Fakecation, page 18
“You’re so right,” she replied. She sat up, pulling off her top. She then turned those brown eyes to him and got up. He was about to pull her close again, but she was working at his pants, pulling them off. “Happy now?”
“Not until all of yours are off.” He sat up too, removing her leggings in turn, then ripped his own shirt up over his head. Amelia left for a brief moment to grab a condom. Once he had it on, she took her rightful place on top of him.
His cock rubbed against her, and he caught her sharp intake of breath. He arched his hips up, noticing how her eyes closed.
“Good?” he asked.
Amelia nodded, her breath coming out fast.
He continued his work, watching her exquisite reactions as he made sure she felt good. Making her come was one of his new favorite things to do. And his own arousal only grew as he watched her pleasure.
Her hips met his, and she chased after what she needed. Her grip on his shoulders tightened and he could see the moment she broke. Her mouth fell open, body twitching as her orgasm sent her over the edge.
After she had a moment to collect herself, she finally looked at him. “That was amazing,” she said.
"Should I call you my good girl now?"
Her cheeks were red. "You remembered that?"
"I was mostly joking," he replied. "Both then and now."
"What if I said I liked it?"
"Then I'll remember that for next time." And there definitely would be a next time.
"But you can't call me that now." She gave him a devious smile. "Because I think I'm done being good. Now it’s your turn.”
She angled herself so his cock caught her entrance. As she slowly took him, inch by inch, he saw stars.
God, she felt unreal. So tight and hot and responsive. It was mental work not to come then and there. Her tight grip on his shoulders hadn’t relented.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“More than okay. This is possibly the best I’ve ever been. But now I need you to move.”
Daniel’s hands gripped her hips, and he thrust up.
“Oh fuck,” she said.
He moved her legs to get impossibly deeper, and his control finally snapped.
He went on like that for as long as he could, feeling her push back into him every time he slowed, but he couldn’t take much more.
But then she gasped, moving her hips in time with his. He could see her about to crumble, her facial expression a mirror of just moments ago when she’d come.
He could feel her clench around him as she continued to breathe heavily. Her orgasm sent him into his, and he could feel shock waves shoot through his entire body.
When he could breathe again, he noticed her barely catching her own breath.
“You’re incredible,” he hummed as he came down from his high.
She looked down at him, her face flushed. “I think you’re the incredible one.”
Chapter Nineteen
Amelia
Amelia slept like the dead. Their couch sex, coupled with the now-familiar feeling of Daniel asleep next to her, gave her some of the best rest she’d had in a long time. She slept until sunlight was streaming through the curtains.
She eventually opened her eyes when Daniel put a warm hand on her back.
“Your alarm is going to go off soon,” he said in a soft voice. “Didn’t you set it for seven?”
Amelia groaned. “I’m used to vacation life.”
A soft chuckle hit her ears, and his hand rubbed up and down her back. “Would it help if I told you that I made coffee?”
She lifted her head. “Really?”
“I made the one we got at Trader Joe’s too.”
Memories of her buying a new kind of coffee filled her mind. Plus, the flowers that now sat on her dining room table. It made her cheeks heat.
“Okay, I’ll get up.” She did so slowly, and she noticed his hair. “You styled it today.”
“I can only change so much at one time. I feel . . . nervous.”
“I understand.” She tilted her head to the side. “You look good either way.”
He gave her a smile that made her stomach flip. “Thank you. I also made you some breakfast. You have enough time to enjoy it before we head to work.”
He didn’t know it, but having breakfast made would make her day so much easier. He gave her a smile and walked back into the living room, and she took her medicine dry so she wouldn’t forget it.
The first thing she went for was coffee.
“Do you usually drive in?” he asked.
“No, I take the MARTA. But we can drive in if you want.”
“There’s a massive wreck on the highway today. So I’d rather not.”
She was grateful. She didn’t feel like dealing with the building’s parking in addition to everyone’s reactions to them coming back from vacation together.
It wasn’t going to be an easy day. Being a part of office gossip was never her favorite thing, but she couldn’t help but remember the way Dana had only talked to Daniel when she saw him. She hoped that the knowledge that he was ready to move on didn’t make Dana do anything else.
Then, there was the news about what his father had announced. It was another thing that made her dread work. If only she could work from home for just one day to prepare.
“Amelia?” he asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.
“Hm?”
“You’re staring at your coffee like it’s personally offended you.”
“Oh.” She huffed out a laugh. “Sorry, I’m just . . . not a morning person.”
“I know. But I want to make sure you’re okay, especially considering what kind of day it’ll be.”
“I’ll be fine. How bad could it be?”
“Pretty bad,” he said. “But you don’t have to do this.”
Amelia shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t like you being nervous about something I’m asking you to do.”
“It’s not you,” she said, reaching across the table to grab his hand. “I can handle a little nervousness, okay? I deal with it every day. Anxiety, remember?”
