The Apartment (Apartment #1) (13 page)

“Fuck!” he yelled. “Yes… come for me, baby. Come all over me!”

She turned her head and screamed into his neck, riding out the most powerful orgasm she’d had to date.

Ethan kept thrusting and stroking her, knowing he was going to finish any second. “Give me your fingers!” Lily moved her hand from between her legs quickly, shoving them into his mouth. He sucked her fingers clean, groaning around them as he exploded inside her.

* * *

They napped briefly after that, curled together. When Lily awoke she saw that it was already time for her to head home, whether she wanted to or not.

She rolled away from his beautiful sleeping body, hoping not to disturb him as she got dressed. As much as she preferred him awake, his features looked much more peaceful when he slept, and she had the strangest feeling that he didn’t sleep often. When she’d first seen him there, he had dark circles under his eyes.

Pulling her shirt over her head, she heard his quiet voice behind her. “You sure you can’t stay any longer?”

“Dammit, I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I was trying not to wake you.”

“No biggie,” he smiled, making her heart skip a beat. Propping himself up on his elbow to look at her, he repeated his question. “So, you gotta run?”

“Yeah, I really do. Why? You’re not actually up for another round already, are you?”

He chuckled lightly. “Sweetheart, even I need a little time to recoup after something like that. Although I must admit that you bring out the animal in me. I’ve never been quite so hungry for someone before.”

“I feel the exact same way,” she said, flashing a shy smile. “So, if no round two, then why do you ask?”

“Oh… well, it’s just really nice sleeping next to you. It would be nice to do for a longer stretch sometime.” He actually blushed.

“Oh! Well, I only get so much free time, and we usually use that for… other activities. Though the thought of sleeping in this amazing bed is pretty enticing—”

“Never mind,” he interrupted, waving it off. “I just didn’t know your availability, so I didn’t know if you ever had longer times to be away. It’s really nothing.”

“The only problem is that I rarely know my availability, either. It’s very
play it by ear
right now. But if any opportunity arises, believe me, I’ll be here.” After tying her shoes she knelt on the edge of the bed, leaning forward to kiss him goodbye.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” he said as she pulled away from the warm kiss, “what’s up with all the t-shirts?”

“Huh?” She looked down, not remembering what she was wearing. It was one of her favorites, a deep green tee that said
Brunettes Not Fighter Jets
across the front in gold letters. “It’s just what I wear to the gym.”

“Oh, I figured that. I just wondered why you had so many Flight of the Conchords t-shirts.”

Lily gasped. “You’ve heard of the Conchords?”

“Of course. Why? Hasn’t anyone else you know?”

“No! And it’s really frustrating! I love them so much—like, to an obsessive degree. I have all the DVDs, all the CDs, and a whole bunch of goofy merchandise, but anyone I try to share them with just looks at me like I’m crazy. Doesn’t anybody in Aledo understand dry humor?”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but I’ve always liked them. I like The Mighty Boosh better, though.”

“Oh, I love the Boosh, too! Absolutely classic.” Lily stood and walked to the door, stopping briefly to call back over her shoulder, “But the Conchords are better!”

Ethan lay back down and laughed a loud, belly-clenching laugh. “Go on, get out of here, crazy lady!” He stopped laughing when he heard the door click, but mostly so that he could listen to her run down the stairs. It was that much longer that he could be connected to her. When he thought back on the absurdity of the entire conversation, it only caused him to laugh even harder, making his sides hurt and tears run down his cheeks.

Ethan hadn’t laughed like that in a very long time.

Ethan rested there on the bed for some time after his goddess left. He was wide-awake, but reluctant to leave the place that smelled so heavily of her essence. She was everywhere around him, from the long brown hairs he could see on his pillowcase to the rapidly cooling wet spot he refused to roll away from. He could smell her on his fingers and taste her on his lips.

He licked them both once again for good measure.

After another minute of reminiscing over his lusty afternoon, he realized the music was still playing in the other room. He could hear a lighthearted song about feeling good start up and couldn’t help staring up at the cracked ceiling while he listened, smiling at the lyrics.

