Wild Night
It had been years since Teresa had thought about James, and then there he stood: in the coffee shop that she worked in, in their old college town, in a leather jacket while she was wearing an apron. Fate couldn’t possibly have been crueler. Teresa pulled aside one of the other young baristas and attempted to formulate a sentence, but looked over her shoulder and saw him approaching the register. She tossed the barista towards the counter and escaped into the back room of the store.
Her mind quickly raced to all the possibilities explaining why he would be back in town. An old fraternity get together? She would have heard something from one of his friends in passing for sure. A party she didn’t hear of? Unlikely, but it was possible. Maybe an alumni get together? That could be it. She sent all those emails straight to spam anyway; she didn’t need the constant reminder of how long ago she had graduated. While she loved her time in college, the last thing she wanted to do was run into James after everything she had said the last time they saw each other.
Teresa pulled out her phone, bringing up the messaging app, and frantically typed a message to her best friend as she peeked around the corner of the doorway, trying to see if James had left or not. She had scrawled out a short message and double checked it quickly before sending it: “James is in town. In the coffee shop. Find out why.”
Shoving the phone back into her pocket, she peered around the corner into the lobby of the coffee shop again just in time to see James put the top back onto his coffee, stirring it a bit before he lifted it up to his lips. With his free hand, he removed the sunglasses from his hair and placed them back onto his face, glancing around the room slowly.
Teresa stared intently at his profile, somewhat obscured by his short, reddish beard, but the strong jaw line still prominent. He was growing his beard back; it reminded her of when they were together. Her fingers could almost feel it, the thick, curled hair tangling itself between her fingers. It was something she remembered vividly from when he used to—
Just then, a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder, snapping her out of the daydream. She spun around to find the cold gaze of her manager, knuckle tattoos and all gripping her slightly shaking shoulder. She took a moment to steady her breathing before she met her gaze. As she did, the cold gaze seemingly turned her to stone.
“Why aren’t you on your register?” the manager questioned as she looked over Teresa’s shoulder into the lobby. Her eyes immediately fell on James. Looking back at Teresa’s now downcast eyes, her stony gaze softened into a smile. “Darling, if I allowed every person that was trying to avoid an ex to take a 5-minute break, no one would get any work done around here.” She looked at James again as he held the door open for another guest.
“But if all my exes looked like that, I wouldn’t be avoiding them.” The manager tapped her on the back and prodded her back out towards her register.
*****
“No, I honestly don’t know why he’s back in town and I don’t know why you think I would be the one to know it.” Liz was seated on a worn-out futon in a small, studio apartment. Teresa was pacing around the room with a glass of red wine in one hand, the bottle in the other, liquid sloshing around in both.
“I mean, I might have heard that he was moving in with Mike because he got a job teaching, but that’s just a rumor and I can’t confirm or deny that,” Liz trailed off at the end of that statement, speaking more into her wine glass than at her friend. Teresa spun on her heels so fast she nearly spilled the contents of the wine glass all over her and the small rug in the center of the room.
“He’s moving here, like back to town? When?”
“Technically, I think it’s ‘moved,’” Liz said sheepishly, once again protecting her face with the wine glass. Teresa ran to the futon and slumped into the seat beside her, wine sloshing out slightly onto the futon. She absently wiped it away as she looked into the distance.
“Well, now what do I do? I should get a new job. No, I need move,” Teresa exclaimed, taking a swig from the bottle, ignoring the glass. She smiled coyly and turned to Liz. “We need to move.” Liz shook her head, mouth full of wine. “Come on, we always said that we should move after college. Let’s do it.” Swallowing her wine, Liz looked back at Teresa.
“No, I don’t need to do anything,” she looked away, “and plus, that was something you said you would do with James, never with me.” Teresa sighed and stood up, beginning to pace the room again. “All joking aside though, what are you going to do?” Liz’s eyes followed Teresa as she walked back and forth through the room.
“In my personal opinion, I think you should just—” Teresa pointed her finger at Liz to get her to stop and her eyes screamed, ‘Don’t say another word.’ Liz paused for a moment, but continued. “Call him.” Teresa groaned obnoxiously loud and looked at Liz sarcastically.
“And tell him what, Liz?” Teresa took a pull from the bottle of wine. “That the company I took the job with went bankrupt? The same job that I chose over him? The job that drove him to move away?” Teresa took another swig from the bottle.
“And that now, I work at some coffee shop, where I’m just a barista, and that half the people I work with aren’t even old enough to drink?” She put the bottle to her lips only to find that it was empty. She glanced down at the glass, still full of wine, and took a sip of that instead. She tossed the bottle onto the floor beside the futon as she sat down.
