Often (Book 1)

Chapter 16 - M

Hanni

We slowly returned from orbit, and with limbs tangled in the sheets, talked for hours about our day, about the meeting with Gugliotti, about her dinner and my night out with friends. We talked about the broken desk, and that I only packed enough underwear for a week, so she couldn't ruin any more.

We talked about everything except the havoc she was wreaking on my heart.

I ran a finger down her chest and she stilled it with her hand, bringing it to her lips and saying, "It's nice to talk to you."

I laughed, pushing her hair off her forehead. "You talk to me every day. And when I say talk, I mean yell. Shout. Slam doors. Pout—"

With her fingertips, she drew spirals over my bare stomach, distracting me. "You know what I mean."

I did. I knew exactly what she meant, and I wanted to find a way to stretch this moment, right there, into eternity. "So tell me something."

She raised her eyes to my face, smiling a little nervously. "What do you want to know?"

"Honestly? I think I want to know everything. But let's start small. Give me the history of Minji's women."

She ran a long finger across her eyebrow and repeated in a laugh, "Let's start small. Riiiight." She cleared her throat and then looked at me. "A few in high school, some in college, some in grad school. Some after grad school. And then, one long-term relationship when I lived in France."

"Details?" I twisted a strand of her hair around my finger, hoping I wasn't pushing her too much.

But to my surprise, she answered without hesitation. "Her name was Lucy. She was an attorney at a small firm in Paris. We were together for three years and broke up a few months before I moved home."

"Was that why you moved home?"

A smile tugged at one corner of her mouth. "No."

"Did she break your heart?"

The smile turned into a full-on smirk directed at me. "No, Hanni."

"Did you break hers?" Why was I even asking this? Did I want her to say—yes? I knew she was capable of breaking hearts. I was actually fairly certain she would break mine.

She bent to kiss me then, sucking on my lower lip for a few moments before whispering, "No. We just didn't work anymore. My romantic life was entirely without drama. Until you."

I laughed. "Happy to change up the pattern."

I could feel her laugh in the vibrations along my skin as she kissed up my neck. "And oh, you do." Long fingers made their way down my stomach, to my hips, and finally, between my legs. "Your turn."

"To have an orgasm? Yes, please."

She circled a lazy finger around my clit before sliding it inside me. She knew my body better than I did. When did that happen?

"No," she murmured. "Your turn to spill your history."

"No way can I think about anything when you're doing that."

With a kiss to my shoulder, she moved her hand back to my stomach, drawing circles there once again.

I pouted but she missed it, watching her fingers on me instead. "God, there have been so many men, where will I ever begin?"

"Hanni," she warned.

"A couple in high school, one in college."

"You've only had sex with three men?"