And Heaven Too
Chapter Thirteen
The last days of December pass in a haze of practice and phone calls and speculation on the end of the lockout for Mike. New Year’s eve is much of the same. While he waits for the party he’s hosting at his place tonight, he reads up on an article describing the consequences of the lockout long term when his phone rings. He’s so grateful to drag himself out of the mire that he doesn’t even bother looking when he answers. There’s no one there and he looks down to find he’s got a text, not a call.
From an unknown number identified as coming from Illinois.
Mass Text: Talks resume tomorrow. Expect a deal.
He stares at it. Three more texts come in from a few of the guys on the team, all versions of the original message. He answers Chimes, who asks if he got Toews’ message, must have been the Illinois number, and he says he’s heard.
The talks are resuming. Expect a deal.
The lock out is going to end.
They’ve all heard this before but the dead line is fast approaching. This could be it. He allows himself a few minutes of joy, doing his best not to shout out or jump around too much. The lock out is gonna end. He needs to celebrate.
It’s 2:30. He can make it down to the museum before Dell gets off. He’s taking her out before the party.
He signs in with security and is practically whistling when he pushes through the doors to the excavations lab. It is deathly silent in the room. He looks around a bit for signs of life but doesn’t find any. Strange for this time of day.
He circles the bookshelf dividing the lab from the cubicles and he stops dead in his tracks. There are little orange darts all over the floor. He frowns down at his feet and bends to pick one up. NERF darts. Everywhere.
“Psssst.” He glances at the first row of desks. Christian, the British one that Dell slept with over the summer – and one day he promises he won’t remember those sorts of details – is camped out beneath a desk, gun raised in readiness. “Get down before they see you!” He’s whispering and looking a little panicked.
Mike is slow to react when he hears the banshee scream coming from the far end of the room and a volley of darts zooms past his head. He makes a dive for cover, ending up face down on the floor in front of Christian. He scrambles over, squeezing into the available space. “What the fuck is going on?” Christian leans out around the wall of his cubicle to get a look and then jerks back again just as quick when the screaming comes again. “And who the fuck is that?”
He’s handed a gun. “Arm yourself plebe. The Cultural Materialists have organized and threaten our very way of interpretation.”
Christian looks sort of terrified. Mike takes the gun. It’s got one dart. “What-“
“Christian! Right flank!” Someone is yelling about toilet bowls and out maneuvering and suddenly Christian is flinging himself across the aisle to the other row of cubicles. He looks back at Mike, gestures for him to follow, and then disappears.
Mike just stares after him. What the actual fuck?
The row is abandoned. He creeps out to the main aisle and grabs a handful of darts. All is quiet as he circles around the other direction, coming at the back corner along the wall. He passes a girl, Jacks?, who is laid out face down. He moves on.
In the next row he finds the source of the banshee screams. A little hard to miss since Cecilia has caught sight of Christian and Mike Too on the far side of the room and is peppering them with what appears to be a . . . Mike’s eyebrows hit his hair line. That’s a damned Gatling gun. How the hell does she have a Gatling gun? Where did they find all these toys? Cecilia tags Mike Too and he goes down, screaming, “Ugh! My squiggly spooge!” but when Cecilia runs out of darts, he hears her quiet, “Oh crap,” before Christian hits her in the chest twice.
Mike runs across the aisle and heads deeper into the madness. Back in Dell’s space he finds a topple of books and a spilled cup of coffee. He frowns as he picks up one of the tomes by a corner and it dribbles brown all over her desk. “Oh, fuck.” He puts the book on the floor and tries to wipe off the papers he’s gotten wet. He really hopes those weren’t important.
The unmistakable sound of a NERF gun being cocked stills his hand. Hard plastic presses against his back. For an insane second he thinks that the dart wouldn’t even hurt, that close to his skin. “One more move and your ass is mine.” He grins and turns, finding an extremely disheveled Dell holding a ridiculously large NERF shotgun.
He cocks an eyebrow and she grins back. “I guess I’m your prisoner.” He holds up his gun, letting it dangle from one finger.
