Chapter 5 - Up Against the Wall

17th March 2005

JC entered the hotel room and immediately flopped onto the bed, curling his body into the fetal position.

"The rest of the luggage will be up in a moment," a short, dark-haired bellboy said as he placed a few suitcases by the dresser.

"Thank you." Eric tipped the bellboy. "Strange, doesn't the Wynette prefer to place lilies of the valley on the entrance table?"

"Oh, these were delivered this morning. From an Elizabeth Argyle. What's wrong with him?" the bellboy responded.

"Heartbroken."

"Oh." The bellboy looked at Eric and gave a tight-lipped smile, shrugging. "Oh, well, life."

Eric looked at him. "I'll give you $500 dollars if you don't go to the press."

"I can't possibly take that kind of money." The bellboy looked at JC's back as he slid the money out of Eric's hand. "Thank you for the generous tip, sir."

Eric closed the door behind the bellboy and turned to check the flowers. "They're very pretty, Josh, yellow daisies." He took the small white envelope from the bouquet.

"I don't care," JC grumbled from his ball. "I just want to sleep."

"She sent a card."

"She probably ordered it before she dumped me. Forgot to cancel it probably. Never loved me."

"I'll let you sleep," Eric said as he placed the card on the table. He heard JC start to hyperventilate as he closed the door.

"What do I do with his luggage, sir?" a large black man asked.

"Just get them to take it to my room, Emerson." Eric ran his hand through his hair. "She really made him happy, I'd be sorry to see her go."

"They don't usually send flowers, sir."

"Call me Eric," he said, wincing as JC's muffled sobs echoed faintly the in hall.

The next evening JC entered his hotel room from a business meeting. His father and lawyer, Adam, had flown up from Orlando as Eric started preparing to buy out his deal with Jive Records. Adam had outlined the negotiations over dinner, how much the contact asked for in the event of a buyout, $15 million, and that Jive were willing to sue if need be. Adam also claimed to have found a "failure to promote" clause that could lead to an instant voiding of the contract if a conflict of interest could be proven.

All of this, of course, was white noise to JC. He missed Ellie. He had turned off food completely and was only absorbing calories from the few drinks he was having each night to numb his loneliness. But he didn't need that many calories if all he did was sleep. He had sat there at dinner staring into the table in front of him, only speaking when spoken to. He hadn't heard from her since Monday. He had spent the last few days going back and forth between pride, choosing not to respond in defeat, and reassuring himself that Ellie was not only shy, but incredibly stubborn, and possibly she was choosing not to contact him for her own reasons. But over the last day a third option had started appearing in his doubts, maybe she just didn't want to be with him. She would've contacted him knowing he was in New York if she did want to stay with him.

JC stood in front of the table in the front entrance hall of the hotel suite. The bouquet of daisies sat in a white box, arranged in a square. A single white envelope sat by the box, which he had been ignoring. It held two possibilities, one: a thank you for the flowers he had sent to her office on the third, or two: a final goodbye, his Dear John letter, an explanation. He turned over the card and saw "Joshua" written in her handwriting, March 17th dated in the right top corner. He stopped breathing, holding his breath as he ripped open the envelope, a lump forming in his throat. He slid the pale blue card out of the envelope and read her light cursive script. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I got scared, Ellie."

Ellie sat on her bed reading as the phone rang. Not thinking, she picked up. "Hey, Ellie speaking."

Silence flooded the ear piece for a few moments. Finally, JC spoke in a deep exhausted tone, "I..." He paused. "I missed you...Please take me back."

"Josh, baby, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..."

He cut her off. "I'm downtown at the Wynette, just come over, please."

Ellie checked her alarm clock. "It's nearly 11 o'clock."

"I know...I just...Please come over. I don't want to sleep with you or anything, just watch TV and grab a pizza or something. I don't want to be alone right now."

"I can't guarantee that if I come over that I won't be sleeping over. I also can't guarantee that if I sleep over, I won't try to fuck you." Ellie winced when she realised what she had said. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just I was waiting for you, and hearing your voice, I thought this was some kind of booty call." She heard a small chuckle at the other end.

"OK, how about this then? You come over and I'll fuck your brains out, but only, and only if you do it as my girlfriend." He offered in a much lighter tone.

"I'll be there in 25 minutes."

"I'm on floor 39. Emerson will let you in."

A woman in a navy blue overcoat walked through the hotel foyer; her shoes tapped along the marble floors. She entered the elevator and ascended to floor 39. She walked down the hallway, meeting her rendezvous, a large black man.

