QuarterLifeFling (4 page)

Jude dismounted and pulled off his helmet, his shower-damp,
dark-brown hair wild as it sprang free of its confines. “I’m a mess, babe.” He
grinned.

“Sorry about that.” I returned his smile, doing up my fly as
I got down.

“It’s fine. I’ll do laundry overnight. Come on, I can walk
you back to the cabin.”

“Thanks. I…really enjoyed myself tonight.”

“Me too.” Although we were walking now, his gaze remained on
me, arm resting companionably around my shoulders. “I think I was probably
overly optimistic about the naked part. It got a little cold when we were going
through the forest.”

“I’ll go bra-less next time,” I offered.

“You do that.” He stopped as we reached the porch, bending
down for a good night kiss that was far more tender than I expected.

Suddenly I had to ask. “That tattoo you have…what do S and P
stand for?”

I held my breath as a shadow crossed his face and his eyes
went all distant for a minute. Then he spoke. “You might think this is silly,
but those letters stand for Sergeant and Pepper. They’re my dogs…or, well, they
were. Sarge died last year. Pepper’s a Golden Retriever.”

“Sounds like he’s really important to you.”

He nodded and grimaced. “Yeah. Except he’s not in the best
of health right now. I got him from a rescue. He was pulled out of a pretty bad
puppy mill setup. He needed a lot of training but eventually I was able to
build up his confidence. I guess in turn he built up mine, so I owe him a lot.”

My childhood dog, Rocky, had been a Golden too. I’d cried
and cried when he died. Now that I rented a cramped apartment with a tiny
patio, I couldn’t see myself getting another puppy…and suddenly I envied Jude
his outdoorsy life.

If I kept standing here, I wouldn’t be able to resist giving
him another good night kiss. So I smiled at him and opened my cabin door.
“Thanks again for the ride.”

“Sure thing. ’Night, babe. Expect me tomorrow some time.”

“I will,” I whispered.

I rolled over as a shaft of sunlight hit my face. A minute later
the jangle of the landline prompted a groan of protest. The office sent a
cheery, pre-recorded wake-up call to each cabin at 8:00 a.m. I grumbled
something dire and hung up on the voice, dragging myself out of bed.

I really wished I wasn’t awake, but it wasn’t because I
liked sleeping in. Today was Thursday, the last full day I’d have at Daydream.
The past three days had been filled with sex, meditation, complaints from the
trust-fund blonde, more sex, health food and a few heart-to-hearts with Zara. She’d
turned out to be really cool, soaking up all the details about Jude…and
Salvador.

Jude’s husky foreman had been due to visit Zara’s cabin last
night. Jude had heartily endorsed the guy, calling him a trustworthy man and a
hard worker. I really hoped I’d get more details from Zara over breakfast. She
deserved a good break in life for once.

After I’d showered and dressed, I went to the main hall for
breakfast. I craved something involving bacon and eggs, but most likely I’d get
something involving grapefruit and yogurt. It was a price worth paying to be
near Jude.

“Granola and fruit. That’s not so bad.” Zara took a seat
next to me. Was the other woman’s face flushed or was I imagining things?

“Better than yesterday’s gloop,” I replied.

“Hmm, I think that was porridge, technically.” Zara laughed,
seeming more carefree than she had in the previous few days. Maybe Salvador had
something to do with that.

“So how was last night?” I cut right to the chase, and she
regaled me with a tale that left us both blushing all the way through
breakfast. I hoped none of the older hippies overheard us, but they seemed to
be busy with their own conversations.

“Is Jude going to visit you again today?” Zara asked as we
got up to leave.

“Yeah. He said his landscaping job won’t be complete until
tomorrow.” A twinge of unease folded up through my gut. I knew where he
lived—with his brother in Chico, so not too far away—but we hadn’t discussed
anything about the future. Probably because there wouldn’t
be
a future.
I had to be realistic about this whole thing.

Zara gave me a sympathetic look. “Any plans to keep in
touch?”

“No. It’s just a four-night stand.” A quarter-life fling to
remind me I was still pretty young.

“Maybe you’ll figure something out.”

I hoped she was right. But I wouldn’t depend on it. To
distract myself, I went and joined in the half-hour guided meditation session
in the main hall. But even though I tried hard, I couldn’t get into it. My
thoughts kept wandering back to Jude.

Every time the leader suggested a different visualization,
my mind stubbornly refused to cooperate. All I could think about was him. The
way his lips felt against my skin, the saltiness of his cock, the fact that he
gave me an orgasm every single time—something I hadn’t even realized was possible.

But it was the emotional side that really undid me. He was
cool, interesting, funny and sympathetic all wrapped up in one package.
Basically everything I ever wanted in a boyfriend. And I was losing him
tomorrow, when I went back to being boring old Alanna, working in software
design by day and eating pizza by night.

