City of Smoke // Brian 'Otis' Zvonecek ✔️

14 || NECKLACE

"It did." Rory spoke quietly, once again blushing as Connor brushed her hair from her face, making her unable to hide behind it.

"And didn't you say that Otis has a girlfriend?" Connor asked, causing Rory's brow to furrow a little before it fell and she sighed.

"How did you know it was him?" She asked, sighing once again as she looked down at his chest rather than into his eyes, feeling utterly pathetic right now.

"Because I'm not blind." Connor replied, gently lifting Rory's chin up with his finger. "And you didn't answer my question."

"Yes, he has a girlfriend." Rory nodded, ignoring the way her heart clenched beneath her chest any time she had to admit that fact.

"Then why are you so reluctant to allow yourself to have some fun when you know for a fact that he's having fun of his own?"

"I don't know." Rory exhaled, absently lifting to hands to hold Connors arms, tracing her fingertips over his skin. "I guess I just can't help but think it's wrong since I'm in love with him."

"But it isn't." Connor said softly, trailing the back of his finger along Rory's jawline. "Listen, I know you don't love me and if it makes you feel any better, I don't love you either... So why shouldn't we have a little fun? I know I could use it, and by the looks of things, you could too."

"You mean, like friends with benefits?" Rory questioned, never once having had something like that before. Nor did she ever think anyone would want to have something like that with her.

"If that's what you want to call it, then sure." Connor nodded, watching the gears work behind Rory's eyes as she thought to herself. "It's just sex, Rory. That's it. If you don't want to, that's perfectly fine. We'll part ways here and go back to being friends."

Truthfully, Rory could do with a little "just sex" in her life. She'd only ever been with two guys her entire life, her old high school boyfriend and her ex-fiancé, so it would be nice to see just what she'd been missing out on. And it did help that Connor was handsome, and from what she could remember of last night, he was amazing at giving her what she wanted. So why the hell not? Why shouldn't she get to have some fun whilst she waited on Otis to come to his senses, if he ever did that is.

Although she was kind of hoping that once he found out she was sleeping with Connor that that might speed things up a little, but if it didn't then she was ready and willing to wait for him.

"Just sex." Rory repeated, her head tilting a little to the side as she eyed the man in front of her. "No strings attached?"

"No strings attached." Connor confirmed, nodding his head briefly as he began to run his hands along either side of Rory's thighs, pulling her closer to him. "Absolutely zero strings."

"I suppose..." Rory murmured, trailing her hands up over his hardened biceps and into his hair, twirling the short strands of it around her fingers. "...for the time being that is... That we could have a little fun."

Lips crashing against his, Rory allowed Connor to pull her closer to him, her own chest pressing up against his as he began to thread his fingers through her hair. Was it wrong that she may or may not be picturing Otis right now? Probably. But she couldn't help it. He was in her mind 24/7 and she just couldn't seem to get him out of it. But she was hoping, praying rather, that allowing herself to have a little fun with Connor would make it easier for her to be around Otis because his words at the gala had made her realise that she missed him too.

"Now I really do have to go." Rory whispered against Connor's lips, placing one last soft kiss against them before she slid off his lap. And this time she didn't bother wrapping the blanket around herself. Her soft footsteps rounded the bed, her eyes coming to meet the dress that she'd bought only to wear for about an hour before it ended up on Connor's bedroom floor.