Page 84 of Safety Net
She nudged her nose against mine, asking for a kiss that I happily provided. "My thoughts exactly."
The night's extended test of endurance. Celeste and I dedicated ourselves to memorizing every inch of each other. Our break came when she asked for a cup of water. I grabbed a warm towel to help clean her up.
"There's more if you need it in the closet. And there are wipes and other things you're free to use in my bathroom," I said before finding my way downstairs. I grabbed an assortment of juices, fruit, and small sample sizes of the meals Henrik made for us to try for the beginning of the semester party.
"That smells good." Celeste sat up when she saw me. The sheets hugged her lower body. She—thankfully—remained shirtless as she leaned back on my mountain of pillows. I wanted to linger in the doorway and admire her in the warm light of the bedside lamp she'd turned up. Wanted to capture this moment perfectly so it never faded from memory, no matter how much time passed.
"I didn't realize I was so hungry," she said around a yawn. "Or sleepy."
"Yeah, the best sex of your life will do that to you,” I agreed as I reclaimed my position beside her.
She snorted, her eyes half-closed. "So presumptuous."
"Alright, giving someone the best sex of his life," I offered.
"I was kidding. I came like five times. It was hands down the best." She snuggled into a pillow and watched as I created a makeshift table using last semester's hardcover textbooks.
"You came up with a six-course meal in the middle of the night?" she asked.
"Seven if you count the shrimp puffs," I said.
"Man of my dreams."
"That would be Henrik." I picked up a puff and held it to her mouth. "He's the man of all of our dreams."
She laughed before taking a bite. I held my hand under her chin as she took another mouthful. When she reached the lastbit, her tongue briefly flicked across my finger. I was hard again in an instant. It wasn’t just the physicality of it all that's a turn on (though that could never and would never be denied). It's the opportunity to be close enough to take care of her in more ways than just one.
"What's that?" Completely unaware of how irresistible she was, Celeste moved her attention to a bowl of dumplings.
"I got it," I said before she could reach for the fork. I fed her two of them, marveling at how erotic feeding someone could be. Celeste could have me (and probably would have me) coming up with a whole new list of kinks by the night's end.
"Mm." She lay back, chewing the last of the dumplings. "I feel like a princess. I haven't lifted a finger yet."
"You never will whenever I'm around," I promised.
She smiled lazily at me and watched me for a bit as I ate a couple of bites of chicken pot pie.
"What?" I asked when I realized her gaze had become distant.
"Before this…" she began, her smile fading slightly. "You and me. Us…I was so confused about myself."
I frowned and set the fork down. "What do you mean?"
"I never thought about having sex with people." Her voice got lower as she came back to who she was outside these four walls. "Not like how most people I spend time with seem to…like, everyone I know seems to fantasize whenever they have a crush. Imagine that person there with them doing…this."
I nodded, leaning back on my elbows so that my face was close to her knees and vice versa. "That's how it works for me."
"And it's never been like that for me," she confessed. "When I realized that, I considered maybe sex wasn't for me. Which would have been fine, of course. I felt fine about that. But then…us."
"You enjoyed tonight, right?" I asked to be sure I hadn't overstepped in any way. My stomach twisted at the thought of her feeling any kind of discomfort.
"There has to be a bigger word than enjoy." She smiled. "And it's because it was with you. I know you and like you and…I started thinking about sex after I started feeling close to you. I started wanting the things everyone else seemed to want… does that make sense? Sorry if this is weird. I'm just excited, you know? It's all fresh and new."
I smiled and pushed myself up so I could grab her hand. "It makes perfect sense. And don't apologize. I love that you've discovered something about yourself with me. I love that you're letting me be a part of it."
She bit down on her bottom lip, trying to hold back her growing smile.
"Celeste?" I took a breath, wondering if I should leave it be or dig a little deeper. Give her something more to consider.
