Undersold(14)

He wore a light blue shirt and a pale red skinny tie, and his jacket was hung up on a rack near the door. His sleeves were pushed halfway up and I could see the muscles in his forearms flex as he typed. I fantasized about those arms, wrapped around my hips, pulling me closer. His face was perfectly groomed and beautiful, and I realized how plain I must look in comparison.

We passed a few minutes in silence. I wasn’t sure what was happening here, but I was going to keep it professional no matter what. I knew he needed his space and his privacy, and that was the best thing I could do for now.

I glanced up and caught him staring at me. I could feel myself turn a little red. He didn’t look away, and smiled his endearing half grin.

“Ready to get started?” he asked, and stood up.

“Whenever you are, Mr. Green.”

He walked around the desk, picked up the chair to my right, and placed it down beside me.

“Alright, show me what you’re working on.”

He leaned in toward the screen as I started running through the app. I had redesigned the main intro screen in the last few days, and I started with that.

“I thought this screen needed something to pull people in, something a little more exciting.”

He nodded. I could feel how close he was, maybe six inches separating our shoulders. We spent the next few minutes like this, me running through the app’s changes and the proposed future tweaks, and him mostly listening. He remained close in order to see the screen, and made small sounds of assent. It was distracting, his full lips so close to me, but I promised myself I’d remain professional, and I was trying.

We got to a new part of the app where students can look through the available tutors. He suddenly reached out and stopped my hand on the trackpad from scrolling further. I looked down at his fingers touching mine and felt a tingle again run down my arm. He said something, but I missed it.

There was a short pause, then he looked at our hands. He pulled his back quickly.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“It’s okay, I didn’t mind.”

“I can get lost in this sometimes. I forget myself.”

I shifted my weight toward him. “It’s totally fine. I didn’t mind.”

He smiled at me with his half grin. “I have to admit, it’s distracting working with you.”

“And why is that?” My heart started to race.

“You know why, Amy.” He paused and moved away. “I shouldn’t be talking about this. It’s inappropriate for the relationship we agreed on.”

I didn’t know what to say. I could tell he was conflicted, but there was something about him that pulled me in and wouldn’t let me go. I could feel the block of self-doubt beginning to loosen again, and the confidence I’d felt at the bar and in the messages start to come back. Whatever it was between us, it made me feel good, and strong. I reached out and put my hand on his knee.

“I know you need your privacy. I understand that,” I said, looking him in the eye.

He looked back at me, and I could feel something change. He leaned closer to me and put his hand on top of mine.

“I do need my privacy. It’s extremely important to me that I remain as far from the spotlight as possible. I want to live a normal life, and it’s something I have been working toward for a long time.”

I could feel his fingers squeeze mine.

“I understand. I would never want to jeopardize that.”

“I’m a man who gets what he wants, Amy. I’ve worked hard and excelled at everything I’ve done in order to build the life I have now.”

I nodded quietly, my mouth half open, breathing in his closeness.

“I have rules that need to be followed, otherwise I lose some of the control that I’ve worked for.”

“What kind of rules?” I gaped, not sure what he meant.

He leaned forward, half out of his chair, and pressed his right hand on my cheek. I could feel his fingers in my hair. He filled the space between us, and pressed his lips against mine. It felt like ice and fire, his soft lips against my own, and our mouths parted slowly. As his gentle tongue touched mine, he took a deep breath through his nose and pushed himself harder against me. He let go of my knee and took my face in his hands, kissing me fully and deeply, in a way I’d never been kissed before. I could taste him and wanted more, I wanted every inch of him pressed up against me.

He ran his right hand down my face, over my breasts, and down toward the hem of my dress. I could feel my skin tingle and linger wherever he touched, and I was more excited than I thought possible. His whole body was becoming a part of mine as he kissed me and ran his hand up my thigh. His fingers slipped further up my leg and he felt the wetness there, gently rubbing my mound.