He grins. “Nine hundred and fifty.”
“A thousand. Kenzie kept your bribe, asshole. And you wasted an hour of my life.”
“I miss you.” His attention drifts to my mouth.
“You know … it’s funny how you managed to lie about paying this gym a grand for my service, but you couldn’t lie about how much you detested a book.”
“It’s just a—”
I shake my head. “No. I’m so tired of everyone saying it’s just a book. If it were just a book, then why not say something nice or not say anything at all? Why not show a little respect for my opinion and the opinions of other people in the group who like the book. Don’t act like you’re such a saint for telling the ‘truth’ about just a book, then turn around and lie to get to spend time with me. One word …” I hold up a finger. “You ended us with one word.”
“You told me to say it.”
“Not that word!” I press my hands to the side of my head.
“Freya said there was no right or wrong answer.”
“Freya lied!”
Eric’s brows fly up his forehead and his head snaps backward. After several silent seconds, his shock settles into something …
Something that makes the hairs on my skin stand erect.
Something that arrests all of my thoughts.
Those piercing eyes go from wide to tiny little pinpoints. “I think I know what you need.”
“N-no … I don’t think you do. In fact—”
Fuck! NOOOOO!
He kisses me. Number one rule to break ups: NO. MORE. KISSING!
He’s terrible at breaking up.
Terrible at leaving his lips off of mine.
Terrible at knowing when to lie and when to tell the truth.
Eric Fucking Steinmann …
I’m an addict. He’s an enabler. When I die of bad decisions, it will be his fault. In the meantime, I let him kiss me.
I kiss him back.
He shoves his hand down my leggings and panties. I try to protest, but I’m already too high.
Not too high to think about his hand covered in chalk.
He’s shoving his chalk fingers into my vagina!
And … I’m letting him.
How will I explain this to my gyno guy?
So much explaining to do …
Pissed off Anna.
Shirtless Eric.
A kiss.
Chalk fingers in vagina.
Painful fumbling to free one of Anna’s legs from her leggings.
Eric plants Anna’s bare ass on the edge of the sink.
Cock exposed.
Cock in now chalky vagina.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Fastest orgasm record broken.
Sorry, it’s the only way I can make sense of total loss of control. Letting my mind see it from the outside—third person. I am too controlled to let something so irresponsible and spontaneous happen while on the clock, but that Anna girl … she has issues.
A weird reality sets in after the blinding orgasm stars disappear, after he comes inside of me, and it’s just two, really stupid millennials half naked in a compromising position with a tiny sink.
I can’t let go of him. It’s his labored breath and mine. My arms around his neck and my mouth still pressed to his shoulder, just with less teeth. Eric’s grip on my spread thighs eases a little, but he stays inside of me.
Holy. Fucking. Stupid! What have we done?
His lips brush along my ear as he releases a slow, guilty sigh. “I was tested six months ago. I’m clean.”
I cringe. How did I let this happen? What is wrong with me? I have never had to have the I’m-clean-you’re-clean-it’s-all-good conversation.
“Well …” I move my mouth from his shoulder and replace it with my forehead, closing my eyes. “I took a shower this morning, and I don’t have chalk on my fingers. That’s my level of assured cleanliness. This is the first time I’ve had unprotected sex, so … I’ve never felt the need to get tested. Sorry.”
Why am I apologizing? I didn’t kiss him. He. Kissed. Me!
Eric eases out of me, steadying me with one hand while grabbing a wad of towels with his other hand.
I wrinkle my nose and take the wad from him. “Turn around.”
He gives me a tense expression for a few seconds as he tucks himself back into his briefs and zips his climbing pants. Then he turns around, facing the door, while I move from the sink to the toilet.
“I’m on the pill just for extra precaution. So we can stop worrying about that.” I flush the toilet, fix my leggings, and wash my hands. “If you were worry about that. Somehow I doubt it,” I mumble.
Eric turns toward me. I nod at his hands as I dry mine. He knows where those fingers have been. We stare at each other’s reflection in the mirror as he washes his hands.
I blow out a slow breath and wait as he dries them. He tosses the towels into the trash. “What time do you get off work?”
I narrow my eyes. “That’s what you have to say after what just happened?” My lips part to accommodate my heavy jaw.
Eric shrugs. “Yeah. What do you want me to say? I think we covered the basics.”
“We didn’t cover your cock! I’d hardly say we’ve covered the basics. And you have a date waiting for you. And I’m supposed to be working.”
That stupid smirk!
“She’s not my date. We just decided to climb together. The fact that she’s female means nothing. And you dragged me in here. If you’re on the clock, that’s your fault not mine. If it helps your job situation, I’ll happily leave a glowing Yelp review and mention your name. The uncovered cock part was a little risky, but you just admitted you’re on the pill. I’ve been tested. If anyone passes something on to someone else, it will be you passing it to me. I hope not, but overall … I regret nothing.”
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
“Don’t ever kiss me again.” That’s the best I conjure in my head right now, and I hate it.
Eric doesn’t flinch. He maintains every ounce of smugness like he doesn’t believe I’m serious. Granted, after I just let him screw me bareback in the employee bathroom while on the clock, it’s hard to sound believable with any sort of threat, but this time I mean it.
I reach past him and open the door. He hooks his finger into the waist of my leggings to stop me from leaving. Even now … after such an epic misstep in my day, my pulse gallops in response to his touch.
“I don’t have to kiss you to fuck you,” he whispers in my ear before releasing me, sauntering past me, and returning to the climbing wall and his female buddy without one glance back at me.
Chapter Ten
Eric
I don’t think the way to Anna’s heart is through her pussy. Maybe her mouth. She seems to enjoy kissing me, but then it doesn’t make much sense for her to tell me to never kiss her again. Life would be easier if I could stop thinking about her.
Stop watching her through my door’s peephole.
Stop thinking of the way her smile engulfed her face the night we had pizza and the way it made everything inside of me come to life.
Stop loving her obsession with books, even if her taste in them is bad.