Love Lock | Michaeng

Chapter 43 - Not Just for One Night

Mina

I expected more after she went down on me. But she picked up my pants and carefully bunched them up over my ankles like she was dressing a child. I watched her, deft hands, toned arms—one that should probably still be in a sling—and a look of satisfied concentration on her face.

"Don't you want me to..." I trail off, rolling my wrist to explain my train of thought and realizing I feel a little shy. A little lost for words. A little out of my element.

What she did? The things she said? They shouldn't have felt so momentous, but they did. And it terrified me. She isn't just some hot one-night stand anymore. She's the mother of our little girl. I'll be connected to her for the rest of my life, whether or not I want to be.

Whether or not she wants me.

This could be everything. Or it could be the biggest disaster of my life.

So when she smirks, rakes her eyes over me as I fix my fucked-up ponytail, and says, "Nah. I'm good," my mind goes crazy.

She grips my chin and presses a hard kiss to my mouth before turning away to finish closing the gym. I taste myself, but all I can focus on are those two words echoing in my head.

"Nah, I'm good."

I'm good.

As in, it satisfied her too?

Or like.. Ew, no thanks?

She spent countless minutes divulging all the things she likes about me. It seems unlikely she wouldn't want to do more. And yet, that's where my brain is trained to go.

My dad chose someone else.

My husband chose someone else. He chose my sister.

And I don't resent her for it. I resent myself, because what is it about me that is so profoundly unlovable? I feel like I'm on a constant mission to figure that one thing out. I'm not offended by it. I just to know what it is so I can fix it.

"Ready?" Chaeyoung's voice startles me. My head snaps up to her from where I sit on the bench, lost in thought. Her eyes lick up and down over me and my traitor body shivers in response.

I offer back a nod, which makes the annoying smile pop up on Chaeyoung's face. She's biting back the smirk, but she still winks.

My stomach flips. Every time she does that, I remember her pumping gas the night I met her. She was hot then, but with another couple of years on her, she's changed again. At twenty-eight, she's more woman than girl. She's more... overwhelming. And she's got a maturity about her, a wise streak I find comforting. She's playful but not flighty. Fun but dependable.

If I had to fuck a stranger and get knocked up, I picked a good one. If nothing else, Violet will have a great mom in her life.

"Did I kill some brain cells, Doctor Myoui?"

I realize I'm just standing in the now darkened gym, staring at Chaeyoung like it's my default mode.

Chaeyoung reaches for my hand, and I take it. My body moves toward her without me even thinking about it. Without me even admitting I want to.

Her warm palm is calloused, proof of the years spent hanging on to a bull rope every weekend and lifting weights during the week. Her thumb grazes the top of my head as she sets the alarm system and leads me into the warm summer night.

With only the crunching of our feet on the loose gravel in the back lane, I finally say what I've been thinking.

"I feel like I owe you."

"Owe me what?" Her voice is smooth, and velvety tonight, and it brushes up against my skin. It soothes me.

"Sex, or something."

"Or something? Now that part has me interested. What is the 'or something'?" She cracks the joke, not realizing the way my mind can take it, spin it, and twist into something she never meant for it to be. Like she wouldn't want the sex.

"Funny." I glance down at our hands as she takes her fingers and threads them through mine.

"Hey." Her tone is less playful now, and I can't meet her eyes. "Don't drop your head like that. Stop thinking whatever you're thinking, because I guarantee it's wrong."

She stops, tugging me to face her, and lifts my chin with a bent knuckle. "Mina."

Inky eyes and hair, golden skin; the darkness of the night gives her an edge.

I lick my lips. "Chaeyoung."

"Yeah, Belle?"

"I don't understand what's happening here. The things you say. The things you do. Everything that's happened. It doesn't make sense. I can't figure it out."

She tilts her head, as if she's trying to figure me out from a different perspective. "What's happening here is Miss Independent met the treat-her-like-a-princess person, and she's freaking out."

I roll my eyes. "That's ridiculous."

"You only think you owe me something because you've spent too long dating assholes who are terrible lays. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. Stop overthinking it. Plus, my face is the ride." Her lips twitch and I mirror the motion.

"You're insane." I pull away, trying to hide my laughter. But I don't let go of her hand as we round the end of the block, heading back toward our respective houses.

"But it's a nice face, isn't it? If you had to ride one?"

Laughter bubbles up in me. It fills my chest and clogs my throat. It bursts from me like a song I can't resist singing. It sounds foreign to me, light and musical.

God. Am I giggling?

Her mouth slants over mine and she swallows my laughter like she wants to keep it for herself.

She created it, so I suppose it's only fair I give it back to her. Our fingers stay linked and her opposite hand dusts over my jaw with a light tremor.

Soft lips. Soft hair. Soft sighs. It's not a long kiss, but it's a heart-rending one. Natural, as though she couldn't help herself.

And not for the first time tonight, I feel wanted.

When she pulls away, I leave my eyes shut for a moment, letting this feeling warm me. Because it's fleeting and I want to remember it.

My eyes are still closed when she leans in and says, "Next time, you ride my face. You're going to ask for it. Beg for it. Work for it even. You will tell me exactly what you want, and I will give it to you. But this isn't happening again until that time. Until you know what you want. Because I want you, Mina. And not just for one night."

With that, she takes my breath and pulls me along with her down the quiet, tree-lined street. My brain goes from freaking out about Chaeyoung to freaking out about the woman sitting on her front step.

I know I shouldn't.

She says I've been part of her plan. But I'm terrified to believe it.