“We all wanna break the chains, feel the wind against our face. Everybody wants the same thing. We wanna taste that freedom…”


Two weeks was how long it took for Charlotte to realize she didn’t deserve to be called those things. After that night with Darcy, Charlotte noticed that Travis’ behavior got exponentially worse. Everything that came out of his mouth was rude and suspicious, and finally two weeks later, she had had enough. When she first told him that it was over, part of her believed he thought she was joking. Once he realized she wasn’t, he became angry, which only validated Charlotte in her choice.

And now, in the week and a half since they’d broken up, Travis tried to win her back endlessly. He called multiple times a day, and it took her awhile to get to the point of blocking his number. But when she did that, along with blocking him on social media accounts, he took to swinging by her place. Sometimes he’d knock on the door, and sometimes he’d just sit outside in his car for hours on end. It was creepy and unnerving, but not to the murder-y point. This was just Travis’ way of grieving. Maybe next time he’d learn not to be so cruel to his girlfriend.

With the film well on its way, Charlotte was working from home a lot, submitting it to an insane amount of festivals, mostly because she knew she’d never hear back from most of them. They had a good film, and an important film with a social commentary, but she needed one of these festivals to take a chance on a bunch of young filmmakers with few credits to their name. And things seemed to look promising.

Now early May, she thought about what she’d do for work after this film had run its course. Surely she didn’t want to be someone’s bitch again. Evening was setting in, and she was getting ready to quit working for the night. She’d been at it for too many hours. Just as she shut her laptop, there was a knock at her front door. Her heart dropped. The thought of having to have another confrontation with Travis was nerve wracking. She didn’t want to have to keep going through this.

Charlotte stood up and went to her door. With her hand on the doorknob, she thought about the first thing she’d say to Travis. Get the hell out of here. You can’t keep coming around. Just as she thought she’d open the door and immediately begin talking so he wouldn't be able to get a word in, she flung open the door, and all of the words she had prepared, violently flew out of her mind.

There Darcy stood in a suit, grinning like a fool. She figured part of his grin came from the fact that he was nervous as hell that she’d be with someone else, or that her boyfriend would be in. His visit this time around, came without any warning. He hadn’t called or texted to say he'd be in town. Her lungs felt like they had collapsed, and she pressed her hand to her chest, forcing herself to suck in a deep breath.

“Hi,” he smiled again.

“Hi,” she choked out. She was still standing in the doorway, blocking Darcy’s way in.

“Is this a bad time? Are you with someone?” he asked, ducking his head slightly to catch a glimpse inside.

Charlotte shook her head and stepped to the side, “sorry. Come in.” She closed the door behind him, “I didn’t know you were in town.”

“Do you want to go out with me tonight?” He asked quickly, basically ignoring her previous comment.

Charlotte noted that he wouldn’t have any way of knowing whether or not she was still with Travis, and so his offer was a complete risk. When he looked at her, she stumbled, “I already told Jules I didn’t want to go to a bar. Cinco de Mayo isn’t really my thing, I just…”

“It’s my birthday,” he interjected, offering another smile. Charlotte got the sense he didn’t say it in order to coerce her into anything. More of like a note that he wasn’t planning on the crazy bar scene either. “Just dinner with a friend. Your boyfriend has nothing to worry about,”

“We’re not together anymore,” she blurted out. “Only took me two weeks to realize I’m not a cunt,” she smiled weakly as Darcy did the same. “I wasn’t prepared to go out tonight… Not even sure I have something nice enough to wear,”

“You always look good,” he pushed his hands into his pockets. “And in any event, I would really like your company tonight.” He stepped closer to her and tilted his head to the side, “a reservation for two looks kind of bad when only one person shows up.”

She looked up at him and smiled, “why’d you make a reservation for two if you didn’t know whether or not I’d be able to go?”

He grinned and shrugged, refusing to take his eyes off of her, “I would rather take the chance and ask you and look bad showing up alone, rather than not asking you at all in the first place.”

“I’ll need awhile to get ready,” she whispered, setting her hands on his chest to smooth out his suit jacket.

