"...amazing you still have a job," Kenny said as Scott entered the kitchen. I didn't catch the rest of it because my brain stopped working for a moment there when I saw Scott enter the room."Good morning to you too, Ken," said Scott, stifling a yawn. "Yes, I called work and told them I had an emergency. It's all good."Yup, the emergency being getting me off. Scott's gaze fell on me. He looked tired. Did he have trouble sleeping too last night? All I could see when I looked at him now was him between my legs doing unspeakable things to me in the gentlest way any man had ever treated me. He was the perfect combination of gentle and assertive, making the experience surprisingly hot. No, stop thinking that. I looked away from Scott and gulped. Calm down, calm down, I chanted to myself. "Good morning, Stace," said Scott, briefly laying his hand on my shoulder in passing.I reflexively shrugged my shoulder out of his grasp, then cringed. A little too late to run from his touch now. A l
And that was when I knew exactly what I wanted. I didn't want to get past anything. I wanted more. "Sure," I said anyway, watching him enter the room. I was undressing him with my eyes, so I looked down. He sat down on the bed, gingerly getting in next to me. "You sure this is okay?" he asked, turning his head to me. The last time he asked me that, I let him stick it to me. Fuck, my head was dirty. "Yup. Totally fine," I said, his scent now hitting my nostrils harder. What would he think if I told him I was wet for him? And getting more so by the second. Like the first night, he turned his back on me. "Goodnight, Stace," he said, turning the lamp on his side off. I licked my lips, rubbing my thighs together to create friction."Goodnight Scottie," I said, willing myself to fall asleep. When we woke up the next morning, I was wrapped tightly in his arms. I almost jumped out of my skin when I realized that he was already awake. He was watching me sleep."Going to tell me why it
"Hell, Stace," he said, breathing hard, as I dropped to my knees. He watched me intently as I pulled the towel apart and let it drop. "I thought you were mad at me," he said, his head falling back against the door as I licked the tip of his dick. "I will be if you don't fuck me silly," I said, feeding inch after inch into my mouth. He stood there helplessly, watching me suck his dick. "This is such a bad idea," he said, but he was already wrapping my hair around his fingers and turning it into a fist. "Shit that feels so good though," he said, guiding my head up and down his shaft. This was not the Scott who took me to bed just a few days ago. He was rough and demanding, taking an active role in fucking my face. "Do you know how hard it is to concentrate on anything when I see you everywhere?" he almost yelled at me, holding my head in place as he forced his dick down my throat. "I think about how I should have fucked you while you were on your hands and knees. That's why we bar
"Jason Segel kills in this role," said Kenny with a chuckle, truly the biggest fan since Segel's How I Met Your Mother days. "Of course, we all know the greatest actor on Shrinking is—" Marlene began. Kenny jumped out of his seat next to her and said with a goofy smile, "The icon, the legend—" Marlene lit up when we all collectively chimed in, "Harrison Ford."It was one of those moments where nothing funny really happened, but you laughed anyway. Nice, Marlene. Getting up to speed on a show to meet the friends equals mega girlfriend points. The doorbell rang and Kenny rose to his feet again, clearly a nervous ball of energy. "Food. I'll get it," he said, speeding out of the living room. "I better go and help," said Marlene, following him out. It's been a month since the wake. I haven't really thought about Jenny or my mom much, on account of all the sneaking around Scott and I have been doing. I had this theory that surely by now Kenny must know and it wasn't necessary anymore
Chinese is here," said Kenny, setting the food down on the table. Scott and I reached for the bag at the same time. My hand brushed up against his and we looked at each other. "Hey Stacy, I forgot to tell you. There's a bachelor apartment available two floors up, in case you're interested. You and Scott must be falling all over each other in his room," said Kenny, reaching for the bag when neither Scott nor I moved to open it. "You have no idea," I mumbled under my breath. Scott heard me and I watched him suppress a grin. "What was that?" Kenny asked, offering everyone their food."Don't be ridiculous. Couples should live together. I'm sure they're making it work," said Marlene, raising her chopsticks to an oblivious Kenny's mouth. Did she just lowkey ask him to move in together after dating for only a month? Not sure if I respected that or was suddenly wary of this chick. Then again, how was I any better? I moved in with a guy who takes me out all the time, just the two of us, b
