her warm hands. I bit my lip, the pad of my thumb brushing against her nipple.

  “Are you positive this is what you want? Because if you say the word, it’ll be hard to turn back,” I warned her. Her eyes darkened as she nodded, proving her point when she dropped to her knees and put me in her mouth.

  “Fuck,” I groaned. The water cascading off my chest soaked her hair as she sucked my cock. Seeing her full, pouty lips moving along my cock made me even harder, but she took it all with no hesitation. Her beautiful blue eyes looked up at me, her warm hand stroking up and down my shaft. I grabbed a handful of her hair and thrust into her mouth, my toes damn near curling when I hit the back of her throat. I noticed when she reached down and rubbed her clit as she continued to suck me, her moan vibrating around my cock. Disappointment flashed in her eyes when I pulled myself out of her mouth.

  “Am I not doing it right?” she asked, her voice small.

  “You were perfect, babe. Stand up for me,” I said. She slowly stood, uncertainty in her gaze as she watched me. I pulled her closer to me and dipped my head, taking a nipple into my mouth as my fingers caressed her slick core. She caressed the back of my head, throwing hers back as she groaned in pleasure. Goosebumps rose on her skin as I alternated between licking and sucking her nipple, continuing until both were rock hard. She watched as I brought my fingers to my mouth, licking away every trace of her sticky juices before getting on my knees before her. Securing one of her legs on my shoulder, I leaned forward and took her clit into my mouth, sucking gently.

  “Yes,” she breathed, throwing her head back as her one hand tightly gripped my free shoulder and the other on top of my head. She tasted as good as I’d imagined, her exotic taste overpowering my taste buds. I ran my tongue up and down her sex, allowing her to grind her soaking core against my mouth as her moans echoed off the shower tile. Her legs trembled as I sucked her clit some more. She moved her hips quickly, blindly searching for her orgasm and attempting me to rush her into it. I looked up at her, watching her breasts rise and fall in rapid succession.

  Her nails dug into my shoulder. “Oh god, I’m almost there,” she moaned. I detached my mouth from her clit and shook my head.

  “Not yet,” I murmured, standing back up. She shrieked in surprise when I turned her around and bent her over. I rubbed the head of my cock up and down her slick core. “You sure this is what you want?”

  She bit her lip and nodded, watching me over her shoulder. I slowly pushed inside of her, feeling her walls clamp down around me. Her throaty moan echoed inside the small space as I thrust into her, slow at first, but then settling into a good rhythm.

  “Fuck, you feel so good,” I groaned, gripping her hips tight as I pumped into her. Her walls squeezed me tight as I moved inside of her, making my—

  “Hey, Aquaman, save some water for the fishes. Plan on getting out of the shower anytime soon?” Ashton called out from the hallway, pounding on the door. I blinked and looked down, my hand squeezing my hard cock.

  I blew out a breath. That fucking woman was causing me to lose my mind and I haven’t even been inside her yet. “Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute,” I answered, my voice tight.

  “Good. Dinner’s waiting for you in the living room,” she said.

  I turned the hot water off, allowing the cold water to spray me for a few moments to shrink my erection. Why was this woman invading my thoughts? I thought about her even when she wasn’t around me, still able to smell her strawberries and cream body wash, taste her arousal on my tongue, and feel her heat around my two fingers. I closed my eyes and put my head under the cold water as an attempt to douse the steamy thoughts from my mind. Finally shutting the water off, I dried off and rushed into my bedroom to quickly get dressed before joining Ashton in the living room.

  She was curled up on one end of the couch in her silk robe, casually sipping a glass of red wine. Her eyes traveled along my body, stopping at the front of my shorts. A light blush touched her cheeks as she quickly turned her eyes to her wine glass.

  “I'm sorry, but I only made enough for the two of us,” she said, refusing to meet my gaze. I looked around with a raised brow, expecting to see someone else.

  “Isn't it only the two of us?”

  “It was.” She finally looked at me with a slight smirk as she nodded toward my shorts. “That is, until you invited your dick print.”

  I looked down, sure enough seeing what she meant. I shrugged, plopping down next to her on the couch. “Eh, he’s not hungry anyway. Doesn't like this kind of food,” I replied, wiggling my eyebrows. “And sorry, not sorry for the view. Didn't have much time to air dry like usual, so I just needed them to hang loose for a bit.”

