by Olivia Evans
I chuckled and pulled her toward the first sets of exhibits. “There was a wedding here today, so they shut down to the public. Things wrapped up about an hour and a half ago. Since there was no sense in opening for a couple hours, they stayed closed.”
“Then how did we get in here?”
“Dr. Walsh, the guy who oversees the aquarium, was in my fraternity. He’s also friends with my dad. Anyway, I called about maybe having a private tour or something for you, and he told me the place would be closed today. So, I asked if we could come after the wedding, and he said he’d see what he could do.”
I pulled her to a stop in front of the “Life of a Drifter” exhibit and watched as the jellyfish floated above our heads, the lights changing from blue to red and making them glow.
“So…” she drawled, rolling her wrist in a “would you get on with the story” kind of way.
“So…” I mimicked. “He called the next day and told me he had a few projects he really needed volunteers for. Asked if I knew anyone who might be interested. I’ve been helping him out with a few things, and this morning he called and said everything was good to go. He even threw in dinner.” I laughed, watching as Skylar’s mouth opened and closed.
“You’ve been working here for the last couple weeks just so you could bring me here on Valentine’s Day?”
“Alone.” I reminded her with a small grin.
She raised her brow. “What does being here alone have to do with anything?”
I wrapped my arms around her waist and walked her backward until I had her pressed against the glass of another exhibit. “Because I didn’t think you’d let me fuck you here with an audience.” I slid my hand down and palmed her ass. I pressed against her fully and ran my tongue along her bottom lip.
“Brennan, we are not going to have sex in here,” she warned, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“No?” I tugged her bottom lip between my teeth. She shook her head, but she opened her mouth as I slid my tongue inside. I gripped the fabric of her skirt and moved it higher until the tips of my fingers brushed the outside of her thigh.
“Bren—”
“Shh,” I murmured, grazing my nose against her neck. I slid my hand around the back of her thigh and moved higher until my fingers swept against her panties, my thumb rubbing the bottom of her ass.
I moved my mouth to hers. I tried to kiss her gently, but the little sounds she made, the slow rock of her hips, and the heat radiating from her was making it really hard. Pun totally intended.
“Fuck,” I choked, jerking away from the glass and pulling Skylar with me when movement behind her caught my attention. Her eyes widened comically as she spun around to see what made me jump; then she immediately started laughing.
I watched as a long red tentacle rolled against the glass, the suckers sticking and releasing as it moved. Another tentacle slid against the glass and pulled the body of the octopus closer. Fuck, that thing was creepy. I flexed my fingers against Skylar’s abdomen as more of the arms came into view, latching on to the glass, rolling and twisting in smooth, rhythmic motions. I swear it was sizing me up.
“I think he’s trying to give you some pointers,” Skylar joked, leaning against me.
Okay, apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought it was checking me out.
“Yeah, well…” I trailed off, eyeing the octopus as it glided through the water and moved closer to where Skylar stood in front of the glass. She reached out and flattened her palm on the tank as the octopus trailed a tentacle across the same spot.
“Isn’t he beautiful?”
I didn’t think so. It was creepy as hell, but she’d mentioned a few times how much she liked them, so I didn’t comment. “He?” I asked instead.
“Yeah. This is Ink. He was all over the news last spring for trying to climb out of his tank.” She moved her hand along the glass, following the movement of the arm closest to her.
I was being completely fucking irrational, but I pulled her away from the glass and back against my chest, shooting a smug smile at Ink when his dark eye focused on me.
“You ready to tell me about the other exhibits?” I asked, walking her away from Mr. I Have Eight Arms, What You Got?
For the next hour, we walked from exhibit to exhibit, Skylar’s hands waving wildly as she talked about the different fish, mammals, coral, and anything else that came from the ocean. Her entire face lit up as she spoke, her eyes bright with excitement. Her passion was so heartfelt and sincere that I couldn’t help but feed off her energy, even when she talked about Ink. By the time we made it to the underwater dome, I’d completely forgotten we were having dinner. That was, until we walked into the room.
