Chapter 7 Stop Overthinking
SEVEN
Stop Overthinking
Eli
Lauren’s straddling my lap, grinding her pussy against my dick, and I’m seconds away from busting a load in my sweatpants.
I’ve thought about this moment a thousand times—on nights when I should’ve been sleeping or in quiet stretches where her laugh lingered longer than it should’ve—but nothing compares to having her actually here.
The cot groans under our weight. Then—crack!
Lauren freezes. The left side of the cot collapses, dumping us sideways.
For a heartbeat, we stare at each other in stunned silence.
Then her laughter bursts out, filling every corner of the room. I can’t help but laugh too.
“I really hope that’s not a sign we shouldn’t be doing this,” she gasps between giggles.
“No. It only confirms this cot is garbage, and I should’ve replaced it years ago.” I brush a strand of hair from her cheek. “But I’ve got a better idea.” Before she can respond, I scoop her up and sling her over my shoulder like a lumberjack carrying his prize tree.
She yelps, laughing harder. “Eli! What are you doing?”
“Remember when I said I’d carry you to my bed if I had to?” I round the corner toward my room, her giggles vibrating against my shoulder. “Well, I’m making good on that promise.”
“This time I’d go willingly! You don’t have to carry me.”
“Too late.” I drop her onto my bed and climb on after her, bracing myself above her.
For a moment, the rest of the world fades away, leaving only her flushed cheeks, her eyes sparkling like she’s both terrified and thrilled, and the sound of our laughter lingering in the air.
She peels my sweatpants off, and I kick them to the side.
My pulse stutters. She clasps the hem of her shirt and tugs it over her head as I hook my thumbs into the elastic waistband of her flannel pajama pants.
She lifts her hips so I can pull them off.
I hover over her, brushing the tip of my nose along her cheek, breathing her in.
“What does this mean for us?” Lauren’s voice trembles. “Our friendship, I mean. What if—”
I press my finger to her lips, silencing her rambling. The air between us is charged enough to burn the entire cabin to the ground. “Stop overthinking, Lo. Just… feel. My hands. My mouth. This. Can you do that?”
Her breath catches, and after a beat, she gives me the smallest nod.
I claim her lips—soft at first, tasting, teasing, like I need to memorize her one slow kiss at a time. Then the dam breaks, and I’m kissing her deeper, like years of friendship and denial and almost-moments are finally bursting free. She arches against me, and my self-control slips another notch.
Sitting on my haunches, I tear open the foil packet and slide the condom down my shaft.
My gaze roams over Lauren’s naked body. She’s beautiful.
Not just in the way her hair fans across my pillow, or the way her skin glows in the dim light, but in the way she’s here—with me, trusting me.
I bend down and press my lips to her collarbone and up to her neck.
“Eli,” she whispers, tilting her head to give me access. Her nails dig into my shoulders, pulling me closer. “Don’t tease.”
“What do you want?” I murmur against her skin, my voice rough.
“You,” she breathes. “All of you.”
Those four words ignite something primal in me. I kiss her again, fierce and unrestrained, pouring every unsaid word into the press of our mouths. She gasps into me, her hands tangling in my hair.
I need her more than she’ll ever know. With my hand at the base of my cock, I find her entrance and push inside. Her heat surrounds me, but it’s more than that. It’s home. It’s everything I didn’t know I’d been waiting for.
She gasps. “Oh, Eli.”
I rest my forehead against hers for a beat, just enough to savor the moment, before I kiss her again—deeper, slower, until her soft moans vibrate straight through my chest.
Her hips lift to meet mine, desperate and certain, and when I pull out and push back in, everything else—our past, our friendship, the outside world—falls away. There’s only us. Only this.
Her nails bite into my biceps as her back arches off the mattress, offering me everything. “Eli, I need you.”
“I’m right here, baby.” I roll my hips into hers, slowly at first, savoring the way she clenches around me.
She bucks up, eyes dark with desperate need. “Fuck me, Eli.”
The plea punches the air out of my lungs. I capture her mouth, swallowing her moan as I grind deeper. “What do you want?” I murmur against her lips.
Her breath shudders. “Please. Please, Eli. Fuck me.”
That’s all I need. I pull back until I’m barely inside her, then drive back in hard enough to rattle the headboard.
“Oh, god—yes.” Her cry fills the room, ragged and beautiful, and it’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.
I find a rhythm, each thrust harder. Deeper.
Her body rises to meet mine like she’s just as frantic as I am.
Her breath tumbles into broken gasps, every inhale and exhale syncing with the push and pull of my dick inside her.
I slide my hand along the smooth line of her thigh until I reach the back of her knee and press it toward her chest, opening her wider for me.
The shift lets me sink deeper, and the way her body clenches around me—tight, hot, consuming—drives me out of my mind.
