Rhythm of Desire

"I can drive. I just choose not to."

I nodded and sat in silence.

"I was in a car wreck, that's all. Not a huge fan of cars."

"Makes sense to me," I spoke, not pressing further, "Your turn. Ask me anything."

"How about," she paused, "What's your actual name?"

I laughed, realizing I hadn't told her, "Jack. Or Jackie. Whichever you'd like."

"Just Jack? Short for Jaclynn," she guessed.

I nodded.

"Hm, yeah. Jack fits you much better. Nice to meet you, Jack." She offered her glowing gloved hand and I spiritedly shook it.

***

Inside the dark library it was comfortably warm and silent. I sat on the edge of a table, dangling my feet as I watched her flit around, flipping on lights and going through papers. Once she found the information she needed, she returned to me, shoving the gloves she'd removed into my jacket pocket. She stood, purposely lingering between my legs, looking directly into my eyes with a coy smile. I was surprised I didn't melt. She then removed her coat and laid it across a desk, topping it with her hat, and I followed her lead, laying mine next to hers. I rolled up my sleeves unconsciously and she took my hand. Touching her made my heart palpitate.

"Come," she said, and I obeyed. She grabbed a cart full of books, pushing it along as we went. "I just have to return these to the shelves and we can do anything you'd like."

I raised my eyebrow, "Anything I'd like?" She smirked and rolled her eyes, taking a book and pushing it against my chest.

As we reshelved the books, we chatted. Talking to her was easy and her sense of humor was attractive. I couldn't take my eyes off her as she worked, frowning slightly as she read the book spines. Every time I passed closely by her, I took in her scent and she smelled amazingly of apples. As she studied the last book, she handed it to me and pointed above her head. I had about six inches on her.

"Can you put that up there?" She asked.

I did as she said but I comically leaned over her as if she were shorter than she was. She laughed and pushed me slightly, but held onto my shirt. Our smiling turned sly and something changed, her eyes dropping to my lips for a moment. She tugged on my shirt, forcing me closer to her and I leaned into kiss her. It was a very brief kiss, just to test the waters, and she returned it. I pulled back a bit to read her expression and the flirty smile remained on her lips. Her hand went to my shirt collar instead and she pulled me in. I brought my hand from the bookshelf to her waist and kissed her again, more passionately this time. Her other hand pulled the beltloop of my jeans, pressing my waist against hers and removing any space left between us. My entire body tingled with how much I wanted her.

This particular bookshelf was fastened to a wall and I pressed my weight against her, kissing her hungrily and she returned the enthusiasm. A few books fell to the floor. My hands made their way up just inside the hem of her shirt before she pushed me back a little bit. Thinking I had done something wrong, I paused, but instead she leaned in and whispered into my ear. While doing so I also felt her hands go between us and unbutton my jeans.

"I want to touch you," she whispered, causing goosebumps to form on my skin.

It was so unexpected that before I had a chance to answer her hand was already in my waistband. As her fingers found my clit, I breathed out and closed my eyes, pressing my forehead against hers. My hands involuntarily held the shelves behind her and I felt weak. She slid her fingers teasingly across my clit at first before pressing harder against me, causing me to moan quietly. Without opening my eyes my mouth found hers and I kissed her hard, tasting her tongue and lips. When the kiss broke, she lifted her head to bare her neck and I took the chance to kiss it, slipping in small bites here and there. I tugged gently on the sleeve of her loose hoodie to bare her shoulder continuing tasting her skin. I lost concentration and my breathing heightened as I pressed my face into the crook of her neck, thinking only about how her fingers felt against me. I wanted badly to feel her inside of me, but I knew I wouldn't last much longer. She sensed I was close to coming and she slowed her fingers completely, lightening her touch to tease me. A small whine escaped my lips in protest and I could feel her proud smile against my lips.

"Tease," I spoke lowly.

It didn't stop her and she continued to just lightly touch me, driving me crazy. I gripped her free hand tightly, being only able to focus on my pulsing clit, and in spite of the torturous touch, I came. She returned to touching me firmly, causing my body to twitch uncontrollably and for the word fuck to escape my lips. I braced myself against the shelf with one hand, still clenching her other hand. She removed her hand from my underwear and wrapped her arm securely around my midsection, feeling how shaky I was. After a moment, I hugged her tightly with my lips pressed against her forehead, just breathing.

