Chapter 2

“Mor! Don’t stop, please!” Her body was strained as her orgasm reared its head.

I grabbed at the slippery clit sucker and tried to dry the handle while I connected it with her again.

“Yes! Oh, that feels so good.”

I thrust, and circled her clit with the toy until she was shaking again under me. She pulled harshly at the sheets on the bed, unsnapping them at the moment of her climax.

I slowly brought down the vibration on the toy, and thrust a few more times. I panted as my heart slowed down, wiping at my eyes that were starting to blur with the sweat around them.

I collapsed next to her, and she reached over me, clumsily, to grab at the butt plug remote.

She finally got it, and pushed it so the silence in the room was deafening with the absence of buzzing, screams, and slaps.

“Geez. I know I told you to fuck my brains out but omigawd! That was nice.” She sighed out.

“Yeah! I’m tired though. Angry sex makes you more tired than normal sex.”

She spluttered out a laugh. “I wouldn’t call it angry sex.”

“No? What would you call it?”

“Passionate sex that ensues from an altered state.”

“So sex after arguing.”

“You’re the one that went with it.” She countered with challenge in her eyes.

“And I’d do it again.”

“Oh yeah! Just not tonight! You’re right. Tonight, we were a little more… athletic.”

I kissed her chastely, and she gripped my chin to keep me there for a moment.

I grinned lopsidedly at her, and she grinned back. Getting up and washing all the drying come on the toys, I paused to watch as she took the butt plug out of her ass. I loved watching her do it. She had a concentrated look on her face as she felt the last bit of pleasure. She set it down on the sink next to me, waiting in line to be washed then moved around to clean up, and do her nightly routine of a million lotions and goops.

“Tea, babe?” I asked as I put everything away.

“Yes, please! The peach one.”

“Okay!” I called back.

I came back with her tea and waters. She was wearing her reading glasses and glanced at a her copy of Vogue in between putting lotion on her neck. Her eyes looked slightly bigger.

“What?” She asked as I handed her her tea.

“You look sexy in your glasses.”

She scoffed, and blew on the hot tea.

“Yeah! It’s like a sexy teacher or librarian vibe. Maybe we could do a role play with them one of these days.”

She pressed her mouth together in appreciation and nodded.

“Yeah! That would be hot. You play the part of naughty student perfectly.” She sipped as she stared me down behind the lid of the mug.

“Su. You know how to make my heart race with just a look. Everything you do is perfect.”

She smiled brilliantly.

“I’m sorry I lost sight of that today.” I sighed out sadly, grimacing.

“Next time, why don’t you talk to me first, okay? Your heart was in the right place. So we can work together to do something nice.”

“Yeah. That makes sense. Maybe we can spend the day with her to start. I promise I won’t bring anything up until she does. When she needs to.”

“Sounds great, love.”

I kissed her softly one last time, and went to my side of the bed to read on my phone for a little bit. I lamented the fact we weren’t naked a few times before we fell asleep. As we started to wind down, she stripped off her clothes. I raised my eyebrow as I looked at her movements.

“Take your clothes off too.” She said casually.

I obeyed, then went to lie down. She turned off the lights, then came to drape her body and leg over me, settling her warm center over my thigh.

“I don’t like sleeping with clothes on next to you.”

I squeezed her shoulder with my fingers. “Me neither. I want you naked 24/7 from now on. I decree it, so it shall be so.”

She giggled softly. “Yes, milord. Whatever you say.”

We slept without blankets or sheets because it was hot and muggy that summer night.

An errant gust of hot air blew threw the open window, permeating the room with the smell of summer.

I was folding my underwear and trying to count one for each night I’d be out on my book tour while being prepped by an annoying Suzie.

“What if a groupie asks what your ‘writing process’ is like, then what do you say?”

“I would say I get all my inspiration from my girlfriend whom I’ve been with for five years.”

She mimicked a wrong buzzer. “Wrong! You don’t even give her the time of day! You tell her to go to hell.”

“Babe, come on! I’m going to be on a writer’s panel. I can’t ignore questions about writing.”

“Okay, but watch their tone. If it starts getting flirty then you get out of there.”

“And what if someone asks you to sign their breast?”

“Oh, that reminds me! I have to bring my non-toxic marker.” I made to go root around my desk, and she immediately came to turn me around against the hard wood.

“You behave out there with all the bikini girls, Mor.” She threatened.

“I will, and I’ll be eagerly waiting for my own Venus De Milo to join me in sunny Los Angeles.”

“I’ll be there every weekend and for a couple of days more in two weeks.”

I smiled and kissed her. “How are you going to live without my tender lovin’ every day though?” My hands were clasped at the small of her back.

“I shall waste away in a plume of frustrated sexual pheromones.”

“Me too. Maybe you can send me sexy pictures, and I might not die.”

“Maybe you can send me sexy pictures, and I’ll remember how much I like to go down on you.”

“Yeah! Totally. We can do that right now. For, like, the road, you know?”

“You’re late to the airport, Mor. You should have thought about sex earlier.”

“Damn! If only I’d known the last time we coupled, it would be our last!” I shouted dramatically as I zipped my luggage up, adding my toothbrush from the bathroom at the last minute. “I would have enjoyed our sexual union all the more.”

“I think you enjoyed yourself just fine.” She rolled her eyes. “Especially that thing I did at the end.”

My brain stopped as I remembered her rimming me early that morning. “Yeah.” I said dreamily.

“Mor! Come on! Hurry up!”

“Right. Right.” I stuffed a suit in a garment bag and attached it to my luggage. “Okay, cables, undies, shoes, hair product.” I rattled off.

