Page 27 of To Love the Stars too Fondly

“Please do.” Alex caressed my breast, giving it a lingering kiss before pulling my bra down over it. “But don’t touch yourself. I want you properly hungry for tomorrow.”

I hummed. “Fine, yes. Whatever you say.”

When Alex rose, she helped me up in tandem. “No smart remark? I’m wounded, Princess. Normally you put up more of a fight.”

“Unfortunately for you, I’m pretty amiable after a good fuck.”

“That was barely a fuck at all.” She kissed me with perfect bitterness on her lips. “I’ve got to go. You can stay as long as you want though.”

“I should probably head home,” I said, though our disappointment seemed mutual. “Don’t want Chiara getting too upset. But I promise to not wear underwear tomorrow.”

She chuckled as she placed another kiss on my mouth. “I’ll pack if you say please.”

…Pack? My expression must have betrayed me, given that she continued laughing. “Like a gun?” I asked.

“Like a strap-on.”

“Oh, I’m just stupid. Sorry.”

“Not stupid.” She kissed me firmly, apparently unwilling to let me go. “But say please.”

“Pretty please pack your strap-on.”

Her amusement had yet to fade. “Packing means I’ll wear it under my pants.”

My intrigue and arousal both spiked. “Ohh,” I drawled out, and she kissed me lest I say anything else and ruin the mood.

I couldn’t let her go, and it seemed the feeling was mutual, given her protective embrace. The quiet panic inside me tried to rise, my stomach tried to drop, but all of it was banished by her kiss and her presence. I focused on her, on her hands caressing my bare waist and the foreign sensation of peace in her arms. She just felt so…so right.

We continued kissing in the locker room until noise rose outside the doors. People were arriving, but I struggled to care.

When she did finally pull away, regret filled her visage. “Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” I affirmed.

I let her go, then put on my work clothes.

When I emerged, a few kids had arrived, and I paused by the door as I watched her fist-bump a few with her gloves. She’d put an actual shirt on and knelt at their level, talking to them like they were…well, people.

I’d never thought much about kids. Even when I was with El, we were both too young to consider it.

But when I saw Alex laughing innocently with her students, I had to actively shove thoughts of kids aside. Because that was mortifying, admitting I could even envision some suburban fantasy with Alex, 2.5 kids, and a white picket fence. I’d never thought about that with anyone before. I barely knew Alex. We hadn’t even officially been on a date.

Yet as I watched her gather her students together and practice warm-ups on the mat, it was much too easy to get lost in the longing. I’d seen Alex’s niece; I knew what those 2.5 kids could look like.

I left the gym quietly, lest I be seen, and put those damning feelings aside.

Wednesday

I had no end to tiny dresses from the outlet mall. Yes, they were practically paper, but I only had to pay paper prices for them, which meant if they fell apart during any ‘escapades,’ well, nothing was lost.

Pale pink with a short, flirty skirt, sleeveless but a high neckline—casual but coy, not trying too hard but just enough. In the work bathroom, I quickly brushed through my hair, trying to remove evidence of my ponytail crease. Alex wouldn’t care, but I did, and that’s when I realized I hadn’t brought a change of shoes.

Converse it would be. At least it looked deliberate.

I prettied up my make-up in the bathroom mirror, realizing the time was now 2:30—precisely when I’d told her to arrive to avoid Liam finding out just yet—and Alex was probably already here, but I lingered, lingered….

Was I nervous? Why the hell was I nervous? Barely twenty-four hours ago, she was eating me out in the locker room, but that had been in private. This was public. But private was also where I’d been when I’d tossed and turned half the night from nightmares.