Bittersweet

xiii.

A cheeky smile pulled across Val's features as she watched Todd stare at her, his eyes wandering all over. He stayed still in his position towering over her, arms on either side of her whilst she continued to shimmy and inch her hips closer in the chair beneath him.

Todd moved one arm from his kitchen table and slowly touched her hip. He carefully lifted the tank top she was wearing above her belly button, exposing her waist before gripping her hip. Val didn't break her stare away from his eyes once.

Todd bent his knees, and Val continued her stare as he squatted between her legs and knelt down, both hands on her hips now. He carefully pushed her back against the chair from her position of wiggling her hips at him, watching carefully as she sat up right again and this time stared down at him.

Using his thumb, he rubbed circles around her hips, staring her in the eyes before leaning forward and kissing her right hip. His fingers moved to the waist band of her sweatpants, slipping two fingers beneath the band.

"Is this okay?" he asked, still kissing her hip.

Val shifted slightly, almost feeling uncomfortable under his power, but nodded nonetheless. "Yes."

As soon as Todd heard the yes he needed to hear, he slipped his hands under her thighs and lifted her as he stood. Val wrapped her legs around his waist and they both froze for a moment, staring at each other, stood in his kitchen, her hands holding his neck and a tuft of hair at the back of his head. Her hand moved to his face and she rubbed her thumb across his cheek gently, before leaning her face down and kissing him.

Todd moved swiftly to place Val on top of the counter and stand between her spread legs as they kissed passionately, like each other's taste was the antidote to life. Her hands gripped his hair as his explored her body; rubbing one hand down her back and the other along her thigh until they met at her hips. Todd gripped Val's waistband and she lifted herself up as he pulled his pants off of her and discarded them on his kitchen floor.

He slowly began to kiss down her neck, down her shoulder to her bra strap before pulling that down and kissing beneath it. He passed the rest of her bra and kissed down her stomach, her hips, until reaching her underwear. Todd pulled those slowly from her hip and kissed beneath there too, before stopping and looking up at her.

Her cheeks were flushed pink and her lips were red and swollen from biting them, slightly parted as she panted, her chest rising and falling. Todd stood up right again and held her hips, staring at her.

"You can tell me to stop whenever you want, okay? You can tell me if you don't want to do something, or anything."

Val was surprised, she had never once been given an option when it came to sex. Val knew that other girls had options, but never thought she was one of those girls. She nodded nonetheless.

"You want me to continue?"

Val nodded again.

Todd began to kiss her slowly, with meaning. His index and middle finger slipped into the hem of Val's underwear, and then further down. She moaned and grabbed his neck, bucking her hips closer to him.

Todd chuckled in her mouth as he continued, moving faster. She dropped her head to his shoulder, gripping his neck, panting in his ear, "Take them off."

Todd did as he was told. She lifted herself again as he pulled her underwear down her legs, discarded to the floor with his tracksuit pants. In the same movement, he removed his top; something he hadn't done the first time.

Val sat naked on his counter, feeling exposed, but enjoying her view all the same. Her hands moved to his chest, feeling his body beneath her fingertips. He unbuckled his belt and pulled that off, which excited Val, but she decided it may be too soon to start asking him to use his belt on her.

He unbuttoned his pants as Val watched intently, but stopped himself before once again sliding his hands under her thighs and lifting her, bringing and placing her down on his kitchen table—which was more waist-height than his counter. She laid there staring at him, her hands rubbing herself and spreading her legs as Todd rushed to remove his trousers.

Once he was undressed, in nothing but his boxers, Val sat upright. It was her first time seeing him—really seeing him, and he was so beautiful. It was her turn now to slip two fingers into his boxers hem; she pulled him towards her and kissed him again.

Todd pushed Val down again and knelt to the floor. He held both her thighs as she moaned, feeling his tongue do things she'd never experienced before. Val's previous sexual experiences consisted of very little pleasure and more getting paid and getting out of there. Todd was doing things to her she didn't even know women enjoyed, but she was very much so enjoying.

He stood up again, wiping his thumbs across his lip to remove the droplet of both sweat and Val. She smiled as he pulled her closer by her legs and pressed against her, feeling him get harder against her.

Val wasn't one to beg but as he wiggled himself between her legs she couldn't stop herself from almost whimpering, "Please... please, Todd."

He smiled, and did as he was told. She watched him lower and slip out of his boxers, joining the pile of discarded clothing on the floor. He positioned himself between her legs and leaned over her, closer to her face.

"You okay?" he asked, "You want me to?"

"Fuck, yes, I want you to. God, I want you to."

Todd made sure to check on Val multiple times. This wasn't something she was used to, and although it threw her, she loved it. She could feel her body getting hot every time he asked, "you like this?" or "does this feel good?"

Todd finished as Val did; he made sure of this, paying close attention to the spots that made her louder. He leaned over her, panting, as she panted on the kitchen table—the kitchen table that most definitely needed to be wiped down. Her hands in her hair which was stuck to her head from sweat, pushing the strands that Todd had pulled back out of her face.

"Wow," she sighed.

"That beats the claustrophobic bathroom?" he asked gleefully.

"Yeah, it beats the bathroom," Val laughed, as she finally started to push herself back up from the kitchen table.

She suddenly felt extremely exposed; the pre-sex thrill had faded and now she was just sitting naked in his kitchen with him. She wrapped her arms around herself and pulled her legs closer together as she climbed off the kitchen table.

Todd stopped her, grabbing both arms and pulling them away. He grabbed her face and kissed her head and said, "Val, you are so beautiful, you have nothing to hide."

Although she loved to hear this from him, she didn't believe it to be true. Todd didn't pry, but he definitely didn't miss the burn scar on her stomach, or the scars on her thighs and legs. She always felt as if she had something to hide.

"Do you want a shirt and boxers? And I can wash these with your jeans?" Todd said, gesturing to the clothes astray on the floor. "Come on."

Todd, still nude, began to strut through his house back towards the bedroom. Val stood nervously, still doing what she could to cover herself even though now nobody was around to watch.

So she believed, until she heard the lock of the front door turn and a man's voice shouting, "Oh, Todd!"