Friday, 10:01 am

“Nnng…”

Crimson nails dug into the sheets of my bed as Jessica buried her face in my mattress to smother her scream as she came for the third time. She shoved her large, juicy ass into my crotch, meeting each aggressive thrust with equal fervor. Her long braid was wrapped around my hand like a rope and I was using it like a leash, applying steady force with each of her thrusts in an attempt to penetrate as deep as possible into my girlfriend of seven months.

A smile crept across my face as I enjoyed watching the juxtaposition of me forcing her down into the bed with one hand pressed firmly against her back while I pulled on her hair with the other. Jessica turned her face to the side and drank in oxygen between encouraging syllables.

“Fuck… me… Marcus… fuck…”

“Fuck yes! Cum for me! Cum on my cock, bitch!” I growled through gritted teeth.

She turned her head and screamed into the mattress again, and I felt her body shudder under my palm as her juices coated my shaft. The knowledge that she came particularly hard with that one spurred me on, and I kept thrusting, approaching that critical moment. My eyes roamed over one of Jessica’s best features - her flawless skin. As someone who spent most of her time indoors reading and maintaining a rigorous skincare routine, she was almost translucent with a flawless complexion that probably needed to be studied by some kind of scientific organization. Her back, her shoulders, her ass… it was all a flawless work of art.

I leaned forward as I still pounded her, loving the feel of her shivering under me as she continued to ride out the final tremors of her orgasm. I reached under her and cupped a heavy breast, kneading it roughly as I got closer to exploding in her. Pressing my lips to her ear, I growled, “That’s it baby… feel that dick deep inside of you. I’m gonna cum. I’m gonna cum in you, Jess. I’m gonna cum -”

I sank my teeth into her shoulder and gripped the breast in my hand firmly as I let out a loud groan. My cock began spasming, and we both felt white ropes of warm semen coat the walls of her pussy. I reached up with my other hand and wrapped it around her throat. Now that both hands were occupied, my weight drove her completely flat on the mattress as I continued to ram my hips into her generous ass, luxuriating in the way her pussy seemed to become almost soupy with the combination of our juices. I tightened my grip on her throat and bit harder into her shoulder, intending to leave teeth marks that would take days to disappear. Jessica loved it.

“That’s it, baby. Make me your fucking whore. Make me your fucking sex toy! Goddammit! Fuck!” she yelled.

My orgasm began to slow down, and so did my thrusts. Jessica pressed her juicy ass into my crotch, helping me grind my cock into her as the last of my cum leaked out of the head of my cock. I could feel the mixture of our juices seep out from where our sexual organs joined. Our groins were soaked, and I could only imagine what the bedsheet underneath us looked like. I released my hand from around her throat and cupped the side of her face with it. My bites became kisses as I began trailing them softly across the fair skin down her shoulder blade toward her spine. We synced the gyration of our hips, and she moved her face to capture my thumb between her soft, crimson lips. The feel of her tongue lolling around my finger caused my dick to lurch, a bit more cum seeping out of its tip.

I trailed kisses down her back, marveling at the flawless canvas as I painted it with my tongue and lips, tasting the saltiness of our combined sweat. I enjoyed exploring her body as I felt her moan and whimper around my thumb in the throes of post-orgasmic bliss.

Finally, succumbing to the real fact that I would have to bring this session to an end, I crawled up her back and laid several more kisses along the nape of her neck before rolling to the side on my back. The air was filled with the smell of sex and the sounds of labored breathing as we recovered from our workout.

I looked at her. She peered at me with one eye, half her face buried in the mattress, and gave me a small smile. I rolled to my side, placed a hand on her back, and let my fingers trail over her skin as I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers in a sweet kiss. She didn’t respond immediately, and then she returned the kiss. I felt them give way, allowing my tongue entrance to find hers, forcing them to dance with each other in a way that had been perfected over the last week since she had been here.

