19. Chapter 19 Freddy
Chapter 19: Freddy
F reddy glanced at Sabrina for the hundredth time that day. Her shoulders hunched over her keyboard, fingers flying across the keys with more force than usual. The air between them crackled with unspoken tension.
He cleared his throat. “Hey, Sabrina. We should make dinner together after work?”
Her typing paused for a split second before resuming. “Not tonight, Freddy. I’ve got stuff I need to do.”
“Oh.” He swallowed hard, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice. “You do have to eat, though, right? Maybe I’ll cook, and you can join me to eat?”
Sabrina’s shoulders tightened. “Look, I’m really busy. Can we just focus on work?”
Freddy’s stomach twisted. This wasn’t like her at all, but then things had changed between them. Maybe she just needed time to process. Usually, he could count on Sabrina to talk through every thought she had aloud, but this could be different. Since it involved him, she might need to work through it quietly. He sighed but committed to letting her work in peace.
As the day wore on, the silence between them grew heavier. Freddy found himself stumbling over his words during their usual back-and-forth about the software updates. Sabrina’s responses were clipped, her usual wit absent.
By late afternoon, Freddy couldn’t take it anymore. Fuck giving her time. He needed to know what was happening. Studying how the tendons of her hands flexed like piano wire as she typed, he decided to make homemade pizza for dinner. It was Sabrina’s favorite, so luring her out to add her own toppings wouldn’t be hard. Then all he’d have to do is convince her to eat with him.
“I’m making us pizza for dinner,” Freddy announced a while later. “Join me or don’t.”
He bounded down the stairs to the kitchen without waiting for a response. There wasn’t time for a good, fresh crust to rise, but he had some large naan. They both loved using that as their pizza base. Once he had the pans and bread ready, Freddy grabbed toppings from the fridge and pantry and built his pizza. The familiar routine calmed his nerves, but only slightly. Usually, they’d be doing this at Sabrina’s house. He didn’t mind doing it here, but only if she was with him.
“Sabrina!” he called out, his voice echoing up the steps to the office. “Come pick your toppings!”
“Whatever you pick is fine,” she hollered back.
“Pineapple it is!” He knew that would get her. She hated hot pineapple and was firmly encamped with the anti-pineapple pizza wackos, but that was why he knew it would work. Sabrina knew him well enough to anticipate that he wouldn’t just put pineapple on her pizza, he’d chop it up fine and hide it, so she couldn’t pick it off.
Sure enough, hesitant footsteps announced her arrival in the kitchen, though she didn’t say a word. When she stopped in the doorway, her eyes downcast, Freddy plastered on a smile and held out the black olives and gestured at the fresh mushrooms he’d sliced on the counter.
“Here,” he said. “Your favorites.”
Sabrina mumbled a quiet thanks and began arranging the toppings on her pizza. Freddy watched her for a moment, the silence between them growing heavier by the second.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he took a deep breath and leaned back against the counter beside where she worked. “Sabrina, why are you being so distant?”
She froze, her hand hovering over the pizza. “I’m not. I’m just tired.”
“Bullshit,” Freddy said, his frustration bubbling over. “After last night, I deserve to know if I hurt you or why you’re suddenly giving me the cold shoulder.”
Sabrina’s eyes flashed. “It doesn’t matter, Freddy. Just drop it.”
“No,” he said, stepping closer. “I’m not letting this go. Whatever’s going on, it matters to me because you matter to me.”
“Freddy, please,” Sabrina pleaded, her voice cracking. “Just leave it alone.”
He shook his head, his jaw clenching. “I can’t. Not when it’s clearly affecting us both. How can it not relate to me?”
“Because it doesn’t!” Sabrina snapped, slamming her hand on the counter. “Not everything is about you, Freddy!”
“Then what is it about?” he demanded, his voice rising to match hers. “Just tell me!”
Sabrina’s face contorted, a mix of anger and pain. She opened her mouth, closed it, then suddenly screamed, “I’m moving back to Nebraska!”
The words hung in the air between them, heavy and suffocating. Freddy felt like he’d been punched in the gut, all the air leaving his lungs. They stared at each other, both shocked into silence by her outburst.
“Patrick’s going to fire me anyway,” Sabrina broke the silence with an explanation so quiet, Freddy had to lean toward her to hear it all. “And if Mom and I share a place, we only have to support one household. It makes the most sense and fixes everything.”
Freddy choked down his resentment. He could never walk away from them the way she was planning to, and it hurt like hell to hear that she could. Clenching his jaw to prevent himself from screaming, he snarled, “You swore you’d never go back. No matter what, you said. So why now? What’s suddenly changed?”
This time, when she tried to speak into her half-dressed pizza, he hooked a knuckle under her chin and turned her face to reveal her expression. Her eyes swam with tears that spilled over as she explained, “Ma’s trailer was destroyed by a tornado last night.”
Well, fuck. That did explain things. After years of listening to Sabrina rant about her mom’s living situation and how she needed to move somewhere better, Freddy knew she’d lived her biggest fear last night on the phone with her mom.
His focus shifted as Freddy realized she confirmed something else he’d suspected for a while. “How much does she rely on your support?” he asked.
Sabrina just shrugged, and Freddy brushed away her escaping tear with his thumb. She might not be willing to say it aloud, but he was pretty sure Sabrina covered most, if not all, of her mother’s monthly bills.
He wanted to fix it, but it wasn’t that simple. Freddy had never met Sabrina’s ma, but he understood how messy and complicated family relationships could be. Using the hand he had cupping her cheek to pull them closer together, Freddy pressed his forehead against hers and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me last night?”
“I knew you’d want to argue and tell me to stay.”
Their faces were so close, he couldn’t see her expression, but their whispered words and shared breath created an intimate bubble he didn’t want to burst. “Of course I want you to stay.”
