Page 59 of Spring Awakening

He chokes. “Fuck you.”

“Zach, think about how many hot people are going to be thinking about you later.”

“I don’t care about them,” he grunts. “Okay, how’s this?” He’s on his fingertips instead of having his palms flat, but it’s a pretty good show.

“Go—”

He falls to the floor. She stands over him, her head keeping the sunlight out of his eyes.

“Good job, honey.”

Zach usually showers at work. He even has his slides in his bag, but he’s not sure he’d get around the changing room without someone noticing his erection. He feels like a teenager, with the inability to get his dick to go down. It’s Mali’s fault, as it has been every single time he’s been hard since he met her. She had to stand behind him. She had to hold onto his hips. She had to praise him. He’s going insane with it.

For a while, he thought she was messing with him. That she fancies the fuck out of him, and she wants him so badly she’s flirting with him out in the open. She wants him to crawl under her desk and eat her out. She wants him.

And then she went over to Kai and told him he was doing a good job. She touched the back of Ezra’s knee. She helped Toby sort his footing out. And she didn’t come back to him. So, Zach put in more effort, and now he thinks he’s pulled a muscle in his back, which is the reason he’ll pretend he’s running home to shower and not showering here.

“Zach,” Mali calls out, and he spins to see her jogging towards him. As if he wouldn’t have waited for her. “Are you going home?”

“Yeah,” he replies, hoping she doesn’t call him out on his sweaty face and the fact he’s still got his uniform on.

“Can you wait two minutes?”

He frowns. Probably not. He’s about to come in his pants from the memory of her behind him. “Sure. Why?”

She smiles, and he doesn’t care what the reason is, he’ll wait anyway. “I’m working from home this afternoon because the internet’s being a nuisance. We can walk together.”

“Cool.”

She giggles. “Cool. Don’t move!” she says, then she runs back to her desk, and he leans against the wall, desperately trying to calm down.

By the time she’s back, Zach has successfully got his dick to soften. Slightly. Enough that no one would notice if they walked past, but not enough that if the wind was against him, the outline wouldn’t be the first thing people saw.

“Wanna walk by the river?” Mali asks. She tucks her briefcase between her legs and pulls his jumper over her head. Zach wonders why she didn’t do this at her desk. If she was worried he’d run away and leave her here.

“Sure,” he replies. Zach doesn’t walk along the river often. It’s not the direct route to their house, and he doesn’t ever have the desire to explore. But it’s a nice day, and he thinks Mali would look pretty with the river next to her.

“Yay, okay.”

Zach gives her another few minutes and then she pulls him out of the hallway with her hand on his arm.

The walk along the river is only a few minutes longer than going along the road, but it’s nice. Zach should take more time to do things he enjoys. He wonders if Mali would want to walk with him more often.

“Buff would love it here,” he says, and Mali laughs.

“Yeah. He’s allowed out of the house, but you know he loves to be cosy. I doubt he’s ever come this far. I get so scared a car will run him over.”

“It’s pretty,” Zach says, looking right at her, but she’s not looking at him.

She hums. “Did you used to come here?” Mali asks, looking up at him. “As a kid? We used to come for picnics all the time.”

“Not really,” he replies. “I’ve lived in Toulshire my whole life, give or take, but I don’t know, it’s never felt like home to me.”

“Really? You don’t think about bringing your kids here?”

Zach frowns. “I’m not having children.”

“Oh,” she replies, pulling her lip between her teeth. “Sorry. I know that’s not really a question you’re meant to ask anymore.”

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