After two full minutes of making out, she broke her kiss and rolled away from me so she lay on her back. She placed one hand behind her head and stared at the ceiling. My eyes wandered over her body - Jessica wasn’t about to win a contract as a fashion model - at 5’9, she was a big girl with fairly broad shoulders and hips, a juicy ass, and large tits that filled a double D-cup bra. She was at a comfortable weight with just a bit extra to make her ass and tits even more formidable. As she lay on her back, I reached out to paw at one, gently rolling the warm flesh in my palm in a way I thought was more soothing than arousing.

Physically, two of her best features were her face and her complexion. With naturally crimson lips, sparkling hazel eyes, and cute dimples on her cheeks when she smiled, she looked like a princess in a cartoon, albeit one with a bit of a different build. Jessica was solidly built, but that meant she could take a lot of punishment when things got rough in the bedroom, which both of us enjoyed.

She was kinky and perverted, and there wasn’t much that shocked her. In the seven months we shared, she had taken a butt plug up her ass. We had enjoyed tying each other down and dripping all sorts of things on each others’ bodies from hot wax to honey. She’d kept count as I spanked her, submitted to me while I strapped a collar around her perfect throat, blushed prettily when I called her a good girl, and licked my fingers clean when I’d cum in my hand. She was creative, imaginative, and exciting… everything a man could have asked for in a girlfriend.

I glanced at my alarm clock and said, “An hour and a half. Not bad if I say so myself.”

The only response I received was a sigh as she stared at the ceiling. Then she muttered something under her breath.

“What was that?” I asked.

She hesitated, then looked at me, and I could see tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

“I said I’m going to miss this,” she said, her voice rough with emotion.

Seeing how much she would miss me warmed my heart, and I felt guilty that I wasn’t also shedding a few tears at our upcoming departure. “Aw. Me too, baby.”

Jess lived in Kansas. I lived in New York. We met online, hit it off, and ended up taking regular trips to fuck each other’s brains out for the past year and a half before finally making it official roughly seven months ago. Now, we were entertaining the idea of her moving to New York so we could be closer; it was a serious step toward something more permanent between us.

She was leaving to return home after a week of apartment hunting and fucking. We only saw a handful of apartments the first two days she was in town, but she said that was enough, claiming that she had enough information to make a decision. I didn’t complain, as it meant more time with my dick in her.

“But the distance won’t be an issue much longer,” I continued as I leaned down to kiss one of her pale, pink nipples. It immediately hardened under my lips.

“No,” Jessica said as she placed a hand on my cheek and pulled me off her breast so we could look each other in the eyes. “That’s not what I mean.”

I wasn’t sure what she was getting at.

“What do you mean then?”

“I don’t think I’m going to move,” she replied.

“You’re not? Why?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m staying in Kansas.”

“Why?” I repeated.

She looked away from me and said, “I met someone.”

A chill ran through me, and I suddenly found it difficult to process information.

“Why?” I repeated the question, the meaning completely different.

“I’m sorry Marcus,” she said. Her eyes dropped to the mattress so I could no longer see directly into her eyes, but I could hear how upset she was. I felt my jaw ache and I locked it in place. She still hadn’t answered my one question.

“Seriously. Why?” I asked again. “I’ve been a great boyfriend. I’ve been incredibly patient. I’ve paid for you to come out here and half our visits have been me coming to see you. I’ve met your family for Christ’s sake.”

I waited for her to say something - anything - but she didn’t even look at me or acknowledge anything I was saying.

“Jess,” I said, my tone softening to simple desperation. I leaned forward, trying to make eye contact with her. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m sorry.” She finally looked up at me, tears streaming down her face, and I knew this wasn’t a fucking joke. “It’s just-”

“How long?” I asked.

Anger was starting to overtake my shock. When we first started this thing, it had just been mutual lust and fun. Over time, it’d grown into legitimate affection, care, and love. At least, it had for me. I thought it was for her as well. Had the smiles and laughter and long, deep talks meant nothing? Had I simply been a good time until something else had come along? Had my love been a freaking placeholder?

A sob escaped from her as she said, “Marcus-”

“How long?” I repeated. Fuck her tears. I’d been good to her.