“That just seeing him brought me back to the moment we met, even though I had gotten so good at forgetting about him and moving on.” Liz and Teresa sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating, each sipping from their wine glasses and sighing.
“Well, I probably wouldn’t start there,” Liz said laughing.
*****
Teresa was always one to sleep with a comforter, regardless of the weather, but something about the way the wine hit her made her decide to sleep with just the sheet. The thin cotton hugged her body perfectly; one naked leg escaped the embrace, the cool air of the fan causing goosebumps to cascade over her body.
Just as she dozed off, she heard her bedroom door creak open. Under any other circumstance she would have been nervous, but the red wine took hold and lulled her to sleep.
Only a short time later, however, she awoke to the gentle caress of hands on her exposed leg, the fingertips delicately dancing across the mountain range of goose bumps. She giggled slightly and the fingers stopped, replaced by lips. If there were a spot of her leg that didn’t have a goose bump before, it certainly did now.
The kisses fell upon her thigh like light rain drops as she sighed quietly and rolled onto her back. The lips followed the curve of her legs, passing over her womanhood to give equal attention to both thighs. Her moans increased as the lips became teeth, and nibbled slightly on her supple inner thighs.
Her hands twisted and grabbed at the sheets, willing the teeth to become a tongue and to allow her some release. Almost immediately, the teeth turned to lips and began kissing her gently on her own lips. The tongue began to tease the clit and outlined the pussy itself with quick flicks.
The tongue and lips deftly lapped and sucked as Teresa’s moans grew louder and louder, the orgasm building up inside her. The hands returned and spidered their way up her legs; one finger playfully teased itself up in between her legs, gently sliding inside her.
Teresa let out a small squeal of pleasure as the finger immediately began to twist and thrust back and forth, the tongue now flicking her clit exclusively. Tentatively, she released the sheets and slowly reached down, trying to figure out who this was. Her fingers met a tangled mat of curly hair, her fingers interlocked with the curls just like they used to when she was with—
Teresa bolted up right, waking up, panting slightly, panties completely soaked through. Raising a hand to her chest, she noticed her erect nipples and fell back into the messy bed, groaning. She checked the clock and noticed that she had an hour before she had to get ready for work.
Reaching down and slowly pulling off her panties, she tried to finish the job from where the dream left off. Her finger slowly massaging her clit, her head and back contorting in pleasure. Biting her lip, she closed her eyes and saw James’s face staring back at her. Moaning slightly, she imagined him there with her, once again.
*****
Teresa sat inside the small diner, sunglasses still on, slowly stirring her coffee. A few days had passed since she dreamt about James and his signature style of French kissing, but she hadn’t been able to get it out of her head. She had attempted to recreate the conditions and setting every night since, but had failed, only ever ending up with red wine morning breath and a hangover.
So, there she sat, in a mom and pop diner, waiting for Mike to meet her. She had always felt like Mike had a soft spot for her, and maybe she would finally be able to get some use out of it for once. He was James’s best friend and she never felt comfortable messing with emotions before, but she was a woman on a mission.
Just as she thought this, Mike entered the diner and looked around. She waved at him seductively, but didn’t even get a smile out of him in return. He took his sunglasses off and walked across the room, sitting down across from her.
“I’m doing really well, thank you. You’re right, it has been too long. Work is good, keeping me busy, I’m a youth minister now.” Teresa sat there, confused. The waitress made her way to the table and Mike picked up the menu. “I’ll just have water for now, thank you.” The waitress looked at Teresa as she stammered out a response.
“I’ll have the same I guess.” The waitress smiled and walked away, quickly bringing back the two glasses of water. As she walked away, Teresa shook her head and looked at Mike. “What was—”
“So, you wanna know about James, right?” He looked up from the menu and locked eyes with Teresa.
“What? No, I mean, we haven’t talked in a while, I figured we could catch up.” She nervously flipped through the menu, not able to concentrate on any of the options as her mind raced between all the questions she had about James.
“Really? I’m naive, but I’m not stupid. You don’t talk to me, return my calls or emails, nothing for two years, but now that James moves back, you want to ‘catch up?’ Yeah, right.” He took a sip from the glass of water, the condensation leaving a stain on the table.
“Well, I mean... I do want to know how you’ve been too.” She looked up as she said that, a concerned expression falling on Mike’s face.
“Listen, that was a bit rash to come in like that; that’s not me. I mentioned I was grabbing lunch with you and that was what my friends thought I should do.” He put the menu down just as the waitress came back. “Hey, give us a minute or two, please.” The waitress nodded and walked away as Mike reached across the table and took Teresa’s hand.