“Reservation’s at seven-thirty,” he looked down at her hands before returning his focus to her face. They both looked back at the clock together, noting it was six. When she looked back up at Darcy, he leaned in and kissed her lips quickly.

Charlotte blushed and backed away from him. She held onto his hand, fingers staying hooked together as they got further and further apart. She urged him to follow her, and he did so willingly as they walked to her bedroom. Her bathroom, while not connected, was visible from her bedroom. They’d be able to talk while she got ready for the night. Because of the time, she knew she wouldn’t be able to shower first. Thankfully, she’d done that this morning and wouldn’t be a complete wreck tonight.

Darcy situated himself in the lounge chair in the corner of her room while Charlotte went into the bathroom, changed into her silk robe, and tied her hair up, “where’re we going?”

He watched her from his vantage point in her room, “it’s a surprise.”

She flicked her eyes to him, playfully annoyed, and then went about washing her face. It wasn’t until she was patting her face dry that she actually responded. “Couple things… how am I supposed to know what to wear? And don’t you find it odd I’m the one being surprised on your birthday?”

Darcy chuckled and leaned his head on his fist, “I have no doubts you’ll find something to wear.” He intentionally chose to ignore her other question. Charlotte figured it was because he didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that it actually was his birthday. But she felt kind of bad about it. Any sort of mild snooping could’ve told her it was his birthday. And now she was empty handed, and wouldn’t have even given him so much as a call if he hadn’t stopped by.

As she began putting on her makeup, she leaned in closer to the mirror and heard Darcy snicker from the other room. “There’s dresses in the closet if you want to pick one out that’ll be sufficient for wherever we’re going,”

He had to admit that he was intrigued by the fact that she was going to let him choose her outfit. The idea that he’d get to decide what little sexy thing she’d wear got him excited. And he stood from the chair and walked to the closet, if only to adjust his slacks.

“How long are you in town for?” Charlotte called from the bathroom.

Darcy went through her rack of clothes, wishing he didn’t have so many options, “a few days.” He stopped on a dress and smiled. He wasn’t sure what kind of material it was, but knew it was the kind that would cling to her body. “Then I’m flying home for a few weeks, then back to Minnesota, and then down to Mexico for a few days.” He brought the dress into the bathroom and held it up to show her his choice.

She grinned knowingly. It was an obvious choice for sex appeal because the fabric molded to her figure. But it was also a good choice. Charlotte knew she looked great in the floral dress, and could play it up with a coordinated pair of heels. Darcy set the hanger over the doorknob and hesitated before he left. Just in her silk robe, he wanted to put his hands on her. When their eyes met, Charlotte knew what he wanted, and she dismissed it with a subtle glance, needing to finish getting ready.

“Isn’t Minnesota home?” She asked, slowly dragging the eyeliner pencil over her eyelid.

It took Darcy a moment to realize what she was asking, but it finally clicked and he sat back down in the chair in her room. “Yeah, but I’m going home home. Saskatoon,”

She stared at him through the mirror and held back giggles, “what?”

He giggled too, “that’s where I’m from. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.”

“That’s a mouthful,” she commented and started the endeavor of trying to get the eyeliner on both of her eyes to match.

“That’s what they tell me,”

Charlotte glared at him again and smiled. That boy was going to kill her tonight. He looked so good, and had she not have to get ready, she would’ve already been in his lap, rocking herself closer to an orgasm. Later, she thought. It was his birthday; of course they'd be having sex.

They continued to chat about small, menial things while Charlotte continued to get ready. Amongst their conversation, she was careful not to ask anything too personal because she didn’t really want him to ask her anything too personal. As much as she was attracted to him, she also wasn’t sure she was ready to break down the walls she’d spent so many years carefully constructing. When she finished her makeup, Charlotte let her hair down and began the task of curling it into loose waves. Every so often, she’d look at Darcy through the mirror, and find him just staring at her, enthralled with the way she dolled herself up for him.

And when that was done, Charlotte came out of the bathroom, dug through her dresser drawer, and hid something beneath her robe. She winked at Darcy and went back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She could hear him groan from her bedroom, and knew that this new level of secrecy was getting to him. But he wouldn't have to wait long. Shortly after, she reopened the door with the dress in her hand. Now instead of the robe, she was in a light pink, see-through teddy, and she thought she had just witnessed someone’s heart stopping.

