She opened her eyes to the familiar ring of her phone, the soft vibrations coming from the pocket of her coat ruffled at the foot of the bed.
Through the haze of her head she had an idea that it wasn't the first time it rang that evening.
As the room slowly came into focus she noted that it was pitch dark outside, the slow pulsation of the night lights of the buildings setting a silent and steady rhythm.
She heard him rise from next to her, his hands looking for the irritating object eliciting the melody that cut through the silence of the room annoyingly.
She didn't move as she heard him answer the phone.
"Hello" came his voice, calm, alert, making her realise he'd been awake. She could make out the stunned question from the other end of the line even though she couldn't quite understand the words.
"Yeah" he conversed with the caller, his voice not faltering for a second as she heard the voice continuing with the baffled line of questions.
"Yes, she's here" he replied into the small silver phone, calm as a rock.
"She's fine. She'll call you back" he said simply, without any rush or annoyance.
He hung up, cutting off the protesting voice.
She smiled as she heard him shut off the phone completely, tossing it back to where it came from.
She realized how much she's missed that confidence. That refusal of opposition.
She felt the bed shift as he nestled in next to her, close enough for her hairs to stand up on her back, but not quite touching her body.
She smiled at the fact that even though not a part of their bodies were touching, she could still feel the electricity.
She heard him sigh quietly and she turned suddenly to face him, meeting his surprised eyes.
"Thought you were sleeping" he whispered.
She didn't answer, instead focusing on every part of his face, her fingers reaching out to touch the light stubble.
"Was that mom?" she asked, her eyes focused on his lips.
He smirked ever so lightly.
"Yeah" he breathed, his hand absent mindedly traveling up the side of her body, finally landing in her hair, arranging and rearranging the messed up locks.
Her hands too traveled down his body, fingering the seam of his shirt that was ruffled.
"This is your favorite shirt" she noted, memories seemingly flooding her eyes.
He hummed in affirmation.
"It's your lucky shirt" she went on, her voice matter of fact.
He snickered knowing full well where she was going with this.
"You were wearing this on our first date" she went on.
"You mean the first time I got to have sex with you" he corrected.
"Same thing" she shrugged annoyed.
"You like to call that "a date"?" he smirked.
"It was going to be one! So what if you couldn't control yourself and ravaged me in my living room before we ever went out to eat?" she hissed.
"You weren't complaining" he retorted.
She winced and sighed, accepting his argument.
"It seems so far away" she whispered, her voice suddenly small, tired.
"It was" he sighed.
"Would you do it differently? This time around?" she asked, her voice trailing off, her eyes fixed on a button on his shirt that her fingers were toying with.
He furrowed his brows.
"No" he whispered "I wouldn't"
She sighed.
"It was meant to be" he added and she squinted as though his words were too heavy, pushing down on her chest, making it harder for her to breathe.
"Plus I was fucking turned on" he added, as if sensing the need for the mood to be lighter.
It seemed to work, the tension breaking from her chest in the form of a small chuckle as she closed her eyes and let out a sigh.
"Were you?"she teased.
"That dress you were wearing gave me a boner the minute I walked in the door" he replied, his smirk in place.
She blushed and covered her face with her hands.
"Tristan!" she scolded.
"What?" he laughed "It's true!"
"God, you are so childish" she whined.
He snickered and watched as she dropped her hands from her face, her sight once again settling on her favorite button.
He smiled, almost knowing what was coming.
"Tell me how it happened" she said, her voice barely audible.
"What?" he asked, as if he didn't know what she was referring to, a small smile playing on his face.
"Us" she replied, still not looking in his eyes.
His smile grew wider as he heard her request, referring to the age old tradition between them, her asking him to tell her their story, the one she knew just as well as him, yet wanted to hear recited time and time again.
He cleared his throat turning onto his back and settling comfortably on the bed, pulling her slightly with him as he focused his sight on the ceiling above, with Rory's head resting on his chest.
"Well. I believe I was standing on the corner of 61st and Madison, hailing down a cab, when I looked across the street and caught sight of these incredibly familiar set of blue eyes" he started and felt her ease into his hold, her breathing becoming calm.
"I froze and I had this rush of memories from Chilton. Being a clueless teenager, awkwardly trying to get the attention of a girl who was obviously out of my league" he chuckled.
