Little Things | An Original

8

Maeve

Dalton and I end the "grand tour" of my bookstore on the second floor. There's a lounge area for people to read and hang out, and more bookshelves to explore.

"This bookshelf is why I had to make my hours earlier," I say, smiling at him. It's the bookshelf by the wall, that kind of could be a hiding spot. College kids were coming here to make out in the late evenings, so the store now closes at 8.

"I can see why," Dalton says. "It's kind of hidden. Maybe a little romantic."

I smile, as Dalton gently puts his hand on my waist and pulls me closer. I wrap my arms around his neck, and he brings his mouth to mine. As soon as our lips connect, I lace my hand into the back of his hair. We move backward until I'm pressed against the wall, and the kiss gets even more heated.

"God, Maeve," he says in between kisses. "There are no lips like yours."

I lean my head back as Dalton trails kisses down my neck. "Ugh, I love it when you kiss my neck."

"I know, baby," he says. Now he's back to calling me baby. It feels like high school again. "Man, this must've been a primal make out spot," he says, once he's pulled away.

I laugh. "Yeah, I might have to rearrange the shelves a little bit. It could get us in trouble."

"Do you wanna come over and watch a movie?" Dalton asks. "You don't have to stay over if you don't want to, but we can hang out more."

"Sure," I say. "I just have to finish locking up, and then we can caravan over to your place."

"Sounds good," he says.

Once I've locked up the store, we both go to our cars, and I follow Dalton's car to his place. I park in the guest parking spot, and then we walk up to his apartment together.

"Need anything to drink?" he asks. "I have soda, water, lemonade."

"Lemonade sounds perfect," I say. Dalton pours us each a glass, and then we sit on the couch together. He puts his hand on my thigh, and I lean against Dalton's arm.

We pick a movie, but we don't pay very much attention to it. Like most teenagers would, we take advantage of the movie time to make out, which leads us to taking our clothes off. Dalton gets up from the couch to go grab a condom from his room, and then we get right back down to business.

Dalton and I both groan when he goes deep into me on the first thrust.

"Wow, that feels so good," I say.

"I can't get enough of you, Peach," Dalton says, as we find a good rhythm.

"If you keep going deep like that, I'm not going to last much longer," I say. He has always known exactly the things that make me feel incredible.

He thumbs my clit, making me arch against his chest. "How does that feel, baby?"

"So good," I say. "Oh my god."

"Do you wanna come for me?" Dalton asks, coaxing me further along the edge.

"Please," I say. "Let me come."

"Tell me what you need, baby."

"Keep pressing my clit like that."

He does exactly what I ask, also thrusting a little bit faster, which sends me over the edge in less than another minute. Dalton isn't too far behind. Once we're both finished, he goes to the bathroom to throw the condom away, and to get a towel to clean me up.

A few minutes later, we're dressed again and just cuddling while we watch the rest of the movie.

"Ugh, I don't feel like driving home," I say. "But my car is here."

"You can stay here if you'd like," Dalton says, softly playing with my hair.

"No, I should go home," I say. "My parents don't know I'm seeing anyone yet, and they'll be a little suspicious."

Dalton smiles. "Okay, I get it. My parents don't know either."

"We really are the same as we were, aren't we?" I ask, before pressing my lips to his.

"Feels like it," Dalton says.

"I'll tell them on Thursday when we have our next date," I say. "Just a warning, they'll beg me to bring you to Sunday dinner. Especially cause you're not a stranger."

"Anything you want, I'll do," Dalton says. "Ball is in your court, baby."

I press my lips to his again. "Thank you. I really appreciate you."

"We go at your pace, okay?" Dalton says. "I know you were in a rough relationship before, so I want to make this as easy as possible for you. That's what you deserve."

"You have no idea how much that means to me, Dalton. You truly have such a good heart."

"I care a lot about you, Peach," he says. "If we're going to be serious at some point, I don't want you to rush into this with me. I want this all to be on your terms, just say the words, and I'm there."

I smile. "Okay. I will," I say. "I think for now, we should just take it day by day and try to hang out at least a couple times a week. Obviously we're both adults with real jobs now, which means we're both busy.  It my late nights at the store don't mean I don't still wanna come see you after work sometimes."

"You're welcome to come over any day, Maeve."

"And you're always welcome to swing by the store. My parents can get a little overwhelming when it comes to me bringing someone home, so I think we should wait a while on that. They'll be really excited to hear that we reconnected, though. I do want this to turn into something serious eventually. It feels like we're picking up right where we left off before you went to college. This feels good. Good to be back. Good to have you in my life again. The thought of you eventually being in my daily routine excites me, which is a good sign. With my last relationship, the thought of that terrified me, and then I almost married him because I felt trapped."

"I'm never going to put pressure on you like that," Dalton says.

"I know. Because I know you, and you are the most kind and considerate person in the world. These little things are what matter to me the most, you know. I really appreciate them. It means a lot to me that you always consider my thought and feelings about every situation."

"I just want you to be happy, and I want us to be happy together as well. I know how beautiful your little heart is, as well as your intelligent mind, and I'd do anything to keep those things in my life."

I smile, wrapping my arms around his neck and laying my head on his chest. "You're making it really easy to get past my writing block."

Dalton chuckles. "I'm glad you're still writing."

"A little. Not as much as I used to. I'm trying to get back into it, though. I want to write a book in the next two years."

"I'll be the first to buy a copy. Right from your bookstore, of course."

I giggle. "I'll autograph it for you."

Dalton kisses the top of my head, still mindlessly playing with my hair. "I wish you could stay longer. We're so cozy right now. I could play with your hair forever."

"I know," I say. "I like it when you play with my hair. It feels good. I guess I could stick around for a little bit longer. We are so cozy right now."

Dalton's other hand dances with mine, our fingers playing together.

"Stay as long as you feel like, Peach," he says.

"Okay," I say. "I can always just tell my parents I was swamped at the store tonight."

Dalton kisses my forehead. "Sounds like a good plan."