I draw in a slow, laboured breath.
“It’s not that I’m not attracted to you. It’s not that I don’t feel the desire to do… level two and above stuff with you. It’s more that I don’t want to do it in a storage cupboard down the corridor from your sister’s engagement party,” I explain, and while it’s just a preamble, to getting to the part where I reassure her that I understand why she feels the need to jump into something else, to help her get over Hannah, I can’t help but feel greatly relieved by the truth in what I just said. If I ever do get lucky enough to enjoy Mina’s body again, like I did last week, I really don’t want it to be locked away in cupboard. I really don’t want it to be rushed and awkward. And Ireallydon’t want it to end with my coming in my pants.
I want it to be somewhere with a bed. I want it to be somewhere where I can lay Mina down and kiss her until my jaw aches and her body trembles. I want us to have all the time in the world to take off each other’s clothes, one by one, and I want to savour the sight of her naked body. I want to dance my fingertips over the outline of each of her tattoos, every single one. I want to take my time discovering what kind of touch on her breasts makes her gasp, what kind of movement around her clit makes her moan, what kind of licking or sucking makes her shudder. I want to make her come with my tongue again, but this time with her lying down, burying my face into her pussy and using my hands to spread her legs as open for me as she can stand.
But I can’t say any of that, so instead I open my mouth to reassure Mina like I planned, that it’s okay to want a rebound thing, but that it doesn’t have to be me or tonight, but I’m interrupted by a very loud, very excited voice coming over the sound system.
“Okay, everyone! It’s cake time!” Aisha shouts.
I should feel more relief that our conversation has been interrupted but I don’t. It feels like a loose end that I want to tie up. Or maybe it feels like a missed opportunity.
No, Charlie, no.A storage cupboard with a rebounding Mina is not a missed opportunity. It’s a recipe for confusion for you and regret for her.
Suddenly eager to push away this awkwardness inside me, and to get Mina’s smile back on her face, I reach for her hand and start to walk towards the table of food along with everyone else.
“I’ve got an even better idea than level two fun,” I say.
“You’ve got a better idea than cupboard cunnilingus?” She huffs. “It better be fucking good.”
“How about a hands-free cake-eating competition?” I wink at her, and much to my delight and relief, she gives me a keen grin backanda hand squeeze.
*****
Who knew Mina was so good at devouring a slice of gluten-free vanilla sponge cake with her hands behind her back? Actually, as I watch her, her mouth busy at work and her tongue quick to lick away the crumbs and icing around her mouth, I probably should have known considering her dating history, because it doesn’t look dissimilar from what I want to be doing to a certain part of her body right now…
No, Charlie, no.
“Go, Mina, Go!” Aisha shouts and I watch her stand by Mina’s side cheering her sister on like an over-enthusiastic parent on the touchlines.
“Come on, Charlie! Don’t let her show you up!” Nick yells from somewhere in the small crowd that has gathered behind us and that snaps my focus back on my own plate. Keeping my hands joined behind my back, I bend down and attack the cake again with my mouth.
And it’s an almighty mess. In no time at all, cake and icing covers my lips, cheeks and chin, but I keep going, keep trying to scoop up as much of the cake as I can with my teeth and tongue. But it’s no surprise when I hear a loud cheer and I look up to see Mina smiling proudly at an empty plate. Indeed, I can see the tracks where her tongue has wiped the ceramic clean. Lucky bastard plate.
“Yes, Minnie!” Aisha throws her arms around Mina who is still licking her lips and looking as smug as she deserves to feel. She destroyed me. I didn’t stand a chance and I’ve never been happier to lose to somebody.
“Congratulations, Mina,” I say, straining to get my voice heard over the surrounding din from our spectators.
“Thank you, Charlie.” She nods at me and I’m about to use the back of my hand to wipe away the mess that is no doubt all over my face, but she beats me to it. Her thumb swipes across my bottom lip and I watch intently as she brings it to her own mouth and sucks on it, with so much force it hollows out her cheeks.
Oh. Fuck.
I’m still staring at her sucking on her thumb, my mouth open, when her eyes lift and find mine. And there is no doubt in my mind my attempt to distract her away from sexual thoughts with a cake-eating competition has emphatically failed.
Mina knows exactly what she’s doing, and her sense of determination is doing little to douse the new flames of desire that dance around the base of my spine.
“Come on, Nick. Time for those three dances you promised me!” Aisha straightens up and grabs hold of her fiancé’s hand. It’s now I notice the music has indeed changed to more slow, low-tempo love songs.
“Really? Do I have—” Nick tries but Aisha is quick to cut him off and point a long index finger at him, the same finger that was busy with Mina earlier.
“Don’t you dare argue with me or I’ll tell your mum the wedding’s off and we both know she’ll give you a much harder time than I ever could.”
“You can’t threaten me with that every time we disagree.”
“Watch me.” Aisha flashes him a devilish grin.
Nick’s groan is loud but ends quickly as he’s dragged away to the dance floor with impressive speed and strength by Aisha.
With the shadow of that smug smile still gracing her lips, Mina brings another hand to my face and wipes away more of the mess. This time she uses a napkin to clean her fingers and I am more grateful for this than I should be.
