What They Deserve

TWENTY-FIVE

Willow stared at her front door, waiting to hear the knock she couldn’t wait for. After leaving the voicemail on Phillip’s phone Thursday and spending most of her Friday pretending there was no Phillip, she’d been ecstatic to get his phone call late Friday night.
          
"I'm sorry. Things have been hectic." His apology was simple and didn't explain anything, but she'd forgiven him, even apologizing for her one call, and asked him to come to her place Saturday night.
          
"We can order something and watch movies." Being called a recluse and a homebody was starting to nag at her as she realized her best friend and potential boyfriend might be right after all.
          
She didn't notice his hesitation to agree as she struggled to move past the name calling and waited for him to answer. Her heart leapt into her throat when he agreed.
          
"Yeah. I'll come by around eight." 
          
"Great." She was bubbly and couldn't wait to see him again. Her Saturday morning and afternoon was spent cleaning her already clean apartment.
          
Now it was eight-twenty and he hadn't called her and there had been no knock on the door. Feeling ridiculous, she looked down at her phone to see that she in fact did not turn the volume down at some point and she didn't have any missed notifications. 
          
Sighing in frustration, she tossed the device on the cushion next to her. At that moment, there was a rapid succession of light taps on the door. If she hadn't been in the living room, she wouldn't have heard it. With a furrowed brow, she made her way to the door and looked through the peephole.
         
"Took you long enough." Willow proclaimed as she whipped open the barrier standing between them. The expression she gave him wasn’t quite as angry as she wanted.
          
Phillip's face turned a subtle red as he looked down. He shifted his weight and pulled his arms from behind him. "I'm sorry."           

Willow gushed at the arrangement of colorful flowers he offered her. She turned and left it up to Phillip to close the door.  "Come in."           

He followed her into the kitchen, where she began rummaging through her cabinets. She noticed he leaned against the counter and watched her, a gentle smile on his lips. 

“Where in the world did I put that vase?”

“You want me to help?” He stood up, already turning to look in the cabinet he stood in front of.

“Thanks.” Their fingers brushed as he handed her the heavy crystal vase.

“No problem.” Before she could turn away, he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

While her face lit up red, she set to arranging the bouquet in their new home. "So, what do you want to eat?"
          
"I don't know. What are you in the mood for?" He shrugged, indifferent to what they ate.
          
"Hmm." Willow stepped back to admire her work. "So pretty."
          
"Not as pretty as you." His voice was velvet charm. Willow looked to see him flushing again, even a shy gleam to his eyes. This threw her off a little since he always seemed so sure of himself.
          
She blushed a little, thankful she'd decided to dress up a little and even put on some makeup. Still, she raised a hand to smooth out her gentle waves. Busying herself, she grabbed the vase and carried it into the small space she’d designated the dining room. 
          
"Why don't we pick out a movie? Maybe we'll figure out what to eat then. I'm not very hungry right now." Phillip offered her his hand once she was satisfied with where the flowers sat.
          
"Okay." Willow slid her hand into his and allowed him to lead the way to the couch. 
          
But they didn't look at her collection of movies or even turn on the television. Instead, Willow leaned into him, placing her lips against his, her hands resting against his chest. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized that she had made the first move and hadn’t intended to do so. But after waiting for his call, she wasn’t about to take any chances in missing a thing with him.
          
His response was a little more forceful than she'd expected, but she found that she wasn’t opposed to it, maybe even like it. His hands roamed across her back, into her hair, tugging a little. He nudged against her until she felt the couch against the back of her legs. 
          
She lowered herself to the cushions, keeping a tight hold on him. He followed suit, somehow never losing her lips or her body. Marveling that the romance novels got it right about feeling the movement of rippling muscles, she let her hands glide across his back, his shoulders, to his chest.
          
"How about music?" Phillip murmured into her ear as his lips traveled along her jawline, capturing her mouth, demanding her response.
          
"Mm-hm." Willow was starting to take shallow breaths as his mouth and hands kept wandering over her, never touching any intimate areas, just teasing. She managed to reach out and grab the stereo remote and turn it on. There was a brief silence before "Tear You Apart" began playing.
          
Without warning, Phillip jerked her up into a sitting position, pulling her onto his lap as he sat back. His face was buried in her neck as he continued to kiss her and give gentle bites. 
          
Willow liked the exciting pace and even felt herself opening up more to him. She realized that she wasn't scared as she decided what she wanted this to escalate to. Pushing him back against the arm of the couch, she placed her mouth on his chest, kissing him until she got to his neck. There, she nipped him before moving up to his lips. Her legs were spread, a knee on either side of his legs. She leaned back, her breasts in his face and ran her hands through his hair. She watched something flicker across his eyes which she took as an invitation and she lunged in for more, her mouth crushing his.
          
Phillip pushed her up until she fell back, taking control. He leaned over her, growling as he slid his hands along her body, his fingers brushing the sides of her breasts. Her skin tingled everywhere he touched, her heart pounded against her chest. All she wanted at this point was to rip their clothes off, allow their bare skin to touch.
          
His mouth was close to her ear again and now he was singing along with the chorus. She giggled a little as he censored himself when declaring that he wanted to “f-ing want to tear you apart”, but it sent her heart racing. She nudged him, enough so that he could see her face and hoped he could read in her eyes what she wanted.
          
The expression on his face changed. What was it though?
          
He sat upright and ran his hands through his hair, breathing heavily. "I...I think maybe we need to slow down." He stayed there for a few seconds before getting up and rushing out of the apartment.
          
"What…in the world?" Willow breathed out, still caught up in the fog of desire and confused about everything that had just happened.