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Prologue
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Restaurants? Closed. Parks? Empty. Streets? Deserted. The world just suddenly stopped.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) began in Wuhan, China, showing up in late December 2019. It quickly spread throughout the globe, causing death, financial disaster, job loss, and family upheaval. There isn’t a part of our lives that hasn’t been affected by COVID-19. As of today, February 24, 2022, there have been over 431 million worldwide deaths with new cases occurring every day. For many, we have lost loved ones. Some were stranded in other countries with no way to get home for weeks or months. Most of us were unable to see family or friends who lived out of our immediate bubble for nearly a year.
The effect of quarantine on our mental health, learning, work, and relationships cannot be undersold. It brought Tiger King, sourdough bread making, so much Zoom, mass pet adoptions, and TikTok dance challenges. Working from home took on a new meaning while you tried to juggle children logging into school, staff meetings, and that 1:00 nap time (for you or your child).
But what if quarantine brought you together rather than ripping you apart from those you love? What if the one that you quarantined with ended up being the person you were meant to be with forever? Four groups of people stuck together during quarantine. What will happen to them as the weeks, months, years go on?
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Love in the Time of Quarantine Story 1: Ashton and Samantha - Chapter 1
The doorbell rings and I immediately become flustered. Ashton is here. My body flushes with the anticipation of seeing him. I quickly walk to the door and stop in front of the mirror beside it. My long, thick, dark brown hair is pulled into a ponytail that falls down my back. My blue eyes are clear and bright with my excitement. My maeve lipstick sets off my light complexion well and highlights my full lips. I pull down the tight cream shirt, making sure that my cleavage is on full display and wipe my hands on my jeans. I know that I seem a bit thirsty, but DAMN I AM. Ashton James has been the star in nearly all of my sexual fantasies since I was 13 years old. Now, at 19, I’m going to be spending an entire week alone with him while he interviews for several companies in the area. My college roommate is helping her family move this week, so he’ll be staying in her room. Once I check that my appearance is as good as it’s gonna get, I plaster a smile on my face and open t
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 2
Ash decides that he would rather stay in, so I start working on dinner. I’m making his favorite: my mother’s lasagna. “I’m gonna go shower. Public transport just makes you feel all grimy,” he says after opening a bottle of red wine for us. “Don’t drink that until I get out! It’s gotta breathe.” “Yes, sir!” I snap him a salute before turning back to the meat cooking on the stove. “Mmmmm. I could get used to that kind of obedience from you.” As he walks past, he smacks my ass with the towel that’s in his hand. “Asshole!” I call after his laughing form as he hurries into Kora’s room. Over the next 15 minutes, while I hear the water running in the shower, I cook the meat, make the sauce, and layer the lasagna in the dish. I’m just putting it in the oven when I hear Ashton calling my name. “What?” I call back to him as I set the timer on my phone. I hear a muffled sentence. Somet
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 3
By the time Ashton wanders into the kitchen after his shower, I’ve set my plan into action. I’ve put on some music, a club playlist on Spotify, and am swaying my hips along to the beat. I’ve changed into a low cut white tank and cutoff jean shorts. I wear both when I’m painting, so they’re covered in paint, well worn, and form fitting. I’m washing dishes and have made sure to splash water all over the front of my tank, making it see-through. You wanna play, Ashton? Game fucking on. I hear him walk into the kitchen and stop. There is a definite inhale of air as he takes in my appearance. I put an extra sensual sway into my hips, singing along with the music. I act as if I don’t know that he’s there. Putting the dishes away, I run my hands over my body, acting as if I’m wiping water on my clothes, making sure to run them over my stomach and down to my hips. As I finish putting away the clean dishes, I continue dancing. My hands move to my hair, pulling the tie out
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 4
