The moon decorates the night sky with a crisp white circumference. I’m pacing a crazy paved path, flanked by rainbow flower beds, dulled by a silvery shimmer. I probably should have stayed at my place or gone with her earlier to the cemetery. When she offered me a lift in her car, I froze.
Instead, I’m prowling her front yard like a guard dog or a dumb ass. The glow of a lamp’s light in the upstairs window reminds me of the pornographic photo bomb she dropped. A sexy pic snapped in front of a bed, wearing scarlet fishnets and a slutty bra. Viv is miles away, if not eons away from sluttish behavior. She’s innocence cloaked in red satin. A quick learner who calls my dick weird names because she refuses to say the word ‘cock’.
When I finally had a moment alone at my parents’ house and opened her message, my dick more or less exploded without physical touch. That’s how much she blows my mind. She sure knows how to keep me on my toes, without even trying.
Zoe dragged out her welcome at my parents’ house until I bribed her to leave. It took a few days to assure her that therapy was the only way forward. She sniffed around me the whole time, peering over my shoulder when I tried to message Viv. Needless to say, I deleted the text and decided to talk everything over with Viv the second my boots hit her doormat. I even caught Zoe snooping on my phone. She snuck into my bedroom when I was in the shower and dropped the damn thing like hot coals the second I caught her. That was the last straw. I paid for a taxi and made her promise to stick with her rehabilitation programs for once. Sketchy crossed fingers and a fake smile made me doubt her sincerity.
Now, my fist pauses at Viv’s lilac door. She’s mourning the death of a loved one. What selfish asshole would make it all about him during her time of need? I can’t drag up my skeletons and upset her even more. She deserves compassion and someone to listen––not overshadow her misery with my own. I’m done with fucking talking and making mistakes. All I want is Viv’s smile and her natural ability to calm the discord of regret.
The door cracks open. Viv peers through the slit like she’s been watching my internal debate unfold on the doorstep, or she used Jedi powers to sense my arrival.
“Hey.” She keeps the narrow gap in place. “Are you lost?” Big eyes blink me in.
“You could say that,” I answer honestly. “I’m lost without you, Viv.”
She backs up. “You’d better come in then. We can be lost together.”
First thing she does is dart behind the doorway to her living room and then pops her head back around the doorjamb. All I see is a swinging braid and her pretty face hovering in limbo. I think her body is hidden under cream silk, or else she’s naked. Instinctively, my shoulders tip sideways, not so subtly investigating. When Viv clears her throat, I shift upright again.
“I brought you a present. It arrived at my place while I was away.” I offload my backpack and unzip it. “You like tea, right?” She meets my smirk with a cute grin.
“You know I’m a tea connoisseur.” I think she stands on her tiptoes because her head scoots further up the wall. “And it has to be good quality.”
“Well... I bought it online. There were a ton of different varieties. Who knew a caddy held loose tea and not golf clubs?”
Her lips pout, controlling an infectious smile, and long lashes bat quicker. “Hand over the goods.” A palm appears, and the fingers waggle. “I’ll let you know if it's good quality or not.” Her gaze drops to the decorated tin exiting my bag.
“It’s a Royal Blend.” I confirm.
The tin retreats behind the wall, and then she jumps out from hiding, revealing bare legs and a flesh-colored satin short set. “Fortnum and Mason?”
I shrug. “Nothing but the best for my girl.”
“Did you come here to give me tea?” Searching eyes lock on mine.
“I ordered it online a while back. For when you stay over at my place, so you’ll have proper tea in the mornings. I thought you might like it now; in case you’re running low. Although, I can put it back in my kitchen cupboard and buy more for here.”
She cracks open the lid and sniffs inside. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“I was surrounded by people all the time. I’m sorry, Viv. I rushed back as soon as I could. Then I found out Wini had died... and…”
“Was your plan to seduce me with Earl Grey?”
“If it was, did it work?”
“It worked,” she says breathlessly. “I’m seduced.”
The backpack thuds to the floor, synchronizing with the tin hitting the console table. When she tugs off the elastic band securing her twisted locks, I feel my blood scorch.
I’m on her before she has time to gasp. Skating a hand under her silky camisole, I’m rewarded with bare breasts. “I’ve missed these,” I murmur, whipping the material over her head. “Are we doing this?”
“Yes, we’re doing this.” She fists my jacket, trying to remove it.
“In the hallway?” I check, shrugging off my jacket and sliding down my jeans with haste.
Viv nods, scanning the space. “Right there, on the stairs.” She points to the bottom step, covered in dated green carpet. “I’m feeling adventurous tonight.”
Latching her wrist, I jerk her into me and smash our lips together. She nudges me to the staircase and presses her hands to my hips, guiding me to sit. I lower to the third step, fixing my legs at a right angle. “I like your adventurous side.”
