My life had been reduced to a huge pile of boxes in Ethan’s entryway.  Every outfit I owned, the textbooks I decided to keep, my favorite knickknacks, and my smoothie maker were all packed away in cardboard.  My furniture ended up in storage.

All right, maybe it wasn’t my entire life, but it sure felt like it.

“Did you get all of this up here yourself?” Ethan asked as he came in the front door.  “Shit, I’m sorry.  I thought I was going to beat you back here.”

“No worries,” I said.  “I just had the movers unload everything in a pile.  I wasn’t sure where we were going to put it all.”

“Sorry,” Ethan said again as he pulled me close and kissed the top of my head.  “We’ll find a place for it all.  I want you to feel at home here.”

He smiled broadly, and I stared at his face for a moment.  Something was different, but it took me a second to figure it out.

“Ethan?  When did you get that?”  I reached up and gently touched the second ring in Ethan’s eyebrow.

“This morning,” he said with a shrug.  “I can’t take it out until it heals, but, um…it has your name engraved inside of it.”  He blushed and then tapped his temple.  “You see, I’m not alone anymore.  I needed you represented up there in my head with me.”

“Really?”  I laughed.

“Why is that funny?”  Ethan scowled, and I realized I’d inadvertently hurt his feelings.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” I said quickly.  “Ethan, I love it.  I didn’t mean that it was funny as in humorous—I think it’s wonderful.  It’s the coincidence that made me laugh.”

“What coincidence?”

I glanced away shyly.  I had planned on letting Ethan discover what I had done on his own, but now I had to show him.  Looking into his eyes, I pulled up my shirt and unhooked my bra, revealing my newly pierced nipple.  Ethan’s eyes went wide.

“Oh, fuck!”  He took a step forward, his gaze fixated on my chest.  He reached out and gently stroked it, taking great care not to move it too much.  I was grateful for that—it was still quite sore.  He glanced over at my other breast.  “You only did the one?”

“I was going to get both, but dammit!  That hurt!”

We both laughed, and Ethan examined me with heightened focus.

“Is it engraved, too?”

“Yes,” I said with a smile.  “It’s says carpe diem.”

Ethan’s throat bobbed as his focus moved from my nipple to my face.  His smile faded as a wave of emotion crossed over his features, and a single tear fell from his eye.

“Ethan?  Are you okay?”  I reached up and placed my palm against his cheek.  “Did I do something wrong?”

“God, no.”  He shook his head quickly.  “It’s just…it’s just fucking awesome, that’s all.  I’m not sure how to process it.”

I stroked the stubble on his jaw, and Ethan’s renewed smile lit up his whole face.

“Thank you,” he said.  “I can’t believe you did that.  What would your dad say?”

“Well, hopefully he’ll never know about it!”  I laughed.

Ethan ran his thumb around my nipple, not quite touching the ring.

“Do you have any idea how badly I want to suck on that?”  Ethan smiled wickedly as he looked up at me.  “I’ll be good and wait until it’s healed, but damn, baby…that’s so fucking hot.”

“Maybe if you go with me and hold my hand, I’ll be able to get through a second one.”

“Deal!”

Ethan bent down slightly, took my unpierced nipple in his mouth, and sucked hard.  I moaned and reached up to grip his hair.  He pulled back, kissed me deeply, and then looked down at my face.

“I’m so fucking hard right now.”  Ethan reached around and grabbed my ass, pulling me against his erection.  “I’m going to have to fuck you out here, right on top of the boxes.”

I giggled but only for a moment.  In the next second, Ethan grabbed the edge of my shirt and yanked it off over my head.  My jeans were next, followed by his shirt.  Then without warning, Ethan grabbed me by the waist, spun me around, and shoved me face first on top of a box of books.

“Ethan!” I cried out, laughing.

“You don’t like it?”  He leaned over me with his hand on the back of my neck, holding me down.  With his other hand, he worked his fingers between my legs, sliding one inside of me.  “You think you can wave that pierced nipple around and not expect me to bend you over and fuck you hard?”

I gasped, and my heart began to pound faster.

“Is this okay?” Ethan asked softly, his mouth pressed just below my ear.  “Is it turning you on?”

“Definitely.”  I could barely get the word out.

“Good.  Now spread those legs.”

I did as I was told, and Ethan grabbed my hips and pulled them up.  I had to stand on my toes a little, using my arms for balance on the top of the box.  I heard the zipper of Ethan’s jeans come down, then felt him press up against me.  He paused.

“Fuck.”  Ethan ran his hand down my back.  “Babe, I’m out of condoms.  Do you have any?”

