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Teresa
Teresa broke the kiss and looked Vance in the eye. His sweet eyes looked at her lovingly, and Teresa leaned into his embrace, feeling both glad and slightly alarmed: why did she feel so safe with him? Why did he look at her like that? Like he loved her?
She was definitely not ready nor willing to encounter these new feelings and emotions at that moment, so she focused on the other thing she was willing to do: repay Vance for what he had just done for her. She smiled playfully and placed her hands on his well-toned chest. Teresa felt some small scars with her fingers, so light that they were almost invisible to the eye.
“One day you will have to tell me how you got these,” she whispered.
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” he assured her. The army of butterflies began kicking again in her stomach. Why did she keep getting flustering every time Vance opened his mouth! She cursed herself in her head and decided it was time to take action.
She pushed Vance, who stumbled onto the bed. Knowing what was coming, he smiled and rested on his back, waiting for Teresa. She did not play hard to get. Moving like a cat, she reached for his pants. She unbuttoned his jeans so slowly that Vance groaned, trying to urge her to go faster, but that only made Teresa laugh and proceed even more slowly.
“You are too eager, Vance. Enjoy it,” she teased. Vance seemed to have lost his ability to speak, for all he did was groan again. Teresa had finished with the buttons of his jeans, and she tucked her fingers inside of them. She lightly caressed his crotch at the same time she started leaving kisses on his chest and abdomen, leaving a trail of fire on his hot skin wherever her lips touched.
Her hands stopped for a minute while her mouth traveled south, leaving a small bite just above his waist that would leave a mark. She finally pulled down his pants, and Vance let out a sigh of relief when his hard cock was released.
“Teresa,” he muttered, urging her to continue. Teresa chuckled, and her hands found their way again to his hard penis. Kneeled in front of him, she started rubbing it, up and down while she left kisses everywhere but where he wanted. Vance was exhilarated: Teresa was playing with him, she wanted to drive him to his limit, and she knew she was doing it.
When her hands suddenly stopped and were substituted by her mouth, Vance uttered a cry and bit his lips to contain it. Both were sweating, enthralled, and Teresa felt aroused every time Vance moaned and ushered her to go deeper. He had done wonders with her body, and she wanted to do the same. His legs were trembling, and Teresa knew that if she kept on like that, moving her tongue around, going up and down, Vance would not last long.
With a movement that must have taken his whole will, Vance grabbed Teresa and pulled her away.
“I’m not quite ready yet, Tess. I want to be inside of you,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with desire. It sent shivers down her spine.
“Oh, but you were,” she answered playfully. Teresa got back to her feet and smiled naughtily, watching Vance remove the rest of his clothes and get to his feet. She was going to say something else but was suddenly interrupted: Vance kissed her hard, muting any word she might have uttered, and lifted her into his arms again.
This time, both fell on the bed, arms and legs tangled around each other. Teresa felt Vance’s skin, hot on her body, and his pulsing desire was hard against her. She grabbed a condom from her nightstand drawer and handed it to Vance. Vance sheathed himself, then positioned his cock between her legs and slowly, carefully, started to push into her.
Teresa moaned when she felt him, moving in and out. He was on top of her, inside of her, everywhere; it was exhilarating. His scent filled her senses, and the touch of his skin made hers tingle. Vance moaned in her ear, and she gripped his back, sinking her nails into his skin, leaving marks. They were trails of passion that would take a long time to disappear.
“Vance, faster, faster!” she begged, biting her lips to prevent the screams of pleasure.
Vance complied. He thrust inside of her, increasing his speed, and Teresa wrapped her legs around his waist, joining him in the rhythm he had set. Everything went faster. The world felt upside down to Teresa, and she felt the well-known rush of heat run through her body, the spasm of her legs when she climaxed once again. She let out a cry, and Vance plunged deeper inside of her, finishing at the same time she did.
He collapsed next to her, both trying to catch their breath. When she could breathe normally again, Teresa turned to look at him, smiling, and kissed his open lips. It was but a brush, but it made Vance smile.
They fell asleep, curled up against each other, when the alarm went off all too soon. Though they had less than five hours of sleep, Teresa realized that she had never slept better.
She had already made coffee when Vance came out of the bedroom, showered and looking as if he’d had the same restful sleep. They sat at the kitchen table, remembering the previous morning when Vance had proposed. Teresa’s heart skipped a beat thinking about it. She handed him a mug of coffee and some toast.