She took off her sunglasses and greeted him. "Emerson, would you do the honours?"

Emerson knocked on the penthouse door, and it swung open. JC pulled Ellie into his suite. He slammed the door as he dipped her into a kiss.

"Are you wearing what I think you're wearing?" he asked her as she playfully untied her coat belt.

"I don't know, you tell me?" She ripped opened her jacket to reveal an oversized white t-shirt and a pair of oversized grey sweatpants. She kicked off her trainers and jumped on the bed.

"Why do you have to dress so sexy?"

"Hey, hey, I thought we agreed that this is a casual eat pizza and watch TV thing. Anyway, your outfit is so hot, you could fry an egg on it."

"What, these old things." He motioned to the pair of red pyjamas with cowboys and horses on them as well as a grey long sleeve t-shirt he was wearing. "I've had them for years. Wine?"

"Fuck yeah."

He passed over a glass of red wine and then snuggled into bed with her. "We need to talk."

"I know." She took a sip.

"I'm pretty sure you broke up with me."

"Oh, I did."

"Why?"

"I got scared. We were supposed to be something casual, a bump and move on thing. I really like you now, and I realised whilst you were away that if we ended things it would hurt me."

"So you tried to end it before I could?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry." She snuggled into his chest.

"I was left feeling very hurt by it."

"I can imagine. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

He held her close to him, pressing his cheek to her crown as he smelled her hair. "Stay with me a little longer, please. Other than that, if I think of something, I'll let you know." They sat holding each other for awhile, finding comfort in the silence.

After a moment, Ellie asked, "Does this place have a bath?"

"Yeah, quite a big one."

JC watched as Ellie lowered herself into the water as she pulled her hair into a messy bun. "I'm thinking of getting a haircut," Ellie said as she undid the bundle and attempted to retie it a third time.

"I like it long. I don't know why you don't wear it down more often," he replied as she positioned herself to lay on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her.

She looked up at him, their eyes meeting before she rose up to kiss him. "I'm really sorry, Joshua."

"I know. I forgive you."

She lay back down on his chest. "How? How do you know?"

"You wouldn't keep apologising if you weren't." They laid in the bath for awhile as he ran his hand up and down her back.

She started singing. "I was dreaming of the past, and my heart was beating fast. I began to lose control, I began to lose control. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry that I made you cry. I didn't want to hurt you."

He cut her off. "I'm falling for you."

She sat for a while in shock. She finally replied, "I know."

He tightened his arms around her kissing her hair. "You're perfect. I thank God everyday that he sent you to me." That night they fell asleep in each others arms.

The next morning Ellie stood in a white t-shirt in the bathroom doorway as JC slept on his stomach. He stirred, wiping his eyes, then smiling when he saw her.

"Hey, good morning," she whispered.

He beckoned her to the bed, turning over on to his back. "Is it raining?"

"Yeah." She laid on top of him, entwining her fingers with his. She kissed him. "Any ideas for what you want to do this morning?"

"I know exactly where this is going."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do." He wrestled with her briefly, using his weight to flip her over to her back, him staring down at her.

He let go of her hands as he shifted his left arm underneath her head. He ran his right arm along her torso, lifting her shirt up to reveal her left breast. He firmly pressed his lips to hers. He took her left hand and slowly pushed it underneath the band of his sweatpants, guiding her to touch his penis.

"If you want this, you're going to have to say it. I know you're playing with me," he whispered in her ear.

"You going to have to do a lot more than that to get it out of me," she replied, coyly.

He slid his hand between her legs, discovering that she wasn't wearing panties. He sat up to take a further look, opening her legs wider to confirm his suspicions. He looked back at her. She laid there with her breasts bare, hair spread out behind her. She held her right pointer finger between her teeth. With a smile, she dared him to go further.

"Either you've forgotten something, or you have something to say to me?" He ran a single finger along the outer lips of her pussy. He heard her give a small grunt in pleasure.

He bent down to kiss her stomach, then he took her left breast in his hand as he softly bit her right nipple. His bare chest brushed along her body as he slid up to softly bite her neck. He kissed her again, pressing his tongue to hers, teasing her. He slid down his sweats, revealing his hardened cock.

He took her hand again and guided her fingers around the shaft. "Do I need to remind you that it's been 17 days since we fucked?" he asked. "Either you tell me that you want me to make love to you, or I am going to come on you, very, very soon."