She stared at me, silently crying as the moments stretched on. Finally, she responded, “A month.”

I launched myself off the bed and walked away from her. A whole fucking month? I’d been dating this woman for a month, ignoring other opportunities, remaining faithful, and she was doing this behind my back for a month. I grabbed my pants and began pulling them on, trying to feel nothing again. It was either that or anger, hurt, and shame.

“Marcus. Look I-”

“I can’t be here right now,” I said, grabbing my shirt. “I thought we were good. Hell, better than good!”

“We were. This just… happened. You’re all the way over here and… it just happened. I didn’t-”

I whirled and pointed at her, shirt in hand. “No! You were moving! You were moving, and I was going to ask you to marry me when you got here! Jesus, Jess! What the fuck?”

It grew quiet and I used the opportunity to put my shirt on, stewing on what she’d just told me and the implications. She had been seeing someone else for a fucking month; I didn’t have to ask how far they’d gone. Of course, they had sex. Jessica was a very sexual person. Our distance had been the biggest issue between us, and it had been a little over a month since we’d seen each other. Once she found someone closer who could satisfy her more regularly, it probably didn’t take them long to climb into bed together. That it happened only a week after our last visit made the sting of betrayal more intense.

“You were going to ask me?”

“To marry me, yeah,” I said, donning my socks and shoes.

“I didn’t know…”

“That doesn’t matter,” I snarled as I grabbed my wallet and keys. “Maybe I might have been able to forgive a one-time thing, but a fucking month? Did I walk out the door and you just happened to meet the guy on the same day? Did you meet him before our last visit? What? Did you bounce right off my dick and onto his?”

“Where are you going?” Jessica climbed to her knees as she watched me, tear stains on her face. She was still naked. Her messy red hair cascaded down her chest over one shoulder, obscuring one of her heavy breasts. She looked alarmed that I’d thrown on my clothes so quickly, and for some reason, her confusion was stoking my anger even more. Did she expect me to actually stay in the house with her? How the hell could she be confused at any part of my reaction? And why did she have to look so beautiful, kneeling in my bed and looking nude and so vulnerable?

“I can’t be here,” I said. “Pack your shit and leave.”

The plan was to have lunch before taking her to the airport. Now, there was no chance I was doing either of those.

“...How am I supposed to get there?” She asked with a timid note in her voice.

Jessica was broke. She was currently working as an administrative assistant at a box company in Kansas, but it didn’t pay all that well. On top of that, she wasn’t exactly the wisest person when it came to finances, basically living from paycheck to paycheck. I on the other hand was an analyst in New York that made a high five digits. I wasn’t about to buy a house anytime soon, but I did well enough for myself. Jess relied on me for most of the financial burden of long-distance dating.

“I don’t know, Jess! Call a rideshare,” I fired back as I walked toward the door. “There’s sixty-something dollars in the side drawer. Take it. I don’t give a fuck!”

“Marcus!” She called after me. “Can we talk about this!?”

I stopped at the door and turned to look at her. “Have you been dating someone for the past month while we’ve been in a relationship?”

“We’re not technically dating.”

That was enough of a yes for me. “Have you slept together?”

She hesitated in her answer. Also a yes.

“When you said you were going to miss this, did you mean for the next month while you were back in Kansas packing to move here, or did you mean because this was the last time?”

She hesitated. “I…”

“Good enough for me,” I said. “Have a nice life, Jessica. Lock the door on your way out.”

I turned and caught sight of Jack, my cat, sitting on the counter. He slowly blinked up at me and then looked back toward Jessica. Jack preferred to keep out of the affairs of humans, as he thought our goings-on were beneath him. He was probably right.

“Jack,” I said, “don’t let her steal any of the expensive shit in this house,” With that, I opened the front door and walked out.

“Marcus!” Jessica called out behind me. I ignored her and slammed the door. I didn’t feel like hearing anything else she had to say.

