Fortune for Love

by Poppy Drake

And I love it.

  I pull back and lock my eyes on his. “Then what are you waiting for?”

  Chapter Five

  Hell, this woman is going to destroy me.

  And I don’t give a single fuck.

  “Then what are you waiting for?”

  The perfect answer. From the perfect woman.

  I grab her, pulling her against me so she can feel the full, thick weight of my desire. So she can run if she wants. Break my heart.

  But she doesn’t. She lets me half carry her to the pile of soft cushions and pillows in the far corner of the tent. We have to be careful. I have no idea whose tent this is or when they’ll be back, but in this moment I don’t care. All I care about is sinking myself deep into my literal dream woman and finally knowing what it feels like to be inside of her. To put an end to all the nights I had to frustratingly pump my own cock dry after waking up from yet another fantasy starring this mystery woman.

  It ends tonight.

  Gently, I lean her down, with her head resting against a red satin pillow. She looks like a vision, more than just a dream. Her body is perfection: soft with a full tummy and sloping curves. She looks like a Renaissance statue brought to life.

  “You’re so beautiful.” I know I’ve probably already told her a dozen times tonight, but I don’t know what else to say. It’s true. She is. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.

  A soft pink hue colors her skin at my words. She looks embarrassed. But something else, as well. Excited. I can tell my words excite her. I love that.

  I hook my thumb in the elastic band of my boxers and slide them down to the floor, kicking them away, before kneeling down in front of her. “I love the way you pant when my fingers play with you.” As I speak, I bring my hand in between her legs, gently pushing them apart and slide my hand inside her wetness, finding her clit again. When I do, her hips buck and she arches into my touch. I lean forward and kiss a trail of kisses along her neck as I continue playing with her clit.

  “And I love how wet you are for me. You’re eager for me to fuck you, aren’t you Chrissy?”

  I don’t get an answer as much as a loud moan I have to silence with my mouth. Though the flaps of the tent are thick, we can still hear the muffled voices of everyone in the carnival around us, which only amplifies the eroticism of the moment. The last thing I want is for someone to walk in and ruin this sacred moment between us. I’m not ready for this to end.

  I’ve waited too fucking long for this.

  “Are you ready, Chrissy? Are you ready for my cock? Ready for me to fuck you and make you mine?”

  She relents another needy moan I silence with my lips. I want her to come before I slide inside of her, fully possessing her. I want to know what it feels like to have her melt into a puddle of pleasure, and then to have her come all over again while I’m deep inside her pussy.

  I don’t have to wait long. My fingers keep gently pressing, teasing and kneading until I see her eyes roll back. Her mouth falls open and I smother her mouth with mine just as she shouts her release. God, it’s better than a dream.

  Better than the many dreams I’ve had of this gorgeous woman.

  I love how vocal she is and I can’t wait until I can take her back to my own bed and claim her again, where we won’t need to worry about being quiet.

  I pause, hovering above her, my cock pressing into her stomach as I watch her ride her orgasm. I love the way her eyes pinch close and the muscles in her jaw tick. After a few minutes she opens her eyes.

  “You are magic,” she whispers, sounding slightly delirious.

  I laugh and shake my head. “Nope, but I’m pretty sure you are.”

  She rolls her eyes and props herself up on her elbows. “I guess we should do the whole, you know, condom talk thing.”

  “Condom talk thing?”

  “Yeah, do you have one? A condom?”

  “Uh, actually. I don’t. Believe it or not, I don’t actually have frequent carnival hook-ups that I need to prepare for.”

  She smiles and crinkles her nose. “Okay. So let’s think this through. I am very, very eager to have sex with you. I also know that I am clean because I got tested after my stupid ex cheated on me and got my cousin knocked up. And I know I shouldn’t automatically trust what you say, especially considering I don’t even know your name, but…”

  “Cole. My name is Cole.”

  She repeats my name before smiling again, showing off the adorable dimples in her cheeks. “I like it. So, for some weird reason, totally unrelated to what the psychic told me today, because that was definitely total BS, I trust you. So if you want this, I promise I am on birth control and won’t, like, stalk you for child support or anything.”

