The Art of Us

by Hilaria Alexander

  I needed a release, soon.

  I paced the floor of my room. I changed my clothes. I put my nightshirt on and opened the door, leaving the mosquito net screen door closed. I stared at the garden, illuminated by soft light.

  What I could see of the sky was a purple haze. Even during the middle of the night, the summer sky in Tokyo had purple tones. There was too much smog and humidity to be able to see the stars.

  It was different, but still beautiful. I remembered the first time I was able to see the stars on the way back to my house on a crisp fall night.

  After so many months of not seeing the stars, it felt even more special.

  I loved that on my way back from work, I’d look up and find the stars.

  I tried to calm myself down, inhaled and exhaled slowly, but my body was too wound up and I couldn’t stop thinking about Amos.

  I looked at the clock on my phone. Twenty minutes had passed.

  Then thirty.

  Then forty.

  Motherfucker.

  I was so tense, I couldn’t stand it anymore.

  So, I did the only sensible thing I could think of.

  I decided to emulate Ben Stiller in There’s Something About Mary to loosen up.

  Like I’d told Amos that night out in Seattle, a lady must always be prepared.

  And prepared I was.

  I got my vibrator out of a drawer and pulled the blankets of my futon on top of me.

  I pressed the button and as soon as it pressed against my most sensitive spot, I was already on the edge of my release. The pent-up sexual frustration erupted a few seconds later just as a strangled moan escaped my mouth. I held my grip on my wand of all wonders and an unexpected, stronger orgasm erupted through me. The moan was louder and less controlled this time.

  My chest heaving, I breathed deeply as I tried to collect myself.

  Just then, I heard someone laughing outside my door.

  “Amos, is that you?” I whispered.

  “Yes, it is, Lena.” Even separated by a door, I could detect the amusement in his voice.

  Son of a bitch.

  I struggled in the dark to put my underwear back on, just in case. I didn’t want to be caught in flagrante, but it was probably too late for that.

  Oh well.

  “Can I come in?” he asked.

  “The shop’s closed. Come back tomorrow,” I joked, trying to get comfortable on my pillow. I heard his muffled laughter come from the other side, and I couldn’t hold back, ending up laughing with him.

  “Lena, let me come in…please.”

  “Fine. Come in.”

  I sat up in my futon, covered up by the blanket and the t-shirt I was wearing.

  “Oh, you’re dressed,” he said with an air of disappointment as he took a seat down on the tatami, right next to my futon. He crisscrossed his legs, his eyes never leaving me.

  I glared at him. “Did you think I slept in the nude?”

  “A man can dream.” The tone of his voice was soft, the smile on his lips sweet. He swallowed, and his eyes traveled down my chest, down to my waist.

  “What are you wearing underneath?” he asked as he went to grab a corner of the blanket. I stopped him, keeping the fabric down with both hands.

  “Why do you want to know? Are you trying to get in my pants tonight?” I asked with an air of defiance.

  “I would really like that…but only if you want to.” He sounded sincere, as if he’d given it some actual thought, as if he was willing to wait some more if I wasn’t ready. “So, what were you doing just now?” He gave me a teasing look, and his lips curled in that smile of his that was both irritating and charming.

  “I’ll never tell,” I mused.

  “You sounded like you weren’t feeling too hot.” The tone of provocation in his voice wasn’t lost on me.

  “I was feeling plenty hot, thank you very much,” I replied, realizing a second too late that I’d fallen right into his trap. Heat rushed to my cheeks.

  “Were you using that big vibrator you had in Seattle?”

  “It’s not that big.” I let out a laugh.

  “I remember it was pretty big. May I see it again?”

  “Why?”

  “Because I would like to see you come. I’ve been dying to see you come.”

  “Oh, fuck off,” I said, rolling my eyes. He laughed, and he took one of my hands in his.

  “I’m serious.” His velvety voice was one of the biggest turn-ons. I’d spent months trying to forget about how much I liked it, but now there were no real obstacles between us and it was going to be twice as hard to stand my ground.

  His voice alone seemed to awaken the deepest part of me. My nipples hardened under my thin shirt and I squeezed my thighs close together. I brought my knees up, squeezing my center tighter.

  He had to know how much he turned me on.

  “Why now?” I asked. “Haven’t we been dancing around each other long enough?”

  He smiled.

  “What’s another fifteen minutes? I’ve been waiting for you for so long now.” He sounded so earnest, so vulnerable. A multitude of feelings washed over me, and I had a strong impulse to embrace him. Instead, I slipped my underwear out from under the blanket while keeping my eyes fixed on his.

  His gaze darkened with lust as he swallowed, lips parted, curiosity and desire giving his eyes a different light. I grabbed his hand and brought it between my legs.

  “Do you want to see me come? Go for it,” I said softly, with just a hint of mischief.

  His fingers parted my lips, already wet and sleek with need. His index finger went right for my favorite spot. He first pinched it gently, making me squirm.

  A soft laugh escaped his lips, but then his own arousal started showing, his breath coming in shallow and fast.

  There was a certain desire and reverence in his eyes, and my heart started beating even faster.

