“That’s fine,” she said. “This isn’t a date. I’m not going to judge you on the state of your home.”
I opened the door to reveal the mattress on the floor and the open duffle bag, with its contents scattered on the floor. I quickly swept it up into a quick pile and pushed the mess into the corner. It didn’t do much to spruce up the place.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, going into the bathroom. Taking the threadbare washcloth, I quickly wiped the sweat from the club off my body. It was only a quick fuck, but I wasn’t a completely inconsiderate monster. Also, I couldn’t get used to the fact that I could bathe at any time in the privacy of my own bathroom.
When I came back, I caught Sierra looking around the place. There wasn’t much to see, but it still made me feel nervous. Because of what I needed to do once I left the city, I wanted to remain as anonymous as possible.
She must have sensed my discomfort because she jumped when she saw me coming around the corner.
“What are you looking at?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing,” she said nervously. “You really weren’t kidding when you said this place didn’t have much.”
“Nope,” I said casually and stripped off my pants and shirt. There was no need for ceremony when conducting a business deal like this.
Sierra caught on and rushed over to the bed, pulling off her clothes too. Once she was on the bed, I took the time to really explore her body, taking in the sight of a real woman. She had so much to touch and squeeze and I loved every second of it. Without doing anything but lying on the bed, she was arousing me more than I had ever felt with any other hookup.
There was so much that I had missed out on in the past few years, and I wanted to make up for lost time. I guided her hands to exactly where I wanted them and told her what to do. She agreed to any request I gave her, making my body pulse with anticipation.
I wanted to savor the moment, so I told her to give it a rest and worked her over for a little bit. For a good girl, she was willing to please and was open for anything. I loved the way she moaned whenever I touched her in the right way.
Finally, it was time for the main event. To her credit, she was right about how much better it would be when we had as much room as we needed. I put her in every position I could think of, and she obliged, absolutely lapping it up.
Even though I was working toward the end goal, I tried to savor the moment as much as possible. My hands and mouth caressed every delicious curve of her body. Her damp skin slid against mine so effortlessly, like we were gliding through air. When I hit the right spot, her eyes would close ever so slightly and her mouth would gape. I moved inside her in a steady rhythm, as if we were moving to music and not the sounds of cars outside the apartment. The outside world ceased to exist in this moment. It was even better than my greatest fantasies that I dreamt up in my cell bunk.
There was something about her that I hadn’t experienced with other women. I wasn’t always a controlling person, but I certainly knew what I liked in the bedroom. Instead of fighting me in order to seek her pleasure first, she listened to my directions and moved with me, not against me. We worked as a team. I was the leader and she took instruction well.
Women didn’t always enjoy this style of lovemaking, but I think Sierra really enjoyed it. She was always looking to me for further instruction, and it turned me on like nothing else.
When we were done, we laid on opposite sides of the mattress, panting. I was in good shape, and even so, I was a little tired. I looked over to Sierra and watched her as she breathed long, deep breaths with her eyes closed. A small smile rested on her face and it reassured me that after all this time, I still had it.
It was uncanny how compatible we were. Sex with strangers was almost always enjoyable, but often a little clunky and awkward. When you don’t know what other people like, it sort of becomes a free for all and results in getting elbowed in the stomach or knocking heads.
With Sierra, it was like we had been doing this for a long time. I even wondered if we had ever hooked up before when I was drunk and just didn’t remember it. I knew that was impossible, though. I would have remembered her.
“I should probably go,” she said after a long, peaceful silence between us. “It’s getting late.”
“You don’t have to go,” I said, without thinking. “People can be weird out there at this time of night. I don’t know if you want to be alone.”
She raised her eyebrow, pulling the threadbare sheet around her. “Really?”
“Sure,” I replied. “I’m probably going to go to sleep now, and you’ll probably have to leave before I wake up, but I don’t really mind.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’m pretty tired too. Thanks.”
Once she turned over, I cringed. It was an awkward conversation, but she handled it well and was kind to me. Apparently, my social skills had suffered while I was locked up. Most importantly, I didn’t want to seem like I was having her stay for my benefit. Feeling unbearably sleepy from my long day, I rolled over and slowly drifted off to sleep.
I certainly wasn’t the type to cuddle after sex, and I really didn’t want a stranger in my bed, but because of everything I had gone through, I didn’t want to sleep alone. Instead of enjoying the solitude, I dreaded it. Eventually, it wouldn’t be eerie to stay in an apartment alone, but for my first night of freedom, it helped to have someone there.
Within minutes, Sierra’s soft breathing had lulled me to sleep. For the first time in years, I slept peacefully.
In The Shower
Sierra
Faint streams of sunlight through the dirty window woke me up in the morning. My mouth was incredibly dry, so I quietly crept through the room to the kitchen to find a glass. All of the cupboards were bare and there was nothing in the fridge. I was feeling pretty desperate, so I tilted my head and turned the kitchen faucet on, letting the water run into my open mouth.
Of course, the moment I did something that I didn’t want anyone to see, let alone a cool guy, Apollo woke up and turned to me.
