Page 36 of Stick Break
I move to stand behind her, and pull her carefully back against my chest. My arms wrap around her. My hands slide up and down her arms, slow and steady, chasing away her tremble. I feel her body slowly settle, inch by inch.
When she finally stops shaking, I tug her closer and sit on the fold out chair, pulling her into my lap. She melts into me like she’s been holding herself upright for far too long. My arms tighten instinctively, pulling her closer. We don’t say anything for a long time. I just keep tracing light strokes up and down her arms, slow, soothing, repetitive. It’s all I have to offer her right now.
“Rip,” she says softly, breaking the quiet.
“Yeah?”
“It’s really nice to be… touched.”
My throat tightens. I don’t answer right away. Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t trust what might come out if I do.
When I don’t respond, she tries to laugh it off. “God, I don’t know what’s wrong with me tonight. I had a great day. I forgot everything for a while. But the second I closed my eyes…” She breathes out, shaky. “Real life rushed back in like a flood. Maybe I’m just feeling sorry for myself.”
“It’s okay to feel that way, Char. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t felt the same these past few weeks.” I snap my fingers softly. “Your whole future, everything you thought was locked in, can disappear in a second.”
She pulls back just enough to look at me, her eyes shadowed but open. “I think I’m just… lost,” she admits. “I used to know what I wanted. Life was all about chasing the dream. But now, that dream turned into a nightmare. And suddenly, I don’t know what I want anymore. I only know what I don’t want.”
“That’s scary,” I say quietly.
She nods. “Scary for you too.”
I touch her face, fingers brushing along the soft curve of her cheek. She doesn’t flinch. Instead, she leans into the contact like it’s the only thing keeping her from breaking. Then when she lets out a little sigh, it tears something open inside me. Maybe what she needs tonight isn't advice, or solutions, or someone telling her it’ll all be okay.
Maybe she just needs…
To be touched. To be held. To feel something other than loneliness. Just for a little while.
“For the record,” I murmur, voice low, “I like touching you.”
I slide my hand around her back, draw her in tighter, let my thumb skim a line up her spine. She moans, soft, breathy, unguarded.
“That is nice,” she whispers.
She tucks herself into me again, her hand pressing against my chest, fingers splayed over my heart like she’s trying to memorize its rhythm. I groan, quiet but rough, her touch doing things to me I can’t hide anymore. My body reacts without permission. My dick stiffens, thick and insistent, pressed between us.
She freezes.
Her hand stills.
I stop breathing.
“Rip…” she says, her voice unsteady.
“Yeah, Char?” I whisper back, afraid to move, afraid to speak too loudly and break the spell.
“Everything about today was perfect,” she whispers. “But I’m such a mess, Rip. I want this—God, I do want this. But I also don’t want to…use you. You’ve been so good to me. I don’t want to take advantage of you, or the situation.”
She’s unraveling right in front of me, not in a chaotic way, but in the quiet, brave way people do when they’re finally safe enough to speak the truth.
She feels safe with me.
I keep my voice low, steady. “This doesn’t have to be anything it’s not, Charley. No promises. No pressure. Just two people needing something real right now. A fleeting moment that becomes a memory—a good one. One we can hold onto when everything else feels like it’s out of our control.”
She looks up, eyes glassy. “But,” I add gently, tapping my temple, “If this is going to make things harder for you in here… if it’s going to tangle things up more…”
“I want this, Rip,” she cuts in, sure now. Her voice is soft, but her conviction is steel. “Tonight, I want you. I want to feel something that isn’t shame or fear or regret. I want to make a memory that doesn’t hurt.”
Something tightens in my chest, deep and aching. She chose me. Me. The guy with a torn groin, and an unsure future, and I won’t treat that like it’s nothing.