As my heartbeat started to relax, I backed off enough to look at her. She had a pleased smirk across her lips and her eyes stared into mine. I suddenly felt a little embarrassed at the reaction she had on me, and cleared my throat while stepping back to zip and button my pants. She stayed leaning against the bookshelf. It didn't help my embarrassment when she pointed to the crotch of my jeans to point out a damp spot.

"I was," I paused, taking a deep breath, "not excepting that. At all. You seem to have a very strong effect on me."

She laughed and pulled me back in for a soft kiss, "I like it." She returned the fallen books to their rightful spots and took my hand to leave. Once the empty cart was returned, we grabbed our jackets, but instead of putting on her red stocking cap she put it on me instead.

"Very cute," she said, smiling at me. She laughed when I shook my head to make the puff ball wiggle and then took my beanie to put on her head. After slipping on my jacket, I helped her into her coat and returned my gloves to her, which she accepted. She locked the door behind us and we returned to the car.

"Where to now? Food? Drinks? Coffee? My place?" I asked, waiting for the car to warm.

She sat pondering for a moment, "Hm, do I know you well enough yet to go back to your place?"

"More than you did about 20 minutes ago," I joked.

Her bashful smile came back, bringing the adorable dimples.

"How about a little bar I know," I suggested, "Low light, calm music, and some alcohol. Can't go wrong with that."

She laughed, "A lot could go wrong with some alcohol, but I'm down."

"Let's do it," I nodded, suppressing my nerves enough to confidently portray onto the next adventure.

***

A pink glow lit the bar from a neon beer sign shaped like a flamingo, giving it a surreal feeling. Across the booth, she sat staring into my eyes inquisitively with a coy smile across her lips. The reflective light from the sign made her eyes look iridescent in an intimidating way. I couldn't help but mimic her smile. She broke her stare and her eyes darted around the bar, studying it. It was a nearly empty hole-in-the-wall with an old-timey looking juke box that was actually modernized. The sign above the bar were two frothing beer mugs frozen in a never-ending cheer with the with the words Salud in orange letters. Her legs were gingerly crossed with her hands tucked between her thighs and I couldn't stop taking her in. Her eyes flicked from person to person and sign to sign.

"What would you like to drink?" I asked her. Her eyes closed for a moment and she pursed her lips in thought. A flashback of kissing her caused a tingle throughout me.

"Whiskey sour." I popped up from the booth and headed to the bar, ordering a beer and a whiskey sour. I returned with the drinks, but instead of sitting across from her, I sat beside her. I slid her drink in front of her as she smiled and dropped her head in a brief moment of bashfulness, but then turned her face to me. She tucked her hair behind her ear and I wasn't sure if it was out of nervousness.

"Is this okay?" I asked since we were sitting as close as possible without touching.

She furrowed her brow slightly, "Are you joking?" She then grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer to her, flush against the warmth of her body. Our faces were inches apart and I couldn't erase the smirk from my lips. I also couldn't look away from her eyes, they seemed brighter than ever. I wanted so badly to kiss her again it almost felt like a compulsion, but before I could she nestled her body against mine in a comforting way. She took my hand and pulled it around her, causing my arm to be holding her against me. I took the cue and tightened my grip, just holding her. We sat observing the ongoings of the bar and listening to whatever song happened to play.

"Tell me a story," I finally spoke.

"A story? Like from my life?"

"Yes."

"Give me a topic."

I sat in thought for a moment before choosing a generic story topic, "Your first kiss."

"Male or female?"

"Both," I said before take a sip from my beer. She followed my action and took a drink before clearing her throat.

"The first guy to kiss me was at a birthday party of a friend. She'd had a DJ so people were up dancing. I love dancing, so naturally I wanted to find somebody to dance with."

"Naturally," I smiled.

"I saw him sitting alone and so I went up to him, asking him to dance. He had a big cheesy smile on his face and took my hand. We danced and talked all night. He was a very sweet guy, a little bit nerdy. At the end of the night, we were saying our goodbyes. He leaned down to kiss me, but he missed my lips and kiss my chin instead. We both cracked up, but then I kissed him properly."

"Well, that's a cute story. What happened after that?"

