CHAPTER 33
Larissa rolled over in bed and saw Harlow there.
She smiled and rubbed her eyes because Harlow was really there.
Last night had happened. They had made love for the first time, had grilled cheese sandwiches in bed, watched an episode of their favorite show together, and made love again before they’d gone to sleep.
Now, it was morning, and Harlow was still there, lying on her stomach, facing away from her.
Larissa wished she could see her face, and she wanted to kiss her bare back, but what she wanted even more was to make Harlow breakfast and bring it to her in this bed before she woke up.
Slowly, she slipped out of bed, checking on Harlow to make sure that she was still asleep, and moved quietly in the bathroom.
After that, she found her shirt and sweats still on the floor from the previous night, slid into them, not worrying about underwear for now, and headed toward the kitchen, closing the bedroom door most of the way but not shutting it completely because she knew that would wake Harlow up.
She wasn’t known for her cooking skills, and she wanted to make something Harlow would actually be able to eat, so she pulled out the waffles she could make in the toaster and grabbed the maple syrup and the strawberries she had bought when she’d last been to the store.
She washed and sliced them up carefully, wishing she had any kind of knife skills to make them look fancy, and placed them around the entire plate that she’d pulled from the cabinet.
She pulled coffee mugs down next and started making that while the waffles cooked.
Realizing that she didn’t have anything to eat for herself, she put two more waffles into the toaster and just tossed some unsliced berries onto her plate because she wasn’t trying to impress herself.
Then, she took a tray out from a bottom cabinet and set Harlow’s plate on it with some syrup in a measuring cup because she didn’t have a gravy boat and didn’t want to bring a whole bottle of syrup into the bedroom.
“Oh, heat it up,” she said to herself and put the measuring cup into the microwave to warm the syrup. “Shit. Butter.”
“Butter?”
Larissa looked up then and saw Harlow standing there, naked, wiping her eyes.
“What? No. Go back to bed. Get out of here.”
“Um… Good morning to you, too. Nice way to treat the best friend you had sex with for the first time last night,” Harlow teased.
“I was making you breakfast in bed. I have syrup in the microwave and strawberries. There’s coffee. Oh, juice!” Larissa turned around and opened the fridge. “We don’t have any. We have milk. Want milk?”
“No, babe. Just you.”
Larissa closed the door, turned, and Harlow was there, wrapping her arms around her waist.
“Good morning,” Larissa said.
“Morning,” Harlow replied and kissed her sweetly. “You really didn’t have to do this, you know?”
“You’re always cooking for me, and I can’t really cook, so I did the best I could do. I wanted to arrange the strawberries better, but they ended up looking a little silly.”
“They look great,” Harlow said and took a whole berry that Larissa had set on her own plate. She bit into it, chewed, and added, “Taste great, too.”
She held out the other half for Larissa.
“That’s my plate. Yours looks a little better than mine, at least.”
She took the remaining bite of the berry from Harlow.
“Babe, I don’t care how the plate looks. You made me breakfast. That’s sweet. I’m going to eat it, but I woke up and was supposed to find you next to me, and you’re out here.”
“I know. Sorry. I just thought I’d bring this to you in bed. I am wearing your favorite outfit on me, though.”
“I see that. And it does mostly make up for not finding you naked next to me when I woke up.”
“Only mostly?”
“Well, you know what we can do to make it up to me all the way?”
“No. What?” she asked.
Harlow just lifted an eyebrow at her like Larissa really should know the answer to that.
“Oh, that,” she said.
“Yes, that,” Harlow stated and turned Larissa until she was backed against the counter.
The microwave beeped, reminding them that the syrup was warm.
“Don’t you dare move,” Harlow whispered and moved in to kiss her.
“I could get used to waking up like this,” Larissa said before she deepened the kiss.
“Me too,” Harlow replied while her hand moved into Larissa’s pants. Then, Harlow stopped and looked up at her. “Um… You’re not… wearing underwear.”
“No, I’m not. I didn’t want to put on the ones from last night, and if I had opened a drawer, it might have woken–”
“Don’t care,” Harlow said and kissed her harder while her fingers moved to find Larissa’s clit. “Never wear underwear again.”