“Holy shit.” Skylar gasped, her hand covering her mouth.
I nodded. Holy shit was right. The entire room looked like something out of a magazine. The dome had an elevated platform in the center with a wooden railing wrapped around it. On top of the railing were easily one hundred fake candles that made the entire room glow.
In the center of the platform was a small, round table, already set. On top of the plates, the napkins looked like flowers in bloom. On a separate table was a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket with two large and two small silver domes on either side.
“What exactly did you volunteer to do for Dr. Walsh to get a setup like this?” Skylar asked as she moved in a circle, taking in the room. “Did you buy fish on the black market? Marine life trafficking?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Ever the smartass.”
“What? I really want to know. Because damn, maybe you should do that for a living instead.” She tried to keep a straight face, but as I stalked toward her, she giggled and darted away from me.
“Okay, okay. No. I’m sorry,” she laughed, bracing her arms on the railing. “Come on, let’s check out the food. I’m starving.”
I eyed her for a second before agreeing. We moved to the table, and Skylar pulled off the larger domes, setting the plates of food on the table while I popped the top off the champagne.
There was so much food. I had no idea what half of it was, but all of it was delicious. We’d just cleared the plates and pulled the covers off two large slices of chocolate cake when the clanking of Skylar’s charm against her plate reminded me of her present.
“Hey, I almost forgot.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small box. “I got you something.”
“Brennan, you didn’t have to do that.”
“I know I didn’t have to.” I flipped her hand and placed the box in her palm. “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, lifting the top of the box and peeking inside.
She looked at me, and I swear she smiled with her entire face. Her eyes were pinched at the corners, her cheeks high, and her lips stretched tight. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her smile like that before, but I’d do anything to see it over and over.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s perfect.” She laughed, holding it in the air so she could inspect it closer.
“Do you want me to fasten it?” She nodded and handed over the charm, leaving her arm outstretched so I could clasp it alongside of her gun charm.
“This is quite the combination of charms.” The small silver octopus swayed next to her gun charm.
“I like knowing when some random person sees your bracelet, they’ll have no idea the meaning behind those charms, but I do,” I confessed, brushing my thumb over her wrist.
“I like that too,” she murmured, her eyes locked with mine. It suddenly felt like all the air had been sucked from the room and I couldn’t take a breath. The way she looked at me, the way her eyes reflected the sincerity of her words, it made me feel ten feet tall and gutted all at once. I didn’t deserve any of this, but I was too selfish to let her go.
“You ready to get out of here?” I asked, standing and reaching out to help her up. She nodded and looked around the room once more before squeezing my hand and foll
owing me from the room.
After a brief conversation with Larry, in which he assured me everything would be taken care of, we made our way onto the street and headed toward Pike Place. The temperature had dropped, but thankfully the rain had stopped. We walked slowly, our hands loosening and slipping until only our pinkies remained connected. We were quiet, the sounds of the city a background of white noise.
“Thank you for tonight,” Skylar said, her eyes forward, her posture relaxed.
“You’re welcome.”
“You know, you’re hardly anything like the guy I met last September.”
“Eh, that guy was kind of an asshole,” I joked, my heart rate picking up. “I realized I didn’t like him very much.” My voice was barely above a whisper by the time I finished speaking. I looked at my shoes; the weight of my words held so much more meaning than she would ever realize.
“Do you miss him?” I asked suddenly. When we started going out, that was the guy she said yes to. Did she like that version of me more?
She laughed. “He wasn’t an asshole. Just a cocky, slightly smug guy who was determined to get what or whom he wanted.” She eyed me for a second then smiled. “And you’re still a cocky, slightly smug guy, but you’re also kind and sweet. Well, when you’re not being a total perv,” she added.
