Chapter 9

Chris and I had mostly been hanging at the bar throughout the night. That way, we could also spend time with Rachel, who again had to work on a holiday. She was mostly busy, but she always found a way to stop by where we sat and talk—especially with Chris there, I knew.

There was no way for me to unsee the undeniable chemistry between the two of them now, and after an hour of watching them passive-aggressively flirt with each other, I had decided to make myself scarce.

“I was just around,” I told Chris now, taking a sip of my beer. “I wanted to give you guys some room. You know—for when you finally go for it with Rachel. How are you feeling?”

It was Chris’ plan now to be the guy Rachel kisses when the clock struck at midnight, and I knew how anxious he must be feeling even as he grinned.

“I’m so nervous, I think I’m gonna pass out,” he joked before he decided to confuse me with his next words. “Well, how about you? Aren’t you going for it?”

“Huh?” I asked, having no idea what he meant.

“With Thea,” Chris clarified with a grin.

I rolled my eyes at him before sadly shaking my head. “Thea doesn’t want me.” I reminded him.

“What are you talking about?” Chris asked, looking at me as if I had grown two heads. “You slept together. I think that says a lot about her wanting you.”

“You know what I mean,” I frowned. “I told you, Thea said she doesn’t want to be with someone who’s hung up on someone one else.”

“Am I what?” I shot back.

“Still hung up on someone else?”

“No, of course not!” I said, feeling a bit annoyed that Chris thought he still had to ask. I looked away and took a sip of my beer, then nearly choked as the full implication of what Chris was trying to tell me finally hit me and I sucked in a breath.

I still might have a shot with Thea.

Chris patted my back while I coughed and sputtered, and I turned to him, my eyes filled with both fear and excitement while hope continued to rise in my chest.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Chris asked impatiently. “Go!”

It was about ten minutes to midnight by the time I got back to the loft. I would have liked to have gotten there sooner, but I had to make a few stops on the way. I wanted to make sure I did this as right as I possibly could.

Thea was sitting on the sofa when I got in. She had her back turned to me and was watching a New Year’s Countdown on TV, oblivious to my presence. I set one of the paper bags I had in my hand down gently on the dining table, and took a deep breath before I approached.

“Thea,” I began as I neared, and she glanced towards me in surprise. She looked away quickly, her movements suggesting that she was wiping away at her cheeks, and I thought I heard her sniff a couple of times.

My heart went out to her, knowing how much she must be missing her family tonight.

“I didn’t expect anyone to be home this early,” Thea sniffed again, still dabbing at her eyes as I stood in front of her, and I watched a frown slightly crease her forehead when she finally looked at me. “What are you—? Why are you—?”

“I didn’t want you to be alone tonight,” I told her when she couldn’t seem to finish her question.

I grabbed the remote control from the coffee table and muted the TV behind me before turning back to her. This was it, and I needed Thea’s undivided attention before I spoke further.

“I thought, maybe we could have a New Year’s Eve dinner, like you would if you were home. I stopped by at this Filipino restaurant and got us some food for média noché.” I told her, noting the surprise on Thea’s face as I continued. “Then I asked one of the guys that worked there about how Filipinos would celebrate at home, and I also got us these.”

I took a step closer, holding up a paper bag. I smiled nervously, my heart beating at a furious rate. I could see fresh tears brimming in Thea’s eyes, but I couldn’t read her expression and I didn’t know what to make of it. I pushed through anyway, reaching in the bag and showing Thea each item as I continued.

“Dotted shirts, for good luck. Horns, so we can make as much noise as we can after midnight and chase the bad spirits away. And then later, I thought maybe we could go up the roof and light up these sparklers.” I said, looking down as I placed everything back in the bag. “I know how much you miss your family, and I thought maybe you would want to feel as close to being home as possible.”

I took a deep breath and looked her squarely in the eyes.

“I only want you, Thea.” I said. “I didn’t figure it out until Christmas Eve, and I wish I hadn’t been such a stubborn idiot and figured it out sooner. And I know you don’t believe me but, I’m not hung up on Rachel, okay? I mean, did it hurt when she rejected me? Sure, maybe a little—but even then I knew that it was just my ego being bruised and it was all up here.”

I paused, briefly pointing to my head and only then realizing that I was forgetting to breathe. Thea still hadn’t moved or said anything, and I swallowed, desperate to keep my courage afloat.

“But when you told me you didn’t want me, I was devastated. And I felt that pain right here,” I went on, this time pointing to the center of my chest, where my heart was. “And I knew right away that whatever I had felt for Rachel was nothing compared to what I feel for you.”

“Stop.” Thea finally said, shaking her head as she stood.

I felt a sudden panic then that she was about to walk out on me. She was crying again, and I didn’t know if it was because she was angry or sad or what. It was hard to tell with my own eyes blurring up.

“No, wait! Please, just hear me out,” I pleaded, frantically trying to speak as fast as I could. “Look, I know I messed up, Thea, and I’m sorry! If I could go back in time and do everything right with you, I would. But I know that isn’t possible so, I guess, all I’m hoping for now is that you’d tell me there’s still a chance for—”

“Liv! Just shut up!” Thea insisted more loudly, and I stopped.

