Chapter 701: A Waste
Some evening this was turning out to be.
Food gradually going cold, my once immaculate clothes getting wrinkler by the second, and that’s not to mention all the time, concern, and effort invested on this one thing tonight only for all that work to be sent plunging down the trash chute as one of life’s many, many garbage jokes.
So, as opposed to a nice warm dinner with the fam, passing salt shakers, pouring pitches, and chortling merrily along over a wisecrack I just dished out, instead, I got to spend the evening on the couch, clinking wine glasses, while snuggled in as comfortable as can be with a clingy, doting Amanda wrapped tightly around my arm.
Yeah, like I said before... some evening, amirite?
For a while, we just sat huddled against each other, passing the time with idle chatter, pausing for the occasional sip, and as I watched her down her fourth sip of a nearly depleted glass, her cheeks slightly flushed, and also vividly recalling last night’s incident, it finally occurred to me to remark, “Y’know, I thought you didn’t drink wine.”
“Mmm, yes, I thought so too,” She replied, settling her glass down and stifling a hiccup. “It’s Dad’s favorite brand, I got it for him specifically, and well... since he’s sadly not here to enjoy it, poor him, I thought, well-why waste it?”
I had to scoff at that. “You are aware he’ll still be able to enjoy it tomorrow night when he comes, aren’t you?”
.....
“But you’re here tonight,” She refuted, shuffling closer and leaning her head back into me, content as can be. “Why waste that?”
God, she keeps this up... I’m gonna end up having to carry a dose of insulin wherever I go. Girl’s as life-threatening as a Succubus and all in the best ways possible.
The tantalizing aroma of freshly-stewed lamb did its darndest tempting me over to the dining table, but for some reason, I didn’t feel as hungry as I did, not a single fiber of my being had any desire to move from the couch... it’s like having a cat on your lap, you wouldn’t dare do anything to ruin that moment, would you? Yeah, with Amanda here, it was exactly like that.
But while she’s got me snared, in the meantime, I might as well make Sun Tzu proud and get more critical information about my enemy for tomorrow’s war.
“Tell me more about your parents,” I said, reaching out for my glass. “What are they like?”
“Oh, you know... just your typical run-of-the-mill loving parents. Nothing more, nothing less. We can’t all have as grandiose a family tree as yours, can we?”
Amanda curled her legs inwards, and try as I might to stop myself, I couldn’t help but glimpse the wooly hems of her sweater slightly hitching up her legs as she did, revealing more of her bare thighs than I really should be seeing.
I took a sip of my drink. “Your dad’s... a broker, you mentioned?”
“A total freak with numbers too. He’s the orderly type, you know? If something’s off, a book’s laying around missing from the shelf, he’ll hang it over your head for like half an hour before he finds something else to grumble about. Speaking of which-”
Amanda raised her hand, her slender fingers entering the messy mesh of black that was my hair. She began sweeping, combing, clearing the bangs hanging over my eyebrows, and draping them around my ears.
“He’s very appearance-centric, you don’t look smart, you’re not smart, you don’t look handsome...” She dropped her arm back down, admiring her work with a tender smile. “Now you’re two for two. The perfect man for me, or so hopefully he’ll think.”
“If only it was that easy,” I sighed, then clinging to a frail light of hope, asked, “Is it that easy?”
She lightly chuckled at that. “I do hope you have better jokes than that come dinnertime. He’s got a pretty rigid sense of humor too.”
Welp, guess that’s me screwed.
“Aww, losing hope?” Amanda chimed in again, catching the look in my eye. “You know, It’s not too late if you wanna break up with me right now... save yourself the hassle.”
“Well, if nothing else, ‘least I know my sense of humor can’t possibly be as terrible as yours,” I said to her. “Maybe it won’t be so bad, after all.”
Another warm smile had her face radiating so bright. “That’s the spirit.”