It didn’t seem to make him feel any better. “Okay.”
She looked at her phone. “The next train leaves soon. We should probably head out.”
“Right.” Daniel nodded. He stood and she chugged the remainder of her coffee. He eyed her warily. “Doesn’t that . . . burn?”
“I’m used to it.”
“Your caffeine addiction is scary.”
“We all do what we need in order to function,” she responded before she threw on her clothes and met Daniel at the door.
The MARTA ride was quiet as usual. The train she took was usually free from any drama and was short. Daniel sat next to her quietly, too, taking in all of the sights.
“What’s the plan?” he asked as they got closer to work.
“For what?”
“For how we act at work.”
“Right,” she muttered. “I think we should have lunch together, but other than that . . . I don’t think there is much else we could do. If we oversell this by being super flirty at work, it will look out of place.”
“And we could get in trouble if we go too far.”
“Exactly. We play it cool and make it through the day. That’s all we can do.”
“Agreed,” he said, eyes on their office, which had come into their field of view. Amelia grabbed his hand on instinct, giving him a reassuring smile. When he returned it, her chest loosened. This was a far cry from how they’d been the last time they were in the office, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
They arrived at work right before eight and entered the elevator together. Her hand slipped out of his as he pressed the button for their floor. As she saw the familiar sights of the office, she couldn’t help but look at Daniel, who was as put together as always. But now she’d seen all of him, and she didn’t know how she would go back to being just his coworker after this.
Or if she even wanted to.
“Daniel!” a voice called. He held the elevator, and Dana rushed in. “Good morning.”
“Morning.”
An uncomfortable feeling curled into Amelia’s gut, but she ignored it. After yesterday, she didn’t know how to feel about Dana’s borderline unprofessional questions. She was just his employee, after all.
Dana’s eyes glanced over at Amelia, smile dropping for one second. Then her eyes were back on Daniel.
“So,” Dana began. “Did you have fun on your trip?”
“We did,” he said.
“Where did you go?”
You, Dana had said. She was only talking to Daniel again.
The uncomfortable feeling grew.
“Folly Beach.”
“Oh, I love the beach. It’s so beautiful and sunny. Plus, I get to wear my favorite swimsuit.”
Amelia had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, but then she saw Daniel’s eyes on her, a small smile in his expression.
“I’m finding that I love the beach too.”
His gaze made her cheeks heat.
“How are you doing?” Dana asked. “You know, with the news about Lucinda being with an older guy?”
Had she not figured out who it was? Maybe something good could happen today.
But Daniel still took it hard. Any trace of a smile disappeared from his face, and Amelia knew Dana had just stomped on a sore subject.
“I’m fine.” The elevator door opened. “I’ll see you later, Dana.” Then he turned to Amelia. “Are we still on for lunch?”
“Of course,” she said. “Have a good day.”
He nodded and walked toward his office. Dana followed behind but couldn’t keep up. Amelia sighed.
This was definitely going to be a long day.
She walked to her own office, closing the door behind her as she entered. She lay against it, alarmed by her legs practically begging her to go talk to Daniel, but she pushed it away and turned on her computer, groaning when she saw two hundred emails in her inbox.
She had work to do.
***
After losing herself to answering emails, Amelia only reappeared from her office to get more coffee. By the time she did, the news had changed.
Andrea was also grabbing a drink, and the moment she saw Amelia, she turned.
“Is Lucinda with Daniel’s father?”
Shit. “Um, I shouldn’t answer that.”
“But she is. It took me a minute to see it, but he called Daniel his son in his Facebook post.”
“How did you even see it?”
“Lucinda friend requested a lot of us.”
Of course she had.
“It’s . . . a long story,” she said. “And a sore subject. Daniel is a real person with real feelings, last time I checked.”
“Yeah, but he’s like a brick wall. He’s not going to tell us.”
“You don’t have to know,” Amelia said, shaking her head. “Leave it be.”
“Come on. Give us something. You’re his girlfriend, right? Or is this just casual?”
“I am his girlfriend,” she said sharply. “And honestly, I find it a little weird that you’re digging into so much about him.”
“This job is boring. We have to have some entertainment.”
“Then make up an office game or something.”
“You can’t tell us anything? Really?”
“I can tell you that I love him and I am there for him. That’s all.”
She hadn’t been sure where the word love came from. But it did the job. Andrea’s eyes went wide.
“So it’s serious?”
“Very.” Her voice was flat. “Now, can I please get my coffee?”
Andrea nodded, seemingly appeased by the morsel of knowledge she had. She ran off, presumably to tell people what she’d learned.
Amelia’s mood soured even further. While she knew the rumor mill here was strong, she had underestimated just how pushy people would be for information. She ran back to the safety of her office, not wanting to be questioned again.
She hoped Daniel was okay. He was probably busy answering emails and catching up from his time away too. Plus, he ran a tight ship. Maybe people wouldn’t question him as much as her.
