26. So Close
SO CLOSE
ANNELISA
After Taylor left, some of the tension amongst the group seems to have dissipated, and once the kids go to bed, I take a walk with Morgan, Bri, Tara and Kylie, who seems to be thawing a little towards me.
She actually smiled at me when I handed her the salt at dinner, so I feel like we’re making progress.
I stay mostly quiet while they chat amongst themselves about parenthood and mutual friends I haven’t met.
It seems like they have all become close with some of Seth’s teammates back in Calgary, and have been discussing the antics of Seth’s best friend that have them all in stitches.
I try not to let it bother me, but it’s just another painful reminder of what I’ve missed out on when I ran away.
Eventually though, they all start to comment on how tired they are and we turn back towards camp. Not having the joy of small children waking me each night, I’m not quite ready for bed yet, so once our camp site is back in view, I throw my towel down on the ground.
“I’m gonna hang back here for a while,” I say, taking a seat .
“Are you sure? I can stay with you, if you want?” Tara says.
I try to make out her face in the dark, but I am sure she’s only offering out of politeness.
“No, you go to bed. I know Brandie is going to be getting you up as soon as the sun comes up.”
After hesitating a moment, the four of them wish me goodnight and start walking back towards camp.
I lay back and stare up the stars, trying to find the Southern Cross while I dig my toes into the sand.
Today has definitely been more socialising than I’m used to these days, and it’s nice to have a bit of peace.
I lose track of how long I’ve been lying here, and when something cold and wet brushes my arm, I jump, my heart racing a mile a minute until I see it’s just Alfie.
“Hey you. Where’s your Daddy?” I sit up to scratch behind the dog’s ears, earning a lick in response.
Will jogs up a moment later. “Sorry. Once again, Alfie fails to acknowledge personal space.”
“It’s okay. He just wanted some ear scratches, didn’t you buddy?” I say, unconsciously switching to baby talk while I stroke Alfie’s head.
Will hovers nearby, only sitting down once I wave my hand, motioning for him to sit on the towel beside me. I notice that he’s sitting just out of reach, and I wonder whose benefit that is for.
“What are you doing out here by yourself?” he asks.
“Just enjoying looking at the stars.” I turn to look back up at the sky, feeling Will’s eyes on me in the dark.
Alfie curls up beside me and places his head on my thigh, making himself right at home, and I laugh. “He clearly knows who the pushover in the group is.”
“I’m sorry again about the stuff with Taylor,” Will says after a few moments of silence.
I shrug. “It’s fine, honestly. I didn’t want to get into the middle of anything between the two of you, so I just let her know she needed to talk to you about it. ”
He hesitates before replying. “There hasn’t been anything between us for months. I think she left when she finally realised that nothing more is going to happen.”
I reach over and place my hand on his knee. “You keep telling me that. You know you don’t have to explain yourself to me, right?”
In the light cast from the distant campfire, I can see him looking down at my hand. Slowly, he moves his own hand, covering mine.
“I guess it’s just habit…”
He brings his gaze to mine, and it takes all my self-control not to lean closer. To brush my lips against his.
This is obviously just my body falling back into old habits, that’s all.
Clearing my throat, I slide my hand away and lie back down, returning my gaze to the sky while Alfie moves to lie in the sand above my head. “I’ve been trying to find the Southern Cross, but you were always better at finding constellations than I was.”
A few moments later, he lies back beside me, shifting closer until his arm brushes against mine. “It’s right there,” he says, pointing directly above our heads.
I follow the direction of where he’s pointing, and finally make out the constellation of five stars. But my attention is focused on the feeling of his arm against mine when he lowers it back down. I wait for him to move away, but he leaves his arm where it is.
I clear my throat again, my mouth feeling unbelievably dry all of a sudden. “Can you see any others?” I ask, feeling the need to keep him talking.
He points out each of the zodiac signs as he finds them, showing me how to find them myself.
Each time he brings his arm down, my skin tingles where he touches me.
I try to focus on his words, rather than the hormones raging through me, but I’m fast realising that we are moving into dangerous territory.
I keep my arm at my side, and when he brings his arm down a final time, his hand slides into mine.
I know I should pull away, to put some distance between us, but I can’t seem to break the contact.
We lie in silence while he drags his finger over my palm, and I can hear my heartbeat echo in my ears while I swallow hard.
Eventually, he rolls to his side to look at me, and I turn to meet his gaze.
Lifting his other hand, he brings it to my cheek, stroking it with his thumb while his eyes scan my face.
My breath hitches in my throat when he leans down and lightly brushes his lips against mine.
His fingers curl into my hair to grip the back of my neck, deepening the kiss when I slide my hand up his back, savouring the feel of his muscles rippling beneath my fingers.
A small moan escapes my lips when he runs his tongue along my lower lip, seeking access, and I open my mouth to him.
With each passing second, the years fall away and I’m twenty-five again.
He has always known how to make my body sing for him, and a wave of emotion threatens to overcome me, but I push it aside, afraid he’ll stop touching me if I break the spell.
And I need his hands on my body right now.
Every kiss, every touch, is a reminder of everything I left behind.
And everything I’ve been wishing for since he walked back into my life.
Sliding his hand down, he swipes his thumb over my nipple, which hardens beneath my shirt, and I gasp, closing my eyes. He moves his lips down to my neck, pressing them to the sensitive spot just beneath my ear that he knows will send a shiver down my spine.
With well practiced skill, he slowly unbuttons my shirt with one hand, before moving down my body to close his lips over my left nipple. He sucks on it through the lace of my bra as I arch my back.
Neither of us says a word while I curl my fingers into his hair, urging him to keep going. His hand moves further south, sliding his fingers along the top of my tights in a silent request to go further, his mouth remaining at my breast.
“Yes,” I whisper, and he circles my nipple with his tongue while I moan.
His hand slides under the elastic waistband, moving so slow it feels like an eternity before his finger makes contact with my throbbing clit.
“Fuck, you’re so wet,” he murmurs against my skin, and my breath hitches when he shifts to begin moving his finger inside me, his thumb replacing it to continue working my clit.
“Kiss me,” I whisper.
He brings his lips to mine once again while I cup him over the top of his board shorts, running my hand back and forth over his erection.
Finally managing to undo the velcro without breaking contact with his lips, I take him in my hand, slowly pumping up and down, pulling a groan from his throat.
It dawns on me that we don’t have any protection, and given our track record…
“We can’t-” I start to say, and he nips my lower lip gently.
“I know, just - God, Annie. Just keep doing that.”
We continue working each other up, and my hips begin moving of their own accord when I feel the beginnings of an orgasm build.
“I’m so close,” I moan, and he applies just the right amount of pressure to my clit, working to bring me over the edge.
My hand moves faster when I feel him grow harder under my touch.
“Fuck,” he mumbles, and I know he’s close, too.
Within moments, our moans grow louder, and the orgasm rips through me at the same time I feel him spill into my hand and onto his abdomen.