Conversation during dinner turns to my year at school and the different advertising companies that Ashton is interviewing with. “So are you planning on staying here in New York?” I ask, taking a drink of wine. “If that’s what the job requires, but most of these places have a short internship period here in New York before it’s possible to transfer to other branches. All of the four companies I’m interviewing at have a branch in Ohio so that I could go back home.” His eyes flick to me. “If New York doesn’t work for me.” Genuinely curious, I ask, “What do you mean?” He looks at me for a beat before vaguely saying, “Oh, you know. If I don’t adjust to city life.” I give a short bark of laughter. “Oh, come on Ashton. What’s there not to love about the city? You can basically walk everywhere. The variety of food, and experiences, and people in one square block is more than our entire home town could even hope for. Concerts, galleries, clubs, fashion, restaurants. New York’s g
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 5
I pull sweatpants and hoodie on over the clothes that I’m wearing and grab my purse. Without saying anything, Ash and I get our shoes and coats on before heading downstairs and to the bodega down on the corner. When we get there, I’m utterly shocked by how it looks. “Jorge! Were you robbed?” I asked the cashier, one I’ve gotten friendly with since I moved here. “Chile, don’t you know what’s going on? It’s like fucking armageddon shit out here. No fucking toilet paper. No milk. People lost they damn minds!” Jorge is wearing a bandana around his face. His voice is muffled and he looks petrified. “Look, sweets, I’m getting ready to close. There’s barely anything here anyway. Get what you need and then get the fuck home.” I look at Ashton, both of us shocked. We hurriedly run down the aisles, grabbing detergent, food, paper towels. Anything and everything that we can get our hands on. Jorge rings us up and hurries us out, locking the door behind us. We hurry back to th
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 6
I quickly close the door in my room. I lean my head against it, breathing heavily. I feel the tears gather in my eyes and I force myself to steady my breathing to calm down. I will NOT cry. Ashton never promised me anything. In fact, up until tonight, he treated me like the annoying little sister that my brother did. We were comfortable around each other. More family than friends. Shit, what had I thought would happen? Yeah, he had touched me and we maybe would have gone a lot further if my brother hadn’t interrupted, but maybe it was better that he had. If Ashton only saw this as comforting me, if this was only going to be a one time thing, I didn’t want it. Yes, he’s hot. Yes, I’ve fantasized about being with him more times than I could count. Yes, I wanted to feel his skin against mine. But…but that isn’t all that I want. I want Ashton James to be mine. And he had just confirmed that he would never be. A traitorous tear courses down my cheek and I angrily s
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 7
The second that our lips touch, Ashton comes alive in my arms. One hand grips my ass, the other cupping the back of my head. He kisses me ravenously, like he needs me to breathe. Ashton sucks my bottom lip into his mouth, biting it lightly. I moan loudly, losing myself in the touch and feel of him. He uses my open mouth as an invitation and his tongue slips into my mouth. The kiss is needy. His touch is possessive. It’s like he’s claiming me. Truly making me his. It’s heavenly. Even better than I had ever dreamed it would be. But I can’t let him have all the fun. My hands trail down his chest and abs until I get to the hem of his shirt. I quickly dive my hands underneath and run my hands up his toned stomach. I scratch at his skin lightly and he groans into my mouth. Slowly, I move my hands up to his chest, finding his nipples quickly. I run my thumbs over them, making them hard, before pinching and rolling them between my fingers. This causes Ashton’s breath to
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 8
Ashton collapses on top of me, gathering me in his arms and kissing me deeply. Our bodies were still connected and our sweat mingled where our skin meets. My mind is whirling. Did he…did he really say that he loves me? Did he mean it? When he draws away, his eyes are so full of happiness. Ashton pecks my lips once more before pulling out of me. He gets off of the bed, disposing of the condom. I head to the bathroom and come back to the room in a daze. Ashton is laying on the bed again. When he sees me, a shy smile crosses his face. He pats the bed beside him. “Come here.” I bite my bottom lip, worrying it in my anxiety. I lay beside him, stiff and caught up in my own head. “What’s wrong?” Ashton asks, his brows furrowing. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?” I leap up so that I’m facing him, my hands going to his face and chest. “No! No! I’ve wanted this since…fuck, since I was 13. I just…” My eyes lower, unsure how to broach the subject. He takes my chi
