‘I never had that boat ticket booked. It was something I had always dreamed that I would do. But I hadn’t taken the leap, until that exact night, talking about it with you. I didn’t come back to the club with you because I went home and booked a one-way ticket for exactly a months’ time,’ she said.
I bit my bottom lip as she spoke. ‘What made you do it that night? Why did you lie about it?’
‘You questioned me, I had never been questioned about what I really wanted before, and it was that very moment that made me realise I had been holding myself back from everything that I really wanted. It was that moment I thought no longer am I going to do that. So that’s why I am really glad that I ran into you again. I wanted to thank you for the inspiration,’ she said, smiling as she wiggled around to sit up straighter, letting her legs hang back down over the bed. She wiggled over closer to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I threw my arms around her waist squeezing her in tight. My god, she was cute. As we hugged, I could feel her energy, bright and enthusiastic, just as it was, the night I met her. I think she was the one that was inspiring me.
‘I don’t know if you can call me an inspiration for asking a simple question,’ I said as my head was snuggled in on the right side of her neck.
Emma let go of my embrace ‘I don’t think it was just the question. I think you were a living example of someone going after their dreams. I’d never been around many people like that prior to meeting you.’ Her words stabbed my heart. I didn’t see myself the way that she saw me. I was doing what I wanted, but I was far from where I wanted to be. I never saw myself as an inspiration.
‘What stopped you from going on your adventure prior to that night?’ I asked. She took a slow deep breath and looked away, gazing at the floor; her smile dropped, and I wasn’t too sure if she was going to cry. ‘Sorry, don’t answer that,’ I said.
She turned back to me. grabbing hold of my shoulder, squeezing it gently. ‘I don’t know, it’s funny how we can live our lives so naively and full of hope, until a certain moment I guess, when something happens, and it hits you that you have to grow up and become an adult.’ Her eyes glared into mine, every time she stared at me, I couldn’t let go of them. They were soft and innocent, but if you held her gaze long enough, they told a deep story, one I wanted to dive into the pages of, unfold and understand. ‘Honestly, I was scared to leave. I’ve had a lot of people leave in my life, I wanted to hold on to the ones I thought I had left. I was holding on with a grip so tight to a life that wasn’t letting me be my best self, purely because I was scared to lose something again.’
‘Did you go through a break-up?’ I asked. Her words sounded like past hurts of my own. Holding onto temporary people who were only holding on to my possessions and lifestyle, not me.
‘No, well yes. I did actually, not long before I met you. But it was mutual. We weren’t meant for each other. We ended up together purely out of our own fears. We were each other’s comfort for a while,’ she said, laying down on my bed looking up at my downlights scattered amongst the ceiling and resting her hands on her stomach. I followed her lead laying down by her side, both our legs where still dangling over the bed.
I turned my head to look at her. ‘It’s like the night we met. Although we’re now laying under downlights and not stars,’ I whispered.
Emma smiled and closed her eyes. ‘I’m pretending that I’m back there right now,’ she said.
‘Do you miss your home?’ I asked.
‘Sometimes I miss my place. Exactly where I took you. It holds the greatest memories for me,’ she said, opening her eyes, a smile took over her face. ‘I used to go there every day after school with my mum. She would meet me there and we would walk along the water, talking about our days, our dreams and things we wanted to do. I never met my dad, he left my mum before I was born, so it was always just her and I against the world,’ she said, closing her eyes again. I moved my gaze from her, up to the ceiling, closing my eyes too, taking myself back to the very place she was speaking about, listening to her story. ‘Mum was an artist too, the last conversation I had with her down by the water was just before she flew to Los Angeles. She had a couple of paintings for show in a gallery there, it was her first overseas exposure, she was so excited.’ She took a deep breath. I opened my eyes again, turning to look at her smiling at her memories, thinking of Emma and myself years later in her special place doing the exact same thing, sharing dreams.
‘Mum never made it home, there was a shooting outside the gallery, and well, they got the wrong person,’ she said. Her eyes opened, staring directly up at the ceiling she gulped down a lump in her throat. ‘I was only 18, I stopped dreaming for a while after that, focussed on studying, getting a job, making enough money. I shied away from my art, I still do a little. That’s also why I was scared to leave — I didn’t want to leave the little friends I had left. I got into a comfortable relationship. One I knew I wasn’t completely happy with, but it was safe for my heart,’ she said. He lips pursed and she turned her head towards me, our eyes met. I reached my hand over to hers, intertwining my fingers with hers as they rested on her belly. ‘I kept my heart and dreams safe and hidden for too long after she passed,’ she said, ‘It was time to go and do everything that I wanted to. I didn’t want to hold myself back in fear of losing anything again.’
