by Hazel Kelly
I furrowed my brow. "What?"
"And you definitely aren’t supposed to smile at strangers because they don't know you so it's considered weird behavior."
I shook my head. "I had no idea. That sounds so hostile."
He shrugged. "It's just a cultural quirk. And I haven't seen it myself, but my buddy goes to Russia for work a lot, and he basically has to get his smiling under control or risk not being taken seriously."
"That's insane."
"It's exhausting is what it is," he said. "And that's what boarding school was like for me. Year after year of smiling being treated as suspicious behavior."
"Whoa."
"Don't get me wrong. I needed to go. I had no respect for authority, and I was channeling my energy in all the wrong ways."
“Yeah.”
"But now I just want to be around people who fucking want to smile and have a good time."
"That makes perfect sense."
"So for the record, I won't be looking for work in Moscow anytime soon,” he said. "After all, I'd much rather be smiling here with you."
Chapter 30: Ethan
"What's the damage?" she asked when the bill came.
"None of your business," I said, sliding my card in the small leather folder.
She furrowed her brow. "Are you sure? I really don't mind paying my way."
"Someday you can get me back when you're a big star."
She smiled. "I like the sound of that."
The evening air was warm and energizing when we hit the sidewalk, and I was already wishing it were earlier. I had so much more to say to her, and I just wasn't sure how I was going to do it.
"What would you like to do?" I asked. "Go for a drink? Try and get some scalped tickets for a show?"
"I think you've spent enough on me tonight," she said, her hand with the flowers swinging beside her. "Plus, last night was pretty boozy."
"You bounced back well enough."
"Yeah, but I'd be happy to just go back and have a glass of wine. Listen to some music. Is that totally lame on a Friday night?"
"Not at all," I said. "Lame is not doing what you want. And I'm always out on a Friday so I'm absolutely fine with that plan."
"Great," she said. "We'll pick something up on the walk home."
"No need," I said. "I've got more wine at my place than-"
"Condoms?"
I raised my eyebrows. "What?"
"Sorry," she said, her cheeks blushing. "I might have accidentally seen that you're hoarding condoms for the apocalypse."
I rolled my eyes. They never seemed to last very long, but I wasn't about to tell her that. "Did you go through all my drawers or just my underwear drawer?"
"Just that one," she said. "The day I arrived. But I swear I stopped snooping as soon as I saw your stash."
Half my mouth curled into a smile, and I nodded across the street. "Let's cut through the park."
"I shouldn't have mentioned it," she said, her hair shining under the street lights as we crossed in front of the stalled traffic. "Besides, I suppose it would be more embarrassing for you if you didn't have condoms at your place."
"That's right," I said, stepping to the side so she could walk through the black iron gates into the park. "Is there anything else you want to ask me since we're suddenly discussing my sex life?"
She stopped in her tracks.
I turned back to look at her, realizing I was far more amused than she was.
"Oh god." She scrunched her face. "We were having such a nice time and then I had to blow it by being awkward."
"Hey." I squared my shoulders to face her. "You're not awkward." I glanced down at her lips. "You're funny and charming, and I couldn't care less that you went through my shit."
She covered her face with her hands.
I grabbed her wrists and pulled them down so I could see her shiny eyes again. "Jenny."
She squinted. "What?"
"Pull it together so we can take this conversation about your fascination with my condom collection back to mine."
She swallowed.
"Hell, I'll even model a few of them for you if you want-"
She pushed my chest away. "Don't be stupid."
I grabbed her shoulders and pressed my cheek against hers so I could whisper in her ear. "Don't pretend the thought hasn't crossed your mind."
"It has." She spoke so softly her words were like a breeze. "Does that make me terrible?"
"No," I said, loosening the grip I had on her when I realized I was touching her bare flesh. "Not any more terrible than me anyway."
She craned her neck back and looked at me, her eyes searching mine. "Really?"
I dropped my hands. "I might be a prick, but I'm not a liar."
Her lips fell apart.
"Come on," I said, tilting my head behind me. "Let's get out of-"
"Wait," she said, laying her free hand on my chest and staring at it.
Her hand on my body made me feel hot all over.
She looked up at me, letting her eyes drop to my mouth.
And I went for it, pressing my lips against hers in the middle of the public park.
She leaned into me and slipped her tongue in my mouth.
I slid my hands around her lower back, pulling her against my hips as I swelled for her and sucked the sweetness from her wine soaked tongue.
It was a long kiss, and it might've been even longer if an eruption of applause hadn't interrupted us so soon.
Jenny pulled back and looked past me.
I looked over my shoulder and saw half a dozen teenage boys drinking poorly disguised cans of beer down the path to our left. When I looked back at Jenny, she was flushed.
The cheering continued.
"I wonder would they be clapping if they knew," she said.
"To be honest, I think they'd be clapping if I was a squirrel who just found a nut."
"Perhaps," she said, starting towards the path that led away from the boys.
