“Oh . . . yeah, I guess not,” she says and then adds, “But you will in May when we have our production. You’ll see me a lot. I have three ensembles plus my solo.”
“It just bothers me that there is a huge part of your life that I’ve never seen.” I see her nearly every day wearing her leotards, warm-up pants, and leg-warmers. I even watch her stretch and do her ankle exercises every chance I get. But I have yet to see my girl dance.
“Well, I can grab some videos at the studio of past performances,” she offers. “They have also recorded some of our studios this year. Would that suffice for you, watching me on video?”
I grab her, flipping her down on the couch onto her back, and nip her neck before letting her know, “Nothing about you will ever suffice for me. I’m always gonna want more.”
She laughs as we continue to kiss, and when she begins tugging my shirt up, I reach back and pull it over my head, tossing it onto the floor. Her smile is big and she keeps it on her face when I take her ankle and begin kissing and sucking my way up her leg. I love these legs.
I grip her behind her knees and go in for a slow kiss. The taste of her in my mouth is something I’ll never tire of, so I take it as she runs her hands up my arms, my neck, and into my hair, fisting it in her hands.
She’s playful with me as we take our time removing each other’s clothing. My need to touch her is strong, but I know she’s still really hesitant about being touched in that way, so I don’t even try. Her light-heartedness right now is charming, and when she giggles and admits, “This tattoo is hot,” as she grazes my shoulder with her hand, I smile down at her and laugh.
“Why’s that?”
Pressing her lips together, she shakes her head, too shy to say what she’s thinking, and I tease, “Don’t let it fool you. I’m a private school prep just like you.”
She laughs at me, responding with, “Your small town private school?” poking fun.
I run my hands down her small shoulders and take both of her br**sts in my hands as I say with a smirk, “That small town has a lot of money running through it, and you love it there.”
“I do love it there,” she agrees and then runs her hand down the center of my chest, before adding in a more serious tone, “But I love it here—with you—more.”
After I put on some protection, I make my way to the place I love the most—inside of her. She wraps her arms around my neck as we make love on my couch while the rain pours outside the windows. The beating of the rain mixed with our breaths fills the room as we take our time with each other, her eyes never straying from mine as I give myself to her.
I roll to the side, bringing her with me as I grab her thigh and drape it over my hip. Taking her bottom in my hand, I rock her into me as our heads are pressed together. Her eyes fully sated, green with golden flakes, her hands on my cheeks, sweet breath brushing my lips. Fuck, she’s amazing at this.
Running my hand lazily up and down her bare back, we lie on the floor, wrapped up in a blanket together. With her head on my chest, she’s been really quiet ever since we made love earlier.
“What are you thinking about, babe?”
“Hmm,” she hums softly.
Laughing under my breath, I say, “That’s a pathetic answer,” and then feel her chest as she silently laughs.
“Seriously though. What’s on your mind? You’ve been really quiet.”
“I ran into Kimber today. She was leaving Jase’s when I walked into his building.”
“Did you guys talk?”
“She just asked where I’ve been, and I could tell she was hurt. Jase told me she reached out to him and that she’s really upset.”
“I’m sorry, babe. I know how much this bothers you. Have you thought anymore about talking to her?”
Now that I know what the issue is between them, I tried talking to Candace about reaching out to her roommate the other week, but she shut it down, telling me that the only way Kimber would talk to her is if she told her the truth, and she didn’t want to do that. I know that she doesn’t want to say the words. She told me that she never even said them to Jase; she made a nurse tell him at the hospital, and that I’m the only one she’s spoken them to. When she explained this to me, I dropped it.
“I just can’t. I don’t trust her enough to not do something.”
“I don’t know what to tell you to do. Just try talking to her and see if you guys can move past this,” I offer weakly.
She closes her eyes before saying, “I think it would help if I went back home.”
“Candace . . .”
“Ryan, I was only supposed to be here for a week or two. I never intended on moving in like this,” she tells me. “But, we are about to graduate, and I’d like to see if this is fixable. I can’t do that if I’m not there.”
“I still want you here,” I let her know, not wanting her to leave.
“And I’ll still be here. Just not every night.”
Candace has been staying with me for a little over a month, and I love that she’s here and that I get to come home to her every night. But I also know that this is important to her, and even though I don’t like the idea of her no longer staying here, I won’t be anything other than completely supportive of her.
“Okay,” I respond. “We can go tomorrow and take some of your things back.”
She smiles and says, “Thanks for understanding,” and then gives me a kiss as I press her naked body against mine, fully savoring the rest of our night.