Page 119 of Secondhand Smoke
Nell let out a succession of gasps mixed with his name whispered from her lips, and he felt his fingers grow wetter.
It nearly sent him over the edge.
He managed to control himself enough to pull his slick fingers out of her and fumble with his pants, pulling himself out of them and searching the nightstand for a condom. He found one and slid it on, his eyes trained on Nell’s flushed face as she watched him with dark eyes.
He cursed under his breath when she spread her legs apart and slid her panties down the rest of the way to clear his path.
“You’re perfect. So fucking perfect.” He ran his hand from her knee to her thigh and lined himself up with her center.
It was embarrassing how worked up he already was.
He knew the second he slid into her and she tilted her head back, mouth open in a silent moan, he wouldn’t last long.
She put her hand between her legs, touching herself as he groaned.
He thrust into her, his arms straining to hold him up, until he couldn’t handle it anymore. He spilled himself with a grunt as his head dropped into the crook of her neck. She gave a sharp gasp, and he felt the warmth tighten around him.
When their breathing slowed and he finally lifted his head, he had stars in his vision. She looked up at him, her face more relaxed than it had been since she first arrived. His hair hung into her face, brushing against her cheek.
She twisted a strand of it between her fingers and smiled sleepily up at him. “I don’t know what I would do without you,” she whispered, like it was a secret.
Barrett kissed her one final time, then her cheek. “If I have anything to do with it, you’ll never have to find out.”
46 - Nell
Nell hadn’t realized how much sleep she needed. When she finally woke up in Barrett’s bed the next day, it was already almost one in the afternoon. She groaned and sat up, shaking the grogginess from her mind.
Barrett’s side of the bed wasn’t warm. He’d left for work long before, and she was left with combating emotions as she remembered the day before—the highs of her day spent entirely in this bed with Barrett and his talented hands, and the lows of what had led to her being here at all.
Her chest was in a constant swing of loss and bliss. A painful and familiar movement.
Luckily, with the help of Tina’s weekly “gift”, she had enough energy to ignore the pain and focus purely on the pleasure as she got out of bed and walked through Barrett’s room. She’d been in there before but never spent much time taking in everything. Sandra was on the wall in her usual spot, and hundreds of cassettes were lined in boxes labeled with names and songs she only half recognized.
The rest of the room was a mess. Nothing too grotesque. Clothes strewn about, a couple of empty cans here and there, but for the most part, a good tidying wouldn’t hurt. Plus, it was the least she could do.
At some point in the night, she must have gotten a bloody nose because there was that little dark stain where her head hadbeen laying, so she quickly took off the pillow case to clean as well.
It didn’t take her long to tidy up, and from there, she moved into the kitchen—washing some dishes, putting away clean ones.
Truth was, she wasn’t too accustomed to house chores. She’d done the occasional chores at the request of her parents, but her mother had the traditional housewife role down to a T. Their house was always spotless, and Nell rarely woke to anything but the smell of eggs and bacon in the morning.
But she owed Barrett and Ron. Letting her stay there was a debt she had to repay, and since she hadn’t brought along any cash—other than what was in her wallet—and couldn’t ask her parents for more, she was left with actions.
Like cleaning and cooking.
She opened the refrigerator and peeked inside. There wasn’t much—a mix of random ingredients, milk, and a few microwave meals.
Well, it was too late to wake Barrett with bacon and eggs, but if she was lucky, he hadn’t eaten lunch yet.
Gathering a mix of meats, cheese, bread, and a few other things, she laid them out on the countertop and began putting together four sandwiches.
Before she’d even spread mayonnaise over the bread, the front door jiggled open.
Nell paused and perked up. “You’re back already?”
The door closed, and Nell’s face flushed.
Ron stared at her, taking in her standing there with messy hair and eight pieces of bread spread in front of her and—she looked down at herself—only Barrett’s long shirt covering her down to her mid-thigh.
