Page 59 of True Sight
“Hey,” he says against my lips, our faces hovering just a few inches apart.
“Hey,” I mimic. I reach to take his hand in mine and squeeze it.
“Thanks for agreeing to have our meeting here.”
“Who am I to turn down an opportunity to see sweet Annie when given the choice?” He shakes his head at my joke. Then, he pushes me back a few steps, trapping me between his body and the wall and kisses me again. This time is different from before, it’s deeper, slower. Like he’s trying to say something with it.
“Is this the real reason you asked me to come here for our meeting? So you can kiss me and make my brain go all fuzzy?” I ask when he pulls away. His hand is on the side of my neck, holding me in place. The smell of his aftershave is intoxicating to my senses.
“Well I can’t be doing this with you in public, now can I?” I know he hasn’t intended for them to, but his words sting and feel like a thousand tiny pin pricks to my heart. I try to push him away from me but he can tell how his words land and holds me in place.
“Wait, I didn’t mean—” he tries to backtrack.
“I know you didn’t.”
“It’s just that this is all new to me and?—”
“I know.” I nod my head but can’t bring myself to look him in the eyes. When he dips down and meets my gaze, he doesn’t give me a choice.
“I’m really sorry, sweets. I didn’t mean it like it came out. It’s not a you thing, it’s a me thing. Change is hard for me and this is, well, a really big fucking change.” His eyes hang low and his voice is full of remorse. He squeezes my hand in his and I squeeze back and try to smile.
“Are we okay?” His eyebrows raise in hopeful anticipation.I lean in and give him a kiss on the cheek, confirming that we are. This will be a learning experience for us both and I need to remember that.
“Let’s start that meeting, shall we?”
Holding his hand in mine, I kick off my shoes and walk towards the sofa pulling him behind me. Just like always, our four-legged companion trots in with us and promptly finds a spot for herself on the floor. After taking a seat, I pull my laptop from my bag so we can get started. He had left his own on the coffee table and places it in his lap before cracking it open and typing in his password.
“Alright, so the last few weeks I’ve been working on the app your clients will be able to use to book a class with you instead of always having to use your website. As requested, I also started to build the wireframe for a members only portal where you can upload all your past live classes for people to watch back.”
I nod my head and try to focus on what he is saying. Doing so proves to be difficult because sitting next to him gives me ample opportunity to soak in the smell of his aftershave and shampoo. I wonder if he’ll notice if I suddenly start to take deeper breaths than necessary. My eyes drift far too often to his lips and watch how they move as he talks. Some feral animal deep inside of me wishes something fierce that I can watch them move in other ways.
“Henry,” he snaps, pulling me out of the fantasy my brain is conjuring up. “Did you hear what I said?”
“Not a single word, actually,” I answer honestly. He sighs and slumps over his laptop, looking at me exasperated.
“Sweets, pay attention. This is important and the studio is set to open in another two months. There’s still a lot of work to do, you need to stay focused.” He reaches over a hand and shakes my leg.
“Well you should try to be more ugly or something because you’re the reason I’m having a hard time focusing.”
“Henry, we’ve been meeting for weeks and you’ve never had a hard time focusing before.”
“No, I’ve always had a hard time focusing. You’ve just never noticed,” I point out.
He drops his head to one side and presses his lips together in a tight line. “And why is this meeting any different?”
“Because this time we’re at your place, alone, after you rescued me from the storm and kissed me at the studio. This time, we’re meeting after I know what it’s like to feel you come undone in my hand after I get you off. Something, of which, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about,” I reply pointedly.
He clears his throat loudly and rubs the back of his neck. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it either.” His eyes glance to meet mine and I can see a faint shade of pink across his cheeks.
“Then you can understand my lack of focus.” My eyebrows press into my hairline as I wait for him to respond.
“Let’s just get this meeting done and then we can focus on other things, okay?” He looks at me through his lashes, trying to be serious.
“Okay.” I nod and give him a quick salute.
He turns back to his computer and I move a few inches closer to him so I can see his screen. He explains the ins and outs of the app he’s building and I do my best to stay focused with my eyes on the screen. If I don’t look at him, I won’t be distracted and we’ll be able to get our work done faster. The side of my body presses into his as I lean in to look at his computer and I try to ignore the warmth Ifeel where our bodies touch.Stay focused, don’t get distracted.
“Fuck this,” he growls suddenly, pulling the laptop away from me and closing it with a force. He tosses it frantically onto the coffee table. His hands reach for my arms and pull me into him, forcing his lips to mine which I eagerly allow. Slowly, he lowers himself down so he’s lying on the couch and I work my way on top of him. He has a hand wrapped around my face and keeps my lips glued to his as we push our hips into one another. I can feel him through his shorts and I know he can feel me too.
