Marriage For One

We got up from the dining table around seven-thirty PM. It had been one of the longest dinners I’d ever had, but since Rose looked happy, I didn’t and couldn’t have complained. She insisted on getting all the dishes in the dishwasher, and I kept her company until she was done. Her smile never wavered, and it made me happy to see it.

I prepared her some tea and made myself a cup of coffee. I had bought her some truffles on Friday because I knew her weakness for chocolate but hadn’t ended up finding the right moment to give them to her, so I took the elegant box with me and set everything up on the coffee table.

I found the Apple TV remote and started to search for the movie she was talking about. When I came upon it, I charged it to my account and pressed play.

“Wait, wait.” Rose jumped up and ran over to get the lights. “That’s better.”

She came back, sat down, and immediately pulled her legs under her as she reached for the big knitted blanket she had brought down from her room. I handed her the tea mug.

She grabbed my wrist with her right one and tugged me down next to her. “It’s starting, sit down.”

I managed to reach for my own coffee mug and her box of truffles.

Feeling a little uncomfortable about it, I thrust the box into her hand and leaned back against the couch. When she glanced at me in confusion, I focused on the movie that had just begun and took a sip of my coffee.

“What is this?” Balancing her mug on the flat surface of the couch, she sent me a quick look then started opening it. “Chocolate? For me?” she asked, her voice high.

“A client brought it on Friday, and it was just sitting in the office so I thought you might want it.” The lie rolled off my lips so easily, I surprised even myself.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could already see her taking a bite out of one of them. “You want one?” she asked when she was done driving me crazy and moaning about it. She held the box toward me. “Don’t you like truffles? Come on, take one.”

I gave her an exasperated look and took one, holding it in my hand. “Will you let me watch this movie or are you going to talk the entire time?”

She winced. “You’re one of those. Be prepared for me to talk. I’ll keep pointing things out you can already see for yourself. I’m just excited because you’ve never seen it. Is it past nine?”

I kept my eyes on the screen as Meg Ryan’s character started running toward her laptop to check her email. “Not yet. I’ll tell you when you need to stop. It’s only eight.”

We sat in silence and just watched the movie. Around the ten-minute mark, Meg Ryan finally made it to her shop. The Shop Around the Corner.

I slung my arm across the back of the couch, toward her.

A few minutes later, I glanced at her. The box containing the truffles looked like it had six missing ones, and she was still holding the tea mug tightly in her hands as if trying to warm them.

“Are you cold?”

“Just a little. Would you like to share?” she repeated, and my brows drew together.

Then I realized she was holding the edge of the blanket up and away from herself.

It wasn’t cold—the apartment was plenty warm—but I took the opportunity to move a little closer to her, and she put it over my legs. When she leaned her head back, it was almost resting in the crook of my arm.

She took a deep breath and let it all out.

Her voice was quiet when she spoke up again. “Thank you for tonight, Jack.”

Leaning down, I pressed a kiss to her temple. “You’re very welcome, Rose.”

At ten to nine, I took her now cold tea mug away from her and put it down on the coffee table. A little more than halfway into the movie, she’d fallen asleep, and her head had dropped on my shoulder. I watched the movie till the end without moving an inch so she could rest. The more she tucked herself closer, the harder it had been for me to not wake her up and take her mouth. It seemed like she had invaded the entire apartment and I could smell nothing but her.

I enjoyed every second of it, both the movie and Rose’s warm body against mine.

Scooping her up into my arms, I straightened up, letting the blanket fall off of her.

She started coming around once we were halfway up the stairs.

“Jack?” Her hands tightened around my neck. “What time is it?” she mumbled.

“A little past ten.”

Sighing, she rested her head on my shoulder.

“Did you like the movie?”

I didn’t have to lie. “Yes, you were right, it was good.”

“They don’t make movies like that anymore,” she murmured.

I opened the door to her room and walked in, gently putting her down on the bed. She curled up on her side and I pulled the already open covers over her.

“Good night, Jack,” she whispered. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll wake you up at six-thirty. We need to be at the hospital at seven-thirty.”

“Okay.”

I was rooted to my spot but didn’t know what else to say that would allow me to stay with her longer, to spend this night, at least this night with her.

“Good night, Rose.” I leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss on her forehead and then her lips. It was such a natural move for me that I didn’t even hesitate. She closed her eyes with a smile on her lips. I was pretty sure she had never woken up fully.

My mind on her, I walked out and headed to my own room.

Later that same night, hours had passed and I was still wide awake. My mind was running in all directions, but it was especially running in the direction of where Rose was sleeping a few doors down, which was why I was surprised when my phone pinged with a new text.

Rose: Are you asleep?

Jack: No.

Rose: Me neither.

I took a deep breath, ran my hand over my face.

Jack: Everything okay?

Rose: Yes. Just can’t sleep.

Rose: Why are you still up?

Jack: Couldn’t sleep either.

Rose: Can I still milk my situation or did I miss my chance?

Jack: Depends on what you want.

Rose: It’s a weird one.

Jack: Try me.

Rose: I was wondering if I could kiss you.

Rose: And before you say no, it doesn’t have to mean anything but that, just a kiss. The truth is you’ve slowly become this adept kisser and I think I wouldn’t mind kissing you right now. I’d like to call it a pity kiss. If that’s not okay since no one would be around to see it, I understand that.

The dots were still dancing around, but I left my phone on my nightstand and walked away. I chose not to knock and just walked into her room.