“A prisoner of war. Excellent. Just so you know I trade good treatment for sexual favors.” She waggles her eye brows and opens her mouth to say something else when one dart wizzes past her head. She curses and swings her gun around to the shooter. Another dart follows, tagging her in her shoulder.
She totally sells it, crying out and twisting away from the direction of the hit. Mike leaps forward and catches her as she crumples to the ground. “My dignity!” she cries out, throwing an arm wide for dramatic effect. Her face turns serious, looking up at him. “Oh, my darling. I never did tell you how much . . . I love . . . your hair-“ Dell coughs, goes entirely stiff, then completely lifeless.
It is by far the worst death scene in the history of death scenes but she sticks with it. He’s trying really hard not to laugh his head off.
“Admit it Spencer! Turner rules and Cultural Materialism is for sycophants! And people who talk at the opera!” Christian’s voice calls out from close by.
Dell’s mouth twitches as she tries not to smile. She cracks an eye to look up at him and then closes it once more when footsteps approach and Christian appears around the corner. Mike looks down at Dell’s death face, then up at Christian’s gloating one, and he mentally shrugs.
He’s totally signed up for this shit; no take backs.
“No! Dell! I shall avenge you!” His cry echoes in the silent office. He wrestles the shotgun free from beneath Dell and empties it into Christian’s look of total and utter surprise.
From the floor, Dell whoops and throws her arms around Mike’s neck. She’s screaming about Happy Materialism, War is Over and calling the troops back home and generally not making a whole lot of sense but it makes Mike laugh. He laughs hard enough that he collapses back on the floor, Dell dragged down on top of him while tears drip down his cheeks.
Dell is laughing too, jumping away from him and doing a victory dance around Christian. Christian looks a little pissed and Mike might have shot him in the eye. The dance makes the Brit scowl and Mike laughs even harder. Dell’s co-workers gather and the girls dance more.
The guys are pretty sullen. Mike’s finally collecting himself when she runs back to him and falls right on him. “My hero! A late pinch hitter takes the Symbolists out in the final minutes of play! Game Over Green, indeed.” She laughs and laughs and then kisses him long and deep.
They collect themselves when Cecilia makes a very pointed inquiry about ticket prices to their bedroom show. He and Dell seperate and he looks around at the carnage. "Do I even want to know what happened?"
She shrugs. "Theory is tricky and very very contested. Sometimes it's easier not to talk things out here. For example, this particular battle was to decide which theorist we're featuring on our website this month." She pats his chest and gives a lopsided grin. "Thanks to your efforts Marvin Harris is our winner." She actually looks proud. The rest of the anthropologists are mussed and out of breath but there are smiles on everyone’s faces so they battle couldn't have been too fierce. It’s pretty similar to some of the mock wars he gets into with his teammates over shit in the locker room.
Oh! Teammates! “Dell, I have really great news!”
She stops giving Mike Too shit for being a terrible shot long enough to turn her smile his way. “Yeah?”
He nods excitedly. “Yeah. The lockout is gonna end really soon. Maybe Wednesday, soon. But it’s gonna end!” The entire group, save for Dell, whoops. There’s some slaps on the backs and some high fives and Christian immediately starts betting with Jacks about seed contention.
Dell, though, sort of looks like he insulted her. Out of breath and a little confused. When his smile falters the look slips away and she throws her arms around him again. “Oh, fuck yeah! That’s amazing! Yaaay!” He feels like her excitement is a little drawn out.
“Can I steal you early, today? I wanna take you out to eat before the party. Now we have two things to celebrate!”
Christian speaks up from behind him. “We’ve got lab dinner tonight at five. It’s tradition for New Year’s.” Mike remembers Dell talking about dinner last night. He’d totally forgotten but Dell hadn’t invited him along so whatever.
She looks regretful when she leans in to give him a kiss. “Sorry darlin’. Super top secret Anthropology stuff this evening. I won’t be late for your party though.” Mike tries not to feel like he’s being brushed off so he pulls Dell to him and kisses her, letting her know it’s okay. She’s got her own life.
When Dell walks into his place that night, she stops traffic. Literally. Beagle walks right into Johnny, who is staring at the door. Mike glances up from the kitchen sink when the excited chatter around the room dies off and he feels his breath catch in chest. She looks spectacular.