Darcy, who had been fidgeting anxiously at what she could’ve been doing behind the door, stopped moving entirely. His eyes were fixated on her as she entered her bedroom. Her lingerie hardly covered anything at all; breasts full and perky and completely exposed beneath the thin lace with a plunging neckline that went midway down her stomach, her long tan legs striding daintily towards the bed, and nothing but a thin string of fabric between her legs, allowing her ass to bounce with each step.

She set the dress down on the bed and bent over, laying it flat so she could prepare to tug it over her head momentarily. When Charlotte looked over at Darcy again, he was already standing, swallowing hard. She noticed the bulge between his legs, and wondered whether or not he’d be able to calm himself down in order to go out in public. She stood back up and turned towards him, teasing him a little bit more with how she looked. He grinned and stepped closer, reaching forward to grab onto her waist.

He cocked his head to the side so he could keep looking at her figure. When she giggled, he floated his eyes up to hers. “You are so hot,” he mumbled slowly. She hummed questioningly, and he nodded, squeezing her waist lustfully.

“That was the general idea,” she stood up on her tip toes and pecked his lips. “Happy birthday. You can play with me later,” she kissed him once more and then turned back to her bed, lifting the dress and pulled it over her head. She shimmied it down her body and tugged the tight fabric over her ass, and looked into the full length mirror mounted on the wall in her room. “Good?”

When Darcy didn’t respond right away, she turned turned her head to look at him. He licked his lips and then cleared his throat, “I’m gonna… go take a walk, or…”

Charlotte smiled widely and nodded, “I’ll be out in a couple minutes.” She waited for Darcy to walk past her and exit the room before she went to the closet and pulled out a pair of black strapped heels.

She sat on the edge of the bed and put them on, thinking about how tonight would go and what that would mean for them in the coming months. He was here to see her on his birthday when he could be anywhere with anyone. And he was choosing this, after taking an immense chance on the fact that she’d be able to go out with him tonight.

---

All throughout dinner, Darcy was engrossed with Charlotte. From the way she looked to the conversation they shared, he had been locked on. And Charlotte shared that too. Just as much as he enjoyed the way she looked, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. There was an easiness and lightness to him that she hadn’t seen the last time they’d met up, and she had missed it. So seeing it now, and the return of the fun, easygoing Darcy was a breath of fresh air.

The reservations had been for a sushi restaurant and although they enjoyed the meal, they both couldn't wait to get back to the seclusion of each other’s arms. Charlotte had done Darcy a disservice by showing him the lingerie before dinner. Because now he couldn't forget that underneath her sexy dress, was an even sexier getup. When the bill came, Darcy grabbed it and put it beside him before Charlotte could even reach for it. She begged and pleaded with him to let her pay for it because it was his birthday. With the amount of food and drinks they ordered, the total was sure to be astronomical, but she wanted to do that for him anyway. Darcy objected vehemently and insisted on paying since he’d been the one to invite her out.

She thanked him at the table, and while they waited outside for the valet to bring his car around, she thanked him again. Charlotte leaned into his body and looked up at him, smiling wider when he wrapped his arm around her, his hand settling on the small of her back. On the drive back to her place, Darcy’s hand remained on her; on her thigh with his fingertips just pressed between her legs. He rubbed his thumb back and forth on her skin, and the anticipation of the night began to get to Charlotte. She couldn’t wait to have good sex again. It’d been awhile. Sex with Travis seemed more like a business transaction than an act of passion.

Darcy’s jacket was off the moment they entered Charlotte’s apartment, and she wasted no time in pushing him back onto the couch. He sat with his legs spread apart, and she stood in front of him, slowly and methodically peeling her dress off of her body, leaving her in the lingerie he so desperately wished to see. When the skin tight dress fell to the floor, Charlotte stepped out of it and strutted closer to Darcy. She turned in between his legs, facing away from him and set her hands on his knees, using them to steady herself as she rocked and circled her ass over his crotch. She could hear him let out a breathy moan as she rubbed herself on him, and Darcy tilted his head to the side to watch her, while one hand loosened his tie from around his neck.