"Though I suppose I feel much the same way."
"What do you mean?" she asked, hooking her arm around mine.
"I mean now that you're here, it feels like I've found something I misplaced."
She glanced at me.
"I don't know if that makes sense-"
"It does," she said. "Though I'm not sure misplaced is the right word."
I furrowed my brow. "What would be the right word?”
"Misunderstood?"
"Mmm." I walked along beside her, my chest bursting like fireworks as I tried to make sense of what just happened.
"Ethan?"
"Yeah?"
"What are we going to do now?"
"We're going to go back to my apartment like we discussed."
"Uh-huh."
"And then we're going to have a few glasses of wine and listen to some music."
"Okay."
"And then we're going to do whatever we want cause that's the theme of the night."
She swallowed.
"And we won't overthink anything until tomorrow morning."
"I like that idea."
I turned towards her. Her face was glowing from the kissing and the wine, and I swear she'd never looked more beautiful. "Yeah?"
She nodded. "That sounds like the kind of fun I've wanted to have for a long time."
I smiled. "You and me both, Jenny. You and me both."
Chapter 31: Jenny
I couldn't believe he kissed me in public.
No one had ever done that.
And he was probably the last person who ever should've.
And yet, I wasn't sorry. Not even a little bit. On the contrary, I felt full where I usually felt empty, warm where I usually felt cold, light where I usually felt heavy.
So it couldn't be wrong, could it?
Then again, my heart wasn’t exactly the most insightful moral compass. Even on a good day, it was completely untrustworthy.
But even if I didn't feel I could trust myself, surely I could trust E
than.
He clearly wanted what was best for me- his kisses being at the top of the list.
We were quiet on the way home.
Sure, it was that kind of quiet where you get the sense that both people are walking along having really loud thoughts, but none of them were spoken out loud… not since we both agreed that an evening of music and wine and not overthinking things was just what we needed.
Of course, that was a lot easier said than done.
I mean, I was totally overthinking things- namely his lighthearted joke about modeling condoms for me, which I found both exciting and terrifying. But it was that magnetic kind of fear that makes people go to scary movies and set foot in haunted houses.
In other words, I was pretty sure my desire to be vulnerable with him was starting to outweigh my fear of the awkward aftermath that might result.
Needless to say, I was relieved when he opened the wine as soon as we walked in the door.
I slipped my shoes off while he poured two glasses of white.
Then he disappeared to his room for a second, returning a few moments later as some music began to play.
"So," I said, taking a sip. "What's new?"
He laughed. "Besides kissing you?"
I dug my toes into the light carpet and searched his eyes. "It was better this time, wasn't it?"
"Yeah,” he said. “Cause we were us. Instead of Marilyn and Brian."
I smiled. "We're better as us."
He nodded. "I think so."
"Wanna dance?"
He scrunched his face.
"Don't pretend you've never danced to Bowie in your apartment."
"How about you dance and I watch," he said, taking a sip of his drink.
"How about you touch me when I ask you to?"
His eyes grew wide.
"I don't bite, you know."
"That's not what I'm afraid of."
I drained half my glass and set it down on the counter. "What are you afraid of?"
He sighed.
I stepped into his personal space and looked up at him. The electricity between us was thick and warm. "Tell me."
He scooted his glass down and looked at me, his eyes sweeping over my face and my chest with zero subtlety. "I'm afraid I won't be able to stop if I start."
“What? Dancing?”
“No.” He trailed his fingertips up the side of my arm. “Touching you.”
My chest tightened around my racing heart.
His eyes were dark and full of lust.
"Don't be," I said, laying a hand on his jaw. "I promise I won't ask you to."
He kissed me again a second later, pulling me against him with a force much greater than he'd used in the park.
I swirled my tongue around his and felt his hands curl underneath my dress, his flat palms sliding over my body a second later.
I pulled away from him just long enough for him to pull my dress off over my head.
"Fuck, Jenny," he said, his large hands undoing the clasp on my strapless bra. "You don't know how much I've wanted this." He planted his lips against mine again and slid his hands over my breasts.
My nipples hardened against his palms and a coil of heat curled in my stomach.
I clasped my hands behind his neck and leaned my hips against him, letting his tongue erase my mind.
A second later, his hands were under my ass, lifting me up.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on as he carried me over to the couch.
When he sat down, his lips strayed from mine and traveled down my neck, effectively loosening it so it fell to the side, his lips burning their way down my collarbone to my breasts.
He groaned as he sucked one of my nipples into his mouth, flicking it with his tongue as he kneaded my other breast in his large hand.
I could feel his dick swelling between my legs, the hard length of it along my slit.
And in that moment he wasn't the only one who was afraid. I was afraid, too- of how much I wanted him, of how much I was willing to give him, of how much I didn't care that he was going to take it without asking.
And I knew that I would keep my promise, that I wouldn't stop him.
