Roomies with Benefits

by Amy Brent

  Three minutes later our server arrived with our meals.

  Chapter 29

  Steven

  I watched Allie walk down the path toward me from the front door of her building as I leaned against the side of my car. I took a moment to soak in how beautiful she was. She was dressed casually in a pair of dark form-fitting blue jeans and a black turtleneck. Little gold earrings winked in her earlobes, and her dark hair was pulled back in a high, curly ponytail. Her face was bright and cheery, and her eyes were sparkling. Her lips glittered with pink gloss, and I ached to kiss her when she smiled at me. As she approached, I opened the passenger door for her.

  “Such a gentleman,” she said, pausing beside me and stretching up on to her tiptoes to give me a kiss. She tasted like strawberries and mint. She slid into the car. I closed the door behind her and walked around the hood to get into the driver’s side.

  “So, where are you taking me?” she asked, shooting me a skeptical look as she latched her seat belt.

  “There are a couple things on the docket for the day. You’ll have to be patient. But our first stop is top priority: we need sustenance.”

  “Okay,” she grinned. “I like surprises. Can I get a hint?”

  “Nope.”

  “None?” she pleaded, pouting her perfect lips and somehow making her eyes look bigger.

  “None,” I said, although confessing my plans was tempting when she was looking at me like that.

  I had planned an entire day for her and me. When we were younger, we behaved like typical teenagers. We had routines and habits that often had us doing the same kinds of things day in and day out. I had planned a full day’s worth of dates that consisted only of the things we used to do together when we were young and stupid. Well, when I was stupid. Allie had never been stupid.

  I drove us to destination number one: a hole in the wall breakfast diner that we would come to in our teens around two in the afternoon every Sunday. Allie used to order the strawberry waffles with a side of extra whipped cream. I opted for the full-sized meal and loaded up on eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, and extra bacon.

  When I parked the car around back, Allie squealed with delight in the passenger seat. “I haven’t been here in ages!” she cried. “Not since the last time we came here together. Which was what, six years ago or something crazy like that?”

  “Sounds right,” I said, getting out of the car.

  Allie and I walked around the side of the building and let ourselves in. We claimed an empty booth by a window and peered at the menus. Allie’s eyes widened. “Everything is exactly the same,” she breathed.

  “Damn, so it is. Except their prices are a bit higher.”

  “Of course, you’d notice the prices,” Allie laughed.

  “Hey. Don’t judge.”

  “Not judging,” Allie said, flipping the menu over and sliding it to the edge of the table. She put her chin in her hand and leaned her elbow on the table. “This feels strange. Last time I sat across from you in this place you couldn’t grow facial hair.”

  “Oh, yeah? Well, last time I was here with you, you had blonde highlights and bangs. And you were wearing that terrible fluffy sweater you loved so much. The pink one. It looked like it was made out of some prima donna poodle.”

  “Hey, I liked that sweater. It was cozy.”

  “And hideous,” I pointed out.

  Allie laughed and rolled her eyes. We bantered back and forth for a while until we placed our orders. We both ordered our usual from years ago and shot each other bemused looks across the table while telling the waitress what we wanted.

  Then we talked about the past until our meals arrived. We gorged ourselves, enjoying every cardiac-arrest-inducing bite. Of course, we stole food off each other’s plates—another thing we used to do when we were kids. I made sure not to touch any of the strawberries on Allie’s waffles. I knew they were her favorite part of the meal. I also knew if she wasn’t up to sharing, she wouldn’t hesitate to jab the back of my hand with her fork. It had happened on occasion when we were teenagers.

  Once we finished eating, we piled back into the car, and I drove us to our next stop. Allie pestered me with questions the whole way as she tried to piece together where we were going before we arrived. When I pulled up at Chariot’s Park, Allie sighed in her seat.

  “I should have known,” she muttered. “I can’t believe I didn’t guess this!”

  I laughed and got out of the car. I opened the trunk and retrieved some items I had packed for this specific location: a blanket, a thermos of hot chocolate, and a bag of trail mix. This had been our go-to last-minute snack when we both squeezed in a quick evening getaway before doing our homework. Well, before Allie did her homework.

  We walked down the winding path of the park to the place we used to sit together. It was atop a small hill in the middle of the park that looked down at a pond. In the summer, the pond would be full of activity. People would feed ducks or race little sailboats. On the grassy flats beside the water, there were often people playing Frisbee or exercising. We loved sitting on our blanket people-watching.

  Today there weren’t many people to watch based on the simple fact that it was the middle of winter. Allie didn’t seem to mind the cold as I pulled her close to me. We sat together on the blanket, pressed in tight against one another while we sipped hot chocolate and tossed trail mix pieces into our mouths. Just like in the old days, Allie never caught anything. By the time we packed up to move to the next spot, her side of the blanket was covered in peanuts and raisins.

  From there, I took her to the driving range. We sipped on beers and both performed terribly. Some of the other golfers stopped to watch us, probably intrigued by our presence. We were both so terrible that it was quite clear we didn’t belong there. Regardless, we had fun, and I loved the way Allie was staying close to me the whole time. It seemed that there was hardly ever a moment where we weren’t touching each other. I felt like a teenager in love all over again.

