Tangerine Kisses: A Novella

Chapter Nine - Sebastian

I awake in an unfamiliar bed with the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting towards me. When I blink awake I know I am in a woman's room as the sheets are covered in a pink and purple pattern. There is also makeup on the dresser opposite and a couple of dresses falling out of the closet. A photograph on the bedside table of Ava and her sister reminds me exactly what happened last night.

I close my eyes and groan softly to myself. Not because my head hurts, which is does, but because my penis hurts. As soon as I started to think about Ava and the previous night it helpfully woke up. I lie in Ava's bed drinking in her scent and wondering why she asked me to stay after her whole thing about being professional and staying as co-workers. I guess that's fucked up now we made out twice and almost had sex, I think to myself and try to reason that it probably is not so bad to have sex with a co-worker if you have had sex with them before, albeit many years ago.

I can hear the gentle sounds of someone in the kitchen so I decide to go and see what she is up to. I locate my jeans from the previous night and pull them on but do not bother with a shirt, after all, she has seen me naked before. As has half the world.

In the kitchen Ava is making coffee which is cute because I know she does not drink coffee but I do. She looks up when she hears me approaching and smiles tentatively.

'Coffee?' I ask her questioningly, sliding onto one of the island stools so my body does not betray me and walk over there to kiss her, or worse. 'I thought you didn't drink coffee.'

'I don't,' she agrees, 'but I keep it around, for visitors.' She pours me a cup. 'Black, one sugar, right?' She is recalling the way I used to drink coffee from our uni days as it is not like she has made me coffee since.

I nod, pleased she has remembered. 'Yep.'

'Here.' She slides it over with the spoonful of sugar in.

I sip it whilst she makes herself a cup of tea and then joins me at the island, sitting in the seat opposite.

'How do you feel?' she asks me.

'Horny,' I reply truthfully.

She blushes, which is easy with her fair skin, and it is adorable. She does not meet my eyes but rather toys with the string of her tea bag. She is wearing that silk gown again over what I presume is just underwear. But as she toys with her tea bag the neckline slips a little and I can see she is naked when I get a lovely view of the top of her boobs. Boobs that were in my mouth last night. Dammit. I can feel my need stirring again and I try to focus on something else, anything else. But it is so damn difficult when she is sitting opposite me, her face flushed, her hair slightly tangled, her naked body beckoning me over....

'I meant, how do you feel after all that whisky,' she says.

'Oh. You know. Sore.'

She finally looks at me again but then averts her eyes instantly because I am staring at her too intently.

'About last night-' she begins but I cut her short.

'I want you, Ava,' I say, repeating words I know I said the previous night. Or morning, as it actually was. I am tired of pretending I feel otherwise, so I decide the best approach is to be direct. 'You were hot in uni but now you're even hotter. And we still have that spark from before, I know you feel it too. I'm sorry if it upsets you but that's the truth.'

Her mouth forms an oh shape and it is the most adorable thing. She notices my gaze slipping down to where she is almost flashing me and she grips the edges of the gown drawing it closer, to my disappointment.