"I was out of your league?" she asked incredulous and he chuckled again, hearing her familiar question.
It was like the lines of a play they recited, over and over again, mostly the same, but with little improvisations that made every one of these conversations unique.
"Yeah, you were" he replied.
"You were the school heartthrob" she retorted.
"I was an ignorant little punk. You were something special even back then. You were out of my league" he elaborated and she didn't protest anymore, a silent signal for him to go on.
"So all these memories came rushing back and they all seem to swirl and morph into the figure standing across from me on the street, her hair disheveled and the wind blowing her skirt up slightly. Now I definitely didn't remember you having legs that hot back in high school" he said, his voice dropping a notch and he felt her laughter rumbling into his chest.
"You stood there and showed no intention to cross the street, so I had to do it, sending the cab on its way. I believe I was grinning like a fool and you broke into one of those smiles"
"What smiles?" she asked.
"One of those when your eyes light up" he replied casually and she smiled into his chest.
"I said 'Hello Rory'..."
"You said Mary" she corrected, her voice accusing.
"Right, it might have been Mary" he chuckled, knowing full well it was.
"It was" she replied.
"And I think I just stared like a stupid fool" he went on, inducing a chuckle from her.
"Why?" she asked, her voice giddy, already anticipating the answer.
"Because you were gorgeous" he replied, pleasing her with his answer.
"Was I?" she played it further.
"Yeah, you were wearing this white shirt, and this overcoat, and your hair was everywhere because of the breeze and your skirt was swirling around you, and your legs went on for miles and your eyes...your eyes were as blue as ever, and that's the only part of your body that didn't change really"
"I said 'Whatcha staring at?', right?" she asked and he laughed.
"Yeah, and you smiled, like you knew that I was falling all over myself" he added.
"It was pretty obvious" she agreed and he laughed again, remembering one of the rare moments when he was lost for words when faced with a woman.
"I said 'You grew up nicely' or something along the lines of that" he continued "and you said 'What, I don't strike you as the Mary, anymore?'. And I believe that is when I chocked on my words and just stared like a dog in heat"
"That's not how I remember it, I think you said 'You strike me as someone dying to have dinner with me tonight" she replied.
He chuckled.
"Oh, right. Smooth" he said.
"I believe I replied: Tristan Du-Cocky-as-Ever-Gray" she said, her voice thoughtful and he chuckled again remembering her words.
"But you agreed nevertheless" he added.
"Yeah, it was temporary insanity" she replied cynically.
"Oh yeah? If that was temporary insanity, what do you call later that night?" he arched an eyebrow.
"The result of several months of lack of sex?" she tried and he chuckled, his hands caressing the small of her back.
"I went to pick you up and you buzzed me in saying you needed another minute and I should wait on the couch instead of the street"
"I couldn't find my earrings" she explained.
"Earrings my ass. You just wanted me in your apartment" he retorted.
She gasped.
"I did not" she denied.
"I walked in and you were all flustered and you mumbled something about your apartment being a mess and you only needing another minute and I swear you looked so nervous that I just wanted to calm you down..." he said, his voice dropping to a husky whisper.
"Okay, you are bending the facts right now" she said trying to turn to look at him, but he held her in her spot on his chest.
"So I grabbed your hands and stopped you when you wanted to disappear into your room and you looked at me all confused, your breathing hitching..."
"Are you just describing a Danielle Steel plotline right now?" she said annoyed.
"And I said 'Relax, it's just a dinner' and you just stared at me and then launched into my arm..."
"Excuse me?! This is all in your head buster"
"And kissed me like you had been waiting to do that since the day I left Hartford" he said dramatically.
"Okay, shut up, this is not how it was. I seem to remember you mentioning a boner when seeing my dress" she said accusingly.
"Okay, fine so you opened the door and I saw you in that black dress and wanted to fuck you right there, so I did. It sounds a lot less romantic" he sighed.
"It's the truth though" she pointed out.
"Yeah" he agreed chuckling.
His hands went back to roam her body and she eased into his arms once again, the silence settling in on them.
"So how was it?" she asked, her voice back to being small and he smiled again, as the conversation resumed its familiar route.
