Page 22 of Happily Ever Laughter

It strikes me yet again that I want to do that for him, in every possible way.

I blow out all of my air in an attempt to release some tension. “All right. I’m ready.”

Felix clicks a button on the laptop, and I see a tiny red light appear on his screen. He points to me and gives a thumbs up.

Desperately trying to remember what tiny tips I can recall from a poetry reading workshop I did years ago, I plant my feet and lift my chin, trying to take up a bit more space with my lungs.

“Coffee and tea are precisely the same thing,” I deadpan. Then after counting to three, I state, “The ripples in the orange juice will always smell of Florida.”

I glance at Felix who has his hand over his mouth, shaking silently as he tries not to let his laughter make a sound. With his free hand, he motions for me to continue and do it again. I repeat the lines in a light airy bimbo voice, then again in a slightly halting cadence as if I were completely unsure about what words even were.

Felix stops the recording, laughing out loud. “These voiceovers are completely ridiculous and you looked so earnest. That was perfect. Just give me a minute.”

I sit back in my chair, leaning in close as he drops the words into the specifically timed parts of the music. Then he calls up the video and plays the entire thing together.

It’s wonderful.

My mouth falls open. “Play it again.”

It’s absurd and precious and lovely. So out of place that it really is laugh out loud funny.

“We are an amazing team,” he says, leaning in to kiss my cheek. He sets the last two files to process, while loading the rest of them onto the network’s servers.

I take a moment to tidy up the Chinese take out containers and bags of snacks. To think that I’ve never had pretzel sticks with mustard and barbecue sauce until tonight. My world is expanding all over the place.

Throwing the garbage away in the kitchen, I cautiously sneak a look around for Felix’s roommates, but the rest of the apartment is silent.

I can’t be completely certain, but I’m pretty sure there had been another mug’s worth of coffee in the pot. But now it’s gone, and the machine is turned off. Which means that the quiet author guy is around somewhere. I hurry back into Felix’s room and close the door.

The last two files are already processed, so he loads them, and sends Gretchen an email.

“Well, that’s it,” he says, turning to me with a wickedly handsome grin. “Your first artistic project for broadcast in the can. How do you feel, sweetheart?”

“I don’t even know,” I say honestly. “I think my head is still spinning.”

Felix looks at me with such a seductive smile that my mind begins to reel for a different reason. I’ve always been a very visual person. Right now, I’m visualizing his lips wrapping around my nipple, his fingertips skating across my skin, his eyes afire as I moan his name.

The picture in my mind is so clear that a shudder runs through me.

There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t repeat that amazing experience from the van yesterday, but from the comfort of his bed this time.

Felix stands, walking closer to tower over me. “Thank you so much for helping me with everything, gorgeous,” he says softly. He sits far enough away that he can turn to face me.

“If you like, I can see if the van is here and drive you home.”

“Do you have any plans first thing in the morning?” I ask.

“Just thinking about you.”

I can feel different parts of my body start to announce my desires, since I can’t find the words. As his palm slips along my shoulder and down my back, my nipples tighten into pebbles, as my bra suddenly feels too tight. My thighs tighten, as a strange feeling of emptiness comes over me.

“Of course,” Felix says smoothly, “it is very late. Would you like to sleep here with me?”

My chin nods before I even tell it to move. My mind is slowly checking out as my lust takes center stage, kicking all logic and propriety to the curb.

He shifts closer, leading down to slowly drag his lips along the column of my throat. “I’m not going to make any assumptions, Tanis. But even just holding you all night would be incredible.”

My hand darts out, slipping underneath his t-shirt to glide up the firm ladder of his abs. He responds by yanking the shirt off completely and tossing it over a chair.

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