Good
was an understatement. This was the best he’d felt in months. Hell, longer than that. If he really tried to think back to the last time he’d felt this relaxed and sated, he would only draw a blank.

Rachel had certainly tried to keep things exciting, and sometimes she would succeed, but the boredom would always set in faster and faster after each new thrill. Whenever she had seen that look in his eye that hinted he might be wondering if he was really where he wanted to be, she would dangle a new vice in front of him like a carrot to get him back in line. It worked for a while.

The last one had been cocaine.

“Here, baby,” she said, holding out the small brown vial in her hand. “This will make you feel so good. You’ll be able to stay up and paint for days and days.”

“I don’t know that I want that right now,” he replied, glancing around his cluttered studio, anywhere but at her eyes and the disappointment he knew would be there. “I was thinking about maybe going back to America soon. I haven’t seen my family in a long time.”

“Family?” she huffed. “Ethan, I am your family. Those people back there are nothing but dead weight. You agreed with me when I became your manager that you wouldn’t let them hold you back.” She put her hands on her hips and started tapping her foot—signs that she was prepared to go the distance on this topic
.

“But that’s just it. I don’t think they are trying to hold me back. They have always been supportive.” He sighed before adding quietly, “They have only ever wanted me to be happy.”

“Happy? Your parents would be fine with you painting motel landscapes as long as you were happy. They have no clue what it means to be truly great as an artist. Why can’t you ever just shut up and trust me? Have I ever steered you wrong? Look how far you’ve come in such a short time!” She gestured wildly out the window at the beautiful Italian scenery. “Now, you have a show in Venice next month, and you are nowhere near ready!”

When she realized her tantrum wasn’t making the same impact that it would have about five years earlier, she switched tactics. Giving him her best and most-practiced pout, she walked up to him slowly, running her fingers up and down his chest. “Please Ethan… for me?”

He hated when she pulled that shit, but she also hadn’t touched him in weeks; she’d been too busy partying it up at clubs and leaving him home alone to work. She would go through phases with her sexuality, sometimes inviting other women into bed with them for days-long sex fests, only to turn around and be cold and distant for a while, shutting him out completely. Since Ethan still refused to step outside of their relationship for any sort of physical comfort, and it appeared that she might be ending their latest dry spell, his body began to rule his actions
.

Rachel knew that she was close to victory as soon as she felt him growing hard against her. “Know what else this stuff is good for?” she smirked, holding out the vial again. She looked up at him and batted her lashes, rubbing herself against the front of him. “Fucking all night long.”

“Where did you get this shit anyway?” he asked, his control flagging
.

“From Julia, down at the club. Oh, you’ll love her, baby. She’s got a tight little ass and firm tits.” She slid her hand down his abdomen until she was cupping him firmly, making him shudder. “I bet she could do some amazing things to this cock with me. Should I ask her over?”

Ethan reached out slowly and took the vial. “Call her.”

That night had led to a nasty addiction that had taken him almost a year to kick.

No, Ethan couldn’t remember ever feeling so good.

As he hummed along with the song, it slowly dawned on him that it wasn’t a song he had loaded into his iPod. Forcing himself to stand and walk into the front room, he found a classic, scratched up, 30-gig iPod sitting in his dock, while his brand new iPod touch was on the shelf in front of it.

His goddess had forgotten her music.

Reaching out with trembling fingers, he hit the stop button and pulled it free from the dock.

Should I? What if her name is in here somewhere?

He quickly told himself to stop being a pussy and just look inside. What could it hurt? He was just looking to see what kind of music she liked, that’s all.

Ethan quickly scrolled through the menu options, searching through the different artists and playlists. Although he told himself that he didn’t want to know her name, it didn’t stop him from trying to accidentally learn it. After five minutes of digging and hunting, he knew it was a lost cause, but he was still amazed to find how much they had in common when it came to music.

Just as he was about to put it back on the dock to start listening to a playlist titled
Kiwi Genius
that had caught his eye, the shrill ringtone of his cell phone intruded on his peaceful afternoon. He almost let it go to voicemail when he didn’t immediately recognize the number, but he noticed that it was a local area code, so he begrudgingly answered.