  “What's the difference between shorts and boxers? They're still covering you.”

  “While my cock is glorious, I told you I don't really know CPR that well. Wouldn't want you to choke on your food while marveling at me, now would I?” I asked with a wink. Though she rolled her eyes, I didn't miss the hint of a smile that pulled at her lips.

  “Ugh, it's cringing to know that the thin material of your shorts is the only thing separating your balls from my couch,” she said with a shake of her head.

  “Hey! I just washed them! Show a little more respect! I’m not saying anything about your sketchy robe.”

  “Whatever you say. I’m just finally glad you came out the shower. I thought you drowned in there,” she muttered, the smirk on her lips betraying the irritation she tried to display in her voice. I gave her a nonchalant shrug.

  “Had a lot of grease on me.”

  “Then I hope you cleaned the tub. Grease rings are harder to get out.”

  “I wasn't that damn dirty,” I said with a frown. She giggled, a light, yet sweet sound.

  “I couldn't tell. You were in there for a long time. Either you were filthy or were in there doing filthy things,” she mused, picking her plate up from the coffee table. Oh, I was doing filthy things, all right.

  “Anyway, let’s see what you made here,” I said, picking up my plate. A slice of steaming lasagna, salad, and garlic bread filled the plate, the smell of the pepperoni and melted cheese on top making my stomach rumble with anticipation.

  “Does that look like pizza to you?” she asked, an I-told-you-so look on her face.

  “Eh,” I responded. “It looks okay, but let's see if you know how to utilize a spice rack.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Is this one of your jokes about white people not knowing how to season their food?”

  “Not at all. I've met plenty who do. It's a joke about a woman who lives off of TV dinners and whether or not she really knows how to cook or if she just knows how to follow a recipe.”

  She watched me in anticipation as I cut into my piece of lasagna with my fork and put it in my mouth. I chewed without a word, making sure I kept my face blank. “So?” she finally asked, her brow creased with worry.

  “Hmm…” I mused, taking another piece in my mouth.

  “Is it really not seasoned well enough? I thought I used enough—”

  “I’m kidding,” I said, smiling at her. “It’s perfect. I’m impressed.”

  Her shoulders relaxed a bit as she returned my smile. “Well…thanks,” she murmured, turning back to her own plate.

  “So I have to ask,” I asked a few minutes later. “How long have you been a phone sex operator?”

  She shrugged and stuffed a forkful of lasagna in her mouth. “Not long,” she said, a bit of food flying from her mouth.

  “So ladylike,” I teased with a shake of my head.

  “Like you have room to talk, Mr. Commando,” she tossed back.

  I
laughed. “Touchè, Ms. Silk Robe,” I said.

  “So…are you single?” she asked. I nodded, fighting the urge to cringe when Kayla crossed my mind. She was the last person I wanted to talk about. Ashton scoffed. “I’m not surprised.”

  I met her playful eyes with a frown. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? You calling me ugly?”

  “No, I’m—”

  “So then you think I’m sexy?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows. She rolled her eyes.

  “There you go with that again,” she muttered and shook her head. “I was only going to say that I’d love to meet the woman that would be able to deal with an asshole as cocky as you.”

  I clenched my teeth and nodded, but didn’t say anything. I could feel her eyes on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. Such a simple joke was enough to bring all my insecurities flooding to the surface. It wasn’t specifically what she said that set me off. The way I acted with Ashton wasn’t how I was with Kayla. Just the thought that I wasn’t enough for Kayla and that Ashton couldn’t even see me being in a relationship made me feel as if something was wrong with me. Ashton cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her spot.

  “Sorry, it was a joke,” she said.

  “It’s fine,” I answered, my voice tight. The rest of the meal was cloaked in silence. I glanced over at her, noticing that she was pushing her food around her plate, but not really eating it. I touched her knee gently. “Seriously, Ashton. It’s not anything that you said. It’s cool.”

  She gave me a small smile and nodded. “Bad day or something?” she asked.

  I sighed and put my empty plate on the table. “More like a not-so-great breakup,” I mentioned. She cocked her head as she looked at me thoughtfully.

  “Does this have anything to do with your whole starting over thing you mentioned the other night?” she asked as she put her plate on the table and grabbed her wine glass.

  “Yeah, mostly,” I admitted softly.