Her short black, sequined dress glints off the light in the entry way and those heels make her legs seem a mile long. This is definitely not the look of the bookish woman he’s been seeing.
It’d be an understatement to say he’s really fucking pleased. When Dell catches sight of him, her eyes light up and she grins. “Hey there handsome.” She looks him over too, a smile on her face as her fingers play with the collar of his vest. “You clean up real nice.”
One hand holds her waist and the other cups her cheek. Mike pulls her in for a kiss and then buries his face in her neck, taking a deep breath. “You smell fucking amazing. And I want to do filthy things to you right now.” Mike feels her shiver and smiles into her skin.
“Ugh. You keep that up and you’re going to be a really terrible host tonight.” Mike thinks about the logistics of kicking the thirty people at his place out. It’s totally do-able. Dell laughs in his ear. “Don’t even think about it. Now, where’s the Jack?”
By 11:30 the place is packed. He invited teammates in town and friends so he only really knows about half of the people here but it’s a good time and no one is wrecking his place. He finds Dell laughing with Johnny when it gets real close to midnight and he drags her out on the patio.
They’re alone up there and he’s got a great view of the skyline over downtown. There’ll be fireworks real soon. It’s cold as fuck though and he wraps Dell up in his arms from behind, leaning his chin on her shoulder. “Should have brought a coat.”
Dell’s head leans into his and she nods. “Oh well. Cuddling is just fine with me.”
Mike smiles and kisses the side of her head. He’s so full of joy with her and the lockout ending. 2013 is about to kick off to a great start. “Thanks for coming tonight. I’m glad you didn’t have other plans.” She doesn’t respond instead wiggling deeper into his arms and sighing contentedly.
The counting starts inside and Dell turns in his arms, facing him as his guests cheer them down until midnight. Mike likes looking at Dell, likes noting the lines on her face and the life that it means she’s lead. Full and happy. The first of the DC fireworks, heralding the New Year, go off in the distance and Mike presses into her.
She tastes like Jack and Coke and peppermint and he opens her lips to him, exploring gently but instantly. Dell groans and pulls him tighter. He gets his fingertips under the hem of her skirt and play with the skin there. He could take her right against the railing. “You are so amazing.”
She sighs against his mouth at the words. When he opens his eyes she’s looking at him softly with her hair curling gently around her face. The fireworks explode in the background again, lighting up the sky and haloing her entire face. Just . . . beautiful. He’s about to swoop in for another kiss when someone calls out from the door.
“Greenie, where’s the rest of the bubbly? We had an accident. Need more.” Mike groans and glances back at Beagle who is giving him a shit eating grin. He grabs Dell’s hand and pulls her back inside.
The warmth of the loft with all the bodies raises everyone’s temperatures. Mike watches Dell later on, pulling some of the other girlfriends and a very recalcitrant Chimes into an almost aborted version of the Cha Cha Slide. She’s laughing, her face flushed, and trying to get the guy to move his feet; it makes Mike's face break into a silly smile.
“You’ve got it really bad, dude. But I can’t blame you. She’s smoking hot for being old like you.” Mike glares over at Johnny, leaning against his counter and sipping at some stupid mixed drink like a co-ed. Twenty seven isn't old. He's not old - he’s about to make a snarky reply but Dell’s laughter draws his attention back to the dance floor.
Chimes has given up on following the steps, pulling her in and twirling her around. Her shoes go flying at some point and she screams for him to stop. She’s still giggling though so Chimes doesn’t and something inside Mike falls apart. He’s got a stupid rin on his face just watching her. He never dates girls like this. Girls that laugh and joke around with the guys and are so comfortable in their own skins. He loves it.
“Jesus fuck, man. I’m glad hockey’s coming back. You’re gonna lose your edge.” Mike punches Johnny in the shoulder to shut him up and goes to rescue Dell. She makes him dance with her and it’s totally cool because she sways into him, letting him lead. She works her hips though, rubbing on him with promise in her eyes.
