Quill
We both sipour wine as we sit on her couch. I’m not sure what time it is. I know it’s late, but I don’t really care. Cali and I have been having such a great time, and I was quick to say yes when she asked if I wanted to join her on the couch for dessert. Not only is the couch comfier, but it’s given me an excuse to sit a little bit closer to her, her wildflower perfume wafting my way every time she readjusts her position.
“What would you do for work if you weren’t a Dirty Hoe?” I ask, to which she thankfully laughs.
“I always wanted to be a doctor,” she confesses, finishing her glass of a luscious red, licking a tiny drop off her bottom lip. “The flower and plant shop was always Mari’s dream. I just got pulled into it, trying to be the good sister, and now I’m feeling…stuck?”
“Stuck?” I watch her nose wrinkle as she stares off in thought. “Do you hate it there that much?”
“I don’t hate it. I just don’t love it either. Does that make sense?”
I finish my drink and take her glass gently from her hand, setting them both on the table in front of us. “It makes perfect sense. What’s stopping you from making a change?”
She shrugs, sinking further back into the couch as she shifts slightly closer to me. “I don’t know. Like I said, I’m basically stuck now. Ever since my sister’s divorce, there’s no way she could run that place by herself. Not with having to take care of the kids and trying to run the business. She couldn’t handle that many man hours, and she wouldn’t have any time for the books.”
I stroke my chin, the onset of five o’clock shadow tickling the pads of my fingers. “I don’t believe anyone is truly everstuck. There’s always choices and options, Cali. You just have to know where to look for them.”
Her brows furrow as she looks at me. “Oh yeah? And where exactly should I be looking? Because from where I’m sitting, bailing on my sister isn’t an option.”
“Maybe it isn’t. Maybe what you need is the opposite of bailing. Maybe what you need is more help.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe you should hire one or two people to help run the shop during the week and a bookkeeper to do the paperwork. Maybe it’ll put you in the red for a little bit, but it’ll free up your time and you could focus more on marketing and branching out which will then give returns in sales and profits. You’re never too stuck to change your circumstances, Cali, ever.”
She smiles, and it’s the first time she’s looked happy. “You remind me of my father,” she says. “He had a way of finding the positive in everything, too. No matter what was going on in our lives, he always made it seem as though everything was going to be alright.”
“It is going to be alright, Cali. And it’s never too late for things to change.”
The word “change” hangs off my tongue as I lean towards her, my face hovering in front of hers. She’s not the only one I’m speaking to right now. I need to take my own advice. I need to make changes in my own life, changes I thought I’d waited too long for, but now see I couldn’t have timed any better.
I lean over and wrap a hand behind her head, my fingers entwine in her hair as I pull her face forward and press my lips against hers.
The wine, the orchid, the way she smells, everything dances in my mind as I savor the way she tastes and feels pressed up against me.
It’s time for me to move on from the past and take a chance on the future.
* * *
Cali
His lips are every bit as soft as I imagined. I seize the opportunity and let my fingers work their way into his hair as he keeps my mouth pinned against his. His lips share the berry flavor of the wine, and I let my worries melt away as he pulls me against him harder.
Then he pulls away, leaving me breathless and needing more.
“Sorry,” he says, though he’s done nothing wrong.
I don’t tell him it’s okay, nor do I accept his apology. I kiss him again, harder this time, letting both my hands get caught up in his silken, sandy blond locks. Then my tongue parts his lips, his hot, wet mouth welcoming me in to explore.
My body gravitates towards him as we kiss until I’m straddling his lap, my knees on either side of his legs. There’s a heat radiating from his pelvis between my thighs, the burning need making every inch of me ache with desire.
“I want you,” he moans as I lower my hips down and press my growing dampness against the stiff bulge of his pants.
“I want you too.” My voice is hot and breathy and chock full of need. I hardly recognize it as I wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze my thighs, grinding harder against his swollen cock. My hips roll back and forth, the friction sending waves of tingles up my thighs.
We grind together with our clothes on, my clit growing more and more sensitive from the friction. Quill’s hands make their way up my shirt and under my bra, a gesture that has me quivering. His fingertips grasp my nipples and squeeze, and I gasp in sheer pleasure. Then he lowers his face down, pulling one nipple into his mouth and gently sucking.
“Oh, Quill,” I moan, letting my head fall back. His rock-hard cock feels as though it might burst from his pants at any moment, my clit pulsing at the pressure of him. The dampness of my panties has grown to a large wet spot. When I can’t take it anymore, I lean my face down to his ear.