The week following the game of Abstinence was tumultuous. The once solitary rhythm of my thoughts hiccuped with sharp, intrusive thoughts of my neighbor.
Showers were with the lights off; I washed myself in the concealing dimness to avoid facing the truth.ย For the first time ever I'd been exposed to a man, and worse, it was him.
What had he seen when he looked at me? Was he repulsed by the twenty extra pounds I'd gained in his absence? Every imperfection had been laid bare by that stupid game;ย the freckles that dotted my breasts and traveled across my stomach, the slight sag to my larger bust, or maybe the molten core of my traitorous pussy?
The mirror showcased me caressing my breasts, reliving the feeling of his hands covering me. I cursed the heat beginning between my legs. Work was waiting and I couldn't dally.
***
He was a block ahead of me when I exited the metro station and headed to the office. His gait was easy this morning, no tension across his broad shoulders. My pulse quickened as my eyes wandered down his body. Friends, I reminded myself as images of his nudity seared across my brain. Those thoughts were tucked tightly into a recessed corner as I resumed walking.
He was there at the security desk when I stepped off the sidewalk and pushed through the heavy door. Saying goodbye to the security guard, he fell into step beside me.
"Good morning," he said.
"Hey," I responded, my eyes meeting his in quiet hesitation. His lips, pulling up at the corner, genuine, exuding warmth and friendship dashed my lingeringย hope for sparks or butterflies.
The elevator doors closed in front of us, surrounding us with stillness, silence thick in the air. The backs of his fingers trailed down my arm. A sharp intake of breath.ย Mine or his? The radiant warmth of his skin bridged the miniscule gap between his lips and my earlobe.ย I counted the seconds, waiting for him to speak.
"See you Saturday."
The elevator doors opened and I stumbled through.
***
The line of numbers fuzzed before my eyes for the third time. I had forgotten what I was looking for and it wasn't even lunch time yet. The look my lab partner gave me strongly suggested I take a break.
Locked in a bathroom stall, a firm resolve to pull it together echoed in my brain. Work needed to resume, but my mind circled around nails down my skin and warm breath in my ear. The fixation vexed me; I needed a clearer mind.
The chill of subway tiles behind my head did nothing to cool me. Concentrating on my breathing only brought hyper awareness of my breasts moving against my shirt. A meticulously manicured red nail ran small circles around a nipple.ย Another joined on the other side, the rhythm picking up as my face heated and my body tensed.
Skin hot and wanting, I lifted my shirt and freed my breasts from confining lace. Cool air raced against my nipples, aroused from touch and being bared in this inappropriate venue. I cupped my breasts, squeezing, feeling his imagined hardness behind me like a steel rod against my back. Panties drawn to one side, my fingers slid over my clit. Breath held against the moan threatening at the back of my throat, my pussy gushed with release. Frantically pulling paper from the dispenser, I blotted at the arousal dripping from my cunt down my thighs. Clean, with a clear head, and my clothing righted, I was prepared to face the world. I tossed the ruined panties in the wastebasket on my way out.
***
"Love isn't real," My roommate lectured over a bowl of chocolate ice cream. "It's just trying out different people until you find one you can stand for the next thirty years."
"That is the most fatalistic thing I've ever heard," I told her.
"Paul was a psychopath." She stabbed her spoon back into the ice cream.
"Better to find out now, right?"
"It's all just compromise," she stated.
"How did you get so jaded?" Rhetorical questions whizzed through my mind. This was a typical conversation following one of my roommate's explosive breakups. "I still believe in happily ever after. One day I'll meet my soulmate," I insisted.
"Fat fucking chance," she said more vehemently than called for. "Hallmark movies were written by desperate writers who have never been laid."
We'd had this conversation over and over in various forms, but that didn't stop hot tears from leaking out the corners of my eyes. I blinked and rubbed them away, hoping my roommate wouldn't notice.
"Why are you crying? I just got dumped." I closed my eyes, but it didn't stop the tears. "I'm not upset," she added. "I'm just resetting."
"God, I know. And it's my eyes crying, not me; I just want my forever. And I want it for you too, even if you don't believe." I sniffled and tried to eat another bit of ice cream. The tears had slowed and I thought I'd finally gotten control.
"Maybe I'll hit up our neighbor next weekend, see if he's any fun late at night," she mused. The tears resumed. I'd been both disappointed and relieved when my roommate's breakup gave me an excuse to put off the game for a week. My roommate raised an eyebrow at the fresh tears.
"Did you fuck him?" she asked.
A laugh escaped my throat and rattled around my bowl of ice cream.
"Of course you didn't," she said. "You should. You two have a real connection."
Images flashed into my mind. Hands exploring the contours of my stomach. An intimate gaze upon my nude body. The tickle of his whispers in my ear. I raised the bowl of ice cream to my forehead and rolled it across my cheeks, willing the growing flush to evaporate from my skin.
"He kissed you didn't he?" she asked.
My hand on his cock. His finger inside me.