Page 60 of Ms Perfectly Fine
Autumn gasped as his fingers slipped between her legs. Arching against his hand, she bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. She threw her head back, grasping his shoulders as he stroked and teased her. Her underwear, the only barrier to his touch, added to her frustration. His lips claimed her moans as she was about to meet her edge.
They stilled as an alarm sounded on her phone, killing the moment. Elijah withdrew his touch, resting his forehead against her as he caught his breath. Autumn’s eyes fluttered open, but her body ached for them to continue.
“You can’t stop,” she rasped, greeted by a devilish smile.
“Such words could kill a man. But I wouldn’t want you to be late for rehearsals, and if you keep going, you won’t make it at all,” he told her, jaw clenched.
“Right—rehearsals,” she agreed. She straightened up, trying to regain her composure, and silenced the buzzing that had pulled her from the heavenly abyss of Elijah’s touch. He stood beside her, and resisting the urge to touch him was almost painful. It almost didn’t feel real. How had the man she’d wanted out of her house turned into the very person she didn’t want to be more than an inch away from?
“Did that really just happen?” she panted, pushing her fringe out of her eyes.
Elijah slipped a finger beneath her chin. “It did, and it’s just the beginning,” he promised. The desire in his words made her want to skip rehearsals for the first time in her life.
“I have to g-go,” she stuttered.
“If you keep looking at me like that, I won’t be able to stop myself,” he warned, watching her avert her gaze from his dripping body. “I’ll see you later, then.”
“Later,” she said, hiding her deepening blush as she scampered out of the bathroom. She hesitated in the doorway. She didn’t want to leave him like this. It wasn’t fair to keep leaving him in the dark about her feelings when he had been so open about his.
“I like living with you, and not because of what just happened,” she blurted out. He stared at her like she had gone mad. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, striding forward to wrap his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest.
“I yelled at you. I know you were just trying to help,” she said.
He pulled away to look at her. “People yell at each other all the time, and it was an emotional night. I could have been more tactful. You can blame a night in the tub for that,” he said, kissing her one last time.
“Okay,” she said, happy to know they were good, and not just physically.
“Okay. Are you going to let me shower, or do you want to join me and finish what we started?” He winked, hooking his thumbs into his waistband.
Autumn hurried out of the bathroom, only to trip over Brinkley in the doorway. She barked, but too flustered to think, Autumn dashed away and closed her bedroom door on both of them.
“What the hell did you just do?” she groaned quickly. Sitting on the edge of her bed, her fingers brushed her lips. Every fibre of her being wanted to go back to him, but her alarm going off again wiped away any hope of it.
Before long, she was ready for the day in a dry dress with her hair pinned up in her favourite claw clip. Downstairs, she grabbed her bag from the couch and beamed when she noticed that Elijah had cleaned up her mess from the night before. Lingering by his door, she contemplated thanking him, but hearing him on the phone with who she guessed was Francis, she decided not to interrupt. She had already disturbed his sleep. Some space between them would probably do them good.
Autumn wasn’t too far fromthe theatre when the skies decided to open up. Usually, she would have groaned and worried about the cold making her back tense, but today, the cool droplets only made her think of her morning shower. She hurried through the sea of umbrellas until she reached the theatre’s side entrance, and for the first time in a long time, Autumn realised she was walking with a smile.
“When I saw the rain, I stopped by your house, but Elijah said you had already gone,” Nina said outside their dressing room.
Autumn dropped her sheet music at the mention of his name. Even though she was sure Elijah wouldn’t have said anything, she felt like a criminal caught in the spotlight.
“I wanted some air, and it only started raining just before I arrived,” she said, trying not to overthink.
Nina nodded, slicking back her wet hair in the mirror. The gesture highlighted her perfect winged liner and red lip. Autumn wished she’d put in more effort than just filling in her eyebrows and using some lip balm, but in the rush to escape Elijah, she hadn’t had time.
“How was your weekend?” she asked as they waited on the stage for everyone else.
Nina sighed. “Went for dinner with Garrett. We haven’t been right since he found the photo. All night, he kept asking what was wrong when I was fine. The more I said nothing, the more he pressed. On the way home, we fought because he keeps talking about moving in, and I’m not ready. He stormed out, and now I don’t know where we stand.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much—every couple fights. It’s just growing pains,” Autumn whispered reassuringly as Heather joined them.
“Welcome back. Sasaki wants you to lead us; he has some bits to wrap up,” Heather said.
“Good to be back. No problem,” Autumn said, letting everyone get settled while Heather returned to the wings.
“She gives me a weird vibe,” Nina whispered.
