Marcus
For a long mont, we stay locked like that. Her breath hitches in my ear before she collapses forward onto my chest, heartbeat racing, sweat mixing with chlorine and spilled gin. I can’t rember the last ti it felt this raw and unfiltered. No staging. No script. Just two people fused by sothing less than love but a little more than hate.
"I’m sorry I ca inside you," I say, not sure whether it’s a joke or an apology.
Rebecca doesn’t move her face from my shoulder, but I feel her laughter rumble through both our chests. "Too late to apologize now," she breathes, voice rough as gravel.
"You’re right," I say, rubbing her bare back with a slow, possessive palm. "I didn’t expect to lose control."
She lifts her face, hair sticking to her cheeks, and gives that feral little grin of hers, lips red from my teeth, eyes daring even now. "All those speeches about discipline and not being my type, and you’re the first one to co?"
I can’t help it. I laugh out loud, a real laugh, even as I’m trying to pull her tight bikini bottom over her ass under the water. "There’s a first ti for everything," I murmur. She’s still grinding on , slow aftershocks rolling through both of us.
Rebecca plants a lingering, languid kiss on my jaw. "If I get pregnant, I’ll na it after you," she whispers, teeth grazing my ear.
I look at her with a horrified expression.
She laughs again and finally slides off my lap, retying her bikini.
We don’t say anything for a while.
After a minute, she turns her head toward , voice softer now. "I guess I should leave now."
"I have guest rooms," I say, grabbing the nearest towel and tossing it at her.
Rebecca wraps it around herself, hair wild and skin glowing. "Don’t get ahead of yourself," she says. "I still have so pride left not to overstay my welco. I will leave you alone."
I raise an eyebrow. "So you just use for sex and then leave?"
She rolls her eyes. "Won’t be your first ti, would it? Hailey told about your...um...adventures."
"Yes," I admit without missing a beat. "But I am usually the one who is dismissive."
Rebecca gives a slow, deliberate look. "Well, congratulations. You’ve been officially outplayed."
She turns to gather her things, wringing out her hair with the towel before tossing it around her shoulders. I watch her, part of still vibrating from what just happened, the rest...numb. Or maybe confused.
Maybe both.
"You don’t have to go," I say again, quieter this ti. The words feel unfamiliar on my tongue.
She pauses, her back still to . "I think I do," she says and turns her head, one last glance over her shoulder. "Don’t worry, Marcus. I won’t make a scene. You can go back to pretending you’re the cold, controlled one. Pretend that I am not good enough for you."
I clench my jaw but don’t say anything.
She walks off, barefoot and dripping and unapologetically herself.
I sit there alone in the water, pulse still erratic, the silence closing in like a fist.
What the hell just happened?
I stare at the ripples in the water like they’ll rearrange themselves into answers.
They don’t.
The heat from the hot tub has nothing on the fire still licking along my nerves. Her touch, her voice, her everything. Rebecca stord into my life like a punchline to a joke I didn’t realize I was telling. I thought I had control. I always do. Calculated moves, managed emotions, hearts are broken but never mine.
She did just outplay , didn’t she?
Her body fit against mine like a perfect goddamn insult.
~-~
The next day, I go to the studio in a foul mood.
Everything pisses off. The sharp click of heels on concrete, the coffee that tastes like ash, the way everyone greets too cheerfully, like they don’t know I’m two seconds away from biting soone’s head off.
I am supposed to go over the new project with Hailey in the morning and this ti, I don’t feel as eager to see her as I did in the beginning.
Now, all I can think about is Rebecca. Wild, loud, irritating Rebecca with chipped nails and eyes that don’t flinch when she looks straight through you. She didn’t care about keeping her voice down or following the rules.
I step into the conference room. Hailey is already there, legs crossed, her red hair neatly styled. She’s reviewing notes on her tablet.
"Marcus," she says. "Good morning."
"Morning," I grunt.
She studies for a beat longer than necessary. "Hungover?"
I glare at her. "I don’t get hangovers," I bark.
"Right...let’s get started then," Hailey says, looking at curiously.
Hailey doesn’t press further, but I can feel the weight of her curiosity in the way she flips through the slides. Calm. Professional. Unbothered.
Unlike .
