Date Night (Natalie PoV)

The air in the hotel room was like ice, chilling my exposed skin as I rode him. I looked down at my date as he gripped my hips and bucked his own to meet me. His face was contorted in ecstasy as I felt his cock twitch inside me. We were both close, but I could see his climax approaching quicker than mine. That was fine, I suppose. He had done well enough and I’d be satisfied by the time we were through.

I let out a gasp as his hands ran up my sides, his fingers caressing my sensitive breasts. It wasn’t much, but it was nice he was putting in more effort than the last few guys had. I focused on the pleasure coursing through me, eyes squeezing shut as my heart thudded in my chest. I let my mind go blank as I drowned myself in the pleasure of the moment.

“Harder,” I breathed, fingers running over his chest. He responded in kind, fucking me with new vigor. My head tilted back as I moaned, his efforts bringing me closer to the edge. A surprising turn of events. Just a bit more and—

I grunted as he finished, a loud groan escaping his lips as he thrust up into me, holding my hips in place. A small part of me protested, hating the feeling of a good thing coming to an end. I smiled down at him as his hands ran along my sides. Lifting myself from him, I rolled back onto the bed. To my surprise, he shifted onto his side, hand sliding between my legs. It was a shame he wasn’t using his mouth, but this was better than most. Another point for Dalton.

He had a lot going for him. Decent looks, pleasant conversation, just a lot of overall good vibes. Nothing really stood out about him, but by the same merit, nothing jumped out at me as troublesome. It really drove home how immature Tommy had been. Turns out idolizing a bunch of douchebag frat boys didn’t leave much room for maturing. Who knew?

Pleasure surged through me as his skilled fingers pushed me over the edge. A blissful smile lingered on my lips as I stared at the ceiling, basking in the afterglow. Finally, a proper orgasm.

And then it was over.

My smile had long since faded, my eyes staring up at the ceiling. The cold air was almost painful, the heat of our activities long since cooled. The soft breaths of sleep sounded beside me as my mind refused to rest. I **** myself to look at Dalton as he slept beside me. I’d had fun tonight. Sure, he was a bit boring, but that was just first-time nerves. Besides, I wanted boring. Well, maybe not boring. Predictable. He was everything I was looking for. Mature, confident, attractive enough...

Everything seemed to be going well, and a second date was all but assured. Now that the afterglow was fading?

I carefully slid out of bed and began the process of dressing. Since when was I fucking guys on the first date? Since Tommy, apparently. What the hell was wrong with me? It always turned out this way. No matter how great a time I was having, once we got to this part of the date, any desire for a second date disappeared once the afterglow faded. It was concerning, like I wasn’t fully over that asshole. I absolutely was. Look at me, already meeting new people, going out on dates...

My hands ran over the front of me, smoothing out the dress I’d worn. No, this is what I wanted. Keep moving forward. This was just to see if we were compatible, that’s all. He had even been kind enough to get me off too, which was more than the previous three had done. Standing in my heels, my gaze lingered on his sleeping form. Sex aside, tonight had been... enjoyable. It was everything I could hope for a first date.

So why did I have no desire to see him again?

I left a note thanking him for the fun night, but I made it clear that’s all it would be. Then I left.

The elevator ride down was heavy. I didn’t like the situation, not one bit. I liked Dalton, he was nice. If I made an effort to get to know him...

My thoughts drifted as I stepped outside the hotel, the doorman flagging down a taxi for me. Dalton certainly had taste bringing me to a fancy place like this. Was it to impress me? Show off he had means? Maybe he brought all his dates here, at least, the ones willing to put out—which I was forever a part of now. Sigh.

More and more worrisome flags appearing. It was easy to blame the issue on the little piece of Alexis that had been the bane of my existence the past few months, but that excuse was quickly fading. The latest testing already showed a marked reduction, meaning all this was me, or at least mostly me. That was... not great. I wasn’t at risk of falling back into my old, old habits, but I wasn’t sure I liked this. Dalton was the fifth guy I’d slept with in just as many dates. I could spin a lie about how I just wasn’t feeling it, but I knew the truth. I might have been telling myself I was looking for something serious, but so far, I’d treated every guy I’d gone out with as a one-night stand. The only difference between Alexis and I right now was I pretended to go through the motions. Dinner, some drinking, nice conversation... then straight to a hotel to get my brains fucked out of me.

