Page 22 of Temptation at Randy's

I had more experience than her. I’d tested the waters—in the most surface level possible. It had never felt like this. Not exactly. I wanted to lean into the power, to test how far I could take it.

“Yeah?” I prepared another bite as I asked.

“I kind of need you to pinch me right now.”

I chuckled. That was funny. “You’re lucky I’m not a Sadist.”

“Am I?” Arlene retorted.

She was probably not planning on it given the shade of red her face turned to the second the words were out.

I liked that. I wanted her to let go, to say whatever came to mind first. Fuck filters.

“You tell me.” I shrugged. Arlene wrapped her lips around the fork again. It made me want to kiss her again. There was a speck of chocolate above her lip line that called to me. It was just about the chocolate. “I’m happy to go with the flow, but I’ve got a feeling you need more specifics.”

“Yeah.” I tilted her head up before she could look down. I didn’t want her to feel small or to be embarrassed.

I took the chance to kiss her, too. Her breath hitched when my tongue poked out to get that leftover chocolate.

“So, talk to me.”

Arlene licked her lips again. “I guess I don’t really understand what’s in this for you, and I don’t want to feel like I’m taking advantage, or we’re at different places?”

“Huh?”

She groaned, slouching forward. Her head fell against my torso. There was no thinking involved when my fingers tangled through her hair and kept her there.

“I’m sorry. This is embarrassing.”

“What is?”

Before, I’d just needed a second to process and figure out a way to put my response into words that would make sense. Now I was genuinely confused.

“I get too far ahead in my head, and… We just kissed, but I’m already building this up, and… Ugh.” A mix between a moan and a groan slipped past her lips. “I’m sorry—I can go if you want.”

“I don’t.” That much, I knew at least. “I think… It’s a lot to explain, and I don’t have all the answers.”

That was the understatement of the year.

Arlene snorted. “I bet you still have more answers than I do.”

“Do I?” I mused. Chances were I did, to be fair. I just didn’t know how to transform them into words. “I’m enjoying this. I… I can’t tell you that we get the same type of pleasure from it. I mean, we don’t, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

Arlene frowned as I spoke. I liked how she focused on every single word and stopped herself from interjecting. It was clear in the way her eyes squinted at times.

“Is it a turn off that I’m stopping to ask about this?”

“The opposite, actually,” I said.

It was true.

“Oh.” I didn’t know it would be so surprising. “That’s good.”

“Yeah.” I’d analyze everything and what all my reactions to her meant later, but not now. For once, I was more interested in living in the moment. “We should eat the crepes first, though. And talk. And we can see where to go from there?”

If anyone asked, no, my voice didn’t go that high pitched toward the end there.

SEVEN

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