“I don’t want to sound all crazy and rushed, but we should start planning the wedding, don’t you think?” she asked, taking a sip off coffee. She had thought about it, and the sooner they got married, the better it would be for both of them. Teresa was afraid of her father showing up at her place again, unannounced, and she wanted to avoid that possibility altogether.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Vance conceded. “I don’t have to go to the charity today, do you?” Teresa shook her head. “Then we can spend the whole day together working on it.” He winked at her, and she smiled. She fancied the idea of spending the whole day with Vance, even if it was running errands.
“The first thing we should do is find a suitable day to go to court. I suppose I have to make an appointment, but we should get married as soon as possible,” she said. Vance seemed to agree with her, so she went to the next issue. “Do you have any relatives and friends you would want to invite? I know you’re just doing me a favor, but... it will still be your wedding.” She only wanted to invite Anna and the girls, but it seemed fair to her that Vance should be able to invite any family he wanted.
To her surprise, he shook his head. Teresa looked at him, wondering whether to ask or not, but he told her anyway.
“I’ve kind of... drifted apart from my family, to put it mildly. My parents are divorced. And I don’t talk to either of them.”
She could understand that.
“But I thought you told me you worked with your father?” she asked, a little bit curious.
“Yes, I did, before the divorce. Before the accident.”
Vance looked at his coffee and remained silent, but Teresa did not press further. Everyone deserved to have their privacy and open up when they were ready. To her surprise, Vance started talking again.
“I’m not an only child, you see. Or at least, I wasn’t,” he muttered. Teresa’s stomach dropped. So he had lost a sibling. An overwhelming feeling of pain and sadness rushed through her body, and she repressed the impulse to jump up and hug Vance. Instead, she let him talk at his own pace.
“I had an older brother. I really looked up to him, you know. I was the annoying younger brother, always following him around, trying to be just like him.” He laughed bitterly, and Teresa reached out her hand across the table and laid it on top of his hand.
Vance stared at it for a moment and looked up at Teresa and was able to put a small smile on his lips. “He was four years older than me. And we really got along – the four of us. We were a happy family, until... Well, let’s say I admired my brother but didn’t know he was a big drinker.”
Teresa’s grip tightened, and Vance placed his other hand on top of hers, rubbing it mindlessly with his thumb.
“My parents knew though – something I discovered after the accident. One day he was coming home from a party. He’d had too much to drink... and had an accident. The road was wet, the car flipped over, and he didn’t make it,” he whispered. “I was fifteen at the time, and my whole world turned upside down. Not only did I lose my brother that night, but I also lost my family. It turns out that my mother blamed my father for my brother’s drinking problem. She said he had always been too hard on him and that had pushed him over the edge. And my dad, well, he blamed my mother, saying she had spoiled him and never set boundaries.”
Vance took a deep breath and went on.
“In the end, they were both too busy grieving their lost son and blaming each other to realize I was still there, I suppose. They got divorced soon after, and my father took off to who knows where. I stayed with my mom, but she never really noticed me again. Funnily enough, she started drinking, and I left home the day I turned eighteen. I don’t think she even noticed that I was gone.”
Teresa sprang to her feet, the chair scraping against the floor, startling Vance who looked up just to see Teresa rushing towards him and hugging him tightly, catching him off guard. He seemed surprised, but soon relaxed in Teresa’s arms and caressed her back. When they parted, Teresa planted a small kiss on his lips.
“I’m over it, Tess. I swear, don’t worry.” He smiled, and Teresa sat back on her chair, a little bit ashamed for her sudden outburst. “What about you?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood.
“Just some friends from town,” she confessed with a small smile. Vance looked at her, and she knew he wanted to know more, but she could not open up to him just yet. She felt bad not being able to reciprocate, but she still couldn’t. “I’ll tell you my sad family story some other day. Today, we should get our asses up from these chairs and head out to court! We have a wedding to plan!” she exclaimed, and was glad when Vance did not press her any further.
They spent the rest of the day getting ready for their wedding. They had agreed that they would only go to court with Teresa’s friends, who would act as witnesses. After the courthouse wedding, they’d have some lunch at a restaurant nearby. Having a flashy, large wedding was neither of their styles, so they settled for something small, intimate, and simple.
They managed to make an appointment two weeks from that day, so that left them fifteen days to figure out what they would do after getting married. One thing they had also agreed on was that Vance would move in with Teresa after the wedding. Her place was larger, in a better location, and almost paid up, whereas he still lived in a rented flat.
From then on, Teresa had no idea what they would do.