Page 41 of Praise You

Chuckling, I shake my head. “She’s feisty, but not that feisty. And she’s usually pretty good about keeping her distance. Except when she wants something, then she lets it be known she’s needy.” I watch as Ember gives us one more aggravated look before jumping off the bed and walking over to her cat pole in the corner of my room. "Sorry, I fell asleep again."

"No worries. What time is it?"

"About ten AM. Is there somewhere you need to be?" Please say no, I want to say, but don't. I don't want to come off as clingy, but I'm not ready to say goodbye just yet.

"No, I don't have to be home or anything. Is there anything you need to do today? Or have planned for today?"

"No."

"Wanna come with me to a farmers market? It's something I do on weekends sometimes. There's one about forty-five minutes away that's doing some big New Year’s celebration and having a ton of sales."

"That sounds really fun." And it does. Plus, the fact it's farther away means that maybe Ronan and I can go out and be us without having to worry about anyone seeing us.

"I don't have anything to wear, but if you're cool with it, I'll run home real quick to change and then come back here?"

"Okay, that's fine."

"Awesome. I'll be back in a little bit."

Ronan gives me a toe-curling kiss goodbye, before getting dressed and heading out. As soon as the door shuts behind him, I jump up and stride to the bathroom, wanting to get in the shower. I don't know if this is considered a date or not, but I want to make sure I look my best for our outing.

I take my time in the shower, making sure to lather every inch of my skin with my coconut body wash. My soapy hand touches my dick and it twitches, but otherwise doesn't rally. Stepping under the spray of water, I think back to this morning with Ronan. Him using his mouth on me. Fuck. Me using my mouth on him. As soon as he told me I didn't have to do it back to him, I knew there was nothing I wanted more. And fuck yes, I was nervous, but once I started, I gave it my all. God, I never realized how much I would love sucking dick. I was always intimidated by the act at first, but now I can't wait to do it again.

Maybe tonight.

After our maybe-date.

I rinse off my body, then step out of the shower, grabbing my towel off the handle. Drying myself, I rub the towel through my hair, making sure there's no water on my body. I hang my towel back up, then slide on some briefs before standing in front of the mirror. Staring at myself, I debate whether to wear my glasses or my contacts. Wanting to be comfortable, I decide to wear my glasses, sliding them onto my face. Using the hair gel, I quickly style my hair. Once I'm happy with my appearance, I walk over to my closet and pick out an outfit.

Walking around at a farmers market seems like I need to wear something comfortable. I've never been to a farmers market before, but I'm picturing it as some outdoor shop where people buy tons of different things. I end up picking blue jeans and a button-down shirt, snickering when I remember how annoyed Elias was with a similar outfit I picked just two nights ago.

Waiting for Ronan to make his way back, I make sure to feed Ember so she's happy, then sit on the couch and scroll through my phone. I find a game I haven't played in forever, so I open the app and start playing. I must get lost in the game because there's a knock on my door, causing me to jerk on the couch.

Getting up, I walk over to the door, taking a deep breath before opening it. Standing in front of me is Ronan, looking sexy as hell. He's wearing his standard black jeans with a black tee and combat boots. His hair is styled, and he leans against the doorframe, eyeing me up and down.

"You know, I love seeing you in those suits you wear to class, but I love seeing you in your comfortable clothes just as much," he purrs, causing me to melt. I loop my finger through his belt loop and pull him into my apartment. Once the door is shut, I'm on him again, kissing him roughly, shoving my tongue into his mouth. Pulling away, he chuckles, wiping his saliva from my lip. "Come on, let's go before we end up not leaving at all."

"Ugh. Fine. Let's go."

I drive us toward the small town. We spend the entire drive talking about our plans for the next semester. I love hearing he wants to be a literature teacher and I love seeing his face light up when he discusses how much he thinks he would enjoy teaching. Once he's done telling me about his plans, I take some time to tell him more about me and how I decided to become a professor.

"Are you happy you decided to move here?" he asks, when we get on the subject of how I got the job at BU.

"I really am. It sucks being away from my family, but I love that I got to do something for me. No lie, it was scary at first, but it's been worth it. Have you thought about moving anywhere else?"

"Well, my parents still live in the town I grew up in. Coming to BU was something I did for me. I've always wanted to move back, but now I'm not so sure. I really love it here, and I don't see myself leaving."

"Me either," I look over at Ronan, loving that we’re having the same thoughts.

I pull into the parking lot, easily finding a spot near the entrance. We get out of the car and walk side by side under the awning. There're a ton of customers milling around, booths all over the area in front of us. I'm in awe of all the different things I'm seeing while we walk down the path. There are booths with candles, some with art, and a ton with different types of food. They have everything you could want here and more.

"Wow," I say, amazed. "There's so much. Is it always like this?"

"Uh, yes and no. There're always different booths, but I think there's more right now since they're doing a special event for New Year’s."

"How often do you come here?"

"A couple times a month. I tend to come here by myself. I'm not as outgoing as my roommates, so I use it as a time to get away." His voice dies down before he reaches for my wrist. "Oh! This is what I was wanting to show you. Come here."

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