Page 39 of Play the Field

It was still odd, to realize Cleo had been on other dates. In the last five years, they’d been with other people, saw what else was out there, and still hadn’t found what they were looking for. Maybe it was fucked-up, but I was so thrilled they hadn’t.

I buried my hands in my pockets, not trusting them to be loose. “You’re welcome, thanks for trusting me.” Looking up at the apartment, I clicked my tongue. “Well, I guess this is goodnight.”

As I turned to leave, Cleo grabbed my wrist and turned me to face them. “I actually have a book upstairs that I want to show you.”

My cheeks lifted with a goofy smile, I knew it wasn’t my sexiest smile but I doubted Cleo minded. “I’d love to see it.”

Pulling my hand out of my pocket, Cleo laced their fingers in mine and led me to the metal door which they unlocked and pushed open. Inside, was a small, tiled vestibule that led to a steep staircase.

Despite Cleo’s being the only unit in the building, they still left their upstairs door closed. And when they led me up the steps to the landing outside of their door, I realized they also kept it locked.

Laughing, I watched them move. “You know this is one of the safest towns in the country, right?”

“Maybe it’s so safe because we all lock our doors.” Cleo quipped as the latch on the door flipped.

As they pressed it open, I leaned over their shoulder and whispered. “You know just as well as I do thatno onearound here locks shit.” It was a running joke between us as teens, to see how many houses we could get into just by turning the knob. It was always followed by profuse apologies and claims that we thought this was one of our friends’s houses.

But now, as Cleo pushed open the door, I wished I could just walk in. The warmth of their decor was unavoidable. Warm tones filled the space, along with dozens of house plants and shelf after shelf of packed bookcases.

“Wow.” I looked around the whole place as I stepped inside.

Closing the door behind me, Cleo shrugged. “You like it?”

All I could do was nod. “It’s great. It’s very Cleo.” I smiled as I looked at the prints, a combination of sketched nudes and illustrated cats.

From the corner of the room, a tabby cat meowed from the top perch of his cat tree.

“Oh, that’s Finn. He’s my bestie.” Cleo winked as they summoned Finn with some tongue-clicking.

I chuckled. “He looks like a good best friend.” Allowing me to give him some pets, Finn rubbed against me after greeting his owner.

Eventually, he got bored of us and headed back to his bed. Cleo turned to me, “Do you need a coffee or anything?”

“No, but I do want to see that book.” I grinned at them. We both knew it was a ploy but I knew it was too hard for either of us to admit that we wanted to be in the same bed again. Our breakup hadn’t been pleasant.

So instead, Cleo came up with an intricate lie to get me up to their apartment.

“Right, it’s this way.” Cleo nodded as they led me down a short hallway toward their bedroom. The room opened up to tall ceilings and what I could only assume were bright, large windows in the daytime.

Looking around the room, I didn’t see any bookshelves. “Did you invent invisible shelves in the last five years?” I teased them as they bit their lip.

“Maybe.” They stepped closer to me, closing the distance between us. Even though we’d kissed twice in one week, I still felt like touching them was risky. I knew a rejection could be right around the corner.

Maybe this was all an elaborate ruse to embarrass an ex.

But looking into their blue eyes, I knew it wasn’t. Cleo wouldn’t have risked their own heart for me, for this, if they didn’t think there was a chance it could actually work. We were both too fragile for those kinds of games.

Cleo put a hand on my hip. “Is that okay?” When I nodded, they wrapped their arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug.

Sighing, I let my arms drape over their shoulders as I squeezed them closer. I felt my skin warming the cold spots on their arms, where the cold air had chilled.

As I held them, I breathed in their scent. It was something like dried flowers and old books. I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt anything more comforting than that. We stood pressed together like that for a long minute before Cleo eventually lifted their head from my chest and looked up at me.

Still keeping them close, I dipped my head lower to kiss them. But it turned from a gentle test to a passionate kiss in a matter of seconds. In the privacy of Cleo’s bedroom, we finally found the familiarity that had been there. Our lips and tongues were quick to find a new rhythm.

I bent my knees, placing my hands on the back of their thighs. Getting the signal, Cleo jumped into my arms, wrapping their strong legs around my waist.

“Fuck.” Cleo moaned as their center settled near mine before pressing their soft lips against mine again. This time, our tongues grew more reckless – desperate to get closer.

---