The vine in question had been impressive. Not nearly as impressive as the arm that gripped it, though. At least, not in her estimation. It was the same big, well formed hand, long fingers tightened around the thick, invasive wisteria. He had wrapped the vine several times around his forearm, almost as if he were giving her peep show to what was undoubtedly the sexiest part of a man’s body. She was able to see popped tendons, the vine almost gray around the warm, nut brown of his skin, the photo cutting off right at the edge of his nicely defined bicep.
She had whimpered when the message came through, caught unawares, emptying take-out containers into serving bowls. She wasn’t prepared for the sight of that sexy arm, nearly rocked off her feet by the bolt of heat that hit her like lightning, shivering down her back and igniting between her thighs.What’s he sending you now? The flowers laying over his thigh?Sumi closed her eyes, imagining the cascade of fragrant purple flowers on their shared stem, a thick, curving raceme, fat with blooms.
“A district-wide banishment is the only thing that will halt the spiraling of our current educational crisis, yet our current powers-that-be won’t entertain the suggestion! It’s ludicrous. I’m begging someone, anyone to make it make sense.”
It took a great deal of restraint to point out to Jordan that he didn’t need to perform here, for there was no audience for his bluster, no enthralled teachers hanging on his everyword. He technically wasn’t wrong. Phones were an ever-present distraction for students. Even the most riveting lecture on a 60-year-old book couldn’t hold a candle to the instant gratification of scrolling through an endless array of thirty second videos algorithmically chosen just for them.That still doesn’t mean I need to hear about it from someone who doesn’t spend their day in the classroom.
Instead, she focused on her plate, composing a message in her head, one she would send the moment she was able to be alone with her phone, provided there wasn’t actually a cascade of wisteria-covered cock waiting for her.My condo officially goes on the market this week. Like you said, no time like the present. I’ve applied to be a franchisee in my dream industry and for a business license in the new neighborhood. Every time my phone pings, I practically faint.Her agent had called during her drive home, and Sumi had given her the official go-ahead.What are you waiting for? The sooner it sells, the sooner you can close this chapter of your life for good.
If therewasa wisteria-covered cock in her messages, her message would be very different.Interested in a gardening buddy? I’d love to lend a hand pruning that.
That gods damned florist in Cambric Creek had broken something in her brain. She’d been horny since her ill-fated visit to his shop, a slick, ever-present pulse between her thighs, wondering how, exactly, his cock was concealed. Academically, she knew it was held in a genital pouch on the inside of his body, but she wanted informationbeyondthe scientific mechanics.Does he like his slit ticked? If he gets turned on in the middle of the day, does it just pop out?She imagined being there, visiting his shop again in her favorite, low-cut dress, employing her every feminine wile to make his dick hard, to make it slither out.And then what? Does it just retract on its own? Or does he needto come?She would be willing to offer her support. It would be the neighborly thing to do, after all.
Since then, it was as if every innocuous thing ChaoticConcertina said had a double entendre, inflaming her further. It was an easy transference of her lust. After all, she alreadylikedhim. He was kind and funny and he understood her better than anyone in her actual daily life. He had sexy hands and now, she could see with painful clarity, a sexy arm attached to it.Who knows? Maybe he’s as handsome as the naga.She didn’t want to change their relationship, at least, not now, but if she were to open her phone one morning to find the long-expected dick pic, she wouldn’t be upset.
“It’s an addiction,” Jordan went on, tapping his index finger against the table as if to emphasize his point. “We are witnessing the destruction of civilized society in real time! Entire generations are being brought up with screens as their primary caregivers. Is it any wonder they can’t pass the timed state exams?”
“You know what else isn’t good for civilized society?” she cut in, keeping her voice light as she forced herself back to reality, annoyed to be doing so. “Bringing your work home with you every single day. Don’t you talk about this enough all week long?”
Jordan rolled his eyes. “That’s the problem, we don’t discuss it nearly enough! At least, not with any of the folks who can do something about it. But none ofthemare willing to try and—“
He cut off abruptly, raising his hands with a sheepish grin, as if she’d caught him sneaking treats from the cookie jar, his every word and gesture feeling condescending to her.
“But you’re right, enough shop talk.”
They were both quiet then, focused on their food, the subtle vibration from the edge of the table making her hands itch.When Jordan spoke again, she wished she’d never said anything at all.
“How did your meeting with the agent go?”
Sumi froze.How does he know?! He has your car bugged. You accidentally patched him in during a call. He’s known all along!It took several excruciating seconds for her to realize he meant the face-to-face meeting she’d had with the agent the previous weekend, making her realize how little they’d spoken since then.You’ve already started moving out right under his nose and now you’ve barely talked in a week. Would he even care if you’re gone?
The meeting with Elspeth had gone exceptionally well. It was an uphill battle to get through work every day because her mind was already far away, settling into her new life in Cambric Creek, meeting the neighbors, discovering all of the secret charms a small town promised to hold.
Not that she could tell him that.
“It went well,” she said guardedly. “The other beneficiary isn’t challenging anything.”
“That’s good, no family to squabble with over flipping it then. She thinks it’ll sell fast?”
Jordan always spoke with the artless self-confidence of someone who’d never been incorrect about a single thing in his life, ever. Sumi avoided her boyfriend’s eye as he tucked into his food, waiting for her response. She knew she ought to come clean . . . but she was tired. Tired and ready to just disappear.
“Mhm. She said selling won’t be a problem.”
What her tiefling real estate agent had actually said was selling her condo in the city wouldn’t be a problem, as long as she didn’t hold out on price.
“Thisisa very nice neighborhood, and the proximity to schools and shopping is always a plus,“ Elspeth had agreed with the bullet-pointed list Sumi rattled off as what she thought ofas the condo’s main selling points. “But the unit itself is small, so there’s probably not going to be a lot of interest from young families. And the singles who are more the market demographic aren’t going to care about things like proximity to schools.”
Sumi was forced to concede the point.You can’t afford to carry both places. Not if she wanted to quit her job, which she did without question.You’ll wind up spending the entire inheritance on this mortgage and the house’s taxes.There were two strategies they could work with, the tiefling went on to explain.
“We can either go in high with a bottom price in mind and see what you can get in the middle, or else you figure out what your asking price needs to be and you hold firm on that. It’s totally up to you, but my suggestion is we go with plan A. Let’s see how much you can get. I’m going to have our attorney lean on the court a bit, see where we are with probate and closing the lien . . . and then you’ll have a bit of a remodeling budget once you move. That’s the goal!”
Sumi chewed her spicy noodles thoughtfully, chopsticks ready with another bite immediately. Keeping her mouth full was a ready way to slow the conversation, she had discovered over the last three years with her boyfriend, and if he couldn’t control the pace of things, the line of questioning would be abandoned.The pace, the topic, the mood.She was desperate to be fucked, but the notion of it coming from the man she’d spent the last three years with left her cold.
“That’s fantastic, babe,” he enthused, not seeming to notice her distinct lack of enthusiasm for the conversation. “What a great opportunity this is. I was looking up some of the properties for sale in that town and holy shit. They are in a real estate boom!”
“It’s because it’s multi-species,” she agreed weakly, thinking of howniceit had been. “Towns like this are on the rise, but thisone is old and affluent. They already know what they’re doing.”What are you doing?! Why are you adding to it? Just let him change the conversation before you have to tell him everything right now!
Jordan’s brow furrowed as he chewed thoughtfully. “I suppose . . . but do you really think those sorts of whole towns are necessary? Enough to justify the cost of living? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled you’re going to make a profit flipping this place. It just makes you wonder who it’s serving and what the benefit really is.”
