by Alexis Angel
"That sounds nice. My affinity for wine has grown since you’ve introduced me to something real." I smile at him. "On a student budget, the options are very limited."
"I can imagine," Thomas says. I have the feeling he can't imagine it. Everything about him screams class and money. From the restaurant he’d taken me to on our first date, to his car, to the clothes he wears—Hugo Boss, Italian loafers, a Rolex watch that peeks out from beneath his sleeve. All of it speaks of wealth.
Thomas doesn't know what it is to even consider box wine.
"I’m glad I could educate you," he says.
"I never thought that wine would be something I learned more about," I say. "I guess you never know what you’ll learn."
"Or who you’ll meet," Thomas says. He opens my cupboards. "Do you have wine glasses?"
I shake my head. "I don’t, unfortunately. Like I said, I don’t really drink wine as a rule."
Thomas nods and reaches into the cupboard, retrieving two cups.
"I have normal glasses," I say.
Thomas shakes his head. "I prefer cups if you don’t have wine glasses. Otherwise, it just looks like grape juice."
I smile and shake my head. Does it really matter?
"I like the unpredictability of life," he says. "I like it when something is different than I expected it to be. Most of the time."
"Most of the time?" I ask, taking the cup he hands me. I smell the wine before sipping it. When I taste it, I like what I find.
"This is nice," I say.
Thomas nods. "I thought you might like it. Pinot Noir is always a good place to start when you don’t know if you like wine or not. The bold wines can get a bit much, without a proper introduction."
"You didn’t answer my question," I say. "You said most of the time. When don’t you like it being different?"
He shrugs.
"I think a better way to say it is that I like unpredictability. And chance. For instance, you’re very unpredictable. I never know what you’re thinking. I never thought this was what I would get when I saw you at Starbucks."
I smile at him. He leans toward me. Since our first kiss, he hasn't kissed me again. I shiver at the thought that it'll happen again.
His hand slides onto my cheek. His touch is feather light and he moves slowly, like he's being careful not to scare me away. Thomas closes the gap between us, leaning in. His eyes slide to my lips. I wait until he's only inches away before I close my eyes and give myself to him.
His lips brush against mine, chasing shivers down my spine. The kiss is firmer, more insistent. It lights a fluttering heat inside me.
Thomas caresses my cheek with his thumb, rubbing small circles as he kisses me. He guides me, opening his mouth against mine so I do the same. He slides his tongue into my mouth and tastes me. His tongue swirls lazily around mine, and every thought I have slips away until it's just him and I in a surreal bubble.
Thomas slides his hand down my neck. He thumbs my collarbone before moving even further still. His hand is large and warm. Strong knowing fingers move onto my chest, and I gasp. He heads toward my breasts.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, a small voice warns me that this is headed somewhere I've vowed not to go. I ignore it. My stomach erupts in butterflies. The heat from his skin washes through my body and pools between my legs. The skin on my breasts tingles in anticipation.
When his hand lands on my breast, my nipple tightens and I moan softly. I haven't been touched like this before, and it's pure pleasure. My hands tremble slightly, and my breathing is shallow, but I want this.
I want more. So help me, I want more.
As if he reads my mind, Thomas lifts his other hand and places it behind my neck. He pulls me closer and presses his body against mine as best he can while sitting down. He massages my breast more eagerly, moving his body against me in a way that makes me think of dark, dirty things.
Slowly, his hand slides down my back, following my spine, until he reaches the bottom of my shirt. His slips his hand underneath my shirt. His skin is scalding on mine.
His fingers trace my spine all the way to my bra strap, and he unclasps it.
I'm not sure how to respond. The gesture is so personal, invasive in a way, but I still have my shirt on. We aren't doing anything serious, are we?
Thomas carries on kissing me for a while, doing nothing else. I relax again, letting him take over.
