Larissa didn’t answer her door when I knocked. We hadn’t made plans, but I’d just assumed we’d hang out again. Over the span of the morning, I knocked on her door three times, each time getting antsier when she didn’t answer.

I was kicking myself for not getting her phone number. I’d feel much less stalkery if I could just text her instead of pacing outside her door.

Thank God Avi called to meet up for lunch. I needed the distraction.

He was working, so I drove the twenty minutes outside Baltimore to the small town where his salon was located. He’d worked with my family for several years, before deciding to try something new. He’d been at his current salon ever since.

He was at the front desk when I walked in, talking to a very pregnant redhead. I knew I’d met her at Avi and Laurel’s wedding, but I wasn’t sure of her name.

Avi came around the desk when he saw me and clapped me on the back. “Rachel, this is my cousin, Josef.”

She waved. “I’d get up, but I don’t think I can.”

I laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Nice to see you again.” I turned to Avi. “Ready, man?”

“Yes.” He tapped the desk. “Be back in an hour.”

We agreed to have lunch at the brewery up the street. As we walked, I asked, “That was one of your bosses, right?”

He ran his hand over his hair. “Yeah. In a few months, it seems I will be practically the only one working. Rachel will soon have her second child, my other boss, Eliza, is now pregnant, and my co-worker Anna just had a baby. It will be rough, especially with Laurel pregnant again.”

I laid my hand on his shoulder. “If you need me, I could always come help out a couple days a week until they come back to work. Let me know.”

He nodded slowly. “Actually, that might work. I’ll talk to Rachel about it.”

I already worked too much, but this was Avi, my family, and he sounded stressed, so I’d help. It’s just what our family did. He’d bend over backwards to help me if I needed it.

We ordered beers and sandwiches and talked for a few minutes about Laurel and Logan and my parents.

“Tell me about her,” Avi said.

“Who?” I knew exactly who he meant, but I was trying to be cool.

His eyes flicked down to my hands. “You have not stopped moving since you sat down. I am afraid you might actually saw the table in half with that knife. I know you. Tell me.”

“I can’t stop thinking about her. You do know me. You know how I get. When I have an idea, I can’t let it go. And she’s the idea right now. Only, I don’t think it’s just for right now. I have this weird feeling that she’s going to be this important person in my life.”

My brain was often frenetic, bouncing around from one idea to the next, but on the flip side, sometimes I hyper-focused on things and it was like I couldn’t do anything else. That focus had never landed on a woman before. Normally reading or biking took over my brain, but right now, it was Larissa. Her smile, her wild hair, her soft skin…

I was doing it again. Spacing out on my cousin.

“Sorry, what?” I asked.

Avi grinned wickedly. “I said she seems nice. She fit in with us well. And I know your mother would love her.”

I raked my hands through my hair. “I’ve thought of all of those things, even though I know I shouldn’t be. It’s too soon, man. But I’m a man obsessed. I can’t get enough of her.”

Avi tipped back his beer, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I think that is normal. That is how I felt for Laurel when I met her. I still feel that way. So I’ll never be the one to tell you it is too soon.”

“Thanks. I look to you for your level-headedness and this is the bullshit you serve me?”

He smirked and took another swig of beer. “Not bullshit. I don’t hold back or play games. That’s bullshit. If you are both honest, then things will either work out or they won’t. But no one will be left wondering.”

“You’re right. I really just need to relax about the whole thing. If I met her at any other time, when I was busy with work and all the other shit, I wouldn’t be so consumed.”

“You sure?”

I shook my head. “Not at all. I’d probably be on more of a tear because I wouldn’t have time to spend with her.”

“Why are you here with me if you want to be with her?”

Right before I took a bite of my sandwich, I muttered, “She wasn’t home.”

Avi laughed. “What was that?”

I tossed my sandwich down on my plate. “I said she wasn’t home, motherfucker.”

He laughed more, clapping his hands. “Oh, so I’m second choice. I see how it is.”

“You’re goddamn right you are.”

On the drive home, I felt better. Lighter, like I did after a long bike ride. I’d rid myself of some of my crazy, dumping it on Avi’s lap.

I avoided going home for a long time. I spent a couple hours in a book store, reading and drinking coffee. Then I went for a long walk along the waterfront. The air had that distinct feel it gets right before it snows. I did a mental inventory, deciding I had plenty of bread, milk, and eggs, which apparently were the important things to have before a storm. I guessed people liked to eat a lot of French toast when they were stuck at home? Actually, that sounded good.

I didn’t even know if it was going to snow. I figured I should probably check the weather.

The sky had started to dim when I finally went home. It was time to light the candles for the sixth time.

I had to physically restrain myself from knocking on Larissa’s door. I needed to give her space and if she wanted to see me, she knew where I lived.

