Chapter 27 Alex #2
She was fast. Shockingly fast. All long legs and determination and pure joy.
She hit the far wall first, slapping it victoriously as I caught up. “I win!”
“You cheated,” I said, breathless, laughing.
“You hesitated,” she shot back.
I slid in behind her, arms going instinctively around her waist as the momentum brought us chest-to-back. She squealed with surprise, her laughter echoing through the rink as we spun a slow, messy half circle.
Her body fit against mine like it belonged there.
She turned in my arms, her braids brushing my shoulders, cheeks flushed, eyes glowing with pure happiness.
God.
I didn’t even have a choice. The emotion in her face was joy, pride, and openness, and pulled me forward until our lips met.
The kiss wasn’t careful or tentative this time.
She kissed me back immediately, hands gripping my shirt, skating us both backward until her shoulders met the padded wall. The sound was a soft thump, a gasp. And then her fingers slid into my hair, pulling me closer.
Her warmth, her softness, the quiet little sound she made when our mouths found the same rhythm, it all shot straight through me.
I deepened the kiss, bracing one hand beside her head, the other at her waist, steadying us as the wheels wanted to roll, but she wanted to stay right here.
Her joy, her strength, her excitement, it all poured into the kiss, and it was easily one of the best things I’d ever felt.
I pulled back just enough to breathe, foreheads touching, both of us smiling like idiots.
“Eleanor . . . ” I whispered, completely undone.
She laughed a little, breathless laugh. “I guess I didn’t need a rematch to beat you again.”
I shook my head, smiling so hard it almost hurt. “Trust me . . . you’re winning all day.”
“What do you say we get these skates off?” I asked.
She nodded as we skated hand in hand to the bench. There was something going on with her. I wasn’t sure what.
She sat down with a sigh as she started unlacing her skates. Her furrowed brow told me something had definitely shifted.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
She didn’t answer right away.
She gave her head a little shake. “It’s fine . . . I just feel so free when I’m here. It makes me dread going home. God, I sound like a petulant child. And quite frankly, I feel like one sometimes.”
I rubbed her back, trying to comfort her in any way I could. “Is it that bad?”
She stared down at her skates in her lap, twisting one of the laces between her fingers. When she finally spoke, her voice was small . . . too small for someone as bright and steady as she was.
“It’s . . . bad,” she whispered.
My chest tightened.
She didn’t look at me, so I stayed quiet, waiting, not pushing.
“She controls everything,” she said, her breath hitching on the last word. “But . . . . I don’t want to talk about my mother. I . . . uhhh. I.”
“What is it? You can talk to me,” I soothed.
“I wanted to talk about the other night. I feel like I owe you an explanation.”
I shook my head. “You don’t owe me anything,” I said emphatically.
“Please, just let me get this out.”
I nodded and sat up straight, giving her the space she needed. “The other night . . . was a lot for me. It was perfect. The picnic was perfect, and then when we got back to my house. I don’t know. I kind of freaked out.”
The idea that I had pressured her into something made my skin crawl. This was getting a little too close to old wounds I thought had healed.
“I’m so sorry. I took you on the date because I thought it would make you happy. Not because I wanted or expected anything in return. I would never–”
“Alex,” she said, quickly taking my hand, pausing my spiral, but not stopping it entirely. This wasn’t about me. I just needed to listen.
“No, it’s nothing like that. I liked it. I liked it a lot," she said.
I tried to ignore the flush creeping up her cheeks.
“But this is all very new to me. I don’t know how to do this anymore. I want to. I really want to,” she said, giving my hand a squeeze.
I relaxed slightly and rubbed my thumb over her knuckles.
“I just don’t know how to do this anymore. I’d been with Ethan since high school, so dating is not something I remember how to do. Plus, now I have Ava, and everything just seems so much more complicated now.”
I turned more fully to her and cupped her cheek. “It is more complicated now. Our lives are more complicated now. You have Ava. I have Leo. We have lots of responsibilities and people counting on us, but here’s the thing. We get to decide what this is. Me and you. We get to decide the speed.”
She nodded at me as a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“It just . . . ” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I just need you to promise me something, it is very important to me. Can you do that?”
When I opened my eyes, Eleanor was looking at me with a serious expression. “What is it?”
“It is really important to me that you not feel pressure to do anything you don’t want to do. Purity culture really messed with my head and I just . . . I need to know that you are only doing things because you enjoy them. Not because you think you should.”
“Alex. Yes. One hundred percent, I can promise you that. I wanted to. I want to. It's just new.”
“Okay, good,” I said, finally shaking off the last of the shame. “I’m in no hurry. I just like spending time with you.”
“The other stuff is pretty great too,” she said, bumping her shoulder into mine.
“Beyond great.”
The moment expanded between us as we sat in the quiet rink, whatever was happening to us full of promise.
She let out a long sigh. “Anyway, I should go soon. I need to pick up Ava from school.” She tried for a smile, something close to soft. “Maybe I’ll see you at the theater tonight?”
“You will,” I said immediately. “I’ll be there.”
She nodded, wiping her cheek again. “Okay.”
We both finished unlacing our skates in silence.
We walked to the skate room together, slipping the rentals onto the shelves.
“Wait,” she said.
When I turned, I almost bumped into her. We were close. We were so close that the scent of her floral shampoo lingered in the air between us. She stepped into me, and I slid my hands around her waist. She didn’t hesitate; her hands came to my shoulders, her breath catching.
I kissed her.
