She was mesmerizing, and I wasn’t ready to leave her side yet.
Hailey was living the life she wanted. She wasn’t tortured. Wasn’t haunted. Sure, we all had a past, but she didn’t allow it to follow her. At least, not like I allowed mine to follow me. She seemed grounded. Rooted. Unlike most artists who always had their heads in the clouds or were stuck in their dank, dark caves of desperation and despair. She was sweet and free but had a final goal in mind she was reaching for.
“You know, people always say I think about the future too much,” she said as she handed me my mug of coffee.
“Why do they say that?”
“I’m not sure. I mean, I’ve always had future plans, but I like to think I live in the present. I guess because I always talk about what I’ll eventually do with my artwork and what I’ll eventually show to the world. My sister thinks I spend too much time dreaming over the future instead of enjoying the current state of my life.”
“Well, it’s better than dwelling on the past,” I said.
“You can change the future, you know? Maybe that’s why I always look toward it, because nothing’s set in stone until it’s already happened.”
“That makes sense,” I said as I leaned against her kitchen counter.
“Do you look toward the future?” she asked.
“I think I dwell more on the past and thinking about how I could make up for it. I tend to focus on all the mistakes I made and how I wished I could change them. It’s a nasty habit.”
“I wouldn’t say you always do that,” she said. “I mean, you have a future goal to always take on the homeless employees. That’s not dwelling on the past.”
“But it is linked to my past,” I said.
“That doesn’t mean you’re dwelling on it. It just means that passion was born out of something that happened to you. Welcome to the rest of the world, Bryan,” she said, grinning.
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
We both leaned against the edge of her kitchen counter and drank our mugs of coffee. It was actually great coffee, and I drank it faster than I probably should’ve. The storm outside was only growing in momentum, and at this point, I wouldn’t be able to see if I did attempt to drive home. Hailey took my empty mug, our fingertips brushing against one another as a surge of electricity ricocheted up my arm.
Only this time, I saw goosebumps cascade up hers.
She set the empty mugs in the sink before she pulled her wrap tighter around her shoulders. Her eyes flashed with the lightning cracking across the sky, and it wasn’t until I could smell her berry perfume that I realized I was looming over her. She panned her beautiful eyes up to mine, hooking her gaze onto my face as the air around us grew thick. Maybe it was the electricity crackling around us outside, or maybe it was how inviting her body was. Maybe it was the way we seemed to view the world similarly, or maybe I was simply attracted to the beauty of her artwork.
Either way, it drew my lips to hers, and when I felt her lips pucker against mine, my hands slid slowly around her waist.
Her wrap fell from her body as her hands grasped my shirt. She pulled me closer, our lips massaging one another’s while she stood on her toes to reach me. The tips of our tongues ignited a fire that raged throughout my body. I breathed her in as my head tilted off to the side, and I knew I was about to cross a threshold I could never come back from.
“Hailey,” I said darkly.
“Mhm?”
“I have to be honest with you about something.”
“What is it?” she asked.
Her eyes were wide with innocence even as her pelvis ground into mine. I groaned with her movements, feeling my body rise to attention as her hands slid down my chest. She wrapped them around my waist, holding me close to her as her body comforted me. I lifted my hand to cup her cheek, admiring the flush that poured over her creamy skin.
“I want you,” I said.
“Bryan, I would never have invited you up if I didn’t want the same thing,” she said.
“Should we—I mean, do we need to use some sort of protection?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “Not if you don’t want to. I’ve, well, I’ve got an IUD. I mean, if that’s why you were asking that question.”
My eyes danced between hers, watching as her pupils dilated with want. I pressed my lips to her forehead, hearing her sigh as she pressed her body to mine. Slowly, delicately, I lifted her into my arms and gathered her close to my chest. She curled into me instinctively, like she’d done it for years, and I carried her over to her bed that was stashed haphazardly into the corner.
The storm raged outside as the thunder shook the walls. Our clothes came off leisurely as if peeling back the layers of a fruit before getting to its succulent, juicy center. Soon, we were clad in nothing but our own skin, my tanned hide contrasted with her milky softness. I sank between her legs, feeling her warmth and wetness grow against me as my lips sank back down onto hers.