It’s only one but he really wants to kick every one of these assholes out so he can make her scream; so he can fuck her raw. But, thinking that feels wrong. He wants to make love to her, wants to make her cry with sensation. “Can we just go hide in my room and lock the door?” Dell giggles and dances away from him. He adjusts his pants a little and follows.
One turns into two and the thirty assholes partying in his loft turns into Chimes, Mrs. Chimes, Johnny, and some guy Mike thinks belongs to Beagle. The music is slow and Dell is almost asleep on his shoulder as they sway to the beat. She cracks a yawn when Johnny says he’s heading out for the night. The other three follow, Chimes locking up behind them, and finally, finally, they’re alone.
Make wastes no time. Sweeping Dell’s tired body up in his arms, he carries her to the bedroom. She murmurs appreciatively when he pulls off his dress shirt and tank top. He watches her watch him when his hands start working on his belt buckle.
Dell’s clothes don’t last long; he kisses each inch of skin he reveals and pushes her back when she reaches for him. She’s laid out in front of him and Mike groans, looking her over. He brings his mouth between her thighs, giving up all pretense as he drags his tongue across her. She arches under him and moans his name.
Fuck yes.
He plays with the soft lips of her center with his fingertips while his tongue pulses gently against her clit. She’s writhing in moments and Mike draws out the sensation, draws out her orgasm when it rockets through her. He lifts his head and watches her face, contorting with pleasure and then relaxing in satisfaction. He doesn’t think that was good enough, deep enough, for his liking and he lowers his head again. She doesn’t squeal and try to push him away like she has in the past because he is so fucking careful to avoid overstimulation. He eases her back into another orgasm and this one gets a hand buried in his hair and his name, louder and even more breathless.
He loves the way she sounds when he gets her off, like she’s drowing in it, gasping for him to save her when he’s the one that’s put her there. He feels heady with the power of it. She’s watching him when he lifts his head this time and she cocks her head.
Mike climbs back up her body. She slots their hips together and he almost comes when his dick meets the soft and slick wet folds of her pussy. Fuck, it feels so good and she is so fucking warm. She catches his eye and smiles a little before hooking a leg around his hip and sliding onto him.
His world rockets to the sensation of bare skin and wet and hot and Dell. His face drops to her chest as he pants against her sweat-slick skin. They’re been really good about protection and this is the first time he’s been inside her without it; he's dying from the stimulation. He’s literally about to bust a nut and she fucking rotates her hips. “Dell, wait.” It’s painful to grit the words out.
Her hand at the back of his head grips and pulls his face away from her chest. She’s got that stupid happy smile on her face. “I’ve been on birth control for three years. And I’m clean . If you are too, then there aren’t any issues, right?” Mike thinks she’s way too put-together sounding right now but he can only nod dumbly.
He’s clean, so far as his last doctor’s check-up.
“So . . . move.” There’s urgency in her voice now and Mike does. He pulls almost all the way out before pushing back in, steady and deep. Dell throws her head back and sighs like she’s coming home from a long trip. That’s how this would feel for Mike if home were the most amazing place on the entire fucking planet. He keeps up the slow pace until Dell urges him faster, her right hand gripping his hip so hard he might have bruises in the morning.
The pressure feels good and he gives her what she wants. Mike had intended to make this the most touching and slow and perfect round of sex ever but Dell is biting her lip, trying not to cry out even as she’s asking with her body for him to go faster. He redoubles his efforts, curling down and around her. He pulls her up, changing the entire angle and Dell’s mouth against his chest goes wide with a wordless plea. He bounces her and finally she does scream.
He feels pretty fucking good about it until she tamps down on the sound by biting him. She buries her teeth into the flesh over his heart and it’s not enough to hurt but it’s enough to jolt him. He pulls her down on his dick violently and he can feel his orgasm coming.
When Dell leans back she looks so fucking blissed out and he grins even as he concentrates. He did that. Him. She gets a mischievous look in her eyes and her hand snakes down beneath her ass.
The first tentative touch of her fingers on his balls has him shouting out her name and emptying inside of her explosively. His head falls back and he makes all sorts of noises that can’t be attractive but that he can’t help. “Holy fuck.”
