I changed back into casual clothes and left my room. It was light out, but since I was no longer an employee anyway, it wouldn’t be wrong of me to go and visit Jerrik in the daylight, worrying about keeping our little affair a secret. I had to wonder how the boss found out, but it didn’t matter.

When I stopped at Jerrik’s door, I waited for a moment, feeling a little excited to be seeing Jerrik. I made myself knock on the door and wait. Not long after, the door opened, and Jerrik stood there and smiled at me. He looked happy to see me, but he was also confused. Then he took in how casually I was dressed, and he glanced around, before turning to me, confused.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what’s up? I thought you had work.”

I shrugged and smiled coyly up at him. “I did.”

He looked even more confused. His head tilted a little to the side as he regarded me. “Okay, I don’t know what’s going on, but can you just tell me? I’ve never been good at guessing games.”

I laughed, and I almost surprised myself with how light the sound was.

“Don’t worry so much about it, I can tell you later. I wanted to ask you something.”

I paused and pursed my lips, thinking about what we could do now that I didn’t have work in the way. I had peeked at his schedule, and I knew he didn’t have anything on his plate for the day unless he decided to hang out with some of the other people at the retreat. I hadn't missed him growing more social.

“What did you want to ask me then?” Jerrik sounded curious.

Then I had the best answer. “Why don’t we go… and visit your mom’s grave?” I said carefully, trying not to cut him off the idea if he hadn't already gone. “I mean, if you haven’t been, you should probably go on your own, but I thought we could do it together.”

If he was going to move on from his guilt, he was going to need closure. There was no one he could talk to. He hadn't mentioned much about his dad, so I thought he was out of the picture, so all he could do was visit his mother. Even if she couldn’t talk back, he could talk to her all he wanted, and it might help him if only a little.

He had improved a lot since he first came, but that wasn’t to say that he was a hundred percent okay.

I waited, chewing lightly on my lip as I watched his face keenly. I wasn’t sure what reaction I expected, but seeing his expression go blank wasn’t it. I had no idea what he thought when he did that, and though his eyes were still on me, I had a feeling he wasn’t seeing me.

“Um, Jerrik?” I called after a minute had passed and still no reaction. “Hello there,” I waved my hand in front of his face.

He started slightly, his gaze focusing on me. Then he gave me a sheepish look.

“Sorry for spacing out on you. I wanted to say… yes. And I would love for you to come with me, Sharon. If anything, I’m pretty sure I can't go on my own.”

The look in his eyes as he said it was so sincere, I believed him.

“Do you want to go and change first, then come meet me?” I offered. “The car is where you saw it last.”

“Sure, Sharon. And really, thank you.”

I waited for him to close the door and turned around. I already had all my stuff packed and in the trunk, so I wouldn’t need to come back. I’d have to let Jerrik know at some point that I’d lost my job, but it was still too early to let him in on it. I’d have to think about where I was going to stay and what I was going to do about bills at a later time, but right then, I was going to be Jerrik’s support as much as he would let me.

Around fifteen minutes later, we met up at my car, and Jerrik got in the passenger seat. The drive was silent, and neither of us felt the need to fill it with idle chatter. We were going to visit someone’s grave, after all. Some respect would be warranted.

Several hours later, I parked the car, and we got out, and I turned to Jerrik.

“Do you know where to go, or can we find someone who can tell us where her grave is?”

He smiled down at me, his expression tight. “I know the way.”

I didn’t ask if he’d come before on his own, or how he knew. I just took his hand and let him lead the way to where his mom was buried. I wondered what he would say to his mom, and if he would be fine with me being there to hear it all, but I didn’t ask that either.

After we were done at the cemetery some hours later, I drove us to a hotel just outside of town. We checked into a small room and went where we were directed. My feet ached a little from all the standing, but I felt it was worth it, so I wouldn’t begrudge a little pain for the relief Jerrik now felt. I didn’t think everything was entirely okay, but at least now he had a better outlook, far removed from his old, bleak one.

“I don’t think I’ll be going back to the retreat again,” he said once we were in the room, closing the door and leaning back against it, watching me as I slipped off my shoes and made my way to the bed. “I can just have someone check my stuff out for me later.”

I hummed. “Lucky you that you can have people do things for you,” I said with a snort, though all in good humor.

I pulled off my jacket and got on the bed, piling pillows against the headboard and moving so I could sit up with my back against the pillows. When I turned my eyes to Jerrik, he was still standing at the door with his eyes on me. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking just by the look on his face, but even from across the room, I could see the telltale shine of tears in his eyes. I smiled at him and held my arms out.

“Come here, Jerrik,” I called softly. “You don’t have to be alone anymore, right? So come here.”

