Chapter 24 : Release

Jim couldn't believe she was sleeping there, in his bed, near him. He brushed her back with his fingers to be sure he was not dreaming. That she was really here. That what had happened last night was not once again one of his fantasies. She shivered under his fingers and let out a sigh. A large grin on her face. He loved seeing her smiling. She was so beautiful when she did. And she deserved it after all that she had been through.

Last night had been one of the craziest, maybe THE craziest he had even had. As soon as they agreed to change the nature of their relationship forever, they had been driven through a rollercoaster of emotions. His hands and fingers walked through her whole body. Exploring every nook and cranny of this territory he had dreamed for so long. He kissed her neck, her bare shoulders as her shirt was slowly opening under the pressure of his fingers on the buttons.

She couldn't help but let her hands wander along this body she had pushed away so hardly from her memories. She wanted this man, she needed him. He was not like the other people she had met. He was something more, she was connected to him. At any level. She could feel the tension in the whole room and she was scared. Which was scary because she had done this before. A lot of times. First times with her past lovers had been exciting, not stressful. But with Jim, it was different, more challenging. More issues, more feelings, more emotions were involved here. She shivered. He raised his head for her neck.

"We can stop if you…"

She put her fingers on his lips. "No" and she kissed him strongly. He needed to understand how far she was committed to what was happening right now. He answered her. Their tongues danced for minutes. And they were Ok with this. It felt so natural after all.

She slipped her hands under his tee-shirt. She wanted to feel his skin under her fingers. She sighed as he took off his tee-shirt. He was even more handsome than expected. He slowly unbuttoned her jeans. She took off her shirt. Here she was, there in the middle of Jim Street's bedroom in knickers and bras. She couldn't hide anymore. She felt a hint of shyness seizing her body. He witnessed she was not at ease and embraced her in his arms. She enjoyed the moment to make his shorts drop on the floor.

Time had come. No more turning point and to be fair, either of them really didn't care. It was where they were supposed to be. For a long time if she had not played with his feelings for so long. She jumped in his arms. His hands pressing her bottom made her shiver. He pressed a little more before laying her on the bed. She let him do. She wanted him to be the lead tonight. She was tired of fighting her feelings.

He kissed her body, removing her bra and knickers. She let out a moan as he kissed hardly her breasts. Her hands clutched of pleasure. And it was only the foreplays. He was determined to give her all the pleasure she deserved. She was a fighter but tonight he was the warrior in charge. He kept kissing her, because he couldn't stop. He had been waiting for this moment to happen for years. He enjoyed her dashing kisses all over his chests, in his neck.

He liked when she grabbed onto his body as she was afraid he went away. "Not going anywhere, Chris, you know this." She nodded and kissed him harder. She could feel his desire growing minutes after minutes. He knew she was ready to yield and become his, even for a few minutes. She dropped a quick kiss on his torso as to tell him it was Ok, she was not scared anymore.

He listened to her and finally did what he was thinking about for years. Becoming one with Chris. Because he had been knowing from the day he met her and she had crushed him in front of the whole team that she was the woman he had always looked for. She let out a long moan and grabbed him. She needed him to be against him. She needed to feel him better, to know he was really there.

For a moment, the room was full of fireworks. They tried to contain theirs emotions and then remembered they were alone. It didn't matter the noise they were making, they were the only ones who heard it. Both of them moaned of pleasure at the same time. He kept giving as much pleasure to Chris as he could until he felt they had reached their higher point. Chris scratched him in the back while enjoying the moment. He laughed and laid next to her.

For a moment, they remained silent to process what had just happened. To deal with the consequences? He was scared she ran away. As she always did when she was terrorized by something. He was surprised when she came closer and cuddled next to him. He didn't say a word, he didn't want to break this precious moment. He stroked her hair, dropped a kiss on it and pressed her tighter to him. She was really here, she didn't go anywhere.

This night, they made love two more times. Chris initiated the second time, taking him to places he had never explored. The third time was sweeter, more intimate. Their hands clutched to share their emotions. Their fingers ran over each other's body. Their eyes connected for the whole time to let the other know it was not a matter of sex here but a matter of feelings.

They separated once again, all sweaty, blissfully smiling. She cuddled once again against his body and put her head over his chest. She drew forms over his pectorals with her thin fingers. He pressed her tighter.

"What are you doing?" He asked her grinning.

"Drawing, you know… And enjoying the view." She giggled, hiding her face against his torso.

"I'm glad we finally get here, Chris…" He was afraid of her answer. For any answer, she leaned on him and dropped a kiss on his lips.

"I'm glad too..." And she placed as she was before.

No more words needed. Just the warmth of their bodies and the memories of what had just happened. And a few minutes later, they were deeply asleep in the arms of each other.

[…]

"Coffee?"

She nodded. She couldn't repress the smile on her lips. She was happy. She hadn't feel like this for a very long time. She didn't even remember having felt so peaceful to be honest. She sat in the bed and looked around her. Their clothes were all over the ground. Last night had been crazy, wild, out of control. And this morning she felt like she was freed from a huge weigh over her shoulders.

Jim came back with two cups of coffee and sat in the bed near her. He hold her a cup. She took it, brushing his fingers doing it. She shivered, as if she had been hit by an electric wave. She started drinking. He did the same. Both didn't dare to talk. Both embarrassed. Both shy.

"Glad you spent the night, here, next to me…"

She lowered her head as a teenager in front of her high school crush and smiled, biting her lower lip. "It was nice to stay."

