I gasp, falling back onto my elbows. I’m damp with sweat and sticky from the whiskey. He stares at me, dick still buried in my pussy, eyes roaming my body. I press one hand against my breast and shove my fingers into my mouth, tasting sweetness.
“You should clean me off,” I say with a stupid grin.
He leans down and kisses me. Then he licks my neck.
“Not what I meant!”
He laughs lightly. I didn’t think he’d be capable of that tonight. But I can tell some of the burden’s gone. “Let’s go upstairs then.”
We shower together. I wash him and he washes me. By the time we’re in bed, I can tell some of the weight’s back on his shoulders. I pull him against me and hold him tight, my leg thrown over his hips.
It feels right. I don’t get why, but it does. I’ve been resisting him all this time, and for what?
All to end up right here.
STELLAN
Frankie’s not talkative on the drive down south. That’s fine with me. I put on the radio and cruise along 95, sitting in the right lane, taking my time. I’ve got my wife on my mind, her whiskey taste, her orgasm. Her mouth in the morning. How badly I want to be with her right now.
I glance at my friend. He seems preoccupied. When I called, he showed up at my place, like always. Like nothing changed.
“Where’s this job at?” he asks when I cross the bridge into Jersey.
“Not too far.”
“We heading to AC?”
“Nah, not all the way.”
I don’t take the main roads. I head off the second I can and cut down a long road hewn in the middle of the pine barrens. The trees feel oppressive. Random houses appear in their midst. I have no idea how anyone lives back here. It feels like we’re on the bottom of the ocean.
“Jersey Devil was born down around here,” Frankie remarks, frowning at the sandy road I turn onto.
“You’re superstitious?”
“Nah, I don’t believe any of that stuff. It’s just a fun story.”
I drive for a while longer. We don’t find anyone or anything. Just another stretch of road and more trees.
After a while, I pull off the main road, deep in the middle of nowhere.
“Pine barrens go on for miles,” I comment as I pop the trunk. Frankie joins me. I shouldn’t let him out of my sight, but we both know what this is. There are shovels in the back. I grab one and hand him the other. “You know how many people live out here?”
“Too many.” He follows me into the trees.
“There are over a million acres of these fucking things.” I knock a tree as I walk past. It’s scraggly and crooked. “Soil’s a wreck around here, but the trees keep coming. No wonder people hate it.”
“Whole place is haunted.”
“Lots of graves around here. Sandy soil makes easy digging, especially when it’s a little warm.” I keep walking. Frankie follows, his boots stomping over twigs.
“Smells like the ocean. I like that at least. Good day for a hike.”
“Yeah, that’s what we’re doing. Going for a hike.” I keep walking. We don’t talk much as I wander further into nothing, until I can’t see the road or the car and there’s nothing but trees spreading out for miles in all directions.
Then I stop. Frankie stops too. I turn to face him as he leans against a tree and checks his phone. “No fucking service.”
“Why’d you do it?”
