We chatted a little more before I finally forced myself away, offering a random excuse to cut the conversation off before I spent the whole afternoon distracting us both. I shut my office door and closed the blinds over the glass wall to give myself some privacy. Falling down in my desk chair, I rubbed my hands over my face and grunted.
This was even more painful and distressing than going on a second or third date would be. If I had just hooked up with River like he was any other stranger, I at least might have been able to get this whole thing out of my system. Instead, it was like this endless craving that I had to hide at work and at home.
Way too distracting. And on top of how physically uncomfortable it made me, my work was piling up, my focus ruined.
The door was locked, and I knew that it was impossible to hear me on the other side, something we’d checked for client privacy. Realizing I couldn’t hold out any longer, I unzipped my pants and pulled my dick out. It only took a single squeeze, and I went from half-hard to achingly stiff.
I leaned down and sniffed the flower, perched on my lapel. A delicate scent tickled my nose, and I knew that River had been touched by the same fragrance all afternoon. Thoughts of his body and his voice overwhelmed me, and I spit in my hand.
My dick sat heavy in my grip as I jerked myself. Desire pumped through me, and I kicked my legs out, knocking my feet against the back of the desk. I saw the sweet expression on River’s face when he teased me, and hot pleasure throbbed up my shaft.
I pumped and grunted, precum leaking from my slit. I imagined pulling River into my office. I’d lift him in the air, and he’d wrap his legs around my waist, and no one would know that I was thrusting into him. My imagination ran wild, flooding me with pictures of his naked body and the memory of how taut his muscles were when he hit his climax in my bed.
I gasped, and an orgasm rocketed through me, taking me by surprise. I shot hot sprays of cum as I arched my back, and the splatters landed on the hardwood floor at my feet. The intense release took over, and I sat there, weak with pleasure.
It took a minute of sitting there with my dick in my hand and my jaw hanging open before I composed myself again. I cleaned up carefully, squirted hand sanitizer in my palms, inspected myself in front of the mirror, and swooped a few errant hairs back into place.
I brought the flower back to my nose and inhaled.
“Clematis,” I said, whispering the name to the empty room, then went back to work.
Chapter Eight
River
“I can’t believehow long it’s been since we played Bananagrams together.”
Kai shook the Scrabble tiles out of the banana-shaped bag. “I can’t believe how excited I am to beat you.”
I grinned. Bananagrams was our family game. It was kind of like fast Scrabble without a board. Mom and I always lost because we would get fixated on words that we liked. Kai and Mama were ruthlessly practical, able to throw away totally wonderful words, so of course they usually won.
Leo plopped down beside Kai on the couch across from me, then handed us each a beer. “It’s your first time playing drinking Bananagrams, though, am I right?”
Kai had apparently taught Leo the game when they lived together in college, and I wasn’t surprised to hear of Leo’s innovation. I usually hated drinking games and that sort of thing, but something about drinking along to Bananagrams for a few rounds was just silly enough to win me over.
We all pulled our tiles across the coffee table, and a minute later, we jumped into the game. Immediately, high school memories came flooding back to me. Our family of four would crowd around the dining room table and all yell and laugh while we played with the tiles. We still pulled it out when we were all together, but back in those last years when we all lived under the same roof, it was a regular feature in a very happy life.
I fussed with my tiles and tried to find a way to makechocolateandcakeboth work with my hand while Leo and Kai plowed ahead, forcing me to pick up more pieces.
When it was all done, I was in last place, which meant I had to finish my beer. Leo got up to grab me another one, and I caught myself watching him jog to the kitchen as I gulped the last of it down.
I shot my eyes back to Kai. “Do you think Leo would fall for the trick?”
The trick was our childhood codeword for pretending to be each other. When we put some effort into it, pretty much no one but our moms could tell us apart.
Kai chuckled as he gathered the tiles. “I’d have to get a wig.”
I tossed my hair back. “And I’d have to lose this. You’re right. It wouldn’t be worth it.”
“I grabbed a few,” Leo said as he returned, beers in his hands. “I plan on winning.”
We dived back into the game, and I hummed along to the music as I played with my tiles, not really hurrying at all. When the song switched and an old Kelly Clarkston hit came up on the random shuffle, Leo started to tap his foot, which made me grin to myself.
I arranged the tiles into a word.Cute. Then I messed the arrangement up again.
I was trying to decide ifBogartcounted as a word when Kai completed his board. A quick glance at Leo confirmed I was in last place, and I looked to the waiting beer bottle with trepidation.
“I don’t know if I can chug another beer,” I said, a hand over my belly. Just drinking one beer fast already made me kind of lightheaded.
