Page 27 of Hate It with You

Ouch. Better luck next time.

With another middle finger to the camera, my feet are heavy with each step I take toward my back room. Snagging my current read from the register counter on my way, I plop down in my office chair, sure to turn my back on the storage room camera. Kicking my feet up on my desk, I open my book.

It doesn’t take long for the words to blur on the page in front of me.

Unable to get my mind off the guy next door, most certainly watching me through the camera. Disgusted with myself for the fact that I don’t particularly hate it as much as I pretend to. After all, it’s not the worst thing to have someone watching my back, given my current situation.

Then again, that person is Alex of all people. The man with a mask he refuses to take off.

12

BETH

Ragged breaths escape my lungs, my chest rising and falling as my hardened nipples slide against the thin fabric of my sleep shirt. The chilled morning air flows in through the open window, cooling my upper body that’s exposed from the comforter, as I work to bring myself closer to the edge.

The sensation between my legs is overwhelming as a vibration rocks through my core. Lying in bed, with one hand holding the toy between my legs, I reach up with the opposite, fisting my pillow. Arching my back, I’m close yet so far from an orgasm that I fist the pillow harder in my growing rage.

I’ve never had a hard time getting myself off, and up until my bookstore opened, it was one of the only things keeping me sane. I haven’t had many visitors since I moved in at the beginning of the year, but finding out Alex is my landlord has kept me extra pent-up.

Upping the vibration intensity, I refocus my thoughts. Flipping my mind through past sexual endeavors, favorite book scenes, and more, I try everything I can to bring myself closer to the edge.

A bead of sweat forms on my brow as the sensation in my lower back tightens.

I’m so close yet so far when my mind betrays me.

A tattooed hand skating across my breasts, dark brown hair between my legs, those piercing blue eyes peering up at me. Rock hard abs and a V-line sharp enough to leave cuts on my inner thighs as he thrusts himself deeper into me. His lips on mine as he–

“Oh fuck, Alex.” I come harder than I have in months. If I’m being honest with myself, it’s one of the biggest orgasms I’ve had on my own in probably forever.

I ride the high, enjoying the release I haven’t been able to give myself in days. It isn’t until I come out of that high that I slap my hand over my mouth.

My heart beats forcefully in my ears as I look to my left, the window beside my bed still open from the night before.

The window next to the wall Alex and I share.

Now not only has my mind betrayed me, but my mouth has too. Throwing the covers off my body, I toss the toy onto the opposite side of the bed, hoping it’ll stop incessantly mocking me soon.

Embarrassed and coming down from the high of well… coming, I round my bed to the window, attempting to slam it shut. That is until it gets stuck halfway and I can’t get it closed. Forcing the window down with all my might, my feet almost lift off the floor as I throw my weight into my efforts.

My bare knee scrapes against the rough wall beneath the window and I curse at myself for the mess of this morning.

Maybe he didn’t hear me.

I do my best to ease my racing heart as I lean my ear against the wall of my bedroom that sits between Alex’s and my apartments. I listen for any indication that he’s home, but it’s too hard to focus over the sound of my pounding heart.

It isn’t until I hear a knock on my front door that my pulse comes to a jarring halt.

I’m not expecting any visitors, especially this early in the morning. Straightening out my sleep shorts from where they were riding up, I don’t bother reaching for a sweatshirt when I cross my apartment to my front door.

Still only halfway unpacked, I’m making my way through the boxes when another knock sounds. Whoever the visitor is, they’re impatient.

When I open the door and see who stands before me, my limbs take on a shake from the sudden urgency at which my blood moves through my veins. I’m worried my heart might beat out of my chest when my eyes greedily take in the sight before me.

Alex, shirtless and in shorts, sweat dripping down his perfectly carved chest. A dark brown piece of hair falls forward onto his forehead as he smiles at me.

“I know why I’m out of breath, but why are you?” He asks the question like he knows something he shouldn’t, and I scoff, turning my back on him, hoping he doesn’t follow me.

Shit, did he hear me?