"Nothing," she shrugged. "I saw him around a couple of times after that, but I was just never that interested."

I nodded.

She paused to take another drink before starting her next story.

"Now the woman." She played with her glass, fidgeting with it while staring at it. "She was actually my best friend at the time. Total tom boy, rebel type. She had this little silver earring that was a dangling, upside down cross. She's gotten it just to piss her parents off and it worked," she laughed and rolled her eyes at the memory.

"Our favorite thing to do was drive around in the middle of the night, anywhere. We tried our best to get lost and to find our way home. We talked about everything or just sang to music on the radio."

She swirled the liquid in her glass with a small smile on her face. She seemed transported back to the moment and I watched her intensely.

"One night we were driving and it had started snowing. Everything was so insanely quiet since nobody was out. She pulled into a parking lot and we sat watching the snow from the warmth of the car. She suddenly turned toward me and asked me if I'd ever thought about being with a chick before. Yes, those were her exact words. I had laughed because I thought she was joking but her facial expression was sincere. So, I answered truthfully, that I had."

She took another sip of her drink. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I could tell there was both a happy and melancholy tone to her story.

"Surprisingly, all she said was hm. A second later she turned to music up louder and jumped out of the car, coming to my door. She opened it and pulled me out into the falling snow. It was freezing, but I didn't care." She was one hundred percent lost in thought.

"She started dancing with me, in a goofy way. Like twirling me and dipping me backward. It was so fun. After the song ended, I was still in her arms. She had little snowflakes in her eyebrows and I could see every breath exhaled in the air. Then she kissed me." She turned to me and smiled, but there was a hint of sadness behind it. I waited for there to be more to the story, but she didn't continue.

"You remind me a lot of her, actually." Her smile gained more warmth to it.

"Is that a good or bad thing?" I questioned, against raising my eyebrow.

"A very good thing."

"Well, in that case," I finished off my drink and scooted out of the booth, extending my hand toward her. She held up a finger, motioning for me to wait a moment. She polished off her drink and removed the cherry from it, placing it between her lips almost seductively before consuming it. I was unsure why so much of what she did had an effect on me, but the tingle happened again. She took my hand and I helped her out of the booth. Literally nobody else in the bar was dancing, and I wasn't even sure there was a designated place to dance, but I stopped near the juke box. I punched in a song and offered my hand to her, which she took with an excited smile. I pulled her in close and we danced, pretending we were the only people in the bar.

She looked so happy that I couldn't stop smiling. Her hands were incredibly soft and her scent filled my nose. Still the apple smell, but mixed with cherry, orange, and a hint of whiskey. The pink glow gave her an almost entrancing aura. The song ended and I typed in another one, a slower one. I dramatically pulled her to me and then wrapped my arms around her. She laughed and buried herself against me, her cheek against my shoulder. I pressed my lips against her hair, taking a deep breath, and didn't mind that her hair tickled my face. Her arms were around me, but she had slipped her hands up the back of my shirt and they were resting against my bare skin. The inside of me was on fire, hyperaware of her touch, and every atom of me wanted her so badly.

"Mmm," she spoke softly into my ear, "I love this song." She closed her eyes with her cheek still resting on my shoulder and sang along with the lyrics quiet enough for only me to hear. I tightened my hold on her a little more, because I was suddenly afraid of ever letting go.

Three whiskey sours and a couple hours of dancing later, she was heading to the restroom with me in tow. Her face was slightly flushed and her cheeks had to hurt from smiling so much, the dimples melting me each time. I wanted to kiss each one over and over. If she was drunk, she wasn't showing it much, but she did pull me into the handicapped stall with her. She made me face away while she peed, which caused me to laugh and shake my head. She said it was to keep her company, but I secretly wondered if she thought I might just disappear. I heard the toilet flush behind me and her arms wrapped around my midsection. I could feel her cheek pressed against my back and I just put my hands over hers, letting her hold me for a moment.

"Your cold jacket feels good against my cheek," she spoke, moaning it slightly. I laughed.

"So, you are drunk."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said playfully, unlocking the stall door in front of me without looking. As she washed her hands, we made faces at each other in the mirror until I laughed, losing the game. She was proud of herself so I pulled her stocking cap over her eyes, and kissed the tip of her nose.

