by Cassie Cole
Finn: I was just getting in bed. Why? What’s up?
Me: Nothing. Just curious. See you tomorrow.
Since I couldn’t blow off some steam that way, I decided to use the gym for what it was intended. The boxing room was empty. I taped up my hands just like Finn had showed me, wrapping it over the thumb then under it, then between each individual finger. Then I went to the speed bag in the back corner of the room.
I started slowly. Punch, wait, punch, wait. Getting a feel for the rhythm of the bag again. Then I picked up speed. It came back to me within minutes, and soon I was going to town on the thing.
It felt good to punch something, just as it had when I first tried it back in January. It gave me the illusion that I was in control. Because that was the most frustrating part about Pacifica’s opening: it came out of nowhere. I had zero control over it. There was nothing I could do to go up against their behemoth of a company.
But as long as I had a speed bag to focus on, none of that mattered.
After ten minutes I had worked up a nice sweat. I glanced at the scoreboard:
25-29 AGE GROUP
BRODY F:_____12,109
KATHERINE D: 11,815
I was surprised that I hadn’t gained any more points than that. Boxing wasn’t as intensive as I thought. Or at least, a speed bag wasn’t. My knuckles ached, but it was a good ache. Like the kind after some really good, hard lovemaking.
Damnit. Why couldn’t any of the guys have been around tonight?
As if my imagination had taken over, the door to the boxing room opened and Finn strode inside.
I did a double-take when I saw him. “Finn? What are you doing here?”
He didn’t say anything. He just stalked toward me, like a wall of advancing muscle. I stopped punching the speed bag and turned to face him.
Then he pushed me against the wall and kissed me like he’d been thinking about it all day.
I moaned with surprise at the sudden, unexpected force of it. Then I melted into his body and joined my tongue to his. His hand was in my pants before I could catch my breath, sliding underneath the elastic waistband of my panties to feel my pussy. Within seconds I was sopping wet and moaning lustily.
He fell to his knees and pulled me to the ground with him, like a wrestler executing some sort of take-down move. I landed on my back on the soft floor mats, concealed behind the boxing ring. Nobody could see us unless they walked all the way inside and came around the back of the ring.
“No more teasing,” he growled. “No more games. I need you.”
I tingled with anticipation when I realized his intentions.
Finn didn’t say anything else—he let his calloused hands do the talking. He pulled my shorts off, taking my panties with them. He practically ripped his own gym shorts off. Then he spread my legs like I belonged to him, guided his cock into my wet pussy, and sank down into me.
I moaned loud enough that I surprised myself. What if someone heard?
Finn’s almond eyes glistened as he put a finger up to his lips. I nodded vigorously. We couldn’t make any noise. Not here.
But that was part of the fun.
Finn rolled against me like a wave, in and out of my pussy in a way that rubbed his head against my forward wall, hitting my G-spot. Normally that would have been far too intense for me right off the bat, but tonight it was exactly what I needed. I bit my lip to keep from moaning as he fucked me into the floor. Quick, sudden thrusts like he could barely control himself. He reached underneath to cup my ass with his meaty hand, pulling me up against him in time with his shuddering thrusts. He was so strong he could make me fuck him. Like he was jacking himself off with my body.
The intensity was so amazing that I soon couldn’t stop myself from moaning. Finn clamped his free palm over my mouth, but that only turned me on more and I cried out, louder and louder, into his palm.
In turn, my pleasure excited him just as much. He bit his lip and tried to control himself, but I could see that there was no way in hell he could stop fucking me. He would sooner die.
He pummeled my pussy with his steel cock, and I screamed louder with ecstasy, and then he finally let out a half-groan, half-growl that echoed through the big room as he thrust his final thrust, as deep as he could into my sex, filling me with buckets of his seed until I could barely move.
“I’m… I’m sorry if that was unexpected,” he said afterwards while shimmying back into his shorts.
I pulled on my panties and shorts, but remained on the floor with him. “Don’t you dare apologize for a thing. That was exactly what I needed. How did you know?”
He stroked a lock of hair away from my face with a tender gesture. “After you texted me, I logged into the RMF company portal. Your wrist monitor was active here in the boxing gym, so I knew something must have been up.”
I sighed and rolled over to face him on the mat. “Yeah. I needed to blow off some steam.”
Finn reached around and gave my ass a hard smack. “Mission accomplished.” He looked beyond me and suddenly let out a guffaw.
“What?”
25-29 AGE GROUP
BRODY F:_____12,109
KATHERINE D: 11,821
“Your wrist monitor thought you were still on the speed bag,” Finn explained. “I just fucked six points into you.”
I laughed and grabbed a handful of his big, boulder-like butt. “Imagine how many points I could get if we took our time. Spent an hour or two really laying into each other.”
“We might have to test that next time.” He kissed me on the forehead. “You want to tell me why you were blowing off steam?”
“Pacifica Vinyl has an official open date.”
His face darkened. “I saw. April tenth.”
“It bummed me out. Like, it’s finally real, rather than an abstract concept. I just wish there was something I could do.”
