WARNING: Adult Content near the end of the chapter. If that isn't your thing, you can read until Link gets back to the apartment pretty much. As always, I LOVE hearing from you guys if you're enjoying the content! Leave me a comment. -Hex
Link gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, his foot pressing into the gas much harder than he should be considering L.A. traffic. The only solace he took away from his bit of recklessness was that his kids were at home, having dropped them off about 30 minutes ago, so his frustrated driving wasn't putting them in any kind of danger. Just himself, but he was too distracted by the events of the past half hour to really care.
His phone sounding off in his pocket had been just the beginning.
The first few times it had dinged, Link had thought maybe his twitter was trending for some reason or Rhett was doing one of those annoying text block things he did sometimes. When it didn't stop going off, he had reached into his pocket to silent the phone to enjoy the last few moments he had with Lily, Lincoln, and Lando. By the time he'd gotten back to the house, he'd forgotten the phone was on silent anyway.
Then the real fun had started.
Link had gone inside to pack up some more of his things, thinking there wasn't much of a reason to leave behind any of his clothing or his toiletries. He'd bought some new body wash and shampoo, but the stuff he had here was fairly new too. He didn't see a point in leaving it behind. He'd been pleasantly surprised when Lincoln had found his way to his dad's closet, and helped to pull some shirts down to pack up. The conversation had been nice, the two of them laughing together like they used to do before everything fell apart. It felt good, really good. Then Christy had dismissed her older son so she could have a chat with Link, adult to adult.
He supposed it had started out just fine. Christy had let him know that she had gone ahead and taken the liberty to schedule a mediation for them the following week. They both had agreed they would try it this way first, in hopes that maybe they could bypass the whole court hearing thing.
They seemed to be agreeing on most things, Link pausing his packing to sit down and talk about the divorce. He thought they were being smarter about it all, actually seeing eye to eye on things and talking like adults should. There had been no yelling, no cussing, no throwing anything or blaming. He'd considered bringing up the condom wrapper, but he didn't feel like it would be a good idea. Maybe he could leave this time unscathed. Maybe. Maybe…
Then Christy had casually reminded him that she didn't think it was a good idea for their kids to be around Noah until Link thought it was serious.
He'd kept his cool, mentioned it was serious and that if he wanted her to meet them then she would. That's all it had taken; the tension had grown thick and the two of them had fallen back ten steps after taking two forward. The worst part had been when Christy yelled about having to clean handprints off her bathroom mirror when she got home, feeling disrespected by Link even having Noah in their house. Link made sure she had known he had found the condom wrapper. He made sure she knew that he didn't care she had moved on, that she shouldn't care that he did, and it wasn't fair for her to be angry about another woman being in the house when she had brought another man into their home on a number of occasions, at least one of which they were still very much together.
That's when Christy had pulled out her phone, showing Link the picture that he and Noah had taken of them a couple of months back.
"We weren't trying to make it work then?" She had said, mouth pursed and hand shaking just a bit.
Link hadn't known what to say, squinting at the picture before remembering his own phone weighing heavily inside of his back pocket. Shit.
He had left immediately, flying out of the driveway with a squeal of his tires. He'd tried to call Noah, but she didn't answer. That had done nothing for his mood and had made him head back to her place even faster. He knew that she wasn't one to enjoy being the center of attention. It wasn't that she hated being in the spotlight, rather, she just preferred others to be the focus instead. Link figured that this picture going around, well, the comments about the picture had just made Noah more of a front runner than she had been before and that made him nervous.
Beyond his relationship, Christy could try to use this against him. It'd been like she was trying to get him to admit to something with Noah long before something even happened, physically at least. His heart had loved the girl for a long time but he hadn't acted on that until he was sure his marriage was done. That wouldn't matter to a judge though.
Link parked his car in the spot he'd been using and hopped out, half running to get inside. Noah's car was parked in her usual spot too, so he knew she was here. He hurried into the complex, jamming his thumb against the button on the elevator as soon as he reached it. It didn't come fast enough, and after a beat of his heart Link turned and jogged up the stairs to the second floor. Finding the spare ring on his keychain, the key Noah had given him, he quickly unlocked the door with shaky hands.
He was confused when he pushed inside and she wasn't there after seeing her car out front.
"Babe?" Link called out, moving to slip out of his shoes and toss his keys on the kitchen island. "Noah?"
The pressure against his ankles drew his attention, and Link reached down to scratch at Jade's little head before patting Dorito on his other side. It made him smile that the two opposites had formed some kind of pseudo friendship in the nine days he'd been staying there. His phone sounding off next to his keys reminded him of why he had rushed home to begin with, his heart beating against his chest, and he went back to moving through the small space toward the bedroom.