At lunchtime, he sent a message through Teams to say he was too busy to leave his desk but ordered something for her. He apologized, saying he would make up for it with dinner.
And he had gone all out with lunch, getting her more than enough for two days’ worth of meals. She’d received it only thirty minutes later by delivery and couldn’t wait to eat.
It was late in the afternoon, and she hoped no one else would be eating. Thankfully, the break room was mostly empty.
She shoveled her food in her mouth, starving after a long morning.
But then a shadow crossed over her table, and she turned to see her boss, Cheryl. Amelia choked on her food. Cheryl wasn’t usually in town. She mostly worked out of a different office.
“Uh, hi,” Amelia said after she swallowed her food. “I didn’t know you were in town today.”
“Oh, I was here for something else and needed an office to come to work in,” Cheryl said, and Amelia relaxed a little. “Lots of talk about you today.”
“Oh . . . yeah. You know how office gossip is.”
“You know, I never thought you and Daniel, of all people, would end up dating.”
“There’s not a rule against it, right? I did check before all of this happened.”
“I’m not here about any rules!” Cheryl said, sitting across from her. She leaned in conspiratorially. “I’m here for information. So . . . tell me how it happened.”
“Um,” Amelia started, trying to get her wits about her. She hadn’t expected Cheryl to want to know the details. “Well, we sort of started talking and became friends outside of work. And then we started dating and went on vacation together. It’s all . . . boring, really.”
“Hm, somehow I doubt it. But I’m sure Daniel has sworn you to secrecy. He’s a tough one to crack.” Cheryl laughed, and Amelia forced herself to follow. She didn’t know how comfortable she felt with her boss pushing her for information. “I mean, if I knew he was into older women, I would have maybe given him a shot. But then again, I’m not like the young women these men go for.”
Her forced laugh died off. This was her boyfriend.
Well, fake boyfriend.
“You have some stiff competition,” Cheryl said. “I’ve heard some of the younger women in the office talking, and you know how men can be with them.”
“I . . . I’m only twenty-eight,” Amelia said.
“I mean, of course, that’s young in the business world, but the dating world? Yikes. I’m sure it’ll be fine, though. Maybe Daniel isn’t like other men.”
Amelia put down her food, suddenly not feeling very hungry anymore. “I don’t think he is.”
“After that last wife, though, he has to be looking for an upgrade,” Cheryl said. “She was beautiful . . . Not that you’re not or anything.”
Now her appetite was completely lost. “Thanks.”
“Anyway, enjoy your lunch. Just know I’m rooting for you two!” Cheryl replied.
It didn’t feel like she was at all. It almost sounded like Cheryl thought Amelia wasn’t good enough for Daniel.
And she almost agreed with that.
Amelia got up and walked to the trash can. When she did, she heard the voices of Andrea and Dana—just outside the break room.
“This is my time to make my move,” Dana was saying.
“Are we sure he’s even over Lucinda? I mean, she’s with his father.”
“He’s with Amelia,” Dana said. “And we both know that’s not going to work out. It’s a rebound. It has to be.”
“You can’t blame her, though. She has a chance with someone like that? All of us would take it, no matter how short-lived it might be.”
“The first relationship after a marriage never works. We all know it.”
Amelia stepped back. That was not the opinion she expected to hear. A rebound? Her?
She couldn’t be. Not with how he looked at her the night before, not with the flowers and the way he talked to her. This had to be more than a measly fling.
But it wasn’t. This was fake. She couldn’t be a rebound because this had an expiration date. Even if they hadn’t defined it. The thought made her heart sink, and she wasn’t sure why.
Chapter Twenty
Daniel
Daniel knocked on Amelia’s door at five. He’d nearly worked himself to death to get to leave on time, but now all he wanted was to go to her apartment and relax.
She looked up, blinking when she saw him. Her lips pursed, almost as if she wasn’t happy to see him.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” he rushed to say. “I knew I needed to work through lunch in order to get to leave on time. But we can go now, unless you have more work to do.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “Thank you for the food you ordered. And we can go. I definitely need to.” Her tone was short.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” she said, but she closed her laptop with more force than usual. “I’m just ready to go home.”
“I am too. Let’s get out of here.”
Their walk to the elevator was quiet, and he could see the sharp edge of her shoulders.
He waited until their office building was behind them before asking her again.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You seem tense.”
Her gaze stayed on the window, and he wondered if she would even answer him.
“I forgot how catty people can be at work,” she said.
“Did someone say something to you?”
“Cheryl was there, and she was . . . weird. She said things about how all the young women in the office wanted you.”
“What?”
She finally looked at him. “It made me feel so gross.”
“She’s never been like that to me, though she did come to my office and ask some questions.”
“It was probably some form of girl talk, but I felt like I was not enough somehow.”
“Not enough?”
“For you.”
“No,” he said. “That is absolutely not true. You are more than enough.”