She took her hand from his cock and guided his head back down to kiss her as she placed her other arm around his shoulders. She softly whispered in his ear, barely audible, "Make love to me, slowly."

He rose up to completely undress and put a condom on. He spread her legs and started to rub her pussy. She squirmed in pleasure.

He asked her, "How long has it been since you came?"

"The bath, the one you told me to take," she whispered. She gasped as he slid two fingers into her.

"You haven't come since then? What about all those times we spoke?"

"I got very wet, but I was waiting for you. Oh shit, Daddy." Shockwaves ran through her body as he started rubbing her clit with his thumb. "I can make myself come, but not as hard as you can."

"Do you think you're going to come soon?"

She nodded. "Yes."

He watched as she turned her head to the side to let out a silent cry. She dug her nails into the sheets as she arched her back, reaching orgasm. He took his fingers out of her and pulled her t-shirt over her head. He put his arms behind her shoulders and lifted her up until they were both kneeling. He pulled her ass closer to him, lifting her up to sit on his lap. She kissed him, wrapping her arm around his neck as she helped him guide his cock into her. She started to slowly rock, clenching her pussy as she went forward, relaxing as she went back.

"Yes, Mummy," he whispered as he urged her to increase her rhythm when he needed her to.

He spread his knees, moving into a more agile position before he started thrusting, matching her movements. She moaned before stopping, unable to continue. He slightly quickened his pace, putting more force into his thrusts. He rested his head onto her shoulder as he felt himself coming. After a few quick hard thrusts, he was done. He pulled her as close to him as he could. She looked down at him. "I'm sorry."

"I know," he replied before he kissed her.

To: claire.matherson@bridgesholdings.fake

From: elizabeth.argyle@clefnotesmagazine.fake

Subject: Quick Message

Claire,

Just sending a quick message to say that I snuck out last night and stayed with JC. I will probably be spending tonight with him as well. Please feed Linus. I will reimburse you for any money you spend on cat food, litter, etc. Enjoy your weekend.

Ellie

Ellie heard a snap as she checked her email on JC's computer. She was sitting at the dining table of the hotel room in her white t-shirt and a pair of JC's briefs, her legs tucked under her butt, hair up in its usual bun. She turned to find JC standing there with a small silver digital camera. "Why did you take my picture?" she asked.

"I don't have any photos of you. I want one," he replied, checking the view finder. "What do you think?" He showed her the picture of her.

"It'd look good in black and white. If you give me the memory card, I can edit it." She watched as he went to get the adapter for the camera.

"I want to warn you I haven't uploaded for awhile."

"Why? Aren't you scared of losing anything?"

"Not really. Nothing from the past few months."

"But you just got back from that Asian tour. You don't want to keep anything from that?"

"My crew has photos from that. These are just bad memories. Stand up." She did what he said. He sat in her seat and pulled her into his lap, connecting the camera to the computer.

She opened the program she would be using and scrolled through the memory card. She saw the photos documenting the last few months of his life. She saw pictures from wardrobe tests, pictures of family gatherings, the odd styrofoam cup, a photo of Britney Spears drinking what appeared to be orange soda from a yard glass, photos of Chris and Lance at Joey's wedding, a picture of Justin by a pool, and a picture of a tree smashed through the side of a house. Every now and again she would see a photo of a petite brunette Hispanic woman, smiling, toasting the camera, walking along the beach, sunbathing in a aqua bikini. Ellie knew whom she was and had a faint idea of her relationship to JC, but it hit her the moment she saw a photo of them kissing.

"You loved her," she whispered.

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"She just decided to move on, with a ball player. She's gone now, doesn't matter anymore."

They sat in silence for awhile as she found the photo of her and opened it to edit it.

"Don't do too much to it. I like you the way you are," he said, breaking the silence.

"Why do you want to be with me?"

"Because you're very beautiful and smart, funny, unbelievably sexy. Why wouldn't any man what to be with you?"

"Why me? Thousands of women fit that description. Why me in particular?"

"Why not you?"

"Look at her? Look at Eva. She's perfect. Perfect hair, perfect tits, everything."

"She paid for those tits with her divorce settlement. The hair is paid for by the studio as well as the beauty team that makes her look that perfect 24/7. Her idea of funny is insulting herself and other women using a combination of bimbo, southerner and Mexican stereotypes. She constantly tears down other woman. She's not happy unless she has the best shoes, the most expensive car, the richest boyfriend. She constantly needs to be as drunk as she possibly can whilst never being able to palate strong liquor. Everything is a fucking performance with her, everything. She's not a person, she's a star. Whatever humanity she has she's using it to boost her public image. She spends so much time appearing perfect that she's a poisonous shell of a human being."

