Pieces of Perfect (27 page)

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We still had an hour before Adam needed to pick up Eva, so we decided to take a quick shower.
 I was sad to wash away the evidence of the fantastic lovemaking we had just had, but at least I got to see him naked a little while longer.

As he stepped into the steaming hot shower behind me, I turned to face him.  And as I drank in his perfect form, I decided that it was time to return the favor.  He had made love to me in a way that was clearly intended to please me first and foremost.  Now, I was going to do the same for him.

I grabbed my loofah and poured my vanilla scented soap onto it.  Then, I dragged it along his chest, leaving a thin film of white bubbles in its wake.  I moved the sponge and my hand over his chest, spreading the soap.  I worked it over his shoulders and then back down to his stomach.  My eyes followed my hands on their journey until the sponge reached the crest of his hips.  I stole a look up at him, and his eyes caught mine.  His green eyes were blazing and he held my gaze as my hands thoroughly cleaned the skin between his hips.  

I finally pulled my eyes away and looked down to see if my hands had caused the desired effect.  They had.  His cock bulged again.  I dropped the loofah, and took him in my hand once more.  The combination of soap and water allowed me to stroke him without any friction or resistance.  I looked back up at him and brought my lips to his.  I nipped at his bottom lip before pushing my tongue into his mouth, letting him know that I was going to do the taking this time.
 

“God, I’ve never gotten so hard this quickly after sex before,” he murmured between kisses.
 

I smiled, taking pride in knowing that I turned him on so much.
 I pulled away from him and half turned, never taking my right hand from his cock, but reaching with my left to turn the shower head so that it pointed against the wall.  Then, I dropped to my knees in the tub, taking him into my mouth.  

He released a guttural sound as he placed a hand against the shower wall for added support.  This sound only prompted me to move my mouth faster, suck harder, and twist my hand around him tighter.  My right stayed at the base of his cock, pulling gently to cover the area my mouth couldn’t.  
 

I pulled my mouth back so that my tongue could work the head as his hands tousled in my hair, applying a slight pressure that caused me to take all of him into my mouth again.
 My lips slid over him as my tongue worked to stimulate the skin of his cock.  
 

“Oh, I’m gonna come.
 Oh, fuck.”  He gently tugged on my hair, trying to pull me back before he ejaculated.  
 

But I would not pull back.
 I continued to suck him, wanting to feel the salty taste of his semen running down my throat.  And as his cock pulsed and began to shoot cum, I continued to milk him, drinking every drop that he expelled.  
 

After he emptied into me, he pulled me to my feet, and brought his body into mine, forcing me against the tiled wall that was warm thanks to the water spraying against it.
 He kissed me deeply again, taking back the control that I had briefly taken from him.  

“Mmm, you feel so good,” he breathed in between kisses.  “I wish I could have my way with you all night.”
 

“God, me, too,” I replied as I drew my arms around his neck.
 As his kisses quickened and began to spread to my neck, I thought that maybe we were about to have a round three.  But as I rocked my body into his, I felt his cock only semi-erect.  I felt a slight pang of disappointment until realization spread through me: I had fucked this man too well for him to be able to go a third time.
 

We finally pulled ourselves apart long enough to leave the shower.
 We wrapped ourselves in towels and then made our way out into the living room to retrieve our clothes.  
 

Adam took my hands and gave them a simple tug that told me he wanted me to sit on the couch.
 So, I did.  I sat there in my towel as he gathered his clothes and began to dress.  

I glanced at the clock on my wall.  8:35.  Sadness filled me. Adam would have to leave soon to get Eva by nine.  But as he pulled his shirt over his head, he sat back down on the couch beside me.  He then reached over and opened my towel, letting it drop so that my naked body was revealed.  He moved closer to me and began running his fingers all over me.

“We’re going to need a vacation soon, so that I can touch you like this for an entire weekend,” Adam said as his eyes roamed over my body.  “Being away from you last week was torture.  I need to make up for lost time.  Thank God the studio is only five minutes away because I plan to have my hands on you until I positively have to stop.” He pushed me back gently and pulled my left leg up onto the couch.  Then, he ran his finger against my clit and along the path that led to my slick opening.  He thrust two fingers inside as his other hand drifted back and forth from my clit to my breasts.  
 

My breathing quickened as his hands worked magic all over my body.
 Finally, as he dangled me precariously close to the edge, he thrust a third finger inside of me. And as all three swirled deliciously, he connected with my g-spot and flung me over the edge.  I clenched around him as my body quaked in delicious release.  As my orgasm ended, Adam withdrew his fingers, but continued caressing my breasts until the clock told him it was time to leave.
 

I walked him toward the door, an emptiness already starting to form at the thought of being without him. He pulled the door open and then turned back to me, pulling me to him, our arms wrapping around each other.
 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing a change in my demeanor.

I hugged him tighter. “I hate that you have to go,” I admitted.
 

“I know, beautiful, I hate it, too.”
 His hands began to circle my back as we stared into each other’s eyes for a moment.

“Alright, well, I guess I gotta let you go,” I sighed as I started to withdraw my arms.
 

But he tightened his grip and brought his face close to mine.
 “You’ll never have to let me go,” he said softly.
 
Then, he kissed me one last, wonderful time before he pulled away.  “I’ll call you tomorrow.”  He walked away from my apartment, descended the stairs, and was gone.

Thirty-Four

             
My sleep was deeper and more restful after my night with Adam.  Everything was as it should be.  As much as I hated to think this way, having Max out of the way would allow me to be the girlfriend Adam deserved.  And this thought gave way to hope.  Hope that our relationship would work out.  That I could become a person worthy of such a great man.

