I’d just had the best sex of my life. Amanda had blown my mind and all I could think about was when we could do it again.
We were cuddling on her couch watching a movie with snacks and drinks. I hoped we were refueling for round two.
I never expected that I’d come home from college and find someone like her. It was fucking with my head. I was only here for the summer. The thought was a harsh reminder that this could only be a summer sex fest if that’s what she wanted too. Fuck, I hoped she did.
“So, tell me about you, Dane. You said Lewis is your college roommate. Are you here for the summer?” Amanda turned her attention to me instead of the movie.
“Yeah. I go to UCLA. I grew up here in Camden and always come home for summer break. The house next door is a rental that my dad owns. He’s kept it open for me while I’m in school. I think he expects me to move back here when I graduate and live there permanently.”
“Your parents live here, then?”
“Dad and mom grew up here. Dad owns a construction business now and wants me to take it over someday.”
Amanda eyed me closely. The words had sounded dejected even to my own ears, and I hated that I couldn’t hide how I felt about that.
“But you don’t want that.” It was a statement, not a question.
“No. I like living in Los Angeles. I like the busy life of the city. People who don’t know every part of your business and even better, they don’t care to know.”
Amanda’s face screwed up in disbelief.
“Do you disagree?” I challenged.
“I grew up here, too. And I’ve lived in Los Angeles for the past twenty-three years. It was the opposite for me. Everybody knew all my business. That’s the reason why I’ve moved back to Camden, to hide so I can figure some things out.”
“What do you need to figure out?”
“It’s nothing, really. Just some stuff with my career.”
I mulled her answer over in my head. Very evasive. I decided to leave it alone for now. Maybe that conversation was too deep for a fling.
We sat in comfortable silence, watching the movie. At some point, Amanda draped her legs across mine, and I absent-mindedly ran my hands along her toned limbs.
“Amanda, you said you’ve lived in Los Angeles for twenty-three years. How old were you when you moved there?”
Her mouth dropped open as she looked at me in shock.
“Are you kidding me, right now? Are you seriously asking me how old I am? How old do you think I am?”
Fuuuccckkk. I pissed her off.
I quickly tried to backtrack.
“I just thought we were getting to know each other. I figured you probably moved there when you were a kid. You’re like twenty-six or something, right?”
She looked at me with zero expression on her face.
“Twenty-six. You think I’m twenty-six?” Still no expression to give away her thoughts.
“Well, yeah.” I winced. “You’re smoking hot. But you don’t act like a kid. I just assumed…” My voice trailed off. Her face was getting red and I watched, fascinated, as her nostrils flared with rising fury.
“You know what they say about assuming, Dane.” Again, not a question.
“Forget I said anything. Let’s just watch the movie. We don’t have to talk.”
Several long moments passed. The silence not quite as comfortable as it had been.
“How old are you, Dane?” She twisted to look at me once more.
“I’m twenty-one.”
Amanda’s mouth dropped open as she gaped at me in shock.
“Why? What did you assume, Amanda?” I couldn’t help but tease her.
“I thought you were probably in your late twenties. Maybe you’d taken a year or two off before starting college and were in a Graduate program or something. I can’t fucking believe this!” She jumped up from the couch and paced the floor.
I cautiously rose from the couch and approached her.
“What’s wrong? Why are you freaking out?”
She stopped and turned to look at me.
“Dane. I’m thirty-eight years old. That’s seventeen years difference. I’m seventeen years older than you.”
“The fuck you are.”
“The fuck I am.” Her wild eyes met mine before she groaned and resumed pacing. “You’re barely old enough to drink. What the hell am I thinking?”
She stopped pacing.
“We can’t do this. I feel like I’m taking advantage of you, for Christ’s sake.” The panic in her voice nearly undid me.
I placed my hands on her shoulders and waited until she looked at me.
“Did you forget that I was the one that jumped into your pool? I’m the one that instigated this and I’m not ready to call it quits. Fucking you was the best I’ve felt in a long time. Being here with you feels right. I’m not giving that up until I have to.”
She furiously chewed her bottom lip.
“Have you forgotten we’re in Camden, Dane? Fucking Camden! What will people think? I’ll tell you what they’ll think. Everyone’s going to think I’m some kind of cradle robber. They already talk about me without adding this to the gossip.”
“I’m hardly a baby, Amanda,” I scoffed. “And isn’t it a badge of honor to be considered a cougar these days?”
I could almost see the smoke pour from her ears. If her problem was just our ages, I could work with that. It was really fun to rile her up. I had to fight to hide the smile that threatened to split my face. Her little body practically vibrated with ire. I wanted to strip her down and make her vibrate on my tongue.
“You mother fucker. What did you just call me?” Her voice went from quiet to shrieking by the end of her question.
“Do you have a kid, Amanda? That would make me a mother fucker.” I looked at her innocently.
She choked off a scream. Stalking to the door, she swung it open.
“You’ve got to go. Right now. I can’t do this. I’ve got too much on my plate as it is.” Amanda swung her arm to usher me out the door.
I stared her down as I walked until I was toe to toe with her. When I reached her, I bent until our noses were almost touching.
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Amanda.” I let the syllables of her name roll of the end of my tongue, a purr that rolled up from my throat. “I’m not nearly done with you. I don’t think you’re done with me, either.” I looked down at the budded nipples pressing against the shirt covering her heaving chest.
Without looking, I reached out and pushed the door so that it swung shut. I stepped forward. She stepped back. Step by step, we moved back until her body hit the wall and her hands came to rest on my chest.
“I’m going to say this one time and then I don’t want to hear another word about it. I. Don’t. Give. A fuck. How old you are. I want to be with you and if your only hang up is our ages, then there’s no problem as far as I’m concerned. So, tell me, Amanda. What else is the problem besides the age difference?”
I dropped my head and ran my tongue along the slim column of her neck while I waited for her to answer. She moaned and her head thumped back against the wall.
“But people will talk…” she started.
“To hell with what people say. Nobody else matters. Only you. Only me. And I know what I say. I think I know what you say, too. So, tell me.”
Her hips ground closer to mine, seeking friction against her heat. I held back, not letting her have the satisfaction she craved. My mouth sucked the tender skin of her neck, making my way to her ear. I dipped my tongue inside and sucked the lobe into my mouth. Was I playing dirty? Maybe, but I wasn’t giving up so easily.
A whimper signaled that she was losing the will to fight. Grabbing two fistfuls of my hair, she pulled my head back and stared me right in the eyes. This was it, make or break time.
“I can’t deny that I want you. Even if we have to hide out from the whole town for the whole summer.” A satisfied smile crossed my face at her words. “But, if you ever call me a cougar again, I will kill you.”
A loud bark of laughter pulled from my chest. I dipped and threw her over my shoulder. She squealed and slapped my ass with both hands.
“I think I can handle that, little spy.” I walked her to the bedroom and threw her on the bed. She didn’t think about our age difference the rest of the night.
I was going to spend the rest of the summer proving to her how little our ages meant. Starting right then.
The End.