She seemed to be still typing but stopped when she saw me. Clearing her throat, she got up to her knees to get out of bed, but I made it to her before she could.

“How do you want to do thi—”

I didn’t give her time to finish her sentence. In the next breath, I was holding her head in my hands after having pushed her hair back. Her cheeks were warm and slightly wet.

“I don’t want you to cry anymore,” I muttered with a tinge of anger coloring my voice. That was the last thing I wanted for her. “I’ll kiss you, but only if you promise not to cry anymore. I can’t take it, Rose.”

She nodded.

I lowered my head down to hers, parted her lips with mine, and watched her eyes as they closed the second our lips touched. She placed her hands over mine on her cheeks and tilted her head up, deepening the kiss. I slowly dropped to my knees on the bed, tightened my hands around her face, plunging my fingers into her hair as her arms moved between us to wrap around my neck. I pulled her tongue into my mouth and happily swallowed her quiet groan.

If I had to describe our kiss, I would say it was a gentle violence. I couldn’t get enough of her, couldn’t get close enough. I let one of my hands travel down her back, memorizing every inch and how her body dipped at her waist. When I had a good grip on her shirt, I pulled her flush against me. She grunted but didn’t stop, didn’t ask me to stop.

I could feel her chest rising and falling against mine, her heat burning me up already. I fisted her shirt in my hand and deepened the kiss, forcing her to arch her back at the same time, gripping her waist tightly with my other hand. Her head dipped back with the force of my kiss, her tongue playing with mine.

Then her hands were braced on my chest and I felt a slight push.

I managed to wrench myself away, and she quickly jumped out of my arms and the bed, running straight to the bathroom.

My whole body was wound up tight. I sat down on the edge of the bed and dropped my head into my hands. My breathing was heavy, my heart beating in my throat like a teenager making out with his girlfriend in her house.

While I was contemplating getting up and leaving or staying, Rose re-emerged from the bathroom, her face flushed, lips red and swollen, hair all messed up.

She looked perfect.

She slowly made her way back, stopping in front of me when her knees were almost touching mine.

I didn’t want to apologize for pouncing on her like a beast, but I had completely forgotten she was ill.

“Sorry,” she muttered, her voice thick. Her index finger tapped the side of her nose. “It was starting up again so I had to…”

I sighed a breath of relief and nodded. I swallowed down the lump in my throat and was about to get up to leave, but Rose put both her hands on my shoulders and climbed into my lap, not sitting, but she had put one of her legs between mine and was standing on her knees. My hands found purchase on her hips and I held her still.

“What are you doing?” I asked in a harsh whisper as I stared into her alluring eyes.

She smiled down at me. “I’m getting the rest of my pity kiss,” she whispered back in a low and steady voice, much steadier than mine, to my surprise. “I’m not done with you yet.” Her hands smoothed my hair back as her eyes closed on their own and her head descended.

I met her halfway and took her mouth in a deep and scalding kiss, giving her needy laps of my tongue as her fingers combed through my hair and she gripped my neck to hold me up to herself. I kissed her like that for a long time, trying to be gentler and more considerate than I was feeling, but she disarmed me. Her taste, her little moans, her hands tightening on my neck, her body moving restlessly against mine—everything about her disarmed me.

When she moved her lips to the right and tried to breathe against my cheek, I watched all the emotions playing on her face. Knowing I couldn’t stop, I held her waist and gave her a tug so she would sit down. Her eyes opened and found mine. Moving her leg to straddle me, she wordlessly followed my lead, sitting right on my dick. My eyes closed and a groan escaped my lips. When I looked back at her, she was biting her lip, staring at me intently. I rounded my arms around her, letting one of my hands slowly slide up her back to hold her neck, and dove in for another kiss. I kissed her once then pulled back, then again and again and again. It was maddening, the way her lips fit mine.

With my other hand, I gripped her waist. She tilted her head and pushed her tongue into my mouth. I could barely think as it was, but I met her exploring tongue with my own and leaned forward, forcing her to arch, going deeper, trying to take more and more.

The pain and pleasure that seared through me when I felt her heat slide across my cock through her thin pajama bottoms only tripled with the way she was kissing me, so out of control and hungry.

We pulled and pushed as if we were starving for each other. I grabbed her thighs and tried to somehow pull her even closer. When she rocked against me, some sense started to trickle back in. My hands still hard bands around her, she managed to pull back and, in an instant, took off her shirt. Her eyes glazed and her breaths coming out as shallow pants, she leaned toward me again, but when my eyes dropped to her full tits enclosed in a pale blue bra, I leaned back and gently deposited her on her back.

“Jack?” she gasped, surprised.

I made sure I wasn’t looking at her, because if I did get another look, I would forget myself, forget that she was sick, forget everything. I reached for her t-shirt and handed it back to her. She held it up against her chest, covering herself.

“The doctor said no sex. You can’t have too much pressure in your head.” I heard my own voice, hoarse and raw. I dared to meet her eyes. They were still dazed, but she was coming back to herself. She licked her lips and my stomach dropped because it wasn’t my own tongue on them.

“But Jack, I—”

“You have surgery in a few hours, Rose. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to leave.”

She sobered and quickly put her shirt back on, getting under the covers. “You don’t need to do that. I’ll wake up when it’s time.”

“Rose—”

“Good night, Jack. Thank you for the kiss.”

I gritted my teeth and backed away. Before I could close her door, she’d already turned off her bedside lamp, and I could barely make out her form in the bed. The door clicked shut and I let go of the handle, leaving something very important to me behind.