Steam Beyond The Tub | 18+

02: No Response.

CHAPTER 2

Present day

Oh come on! I mentally exclaim as I watch the bus leave. I stop running, knowing very well that now I need to wait for at least 30 minutes for the next one to arrive. I spent the last night with Nate after he picked me up for dinner, our friendly dinner; it was not a date. It never is. This explains why I don't have my car to drive to the university, or college as you may call it. Nate is still sleeping and if there's something I learned about him, it is the plain fact that he never fucking wakes up early on days he has nothing planned.

I can call him, leave hundreds of missed calls and text messages, but guess what, his phone is always on silent mode. I had two options in front of me:

A: Wait for the next bus under the scorching sun, complaining and whining. Or

B: Walk back to Nate's place and bug him till he wakes up and drops me off.

Being a smart person, I opted for option B. Found less than seven minutes away is Nate's apartment's building beautifully standing against several other skyscrapers. He lives in the city but this slice of it was less hectic, given that it was a private residential area. Nate has all the money in the world to afford whatever he wants. He can easily related to 7 rings by Ariana Grande while I definitely can't. It's too expensive to the ears, so I end up listening to Young, Dumb and Broke by Khalid. Affordable.

I have both his spare key and access code, implying that it was easy to enter the penthouse again. If I had to knock or ring the doorbell, there was a higher probability that Nate doesn't even hear the damn noise being produced. He is such a heavy sleeper, it's unbelievable. I keep my bag on the dining table and walk to his bedroom.

I certainly do not hesitate to pull the curtains away, enabling sunrays to attack the darkness which previously settled in the room. Once they fall on Nate's now olive skin, result of a week spent on a tropical island some weeks back for holidays, he stirs slightly and turns to the other side where the wall faces him and vice versa. I roll my eyes and crawl on the bed, keeping my feet dangling ouside because I feel too lazy to remove my shoes. I whisper in his ears, "Nate."

No response, as expected. I let my hands wander all over his bare arms before I pull his body in my direction, so that he's facing the ceiling rather than a side. He clears his throat though he is still asleep but it is a sign that he is slowly coming back to reality. I observe his face and feel like kissing the hell out of his lips but I don't. At the same time, my heart feels a pinch because I am reminded of the type of relationship Nate and I share. Based on lust.

I glance at my watch and note that if I don't wake him up, I will end up getting late. But being this close to him makes me want to stay. I don't want to attend my classes anymore. It feels nice to be part of his world; when it's just us. But I have to go to college. It isn't being paid for me to be absent and missing out classes. I draw flowers on his skin, smirking and hoping that he feels something at least. But I know that being voiceless won't work anytime.

So I yell, "Nate, wake up!"

No response.

"Nate!" I slap him (it is a small slap) on his cheek. "Nate. Nate. Nate. I need to attend classes. Wake up!"

He groans but he doesn't wake up. I should've waited for the bus. "Nate!" I scream.

This time, finally, he slowly peeks at me with a groggy expression on his face. "What?" He utters with a husky, manly, seductive, voice.

I let out a sigh of relief, "Please drop me at the Uni."

He sheds the sleep from his face with quick movements of his palms. He rubs his eyes and soon he is able to look at me with them being fully opened. He pulls me over him, making my body crash onto his. I feel his morning bulge at my crotch and it turns me crazy. I recall all the times we've spent the nights and mornings being a single body.

"And what do I get in return?" He drops the sentence in my ears and I feel his hands roam from my back to my butt. He slips one of them into my jeans, then into the panty. Such a skin to skin connection makes me feel hungry and thirsty for more. "Tell me, Ariel."

I hate how he knows the effect he has on me. I just can't seem to hide it from being displayed as an expression. I bite my lips, "what is it that you want, Nathaniel."

A devilish grin settles on his mouth. "You." Immediately, he crashes his lips onto mine. Relaxed, our tongues gently played with each other while from time to time, our lips grazed. My heart beats faster and faster as every of his kiss gives me tingles all over my body.

Once we pull away, in-between breaths, I mutter, "just be quick, please."

"Your wish is my command," he smiles as he reverses our positions. This time he is in the dominant posture with his body all over mine. He starts by taking my pants and underwear off and then his two fingers are shoved inside of me. He knows how to find my G-spot and indeed, within seconds, his fingers are already at a rendez-vous with it. His fingers curl around my clit and he keeps rubbing it until I almost reach my peak. Because then, he stops.

This isn't something new but I can't wait. I need more. He discards his boxers, puts on a condom, and the moment I chirp, Nathan," his length slams into me without warning. I scream with pleasure and tighten my arms around him. Soon, he starts to pound in me, going faster and harder. He takes my hands, cross my wrists together before he pins them above my head with one of his hand. "Ariel," Nate says.

Intensity builds as his thrusts speed up. My world, all of a sudden, explodes while your legs shake. I lose myself in the purest form of ecstasy, something that can't be described easily. Nate keeps moaning my name and I know that he is about to release, especially when the trusts are wild and rough. One final trust and he pulls away, leaving me empty.

He then winks, "give me ten minutes."

I let out a breath when he leaves the bedroom. Is this what I want?

I put on my panty and pants as I think about Nate and I. It has been eight months since we have this relationship and I knew that I would eventually fall for him. My heart warned me but I was willing to take the risk. Now that I fell, he isn't there to pick me. We hid this aspect of our friendship from everyone. In fact, nobody knew that we are both actually good friends. And it is better like that.

But I pondered till when will we keep being this? I enjoyed being Nate's but I fear the day when he will have to leave. I fear the day when he will fall for someone.

I don't realise that ten minutes have flied until Nate's voice echoes from the kitchen, announcing our depart. I hurriedly grab my bag and follow him. He looks fresh and his shower gel's perfume tease my nostrils. I observe his movements with admiration; how he walks, how he closes the door behind us, how he enters his car, how he drives, how he talks.

Nothing ever tires me and at that moment, I knew. I knew that heartbreak is imminent.

I enjoy spending time with Nate, be it as a good friend or his friend with benefits but I am scared.

I fell for him.