He saw the flickering of lights staining the walls outside of the bathroom, soft music drifting through the room when he crossed over the doorframe.
"Noah?" Link asked, poking his head into the bathroom before confirming it was her, and coming to stand inside the muggy space. "What in the world?"
Noah was neck-deep in steaming, bubbly water. She had lit a number of candles that smelled like various fruits and eucalyptus, and she had a cucumber over each of her eyes. Her phone was on the sink, playing out some of her favorite indie rock music which explained why she hadn't answered him when he had called. She had heard Link come home, heard him call out for her the first time, but she hadn't felt like yelling back out to him. She knew he would find her in a few minutes anyway.
Lifting a cucumber to peak out at the dark-haired man, Noah finally acknowledged him. "Welcome back."
Link grunt, "what are you doin'?"
"I," Noah popped the same cucumber slice into her mouth, "am escaping for a bit."
"So, you seen it then?" Link moved to lower the toilet seat, sitting down and leaning onto his elbows.
"Mm, I saw it," Noah told him around a mouthful of vegetables. "I don't wanna talk about it right now though."
"You okay, at least?" He asked, watching as she took a bite out of the other cucumber slice.
"Do I look okay?" She bit back sarcastically.
"Look, I rushed back here to check on you," Link told her.
Noah looked at him, really looked at him, and noticed the strain on his face and the way he searched her own face for any sign she really wasn't okay. In reality, Noah didn't know if she was but she wasn't about to tell Link that. Especially not right now. She knew what she was doing, disassociating from the situation, wasn't a healthy coping mechanism but right now she didn't care. She wasn't ready yet. Right now, she just wanted to stay in this bathtub and let herself turn into a prune.
Then Link let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair, his bicep rippling with the motion, and she had a different idea.
"We can talk about it later," Noah offered, letting a knee rise above the soap suds, "but right now you should join me in this bathtub and forget for a little bit too."
Link glanced over to the girl, a dark brow arching over the frame of his glasses when he noticed the smooth skin she had let peek out from under the water, her fingers skimming across the wet flesh. He was tempted, that's for sure, but he wasn't feeling much like a bath. He'd rather get her out and forget awhile in her bedroom if he was being honest.
"I ain't gettin' in that tub-"
"Oh come on," she pushed herself into a seated position, the slick bubbles sliding against her skin. "I'm not ready to face this, not yet."
He studied her, the green in her eyes reflecting the soft flicker of orange dancing around the room from the candles. Her skin did the same, the light and shadow creating their own story across her body. He felt warm, heat starting to build in his body from more than just the humid air clinging to his clothes.
"Wouldn't you rather come out here?" He tried, standing and glancing down at her looking amused.
"What? You too good for the bathtub?" She teased, flicking some water in his direction.
"Hey!" He hollered, checking out the beads that had wet his shirt. She winked at him, slipping back under the surface of the water and popping back up with her hair slicking back on top of her head.
"I mean, I know it doesn't have two showerheads or anything, but it's nice and deep…"
"Okay! Okay," he told her, rolling his eyes as he reached up to grab at his shirt and pull it above his head when it became clear what her intentions were. "You win, then."
He knew what she was doing. He knew that she was trying to keep him distracted so that neither of them would have to face this shit swirling around the internet right now. He couldn't get mad since he himself was the king of avoidance, but it was definitely important and would need addressed eventually.
Link watched her, watching him, as he moved to shed the rest of his clothing. She had that pouty bottom lip pulled between her teeth as she gazed up at him. He supposed if she kept looking at him like that, avoiding the chaotic stuff would be okay for a while longer anyway since he could almost never resist her like this.
"Well move over then," he mumbled, watching as a smile broke out across her pretty face.
Noah shifted her weight forward, allowing Link to slip in behind her. He hissed a little as he lowered himself into the hot water, easing into the space she had made for him at the back of the tub. He brought his knees on either side of her body as she sunk back against his chest. With both of them submerged, the water teetered dangerously near the top of the tub but neither seemed to notice. If they did, they didn't care.
Link immediately felt himself start to relax. He hadn't realized just how tense he'd been leading up to this, but he was grateful. He could smell the essential oils she had dropped into the water, mixing with the steam, and he allowed himself to relax even further. Link wasn't one to enjoy baths regularly, at least he hadn't been before, but with Noah's naked body sliding up against his he thought he might learn to love them more if they were going to be like this.
"See," she sighed, "isn't this nice?"
"Mm," Link hummed, bringing an arm around her and pulling her even closer to him.
