by Rye Hart
We were all walking slower as we left the zoo. When we climbed into the car, I wasn’t surprised to see Tommy and Sarah both fall asleep almost instantly. They each laid their head on Emily’s shoulders and drifted off easily. I smiled at the sight in my rearview mirror and drove us toward home.
Traffic stopped us a few times, and Philip decided to make conversation by telling Emily all my embarrassing stories.
“That didn’t happen,” I said firmly after he relayed one of the worst.
“It didn’t?” Emily asked with a laugh.
“Oh, it happened,” Philip said. “He rubbed nacho cheese all over himself as a disguise and then ran screaming through the quad. I’ve never seen so many cops afraid to arrest someone in my life. It was like they didn’t want to touch him.”
Emily was laughing uncontrollably in the backseat. Tommy and Sarah stayed passed out, their exhaustion too much to fight, but I was surprised Philip’s guffaws and Emily’s giggles didn’t coax them awake.
“I wasn’t as bad as this guy,” I said, pointing to Philip. “He once streaked past the Dean’s window and then ran along sorority row in a nothing but a banana hammock.”
“I don’t think that’s worse than nacho cheese,” Emily said, still laughing.
“Ha,” Philip said. “I told you. Yours is way worse.”
“It is,” Emily agreed. “But also, a better story.”
“Hey,” Philip said. “I take offense to that.”
“Ha,” I said, mimicking his earlier insult. “I have better stories.”
“I think the best stories probably involved the shit we did together,” Philip said with a laugh. “Like that night in Nancy’s hot tub or the time we flew to Prague for one night just to meet up with that girl who never fucking showed.”
“What?” Emily asked. “You flew to Prague?!”
“There was this exchange student we were both into,” Philip said. “She never wanted to choose between us so instead, she promised to meet us in Prague on New Year’s Eve.”
“She said she would finally tell us her choice,” I said. “But she never showed. We waited for hours, and eventually, we had to catch our flight back home.”
“Did we ever see her again?” Philip asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “She just bailed on us forever. And now, we’ll never know who she would have chosen.”
“Yup,” Philip said. “We’ll never have our answer.”
“She gave you her answer,” Emily said wisely.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, she didn’t show up,” Emily said. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? She didn’t pick either of you. That was her choice.”
Philip and I looked at each other in shock. Neither of us had ever thought of such a simple answer to our decade-long dilemma. As we looked at each other, we both burst out laughing. Emily joined us, and we spent the rest of the car ride telling her more stories.
I realized, while we drove, that I already had a million things to write about. All the stories I thought of at the zoo were nothing compared to the things I could pull from my own life. It wasn’t just my shenanigans with Philips. It was everything. My life with Telissa. My kids. Everything.
As we neared home, I fell silent again. Philip continued talking a mile a minute, trying to embarrass me further with Emily, but she was barely paying attention.
She was watching me through the rearview mirror, searching my face and silently asking me to talk to her. I didn’t. I wouldn’t. Not yet.
My writing was still something that was so personal to me, so precious, that I couldn’t risk sharing it with someone else. Instead, I forced myself to listen to Philip’s stories and add my own memories to the mix. By the time we pulled into the driveway, I was certain Emily knew every embarrassing, humiliating, uncool thing about me.
When we climbed out of the car, she picked up Sarah, and I carried Tommy through the front door, hoping Emily would still want me after all the stories Philip shared.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - EMILY
Sarah rested her little nose against my jaw as I carried her slowly up the stairs. Her arms were wrapped tightly around my neck, and I held her close, smiling at how small and fragile she felt in my arms.
When I laid her down in her bed, she snuggled under her blankets and rolled over to face the window, her eyes still closed and her mind blissfully free of all worries. I smiled as I tucked her in, enjoying the small moment of innocence with her.
“Hey, you,” Sean said from the doorway.