  It was in that moment that I knew nothing was going to be the same ever again. I ran my hand up his shirt and up his neck as he kept applying gentle pressure in circular motions between my legs. His touch was light and gentle at first, and as he started increasing the tempo of his sweet torture, I gently pressed my hand to his neck, asking for a kiss.

  His lips on mine felt like water to a person dying of thirst. I drank him in.

  He was oxygen. I breathed him in as if he was the only source of air.

  His tongue around mine was the thrill of being and feeling alive.

  His tongue around mine was a new beginning, a new chance to be happy.

  I let myself go, lost in his kiss as his fingers brought me to the brink of climax. He pulled back, cradling my head and staring at my face as the orgasm erupted through me, powerful and merciless. White lights danced before my eyes, adrenaline rushing through every cell of my body, my chest heaving, my lungs struggling to keep up.

  When I opened my eyes, I found him staring at me with the look of someone who’d seen the greatest thing ever. I felt my cheeks redden and I avoided his gaze, searching for his lips once more. I brushed my lips against his again, gently, and brought my hands down to the bulging erection in his pants.

  “Was that everything you wanted to see?”

  “No,” he replied in a serious tone. “That was just the beginning. I want to see you come again and again, preferably with me buried inside of you.”

  “Have at it,” I replied as I unbuckled his jeans and moved my hands around his hips to lower his boxers.

  He took off his shirt, and I stopped what I was doing so I could do the same.

  His eyes touched me everywhere before his hands did. He grabbed one of my breasts, caressing it, teasing the hardened nipple with his thumb.

  I let out a shallow breath and ran my fingers down his pecs, his abs, needing to feel his hard planes under my fingers. He stood up so he could take off his jeans and underwear and I watched him in awe, my body still reeling from its recent release, yet still needing that piece of him I hadn’t gotten yet
.

  He reached down in his wallet for a condom, but when he was about to kneel down, I stopped him and got up on my knees.

  I took his beautiful, smooth erection in my hands, giving it a gentle squeeze before I took it in my mouth, sucking the entire length slowly.

  Amos’ hissed breath was the confirmation I needed to continue. His fingers running through my hair were gentle, never pressing, never pushing.

  I looked up and locked eyes with him, even though I could only partially see him in the dim light. There was a halo of light all around him from the glow coming in from the garden.

  Almost as if reading my thoughts, he pulled back, telling me to stop.

  “Wait, I need to be able to see you,” he said.

  He closed the screen door and turned on the small table lamp in my room.

  My eyes squinted, struggling to adjust.

  “This is much better,” he said with a smirk.

  “Um, I kind of liked it better before.”

  “You shush. If you’re going to be sucking my cock, I want to be able to see it.” His voice was deep and serious, and it sent a shiver down my spine.

  “Lie down,” he commanded with a tilt of his jaw as he unwrapped the foil packet and started to roll the condom down his cock.

  My throat went dry, thirsty with anticipation.

  The ache between my legs and the man in front of me were all my senses could register.

  When he took his place between my legs, he peeked and inserted a finger in my vagina to make sure I was wet enough.

  He balanced himself on his hands and leaned down to kiss me again. He then straightened himself up and grabbed my hips, lifting them just a little.

  I took his cock in my hand and guided it to my entrance.

  I let out a sigh as the shape of him filled me.

  “God, you feel so fucking good, Lena.” His words were music to my ears, because the feeling of him inside me was magnificent, and I struggled to recall a time it had felt this good.

  He grabbed my hips, rocking in and out of me in a steady rhythm.

  I played with my nipples as he stared at me through heavy-lidded eyes full of lust, and he brought a thumb between my lips to tease my clit as he increased the tempo of his hips rocking into me.

  He balanced himself on one hand, the other still between my legs as he brushed his lips against mine and whispered words that sent me over the edge.

  “I have wanted you for so long.”

  Each thrust sent me a bit farther over the edge. I wrapped my legs around him, tilting my hips up, pressing my hands on his ass to get even more of him.

  I needed more of him. I would always need more.

  Everything about his lips, his touch, the movement of his body called for my senses to surrender to him completely. I lowered my walls, letting him in, letting him see me.

  “I have wanted you for a long time, too, Amos,” I said in a whisper, surprised by my own words. When it came to sex, I was always the one in control, but this was different.

  It wasn’t just about me anymore. It was about us.

  “Let me see you come again, Lena,” he said as he increased the rhythm of his thrusts, still applying pressure to my swollen clit.

  I did as he asked, eyes open, fixed on him as the orgasm rippled through me and a low, guttural scream escaped my lips.

  He followed soon after, accompanying his release with muffled grunts, leaning his head on my chest. I ran my fingers through his hair, still trying to catch my breath, my legs limp under him, my core still reeling from my release.

  We stayed like that for a while, not saying a word, just breathing slowly.

  He got up to clean himself, and I threw on a long shirt to go pee.

  I walked slowly, trying to be extra careful not to make any noise.

  I went back to my room and turned the light off. For a moment I thought he might be asleep, but when I stepped closer, he moved the blanket so I could take my place next to him.

  “Lose the shirt,” he ordered.

