disappeared into the adjacent bathroom to get some toilet paper. When I returned to her with my hands full of paper, she had slid up into a sitting position. I began wiping off my cum from her stomach and breasts, finding myself at a loss for words. She was contemplating me with dark eyes as I cleaned her up, not saying a word.
“There you go,” I said when I was done.
“Thanks.”
I looked at her for a moment, wondering if I had done something she didn’t approve of. Not putting on a condom was incredibly stupid, of course, but I didn’t think that was it. She could have stopped me before I’d entered her. Should I have asked before I had come on her breasts and stomach? Not all women liked it. Emma certainly hadn’t. But this girl wasn’t Emma. Which was why I hadn’t given her a kiss after I’d come. Somehow, I didn’t think she was pissed at me for not being tender afterward, though. Being so aggressive, so eager to get going, I couldn’t imagine she was someone who craved cuddling after sex. She really hadn’t looked like she was eager to cuddle when I had gotten to my feet after coming. She had just looked at me with that weird expression on her face. Almost like she was scared.
“Want that seltzer and cranberry now?” I said in a light tone, smiling at her. She barely returned my smile. I wouldn’t mind going for a second round with her and, up until now, I had been absolutely certain that she would happily go along with my wishes. But she was just staring in front of her, avoiding meeting my eyes. Maybe I should at least have given her a kiss afterward, not rushed into the bathroom… Was she pissed? No, she was probably just exhausted. She did come pretty hard after all, I reminded myself, the thought making me feel good. I was certain she hadn’t faked that orgasm. That it had been as real and as strong and as long as it had seemed. I had been with enough women to know the difference.
“Sure,” she said, finally looking at me. “Can you please add a piece of lime in it, too?”
“Of course. Anything else I can get you? Something to eat?”
“Some snacks would be good.”
“Sure. Let me go see what I have.”
I walked out of the bedroom and into my kitchen. I prepared her drink and rummaged around my refrigerator for snacks. Not sure what she would like to eat, I got her a plate of cheese and cold cuts and some crackers, and then some berries and ice cream.
As I made my way back to the bedroom, I heard what sounded like the front door to my apartment close.
“Hello?” I called out, walking toward my hallway. No one answered. Fuck, did she leave?
As I walked back into my bedroom and saw the empty bed, I realized that this was indeed the case.
Nina
I wasn’t sure how I would get home; all I had known was that I’d needed to get out of Dylan’s apartment as soon as possible, away from Dylan. I couldn’t stand being around him another second. Once more, the sensation of being suffocated overtook me and I wanted nothing more than to get out of my own skin. I shuddered. What was wrong with me? What the hell had made me freak out like that?
I couldn’t complain about the way Dylan had taken me—it had been great, so great I couldn’t remember the last time I had enjoyed sex this much. I had especially liked the way he had looked me in the eyes the entire time, as something in them had urged me to come harder, longer, stronger than ever. But then, as he himself came, that had all changed, and I needed to get away from him, yet I had been too paralyzed to do something about it, say something.
As soon as Dylan had left the bedroom for the snacks, I had thrown on my clothes and snuck out of his place as quietly as I could. Leaving his building, I inhaled the flower-filled, mild air, feeling instantly better, that rope of oppression that had wrapped itself so snugly around my neck, choking me, almost gone. I dug for my cell in my purse and got it out. With any luck, there would be