Page 44 of Saving Ian Pope

I sat up with Ivy straddling me. “We’ve already done it here. This time we just fell.”

“Figures.” Chloe sniffed the air. “What is that yummy smell? I know that’s not Ivy’s cooking.”

“Ian is cooking us salmon and pasta for letting him stay here.”

“How sweet.” Chloe slid her sunglasses to the end of her nose. “I suppose he hasn’t seen our bill, yet.”

I staggered to my feet, with Ivy clinging to my body. “I’m gonna miss your humor, Chloe.”

“Who says I’m joking?” She stopped at the door leading to the hallway. “What time is dinner?”

“About thirty minutes.” I carried Ivy to the kitchen and set her down. “Do you want to make the salad?”

“I can make salad, and don’t you start on my culinary talents.” She smacked me on my backside.

“You have other talents that make up for your lack of expertise in the kitchen.” The knots in my gut loosened as Ivy regained her regular sunny disposition. I thought she’d been about to collapse when she came home, and she looked ready to break into tears when I told her about dinner and the song credit. Must’ve had a bad day.

Later, we shared some laughs with Chloe over dinner, and I played some of the new songs for them. Then Ivy had a surprise request as we were cleaning up the dishes.

“Can we go back to the pier tonight and ride the Ferris wheel again? It closes at ten o’clock, so we have just over an hour.”

I parted the curtains over the kitchen sink. “It’s foggy again. We won’t see the view.”

“I know. That’s why I want to go.” She curled her fingers around mine in the soapy water. “I want to head back into that cocoon with you one more time.”

A flicker of fear pinged my brain, but I shook it off. “We’d better bundle up. Baby, it’s cold outside.”

“Jeans and hoodies, it is.”

***

I insisted on buying the fifteen-dollar tickets, and we didn’t even have to wait in line. The fun fair was almost closed, and apparently the kids were back in school. We climbed into one of the cars. This time we didn’t have to pretend or deny our attraction to each other, and we snuggled up in one corner of the red vinyl seat.

Once the operator loaded everyone, the wheel cranked into motion. A solid wall of white obscured our view of the ocean and much of the horizon, except for a thin, dark blue line in the distance.

I pulled her hands into my lap, and she dropped her head on my shoulder. She let out a little gasp each time our car dropped over the peak of the wheel. The fog buffeted us on all sides, the moisture playing havoc with Ivy’s hair, curling the ends.

I threaded my fingers through her lush locks and turned her head so I could kiss her mouth. Her lips moved beneath mine, soft and sweet with the vanilla ice cream we’d had for dessert.

I slipped her hand beneath my sweatshirt and pressed it against my chest, over my heart. She whispered against my kiss. “I wanna stay up here forever.”

Like a couple of teenagers, we made out on the Ferris wheel, snogging and groping and stroking and sighing, as if we hadn’t already gone all the way—several times. All too soon, the ride ended and when our car clunked back to Earth at the starting point, the jarring motion seemed to signal an end to something, a return to reality.

A breath of sadness wafted across my cheek, but I dismissed it. I couldn’t wait to start this new reality with Ivy by my side. All things seemed possible.

She must’ve felt the sorrow, too, as silence prevailed on the ride back to her place. She seemed content to leave her hand in mine or have me stroke her thigh or her arm as she drove. But we had to close this chapter to start the new one.

When we got home, we wasted no time tumbling into bed, but while I would’ve been happy to fuck her silly, she slowed my hand. With both of us naked, she straddled me as I sat on the edge of the bed. Intimately connected, chest to chest, face to face, I entered her as I stared into her eyes.

She rose and fell against me, and I drove into her slick creaminess. Rubbing her pussy against my pelvis, she grabbed my head, digging her fingers into my scalp. I slid my hand between our bodies, my fingers finding her clit. As I stroked her, she threw her head back and moaned.

Seconds later, she came all over my cock, and I fell back on the bed and flipped positions. She wrapped her legs around me as I pounded into her, abandoning the slow and gentle mood. I came hard and fast, shooting my cum deep inside her, a primeval need to possess her taking over my senses.

She took me in, enveloping me with her arms and legs as we rocked back and forth as one. The rhythm slowed and she loosened her grip on me. I slid from her body and buried my head in the crook her neck. I breathed out the first words that came to my head. “I love you.”

Did she move? Did she answer? My body and mind were so satiated, I didn’t know or care. As I drifted off, she caressed my face, and her lips brushed against my throat. Did she say it back?

***

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