Page 54 of The Intimacy of Control

My fucking heart was pounding, and it was pounding his name as I opened my mouth and finally let it out. “Forrest, Forrest, Forrest…” I was a broken record. I was on repeat because there was nothing else on my mind. Just him. Only him. No, that was a lie.

It was him, and it was me. Together.

Forrest shoved his face into the crook of my neck, biting down on the skin there as he thrust into me one final time. It was hard. Hard enough to make me scoot back on the bed.

He came, and he deflated. I watched his back rise and fall as we panted together, floated together, and existed together. Like we belonged together.

No one had ever treated me like Forrest Castillo had. Not even in the way he took care of me so gently, pulling the lingerie off my body and slowly cradling me in his arms. Our skin was sticky with sweat, and I was burning the fuck up from how hot it was, but that didn’t matter. It didn’t matter when we both liked each other as much as we did.

Fucking friend dates. Fucking friends with benefits. Fucking friends.

We weren’t meant to be friends. We were meant to be so much fucking more, and I’d deprived us of that from the very beginning. Me. I was the one who couldn’t possibly stand the idea of falling in love with someone, which was stupid, because I already was. I already had.

I took a deep breath, inhaling Forrest’s scent one more time. I knew I was about to fall into the best night’s sleep I’d ever had.

Tomorrow. I’d tell him tomorrow. Tomorrow, we'll be more. Tomorrow, I was going to ask him out on a date. Not a friend date. A real, true fucking date date.

chapter nineteen

Today was the day. I was going to ask Forrest out on a real, formal date because I wanted to date him. I wanted to be his boyfriend. I never thought I’d get to this point, yet here I was, and it felt fucking weird.

I pulled out new bags of peanuts and pretzels to fill our containers, waiting for Forrest to come in since he’d been with his mom and brother all day. We’d only been closed for about thirty minutes, and he said he was on his way, so he should be here soon.

He’d only had one request, which I easily obliged. I was wearing lacy panties he’d bought as a buy-one-get-one-half-off at the store. I’d worn them my entire shift, blushing a little every time I moved and my cock rubbed against the lace crotch.

There was only one more container left to fill and some sweeping left to do. Mav had offered to handle that part for me, but I’d told him to go ahead and go home. Enjoy the peace and quiet there while he could before it eventually turned into pure chaos, and he ended up sleeping here again. I tore the bag of pretzels open a bit harder than I’d meant to, making a few of them fly all over the bar counter.

Sighing, I opened the clean, empty container and tipped the bag into it. Right as I did that, hands came around my waist, making me jump and yell as I elbowed whoever was behind me.

“Whoa! It’s me, sweetie.” Forrest pulled me further into him. “It’s me.”

I deflated against the counter, letting out a panicked breath. “You fucking scared me. I thought I was getting robbed.”

“Nope. Just me getting handsy.” He slid his palms up under my shirt, feeling around my stomach. “Mm, I know I saw you yesterday, but I missed feeling your skin.” I felt his nose against my neck as he sniffed. “You smell good. Did you not hear me come in?”

I leaned my head back with my eyes closed, resting against him. “No. The back door is surprisingly quiet. Can’t hear it from up here.”

One of his fingers dipped below the waistband of my jeans. “Are you wearing what I asked you to?”

My breath hitched as he slowly started to slide his palm down to join his finger. “Yes.”

“Good boy.” He pressed his lips against my neck. “How do you feel after your birthday?”

“Amazing. Sore.”

“Sore?”

“Mhmh.” I arched my back, pressing my ass against him. “So sore in the best way possible.”

“Sounds like I did my job right then.”

His hand was moving further. Further. He was really close to my cock, and I wanted nothing more than to buck up into him, but there was a reason he was here. “Wait.”

He stopped altogether, freezing where he was. “What is it?”

Slowly, I turned in his arms, resting my back against the counter. I looked between his eyes, letting myself get lost in the safety in them. The safety of the control he so easily took from me. The safety of letting him have all these parts of me. “I like what we have, Forrest.”

“I do too.”