Page 2 of Abby

“Hm, well, it was more Shay’s dream than mine. I love animals, but I intended to become a veterinarian. After our grandma passed away, though, Shay came to me with a business plan and, well, it sounded amazing.” She looks up to the stars. “Helping animals, being more involved in the community, and making grandma proud – I couldn’t turn it down.”

“You’ve both done well; I’m sure your grandmother is very proud of you,” I say and squeeze her hand. She smiles over at me and swings our arms a bit.

“Here we are,” she says in front of a two-story apartment building. It’s older, made of aged red brick. The walkway is lined with rose bushes. “Do you want to come up for a drink?”

I smile and run a hand through my hair. “Actually, I don’t drink. But I’d love some tea or coffee.”

We walk up the stairs, and I watch her as she unlocks her door. She’s thin and tall, willowy even – absolutely gorgeous. Once inside, she makes a pot of fragrant green tea, and we cuddle up on the sofa. Abby leans against me and takes a sip from her mug.

“So, why don’t you drink?” she asks.

“Well, I’m not exactly old enough yet…” Abby coughs and chokes a bit on her tea. She whips her head up to stare at me.

“Oh god, please tell me you aren’t a minor.”

I laugh, and she scowls at me. “No, Abby. I’m nineteen. Perfectly legal, just not old enough to buy booze. It’s never really been my thing anyway, so it’s not an issue.”

She lets out a heavy sigh and slaps me on the thigh. “That was not funny, don’t freak me out like that.”

I pull her in and kiss her on the forehead. “Sorry,” I whisper.

“I suppose you’re forgiven.” She rolls her eyes and huffs. “Want to watch a movie or something?”

“Sure, why not.” She pulls away and stands, handing me the remote.

“Here, I’m going to go change, pick whatever you want.”

I flip through Netflix while she’s back in her bedroom and turns on a random comedy special. When she comes back, she’s wearing loose sweatpants and a fitted black tank top with a lacy edge, and her hair is up in a messy bun. I’m not sure if I like her better like this or all dressed up. She’s so beautiful I can never seem to take my eyes off of her.

“Put your feet in my lap,” I say and lift my arm to make room. She does so without comment, and I start massaging her feet, paying close attention to the arch and the ball. Her nails are painted a pretty pink color, the shade of cherry blossoms. I move my way up to her ankles and then her legs with firm sweeping motions. Digging my thumbs into her calves, I trail my fingers over her knees and her inner thighs. It’s not long before she is squirming beneath me.

“You have magical hands.” She groans before pulling away and swinging herself into my lap, slipping her tongue into my mouth. I wrap my hands around her tiny waist and scratch lightly at her back through her top. She grinds her hips down against me, and I pull her closer, heat rushing through my body.

3

Abby

Jake has amazingly talented hands. I can’t get enough of his touches. I rock in his lap as he takes control of the kiss and drags the tip of his tongue along the roof of my mouth.

“Bed,” I say and slip off him. I take his hand and lead him to my bedroom. It’s simple, with modern, dark wood furniture and some black and white photos I took on my trip to Europe three years ago hanging on the wall. I strip off my tank and sweats and sink onto my platform bed in nothing but lacy black panties, and Jake slowly undresses. Our quickie earlier at the shop didn’t allow for a good look at him since we kept our clothes on. He’s tall and lean with defined muscles. He unbuttons his shirt and slides it off his shoulders. He’s got almost no body hair and a brightly colored and eclectic tattoo sleeve on his left arm. There are flowers and skulls, moths and koi fish, and a vibrant galaxy on the inside of his bicep. There are flowers across the top of his chest in purple, blue, and red shades. It’s beautiful. I haven’t gotten around to getting one done yet, but I admire the artistry in tattoos.

Jake moves over to me, and I reach out to take his hand, examining the small dots and lines that make constellations on his knuckles.

“They’re the zodiac constellations for my parents, brother, and sisters. I’m saving my right hand for when I have a wife and children someday.” I think it’s sweet; he’s such a darling, sensitive, artistic man, with a quiet strength that makes my entire body tingle. I pull him down to lay next to me.

“They’re beautiful,” I whisper and proceed to worship his body, every immaculate inch, every line of ink.

4

Jake

The next morning, I have the sudden realization that we didn’t use protection... Like at all. This is not like me at all. I should’ve come prepared. I look at myself in her bathroom mirror and scowl.

“Idiot,” I scold myself. This is my fault; I should’ve been prepared, even if I wasn’t exactly expecting to hook up. We’d both been so caught up that I didn’t have time to pull out at the end. Abby had just laughed and said thank God for birth control, but I’m still nervous… And disappointed in myself. My mother taught me better. I almost feel like I disrespected Abby in a way. I turn the tap on cold and splash my face and rinse out my mouth. I need to apologize for being so careless. We aren’t even officially dating yet! I need to fix that, too.

I leave Abby, sleeping peacefully, and raid the kitchen. I find the ingredients for pancakes and a pack of bacon and then hunt for pans to make her breakfast. I mix the batter and then set a coffee pot to brew before whipping up a batch of beautiful, perfectly golden pancakes. Breakfast has always been my favorite; I could probably make pancakes with my eyes closed. I pulled out some cream and a little bottle of vanilla extract and made her coffee as close to what I make at the shop as I can, then I set the table and go to wake her up, coffee in hand.

I slip quietly back into the room, set the mug on her nightstand, and then sit carefully next to her. I wake her with a gentle kiss and run my hand through her light brown hair. She hums into the kiss, and her sleepy green eyes open as she smiles at me, stretching luxuriously and burrowing into the blankets.

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