Page 10 of Present Tense

“Did he take your cats?” he jokes and I grin.

“Nah, just my favorite mug, his belongings, and a bit of my self-esteem when I stopped handling everything in life for him.” He puts his arms around me and I soak up a quick Liam hug. I don’t talk about Christopher with anyone, really. It tends to make me look internally. Nobody really enjoys introspection.

“Glad he left so I could fill you up later.” A flash of heat stuns me silent. He winks and moves along to refill the chip bowl as if I’m just another guest. He turns for a moment, and his smile liquifies my insides.

I turn to Bev where she’s holding court. I prop myself up on the wall for a second and listen to her discuss incredibly human and complex things in relation to gardening.

“Jillien, have some dill dip. It’s the family recipe. Remember you and Lisa used to make it all the time?” I dip a chip, and it’s old-school familiar. Blech.

LIAM: Is Ethan close to his dad?

How he flips from sex god to confidant is head-scratching.

JILLIEN:. It breaks my heart when he misses his dad and it breaks my heart when he doesn’t.

LIAM: Do you miss him?

JILLIEN: Ethan? Very much.

LIAM: The ex?

JILLIEN: If it was easy, he was the best but life isn’t always easy. Nah, I don’t miss him. I replaced his companionship with friendships and work.

LIAM: How about old friends at intimate gatherings in their homes?

JILLIEN: Guilty. You discovered my kink. I troll holiday parties for men who crushed on me twenty-five years ago. It’s how I get off.

LIAM: Well, it just so happens…

I tuck my phone into my pocket and leave a circle of his neighbors and colleagues, walk through the kitchen to the back door, and watch the snow falling in the backyard. It’s peaceful, as if someone ordered it to be perfect. I sigh at the beauty of it all. Chicago winters are different. Bitter and cold, but something about this house and the snowfall rate is like a hot chocolate to my soul. I love my Chicago, it’s home. But this city and this house are my origin story.

This place was my sanctuary away from them, with two people who never pitied me. Everyone knew about my life, despite my family’s best efforts to keep it under wraps. Liam was such a piece of my past I can’t help but wonder about our future.

Then, like I summoned him with my mind, Liam’s lips are on my neck and nostalgia evaporates. His strong right palm is invading the top of my left breast without asking. I gasp. It’s so dirty and wrong. And he knew I wouldn’t object, which makes me want him more. Not having to explain myself is intoxicating.

His other hand is on my stomach, pinning me to him. My back to his front. I moan lightly and arch into him. I want this party over. No more talk about divorces, history, my kid, or his sister right now. There’s no future or past, only the present, and his hands freely exploring me. I grind my ass into his apparent erection as I stretch, giving him better access to my nipple. He’s toying with me. I kinda love it.

7

LIAM

Get out of my house, people! I need to fuck this incredibly stimulating woman who wants me. Not a whole lot of women who look like her gravitate to men like me. I’m one of those “grow on you” guys. I’m not bad-looking. I simply haven’t had the confidence outside of the bedroom a lot of the time. I’ve definitely had my share of hot ass, but I worked for it. But this might be the hottest.

I make my way to her tit. It’s already hard when I get there. It feels full and lush. I shudder, as does she when my fingers make full contact. I tease inside her bra, and her little breathy sounds are driving me crazy. I don’t hesitate to touch her as if we’ve done this before. As if her body already belongs to me.

Then I knead and pull her tit, and she rests her head on my shoulder. Her neck is perfectly exposed to my mouth. I clamp my teeth down and lave where I nipped her. She sucks in a sharp gasp. Then I kiss below her ear. Her left arm curls up behind my head, and she scrapes her nails down through my hair. I need to be inside this woman, but first, I need to tease her more.

“Is that something you like?” I pinch her nipple, and a tiny squeak comes from her, followed by a soft mewl. “Answer me.”

“Yes. Hurts for a moment, and then you soothe it. Do it again.” And I do it with more intensity. Someone likes a touch of pain with her pleasure. I’m just the dirty muthafucker to help her out with that. I don’t let go immediately, and her breath catches. She holds it while I clamp her nipple between my fingernails. She continues holding until I release it. I lick my fingers, place them back inside her black lace cup, and circle her nipple again. “Fletch. Oh, fuck that’s good. Oh God. Fletch.”

She turns quickly toward me, and my hand slips out of her bra. Her lips meet mine, hard. And now my dick is a serious factor in all of this. She pushes her hand into my waistband and the tip weeps for her. Then she asks the dirtiest, most glorious question she can.

“How fast can you come?”

She thrusts her hand into my pants and finds my hard and hot cock as she unzips me. It’s ready for her touch. To be honest, it’s been prepared for her touch for, like, twenty-three fucking years. I growl. And now she grips firmly as if my body already belongs to her. She pulls me farther onto the porch by my dick so we’re slightly out of sight, and she starts to go down on her knees. Christ, I love blow jobs, but I can’t fucking be quiet. Shit.

I’m thinking with the wrong head.