  Next, I took her to the arcade we frequented when we were young and broke. A lot of the games we used to play were long gone, so we challenged each other to some racing games. I was mortified to lose every single time. We played everything we could, and at the end of it, we combined our tickets to buy Allie an assortment of her favorite sour candies.

  She nibbled on them when we were back in the car. I told her she would spoil her appetite for dinner. She stuck her tongue out at me, which was bright blue from one of the candies, and then proceeded to suck the end of a sour treat. Watching her lips was torment.

  Dinner was perfect. We ate at our old favorite burger joint. We used to go there on weeknights with Chance, Melissa, and all the other kids we were hanging out with at the time. We shared a milkshake and reminisced.

  “What do you have planned for the rest of the evening?” Allie asked, twirling the end of the straw in the whipped cream on top of the milkshake.

  “This is our last stop. But, I was thinking you should come over tonight.” The thought of going to bed without her wasn’t a pleasant one. I didn’t want to not be with her.

  “Were you?” she asked, sinking the straw back into the shake and closing her lips over the end. She sucked, and I watched the chocolatey goodness creep up the straw.

  “I was.”

  “Funny,” she said, leaning back and licking her lips. “I was thinking the same thing.”

  Allie was untucking my shirt from my pants before I even managed to get my front door closed. I managed to lock it before becoming wholly absorbed in her. She smelled like summertime. She tasted like the beach. I shrugged out of my shirt as she pulled it over my head, and then helped her out of hers.

  She was wearing a pale pink bra. It was plain save for a single sparkling jewel between her breasts. She undid her pants and shimmied them down her hips. I took off my pants, and we left our clothes in a trail down the hallway until we reached my bedroom. Then I took over.

  I lifted Allie up and placed her on t
he bed. She tried to turn herself around. I knew she wanted to try to suck my cock. It was hard and ready, aching for her touch, but I wanted tonight to be about her. I wanted to show her how special she was. That was what this whole day had been about.

  I eased her back down by pressing gently on her shoulders. She complied, her brows furrowed slightly, and her eyes fixed on me. She was curious. She was beautiful. It was hard to not stop and stare at her for a while as she lay upon my bed in nothing but her bra and panties.

  Then she slid her panties off. She twirled them around one finger, smiling at me all the while, and then tossed them over her shoulder where they disappeared from view on the other side of the bed. I stepped closer to her and pressed my knee between her legs, forcing her to spread them. She did as I wanted and rested her head back.

  I crouched down between her legs. Her pussy was swollen and pink in front of me. It was going to feel so good to fuck her. I yearned for it.

  But first, I wanted to make her orgasm.

  I reached out and traced the tip of my index finger up the length of her slit. She flinched when I grazed her clit. I continued to tease her by trailing my finger over her. When her hips started lifting from the bed, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold out on her much longer. So I settled and eased one finger slowly into her. Her sharp intake of breath and the way her pussy gripped my finger was proof enough that she was horny as hell. So was I.

  I leaned forward while I worked my finger inside her and licked her clit. She gasped. I loved hearing the soft little sounds she made while I pleased her. I flicked my tongue over her clit, feeling each tremble on the inside of her thighs as I held one leg aside.

  She reached down and knotted her hands in my hair. Her breathing grew more rapid. I slid another finger into her. My tongue continued to roll over her swollen bud, and my fingers curled inside her.

  She didn’t suppress the cry that came out of her. I continued licking and rubbing her as her hips jerked and her legs shook.

  When she was done, I stepped away and flipped her over. She went face down on the mattress right away. Her fingers were already clutching the sheets when I ran my cock over her wet warmth. I eased myself into her, enjoying the way she gripped me the deeper I got. I held her ass in both hands and squeezed. She moaned.

  Then I slapped her ass. She let out a cry that turned into a moan and buried her face in my blanket. I slapped her again. Her ass jerked, and my cock slid deeper inside her. Then I took hold of her hips to hold her in place and began thrusting my hips, fucking her like it was the last time we were ever going to share each other.

  My sheets did nothing to stifle her cries of pleasure. The sounds that came out of her urged me on, and I bucked against her like a wild animal. I could feel her closing in around me. I was going to blow soon, and so was she.

  I spread her ass and fucked her as deep as I could. She threw her head back, arching her spine, and let out a breathless moan as she came. I felt the wetness around my cock. She was so warm, so silky. I came seconds later, filling her up with sperm. She quivered in my hands.

  When we pulled apart, all I wanted was to be back inside her.

  Chapter 30

  Allie

  I was sitting at my vanity when I heard Steven come in my front door. He knocked twice then let himself in, calling out my name as he closed the door behind him.

  “I’ll just be another minute!” I called back.

  He was picking me up to take me to his parents’ house for a family dinner. I was excited to see them in a less crowded environment. I loved his parents and hadn’t been able to get as much one-on-one time with them at the cocktail party as I wanted. I had spent a lot of time with them as a teenager. His mother had given me advice that helped me get through the ups and downs of high school. I suspected she had always known how I felt about her youngest son.

