She stared at the orange penis dangling from the tree and swaying in the light breeze. “That was surprisingly freeing.”
Eli held another out to her. “The oak tree over there only has a couple.”
“Thatoak tree is technically my neighbor’s.” Marlee took it from his grip. “The other one is mine.”
“Their branch is over your fence. Doesn’t that make it yours?” Eli whispered.
Sadie would have to clarify that particular law for them if they got caught.
“I think this one’s yours.” Marlee slid the silicone shaft into his palm.
Eli, the hulk that was Eli, twirled it over his head before letting the makeshift nunchucks go. They flew up, catching the edge of the gutter and hanging there.
“Scotty’ll need a ladder to get that one down.” Eli gave her a high five, clearly proud of himself.
The funny part of that wasn’t that Scotty would need a ladder, the comedy was Scotty actually climbing a ladder. Scotty having to buy or borrow a ladder. Or pay someone to come deal with his newsituation.
The porch light flicked on, a spotlight on all of them.
The orange dildo crew all froze. Marlee’s heart beat faster. Someone had triggered the floodlight.
The old ladies disappeared into the black of night like some kind of secret spies, leaving Heather, Eli, and Marlee bathed in the porch light. Heather dove behind a bush.
Eli pulled Marlee to the edge of the house. She gripped his sleeve, leading him through the night to the other gate.
“Someone triggered the floodlight,” Marlee whispered.
“Got that,” he whispered back, the rough timbre of his voice scraping against the fine hairs along her neck.
Her heart raced, waiting to see if Scotty would open the door. A lot of the time in the fall, the blowing leaves would set off the floodlight. If she would have been inside, she wouldn’t have thought twice about it. But with a full house, someone could easily open the back door to check.
And see everything they’d done.
Dammit.
They needed to be long gone to Dairy Queen for a Blizzard treat before that happened.
Marlee wedged herself against the gate, right near the latch. She pulled Eli next to her. If they got caught, they could run from there.
She held her breath.
Eli held his.
No one opened the door.
The floodlight clicked off, timing out. She still gripped Eli’s sleeve. He stood close to her, body to body, not moving away.
She glanced up at him, the whites of his eyes pale in the moonlight. Her index finger pressed against her lips to tell him to be quiet, but she didn’t really need to do that. And she didn’t really mean to be quiet in the sense of speaking. She meant she was quieting her feelings. The ones he exposed. He seemed to understand that, too.
The night soaked in around them.
There was no party at her ex’s, no team of elderly women exacting revenge on her behalf. In that moment, there was only Eli and Marlee. She pressed the length of her body tight against his, hoping like heck he wouldn’t pull away.
He didn’t move, and his breathing quickened along with her own. They just stood there, the leaves rustling against silicone penises dangling from the trees. Her breasts got heavier, and she stood on her tiptoes, her nipples pressing against his chest through the fabric of their shirts. His firm erection was obvious against her hip.
Neither of them said anything, but his hand went to her waist. She hadn’t thought she could get physically closer to him, but he was showing her right there that she could. He made a guttural sound in the back of his throat before his mouth dropped to hers.
This kiss was light to start. Exploring. Erasing any residual numbness and replacing it with heat. Her skin seemed to purr with every stroke of his tongue.
