Reliving the moments was nowhere near as pleasurable as what we did, but it was enough to keep me awake and think endlessly about her.
“Not great,” I tell him, thinking, one less lie.
Which is a shitty thing to think. Let’s be honest.
I’m lying to him right now. Just by not telling him I’ve kissed his daughter and touched her. I’m being dishonest.
It’s lucky, in a way, that Graham’s the only person in the kitchen. If Hallie was in here, it would be difficult not to devour her body with my gaze. I couldn’t stop remembering how she bit down on my chest, moaning, her hips shifting, her body erupting….
The biting was the hottest of all. I could feel her body’s reverberations through her clenched teeth, experience every shivering moment of pleasure with her.
Stop.
“Time difference?” Graham asks as he pours two mugs of coffee.
“Partly, I’m sure,” I say, speaking almost through gritted teeth.
This is too much. I have to tell him now.
It’s not fair, what we did, under his roof.
“Listen, Graham….”
“What’s for breakfast?” Lila walks into the room, loudly chewing gum.
Behind her, there’s my woman.
Hallie.
She stands like an angel in her sweatpants and her T-shirt, the plain clothes only serving to highlight her natural beauty. It highlights her gorgeous face, her full cheeks, and those eyes I could stare into for years.
She tugs at her T-shirt as though suddenly uncomfortable now that our gazes have clashed. It causes the fabric of the shirt to pull tightly across her breasts, her bra, and then, I’m remembering with hungry vividness how soaked she was through her PJs last night, how she shifted, how sweet her lips tasted….
And I’m thinking this all with Graham right there.
“I was thinking of frying up some bacon,” Graham says. “How does that sound?”
We all answer in the affirmative, though Lila’s the only one who sounds genuinely enthusiastic.
Luckily – or maybe it’s unluckily since it means I’m still lying – neither Graham nor Lila notice anything as Graham gets started on the food.
The three of us sit around the table in the corner.
It feels odd, my attention constantly tearing toward Hallie, trying to relive last night. But I have to keep this surface level, try to pretend I’m nothing but a family friend.
I have to pretend there’s nothing in me that wants to flip the table, pull Hallie into my arms where she belongs, kiss her passionately and let her feel everything swelling up inside of me.
“Any plans for the day?” I ask as the sound and smell of frying bacon fills the air.
“I’m going into the city to study,” Lila says. “Then I might see a few friends.”
I nod, and then Hallie says, “I’m going to try and finish my current video project.”
It’s difficult to look at her without losing control, especially with her hair all messy around her shoulders. It reminds me of last night when we lost control, and how much messier her hair would’ve become if we’d kept going.
“Your father says your new career’s going well,” I say, struggling to keep my voice level.
How am I supposed to talk, to be a man and not a wild animal, when she’s sitting right there? Tempting me just by being there, her body seeming to throw pheromones my way, causing my instincts to awaken, my impulses to roar, everything within me to demand I take her now.
Now.
Beneath the table, I clench my fist against my thigh.
“It’s going better than I expected,” Hallie says with a fleeting smile. She meets my eye briefly, then looks away. “I tinkered with video editing in high school, so I already had some experience. But not a lot. It’s been difficult, but I’m finally getting somewhere.”
“What sort of stuff do you edit?” I ask.
“Anything I can, at the moment,” she tells me. “I’d love to work on movies one day, but we’ll see.”
The conversation comes to a pause, and then Hallie looks at me again, staring longer this time. I return her gaze, certain we’re going to give the game away, and then I feel sick, right down in my gut.
The game, as though this is all harmless, lighthearted, as though we’re not risking everything.
“What about you?” Hallie asks.
“I’ll work on my latest article,” I reply. “I’ve got lots of material to bring together. It should be a decent-sized project. After I’ve published it…I don’t know. I guess I’ll see, too.”
She smiles. I know it would feel like the most natural thing in the world to reach over and bring her into my arms, lay my chin atop her head, and cradle her.
“I’ve got some news,” Graham says as he lays the plates of bacon and eggs down.
“Is it good or bad?” Lila asks quickly.
Graham does something between a smile and a grimace. “It’s both, I suppose. I’ll be leaving home for a month.”