Finally the meditation group broke up and everyone went
their separate ways. On a whim I wandered into the empty computer room. I
hadn’t thought about work since Monday. My inbox was going to be overflowing
and my boss was probably pretty annoyed by now. Had I even set up an automatic
out-of-office reply? If not, there were going to be a lot of grumpy people on
Monday.

I sat down at one of the desktops. A wiggle of the ergonomic
mouse revealed a thin woman in a bikini lounging atop golden sand. Her head was
thrown back, pearly whites frozen in laughter that would never come. To others,
she was the epitome of beauty. To me, she was fiction.

There were no stretch marks, no jiggly bits on her thighs or
too-flat, exposed stomach. Short of a complete plastic surgery makeover and
tons of slathered foundation (and probably some airbrushing, come to think of
it), I’d never look like that model. Nor would anyone else at this health
retreat. The picture was stupid.

On impulse, I replaced the model with a pair of grazing
horses. Then I delved into my email, firing off a few terse replies to anything
urgent. I’d have to do a lot of catching up on the weekend.

“Hey.”

I jumped a mile as Jude laid his hands on my shoulders.
Signing out, I turned to give him my full attention. He was dressed a bit more
formally today in a blue button-down shirt and black jeans.

“Something I shouldn’t be seeing?” He nodded toward the
computer.

“My boss wants some tweaks done on our latest app’s GUI, my
coworkers are debating C versus C++ and I’m the sole heir to some rich person’s
million dollar fortune. All I have to do is give some dude in South America my
details for a quick bank transfer.”

“That all? I was offered seven million yesterday from a guy
in Europe. I wish I had the energy and know-how to scam them back. Like that
P-P-P-Powerbook thing.”

I giggled at both his pronunciation and the fact that he
even knew about that particular reverse scam. “Yeah, I remember reading about
that when I was a teenager. I laughed so hard.”

His fingers traced a caress across my bare neck, hazel eyes
darkening with intent. “I wish I’d known you back then.”

I swallowed. Was he going to kiss me here? I glanced around
quickly and nervously as he drew me to my feet and into his arms. It was just
us in the room, and Jude reached over to lock the door, brandishing a keyring
with a triumphant grin.

“I have the run of the place during this project. Besides,
the whole point of this retreat is to stay away from technology, which means
we’ll probably remain undisturbed.”

Probably?
The threat of detection should have
dampened my ardor, but I was only more turned-on. I sighed in contentment and
anticipation as Jude slid his hands up my stomach. Perching on the edge of one
of the low computer tables, I shoved a mousepad aside to give him more room to
continue his explorations. As he reached my bare breasts, he froze, eyes
widening in approval.

“You’re not wearing a bra!”

I laughed at his gleeful shock. “Surprise. Just don’t expect
me to go jogging any time soon.”

“You’re not going
anywhere
any time soon.” He was
already tugging my pants down, so I returned the favor, extricating his hard-on
from his boxers. The foil packet in his hand was different from anything I’d
seen, so I guessed he meant what he said about trying out various condoms.

“Ribbed,” he told me, correctly interpreting my thoughts. He
put it on one-handed, teasing my clit with his other hand. “God, you are so
hot. I haven’t been able to keep away from you all this time.”

“I just wish you would stay the night with me.”

“I want that too, babe. But I also gotta concentrate on this
job. I’d sleep too deep with you at my side and I need to be on top of my job
while I’m here.”

“I know.”

His expression softened at my meek words, and he pulled me
up and off the table for a long kiss that left us both panting. His cock jerked
as I skimmed a finger up its length.

“I need you fast, babe. Do you want me to make you come with
my fingers? I’m not gonna last inside you.” He was already stroking me, his
fingers inside my pussy, building that sweet ache into a raging inferno.

“Please,” I gasped. It seemed strange that a mere few days
ago, I was half-terrified of coming. Now I welcomed the release, the careening
loss of control. I didn’t resist as I felt it happening again. Jude grabbed my
head and muffled my cries in his shoulder, holding me close until I quit
shaking so much.

“Put your hands here,” he said when I’d recovered. “I’m
gonna take you from behind.”

“Um. There?” I squeaked. My eyes widened. Neither of my exes
had even broached the topic of anal.

“That? Not yet.” He grinned. “I just want you hard and fast.
And right now.”

Not yet
. I clung to those words as if they were a
lifeline. They meant hope. A future. Together.

Then I couldn’t think at all. He was bending me over the
table, penetrating me slowly as a low groan of pleasure escaped his lips.
“Fuck, you feel so good.”

He gripped my thighs as he thrust again, and I arched
against him to provide maximum access. His cock went deep, and soon I was
whimpering with need. The thought of someone walking in on us was terrifying,
electrifying.

