Prompt for sunday_reveries - Quote #8
She was the third beer. Not the first one, which the throat receives with almost tearful gratitude; nor the second, that confirms and extends the pleasure of the first. But the third, the one you drink because it’s there, because it can’t hurt, and because what difference does it make.
- Toni Morrison
Nate had been assumed dead, but she knew better. She knew he was off trying to save the world yet again and that everyone would figure it out and accept it for what it was.
And this? This was how SHE was handling it. In a hotel room in Hong Kong with the only man she'd known and trusted longer than Nathan Christopher Dayspring Askani'son Summers. They'd managed to tear the sheets and rip down at least one of the curtains. She was pretty sure they'd cracked the mirror in the bathroom, but that part of the evening was still a bit of a blur. They'd broken a lamp and that was when she'd felt it. That little crack inside her, only amplified by the sound of shattered glass.
He knew it, too.
"Neena?" He was over her, only slightly out of breath and she knew he could smell it. Salt.
"Don't stop," She cursed inwardly at how panicked she sounded, but she was afraid if they stopped, she'd lose it altogether.
"Darlin'..." The hesitation was there, and she understood it. Who wanted to screw a woman who was literally crying over her ex? It wasn't an appealing thought. So she set her jaw and drew her nails down his back, leaving deep red welts behind to distract him. Her hands clenched his hips and she moved under him.
She refused to look in his eyes. She knew what she would see. But he did what she needed him to do. It wasn't sweet or romantic or anything like that. It was hard and near violent. She didn't notice that his arms went under her shoulders and cradled her. She didn't notice the look of sadness on his face as he watched her not watching him. And once it was over, she didn't notice him walk into the bathroom or hear his fist hit the wall.
What she DID notice? Her phone was blinking.
Text: Thinking of you. Nate.
Logan found her on the balcony, naked and looking down.
"He didn't deserve you, Neena. Don't keep doing this to yourself," He hadn't seen her toss the phone from the balcony, or the text she'd sent just seconds before that.
Text: Don't call. I won't come. I'm not going to be third string anymore.
Because that's what she was. Third. The one that was just... there. Aliya, his mission, then her. It wasn't enough.
"Don't worry. I'm done. Though... not with you," The smile on her face was a deep one. One that held a lot of promise for the rest of the night. They both knew what lie just behind it, but it didn't matter. She could be sad tomorrow. Tonight, it was them, and they were good.
- Toni Morrison
Nate had been assumed dead, but she knew better. She knew he was off trying to save the world yet again and that everyone would figure it out and accept it for what it was.
And this? This was how SHE was handling it. In a hotel room in Hong Kong with the only man she'd known and trusted longer than Nathan Christopher Dayspring Askani'son Summers. They'd managed to tear the sheets and rip down at least one of the curtains. She was pretty sure they'd cracked the mirror in the bathroom, but that part of the evening was still a bit of a blur. They'd broken a lamp and that was when she'd felt it. That little crack inside her, only amplified by the sound of shattered glass.
He knew it, too.
"Neena?" He was over her, only slightly out of breath and she knew he could smell it. Salt.
"Don't stop," She cursed inwardly at how panicked she sounded, but she was afraid if they stopped, she'd lose it altogether.
"Darlin'..." The hesitation was there, and she understood it. Who wanted to screw a woman who was literally crying over her ex? It wasn't an appealing thought. So she set her jaw and drew her nails down his back, leaving deep red welts behind to distract him. Her hands clenched his hips and she moved under him.
She refused to look in his eyes. She knew what she would see. But he did what she needed him to do. It wasn't sweet or romantic or anything like that. It was hard and near violent. She didn't notice that his arms went under her shoulders and cradled her. She didn't notice the look of sadness on his face as he watched her not watching him. And once it was over, she didn't notice him walk into the bathroom or hear his fist hit the wall.
What she DID notice? Her phone was blinking.
Text: Thinking of you. Nate.
Logan found her on the balcony, naked and looking down.
"He didn't deserve you, Neena. Don't keep doing this to yourself," He hadn't seen her toss the phone from the balcony, or the text she'd sent just seconds before that.
Text: Don't call. I won't come. I'm not going to be third string anymore.
Because that's what she was. Third. The one that was just... there. Aliya, his mission, then her. It wasn't enough.
"Don't worry. I'm done. Though... not with you," The smile on her face was a deep one. One that held a lot of promise for the rest of the night. They both knew what lie just behind it, but it didn't matter. She could be sad tomorrow. Tonight, it was them, and they were good.