“Well, somewhere in one of these boxes, but I have no idea where.”

“Shit.”

“I have an IUD,” I said quietly.

“You do?”

“Yes, since before we met.”

“So, no condom?”  I felt Ethan’s hot breath on my back.

“It’s okay,” I told him.  “I mean, if it’s okay with you.”

I felt the head of his cock between my legs.  He stroked me up and down, and my thighs clenched as he rammed into me with a grunt.

“Ahh!” I cried out as I nearly lost my balance.  Ethan wrapped an arm around my waist and held me in place as he began to pound into me.  He placed his other hand on the back of my neck again, holding my face to the cardboard.

“You fucking love getting pounded, don’t you, baby?”

“Yes!”

He slowed his pace, and I moaned.  I could already feel the pressure building between my legs with each penetration.

“You want it slow, sweetheart,” he whispered, grinding deep inside of me, “or do you want it rough?”

“Harder!” I screamed.

“Fuck, yeah!”

Ethan grunted and groaned with every stroke, nearly shoving me right off of the box, but he held tight to my waist, pulling me back against him.

“You look so fucking hot bent over like that.  I could just fuck you like this all day.”

“God, Ethan!”  I pressed back, still on my toes, pushing as hard as I could, reaching for that peak.  I tightened my hands into fists and cried out again as waves of pleasure rushed through my core.

“Oh, shit!  Ashlyn!”

Ethan stiffened and gripped my hips tightly.  He shoved into me one last time as my body shook with his.  I felt him empty inside of me right before he collapsed against my back.  A second later, both my legs and the top of the box gave out, and we toppled to the floor, laughing.

“That was fucking amazing,” Ethan said, still panting.  “I might have to randomly box things up every few weeks just so we can do that again.”

“That doesn’t seem like a great use of time.”

“It would be worth it.”  He hugged me close for a moment, then jumped up to get me a towel and some water.

I headed to the bathroom to clean myself up.  In the mirror, I looked at my red-splotched face and smiled.  Living with Ethan was definitely going to have its perks.  As soon as I walked out of the bathroom, Ethan was right there, still naked, to wrap his arms around me and kiss me deeply.

“If we stay like this, we’re going to go at it again,” I said.  “I’ll be living out of these boxes forever.”

“Might as well get to it then,” Ethan said with a smile.

Ethan released me, and we collected our clothing.  I tried to ignore the wet spot on top of the box we had sex on and picked up one of the smaller boxes.

“I’ve got it.”  Ethan rushed over and took the box from my hands.  He asked me what the label on the top said and then hauled it to the spare bedroom.  “I didn’t realize how many clothes you have!”

“I’ve got another box here,” I called from the hallway.  “It’s just shoes.  Should they go in the spare room, too?”

“Maybe I should get rid of some of my mom’s things,” Ethan said as he came back out for another box.  “It would make more room for yours in our bedroom.”

“Only if you think you’re ready for that.”

“I don’t know.”  Ethan stared at the floor for a moment.  “I might be though.  I just hate throwing them out.”

Ethan was silent for several moments and then smiled slightly.

“You know what we could do with them?”

“What?”  I reached over and took his hands in mine.

“Do you remember seeing a strip mall near CeeCee’s place?  Josh and I were going to buy it and turn it into a grocery with a farmer’s market.  We could take the clothes there and let the women’s shelter across the street send people over to pick some things out.  They always need clothes for interviews to help the women find jobs.  What do you think of that?”

“I think that’s a great idea.  That way, you know they’re going to good use.”

“I think Mom would have approved.”  Ethan took a deep breath and nodded once.  “That’s what we’ll do.”

I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

We unpacked until we were both ready to pass out.  Ethan ordered Chinese food, and we sat in the bean bag chairs to eat.

“I told CeeCee,” Ethan said suddenly.

“Told him what?”

“I told him I bought their apartment building.  I told him about what Josh and I have planned for the whole community.  He knows how much money I have now.”

“How did he feel about it?”

“He seemed okay, but Andrea is pissed that I never told them before.  We had it out a bit, but then I told them the reason for coming clean—I want to give them both jobs.  Not just them, but Gwen and Faith, too.”

“What will you have them do?”

“Andrea is great with customer service,” Ethan said.  “She’s done lots of jobs like that before.  She really knows how to turn on the fake charm!”  He laughed.  “CeeCee has done a little construction before, and I want him to learn to be a construction foreman, so he’ll assist the other one Josh hired.  I want Faith to be the head of human relations and make sure we get a plan together to provide health insurance people can afford, retirement plans, too.”