“Take your butt plug and a vibrator.”

“What? In case I get lonely?”

“The butt plug has an application.”

“Oh! That will be fun then!” I eagerly packed them, along with the charger. “You’re taking me to the airport?”

“Yep! I want to see you off.”

“Okay! Thank you, dear! I’m ready.”

“Let’s go! My car hardly ever gets driven.”

“Oh! I forgot to tell you! We’ve been using your car to pretend Jesse is more important.” Jesse was my best friend.

“Yeah! Sometimes Jesse calls and asks to be picked up from lunch or from someone’s office, so I dress up like a driver, and pick him up in your Mercedes. He even rides in the back.”

“Omigawd! You’re a good friend.”

“I swear this financial guy’s eyes bugged out when he saw it, and bought three of Jesse’s paintings later that week.”

She laughed. “I’m happy Mercy could help.”

We got in her sleek car and it rumbled quietly, taking each turn smoothly with the sheer weight of it.

She took my hand over the console and squeezed it.

“I am going to miss you, you know.”

“I know.” I said quietly. “I’m going to miss you too.”

We pulled up to the Departures terminal, and she got out to help me.

“Bye, darling. I can’t wait ’til the weekend when you visit.”

She hugged me, and held onto my neck.

“Goodbye, love. You’re going to be amazing.”

I kissed her, and she moved her lips quickly over mine. I felt the wetness of her mouth, and the fact I couldn’t have this whenever I wanted for the next couple of weeks made me enjoy her hot breath over my lips all the more.

Her body in my arms was my home, and I felt more homesick hugging her than the thought of leaving our apartment.

My plane ride was lovely. I made a quick layover in Dallas, and had some airport food that was an okay facsimile of the Texan meat-centered world.

Getting off the plane in LA was bittersweet. I didn’t have Suzie with me but the damn sun was so welcoming. I was tired from the trip but I had to see Sully first thing.

I found my driver, and he took me to Sully’s hotel. Sully was my editor/publicist. When I didn’t like his editing, he backed off or outsourced it, but he was the one that had held my hand from the very beginning.

He was overly frugal and didn’t get a nice place. Everything smelled like hospital when I got there.

I knocked on his hotel door.

“Moriah! Please come in! Would you like a drink and food?”

“Yeah! Thanks. Good to see you, Sul.”

“Please sit down, dear.”

I sat at the couch in front of the kitchenette. I wondered vaguely if he would splurge for actual lox with my bagel for his favorite client.

He toasted the bagel I knew he’d brought from Boston, then took out the package of cream cheese from the fridge.

“How have you been, Moriah?”

“Good, thanks! I’ve been outlining the new novel.”

“Okay. Any thoughts to a sequel to In the Nest?”

“No, Sully. I don’t want to do that.”

“Never say never, Moriah. You may be struck with inspiration to turn it into a saga.”

“Yeah, maybe.” I hedged. I was tired of people asking for more books of that world. I didn’t want to do it.

“Hm. So this week is podcasts tomorrow, a radio show on Thursday, a TV morning show on Thursday right after that.”

“Did you say a radio show AND a TV show on the same day?”

“Yes! The radio show will be pre-recorded and then we can go live on Good Morning LA.”

“So what time will that be?”

“The radio show is at six AM and the daily show is at ten.”

“Moriah, if you want to put in the work, I’m here. But if you’re not willing–“

“I didn’t say that. I just didn’t know I was waking up at five AM this week, Sully.” I leveled a gaze at him.

“We have to be there at 5:30. You’ll thank me later.”

“Hm.” I curbed my mouth. I had a few choice words for him but wasn’t planning on antagonizing him this early. I’d planned to wait until I was completely fed up to lash out at him. It was probably going to happen sometime this week anyway. I went to get a couple of beers and handed him one. “Okay, got it. Go on.”

“Great! So Thursday night is dinner with the board at USC and we’ll be utterly grateful for our slot in the Friday and Saturday activities at the book fair.”

“Then Friday morning is the first day of the fair. We’ll be at our booth and go visit other booths through the day. Saturday morning is the panel. You got my email with the talking points right?”

“Yes, I did. They’re pretty wide.”

“These kids don’t know what to ask. Just make them feel great about being an author and you’ll be okay.”

“Okay.” I muttered nervously.

“Oh! Friday night will also be dinner with the publishing company. I know for sure Thomas will be there and maybe Gerard. But I don’t know who else.”

“Okay. I think Suzie will be there. She should be getting in Friday around midday.”

I frowned. Did he like my girlfriend more than me? “Yeah. So make sure there’s a place for her at dinner, please.”

He seemed way too eager.

“Excellent! The guys’ wives should be there too.” He clapped his hands together. “So! Saturday after the panel, we’ll go back to our booth to meet with anyone who follows you back there. Then we’ll have an early supper and head into another podcast.”

“Okay.” Already, I was dreading the horrible itinerary but I knew I had to show a measure of gratitude to this man who’d taken me from one rough manuscript to a smattering of successes across three different genres that excited me. He’d generated more money for me than I would have hoped for.

“Thanks Sully! The week sounds great!” I plastered on a smile, and his returning grin was so sweet. “So what time should I meet you tomorrow then?”

“Let’s do eleven AM brunch, and we can plan a little more.”

“Okay, I’m super tired so I’ll go back to my hotel.”

“All right! I’m excited, Mor! I hope you are too!”

“So excited, Sully!”

My grin dropped as soon as I was out of his room. The reach all of these activities had were still hazy in my mind. Book tours were practically obsolete, and I honestly didn’t know if my own pride was the one fighting against this parade of literature or if it was a woebegone feeling of being redundant in today’s world.