“Look, he would kill me if I told you this, but,” Mike leaned in a bit closer, “when he moved away, he got involved with this other girl and apparently it ended pretty badly. It’s why he moved back. He doesn’t really talk about it much.” Mike let go of Teresa’s hand and opened his menu again, carefully avoiding Teresa’s gaze. Teresa sat back in her seat and sighed.
“He, uh, was with somebody else?” Mike looked up from the menu.
“Well, it’s been a few years. You can’t imagine he would have just been sitting around waiting for you to call him.” He closed the menu again, “I mean, you’ve been with people. I’ve seen you out on dates.” His voice trailed off as he looked at her.
“He told me he would never love again though.” Tears welled up in her eyes and Mike frantically looked around the room, as if trying to find some help.
“Listen, I don’t know any of the details,” tears began to fall, “but, but, if I can find out,” Mike floundered to find words as Teresa continued to cry. “Okay, listen, we’re having a party this weekend. Why don’t you and Liz come along?” As he said this, Teresa stopped crying and opened her menu.
“I’ll have to see if we’re available, but we’ll try to be there.” Mike sat back in his seat and opened the menu again, completely confused by what happened.
*****
Teresa stood naked in her closet, her bare back facing Liz, who sat on the end of Teresa’s bed, eyes glued to her phone, thumbs scrolling across the screen.
“So, I’m thinking that I should pick something that is pretty easy access, you know?” Teresa said as she held dresses up in front of the mirror, gauging the apparent sluttiness of each compared to the others. “I don’t want to come off too slutty so that just any guy will think they have a chance. I’ve gotta play this right.”
Liz agreed absentmindedly from the bed as she scrolled through her phone. Teresa turned around and saw she wasn’t paying attention, so she threw a hanger across the room, knocking the phone out of Liz’s hand. “Come on, help me out here,” Teresa shouted. Liz glared for a moment, but stood up and walked across the room. She collected a few of the scattered clothes that were around the room on her way towards the closet.
“Well, if you go with a dress, you need something cute underneath,” Liz glanced at the dirty clothes piled in the corner, “and I’ll assume that you don’t have anything right now.” Teresa shrugged and continued to search through the clothes hanging in the closet. “So, why not leggings?” Liz reached down into a pile of clothes and pulled out a pair of tight, black leggings.
“Yeah, all right.” Teresa took the leggings and pulled them on. She looked around quickly and pulled out an oversized sweater. “And this sweater. He loved this sweater.” As Liz walked back across the room to pick her phone up off the bed, Teresa turned around and held it up for her. “He got this for me as a gift.” Liz glanced at it and resumed scrolling through her Twitter feed.
“Yeah, if he remembers, maybe it’ll be some kind of clue to him or something. But he’s a guy, so he won’t remember.” Liz flopped down on the bed and sighed.
*****
It had been their three-year anniversary when Teresa sat at the kitchen table, hands covering her eyes. She could hear the wrapping paper of her gift crinkling as it was placed on the table. She felt the smile creep across her face as James’s voice washed over her. James hated wrapping presents, so this was a big deal for him.
“All right, open your eyes, babe.” Teresa threw her hands off and opened her eyes to see a large preset sitting in front of her. It was crudely wrapped, with crinkled paper, but it was wrapped. “Go on, open it, don’t study it.” She could hear the smile on his face; his voice always gave away his emotions.
She tore into the paper, tiny bits fluttering onto the floor. She opened the box and pulled out a large, oversized, knit sweater. She held it up to smell it and was almost overwhelmed by the smell of sheep. She giggled and put it back into the box. Teresa spun around and stood up, throwing her arms around James’s neck. She buried her face into his chest and could feel him laughing. “You’ve gotta try it on, you goof.”
She turned back around and pulled it back out of the box, throwing it on over her black tank top and athletic shorts. The sweater fell to the middle of her thighs, effectively making it look like she wasn’t wearing pants. Teresa looked up at James for approval.
“Looks good doesn’t it?” She twirled around a few times, laughing to herself slightly at the ludicrousness of the sweater. “How much did you pay to ship this from Ireland, anyway? I thought we agreed on not spending too much money.” As she finished up her twirl, James grabbed her and picked her up. He tossed her slightly until she was being carried under his arm.
“What are you doing,” Teresa exclaimed through laughter. “Don’t you want your gift?” James made his way through his small apartment and into his bedroom, where he dropped her onto the bed.
“I thought you were my present.”
