It had been a little over a week since she arrived at Evelyn’s apartment. The small space where bright sunlight filtered through the large window and where the air felt welcoming and calm had quickly become cramped and the air now felt heavy and unbearably thick.
She sat on the bed with her arms around her knees, her fists balled around the soft fleece of the oversized beige sweater she wore and her chin rested on the black fabric of her pants. The book she had been reading lay open at her bare feet, her eyes grazed the text but she couldn’t make them focus on the words. And the small table-top lamp no longer gave her enough light to read by comfortably. A continuous barrage of clicking sounds assaulted her ears from the moment she opened her book early in the afternoon until now, when she could no longer bare to look at the page any longer.
She looked over at the source of the noise, the illumination of three computer screens highlighted a crouched silhouette. She watched as he typed furiously, looking from one screen to the next, and thought about how she had not seen him move from that place all day. She sighed and looked away, her long brown hair falling over her shoulder as she picked up her cell phone.
“Why don’t you take a break? You need to eat something” She typed into the chat box. She clicked send and listened as his phone whirred from across the room.
A momentary break from typing signaled to her that he received her message. She continued to look down at her phone in her hand, waiting for some kind of response, thinking about how, for the last few days she had received radio silence from him.
Their discussion from earlier in the week played again in her mind. His angry face frightened her, and the cold look in his eyes as he stared her down made her stomach sink. The disgust in his voice as he told her he wanted nothing to do with her played again and again.
That’s enough, she thought, clasping her face between her hands. She took a deep breath and stood from the bed, knocking her book to the floor. “I’m going out for food,” she declared, standing behind him with her arms on her hips. “Do you want anything or not?”
He turned around and looked up at her, opened his mouth to object and then closed it again. She could feel a lump forming in her throat as she stood there. She watched him turn from her and readjust his headphones on his head.
“Fine, be like that. I’ll be back later.” She turned on her heel and grabbed her wallet from the table by the door. She pulled her boots on and reached for the door handle, assuring she had everything with her before leaving.
“Wait!”
She turned to meet his face. At the end of the hallway he stood with his fists clenched at his sides “There’s no need for you to leave, there’s plenty of food in this house” he grumbled through gritted teeth.
“I’m not staying here, the atmosphere is too dense” she replied calmly, her eyes avoiding his. “Besides, it’s not like I’m helping much here anyway”
“I’ve already told you, you’re safer here” he stated clearly, his voice rising as he spoke.
“I’m done being yelled at, I’m tired of being trapped here under the guise that it’s “safer” for me” she snapped back. Oh no, she thought as tears welled in her eyes. I’ve gotta get out now… can’t let him see me like this. She turned quickly, wrenching the door open and covering her eyes with her arm.
Just as she stepped out the door she felt a firmness on her wrist. No, no, no… she looked down and saw his hand, blurred by the tears welling in her eyes.
He pulled her back in and closed the door behind her, his movements were quick and aggressive as he pushed her back against the closed door. Please stop this… she thought. She tried her best to cover her entire face with her sleeve. Tears now freely running down her cheeks. Stop looking… don’t… look.
His grip softened, she tried to pull her hand away but he pulled her gently towards him. What… are you.. Doing? This is… so cruel.” His free arm wrapped around her back and hugged her close to him. She held her breath and her heart raced as she felt him against her. In her stillness she could feel his shoulders heaving. He’s crying?
She pulled her head back and looked at his face for the first time. His anger had all but disappeared, and a pained expression had replaced it. His jaw was clenched as tears ran down his cheeks, past his jaw and down his neck into his t-shirt.
His head dropped before he spoke: “I’m sorry” he whispered through gritted teeth. “Please… don’t go.”
What a fool… she thought, her tears flowing freely down her face. She reached up to his face with both hands, with his cheeks in her palms she wiped his tears with her thumbs. “Let me make you some tea.”
The atmosphere of the room felt significantly lighter as she walked in with two mugs of tea. The soft light of the table-top lamp illuminated the studio apartment, the calming, orange hue surrounded him as he sat on the bed. She approached him slowly and handed him his mug. He nodded in thanks and brought it up to his lips as she sat beside him with her own tea. She watched as he took the first sip, the steam from his mug clouded his glasses, and his red, puffy eyes disappeared behind them. She chuckled softly as she brought her own tea to her lips.
“Don’t laugh… not all of us were born with perfect eyes ya’ know” he snapped. She didn’t detect any malice in his voice this time. For the first time since she had met him, he seemed relaxed.
“So… are you saying you think I have perfect eyes?” She chirped back at him. A sly smile crossed her face as she spoke. This is what she had expected from his presence. She knew when she first spoke with him over the phone that their conversations would never feel forced.
He blushed when she spoke, and stammered out his response, “Sorry, error, memory file 707 not found, I don’t think I said that?”
She could see the ends of his lips curl into a smile. She placed her cup on the night stand, and offered to do the same with his.
