“Kiss me up here,” she pleaded. “Please, kiss me on my lips.”
I think I liked begging. I wondered if old Finn did.
Instead of giving in immediately, I walked her backward until she was against the wall. The smile on her lips was genuine, and I made myself a promise to remain worthy of nothing less.
“You said,” I spoke in a low voice. The guys were upstairs. I couldn’t hear any creaking on the floorboard in the hall, so we had time to enjoy this. “You wanted to be pinned against the wall.”
I could see her eyes darkening as I lifted one of her legs to wrap around my hip. My hand remained on her thigh, holding firm to ensure she couldn’t move. She whispered an expletive when I pressed harder against her. It was impossible for her not to feel my cock at this point.
“This pinned enough for you?” I asked, honestly curious.
She nodded and could barely get out the words, "It's perfect."
I pressed my lips against hers and tightened my fingers around her leg. I needed her to know how much I wanted this. Her mouth parted, welcoming me in like I’d been there before. Like I was coming home. I groaned when she bit my bottom lip.
Naomi tasted like she looked, sweet and heart-stopping. Once I had a taste, I couldn’t go back, even knowing I was in dangerous waters. She didn’t know everything she needed to know about me yet. We couldn’t go far and still…I was practically dry humping her against the kitchen wall.
Her moans nearly killed me. When she started moving her hips in search of a sweet spot, I wanted to strip her. I tried to help her find some sort of relief by readjusting myself against her. The shiver that coursed through her body let me know when I found the right spot. She chewed on her lip, holding back a whimper as the button of my jeans rubbed her clit.
A creak on the staircase called us back to earth. Someone was coming down. I stole a few more seconds because I couldn’t help myself. She was a Sun, and I was a frozen Earth, desperate for a change in season.
“Finn,” Naomi pleaded between rushed kisses. “Should we…?”
“I know, I hear,” I said, stealing a few more kisses before forcing myself to pull away.
As soon as I let Naomi go, she hurried to readjust her shirt. The guys’ voices were closer now. In a second, they’d be in the room smelling the heat in the air because they were sharks.
“I should go,” she said. “Sorry, I don’t…”
I nodded, letting her know it was fine. “No, go. I understand.”
She didn’t want to be seen with me. Plenty of reasons. None I could confirm, but I wondered if she was embarrassed. It was silly and insecure for me to think, but once that thought burrowed in my mind it wouldn’t leave.
“I’ll…see you.” She pressed her fingers against her bottom lip as she spoke, as if her touch could undo what I’d already done. But from the look on her face, that was impossible.
I winced at the thought of her walking away right now and feeling regret. “See you.”
“Thanks again, Finn,” she whispered. “Really. For everything.”
She disappeared into her room before I could answer. I braced my hands against the kitchen counter, willing my heart to stop racing and my cock to get over it. Neither happened in a timely manner. I don’t know why I even hoped they would.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Naomi
Ineverthoughthe’dkiss me. Sure, I asked. But never in a million years did I think stand-offish, grumpy Finn Howard would want to touch me, let alone have my body begging for an orgasm. And yet…
It’d been a week since our kiss. The weirdest days I’ve ever experienced because my body felt like it was on some Finn-specific drug. My skin burned to be touched and kissed. Any time I closed my eyes, it was Finn’s face I saw. I heard his voice and felt his fingers, encouraging me to open up and enjoy his attention.
I spent my nights touching myself in a dissatisfying attempt to calm down. Days were spent avoiding him. I couldn’t be alone with Finn because I didn’t know what other erotic request might fall from my lips. I already appeared desperate when I asked him to kiss me.
But he did it. And he liked it. You felt that.
I did. There was no denying his excitement. That kiss was so much more than lust. For me, it felt like a step forward. Away from pining over MidQuest and keeping my social circle small. Kissing Finn was me opening up to having a connection. A relationship with him—sexual or romantic—was a risk I wasn’t sure I was ready to take. I don’t know if I could survive another heartbreak. Another huge disappointment could end me. I’d been doing so well this semester. I’d gotten stronger after everything that happened with Mom, finally standing on my own again. Heartbreak could undo everything. It could weaken me to the point where I needed help. And I was done asking for help.
Instead of arguing with myself throughout the weekend, I committed to streaming instead. When I wasn’t doing schoolwork, I was online, entertaining strangers who’d never see past my tailormade persona and username. In the eyes of my followers, I was the always happy and excitable Chai. I loved it. Being her was the best decision I could’ve made.
Mid popped in and out of the stream a few times to take care of some moderator duties. He didn’t say much and still hadn’t addressed my question about meeting sooner than later. I felt awkward about interacting so didn’t reference him by name out loud. Ignoring him was far easier than ignoring Finn. Oh the joys of the Internet.
