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thirty-eight

Harlow

After breakfast this morning, I went back to my apartment and spent the rest of the day working on Starred and Fast . Things are going really well, and I want it to maintain the momentum it’s gaining.

I work on some more articles to post over the coming days, and when that’s finished, I finally allow myself to relax. I read a smutty romance book, use a shower steamer since my apartment doesn’t have a bathtub, and enjoy half a bottle of Riesling. Now, at eleven PM, I’m wine drunk, dancing around my kitchen while singing Taylor Swift very off-key.

“I’m the one on the phone as you whisper, ‘Do you know how much I miss you?’”

My song time is interrupted by my phone ringing, cutting off the music. I grab my phone from the counter, still swaying my hips to the song that’s no longer playing, and look at the screen. And I smile. Knox is calling.

“Hey, Slick,” I say, answering the phone and bringing it to my ear. “You’re interrupting my drunken singing.”

“Oh God,” Knox says from the other line, stifling a laugh. “Can you even sing?”

“Not well,” I say as I chuckle. “But after half a bottle of wine, I’m up for anything.”

“Then I’ll be sure to grab some wine for my place.”

“You’re terrible,” I reply, shaking my head but still smiling. “How was the Home Run Derby tonight?”

“It was fun to watch,” he admits. “It’s entertaining to see players from other teams hit home runs when you’re not the one pitching them.”

“Like you give up a lot of home runs, Fort. Nobody can hit your damn knuckleballs.”

“I wouldn’t say nobody,” he replies with a light laugh. “I’ve given up my share of home runs and all.”

“So modest,” I say. “What are you up to?”

“Got back to my room a little bit ago and thought it would be nice to talk to you.”

“Aww,” I say in a singsong tone. “You miss me.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” he scoffs. “I think it’s more just noticing your absence.”

“Call it whatever you want. I know what you mean.”

“Are you at your place right now, Lo? Or are you with Lucia, Rory, or Ella?”

“I’m in my apartment. My little shoebox,” I say with a laugh. “Why?”

“Hang on,” Knox says before I hear the call disconnect and a FaceTime call comes through.

I cross the room and settle onto my bed, leaning back against the pillows before I answer the call.

And I’m greeted with a shirtless Knox leaning back against the headboard of his hotel bed.

“Well, hello there,” I say, involuntarily running my tongue over my bottom lip.

“Damn,” he says with a smile. “You’re already checking me out.”

“You called me when you weren’t wearing a shirt. What did you expect from me?”

“Baby, I’m not judging you. If you didn’t realize, you’re in a fucking sports bra right now. I can barely think straight seeing you in that.”

“Mmm,” I say, settling down into my pillows. “You just wish you were here to take it off me, don’t you?”

Knox groans. “You definitely wouldn’t be wearing that if I was with you. I’d have taken it off hours ago.”

“Well,” I say, a mischievous smile pulling at the corners of my mouth as I move my phone to my nightstand, prop it up against a book, and sit myself on the side of my bed. “Let’s just pretend you are here.” I grab the sports bra by the hem and slowly pull it off in full view of the camera, letting my breasts fall free.

“Fuck, baby.”

“You like that?” I say, teasing him by pushing my tits together.

“I fucking love that.” His tone is guttural, so full of desire and need. “I’d like it even more if the rest came off with it.”

“Naughty, Knox. Trying to get me naked on the phone.”

“I’d much prefer you were naked in my bed beside me,” he says huskily. “But if all I can get is the phone screen right now, that will have to do.”

Phone sex isn’t something I’ve done before. But the lust in Knox’s eyes right now has me so emboldened that that doesn’t even faze me.

“Take off your shorts first,” I say, meeting his eyes. “You need to take something off before I do anything else.”

His smile is devious as he props his phone on his own nightstand, positioning himself in front of it. “I called it that first night we were together. You’re a dirty fucking girl.” He hooks his thumbs under the waistband of his shorts and slides them down, leaving him in only a pair of black boxer briefs that leave nothing to the imagination.

I hum my approval as I take all of him in. The tight fabric clings to the muscles of his thighs, muscles earned from years of running around the baseball field. The waistband dips just below the V in his abdomen. And the dick that’s already hard as stone is straining to break free. “So turned on just from me taking off my top,” I tease.

“Yeah,” he says, a smirk pulling at his lips. “And what would you do about it if you were here, Lo?”

“Mmm… I’d sink to my knees and take your cock into my mouth. Maybe even have you fuck my face.”

“Fucking hell,” Knox mutters as I see his hand slip under his waistband.

“Baby,” I say, lowering my voice. “If you’re going to touch yourself, take the boxers off. I want to watch you.”

“I’ll take off mine if you take off yours.”

He and I are both breathing heavily as we slide off the remainder of our clothing, leaving us both bare in front of our phone screens.

“Goddess, Harlow,” he says, grabbing his phone from the nightstand and bringing it with him as he sits back against the headboard again. “You’re a fucking goddess .“ His hand finds his dick, and he tightly grasps it, slowly pumping his shaft a few times.

“What do you want me to do, Knox?” I ask, already breathless with how hot I feel right now.