I started down the hallway toward the elevator when a head poked out of the apartment across from mine, almost bumping into my chest. With a surprised gasp, Phoebe Lucas’ dark brown head disappeared behind her door so she could avoid colliding with me. I swerved out of the way to avoid at the same time, and a moment later, she reemerged, her eyes wide as she looked from me to my front door.

“Everything okay?”

“Everything is fine, Mrs. Lucas,” I groused. “Jessica and I just broke up. She’s still in there but she’ll be gone soon.”

Phoebe Lucas was a woman in her early 40’s who worked as a bank loan officer in New York. I’d known her for three years, and we got along well. She was a lovely woman with a sweet disposition who just so happened to be married to a steelworker who made beating his wife a pastime when he wasn’t beating metal. At least, that’s what I suspected. Jim and Phoebe had a cute two-year-old boy, and I would’ve bet a lot of money that he liked his dad as much as I did.

“Oh!” Mrs. Lucas said. “I’m… sorry?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Me too.”

“Are you okay? Do you need to talk?”

I shook my head and said, “I do, but I’m going to grab coffee with a friend.” I tried giving her a half-hearted smile. “Want me to bring you back anything?”

She smiled back at me, hers much more genuine than mine. Despite her marital situation, she smiled a lot, and there were a few lines around her eyes and mouth as a result. To be fair, they could have just as easily been worry lines due to her moron of a husband.

“No thank you. Jim will probably be home. He…” She didn’t finish the sentence, but she didn’t need to.

“I get it,” I said. “Is there anything else I can do?”

She shook her head, “No thank you. I’m good.”

I stared directly into her dark brown eyes, assessing her situation while the corpse of my relationship was still cooling in my apartment. It was crazy how quickly you could forget about your troubles when you were concerned about someone else, even if it was your girlfriend cheating on you.

“Okay,” I finally said, “But you know I’m here if you need anything.”

“Of course,” she said. “The same goes for you.”

“I know. Thanks, Mrs. Lucas.”

“I keep telling you,” she said. “Phoebe is fine.”

I nodded and gave her a weak smile. “I’ll try.”

I turned and made my way toward the elevator, then hesitated and turned around. Phoebe was starting to enter her apartment again.

“Oh,” I called out. She hesitated and looked at me. “Would you do me a favor and make sure my door is locked after the lying bitch is gone?”

Friday, 10:52 am

“Order for Marcus!”

I retrieved my coffee from the counter and made my way to my usual spot in the back of the common room of Strange Mudd - a local coffee shop in New York. Normally, I visited here early in the morning before work when the customers were more sparse. I rarely saw it at nearly eleven and was fortunate enough to find a seat - a small miracle. The din of a busy coffee shop slipped into white noise as I drank my coffee, stared into space, and spent time processing my breakup.

My story isn’t all that unusual. I grew up in middle-class upstate New York, as one of four children to an architect mother and a musician father. Well, step-father. My actual dad skipped out on my mother the moment the stick turned blue. Or pink. Whichever one meant that my mom was pregnant with me.

It was a good childhood. My mom loved me, and after I was born, she finished school, leaning on her parents to help raise me since she stayed busy trying to build a life for us. Within a year of completing her degree and getting a job, she married Henry, and our family went from two to four, due to Henry having a daughter a year older than me. A childhood, two more half-siblings, and a college education later, I found myself in New York working as a financial analyst for a firm.

I developed a pretty good life here. One cat named Jack, a single-room apartment, a handful of relationships, and a small group of friends, including-

“Sup nerd?”

Dillon dropped into the chair at my small table opposite me, grinning ear-to-ear as he wiped his hands on his apron. Dillon was an aspiring actor who tried his luck in LA before returning to his hometown to pursue the stage. He liked it well enough, but New York wasn’t cheap, and he needed to sling coffee to supplement his income until he finally made it big.

“What’re you doing here?” he asked. “I thought you would’ve been balls-deep in Jessica right about now.”

He glanced at his phone and then looked around the room. “Isn’t she supposed to go to the airport in a couple of hours? She here?”

I took a sip of my coffee and stared at it as I placed it on the table, unsure how to explain the situation to Dillon when I was still coming to grips with what happened.

