chapter twenty-one Past All That
chapter twenty-one
Past All That
“I wish we could spend the whole day together,” Lex bemoans after we manage to extricate ourselves from our cozy couch nest,
lattes long since drank and pastries nothing but crumbs left for Winston to sniff out.
“I know,” I whine, tugging on my sneakers to take him for a walk. “Can’t you just not go grocery shopping or do laundry or
clean your house and stay here with me instead?”
Lex sighs deeply. “If it wasn’t my week with Gabe I would. But I’m out of chicken nuggets and that’s all he eats, so I have
no choice but to endure the supermarket on a Sunday afternoon.”
“You are a warrior,” I say, clipping the leash to Winston’s collar.
“I know. I’m the bravest girl in the world.” She takes my free hand and gives it a squeeze before climbing the stairs to the
front door.
The walk to Lex’s car is short, so we take our time with the excuse of Winston stopping to pee on everything he sees. “When
can I see you again?” I ask, squinting in the sunshine.
“Are you up for attempting to feed my child again?” Her blue eyes are absolutely luminous, twinkling and bright, and the caramel undertones of her hair are glinting and shimmering as the breeze tousles her short locks.
“Are you up for me trying to hide vegetables in his dinner?” I ask, only half joking.
Lex grins. “I’ve been trying for years, but hey, you’re welcome to take a crack at it.”
“I’m down for feeding you and your kid any night of the week! Gabe is the best. And I want to see how he’s progressing with
his line memorization, and—”
“Aubrey?”
“—I found some more makeup he might like. We need to practice his smoky eye a little more, and—”
“Uh, Aubrey?”
“—in fairness, when he came over for chicken alfredo the noodles were a little overcooked, so I won’t do that again—”
“Aubrey!”
“What?”
She points over at Winston, who is making a meal out of a swath of grass.
“Winston!” I race over and pick him up before he can eat any more. “You know your tummy can’t handle that! I’ll have to get
him a ginger chew when I get home.”
“Poor old fella,” Lex tuts, scratching his ear.
“Um . . . what was I saying?” I ask, setting Winston down but keeping his leash short, my train of thought completely off
the tracks.
“Gabe and me coming for dinner.”
“Yes! Can you?”
Lex’s lips quirk into a smile. “As much as I’d love to bring him over, and as much as he’d love to see Winston, his summer’s-end
performance is Friday.”
“Wow,” I say, momentarily stunned. “Is summer already almost over?”
Lex nods. “It’s gone by fast.”
“I suppose dating half of Tinder will do that.”
Lex’s dimples flash before disappearing. “He did ask me to ask you if you can come to it. But if you can’t I totally get—”
“I’d love to!” I grab Lex and pull her in for a hug, wrapping my arms tightly around her. I’m so happy my heart feels like
it’s going to burst. “I can’t believe I get a best friend, a lover, and a bonus awesome kid all wrapped up in one package.”
“I know how you feel.” Lex caresses my cheek.
I lean into her embrace, savouring it, wishing I could take her back inside and explore her body even more. It’s good that
we didn’t do more this morning; I’ve never had the opportunity to take things slow, and I can already tell the buildup and
payoff will be worth it. “I feel really lucky to have met you, even though our circumstances were less than perfect, and—”
Hork, hork, hork . . .
We look over to Winston, who is now very ungracefully regurgitating his grassy snack onto the sidewalk.
“Oh, jeez, I’m sorry.” I try to look away, but it’s like watching a train wreck.
“It’s fine. I’m a mom, remember?” Lex smirks. “I’m gonna go, but I hope he feels better! Let me know if there’s anything I
can grab from the store for him.”
“You’re so sweet. He’ll be okay, after he—”
Hork, hork, splat!
I sigh. Moment ruined. At least he got it all out, though. “I’ll call you later?”
Lex nods, then goes in for a hug while I weave for a kiss, and then she changes direction and tries to kiss while I adjust and aim for a hug.
We finally meet in the middle with a half-hug cheek-kiss before Lex walks away and climbs into her car.
Winston sits next to me, happily panting, like he hasn’t just ruined my goodbye with Lex.
“Really, man?” I say as we walk back to the house. “I’ve heard of a cock block, but a pussy block is a whole new thing. I
mean, that’s got to be the most gross, awkward goodbye in the history of—” I stop dead in my tracks, Winston lurching on his
leash.
No no no no no . . .
It can’t be. That wasn’t the curse. Was it? It certainly was awkward, but we broke the curse! We told each other we loved
one another, and we kissed, and we did a hell of a lot more—love’s true fuck, and all that. Everything was so perfect this morning, not even an ounce of awkwardness. So
then, what the hell was that?