Dell pulls him down and slips off of him with a slick movement that lands her on his chest. She stares up at him while he catches her breath and when he’s collected enough to look back she’s grinning. “Happy New Year, Mike.”
He manages to press a kiss to her lips before he loses all of his will to move. Yeah, happy new year for sure.
From an unknown number identified as coming from Illinois.
Mass Text: Talks resume tomorrow. Expect a deal.
He stares at it. Three more texts come in from a few of the guys on the team, all versions of the original message. He answers Chimes, who asks if he got Toews’ message, must have been the Illinois number, and he says he’s heard.
The talks are resuming. Expect a deal.
The lock out is going to end.
They’ve all heard this before but the dead line is fast approaching. This could be it. He allows himself a few minutes of joy, doing his best not to shout out or jump around too much. The lock out is gonna end. He needs to celebrate.
It’s 2:30. He can make it down to the museum before Dell gets off. He’s taking her out before the party.
He signs in with security and is practically whistling when he pushes through the doors to the excavations lab. It is deathly silent in the room. He looks around a bit for signs of life but doesn’t find any. Strange for this time of day.
He circles the bookshelf dividing the lab from the cubicles and he stops dead in his tracks. There are little orange darts all over the floor. He frowns down at his feet and bends to pick one up. NERF darts. Everywhere.
“Psssst.” He glances at the first row of desks. Christian, the British one that Dell slept with over the summer – and one day he promises he won’t remember those sorts of details – is camped out beneath a desk, gun raised in readiness. “Get down before they see you!” He’s whispering and looking a little panicked.
Mike is slow to react when he hears the banshee scream coming from the far end of the room and a volley of darts zooms past his head. He makes a dive for cover, ending up face down on the floor in front of Christian. He scrambles over, squeezing into the available space. “What the fuck is going on?” Christian leans out around the wall of his cubicle to get a look and then jerks back again just as quick when the screaming comes again. “And who the fuck is that?”
He’s handed a gun. “Arm yourself plebe. The Cultural Materialists have organized and threaten our very way of interpretation.”
Christian looks sort of terrified. Mike takes the gun. It’s got one dart. “What-“
“Christian! Right flank!” Someone is yelling about toilet bowls and out maneuvering and suddenly Christian is flinging himself across the aisle to the other row of cubicles. He looks back at Mike, gestures for him to follow, and then disappears.
Mike just stares after him. What the actual fuck?
The row is abandoned. He creeps out to the main aisle and grabs a handful of darts. All is quiet as he circles around the other direction, coming at the back corner along the wall. He passes a girl, Jacks?, who is laid out face down. He moves on.
In the next row he finds the source of the banshee screams. A little hard to miss since Cecilia has caught sight of Christian and Mike Too on the far side of the room and is peppering them with what appears to be a . . . Mike’s eyebrows hit his hair line. That’s a damned Gatling gun. How the hell does she have a Gatling gun? Where did they find all these toys? Cecilia tags Mike Too and he goes down, screaming, “Ugh! My squiggly spooge!” but when Cecilia runs out of darts, he hears her quiet, “Oh crap,” before Christian hits her in the chest twice.
Mike runs across the aisle and heads deeper into the madness. Back in Dell’s space he finds a topple of books and a spilled cup of coffee. He frowns as he picks up one of the tomes by a corner and it dribbles brown all over her desk. “Oh, fuck.” He puts the book on the floor and tries to wipe off the papers he’s gotten wet. He really hopes those weren’t important.
The unmistakable sound of a NERF gun being cocked stills his hand. Hard plastic presses against his back. For an insane second he thinks that the dart wouldn’t even hurt, that close to his skin. “One more move and your ass is mine.” He grins and turns, finding an extremely disheveled Dell holding a ridiculously large NERF shotgun.
He cocks an eyebrow and she grins back. “I guess I’m your prisoner.” He holds up his gun, letting it dangle from one finger.
“A prisoner of war. Excellent. Just so you know I trade good treatment for sexual favors.” She waggles her eye brows and opens her mouth to say something else when one dart wizzes past her head. She curses and swings her gun around to the shooter. Another dart follows, tagging her in her shoulder.