“I know how we can save your store,” he said.
“Oh yeah? How?” I asked excitedly.
“Burn Pacifica to the ground.”
“Hah!”
“What?” he asked seriously. “Arson is the solution to most of life’s toughest problems. That’s how I got out of the SATs. And jury duty.”
“I’m going to pretend like you’re joking. You are joking, aren’t you?”
“I’ll never tell.” His grin faded. “But seriously. You don’t think you can survive against Pacifica?”
“They’re a big company,” I said simply. “I can’t compete with them. They can outlast me.”
“But you can’t just quit,” he insisted. “That’s not the kind of person you are.”
“How do you know what kind of person I am?”
He poked me in the belly. “Because I’ve been training you for the past two months. You’re more determined than any woman I’ve ever met. I could see it the moment you walked into RMF and I gave you the tour.”
“If saving my store was as easy as running on a treadmill and swimming laps, I’d put more effort into it,” I said dryly.
Finn sat up and frowned. “Why don’t you throw a big event at your store the same day as their grand opening? Food, drinks, some music blasting from speakers. You could call it a We’re Not Going Out Of Business sale!”
I had thought of having a sale, but didn’t put much hope into it. Hearing Finn explain it, though…
He pointed above us. “Don’t be like the speed bag and just take it, Kat. Fight back. How long did it take you to build your business? Five years? You owe it to yourself to go down swinging. And if you don’t, then you’re not the woman that I’ve been falling in love with.”
I gave a start. “Falling in love with?”
“I…” Finn looked like he was choking. “It’s a figure of speech.”
Just then, the door to the gym swung open.
Finn and I jumped to our feet in the blink of an eye. A janitor pushed a mop and bucket ahead of him, then stopped when he saw us. Finn and I both had our fists up in front of our faces, a c
omical portrayal of two people pretending like they had just been sparring.
“Keep your hands up at all times,” Finn said woodenly. “Yeah. Like that. Good.”
The janitor cleared his throat. “Room’s supposed to be cleaned for this hour. But if you want me to come back later…”
“No, we were just finishing up.” Finn turned to me. “Good work tonight.”
“Thanks. I really took a beating.”
The janitor looked at us like we were idiots as we giggled and left the room.
26
Katherine
“I like hiking dates,” I said as we picked our way along the wooded trail. “Nobody around, no noises, and no cell service.”
Brody smiled back at me. “That’s why I like them, too.”
It was a crisp morning, but not as cold as it had been a few weeks ago. Slowly, it was warming up. Spring was just around the corner.
I really did love my hiking dates with Brody. It was so easy to get tunnel vision in my daily routine, bouncing between my apartment, the store, and the gym. Going somewhere else and walking around helped cleanse my mind. Clearing me of all stress.
We stopped when we reached a picturesque view of the valley, then unfolded our blanket and unpacked the picnic. I was in charge of the food this time. Chicken salad sandwiches, apples and oranges, and trail mix for dessert. We wolfed it down, and Brody complimented my sandwiches.
“I finally feel motivated about the store again,” I explained to him as we ate. “Since January, I’ve been numb to my fate. But now I have ideas.”
“Like what?”
“First, we’re going to have a basic sale. Buy two albums, get one free. I’m going to rent some huge speakers to put outside the store, which will play music from a specific playlist I’m curating. All music that is available for purchase, of course. I already have the city permits to use the sidewalk in front of the store for the day, and we were approved for a temporary alcohol license to serve beer and wine.
“Not only that,” I bragged, “but I contacted Wrensite, the big turntable company. They’re going to be there with a huge display, selling their own turntables to anyone who comes. I’ll get a portion of all sales. And finally, I’m going to start a monthly membership plan.”
Brody cocked his head. “Membership?”
“It’ll be like any subscription plan. Members pay a monthly fee, say, ten bucks, and they will get an album in the genre of their choice. Plus first dibs to pre-order any new albums we get in stock, and other perks like discounts or signed merchandise. That way, we will lock-in our customers long-term. If we can do that, they won’t be interested in going to Pacifica.”
“Huh,” Brody grunted.
“Paul suggested I rent one of those inflatable tube men, too. Between that, the music, and the food, it’ll be a huge blowout. Anyone who goes to Pacifica’s grand opening is sure to stop by our store as well.”
Brody chewed on some trail mix and nodded thoughtfully.
“You don’t think it’s a good idea?” I asked.
“What? I didn’t say that.”
“You haven’t said much of anything.”
He shrugged. “I just don’t know much about your business. It sounds like a really good plan. I hope it works.”
“Me too. I can’t just let my business go under.” I stared off at the valley. “I want to put up a fight. Go down swinging, you know?”
“Definitely.”
I looked sideways at Brody. He had been strangely quiet today. I wondered if it had to do with the move I made on him in the hot tub earlier this week.
We packed up our food and continued walking along the path. I tried to chat with Brody about the gym, and about triathlon training, but he replied with short answers. Something was definitely bothering him.
If I didn’t know any better, I would have said he was trying to push me away.
