"Then it's time you learned."
I settle on the couch with one of the library books I brought over.Some thriller I picked up weeks ago and never got around to reading.But I can't focus on the words.My mind keeps drifting to Timothy.To the way he looks at me.The way he touches me.The way he makes me feel like I'm worth protecting.
I haven't felt that way in a long time.
With Randall, I always felt like I was the problem.Like if I just tried harder, behaved better, said the right things, he'd stop hitting me.Stop hurting me.Stop making me feel like I was worthless.
Timothy finishes the dishes and comes over to the couch, sitting next to me.Close.Our thighs touching.
"What are you reading?"he asks.
"I have no idea.Can't focus."
"Why not?"
"You."
He grins."I'm distracting?"
"Very."
"Good."He takes the book from my hands and sets it on the coffee table.Then he pulls me onto his lap, and I go willingly."I like being a distraction."
"I noticed."
He kisses me, slow and deep, and I melt into him.His hands slide under my shirt, rough and sure, and I arch into his touch.His hands are everywhere, and I'm tugging at his shirt, desperate to feel his skin.
"Bedroom?"he asks.
"Too far."
He laughs against my mouth, and I feel it everywhere."Couch it is."
We're pulling at clothes—his shirt catching on his watch, my jeans stubborn over my hips.He's kissing my neck, my collarbone, making it harder to focus.I'm fumbling with his belt when he finally gets it undone himself.
"Let me," he says, and strips my jeans off in one motion.
Then his weight is settling over me on the couch, skin against skin, and I can't breathe for a second.Not from fear.From want.
"You still with me?"he asks, brushing hair from my face.
"Yeah."I pull him down for a kiss."Don't stop."
He doesn't.His mouth moves down my throat, across my collarbone, lower.When he reaches my breasts, I arch into him.He's taking his time, learning what makes me gasp, what makes my fingers dig into his shoulders.
"Timothy—"
"Shh.Let me."
His mouth trails lower, kissing down my ribs, my stomach.When he settles between my thighs, I tense.
He pauses, looking up at me."This okay?"
Randall never did this.Said it was beneath him.Degrading.
But Timothy's watching me like I'm something precious.Like this is a privilege, not a chore.
"Yeah," I breathe."Okay."
