SEVENTEEN
Nico
Like I said,I’m a simple guy. There is nothin’ complicated about the fifty-four different Annie Li-related fantasies I’ve concocted for myself in the last twelve or so hours.
Annie in the backseat of the car.
Annie against a tree.
Annie bent over the kitchen counter.
Annie on top of the kitchen counter.
All right, all right, I let my imagination run a little wild with the Annie-in-the-pool scenario ‘cause it required a blatant disregard for the laws of chemistry. Water, after all, strips away natural lubrication by dissolving mucus and lipids, making things drier and more abrasive. Plus, unlike oils or silicone-based lubricants, it lacks the viscosity to reduce friction, turning smooth strokes into a struggle. So maybe in this fantasy we weren’t in a pool of water—we were in a pool of lube.
I have a new one right now, knowing that Annie is probably wearing nothing under my sweatshirt. And won’t stop looking at me, all over my body.
She looks brighter today somehow. Her eyes are animated and her body’s tense but excited, like she’s holding something inthat’s ready to explode all over the place. Much, much different from the way she left the car yesterday, frustration with a touch of regret. Holding a different sort of explosion in. But maybe that was just me projecting.
Regardless if it’s good or bad or whatever, I just want to see herlet go. To trust herself, not hide behind Sister Annie like some twisted security blanket of abstinence. To trustme. ‘Cause I’ve fuckin’ got her.
And I ain’t touchin’ her again until she gives it to me.
She’s given me little peeks at it. On Duke campus. At the restaurant yesterday. Dancing with her last night.Fuck yes, last night. But she showed me letting go. And it was fuckin’ beautiful.
So today I’ve decided to open myself up even more. Make myself vulnerable, trust her with something big. I’m gonna give her the last thing that’s mine. Enough fuckin’ with her. And she might shit all over me, but that’s fine. Somehow in the last few days, her merciless roasting has gone from semi-malicious to… fun. Cajoling and silly. I like it, like the way it makes me feel. Like we share an inside joke. She’s got me too.
So, in case she hasn’t seen the latestNakedReactionsvideo, or missed all those hints I dropped yesterday about my side-gig?
“Where are we going today?” she asks me in the kitchen of the main house, barefoot and likely naked under my hoodie.
“We’re going swimming.”
The same extra-wide grin crosses our faces.
Ma calls on our drive over. I glance at Annie. “You mind if I take this?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “Of course not.”
I put her on the Bluetooth speakers. “Hey, Ma.”
“Hey, Nico. How’s it goin’? Just wanted to check in.”
“Great. The drive down’s been pretty painless.” I wink over at Annie, who rolls her eyes at me. “I’m actually drivin’ down with Annie Li. Remember her?” I hope to god Ma doesn’t mention anything about her being the crazy one.
“Hey, Mrs. Giannuzzi,” Annie says warmly.
“Hey, beautiful girl!” Ma shouts. “You the one who stood up for my Valentina when youse was all kids?”
I glance over; Annie looks confused.
“Yeah, that’s her,” I chime in. “You kicked Bobby Pinto in the nuts after he pushed my little sister when we were all playin’ Manhunt,” I remind Annie.
She smirks. “Oh yeah. Fuck Bobby Pinto.”
Ma cackles over the car speakers. “Where you guys at now?”
“In Durham now. Been hittin’ up all the old spots.”
