The Blank Canvas (Apartment #2) (11 page)

When her breathing had calmed a bit, she turned her face towards the phone. “Oh my God… that was intense. But I didn’t get to hear you,” she pouted.

“Oh, we’re not quite done yet,” he answered, hoping he could last long enough to enjoy this properly. “That was just foreplay, Lily. Tell me, do you still have that purple toy? The one that you said would always be me?”

“Yes,” she moaned. “It’s right here in my nightstand.”

“Good. Because I’m going to fuck you now… and it’s not going to be slow
or
gentle.”

“Promise?” she moaned again, reaching over and grabbing the toy in question. “God, Ethan… are you hard for me?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he laughed. “I’m throbbing so badly right now that it’s painful.”

“I miss your beautiful cock so much,” she whimpered. He could hear her trying to catch her breath, and it took every ounce of his strength to keep from jumping in his car and driving straight over there.

“Fuck… it’s yours, Lily. Only for you. And we’ll be together again before you know it.”

“I want you to touch yourself now, Ethan. I need to hear you too.”

“Absolutely, baby. Now, I want this to feel as real as possible, so why don’t you tell me how much lube I should use. A little bit?”

“No,” she groaned. “A lot. I’m fucking dripping for you.”

He squirted a huge dollop in his palm, holding it for a moment to warm it up. “Okay baby, I’m ready. Do you have me where I need to be?”

“Yes… I’m ready.” Lily held the toy in position, waiting for his word.

Ethan shut his eyes, remembering the last time they’d been together, when she rode him so hard that he’d nearly passed out. She had been perched above him, looking down into his eyes lovingly before she’d fucked him into submission. Grunting at the memory, he clenched his fist tightly, holding it right over the broad tip of his erection.

“Now, baby,” he gasped, sliding his tight fist down his shaft at the same moment she pushed the toy inside her to the hilt.

They both cried out, feeling each other as if they were together. In that moment, they truly were making love to each other… only on the opposite sides of town.

“Now,” he panted after a moment, “I’m going to move. Feel me, Lily.”

“Oh god!” she sobbed. “I missed you… I missed you so much! Can you feel me too?”

“Yes,” he hissed as his fist began pumping faster. “You’re so fucking tight and wet. You feel like home to me… I’m fucking you harder now… shoving myself as deep as I can go. I want to hit that spot that always makes you scream.”

“Ethan,” she gasped, “I want you to fuck your hand for me. Don’t just stroke your cock… I want to know you’re really fucking me.”

“Tell me what you want, baby,” he gritted through his teeth. “Anything.”

“Stop moving your hand for a minute… just thrust your hips. You can move it again in a bit, but I want to know that you are thrusting inside me at the same time.”

“Alright… pull that toy all the way out to the edge.
Now
,” he said as he flexed his hips, shoving himself into the tightness of his palm. Lily moved in time with him, pumping the toy all the way inside her again.

“Yes!” she cried out.

“Is that what you want, baby?” he moaned.

“Yes… so good! You?”

“It feels amazing. I’m going to again… now… now… yesss…. fuck…. faster…. oh God!”

Lily began bucking her hips furiously, timing every thrust with the sound of his voice. “Ethan, move your hand now. I’m so fucking close…. I want you to feel me pushing back into you.”

At the sounds of his loud moans, she felt herself tightening around the toy, and she was suddenly possessed with the need to hear him finish first.

“Ethan, baby… come for me… please!”

“But… you… first,” he grunted, barely holding on.

“No… please, baby… I need to hear you so badly. I need to hear you to help me finish. Ethan… come for me… come inside me… let me feel you spilling inside me.”

“Oh fuck!” he cried out. “Lily!” He exploded violently, spurting his release all over his hand and stomach.

Just as she’d expected, hearing him finish set her off like a chain reaction, and before he was even done moaning and thrusting, she had thrown her head back and was howling like a banshee.

When they had both stopped orbiting the planet several times over, they each rolled over in the darkness, gasping into the phone.

“That was…” he panted.

