One hour she’s flatlined, not able to move from exhaustion. The next, she’s lit up, scent biting through the walls like ozone after it rains. So horny, it typically takes all of us as a team to satisfy her fully, and even then, it only lasts a few hours.
She tries so hard not to ask for anything. But I see it in the way she walks. She’s braced for the next hit even when nothing’s coming.
I pull out my phone and shoot her a text.
Ford:
Wear sweats and my hoodie. Underwear is optional. Come down when you’re ready.
I toss it onto the nearest pillow and settle into the nest, back angled toward the couch.
She quietly comes down.
My hoodie swallows her frame, and Logan’s baggy sweats cover her legs. Her hair’s tied up in a messy knot on top of her head. No makeup or effort to look composed. God, she’s sexy. Even with all the sex we’ve been having, the sight of her like this, comfortable, makes me semi-hard.
She pauses at the edge of the nest. Her brown eyes sweep across the layered pillows, the folded blankets, the low light. “You did all this?”
I nod from my place on the mattress. “Snacks are ready. I’ve got chocolate sauce warming for sundaes later. Come get comfy, and I’ll go grab them.”
I kiss her temple on the way to the kitchen. The chocolate sauce for later has loosened in its bowl, warming in a hot water bath. I set up the tray beside it with fruit sliced fresh, crackers in neat rows, soft cheese tucked into a ramekin. Nothing cooked or that needs a plate. Things she can eat with her fingers while curled into my side, or sprawled across the pillows.
When I come back in, she’s sitting crisscrossed on the mattress, eyes glassy with tears she hasn’t wiped away. Her thumb’s caught between her fingers, picking at the edge of a dry cuticle. She doesn’t look up.
“I feel broken.” She swallows hard. “Like I’ve lost the old fake me, but now neither my body nor I knows how to act. We can’t even go on a proper date because I couldn’t get out of bed this morning. You don’t deserve this. None of you do.”
I set the tray down carefully and ease in beside her, pulling the weighted blanket up over our legs as I go.
My arm wraps around her, and I pull her in to hold her.“You’re not broken, Love. This isn’t forever. We’ve got a lifetime of dates ahead of us. Tonight’s just one of them. You’ll heal and find yourself.”
She leans in without a word, cheek pressed against my chest. Her breathing evens out. We sit in silence for a bit before I turnon a movie that will make her nostalgic,Homeward Bound 2. It was one of the movies we watched at camp. She said it was her favorite. I find it goofy, but it doesn’t matter.
As it comes on and she realizes what it is, she sits up a little straighter and grins. The movie plays, we eat, and have a good time. Soon, we’re cuddling again, as the movie enters the third act.
Frankie presses her lips to my neck in a quick kiss. “You always make me feel safe and loved.”
I don’t move. Just breathe her in. My fingers tighten slightly against her arm.“Good.”
That’s all she needs tonight.
Credits roll over the last shot. She stays curled into my side, cheek against my chest, fingers idly tracing the hem of the weighted blanket. I let it play out until the screen goes blank and the streaming home-screen comes back up with recommendations of what to watch next.
I press a kiss to the top of her head and slip out from under her.“Stay there.”
She hums, already sinking back into the pillows.
I head to the kitchen and pull the sundae glasses from the freezer. vanilla scoops already set. Chocolate sauce is warmed through, just enough to slide down slow. I add a few raspberries to hers and put the sauce on the tray as well, in case she wants more.
When I step back in, the next movie’s started. She must’ve picked a random one. The volume’s low, just ambient noise.
She’s half in my spot, one leg stretched across the blanket, the other tucked close. Her eyes flick up as I enter.
I settle beside her and pass her the sundae. She smiles and sinks further into me, twisting slightly until her legs are draped across mine.
We eat in silence. Her spoon clinks against the glass. A bit of chocolate’s left behind on her lip after a bite, and she doesn’t notice. I brush my thumb across her mouth, and she catches my hand in hers and licks it off. My dick stirs, and I swallow hard.
I watch the light from the screen move across her face. Her hair’s fallen forward, soft and a little messy. I tuck a strand behind her ear. She may feel lost now, but I see our old Frankie emerging each day, sassy and full of life. One day, she won’t take shit from anyone.
I set my empty sundae glass to the side as she works on hers. “You remember the lake? The first time we found you there?”