"No," said Kenny, looking at Scott and I.By now I was leaning against Scott and he was kissing my forehead. "No, because I would know. I live with them," said Kenny, trying to laugh it off. "They're not—" Kenny turned to Marlene, seeking confirmation. She nodded her head at him. Then he turned back to us, bewildered, seeking confirmation once again. "See you at home, Ken," said Scott, taking my hand and rushing me out of the restaurant. We made it out into the parking lot and back to the car without a word passing between us. Scott opened the door of the backseat and finally said, "Get in."The tension of the questions I had asked him lingered between us. I felt too much like crying to argue and just went with it. He got in next to me and closed the door. "You're not moving out," he said pointedly. "Why the hell not?" I asked. "I came to New York for a normal life. What we're doing isn't normal, Scott.""I'm going to sound like an asshole, but I don't want you to be my girlfrien
Another five months later… "There he is. My engaged best friend," I said, going in for a hug the moment Kenny reached the bar. "First you move out and now this. They grow up so fast. Congratulations, Ken. We miss you back at the apartment.""No you don't," said Kenny, returning my hug before sitting next to me at the bar. "No we don't, but Stacy said I had to say so. She says hi and congratulations. We're really happy for you and Marlene. So when's the big day?" I asked, excited for my friend. "I don't know yet. It just happened. When I do though, you'll be the first to know as my best man," Kenny said, flying high. He was so happy, it was absolutely infectious. "Don't people traditionally ask if someone wants to be their best man instead of just assuming?" I said with a laugh. "I don't care. I put up with you and Stacy making eyes at each other for the last five months every morning. And that wasn't even the worst of it. I was the last to find out about you two. You owe me. You'
I stopped by a street vendor on my way home to pick up a bouquet of Water Lilies, her favorite flowers. Excitement and anticipation flooded my senses, the world seeming brighter and more colorful. I was in such a hurry to get to her that when I finally made it to our apartment building, I took the stairs two at a time to get to our floor faster. "I'm home. Kenny says hi," I called out, my voice dying in my throat as I stepped through the door. At my feet was the start of a trail of rose petals, leading through the kitchen and into the living room. I followed it with a stupid smile on my face. The living room was flooded with burning candles. There, in the middle of it all, stood my girl in nothing but a black two piece lingerie set. "Happy six months," she said, her hands behind her back, her tell that she was nervous. "My life rocks," I said, running my fingers through my hair as I made my way to her, flowers in hand. She let out a string of giggles. "You like?" she asked, accep
That last part was such a her thing to say. Was that really what she thought? It would explain how I apparently caught her off guard. "Please, for the love of God, let me sleep and shower first. There are dark circles under my eyes. And my make up—" What the fuck was she talking about? She was fucking flawless. Perfect in all her imperfections. "Shut up. I won the bet about Kenny and Marlene," I said, laying the phone down on the ground and starting the five minute timer. "So now Scott says shut up. You've said more than enough in the last few hours. Now just listen." She clasped her hands behind her back, swaying back and forth nervously, her eyes dropping to the timer. Words failed me. I had a whole speech and everything. Even if I didn't, I was me. I always knew what to say, except right that second I was tongue tied. "That photo's taunting me," I said, spitting out the thought in my he
By this point, she had me watching her from behind a lens. Flashes of the thousands of times she had me taking her photo went through my mind. Watching her was my favorite thing to do until she started letting me touch her. I loved every last one of them. Studied the thousands of photos frequently, especially this past week, like some junkie trying to get a fix. The sweet ones where she looked like an angel. The dirty ones where she looked like the perfect whore. The goofy ones that I made sure I was a part of. The everyday ones where she had a pencil in her hair while she read or picked something out at the grocery store. Every last photo I took of her and every memory attached to it flooded my brain. "Fucking stunning every time," I said, trying to calm my raging heart as the sun began to rise, the silhouette of her before it. Slightly trembling fingers took several photos, as the excitement of holding a camera surg
"Can't we do this another time? Surises come along every day and it's been such a long night," Stacy moped. Not this sunrise. Not this moment I wanted to give her. It was all she could do to hold onto the tripod towards the end, so I let her get on my back and gave her a piggyback ride the rest of the way up my mountain. "You knew this was coming. I warned you I'd be making you miserable by bringing you out here before the crack of dawn while we were in Fiji. Sacrifices have to be made to please your future husband, Stace," I said, enjoying the feel of her body pressed up against my back. The morning was chilly, contrasting with her body heat. Or was I sweating? Maybe she was right and this just wasn't our moment. It would come once though. The sunrise of our one year anniversary. I had this picture of how it was going to go down in my head and I just wasn't ready to give it up. "On our anniversary? We just spent two ho
