Kinetic Energy

by Hayley Faiman

  The elevator doors open, and we walk side-by-side down the hallway, following the signs that dictate where our room number will be located. He waves his key in front of the door until I hear it unlock, and then he turns the handle and opens it. Our bags are already set off to the side and I open mine up, grabbing my toiletries so that I can take a quick shower.

  “You have an idea of what you want?” Thomas calls out as he pours over the menu.

  I tell him to just order me whatever he thinks I’d like and I slip into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. The space is brightly lit. Looking around, I shouldn’t be surprised by how nice it is. It’s nicer than anything I’ve ever been inside of before, covered in marble, and the bathtub looks like a dream.

  The shower is almost the size of my entire dorm room itself, and the floor is warm. Looking to the side, I notice that there’s a dial on the wall. Upon closer inspection, it’s a heater, a floor heater. The tiles are freaking heated. I take off my clothes. There’s something about traveling that always makes me feel so freaking gross.

  Starting the water, I quickly rinse off using my favorite vanilla and brown sugar body wash, careful not to get my hair wet because I washed it just this morning. Once I’m refreshed, I wrap myself in a fluffy white towel and make my way back into the room.

  Thomas is lying on the bed, completely naked. His eyes slowly drift over to me and I instantly drop my towel to the floor. “Come on over here,” he orders.

  I walk over to him, tugging the hair tie out of my hair as I do, dropping it somewhere on the floor, uncaring of where it lands—I have a million more in my bag. Right now, the only thing I can think about is touching Thomas, and Thomas touching me.

  Thomas slides down the bed until he’s lying flat, his eyes still tracking my every movement. When I arrive at the side of the bed, he holds out his hand for me. Slipping my palm in his, he gently tugs me closer, and I climb onto the bed, straddling his hips.

  “On my face, Ines.”

  I know exactly what he’s asking, and I shiver at the idea. I’ve never done that before, but I want to. I can’t even pretend that the thought of lowering myself onto Thomas’ mouth doesn’t excite me. That having control, all of the control, for just a few moments doesn’t completely turn me on.

  Crawling up the length of his body, Thomas wraps his fingers around my hips and he gently tugs me down against his mouth. I wrap both hands around the top of the headboard, and slowly roll my hips, testing the position out.

  Holy shit.

  It’s better than I ever anticipated. On the third roll of my hips, my inhibitions begin to slowly melt away. Thomas’ tongue works my clit at the same time I move, fucking his mouth, grinding down against him. I look down and gasp. His blue eyes are completely focused on me, and as soon as they connect with my own, they arrest me.

  One of his hands moves to the crack of my ass, and I let out a moan, knowing exactly where it’s leading, and I want it, I want it so very badly. He grunts against my pussy as my hips jerk. Then his finger fills me, and my eyes automatically flutter closed. I fuck his mouth with my pussy, and his finger with my ass, the sensation almost too much to bear but I never want it to end.

  “Oh fuck,” I cry, my eyes opening as my orgasm draws closer.

  Thomas growls beneath me, and I feel that vibration to my soul, it sends me over the edge. My thighs shake and every muscle in my body tenses before I completely relax as I come. My fingers grip the headboard as my body goes completely boneless. Thomas eases his finger out of my ass and lifts me so that he can slip out from underneath me.

  I’m unable to move as I listen to him in the bathroom. I can’t move. My muscles are shaking still, my pussy is pulsing and I want more, so much more. The bed dips behind me. Thomas’ heat is at my back and he wraps his hands around my hips, again, tugging them slightly backward.

  “Arch, angel eyes,” he demands, placing a kiss on the middle of my back. I do as he asks, and a sob rips through me when he immediately slams inside of me. “Hold on,” he grunts.

  My fingers grip the headboard as tightly as I can, and I do exactly as he’s demanded. I hold on. Thomas’ fingers dig into my hips, assuredly leaving bruises as he pounds into me from behind. My eyes close as I accept every thrust of his hips. He grunts behind me, then growls, the sounds of his noises plus our skin meeting fills the room.

  “I’m close,” I whimper.