“I still can’t believe you agreed to go out with me.”
“I told you why I did, but that’s not the only reason.” She smirked. “It was a mix between you wearing me down with your persistence and how fucking hot you look in jeans.”
“Now who’s the perv?” I joked, getting those fucking butterflies again that I hadn’t believed existed until I met Skylar. She smiled and shrugged, completely unapologetic.
“Come here.” I pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her, both of us smiling stupidly at each other.
“Are you cold?” I asked when she shivered.
“Yeah. Do you want to get a cab?”
“Sure.” I moved to the edge of the sidewalk and flagged down a cab. We hopped inside, the warm air a welcome relief. Before I could ask Skylar where she wanted to go, she’d already given the driver her address.
“Stay with me,” she said softly, her words a statement rather than a question.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” I pulled her close and pressed my lips to her temple, my throat tightening as I warred, once again, with right and wrong, selfish and selfless, having Skylar and losing her. That last thought caused an all-too-familiar sense of dread to wash over me, but this time, it was accompanied by a sort of frantic desperation that set me on edge. By the time we made it to her apartment, my heart was pounding, my hands were shaking, and all I wanted to do was strip her naked and have as much of her skin on mine as possible.
She fumbled with her keys at the door as I dragged down the zipper of her skirt. She tripped over her shoes in the hall as I peeled her shirt over her head. And she fell gracelessly on top of her bed as I hooked my fingers into the sides of her underwear and slid them down her legs.
She let out a breathy laugh as she sat up, her fingers working the buttons of my jeans as I yanked my shirt over my head. Once we were both naked, I dropped to my knees, sliding my hands up her thighs and pushing them wider so I could move between them.
I raised my eyes to hers. Her head was tilted down, her hair tumbling over her shoulders and brushing over the tops of her breasts. She cupped my neck as I skimmed my hands up her thighs to her waist. I wrapped my fingers around her sides, my thumbs brushing the undersides of her breasts as our eyes remained locked.
Neither of us spoke as the frantic energy around us slowed, calmed, morphed into something else, something more. She leaned forward and pressed her cheek to mine, her face turning slightly until the corners of our mouths touched and our noses brushed. I moved my head until our mouths connected, my tongue caressing hers.
“Lie back for me,” I said softly, flexing my fingers around her ribs as I guided her down. I raked my hands over her body, leaving one pressed against her abdomen, the other trailing down her thigh and curving around her knee. I tugged her leg onto my shoulder, wrapping my arm around her thigh to hold her in place. I leaned forward, kissing my way down the inside of her thigh until I reached her pussy.
I looked up when I felt the bed shift, watching as Skylar raised up on her elbows, her hands gripping the sheets by her sides. Her lips were parted and her chest heaved as she stared at me. I lowered my mouth, keeping my eyes locked on her face. I pressed my lips to her clit softly before flicking out my tongue and tasting her. She let out a soft gasp, her head falling back as I snaked my hand from her stomach down to her pussy. I flattened my tongue over her clit as I slid two fingers inside her. She was wet, hot, tight, and fucking perfect.
I pumped my fingers in and out of her, twisting and curling them when I felt her muscles clench. I worked my tongue over her, circling and flattening, moving fast then slow, hard then soft until her back arched and she tightened her calf around my back. Her legs began to shake, and moans and curses tumbled from her lips until her eyes rolled back and her mouth fell open in a silent scream.
I moved my tongue against her one final time as her muscles fluttered and her body jerked. I reached over to my jeans, pulled out a condom, and rolled it on. I wrapped my hand around her calf and raised her leg to my mouth, kissing the inside of her ankle before releasing it and standing.
I hovered over her, my eyes scanning every inch of her body, cataloging, memorizing, cementing this image of her in my mind. She watched me, her eyes soft, her cheeks pink, a small smile curving the corner of her lips. Everything about her was so fucking beautiful, genuine, good. Everything I wasn’t.
