CW: Finn's body image and self-esteem issues, I don't describe how he feels, only how he reacts to being seen naked. Also bondage as per the name of the chapter, and sex as per the asterisk.
It's easy to feel lonely and crave human contact during the cold half of the year. The warmth the sun provides is nearly gone and the arms of another suddenly seem too inviting to pass up on. And out of nowhere, 3 hours a week turned into seeing each other every day. Having someone to spend time with who doesn't require a 3-month notice and planning down to the minute was refreshing for both of them.
They'd agreed, multiple times, that it wasn't dating. They were just getting to know each other and they enjoyed the other's company. Like today, the Saturday before they had to hand in their reports for the current project, both of them were sprawled out next to each other in Vera's bed. Legs covered under the duvet, backs resting against the headboard, laptops on their laps, and a bowl of apple slices, along with almond butter and a jar of chocolate, their preferred spreads.
The only sound coming from either of them was the rhythmic tapping of their keyboards and occasional chewing. 'This is peaceful,' Vera thought when she looked up from the screen and toward him, his beautiful face deep in thought.
"Why are you looking at me?" He asked a few seconds later.
"Because you're beautiful," she answered matter-of-factly.
"Thank you," he glanced at her, a faint blush covering his features, "you're beautiful too."
"Thank you," she smiled back. "Are you almost done?"
"I have like 3 paragraphs left, maybe 20 minutes?"
"Okay," she answered, "I'll find something to do."
She got up to fill her glass with fresh water and took his as well. "Do you want anything?"
"No, thanks," he whispered absent-mindedly.
He'd never really cared about writing good reports or submitting near-perfect things just for the sake of impressing his professors before but hanging out with her, he figured he might as well use the time she uses for schoolwork to better his own.
"I'm not trying to impress them, I'd like to make the mistakes now, before they can cost me my job later on," she'd said once. She worried way too much but appeared way too unphased at the same time. He thought teachers would be better able to help her if she showed her uncertainty in class instead of spending sleepless nights googling how to do something that they get paid to teach them.
When she came back, he already had his concentrated face on so she sat down lightly and watched him type, not really reading anything, just watching his fingertips dance across the keyboard, creating a melody of their own.
"I can't focus if you keep watching me like this," he said, his fingertips not skipping a beat.
"It's relaxing," she tried explaining herself.
"I feel," tap tap tap, "observed."
"Well," she looked him in the eye, "deal with it. I'm not observing you with ill intent."
He inhaled loudly for show as he continued tapping and she rested her head on his arm. After a while, she began absent-mindedly fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.
"Please," he whispered.
"Hm?"
"You're touching me," he elaborated. "It's distracting."
"Aren't you done already?" She changed the subject.
"Can't you see, I'm not anywhere near the conclusion," he nodded toward the screen.
YOU ARE READING
Two Beers Is All It Takes
RomanceThe touch of her lips on his body, light as a feather, was igniting his skin in its wake. Instead of feeling him up and down with her fingers, she did so with her tongue, which elicited shy gasps from Finn every single time. She kissed the side of h...