  I am close, except I know that I won’t be able to come like this. It’s building and keeps building, but I need something to push me over the edge. I need to touch myself. Releasing one of my hands from the headboard I do just that. I press my fingers to my clit and relief suddenly fills me, I know that my next climax is just seconds away.

  Thomas doesn’t slow, he doesn’t even skip a beat in his punishing rhythm. My hips jerk as I begin to firmly rub circles against my clit. I mewl, my eyes rolling in the back of my head as my orgasm rushes through me. It is long, slow, and with Thomas behind me, he’s drawing it out with each pump of his hips, each time he fills me.

  “Damn, sweetheart,” he groans, his hips thrusting one last time, stretching me as he comes.

  I expect him to immediately pull out of me, but he doesn’t. He stays completely planted inside of me and lowers his head, resting his forehead against the center of my back while he breathes heavily against me. I enjoy the way his breath touches my sweat soaked skin, and once again I’m too boneless to move.

  Thomas kisses a trail up my spine, then to my shoulder and over to my neck. One of his hands slides around my ribs and holds me up. “Feel better?” he asks against my neck.

  I turn my head slightly and graze my lips against his own. “I do, Papi,” I admit.

  A knock on the door has us both jumping before we laugh. Thomas slips out of me and stands, grabbing his jeans and quickly pulling them up his naked body. “Under the sheets, angel eyes,” he grunts.

  I quickly comply, watching his jean-clad ass walk to the door. I pull the bedding all the way up to my neck, and then over my head as soon as I hear the man’s voice delivering the food.

  The door clicks closed, and my bedding is slowly being dragged down the length of my body. “Food time,” Thomas calls.

  “What did you order me?” I ask, sitting up and trying to look at the rolling cart, which is fruitless because all three of the plates are covered in silver domes.

  Thomas grins at me as if he’s got some big secret. “What is the one thing that no matter what, I can order you and you won’t get sick on, or at least you get the least sick on?” he asks.

  “Chicken Alfredo,” I smile.

  He nods. “Chicken Alfredo for my sweetheart,” he laughs, making a show of taking the dome off of the plate. I practically squeal, and then I see the side of bread and I moan, reaching my arms out in a silent begging for my plate.

  Thomas hands it over to me, along with a napkin and a fork. I watch as he takes his own plate off and I’m surprised to see that he ordered a burger. Usually Thomas eats fish, chicken, steak or pasta with me, but today a burger?

  “I didn’t have lunch, I’m fucking starved,” he grumbles as he shoves his burger into his mouth.

  He looks younger right now, his hair tousled, shirtless and a bacon cheeseburger in his hand. He looks perfect. He looks sexy as shit. “Eat, we need food before we fuck again. I need to rest a little before I fuck again,” he murmurs, giving me a wink.

  “How?”

  “I know the look you get, angel eyes, and your nipples just got extremely hard. I know when my girl needs to get laid,” he chuckles.

  I pick up a piece of my bread and throw it at him. He laughs, reaching for a fry and does the same with me. Right now, we’re not a professor and his student. We’re just a boy and a girl, and it doesn’t matter that this boy hasn’t been a boy for decades. Right now, he very much is, and the wide smile on his face proves it completely. He needs me just as much as I need him. I need him to love me, protect me, and be what grounds me. Howeve
r, he needs me to love him, to show him gentleness, and to make him laugh.

  THOMAS

  I watch her sleep, her belly full of food, and her body worn out from orgasms—five this evening alone. I reach for her phone, unlocking it with her passcode as I make my way outside, and onto the balcony.

  She may be upset when she finds out what I’ve done this evening, but I need to make sure that tomorrow goes well and isn’t a complete fucking disaster. Ines needs to know that no matter what, even if they’re upset with our situation, that her family still loves and supports her.

  “Ines? What the hell is going on?” a soft voice demands on the other end of the line.

  Clearing my throat, I speak. “Lola?”

  “Who is this?” she gasps.

  “This is Thomas, Ines’ fiancé…”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  INES

  Standing in front of my family’s home, I suck in a deep breath. I know my mom doesn’t work today, she never works on Thursdays. It’s the one day a week she has always had off to take care of things. She would go to the grocery store, go to the bank, and cook all day long for the week. It was the one day growing up that I knew I could count on seeing her, on hugging her, and telling her about my week.