It was my turn to be confused as I watched Thea take the remote from the coffee table. She took a step forward as she pointed at the TV and turned it up, causing me to look towards the sudden sound.

“4…! 3…! 2…!” Multiple voices emanated from the screen to bring the New Year in.

I turned back towards Thea in confused frustration, only to find her standing right in front of me. I met her gaze, my eyes searching hers for some sort of explanation, and Thea gave it to me.

“One.” She smiled, reaching out to cup my cheeks, right before she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against mine.

Thea kissed me slow and deep, and my hand instinctively went to her waist as my mouth welcomed her tongue. I held her close, drowning in her taste over and over, and wishing I would never have to let her go.

It was a long moment before Thea pulled away.

“Happy New Year,” she smiled at me.

I smiled back, but the question was still there in my eyes and Thea saw it.

“I’m done fighting this,” Thea explained with a little shake of her head, her eyes never leaving mine. “I had been sitting on that couch, crying all night, but it wasn’t my family that I was missing—it was you. All I could think about was how much I wanted to spend tonight with you, and then there you were. Turns out, that was all I really needed.”

It was all I needed, too, and I kissed her again with all the want and need that I had been feeling over the last few days. Thea swiftly matched my urgency and we began to move, both of us knowing exactly where our kiss was leading to.

We quickly found ourselves in Thea’s bedroom, smiling at each other as we finally broke the kiss and started working on each other’s clothes. It was easier for me to get Thea’s oversized shirt and boxers off than it was for her to remove my jeans and, eventually, I had to help her out.

Thea moved to her bed, completely naked as she laid herself down. Those brown eyes never left mine, growing only hungrier as she watched me hurriedly take the garment off.

She lifted herself up once I had freed myself from clothing, her hands reaching and pulling me with her as I cradled her back down. My mouth took hers in a leisurely kiss, wanting to savor the feel of her tongue dancing with mine once again, but the rest of me couldn’t wait.

My hands roamed eagerly over her skin, only briefly reaching to graze and squeeze a perfect breast before moving to seek her warmth. We ended up moaning against each other’s lips when I found her wetness, with Thea’s moan lengthening into a soft cry as two of my fingers deeply sank into her readily waiting cunt.

I tore my mouth away from hers, breathless over the sensations running through my entire body in that moment. But Thea couldn’t wait either, and I gasped, feeling her fingers pressing insistently into my own sopping entrance.

“Oh, fuuuuck!” I groaned as she slowly and deeply filled my pussy until she was buried to the hilt. I sank my teeth into Thea’s left shoulder, barely able to keep myself from exploding right then and there.

We began moving together, our hips steadily meeting the thrusts of our fingers, and it wasn’t long before our rhythms increased. Our moans grew louder as our bodies strained towards our pleasure, and there was nothing else in that moment but the feel of Thea’s tightening pussy around my fingers—and the orgasm that her fingers were stirring inside me as they relentlessly rammed my hungry cunt.

I felt Thea tighten around me one last time, her warm flesh wrapping my fingers in a vise-like grip, and I watched as she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, her delicious lips parted in a silent cry.

“Oh my Godddd!” Thea finally moaned as she came, her hips bucking wildly off the bed.

Her flesh pulled and pulsed around my fingers, drawing me in further as the muscles on her thighs strained. She bit her lip as her fingers curled inside me, and it was that single, gentle stroke that finally sent me over the edge right along with her.

My orgasm exploded, coursing in luscious jolts of pleasure that had my entire body shaking as I arched against Thea’s hand. Our cries continued on, mingling endlessly as we continued to bury ourselves deeper into each other’s warmth…

“No, where are you going?” I protested a couple of hours later, my arms weakly reaching as I watched Thea move off the foot of her bed and disappear behind it. “Come back to bed!”

I propped myself on my elbows, hearing the rustle of paper and curiously waiting to find out what Thea was up to. She reappeared a few seconds later, slipping into one of the dotted shirts I had bought for us as she stood up.

“Still wanna go up the roof and light up some sparklers?” Thea grinned, beaming proudly at me as she held up the paper bag that I had discarded earlier on her bedroom floor.

But there was something about watching that soft cotton falling down across her naked form that had stirred my lust up once again, and I shook my head at her. I pulled myself up slowly, and Thea’s eyes drank me in as I began to crawl on the bed towards her, naked. I hooked a finger under the hem of her shirt, pulling her close as I knelt in front of her.

“No,” I told her, kissing her quick and deep. I kissed her again, and again, offering an alternative in between. “But we can make some more noise… if you’re up for it… You know… just to make sure we get all the bad jujus out.”

I grinned after saying the words, and Thea smiled against my lips as she began returning my kisses with more and more hunger.

“Hmmn. Well, we certainly don’t want any bad jujus lying around, do we?” She laughingly agreed as she finally climbed back into bed with me.