She moaned softly, hair falling in her face as she teased him. When she sat back and gyrated on him, Darcy gathered her hair in his hand and tugged, forcing her head back until she was looking at him. Charlotte panted and continued to press her ass to his shaft, and he smirked at her.

“Get on your knees,” he whispered and pulled his tie off and began undoing the buttons on his shirt. As she did what she was told, Darcy unbuttoned his slacks and lifted his hips just enough to push his pants down along with his black boxer briefs. He watched as she opened her mouth immediately and licked the head of his cock, moaning as she wrapped her lips around it. Darcy shut his eyes and cupped the back of her head as she lowered her mouth. “You’re so sexy, Char,”

Charlotte flicked her eyes up to his face, smiling as best she could with her mouth full. She liked hearing her nickname come out of his mouth while she pleasured him. She pulled her mouth from him with a small pop, and he looked down at her with a smile plastered on his face. After returning his grin, she licked the underside of his shaft while she stroked him slowly. When she replaced her mouth on him, Charlotte shook her head back and forth gently to get him deeper. She still couldn't get all of him in her mouth, so she kept her hand around the base of his dick, stroking him in rhythm with her mouth.

She hummed around him, and Darcy reopened his eyes to look down at her. He stroked her hair as she sucked him, and he nodded slightly as he wrapped his free hand around his dick, forcing Charlotte to pull her mouth off of him. He stroked himself now, angling his shaft up, and Charlotte understood what he was going for. She ran her tongue over his balls, kissing softly before actually wrapping her lips around them to suck gently.

Darcy let out a deep breath, which turned into a moan as she sucked a little bit harder, “oh my god.” They laughed quietly together and Charlotte licked her way back up to the head of his dick. He moved both his hands and pushed them through his hair.

Charlotte kissed up his body until she was on his lap and their lips could meet. He held her head in his hands as they kissed, moaning into each other’s mouths as she grind into him. She reached down and pulled the thin fabric to the side, exposing herself to him. Darcy licked his index finger quickly before returning his lips to hers, and reached around her body to sink his finger into her pussy. Her mouth dropped open, and Darcy opened his eyes to look at her, their foreheads pressing together.

She pushed her body lower on his finger and looked down between their bodies, positioning herself to be ready to take his dick inside of her. When she looked back up at Darcy, she could sense that he was trying to sort out his next move. To ask for a condom or not. He liked sex better without a condom, but wasn’t going to make that his case. And the responsible thing was to get a condom. Charlotte lifted herself off his finger and reached down, taking his shaft in her hand. She slid the head of his dick back and forth along her slit, contemplating the situation as well.

Waiting for the other to make the ultimate decision wasn’t going to get them anywhere, so Darcy leaned in and kissed her neck. “Condom,” he asked quietly, kissing and licking her neck. Be responsible, he thought. Don’t be dumb.

Charlotte wrapped her hands around his neck and brought his lips up to meet hers as she rocked on top of him. She groaned quietly in his mouth, not wanting to get up and interrupt their current state. Getting a condom would mean putting this on hold for logistics. She hoped to work his mind off of that so they wouldn’t have to postpone what she so badly wanted. In order to make that possible, Charlotte bit onto Darcy’s lip softly and rubbed her body against his, trying to angle her hips down onto his. But he seemed to be keen on her idea, and set his hands on her ass, holding her steady as he stood from the couch and shuffled into her bedroom.

When he set her back on the bed, he reached over for the nightstand drawer where he got the condom last time. And sure enough, when he refocused on Charlotte, he had a foil packet in his hand. He tore it open with his teeth and put it on like a seasoned veteran, leaning back over her body to kiss her lustfully.

“You must really like fucking with condoms,” Charlotte murmured, looking up at Darcy. Her eyebrows furrowed as his response was in the form of pushing into her.

His shoulder muscles flexed as he sunk deeper, holding his weight off of her. “Why’s that,” he smiled. For the time being he thrusted into her at a steady pace, getting into a rhythm he could keep for awhile.