“But I can’t afford to rebuild my house and hers, especially if I lose my job.”
“You aren’t going to lose your job. I won’t let that happen. Patrick and I already agreed that you don’t need to go to the meeting with DS.”
Sabrina shook her head in denial. “I can’t be the one to ruin the company your family built.”
“You aren’t. It wasn’t you who leaked those documents.” His gaze bore into her as he tried to telepathically convince her that she was wrong about this. She needed to be here. He needed her to be here. With him. She was so much more than just his best friend. How could she expect him to just let her go?
More tears trailed down her cheeks as they stood, foreheads pressed together. Energy built around them as electricity crackled through their skin where they touched each other.
Sabrina’s hand came up to cup his cheek, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw with aching tenderness. Without thinking, Freddy leaned into her touch, his own hand moving to tangle in the dark waves of her hair.
Their faces were inches apart, close enough that he could feel the whisper of her breath mingling with his. Sabrina’s lips parted slightly, and the sight of her like that, so open and vulnerable, ignited something within him. Before he could second-guess himself, Freddy closed the distance, capturing her mouth in a kiss that was as much a question as it was a declaration.
He didn’t freeze like their first kiss, but it wasn’t a frenzy like it had been the night before, either. Freddy let himself feel every sensation - the softness of Sabrina’s lips, the sweetness of her taste, the gentle pressure as she kissed him back with a fervor that matched his own. It was a slow, exploratory kiss, full of unspoken promises and shared histories.
Freddy’s hand slipped beneath Sabrina’s shirt, his fingers splaying across the smooth expanse of her back. She shivered at his touch, her own hands venturing beneath the hem of his shirt to explore the contours of his chest. Each touch, each caress, felt like a revelation, the barriers between them crumbling to dust.
They broke apart only when the need for air became too great, their foreheads resting together as they both struggled to catch their breath. Freddy’s heart was racing. “I want to finish what we started.”
“Me too,” Sabrina agreed. “Even if it can only be tonight.” She was still crying, and it was ripping Freddy’s heart from his chest.
No way was he going to let her go after tonight. He’d fucking move to Nebraska with her if he had to. But now wasn’t the time for that conversation. It could wait.
Freddy slid his hand down her arm and intertwined his fingers with Sabrina’s before gripping tightly. She squeezed his hand in return. The decision was made in an instant, a silent agreement passing between them. He reached to turn off the oven before leaving the kitchen for his bedroom, gently pulling Sabrina along with him. Dinner could wait.
In the dim light of his room, the world outside faded into insignificance. The only thing that mattered was the woman standing before him, her hazel eyes shimmering with a mixture of vulnerability and desire. Freddy reached for the hem of her shirt, his fingers brushing against the soft warmth of her skin. With each inch of exposed flesh, his heart fluttered with more excitement, the anticipation building within him.
Sabrina’s hands moved to his chest, her touch setting his nerves alight. She helped him out of his shirt, their clothing discarded in a silent dance of need and longing. Freddy drank in the sight of her, the gentle swell of her breasts, the curve of her waist, the strength in her legs. She was a marvel, a testament to the resilience and beauty he’d always known she possessed.
He led her to the bed, the back of her knees hitting the mattress as she fell back onto the soft comforter. Freddy followed her down, his body covering hers as he claimed her mouth in a searing kiss. The taste of her was intoxicating, fueling the fire that burned within him.
Sabrina’s legs parted, cradling him between her thighs as she arched against him. The friction of their bodies, even through the layers of their remaining clothes, was exquisite. Freddy rocked against her, the motion eliciting a gasp from Sabrina’s lips.
He trailed kisses down her neck, nipping at the sensitive skin before soothing it with his tongue. His hands roamed over her body, learning every curve and valley as he made his way lower. He hooked his fingers under the waistband of her pants, tugging them down her legs along with her panties.
Freddy pressed a kiss to the inside of her thigh, his breath hot against her skin. Sabrina’s fingers twisted in his hair, her body trembling with need. He could sense her impatience, feel the urgency of her desire. It matched his own, a desperate longing that had been building for far too long.
Climbing back up her body, Freddy claimed her lips once more. He reached over to the nightstand, fumbling with the drawer before finding what he was looking for. The small foil packet was soon in his hands, the task of sheathing himself a momentary interruption in the dance of their bodies.
Freddy positioned himself at her entrance, the tip of his erection pressing against her wetness. Sabrina’s eyes locked onto his, her gaze filled with trust and a raw, unfiltered need that took his breath away.
With a single, fluid movement, he pushed inside her, filling her completely. The sensation was overwhelming, a rush of pleasure that stole the breath from his lungs. Sabrina’s body wrapped around him like a glove, her inner walls pulsating with the rhythm of their joining.
He began to move, each thrust a testament to the connection they shared. Sabrina met him stroke for stroke, her hips rising to meet his as they found their rhythm together. The world outside could have crumbled to dust, and Freddy wouldn’t have noticed. All that mattered was the woman beneath him, the way her body responded to his touch, the sounds of their pleasure mingling together in the quiet of his room.
As they climbed higher, the sensations building to a fever pitch, Freddy knew that he’d reached a turning point in his life. This wasn’t just another encounter, another fleeting moment of passion. This was the beginning of something new, something real.
With a final, desperate thrust, Freddy felt himself tumble over the edge, Sabrina’s cries of pleasure echoing in his ears as they both reached their climax. For a moment, the world was perfect, their bodies slick with sweat and their hearts pounding in unison.
Freddy collapsed onto the bed beside Sabrina, their bodies still intimately connected. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as they both struggled to catch their breath. For the first time in a long time, Freddy felt complete. He had someone to share everything with. Now he just had to figure out how to keep her.