Page 35 of Beautiful Small Things

“I don’t know. Had an edible earlier. I’m tripping a little. Gonna go to bed.” All of my words are strung together more frantically now. I sound more like I did a bunch of meth, but they seem to buy it.

“OK. Goodnight Marcus,” Colby says, narrowing her eyes.

“Later, Man,” Callan calls to me down the hall with laughter in his voice.

I try to sit on all this new information as long as possible. I mull it over. I shut down the site and try to focus on school. But I’m distracted. I’m pissed. And I can’t stop thinking about this woman.

So three days after I found out it was James on the other end of the communication superhighway, I drive to her apartment.

Knock. Knock. Knock. Wait a few seconds. Knock. Knock. Knock. James answers, looking irritated and sexy as Hell. She’s wearing yoga pants and a sports bra, sweat has soaked through and is beading down her neck into her cleavage.

“Marcus. What are you doing here?”

“I, uh, wanted to check on you. See how your head was doing?” I answer lamely.

“That was months ago.” she says skeptically.

I move past her into the apartment, take a deep breath, and turn around before blurting out, “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Tinydancer.”

James goes white as a sheet. Her eyes grow wide as her mouth gapes open. She stands there silently as if waiting for time to go into reverse and return to the people we were two minutes ago. But I have no intention of letting that happen. Finally, she seems to return to reality and speaks.

“Marcus, I didn’t expect it to go that far.”

“Wait,” I interrupt. “You didn’t expect it to go that far when you sought me out, subscribed to my site, and engaged in highly inappropriate conversations with me.” I hold up a finger each time I make a point for maximum effect.

“Inappropriate? You sell your dick on the Internet,” she glowers.

“Yes, in anonymity.” I counter. “How did you even know about it?”

“I overheard Callan telling Colby one day at my parent’s house.”

“Oh, that’s lovely. Did you guys discuss it over dinner with Kim and Sean? I can almost hear it now. ‘Colby, can you pass the Chicken Dijon? By the way, Marcus takes pictures of his cock for funsies and sells it on the Internet for money he doesn’t need.’”

“Stop being so dramatic,” she has the nerve to say, standing there with her hands on her hips. “No one else heard. He told Colby, and I overheard. No big deal.”

“No big deal?” I repeat. “What about the part where I told you I want to lick your pussy for days?”

She blushes.

“Oh, it’s different now that you’re looking at my face, huh? You want to act like a grown woman, so act like one.” I take a step closer to her, but she holds her ground. “Say something, James. Tell me you want to suck my dick and swallow my cum.” I take a step closer until we are almost nose to nose. “Say it.”

I’m vibrating with anger and lust. I’ve never felt this way around a woman before. The fact that it’s James escalates the intensity. She doesn’t back down, even as a visible shiver runs through her body and her eyes dilate.

“I want to drop to my knees and suck your cock. I want to be the one to make you feel good. I want you to finally see me.” James’ chin angles up in defiance. As she takes a step forward, we become face-to-face.

“You want me to see you?” I whisper, just inches from her face. “How long have you been pulling little stunts to get me to touch you?” I ask, running the back of my knuckles along the side of her cheek.

“Too long,” she moans. She’s breathing heavily as says the words just a few inches from my face. My resolve turns to dust as I push her back against the wall and lift her hands above her head with one of my own. With the other, I push my hand past the band of her yoga pants. I easily move the fabric of her thong aside and run my fingers through her wet slit, shoving two fingers inside and languidly pulling them back out. The warm, tight, wet feeling is exquisite torture.

“Is this what you want?” I breathe in her ear, continuing the rhythm. “Is this what you’ve wanted for years? To drive me crazy? To make me want you so badly that all I can think about is fucking you.”

“Yes,” she cries, looking into my eyes. “Marcus, yes.” She turns her head and tries to catch my lips, but I pull away.

“Kiss me,” she pleads.

“You want my mouth?” I tease, still pumping my fingers inside of her.

She nods and bites her lip. “Earn it. Get on your knees.” I quickly withdraw my hand and meet her eyes with a challenging look.