  I exhale. “Well, okay. I can definitely say I am clean and am also very, very eager to have sex with you.”

  She laughs and shifts, inadvertently nudging my still-hard cock with her thigh. When she notices, her laughter fades and she looks back up at me. Her front teeth bite down on her bottom lip as she shifts down, centering her entrance to the head of my cock, granting me silent permission.

  I keep my eyes locked on her, letting her know that if she wants to stop, we can. Already this evening has surpassed my wildest dreams. She lets her thighs fall apart and that’s all I need. I slide my cock inside her, groaning with each extra inch. Her head falls back and I continue to push in until I am fully inside her. The fit is perfection, like a puzzle piece finding its pair.

  But I won’t last long, not when it feels this good. So I thrust my hips backward, withdrawing slightly, before thrusting back in. Again and again, I repeat this until both Chrissy and I are panting, our breath mixing into a shared gasp. A droplet of sweat snakes down my back. I’m so close, but I want Chrissy to come again. I need her to come. I need to feel her pussy clench down around me as her eyes roll back into her head again. Already I know so much about this woman through her body, and I know what she needs to unravel.

  I lift my lips and press them against her ear. “I want you to come for me now, baby. I need to feel you come on my cock.”

  It takes mere seconds after those dirty, forbidden words leave my mouth for Chrissy’s body to freeze and her muscles to tense, her legs lifting up to wrap around my waist and pull me inside of her as she comes, her body quaking around mine. Only once I feel that do I grunt and find my own release, coming deep inside of her before collapsing on top of her and wrapping my arms around her.

  Better than any dream.

  We lay like this for several long minutes. I relish the feeling of her in my arms, as we each catch our breath.

  “That was amazing,” I say, not fully recovered from my own release.

  “Uh huh,” she replies. “I’m beginning to wonder if the psychic was right.”

  “What?” I ask, turning toward her.

  She covers her face with her hand. “Never mind. I’m talking crazy.” She pushes herself up onto her elbows and looks around the small tent. “Or maybe I am crazy. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

  I can hear the panic enter her voice and I push myself up to look her straight into her eyes. “I haven’t either,” I assure her. “But I feel something here. Something special.”

  She looks at me, her eyes searching mine. “I think I do, too. Is that … is that insane?”

  I shake my head. “No, I think maybe it’s fate.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” she replies, lost in her thoughts. She sits up fully and reaches for her bra and shirt. “I think I should try and find my friend.”

  I jump up and grab my boxers, dressing. Something has shifted between us and I’m worried she’ll run away. And I can’t let her leave without at least getting her number.

  As I pull on my pants, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I ignore it, wanting to keep up with Chrissy in case she decides to make a run for it.

  “Look I know how we met is a bit… unconventional,” I start, “But I would love to see you again. Could I get
your number?”

  She tugs on her jeans and buckles them before sliding her boots back on. Now fully dressed, wearing the souvenir T-shirt I purchased for her earlier, she pauses, seemingly having a conversation with herself in her head, before finally nodding. “Okay.”

  I pull out my phone to add her number, but before I can, the curtains of the tent fly open. Standing outside is Alyssa, a look of shock on her face.

  “Holy shit! Cole? I’ve been looking for you for like an hour! Why are you not wearing a shirt and what have you been —?”

  She pauses when she sees Chrissy, and her eyes grow wider as she connects the dots. She swears again and I turn to Chrissy, but I can see she has tears welling in her eyes. Not wanting her to be embarrassed, I shout at Alyssa to go back outside. But before I can, Chrissy runs, pushing past Alyssa.

  I don’t even bother throwing on my shirt before darting out the tent, but I’m too late. When I look outside, she’s gone. And when I leave the carnival three hours later, having searched every tent, booth and alley to no avail, I have the sickening feeling that I’ve lost Chrissy forever.

  This woman who’s haunted my dreams, night after night, is suddenly … nowhere.

