Twenty
Bri
Out of all the nights I’ve spent dreaming about sex with Liem, the reality is much more intimidating. I’ve seen him naked a time or two, but never hard. He’s big, the first few inches making me question whether I can take him at all. I’m sure as fuck going to try.
He’s gentle, sliding in slowly, inch by inch, pulling back to coat himself in my wetness before pushing in deeper. Still, it’s a lot. My legs tense around him.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“I’m good,” I say, though I’m speaking from the hot part of my brain, not the logical part. “Sometimes it hurts if I’m not warm enough. Or if you get too deep.”
“I never want to hurt you. Tell me what you need.”
“I will,” I agree then pull him into a kiss.
It’s wild how much my body responds to him. Everything he does sets me ablaze, melting away my worries and hesitations. I trust him.
“How’s that?”
I nod, my teeth too deep in my lip to let me speak.
“I need you to say it,” he corrects me, his voice quiet, husky.
“That’s—” A moan cuts me off. “That’s really good.”
He stays shallow, picking up his pace to watch the cadence of my breath. I’m wetter than I’ve ever been, aching in my core to feel him. His hips move slow, his pace even, that impressive size exactly as I imagined. The electricity between us tingles throughout my body.
Our clothes stay mostly on. His underwear off his hips, my panties still hanging on my thigh, his hand massaging my breast beneath my shirt—as if being naked in front of each other is more intimate than him being inside me.
I widen my legs, inviting him deeper, wanting to feel all of him while I still can. Holding his head against me, gripping his ass the best I can, I hum my desperation for more.
He hears me in my silence. “What do you need?”
“Deeper,” I beg. He widens his knees, pushing in until my legs flinch, then he eases back just a bit, stroking exactly where I want him. I’m full, touched in all the places that felt abandoned and discarded, life returning to me with every thrust. “Yes. Now, faster.”
His hips pump at a quicker tempo, even, perfect. He knows what he’s doing.
My cries of pleasure spur him on. He moves faster, a little harder, just on the edge of rough. I brace my hand against the headboard while it smacks against the wall. “Don’t stop,” I pant. “Please don’t stop.”
“I won’t.” And he doesn’t.
The pleasure builds hotter and hotter, my skin misting with sweat, my moans growing louder than I can contain.
“Can you come like this?” he asks, his voice pinched with desperation.
“Yes.”
“I want you to come. I want you to come so fucking bad.”
“Oh, Liem,” I cry. He whimpers against my neck. That does it for him. And me. “Liem, baby, fuck. I’m coming. I—”
The air leaves my lungs and doesn’t return. There’s no need to breathe when I’m exploding into stardust—my body bursting into a million pieces of ecstasy. I’m fireworks at night, a burst of glitter in the moonlight.
I had no idea orgasms could feel like that.
His body shudders, his teeth grazing my neck. Our breaths are heavy, our chests heaving against each other while I come back into my body, piece by vibrating piece.
He eases out gently. In his absence, I feel cold yet ravished, every part of me, including my mind, struggling to accept my place here on earth. With my hand still braced against the headboard, I have to fist the sheets to ground myself while my body vibrates in the aftermath. Holy fuck.
“Was that okay?” he asks, sounding concerned.
I hide my shaking the best I can. “Mm-hmm.” Relief, not pride, paints his expression when he pulls my face to his. Finally, I calm down. Then I fall asleep beneath his kiss.
~
My eyes open to the dim room. The morning is here, and I don’t feel ready.
Liem is asleep on my chest again, to which I’m both surprised and relieved. I didn’t expect him to be one to slink out on me in the middle of the night, but I also didn’t expect him to fuck me into oblivion like a sex god masquerading as a mere mortal. He’s still him.
We crossed a line we had been toeing for days, taking our last chance to ease the tension that had been building between us for weeks.
While I can convince myself it was what it was, I worry he won’t feel the same way.
But maybe it won’t matter. We’re going home, hopping on planes that will fly us back to separate states, forcing us to live separate lives.
And like every other relationship, distance will erode our connection until only a thread remains—one I hope we won’t be too busy to hold on to.
The unfortunate nature of adult friendships.
Our whole time together was us counting down to this moment, relying on the freedom that would come with it. Now that it’s here . . .
Leaning up to look at him, I see the alarm clock behind him. The red 10:42 shocks me back to life. “Liem!”
He stirs awake. “Hm?”
“It’s almost eleven. We only have an hour before my flight leaves.”
He sits up quickly. “Fuck!”
~
The TSA line is as long as my patience is short.
Out of sheer luck, another line opens up when we’re close enough to dart for it.
Throwing off shoes, belts, liquids, self-respect, and electronics bigger than a phone, I go through the scanner, accept my hair frisk, and fidget while waiting for our suitcases to come through.
“Oh my god,” I groan when the belt reverses for another scan.
“You’re going to make it. Don’t worry.” Liem, my pessimistic fave, shining rare light onto my grim outlook.
The belt comes back, and our suitcases make it out. “Finally!”
With ten minutes left, I pull on my shoes and throw my bag’s strap over my head. I run off but only make it a few steps. My feet won’t go any farther. Not until I do something first.
I go back to Liem and fling myself onto him, my suitcase crashing against his as I pull him tight against me. I linger there for too long, savoring the last touch I’ll ever get of him. I pry myself away, my thumbs brushing over his pretty cheekbones.
“If this really is the last time I’ll see you,” I say, “I’m glad I met you.” Our words from the elevator, the first time we thought we were saying goodbye.
“I’m glad I met you too.”
That feeling hits me again, the gravitational pull I have to him, my Liem, my soul twin, and now the person I have to leave. Before I can think, my lips are on his. He kisses me back, so much hiding behind his lips and the grip of his hands on my back.
Our lips part with regret. He steals another lingering kiss, then pulls away. “Go. Don’t miss your flight.”
I nod and grab my suitcase, my body aching to stay. “Bye, Hoodie.”
He tries hard to hide the sadness behind his grin. “Bye, Bri.”
Before I change my mind again, I turn and run.
Out of breath and out of time, I make it to the gate then scramble down the ramp and onto the plane right before they close the door.
I’m here. It’s over. My little life in New York, my time with Liem. I can’t tell if my chest hurts from the unplanned cardio or the realization that everything in my life is changing yet again.
Pushing my thoughts away, I make it to my seat, pleased to find the row’s overhead compartment still has available space. A small win, but a win nonetheless.
When I lift my case, the evergreen sticker on the front makes me freeze.
Oh, shit.