We kiss for a while before he moves his hand down again. This time, he pulls the shirt up. I stop kissing him and swallow. Thomas takes the opportunity to work the shirt over my head and drops it on the floor. I sit in front of him, my bra unclasped, barely hidden from his view, breathing hard.
"You’re beautiful," Thomas whispers. He moves slowly, peeling the bra straps from my shoulders and letting it join the shirt on the floor.
I'm naked from the waist up. I feel vulnerable. The air in the room causes my nipples to tighten, and goose bumps break out over my skin. I cross my arms over my chest.
Thomas shakes his head. "Don’t cover up," he says. "It’s pure perfection."
To drive his point home, he kisses me again. Slowly, I drop my arms. He lifts his hand and places it on my breast again, massaging me. He takes my nipple between his thumb and forefinger and rolls it, tweaking, tugging. I moan into his mouth. Whatever he's doing to my nipple is a direct line to my arousal.
I shudder. I want more. Still, more.
In a bold move, I reach for Thomas’s shirt. It's a button-up short sleeve shirt with a collar. He's always impeccably dressed. I undo the buttons one by one. The shirt slowly opens to show a chiseled chest. A smattering of chest hair covers his pecs. I reach for it and run my fingers through it.
Getting rid of his shirt had been much less significant than having mine removed, but I feel better now that we're both topless.
Thomas moves, half-standing, toward me. He guides me backward so I lie on the couch, and he covers my body with his. He lies on top of me, holding off his full weight so that he doesn't crush me, and kisses me again. His hand finds my other breast, and he massages it as before.
My hands are on his back. I feel the muscles ripple beneath the skin as he moves.
Thomas slides his hand down to my jeans and unbuttons it. He slips his hand into them and touches my sex. I gasp and jump at the sudden sensation of fingers on my most private part.
"It’s okay," he says softly. He pushes his fingers into my slit. "God, you’re so wet." He groans against my lips.
Things are moving quickly, and my mind is racing, unsure of how to respond. The sensation of his hand between my legs is overwhelming. I shiver. My body wants things it's never wanted before. I want Thomas to show me everything. I never thought in a million years that it would come to this, but here we are, on my couch, his hand in my pants. I'm aware of his erection pressing into me. He grinds himself against me, and there's no mistaking how he feels about what's happening.
"You can touch me, too, if you want," he says, as if he knows I'm focusing on his arousal. He shifts to the side so I can reach him. I move my hand hesitantly to his belt and then lower, touching him. He's hard through his pants, his erection prominent and large. He groans encouragingly.
I undo his buckle and unzip his pants, doing the same as he’d done to me. It's the only way I know what to do. Follow by example. I put my hand into his pants and wrap my fingers around his stiff length. He moans when I do it, jerking slightly.
He's hard, smooth like velvet, and slick with lust. I pump my hand up and down, testing it, knowing what should be done without thinking about it.
"God, Nicole," he groans.
He nuzzles my neck. I squirm beneath him, struggling to keep my head straight with what he's doing in my pants.
"Are you on the pill?" he asks.
I freeze. He's serious. He wants to sleep with me. This is real.
I yank my hand out of his pants and shake my head.
"We shouldn’t do this," I say.
Tho
mas lifts his head. "No, no, it’s okay," he says. "I have a condom. You don’t have to worry."
I keep shaking my head. I press my hands against his chest to push him off me. He lifts slowly, reluctantly.
"We really shouldn’t do this," I say. "Any of it." I wriggle out from underneath him and sit up. I reach for my bra on the floor and put it on, covering up at least a little. With my breasts covered up, I feel more in control.
"Don’t do this, now, Nicole," he says.
I shake my head. "I’m sorry," I say. "We really should stop."
Thomas looks confused. I guess it's my fault, leading him on like that. For a moment, I just stopped thinking.
"I’m sorry," I say.
Thomas shakes his head and opens his mouth as if he wants to speak, but he says nothing. I swallow hard. My hormones and my emotions are all over the place.
"I think it might be better if you leave," I say. I want him gone. I need to pull myself together.