‘Emma, wow, that’s a lot. I’m sorry that you had to go through all that,’ I whispered close to her ear, feeling lost for words, my heart sunk deep into my stomach. Why did I have to do that to her, to be so intrigued, to question so much, she had to relive the story once again with a stranger, I gulped down. I just wanted to wrap my arms around her and cuddle her. ‘But I’m glad you’re on your adventure, I think she would be incredibly proud,’ I said softly.
‘I think so too,’ she said, forcing a smile, our eyes didn’t leave each other. One single tear fell from her eye. I squeezed her hand and slightly sat up, placing my left hand on her face wiping her tear away with my thumb. ‘I don’t know why I feel so comfortable telling you all this, it’s stupid. I’m so sorry to dump all of this onto you,’ she said, looking away and rounding her shoulders.
‘No, I understand. I’m not good at talking about things either. It always seems to be more comfortable to talk things out with a stranger, than someone who really knows you. I know this is only the second time we’ve met. But I think you’re one of the people I’ve shared my deepest thoughts with as well,’ I said.
‘Are we strangers? Because I think you’ve seen a lot more of me than most of my friends have,’ she giggled.
I smiled biting my lip thinking about the memory of our bodies together under the moon. My god she was sexy. ‘We’re definitely not strangers.’ I whispered.
Emma let go of my hand and sat back up straight on my bed. I sat up next to her, ‘I know this is weird, but it does feel like I know you. You know, like I’ve known you for years or something.’
‘I feel the same,’ I said. It was weird. It was super weird to feel so at ease with someone that I hardly knew. I had never felt like this before. She smiled, matching my gaze. Her eyes were beautiful, intense, they made me a little nervous, but I didn’t want to look away.
We sat staring into each other and Emma leaned towards me, resting one hand on my knee, the other on my shoulder, she pressed her lips onto mine. My god they were soft, gentle, but wanting me. She tasted divine, I wanted to know what the rest of her tasted like. My hand was holding her cheek, I felt her back curve and her hips move right next to me in the rhythm of our tongues. I slowly slid my hand down her body, gently grazing her arm, and holding her left hip. She pressed her lips away from me for a moment and sat up off the bed. Standing in front of me, my eyes once again became lost in hers and she straddled me on the edge of my bed. I grabbed onto her pink tee and pulled it over her head, she laughed as it got stuck around her neck. She pulled the rest of her top off over her shoulders. It exposed her sexy white lace bra, I leaned in smiling, kissing her lips, I wrapped my arms around her. My lips hit her neck at the same time her bra straps slid off her shoulders and she let out a sigh. Blood pumped through my body. I placed my hand behind my head, the other on her lower back, picking her up and laying her on her back on my bed. Her legs were still lying over the edge, and I kneeled between them. I lay over her for a moment, staring into her eyes, taking this moment in, and locking it away for a later memory. I kissed her cheek, the bottom of her ear lobe, her neck, her shoulder, her nipples. She moaned louder and her hips rocked. My god, she felt incredible. I unbuttoned her shorts, and she lifted her hips for me to pull them off her, I grabbed onto her underwear at the same time, exposing her completely.
‘I really want to taste you,’ I said.
She moaned, ‘I want that more than anything, right now.’
Her legs still dangled off the bed and I was on my knees on the ground, right in between her. I kissed slowly up her legs making her whole body, shake. My hands held either side of her hips, and as I breathed her hips rocked again, faint goosebumps stood up on her legs from the cold breath tongue that hit her naked skin. I pressed my tongue between her legs, and she tasted better than I could imagine. I couldn’t get enough.
Gently moving one finger inside of her. Her legs trembled uncontrollably over either side of my ears. She was so fucking loud, she screamed out with pleasure when my tongue would move to the rhythm of her rocking hips. She calmed her breath, and I pushed my finger in deep inside her wet warmth, holding it in, pressing inside her, deep, hard, I witnessed her complete surrender. As she screamed, I saw the energy move from up her spine, curving her back, rocking her hips still. Her voice changed and her whole body leaped from the bed as if something else was in control of her. She fell and collapsed completely into my lap on the floor, wrapping her arms around me. She was breathing heavily on my shoulder trying to slow it down. I laughed, in shock but so turned on by what had just happened. She was limp, she could hardly string a sentence together. She looked as though she was only just coming back into her body. I scooped her up and laid her back up onto the bed.
‘Are you okay?’ I asked. Emma looked at me wide-eyed as I lay over her body, moving her legs to wrap them around my hips and she pulled me into her, gripping me in tight.
‘I’m too good,’ she whispered into my ear.
I wiggled out of her legs’ grip, jumping onto my feet; she sat up kissing near my belly button and lightly tugging on my shorts.
‘I want to feel all of you again,’ she said. I lay on top of her, and she stared into my eyes, open and ready. I pushed myself softly inside her, bit by bit. Until she moaned loud, holding myself inside her deep. I could feel all of her wrapped around me. Her energy became fused into me. And my god, it felt so fucking good.
