Anna was getting emotionally ready for another nerdy party. Her new fiancé was a recent physics graduate, and all of his best friends were also physics students or graduates. It's not that they weren't interesting to talk to, they were. They drank, they laughed and talked, but mostly they wanted to play games. Anna had been to three of these shindigs so far, and the entire party ended up sitting around a table staring at cards and competing. She was trying to fit in and make friends, so she would go to the parties, smile, and try hard. But she didn't fit in. They were nerds of the 10th degree, and Anna was... well... different than that.
She took pride in her appearance, with her 24-inch waistline, toned arms, and hourglass curves. But this carefully constructed exterior was more than just style--it was protection. Years of always feeling like an outsider had taught her that looking perfect was sometimes easier than feeling truly seen. The first time she walked into a room, she felt those familiar eyes sliding over her--judging, assessing. These weren't just nerdy intellectuals; they were a reminder of every social circle where she'd never quite belonged. Anna knew the whispers: "How does she fit here?" A question she'd heard too many times before.
"Are you ready?" her fiancé called out. "Almost!" she replied. "You know I'm nervous and my makeup is my armor!" Anna dotted a little bit of final color high up on her cheekbones and admired her handiwork. She looked polished and self-assured, already carrying herself with a confidence that belied her 25 years. She flew down the stairs and tore out the door, nearly forgetting to lock it behind her. Her fiancé was leaning against the car, staring at his phone.
He lowered the phone as she approached and walked to the other side to open the car door for her. She beamed. She elegantly brushed her skirts under her and sat down, swinging her legs in behind her as he closed her door and got in to drive them the 2 hours up from the city to his old college town. He put on some music for them, and then looked over at her. She was looking at him with a sexy little smirk on her face. He cocked his head and asked
"What's on your mind, baby girl?" Her smirk spread into a full grin,
"Oh, I'm just remembering a drive we took up to the school a couple of months ago, when we got off the highway and went slow on country roads..." She trailed off, and let her eyes slowly wander down from his eyes to linger on his lips, then his arms, then down further still. In one smooth motion, he sprang out of his seatbelt and pounced at her, pulling her face close to him by the back of her head with one hand, and reclining her seat back to lying flat with the other.
He growled through his kiss,
"Oh, baby girl, you can't be riling me up before this party. I won't be able to do anything for you and we'll both end up frustrated." With a giggle in her throat, Anna purred,
"Well maybe I want your frustration. I can save up yours and mine and release it the moment we get home tomorrow."
Anna found his fingers and interlaced his with hers, then brought his hand up delicately to her lips and let his index finger come inside the rose of her lips, licking the tip with the full length of her tongue before gentle squeezing his finger with his teeth. Keeping his fingers between her teeth, she released his hand, and gentle ran the backs of her nails, his arms and under the hem of his sleeves, tracing the line where biceps and triceps meet.
All the while, she kept her eyes fixed on his, surrounding his awareness like hearing your name whispered across a crowded room and being unable to unhear it. She stayed there, squeezing his arms with her hands and his finger with her teeth, for the space of a long breath before releasing him with one more wicked grin. Anna released her seat and swatted him away. "Drive." She said, "We're already going to be late."
When they arrived, their hosts showed them the spare bedroom where they were going to be staying the night. It was very recent-graduate-chic, with three blowup mattresses spread across the floor from wall to wall. Her fiancé walked out immediately to greet his buddies. Anna smiled as she heard him laugh just a little too loudly from the other room. He was happy, and she was happy for him. "I can do this" she whispered to herself, and then opened the door to join the party. She walked into an open floorplan, with a couch in the corner, a dining room table in the middle, and a kitchen taking up the rest of the room. There were bottles and pizza boxes open on the kitchen counters, and at the table a board game was already halfway finished. All of Anna's fiancé's friends had an empty beer in front of them and a full one ready to go. Giving them a confident wave, Anna grabbed a drink and sat down next to her fiancé, letting the heat of his body radiating off of him give her strength.
When the third board game was over and the fourth was coming out, Anna was ready to give up, she'd stayed pretty well glued to her fiancé all night, and was ready to let him enjoy his friends without a tag-a-long. She gave her fiancé a kiss on the cheek, leaning in, "Goodnight, dear, I'm going to turn in. Have a fun rest of the party." He nuzzled her and gave her a look that said he understood and gave her hand a soft squeeze.