And the way her hazel eyes just glimmered in the dim lighting, how when this close, it just makes me wanna nudge forward even closer towards them, towards her... looks couldn’t kill, but they sure could definitely make you wanna do plenty of other things too.
I stayed unmoving, moving the discussion onwards. “And you’re mother... the army sarge, correct?”
“Oh, you wouldn’t think so by the way she acts, trust me,” Amanda fervently shook her head, reaching out for her drink again. “She’s the opposite of dad, loves meeting new people, and maybe a bit too much. She’s the one that’s most curious about you, always asking tons of questions, so be ready for that. She can be a little overwhelming.”
Hearing her talk about her parents, her mother especially, was stirring up memories in her head... and I realized that this wasn’t exactly the first time I was hearing about her.
“You mentioned before...” I slowly began. “Back during the whole Blight fiasco, she... she was the one that went under, right? Couldn’t wake up?”
Her hand froze gripping the stem of her glass, and instead of lifting it up higher, Amanda placed the drink back down, then not as close, not as comfy, she leaned back beside me.
“I honestly forgot that even happened,” I heard her quietly mutter. “Not as if it was worth remembering in the first place.”
I think I messed up here. Crap.
“Sorry,” I quickly said. “Forget about it. Didn’t mean to... I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. We’ll just drop it, okay?”
“Come to think of it, I never did thank you for that, did I?” She suddenly said, glancing up at me with mulling eyes. “For waking her, for saving her, and even way before that, saving me too. If only I could tell them what you’ve done for us... if only they knew... forget approvals, you’d win their hearts too... just as you did mine.”
I shook my head. “That wasn’t all me, Amanda. If it weren’t for Ash and the others, I wouldn’t have been able to-Ow!”
My arm gave a jerk, pain flaring at the skin, and Amanda pinched tighter, scowling a little. “Learn to take a compliment if you know what’s good for you,” She warned, finally letting go. “You were there, you helped, therefore you saved me... and you can never convince me otherwise. Care to try again? You’re more than welcome to.”
“Nah, no, I’m good,” I said immediately, rubbing my arm vigorously. “Lesson learned. All in a day’s work.”
“Good,” She huffed, reaching her arm out to her glass once more, and in a single audible gulp, finished the remainder of her wine.
I see she’s got her spunk back... seems all I had to do was rile her up a bit.
Then exhaling, wincing, and obviously having bitten off more than she could chew, or in this case, drink, Amanda slumped over in place, her head drooping at a downward angle.
Okay, maybe I might have riled her up too much...
“Alright, think that’s it,” I scooted over to the edge of the couch, scooping up the stray bottle cap laying on the side, and promptly began twisting it back where it belonged. “No more wine for you tonight, Amanda. Food’s getting cold anyway. C’mon, let’s go eat, clean up, then maybe later we can play some-”
I was interrupted again, but this time it was not from pain... instead, reeling, staggering, I was overwhelmed by pleasure.
Soft, warm pleasure.
The next thing I knew I was sinking down onto the couch cushions, my entire body lying awkwardly sprawled in the most uncomfortable of positions... but negating that, overruling that was Amanda suddenly pinning me down in place... the feeling of her hands flat against my chest, her body pressing down on mine, and the pressure of her damp lips atop of my own... firmly, aggressively, more and more, I felt it all.
I could taste the wine in her mouth, and without even thinking, I forced myself forward too. I wanted to taste more of it. Before I even knew it, my hands had already wrapped themselves around her waist, and I could faintly feel her warmth in my palms exuding from her sweater. It all happened so fast, so out of the blue, I couldn’t question it... and by the time I realized what was happening, I didn’t even want to.
By then, I just wanted more.
Then, just as quickly and suddenly, Amanda broke away from it all, hurriedly clambering off of me, gasping for air with a wavering breath. I slowly sat upright, looking right at her, blinking hard, my lips numb with a tingling sensation.
