My kisses were gentle, slow, but need overtook me. Quietly and with hurried hands, we undressed one another until all that existed between us was skin and short, staccato breaths. I kissed her everywhere—the places my lips had traveled already and the places they hadn’t.
As I kissed her open thighs, her eyes went all heavy lidded like a sex goddess before her head fell back onto the pillow. I worshipped her with my mouth and nourished her with my hands until she was spent, brow wet with sweat and thighs wet from me and her.
When I slid inside her, I wondered if she could feel the echo of my heartbeat as it quickened, rocking behind my ribs like it was begging for something that wasn’t mine.
She whispered my name once, screamed it, and her final moan began with “Li” and ended with a trail of “ammm.”
I fell to the bed beside her, my limbs warm and loose. Even opening my eyes seemed like too much an effort, but I did it so I could watch her come down and come back together all at once.
Her pale chest was flushed from my scruff, her neck spotted in the places I had sucked, her lips bright pink from my teeth. Her blond hair spilled across my pillow like my own goddess Freya.
When her breaths had evened, she turned to me again. And with one slow, tantalizing smile, she raised her hands and clapped. “I’ll have you know,” she said, “I have never clapped after sex except with you.”
I wanted to laugh with her, to pretend this was all fun and games to me still. But I couldn’t. “I’ll have you know,” I began, making sure she was looking at me, “that was more than sex to me.”
I pushed myself off the bed, snagging my pants from the ground and pulling them on.
“Liam…”
“We’re going to be late. For dinner.” Stepping shirtless into my walk-in closet, I braced my hand on the wall just out of view of her. Part of me couldn’t believe I’d said that. Part of me had wanted to say something of that nature for a while now.
Behind me, I could hear Tori getting ready for dinner. I stayed in my closet a while longer, as if the decision of which shirt to wear was taking more time than I wanted to admit.
I half expected her to bring the conversation up, to push the issue with me. Or, perhaps I just wanted her to push it with me so we could confront this head on. But the drive to the restaurant was mostly quiet, with Tori staring out the window for long stretches.
We were the last to the large round table, which was regrettable because our tardiness seemed to set Vince’s mood for the night. Seth held up three fingers to me when I looked pointedly at Vince’s drink.
Vince, three cocktails deep on an empty stomach. A recipe for a disaster if I ever heard one.
Everyone was relatively quiet during dinner. In fact, despite the silent car ride here, Tori was the chattiest, engaging Naomi and Nicole in chats about her life back home. She spoke so fondly of it, as if she couldn’t wait to leave. Which only compounded my agitation.
It wasn’t fair for me to be disappointed. She had made it clear, the second night, that she wasn’t looking for long-term or serious. Perhaps I had prematurely told her I understood, because right then I wasn’t feeling very understanding. But even as I told myself I shouldn’t be disappointed, there the feeling was anyway.
In the past, I might have approached Will with these problems and asked for his advice. But that opportunity was taken away from me. Perhaps I could confide in Seth—he had a better relationship track record than Will anyway. But I certainly couldn’t lean over and spill my fucking guts to Seth during dinner.
“You look like someone shit in your mashed potatoes,” Seth said, leaning in. “What’s up?”
“I’m tired. I think this week is finally wearing on me.” In more ways than one.
“You’re telling me. If Vince orders another drink, we’re going to have to ask the waitress to cut him off.”
“That’s asking for World War III, though I don’t disagree with you.” I watched as Vince took his new drink and tossed it back.
It was like watching an explosion happen in slow motion. Immediately after the drink left his lips, he stared at the glass, his brow becoming increasingly furrowed. He shook his head