Right now, I wanted to concentrate on Hanukkah and what it meant to me. Luckily I’d stolen some candles from Avi’s house, so I pushed six into the menorah, wax from the previous nights making it difficult to fit the candles in. I placed the shamash above the others and struck a match.

The tap on the door was timid, and I barely heard it, but it was enough for me to pull my hand away from the candles and shake out the match.

I swung open the door and was greeted by a straight-faced Larissa.

“Hey.”

I opened the door wider and motioned her inside. “I was just getting ready to light the candles.”

She caught my hand as I turned to walk away. “Hi,” she said.

I took a deep breath, then faced her. “Hey, Larissa.”

“I didn’t come over for the candles, but I’d love to join you, if that’s okay.”

I squeezed her hand. “That’s more than okay.”

I lit another match and held it out to her. “You want to do it tonight?”

“Sure.” She took the match from me, using it to light the shamash. Holding it, she used it to light the six other candles while we said the prayer. The glow on her face grew with each one she lit and I found myself watching her instead of the candles.

“Happy Hanukkah,” she whispered.

“Happy Hanukkah, Larissa.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “Would it be weird to say I missed you today?”

The knot in my stomach started to unfurl, just a fraction. “If it is, I’m just as weird, because I started missing you the second you left last night.”

Her lips quirked up for a second. “I like how honest you are.”

I shrugged. “I’ve heard it’s the best policy.”

She stepped into my space, lightly touching my chest. “I really want to keep talking to you. I love your voice. Like, I want to record it so I can listen to it when I’m not with you. But right now, I just really want to kiss you and feel your skin on mine.”

I cleared my throat and blinked at her. What she’d just said registered bit by bit. First the voice thing, then the kissing, and finally the skin.

Pulling her firmly against me, I slid my hands up the back of her sweater. “Like this?”

Her tongue darted out to lick her top lip. “That’s a start, but not nearly enough.”

She ripped her sweater off, throwing it somewhere behind her. I caught flashes of creamy skin and light pink lace before she pushed my T-shirt up and over my head and pressed herself against me, her soft to my hard. And fuck, was I hard. One glimpse of her and all the blood rushed to my cock.

“Josef…” she sighed.

I buried my hands in her hair and tipped her head back, kissing her like I hadn’t seen her in months instead of hours. My hands stayed in her hair, but she touched me everywhere. Her hands roamed over my shoulders and arms, down my back and across my chest. She dug her fingers into my ass, pulling me even closer.

Breaking from her mouth, I licked the length of her neck and her head fell back, giving me the access I wanted. I dragged my tongue across her collarbone and she tasted...oh God, she tasted like sweet, silky, butter.

I slid my hands up her waist and cupped her breasts. They overflowed my hands so perfectly. “Is this really happening?” I murmured against her skin.

She inhaled deeply, her chest rising. “Oh, God, I hope so. Your mouth is driving me crazy.”

I kissed along her jaw and around her lips and chin. “Your goddamn mouth has driven me crazy since the second I saw you.”

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled into my kiss. “You have no idea how many ways my mouth can drive you crazy, Josef.”

“I’m taking you to my bedroom now, Larissa.”

“Yes!”

I backed us into my room, never breaking our kiss. Larissa fumbled with my jeans button while I unhooked her bra and slid the straps down her shoulders. I couldn’t keep my mouth off her. I kissed her neck, her shoulders, her chest, and cupped her breasts to my mouth, circling my tongue around her tightened nipples as she clawed at my shoulders and chest.

“I really need to look at you,” I said.

Larissa took a step back and hooked her thumbs in her leggings, slowly easing them down her hips. The light from the streetlamp outside my window cast an ethereal glow on her skin, and my mouth watered and heart ached from the sight of her.

She straightened, her hands smoothing down her sides, and met my eyes. I tried to hold her gaze, but I wanted to look at all of her. I started at her breasts, round and full, capped with pale pink nipples. Her stomach and hips were softly curved, and her thighs were so thick and smooth, I couldn’t wait to spread them wide and lose myself between them.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, Larissa.” Absently, I stroked myself through my underwear as I drank and drank and drank my fill of her.

She eased her lacy boy shorts down her legs and I practically choked on my own tongue. She sat on the bed and curled her finger. “Come here, right now. I can’t stand another second of you not touching me.”

Kneeling in front of her, I pushed her legs apart and lifted a heavy breast to my mouth, swirling my tongue around her nipple until she was shaking in my arms. Her thighs tightened around my sides, and I smoothed my palms up her legs, sinking my fingers into the flesh of her generous ass.

“Lie back,” I said, gently pushing her chest.

She reclined on the bed, bringing her heels up on the edge, letting her legs fall open, without any shame or hesitancy. She clearly wanted my mouth on her as much as I needed to taste her. I spread her with my thumbs, opening her like a flower.