“Yeah?”

“Ethan? Is that you?”

“Emma? Sorry, I didn’t have any of your number in my phone. What’s up?”

“Well, Mom made me promise not to bother you, but I thought you should know that she is making dinner for everyone before we all drive back to Chicago tonight. Since we’re all here in town an extra day to visit with you in the first place, it might be a nice idea to make an appearance.”

“Sorry, Em. I didn’t know you guys were even still in town. I thought you went back yesterday.”

“We all stayed over through Monday, jackass! We thought you might need to be with family right now. Little did we know that you would pull a disappearing act after lunch yesterday.” His twin sister had always been one of his biggest supporters, but she was also the first one to call him on his bullshit.

“Hey Em, wait,” he called out, knowing by the tone of her voice that she was about to hang up the phone. Sighing deeply, he continued. “Listen… I’m sorry. You have all been great, honestly. I’m just not used to needing to check in with anyone when I’m working. I didn’t mean any offense.”

“I know you didn’t. And I know this whole thing has been a very intense experience for you, but Ethan, we haven’t seen you in forever. I know that it can be cathartic to lose yourself in work, especially with what you do, but you’re back now and we want to spend some time with you while you’re here. I’m always afraid that each time I see you is going to be my last.”

He knew she had a point. He had been so exhausted by trying to keep up his prodigal son routine that he had fled the first moment he was able. “No, you’re right. I’ve been a little… distracted. I got so used to handling things by myself that it feels awkward to lean on anybody else.”

There was nearly thirty seconds of silence, but to him it felt like hours. Her voice was sad and quiet when she finally replied. “We just want to know you again.”

“What time is dinner?” he sighed, shoving his fingers through his messy hair.

“Six o’clock.”

“I’ll be there.” He hung up the phone and looked at the time on his display, noting that he had less than an hour to get there. Glancing down at his naked body, he made the quick decision to forgo a shower and just throw on some clothes. Besides, that way he could smell like her that much longer.

* * *

Twenty minutes later he was pulling off the road onto his family’s property. As he parked his rental car next to his father’s silver Lexus, he turned off the upbeat New Zealand songs playing on his mystery woman’s iPod and slipped it inside his jacket pocket to finish snooping through later. Slinging a bag full of dirty laundry over his shoulder, Ethan walked inside the front door, unsure of what his welcome would be.

He could hear female voices laughing from the kitchen, so he set his bag down at the foot of the stairs and followed the happy sounds until he was quietly standing in the doorway. His mother, Emma, and Maggie were all sitting around the island counter top, talking as they plated various snacks and side dishes.

“Oh dear, don’t worry,” Barbara was giggling and patting Maggie’s arm. “When I was pregnant with Eric, I threw up all the time. I even threw up all over Richard once when we were… well, you know.”

“Mom!” Emma gasped, her laughter cut off abruptly.

Maggie waved her off and Barbara paid her no mind, continuing with her story. “And good lord, let me tell you, when I was pregnant with Emma and Ethan, they gave me twice the gas!” Both women broke into another fit of laughter, leaving poor Emma looking completely horrified.

When Maggie was able to stop laughing, she cleared her throat and spoke, her tone suddenly serious. “Thanks Barbara, I know that so many women can have a hard time of it. I’m just happy for any type of new symptom these days. I think I’d even be happy to get hemorrhoids if it meant that this pregnancy goes full term.”

“Eww, Maggie!”

“Oh, grow up, Emma. You are thirty-two years old. I think you can handle hearing about this stuff,” Barbara scolded. She turned back to Maggie, her expression turning to one of concern. “Darling, there is no reason you can’t say ‘baby’ by now, instead of ‘pregnancy.’”

“I just can’t yet,” she whispered. “Not again. It hurts too much when things go bad.”

Barbara moved to hug her, and in doing so she noticed the new addition to the room. “Ethan!” she beamed. “I didn’t think you’d be here tonight!” She met him halfway across the room as he entered, her arms already around his neck in a fierce hug.