"Please don't say that being with me made you realise all of that."

"No, I knew it all along." He paused. "My heart feels safe with you." He buried his head into her hair.

"I tried to break up with you." He lifted his head up as he started to become disgruntled at the conversation.

"Look, I know better than anyone that I can get intense when I'm falling for someone. At first, it's all cool, then I'm like an emotional lamprey hanging off your heart. I need you to trust me and how I feel for you. I also need you to stop looking for the most minor flaws and declaring each one a reason to shut everything down."

She got up from the table. "I'm not used to being with someone so..." She trailed off.

"So, what?"

"I don't know, emotional, so, so...open, sensitive."

"There's nothing wrong with any of those things."  He tried to reassure her.

"They're scary, you're scary." She got dressed and left. He sat in silence for a few minutes.

"She'll be back," he said to himself. He looked at the edited photo. He clicked "File" and "Save As". He named it "Ellie" and saved it to his pictures folder. He opened "System Preferences" and replaced the generic green Apple wallpaper with the image.

Ellie entered the apartment around noon. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"I'm not in the mood, Claire."

"You're in the mood to fuck off at 11 at night, but you're not in the mood the deal with any of the consequences?"

"I've been downtown at the Wynette, OK?"

"What the fuck were you doing at the Wynette?"

"JC by the looks of it," Derek said under his breath.

"I'm an adult. I can come and go as I please. You're not my mother."

"And what would she think of your behaviour?"

"You can be a fucking bitch when you want to be." Ellie slammed the door to her bedroom.

"I swear to God I can not deal with her right now," Claire said as she sat down next to Derek on the couch.

"She's scared. This is all new to her. Nothing after Miles was going to be a safe bet. Go big or go home."

"I've tried to set her up with nice guys..."

"But it never works out. She wants a connection, someone who will set her alight just by looking at her. Not some guy who will give her a house in the suburbs. She wants a Rhett Butler, a Mr. Darcy, not Ron from accounting."

"You've given me an idea."

"Don't try to set her up with Ron again. Look, she's resilient. Let the baby have her bottle. If something goes wrong, then we'll...Don't try to set her up with Ron again."

Ellie sat in the bath, her head resting on her knees. She had been trying over the last few hours to figure out just exactly how she felt and what she wanted from the relationship. She liked JC. She liked him very much. He was sweet and funny, incredibly sexy. He was the best lover she had ever been with; amazing technique, very generous, great kisser, very well-endowed. He was very playful, but he knew when he had to be serious. From what she could tell, he was honest with her. He was patient and caring, forgiving. He had a career. He was financially stable, owned his own home. He owned a few from what she could tell. He could easily support a family. Could he be husband and father material? She let her mind wonder and pictured the two of them having her dream wedding, barefoot on the beach at sunset. She always imagined a more casual groom, but she smiled to herself when she imagined JC in a suit and tie. She thought about their home life. JC would have to get a bigger house if they were planning on having more than one child. They would have two; the eldest would be a girl, bookish like her, creative and artistic like JC. She'd be a perfect combination of the two in personality and looks. Their youngest would be a boy, an exact clone of JC looks wise, but he would have Ellie's eyes. He would be a rowdy, constantly giggling, floppy-haired thing. She was trying to find a perfect set of names when there was knocking on the bathroom door.

"Hey, Ellie." Claire greeted her as she poked her head through the door. "I'm very sorry for earlier. Derek and I are going to go to the market to get some groceries. Do you want to come with us? I could make chicken and dumplings for dinner. I know how much you like them."

The three of them, Ellie, Claire, and Derek, were walking in the light rain to the grocer's four blocks from their apartment. "Oh my God, Ron, hi!" Claire exclaimed seeing her co-worker.

"I thought he lived in Brooklyn," Ellie muttered to Derek. "He's a bit far out of his territory."

"Just smile. Claire is trying to set you two up again," Derek replied as Claire pulled the mid-height ginger man with glasses towards them.

"Hello, Elizabeth, Derek." Ron greeted them. "Thank you for inviting me for dinner."

Ellie pulled Claire aside once they were in the vegetable aisle. "What the fuck is this?"

"I thought it would be nice to have a work friend over for dinner, that's all."

"Tanya is a work friend. Ron is you trying to control my love life."

