by Laney Powell
Sebastian moved my panties aside and dipped his tongue between my legs, taking his time, his finger still moving inside of me. He licked me and then took my clit into his mouth. I nearly came off the bed.
“Sebastian!” I half-whispered, half screamed.
Sebastian
Hearing her come apart because of me was making my cock so hard it ached. I wanted to bury myself in her, but she needed to come for me first. Preferably loudly. I sucked at her clit harder, moving my finger faster in her. Then I added a second finger, loving the sound of her breath catching, her body moving in my hands, in my mouth.
“Oh,” Mallory whispered.
Her legs tensed, and her breath caught, and then she let out a moan that was part sob. “Oh, my God,” she whispered.
I didn’t reply. I felt a wetness on my fingers, and I didn’t stop what I was doing. She came again in my hands. I moved away from her slightly, and her hands came down to grab me.
“Where do you think you’re going?” She asked.
“Not far.” I reached for the condom on the bedside table and rolled it on. I had to tell myself to think of baseball, and walking a dog, and anything to keep myself from coming at that instant. I slid between her legs and teased the entrance to her pussy with my cock.
“Stop teasing,” Mallory said, pulling my face to hers to kiss me.
I drove into her, and she gasped. Then her legs wrapped around me and drove me deeper. I could feel her nails in my ass, and I complied, wanting to fall into her. She felt amazing.
Mallory didn’t look away from me. As I pounded into her, making the bed shake, I kept my eyes on hers. It was the most intimate thing I’d ever done. I didn’t usually watch the woman I was with. To be fair, they didn’t watch me either.
But this was different. Whether it was because this was something I’d never done before, or because it was Mallory, or both—it made the sex even more intense. I held out for as long as I could. “Oh, God, Mallory, baby, I can’t wait,” I said, trying to keep everything in control.
“Come for me,” she said, thrusting her ass up at me.
That was all I needed. I drove harder and faster, and I could feel Mallory spread her legs wider, pulling me closer to her. Her mouth opened as she gasped each time I pounded into her, but her eyes stayed on mine.
Then I felt it, and I fell over the edge with Mallory watching me. With me. In what was an eternity, and a second, she gasped, and I felt her clench around me.
I stopped moving, but Mallory didn’t let me go. I let myself relax, leaning on my arms and letting my forehead rest on hers.
“Did that make up for lost time?” She asked in a small voice.
“Sort of. I need to try it all again to be sure,” I said, kissing her.
And we did. Several more times. Neither of us slept much that night, but when we did, we were wrapped in one another’s arms.
The next morning, Mallory woke me by rolling on top of me and kissing me. The invitation was wide open. Not being a slouch in reading the room, I let her lead, and we had amazing sex before we even thought about coffee.
When we’d finished, Mallory lay her head on my chest.
“What now?” She asked.
I knew what she was asking. She knew me, knew my reputation. She knew a lot of my history.
“How about we go to breakfast, and then we’ll see?” I asked, unable to stop smiling.
Ten Months Later
Mallory
I watched Sebastian out in the yard. He was mowing the lawn, which he liked to do to relax. We were living in the smallest house ever, but it was in Aspen, and he could bike to work. Given that it was Aspen, we were lucky to be within twenty miles of the town. Sebastian had bought this tiny little house from his Caden, who rented him land on the back of his property. I’d never heard of tiny houses before, but after spending a year with Sebastian in one, I loved it.
The long-distance thing, however, was completely old. Sometimes I drove out there, sometimes I grabbed a flight. It was cheaper and only took an hour. In the past six months, I’d been telecommuting so I could spend more time with Sebastian. He worked nights, mostly, which meant I got a lot done and was still able to spend time with him.
I thought back to the last wedding we’d been to—Talia’s. When we came down for breakfast holding hands, I could practically see antennas tuned in our direction. After breakfast, all my girlfriends grilled me until there was nothing left. I knew that every one of them had threatened him at some point that day. I mean, we all knew him. Or at least, we thought we did.
We were all wrong. He was just like everyone else, with baggage and shit that got in the way of being happy.
Until we had been dating and having massive amounts of sex for about a month, he hadn’t even thought about this. We’d almost broken up over the whole thing. We’d been out, and I introduced him as my boyfriend, and when we got home, a massive fight had ensued. I didn’t understand it until he explained, but even that had been reluctant. I told him I wasn’t going to be with someone who didn’t at least try to deal with their shit. That conversation stood out to me. I could still recall it with complete accuracy even now.
“What the hell is going on?” I said. “You’ve been weird all night.”
He shrugged, not meeting my eyes. This was a side of him I’d never seen before. “Why did you call me your boyfriend?” He asked finally, still looking up at the ceiling.
Something was seriously off. “Because you are. At least, I think you are. Am I incorrect?” I tried to keep my voice light. But the tears were there, right behind my casual tone.
“I think you’re kind of rushing it, don’t you think?”