"Is the world's greatest commitment phobe still proposing today after this shit storm?" Kenny asked me as I watched Stacy sit across from Jeff to read through her immunity deal. "You just get the champagne ready. Be on standby, Ken. Call in sick. You'll get the call soon," I said, sharing an excited smile with him before I opened the door to Jeff's office to sit down next to Stacy. "You can have your lawyer look it over before you sign. Take your time," said Jeff, waiting patiently on her. "She's her own lawyer. She's like two classes away from being one?" I boasted as I watched her brilliant mind go to work while she read. "Three," she corrected me, eyes still darting over the words on the page. "Besides, we trust you. Don't we, Scott?" That's what she said, but she carried on combing the document. In about two minutes, she'd have tons of questions for him. "Yes, we do," I said to my fath
"I will never let anyone hurt him, Ken. On my life, I will always keep him safe," she professed one more time. "I know you will, Stace. For the record, you were always my favorite best friend," he said, cautiously wrapping his arms around her as he started sobbing. "Same Ken," she said, returning his embrace readily, rubbing his back. Eyes still on me, she stuck her tongue out at me, making me chuckle as I got up to join them. "Un-fucking-believable. What am I, chopped liver?" I said, watching Kenny pull back as I shot him a nasty look. "You're okay. Tolerable. Second best. I keep you around because of her," he said, wiping away his tears with the back of his sleeves. "I can't believe you fucking told her you were proposing. What the fuck is wrong with you? How will you survive marriage?" His stupid remark had us chuckling between the three of us. We all wrapped an arm around the other an
There was that promise of forever she said I couldn't have until I asked her to marry me. It was as good as a yes to my proposal. My heart was doing flip flops in my chest. I knew it was for their benefit, maybe even just because she was nervous about talking to them instead of me, but her words were aimed directly at me. Sweeping me right off my feet. Claiming every bit of me as hers. Allowing me to let go of the tiny part of me that wondered if she really could have killed me in those woods. It wasn't just luck or the words I said to her that made her want to save me. I was happy if I gave her the strength to do what she needed to do, but I firmly believed she would have gotten there anyway. She had been doing it for eight years. From the moment we met, she had been protecting me. Even when she pushed me away. She chose me for eight years. Came back again and again, no matter how many times Don Angelo called her home, to make me fall dee
He pulled out a chair for himself, then one for me, urging me to sit next to him. With a resigned sigh, I sat down two chairs away from Kenny, as close to Stacy as I could. I gave Willow and my mom a pleading look so they would follow suite across the table. Stacy took her seat and folded her hands in front of her. Folding her hands was her tell for when she was nervous. They all looked away uncomfortably. No anger. No malice. Just sadness and fear. It was all I could do to stay seated. Not grab Stacy's hand and storm out. She asked me to let her do this though. All I could do was sit back and watch helplessly. "Marlene, you're right. We should have reached out and talked to you all about what happened. It sucked that she was the only one of you to come by and ask us what happened though. Instead of going off the news and wherever else you got your information from. Still, I'm sorry we didn't reach out either. We were trying to figure things out betwe
"No, you're not leaving," said Marlene, grabbing Kenny's arms and turning him towards Stacy and I. "Your best friends are getting engaged today. You've been brooding about this whole situation for over a week and I'm sick of it. Deal with your shit, Kenny," said Marlene, her arms folded and chin jutted out. Go Marlene. Marriage looked good on her. She surprised me more and more all the time. "Does everyone know I'm proposing today?" I asked, focusing on the wrong thing entirely. It got my nervous, half asleep girlfriend to smile though. I'd take that. "You weren't exactly trying very hard to hide it," said Stacy, momentarily caught up in my eyes. I wished I could have her look like that for the rest of the day. A light blush tainted her cheeks and her smile was enough to bring armies to their knees. The way she looked at me made me feel like we were the only two people alive. As much as I appreciated wha
"Soooo… Do you think there's more?" he asked in his most innocent voice. "I'll kill you if you try and find out today," I said, equally as breathless and sweaty as him. It took me a moment to realize I just threatened him without flinching or apologizing. I forced myself to let it go and enjoy the afterglow of the best sex of my life. The heat and sweat coming off our bodies should have been enough to get me off him, but it wasn't. Despite my threat to get off him, his arms wrapped around me gently. "No promises. I love you," he said, completely at ease as he started stroking my hair. "I expect to be told about all future… Locations and phrases." "I love you too. That's no fun. I'm not doing that," I said, out right refusing his request. "Is that right? We'll see," he said cheekily, kissing my temple. "Let me take you to lunch. I want you to enjoy your first day of freedom."