I'm just getting into my rhythm when I halt mid-hump with a gasp.
"What, what, what?" Landon says underneath me, sweat and shower water covering his skin.
"We need a condom."
He looks at me like I just spouted Greek. "Huh?"
"A condom, Landon. I stopped taking my pill a week ago."
"Why'd you do that?"
"I didn't want to hurt the baby … if there was one."
"Oh." He closes his eyes and nods. "Okay. Condom. Do we even have one?"
"Maybe … ?" I'm being optimistic. I think I tossed them out during my last sex drawer cleanup.
He slowly lifts me off him, and we both groan when we leave each other. I roll off the mattress, probably not looking so sexy with my naked squat and crawl to the naughty drawer in my nightstand.
"I could just pull out," Landon suggests as I dig around the lubricant, the sex tarot cards we've used maybe once, and the blindfolds we use much more than that, but not lately. There's not a single condom or any other form of birth control in here-unless you count the picture of my parents that must've slipped through the cracks from the drawer above it.
"I don't know. I think I'd rather be safe than sorry."
"But … we don't have a condom."
"Maybe Theresa does." Actually, I'm almost positive she does. I put the picture of my parents back in the right drawer and get to my feet. "I'll be right back."
"Your nipple is poking out," he says, pointing at my left boob as I shrug into my fuzzy purple robe.
"Thanks. Keep it up, will ya?" I point back at "Lord Landon" and speed-walk out of the room, out my front door, down the hall, and rap on Theresa's door.
And just my luck, she doesn't answer. I slump back, lady parts laden with disappointment.
"No?" Landon asks, still hard and ready on the bed.
"She's not home."
"I'll pull out," he says, grabbing the tie on my robe and ripping it open.
"Let me get a towel." I push him off before we get so into it I won't care until we have to clean it. Then I'll really care.
After placing the towel on the bed, Landon kisses me, probably knowing I've dried up and I'm losing whatever mojo I had ten minutes ago.
But we just got engaged, so no way in hell am I not having sex tonight.
Chapter 2
"You didn't? Really?"
I grin up at Landon, uncurling my fingers from his biceps. "It's okay. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. You know that."
Landon breathlessly growls into the pillow by my head, sweaty body sticking to mine. "I swear, I made it romantic as hell."
"It was good. Stop being such a guy about this."
"Do you want me to finish you off?" he offers, sneaking his fingers up my thigh. They feel lazy against my skin, and I bite my smile back and give him a quick peck.
"I'm fine. Really. It was amazing, like always."
"Mmkay." His lips are getting lazy now. "I'll get you next time. You'll come so hard you'll … I don't know … just pretend I said something clever."
I shake with silent laughs and play with his scruff as his breathing deepens. After-sex Landon is adorable. I bet he'll be out in less than a minute.
Letting out a sigh, I turn to the ceiling, allowing my mind to slide back into the real world. Theresa and I used to call sex "Chocolateville" ever since she compared eating a double-fudge raspberry cheesecake to the best orgasm she ever had. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, I stole her plate and ate half.
I was in line at the skydive in Chocolateville while Landon jetted right past the guards. I'm really trying not to be disappointed, but it's been a while. It's my own damn fault. He obviously orgasms just as frequently as he did before.
He starts breathing heavy, his mouth partly open and half his face pressed into the pillow. I bite my smile back and poke his cheek. When he doesn't move a muscle, I slide from the sheets, grab my phone, and do the crisscross after-sex walk to the bathroom, forgetting that I don't need to. My fingers are already flying across the keyboard, texting Theresa when I shut the door.
I need to cash in on the pact we made on graduation. :) :)
I put the phone on the counter and take care of business, legs bouncing as I wait for her response. And of course Aunt Flo makes her appearance now. I grapple for the tampons and shout through the door, "Definitely not pregnant!" even though Landon is probably out of commission for the rest of the night.
My cell vibrates, so I speed through washing my hands to answer it.
"Hey," I say, really trying the innocent thing, but I'm too stoked to pull it off.
"Are you in the bathroom?" Theresa sleepily chuckles. "Your voice is echoing."
"I'm not peeing." I crack the bathroom door and check on Landon. His entire body is covered with the comforter minus one leg dangling off the edge. I press the door closed and whisper into the phone. "So, can I cash in?"
"For real?"
"Hell yes."
"You need a maid of honor?" Her voice squeaks on the last word, and I do a total Snoopy dance, buck naked in my bathroom, stifling my squeals with my girlfriend. Theresa asks question after question, but she's rattling them off so fast I don't understand them.
"Wait, what?" I say through my smile.
"When? How?"
"Few hours ago." A large sigh flits through my lips as I grab a towel for my waist and slide to the chocolate brown bath mat. "It just fell out when we were in the shower."
She snorts. "It wasn't in the middle of sex, was it?"
"No. It was … sweet." I let my mind replay Landon's eyes, his words, his hands. "Perfect."
"Good. You deserve nothing less."
"Thanks." My fingers splay across the bath mat, and I mindlessly pick at the fraying edge. "We did it after though."
"Ah, engagement Chocolateville." She sighs now, and I laugh picturing her taking that huge bite of cheesecake. "I've heard it's up there with make-up sex."
A weird weight sinks into my stomach. "It was nice."
"Nice?" She gasps. "Oh no. Less than stellar, huh?"
"It was fine. I've just had so many mood swings. Then we couldn't find a condom, so we had, like, a halftime breather. So, you know, not totally revved up. Not his fault."
"That's too bad. I've heard that engagement sex is better than the actual wedding night."
"What? No." I wrap my finger around a loose string in the mat and pull. "The wedding night will beat out everything." It has to. I am determined to find our spark again specifically for that night.
"Think about it. You're running around all day. Waking up early, getting dressed, undressed, standing in heels, hugging a million people you don't know, lugging the presents up to your apartment after, or even worse … you might jump right onto a plane and the second you get to your hotel you're jet-lagged and beat. You'll probably draw straws for who can just lay there while the other person does the work."
"Wow, thanks for that thought of encouragement." I pull my towel around my chest and rest my forehead on my knees. "I was really looking forward to that night. First time with him as my husband." My heart thumps hard when the word tumbles out. "He unzips my wedding dress, and I rip off his tie. We're on a California King somewhere tropical and fun." The honeymoon had better be somewhere tropical. My Southern ass freezes here on Long Island. I constantly have to put my feet against Landon's legs to warm them up at night.
I blow out a breath, making the line fuzz. "Kind of ruins the whole picture if you're telling me the sex will suck."
"I'm just saying you'll be tired."
"I've been tired before and had epic sex." Landon was gone for a month visiting his parents, and I jumped him the second he got off the plane. It was four in the morning, I hadn't slept all night, and he was majorly jet-lagged. Did not matter at all. We started up in the car, he had me screaming in the front seat, screaming against the door when we got home, and we made it as far as the living room couch before landing double-fudge raspberry cheesecake together.
But that was, oh hell … I don't know, a year ago? Maybe more.
"Well, do whatever you did that time." Theresa laughs, and I sort of chuckle with her, my buzzed brain skipping tracks left and right. It was epic sex because we'd been waiting for it … anticipating it.
"Hmm … "
"What?" she asks through a yawn.
I pull at the bath mat again. "Do you think … ?" My thoughts steal my voice as they run through my head. Sex with Landon is good. Always fun. It's just not new. It's … longtime-relationship sex. Scheduled, predictable, and usually ends with a snoring Landon and a bowl of ice cream. So how can I make sure I land a ticket to Chocolateville the day we become husband and wife? Oh my hell … will we even have sex on our wedding night?
Theresa clears her throat. "Do I think what?"