I don’t understand it. I don’t know how this could happen. But when he’s thrusting inside of me, his strong body right against mine, I feel like I’m queen of the entire universe. I feel full, in so many ways.

We fuck the night of the heavy snowfall. We fuck in the car, we fuck in my house, on the counter, you name it. We make love in every single nook and cranny we can jam our bodies into. And when it’s all over and we’re breathing like marathon runners on speed, we sit and talk for hours, and just stare into each other’s eyes endlessly.

The time comes, however, for me to go back to work. He begs me to stay, of course. He pleads, holding me tight, my back against his chest, and his arms around my breasts. I feel so warm with him like this, but it can’t say this way forever. Yes, I’m falling for him. I have to be honest with myself. But I also have a career to think about, a future.

“I have to go,” I say with downcast eyes. The thought of staying in this bed is so comforting, that I almost give in.

“You can’t leave,” he says. “Come on. Stay with me.”

“This is my house,” I laugh. “We both have to leave. Come on. I’ll give you a ride.”

He groans and puts up a fight by kissing me to death, but eventually he gives in. “Fine,” he says. “I’ll go. I’ll do what you want.”

I roll my eyes and jump out of bed. I throw on a pair of underwear and he slaps my ass and squeezes. “God, I’m going to miss that thing,” he smiles and kisses it.

“It’s not going anywhere permanent,” I say. “This ass needs to go teach some children about the English language.”

“Sounds boring,” he says, buckling his belt over his old pair of jeans. He throws on his pair of work boots and looks up at me. His arms look really fucking good right now in that shirt. “And pointless. But if that’s what you’d rather do, I get it.” He winks, letting me know he’s joking, but he’s being a butthead, nonetheless.

“Well, I don’t care what you think. The English language is the reason why I get a crappy paycheck every week,” I say, grabbing my coat and opening the front door. He follows me out into the cold and I notice that the snow has already melted away.

“Going to be a good day outside,” he says, breathing in.

I take him home and he kisses me goodbye. “Call me later,” he says, and I promise him that I will. He stands on his front porch as I drive away. I can see him in my rearview mirror, just staring at my car. He waves goodbye and heads back inside as I move into the distance.

When I get to school, the sun is starting to get a bit brighter. Judy is sitting in the teacher’s lounge, eating a sandwich. She’s got a big smirk on her face. I nod at her and grab a cup of crappy school-brewed coffee.

“What’s so funny?” I laugh, trying to read her.

“Kneeves said he saw you at the ice rink,” she beams. “He said you were getting real close with Navy Boy.”

“Kneeves said that?” I make a grossed-out face. “Yeah, well, he took me on another little date. So what?”

She puts her hands on the table and clicks her fingers on the wood. “You two getting married, or what?” She laughs, but I don’t think it’s very funny.

“You’re annoying. We’re having fun. A lot of fun,” I scoff at her. “Actually, I do think something is really happening here.”

“You do?” She raises her eyebrows and forces a crooked smile out. “Well, lucky you, I guess.”

The look on my face tells me she’s not happy with my new found, well, love. Can I call it that yet? Yes, love. “What’s wrong?” I ask her. “You’re not happy for me?”

“No, I am. Really, I am,” she sighs and betrays herself when her eyes move toward the floor. “Oh, I don’t know. I just always thought things would be different for me. I’m getting fucking old, Helena. Too old. And the guy I’m seeing is a total misogynist. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Judy, you are not old. You have time to figure things out,” I try and reassure her of the obvious, even though I know she feels that her biological clock is ticking away. “You’ve got a good career here and people really like you.”

“No they don’t.” She breathes heavily and turns a pinkish red hue. “People think I’m too loud. They think I’m too vulgar. The truth is, I’m unlikeable and you know it.”

“I like you,” I say. “Doesn’t that mean anything? Doesn’t it?”

“It means more than you know,” she says. That’s sort of when I realize that Judy is much more depressed than it seems. This wild and extremely fun woman is also scared and feeling alone. In fact, I think I’m her only friend. Unfortunately, this puts me in a weird place. Although I love being around her, I also love being around Addison, and right now, that’s more important to me. In the end, I hope I don’t have to choose between them. I hope that her jealousy doesn’t get in the way of my happiness.

Before the first period bell rings, Principal Kneeves walks in. I see him almost every day, but we’ve hardly had the time to really talk about real life. Since he’s my boss, he essentially holds the keys to my existence. Which is exactly why I don’t have too many heart to heart conversations with the guy.