"It was... incredible" he said, pausing for a second "You were beautiful and electric and incredible to touch and... you moaned when I kissed the side of your neck and it made me go nuts... and you whimpered when I lifted you and wrapped your legs around my waist" he said, taking a breath, knowing this is the part where she usually got turned on by him reciting the story.
"And?" she asked, her voice breathy, her muscled tensing under his roaming hands.
"And I took you into your bedroom and pulled your panties off and was so fucking eager I didn't even take my clothes off, just unzipped my pants and lay on top of you..." he stopped hearing her let out a long breath and doing a little moan, as her body melted into his.
He felt himself harden thanks to the memories flooding his brain and her obvious arousal elicited by his words.
"Go on" she breathed as she turned to straddle him, her naked form slipping from the sheets that were covering her up till now.
He looked at her, recognizing the lust in her eyes, swirling in a deep blue. His hands wandered up her sides, sliding along her breasts and landing on her neck, brushing her hair back.
"I pinned your hands up above your head and I slipped into you" he went on, his mouth going dry as he felt her small hands drag on his boxers, freeing his growing erection.
"What did it feel like?" she asked in a whisper and he closed his eyes moaning as he felt her grasp him, stroking him to a full erection.
"God" he mumbled, his mind going fuzzy, making it impossible for him to concentrate.
"What did it feel like?" she repeated her question, leaning over him, her breasts grazing his chest through his shirt.
"You felt warm" he choked out, her rhythmic pumping sending shivers up his spine and making his mind go blank "and tight... and wet...God... you were so fucking wet" he breathed.
"Like this?" she whispered as she repositioned herself, her center meeting with his expectant erection and his eyes went wide, feeling her warm, wet heat sliding along his length.
"Fuck" he cursed, not being able to hold back anymore, his hands landing on her hips as he slammed up into her, filling her up with one hard thrust.
She cried out and it made him go crazy with want.
He cursed again, breathing her name as he lifted her slightly and then slammed back into her.
"Go on" she moaned between thrusts.
He set a steady rhythm and forced out the words as he stared up at her writhing form.
"I fucked you so... hard that you... came twice" he grunted.
Her answer was an unintelligible moan, almost sending him over the edge.
He felt her increase the rhythm and he knew she was close. He guided her movements with his hands, bringing her harder down on him with every thrust as he gathered all his strength to be able to formulate the next words.
"And when you... came... the second time... you panted my... name..."
She was riding him with full force now, her moans becoming a continuous murmur.
"And that... pushed me over... and I spilled into you... screaming" he grunted feeling her muscles go stiff as she started contracting around him.
"Triiiis..." she panted, their pattern repeated and he cursed as he slammed into her one last time, cumming into her as she collapsed on top of him.
He took deep breaths, trying to fill his lungs with oxygen as his heart still beat wildly in his chest, his fingers shaking as he traced her back.
He listened to her breathing finally slowing, her dead weight on him proof of how spent she must have felt.
"It was..." he resumed the story, his voice still strained "incredible... I never wanted to leave"
"You hardly did" she scolded "I had to kick you out the next morning"
He chuckled.
"Hey, again, I don't remember you complaining" he pointed out "You came, what? 4-5 times that night?"
"6" came her embarrassed answer, her face still buried in his chest.
"Wow. I am a god" he deadpanned and she chuckled as he caressed her hair in the quiet of the dark room.
xxxxxxxxxx
He flexed his muscles as he turned onto his back, his eyes opening slowly, still heavy with sleep. He listened to the complete silence around him for a long second as a sinking feeling came over him, the events of last night now a clear memory in his head. He sat up suddenly, his eyes searching the room bathed in the grayish light of the autumn morning.
"Rory" he sighed, already knowing that the apartment would be empty.
He kidded himself nevertheless, telling himself she would be in the kitchen searching the top shelves of his cabinets for hidden coffee, her bare feet on tiptoes as her long legs peeked out of his favorite shirt, barely buttoned over her naked figure.
He walked out of his bedroom, his footsteps muffled by the plush carpet and he froze seeing the post-it on the mirror next to the front door.
His jaw clenched as he walked up to the note, his fingers tearing it from its spot.
All it said was 'I'm sorry'.
His anger boiled over as he balled his hands, crumpling the piece of yellow paper and his fist smashed into the mirror breaking it into a million little pieces shattering on the floor.