Pieces of You(18)

“I can hear you,” Senia mutters from the other side of the room.

“So looking forward to it,” Claire shouts back.

I slip my hand under her tank top and she smiles as my fingers crawl over her skin. I take her breast in my hand and squeeze. She finally turns to look at me.

“Why didn’t you tell me this last night?”

“Because I wanted to enjoy what could possibly be our last night together for a couple of months.” She glares at me, unsatisfied with my incomplete response. “We have a conference call with the C.O. at Barking Sands on Thursday. They’re going to tell us if we got the project. I’m almost one hundred percent certain we got it.”

“You’re going to Hawaii? Why don’t you look more upset?”

“I am upset. I’m very fucking upset, but this trip is a long-term investment.” I slide my hand down and under the waistband of her panties. I love that she lets me do this with Senia just a few feet away. “I’ve already entered a competition over there and I told my dad that this would be the last project I work on for the company before I quit.”

“And he agreed to that?”

I nod as my fingers search for her spot. I know I’ve found it when she lets out a small gasp. I stroke her gently and her eyes close as her mouth falls open in a silent cry.

“Once this trip is over, I’m free. I already have another job lined up with an architectural firm in Raleigh.” I slide my finger inside her and I can tell she’s holding her breath. “I’ll be back before Thanksgiving. Then we can be together.” I slide my finger out and use her wetness to caress her. “Every day.”

Her hips writhe against my hand and I move my fingers in time with the rhythm of her thrusts. I smile as she squeezes her eyes and mouth tightly shut to suppress her cries. Finally, her body quivers and curls into me as she climaxes. I tease her a little more, just to torture her, then she opens her eyes as I pull my hand out of her panties.

“Two months,” she says in a breathy voice as she looks up at me. “I can hardly handle two hours. This is cruel.”

I slowly slide my finger into my mouth because I have to taste her. “You taste like a fucking cream pie,” I whisper in her ear.

She giggles as she curls herself around me again. “Who’s going to check on Cora while you’re gone?”

“I’m going to threaten Tina into doing all the shit she slacks off on.”

“You can’t threaten her.”

“I’m only kidding. I’m gonna bribe her.”

She smiles and I tilt her face up to kiss her. I want her to know that I feel the same way about leaving. I want her not just to remember me; I want her to feel me when I’m gone. She molds her body to mine and I grab the back of her neck to hold her steady as I roll her on top of me.

“Ew… I can see you guys,” Senia complains as she jumps out of bed.

Claire sits up so she’s straddling my stomach as she watches Senia pull on some shorts and a hooded T-shirt. Senia pulls the hood over her head, probably to hide her messy bedhead hair, then slides her feet into some sneakers.

“Where are you going?” Claire asks, but I stay quiet. I’m looking forward to having Claire all to myself for a few hours before I leave.

“I’m going to Starbucks then to hang out with Isabel. I’ll be back later. You guys just… enjoy each other while you can.”

She slams the door on her way out and Claire stares at the door for a moment in a daze. She looks down at me and I can see she’s upset.

“It’s Eddie. I think seeing us together is too much for her right now. I feel horrible. Should I go after her?”

I try not to look disappointed as I reply, “You should, if you think it will make both of you feel better.”

She stares at me for a moment as she contemplates her options. It feels like everything and everyone is conspiring to get between Claire and me, and it’s really starting to piss me the fuck off. But I try not to let her see this.

I want to believe that Claire and I will survive our time apart. And I know that it shouldn’t matter whether I leave now or in three hours, but our relationship already seems to be hanging by a thread. This is really bad timing to go on a long trip, but this is my way out of the family company. And I need to get out. I can’t work a hundred miles away from Claire for the next two to three years.

“I’ll talk to her later,” she says as she lies on top of me.

I grab her face and kiss her hard, the kind of kiss she won’t forget for a long time. I kiss her until I’m certain she’ll suffocate if she doesn’t come up for air. I pull her face back to look at her and she’s crying.