I dragged a finger through her slick folds, spreading her arousal around. Larissa’s hips jerked when I paused at her clit, rubbing tight circles that elicited little whimpers from her.

“More,” she said.

Her hands tangled in my hair when she propped herself up on her elbows to watch me. I met her fiery eyes as I kissed a path up her thigh, then licked the center of her. Her toes curled next to me as I lapped at her, getting to know her distinct scent and taste.

She came apart on my tongue, groaning wildly, hips arching off the bed, pushing my face even closer with her hands in my hair. Every sound she made, every move of her hips, each touch of her hands, had me going mad for her. I both wanted to sink inside her, slamming us both to oblivion, and to stay between her plush thighs, devouring her for the rest of the night.

Larissa decided for me though. “I need you. Inside me. Now.”

I couldn’t get out of my pants fast enough. They were already halfway down my hips, so I pushed them the rest of the way off, along with my underwear. Then I stopped, just for a moment, to savor her. Larissa was a visual feast; all silky flesh, the roundest of curves, and in her face, the starkest, most blatant look of desire. Her eyes were all over me too, and they zeroed in on my hand fisting my cock.

“Yo, please.”

I crawled up her body and nestled my length between her legs. She pulled my face down to hers and kissed me, taking her taste off my tongue. I had one breast in my hand, rolling her taut nipple between my fingers, the other hand squeezing the back of her neck. She melted under my touch, sighing each time I rubbed my hardness across her clit.

I rolled on the condom I’d fished out of my bedside table and then I pulled back, watching her eyes. She nodded, almost imperceptibly, and lifted her pelvis to meet the head of my cock.

“Hard,” she said.

That was all I needed. I slid into her slowly at first, so we both could get used to each other. Her inner muscles gripped me like the finest, custom-made glove. I stilled when I was fully inside her, needing to remember this.

“Damn. You feel so good.”

She pushed her feet against my ass. “Hard. Please,” she repeated. And then she lifted her head and bit the side of my chest....not gently. And I went completely wild. Pulling out, I slammed into her, and slammed and slammed and slammed. I didn’t slow, didn’t stop. I took her hard and she bucked and writhed beneath me.

I’d never seen anything sexier than Larissa at the edge. She couldn’t decide what to do with her hands. She dug them in her hair, then she gripped my shoulders, and then she held her breasts, pulling hard at her nipples. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Her cheeks pinkened and her lips parted just as she began clenching around me.

“Right there, right there,” she panted.

“You like that?” I took shallow strokes, hitting that same spot over and over until her eyes rolled back. “Does that feel good?”

She hummed, lifting her hips higher and digging her fingertips into my ass. I couldn’t last, there was no way. Not when I had soft, plush thighs wrapped around me and full, heavy tits pressing into my chest.

When she finally came, it was quieter than before. Her eyelids fluttered rapidly, she inhaled sharply, and her entire body tensed. I could almost see the waves of pleasure washing over her and carrying her along.

Just seeing her like that, lost in ecstasy, had me riding the wave with her. I pumped into her in short, shallow strokes, and then I buried my face in her neck where I was quickly engulfed in the heat and scent of her, losing myself completely in this woman. My groan was so loud, it probably travelled through the walls. Luckily, my next-door neighbor was the cause of those groans, so I could let myself go, holding nothing back.

“Fuck, baby, fuck!” I whispered.

Larissa stroked the back of my neck languidly. “I know.”

Pulling out, I flopped on my side and she laid her head on my shoulder. “That wasn’t how I thought tonight would go.”

She ran her fingers slowly up and down the center of my chest. “Me neither. But I’m so glad it did. It’s strange that I feel like I’ve known you for longer than I have.”

I gripped her hand in mine, twining our fingers. “I get it. If we were dating or whatever, we’d probably only see each other once or twice a week for a couple hours at a time. These last few days have accelerated the process.”

“Have we been dating?” Her tone was laced with teasing.

“I hope so. Because otherwise I just had sex with a woman I’ve only taken to dinner one time. And she’ll probably think I’m some kind of floozy.”

“Come on now. This woman sounds lovely. I’m sure she’d never judge.”

I grinned down at her. “She’s really kind of great.”

Larissa propped herself up on my chest. “I want to do that again, but first, I bought some ye olde traditional donuts that I would like to share with you.”

I kissed her sexy little chin. “All I heard was ‘do that again’.”

She gave me a closed-mouth smile. “Come on. We need sustenance for the night ahead.”

She stood, looking back at me over her shoulder. “Follow me.” Then she walked, completely naked, out of the room. I sat there for several seconds, tongue-tied and as hard as I’d ever been. Because as much as I’d studied and savored and salivated over Larissa’s body, this was my first glimpse of her curved back and luscious, ripe ass. And fuck if I wouldn’t follow her absolutely anywhere.