"You’re kicking me out?" he asks. "Did I do something wrong?"
I shake my head. "I just need a bit of distance. Please."
He hesitates before nodding.
"Right," he says and gets up. He picks up his shirt and puts it on, buttoning up the bottom half of the buttons. We walk to the door together. I scoop up my shirt and pull it over my head.
"I don’t know what just happened," he says, turning to me.
I shake my head. "It’s not you. Really. I’ll talk to you later, okay?"
He nods, but he doesn't look like he believes me. I feel bad but this–no sex until I'm in love–is important to me. Thomas doesn't say anything else. He kisses me on the cheek and leaves my apartment. I close the door behind him and turn around, leaning against it with my back.
It had been so close. Sleeping together had almost happened. Sex had been too easy, if I hadn’t stopped myself.
What does it mean? I nearly gave up the one thing I’ve wanted to save for whoever I was in love with. Had I gotten this close because I was starting to fall in love with him?
I cover my face with my hands.
How the hell am I supposed to know?
Thomas
A full day isn't enough to help me figure out what happened between Nicole and I. One moment, she'd been on board with the whole sex thing. My insides had been on fire. She’d made me wait for so long, but I finally felt like she opened up to me. The next, she kicked me out of the apartment like I was the last person on earth she wanted to be with.
How was I supposed to react? I had done everything right. After the first night she’d rejected me, I had taken a step back and given her some room before I made another move. We’d gone on a few more dates. I had taken the time to let her get to know me. I had listened to her conversation, even when I’d felt like she was rambling.
And now? She’s rejected me anyway.
Women never reject me, and I've already been rejected twice by Nicole. There is something about her that is frustrating. Something about her makes me want to keep coming back for more.
What's been said about forbidden fruit? Maybe it's because she always denies me that I want her so badly. You always want what you can’t have. In my life, there's not a lot of that. I always get what I want.
Maybe I have to slow things down even more. Most women are happy to sleep with me on the first date. Apparently, even the fourth is too soon for Nicole. Maybe she's checking me out.
I doubt her hesitation is because she has other options. Nicole doesn't seem like the kind of woman who messed around with multiple men at once. She focuses on her future rather than on the present. Her idea of fun is accumulating knowledge.
I still don't understand what's going through her mind, though. She seemed eager at the apartment. A little hesitant, but eager. And her touch. God, I nearly came the moment she gripped my cock. I’d been waiting for her touch since I’d met her. Having it happen for real was better than anything I could've imagined.
And her breasts? They're enough to drive a man crazy. Not too big, not too small. They fit perfectly into my hand. She’d been shy, at first. It had been refreshing to see a woman who was still modest about her nakedness. Something about her shyness turns me on even more.
It had been amazing until she decided to cover it all up again and get rid of me.
I groan and lie on my bed in the late afternoon sun, naked after a shower. My erection throbs painfully. Since I’d been with Nicole, it hadn’t really gone away. I'm starting to feel sexually frustrated. I need a release, and soon, if I'm going to feel like myself again.
I want her. I want her body, her sex, and her moaning in my ear. I need to eel her against me and see her face when I make her come. I want to take control of her body and show her what she's missing by rejecting me.
I rolled off the bed and get dressed. Jeans, a button-up shirt, and loafers. I find my cellphone and scroll through my contact list until I find Luke’s number.
"What’s up?" he answers.
"Do you want to go out for a drink? It’s been a while."
"Sure," he says. "I’ll meet you at Bridges at seven."
I nod and walk to the mirror to style my hair.
Bridges Bar is a classy cocktail bar in the Hilton hotel. Upper-class people like to socialize there. The décor is industrial-chic, and it's a good place to go for a night that not's going to be too wild.
Luke's already at the bar when I arrive; he's leaning on it with one arm and scoping out the talent. His light hair is cut short. Blue eyes find me, and he grins at me, a million-dollar smile that he’s inherited from his dad. I look around. There are a few women dressed in expensive clothes, but no one catches my eye.