              I woke up rejuvenated and positive.  And this mood carried me throughout the day, adding some much needed pep to my step.  I couldn’t wait to talk to Adam, to see him again.  Such thoughts consumed my day.

So, when the final bell rang and I heard one of my students say, “Hi, Mr. Carter” as they all filed from my room, I nearly jumped out of my skin with excitement. I actually had to do a double take, his presence not registering the first time.  He had never visited me at school before.
 
God, he must have really missed me.  
 

             
But as I analyzed him, my excitement dissipated.  Instead of jumping out of my chair and running to him, I reclined farther back, grabbing the armrests of my chair as if bracing myself for impact.  It quickly became clear that he wasn’t there to resume our activities of the previous night.  Only one thing could cause the look that Adam wore.  He knew.
 

             
I sat there, not saying a word, instead just eyeing him cautiously, tears already starting to form in the corners of my eyes.  He stood stoic, observing me with a cold, detached stare I had only seen once before: at the hockey game. This was wrong.  All wrong.   

              He finally moved, approaching me slowly, as if it took everything he had in him to get any closer to me.  A sick feeling took hold of my stomach as I realized that he didn’t want to be anywhere near me.  His eyes surveyed me as if they were truly seeing me for the first time.  I wondered if how he saw me could be any worse than how I saw myself in this moment.  

              He reached my desk and my eyes flickered to his hand, sensing movement.  He had something in his palm, and he brought it toward me.  He slid it to me across my desk, clearly not wanting to risk touching me. His phone.
 

             
“You want to explain that?” he asked, his voice even.

              I looked down at it.  My breath instantly caught in my throat.  
How the hell had he gotten that?
 Of course, I knew how.  Why, was the more pertinent question.  But then, I knew that answer, too.  

              I closed my eyes, trying to will back the tears and collect myself before I responded.  But, when I opened them again, I was confronted with the same image.  There, on Adam’s phone, was the picture of Max and me in my bed the morning after the fundraiser.  The same one Max had put in the locket he gave me.  
 

             
I didn’t know how to come back from this.  There were no words that could undo what he now knew.  And even if I told the truth: that nothing sexual had happened and that I hadn’t even realized that Max was in bed with me when he took it, it wouldn’t matter now.  Funny how when you’ve told nothing but lies for months, it’s the truth that seems the most unbelievable.  

              “Adam, I . . . I don’t know what to say,” I sighed.  I looked up at him, into his bright green eyes that always told me everything I needed to know.  And what I found there made me hang my head in shame.

              “How about you try the truth?" he growled, low and commanding.  
 

             
“I don’t know that you’ll believe the truth,” I said simply, honestly.

              He scoffed, “You’re probably right.  It’s hard to believe the truth from such a manipulator.”
 

             
I winced.  Was that what I was? A manipulator?  I had lied to him.  But I had done it because I’m selfish.  That I could own.  But a manipulator?  The name didn’t sit right.

              “I don’t think I’m manipulative, Adam,” I started quietly, “I haven’t been completely honest and I’ve omitted truth in order to protect myself and my relationship with you.  I’ve made stupid mistakes because I’ve been too blind and too wrapped up in my own needs that I couldn’t see what was right in front of me.  And even though I see it now, I know that it doesn’t undo my misdeeds.  And all of that may make me selfish and arrogant and impulsive.  But I don’t think that I am, by nature, a manipulator.  I actually think that I’m capable of such brutal honesty and complete transparency it would amaze you.”  

I don’t know why this point was so important to me.  Maybe it was because I was finally realizing that underneath all of the slime and dirt I had covered myself in, there still did live a good person.  And I wasn’t going to wear a title that I hadn’t earned.  Not even for this beautiful man in front of me, who I still wanted desperately.  
 

Adam stood there, his hands by his sides, his face expressionless.
 

Okay, maybe my tirade had been ill-timed.  
“Adam, please, please hear me out.  I love you, that’s the . . .”

“You love me?” he interrupted, looking ready to explode.  “You love me?  Are you fucking kidding?  You clearly don’t know jack shit about love or how to properly show it.  This,” he said disgustedly, gesturing to the phone, “this is supposed to be you loving me?  This makes me sick.  You make me sick.”  He snatched his phone from my desk and started toward the door.

I couldn’t let him leave.  I had to say or do something.

But, I couldn’t.  I felt rooted to my chair, bound by some inexplicable force.  So, instead, I stayed seated, offering so little fight it was pathetic.  “Adam, I swear it’s over.”
 

“You’re right,” he replied gruffly.
 “It is.”
 

With that, he left, stalking out of my room and very possibly out of my life.
 And what had I done to stop him?  Nothing.  I guess I could add coward to my list of descriptors.  

I plopped my head down onto my arms, which were resting on my desk.  And misery settled over me.  I sat there alone for what seemed like forever, but was actually only about three minutes. Just as I was about to work myself up into the kind of sobs that shake your whole body, Tina popped her head into my door.  
 

“Yo, Lil, did
. . . holy shit, are you okay?

I motioned around me with my hands and then shrugged, unable to form coherent words.

“Did you and Adam Carter just have a huge fight over Max?

“Yeah,” I finally choked out.  “How’d you know?” I asked, though I was sure my red, swollen eyes were probably a pretty good indicator.
 

“Because I was just outside for bus duty and I saw Adam walk calmly up to Max and punch him right in the face.”
 

And I was proven wrong once again.
 I didn’t have to welcome hell.  I was already there.