“Yes—yes, right there.” Her voice trembles, rising with every movement, every shift of my hips. “Don’t stop. Don’t you dare stop.” Her hands clutch at me—shoulders, back, arms—like she can’t decide which part of me to hang on to, like she needs all of me at once.
She screams out my name, her pussy clenches around me, and that’s my undoing.
Pleasure rips through me as she milks me for every last drop.
I come to a halt still inside her and brace myself on my forearms so I don’t crush her.
Both of us are breathing like we just ran a marathon in the middle of a blizzard.
Our chests rise and fall together until the rhythm evens out.
Reluctantly, I ease out, tie off the condom, and toss it aside to deal with later.
Turning back, I pull her against me, my arm draping over her waist. She’s soft, warm, and still trembling beneath my touch.
God, I’ve never had sex like that before.
Raw. Intense. Consuming. With anyone else, it’s always been…
fine. Good, even. But with Lauren, it’s like every nerve ending in my body is tuned to hers.
And now my brain won’t shut up. Friends don’t do this.
Friends don’t make each other come apart like this.
So what the hell happens now? Panic wins.
I release her, roll away, and stand, dragging my sweatpants back on.
Her sleepy voice cuts through the silence. “Where are you going?”
I freeze, guilt slamming into me. She’s propped up on her elbows, blonde hair tumbling over her bare shoulders like something out of a dream.
“Back to… ” I scratch the back of my neck. “Well, the couch. Since the cot is broken.”
Her lips quirk. “The bed is big enough for both of us.”
“Are you sure? I mean… our friendship. Because of the—”
“Sex,” she says bluntly, one brow arched.
“Yeah.”
Her eyes soften, and she shrugs, like it’s the simplest thing in the world. “You told me to shut it off, so I did. You should do the same. In fact…” A smile curves her lips, wicked and sweet. “I’d like to do it again in the morning.”
Heat shoots straight through me. I grin before I can stop myself. “I did say that. Let me just get rid of this.” When I return, I bring a warm washcloth with me to clean her up. She lifts the corner of the blanket, inviting me in. I press a knee into the mattress.
“No clothes allowed in bed,” she teases.
I laugh low. “I’m okay with that rule.” She watches as I strip out of my sweats and slide under the covers. The sheets are still hot from where our bodies tangled minutes ago.
She curls into me instantly, her head tucked under my chin. I brush a strand of hair behind her ear, fingers lingering against her temple. “Night, Lauren.”
Her voice is drowsy, content. “Good night, Eli.”
Outside, the storm howls against the cabin walls, but inside, she’s wrapped around me like I’m the only man in the world. I know there’s no going back. Not from this. Not from her.
* * *
The next morning, leaving her damn near breaks me.
Waking up to Lauren’s arms wrapped around me is the best thing in the world.
Even better than chocolate pudding. I’ve imagined what it would be like to kiss Lauren, and the real thing is infinitely better.
Her lips are soft and sensual. But being with her afterward really did me in.
Holding her in my arms. Keeping her safe.
Keeping her warm. Now I just have to figure out what’s happening between us.
Because the connection’s always been there.
This just took it to all new heights. I want her in my bed every night, to wake up with her every morning.
As she lays curled in the blankets, I press my lips to her cheek. “I have to get ready for work, but I’ll see you tonight. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
She moans and tilts her head, pressing her lips to mine. “Okay.”
At the festival grounds, I set a box of pamphlets on my booth table, pretending I’m not still thinking about her soft breaths against my chest. I’m kicking myself for not mentioning the job offer I received.
It slipped my mind in between frozen pipes, Christmas decorations, and Lauren moving in. But tonight—I’ll tell her tonight.
A few stands down, Mrs. Hayes drops a box on the table with a thud. “Good morning. Mrs. Hayes, how are you?”
“Terrible,” she huffs.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Her frown deepens, though her tone softens. “Oh, Eli, you don’t deserve my wrath. My morning was going fine until Lauren told me she had to move my booth. Again. Now I’m shoved in a corner with no foot traffic. I should bring this up to Brie. She wouldn't stand for it.”
Shit. I’m assuming Lauren already discussed this with Brie, but if not, I don’t want her getting in trouble either. “How about this: since neither of us is set up yet, we’ll swap. It’s not your old spot, but it’s better than in the corner. I bet you’ll get more traffic here.”
Her eyes widen. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. I’m just handing out pamphlets for the sleigh ride. If people want me, they’ll find me.”
Her expression softens into a rare smile. “Oh, Eli, you’re the best. Thank you.”
I smile back, lifting a box filled with Christmas stockings. “Happy to help. Let’s move your stuff.”
If this saves Lauren from one more fire, it’s worth it.