Chapter 15
Dress - Taylor Swift
D
inner was torture.
A far cry from the way they were normally mostly ignored, they spend a solid forty-five minutes entertaining questions about their day and their food poisoning.
Erik wasn’t great at lying under pressure, so Abby took the lead, spinning a tale involving a long drive to a nearby town to account for their absence that afternoon.
Considering her mouth went dry every time she so much as looked at him, eating was almost out of the question, which at least lent credence to the food poisoning charade. She pushed a mound of broccoli around her plate, garnering sympathetic glances from Nora.
At six-thirty, they were ushered into the lounge, where a piano tinkled gently. Erik immediately steered Abby towards the corner of the room furthest from their parents. They’d been sent to ballroom lessons from primary school, and previous evenings of a similar nature had been spent executing flawless waltzes and foxtrots. Tonight though, Erik pulled her close, one hand stroking the exposed skin on her back. There was no thought of technique or counting steps as they swayed together slowly, Abby’s head resting on his shoulder.
She glanced towards her parents, dancing with their heads pressed close together, and smiled. For all her difficulties with them, she’d always admired their marriage. Theirs had been a whirlwind romance. They had fallen in love in the space of a week, and her father had proposed after six months. Thirty years later, they were still best friends, and more affectionate than any middle-class couple in their fifties had any right to be. Abby had always craved what they had, and as she leaned into the strong chest supporting her, she was struck by the thought that finally, finally she might have it.
Her mind conjured images of more nights together. Dancing in her tiny bedroom. Cooking together in his parents’ kitchen when they went home for the holidays. Playing board games late into the night.
On the surface, everything was much the same as they’d always done.
But the visions were overlaid with a rosy glow that felt new.
Now Erik danced her towards her bed, where they fell into a tangle of limbs and giggles. His hands rested on her hips when he moved behind her to grab an ingredient. She huddled into his side as they moved their pieces across the board.
Erik tapped lightly on her back, returning her to her body. ‘Where’d you go, Sunshine?’ he asked. She could hear the smile in his voice.
Abby refocused her eyes, lifting her gaze from where it had hovered somewhere over his shoulder to rest on his face. Those always stunning grey eyes radiated intensity, and the contrast provided by the soft curve of his mouth made him even more handsome. His smile broadened as she said, ‘I’m just really happy.’
It was the sort of admission she rarely made freely or unprompted. She’d come a long way from the crippling depression of her teens, and while if she was asked outright, she would likely say she was happy with her life, she wasn’t used to this excess of joy threatening to bubble out of her. He had to know it was because of him.
‘Are you doing okay?’ she asked. ‘It’s pretty loud in here.’
It wasn’t just the volume that had her concerned for him. There was a chaotic quality to the ambience, the sort that normally overwhelmed him. Music fought against the rising hum of conversation in the room, punctuated by clinking sounds from the bar and restaurant on either side of them.
Erik nodded. ‘It’s easier when I have something else to focus on,’ he said slowly. ‘Something to ground me. You’ve, uh,’ he looked away, colour staining his cheeks as his fingers tightened on her skin, ‘you’ve always stopped the noise.’
It was silly, really, after everything they’d done in the last twenty-four hours, that the admission made him blush. It was also incredibly endearing.
‘You can’t just say things like that then not kiss me.’
His eyes darted back to hers. ‘Fuck, I really want to,’ he said softly.
Abby looked across the room, trying to locate their parents. ‘They’re not looking. And at this point I’m not sure I care if they do.’ If this thing between them was real, if it was going to last, they’d find out soon enough anyway.
A low sound rumbled from Erik’s throat as he lifted her chin. His lips pressed firmly to hers, one hand moving to the back of her head to hold her in place. His other arm crushed her even closer to his hard body. Their lips didn’t even part, but the moment somehow felt far too intimate for the crowded room. The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but when they pulled away, something had shifted in Erik’s eyes. They were darker, wilder, than they had been before. He cocked his head towards the door and Abby nodded desperately. He tangled his fingers in hers to pull her through the dancing couples. They reached his parents first.
