31 Ryan
“It sounds crazy that a stripper saved my life, but it’s true.”
We’re lying in bed, the room dark and quiet. Her head is tucked under my chin, her leg thrown over mine and for the last twenty or so minutes, she’s been laying out everything that happened after she left us.
Until now, she hasn’t shared much of anything with me about her life after she left. But something about today, about closing that chapter for good, seems to have made her feel comfortable sharing it all.
She’s been telling me about the people she met. About the ways she learned to survive on her own.
All it does is confirm what I already know- the girl we lost isn’t who’s in my arms anymore. This version of her is stronger. Harder.
“If Leanne hadn’t stopped by the shelter to drop off food and found me there,” she says quietly, “needing to leave but with nowhere to go, no way to make money… I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
There’s a thousand things I want to say, but I don’t. I don’t want to interrupt this. Don’t want my reactions to make her second-guess telling me any of it. So I keep my mouth shut and just let my hand move slowly up and down her back.
“I felt safe with Leanne. She was older, motherly. She was the house mom at the club, took care of the girls. I’d never even seen another naked woman when I walked into the club with her the first time,” she continues with a little laugh.
“I tried to play it cool, but I’m sure I looked like a total idiot, totally blown away.
” She pauses. “Ben, the manager, didn’t ask my age.
Just told me I was too scrawny to dance and put me on waitressing.
I realize now he knew I was just a kid.”
My jaw tightens, but I stay quiet.
“The first few nights I stayed at the shelter. But then Leanne helped me get the motel room nearby. Paid the first few weeks. For a long time someone always walked me to work. Walked me home.” She exhales. “I know how it sounds. But it wasn’t… awful.”
I can’t hold it in anymore. “Were you safe?”
She shrugs against me. “Safer than with Gary. I saw scary stuff, but no one ever hurt me. It wasn’t a happy life. But it was okay.”
Something sharp lodges in my chest.
“Baby,” I say quietly, my hand sliding up to cradle the back of her neck, “I’m so fucking sorry. You should’ve never had to live like that. And I swear to you- I’m going to give you something better.”
She hums, a soft sound that vibrates against me. Then she shifts, moving so she’s stretched out on top of me, her weight settling atop my body. Her face is inches from mine now, her hands splayed across my bare chest. I cover them with my own, anchoring us both.
Then she kisses me, her mouth soft but certain against mine, and holding back suddenly feels impossible.
Her hips shift, and her breath catches when my hands slide to her waist, my thumbs brushing the bare skin beneath her shirt. I break the kiss just long enough to rest my forehead against hers.
“We don't have to do anything,” I murmur.
“Can I just... is this okay?” she asks, rocking against me experimentally.
My breath leaves me in a rush.
The tiny sound she makes when she realizes the effect she's having on me nearly undoes me completely. She shifts closer, settling down on top of me.
“Frankie,” I groan, catching her mouth again. “Yeah. Of course it's okay.”
My hands slide to her hips, holding her gently.
“You can do whatever you want, baby. I just want you to feel good.”
My dick feels like it’s going to explode and having her on top of me like this is absolute fucking torture, but I will die before I stop this.
My fingers slip under the hem of the little sleep shorts she’s wearing and I can feel the heat from her pussy. I just trail them along the gusset of her panties. They are soaking and the wet heat makes me groan into her mouth.
“Oh god, Ryan, that feels-” her breath hitches as she obviously hits the perfect spot.
She drops her head down into the crook of my neck and I start kissing, licking and nipping at her shoulder.
Her movements are jerky, unpolished. It’s obvious she isn’t quite sure how to get what she’s looking for, so I pull her closer, wrapping my arms around her and guiding her against me, shifting my hips just enough to give her something solid to move with.
“Does that feel good?”
She makes this low, breathless sound, and it goes straight through me.
I want her to take whatever she needs from me. I don’t think I know how to give her anything less.
Her hands tighten, forming little fists against my chest and her rhythm falters for just a second before it picks up again, sharper now, more urgent.
“Don’t stop, baby. I want you to come in my arms,” I murmur, my voice rough, barely steady.
And then she breaks. Her body goes rigid in my arms, her head tipping back as a soft, wrecked sound leaves her. She trembles through it, and I hold on- letting her ride it out while I stay right there, right where she needs me.
When she stills, she’s still pressed against me, breathing hard, eyes a little dazed as she looks at me like I’m the only thing in the world.
Something in my chest cracks wide open.
“I love you,” I tell her, the words low and certain. She already knows it- I know she does- but I need to say it anyway. “I’m in love with you.”
She doesn’t hesitate.
“I’m in love with you, too.”