"How are you doing?" he asks when I greet him and lean on the bar as well. I order a Hennessy from the bartender. Luke's sipping a similar amber liquid.
"I’m fine," I say. "Bored, now that my MBA is done."
Luke nods. "I should be so lucky. I told you I failed those two subjects, right? It’s a bitch to catch up."
"I can imagine," I say and accept the drink from the bartender. The whiskey is smooth, slipping down my throat. "How is Claire?"
Luke shakes his head. "I dumped her. Too clingy, you know? I think I’m going to do what you do. Just sleep with whoever comes my way."
I shake my head, smiling. "You make me sound so classy."
Luke shrugs. "I call it like it is, my friend."
We both look around the room again.
"I don’t know if that’s still my game plan," I say. "I met a girl."
Luke raises his eyebrows at me. "You’re not getting soft, are you?"
I chuckle. "I don’t know, man. This one has me by the balls."
Luke pulls a face. "Hate it when that happens."
I sip my Hennessy. "I can’t figure her out," I say. "She seems interested, but then she rejects me. She throws me curve balls all the time."
Luke shakes his head. "One of those. Trust me. They never stop teasing. I would move on if I were you. Unless, you know, you like the company, and you’re getting sex with one of the others."
I shake my head. "There are no others right now."
Luke looks incredulous. "What? Are you ill?"
I laugh and shake my head.
"I didn’t peg you for a one-woman kind of guy."
I shrug. What am I supposed to say? Sometimes it only takes one woman to change the grand scheme of things.
"I’ve just been busy, you know?" I say, smoothing it over. I don't want Luke to think I'm whipped. I don't fall for women.
"As soon as I have it all covered again, I’ll get back out there and line them up."
Luke laughs. "Like only you can. That’s my man. I was worried there for a second."
We drink in silence for a while.
"Jessica’s been asking about you," Luke says, breaking the silence. I look at him.
"What?"
"She’s been asking where you are. She hangs around these parts, wanting to ‘accidentally’ run in
to you or something." Luke lifts his hands and makes quotation marks with his fingers in the air.
I groan. "She’s a piece of work," I say. "Impossible to get rid of."
"At least she puts out," Luke says.
I shake my head. If only Jessica had rejected me, rather than Nicole. My life would be so much easier right now.
Jessica is really starting to frustrate me. I don't feel like dealing with her drama. Bugging me is one thing, but making herself a problem to others is bumping it up to the next level. I don't like it.
"What are you going to do about her?" Luke asks.
I shrug. "What can I do? I’ve been nice. I’ve been mean. Short of a restraining order, I don’t know how I’m going to get rid of her."
Luke laughs. "It’s an option. It'll be ironic, though, for you to get a restraining order against a woman."
I frown. "I don’t get it."
"You know, being a womanizer and all."
I smile. I still didn’t think it's funny.
Two stools open, and Luke and I move to sit down. I order another Hennessy. He’s been drinking the same and orders another as well. I drink another two glasses with Luke before we call it a night. It's good to see him, but only in small doses.
When I walk out of the hotel, I don't know which way to go. I'm horny as hell and irritated. I haven't had sex in a while. Jessica is really starting to grate on me, and I need a release. I need a distraction.
I take my phone out of my pocket and scroll down my contacts list. There are so many women I can call. All of them would agree to a night of hot sex in the blink of an eye. I can call any one of them and find a place to put my erection.
Nicole flashes before me, and I sigh. How am I going to be able to enjoy myself with anyone if she's the only one on my mind? Besides, I don't want the others. I want her. If I'm going to fuck, let it be with Nicole.
I pocket my phone again and wave for a cab. I'll just go home. It looks like another night alone with my hand. Nicole has caught my interest, and I don't want anyone else.
Sure, I'm leaving in 23 days. It seems silly to focus on just one person in the time that's left. I should be going out and sleeping with everyone, enjoying my last days of freedom.