by Hazel Keys
“I like it,” she said at last. “It doesn’t even look like a boy lives here.”
Brad felt relief flood through him, and he smiled at her genuinely. “My mom taught me how to clean. My dad taught me how to cook. Between the two of them I was taught how to be a pretty self contained guy.” He paused to hand her her drink, then asked; “have other guys you’ve dated not been very clean?”
Rachel chortled, almost choking on the liquid fire. “Are you kidding? The last time I dated a guy it was fresh out of college. He had no idea what a vacuum was or the importance of putting leftovers in fridge. And the bathroom! Ugh. He was living with three other dudes. How they had so much pubic hair on the toilet, I have no idea.”
Brad shivered. The image of such a dirty bathroom almost made him gag, and he could practically smell the mildew and body odor that must have come from the place. Even in college he hadn’t been that unsanitary!
“So you’re saying this is a step up then?” He asked, sounding hopeful. Rachel giggled at him and nodded her head.
Her smile became contagious, and he found himself doing the same as he took her in. The dress she was wearing was beautiful on her. Accenting her toned figure, and highlighting the richness of her chocolate hair.
“You look really beautiful, Rachel,” he said, pushing his hip off of the counter. He closed the space between them and she went into his arms willingly. Her head landed perfectly on his shoulder and he brought her in to a warm, intimate embrace. They stood that way for a long time, simply enjoying the feel of one another. When she finally looked up, he took her cue and leaned down to kiss her.
“I’m sorry about Summer,” he said, after they parted lips. “You tried to warn me that she was more than just lonely, and I chose to believe something else.”
Rachel didn’t hide her perturbed expression, so it surprised him when she said; “No, I get it. I mean, look at her. She’s a stay at home mom; she has the perky blonde ponytail, perfect nose and smile. She looks like the definition of innocence.” She smoothed her hands over Brad’s shoulders, and gave him a small smile. “Just don’t let it happen again, okay?”
“I swear it,” Brad promised her. He led her to his couch, each with their drinks in their hand. He pulled her down towards him and wrapped his arm around her as she curled up into his side. It felt normal, right. Like they’d been doing it every night for years.
“So, what do you usually do on a Friday night?” He asked.
“Honestly?” Rachel asked, her eyebrows raised. Brad nodded his head.
“I um, I drink wine in jammys and I binge watch Netflix.”
Brad laughed, nodding his head. “That honestly sounds really great right now.”
“Really?” Rachel asked, sounding surprised.
“Come on, I think I have something comfy you can put on. Netflix and cuddling sounds like a great way to end this stressful day.”
“Are you sure?”
Brad smiled, leading her towards the stairs. “Absolutely.”
~
The first thing Brad noticed about the next morning was that the sun was shining bright and high through his bedroom window. The second thing he noticed was the warm, soft body that was wrapped around his own. He smiled before he even opened his eyes, and leaned his head down to bury his nose in Rachel’s hair.
He kissed the top of her head and she made a small, adorable sound, but otherwise didn’t move. She was still out.
Looking over to his alarm clock, he saw that it was eleven minutes past ten. Ten! He hadn’t slept in years, maybe even ever. He was always an early riser. Beside him Rachel stirred, and turned all of his attention to her. His pajama that he had leant her to sleep in swallowed her. The blue and white stripes of the shirt made her appear even more tan, golden even. Her hair, a mass of dark brown curls, was splayed all over his arm and tumbled down her back. She had washed her makeup before she had come to bed, but he hadn’t been aloud to turn the lights on afterwards.
Now that the sun had completely illuminated the room, there was no hiding in the darkness. Her face, with its clear skin and smooth complexion, looked just as beautiful naked as it did with makeup on. It was as he was studying the beauty of her cheekbones that her eyelashes fluttered and she opened her eyes for the first time.
“Good morning,” he greeted, his voice barely above a whisper. Rachel stretched her body slowly; letting everything pull and pop like a cat just waking up from a good seventeen hour nap. She did so with a smile on her face.
