Page 84 of Written in Scent

We reach the last few holes as the sky deepens into evening. The course lights grow softer here, less chaotic neon and more gentle glow.

Jamie leads me around a gentle curve and the noise of the other players fades behind us. This hole feels different. A small waterfall trickles down artificial rocks, lit from below with white light that sparkles like stars on the water. Twinkling string lights drape overhead in loose loops, casting dappled golden patterns across the green. The air smells faintly of mist and fresh grass, and the whole space feels almost private.

Jamie lines up his shot but pauses before he swings. He looks over at me, club resting lightly against his shoulder, and the mischievous sparkle in his eyes softens into something warmer. The playful energy that carried us through the whole course settles between us like a held breath.

“You know,” he says, voice lower and more serious than it has been all night, “I love seeing you like this.”

I tilt my head, still catching my breath from the last round of laughter. “Like what?”

“Relaxed. Playful. Laughing so hard you can barely stand up straight.” He steps closer, the string lights catching in his floppy blond hair. “You have this light in you, Elodie. I see it when you talk about bugs and when you are deep in your notes. But tonight? Getting to watch you let go and just have fun? It feels like I won the lottery. I have been waiting to see you like this since the day I bumped into you outside the dining hall.”

His words land deep in my core, wrapping around me like his golden amber scent. I feel my cheeks heat, but not from embarrassment.

Jamie makes me feel light in a way no one else does. He doesn’t ask me to be serious or careful or anything other than exactly myself at this moment.

I step closer until our shoes touch on the glowing turf. “I didn’t know I needed this,” I whisper. “I didn’t know I could feel this free with someone.”

Jamie’s smile turns tender. He sets his club down against the little fence and reaches for my hand, threading our fingers together. The waterfall trickles behind us and the string lights paint patterns across his face. For a long moment we just stand there, the playful chaos of the night still humming around the edges but the center of everything intimate.

He leans in slowly, giving me time to meet him halfway. When our lips touch it’s gentle at first, full of everything we have shared tonight. The kiss deepens gradually, still sweet but carrying a new kind of heat that makes my pulse quicken.

His free hand slides to my waist, warm through my cardigan, and I feel the shift between us like a spark catching. The laughter from earlier is still there, but now it mixes with something hungrier, something that promises the night is far from over.

Jamie pulls back just enough to rest his forehead against mine, breathing a little faster. His blue eyes are dark with promise.

“Ready to head home?” he asks, voice low.

I nod, heart racing in the best way. The playful date is ending, but something even better feels like it’s just beginning.

The drive back to the pack house feels charged with leftover laughter and something warmer underneath. Jamie keeps one hand on the wheel and the other resting on my thigh, thumb tracing lazy circles that make my skin tingle even through my jeans.

Every time I glance over at him he’s already looking at me, blue eyes bright with that same mischievous spark, only now it carries heat.

The moment we step inside the pack house the playful energy snaps into something sharper. Jamie kicks the door shut behind us and spins me around, backing me gently against the wall with a grin that promises trouble.

“Still laughing, Elodie?” he murmurs, voice lower now, rougher around the edges.

I am. A breathless laugh escapes me as his hands slide under my cardigan. “You are impossible.”

“Impossible and very turned on,” he says, leaning in to kiss me hard and fast. His golden amber and warm vanilla scent floods my senses, sunny and sweet and suddenly hungry.

Clothes come off in a laughing tangle. My cardigan hits the floor first, then his flannel. My t-shirt follows, and Jamie groans appreciatively when he sees the simple lace bra underneath.

“Fuck, you are gorgeous,” he says, playful dirty talk slipping out between kisses. “Look at you. All flushed and laughing and mine for the night.”

We stumble toward his room, shedding the rest of our clothes along the way. By the time we reach his bed I’m down to my panties and he’s in nothing but his boxers, the outline of him already hard and obvious. Jamie tackles me onto the mattress with a playful growl that turns into real laughter when I roll us over and end up on top.

“Competitive even in bed?” he teases, hands sliding up my thighs. “I like it.” He flips us back and the room spins.

The laughter fades into heat as his fingers slip under the lace of my panties and find me already soaked. Jamie groans low in his throat, eyes darkening with hunger.

“Fuck, baby. You are so wet for me already. Such a good girl.”

He doesn’t rush. Instead he slides down my body with that playful grin still on his face, hooking my legs over his shoulders. His mouth is teasing, tongue flicking over my clit in lazy circles while two fingers slide inside me.

He keeps up a relentless rhythm, alternating between soft licks and gentle suction until my hips are lifting off the bed and I am gasping his name. The orgasm crashes over me fast and hard, my fingers tangled in his floppy blond hair as I come with a shaky cry.

Jamie kisses his way back up my body, looking extremely pleased with himself. When he settles between my thighs again, he pushes his boxers down and lets his cock spring free. It is thick and flushed, the head already glistening. My eyes widen at the sight of the prominent knot at the base, swollen and heavy.