He smiled, and it was shaky. He pushed himself off the door and walked across the room, taking off his shoes and socks on the way, then his jacket, before crawling on the bed, and up my body, until he could bury his face in my neck and wrap his arms around me. I held him close, stroking one hand through his short hair.

“Are you okay?” I asked quietly, almost in a whisper.

He hummed, the vibrations against my neck making me gasp.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, reassuring. He pulled back to give me another smile, this one firmer than the last. “It’s way more liberating than throwing mud into the sea. Thank you, though, for coming with me.”

I smiled back, cupping his face between my hands. “It was no problem at all,” I told him honestly. “I was more than happy to accompany you.”

I couldn’t stand to see him in pain, but more because I just really wanted to, I leaned closer and kissed him. It started out slow and soft, and unlike the other times we ended up in bed together, it stayed that way. The kiss might as well be time, because it was just the press and slide of lips, with a little nibbling here and there, taking things slow.

We drifted out of the kiss, naturally, not because one of us needed to catch our breath. Our eyes met, and we smiled.

“I have a condom in my back pocket,” he said with a grin.

I snorted. “I’m not even surprised by that.”

“I always carry one in my wallet, though,” he said with a shrug. “Just to be safe. And my wallet is the only thing I brought with me.”

I smiled and lightly pecked him on the lips. “Well, that’s good for the two of us, then, isn’t it?”

He rolled over to the side, sitting up as he pulled off his shirt. One day, I’d think of giving him a proper strip tease, but right then, what we both needed was comfort, and we could draw it from each other.

We stripped down, and I rearranged the pillows so I could lay down with two of them under me, propping me up a little. Jerrik moved on top of me, and I parted my thighs naturally, making room for him there. We both sighed as our naked bodies came into contact, his hard cock heavy on my abdomen. He pressed his mouth against mine in another soft kiss.

Minutes of mouth to mouth contact later, I felt Jerrik’s tongue lick a stripe along my lower lip. I groaned as I parted my mouth for him, his tongue sliding inside my mouth. I met his tongue with mine, tangling them, rolling them over and over each other. It was his turn to groan as I sucked gently on his tongue.

His fingers shocked me as they found my hot folds and slid between them. His fingers were cold and it felt so good as they found my hot clit. I rocked my hips up to meet his fingers, but he’d already found the perfect rhythm to leave me keening for more.

“Do you want to come first, Sharon, or do you want me to fuck you into orgasm?” His lips traced along my jaw, but all I could concentrate on was the way his fingers worked such magic.

“More.” I gasped out, wanting it all, all of him, everything, whatever he wanted, so long as the pleasure did not end. I was addicted to him and the way he made me feel.

I heard a pleased chuckle and made to protest as he moved, but he soothed it away with a kiss. He lifted his body up, bracing with his forearms on either side of me, gently rocking his hips against mine.

“Fast or slow,” he murmured against my mouth.

Ever since the first time we slept together, either one or the other would ask at some point.

I grinned up at him. “How about neither? How about you just make me come?”

He quirked a smile at me. He leaned to the side, reaching for something, holding up the condom for me. I took it in my hand and ripped it open. Once I had it on him, I positioned him, Jerrik keeping his eyes on me the whole time. I wrapped my legs around his hips and arched up into him so just the tip slid inside me. He took over, lowering his hips, entering me in one slow thrust.

My eyes slid closed, lips parting on a breath as he thrust slowly in and out of me. I tightened my legs and arms around him, rolling my hips to meet every one of his thrusts.

“Sharon,” Jerrik whispered, the way he said my name, with such longing, making my chest ache.

My eyes fluttered open, and I met his gaze, filled with the same longing. I wrapped my arms around his neck to bring him down so I could kiss him, moving my lips softly against his. He groaned, his arms moving from supporting him to wrap them around me, one around my shoulders, the other around my waist, holding fast to me as he ground his hips against mine.

He shifted as we drew closer to the edge, pulled me on top of him. He knew I loved it this way, knew I loved the control, and the way I came apart in his arms. He pulled me down against his chest, whispering to me.

“I can’t live without the way you wrap yourself around me, Sharon. All of you, but fuck, the way your pussy just sucks me in. Fuck, it’s too much.” His words were almost a sob as he drove up hard and deep, his hands gripping at me, clinging to me, as I started to come undone. My nails dug into his shoulder as my teeth bit down on his neck, my emotions too much to fight against.

I felt him pulse within me and knew that he was with me; even in this we could not be separate. We moved, frantically, something new there that we hadn’t experienced together before. Pure love. We didn’t want to part, even after our bodies lay exhausted. He stilled beneath me, still in me, his mouth moving against mine.

It was unlike any of the times we’d been together. Before, all we did was fuck. For the first time, we made love, and I wanted to do it again, over and over, for the foreseeable future.