Soft at first, a question.
She answered immediately, leaning into me, fingers curling in my shirt, her whole body melting as the kiss deepened just enough to say I’m here. You’re not alone.
When she finally pulled back, her eyes were wide, pupils blown, lips parted.
“Wow,” she whispered.
I smiled, but I couldn't help it. “Yeah?”
She nodded, dazed. “Yeah.”
I brushed one more quick kiss against her mouth before I could talk myself out of it.
“Ya know,” she said as he gripped the front of my t-shirt, pulling her into me. “I know my emotions are all over the place, but I don’t think I ever told you how much fun I had with you on our date.”
“Yeah? I had an incredible time, too.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, and her brow furrowed in thought. Without thinking too hard, I pressed a kiss to her forehead, trying to wash away those wrinkles. She looked up at me with a coy smile, and I started to get hard at just the nearness of her.
“Do you want . . . .” Her hands began absent-mindedly playing with the small curls at the base of my neck, and it was a feeling I could get lost in.
“Do I want . . . ” I gently encouraged again.
“Do you want more?”
“I want everything. But there is no rush.”
She looked up at me with a heated gaze. “School is not out for another forty five minutes . . . lots of things can happen in forty five minutes.”
And just like that, I was rock hard and putty in her hands.
A low, almost growl came out of my throat. “You’re right . . . a lot can happen in that time.”
“Do you wanna . . . ?”
“Oh, I wanna.”
My mouth captured hers as I walked her back to the desk in the skate rental room.
“Right here?” she squeaked.
“Is that a problem?” I asked as I kissed her lips.
After a sharp intake of breath, she laced her fingers through my hair. “Nope. Not a problem at all.”
“Good,” I said as I helped her scoot up on the desk. “You’re in control here, El, I just need you to know that. I’m ready for whatever you're willing to give me.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it if —”
“Just kiss me already.”
And that was it, it broke the damn. I needed her like I needed breath itself.
I kissed her and let my hands learn every dip and curve of her body. That first night had been all exploration, but this time I wanted to learn what she liked. I wanted to learn what made her moan. I wanted to give her a release neither of us could deny.
I held the weight of her breast in my hand, but sadly, these were trapped away under a tight sports bra.
I moved my hands lower, sliding them down over the mound of her belly to the waistband of her shorts.
I waited for her to stop me, but her hands were busy exploring as well.
They traced up and down my back. Then they slipped under my shirt.
The feel of her hands on my bare back had me aching, but I would not come in my pants again, not this time. I had another idea . . . if she was up for it.
I pulled back and looked at her as I slipped my hands in the waistband of her shorts. I watched for any sign this was a step too far, but then she nodded and opened her legs wider.
Fuck. Yes. This was happening.
I slipped my hand down farther beneath the band of her underwear as I kissed her neck. A little moan escaped her mouth as I got to her mound of soft curls there.
“Alex,” she moaned, her hand fisting in my hair.
I continued on my way until I got to the place between her legs I had dreamed about.
I slipped a finger. She was slick and perfect.
First, I slid my fingers around her clit as her back bowed.
Yes, this was exactly what I had hoped for.
I dipped a finger into her entrance as she opened her legs further and scooted slightly to the edge of the desk.
I knew then what I wanted to do.
“Take these off,” I said as I tugged at her shorts.
She nodded and panted as she shifted her weight.
I slid her shorts off and kneeled down before her.
“Fuck, Alex,” she said.
I looked up at her, checking in. Her eyes were needy, and her lips were parted. I traced my finger down her seam before pushing in again. Then I kissed her inner thigh and turned my head and pressed a kiss to the other as I worked small circles over her clit.
She was making the most delicious little moans. I could listen to that sound for the rest of my life.
Then I pressed a kiss to her core. She tasted as good as I knew she would. Slowly, I licked her from her entrance all the way up to her clit. I pushed in a finger as I began to lap at her clit.
“Oh my god,” she cried out as her head hit the wall with a thump. “Alex.”
Her breath had turned into needy little pants, and I was going to make her come soon. And then again and again as long as she would let me.
I pumped my fingers in and out with a bit more speed as I sucked her clit into my mouth. Then her thighs squeezed around my head as a loud moan erupted from her. I stayed there, licking and working her until her legs fell open and her body went slack.
I pressed a kiss to her inner thigh before sitting back, looking up at her. She looked like a goddess with her cheeks flushed and her braids a mess.
Yeah, I was dangerously close to loving this woman.
“That was incredible,” she said, looking down with lust-drunk eyes.
“It was. And it was an excellent use of our extra time.”
She just laughed as she rested her head against the wall.
I stood up and helped her back into her shorts. “I think there is just enough time to get cleaned up and get Ava from school.”
“Are you sure?” she said, looking down at the erection tenting my pants.
I pulled her in for a kiss before saying, “Yeah, I’m sure. Next time.”
She somehow managed a demure smile as I straightened her shorts. “Okay, Next time.”
She slipped into the bathroom as I waited for her. This was not what I had planned for the day, but it was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
“Okay,” she said as she came out. “I do have to go pick up Ava now, but I’ll see you soon.”
“Yeah, you will, it’s tech week. You’re about to be sick of me.”
“Not a chance,” she said as he fisted her hands into my shirt and pulled me in for a kiss.
“Be safe picking up Ava,” I murmured.
We walked to the door, locked up the rink, and stepped into the outside world, both of us pretending our worlds hadn’t just shifted again.
But they had.
God, they had.