“Um, no, I don’t think we’re rushing it. I’m using time off to come see you, and when I do, we have nothing but sex and eating and laughing. We talk all the time, and there’s not an hour in the day where I don’t think about you. Good basis for a boyfriend, don’t you think?”
“I’m not really boyfriend material,” he said, his face tight.
What was going on here? “Look, you’ve obviously got something on your mind. Here’s what is going to happen. You either talk with me now, or we’re done. I’m not putting up with someone who won’t deal with their shit.”
His head whipped around then, his eyes locking with mine. They were wide, and in them, I saw fear. I’d never seen that before. But I kept quiet. This ball was in his court now. Then he started to talk, and I was crying by the end of it.
He never wanted to get serious because he hadn’t met the person who he wanted to put the effort into. Add to that his dad left his mom at an early age, and his mom had, as I thought of it, a seriously bad picker, he didn’t see the sense in getting too involved. His mom hurt a lot throughout his childhood. She tried to hide it, but he had seen her hurting. He also mentioned something about a spark between us, and seeing what happened, and he wasn’t sure yet.
I gave Sebastian all the credit. He’d faced it, even though it had meant some major things came up. And he’d asked me to start staying with him for longer amounts of time whenever I could. But I was tired of the nearly four-hour commute. Something needed to change. We both spent too much time getting to one another.
The trouble was, I didn’t know what needed to change. I’d talked to my boss about permanently telecommuting. She said that I could work from home and come in once a week—but that still left me having to drive between here and Boulder each week.
I sighed. None of this was solving the problem. Sebastian finished the lawn and came over to the small porch where I sat.
“You smell like fresh grass,” I said with approval. I loved the smell.
“Is it getting you all hot and bothered?” He asked with a grin, wiping his forehead.
“Always,” I replied, getting up to kiss him. “But I am equally hot and bothered to help you get it all off.”
“I think that could be arranged,” he said, wrapping a grassy arm around me.
I walked
backwards with him into the house. As he closed the door behind him, I slid down his leg, taking his shorts with me. “Why Mr. Colton, what a big cock you have,” I said, glancing up at him. His face looked angular and harsh in the late afternoon light. I loved it. He looked like a Viking.
There was no one else around. With the door closed, with just the two of us, we could have been the last people on Earth. I took him in my mouth, and his eyes closed momentarily. I felt an answering wetness between my legs. Sex with him was so good. Tonight promised more of the same—after I finished what I was doing. He groaned, his head thrown back.
My own personal Viking.
An hour later, we were sitting in the tiny living room, wrapped in robes, a drink in hand. This was one of my favorite parts of being with him. It was dusk, and the view was amazing. Everything was quiet.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, pulling me from my reverie.
“About?” I didn’t want to think. If I did, I knew that I’d have to think about the thing bothering me most, and even with all my thought, I had no solution. It made me crazy. The mind-blowing sex earlier had only shoved the problem aside for a time.
“It’s really tough being so far apart.”
Shit. Well, there went my attempts to not think about The Problem. “I agree,” I said.
“There’s only one solution. We need to move in together.”
I frowned. “I think that’s a great solution if we don’t take into account my work.”
He inhaled deeply. “I have been taking your work into account. You know, I have this place,” he waved a hand around the room, “And it’s totally mobile. I was talking to Caden, and he feels like it’s time to open another Apicus. He wants me to do it, to be the Executive Chef.”
Great. I would see even less of him. I felt a part of my heart deflate. I kept quiet. For the moment, anyway.
“And he wants to open it in Boulder,” Sebastian finished. “I’d be moving this thing there, down to you. The thing is, I want you to live here. With me”
“That could be tough,” I said. As much as I loved the tiny house, Sebastian and his stuff took up a lot of room.
“Yes, but I think I have it figured out. Will you trust me, let me surprise you?”
“What?”
“I have a plan, so if you’ll be patient, and let me surprise you, I think we can work this out.”
I didn’t answer right away. He kept his word, delivered on promises, and he hadn’t disappointed me yet, even with our ups and downs. “OK,” I said. “Can I have a time limit?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like, can I move in for a while, and see how it goes? Without giving up my place and all that? I want to make sure we don’t kill each other.”
“We’re not going to do that,” he said.
“Humor me?” I asked. I didn’t want to bring up that moving in with my last boyfriend had been the beginning of the end, and ultimately, the kiss of death for my relationship. That had been hard enough.
Losing Sebastian would be far, far worse. Please, please, please, don’t let this be the kiss of death, I sent up into the universe. Please. My heart was beating faster.
“Yes.” He leaned over to kiss me.
I wondered what, exactly, I had just agreed to. I hoped I hadn’t made a mistake.
Sebastian
It was tough not to jump up and down like the Avalanche had just won the Stanley Cup. She’d agreed to it. Now it was time for me to get things moving.
I had to move the house and get the restaurant going all during the same time. There were only twenty-four hours in the day. Motivation, however, is a serious ass-kicker for getting things done. I left for work the next day feeling happier and more satisfied than I’d felt in a long time. I planned to get there a little earlier than my shift, so I could talk with Caden.
