Do me a favor and don’t tell anyone.”
Her eyes sparkled with emotion. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
The waiter returned with their food. One bite told Blake it was as good as he remembered.
“9/10 on food recommendations.” Farrah slurped the broth from her spoon. “I’m impressed.”
“9/10?” Blake was insulted. “What’s the missing one?”
“That pizza place you took us to.”
“Which—oh.” Blake grimaced when he remembered the stale pizza crust and funky toppings from a few weeks ago. “Fine. I dropped the ball on that one. But this should be good enough to make up for it.”
“Mmhmm.”
They ate the rest of their meal in comfortable silence. This was one of Blake’s favorite things about his relationship with Farrah. With his past girlfriends, he had to put on a show and be as lively and charming as everyone expected him to be. This was true even with Cleo, whom he grew up with. With Farrah, he could breathe.
It took them less than 20 minutes to polish off all their food. By the time they finished, Blake’s stomach strained against his pants. He was so full he couldn’t move.
Maybe a second dinner was a bad idea.
“I’m going to freshen up.” Farrah scooted out of the booth. “I spilled soup on my shirt.”
“It’s ok. We’ll get you out of that shirt soon enough.” Blake laughed as Farrah whacked him on the arm.
While she used the restroom, Blake paid the bill. No tipping culture in China, which took some getting used to but which he now appreciated.
After weeks of struggling to adjust to China’s unfamiliar customs and way of life at the beginning of the semester, Blake had finally settled into a comfortable Shanghai routine. The noise and pollution didn’t bother him so much anymore, and he even liked some of the foods he swore he’d never try. Turned out stinky tofu was quite delicious, once you got past the stinky part.
It was going to be weird going back to the States. Blake was already bracing himself for reverse culture shock, though it would be nice not to have to deal with squat toilets for a while.
After Farrah came back from the restroom, they shrugged on their coats and walked to the nearest metro station. It was so cold their breaths fogged around their face every time they breathed.
“Our last night.” Farrah sounded wistful. “It’s been a wild ride.”
“Our last night in Shanghai this semester,” Blake corrected. “We have next semester.”
He couldn’t wait. He missed his mom and his sister, but he wasn’t looking forward to seeing his father. He liked his old man best when he was more than 7,000 miles away. Besides, a month without seeing Farrah was going to be torture.
Sure, they had Skype, but it wasn’t the same.
On the other hand, Blake had always wanted to try cybersex…
“You’re right.” Farrah shook her head. “I didn’t mean to get all maudlin on your birthday. Let’s talk about something else.”
“Like what we’re going to do once we’re back in the dorm?” Blake wiggled his eyebrows. Fantasies of all the dirty things he and Farrah could do over video transitioned into fantasies of all the dirty things they were going to do in person.
Fuck cybersex. Nothing beat actual sex. Skin against skin. Mouth against mouth. Mouth against…other parts of the body.
Blake hardened until it was almost painful as a surge of lust rocketed through his veins. He eyed the overhead map telling them how many stops they had left before they reach SFSU.
Four.
Fuck. That was four stops too long.
Meanwhile, his arousal didn’t go unnoticed. Farrah’s eyes darkened with desire, and she stepped closer until her chest grazed his. Even though there were several layers of clothing between them, Blake’s body reacted like she’d stripped naked.
If they didn’t get off this damn train soon, he was going to lose it. Literally.
It didn’t help that Farrah started whispering things in his ear—things that had him ready to throw her on the floor of the train and take her, right then and there, onlookers be damned.
Fortunately, they arrived at their stop before he did something that’d have them arrested for public indecency.
Farrah laughed as Blake grabbed her hand and pushed his way off the crowded train with the urgency of a man on his way to the emergency room for a life-threatening situation.
In his case, the situation was blue balls.
“You think this is funny?” Blake growled.
Farrah’s eyes sparkled with lust and amusement. “It’s pretty funny.”
The dorm came into view.
“Let’s see about that.”
They made it to his room in record