She totally sells it, crying out and twisting away from the direction of the hit. Mike leaps forward and catches her as she crumples to the ground. “My dignity!” she cries out, throwing an arm wide for dramatic effect. Her face turns serious, looking up at him. “Oh, my darling. I never did tell you how much . . . I love . . . your hair-“ Dell coughs, goes entirely stiff, then completely lifeless.
It is by far the worst death scene in the history of death scenes but she sticks with it. He’s trying really hard not to laugh his head off.
“Admit it Spencer! Turner rules and Cultural Materialism is for sycophants! And people who talk at the opera!” Christian’s voice calls out from close by.
Dell’s mouth twitches as she tries not to smile. She cracks an eye to look up at him and then closes it once more when footsteps approach and Christian appears around the corner. Mike looks down at Dell’s death face, then up at Christian’s gloating one, and he mentally shrugs.
He’s totally signed up for this shit; no take backs.
“No! Dell! I shall avenge you!” His cry echoes in the silent office. He wrestles the shotgun free from beneath Dell and empties it into Christian’s look of total and utter surprise.
From the floor, Dell whoops and throws her arms around Mike’s neck. She’s screaming about Happy Materialism, War is Over and calling the troops back home and generally not making a whole lot of sense but it makes Mike laugh. He laughs hard enough that he collapses back on the floor, Dell dragged down on top of him while tears drip down his cheeks.
Dell is laughing too, jumping away from him and doing a victory dance around Christian. Christian looks a little pissed and Mike might have shot him in the eye. The dance makes the Brit scowl and Mike laughs even harder. Dell’s co-workers gather and the girls dance more.
The guys are pretty sullen. Mike’s finally collecting himself when she runs back to him and falls right on him. “My hero! A late pinch hitter takes the Symbolists out in the final minutes of play! Game Over Green, indeed.” She laughs and laughs and then kisses him long and deep.
They collect themselves when Cecilia makes a very pointed inquiry about ticket prices to their bedroom show. He and Dell seperate and he looks around at the carnage. "Do I even want to know what happened?"
She shrugs. "Theory is tricky and very very contested. Sometimes it's easier not to talk things out here. For example, this particular battle was to decide which theorist we're featuring on our website this month." She pats his chest and gives a lopsided grin. "Thanks to your efforts Marvin Harris is our winner." She actually looks proud. The rest of the anthropologists are mussed and out of breath but there are smiles on everyone’s faces so they battle couldn't have been too fierce. It’s pretty similar to some of the mock wars he gets into with his teammates over shit in the locker room.
Oh! Teammates! “Dell, I have really great news!”
She stops giving Mike Too shit for being a terrible shot long enough to turn her smile his way. “Yeah?”
He nods excitedly. “Yeah. The lockout is gonna end really soon. Maybe Wednesday, soon. But it’s gonna end!” The entire group, save for Dell, whoops. There’s some slaps on the backs and some high fives and Christian immediately starts betting with Jacks about seed contention.
Dell, though, sort of looks like he insulted her. Out of breath and a little confused. When his smile falters the look slips away and she throws her arms around him again. “Oh, fuck yeah! That’s amazing! Yaaay!” He feels like her excitement is a little drawn out.
“Can I steal you early, today? I wanna take you out to eat before the party. Now we have two things to celebrate!”
Christian speaks up from behind him. “We’ve got lab dinner tonight at five. It’s tradition for New Year’s.” Mike remembers Dell talking about dinner last night. He’d totally forgotten but Dell hadn’t invited him along so whatever.
She looks regretful when she leans in to give him a kiss. “Sorry darlin’. Super top secret Anthropology stuff this evening. I won’t be late for your party though.” Mike tries not to feel like he’s being brushed off so he pulls Dell to him and kisses her, letting her know it’s okay. She’s got her own life.
When Dell walks into his place that night, she stops traffic. Literally. Beagle walks right into Johnny, who is staring at the door. Mike glances up from the kitchen sink when the excited chatter around the room dies off and he feels his breath catch in chest. She looks spectacular.
Her short black, sequined dress glints off the light in the entry way and those heels make her legs seem a mile long. This is definitely not the look of the bookish woman he’s been seeing.