He was in the office when I came in. “Hey, Sebastian,” he said. “Come in. Save me from the bills.”
I went and sat at the chair near his desk. “I talked to Mallory last night. She’s good with it.”
Caden laughed. “You told her you wanted to live in the tiny house?” He didn’t understand how I, much less we, fit in there.
“I did.”
“What did she say? Like, what were the actual words?” Caden leaned forward in his chair.
I frowned. “OK, she didn’t jump for joy. But she said yes and said that she’d try it.”
“Try it as in?”
“As in a trial period. To make sure we don’t kill each other.”
Caden burst out laughing. “That’s more what I thought. Mallory knows how small that place is, and how much shit you have.”
“Well, it’s not going to be just my house.”
“Really? What are you planning?”
“I saw a great show on Tiny House—”
Caden held out both hands away from him to stop me. My addiction to the tiny house shows was well known, and no longer tolerated.
I smiled. “OK, OK, but what is important is I have a solution.”
“As long as you’re not going to give me all the details down to the last nail, I’m willing to help if you need it.”
“That would be great,” I said. “I should also tell you I’m going to need some time off.”
“For what?” Caden looked indignant.
“All Mallory’s friends from home are getting married this summer. We have to go.”
He gave me the evil eye.
“Hey, I talked her out of being in the weddings. You don’t know how lucky you are. She has loads of these friends. So I’ll get an amazing assistant chef, work a million hours to get the new place open, take some time off without you giving me hell, and keep my girl happy. Now, let’s talk about Apicus, Jr.”
Caden laughed again, and we moved on to talking about the opening. Inside, I felt like I was glowing. How was I going to keep this a secret? It just might kill me.
But the final outcome would be worth it. More than worth it. She was worth it.
I smiled all night at work, even though we were slammed, and down a server, and everyone was on edge. Life was perfect.
Four Months Later
Mallory
My phone vibrated. It was a text from Sebastian. He’d been staying with me the past four months as he helped get the restaurant going. Opening was less just over a week away. I kept asking him when he’d move his house down, and he told me he was working out the details. As finding a place to park it was challenging, I left him alone. I liked having him stay with me at my apartment, having him cook for me, waking up next to him. The sooner he got his house here, the less he’d stay over. Once I’d realized this, I stopped bothering him.
Me: What’s up?
Sebastian: Can you get out of work early? I have something I want to show you.
Me: Let me check.
Fifteen minutes later, I was out the door.
Me: I’m free. You want to get something to eat?
Sebastian: Later. Can you meet me here?
A second text listed an address.
Me: Sure.
I added it to my GPS and drove out of the parking lot. The address was in Lyons, a little town about twenty-five minutes north of here. I sang with the radio as I drove and followed the GPS to what looked like a park.
Sebastian was waiting out in the driveway. “Hey,” he said, as I pulled the car next to him. “Can I get a ride?”
“Anywhere you want,” I said laughing. “What’s going on?” I asked as he got in the passenger side. “What are we doing here? This place is gorgeous, by the way.”
“Drive over that way,” Sebastian pointed.
I followed his finger, noting that there were a number of tiny homes along the one lane road. “You found a place to park it!” I said. “I don’t think you could have found a better place.” It was right next to a creek, and there were plenty of trees.
“Keep going. There’s a space past this for you to park,” Sebastian said. He pointed
again.
I saw it. Two parking spaces next to a wooded lot, away from the other tiny houses.
“We have to walk a little,” Sebastian said. He looked exited, and nervous.
What was going on?
Sebastian
I watched Mallory carefully. She didn’t look upset, or anything but pleased. It had taken me a long time to hammer out the details of this place. I’d talked to the owners of the tiny house park, the owners all around, and I’d been able to buy a small piece of property close to the creek. Then I’d had the second house, and the deck built, so that we could live here and have room to grow.
Now all she needed to do was say yes. To everything.
Mallory took my hand. “These houses are so cute,” she said.
“It’s a tiny house hotel,” I said. “But we’re down here.”
“We?” Mallory asked.
“Yep,” I said, feeling a grin spread across my face. I couldn’t wait to show her. I led her down a path from the parking spaces and then stopped. I wanted her to see it, and I wanted to be able to watch her face as she saw it.
I’d taken my little house, and built another house, and a deck, and connected the two. We had a tiny house mansion, and we were right by the creek. My five-thousand-foot piece of property was surrounded by trees, and at the moment, all I could hear was the rushing water from the creek behind the house and the beating of my own heart.
“Is this what you’ve been doing?” Mallory sounded delighted.
“Yes.”
“In addition to getting the restaurant ready?” She asked.
“Yes. Come see your house.” I couldn’t stop smiling.
“My house?”
“If you want it,” I added.
“Oh my God, Sebastian! This is perfect!” She threw her arms around me.
“You haven’t even seen it yet,” I mumbled into her hair.
She pulled away, laughing. “I don’t need to. I’ve been worrying for so long about how we could be together more, and then, after you told me you were moving here, how we could share your place, because let’s face it, you have more stuff than I do—”