I spun around and smiled, happy to see his eyes were clear now. He’d seemed so preoccupied in the car and at the zoo. Something was on his mind, but I didn’t want to pry. Now, his smile was genuine, and his blue eyes were full of nothing but exhaustion and happiness.
“Did Tommy stay down?” I asked as I walked over to him.
“Yeah.” Sean nodded. “They’re both wiped out. It was a long day for them.”
“I think they had fun,” I said, turning to smile at Sarah as she slept. “They seemed to, anyway.”
“They loved it,” Sean said, reassuring me. “You had an amazing idea.”
We moved into the hallway but didn’t yet go downstairs. We could hear Philip moving around in the kitchen. I didn’t know what Sean was thinking, but I wanted to be alone with him, even for just a second.
He wrapped me in his arms and pulled me against his chest. I sighed and sunk into him, holding him just as tightly. I remembered the look on his face as he walked through the zoo earlier. He smiled when the kids asked him a question or when I pointed something out to him, but other than that, he stayed quiet, locked up in his own head. His mind was obviously somewhere else, but when I asked what was wrong, he just said “nothing” and walked away.
Part of me wanted to ask him about it, but I knew I shouldn’t. Sean was a private person, and he was only just starting to open himself to me. If I pushed too hard, he would pull away, and it would ruin all the progress we’d made so far.
Plus, it might have been a huge turn off for him. After I spent all day lusting after him, eager to relive our sexual encounter from last night, I didn’t want to do or say anything that might stand in the way of that.
Sean kissed the top of my head and breathed in my scent. I loved when he did that. It not only made me feel safe, but it stirred my smoldering desire into hungry flames. My stomach tightened, and I felt heat grow between my legs. I groaned and wiggled against him, wishing there weren’t any clothes to separate us from each other.
“I like it when you’re like this,” I said, leaning back to look in his eyes.
“Like what?” he asked with a frown.
“Happy,” I said simply. “Not brooding and moody.”
“I’m brooding and moody?” he asked, laughing softly.
“Sometimes,” I said. “I much prefer you this way, though.”
I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his lips. He kissed me back and tightened his arms around my body. The heat between my legs grew hotter, and I moaned against him, knowing I wouldn’t be able to control myself much longer.
“You know what cures my moodiness, don’t you?” he asked suggestively.
“What’s that?” I whispered.
He raised his eyebrows and grinned playfully. He dropped his arms from around me and took my hand, pulling me toward the stairs. I laughed lightly and stopped him before we reached the steps.
“Philip is still awake,” I said. “He’ll see us go past.”
“So?” Sean asked with a shrug. “He’ll get over it.”
I laughed again and let Sean lead me down the stairs and across the living room. I glanced at Philip as we passed, but he was walking onto the back patio with a beer in his hand, oblivious that we were anywhere around. With a grin, I skipped and pushed Sean faster, hurrying him toward his bedroom.
“Someone’s eager,” he said.
“I’ve been waiting all day to be alone with you,” I said, my voice a soft whine. “I don�
�t want to wait anymore.”
He growled and pulled me into his room, closing the door softly behind him. He locked it, and his eyes immediately changed from playful to hungry as he walked over to me. I backed up, making him follow me to his bed. When I sat down, he stepped up in front of me and grabbed my face, tilting it up to press his lips against mine.
I moaned deeply and let him slide his tongue in my mouth. His kiss was more urgent than before, more desperate. He moved his lips frantically over mine, tasting me and making me forget my own name. I moaned again, and my panties were soaked. My cheeks were flushed, and the skin beneath my shirt was hot.
Pulling away from him, I grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt and lifted it up, revealing his rippling abs and sculpted chest. He threw the shirt to the floor and then kissed me again. I ran my fingers down his stomach, feeling every ridge of his muscles. He was so fit and so damn sexy that I moaned again. He hadn’t yet touched any part of my body that wasn’t my face or my neck and yet, I was on fire. I wanted him so badly I could barely breathe.