Jude came first, pumping hard inside me as he hissed in
pleasure. Those few extra thrusts were all I needed to tip me over the edge
again. Stars swam in front of my eyes and only Jude’s grip on my lower half
kept me vaguely stable. He laughed as he hauled me to my feet, then we both
froze as we heard voices in the hall.

I rushed to pull my pants up. Just when I was presentable,
flopped on a chair in front of a nearby computer, one of the middle-aged hippie-types
burst into the room carrying a key with an oversized tag marked COMPUTER ROOM.

“Oh! The door was locked earlier.” She looked stumped, and I
felt a little bit guilty.

Jude looked up from the computer he’d chosen. “Really?
Weird. It was open when I came in.”

The woman looked chagrined. “Well, I’ll just return the key
then. My mistake. How strange.”

“Happens to the best of us.” Jude looked nonchalantly back
at his screen, and I bit back a giggle. Part of the condom was sticking out of
his unzipped fly. As soon as we were alone again, he got up and fixed himself,
shooting me a slyly guilty look that had me snickering.

We escaped the room before the woman came back, fleeing
outside hand-in-hand toward my cabin. For the first time in a long while, I
felt like I was living a life I truly wanted. The only problem was that it was
clearly temporary.

“Is this your dream job? Landscaping?” I looked up at Jude
as we walked. He hadn’t gelled his hair this morning, so it was rumpled just
the way I liked it.

“I really like landscaping, and there’s good money in it…but
my dream job is to design and build treehouses.”

Now
that
was cool. “For adults or kids?”

“Both. Whoever wants them.” A beep from his pocket
distracted him and he tugged his phone out, frowning at the screen.

“Everything okay?” I couldn’t help but ask.
I have no
claim on him,
I reminded myself.
It’s just a four-night stand. Just a
fling.

“Yeah…” He didn’t sound so sure, but in the next instant
he’d gone back to normal. “Hey, I forgot to ask if you wanted to use my phone
to text anyone. If you do, I gotta warn you that I turned autocorrect off.”

I snorted, glad that he was back in a joking mood.
“Autocorrect is the devil.”

“It seriously is. I texted my brother that I was going to go
visit our
aunt
and my phone autocorrected that to
cunt
. He’s
never let me live it down. I’m just happy I sent the text to him and not
someone else.”

I snorted and Jude grinned, but then he went all deep in
thought again, holding my hand without really paying attention to anything.
“Hey, I’d better go help Salvador with the finishing touches on the pond. I’ll
see you this evening, okay?”

“All right.” I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. He kept the
goodbye short and sweet. Striding down the path away from me, he fished the
phone back out of his pocket and put it to his ear.

I swallowed hard. Suddenly I didn’t want to be alone in the
cabin. Since I wasn’t about to go running after Jude, I grabbed my swimsuit and
towel and made my way toward the communal hot tubs. Were it not for this fling
with Jude, I would have spent most of my time soaking and enjoying the
tranquility of the surrounding zen gardens.

The hot water did nothing to ease my growing apprehension,
however. I got out after a while, raking zen garden sand with a miniature tool
and re-arranging quartz stones. Even that didn’t take my mind off Jude.

He said he was single, but he could have been lying. That
thought made me wince. Maybe I should confront him, make him show me the texts?
I dismissed that idea pretty quickly—no sense coming across as some crazy
harridan over what was supposed to be a quick fling. Yeah, he’d spoken about
the future, but to him the future probably meant “tomorrow”.

The late summer sun had baked most of the remaining moisture
off my skin by now, so I headed back to the cabin to shower and change. I would
spend lunch socializing with Zara—the trust-fund baby had checked out
yesterday—and be patient until this evening.

* * * * *

You better get here
. The brevity of the second text
told Jude all he needed to know. Handing his tools to Salvador, he raced for
the staff parking lot and peeled out on his motorcycle. The wind tore his curse
words into inaudible shreds, but he yelled them anyway, pissed at the world and
its stupid rules.

The one damn bright spot he had left in the world was about
to spark out. No—that wasn’t entirely true, he reminded himself. There was
Alanna. They were on the fourth night of their one-night stand and heaven help
him, but he was falling in love with her.

Stupid of him to go off without her contact number, but he
needed to hurry.

Lowering his head into the wind, Jude gunned the Harley,
hoping he’d make it home in time.

* * * * *

The moon was bright over the distant trees. Zara had offered
to keep me company, but I’d declined, preferring she spend some quality time
with Salvador. Right now it was coming up to midnight…and Jude was a no-show.

His motorcycle was missing from the lot. I’d gone and
checked like some lovelorn teenager. Right now I felt totally out of the loop,
unable to email or text anyone to blow off steam. Sure, there was a landline,
but who the hell remembered actual phone numbers these days when you could just
press a button labeled MOM or CHARLOTTE.