“
Incredible
,” she finished, just as out of breath as he was. After a moment of silence Lily giggled.

“What’s so funny?” he smiled.

“Oh, I was just wondering if you’d be able to get to sleep now. I know I will.”

“God yes. I can barely keep my eyes open. You wore me out from across town, woman.”

“Good,” she smirked. “I suppose I should let you go, then. Thank you, Ethan. Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“Oh, it was absolutely my pleasure. Thank you for asking… I don’t know if I would have had the nerve just yet.”

“Goodnight, Ethan.” And then, because it finally felt right, and she felt freer than she had in months, she added, “I love you.”

It was only the beat of a second before she heard a sigh and a quiet whisper.

“I love you too, Lily.”

They had actually said it.

And she had said it first.

Ethan’s mind was still reeling the next morning, almost positive he’d hallucinated the entire evening’s events. There was just no way such a perfect night could have happened between them so soon. He had been so worried that it would take him days, if not weeks, to get her to agree to spend time with him. The fact that she was willing to put aside her misgivings long enough to give him a real chance spoke volumes about her maturity—and her strength.

It was clear she had no interest in playing head games or doling out punishment; she simply wanted to get to a place where they could finally be together and put some real effort into it. For the first time since he’d met her, they were both on the same page.

And rather than feeling like a chore, it was absolute heaven. If their first date was any indication of the future, he wanted to spend the rest of his life putting effort into his time with Lily. How could something so enjoyable even be considered effort?

He was so proud to take her out in public, wanting to shout out to anyone who would listen that she was his. Everything about her was breathtaking, from her dress to her conversation, and what still amazed him was that it had all been so easy. He had fretted over whether they would be comfortable enough together to actually say more than five words to each other, but he’d worried for nothing. The moment they started speaking it was as if he had finally found his way home after a very long journey.

Lily was his home.

He already knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was madly in love with her, but it was news to him that she felt anything close to the same after everything he’d put her through. Thanks to her bravery and newfound ability of cutting through the bullshit, they already had their first declarations out of the way.

It was almost comical how simple it was to say the words when the moment came.

Ethan had been thinking them over and over in his mind on a constant loop for the entire evening, even during their phone call. He’d wanted nothing more than to blurt them out, but he was nervous that it was still too soon and they wouldn’t be received well. Thank goodness Lily had enough balls for the both of them, because once she put it out there, it was as easy as breathing to say it back.

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt his world shift, as if he’d been tilted off his axis for longer than he could remember, and telling her that he loved her had somehow set things right again. Now
she
was the center of his universe… but how could he make her believe it?

Sobering instantly at that thought, Ethan grabbed his phone and called one of his contacts. It was answered on the first ring.

“Foster, I wish you would stop checking up on me,” a gruff voice spoke in his ear.

“I will when you give me a set date,” he replied. “Any news?”

“I told you I would call you the second I heard anything, didn’t I? You’ve given me zero notice here. These things take time to organize—you should know that by now. Everyone has been booked up for months.”

“I can’t believe that’s the best you can do. What the fuck have I been paying you for all these years?”

“Well, with all due respect, you’ve never been on this side of it before. You were just the talent, and you were perfectly content to let Rachel handle all the gory details. She would have at least understood that what you are asking for now is damn near impossible.”

“Well Rachel’s not with me anymore, now is she, Greg? I guess that means you’re stuck with me. At least, if you still want my business, that is.”

A loud sigh could be heard on the other end. “Of course I still want your business. I’m not saying that it can’t be done, only that it might take longer than you want.”

“How long?”

“At least a good six to eight weeks.”

“Are you fucking
kidding
me?” Ethan shouted.

“That’s not unreasonable for the size of the venue you need, you have to understand that.”

“And you have to understand that I don’t have that kind of time. I need this done yesterday!”

“Would you please calm down? I’m doing the best I can, I promise you. I still have a few calls out, so nothing is final yet. I just wanted to prepare you for the worst.”

“Please just work your magic. I’m counting on you, Greg.”