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Love in the Time of Quarantine Author's Note
Hey friends! Thank you so much for reading Love in the Time of Quarantine. I hope that you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. Here are a couple of announcements/interesting information for you. 1. If you are interested in what I listen to while I’m writing, you can find my playlist “Creative Juices” on Spotify. I love all different kinds of music, so there's a little something for everyone. 2. Other books on GoodNovel: Trio of Mates Series: 4 werewolf books that take on the idea of what would happen if one of the leadership was gay and couldn’t produce an heir. Lots of very graphic smut. (completed) Trio Legacy Series: The stories of the children of the wolves introduced in the Trio of Mates Series. Completed: Hide and Seek, Ongoing: Red Rover Dissonance and Harmony: The story of a high school girl who has to face her rapist at his sentencing hearing and deal with her PTSD from that night. Graphic violence and rape scenes. (completed) 3. Follow me under the same name
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 30: Jorge
I’m standing outside of the girls’ apartment, my old apartment, with a picnic basket of baked goods and a cooler with drinks, fruits, and icings to add. I have muffins, cinnamon rolls, danishes, cinnamon raisin bread, and fresh bagels. Ok, I went a little overboard. I can admit that. I’m just so fucking anxious about this whole thing that I don’t know how to handle my feelings right now. I had been awake when Andie had texted me last night, contemplating what Angel had said to me earlier that day. I’d actually been looking at pictures of Andie and Jaime on my phone when I got the text. We’d been so happy before this whole thing started. I miss them. So damn much and it took losing them to understand what I’d done wrong. I didn’t even have to think twice about it, I immediately texted her back that I would bring breakfast. And then I fell to sleep without any issue. Granted, I’d only gotten a few hours in bed, since I had to make deliveries to the bakery this morning.
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 29: Jaime
I’ve been tossing and turning in bed all night after listening to everything Angel and Maddie said tonight. “You three belong together.” “He loves you.” “He wants you back.” “What do you have to lose if you do call him?” I know what my heart wants. I also know what my heart is afraid is going to happen. How can I allow him to possibly hurt me, us, all over again? What’s the definition of insanity? Doing something the same way over and over again and expecting a different result? Wouldn’t it just be insanity to allow him back into our lives again and hoping for a different result. Though both Angel and Marta have said that he’s reducing his hours at the business, that they’ve hired a lot of new people, and that he’s learned his lesson. Could it be true? Could he have really changed for us, even if he didn’t think that we’d be there for him? I don’t know. We’ve been in bed since midnight and it’s 3 am. With a huge sigh, I get up and grab my robe. I tie the robe
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 28: Andie
Jaime and I go about making dinner in silence. We are a well oiled machine at this point, moving easily around each other in our kitchen. Angel and her partner Maddie are coming over tonight for dinner and to play cards. It’s something that we started up in college with Angel. A weekly card game. Each week, someone picks the game that we play and once a year, each of us is supposed to introduce a new card game. We use candy and snack foods for any games that require betting. It’s more to hang out and have fun than anything else. Maddie and Angel have been very careful of who they let in their circle, as have we, so we all feel comfortable being around each other, even with COVID still happening. Unfortunately, this is how much of our life has been since Jorge left. Just a silent orbit around each other. Hold each other through the tears and the pain. But not really talking. I mean, what was there to say? We were enough for each other, but not for the man that we love
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 27: Jorge