I yanked back desperately and threw my shirt off. He growled and grabbed me again, moving his hands to my back and unhooking my bra. In one motion, he threw the bra to the floor and forced me to my back, his hands already searching for the waistband of my pants.
I was breathing heavily as he tore my jeans from my body, pulling my panties along with them. My body finally felt free, but it wasn’t enough.
“Come here,” I said breathlessly.
He stripped his own pants and boxers off and then climbed onto the bed beside me. Our bodies collided in an instant, neither of us slowing down for a single second. I gave my body over to him completely, eager for him to take me in any way he wanted.
Sean rolled on top of me and pinned me to the bed, lifting my arms above my head and holding them there with one hand. He kissed my lips and then trailed his tongue down my neck to my chest. He flicked it across my nipples, one at a time. The sensation was so intense that I felt myself growing wetter by the second.
With his free hand, Sean spread my legs roughly apart and massaged my clit. Last night, he took things slow, letting me get used to everything he did. Tonight was different. He moved fast with need.
He rubbed my clit furiously, slipping his fingers inside me every so often. I moaned and writhed beneath him, straining against his strong hands.
“I need to touch you,” I said, begging him to release me.
“No.” His voice was firm as he continued to work my body over.
His teeth grazed my nipples, and his fingers flew across my clit. My entire body was shaking so hard that my tits were bouncing. Sean stared at them in awe and moved his hand faster. I was so overwhelmed with pleasure that my orgasm snuck up on me.
Suddenly, my toes curled and my hips shot up as a cry escaped my lips. I moaned so loudly that Sean kissed me deeply to smother the sound. His fingers never slowed between my legs, making the orgasm last longer than I thought possible.
“Oh my God,” I said, moaning deeply when he finally released my lips.
There was a fire in my gut that I’d never felt before. I looked up at Sean and let my body take over. I rolled him onto his back and straddled him, rubbing my sopping wet pussy along the length of his cock. He groaned and threw his head back. His hands wrapped around my ass and lifted me slightly, guiding me toward the tip of his ready dick.
I didn’t need guidance, though. The second I felt him poke at my entrance, I slammed myself down on top of him. I gasped at the way he filled me so completely. My body reacted on its own, and my hips rocked back and forth, hard and fast.
Sean’s eyes widened as I rode him. His grip on my ass never slackened, and his eyes devoured my bouncing tits and flat stomach. Reaching up, I tore my hair from its bun and let my curls cascade down my back and over my shoulders.
“God, you’re gorgeous,” Sean said breathlessly. “Holy shit, Emily.”
I closed my eyes and rode him harder than ever, throwing myself forward and back with a power I didn’t know I possessed. His groans turned into growls as he took in the sight of me on top of him. I could see how much he wanted me in his eyes, and it fueled my own desire.
“Harder, baby,” I told him, begging him to take me.
He didn’t need any encouragement. He grabbed my hips and thrust himself upward, slamming into me desperately. With the first thrust, I cried out and rode him harder. We met each other’s rhythm easily, never slowing or losing our desperate need for more.
“Oh God!” I cried out, unable to control myself. “Sean. Sean!”
“Come for me, baby,” he said, his voice low and husky. “Come for me.”
I obeyed in an instant. My body shook violently as I continued to meet his thrusts. I fell forward, my hands pressing into his chest while he held me up and continued to pound against me. The pleasure I felt was so great that I stopped breathing for a second, unable to think or move.
Sean flipped me onto my back and threw my legs onto his shoulders, never once sliding out of me. He rammed into me over and over again, seeking his own release. My pleasure was still tingling its way through my body, and as Sean took me hard and fast, I felt myself lingering on the brink all over again.
His eyes were hungry, and his chest was glistening with sweat as his thrusts became more urgent. I came for the third time and screamed out his name.
“Holy shit, Emily,” he groaned, feeling my walls collapse around him again. “Fuck. Fuck.”