“What about Gwen?”

“Gwen likes getting dirty,” Ethan said with a laugh.  “She also loves all those big constructions machines.  I’m sending her to a trade school where she can learn how to operate them all.”

“Is she okay with you paying for that?”

“No.”  Ethan shook his head.  “The only way she would do it is if it were a loan, and I have to dock her checks until she’s paid it all back to me.”

“Sounds like a decent compromise.”

“I guess.”  He grinned.  “She never said how much I had to dock her checks, so I figure about a dollar a week should do it.”

“And what does my father think about all of this?  You never did tell me what he said during your meeting.”

“I told you it went fine.”  Ethan shrugged and smiled shyly.

“Vague.”  I poked him in the shoulder.  “Spill it.”

“He likes my idea,” Ethan said.  “He even said he’d help us come up with the business plan and letter of intent for the real estate people and city planning commissioner.”

“Ethan, that’s fabulous!”

“He gave me a big lecture on appearance, though.  Said I needed to ditch the piercings and start dressing like a businessman.  I tried to explain the meaning behind it all, but I don’t think he gets it.”

“I’m not sure he ever will,” I said.  “I do think he appreciates your dressing up for meetings at his office though.”

“He commented on my shoes.”  Ethan laughed.  “I told him Chucks were expensive as well as comfortable, but he just made a face like he was sucking a lemon.”

“I know that look.”

“Andrea said I looked like one of those models in the department store ads.”

“You do.”  I smiled.  “So, your friends are still accepting you even though you have money?”

“Yeah.  I’m kinda surprised, but now that they know, I feel bad for not telling them before.”

“You are a fabulous guy,” I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck.  “They already knew that.  Are you going to bring them here?  Show them your place?”

“Maybe after you get settled in.”  Ethan looked around at the mayhem of boxes.  “It’s kind of a mess right now.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me tight against him, placing soft kisses on the top of my head.  It wasn’t going to be easy, and I wasn’t deluding myself into thinking that it would be.  Even though Dad had reluctantly accepted Ethan, I was going to take continuous flack for being with him even when he did shave and put on a nice suit.

Zoey had discontinued her jokes, and Presley had changed the tone of hers to light-hearted ribbing, but I still got a lot of grief about Ethan’s age.  I wasn’t going to pretend that I didn’t care what they thought.  I hadn’t come that far just yet, but Ethan meant more to me than they did, so whatever they were going to dish out, I was going to take—for him.

His hands ran up into my hair, and he pulled my face to his, his lips and tongue stroking my mouth, my chin, my throat.  As my body began to respond to him again, I noticed something I had never felt before in my life—not with any man—a sense of deep, serene calm that came over me, held me, and caressed my mind as much as Ethan’s hands were caressing my body.  I relaxed completely back against his chest and just felt.

“Oh…Ethan…I love you.”

My teeth sank into my lip, and I could feel my heart rate and breathing accelerate as the calm instantly disappeared, and the serene feeling was replaced with horror.  My hands started to shake as I tried to figure out what in the hell I had just said.  I mean, I knew the words.  I knew what I meant, and I knew the implications of speaking them aloud, especially after only knowing each other such a short time.  He could bolt.  He could bolt right now.  All of this…all of this could be for nothing if I had spoken too soon.

“Ashlyn,” Ethan said, placing his hand on the side of my face and making me look at him.  He trailed his fingers up and down my cheek and gave me that cocky, shy half smile.  “Get that panicked look off your face, baby.  I knew how I felt about you the moment I realized I wanted to make you French toast.  I knew I didn’t want to just make it that morning—even that first night you were here.  I knew I wanted to make you breakfast every day for the rest of forever.”

He brushed my lips softly with his, back and forth, the cool metal from the rings starting to feel like home as much as his arms did when he wrapped them around my waist and held me tight.

“I love you, Ashlyn.”

Tilting my head a little, I looked up into Ethan’s eyes, and he gave me the full-fledged, double-barrel smile that lit up my existence.  Inside my body, it felt like my heart was swelling up, like his gaze was enough to complete me.  As I brought my lips back to his, I knew whatever we faced in the future, we were going to face it together.  I had been so closed for so long, it felt good to finally let someone completely and totally inside again.  Maybe it wouldn’t be perfect, and maybe some things were going to be tough, but for once in my life, I wasn’t going to do what everyone else expected.  I wasn’t going to do what other people thought I should.  For once, I was going to do what was right for me—for both of us.

Carpe diem.

 

~~The End~~