“O...Okay...” I managed to sputter out, heaving just as hard. “What... what was that?”
“You reminded me...” Amanda said, her face bright red and glowing. “My mother... what happened to me... you made me remember it all again.”
“Ah, um...” I didn’t get it. Was she explaining to me or accusing me? “I... I’m sorry?”
“No, I... it’s not that,” She swallowed meekly. “Because of that, you made me remember other things too.”
“What things?”
“Everything you’ve done for me. How much they all meant to me. They came rushing all at once... you reminded me again just how much, and I just couldn’t hold myself back. You mean so much to me, and I want you to know that. If it weren’t for you, I... I... I just really love you so much. I want you to know...”
“I haven’t done much, Amanda,” I interrupted her. “At least when compared to you, I haven’t done-”
“For once in your life...” in a blink, in a second, suddenly Amanda was within inches again, her hazel eyes glazed over with desire, I heard her, felt her, her whispers hot and heavy as she slowly drew her lips closer to mine once more. “Learn to take a compliment.”
And we were together once again. Encased in each other’s embrace, swaying gently upright as we kissed, constantly swerving back and forth as our passion strengthened with every second.
We both wanted each other equally, and craved each other as ferociously, but in the end, it was me that managed to take charge, overpowering her over to her end of the couch, forcing her down in place through carnal instinct alone, and it was there I finally let it completely take control.
My hands began to explore, sliding across her arms, her shoulders, the curve in her waist, her hips, my fingers trailed and ventured, and wordlessly, Amanda complied with my every whim, turning, shifting, allowing my hands free reign of her supple body.
As I reached her soft thighs, she slowly parted her legs apart, and without hesitation, I slithered my hand into her sweater, and she feebly moaned in response.
I felt something else too, something other than the smoothness of her skin, something soft, silky spread around her hips, and I felt the corner of my lips slightly twitch as we continued to kiss.
“Lace?” I said, briefly leaning back.
“You’re here,” She whispered, her voice dripping with longing as she repeated once more. “Why waste it?”
I pressed on again, the ends of her sweater hiking up more and more, as my hand reached back upwards across her body. I felt my fingers latch onto her breast, feeling that same silky sensation again separating me from feeling her in her entirety, but I didn’t let that stop me. With greed, with lust, I tore her bra down and fondled away to my heart’s content. Squeezing, groping, her body twitching.
“Is... is this really it, then?” Amanda breath hitched, staring up at me so lovingly. “Is this really how our moment is going to play out?”
I kissed her again, dragging a knee forward, and spreading her legs apart even more
“Disappointed?” I asked.
“Depends on you,” She said with a smile, gently placing a hand over my cheek. “Make sure you give me absolutely no reason to regret this, alright?”
Here we were finally. After so many missed opportunities, inconvenient timing, we finally made it to this point. At that moment, I couldn’t think of anything else, I didn’t care about anything else. All I wanted, all I needed was her.
Finally... I had her.
But then... as I leaned in again, as our lips grazing one another’s once more... it happened.
Loudly, alarmingly, there was a knock on the door.
“Oh, Amanda! Are you there?” shouted a muffled voice as bubbly as can be. “We’re here, we made it!”
At the same time, we both froze, staring at each other with the same look of horror.
“I thought you said...”
“But they said...”
We both spoke over one another, and almost as if having heard us, that same voice broke out into laughter, that sounded playful, cheery, and beyond uncanny.
“Actually, why not let your boyfriend answer the door instead?” It suggested. “He is in there, isn’t he?”
Amanda’s eyes then widened in outrage. “Mom... she lied to me! That scheming son of a...!”
.....
“Well?” queried the chirpy voice of Amanda’s mom again. “Young man, if you’re in there, it’s rude to keep us waiting, you know.”
A bout of laughter sounded aloud again, sending a paralyzing chill up my spine.
“I mean, it’d be wise not to waste your first impressions, right?”
Okay, panic time.
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