“What—” he started to ask, not awake enough to find words for this particular situation.
“I’m just a little bit hungover and you don’t have any dishes,” I explained, wiping the water from my chin.
He groaned and flopped back down on his pillow. “Sorry about that. I keep forgetting these things.”
“Where was it that you said you moved here from?” I asked, noting the lack of moving crates.
His eyes widened. “A small town around here. I’m not planning on staying here for long if I can help it. I’m trying to find some work. I repair motorcycles for a living, so wherever I can make money doing that, I’ll go,” he said quickly.
“I figured that was something you can do just about anywhere,” I said, finding his answer strange.
“A change of scenery is always nice, too,” he added.
I nodded, noting his tension on the subject. Maybe he was trying to get away from a bad breakup or something. Whatever it was, it didn’t concern me and it was none of my business.
“Where’s my dress?” I asked, looking at the floor. “If I’m going to make my walk of shame, it’s best that I do it early before people are out.”
He searched around the bed and pulled my skimpy dress from under the corner of the mattress.
“Are you sure you want to put that back on?” he asked, tossing the wadded up dress to me.
“What’s my other option?” I asked.
“You could come back to bed for one last time. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to go.” He lifted up the sheets and revealed his bulging underwear for proof.
“If you insist,” I giggled hopping back into the bed. He scooped me up in his arms and started kissing me. We made out for what seemed like hours as he touched me inside of my underwear. Then, his mouth traveled down my body.
“Wait,” I said, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. “I haven’t showered yet and I feel sweaty and grimy from the
club.”
“Then let’s get in the shower,” he replied coolly, hardly looking up from my breasts to answer.
I followed him to the tiny cubicle. The inside didn’t look big enough for one person, let alone two. When he shut the door behind us, my butt smashed up against the pane.
Lukewarm water gushed from the nozzle and it felt rejuvenating. When I closed my eyes, I imagined that I was standing underneath a waterfall in a tropical rainforest with my lover. When I opened them, I was in a poorly lit bathroom in a scummy apartment. The lover was still fantasy-worthy, though.
There wasn’t a lot of room to move around, so Apollo used that to his advantage. As the water washed over us, he entered deep inside me, using the shower walls as leverage. I gripped his shoulders and held on for dear life. He plunged in and out at a quick tempo, picking up speed with each thrust. His size filled me up, and as hard as he was giving it to me, I still needed more.
My short fingernails dug into his shoulder blades as I begged him to give it to me harder and harder. With a wicked smile on his face, he obliged. Finally, we both came, letting the water pour over our heaving bodies.
Just when I thought things were done, he knelt down in front of me and buried his face between my thighs.
“What are you doing?” I squealed, grasping his thick, brown hair.
“Giving you something to remember me by.”
He was correct about that. I don’t think I’d forget the things he did with his tongue for the rest of my life. In fact, I had no idea that a human could have that many orgasms in a row.
He let me use his towel to dry off before wrapping it around his trim waist. I slipped back into my dress from the night before and turned to face him before I left.
This was the moment that I was dreading since I met up with Apollo at the club. I would have to say goodbye.
One-night stands were tricky territory. It was different than meeting a new friend. With a casual friend, you could exchange information and make open-ended plans to meet up again one day when you were both in the same city. Almost always, you never saw the person again, but you always knew that you could see them again and it wouldn’t be too weird.
With hookups, there was no chance of continuing something resembling a relationship. In fact, it was best just to cut all ties completely and forget it ever happened.
But, Apollo had made it very difficult to forget. After what he did to me in bed (and in the shower) I would forever be comparing new lovers to him. It was as if I was meeting a ghost who would continue to haunt me forever.
I wasn’t very experienced with these sorts of things, so I wasn’t sure what proper protocol was. Do we kiss? Hug? A handshake? Just thinking about it made my stomach hurt.
The thing that bothered me the most was that I really liked him and I wanted to see him again. It wasn’t just the great sex—he seemed cool and mysterious and I could see myself getting to know him over long motorcycle rides through the desert. He was cute and kind of funny and we seemed like we could be a good fit. We were both in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I had to go back home and he had to go find a new home. I doubted that he wanted to come to the posh suburb where I lived with my parents from time to time. He would probably find my best friends loud and annoying. My father would do his best to scare the shit out of him. It was probably for the best that we never saw each other again.
“Well,” I said awkwardly. “I suppose this is goodbye forever.”
“Yeah, I guess it is,” he said softly.
“Thank you for the good night,” I said.
“I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t approached me at the tattoo parlor, I would have spent the night here, alone.”
We hovered in uncomfortable silence for far too long.
“Bye,” I added quickly, before turning to leave.
“Life is long,” he muttered.
“What?” I said, whipping around.
“Oh, nothing,” he said casually. “I was just saying that life is long. Maybe I’ll see you again one day.”
“If it’s meant to be,” I added cautiously.
He nodded. “If it’s meant to be.”
With that, I walked out the door into the brutal heat and hailed a cab.
