Page 87 of Not You Again
They’d come back to Julian to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Adam had the time off from Caltech, and no one in Hollywood worked after Thanksgiving. Carly’s screenplay had sold at auction, and would start production in the spring, thanks to Marilyn Montgomery’s mentorship. And she’d just turned ina draft of a new screenplay to her agent. They both had earned a break. She just didn’t expect outdoor sex to be part of that. Not that she was complaining.
“I’m getting ready to watch you come.” He said the words so casually, like he’d just asked if she were warm enough.
And, well, yes, she wasdefinitelywarm now.
“Watch me come...? Come where? Come to the car so we can go back to our hotel and have sex somewhere that isn’t your childhood backyard?” Her gaze landed on his mouth, though, betraying her words.
Adam’s finger skimmed over her shoulder and down her arm. “We have to keep warm somehow.”
“Your parents—” she started to say.
“Are asleep,” he cut her off. “My dad was wiped from finishing up that mural on the side of the library this afternoon, and they never make it to midnight. Besides, we’re staying up to see the sunrise, right?”
Carly and Adam had gotten into a routine of watching the sunrise at least once a month. They’d taken that for granted before the loop, but they didn’t take much for granted now.
“What about Apple?” she asked.
“You know he’s asleep in the crate.” Adam bit his lower lip and her stomach filled with want. He’d made this same expression often, and it always resulted in her opening to him. She was only human, after all.
Carly leaned back and Adam pushed her knees apart. He put himself between her legs and hovered over her. She wrapped the blanket around them and he skimmed his fingertips over her thigh. Her fingers grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him in close.
They’d been out of the Julian loop for two years, but had visited often. Adam had to sell the family business and wrapup his finances with Shireen. And Carly had to hand the keys of the theater over to Hank, who had been more than excited by the idea of running his own business.
By some kind of magic, no one in the outside world knew about the time loop. As they’d all discovered, once you left the town, the ability to speak of it vanished. If Carlytriedto talk about it while anywhere other than Julian, what came out was something along the lines of, “Julian is such a great place,” or “You should come visit Julian!” A bit horror movie-esque, but it was their reality. She could talk to Mayor Franco, Mayor Gaines, Sheila, Bill and Adam about the loop, but outsiders? They remained simply that—outsiders.
And Carly was grateful for that strange, twisted magic, because it meant that the memories she and Adam had of their time in the loop remained theirs and theirs alone. She was interested in creating a fictional story, though: a movie about a fake idyllic town where a fake time loop happened and two fake people fell in real love. That sounded like the kind of thing Rhys Montrose might want to star in, in her humble opinion.
Adam slipped Carly’s pants off, then her panties. A shiver ran through her and he trailed his knuckles up her calf as he said, “Let me touch you.” He licked his lips, telling her exactly which part would be touching her. “I have to do something to take my mind off work.”
On top of being a student at Caltech, Adam also held a part-time job as an associate with the International Dark Sky Community. He’d been promised a full-time role once he graduated, but was easing into the position slowly.
And, it appeared, he was also planning to ease into Carly’s orgasm slowly. His fingers walked their way to her clit, and he circled her wetness there.
“Oh, fine.” She dug her nails into his back, just the way he liked. “You can touch me, if it’s in the name of science.”
Adam gave her that mischievous grin; his honey eyes burned almost as brightly as his hair. “Your contributions are always invaluable.”
When he dipped under the flannel to reach her, she tilted her head back and gasped as she stared gratefully up at the full moon.
*****