  “Here goes nothin’,” I say, lifting my hand.

  Thomas’ hand slides around my back, and his fingers wrap around my waist, giving me some comfort. Knocking on the door, I hold my breath, waiting for my mom to answer. When the door flies open, it isn’t her on the other side, but instead, Lola.

  “You’re here,” she breathes. Lola reaches for my hands and pulls me into a huge hug. “You’re really here, it feels like you’ve been gone a year,” she whispers in my ear.

  I soak in her hug, before taking a step back to join Thomas. Lola’s eyes drift over to him, and as they travel up to his face, they widen. “Oh shit,” she breathes.

  “That doesn’t sound good. I’m Thomas,” he offers, holding his hand out to shake hers.

  Lola slips her hand in his for just a second and shakes. “When you called, you didn’t fully explain this situation.”

  “You called?” I ask, tipping my head back to look into his eyes.

  Thomas glances down at me and shrugs. “I wanted to make sure everybody was here, not just your mom. The way you talk, you’re all very close, and I figured everybody being together would be what you wanted.”

  Tears well in my eyes and I reach up to cup his scruffy chin. I enjoy the fact that he hasn’t shaved in a few days, the stubble not only looking sexy as hell, but it feels sexy when it scrapes along my skin. “Thank you, Papi,” I breathe, unable to tear my gaze from his blue eyes.

  “Oh shit,” Lola groans. “Well, everybody is all amped up to start some shit. I tried to talk them into giving you a chance, I truly did, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen,” she grumbles.

  I sigh, letting my hand fall from Thomas’ face. I lace my fingers with his and together we walk over the threshold and into my childhood home. As soon as we’re in the living room, Lola walks over to an empty chair and sits down, her eyes cast down to focus on her lap. My eyes glance over all of the people in the room, Rio and Novia are looking at their phones, but Kosmo and Mama are glaring directly at us.

  “How old are you?” Kosmo spits, sounding and looking completely disgusted.

  Thomas opens his mouth to answer but my mother is faster. “He’s over forty, Kosmo. He’s older than you and old enough to be Ines’ father. And yet, here he stands, holding my child’s hand. A pervert,” my mom states, her eyes cold.

  I gasp at her words, unbelieving that she would actually say them, even if she thought them, I cannot believe that she’s said them, and to our faces.

  “Mrs. Nazario,” Thomas begins.

  Mama holds up her hand to stop him from speaking. “You don’t exist to me,” she states. I almost roll my eyes at her dramatics, but they’re filling with tears instead.

  “I love him, Mom. I love him, and we’re getting married,” I say, practically pleading with her to see reason, to see me and my love for Thomas.

  She snorts, rolling her eyes. “I loved a man once too, Ines. A man who took advantage of me, left me alone to raise five children and still to this day attempts to take advantage of me. I know a user when I see one. A manipulator. He was your teacher, he should have never even looked in your direction, let alone pursued you.”

  “You’re right, absolutely correct,” Thomas states.

  Everybody looks over at him in surprise, including myself. “Ines is young, but she isn’t a child. She isn’t immature, or some silly girl. Had she been, had she been anywhere near the same type of girlish personality as ninety-nine percent of my other first-year students, I would have never even attempted to do much more than give her a second passing glance. Ines is not a silly girl. She’s mature, wise beyond her years, and I love her very much. She makes me feel alive again.”

  “She should, she’s more than half your fucking age,” Kosmo grumbles.

  I shake my head, knowing they’re not going to listen to any type of explanation or reason. “What does it matter? If Ines is happy, what does it really matter?” Rio asks. I’m surprised that he’s sticking up for me, and I give him a watery smile.

  “It’s not right. That’s why.” My mother nods.

  Thomas opens his mouth, but I squeeze his hand silencing him. “I’m sorry that you feel this way, all of you,” I say. “Thomas and I are very much in love, and we’ll be married in just a few weeks. We’re also going to have a baby, so it would be really heartbreaking if this child didn’t know it’s grandmother, or it’s aunts and uncles.”