“Yo. Everything alright?” He asked, his tone taking on a note of concern. Dillon was the least serious of my friends, but he was also the most empathic of the group.

I shook my head and glanced up at him, trying hard to not look as miserable as I felt.

“What happened?” he asked.

I shrugged and finally said, “We broke up. She’s not moving here. There’s someone else, so she’s staying there.”

Silence reigned between us for several moments, and I resigned myself to studying my coffee cup again.

“Man,” Dillon finally said, “that sucks. When did she tell you?”

“A little over half an hour ago,” I said, not looking up at him.

“Bitch…”

“Yeah...”

“Where is she now?”

“My apartment, getting her crap together. I told her to leave and lock the door on the way out. She’ll probably be gone in another hour or two.”

“You left her alone in your apartment? What if she fucks up all your stuff? Or steals it?”

“What stuff?” I asked. “My laptop is at work. She’s welcome to whatever else she can find, if she wants it that bad.”

I sighed and said, “I just needed to get out of there. I couldn’t look at her.”

“You want me to call my uncle? I could have her arrested for being in your apartment. We could say she broke in or something.”

I chuckled at that. Dillon’s uncle was NYPD. It was tempting to do something like that to her after the gut punch she gave me, but it wasn’t worth it. Anyway, I figured Dillon was primarily kidding. There was no way someone on the force would risk his job over a favor for a guy with relationship problems. He’d probably tell me to get over it and remind me that I’m a fish in one of the biggest ponds in the States.

I shook my head and said, “Nah dude. Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll just let it be.”

“You did say she could be a little much at times,” Dillon pointed out.

“Yeah. I did, but I think I was getting used to it.” I hesitated, looking around at all the random people who had their own stuff going on. Seeing people on their phones, typing away at their laptops, or feeding their kids reminded me that there were billions of people in the world who neither knew nor cared that my heart had just been broken. The concept made me feel small.

“I told her I was going to ask her to marry me,” I finally said.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“Were you?”

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “I thought about it. I didn’t have a ring yet, but I was doing a little bit of research. I imagined proposing to her when she finished moving here.”

“Damn, dude.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“You probably dodged a bullet,” Dillon offered.

“Yeah. Maybe,” I replied and took another sip of coffee. “It was comfortable though. She was comfortable. What we had was nice. I don’t know. It just sucks.”

“Yeah.”

Silence fell between us again, and I let the coffee shop help me dissociate, its ambiance drowning out my thoughts as I concentrated on the smells of beans and caramel wafting through the air.

“Look at the bright side. You’re single in a city with the largest population of hot, single women in the US. There are worse places to fly solo.”

Well, if it hadn’t been Dillon’s uncle telling me that, it was bound to be Dillon.

I snorted, “That’s true. I just hate the whole dating thing.”

“I don’t blame you. It sucks ninety-eight percent of the time, but that two percent of the time?” Dillon gave a chef’s kiss.

“You’ll have to show me the ropes. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah. We’ll have to go out soon. I have an audition tonight, or I’d say let’s do it.”

“Soon,” I said and took another sip of coffee.

“I know a few too. And there’s my sister. She likes you, and she’s not seeing anyone.”

“I dunno,” I said. Dillon’s sister was nineteen and wild - two things I wasn’t. “She might be a bit young for me.”

Dillon shrugged and said, “I’d trust you with her. There’s also Natalie.”

I hesitated mid-sip at the mention of that name.

Natalie.

“You’re both available now, right?” Dillon asked, standing up from his seat. “Break’s almost up, my guy. I gotta get back to work. You got this though. Stars are aligning… this is gonna be your time, and if you need to talk, you know I’m there.”

He clapped me on the shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Talk soon.”

“Thanks, man!” I called out, raising my cup to him in cheers as he retreated from my table.

I sat at my small table alone for the next ten minutes finishing my coffee and mulling over Dillon’s words. Jessica ending things the way she did hurt, but Dillon had a good point. There were thousands of women in New York.

And chief among them was Natalie.