When he heads over to our table, I hold my breath and just hope he’ll keep walking to the coffee machine. Of course, he doesn’t, and I’m left with a plastic smile plastered on my face.

“Hello, ladies,” he smiles and adjusts his glasses. He stares at Judy and I swear I see him glance at her breasts. What a little pervert, I think to myself and laugh. “How are we this morning?”

“The sun came up today, right?” Judy says, half-annoyed with the guy. She’s more ballsy than I am, speaking her mind like this.

I act like a coward and reply with the standard, “Great! And you?”

“Good. I have no complaints, of course,” he says, bouncing on the back of his heels. “Oh, Helena! I wanted to have a little talk with you. Can you come to my office?”

“Um, sure. But shouldn’t we wait until after class? Maybe around lunch?” I ask, in hopes this isn’t something detrimental.

Of course this would happen to me. Of course I would somehow fuck this job up. I keep searching for reasons why he’d want to speak with me, but nothing comes to mind. And then I remember. That little bitch in my class. The girl, Linda, who called me a ‘lying bitch.’ Oh God.

“This won’t take very long,” he smiles. “Just a little check in. Anyway, shall we?” He motions toward the door and I find myself mechanically pushing my seat back and scurrying to the packed hallway.

Outside are screaming kids, pushing and playing with each other. It’s a madhouse every single morning with the kids displaying their vast quantities of energy with full force. “Right this way,” Kneeves mutters. Then, he turns to some kids that are playing a bit too rough and touches the shoulder of one, saying, “Hey, settle down. Not on campus.”

The kids run away in shock and fear that they almost got in trouble. To them, the principal is like a monolith. He’s not to be messed with. In reality, Kneeves has very little say with the going-ons in the world.

We step into his office and I sit in front of his desk. I soon to begin to feel my heart quicken for some reason, and I realize how the students must feel when I send them here. “Let’s talk. What’s up? Anything wrong?” I ask, smiling.

“Oh, no,” he says. “I just wanted to ask you a few things.” My heart begins to settle immediately and my face turns calm.

“Okay, shoot,” I say. “What’s on your mind?”

“I saw you at the ice rink the other day,” he says. “It’s a fun place. I actually went with my mother. We’ve been going every holiday season since, well, forever.”

“That’s really sweet,” I manage to choke out, feeling sort of sad for the guy. “Yes, I went with my boyfriend Addison. You know, th—”

“Right! The town handyman,” he says, nodding. The way he’s referred to as the town handyman doesn’t settle with me right, at all. He’s so much more than that.

“The Navy SEAL,” I correct him, feeling a trickle of pride creep into my sense of well-being. Before he can take any offense, I mutter, “Yes, it was a really fun night.”

“Well, the reason I’m even bringing that up is that I have a question about his friend. Holloway, is it?” he asks. I nod and he continues. “I don’t want to pry too much into your relationship, so please stop me if I’m being too invasive. I just want to know if—” He stops himself and turns beet red with embarrassment. It starts to dawn on me what he really wants to ask.

My smile turns big and invasive. Kneeves starts to shrivel into his chair, covering his eyes for a brief moment with a stack of papers. “You like Judy don’t you?” I ask. “You want to know if she’s single. That’s why you called me in here, right?”

He starts to break out into a light sweat and the jerk in me finds it amusing, but also it’s really cute. “Yes,” he squeaks. “Uhh, yes. I do.”

“Wow, Mr. Kneeves. You sly dog.” My smile grows even bigger and I relax even more. “You know, I’m really glad we’re having this talk because we haven’t really gotten to know each other. I feel good about our work relationship now.”

“I can’t even begin to think about what that means,” he says nervously. His eyes grow bigger and he asks again, “Well, is she? Single, that is?”

“Halloway,” I say.

“Yes? The other Navy guy. What about him? Is she seeing him?” he asks.

“His name is Halloway. You said Holloway,” I correct him. “And yes, they’re seeing each other. Although, I don’t know how much she’s into him.”

He keeps his gaze averted from mine, and gulps down hard. I know the feeling of disappointment and I want to help the guy if it’s possible.

“Oh, well,” he sighs. “It was worth the ask. Coworkers shouldn’t intermingle in that way, regardless, I suppose.”

“Fred, shut up,” I say, standing up and smacking my hand against the table. “She was just complaining about him in the teacher’s lounge, so I’ll talk to her. How does that sound?”