James pulled his white henley off over his head; his curly hair flopped slightly and he took a minute to straighten and correct his beard. He climbed onto the bed next to her, hands slipped up inside the sweater and grabbed her sides playfully, pulling her body close to his.
Their lips interlocked, their breath in sync as their tongues passionately lapped at the other. His hands had made their way inside her shirt, cupping her breasts, his thumbs flicking her erect nipples. As they rubbed over her tits, she moaned quietly, his lips breaking away to find her neck.
He licked his lips before kissing her pale neck; slight bites left red marks that would remind her of this later when she looked in the mirror. Her fingernails scratched at his back in pleasure creating a mosaic. James raised up onto his knees slowly and mounted her. He pulled off her sweater and tank top and laid back on top of her. His hands, lips, and tongue began the slow descent down her body. The soft kisses and flicks of the tongue drew out louder moans; Teresa's head rocked back as she managed to mutter his name under her breath.
James rose up again, unfastening his belt and jeans as Teresa managed to slide out of her shorts and panties. James fell back to her neck, one hand firmly grasping the nape of her neck; his chest hair felt soft against her exposed breasts. The other hand slowly walked down her stomach, ticking her as it went. The index and ring finger gently opened her pussy, his middle finger rubbing her clit. He leaned down, leaving her to moan as his face and lips passed over her body, kissing every inch.
Finally, as he reached her vagina, his tongue began to lap at her clit, his finger now inside her. Moaning, she began to contort and crumpled into the bed. He spit on her pussy and raised up slightly, taking his cock in his free hand. With another quick spit and rub, he slowly inserted his dick inside her.
Immediately, she began to moan loudly, his name barely finding its way off her tongue, her mind completely engrossed in the feeling of his dick. Reaching up with both hands, he grabbed her behind the neck, locking eyes with her as his body rhythmically thrusted his pelvis into hers.
Their naked bodies seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces. After three years, they had fallen into such a tight sync that without saying a word, James stood up and flipped Teresa over onto her hands and knees. He took up a handful of her hair in one hand, and he slid inside her again, his bare thighs slapping against her perky, porcelain ass.
Her moans were replaced with screams of delight as every few thrusts he would pause to spank her firmly. Each time he would do it, Teresa would let out a small yelp of pleasure. Leaning down onto her, his chest matching the curve of her back, kissing the back of her neck, he reached around, grabbing her bouncing tits, his fingers pinching and squeezing her nipples as he thrusted deeper.
Her screams quickly began coming faster and faster, with each thrust, the orgasm building up. James released one tit and reached between her thighs and began to tease her clit. Teresa went limp in the bed as her body shook uncontrollably, pleasure rolling over her like tidal waves.
James didn’t let up though, his hard dick continuing to pound. Her hands clutched at the sheets on the bed as he slowed down. The thrusts began to have more meaning. Each one brought her close to cumming. As he pumped one last time, she let out a long moan, feeling all the pressure in her body release. James pulled out and rolled her over into his arms and he laid down onto his back.
“My god, I thought I was just getting that sweater,” Teresa said between labored breaths. She pushed her hair out of her face and looked at James as he was sweating and panting beside her. He smiled and turned to look at her, kissing her on the forehead. “I don’t know if I got enough now.”
“Yeah, you don’t even need to get me anything at this point if you don’t want to,” James laughed as his free hand played with her hair.
“Oh, well, good because I actually didn’t get you anything for the anniversary. So, I’m really glad you said that.” Teresa held her breath to see how James would react. He slowly turned his head and looked away from her.
“Well, I mean, that’s fine, I suppose.” Teresa laughed loudly and rolled over on top of him, mounting him as he had just done.
“You want a present, you punk. I know you.” Teresa nuzzled into his neck, blowing raspberries, causing him to shirk away as he tried to push her off.
*****
The party was nothing special, honestly. Teresa stood with Liz in the corner of the living room; each of them held a red solo cup full of some sort of mixed drink. Mike had worked at a Mexican restaurant for a few years and learned how to make some fantastic drinks. However, he only knew the measurements to make the drinks in gallons. There was nothing wrong with this, but it led to some interesting parties. Sadly, this did not appear to be one of them.
Teresa and Liz silently sipped from the cups while Mike’s classic rock blared throughout the apartment. Small pockets of people had formed, but Liz and Teresa did not necessarily fit in well with any of the circles of friends. Over the past few years, Liz and Teresa had isolated themselves and burned a few bridges, something they didn’t think of until they arrived at the party.
When they had arrived, Mike had introduced both of them to his new work friends, whom they didn’t mesh with at all. Unable to hold a conversation about the things people do at church or children, the two had agreed to come up with a drinking game that would make the party more bearable until James got there.