I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath. I focused on the sounds in the room, the ticking of the clock on the bedside table, the hum of the overhead fan as it spun above us. I focused on the smells—sex, linens, and the lotion that lingered on her skin, blackberries and lilacs. It centered me; it kept me here, now, with her. Not tomorrow or the day after or any time in the future when she wasn’t with me, when she wasn’t mine.
“Are you okay?” Skylar asked, her arm outstretched toward me.
“Yeah,” I exhaled, crawling over her and flattening my body to hers. The curve of her breasts pressed against my chest as she slid her leg up my hip and wrapped it around my back. We were two pieces of a puzzle finally coming together. And now that I’d found her, there would never be anyone who could take her place in my heart. I positioned myself at her entrance and pressed our foreheads together before pushing inside her. She moaned softly, her hands tightening in my hair.
“Kiss me,” she whispered. Her lips moved softly with mine, our tongues stroking gently and lazily as I rocked my hips against hers. My movements were smooth and unhurried as I tilted her hips higher, sinking deeper into her.
“Yes. Like that,” she panted, wrapping her other leg around my hip and pulling me impossibly closer. I dragged my leg up until I could rise up on one knee, pushing her back into the mattress. I couldn’t tell where I ended and she began. I reached between us and pressed my thumb to her clit as my stomach started to burn and tighten.
“Are you close?” I gritted out as spots flashed over my vision.
“Almost. Just… Yes…that—”
I pinched lightly and thrust my hips one more time before I felt her walls clamp around me and pull me deeper. My own muscles trembled and flexed as I came, my body jerking with each pulse of my release. I collapsed on top of her, my vision spotty and unfocused, my muscles shaking from the force of my orgasm. It had never been like this before, and I knew it had less to do with the sex and more to do with the person I was with.
March 2016
“Hey, Skylar, you ready to go?” Rachel called, coming down the hall with her bag.
“You bet your fat cock, I am!” Skylar yelled before she busted out laughing.
“Well, ain’t that a bag of tits!” Rachel choked out between breaths as she fold
ed over in a fit of giggles.
Drew and I stood at the front door, our arms crossed over our chests. We were not amused.
“Seriously, Drew?” I asked, waving my hand in the direction of the girls, who were in the hall, leaning against each other, laughing. He rolled his eyes and hoisted our bags over his shoulder.
“You get Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum’s bags, and I’ll meet you at the car.”
I shook my head and crossed the hall, reaching for the strap of Rachel’s bag that was hanging off her shoulder.
“Hey,” she cried, poking her finger into my ribs. “If I get a dork infection, you’re dead!”
I yanked the bag up from where it had fallen on the floor and pulled Skylar’s bag away from her as well while they stood laughing like a couple of hyenas. I didn’t say a word as I walked out the front door because, really, what was there to say? Of all the movies they could have picked to watch last weekend, they had to choose one about an alien named Paul. It’d been cute, even a little funny, when they’d stumbled through the door last Saturday, both of them more than a little drunk. That was, until they started quoting the movie. Repeatedly. And the shit they were quoting? It made no fucking sense. But whatever. My girl fell into my lap that night, her eyes glassy and her smile sloppy as she informed me I could probe her anytime I wanted. We didn’t come out of my room until the next morning.
After a week of the two of them randomly yelling out lines from the movie, however, I think Drew and I were ready for them to be abducted. Just not probed, because fuck that noise; nobody was probing Skylar except me.
“Are they coming?” Drew asked impatiently as I slid into the back seat of his car.
I rubbed my hand across my face. “Fuck if I know, man. They’ve both lost their damn minds.”
“Who’s lost what?” Rachel asked, her eyes bouncing between us.
“We’ve lost time,” I answered, reaching over and tugging the end of Skylar’s hair and winking at her. She knew I was full of shit. She rolled her eyes and fastened her seat belt, while Drew and Rachel jawed back and forth with each other.