I fucking loved the way he always kissed my forehead.
I fucking loved…
Yep.Even after multiple orgasms and loads taken, I was still in love.Shit was real.
And then, his lips still warm against my forehead, he said, “I do love you, though.”
I froze.My eyes burned.
“Don’t say anything,” he murmured.“I just wanted you to hear it.I mean, you make a great cum dumpster, but—”
I burst into laughter.“I do.”
“But you’re so much more,” he said with another chuckle.
When we both settled down again, my body still thrummed with the endless stream of sex, praise, pleasure, affection,lovefrom him tonight.Never in my fucking life had anyone made me feel so thoroughly wanted but also appreciated.
Never in my fucking life had I believed that anyone really loved me.Not platonically and certainly not romantically, even though plenty had claimed to.
But I believed Taran.
***
Okay, I was a liiiiittle bit stiff the next day, not gonna lie.And pissing kind of crooked—which Taran assured me was also a problem for him.However, is there anything better in the whole world than waking up on your twenty-seventh birthday feeling insanely well fucked and in the arms of the boy you fell in love with ages ago but thought you’d lost forever?
I’ll save you the time of trying to find an answer, because no, there isn’t.
He made a massive breakfast—which was good since we were both fucking starving, not to mention thirsty enough to drink a whole bottle of orange juice between us.Then, since he’d taken the day off for me, we went to my place to start the long and involved process of getting ready for the party.
I tried on outfit after outfit for Taran and Shortcake, who sat on the couch and patiently judged each ensemble for almost an hour.I drank a ton of water, took a nice long shower, did a face mask and then eye gels.By the time Toni appeared, I was working on my makeup, and Taran had been ready for a half hour.
“You two look pretty fucking smug,” she commented.
“Do we?”Taran asked innocently.“What’d you end up doing last night?”
Toni rolled her eyes.“Watching preseason football talk with my dad.Fucking gouge my eyes out.”
“For an organization with limited product availability, the NFL isreallygood at generating endless content,” he commented.
Toni frowned.“What do you mean?”
“Those guys can talk for days about the same game.Pull out useless stats that no one ever asked for and convince people they were clamoring for them all along.”
“Explain,” she demanded.
Which led to Taran giving Toni an education about consumer behavior and how the NFL are evil geniuses.I watched them as I fixed my eyeliner, smiling to myself because I could see it on her face—finally, Toni was letting herself be charmed too.
I should’ve just left them in a room together alone instead of having her meet us at a crowded festival.He would’ve charmed the shit out of her in fifteen minutes, given the chance.
***
The Firebrand would never be called minimalist, in terms of décor, but my friends and co-workers had decked the place out even more.Fairy lights everywhere, including draped over some of the vintage horror film posters and ghosty witchy shit on the walls, and centerpieces on all the pub tables featuring stand-ups of cheesy pinup boys from various fabulous artists.
The place was closed, technically, but open for the party tonight.The music was louder than usual, the people were all familiar faces—some I was surprised to see, some who were clearly wondering where the fuck I’d been on all their favorite hook-up apps lately.The number of knowing looks I got after introducing new people to Taran was so fucking satisfying, honestly.
Like,Oh, yeah, if I had that I’d stay home too, girl.
To my surprise, there were a few different game stations set up (throw the ring around the dildo, pin the tail on the pinup girl), and even stations for oracle card readings, palmistry, and permanent jewelry that were all Bryn’s doing.They also created drinks in my honor, including the Thirsty Bitch (tequila, soda, grapefruit sugar around the rim), the WAP (gin, lime juice, cranberry juice, honey simple syrup, grapefruit bitters), and a Red Bull-based mocktail called Main Character Energy that I ordered immediately.