Larissa laughed as Harlow moved her lips to her neck and kissed her there, and she spread her legs and let Harlow stroke her until she couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Inside. God, please,” she requested, wrapping her arms around Harlow’s neck.
Harlow pushed inside her with two fingers and reached deep before pulling almost all the way out and doing it again.
“Faster,” Larissa said, finding her own voice and what she wanted and needed at the same time. “Please, fuck me, Harlow.”
“God, you’re perfect.”
Larissa knew she was far from, but hearing Harlow say that to her made her feel a little bit closer to her.
Harlow shoved at her pants with her free hand until they were at her knees.
They fell to Larissa’s ankles on their own, and she stood there in only a T-shirt, her sweats at her feet and legs spread while Harlow thrust inside her over and over again.
Larissa held on to her, kissed her when she could, and when Harlow lifted her shirt, Larissa was the one to cup her own breast and hold it to Harlow’s waiting lips.
“God, yes! Almost! Almost!”
Harlow moaned at that, and Larissa came while in her own kitchen, yelling Harlow’s name into the quiet until she finally started coming down. Harlow slowed down and then stopped her thrusts, but she stayed inside her and kissed her softly over and over again.
“I really don’t want to go to work today,” Harlow said eventually and pulled out of Larissa slowly.
“I don’t either.”
“I didn’t think you were at the bookstore today.”
“Dissertation stuff,” she said.
“You’re going to work on it today?”
“I am. I’m putting the book aside and buckling down, as they say.” She looked down at Harlow’s naked body before she turned them around until Harlow’s back was against the counter. “What are your plans for tonight, though?”
“What are you doing for lunch?” Harlow asked instead. “I have this work meeting near your campus around then. I could swing by, and we could eat together.”
“That sounds nice. I’d like that.”
“And I’m free tonight, too,” Harlow added.
“I’d like that as well,” she said and moved down to her knees.
“Babe, the floor is tile. You’ll kill your knees.”
“There’s a rug. I’ll be fine. I want you.”
Larissa tapped Harlow’s thighs, and Harlow spread her legs for her without further protest. Larissa greedily licked her lips, spread her, leaned in, and licked her.
“You’re wet,” she noted between licks.
“Yes. I woke up this way. And I was going to touch you in bed, but you were out here.”
“I’m going to finish making that up to you now. Then, we’ll have breakfast.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Harlow said on a gasp.
Hearing Harlow’s sounds above her made Larissa wish that they could both stay home and do this all day.
It felt like she hadn’t known that she’d been missing this.
How hadn’t she known? Now that they were doing this, it seemed so obvious.
Her tongue was made to stroke Harlow this way, making her come in her kitchen while toaster waffles grew cold and inedible and hot syrup sat cooling off in a microwave.
“God, babe. That’s…”
Harlow’s hand wasn’t shy. She pressed it to the back of Larissa’s head, moving Larissa in against her even more.
Larissa didn’t mind at all and started sucking, spreading Harlow a little more to push inside her with two fingers.
“Oh, fuck,” Harlow let out. “I am so going to be late for work today.”
Larissa chuckled against her.
“Totally worth it,” Harlow added.
She came seconds later, and when she tapped the back of Larissa’s head, Larissa ceased her movements, wiped her mouth, and stood up.
“Can you call in sick?” she asked, hopeful.
“I really wish I could, but I have a meeting at ten that I can’t miss. I’m already cutting it close. I probably won’t get there until nine at this rate.”
“But the meeting is at ten,” Larissa said and wrapped her arms around Harlow’s neck.
“I know. I still have to prep for it.”
“And I have to go to the library to work myself…”
“Yes, you do. I want to be dating a doctor soon,” Harlow said with a wink and kissed her.
“Is that a demand? Do you date only doctors now?”
“Nope. I only date you. But I know how much you want this, so I’m not letting amazingly perfect sex get in the way, even though it’s a huge sacrifice for me.”
Larissa laughed and asked, “Just for you?”
“Well, I hope not,” Harlow replied as her hands cupped Larissa’s ass. “Can I eat while I’m getting ready for work?”
“Sure. I can try breakfast in bed another time,” she said. “Even though you’re moving out, I have a feeling that you’ll be staying over a lot, so I’ll get my chance.”
“About that…” Harlow said.
“About what?”
