Chapter 56 Ben
BEN
‘Extra-strong coffee, please,’ I said to Maddie as another yawn flew from my mouth.
‘Late night?’ she asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Sounds fun…’ Maddie waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
‘I was reading,’ I corrected, so she didn’t think I’d been up all night entertaining women.
I couldn’t blame her for jumping to conclusions. I’d probably flirted with every woman in Sunshine Bay at some point. Even the ones in their eighties. I had a reputation for being a playboy and I’d never done anything to disprove that.
But that was before.
Ever since I’d laid eyes on Sarah, things had been different.
Normally, I didn’t give a toss about other people’s opinions. But although Sarah and I were over, for some reason I didn’t want her hearing stories from Maddie or anyone else that implied I was up to no good.
‘We’ve all been there!’ Maddie said. ‘I don’t know why I ever bother convincing myself I’ll only read one chapter when I know it’s never gonna happen.’
‘Precisely.’ I nodded.
‘Do you want something sweet to go with the coffee? I’ve just made some new cookies. I took your feedback on board and created these.’ She pointed to the glass display case.
My eyes popped as I took in multiple rows of expertly iced white, light brown and deep brown pussy cookies to reflect different skin colours. Some pussies were shaved, others had a fine strip of pubic hair and the rest rocked generous bushes. The attention to detail was impressive.
‘Those look great.’
‘Thanks. We like to cater for everyone’s needs and tastes. So would you like some pussy?’ She smirked.
‘Gladly,’ I replied.
‘How many?’
‘Just one, please.’
‘Only one?’ She cocked her head. ‘From what I’ve heard, I wouldn’t have said you were a one-pussy man. I thought you’d like to enjoy as many as possible!’
‘Perhaps once upon a time. But not anymore. I’ll have this one.’ I pointed to the medium brown one that best reflected Sarah’s skin tone.
‘Oh! Right, er… yeah, sure,’ she stuttered.
I was certain that she’d been trying to flirt with me, but I needed to make it clear that I wasn’t interested.
There was only one woman I wanted.
If only I could eat her pussy again instead of this cookie.
‘Thanks.’ I tapped my card on the reader. ‘Have a good day.’
‘You too.’
After picking up my cookie and coffee, I headed out to the library’s corridor. Just as another yawn slipped out, I saw Sarah walking towards me.
I swallowed hard.
Christ, she looked so good.
That dress.
Those curves.
A jolt of electricity shot straight to my dick as I remembered how good it felt to grip her waist as I buried myself inside her. I’d give anything to do that again.
‘Oh! Hi!’ Sarah said brightly. She seemed happy to see me.
And the feeling was mutual.
‘Hey,’ I said, trying to act casual despite the excitement that was fizzing in my stomach. And in my boxers. I tried to think of something boring so that I wouldn’t embarrass myself by getting hard. ‘How are you?’
‘Tired.’ She yawned.
‘Join the club. I asked Maddie to make my coffee extra strong, but I’ve got a feeling that even if she gave me a bucket load of it, I’ll still be flaking by midday.’
‘Late night?’
‘Yes. I was up finishing Office Delight.’
‘Yay!’ She bounced on the spot like an excited puppy. ‘And?’
‘Loved it.’
‘Amazing!’ she squealed.
‘Do you fancy catching up later to discuss it?’
What the hell was I doing?
Honestly, it was like I lost every shred of control and common sense whenever Sarah was around. I just couldn’t stop myself from suggesting ways for us to spend more time together.
Hopefully she’d do the logical thinking for both of us and remind me that it was a terrible idea.
‘I’d love that!’ she enthused.
Bollocks.
‘Okay, great!’ I said far too enthusiastically.
‘Do you want to do it in the library or at your place?’
I’d do it anywhere with you.
‘Wherever you like. Maybe you could come to mine?’
I’d given up trying to say the right thing. I knew it was a bad suggestion, but what was the point in resisting when I knew I’d do whatever I wanted to anyway?
‘Okay!’ she said without hesitation. ‘What time d’you finish?’
‘Six.’
‘Me too.’
‘We can get a takeaway or something. I don’t think I’ll have the energy to cook,’ I said. ‘Not even sure how I’ll get through the day.’
‘Same! I was up all night.’
‘Really?’ I frowned. Now I was making the same assumptions that Maddie had made about me earlier. The immediate thought that popped straight into my mind was that she’d met someone else. I pushed the unwarranted notion out of my head. Not all women were like the one that screwed me over.
‘Yeah! I was up all night writing!’
‘That’s brilliant!’ I picked Sarah up and spun her around. ‘I’m so happy for you!’
‘Thanks!’ She wrapped her arms around me and as her sweet cherry scent wafted in the air, I inhaled. God, I’d missed it.
Just as I felt the urge to kiss her, I came to my senses. Inviting her to my flat was bad enough. But spinning her around in the corridor like we were starring in a romcom was too much. That wasn’t what professional co-workers did.
I gently lowered her to the ground.
‘Um, sorry. I got carried away,’ I said sheepishly. ‘It’s just… I know how hard it’s been for you to think of that germ of idea, so I know this is a big deal for you.’
‘It really is! Once I started writing, I couldn’t stop. It was like I was possessed!’ She laughed. ‘When I looked at my watch, it was gone one in the morning and I knew I should call it a night, but it was like I just had to get the words out of me, so I carried on.’
‘What time did you stop in the end?’
‘Half four.’
‘Whoa!’ I gasped. ‘That’s excellent.’
‘For my writing, yeah. Not for my beauty sleep, though!’ She laughed.
‘You don’t need it.’
Our eyes locked. I probably looked like I’d been dragged through a bush backwards after only getting five hours’ sleep, but Sarah still looked stunning.
Yes, her eyes weren’t as bright as they normally were, but it didn’t matter. Even if she didn’t sleep for a week, she’d still look great.
Christ.
I was like a bloody lovesick teenager.
Thank God she didn’t know what I was thinking. She’d probably throw up from a cheese overdose.
‘Maybe you can tell me all about your writing later?’
‘Yeah.’ She smiled and my pulse raced. ‘Do you mind if I bring my laptop? Just in case more inspiration strikes?’
‘Of course. If you’d prefer to go straight home after work so that you can get back to the writing, then we can catch up another time. I don’t want to get in the way of your creativity.’
‘No, no. It’ll be good for me…’ She grinned and I wasn’t entirely sure why, but I’d take it.
‘Okay, great. I look forward to it.’