  I scowled. “You really need to stop barking out orders.”

  “I need to feel your skin against mine. I have been thinking about this for entirely too long.” Once again, his sincerity startled me. He talked about me as if I was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

  The spark in my heart was the confirmation I needed.

  I was a goner.

  Somehow, I wasn’t too upset about it.

  His fingers teased my skin, running up my hips to my back.

  I took my shirt off and lay next to him.

  He took me in his arms, with one arm cradling my head.

  There was nowhere for me to run. Somehow, I didn’t feel the need to be anywhere but there. I wanted to stay right there, in his arms.

  For the first time in a long time, I felt I belonged somewhere.

  I feel asleep with my head pressed against his chest, the sound of his heartbeat lulling me into Orpheus’ world.

  AMOS

  “Did you check your emails? Marty wants to have a video conference. Apparently he has something important to tell us.”

  “Ugh, what could he possibly want now? He’s already sent us to Japan. What’s next—Antarctica?” Lena grumbled as I kept my eyes on a pivotal scene I was working on.

  We had completed one volume, but we still had to deliver two, and we barely had eight months to do it. It was way less time than Rika Ishikawa had when she was serializing it.

  The publishing company’s reasoning was that the script had already been written, but we still had to have the okay from Rika-san herself on every panel we completed, and whenever she didn’t feel good enough to get up and work, it set us back a few days.

  It always felt like someone was breathing down our necks. I didn’t regret getting involved in the project, but I knew there was a lot at stake.

  I glanced up at Lena and found her staring at me.

  I gave her a small smile and she reciprocated.

  It had been a couple of weeks since our night out, and I hadn’t slept alone since.

  When we’d stop working for the day, it was just a matter of minutes before our tongues and bodies were tangled together.

  However, as much as we were like horny teenagers around each other, we tried to be careful around everyone else.

  Ishikawa probably suspected something, but she hadn’t said anything.

  “When does Marty want to have this conference call?”

  “Um, he didn’t quite call it a conference call…I think he just meant he wanted to check in with us.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t trust him that much anymore,” she said jokingly, and I laughed along.

  “I’m emailing him back to tell him we could do it now, agree?”

  “Sure. Let’s get this over with.” She sighed heavily, glancing in the direction of the hallway. Rika-san hadn’t been feeling well the last couple of days, and I knew Lena was worried about her.

  Akane was working in an adjacent room, and I had no idea where Hiroyuki was. He’d probably gone on some errand.

  “Awesome. He says he can FaceTime us right now.”

  “I better get a side of Violet with that McFly. I miss her,” Lena said, lifting her head from the sketch she’d been working on. She met my gaze, and a small smile stretched across my face.

  She liked to paint herself as a loner, but I knew how big her heart was. I knew how much she loved and cared for Marty and Violet, and I could see it in the way she treated Rika-san, too.

  “Come sit next to me,” I suggested.

  She got up and walked around the table then sat down next to me, crossing her legs.

  “Hi,” I said in a low tone, turning to her now that she was only inches away. I leaned and pressed my forehead against hers, pulled back, and brushed my lips against hers. She responded to the kiss, and when I pulled back, she stared at me, pursing her lips, trying to hide a smile, amusement dancing in her eyes.

  “Don’t even start. Your ‘
hi’ always ends up with me flat on my back and your cock inside me.”

  I let out a guffawed laugh. “Excuse me, I didn’t know that bothered you.”

  “Oh, it bothers me a lot,” she mused. “It bothers me that your salutation has become synonymous with me dropping my panties for you.”

  I looked at her quizzically, eyebrows drawn, but then she got up on her knees and took my face in her hands.

  She kissed me, slow and deep, possessing my mouth the way only she knew how.

  Her kisses were like Viagra. All I needed was her tongue, and I would immediately think about her sucking my dick or taking me deep inside of her. Somehow, I didn’t even feel sorry about it.

  I pulled back and cleared my throat.

  “The reason we always end up fucking like rabbits is because you’re too beautiful and sexy for your own good.” She seemed to soften at my words, but I wasn’t done. “I wanted you for entirely too long, and now that I have you, I will never pass on the opportunity to give you all of me.”

  Her eyes grew bigger, glossy. She closed them and leaned in again for a kiss.

  I was dying to tell her I loved her, but I didn’t want to freak her out.

  I loved every little thing about her, and what I wanted the most was for her to ditch her feeling of unworthiness for good. She still hadn’t told me what had happened for her to be in this constant state of war with herself, but I kept hoping she’d soon open up to me and tell me everything I wanted to know.

  “Should we tell them about us?” I asked to ruffle her feathers and lighten up the mood.

  LENA

  I laughed at his question, but he didn’t care and leaned in to steal a kiss. It was just a quick peck, but it sent a rush of adrenaline down my spine.

  God, I loved when he did that. The ache in my chest was almost unbearable.

  Although I liked to tease him, I was falling more and more for him. I couldn’t get enough of his lips, his touch, the way he seemed to make my body sing in ecstasy.

  He had such a strange effect on me. He could evoke so many emotions.

  He still irritated the hell out of me from time to time, but mostly he’d either turn me on or make me feel safe.