His eyes light up like a child and he starts to get this big grin plastered on his face. “That sounds great,” he says.

“Good. Go and buy some new clothes or something. Make yourself look presentable. I’ll talk to her tomorrow about it,” I say.

I walk out of that room with a surprised feeling of glee. If this works, I’ve definitely solidified a good spot here. And if it doesn’t, well, I’m pretty screwed. It’s worth the gamble.

* * *

“Sit on this cock, baby,” he whispers into my ear as I wake up from a deep power nap after class. Here I am, lying on my stomach, and I feel his thickness start to grow against the center of my ass. It begins to rise until I feel it floating toward my pussy, now wet, instinctually ready for him at this point.

“Push back on me,” he whispers again. The hot air from his breath tickles the back of my ear. It sends goose bumps up my spine, arms, inner legs, and I’m already waiting for him to enter me. He thrusts gently, but with enough force to make me dizzy with over-passionate lust.

“I’m dreaming,” I say. “Let me sleep.” It’s a mild protest against someone who knows how to put up a real fight. There’s no way he’s stopping now and I don’t even want him to. Why would I?

“Fuck your dreaming,” he mutters. Now his lips are against the back of my neck and my skin is so sensitive I shudder. I open my eyes and feel my heart pounding against the bed sheet. I push my butt back and up, just enough to feel the tip of his cock glide against my clit. Then I pull forward, and back again, until I feel him slip inside my core, and instantly I’m filled with enough pleasure to last me a lifetime.

“Oh God, Addison,” I moan. I turn my head and look at him through the mirror of his bedroom closet. I see his muscles tense as he thrusts forward with his strong will and determination.

Then, with all his might, he pulls me up from my slumber, hands around my supple breasts, and holds me upright. I’m sitting around him and we’re close, so fucking close. He envelops me, consumes me, and like a snake, slithers all around me until I’m no more.

I push back and forth, until we develop a hushed and hot rhythm, only defined by the warmth around us and the perfect inhales of pure elation and thirst. I need him. I need him like air in my lungs, water in my body, and blood rushing through my veins. He connects me to the ground in a much deeper way than ever expected. And when he spins me around to face him, he just slowly nods because he knows what is on both our minds.

“I love you,” he whispers, whilst every inch is bottoming out inside of me. I shudder with pleasure. His fist grips the left cheek of my ass, leaving red marks of ownership, the remnants of our deepest desire.

“I love you too,” I tell him. Our lips slide against one another. The waves of our pleasure don’t erode us like sand, or even the thousand-year-old rocks with dulled edges. No, we’re stuck, changed in growth and inflation, covered in the water of what we now call love.

This is it.

“I’m cumming,” I whisper. Only, I don’t need to even say it. We both knew that was going to happen within seconds. Our pupils dilate. My breasts slide against his chest. He grows and I open for him, only shrinking when necessary. He lifts me up and I bring him back down. I lift him up and he brings me to life.

I can’t live without him. No more can I be a slave to the mundane. This is our freedom. This is what we’ve chosen. Absolute and total annihilation, through the only mode of self-sacrifice we know. Only, the benefit is much greater than expected. It’s a gift placed right on my doorstep, left unopened, yet the joy of its mystery remains for a lifetime. Like running down on Christmas Day, only to find one star ornament shining back against the darkened winter light, I fall to my knees and leave the world behind for good.

I begin to shake. No, it’s a seismic earthquake where the whole world begins to collapse into itself. Heated, flowing, coagulating to the highest degree; we are now molded into something absolutely new and exciting. I shoot out of my body and so does he. I feel him do it, between the folds of my elusive center. He leaves me for nothing, the space in time that vows to bring us back together.

This is powerful. This is life. He keeps going, although he’s losing more and more of himself by the millisecond. Only when he’s completely drained and the skin shrinks back, and the hairs begin to pulse upward in electrified glory, does he come to, realizing he must now begin to fear what might come next. Love is painful, yet it is the only hope we have against the wretched end.

How does he make me feel?

We flow away from each other gently, with smiles on our faces. Our hearts begin to slow, though the extreme pounding never falters. What’s more is we can’t stop going back to it, in our heads and in the way our eyes dart back and forth. Things will forever change, just like they did on that fateful day where we happened to crash into each other, bike screeching against the concrete. However, that’s what pushes us forward. It is the search to keep it there, solidified in stone, as the water quickly recedes into its own shelter.