  I don’t wait for a response. I turn and walk out of the house. They’ll contact me once they all cool off, they’ll be in touch. At least, that’s what I tell myself. I let myself into Thomas’ rented convertible and he does the same, silently starting the engine and driving away. It makes me sad, the fact that I have to wonder if I’ll ever be back here.

  Thomas doesn’t go back to the hotel like I anticipate. Instead, he drives to the closest beach. I don’t even have to ask where we’re going because I would know the way blindfolded. I spent most of my childhood and teenage years right here on this sandy beach. When he parks the car, I don’t wait for him to open the door, I slip off my shoes, leaving them on the floorboard. Standing, I make my way toward the soft, warm sand.

  I stop when I get to the edge of the ocean, not wanting to get my feet wet, but needing to feel the cool sand on them. Thomas quietly walks up behind me, his chest pressing against my back, and his hand sliding around my stomach. I accept his touch, leaning back against him, and allowing him to take my weight.

  “They will come around,” he murmurs.

  I shake my head, willing my tears to stay at bay. I don’t want them falling, not out here, not on this beautiful beach that holds a million wonderful memories. This used to feel like home, it used to be my home, but it doesn’t feel that way anymore.

  Sadness washes over me at that fact, this is no longer my place in life. Maybe that’s another reason they aren’t accepting, maybe they don’t want me to live in Nebraska forever? I’m happy there though, despite the oncoming frigid temperatures of winter, it’s home, it’s Thomas.

  “Ines,” Thomas sighs.

  I dash the tears away from beneath my eyes. “I want to go home, Thomas.”

  “We’ll leave first thing in the morning.” He nods.

  We stay staring at the ocean for another twenty minutes before I turn around in his arms. “Let’s go,” I announce.

  Thomas’ eyes scan mine, then he dips his chin and presses his lips to mine. We don’t say anything else, he takes a step back from me, his hand enveloping mine and together we walk back to the car. The sound of the ocean is behind us, and so is my life here. Hopefully things work out with my family, and I’ll be back for a visit or two, but this is no longer home.

  We don’t speak as Thomas drives us toward the h
otel. I stare out of the passenger side window at the cityscape. I don’t realize we’re at the hotel until Thomas puts the car in park. His door opens, and he’s instantly at my side to help me out. He grasps my hand tightly and together we walk into the hotel. Silently we ride the elevator and as soon as the elevator doors close, my tears decide to fall.

  “Sweetheart,” he grunts, wrapping me in his arms. I feel like a complete zombie, as he ushers me down the hall and finally into our room.

  He guides us over to the bed, and for the first time in days, I have zero desire to have sex. I want to be held, I just want to smell his scent around me and know that I’m safe—and loved. The tears fall, and I just feel sad, so damn sad, as I lie in his arms.

  I don’t know what I had anticipated happening today. I know how stubborn my mom is, and Kosmo, but I really thought that once they saw how happy I was, how happy Thomas makes me, that they would come around. Obviously, I was dead wrong.

  “They’ll come around,” Thomas repeats against the top of my head.

  I sigh, wondering how he read my mind—freaky. “Maybe, one day,” I say not quite believing my own words. The entire morning feels very anticlimactic, and I hate it. It doesn’t take me long to fall asleep wrapped in this safe cocoon of Thomas.

  “She’s resting,” I hear Thomas’ deep voice rumble.

  My eyelids flutter open and I look around, a little confused at the fact that when I went to sleep it was morning time and now the room is bathed in darkness. I glance at the bedside clock, my eyes widening. It’s after seven in the evening.

  “She’s my sister, so I’m going to see her, resting or not,” Rio’s voice breaks through and has me on my feet and rushing toward the door.

  I place my hand on the center of Thomas’ back and he turns his head to look down at me. “You can let him in,” I say.

  Thomas grunts and steps to the side, holding the door open. I’m surprised that Rio is here at all, completely and totally shocked actually. We walk over to the little seating area in the room, and I sit down on the sofa. Thomas joins me, and Rio sits across from us in a chair.