But it’s been over a month since I had sex.
And I’ve avoided redheads like the plague since Briar and I broke up, so being with one now is a huge aphrodisiac for me.
Having her in my arms is nice too.
I’ve had more than my fair share of one-night stands, but that’s not what this is. I’m not looking for anything serious, but there’s something relaxing about her. She’s not looking for anything either, so it’s perfect.
Would she be into a friends-with-benefits arrangement? I wouldn’t word it quite that way, but we could have fun together. And I’m happy to pay for babysitters so we can go out and have adult adventures. It sounds like she doesn’t have nearly enough fun in her life and it might be good for both of us to enjoy something casual.
Or am I being selfish?
I guess I’d need to ask her.
But not now. Right now, I just want to enjoy this.
“Do you need to, uh, clean up?” she asks after a while.
“I do,” I admit. “Good thing I have a clean pair of boxers in my bag. I didn’t need them last night since I’d showered right before I left the house, but now I guess I do.”
“We can wash the ones you’re wearing now by hand,” she says.
“Hopefully, the electricity will come back on before we have to do that.”
“Okay.” She starts to move, but I tighten my hold.
“Let’s just sit here a little longer,” I suggest.
She settles right back into my arms and it’s…nice. Better than nice but I can’t come up with the perfect word to describe how I’m feeling.
Content seems too tame.
Sated seems more related to sex, and while that’s part of it, that’s not what I’m feeling.
In fact, if I didn’t have to clean up, I could happily doze off just like this.
There’s something fun and strangely intimate about not having intercourse. Hell, I barely touched her. The skin of her stomach. Groping her through her clothes. It was all very PG. But it felt like a lot more.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I shift, gently patting her ass. “Okay, now I need to clean up.”
She moves to the side and sinks into the cushions of the couch. “You go first. Take one of the candles. There’s no light at all in the bathroom.”
“Thanks.” I get up, grab my bag and go into the bathroom.
I do my best to clean up using the ice-cold water, change into clean boxers, and ball up the dirty ones, stuffing them into an outside pocket of my duffel. I really don’t want her to have to wash them by hand. I suppose I could do it myself but that’s one thing I’ve never done—washed an item of clothing by hand.
We would be so much more comfortable at my place.
But we also wouldn’t have this…intimacy. The chance to get to know each other the way we have been. We’re in this private, quiet little bubble that’s going to burst the moment the weather lets up. And then we’ll both be thrown back into our lives and responsibilities.
She’s waiting when I come out of the bathroom, avoiding my gaze, and I reach for her.
“Hey.”
She lifts her gaze to mine and I lightly press my lips to hers.
“You okay?”