She couldn't believe she managed to articulate those little words. She was like paralyzed. Yet she knew Jim for years now but since last night, everything had changed. He sat closer to her. She could feel his warmth irradiating.

"I was wondering… I mean… As Luca is still with Terry…"

She put her hand over his. "I'd like to."

"That's cool then" She felt he pressed his hand in hers. "Movie?"

She nodded, a smile on her face. "That'd be cool…" He dropped a quick kiss on her hair before standing to go in the living room preparing.

"Hey Long Beach, thanks for having shaken me and showing me what was really important..."

She could tell by the way he was looking at her that he was moved by what she had just told. "Always."

[…]

They spent the day in the sofa, talking about sports and books. Eating pizza they ordered. Oh God they were hungry. Last night had made them so tired, they needed to reload their batteries. Jim turned to take his phone on the coffee table.

"I should get going… Luca may arrive at any moment…"

He grabbed her feet next to him. "If you agree, I'll like you to stay for another night as Luca just texted me he was staying at Terry's for another night… Anyway, if you like to... I don't want to force you to anything and…"

Before he could end his sentence, she leaned on him and kissed him. It was not expected but he enjoyed her fantasy. She split from his lips and looked at him in the eyes, her face was so close to his, he could feel her delicate breathing. He smiled at her, like the goofy man he was at the moment.

"And I know some activities we could do to spend the time…" She stood from the sofa and walked to the bedroom. From where he was seated he could see she had removed her tee shirt. He rushed to join her, removing his tee-shirt too. It was crazy how a day of procrastination could spend so quickly when you found the right activity.

[…]

The alarm clock rang on Monday morning. Chris was still at Jim's house. Luca had not returned home from the whole weekend. She raised her head from Jim's chest as she heard the piercing beep in her ears. He was still sleeping. She shook him to wake him up.

"Jim, wake up. We're late! And I won't have time to go to my apartment to change."

He moaned to let her know he was slowly emerging from sleep. She jumped from the bed to look for her clothes which were dispersed all over the house. As she was pulling her jeans, she saw Jim was looking at her from the doorstep of the bedroom.

"What?"

"You're cute when you hurry."

She wanted to be grumpy, because she was late, because she had the same clothes for three days, because someone could notice this at work. But right now, she grinned at Street. "You're not funny, Street. And hurry, we're gonna be late!"

He giggled and disappeared in the bedroom to get dressed. In less than 15 minutes, he was ready and offering a cup of coffee and some biscuits to Chris. They ate in silence.

"So…"

"We don't say a single word about this… About us… To anyone, right?"

"Never expected to say to anyone the crazy weekend I've just had."

She smiled. "It was crazy indeed…"

"Chris, I promise you that no one will know except the two of us for how long you like." He placed his hand over hers as he told this. As a way to reassure her. He knew too well how scared she could be when it came to her personal life.

She whispered "thanks", stood up and grabbed her jacket on the sofa. "I go first. See you there…" She addressed to him a last smile before closing the door. She remained a few seconds against this same door she had knocked on three days earlier and realized how lucky she was to have a man like Jim Street in her life.

[…]

It had been two weeks since Chris came to his house to talk, two weeks since they had both admitted their feelings aloud. Two weeks they enjoyed each other's company, each other's body. And two weeks they spent every evening, every moment off shift sneaking out and running to each other. Chris was not the demonstrative type but he could say by the way she was committed to run away by his window at night since Luca was back at home that she was enjoying the moment as entirely as he was.

Tonight was not an exception. She kissed him before putting her clothes on. "Need to go home, it's getting late. "

She turned her head to look at the man she was just lying near to a few seconds ago. She couldn't help but smiling.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Why are you smiling? Did I do something wrong… Again?"

"No, no..." She blushed. She was embarrassed that he saw her smiling, he was not supposed to.

"Just like this… You know…"

"Oh I know, you're watching at my perfect body." He started laughing hard at his own joke. Chris soon imitated him. Except he was not wrong. She was looking at him, at his body, at how comforting and warm this place was. He stopped laughing and looked at her. "Oh God, I'm right, your WERE looking at my body!" He announced proudly.

"I …" Chris stumbled on her own words. Oh God, she didn't like feeling so stupid and clumsy like this. "Maybe…"

He knelt on the bed and came closer. She loved his smell. Both so masculine and so comforting. He put his face just in front of her. Face to face. So close she could feel his breath on her face. The same warm breath she had felt earlier all along her body when they made love.

"So you only like my body? Am I a toy to you?" He told her mischievously. His face closer and closer to hers. She smiled.

"Maybe… But who knows?" He kissed her as she ended her sentence. A sweet, then savage kiss. The one he had the secret. She loved feeling his tongue dancing with her. It was energizing and so sexy. She finally separated from him. With regrets. And also a big jump.

"Street, you're home?" It was Luca's going back. His ride to the grocery store had been too short.

"I've to go…"

"I wish you could stay."

She wanted to answer "me too" but she was scared too. What if she revealed herself too early and this relationship led nowhere? What if Jim dumped her? What if the blissful bubble blew up to only reveal it was not made to last? She grinned at him for only answers because despite her dark thoughts, she really enjoyed being with him. He had this ability to calm her and her fears down. To appease her anxiety.

She dropped a last kiss on his lips and went out of Jim's bedroom by the window. She couldn't take the risk to get out by the entrance door. Luca could surprise her and she would not be able to explain why she was sneaking out of his place.

Jim waved at her by the window till she disappear at the corner of the street.