Socially Distanced: A Quarantine Novella

“Never apart,” she says quietly.

“Right.” I let out a long breath.

“You know,” she says as she smiles up at me and then traces my jaw with her fingertip, “I think you promised me some whiskey.”

“Oh!” I glance over at the unopened bottle on the dresser. I don’t really want to let go long enough to pour a glass, but I suppose I have to move at some point. “Yeah, sure.”

Reluctantly, I drop my hands from her body and allow her to step back. I pour whiskey into my single glass and hand it to her. Kendra sits on the bed, looking around the room.

“The layout is a little different in here,” she says.

“Is it? I figured the rooms were all the same.”

“Mostly, but not quite.”

Kendra sips the whiskey, cringes, then takes another sip. I take a swig from the bottle and shuffle my feet back and forth.

“Sit with me,” she says, patting the edge of the bed.

I move beside her, sit my ass down, and she edges over until our hips are touching. With her free hand, she reaches over and laces her fingers in mine.

“That’s better,” she says softly.

I nod, take a swig of whiskey, and stare down at our hands.

It’s surreal. It shouldn’t feel so strange to sit next to a person, to touch someone else’s hand, or to share a drink, but it is. I’m so out of practice, I don’t know what to do, and I can’t think of anything to say.

“It’s been a long time,” Kendra says.

“Yeah.” I don’t know exactly what she’s referring to, but whatever it is, she’s right. It’s been a long time. Everything has been a long time.

“Sean?”

“Yeah?”

“Put the whiskey down.”

Kendra hands me her glass, and I have to stand up to place both it and the bottle back on the dresser. When I turn around again, she’s standing in front of me. She reaches up and strokes the side of my face with her fingertips. She moves closer, places her hand on my chest, and presses her lips to mine.

For a minute, I forget what I’m supposed to do. I just stand there with my eyes closed, letting her kiss me, take control, and do what she wants. Eventually, some spark of memory ignites, and I grab her hips, pull her closer to me, and run my tongue over hers. I taste the whiskey in her mouth and wonder if it’s the sweetest taste there ever was.

I feel her hands behind me, reaching under the hem so she can press her palms to my back. My skin tingles where she touches me, and I return the favor by running my hands under her shirt and touching the skin at the small of her back. My cock starts to throb, and I want to just push her backwards onto the bed. Before I have the chance, Kendra pulls away, leaving me breathless.

“I don’t want to wait, Sean. Please—don’t make me wait.”

“We don’t have to wait.” I swallow hard.

Kendra reaches down to the hem of her shirt and quickly pulls it over her head.

“What? Now you decide to wear a bra?” I laugh.

“I thought you might like it this time.” She gives me an unconvincingly shy smile and twists her hips back a forth a bit.

I run my hand from her shoulder down to her collarbone. She shivers as my finger traces the top of the bra.

“I think I’d rather just get rid of it,” I say.

“Then do it.”