So they stood in silence in the corner, watching the room and listening to the small groups around them make small talk. For each mention of an engagement, promotion, or raise at work, or a “remember when we were in college” story, they would take a drink. If, and when, someone would mention a pregnancy, they would finish their drinks.
It had been about an hour and both Teresa and Liz were feeling light-headed and had to brace themselves while they walked around the room to keep the conversations fresh. They had hit the jackpot early on with one group of accountants who couldn’t help but try and one up each other’s promotions. As they made their way across the room, Liz nudged Teresa to tell her something.
“So, one or two more hours and I’m out of here. I can’t be around these people too long. All this talk of babies is drying my vagina up.” She looked into her cup and made a beeline for the cooler. “And all this drinking can’t be good for me. I mean, why people can’t just be happy to be unemployed, like me?”
As Teresa and Liz reached the cooler, the door opened and in walked James. He carried in a paper bag, the top of a bottle of liquor protruding from the top, the cap nowhere to be seen. Mike jumped up from his seat and caught up to him as he began to walk into the room, tossing his keys into a bowl that sat on a table next to the door. Mike quietly whispered in his ear and James took a step back as if he was shoved.
“And you’re only telling me now?” James started to look around the room, eyes landing on a few different girls until he met the gaze of Teresa. Without breaking eye contact, he raised the brown bag to his lips and took a long pull of liquor. “Well, let the shit show begin.” He took another step back and stared intently at her outfit. Turning his head like a dog, trying to understand a noise. With a look of understanding, he slowly shook his head and took another drink.
James pushed past Mike towards a door in the back of the room, leading to his bedroom. Liz had poured herself a new drink, but instead of saying anything, took a few more sips. As the door closed and Teresa didn’t move, Liz leaned over to Teresa and drunkenly whispered:
“Do you think he noticed the sweater?” Teresa didn’t say anything so Liz tipped the cup back, finishing her drink again. “Things can only get worse. I’ll need more booze.” Mike walked over to Teresa as Liz made her way back over to the cooler of alcoholic mystery.
All of Teresa’s dreams and fantasies about seeing James again quickly were becoming nightmares. She had been prepared for something a little more... erotic.
“Hey, listen, he had a tough day at work. You know how teaching can be. I mean, its high school, so all those hormonal teens can wear just about anybody down.” Mike stood there and spoke with hopeful eyes, trying to make Teresa feel better. Teresa placed her cup on the coffee table and motioned for Liz.
“This was a stupid idea, guys. Thanks for the invite, Mike, but I realize how dumb I was being.” Liz walked over and placed her cup beside Teresa’s. Mike apologized on behalf of James and walked them to the door.
As Mike went to open the door for the girls, James’s bedroom door slammed open. Out walked James in jean shorts, a black graphic tee shirt that had a bald eagle on it and the sleeves cut off, and a cowboy hat. He raised a bottle of whiskey in one hand and hollered.
“Let’s get this shit started!”
*****
James and Teresa sat together on the couch; Mike and Liz stood together on the other side of the room, ready to step in, just in case they started throwing punches. Where they had left off, it was unclear of how this would go, but from across the room they could only see smiles and laughter.
“No, I know it wasn’t our first date party, but these are the only clothes I still have that were from any of those parties. I thought it was a good tip off that I wasn’t too mad or anything.” James took a small pull from the bottle while Teresa sighed and sat back on the couch. Her drink balanced carefully in her lap.
“Well, you clearly noticed the sweater then.” Teresa motioned at her sweater and James nodded.
“Yeah, third anniversary. If I recall, we had some pretty great sex after I gave you that. I think you gave me a map, right?” He reached over and tugged on the sweater a bit. “I always liked how it made you look like you weren’t wearing pants.” He laughed slightly under his breath. “Especially when I found out you weren’t wearing pants.” They both laughed and slumped into the couch.
“It’s been so long; I missed this, James,” Teresa put her hand on his shoulder and James coughed quietly and pulled away from her. She sat up quickly and apologized. “Sorry. It was muscle memory and the alcohol, it’s—” James reached out and grabbed her arm. She immediately stopped talking and James shifted a bit in his seat.
“It’s not that. You don’t need to apologize.” He sat back in the seat and he took another swig from the bottle of whiskey to settle his nerves. “Being here, with you and our friends, it’s everything I’ve wanted for the past two years.” He looked over at Mike, who smiled and waved while drinking with Liz. “It’s just that as soon as I relax, I hear you breaking up with me all over again. I hear all the terrible things you said. I can’t keep putting myself through that.”