  Chapter Six

  How can you be heartbroken from a relationship that lasted approximately twenty minutes? And can you even call it a relationship? After all, it was just sex, right?

  But it hadn’t felt like some stupid hook-up. It had felt real. Cosmic. Destined.

  No, Chrissy! Stop it!

  I dig my spoon into the mint chocolate chip ice cream and shove another hunk into my mouth. There are too many conversations going on in my head right now as my heart battles it out with my brain.

  I had wanted to believe that what had happened with Cole was some kind of fated meeting of lovers. It had been so passionate, and had felt so intimate. It had felt… real.

  But would it have felt that way if I hadn’t stumbled into that psychics’s tent earlier and let her fill my head with all that nonsense?

  Ugh. Who knows.

  All I do know is that after that beautiful, unbelievably arousing experience Cole and I shared, some woman had looked at the two of us the same way I had looked at Jared and Savannah when I caught them in bed together. Horrified.

  I remember the hurt I had felt at being betrayed by someone I had loved, and now I had played a part in that for another woman. I had helped break that poor woman’s heart. And as much as I didn’t want to be blamed, I wasn’t innocent. I should have asked if Cole was with someone. For God’s sake, I should have assumed it. Nobody that hot gets to walk around single. It’s impossible.

  So now, here I am again. Eating ice cream in bed as I binge watch something distracting. Not the sexy vampires, mind you. Even their love and lust is more than I can take right now, so I turn to an old standby: murder TV shows. Pathetic, yet again.

  A knock at the door pulls me away from my self-pity and I find a concerned looking Samantha standing in my doorway.

  “You doing okay?” she asks.

  I nod and force a smile to my lips. “Great!” I answer, a bit too enthusiastically.

  She remains unconvinced. “Are you planning to maybe shower tonight?”

  I shrug. “I showered Tuesday.”

  “And it’s Saturday,” she counters.

  “Oh, is it? Yeah, maybe a shower, then,” I say, trying to appease her. I know she’s worried, but I don’t want her to. Poor hygiene and ice cream are just part of my healing process.

  She turns to leave, but then spins back around, throwing her hands in the air. “You know what, no. This,” she says, waving her hands, “is not okay. You wallowing in self-pity is not okay. I get it, you’re hurt. Your rebound guy turned out to be a two-timing jerk. But you know what? Some people suck, Chrissy. Jared, Savannah, this Cole guy? Okay, they all suck. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t really good people out there. And if you keep hiding in your room like this, you’re never going to find them. And what’s even worse is that someone really amazing isn’t going to be able to find you either. And he won’t be able to see how amazing and kind and sweet and dorky and weird you are. And he won’t be able to fall in love with you and treat you like the amazing queen you are. It’s not fair of you to hide your amazing self out here because a few assholes hurt you. Fuck them, Chrissy. The world needs people like you. Don’t be selfish. Take a shower, shave off the two weeks of leg hair you’ve let grow and put on something cute. We are going out tonight and I do NOT want to hear any argument!”

  And with that, she slams the door closed and I decide that maybe my best friend is right. I fling the half-empty carton of ice cream into the trash can and grab a towel draped over my desk chair as I head into the bathroom.

  I have spent too much of my life crying over men who didn’t deserve my tears. And I am done. I am going to go out, dance with my girlfriends, flirt with strangers for free drinks and not spare one thought to the Jareds or Coles of the world. I am Chrissy 2.0 and ready for the world.

  But first I need a shower.

  Badly.

  Chapter Seven

  “Dude, cheer up! It’s your birthday and you look like you’re at your own funeral.”

  My best friend, Mike, passes me a shot of something blue. It reminds me of Chrissy and the blue slushy I spilled down her shirt just two weeks ago.

  It reminds me of that top of hers, going see-through after the spill. Of the second she unhooked that pink bra, baring her full, gorgeous breasts to me… which then gets me thinking about the taste of her mouth. The feel of her slick arousal around my fingers. Her face, right when pleasure overtakes her. The perfect way my cock sank into her.