"Tell me something I don't know," Noah stated simply after a moment of comfortable silence.
"Like what?" He asked her, a hand coming to twirl some of her wet hair around his finger.
"Anything," she answered, her eyes fluttering shut as his fingers worked her scalp softly.
"Anything? That's a big order."
"Something about you," she clarified.
Link rested his head back against the curve of her tub. She wanted to know something about him that she didn't. That was a tough one. He talked pretty candidly about himself on GMM, even more so on Ear Biscuits and they'd talked about themselves quite a bit in conversation. Then he started thinking about when he was younger, and all of the crazy shenanigans he used to get into with Rhett. One memory, in particular, jumped out at him, and he let out a small chuckle that rumbled his chest under Noah's head.
"Tell me," she encouraged, her head nestling into his touch.
"'M just thinkin' bout this one time, Rhett n' I were down by the river," Link started, chuckling to himself before continuing. "We went swimming. It was so hot that day, n' I remember we thought it'd be funny if we skinny-dipped. Well, there were some older girls showed up, they were eighth-graders. They uh, they stole our clothes right off the river bank. We had to ride our bikes home naked as the day we were born. Wasn't funny at the time, but lookin' back now I can't help it but laugh."
He felt her shake just a little as her own laugh pushed through her lips, "wow, I can't even imagine. Did anyone see you guys?"
"Well yeah!" He told her, picking his head up and glancing at her where she rested near his collar bone. "We stuck to the woods as much as we could, but there were some eyes that caught us. We even got a honk as we crossed the main road over to the village side of town."
"Aw, those mean girls."
"They were! It was the only time I ever streaked against my will."
"Oh yeah? You've streaked more than that?"
Link winked at her, some college memories coming around that involved Rhett and their roommate Greg. She stretched her neck, kissing the corner of his mouth before sinking back into the water.
"Now there's something I definitely didn't know," she guffawed. "Gotta hear those stories too."
"You will," he assured her. "We got all the time in the world for story tellin."
She hummed her agreement.
"You gotta share, too," he instructed. "What's somethin' I don't know about you?"
"I'm allergic to pineapple," she told him without hesitation.
"I give you a whole story n' you tell me you're allergic to pineapple?" He poked at her, playfully pinching at her side under the water.
"Hey!" She swat at him, a little water running over the edge of the tub. "I just asked for something I didn't know. It could've been anything!"
Link shook his head before reaching for her and bringing her back flush against him.
"You'n get away with it this time, since knowin' that is pretty important. 'Specially if I wanna get back at you for somethin' someday," he teased her, implying he would use the fruit in his favor.
"You would not!" She mocked surprise, turning in his lap to get a better look at him.
Link only shrugged, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a smirk. Noah's eyes searched his face before her eyes connected back with his and she squint. He felt her shift against him a little, her skin slick and sliding against parts of him that immediately began sparking to life under the surface of the bubbles.
"You wanna keep talkin'?" He challenged, his fingers coming up to dust along the skin of her shoulders and down to her collarbone. Her eyes darkened, lashes falling heavy over emerald orbs as she gazed at him.
"We have all the time in the world for that," she mocked his earlier sentiment, earning her a snicker.
Noah twisted her body around, moving carefully in the water but sloshing some onto the floor nonetheless. She would worry about that later because right now Link's big hands were sliding up and down her back. She couldn't focus on anything else. She carefully slid onto his lap, feeling his semi-hard erection come to rest against her thigh.
"What you wanna do instead?" He half asked, his own eyes shifting as Noah's hands slid up his chest, scraping against his neck before carding through his hair.
"You want me to tell you, or you want me to show you?"
Noah leaned in close, giving Link's hair a small tug near the nape of his neck to get his head to fall back. She planted a well-placed kiss against the strong curve of his jaw.
Link grunt, "thought we were done talkin'."
Noah moved her kisses down the line of his neck, across to his ear before she sunk her teeth into him. She knew his neck was sensitive, driving him mad when she worked it with her mouth and tongue. Him growing completely hard underneath her only confirmed that notion.
Link sighed as his hands traveled down and over Noah's bum, squeezing the round flesh and pulling her impossibly closer. That's when she lifted her head, and their mouths met for the first time in a blazing hot kiss. Bodies slick with water, fitting together like puzzle pieces. Hard and soft at the same time, tongues and teeth. Noah's body buzzed with anticipation as Link moved beneath her, slipping further down the tub to plant his feet in the corners as she slid against him, his cock sliding between her folds.
Noah huffed, a stream of hot air coming through her nose as she rose herself up enough to allow Link to push inside of her. His moan vibrated against her mouth, but she swallowed it down as they connected pelvis to pelvis. She loved being on top, Link fitting snug inside of her deep and solid.