"Ron's a great friend, very nice guy."

"We have no chemistry."

"That doesn't matter."

Ellie pushed her hair back. "You don't get it. He thought my urethra was my clitoris."

"A relationship doesn't..."

Ellie cut her off. "He thought my clitoris was my urethra. He also thought my urethra was in my vagina. He doesn't believe in the G-spot because he thinks it's the clitoris. Do you know what it's like to have a sea bass go down on you? I do, because Ron went down on me. I need good sex. You don't give up filet mignon for dog food."

"Hey, can I borrow your phone, Ellie? I left mine at the apartment." Derek appeared on Ellie's side.

"Why?"

Derek leaned in to whisper to Ellie, "I have an idea. If Claire can invite someone to dinner without asking you, you can invite someone as well."

"Josh has a dinner meeting."

"Shit, he's talking about level 12 Dungeons and Dragons battle-axes. I want to blow my brains out."

"Ellie, do you want to make your cherry pie for dessert?" Claire asked, placing a bunch of celery in the cart.

"If I can use a frozen crust, sure." And spit in it, she thought to herself as she walked to the tinned fruit aisle. She made a deep sigh when she realised Ron was following her.

"I don't understand why you didn't call me back after our night of lovemaking. I thought we had a great time," Ron said, trying to strike up conversation.

"Please don't call what we did lovemaking."

"But that's what it was." He used the palm of his hand to stroke her hair.

"No, what I did this morning was lovemaking. What I do with my boyfriend is lovemaking. What we did was an excuse for our species to reconsider mitosis as a valid form of reproduction."

"Actually, we as a species are too biologically complex to be able to reproduce via mitosis. Where are you going?" Ron rebutted as Ellie stormed into the pet supplies aisle and dragged a bag of kitty litter onto the floor. "I can help you with that."

"Ugh, it's fine. I can do it," she said in a disgruntled manner as she placed a tray of cat food cans on the sack and lifted it up. She went to Claire. "I'm going to pay for these and go home. You can shove your pie."

Ellie was sitting, watching The Land Before Time as her roommates and Claire's dinner guest arrived back to the apartment. Derek gave Ellie her phone. "Don't say I don't do anything for you. I tried."

"I love this movie. I wanted to be a palaeontologist because of it. Didn't get the SATs, though." Ron sat down on the couch next to Ellie as Derek let out a loud groan. They sat in silence as they watched Littlefoot's mother's death scene.

Let your heart guide you, it whispers, so listen closely. Tears welled up in Ellie's eyes as an epiphany hit her.

"Go to him," Derek said, watching them through the kitchen hatch.

"I need to go." Ellie grabbed her coat and phone and ran out of the apartment to the nearest subway station.

Ellie tried her best to reach JC as she took the train downtown. A text message came through. "I can't come to dinner, but if you want to have dinner with me, my meeting's in the hotel restaurant, Josh." At her stop, she got of the train and started her way to the hotel. She walked through to the foyer, past the elevators to the entrance of the hotel's restaurant.

"Excuse me, ma'am, can I help you? Do you have a reservation?" the host asked as Ellie scanned the dining room.

"Baby!" Ellie shouted when she spotted JC sitting at a table with Eric and two middle-aged greying men. He looked up and got up from the table and crossed the restaurant. He took her in his arms and kissed her.

"Elizabeth." He smiled as he cupped her face in his hands.

"I want this, I want you, I want us."

"That's wonderful," he said as he kissed her again. He held her briefly before he speaking. "I need to tell you some things. I'm only telling you because this is going to affect our relationship. I'm moving to New York for awhile. I'm done with the album, and Eric and my dad believe it's time for me to move on. We're going to be spending some time here because I'm buying out my record deal. You can not tell anyone this. We're still planning it. We haven't made any real motions towards it. We're moving here in case there's some legal issues. I trust you. Please don't sell me out, OK?"

Ellie nodded. "OK."

"OK, good." He turned to lead her to the table.

"Wait, I want us to go steady."

"What?"

"It sounds immature, very high school in fact, but it's the only term I can think of right now. I want us to be open and exclusive, no more hiding in the shadows."

"OK, we're not going to the press though."

"Honey, I am the press," she said jokingly. "I know what you mean. Just open to our loved ones."

"OK, well, come on then." JC took her hand and led her to the table. He introduced her to his dinner guests. "Elizabeth, you know Eric," He gestured to the more portly of the two men. "This is Adam, my lawyer." He put his hand on the shoulder of the man sitting closest to him. "And this is Roy, my father. Adam, Dad, this is my girlfriend Elizabeth."

