in. He wouldn’t forget the condom!
He reached down and slid against her, slippery and wet. She relaxed, getting used to the feel of him moving from outside to in. When her breathing had gotten faster again, he pulled away and reached beside the bed to a little table. She heard a tearing sound and relaxed. He was taking care of it.
She watched him unroll the circle along his length until he leaned over her again.
“You sure? It might be a little uncomfortable.”
Syria had read it could hurt, and she could bleed. “Your sheets!”
“Don’t worry about it. They’re washable.”
She lay back, more tense now. “I want to.”
He pressed against her again, sliding just like he had before. Syria had a harder time relaxing this time, though, anticipating the pain.
Anthony pressed against her and now he was really in, pushing gently, taking his time. “You okay?”
She nodded, her hands on his back, holding on. He pulled out partway, then lowered in again, this time just a touch more. “I can feel the resistance,” he said.
“I can too.”
“Not too late.”
Syria pushed on his back, encouraging him to go farther in. She wondered if it were better to do it like a bandaid, and just go for it, or to take it slow.
“Take the plunge,” she said, readying for the shock, like jumping into a lake before the water warmed up. “I can take it.”
Anthony pulled back one more time, then thrust with more force. Syria felt something give way with a sharp pinch that make her suck in.
Anthony instantly stopped. “You all right?”
“Just keep going. I think it’s better if we work through it.”
He rolled out and in again, and this time the ache was more dull. Syria relaxed a little and found that this helped immensely. He went in and out a few more times, and now she could handle it fine. “It’s okay now,” she said.
Anthony pressed down on her, kissing her forehead. “You are amazing.”
He moved over her, his eyebrows drawn together. Syria like what they were doing, but it was nothing like when he’d touched her. His movements got faster, and the muscles in his arms tightened. He switched to one arm and now his fingers found that magical spot, the one he’d worked with his tongue.
Syria really engaged then, pleasure bursting in every direction. She didn’t think she’d orgasm again, not in time, but this was way better, and now she got it, she knew whey people did this, why it was so addictive. Anthony’s body stiffened and he held his position, his breath coming out in one long exhale that ended in a shuddering groan. Syria gripped his back and waited, loving that she’d done this for him, make him feel like he had done for her.
He relaxed on her body, face buried against her neck. She felt swollen around him and a little sore, but she couldn’t wait for them to try it again.
Anthony pulled away to roll on his back and pulled her up against him. “This has been the luckiest day of my life,” he said.
Syria snuggled her face against his neck, remembering the day had begun with her getting kicked out of the phlebotomy program, and that she had nowhere to go next. “Mine too.”
4: Grass, revisited
Syria slept fitfully, waking when Anthony got up to toss the condom, then again when the early morning light began streaming through his half-open blinds.
She turned to her side, realizing he wasn’t there.
Sounds from the kitchen filtered down the hall. Coffee beans dropping into a grinder, then the buzz of the machine. She pulled the sheets to her chin, not sure if she should wait or go find him. It seemed silly to put her dress back on. The words “Walk of Shame” began to take on new meaning.
Syria rolled over, noticing that she still felt full and swollen down below. She pressed a hand between her legs and this calmed the ache, like when you touched a finger against your skin after plucking eyebrows. Syria had to do this almost daily, thanks to the Indian features.
Anthony came back