We were halfway back to the car when the silence was too much for me. “Hey,” I said, grabbing his arm and slowing him to a stop. “What’s your deal?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Something’s wrong. You seem distant today. Are you mad at me?”
His blue eyes narrowed. “Why would I be mad at you?”
“Because I made a move in the hot tub. And you rejected me.”
“I told you. I didn’t want our first time to be there.”
“Is there even going to be a first time?” I demanded. “I don’t even know what our relationship is, Brody. We’ve been on seven dates now, plus all the time we’ve spent together at the gym. What’s up? Do you even like me?”
His handsome face softened. “I like you a lot, Kat.”
“It doesn’t feel like it.”
Something flashed in his crystal eyes, and then he grabbed me and kissed me. It seemed forced at first, like he was just proving a point, but soon the kiss began to feel more real. More genuine.
Brody pawed at my chest, cupping my breast through my jacket. Then he unzipped it so he could get a better grasp. I moaned softly under his touch, and at the way his tongue writhed against mine.
“You want me to prove it?” he asked softly. “How’s this for proof?”
He lifted me off the ground and set me down on a nearby boulder. Then, to my immense surprise, he pulled my pants down. The stone was freezing against my bare skin.
“Brody!” I gasped, looking around. If someone came walking along the trail, there would be no way for us to hide. “What are you doing?”
He spread my legs and buried his head in my pussy, and I forgot all about our public location.
His tongue undulated up and down my pussy lips, like he was trying to paint every inch of me. Then he stiffened his tongue and drove it between my lips, a wedge that slid into my pussy before moving up and down on the inside. I sighed with pleasure as he tongue-fucked me, face moving back and forth while his warm hands held my legs apart.
I wove my fingers into his blond hair and guided his head. “Oh yes…”
Two of his fingers replaced his tongue, probing deeper into my pussy. He twisted them like a corkscrew while moving them in and out, which set off explosions of ecstasy in nerve endings I didn’t even realize I had. By the time he turned his mouth onto my clitoris, sucking and nuzzling my sensitive bean perfectly, I was moaning loudly in the woods and I didn’t care who heard me.
He ate me out in the forest until I gripped his golden hair tightly and held his face against my clit and let out a noise like an animal, echoing across the mountains.
When I was done, I pulled his head up to me so I could kiss his lips, tasting my own tart juices on his lips. “Take off your pants,” I demanded, reaching for his belt. “It’s your turn.”
He caressed my cheek and kissed me again. “I just wanted to prove how much I like you, Kat. You don’t have to return the favor.”
“I want to,” I insisted.
Brody smiled at me. “Not here. Another time.” He kissed me one final time. “Let’s keep moving before someone comes. Someone else, I mean.”
I giggled at his joke, but still wasn’t sure how to feel.
27
Brody
I wanted to give in badly.
To let her drop to her knees and unzip my pants, discovering my cock and then taking it into her pretty mouth. I wanted to see her full lips wrap around my shaft and suck the juices from my body until I gasped and moaned the way she just had. I wanted to do so much more than that with Katherine. I wanted to feel her pussy lips tighten around my cock, and then fuck her until neither of us could breathe.
But it wasn’t right. It would only come back to bite me in the ass.
Even these dates were a mistake. I knew it in a cold, abstract way. Like knowing that Venus was the second planet from the sun.
Yet I couldn’t help myself. Katherine was special, and I wanted to be around her all the time. At the gym. Outside of the gym. At night, sharing her bed while we dreamed…
I sighed as we co
ntinued our hike. Even in the best of circumstances, I was leaving Denver in the fall. What would happen then? She had ties to Denver. The store, and her brother. I doubted she would come with me. And I refused to try a long-distance relationship. I’d done that once before, in college. Never again.
Then what?
The hard truth was that our little relationship was doomed. It had been doomed from the start, the moment I walked into her vintage record store and asked her out. The best thing for both of us, at this point, would be to end things cleanly.
But when?
I opened my mouth, knowing I should say the words, but instead I went in the other direction: “Do you want to come see my triathlon?”
Katherine almost tripped over a tree root. “What?”
I stopped and faced her. “The Escape from Alcatraz triathlon. It’s April fifth, in San Francisco. Want to come cheer me on?”
I could see the confusion on her face. On the one hand, I kept brushing aside all of her sexual advances. Then I turned around and invited her to an out-of-town trip? In terms of relationship steps, that was a magnitude above sleeping together.
Then happiness replaced her confusion. “I’d love to.”
“It’s the weekend before that party you’re planning,” I said. “Are you sure that won’t be a problem?”
“I should have most of the planning done by then,” she replied. “And honestly, it will be good to get away for a weekend before everything gets crazy.” She poked me in the chest. “And it’s after the end of the quarter, so it won’t get in the way of me kicking your ass in the points contest.”
“Is that so?”
We continued the hike, but instead of walking single-file, we held hands.
I smiled and wondered how much longer it would last.
28
Katherine
Men liked to claim that women were confusing, but Brody was more confusing than even the worst female stereotype. Telling me he wanted to take things slow… And then inviting me to San Francisco with him in a month?