“Good morning to you too,” she whispered back. She settled back down into his side again and craned her head up and he lowered his down for their first good morning kiss. Instantly Brad felt a harsh tug in his pajama pants, and he bit back a groan. She tasted so good in the morning, he thought, pulling her closer. Between his legs, his erection began throbbing, and hardening to an almost painful size.
“Somebody’s awake,” Rachel teased. To make her point, she rolled on top of him and slid her mons seductively over the very apparent length of Brad’s cock. They both moaned at the sensation, and Brad had a feeling that they weren’t just teasing anymore.
His hands slid up beneath the oversized shirt, finding her small curves with ease. His fingertips travelled over her waist, her ribs, and up to her breasts, where the pads of his thumbs passed temptingly over her already hardened nipples. Rachel’s eyelids fluttered and closed at the sensation, and her beautiful mouth parted to let out a sultry gasp of pleasure.
Brad slipped the shirt from over her head with no protest from her. As soon as it was gone, he leaned up into a sitting position, and took her right breast into his mouth as his arms circled around her tiny waist. She moaned for him again, and this time he moaned with her. Together their hips began to grind against one another seductively.
There were words he should be saying, he thought, as they both worked to slide the pajama bottoms out from underneath them. There were words, but they were left unspoken. They both knew, on that perfect, quiet morning that they were both ready to make love. Their tongues danced and massaged one another as their hips continued to buck back and forth in a grinding motion. There was nothing between them but Rachel’s small black thong, and Brad wanted nothing more than to just pull it aside and slide himself completely into her.
“Yes,” she moaned, as if she was reading his mind. “Yes do it!”
Brad looked down between them, and he realized that his right hand was wound so tight around the thin strip of black lace on her hip that if he gave it even the tiniest of yanks it would have come ripped right off. And he was right. A quick but powerful flick of his wrist and the underwear was going, leaving nothing to stop them.
Reaching to his nightstand, he pulled out a condom, and with trembling fingers, ripped the package open and threw it across the room. Rachel smiled at him appreciatively for being prepared, lifted herself up just enough so that he could roll the condom on. They looked at each other one more time, making sure the other was okay, and then slowly, Rachel began to sink herself over the hard ridge of Brad’s cock.
“Oh!” Rachel gasped, feeling her walls stretch deliciously. Brad made a sound much like a growl, his own pleasure quickly reaching an intense level. He let her take her time, taking him into her inch by inch until he was completely inside of her.
Together their bodies began to move, undulating with their own primal rhythm as Rachel suckled and squeezed Brad’s cock with her tight walls. He loved the way Rachel clung to him as they made love, her arms wrapped around his shoulders while his fingers stayed buried in her hair.
At first he had thought foreplay would be best, but now that he could feel Rachel’s juices dripping down him, he knew that it hadn’t been necessary. She had wanted him as much as he had wanted her. Together they road the wave of passion they had created, moaning and sometimes even growling (from Brad) as their pleasure intensified.
“Brad,” Rachel gasped, her orgasm coming close to the surface.
“Yes, baby, yes,
” he rasped, trailing kisses down her neck. With strong arms he quickly rolled them both over, letting Rachel’s back sink into the soft mattress as he began to take longer, faster strokes within her. He could feel her walls quivering in anticipation, and he wanted nothing more than to feel her pleasure well up and explode.
Her beautiful eyes closed tight as her grip on his shoulders and hair tightened, and he felt the incredible clench and spasm of her orgasm. Her cries of pleasure were like music to his ears, and brought him to his own finish soon after. For several moments they laid in a tangle of arms and legs, their chests heaving to catch their breaths.
“Bravo sir,” Rachel breathed at last. She snuggled her head into the crook of his arm and shoulder. “Very well done.”
Brad chuckled, and leaned over to kiss the top of her head. “You were pretty amazing yourself,” he told her. “Sorry if I was uh, ‘quick on the draw’. It’s been a while, and you’re really, really beautiful.”
Rachel smiled, and rolled until she was lying on top of him. “The timing was perfect,” she assured him. Her foot touched his something wet, and he watched as her cheeks flushed that cute red again.