“I hope it doesn’t make you too upset, but I kind of lied to you yesterday.”
Larissa pulled back a bit, lowered her arms from around Harlow’s neck to her collarbones, and asked, “About what, exactly?”
“I didn’t go to the apartment to turn in the money for my new place.”
“You didn’t?”
Harlow shook her head.
“Why not?”
“So, here’s the thing… While I wanted my own place mostly because I didn’t want to keep being a burden on my best friend, I was also starting to feel like I was never going to tell you that I wanted more than friendship, and it was getting harder to be here and not be more.
So, I found that place, and it’s great. It’s right by the office, has all the amenities, but the guy pissed me off yesterday.
It’s their system’s fault, but he needs me to run over there by six to give him the money, or he’s going to give the apartment to someone who can do that.
I just sat at my desk thinking about how I didn’t like that because the system could be fixed the next day, and I would not have to drop by on a timeline he set.
And if there’s an issue on rent days, and that’s their approach to things, am I now expected to skip work once a month to deliver them a check myself?
Then, I started to think about how we are dating now, and how it might not seem like a big deal, but an hour one way on a good traffic day can get tiring.
I know; I’ve been doing it since I started staying here.
On bad days, when there are accidents, it’s much worse, and once you’re teaching again, your schedule is going to be different from what it is now.
It’ll be harder for you to get to me, and I want to see you, Larissa. I want to see you all the time.”
Larissa smiled at her and replied, “Me too, babe.”
Harlow smiled back at her, and Larissa knew it was because that was the first time that she’d used that term of endearment.
“So, I told the guy that I wasn’t interested anymore. He wasn’t happy, but I don’t want to be that far from you when we’re just starting out. Besides, I don’t even know if I’ll keep my job. They haven’t promoted or hired people in a while, and you know I’m really bored there.”
“I know,” Larissa replied, placing her hand between Harlow’s breasts.
“I just didn’t want it, but I didn’t know how to tell you that it looks like I might be staying here a little longer over the phone, so I thought I’d tell you in person. Then, we…”
“Kissed?” Larissa said with a smile.
“Well, we did more than kiss – I’m standing naked in your kitchen.”
“You can stay here as long as you want; you know that, Harlow.”
“I know. I just don’t know that I should.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m standing naked in your kitchen,” Harlow replied with a laugh and rubbed Larissa’s back up and down.
“We just started dating, and we already have about thirteen years of history here. I was thinking I could look for a place that’s between here and my office, like you suggested initially.
I can find something that’s off the highway and makes it easier to get here or there instead of being a pain.
You could stay with me whenever, and I could stay here whenever, but it would make it easier some days, at least.”
It was strange because when Harlow had first told her that she wasn’t moving into that apartment, Larissa had silently cheered, having had the same worries about seeing one another that Harlow clearly had, but the next feeling she had was a combination of fear and happiness.
The fear was there because she thought Harlow might just ask to move in with her, since Larissa herself had already made that suggestion before they started the new phase of their relationship, but the excitement, oddly enough, was for the same reason.
She wanted Harlow to move in with her and not sleep in the guest room.
God, she wanted that more than she realized it right up until this moment.
She was also terrified because they just started this, and moving too fast could put too much pressure on them.
So, as much as she loved the idea of sharing this home with Harlow, she didn’t know if she trusted it to be a good one just yet.
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” she chose to say and smiled at Harlow. “But can we make a deal?”
“A deal?”
“Yes. While you’re staying here, you’re in my room.
No more guest room,” she said. “I know it’s unrealistic for us to have every night together once you find a new place and I’m teaching, and my schedule is crazy, but every night until you move and every night you’re here after that, you’re with me in my room. ”
“Yeah, of course,” Harlow replied and kissed her forehead. “Now, let’s eat this amazing breakfast before I have to hop in the shower. And you can hop in with me, but only if you agree to behave.”
“I can behave.” She chuckled. “It’ll be hard, but I can behave. We can just leave at the same time. I need to get to campus soon, anyway, before the rooms fill up for the day. I forgot to reserve one.”
“And we’re still on for lunch?” Harlow asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Can’t wait.” She kissed Harlow on the lips and stole one of the sliced strawberries from Harlow’s plate. “For you,” she added and slipped it between Harlow’s open lips.