My jaw ticks as she starts talking through the campaign strategy. Sothing about a different style of photoshoot. But I can’t focus.
Because all I see is Rebecca.
"You seem distracted," Hailey says, eyes never leaving her tablet.
"I’m fine," I snap too quickly.
She raises an eyebrow but doesn’t argue. Instead, she taps her nail against the screen. "Look, we can go through this later. But maybe next ti, try showing up in a better mood. You’re kind of a dick right now."
That gets my attention. "Excuse ?"
Hailey finally ets my eyes, calm and composed as ever. "I said, you are acting rude. Is this about Josh and from last night? Can we just keep things professional and..."
"It’s not about your damn boyfriend. Like I said, I am fine," I say, cutting her off.
Hailey blinks at , the cool mask slipping just slightly to reveal a flicker of surprise.
"Okay," she says slowly, drawing the word out like she doesn’t believe for a second. "Well, your version of ’fine’ is a hurricane with better clothes, but sure. Let’s pretend you’re okay."
I sigh and rub a hand down my face, feeling the stubble scrape against my palm. "Sorry," I mutter, not quite looking at her. "That ca out harsher than I ant."
"It’s fine. We can start the shoot as soon as tomorrow," she says.
"Great," I say with a tight jaw. "Will your annoying friend crash this one too?" I blurt out.
Hailey raises an eyebrow. "My annoying...oh, you an Rebecca?" she asks.
"Yes," I grit out. "Rebecca."
Hailey’s lips twitch. "Don’t worry. She won’t be here to bother you. She is gone."
"Gone?" I echo.
Hailey nods, turning her attention back to her tablet. "Yeah. She left this morning. Said sothing about not wanting to stick around where she’s not wanted. And sothing along the lines of, her purpose is expired."
A tight knot forms in my chest, sharp and sudden.
"She left the city?" I ask, trying to keep my voice even.
"Yes, went back ho. Why do you care? It’s not like you are eager to have a long-term relationship with your...conquests." Hailey says.
I blink. "She told you we hooked up?" I ask.
"She said sothing like, you should be leaving alone from now on because she knows I won’t sleep with soone who already slept with her." She winces. "And she is right."
For a mont, I can’t say anything. The room feels smaller. My chest tightens with so unfamiliar emotion.
"She left quite soon, huh?" I say, more to myself than to Hailey.
Hailey tilts her head. "She did. She has to go back to work."
"Where does she work?" I ask.
"She is a Kindergarten teacher," Hailey says.
I snort out a laugh. "Kindergarten? Are you serious?"
Hailey looks up, catching the genuine confusion in my voice. "Yeah. She’s good at it, I hear. Why is that shocking?"
I shake my head. "I just... can’t picture her wrangling five-year-olds, that’s all."
In my mind, I see Rebecca as she was last night, loud and reckless and clawing at my skin with a hunger that bordered on savage and I try to reconcile that version of her with the one dancing in a classroom, singing songs to children, taping finger paintings on a chalkboard. It’s such a jarring contrast, I can’t even process it.
Hailey shrugs. "She loves her kids."
"She sure doesn’t act like a teacher," I mutter.
"Yeah, well, she does when she is in a classroom. Now are you done interrogating about Rebecca? I need to start preparing for the shoot," Hailey says.
I wave my hand in dismissal, and she leaves.
A kindergarten teacher...I can’t fucking believe it.
I should put her out of my mind. I should get back to my normal life. I’ve been with plenty of won. Models, actresses. Why should I think about so average-looking kindergarten teacher who tries way too hard to be sexy?
A knock on the door. I look up to see Tammy already opening it, a folder tucked under her arm. "You have to sign these," she says, then pauses at the threshold and squints. "You look like shit."
I almost laugh. "Thank you, Tammy. Just what I needed to hear."
She flops the folder. "Partied too hard last night?"
I grin as I rember Rebecca riding in the hot tub. Her sweet pussy was wet and hot, her plumb breasts rubbing against my chest.
My dick stirs in my jeans at the mory.
"Marcus!"
"Huh, what?" I snap my eyes at her.
"Your signature?" she says, tapping her index finger on the folder.
"Oh right...sorry," I say and grab a pen.
"Are you sure you are okay? You seem distracted," Tammy inquires.
"Yeah, I am fine," I grumble.
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