Stick to the Plan

Ch.5: Home Again🚗

"I've never met a girl like you,"

Morgan told me as we lay side by side on the blanket, looking up at the stars. Not for the first time I wished I could capture them; in a painting or a picture. But it was futile to do so. They would never look as good as they do in person.

Kind of like Morgan.

"Why's that?" I asked. "You're so beautiful. You should have all kinds of girls falling at your feet."

"I do have that. But it's not all it's cracked up to be. Yes, I meet a lot of girls, but it's hard to find one who's.... genuine. Most girls here are obsessed with themselves and think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread, but in reality they've spent so long chasing some false image of themselves that they're left with hardly any personality. But you're different. You maintained your character. You know who you are and aren't afraid to be that, which is so sexy," Morgan said.

"Wow. Thank you. No one has ever said that about me," I told her honestly, grasping her hand in mine. She sighed happily.

"I'm surprised to hear that. No one has ever called you sexy before?" Morgan asked, crawling on top of me again. This was getting dangerous. If she got me going again we'd be here all night, until the sun appeared once more.

"No one has ever said that about me is sexy," I said, running my hands up her arms.

"Weird," she said. "So what did they tell you?"

I scrunched my face up in thought,

"'She's got a fat ass, but she's no good,'" I quoted my ex's message to her best friend. I wasn't even really looking for it. I was trying to send myself some pictures we'd taken and it just popped up. I accidentally clicked on the notification and saw that they were discussing me.

That was the day before we broke up.

I wanted to hold onto something with her. I don't know what. Maybe the validation. Maybe the sometimes cute moments we had together. Or maybe none of that mattered in the wake of how she treated me. She never hit me, never put her hands on me unless it was for sex, but it was subtle things; emotional manipulation, hurting my fragile cancer feelings purposefully. And let's not even talk about how many times she pressured me into having sex with her when I wasn't even in the mood.

That's why I think it's better when I go after what I want. Like tonight, and like every other night after this starting now.

"Wow. That's not very nice. No good? What couldn't be good about you?" Morgan complimented, making me blush in the light of the dying fire.

"She was convinced I was a bad person. I think she was projecting all her insecurities onto me," I explained, hitting it right on the head. "But enough about her." My hands slid up her smooth back. "Let's talk about you." Now they cupped her ass. "I've never been fucked like that before."

"Fucked like what?" Morgan asked innocently despite what she just did to me.

"Like someone cared about me," I said simply, pushing her butt into my hips gently.

"That's not fair," Morgan told me, her own hands supporting herself on either side of me.

"I guess," I replied. "I never cared enough about myself. What made me think others would?" I said sadly.

"I do," Morgan said out of the blue, and my heart sped up. No one has ever said they cared. It was so confusing.

"Why? You just met me," I said. Morgan made a pouty face.

"I just know, ya know?" Morgan admitted. I guess it was the wine coolers hitting her. She did have a lot of them, I'd say most of the pack.

"Well, I'm glad you know," I said, putting my hand on her chest.

She bent low to kiss me, and again I was transported to another dimension.

🏖🏖🏖

Later, in my car, after putting the fire out and then making out for what felt like an eternity, I dropped Morgan off at her apartment. It was a nice modern place, and each unit had a balcony. I helped her carry some things inside. By now it was 2AM, and I was crazy tired.

Morgan's apartment had a nice clean feel to it. Everything seemed to be in order. I heard feet clacking on the floor after she unlocked the door, and she was talking to something,

"How's my sweet baby boy?" she cooed. A short bark in return. I craned my neck over her shoulder to see a tan French Bulldog with a baby blue bandana around his neck.

Absolutely adorable.

I put the blankets and snacks down to pet him. His tail was wiggling wildly, and he was snuffling at my hand, already trusting me.

"What's his name?" I asked.

"Holden Caulfield," Morgan said simply, and I squealed.

"I love that book," I said, rubbing Holden behind the ears.

"Me too," Morgan said, bending down to do the same.

"I can tell," I teased, shoving her shoulder playfully. She shoved back, matching my energy.

After petting Holden for a while I yawned, stretched, and told Morgan I should head home. She frowned, unsatisfied with my statement.

"Before you go, what did you mean about that plan thing?" Morgan asked curiously. I was lost until I recalled what I said after the sex.

"Oh! That! It's nothing. It's actually kind of embarrassing..." I trailed off. Morgan shook her head, now-dried curls flying back and forth.

"Tell me. I'm sure it's not that bad," she encouraged.

"Fine. So I moved here from Alabama a few days ago, and I had this plan of action to change my life around, because it wasn't exactly ideal where I came from. My plan was to find someone to connect with," I said, my face growing warm. This felt stupid, explaining to her my plan. But she didn't judge me at all, just gave me a smirk.

"And did you find what you were looking for?" She asked slyly, grabbing my hips and pulling me close. I was breathless in an instant.

"Definitely."

We kissed vigorously, and before I gave myself to her again, I left, most likely doing the right thing at this ungodly hour.

I got in my car and started it, following the GPS home, feeling rather content. But in the next moment not so much.

Eyes widened as the realization hit me.

I'd never gotten her number.