James stood up, his hand lingered on her leg for a moment. He walked away though, leaving Teresa on the couch, watching as he moved. Liz jogged across the room, bumping into a few people, to fill in James’s seat and Mike followed James into his room. Teresa looked down at her cup and back up at James as he closed the door to his bedroom.
“Well, let’s get drunk.”
That was the last thing Teresa remembered saying.
*****
Teresa certainly didn’t enjoy the feeling of waking up in a strange place, but it wasn’t something she was completely unused to either. She slowly lifted her head as the pounding headache started to throb; she laid back down. Carefully, she started to take in her surroundings one piece at a time.
She wasn’t naked, but these certainly weren’t the clothes she came in. She looked at the ground and saw her sweater and leggings folded up neatly. The sheets smelled strange; not off putting, but strange. And she was thirsty. Incredibly thirsty. She looked over at the bedside table and there was a chilled, unopened water bottle on it. She crept towards it, careful not to move her head too much.
After taking a drink of water, she rolled onto her back and took in the room a bit more. It was sparse, with some dirty clothes scattered around the room and a desk in the corner had a desktop and a laptop sitting on it. There were four or five legal pads stacked on the desk as well. The desktop had the time on the screen; it was 10:24 in the morning.
Teresa collected herself and stood up. She noticed that on the legal pad that was on top of the others had a note scrawled on it: “Advil is in the top drawer of the bedside table. Take as many as you need.” She padded back across the room and grabbed a few Advil out of the drawer, threw them back, and drank some more of the water. Absently, she flipped through the other legal pads and came across a poem:
Brown eyes that I once teased
Haunt me now in my dreams.
Her thin hair that I once ran my fingers through
Dances just out of my reach.
Pale skin that I once caressed
Is now covered with ink,
Ink that I know means the world to her,
But means nothing to me now.
Drunken nights that were once filled
With movies and laughter
Are now filled with questions
Of what if.
Years have passed
But I’ll always wonder
If we can come back from this.
Teresa looked down at the tattoos on her arms, showing through the thin, white shirt and sat down on the bed. He knew the story behind two of them, but her arms were covered now. She never thought of that. As she went to read the poem again and to read the other poems that were in the pad, the door to the room opened. She tossed the pad under the bed as James walked in, his hair disheveled and bags hung low under his eyes. He held up his car keys and a pair of sunglasses.
“Breakfast? I know a place.”
*****
After quickly getting dressed and taking a short shower, Teresa sat next to James in his aging car; trash clattered around in the back seat as she fell back into a strange rhythm. She immediately fell back into the memories of the car. The car they drove back and forth from family vacations to college. The same car he had driven her to her internships and the airport in. It was a car she knew well and didn’t realize she had missed.
“So, like I said, after I went to my room, I hung out in there for a while until Liz came and got me. I didn’t want to ruin your party experience more than I had, but I guess I did.” James looked over at Teresa, who was staring out the window. “You had gotten pretty drunk by the time Liz got me and you were hitting on one of Mike’s priest friends.” James chuckled and adjusted his glasses. “You kept whispering, just because God is playing goalie doesn’t mean I can’t score.” Teresa laughed at her own joke and slumped lower into her seat.
“Christ, I don’t remember that.” They both paused for a moment. “Well, not Christ. Shit I suppose.” They laughed together until Teresa realized where he was taking her for breakfast. He was taking her to the coffee shop she worked at. She had the day off, but surely someone would give her grief for being there. Especially looking like how she looked and being with the man she’d avoided a week ago.
“Hey, so, uh, where are we going?” James looked over at Teresa with a smile on his face.
“We’re going to that little coffee shop we used to go to when we were in college. I heard it’s only gotten better since I’ve left.” James turned and pulled into the parking lot, his car rumbled slightly as he parked in a parking spot in front of the shop.
“Well, I’m not feeling so great, so can you just grab me a coffee to go?” James leaned over and opened her door.
“Nonsense; we’re going in.”
James got out of the car and walked around to her side of the car where he stood, waiting for her to get out. Slowly, she stepped out, accepting James’s hand to help her out. James led the way and held the door to the cafe open for her as she removed her sunglasses and walked inside.
She scanned the workers at the registers and knew each and every one of them. She strode up to the register and whispered to the young girl working there, the same girl she had made cover for her when James came in a week ago. “You don’t know me,” she whispered quickly. James stood behind her and leaned forward.
“Order what you want; I can pay.” The young girl behind the register looked at James and then back at Teresa. “Oh, hey, how are you? You were my barista last time I was here. How are you?” The girl looked back at Teresa like a deer in the headlights. She began her spiel timidly.