“Angel, do you have tomorrow’s shipment of bread all packaged? Carmello’s needs the delivery an hour early. I’d like to be able to have everything on rolling carts so I can just load up the trucks the second I get here,” I call to Angel. When she first started working with me, I had brought Angel on just as a delivery driver. But over the last two months, I have consciously tried to pull myself back from the business and I’ve made Angel a partner. We have three drivers, a part-time baker, and two part-time packagers. I’ve cut my hours back so that I’m working nine hour days, as opposed to the 16 hour days I was working before. The only reason that I’m driving tomorrow is because our early morning guy took tomorrow off. Otherwise, I’ve even built in my Wednesdays and Sundays as days off. “Yes, everythings all ready. Just waiting for the last batch to finish cooling before we get it packaged. I’ll get that done in the next hour,” Angel tells me. I let out a huge sigh. “O
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 26: Jaime
It’s been a week since our last interaction with Jorge. We’ve been communicating via text and notes left at the apartment. The morning after our break up, Jorge was gone by the time Andie and I woke up. He had packed a bag and left a note saying that he would be in and out while Andie and I were at work over the coming week. He’s moving into an apartment over his parents’ restaurant. It was a place that his dad used as an office and that one family member or another would crash at when they were in the dog house with their wives or girlfriends. Not a bad place, but also not a place for someone with as successful a business as Jorge’s. Unfortunately, with COVID still pretty bad, Jorge has elected to stay in a place where only family has been until things blow over a bit. Trying to decide what belongs to who out of our stuff over text is difficult. I had honestly thought that Jorge was the one. The guy that I was going to spend the rest of my life with. When we added Andie
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 25: Andie
In that way that grief between people who love each other will sometimes turn sexual, when Jorge turns to Jaime and kisses her, she kisses him back. I lean in and kiss the side of his face. He turns towards me and God does it feel good to kiss him. I’ve missed him so damn much. It’s been too damn long. Jaime brings his mouth back to her, their kiss hungry and desperate. My hands go to the bottom of the hoodie he’s wearing and I rip it off of him. Jaime finds his mouth again and I lean down, licking his nipples. He groans into Jaime’s mouth and his body tenses in his arousal. He loves having his nipples played with. At the same time, I rake my nails down his abs. Jorge pulls back from Jaime’s mouth to look down at me. “Please. I need you both.” His voice is so full of need. I look at Jaime, asking if she’s ok with this. Because this is going to be an end. Not a reconciliation. But I want this. I need him. Jaime nods, both of us seeing the motion. Jorge surg
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 24: Jorge
Andie looks between Jaime and me and seems to immediately know what’s going on. She’s always had that ability. To take a situation in at a glance and know exactly what is going on. I guess that’s what makes her so good at programming. And at calling me on my bullshit. Ever since the day that I triggered Jaime’s meltdown, Andie has been more aloof with me. I guess she realized that the promises that I made to her and Jaime, while heartfelt and genuine, weren’t ones that I could keep. I feel like the time that I managed to get after that was more for Jaime’s benefit than Andie’s. As introverted and quiet as she appears, Andie doesn’t take bullshit from anyone. She’s given me more rope than I deserve. But it seems that it was just enough for me to hang myself with. “How far are we into this conversation?” Andie asks. I stare at her, surprised at how calmly she can address this. Jaime is the one that answers. “I’ve told him that he isn’t treating us like priorities an
Love in the Time of Quarantine Chapter 23: Jaime
I’m sitting on the couch flipping through the channels on the TV when Jorge walks in. It’s been two days since our failed date and this is the first time that I’ve seen him in more then passing. He’s dressed in sweats and a tank, his hair wet from a shower. He must have just come back from a run. Andie and I have been sleeping in her old room ever since our failed date night. With the hours that he’s been keeping, I don’t really know what he’s up to. I don’t know that I really can muster up the ability to care. Each time I do, it just seems to hurt me a little more. “Hey…” Jorge says tentatively. He walks in the room and sits on the arm of the couch. I glance over at him. “Hey,” I say, turning my attention back to the TV. “Um…where’s Andie?” he asks, like he’s not sure what to say. “Doctor’s appointment and then grocery shopping.” My responses aren’t angry, but they are short and I don’t turn my attention back to him. Instead I give the remote the voice command to tu