“I know. Listen, Foster. All differences aside, I’m happy you’re working, and that you still thought of me for this.” His voice dropped to a whisper as he added, “I was very concerned that I wouldn’t hear from you again after the fiasco with Rachel.”

“Yes, well… I guess I should thank you for the concern.” He sighed loudly. “Last I heard, she was smearing my name everywhere to make room for her new protégé.”

“I wouldn’t be too concerned about that,” Greg replied. “The fucking kid is a joke. She can promote him all she wants, but he’ll never sell the way that you do.”

“I appreciate that. Hey, I’m sorry I’m being such a prick about this. I know Rachel usually handled this stuff for me, and she did a much better job at it. I just
really
need this, man.”

There was a beat before Greg spoke again, all business. “I think I have a few more contacts I can call. Somebody in Chicago owes me a favor.”

“Thanks, man,” Ethan said before ending the call.

Deciding that he needed something to lighten his mood, he opened his list of contacts again, glancing at the clock quickly as he pressed his favorite new number. It was already after 10 a.m. and he couldn’t help wondering what she’d been doing with her morning. Just thinking about hearing her voice again was putting a smile on his face and he hoped that she wouldn’t mind him calling her again so soon.

“Hello?” she practically purred when she answered. Well, perhaps she was speaking normally, but it sounded like a purr to him.

“Morning, beautiful,” he said, allowing his smile to stretch even wider across his face.

“Hi there,” she giggled, and he could practically see her blush. Just knowing that she was remembering their call from the night before was making him lightheaded—all of his blood flowing to a location farther south on his body.

“What have you been up to this morning?”

“Well, my dad just left. I make breakfast for us sometimes on Sunday mornings before he goes out hunting.”

“Still taking care of good old dad, huh?” he laughed.

“Not quite like before,” she chuckled. “Now it’s really just a way for us to stay in touch. Like I said, he misses me.”

“And your cats,” he smiled.

“And my cats, that’s right.”

“Well, I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m calling again so soon.”

“Not really, should I?” After a moment of silence in which he didn’t quite know how to respond, Lily continued. “You don’t need a reason to call me, Ethan. I’m happy simply talking to you and hearing your voice.”

He took a deep breath before finally speaking. “That’s really nice to know, Lily. That would make me happy too. But I actually did have something to ask you.”

“Alright, what is it?”

“I was wondering what you have planned for the rest of the day.”

“Laundry,” she said with a groan. “I was just about to head out to the laundromat.”

“Oh really?” he said excitedly, sitting up straighter on his bed. “Why don’t you do it over here?”

“I don’t know. I’d hate to impose.”

“Impose? I’m inviting you. I was hoping to spend some more time with you today anyway, so why not take advantage of our laundry room?”

“Really?” Lily said, biting her bottom lip in contemplation.

“Definitely. How about I come pick you up? You can throw your clothes in the wash and we can grab some lunch here while you wait. I know my mother would love to see you again.”

“Barbara will be there?”

“Yeah… is that alright? Oh man, I sound totally lame now, don’t I?” He laughed and began speaking in a higher voice to mimic a little boy. “Gee, Lily, wanna come play at my house? My mommy’s gonna make us lunch!”

“Don’t be silly,” she laughed. “I enjoy spending time there, and I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“I keep forgetting how well you know them all.”

“Does that still bother you?” she asked, remembering how angry he’d been when he first discovered their connection.

“No, not really. Although, I’ll admit that it’s a bit… disconcerting sometimes when I think about how much our lives seem to be intertwined.”

“I know what you mean,” she sighed. “It has a huge feeling of inevitability, doesn’t it?”

“Exactly!” he laughed. “But it also saves me a lot of time worrying and hoping that you’ll get along with my family.”

“You know, now that you mention it, I think this has all been a bit too easy for you,” Lily teased. “It’s like the universe just decided that you needed a new girlfriend and literally dropped one in your lap.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too. Once I finally pulled my head out of my ass, that is. But at least now I can appreciate it.” Lily was about to make another joke about him being the universe’s bitch when he suddenly spoke again in a near whisper. “You know, I like hearing you say that word.”