“Have you been here before or would you like a minute to look at the options?” Just then, Teresa’s manager emerged from the back room and stepped up to the register, taking over for the young girl, who sighed loudly.
“Come on, you know Teresa. One of our best employees.” Teresa’s eyes screamed for her to stop and she panicked for a moment, waiting for James to respond. James merely leaned forward, his hand rested on the small of her back and he pushed her forward a tiny bit.
“I know you’ve gotta know, what’s the best thing to cure a hangover?” Teresa let out her breath and turned around, shocked.
“You know I work here?”
*****
“I honestly didn’t mean for it to be a malicious joke,” James said in between chewing his egg and bacon breakfast sandwich. Teresa sat back in her seat, sipping on her coffee; she had put her sunglasses back on to avoid his gaze. “I came in here a week ago looking for you actually.”
“When did you find out?” she asked, taking a sip of coffee, ignoring the scalding heat.
“When I was thinking about moving back, I heard rumors that you were working here and that the other job fell through. I didn’t really know what happened and I wanted to reach out, but you were with someone at the time and it didn’t seem appropriate.”
“You could have said something.” Teresa looked away and saw her manager standing nearby, clearly eavesdropping on their conversation. “I mean, that job was the reason we... you know.”
“Well, every time I thought about reaching out, I would think of how badly I was hurt and I would talk myself out of it. But last night, Mike reminded me of something.” Teresa sat forward in her seat and took her sunglasses off. “He reminded me of what I told him the first day I saw you.”
James took another bite of his sandwich and put it back on the plate, using a napkin to wipe away some of the crumbs and butter from his hands and lap. As he finished chewing, he took a sip of his iced coffee and sat back.
“The first day of school was the first day I laid eyes on you. One of those goofy orientation events. I was in a group with Mike and you walked by us as we were talking about god knows what and I told him: that girl is going to ruin my life.” Teresa leaned back, offended.
“The hell, James? Why’re you doing all this then, if you think I’ll ruin your life?” She turned in her seat as if to stand up, but James reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Because I told him that I couldn’t wait. To love unconditionally means that sometimes you get hurt. We both acted stupid. We were young though. We made some poor decisions, but we both still had so much growing to do.” He reached out with his other hand and grabbed her hand off her cup, intertwining their fingers. “I know now that I just want to continue growing with you.”
Teresa glanced over at her manager who gave her a small thumbs-up and walked away, smiling. She looked down at her coffee and looked back up at James.
“I was hoping you would say that.”
*****
James could not have driven fast enough to get back to his apartment as fast as they actually wanted to get there. Teresa had often wondered about the benefits of teleportation and if it would make sense, but after they had decided to give it another chance, the only thing she wanted was to immediately be in bed, naked, with James. It was obvious he felt the same way as well because yellow lights might as well have been green lights at the speed he was taking them, and the tires squealed on each turn, as if they were driving a race car.
They got back to his apartment complex and sped towards a car that was backing out of a spot near the front of the building. By the time he had thrown the car into park and engaged the parking brake, Teresa was already out of the car, standing by the door to the building, waiting. She was dancing slightly, like a small child that needed to go to the bathroom. She smiled widely as he ran towards her.
He grabbed her as he ran by; his arm caught her on the lower back pulling her along, his other hand held his keys and fob, which he waved in front of the door. Hitting the handicap door button, he spun around and kissed Teresa as the door opened. Walking backwards, lips still locked together passionately, he pulled her inside.
Without looking, they blindly stumbled towards the elevator, hitting both call buttons. Her hands unbuttoned his top as his hands were firmly planted on her ass, squeezing and massaging. The elevator bell dinged and he pulled away, shoving her inside. Teresa playfully threw herself harder into the back wall of the elevator and James pounced inside, following her as the doors closed.
The doors shut and Teresa jumped into James arms, her thighs wrapped around his waist; her arms pulled his shirt off his back and she threw it into the corner. James pressed her against the wall of the elevator and passionately kissed and bit her neck. Teresa loudly moaned and asked for more; his hands travelled up her back from her ass and pulled her hair. She moaned his name and the elevator bell dinged again. But this time, the doors slid open.
James and Teresa stopped abruptly. Teresa looked over his shoulder to see an elderly woman standing in the doorway, the elevator still in the lobby. With Teresa still wrapped around his waist, James slowly turned around and looked at the lady as well. She chuckled and leaned into the elevator. She pressed the door close button and waved at them.
“Don’t forget to hit the floor button, you two,” she called after them as the door closed.