And I was seemingly okay with that, which was the worst thing about it. I wasn’t Alexis. This... wasn’t me; wasn’t who I wanted to be. Even though I managed to piece myself back together, too much of my old self peeked through the cracks and missing pieces. In the end, maybe I wasn’t ready yet. I was only twenty-five and had plenty of time ahead of me. I suppose a few casual relationships weren’t the end of the world. Was I trying too hard to replace what I had, or thought I had, with Tommy? Everything about that had ended in a mess. Perhaps I was rushing things? The last thing I wanted was to jump into another relationship just because I wanted one. That wasn’t fair to myself or the guy. Reflecting on everything that had happened provided some insight on my faults within the relationship. I was content with inertia carrying us forward and let things ride out despite clear cracks developing. Tommy was still a fucking asshole for ending things the way he did, but I played a part in the relationship getting to that point. I believed he did love me, once. Somewhere along the way, he stopped, and instead of ending things like a responsible, mature human being, he arranged to have me passed around to all his ‘friends’ for what? Bro points?

I let out a breath, releasing some of the lingering embers of anger. Enough abut him.

Yeah, okay, I can work with this. Keep things casual for a bit, have some fun, and maybe, just maybe, someone will interest me. I would let things naturally develop rather than forcefully jump into things.

I paid my fare and took the agonizingly long elevator ride up. Unlocking the door, I found Alexis lounging on the couch. She perked up, giving me a smug grin as I set my purse and keys on the counter.

“You’re home late.”

I glanced over and caught the time off the microwave. It wasn’t that late, only half past midnight. “We went for drinks after.” It wasn’t a lie. We did have drinks at the hotel bar before heading up. One, to be precise. I was still trying to avoid **** where possible. To be fair to Dalton, he did offer another location too. I picked that one knowing full well what kind of signal it would give him. I was my own worst enemy.

“And? How did it go?” Alexis asked, leaning against the couch, her full attention on me.

“Fine,” I said, not meaning to sound so evasive.

“So another dud.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, the last four guys were all ‘fine’ and you never had a second date with any of them.”

“Dalton was nice. I had a fun time.”

Her cheeky grin was back. “Yeah, I bet you did.”

“Boundaries,” I said on reflex. The ship had long since sailed to shift our relationship to a more normal and respectable sibling dynamic. It was hard to put that genie back in the bottle after experiencing one’s thoughts and feelings as your own. Still, this was Alexis. I’d be a rather poor role model if I wasn’t nudging her along a somewhat shakily drawn boundaries. I was hoping something productive came from her relationship with Jake and Chloe. I knew she wasn’t the type to settle down, but the two might anchor her. It wasn’t a traditional relationship by any stretch, but I’d take it.

“What? You’re saying you didn’t fuck him?”

Such a question wasn’t worth responding to. It didn’t matter anyway. We both knew the answer.

She laughed, the sound dying down into a pleasant hum. “So? Good enough for a second date then?” Once more, I didn’t answer. She snorted. “What? Small dick?”

“What about you?” I asked, deflecting and shifting the conversation back to her. “Shouldn’t you be going to bed? I thought you were going out with Chloe and Jake tomorrow.”

Her mood turned glum, which wasn’t my intention. “Yeah. Don’t think I’m going to get much sleep though.”

I walked over and settled down beside her. “It’ll be fine.”

She didn’t look convinced. “Maybe.”

I pulled her into a half-hug. “It will.” She didn’t respond right away, a minute ticking by.

“You smell.”

Shaking my head, I got up. “Going to shower. Try to get some sleep?”

“Sorry to hear things didn’t work out,” she said in a soft voice as I headed for the bathroom. Giving her a small smile, I carried on.