“I should be the one that’s sorry,” she added. “I soaked your sheets.”
“Have mercy,” Brad grinned, “I’m never washing these sheets again!”
Chapter 18
Rachel
Rachel wasn’t sure why she had never tried shower sex before, but after what she and Brad had accomplished in his bathtub she decided that it was her new favorite thing. Brad was strong, much stronger than she had realized. She had never seen herself as an overweight or large woman, but still, the fact that Brad could pick her up and pin her against a wall as they made love was something that was she was in awe of. Because she was five- nine, and wasn’t used to feeling small and precious. She loved that Brad did that for her. In fact, she loved a lot of things Brad did for her.
“So, you like to cook?” Brad asked. After their shower they had made it down into the kitchen, but not before round three on the table, which she was now spraying down with disinfectant while he whipped them up some banana nut pancakes.
“I like to cook what I know,” she told him, throwing the dirty paper towels into the waste bin. “My parents taught me all the tradition Jewish dishes, and I’ve been told I make them quite well. But I’m not very good at just getting into a kitchen and winging it, you know?”
She sat down in a chair, the oversized shirt once again draped around. Brad came to give her cup of coffee and a kiss, and he was back at the stove again to flip the pancakes.
“Do you like to cook?”
Brad shrugged. “I don’t hate it. I’d much rather go out to eat when I’m patient enough for it.”
Rachel smiled, and peered at him over her coffee cup. “So you’re too impatient this morning?” She asked.
Brad nodded his head seriously. “Yep. This hot chick snuck into my bed last night, gave me a wild morning, and now I’m just too famished to go out and wait for my breakfast.”
Rachel giggled. She liked Brad’s humor, and that she could be playful with him. It was a whole other side to him that wasn’t always made apparent at the office.
“What is it?” Brad asked her, catching her expression. He pulled the final pancake out of the pan and sat the stack in the center of the table.
Rachel shrugged. She felt giddy, like she was in high school again. In fact, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever liked a guy as much as she liked Brad. For as much as she had started out disliking Brad, she was really starting to fall for him.
“I just didn’t expect this I guess,” she said slowly. “Us, I mean. Getting involved. We were hostile to one another for so long, you know? I guess I had figured that it was always going to be that way.” She cut off a slice of pancake and popped it into her mouth. It was both crispy and fluffy, with the sweet taste of banana and cinnamon all the way through. “Mmm. These are delicious.” She scooped two more bites into her mouth, and washed them down with the rich, dark coffee.
“What about you?” She asked. “Did you ever expect this from us?”
A grin formed at the side of Brad’s mouth, making him look boyishly young. “Yes,” he said at last.
Rachel’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Really?”
He laughed, and nodded his head. “Yeah. The night of Tristan’s birthday party was kind of an eye opener for me. I found you annoying at first. You know, like I always had. But then, almost like instantly, the annoyance was gone. Everything you were doing was dammed adorable. I couldn’t stop thinking about how cute you were. The beer, the Ewoks argument. It was a side of you I had never seen before I remember thinking ‘that side’. That side is the side of Rachel that I wanted to see everyday. So I started finding ways to pull it out.”
Rachel stared at him speechless. It was nearly two months ago that they had celebrated Tristan’s birthday. He had remembered all of that? A wave of emotion swept over Rachel, and she fought the urge to let a few tears fall.
“Are you okay?” Brad asked, immediately concerned. He got up and came around the table to pull her into his arms. “Did I say something wrong?”
Rachel laughed lightly, and shook her head. “No. No not at all. It was the perfect thing to say actually.” She buried her head into Brad’s chest. It was her new favorite place to be, she realized.
“What are you thinking?” Brad whispered, holding her close. She sighed, and kissed his naked chest lovingly.
“I’m thinking…I’m thinking that I am so happy that you and I argued in the beginning. Because it led us to this.”
Brad chuckled, and nodded his head before leaning down to tilt her head up for a kiss. It was slow and warm, and so much more than just a random kiss.