  Everything reminds me of her.

  And not just her body, and the pleasure it gave me. What Chrissy and I shared wasn’t just some random hook-up. It was so much more than that. It felt enormous. Transformative.

  It felt destined.

  And I don’t know how to find her.

  As if he can sense the storm cloud still brewing over me, Mike claps me on my shoulder and leans in. “I know you’re hurting man, but try to not let it show.” He gestures with his bottle toward the other end of the bar. “Alyssa can tell something is up. It’s her night, too. Don’t ruin it for her, okay?”

  I turn over my shoulder to see Alyssa smiling with her friends as they make a toast to her. A plastic pink crown, covered in fake jewels, rests on her head. A matching blue one is currently on my head. Alyssa had insisted and I, being the sucker I am, had relented after she had begged nonstop for ten minutes.

  When she sees me looking, she smiles and holds up her glass. I reach for the shot Mike had gotten for me and hold it up. We toast from across the room and I swallow the contents of the shot. It’s sweet and tasty like artificial blueberries.

  “Good man,” Mike says before turning to talk to another friend of ours. We’re at a local bar that Mike has picked out. He’s got a crush on the bartender there and was disappointed to find out she wasn’t working tonight. But Mike is able to get over disappointments with an “oh well” and a shot of vodka.

  Me? Not so much. And especially not when that night with Chrissy had started as a dream, but ended as one of the biggest regrets of my life, because I let the woman I had dreamed of for months slip right out of my damn fingers.

  The memory of it still stings. I wonder if this is something I’ll ever get over.

  At my side, Mike lets out a whoop. I’m assuming it’s more of our friends arriving, but he rushes up to me and claps his hands. “She’s here, dude!”

  “Who?”

  “The hot bartender I was telling you about! Samantha!” He points toward the entrance to a tall blonde with streaks of bright pink in her hair. But that isn’t who I notice.

  I rush to my feet, almost sending Mike toppling back.

  “Woah, what the hell?”

  “It’s her. She’s here,” I say, not caring how desperate I sound in front of my best friend.

  �
�Who are you talking about … Oh, my God. You mean her? The chick from the carnival?”

  I don’t pause to answer him. I’m pushing through the crowd of people until I’m a foot away from her. I blink, making sure I’m not imagining her again.

  “Chrissy.”

  Her name comes out gruff and I feel like I am shouting, but I don’t want to risk her not seeing me or leaving before I can talk to her one more time.

  She’s startled when she sees me, as is her friend at her side.

  “Oh my god,” she whispers, as if she can’t believe it either.

  We pause, both staring at each other.

  She’s even more beautiful than I remember -- in my dreams, or beneath my body. My dream woman, not to mention the greatest fuck of my life.

  “And you are?” her friend asks, extending her hand.

  Chrissy pulls her back. “This is Cole. No need for you two to meet since we were on our way out.” She pulls her friend toward the door, but I can’t let her walk away again. Not without her hearing what she means to me.

  I reach for her arm and gently tug on it. “Please don’t leave, Chrissy. Not before you know how I feel about you.”

  She pulls her arm out of my reach. “What I mean to you? Shouldn’t you be telling that to your girlfriend?”

  “Wait, what do you —”

  Before I can answer, two arms wrap around my waist and I find Alyssa plunking a kazoo in my mouth. Before I can shrug her off, she blows it in my ear. “Time for shots, birthday boy! Remember you’re buying my drinks all night!”

  When Chrissy sees her, her mouth drops and she turns to walk away again. Before I can get Alyssa off and chase after her, Chrissy abruptly stops and spins around. She points her finger and presses it against my chest.

  “You are a terrible person! How dare you chase after me when your girlfriend is literally right in front of you! You know, I was stupid enough to actually have feelings for you. And I know we only just met and then had sex, which I never do, but because of that stupid psychic I thought you were my soulmate or whatever, but that is waaaay besides the point! You are a cheat, and a liar and … just a bad person.”