Her hips buck when I run a finger down her middle. She breathes deeply as I tease her, tracing her lips with my fingers, but never dipping in, never directly on her swollen clit. Little frustrated noises escape her. I don’t stop. I squeeze her clit, trapping it between two fingers that I extend toward her entrance. She gasps sharply, lets out a feral whine that makes my cock ache.
“Are you begging for more?” I ask.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she manages between gasps as I continue working her clit. “I’m just writing.”
“Your pussy must be confused then,” I say, giving it a little smack.
Her entire body reacts. Her head tips back and she moans, neck taut, as her legs bunch up. Her cunt is soaked, dripping onto the wood of my desk chair.
I desperately want to lap it all up.
“Again. Do it again.”
“What’s the word?“ I ask, taking my hands off her.
“Please, Zander. Please.”
“I thought you were just writing.”
“I was. But then you didthatand I lost the ability to think. Do it again.”
I don’t. Instead, I circle her clit slowly, with light pressure. I know what gets her off fast. And I’m not letting it happen that easily.
“Fuck. You’re torturing me.”
I slip two fingers into her. “Better?”
“Oh. Oh no,” she says and I freeze. Her body’s gone rigid and it has nothing to do with me. “Crap.”
The jump back into serious Adelaide does me in. I remove myself and instantly feel stupid for sitting on the ground, underneath a table.
“What is it?” I ask. I’m not proud of the hesitation in my voice.
“Can you get out from under there, please?”
I feel like such an ass as I crawl out from under the table. I straighten up slowly and stand behind her chair, placing my hand on the back. She adjusts herself, pulling my shirt back in place, before looking up at me.
“It’s not good,” she says. I massage her shoulders in some desperate attempt to make everything okay. It doesn’t help. I can barely breathe. “Do you remember how the town council works in Beaver Creek?”
The intricacies of Beaver Creek lore are lost on me. Somewhere in the recesses of my brain, I remember my dad complaining about the town council overstepping and violating residents’ boundaries. I’m not sure if this was another of his needless rants or…
“They do all the normal town council stuff, but they also take themselves way too seriously. They hold meetings every month where people can come and talk about what the town needs. It’s, like, someGilmore Girlslevel bullshit, if you’ve ever watched that.” I shake my head. Her eyes widen before she launches into what the council’s doing. “We’ll watch it together, don’t worry.One day you’ll understand this metaphor, but basically, I’m Rory and you’re Jess. And, man, that town had a problem with Jess.”
“Okay, so what I’m getting is that…the town is officially against me.”
“They’re idiots and I hate them.” She pauses and swallows. I massage her shoulders. “There’s lots of very nice people in town. Ones who know who you are. But, yes, there are council members actively working against you.”
“Good to know.”
“I just got an email about the next council meeting, which is four days from now. One of the topics on the agenda is, ‘A Town Discussion on Violent Crime.’ The brief breakdown suggests that someone with a former connection to our community and a criminal history is thinking of moving to Beaver Creek, and the council wants the town's opinion on whetherheshould be allowed.”
I deflate. I pull the chair next to Addie’s and sit, because there’s nothing I can do now. I drop my head in my hands. This is where we end, isn’t it? If she chooses me, she loses everything back home and grows to resent me. If she chooses the town, I lose the sunshine in my life.
Addie reaches out, untangles my hands from my hair. “Hey,” she says and waits until I meet her eyes. I vigorously blink away the tears blurring my vision. “Hey, we’re fighting this.”
“Addie, it’s useless. They’re never going to change their minds and they’re going to make it hard for you if you try to integrate me in town. It’s better if we just end it here.”
Her fingers flex around mine, and then, “No. Screw that. I’ve had enough of people dictating my life. We’re not ending anything.”