It’d be an understatement to say he’s really fucking pleased. When Dell catches sight of him, her eyes light up and she grins. “Hey there handsome.” She looks him over too, a smile on her face as her fingers play with the collar of his vest. “You clean up real nice.”
One hand holds her waist and the other cups her cheek. Mike pulls her in for a kiss and then buries his face in her neck, taking a deep breath. “You smell fucking amazing. And I want to do filthy things to you right now.” Mike feels her shiver and smiles into her skin.
“Ugh. You keep that up and you’re going to be a really terrible host tonight.” Mike thinks about the logistics of kicking the thirty people at his place out. It’s totally do-able. Dell laughs in his ear. “Don’t even think about it. Now, where’s the Jack?”
By 11:30 the place is packed. He invited teammates in town and friends so he only really knows about half of the people here but it’s a good time and no one is wrecking his place. He finds Dell laughing with Johnny when it gets real close to midnight and he drags her out on the patio.
They’re alone up there and he’s got a great view of the skyline over downtown. There’ll be fireworks real soon. It’s cold as fuck though and he wraps Dell up in his arms from behind, leaning his chin on her shoulder. “Should have brought a coat.”
Dell’s head leans into his and she nods. “Oh well. Cuddling is just fine with me.”
Mike smiles and kisses the side of her head. He’s so full of joy with her and the lockout ending. 2013 is about to kick off to a great start. “Thanks for coming tonight. I’m glad you didn’t have other plans.” She doesn’t respond instead wiggling deeper into his arms and sighing contentedly.
The counting starts inside and Dell turns in his arms, facing him as his guests cheer them down until midnight. Mike likes looking at Dell, likes noting the lines on her face and the life that it means she’s lead. Full and happy. The first of the DC fireworks, heralding the New Year, go off in the distance and Mike presses into her.
She tastes like Jack and Coke and peppermint and he opens her lips to him, exploring gently but instantly. Dell groans and pulls him tighter. He gets his fingertips under the hem of her skirt and play with the skin there. He could take her right against the railing. “You are so amazing.”
She sighs against his mouth at the words. When he opens his eyes she’s looking at him softly with her hair curling gently around her face. The fireworks explode in the background again, lighting up the sky and haloing her entire face. Just . . . beautiful. He’s about to swoop in for another kiss when someone calls out from the door.
“Greenie, where’s the rest of the bubbly? We had an accident. Need more.” Mike groans and glances back at Beagle who is giving him a shit eating grin. He grabs Dell’s hand and pulls her back inside.
The warmth of the loft with all the bodies raises everyone’s temperatures. Mike watches Dell later on, pulling some of the other girlfriends and a very recalcitrant Chimes into an almost aborted version of the Cha Cha Slide. She’s laughing, her face flushed, and trying to get the guy to move his feet; it makes Mike's face break into a silly smile.
“You’ve got it really bad, dude. But I can’t blame you. She’s smoking hot for being old like you.” Mike glares over at Johnny, leaning against his counter and sipping at some stupid mixed drink like a co-ed. Twenty seven isn't old. He's not old - he’s about to make a snarky reply but Dell’s laughter draws his attention back to the dance floor.
Chimes has given up on following the steps, pulling her in and twirling her around. Her shoes go flying at some point and she screams for him to stop. She’s still giggling though so Chimes doesn’t and something inside Mike falls apart. He’s got a stupid rin on his face just watching her. He never dates girls like this. Girls that laugh and joke around with the guys and are so comfortable in their own skins. He loves it.
“Jesus fuck, man. I’m glad hockey’s coming back. You’re gonna lose your edge.” Mike punches Johnny in the shoulder to shut him up and goes to rescue Dell. She makes him dance with her and it’s totally cool because she sways into him, letting him lead. She works her hips though, rubbing on him with promise in her eyes.
It’s only one but he really wants to kick every one of these assholes out so he can make her scream; so he can fuck her raw. But, thinking that feels wrong. He wants to make love to her, wants to make her cry with sensation. “Can we just go hide in my room and lock the door?” Dell giggles and dances away from him. He adjusts his pants a little and follows.