  I rifled through the drawers in my vanity hunting for my favorite shade of liquid lipstick. I found it buried at the back and applied it to my lips. It was a bold, deep red that complimented the neutral eye makeup I was wearing. I had my hair in an updo pulled to one side with strands curled around my face. I was wearing a dark gray, long-sleeved bodycon dress and red heels. I knew Steven would like the dress.

  I grabbed my coat from the edge of the bed and joined Steven in the kitchen. He was leaning on one of my counters while he waited and was flipping through a home design magazine I had left out. When I emerged from the bedroom, he looked up.

  “You look stunning,” he said, reaching out to me. I took his hand, and he pulled me toward him. He ran his thumb over my jaw and then pulled a strand of loose hair from my face. “Absolutely stunning.”

  “Thank you,” I said softly. “You look pretty handsome yourself.”

  I wasn’t lying. He had donned a perfectly tailored black suit. The only thing he wore that wasn’t black were the silver cufflinks in his jacket sleeves.

  “I have to try to look good if I’m going to be sitting next to you all night.” Steven chuckled.

  We made our way out the door and to his car parked at the curb. He opened my door for me, as per new Steven fashion, and minutes later we were pulling away.

  When we parked in front of his parents’ home, I had butterflies in my stomach. The last time I was here was when Steven had really started to pull away. I was worried that something might happen tonight that could change his mind. I had thought about it over and over as I got ready. Finally, I convinced myself that I had to walk through those doors and get through the evening. Steven and I couldn’t be anything if we couldn’t sit in a room with his family.

  We walked up the path to the front door. Steven knocked. We waited. I was tense. Steven didn’t seem as nervous as me. I shot him a quick look when I heard footsteps in the foyer. He took my hand and gave me a reassuring squeeze. Maybe he understood how I was feeling, after all.

  His mother opened the door with a bright smile. She opened up her arms and hugged us both before inviting us in out of the cold. She led us to the living room where the rest of the family was enjoying pre-dinner cocktails. Steven’s father was in his usual green claw foot chair by the fire. He had a glass of brandy in one hand. Andrew was on the matching sofa with his arm around a beautiful blonde woman.

  Steven and I took our seats on the sofa across from his brother.

  “Well, don’t you two look sharp,” Andrew commented with a smile.

  “Don’t we always?” Steven asked, his eyes flicking to the woman under Andrew’s arm. “And who’s the new face?”

  “This is my girlfriend, Hannah. Hannah this is Steven and Allie.”

  Hannah smiled at both of us, and I smiled back. She was quite beautiful. Her eyes were covered in a shimmering gold shadow, and her high cheekbones were perfectly bronzed. She looked like a beach goddess. She was wearing a flowing silk sheath dress that was a mixture between gray and navy blue.

  “Nice to meet you both,” Hannah said pleasantly. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

  “Hannah is a florist,” Mrs. Marx chimed in. “She does beautiful arrangements. You should see her work.”

  Hannah waved her hand to blow off the compliment. “Thank you, but it’s really nothing special. I just like working with the flowers.”

  “Well, I think you’re quite talented,” Mrs. Marx insisted. “Being humble is sweet dear, but there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging your gift.”

  I smiled. Mrs. Marx was the same as ever. She loved to give everyone her two cents. She was a ray of positivity for me.

  The conversation shifted from Hannah’s florist shop to how things were going at work for me. I didn’t want to get into how much I hated my boss, so I left that alone and assured them that I was still happy working at the publishing company. Steven talked about his app and the near implosion of everything after it was hacked. Luckily, he had fixed the security breach and had only lost one investor. He was confident that he would be able to replace them in a week or two.

  We made our wa
y into the dining room about an hour after we arrived and tucked in to enjoy a delicious meal. We had honey ham with scalloped potatoes and tons of different vegetables. Food at the Marx home was top notch.

  Dessert was a piping hot chocolate lava cake. I burned my tongue as I ate, but was enjoying it too much to stop. Afterward, we sipped on Irish coffees. Steven refrained so he could drive us home.

  At the end of the night, we walked back to Steven’s car. His family stood in the open doorway of the home and waved goodbye when we pulled away. As we drove, Steven rested his hand on my knee.

  In my heart, I felt like things couldn’t have gone any better. But I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a one-sided feeling. “That was a perfect evening,” I said, shimmying a little lower in the seat to get more comfortable.

  “It was,” Steven agreed.

  “How do you feel about everything?” I asked.

  He looked over at me. He was temporarily illuminated by warm white light as we passed under a streetlight. God, he was beautiful.

  “I feel pretty damn good,” he said, the corners of his mouth curling upward. “I’m completely in love with you, Allie Wright. I need you to know I get why you kept the secret to yourself. I understand now. And, listen, as long as you never keep anything like that from me again, I want to be with you. Not just as friends with benefits. I mean it. For real. I want to make this thing work. I want you. All of you.”