I crossed the threshold and invited myself inside. I moved my body into her apartment, forcing her to step back and give me more space to enter her living room. I didn’t have high expectations for her living situation, so I wasn’t surprised to see the single couch and small table comprise her living room, along with a small TV. Her kitchen was only a few feet wide, there wasn’t a dining table, and there was a door that connected to her bedroom. It had to be a few hundred square feet at the most.
I could hear the sirens audibly, along with her neighbors fighting next door. It sounded like a married couple with a crying baby. The more they fought, the harder the baby cried. The walls seemed to be paper-thin.
“How can I help you?” She shut the door behind her and held as much pride as she could, considering the yelling next door kept increasing in volume. “I would offer you a drink, but I only have water—on tap.”
“No thanks.” I felt like an asshole standing there in a suit that cost me $10,000. It was probably what she paid in taxes over the course of a year.
She crossed her arms over her chest and looked visibly uncomfortable, like having me in her space made her stomach churn. She was probably thinking about that night in detail, from the way I kissed her softly then fucked her throat.
I knew I was thinking about it.
“Why are you here, Slate?” she asked. “If you’re mad at me because of the other night, I won’t apologize for it.”
“I didn’t expect you to.” She’d wasted my time when another woman wouldn’t. I had a dozen girls who would have killed to take her place. I could have spent the evening fucking them instead of watching her tease me then storm off.
“Then what do you want? To pay you back for the dinner we had the other night?”
My eyebrows immediately furrowed at the suggestion. I might be an asshole, but I wasn’t that petty. “No.”
“To yell at me for leaving?”
“No.”
She crossed her arms over her waist and glanced at my chest, like direct eye contact was too intimate. Her dress fit her snugly around the waist, her petite frame noticeable in the tight clothing. She had a perfect hourglass frame, which was gorgeous in the lingerie ensemble she’d worn that night. But she could wear a garbage bag and still steal focus. “Then why are you here?”
“To change your mind.” My hands rested in the pockets of my slacks, and I felt my attraction to her grow. No one else could interest me enough to hunt them down like this. There were plenty of other women to take her slot, beautiful women who looked forward to giving themselves to me. I didn’t need to waste my time here, but I’d been thinking about her since the moment she walked out on me. I’d jerked off onto her panties because I was so hard up.
She stiffened noticeably, as if the suggestion was unwelcome. “I thought I could do it, but I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“Then let me rephrase it. I don’t want to.” The more she resisted me, the more beautiful she became. Her naïve morals were a sharp intake of fresh air. Nobody cared about anything anymore, but she preserved her innocence like it meant something.
I stepped toward her, noting the way she didn’t step back. My presence slowly came into contact with hers, slowly invaded her personal space. I stopped when our faces were dangerously close, close enough to imply that we were lovers. When she didn’t move away, I knew she was still attracted to me, that the kiss we’d shared was one of the pleasant memories she had of me.
She held my gaze with all the courage she could muster, but her slight hint of anxiety told me this was hard for her, that she was intimidated by me like everyone else in the world. But she had the strength to at least fight me rather than submit.
Now that I’d tested the waters and felt how warm they were, my hand slid to her cheek, and I brought our faces close together. That kiss we shared had been on my mind, along with that little white thong she left behind. The kiss had been passionate and slow, the kind of kiss I hadn’t shared with a lover in so long. My thumb brushed across her bottom lip before I leaned in and kissed her.
My lips lightly rested against hers, testing her resolve. Which was stronger? Her attraction or her dislike? When she didn’t push me away, I felt her lips like last time, gently massaging them with my own. So soft and smooth, they tasted like cherry lip balm. I breathed into her mouth before I kept kissing her, feeling my entire body stiffen and tighten. Warmth flooded my veins just the way alcohol peaked in my blood after a few drinks. Her lips were hesitant, like she knew this was wrong, and the fact that she kept kissing me only made it better. I liked her strength but also her vulnerability. She tried to protect herself from me, but I wasn’t the kind of man you could hide from.