“Say the word, and I’ll never stop.” His voice is so earnest, his tone so eager.
Tears sting my eyes as I gaze up at him. “Never stop.”
And he doesn’t.
*
After our marathon floor sex, which turned into sofa sex, we collapse against each other, me pinned under him, bearing his full weight. It’s like snuggling under the world’s sexiest weighted blanket. My nipples are sore from the way he’s been tweaking and sucking them, and his cum is sticky between my legs. I love it.
He falls asleep mumbling something about a bad call on the TV, his face nuzzled against my breasts. I must fall asleep at some point too because I wake up a few hours later to find him gone. I’m alone on the sofa, my robe draped over me like a blanket. The TV is off, but the fireplace is still on. I sit up and my robe falls around my waist, my bare breasts pebbling in the cool air.
Did he leave without a word? My heart squeezes tight. One night with this guy, and I feel ready to rethink everything. I wanted him to know my name. I wanted to give him my number. Maybe this could have been more. Maybe—
But now I’ll never know.
I fight the tears stinging my eyes, but that’s when I hear the toilet. After a few moments, there’s the sound of running water at the sink. He’s just in the bathroom. The air slips gratefully from my lungs and I glance over the back of the sofa. His jeans are still in a pile on the floor next to his shoes. So is my jumpsuit and his shirt.
I sink back against the edge of the sofa with relief. Well, my heart feels relief. My mind is buzzing like a hive of bees. This is beyond crazy. I’m feeling way too much for this guy. I feel weightless, like an untethered hot air balloon.
Meanwhile, my whole body feels boneless from too much amazing sex. Is there such a thing as too much sex? There’s a pleasant soreness between my legs and I’m losing count of my orgasms. Five? I think there may have been a sneaky mini sixth one in there. I was mid-orgasm, and the jerk slapped my clit. Boom went the dynamite.
That was the “something” he learned about me during this last round. Now Mystery Boy knows I appreciate choking and slapping. If we get to bondage tonight, I suppose I should just pack it in and marry him. I’ll learn his name at the altar.
I slip off the sofa, my robe dropping to the floor, and tiptoe naked over to the bed. I check the time on my phone. 3:00AM. I have to leave for the airport in four hours.
I’ve missed a ton of messages. My roommate Tess sent a text and called twice. Daddy texted. And mom. They were both asking what happened to me at the brunch, wondering if I’m okay. Two texts from Harrison. A “U OK?” and a GIF of Moira Rose wearing that weird head pillow thing. Good, I’d rather him think I was too hungover from the wedding last night and not too embarrassed by my fellowship failure.
I shoot off a quick round of texts. One to Tess saying I’ll call her tomorrow and one to the Price Family group chat with mom, daddy, and Harrison. I smile when I see someone has already added Som.
I make sure my phone alarm is set and put it back on the charging pad. I gaze out the wall of glass. The storm is over, but everything is still wet. The whole city glistens, the lights of downtown Seattle hazy around the edges. I pad around the bed over to the window, arms crossed under my breasts.
Behind me, the door to the bathroom opens.
“Shit, did I wake you?” he calls.
I shake my head.
He joins me at the window, wrapping me in his arms. I settle against his warm skin. The juxtaposition of his warmth with the cold air from the glass wall gives me a chill. He rubs my arms, bending down to kiss my shoulder.
I sigh, so comfortable in his arms.
“I love cities at night,” he murmurs in my ear.
I smile. “Is that your new something?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, I guess so. It’s one of my favorite parts of all the travel I get to do. I love skylines. I love the way they have a shape…like a silhouette, you know. Like, a woman’s body. You can memorize it. You can see just the silhouette of Seattle and you know it.”
I hum low in my throat. “Because of the Space Needle.”
“Yeah.” He kisses my shoulder again.
I lean forward a bit, peering through the buildings. “I think you can see Pike Place from here.”
He presses in behind me, following the point of my finger against the glass. “Yeah…I think you’re right. Hey—” He brushes his hand over my hair, giving my messy topknot a little tug to tip my head back. I gaze up at him and he’s smiling. “You wanna go there in the morning before your flight? You still owe me a dragon fruit tea, remember? I mean, I’m gonna make you change the order to a grande americano, but still—”
“I can’t,” I say quickly. “I have to be to the airport in four hours.”
My words settle between us. My head spoke them faster than my heart could scream stop.
He’s still as stone behind me, his body tense. After a minute, he lets out a heavy sigh, his body curling around me. “Stay.”
I close my eyes tight, heart racing.
“Stay the week with me,” he says, kissing my shoulder again, his warm breath fanning over my skin. “Change your flight. I’ll pay for it. The hotel is already reserved. I’ll cover everything. Just—don’t leave yet.”
I shake my head, my body at war with itself. “I can’t stay. I’ve got a job and a life and…obligations.”
Yeah, like the obligation to let Doctor Halla know I’m a failure and that I won’t be his next sports medicine rising star. He was planning on me winning the fellowship, so he was already interviewing candidates to take over my residency position. Now I get to crawl back to Cincinnati and beg him not to give my spot away.
“Well…then stay one more day,” he urges, turning me in his arms. He puts a firm hand under my chin, tipping my face up. “I don’t want you to go. I don’t want this to end so soon. Give me one more day.”
Why does it feel like my heart is breaking? I wrap my hand gently around his wrist. “Listen, my life right now is…chaotic. I got some really shitty news today about a job, and I honestly don’t know what comes next. I have to go home. I have to deal with this, and I can’t—”
I go quiet. I can’t possibly let him know what I’m really thinking right now. The truth is almost too painful for me to admit to myself.
I can’t have one more person in the audience watching me fail.
He sighs and I know he’s not going to fight me leaving. He’s too sweet for that…but that doesn’t mean he won’t still fight.
As if we’re sharing a wavelength, he leans down, brushing his lips against mine. “What we have here is magnetic. I know you feel it too. And I can’t let you just walk away. Give me your name.”
I shake my head, lips pursed. It’s easier this way. I won’t get hurt this way. “My name is Mystery Girl.”
He groans, kissing me for real, his lips working feverishly against mine. I let him lead, loving the taste of him. He breaks the kiss, sucking in air. “Give me your number, baby. Please—”
I silence him with my own kiss, my arms wrapping around his neck. He grunts in frustration, but kisses me back, pouring his need into me. I feel him hardening in his briefs. I want more of him, and I don’t just mean sex. One more day wouldn’t be enough. One week wouldn’t be enough. I know with a surety marrow-deep that he’s an addiction I’d never be able to break.