One turns into two and the thirty assholes partying in his loft turns into Chimes, Mrs. Chimes, Johnny, and some guy Mike thinks belongs to Beagle. The music is slow and Dell is almost asleep on his shoulder as they sway to the beat. She cracks a yawn when Johnny says he’s heading out for the night. The other three follow, Chimes locking up behind them, and finally, finally, they’re alone.
Make wastes no time. Sweeping Dell’s tired body up in his arms, he carries her to the bedroom. She murmurs appreciatively when he pulls off his dress shirt and tank top. He watches her watch him when his hands start working on his belt buckle.
Dell’s clothes don’t last long; he kisses each inch of skin he reveals and pushes her back when she reaches for him. She’s laid out in front of him and Mike groans, looking her over. He brings his mouth between her thighs, giving up all pretense as he drags his tongue across her. She arches under him and moans his name.
Fuck yes.
He plays with the soft lips of her center with his fingertips while his tongue pulses gently against her clit. She’s writhing in moments and Mike draws out the sensation, draws out her orgasm when it rockets through her. He lifts his head and watches her face, contorting with pleasure and then relaxing in satisfaction. He doesn’t think that was good enough, deep enough, for his liking and he lowers his head again. She doesn’t squeal and try to push him away like she has in the past because he is so fucking careful to avoid overstimulation. He eases her back into another orgasm and this one gets a hand buried in his hair and his name, louder and even more breathless.
He loves the way she sounds when he gets her off, like she’s drowing in it, gasping for him to save her when he’s the one that’s put her there. He feels heady with the power of it. She’s watching him when he lifts his head this time and she cocks her head.
Mike climbs back up her body. She slots their hips together and he almost comes when his dick meets the soft and slick wet folds of her pussy. Fuck, it feels so good and she is so fucking warm. She catches his eye and smiles a little before hooking a leg around his hip and sliding onto him.
His world rockets to the sensation of bare skin and wet and hot and Dell. His face drops to her chest as he pants against her sweat-slick skin. They’re been really good about protection and this is the first time he’s been inside her without it; he's dying from the stimulation. He’s literally about to bust a nut and she fucking rotates her hips. “Dell, wait.” It’s painful to grit the words out.
Her hand at the back of his head grips and pulls his face away from her chest. She’s got that stupid happy smile on her face. “I’ve been on birth control for three years. And I’m clean . If you are too, then there aren’t any issues, right?” Mike thinks she’s way too put-together sounding right now but he can only nod dumbly.
He’s clean, so far as his last doctor’s check-up.
“So . . . move.” There’s urgency in her voice now and Mike does. He pulls almost all the way out before pushing back in, steady and deep. Dell throws her head back and sighs like she’s coming home from a long trip. That’s how this would feel for Mike if home were the most amazing place on the entire fucking planet. He keeps up the slow pace until Dell urges him faster, her right hand gripping his hip so hard he might have bruises in the morning.
The pressure feels good and he gives her what she wants. Mike had intended to make this the most touching and slow and perfect round of sex ever but Dell is biting her lip, trying not to cry out even as she’s asking with her body for him to go faster. He redoubles his efforts, curling down and around her. He pulls her up, changing the entire angle and Dell’s mouth against his chest goes wide with a wordless plea. He bounces her and finally she does scream.
He feels pretty fucking good about it until she tamps down on the sound by biting him. She buries her teeth into the flesh over his heart and it’s not enough to hurt but it’s enough to jolt him. He pulls her down on his dick violently and he can feel his orgasm coming.
When Dell leans back she looks so fucking blissed out and he grins even as he concentrates. He did that. Him. She gets a mischievous look in her eyes and her hand snakes down beneath her ass.
The first tentative touch of her fingers on his balls has him shouting out her name and emptying inside of her explosively. His head falls back and he makes all sorts of noises that can’t be attractive but that he can’t help. “Holy fuck.”
Dell pulls him down and slips off of him with a slick movement that lands her on his chest. She stares up at him while he catches her breath and when he’s collected enough to look back she’s grinning. “Happy New Year, Mike.”
He manages to press a kiss to her lips before he loses all of his will to move. Yeah, happy new year for sure.
9/9/13