Page 17 of Finally Home

Ollie

I’m well and truly fucked.

Not physically, of course, but I did not see that happening. But as I replay the moments in the elevator with our bodies pressed together, hands touching anywhere and everywhere, lips and tongues tasting, I can’t help but want to do it again. And my dick thoroughly agrees. It was as if someone brought my fantasies to life.

I tell myself it was just a moment of passion, fueled by emotions. As soon as we were back in the safety of our room, reality set back in. Hollie grabbed her stuff and headed for the bathroom quietly while I headed for the balcony. Usually, I would stop her from sinking back into herself, but I’m too busy, lost in my own thoughts at the moment.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out to find texts from Rhyland.

Rhy:Just making sure you aren’t lying on the side of the road, robbed and stripped naked.

Rhy:But if you are, I call dibs on your movie collection.

Me:Fuck you, asshole!

“Ollie, the bathroom is all yours,” Hollie calls out through the open sliding glass door. I pocket my phone, not waiting for a response from my so-called best friend. The man thinks he’s got jokes. Joke’s on him when I put an ad in the paper looking for a new best friend.

I run my hands down my face and let out a heavy exhale. Everything is going to be just fine.

When I re-enter the room, I close and lock the slider and adjust the curtain. Hollie is fumbling with the closet, I assume hanging up her dress. I quickly grab my clothes, having learned my lesson the last time, and secure myself in the bathroom. I thought I would be safe putting distance between us, but as soon as I do, I’m surrounded by Hollie’s scent. It’s as if she’s wrapped around me in a warm hug.

That hug instantly reminds me of having her in my arms in the elevator. And once again, my dick is ready to party. Gripping my cock through the fabric of my pants, I debate what to do.

Would it be weird to take a second shower for the night and jerk off to take the edge off? Would she know exactly what I’m doing? Why does that bother me? Would she touch herself out there if she thought I was touching myself in here? That imageryis not doing a damn thing for lessening my erection.Again, I’m severely fucked.

Against the better judgment of my hard dick, I decide to not jerk off and just ignore it. I’ll be home soon enough and can jerk off as much as I want. I strip out of my suit and slip into a pair of gym shorts.

“Shit,” I mutter as I shuffle through my travel bag and realize I left my toothpaste at home.

I see the tube peeking out of Holly’s bag. The color of the tube isn’t an easily recognizable brand, but maybe she just likes to buy off brands. Toothpaste is toothpaste. I’m sure she won’t mind if I borrow some.

As soon as I bring the loaded toothbrush to my mouth, I gag. Toothpaste explodes from my mouth, spraying all over the mirror.

“What the actual fuck?” I choke out.

Is this some sort of penance for lying about our relationship?

“Oh my God, are you okay?” Holly rushes into the room, adjusting the straps of her top. I catch her reflection in the mirror only briefly. Sadly, I can’t even appreciate what she’s wearing or maybe the lack of clothing that she’s wearing before I focus on the task at hand—ridding the flavor from my mouth.

I swirl water around in my mouth before spitting once more, however the disgusting taste still lingers on my tongue. Grabbing the hand towel from the rack, I scrape the material along my tongue. I don’t even care about the number of germs I’m putting in my mouth right now.

When I look up in the mirror, I find Hollie leaning against the doorframe, her eyes scrutinizing me. It’s then that I fully take in her pajamas—is she trying to kill me here?I am a man, after all, and have only so much restraint. Silk shorts and a camisole tank wrap around her body, leaving me no question what hides beneath her clothes. Her nipples poke through the thin material,and a sliver of skin teases me where the top ends and her shorts begin.

“What the hell is that?” I stress each word slowly.

Her brows bunch as she searches for what I’m referring to. She follows my gaze and walks over to the counter beside me. “Um, my toothpaste,” she says as she holds the item in question.

“Yeah, I got that. But what are you, a child?”

“No.” She blushes. “I have a prescription toothpaste for my sensitive teeth. It helps the lack of enamel.” I mean, that makes sense why I didn’t recognize the packaging, but it sure as shit doesn’t explain the taste of ass lingering in my mouth. “And the pharmacy screwed up when I picked up my last script. They made it fruit flavored instead of mint.”

Hollie’s shoulders slump as if she’s embarrassed, and she tucks the tube back into the travel bag and zips it up. “I was in a rush and didn’t think to check because hello, what adult wants fruit-flavored toothpaste?”

What I hate even more than that she feels she needs to defend herself is the fact that it’s because of me and my reaction that she’s doing it.

“Okay, then.” Well, we’re going to need to work on her speaking up more. “I’m pretty sure I saw travel-size toothpastes at the little store by the front desk. Be right back.”

Quickly grabbing the hotel key from the end table, I’m out the door. I don’t bother waiting for the elevator. It’s only two floors down, so I jog down the hall to the main stairs that lead me directly to the lobby.

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