Page 25 of Elanie & the Empath
His low chuckle followed me all the way out into the hall.
Blake’s handwas plastered to my ass, heavy and annoying, like I’d sat on a moon jelly. When he nudged me into his pod, I noticed that candles flickered on his dresser. He’d actually made his bed, and on his bedside table sat two bottles of lube, one cherry flavored. I guess he hadn’t thrown it away after all…
Slinking up behind me, he kissed my shoulder and ran his hands up and down my arms. “What’s the matter, baby? You feel tense. Didn’t you like the happleccino?”
No, I didn’t like the happleccino. Nobody with taste buds wouldeverlike the happleccino.
I turned around in his arms. “Can I ask you a question?”
His brow waggled. “Is this like a truth-or-dare or never-have-I-ever thing? That’s so hot.”
I bit back a frustrated grunt. “No. It’s a serious question.”
“Oh. Okay. Um, what is it?” He tugged on a strand of my hair in a way he probably meant to be gentle but was more of an uncomfortable yank.
Swiping my hair back over my shoulder and out of his grasp, I asked, “Have you ever heard voices?”
“Huh?”
“Voices. Like someone’s talking to you but nobody’s there.”
Blinking at me, he reiterated, “Huh?”
“Never mind.” I rolled my eyes. This was useless. “Forget it.”
“Okay, cool.” Kicking his shoes off into a corner, he unzipped his pants. “I just caught the tail end, but that Dr. Semson sure can sing. And wasn’t that your favorite song? That Mavis Valentine?—”
“Macey,” I corrected while he stripped in front of me. No teasing, no slowly unbuttoning one button at a time, just stripping and hurling his shirt unceremoniously over his shoulder.
“Oh, right,” he said while stepping out of his pants. “Whatever. But he always seems like such a buzzkill. So serious all the time. It was cool to see him unwind.”
“He’s actually kind of funny,” I said while Blake tossed his pants onto a chair. “What are you doing?”
“Taking off my clothes, duh. What does it look like? Hard to have sex with clothes on.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I huffed out a breath. “And what if I don’t want to?”
“Take your clothes off?” He raised a shoulder. “That’s cool. I can work around?—”
“Have sex.” My voice swelled in volume. “What if I don’t want to have sex with you?”
“You don’t?”
“No.”
“Babe, why not?” His shoulders caved in a whine of a slump. “I’ve been waiting all day. I got the lube. I even got candles. We’re a couple, Elanie. We’re supposed to have sex. All my friends are having sex. Likeallthe time. What’s the big deal?”
I looked at him,reallylooked at him. And it was like I’d swiped my fingers over a steamy bathroom mirror and I could finally see him clearly. I didn’t love Blake. I wasn’t even sure I liked him. He was just…there. And I didn’t want my first time to be with someone who was just there.
I wanted more.
Taking a step toward him, I reached out for his arm and gave it a little pat. “I think we should break up.”
“What?” he blurted out, standing there in nothing but his tight black underwear. “You want to break up? I thought you loved me, or whatever.”
“Do you love me?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
“Totally. You’re my girlfriend.”