"Is that a Cajun accent I detect?" Dinner had finished and the gathering had moved up into JC's hotel room. After the business talk had died down, Roy started to ask about Ellie's background.

"Sure is. My father's family's Scottish, but if you go deeper into the bloodline, there's quite a few French maiden names," Ellie said as she set a tray with a coffee pot and a few cups on the table.

"Where about in Louisiana are you from?" Roy fixed himself a cup.

"Baton Rouge. My mother studs thoroughbreds for racing and my daddy splits his time between the ranch and my gran's diner."

"Did you go to school there?"

"Yep, Tigers all the way. I don't care much for sports, more into the players."

"Were you a cheerleader in high school? I hear it's quite a big thing down south?" Adam asked, taking a sip of coffee.

"Um, to be able to cheer, at least at the level of the girls on my high school's squad, you need a thing called coordination. Something I don't have."

"I thought you said you danced?" JC asked.

"Yes, I did tell you that I danced. I didn't say I was good. I was always more of a bookworm, graduated valedictorian."

"What kind of publication do you write for?" Roy set his cup down on the table, asking Ellie about her work.

"A mid-level music magazine. Think a cross between the Rolling Stone and the PennySaver."

"Would you ever write about him?" Roy asked, meaning JC.

"Only if I was told to. I'm only a junior reporter. I write what my editor tells me to write. I would only get the privilege of pitching my own stories if I make features reporter. That will take a few years, though, around ten years to be exact. We're also not a tabloid; we don't print gossip." Ellie watched as JC got up from his seat and went over to his suitcase. He took off his sweater and discreetly slid a foil package into his jean pocket. He walked over to where Ellie was sitting and pulled her to stand up, pulling her onto his lap as he took her seat.

"So why were you so adamant that I attend dinner?" JC whispered in her ear, the main conversation turning back to business.

"It was just Derek's attempt to foil one of Claire's schemes. Claire has being trying for the last few years to set me up with a coworker of hers, Ron from accounting. I've given it a few tries, but this time was completely out of line."

"Were you ever dating?"

"Briefly, but I broke up with him. The sex was not good. He also speaks in a dry, monotone voice," Ellie said, demonstrating Ron's speaking voice. They sat giggling at their private joke as Eric stood up.

"I think it's time to hit the road, leave the two lovebirds alone." Eric made his way to the door, followed by the other two.

Roy hugged JC at the door. "Nice to meet you, Elizabeth. Have a good night."

JC waved at his father as he closed the door. "I think he likes you." He clapped his hands together.

"How do you know?" Ellie asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist, reaching up to kiss him.

"He usually lectures me if he doesn't like the girls I date."

"Cool..." She trailed off, looking up at him. "Is that a condom in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

"Both." He pressed her body against the wall, undoing her blouse. "It infuriates me to think of another man touching you."

They kissed passionately as she undid his belt and fly, sliding her hand into his pants, rubbing him until he became hard.

He opened her fly and slipped his finger in, feeling her wetness through her panties. "Are you ready for this?"

"Yeah, wait. I've always wanted to do this. Snaps?"

He nodded as she ripped his shirt open, giggling as she ran her fingertips through his chest hair. She pulled the condom out of his pocket, ripping it open as he pulled her jeans and panties down, leaving her in only her purple blouse and a black lace bra. He stood up and pulled down his jeans, pulling his cock out. She guided the condom down the shaft as he lifted her up, preparing to fuck her against the wall. She held him by the neck as he pressed her against the wall, holding her up by her knees. She slipped her right hand between them and started guiding him into her pussy. He started to thrust slowly as she pleasured herself, bringing herself to climax. She placed her right arm over his left shoulder as he started thrusting at a quicker rate. His dug his fingers into her thighs as he came. She kissed him as he let go of her legs one after the other, pressing his hands against the wall on either side of her head to steady himself. They stood there for a moment until she took his hand and led him to the bed, both of them collapsing onto it.

JC turned off the tv when he realised that Ellie had fallen asleep. He sat on the bed in a pair of pajama pants. Ellie was curled up beside him in one of his grey sweatshirts, hugging a pillow beneath her head. He placed the book he was reading on the bedside table and turned the lamp off. He laid down facing her, watching her sleep in the hushed glow of the city outside. She twitched as he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, softly whispering, "I think I love you."