Page 93 of The Price of Forever

He slipped his hand around the back of my head, offering up a tender but passionate kiss that stole my air and my balance. When we parted, that dark desire swirled in his eyes, and a different question started to circulate.

What if there’s no catch for once?

Once we entered the shop, it was business as usual. Seven retreated to a corner to do his own work, and I slipped into barista mode. It was a busy, fun morning, with a never-ending line of customers that meant I had almost no time to chat with my co-workers. I only realized my shift was ending because I spotted Seven packing up his laptop. I hadn’t even taken a lunch break.

I clocked out, met Seven outside, and let out a big cleansing breath.

“You thinking rice noodles?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I wanna hit up a Pokéstop. I need the thrill of a catch to make this day even better.”

He smirked, and we set off toward the subway station. “Okay. Where you thinking?”

“Highline. Then we can grab lunch there, too.”

He nodded, smiling down at me. “Deal.”

“Ready?” I asked him, preparing myself for the response of the day.

“I arrived in the world willing.”

We raced through pedestrian traffic to see who could reach the end of each block first. The first person to reach the bottom of the subway station steps won—it was me—and I held this over his head until the lady with a live parrot on the train distracted us.

When we got out at 14th Street, we raced the two blocks to the Highline entrance, our footsteps thudding up the metal staircase. This time, Seven won. He held his fists up in victory, and I took that opportunity to squeeze my arms around him in a hug that was both a punishment and a celebration.

We wandered like this, teasing and playful, along the public park converted from a freight rail line. I checked my phone on occasion, looking for Pokémon. Seven joined along on his phone, and watched over my shoulder as I sent out a lure and caught one of the rarer spawns.

“There we go.” I showed him my phone, displaying the latest catch. “Another one for the collection.”

“It looks like a snake dragon,” he muttered.

“Yeah. It’s cute.”

“I’m not doing a very good job at collecting them all.”

“It’ll come with time,” I told him. “Just watching you try though feels like I’ve caught the rarest one of them all. So maybe that makes me the ultimate winner.”

I relished the shy smile he offered me, my growling belly reminding me that lunchtime had come and gone. “You ready to grab a bite?”

“I was going to eat that Pokémon if you didn’t suggest lunch soon.” He stepped behind me, draping his arms around me, pressing my back against him. “You wanna hit those food kiosks over there?”

I looked in the direction he pointed out, spotting a sign for tacos. “Absolutely. Look, they have tacos.”

Seven dipped down, nuzzling me before he whispered, “I already ate a taco this morning.”

I giggled, swatting his arm. “Very funny.”

“I could go for another one, though.” He bit my earlobe gently. “Either type.”

“Well, we’re not trying to be put in jail for public cunnilingus,” I reminded him. “So let’s try the street tacos this time.”

We walked hand-in-hand toward the kiosks, sharing heated glances. At this point, I did feel ready to mount him publicly, indecency laws be damned. But getting a hold on his cock seemed to require a complex combination of consent, horniness, and some other thing I wasn’t aware of yet. Like he wasn’t going to give it up until I presented him with a notarized letter of vaginal readiness. But I had an idea about how to change that.

The little Michoacan-inspired Mexican kiosk served up some tender carnitas tacos in a double corn tortilla. We each ate two, grinning at each other as the occasional spot of salsa dribbled onto the ground. Once our bellies were full, we wandered the length of the park and then back again, hunting Pokémon and having the most normal, wholesome afternoon I’d had in, well, in my entire life.

There might not be a catch.

I’d never felt as safe or secure as I did when I was with Seven. He promised that nothing could ever hurt me when I was with him, and I believed it. And that sense of safety acted as gasoline on top of my already raging attraction to this man.

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