She raised her arms above her head and pushed them through her hair. Darcy was quick to place one of his hands around her wrists to hold them still. Charlotte spread her legs apart even further to wrap them around his hips, “you just had every opportunity to fuck me raw.”

He chuckled and forced himself deeper, “I didn’t want to fuck anything up.”

Charlotte smiled and kissed him once more before she pushed against his hand until Darcy allowed her to free herself from his grip. She used the new freedom to fight against his body, getting herself up on top of him, and then sat back down on his dick, taking his length inside of her. He smiled at her determination and held onto her thighs as she began to ride him. Darcy had to admit that he liked to see her this way; in control. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and knew how to get it. And he assumed that’s how she was with her work; or at least that’s how it seemed.

As she circled her hips on top of him, Darcy let out a low growl when her muscles squeezed around his shaft. Charlotte returned his noise with a coo of her own as she pressed her hands to his chest, lifting her up and down on his length. If he wanted to last for any reasonable amount of time, he wasn’t going to be able to stay in this position. She felt too good like this. Darcy sat up, pressing his and Charlotte’s chest together. He kissed her slowly, cupping her head in his hands while his tongue explored her mouth. She was still in control of the movement and rhythm, but because he couldn’t get as deep like this, he knew he could last.

That night, they finished like that; up close and personal. Darcy kissed Charlotte’s neck when she came, clutching her arms around his shoulders with her thighs squeezing his waist. And when he came, she kissed his collarbone, holding her body still on top of him while he shot his load into the condom.

They took turns using the bathroom afterwards, first Darcy so he could dispose of the condom, and then Charlotte. When she came back out, having washed her makeup off and replaced the teddy in the correct position on her body, Darcy was laid back in her bed. She had expected him to be getting ready to leave as he had done in the other times post-sex. He smiled when she crawled beneath the sheets, and he wrapped his arm around her, dragging her into his body.

“This is really sexy,” he grinned, dragging his free hand over the fabric covering her breasts. He peeled back the blankets just enough to admire her figure.

She grinned and stretched up to kiss his lips quickly. “I’m glad you think so,” she tucked her head against his shoulder and took his hand in hers. “Twenty-seven?”

Darcy smirked and lifted their hands, intertwining their fingers, “your Google stalking has paid off.” He turned onto his side to face her, brushing her hair away from her face, and then tucking his fingertips on the back of her neck.

“Do you…” she hesitated, debating whether if what she was about to ask was a good idea. What if he thought the question was some defining thing for them. She didn’t want to scare him off. Maybe she could play it off like it was nothing… unimportant. “The film got accepted into a festival here. It’s not big or anything. Just a festival in the city. They sent an extra ticket because,” she stopped herself. Don’t talk about Travis. “I have an extra ticket… thought maybe you’d like to go to a festival. If you haven’t been to one before,”

“When is it?” If he was freaked about it, he didn’t show any indication. In fact, the smile on his face made her think he was actually excited about it.

“Third week of June,”

His smile fell, but he squeezed his hand over her hip. “I’ll still be in Canada,”

“Oh,” she was actually shocked by his answer although she never actually expected him to accept the offer. “Yeah of course. That’s okay. Just figured I’d ask, y’know because you asked me to dinner tonight and…”

“Char,” he whispered, “I want to go with you. I just haven’t seen my family lately, and probably won’t get to see them for awhile after this trip.”

She insisted that it was fine even after Darcy continued to apologize. He repeated over and over again that it had nothing to do with the logistics of their relationship. He liked her, and would have gone had the timing been different. But in the same breath, he warned that it probably wasn’t wise of them to expect this to go any further than a fun time. After all, he was still going to be in Minnesota come fall.

Even though Charlotte thought that conversation would’ve left them in an awkward position, Darcy kept chatting with her as though their previous discussion was nothing to be concerned about. He cuddled with her and kissed her softly over and over again, nearly until the sun was ready to rise. And then he got up, got dressed, and got back in his car, going back to his hotel.

As he drove away, Charlotte couldn’t help but feel a little foolish. What had she really expected? Darcy was in town for the time being and that’s all she could really ever hold him to. When he was in LA, he’d call her up. And for all the other times, he was someone else’s.

Notes

"Freedom" by Dierks Bentley.

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