Outside the bar was frigid and she immediately burrowed into me, seeking warmth. Inside the truck, I started the engine, waiting for the heat to warm us. I watched her breath billow in the air.

"My hands are freezing," she stated, before sticking her icicle fingers swiftly under my shirt. I jumped.

"Fuck, that's cold!" I exclaimed.

She laughed, "They'll warm up in a minute. You know what else will warm us up?"

"What?"

She leaned in and kissed me unexpectedly, and I returned it. Her lips were hot against mine and I could taste the cherries. I leaned hungrily into the kiss, wanting all of her. She was right about it warming me. As we kissed, I imagined her sitting on my bed bare, knees bent, and leaning back on her hands. I wanted my face between her thighs and my hands gripping the flesh of her hips, pulling her harder against my tongue. I imagined her head being thrown back in a moan as she grinded against my face. Her hands were warm now and explored underneath my shirt. Eventually, she nipped my bottom lip and backed away slightly with an extremely delighted smirk on her face as she looked me over.

"Warm now?"

I nodded, speechlessly with only flashes of images in my head. The windows had fogged significantly and I turned up the defogger. I was uncomfortably wet and shifted in my seat trying to recollect my thoughts.

I cleared my throat and watched her slip my gloves over her hands, "Where to now?"

She pondered for a moment before her answer, "Your place."

I raised my eyebrows in question, "My place? Are you sure?"

She nodded. I looked at her a long moment to gauge if she'd want to rethink her answer.

"Then I don't have to worry about waking my husband while sneaking in."

My heart plummeted and she must've seen the disappointed look in my eyes, because she immediately apologized, covering her mouth.

"I'm sorry! Not a funny joke, huh? It's my brother, my brother is my roommate. The guy you've been seeing me with."

I put my hand over my heart as if she'd just startled me, "Oh man, not funny. I was about to drop you off on the side of the road."

"Not even a tiny bit funny?" She asked, holding up her thumb and index finger to signify the word tiny, peeking through the gap.

"About as funny as you hitchhiking home in the cold."

She jokingly punched my arm, "You wouldn't do that."

"You're right, but I'd be very tiffed on the drive home to meet your husband."

She laughed and then sat in thought for a moment before becoming serious.

"Honestly," she paused, "I don't want this day to end. I just feel happy and safe with you."

"So be it," I agreed.

"Or maybe I'm just drunk," she gave me a cheesy grin and I rolled my eyes.

I popped the truck in drive and this time she took my hand, holding it as I drove. The drive back to my apartment was quiet, but content. She laid her head back against the headrest and sang softly along with the music as she did at the bar, watching the scenery pass. The further into the drive we got, the more frequent her yawns were. She closed her eyes, but continued singing. I was obsessed.

***

At my apartment door, I fiddled with my keys, suddenly a little nervous. I took a deep breath before opening the door and signaling her inside. She walked into the darkness and I followed behind her, flipping on the light. She stood in the living room, observing as I locked the door behind me.

"Clean. Minimal. I like it. Needs more books. Pretty decent for a technical writers pay."

"I'm glad you approve," I laughed, "Do you know how much tech writers make?"

"No idea," she responded, causing me to chuckle, "You play?"

I followed her eyes to the corner, where my guitar sat on its stand. I nodded and removed my jacket, and offered to take hers, to which she obliged.

In my bedroom, I flipped on the lamp on my nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed. I watched as she walked around, perusing everything. Touching everything curiously. A photo frame sat on my dresser, to which she picked up and examined. It was a picture of my mom and I standing in front of her Harley. I expected her to ask questions, but she didn't. She returned it to the dresser.

"Do you have anything I could sleep in?"

"Nope," I said jokingly, "Have to sleep nude, rules of the room." She rolled her eyes, but had a smile across her lips. I pointed to the walk-in closet, to which she disappeared without hesitation. She emerged a minute later with a shirt draped over her arm. I pointed to the bathroom and she closed the door behind her.

"There's an unopened toothbrush in the second drawer," I called out. I heard the drawer open and close. I flopped back on the bed and closed my eyes, folding my arms behind my head. My shirt raised enough that the lower part of my stomach showed, but I didn't care to fix it. Her yawns had infected me and I yawned myself while thinking over the day. It had only been one day. I could hardly believe it. It somehow felt extremely short and also like we'd known each other forever.