They both laughed and James walked to the elevator panel; Teresa let go of him with one hand and pressed the button for his floor. The elevator shook for a moment and began to ascend. They laughed for a moment to themselves before James gently slammed Teresa back into the wall, his hands now back on her ass.
James’s teeth pulled at her shirt and kissed her neck as the elevator rose. Her nails created a topographical map of passion on his back until the elevator stopped and the door opened; thankfully it was on the correct floor this time and no one was waiting for them on the other side. Teresa let go and jumped down, snagging his shirt from the corner of the elevator. James pretended to chase her through the halls until they reached his door.
James fumbled with the keys for a moment as Teresa unfastened his belt. She pulled it completely out of his pant loops, threw it around his neck, and pulled him in for a kiss.
“I can’t see the lock,” he mumbled, and she released him, giggling. He finally unlocked the door and swung it open. He tossed his keys in the direction of the bowl by the door, but completely missed. Teresa was pulling him now; she knocked over empty beer cans and red solo cups as she made her way across the apartment.
She pushed into his room and he grabbed her shirt and pulled it off of her. She fell back into the bed and raised her legs and butt up so that James was able to deftly pull off her leggings. He didn’t fold them this time; instead, he tossed them onto the floor, her clothes mixed in with his own and formed a pile at the end of the bed.
They were both naked now. Teresa splayed out in the bed, shimmying up slightly higher, but James stopped and stood for a moment, watching her intently, studying her body. Teresa looked concerned and tried to cover herself with the blanket.
“Wait, what’s wrong? I know it’s been a few years, but I mean—” James grabbed the sheet away from her and threw it across the room towards the desk.
“Stop; I’m just taking this in. This is better than all the fantasies I’ve had over the past two years.” Teresa relaxed and James slowly approached her, carefully sliding on top of her. He kissed her forehead gently and proceeded to kiss her cheeks, lips, and ears. She giggled and looked back at him.
“What’re you doing, James?” Teresa asked, not irritated by the show of affection, but it certainly seemed out of place seeing the way they got into the building.
“Just remembering your taste. That’s all.” James kissed her, their lips forming a perfect seal, as if they were made for each other; their kisses forced their bodies to contort and intertwine. One hand grabbed her by the back of the neck, just like she remembered, the other hand rested over her shoulder, holding him up above her slightly.
He began to kiss her neck, and she kissed his as his strong hand forced her head back and forth so that he could kiss both sides. She resisted slightly, but just to tease him. After a few moments of kissing and biting, she flipped him over onto his back and mounted him.
Her pussy was already moist by the time she started to rub herself on his hard dick. She didn’t let him slide inside her yet, but took the time to tease her own clit and the tip of his cock. His hands lifted off the bed and each grabbed a tit as they were bouncing slightly with each of her thrusts. His fingers cupped them perfectly, pinching her nipples slightly, causing her to let out a low moan.
Teresa raised up on her knees and took his dick in one hand. She bent down and flicked her tongue on the head of his cock. James shook for a moment as a wave of pleasure swept over him. She spit on his dick and rubbed the shaft as he reached down, still grabbing her tits. Teresa took the tip into her mouth and allowed her tongue to play with his dick as she continued to rub his cock with her free hand. James moaned loudly for a few moments, and with one hand, brushed her hair away from her face so that he could watch as she played with his dick.
After a moment, she raised back up and remounted him, his hands grabbed her thighs and pulled her close. She took his throbbing cock in her hand and slid it into her pussy. She rested back onto her legs slowly and James watched as his dick disappeared inside her. Teresa very gently started rocking back and forth; her warm pussy fit like a glove over James’s dick. He joined in as well, rolling his hips into her hips.
She arched her back in pleasure and she screamed his name. Their thrusts came faster and harder. His hands moved from her thighs to her hips, where he pulled and pushed her hips, driving her to new orgasmic heights.
Teresa was unable to hold herself upright anymore, her body covered in goosebumps and shaking, so she fell onto James’s chest. He adjusted his position so that he was now thrusting deeper and harder inside her. Her tits bounced on his chest as he kissed her neck.
She could feel that she was about to cum, and her nails dug into James’s skin, a sign that he remembered well. He began to slow down and each thrust became more meaningful. With each thrust, he would kiss her, and her breaths became shallower with each one. Finally, she moaned his name as he held her quivering body.
Teresa felt her body go limp and James slowly rolled her over onto her back. He reached over her to grab the bottle of water from the bedside table. He handed it to her and she took a sip. As she swallowed the water she looked at him and laughed.
“My god, I thought I was just getting breakfast.”
THE END