Sean shot forward, releasing his own pleasure inside me. He gripped my legs tightly and forced himself deeper, holding his breath and letting the waves of ecstasy wash over him. We froze in that position for what felt like hours, both of us just trying to catch our breath and slow our heart rates.
I never knew anything could feel so incredible. My multiple orgasms were still taking over my body in steady waves, and when Sean finally pulled out of me, I moaned and rolled to the side. My body was trembling and sweaty, and Sean’s was no different.
When he pulled me against him, I could smell the sweat dripping off his body. He kissed my shoulder, licking me slowly, and I shivered again.
“You’re going to kill me,” he whispered.
“That was fucking amazing,” I said, and Sean laughed.
“Come here,” he said, pulling me closer.
I wrapped myself around him, throwing one leg over his crotch. He groaned and cupped my ass in his hand. With a squeeze, we both settled in for the night, exhausted and ready for sleep.
CHAPTER NINETEEN - SEAN
“I’m glad you came out,” I told Philip as we stood in the airport. “I’m sorry I was a bit distracted the whole time.”
“Hey,” Philip said. “I get it. Emily’s hot as hell.”
“Watch it,” I said, a warning in my voice.
“I think she’s great for you,” Philip said, his tone serious. “Try not to ruin it while I’m gone. I’d hate to have to come back and kick your ass.”
“We’ll see how it goes,” I said.
“Be good,” Philip said, hugging me tightly.
“You too, man.” I slapped his back and we broke apart.
Philip walked toward the security line and turned around to leave. That morning was a tearful time for Tommy and Sarah. They both wanted Philip to stay longer, but he had to get back to work. He couldn’t spend too long away from the office. As I walked to the parking garage and found my car, I found myself wishing he could have stayed longer too. Not just for the kids, but for me.
As my best friend, he knew me better than anyone. No one could have pushed me to pursue things with Emily like Philip did. If anyone else tried, I would have told them to fuck off and not thought twice about it. Philip was different, though.
He knew me. He watched me go through hell with Telissa. He was there when she was sick, when she told me about her affair, and when I had to face Sarah for the first time after. He’d been by my side for everything, so if he said I needed to try, I trusted him.
I was glad I did, because my time with Emily had been mind-blowing. The sex was better than I ever imagined it could be. All those weeks of fantasizing about her were nothing compared to actually having her naked body in my bed. If it wasn’t for my kids, I would have never gotten dressed. I would have made Emily stay naked all day, every day. Still, I knew that was impossible. Tommy and Sarah needed our attention, and I would have missed them too much if I even tried to take time away from them.
As I drove toward home, my mind turned to my writing. I’d been thinking of a story for the past couple days now. It wasn’t fleshed out yet, but I felt it had real promise and I was desperate to get it down on paper. Now that Philip was gone, I would have a little more time to myself to work or to simply think. The second I walked through the front door of my house, I headed straight to my study and disappeared inside. I couldn’t wait another second to get this story out.
Sitting down behind my desk, I pulled my notebook to me and opened it to a fresh page. My pen was in my hand and already pressing down on the paper when I heard a soft knock on the door.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Emily,” she said, her voice muffled by the wood.
“Come in,” I said, not bothering to hide my journal.
“Hey,” she said, opening the door and walking over to me. “You came in here so fast, I was worried. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said with a smile. “Sorry I didn’t say hi.”
“It’s fine.” She shrugged. “Tommy and Sarah are playing out back anyway.”
“Good,” I said, nodding. “I really just wanted to get some work done.”
“What are you working on?’ Sarah asked, glancing down at the notebook on my desk.
I paused for just a second, wondering if it was finally time to share the truth with her. She had been so amazing lately, taking care of the kids and being there for me. I knew if anyone deserved to know about my writing aspirations, it was her.
“I’ve always wanted to be a writer,” I said quickly, the words sounding strange on my lips. For years, I thought them, but I never once spoke them aloud. Not until now.