‘Abby’s still not feeling well. We’re going to go upstairs.’
Abby tried her best to look weak and queasy. It wasn’t difficult. She was sure her skin was flushed and shiny.
‘Oh, you poor thing. Should I send your mum to check on you in a while?’ Nora asked.
It was a good thing Abby was too consumed by the steady pulse of Erik, Erik, Erik pounding through her blood to cackle at the very thought.
‘I’ll look after her, mum,’ Erik said firmly, pushing past them with a wave.
He rushed her through the door and began kissing her as soon as they were sealed in the lift. Abby wondered dimly if there were cameras, and quickly decided she didn’t care when his tongue swept into her mouth. His hands tangled in her hair and he moaned as she responded in kind and tugged. Dropping one hand to the curve of her back, he pulled her hips in closer to his and ground himself against her. The whimper she let out was embarrassing. Erik smirked against her lips, though the sounds he was making didn’t hold much more dignity.
They jumped apart when a loud ding sounded, but there was no hiding what they’d been doing. The lipstick Abby had hastily applied before they left her room was smudged around Erik’s mouth. His hair was more of a disaster than usual. And she was sure she didn’t look much better. The skin along her chin felt raw from his stubble. It must have been bright red. In an attempt at damage limitation, she stepped back slightly, leaving a more respectable distance between them. He circled his arms loosely around her and leaned casually against the steel wall. At least she could hide the front of his trousers like this. If they kept their faces bent towards each other, they should look like nothing more than an innocent, carefree young couple enjoying an innocent embrace. The muffled giggles that erupted as they disembarked the lift on their floor told Abby they had been unsuccessful.
The second they were through her door, Erik picked her up and carried her to the bed, his mouth never leaving hers. Abby pulled him down onto her, enjoying the weight as she sank into the mattress. She grabbed his shirt as he tried to get up, but he forced her hand open and pinned both wrists to the bed.
‘Patience, Sunshine,’ he said with a wicked grin. ‘There’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.’
Abby whimpered as he kissed his way down her chest. Even through her dress, his lips were hot. In contrast to the leisurely presses of his mouth, his hands were frantic, tugging her dress roughly up over her thighs. Every inch of her skin felt ready to go up in flames, and when he knelt at the side of the bed and pressed his lips to her underwear, she thought she might combust.
‘Just so you know,’ he breathed, hooking his fingers into the silky fabric and dragging it down, ‘I’m keeping these.’
Her whole body tightened in response. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected from Erik in bed. Until that weekend, she’d never seriously given it much thought. It was a self-preservation thing. But every moment of discovery with him was a thrill.
Erik chuckled, hot breath blowing over her in pants as he kissed his way back up her leg. His stubble scratched the sensitive skin of her thighs and instinct had her bringing her legs together. One strong hand clasped just above her knee and opened her up for him again. Then, finally putting her out of her misery, he licked her, achingly slowly. She brought a palm to her mouth to muffle her moan.
Erik lifted his head to glare at her. ‘Not a fucking chance, Sunshine. I’m earning those sounds. I want to hear you.’
She whimpered, but made no attempt to silence it.
‘Good girl,’ Erik said softly. He kept their eyes locked as he slowly dipped one finger into her, sliding it deeper when it met no resistance. ‘Fuck, Abby,’ he choked out, eyes flickering shut. Ducking his head again, he replaced his finger with his tongue and growled when her muscles tightened.
Erik. Her Erik. Sweet, sensible, normally reserved Erik actually growled . And it was because of her . The thought had her lifting her hips, and he slipped his tongue deeper into her with a hungry moan. Abby was sure that sound alone completed her hierarchy of needs. Who needed self-actualisation anyway?
He was maintaining a vice-like grip on her thigh, so at odds with the touches his other hand now gave, stroking his thumb gently over her breast.
The mounting tension of the previous few days—years, really—finally broke, and she crumbled around him with a soft cry.