Peter and Chloe took turns drying each other off, the water glugging and sputtering down the drain, the residue of bath bubbles mixed with a concoction of semen and sweat.

Chloe ran naked to the bed all giddy with giggles, jumping on it light as a feather, letting the box springs bounce her body up and down until they ran out of energy.

“God, I can still feel my pussy tingling.”

Peter looked over his shoulder with a smile as he opened the closet door and picked out a set of clothes with lazy abandon.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Got to get dressed real quick,” he said with a sigh.

“No, come on. That was only round what? Two? Three?”

“Five,” he answered, stepping into his boxers one leg at a time. “And don’t get me wrong, I still got plenty in me.”

“Yeah, the problem is that it’s not in me.”

She laughed like a friendly drunk, coaxing another smile out of him.

“It will be soon enough, trust me. But the mail’s not gonna bring itself up, is it?”

“I guess not,” she pouted.

“I’ll be gone for two seconds.”

He pulled his shorts up and buttoned them in place before sliding into his shirt, not noticing he had it on backwards until he looked down and saw the tag sticking out of the collar.

“That’s two seconds too long.”

“One second then.”

“Half.”

“Okay, half a second.”

“And not half a second longer or else I’m gonna start without you.”

“Well, we don’t want that, do we?”

He straightened out his shirt and walked toward the door to get a head start, racing down the stairs, weaving past a couple of other tenets heading back in and sliding his key into the lock of his mailbox. He was back in his apartment in less than a minute, flipping through his mail as he closed the door behind him just to make sure there was nothing important.

“What the hell?”

“What?” Chloe sat up and peeked her head over the pony wall as he approached the kitchen table.

“Got another letter from the police department.”

She gave him a look that matched his befuddlement.

“We’re not late paying for the ticket, are we?”

“No, the deadline isn’t until the nineteenth.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded.

“I checked it four times.”

“Well, open it,” she said, climbing out of bed to hustle by his side. “It’s not gonna do us any good standing around guessing.”

He looked around for his letter opener, letting out a frustrated sigh when it was nowhere in sight.

“Here.” She took it from him and sliced her fingernail along the edge, handing it back to him with the seal flap a torn, jagged mess. “What?” she asked, letting out an uncertain chuckle at the way he looked at her.

He answered with a shrug.

“I’ve never seen you do that before.”

“Well, I have my uses.”

He huffed a chuckle of his own through his nose as he took the paper out and unfolded it.

“That’s why I keep you around.” His lively nature packed its bags and skipped town when he took a closer look at the contents. “Shit.”

“What? What is it?”

“It’s another ticket. Son of a bitch.”

“Another one? For what?”

He placed the paper down and leaned over the table, letting his head dangle for a moment.

“For running a red light.”

“A red light? When did that happen?”

“Sunday on my way home. I thought the light was still yellow when I was under it.”

“Where, at that nasty intersection?”

“Yeah.”

She picked the ticket up for a closer look.

“How much is it?” He could sense the shock in her voice before she said it out loud. “Two hundred and fifty dollars?”

“Yep.”

“What the hell? My ticket wasn’t even half that.”

“Yeah, well, I’d imagine they’re not too happy with me after the last one.”

“Oh, baby.” She circled behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself against his back. “I’ll help you pay for it.”

He shook his head.

“No, this one’s my fault. I’ll pay for the whole thing.”

“Pete.” She loosened her grip on him and spun him around to face her. “You saw those pictures I sent you, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Any red-blooded male would’ve done the same thing in your position.”

Despite the playful context of her words, he could tell how serious she was.

“It’s half my fault, so I’ll pay for half of it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Uh-huh,” she said as she slipped her hand down his shorts. “Very sure.” Her fingers struggled to find the flap of his boxers. “Very, very sure.” She realized at the same time he did that he was wearing them backwards. “Okay, seriously, Peter, you really need to get yourself a robe.”

He shrugged in response.

“Birthday gift idea.”

“But your birthday isn’t until after Christmas.”

He shrugged again.

“Okay, so Christmas gift idea. If you’re lucky, I might even get one for you.”

“Oh, yeah?” she teased him with her tone, fumbling her fingers down the waistband of his boxers. “You think I’m gonna stick around for that long?”

“Do you want to?” he asked, his breathing growing heavy.

“Maybe,” she answered, stroking her wrist back and forth. “Unless you want me to be somewhere else.”

He shook his head, placing his hands on her thighs and running them across her skin, his palms tracing the curves of her body.

“You know I don’t.”

“Oh, yeah? And why is that?” Her strokes gained momentum, his hips leaning into her touch. “Because I help pay for your traffic tickets? Because I give such good handjobs?”

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand out, ignoring the protests coming from between his legs. She looked at him, confused and concerned. He returned her gaze in a way that let her know there was nothing to worry about.

“You mean it, don’t you? You’re gonna help me pay for both tickets.”

“Of course I do. I wanna help you however I can, Peter. You know that by now.”

“Yes, I do. And if that’s the case, then…”

He dropped his gaze down to the floor, knowing this would be the next step for both of them if he said another word.

“Then what?”

“I was thinking about doing this anyway.”

“Doing what?” An apprehensive giggle laced her smile.

He lifted his gaze back to hers, deciding that he didn’t want to turn back now, even if he could.

“Adding you to the insurance so you can drive the Accord. Would you like that?”

She didn’t have to utter a sound. The beaming glow in her eyes told him everything he needed to know.

“Pete, are you serious?”

“You know I am, as long as you stop at red lights and use your blinkers.”

She let out a genuine laugh at his joke, as bad as it was. Then she hugged him, the dark skin of her naked body fitting perfectly into his arms as he hugged her back.

“I will, I promise. And if I get a ticket anyway-”

“I’ll help you pay for it.”

They went four more rounds that day, and two more after midnight, Peter’s cell phone resting on the nightstand the entire time.