“Me too,” he agreed.
~
It was past four before they finally made it out of Brad’s house; and only because Rachel was in sore need of clean clothes and her phone charger. If not for those things, she was quite certain that she could have spent the entire day with him doing nothing but making love and eating without a single stitch on.
To her surprise, it had been Brad’s idea that they go out for an early dinner and catch a movie afterwards. She could feel the beginnings of becoming spoiled, and she had to admit, she liked it. At her building Brad walked her to her door and told her that he would be back in an hour to pick her up. As soon as she walked through the door she was bombarded by Bella’s, wanting to know everything that happened.
“Well look what the cat dragged in!” Bella exclaimed, not able to keep a grin off of her face. “How was last night?”
Isabella popped the cork of a cheap wine bottle and poured three glasses nearly to the brim. “Tell us all the juicy details,” she insisted, handed Rachel a glass.
Rachel laughed, and made no effort to kick the Bella’s out of her room as she readied for her date. She loved having friends like them in her life. Even if they were a tad overly nosy at times.
“It was amazing,” she sighed. As she recounted the details of the night, she picked out a dress and shoes for the evening, did her makeup, and packed her overnight bag. By the time she was done she was ready to go and admittedly a little tipsy from the very full glass of wine.
“He sounds so sweet!” Isabella pined, reclining into Rachel’s pillows. “I wish I had a guy who would spend Friday night cuddling and watching Netflix. What did you watch?”
Rachel giggled and told them.
“No way! You mean he sat there with you and binged watch Broad City?” Bella gasped. “He’s a keeper Rachel, don’t let him go. If a man can put up with that, he can put up with anything.”
“Right?” Rachel agreed. “And the cool part was, he didn’t even complain! Like at all. He watched it all through. Then when we were done he asked very serious questions about it. He took it seriously, and I know it’s a comedy and all, but I really liked that he did that. Well, that and the cuddling. The cuddling was my favorite part.�
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Bella raised a brazen eyebrow. “Really, Rachel? That was your favorite part?”
“Yeah come on,” Isabella agreed. “Tell us the good stuff. It’s been so long since any of us have had some yummy man time. Pleassseeeee.”
Rachel chuckled, but shook her head. “Sorry ladies. That part stays between me and him.”
The Bella’s grumbled, but didn’t push the topic of sex any further. They knew Rachel well enough to know that she wouldn’t give up any details she didn’t want to. The intimate parts of her sex life was very much one of them.
“So what’s going to happen to work now?” Bella asked. She had finished glass number one, and was on her way to finishing number two.
“What do you mean?” Rachel asked. She gave a final look in the mirror, decided she was satisfied with her look, and sat down on her bed with the Bella’s. If Brad was on time, she only had fifteen minutes left before he was back to pick her up.
“I mean, are you still going to work there?”
“Of course I am!” Rachel exclaimed. “There’s no rule about fraternization in the office. And we can keep it professional- enough. We’re adults after all. I don’t see why we can’t work and play together.”
“You’re so lucky,” Isabella sighed. “I wish my office crush would talk to me.”
Rachel and Bella turned to Isabella, surprised.
“You have an office crush?” Bella asked.
“Yeah,” Isabella shrugged. “I mean, doesn’t everybody? There’s always someone that you work with that you get to know pretty well right, and then one day you kind of look at them and think; yeah. I could totally go home with them. Right?”
Rachel opened her mouth to say no, but she closed it after she thought about it. That wasn’t exactly what happened between her and Brad, but it was pretty close. And yes, Rachel had had an office crush before, back when she was finishing up college. He had been a tenured literature professor. For an older man he was extremely well put together, and pulled off gray hair better than anyone she’d ever seen. She and the other office assistants at the Bursar’s office had nicknamed him the silver fox. Alas, the silver fox had been married, and very faithful to his lovely wife that they later found out was actually all of their bosses. Now that she was thinking about it, she did have a faint memory of her friend Erica trying to flirt with him. If memory served, it hadn’t ended well.