“Did you have a good night?” the driver asked, knowingly. He probably picked up more girls in evening wear than anything else.
“It was nice,” I answered. “Actually, do you mind if we go through a drive through? I’m dying for a coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Is that an odd request?”
“Honey, you have no idea about the strange requests I get. I’m just glad you want fast food and not a few bumps of coke or a hooker.”
With a laugh, the driver sped away as I watched the buildings blur. I got the heavy feeling in my chest that came every time I left a place without knowing if I’d ever return.
Best I Ever Had
Sierra
With the remnants of breakfast clutched in my fist, I stumbled into the hotel, the straps of my heels rubbing on my ankles. I jammed the last of the sandwich into my mouth, knowing that Felicity and Kara would chastise me about eating shitty food. I knew better than to inform them when I was planning to go on a diet.
I tried to assemble my story in my head before walking into the room. I knew that once I got up there, my facts would get fuzzy under the pressure of presenting them a good story.
If they didn’t find it fascinating, then there was nothing I could do to impress them. By all accounts, it was a pretty wild night for someone like me. With any luck, this would get them off my back for always being a stick in the mud. Hopefully, we would talk about how amazing I did for years to come.
Slipping my key card into the lock, I opened the door to find my friends passed out on the couch. From the evidence provided, they stumbled in at some point in the morning before undressing and taking off their makeup. For once, I looked better than they did. At least, I had the time for a quick shower.
I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and chugged the entire thing in one go. After fighting off nausea, I sat down beside Felicity’s feet, feeling considerably better. I wouldn’t have to give myself an IV this time.
“Fuck,” Felicity groaned, shielding her eyes from the sun. “What time is it?”
“Nearly eleven,” I answered. “We have to be at the airport in a few hours.”
“No,” Kara said, stirring on the other couch.
“Fine,” I countered. “I’m getting on the plane with or without you.”
I went into the bedroom and put on a clean change of clothing. I slicked my hair up into a ponytail and suddenly felt much better.
By the time I got back to the living room, the other two were still on the couch, but at least they were sitting up. They looked like hell, though. It took everything in me not to laugh at their misery.
“Sierra,” Felicity said abruptly, remembering slivers of last night’s events. “What happened last night? Wasn’t there a guy?”
I sighed. If their faulty memories ruined my story, I would never forgive them.
“Yes. Remember? We went to the tattoo parlor and saw that guy. Remember that?”
“Yes,” Kara groaned. “The hot guy from the club. You left with him, right?”
“I did more than that,” I said giddily.
As I recounted the night, their jaws dropped lower and lower. At one point, Felicity closed her mouth just so she could drop her jaw again.
“You seriously had sex in a club?” she squawked. “I’ve never even done that. Kara’s never even done that and she’s kind of a slut.”
Kara was too tired to protest. She was holding a cold water bottle to her forehead.
“It all happened,” I said. “Do you think I could imagine this kind of thing?”
“Absolutely not,” she replied. “You have no imagination. That’s how I know it’s the truth.”
“You guys, this guy was so dreamy,” I gushed. “He’s tall, tan,
and kind of muscular. He’s definitely Italian too, so I bet we’d have a fiery relationship. Well, we would if I would ever see him again.”
“You didn’t get his number?” Kara said, suddenly alert.
“Of course not. You guys have told me everything I need to know about one-night stands. Why would it matter? He’s not interested in getting into a relationship now, anyway.”
“Where does he live? Do you remember the street?” Kara continued her questioning.
“Honestly, it was all a bit of a blur. I didn’t black out, but you know that I’m not great with directions as is it. He’s maybe a block or two away from the tattoo parlor, but I couldn’t tell you which building it was.”
“If we went over there, would you remember?”
“What’s with the weird questions?” Felicity asked. “Are you still drunk?”
“No,” Kara groaned. “Never mention alcohol ever again.”
I gritted my teeth. For some reason, I had the feeling that my father was paying Kara to spy on me.
To an outsider, it would sound insane that my dad would pay off my friends to report on my whereabouts. Even to me, it was crazy, but I knew my father well. My whole life, he had done whatever he could to keep tabs on me. I knew it came from a place of love, but damn, it was annoying.
My father’s line of work made me a target for danger. My dad had a lot of enemies and I was an easy way to get to him. If someone kidnapped or roughed me up, then he would be vulnerable. If my dad was anything, he was unstoppable.
The first time I realized that this sort of thing was going on, I was in 8th grade. At our middle school dance, I kissed my first crush. No one should have known about it, except for a few of my friends and the teachers chaperoning the whole thing. When I got home from the dance, my dad knew everything and lectured me on the dangers of men. The next week, my math teacher was sporting a new Rolex.
While Kara was one of my good friends from nursing school, I noticed a change in her about a year into our friendship. Kara has never had much money, but the moment she started to ask me detailed questions about my life, she started to get new clothes. Fancy clothes too, like even nicer than mine. Unless she had some other job that I didn’t know about, I figured she was selling information to my father.
Deadly Ink: A Dark Mafia Romance (Omerta Series Book 3) Page 4