Page 33 of Love in Focus

And then she’s kissing me, rough and hard. She tosses the shirt I gave her onto Clementine before pushing me against the wall, resting an arm in a protective arch above my head. A small moan escapes from my mouth as our tongues entangle with one another, and at the sound, her eyes flutter closed with pleasure before she cups my chin with her other hand, angling my face so her tongue can press in deeper.

We stop briefly to catch our breaths before she pulls me to Clementine so we both end up on the couch, with me straddling her between my legs as we resume making out.

I unbutton the still stained but now mostly dry shirt of hers, the thing that got us into this mess in the first place. With a frustrated growl, I fling it to the ground.

Celeste’s eyes widen with amusement. “What did my shirt ever do to you?” she teases, but the humor is quickly replaced by pleasure on her face as I cup her breasts, slipping my fingers under her bra to sweep over her hardened nipples.

It’s almost criminal how much I missed these boobs.

“Undo my bra,” she begs, and I oblige, reaching behind her to unhook the back.

The moment it drops to the floor, I’m sucking on one of her nipples while massaging the other with my fingers. She gasps, and every remaining thought leaves my brain except the need to pleasure Celeste, to touch her and make her gasp and cry out again and again.

I’ve just come back up to kiss her lips when behind me, someone coughs.

“Um, hi,” says Val. “So, I’m assuming this is Celeste?”

Celeste’s eyes widen in panic, and in one quick motion, she grabs the shirt I gave her and flings it on. Then before I can say anything, she bolts out the door, leaving me to the clutches of my best friends and their cat.

Burrito lets out a little chirp of greeting before squirming out of Kiara’s arms. My friends and I silently watch as he lands gracefully on the floor and starts sniffing Celeste’s stained shirt. Before he can get to her bra, I swiftly pick up Celeste’s things and hide them behind my back, as if that could somehow undo what were the ten most embarrassing seconds of my life.

Is this how James felt when I walked in on him and Daphne?I think.Holy shit, is this karma?

“And you’re sure there isn’t anything going on between you two?” Kiara asks with a teasing smile.

Oh, there’s something going on between Celeste and me, all right. No matter how much I wish there wasn’t.

“Positive,” I lie.

“Why don’t you toss the shirt in the laundry hamper and come talk with us?” Val asks, sounding every bit like a dad.

I do what she says. Clementine is unfortunately the only piece of furniture in the living room that can fit all three of us. So in a cruel twist of fate, my friends and I sit together on the same orange sofa where I was making out with Celeste not even five minutes ago. Thank God we’d kept most of our clothes on.

I try my best to ignore the ever-growing urge to Febreze the shit out of the couch on the off chance that it’ll smell like Celeste.

“I’m so, so sorry,” I say. “Everything just kind of happened. I feel horrible. You guys were nice enough to give me a place to stay while I figure things out and I completely disrespected your property. I understand if you want me to—”

Val and Kiara look at each other and burst into giggles. I’m confused, but I’m mostly relieved. Laughter is much better than the alternative.

“Gemma, you’re fine,” Kiara says. “I mean, it was a bit of a shock for sure, but it’s not like you guys were flat out having sex in our living room or anything.”

But it could have easily gone there.My face heats up, and I’m not sure from what. Shame? Arousal? All of the above?

“Still,” I say. “Sorry. I lost control. It was the first time we’ve been that physical since college.”

Val raises her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t expect any less. She’s the girl that made you realize you’re bi, right?”

“Yeah.”

My friends laugh again, and this time, I join in. From an outsider’s point of view, I guess my current situationisfunny. I can see that now that some of the embarrassment has faded away.

“So… what are you going to do now, Gemma?” Kiara asks, her voice gentle and careful.

I check my phone. Celeste and I don’t text regularly. Or at least, not anymore. After what happened today, though, it feels like I should get some kind of message from her. But there’s nothing. Not even a “Hey, do you have my shirt?”

“Well, if what happened today doesn’t scare her off, I’ll just have to keep working with her,” I reply. “It’s way too late to get someone else, and also, she’s really good at her job.”

Kiara smiles, and Val declares, “You know, I think this will be good for you. This project will help your careerandbe the perfect, hot distraction after your traumatizing breakup with James. What more can you want?”

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