It can’t be the curse. I’m done with that nonsense. I get to live my happily ever after now.
Everything is fine. No curse. It’s gone. I’m just being paranoid. Even Lex thinks the curse is broken. She said it herself!
If there’s anyone I trust, it’s Lex.
It’s just a weird coincidence.
I try to put our uncomfortable goodbye behind me and move on with my life, tidying the kitchen and starting a load of laundry.
When I find my phone, I turn it off silent mode and the thing dings out of control with several unread texts and missed calls,
all from Olsen.
Fuck. I still have to deal with him. But . . . maybe not today. Today is for relishing the afterglow of telling Lex how I
really feel, of her reciprocating far more than I ever could have expected, and for soaking up my new un-cursed reality.
Everything else can wait.
“So, this is your office?” Lex asks as she steps inside two days later, whistling low.
Now that the curse is broken and we’re officially beyond friends and into lovers territory, we can’t go more than a few days
without seeing each other. FaceTime calls just don’t cut it. I need to hold her, smell her, taste her.
I close the door behind us and lean against it, crossing my arms. “Yep. It’s nothing special, but as far as non-profits go
it’s not bad.”
Lex walks slowly to the other end of my small space where my desk is, runs her finger along the top, and turns to face me.
“I like you in work mode. Your little pencil skirt, your blouse all tucked in, your hair all wavy. Professional. Sexy. Sort
of like one of those TAs in college who takes their role too seriously.”
With a smirk, I toss my hair over my shoulder. “Funny you should say that, because when I saw you at that bar when we met
the second time, I thought you looked like one of those cool yet super-strict professors.”
Her eyes rake up my body. “Come sit at your desk and show me how you work.”
I smile mischievously, then do as I’m told, brushing my fingertips along her forearm as I pass. After settling into my chair,
I sit up straight, then fit Lex with a pretend perplexed look. “You wanted to speak to me, professor?”
Lex sucks in a breath between her teeth before sitting on the edge of my desk and clasping her hands, looking down at me with
heat in her eyes. “I wanted to talk to you about your . . . performance review.”
I swivel in my chair so she can get a better look at my legs, extra long with the beige heels I wore today. Lifting them one
at a time, I place them atop the desk and cross my ankles, watching as her eyes follow my every movement. “What about it,
professor?”
Lex’s fingertips trail from my ankle up my calf, to the hem of my skirt, leaving tingles in their wake. “You were a very, very good girl.”
I never thought I had a praise kink, but goddamn, coming from Lex? Her words send a pool of warmth from the base of my belly down to my centre. “Why don’t you come over here
and show me how good of a girl I am?”
Lex glances over her shoulder at my door. “Won’t we get caught?”
I shake my head. “No one ever comes into my office. Not when the door is closed.” That’s one of the things I love about my
job; everyone has their tasks and the team operates independently. I only see the others when I want to. And right now? I
don’t. Not when Lex is here, her eyes fixed on me like she wants to devour me. Fuck, I hope she does.
Lex comes around the side of my desk, keeping her fingertips on my skin, letting them drift higher and higher until she’s
standing right over top of me with one hand on my hip, the other pressed against the arm of my chair, leaning close enough
for me to smell the rich honey scent of her skin, feel the warmth of her breath on my neck, sense the electricity thrumming
between us.
She leans closer, lips hovering over mine. My body coils, lips parting, throat working, ready for her kiss. Instead, she lowers
her mouth to my neck, applying pressure to turn my head away, and gently sucks the skin beneath the lobe of my ear. I gasp
at the warm, wet slide of her tongue against my sensitive skin, the flash of heat her touch brings. As she takes her time
sucking and licking at my neck her hand finds my thigh, fingertips deftly making their way beneath my tight skirt, roaming
higher and higher.
“Lex, please,” I whimper, my body aching for her touch.
“You sure no one will come in here?” Lex asks against my throat, fingers toying with the line of my panties beneath my skirt.
I shake my head, bite my lip. “Why, you scared?”
Her eyes light up at the dare. “It’s your office,” she says as she grabs hold of my thigh and parts my legs, stepping between
them. “You make the rules in here.”
“I thought you made the rules, professor,” I taunt, enjoying the roleplay a little too much.
She smirks. “I only have one rule.”
“And what’s that?”
“You make a sound,” she says, kissing me slowly, “and I stop.” My body shudders as her fingers deftly stroke my centre through
the thin fabric. “Can you be quiet for me, baby girl?”
Fuck, not when she talks to me like that. But I can try. “I’ll be quiet.”
“Good girl,” she murmurs against my lips. Before I can react to her words, she moves under my panties and slides a finger