They found a rhythm together, Link using the bevels of the tub to give him leverage as he pushed up inside of her. Noah used Link's broad shoulders as she broke their kiss, sitting fully upright and rolling her hips against him.
"Ah, mmm," she groaned, her lip pulling between her teeth as her head fell back.
Link used the opportunity to grip her hips, fingertips digging into the soft flesh as he used his own strength to lift her and bring her back crashing against him. Noah's fingernails dug into Link's shoulders before finding his biceps. She was so turned on by the hard muscles flexing with every move, overwhelmingly hot as she steam swirled around them to mix with the heady sounds of sex and water sloshing in every which way.
Bodies met, again and again with force. Link's toes curled against the porcelain while Noah's brow furrowed and her eyes screwed shut as she chased her orgasm. Rolling and twisting, grinding and pounding, in and out and all around as the water soaked into the rugs on the floor and Link's jeans he had shed. That didn't matter as the two in the tub were all hands and wet, slick skin and movement.
"Come here," Link bit out, leaning forward to snatch Noah's lip into his mouth.
She fell forward against him at the force, grunting and gasping as the change in angle had him hitting her sweet spot with every thrust up. Her forehead rested against his, lightly knocking against him as her groaning started to grow louder. She was so warm, inside and out, ripples of pleasure beginning to spread out from deep inside of her core. She was getting close, open-mouth panting hot air and eyes growing unfocused as her lids fell closed.
"So…close…" It was barely a whisper, falling out of her mouth on the tips of her husky breathing.
Link's hands came up to tangle in her hair, tipping her head back with a tug as he pushed up into her with a sharp snap of his hips. Her eyes rolled back in her head as her orgasm hit her like a ton of bricks and she came hard and fast, his mouth pulling one of her peach buds into his mouth and biting down. The air was squeezed out of her lungs as her thighs stilled and quivered, muscles contracting. She rode the wave as long as she could until the air crashed back into her lungs and she found her voice again, a loud curse and a prayer as Link continued to fuck up into her in search of his own release.
As soon as her muscles unlocked, Noah started moving in time with him again, bouncing on top of him with a sort of reckless abandon. She drug her nails down his chest, bracing against his taut abdomen as his breath grew shallow. Link was getting closer, the familiar tingle starting at the base of his spine. His eyes drank in Noah's body, glistening as she rolled against him.
She recognized that look in his eye, he was going to cum. She loved it when he looked so wild, his hair damp and untamed. She could cum again just watching him as he lost all control. His thrusting became erratic, his breathing coming out in short, harsh gasps. Noah ground down on him, watching his face twist and knit with unabashed pleasure. He reached for her, pulling her tight against him with one arm as his other palmed her ass and held it as he pushed up into her once, twice, a third time before he stilled and released himself inside of her with a loud moan.
The heat in the bathroom was almost too much for both of them, making it difficult to catch their breaths as it came out in short bursts. Noah thought he might've gripped her cheek hard enough to bruise, but she was too lost in the bliss and steam to focus too much on it. So, she rested against his chest as he trailed a finger up and down her spine and rested his head against the back of the tub again.
"Hm, I think we made a mess," Noah muttered, her voice shaky against the tender skin of Link's neck.
"Good thing we're already in the tub then," he told her, continuing his slow trail against the bumps of her back.
She laughed, short and sweet, "but the water isn't".
Link lifted his head with some difficulty, it felt heavy and out of sorts. Noah was right. The tub was only about half full, and every single bubble was gone. The rest of the water had spilled over during their steamy little bathtub romp, leaving the tiled floor glossy and wet as the candlelight threw shades of orange across the surface. He'd worry about that later. Right now, his body was sore and exhausted so he opted to relax back against the tub again.
"I don't care," he stated simply. She sighed, content with that.
Link stared at the ceiling as he continued to feel Noah's soft skin, her weight a comfort against him and her breath sweet and calming. He was always grateful for these quiet moments, both of them lost and in love as they came back down after making love. He felt her heartbeat against his. If only he could turn his brain off too…
"You know we still need to talk about it, right?" He asked her quietly, feeling her stiffen under his gentle caresses.
"I, yeah, I know," she answered. "But it can wait a little longer."
Link didn't answer, picking to keep his mouth shut for once. He held her close, only moving to slide out of her and place a kiss to the crown of her head. He wouldn't let her avoid their picture fiasco forever, but he would let her have a few more minutes of peace first. Besides, he needed some more time to gather his own thoughts too. It was okay, he was okay. They would be okay.
Wouldn't they?