“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better” she admitted sheepishly. “To be honest, I… Understand your desire to not be near me… but… it’s hard for me to accept it. I’m sorry, please give me time” She felt calm in her response. She held her hands palm down on her knees and looked forward. She didn’t mind if he didn’t have romantic feelings for her, but she couldn’t stand the cold shoulder he had given her. It stung more than she expected.
She saw him move out of the corner of her eyes, his arm crossed her and pulled her down into the bed. She turned to face him, her heart racing, “what are you doing?”
“I’m an idiot, so please forgive me… I … this is really what I want.” He kissed her full on the mouth. His arm wrapped tightly around the small of her back, the other tangled in her long brown hair.
She met his kiss happily, ignoring the tears forming behind her eyelids. She put her hand on his cheek, and swept it back into his red curls. She pulled back, breathless, “You are an idiot”. Her smile widened as a huge grin formed on his face.
“Is this okay with you?” he asked, his forehead against her own.
“Mhm” she lifted her chin up to meet his lips again and pulled his face closer to hers. She let herself get swept up in him. She had craved his affection from the moment he walked into her life. She kissed down his jaw and nibbled his neck. Smells like honey she thought as she licked his neck.
Short moans escaped his throat as she kissed him, her hands moving from his face down to his torso. She unzipped his hoodie and moved further down his neck, kissing and biting his collar bone.
His hands slipped under her sweater, his skin against hers made her shudder. So warm she thought. She pulled away from his neck to meet his lips once more. She slipped her tongue between his lips and met his hungrily. His hands moved from her back to her stomach and up to her breasts. She could feel his hesitation.
“It’s ok” she whispered.
She pulled herself on top of him, straddling his hips and giving him a better view of her. She reached down and pulled her sweater over her head. “Does that make it easier for you?” she smiled down at him.
He grinned and looked up at the ceiling, covering his face with his hands. “Am I allowed to be this selfish? This happy?”
She pulled his hand from his face and placed it back on her chest. “Of course you are.”
He sat up and kissed her full force, and then pulled back and kissed her again, and once more. He covered her face and neck in kisses as the two of them giggled.
His arms released her from their tight hug so that he could run his fingertips up and down her back as he kissed her. She could feel him fidgeting with her bra strap behind her back before finally unclasping it. He continued his barrage of kisses on her neck, collarbone, shoulders and chest. Moving down to her breasts, he nibbled her and teased her with his tongue.
“Uhn” she moaned, running her hand through his hair, her other hand pulling at the material on his sweatshirt. “Let me take your shirt off”.
He complied, leaning back he shrugged his sweatshirt off, allowing her to pull his t-shirt over his head. She leaned down to kiss him and ran her fingers down his bare torso. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off of him, gently placing her on her back.
He knelt over her, put his hand on her cheek and brushed her hair out of her face. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and hugged her close to him. Their naked bodies pressed against each other, she could feel his warm breath in her ear as he reached his hand from her arm to her stomach, sliding slowly between her skin and the elastic waistband of her leggings.
She gasped, her back arched as his fingers slid between her legs. He kissed her neck, running his tongue across her skin, enjoying her moans as he played with her. His fingers slid easily in and out of her. Her moans began increasing and she turned her head away from him.
“I want you, please…” she moaned, pulling at his arm.
“Are you sure?” he asked, kissing up to her face again, kissing her cheek gently over and over.
“I’m sure” she responded, pulling his face to hers for a kiss.
He knelt over her and placed his hands on the sides of her thighs, tugging gently at the material of her leggings. He pulled them down her thighs, over her knees and past her feet and tossed them to the floor. He kissed up her thigh before gently running his finger down stomach and back up again.
“Stop teasing me” she pleaded, reaching for the waist of his jeans, unbuttoning and pulling at the zipper. He wriggled out of his jeans and reached into his briefs, pulling his cock out and stroking it.
“You look so cute when I tease you though” he replied, a sly grin across his face. His fingers trailed back up across her breasts and behind her head. Her skin responded to his touch, goosebumps trailed along her arms and her body shivered as he kissed her cheek and neck. She could feel the tip of his cock as he slid it through her wetness.
“Please…” she pleaded again, and again he complied. He entered her in one swift movement. She gasped and clutched the back of his shoulders. She pulled him close to her and met his movements with her own grinding. Feels so good… her body reacted to his, she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. A tingling sensation in her hips, released a flood throughout her entire body.
“I…” she muttered as her body shook, her back arched and she gripped the sides of his arms. His movements quickened as she spoke, she could feel his jaw clench against her cheek as he came with her.
The two of them softened, coming down from their joint high. His hand met hers on the bed as he moved next to her.
“Thank you” he coo’d.
“Thank you” she replied coyly, kissing his nose.
Source: reddit.com/r/Erotica/comments/126760h/within_arms_reach