I rocked against his dick, growing wetter with his every squeeze and swell.
"Ethan," I whispered as he sucked my breasts.
He threw me down on the couch and knelt over me, unbuttoning his shirt without taking his eyes off mine.
I watched as he showed me his abs again. But for the first time, I didn't try to look away.
Then his hands were on his belt, pulling it from the loops. The sound of his zipper going down made every hair on my body stand up.
But he kept his boxers on.
Then he wrapped his fingers around the sides of my small white panties and slid them down, his eyes devouring every inch of me as he did it.
I stared at the outline of his cock where it was straining against his grey boxers and felt a rush unlike anything I'd ever known.
And when he lowered his head between my knees, I knew a line had been crossed.
Nothing would ever be the same.
I raised my hands over my head as he laid his tongue against me, gushing against him as he flicked my swollen bud.
And when he started moving his tongue faster, I pulled my own hair and arched my back, spilling into his mouth with a groan.
The pleasure was unbearable, and I felt like a ray of light, bending with his will.
"Oh god, Ethan," I whispered, his name on my lips like a bad word as my hips bucked against his face. "That feels so good."
He pinned me down with his free hand, spreading it across my stomach while the other fucked me deep and hard, his fingers curling against my core.
I was burning up, and I felt all the heat inside me pool between my legs. "I'm gonna come," I mouthed, but no sound escaped.
And when my body jerked one last time, he pulled his fingers from inside me and drank my pleasure down like he’d been waiting his whole life to taste me, his lips slurping against my wet hot center.
And in that moment, I didn't have a single regret.
I mean, how could I?
I was pure stardust.
Chapter 32: Ethan
I was convinced I was dreaming, but I didn't dare pinch myself.
She was even more vivacious than I ever imagined.
Not only did she taste as light as strawberry water, but her body was fucking perfect. Every curve I came across was more gorgeous than the last, and I couldn't get enough of the way she responded to my touch.
I kissed her pussy one last time and wiped my lips on the delicate flesh of her inner thigh before kissing my way up her soft stomach and her panting chest.
When I was suspended over her, she looked at me through half closed eyes.
She smiled. "That's by far the nicest thing you've ever done for me."
I laughed. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment considering there's not much competition."
"Oh, it is."
I stared back and forth between her hazel eyes, admiring the way the flush of her cheeks framed her light freckles. "You taste like heaven."
She pursed her lips. "And you feel like it."
"You haven't felt anything yet," I said, pressing my hard on against her throbbing heat.
She reached up and pulled my face down to hers, opening her mouth wide to kiss me. "Hurry up," she whispered against my lips. "Before I change my mind."
I straightened up and pulled my boxers down.
Having her eyes on my cock was almost enough to make me bust my load right there. And I might've, too. God knows how many times I imagined what she would look like covered in me. But those were the dark fantasies I had for her.
And those thoughts had no place here, not when she was so naked and vulnerable and full of obvious trust in me.
I wouldn't degrade her like that… unless she asked me to.
But it was too soon for that.
This was too new.
Besides, what I wanted most was to know what it felt like to be inside her. Deep. Like she'd always been in me.
I bent over and scooped her up, setting her feet down on the couch so she was standing on it, my head level with her breasts.
She looked down at me and dragged her fingertips against the sides of my head.
I slid my hand back between her legs and let her sweet nectar drip on my fingers.
"I want you inside me," she whispered. "Please."
I pulled her arms around my neck and lifted her off the couch. I wanted her in my bed. I wanted her hair against my pillows and her smell between my sheets.
But when I got to the door, I didn't walk through it. Instead, I pressed her back up against the wall and reached for my dick.
Then I pressed the tip of it against her opening and let her slide down on me, the full weight of her amazing body on my shaft.
She cried out as she slid down, her parted lips right in my face.
I stared at them as I disappeared inside her, burying myself in pulsing warmth. She was so tight I thought I might pass out.
"Oh god," she breathed. "You're so deep."
I sank my fingers into the fleshy cheeks of her ass and backed my hips up, thrusting deep against her core again.
"Fuck, Ethan."
I pressed my forehead against hers and drove inside her again, savoring how good it felt to finally fuck the girl I'd always wished was my childhood sweetheart, the girl I'd always wished was the girl next door, the only girl I would’ve done anything for- felt anything for- risked anything for.
She dug her fingers into my back, and I bent my legs again so I could make her feel every swollen inch of me.
I’d never been so hard for anyone.
And she was so tight I could see stars, so tight I never wanted to pull out of her, so tight I never wanted to come.
But I was going to fucking come whether I wanted to or not.
I felt her legs tighten around my waist and fucked her against the wall again, unable to hear anything except her high pitched groaning each time I buried myself inside her.
Suddenly, she pressed her cheek against mine and hugged her tits against my chest. "Take me to bed, Ethan."
I clenched my jaw as she throbbed around me and stepped away from the wall.
