All Played Out

I take a moment just to gaze at her. She seems absorbed in the book, but I’m not sure whether that’s real or just her playing a role in case the cop was to wander by. She’s wearing snug black yoga pants again and a baggy T-shirt. I love that she makes absolutely no effort to dress up for me. With Nell, you know exactly what you’re getting because she doesn’t see any need to mold herself into something she isn’t. And it doesn’t matter what she’s wearing because the image of what she looks like underneath is permanently burned into my mind.

I take the book from her hands and am about to tell her that it was a false alarm when a noise distracts me. A very distinct noise.

Breathy and low, it starts out as a little gasping mewl before progressing into a quiet moan. If Nell’s suddenly rigid posture is any indication, she hears it, too. I start to return the book to the shelves so we can leave, but Nell’s hand on my wrist stops me. Her eyes are focused directly on the opening on the shelf that the book had occupied. It’s level with her eyes, but is about midchest for me. I shift behind her, bend a little, and realize that she’s got a perfect view of the couple going at it the next row over.

I shove the book on top of another shelf where it doesn’t belong because this just got really fucking interesting. Nell’s body language is still stiff, but she’s holding her breath, her eyes glued to the gap between the books.

A lanky dude has a girl pushed up against the stacks, and they’re making out. Like really going to town. I can see the bulge of his hand beneath the girl’s shirt, kneading at her breast. I keep waiting for Nell to snap out of it. It’s like when you pass a car wreck, and you can’t help but look, but then immediately feel guilty for gawking. But the seconds keep passing, and she’s not reacting except to keep holding her breath. I lean down, planting my mouth next to her ear, and ask, “So you like to watch?”

She exhales heavily, and I think I’ve broken the spell, but then she leans back into me and gives this sort of half shrug, half nod. Fuck. There’s no freaking way I’ll be able to keep my hands off her now.

“So what does it for you?” I ask. “Is it just seeing them? Seeing how into it they are? Or is it the fact that they could get caught at any moment? That we’ve caught them, and they don’t even know it.”

She shrugs.

“Come on, girl genius. Tell me what it is. I need to know.”

Before she can answer, the girl on the other side of the stacks turns around, and the guy flips up her skirt, and that finally provokes a reaction in Nell. She spins sharply, pressing her back against the shelves, blocking the opening with her head. Her breaths come fast and frenzied now, and her expression is stuck somewhere between horror and humor.

I step in close to her, and she has to tip her head back to meet my gaze. She has these big honey eyes, and when I’m this close I feel like I can almost see right through them to the thoughts beneath. She’s excited. But feels guilty for being excited. It doesn’t help that we can both still hear the couple on the other side. They’re trying to be quiet, but given how close Nell and I are, the slight squeak of the shelves and their labored breaths are evident. I plant my hands on her hips, holding her in place, and keep eye contact. Whatever just happened . . . I don’t want to pretend like it didn’t. Again and again tonight, she’s been shedding layers of her shyness, and I need it to continue.

I lean in close, and with my cheek against hers and the sound track of horny college kids still going in the background, I whisper, “I’m so fucking hard for you right now.”

I can feel her swallow, the way it moves through her whole body.

“Did you do this on purpose? For that stupid Sweet Six thing?”

I grin, and move my hands from her hips to her waist, digging my fingers into her flesh. “You really think I would do something this elaborate to get you here?”

She pulls away slightly so I can see her lift one dark brow in response. “I think that sounds exactly like something you would do.”

I lean back to her ear and murmur, “Oh, sweetheart, you’ve still got a lot to get to know about me. I’m all for fun and games, but when I want something, I don’t bother with games. I’m not patient enough for that.”

“So this is just a coincidence?”

“There have been a number of unexpected benefits to tonight. And what? Did you think I planned for them to be here, too? Like I had any idea that watching other people hook up would get you hot.”

“It’s not that,” she snaps, and at the same time a loud groan comes from the next row over. A series of noises follow that are less sexy and more comical, and I have to bury my face in Nell’s hair to keep from laughing. The guy is still groaning, and the girl is whispering for him to wait, to hold on a little longer. He doesn’t. The shelves stop squeaking and the girl lets out a distinctly disappointed sigh. We stay silent and listen to the other couple shuffling, whispering, and rearranging their clothes. The thud of footsteps lets us know they’re leaving, and as they round the corner and pass by our row, Nell buries her head into my chest, mortified.

When they’re out of earshot, we collapse into each other laughing. We’re not quiet. Hell, they can probably still hear us, but I don’t give a damn. Especially when I pull back to catch sight of Nell’s face. Her eyes and nose are scrunched up, and she keeps alternating between pressing her fingers to her cheek and covering her forehead. Her cheeks are flushed with more color than I would have thought possible for someone with her skin tone. Her embarrassment should just be amusing or cute, but somehow even this side of her seems sexy to me.