“Spread your legs. Let me see that perfect cunt.” I do as he asks, and he groans from the other end. “Goddamn, Lo. You’re already dripping, aren’t you?”

I slowly take a finger and drag it against my folds. “So wet. I’ve been thinking about you all day.”

“Me too, baby. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you and the way you moan when I sink my cock into you. I can’t be there, so let me hear you instead. Show me how you fuck yourself when I’m not around.”

Knox’s filthy words only make me feel hotter. The only way to cool down will be to find my release first. So I ask, “How then? With just my hand? Or should I use a toy?”

“Toy,” he pants. “Let me watch you get off as you fuck yourself with a toy, imagining it’s me.”

“You think I’ll be imagining it’s you?” I say as I reach over the phone to get to my nightstand drawer, leaving the only view be my tits hanging in front of the camera. I can hear him groan as I return to the screen with my favorite dildo and bullet vibrator in hand.

“ Fuck… you just grabbed a dildo. You better be imagining it’s me.”

“I don’t know,” I tease. “Maybe I’ll think about Lane tonight.”

“The fuck you will,” Knox says, amusement falling from his face. “You’re mine, remember? You should only be thinking about your boyfriend.”

“Fake boyfriend,” I reply with a smirk.

“Doesn’t matter,” he says, smirking back slightly. “Real or fake, my cock is the only one you should imagine fucking you.”

I involuntarily moan at the possessiveness. “Don’t worry, baby. I always imagine it’s you .”

“Then show me what you do. But keep it down. I don’t need the entire hotel to hear what you sound like. That’s only for me.”

“I make no promises,” I say with a smile as I slide the dildo up my thigh, positioning it right between my legs. “If I’m imagining it’s you, being quiet may be impossible.”

I can see the pride wash over his face. “Slide that into your pussy, Harlow. I’m dying over here waiting for you.”

“So impatient,” I say, laughing lightly. I start to slide the dildo in, and I throw my head back and moan. “Fuck, Knox. I really wish this was you.”

“So do I. I really fucking wish it was me.”

He still has a tight grip on his dick and starts slowly pumping his shaft as I push the dildo in to the hilt. “I think I’m going to need a larger one now. You’re so much bigger.”

“Did that one used to be big for you?”

“Used to be… until a few weeks ago.” I start pumping the dildo with my hand while my other flicks on the bullet vibrator. “Now, what to do with this one.”

Knox is stroking faster now. “I don’t care where you start with it as long as it ends between your legs.”

I start by teasing the vibrator over my nipples, enjoying the sensation before I slowly slide it down my stomach, inching it closer and closer to the desired spot. When I finally reach my clit, I can’t help but moan. “Fuck…”

“There you go, baby.” My eyes are closed now, but I can hear him stroking himself faster. “Just like that.”

“Knox,” I moan. “This feels so good.”

“Better than me?” he asks breathlessly.

“Never.” I can already feel my orgasm closing in. I had myself so worked up that I should’ve known I wouldn’t last long. “Nothing is better than you.”

“Fuck, Harlow.” Knox softly moans. “You gonna come all over those toys?”

“Mhmm,” I manage between breaths. “Already… so close.”

“Because you’re addicted to me, baby.”

I don’t even argue. Partially because I can’t even speak right now I’m so close to the edge. Mainly because he’s right. I’m fucking addicted to Knox. Every side of him. The hot and heavy side. The sweet and caring side. The playful and flirty side.

I’m freefalling without a parachute. Nothing can slow me down. Nothing can stop me. I’m falling so goddamn hard, and all I want is Knox. To be with him. Really be with him.

My breathing is so heavy now that I’m practically panting. I just need a little more to tip over the edge. Knox saying, “There you go, baby. You’re doing such a good job,” is all it takes to fall apart.

“Knox… oh God!” I scream, pussy clenching around the toy inside me. I turn off the vibrator and toss it on the bed as I slowly slip the dildo out. All I hear from his end of the phone is the slapping of skin, rough and needy.

I open my eyes and look at the screen just in time to see him release himself all over his chest. “Fuck, Harlow!” He pumps himself until he’s empty, trying to catch his breath while he does.

“Such a waste,” I say. “You could’ve had that inside me instead.”

He smiles and laughs. “Wednesday, baby. I’ll give you everything inside me when I get back home.”

“I can’t wait,” I reply, grabbing my phone and lying down on my bed, nestling my head against a pillow.

Knox grabs a few tissues to clean himself off before tossing them in the wastebasket. After he does, he sinks back into his pillows. “I can’t wait either.”

We’re silent as I smile sweetly at him. I can’t believe I ever thought I could resist falling for him. Knox is everything I never knew I wanted.

“What’s that look for?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I say, not wanting to give myself away. “I’m just happy right now.”

“Yeah,” he says with a smile. “I’m happy, too.” We’re silent again as he seems to be trying to decide whether or not to say something. “Harlow, I, uh…” He takes a deep breath. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, Knox.”

He smiles softly, but I can also see the worry on his face. I don’t know what that means for this, for us, but I’m not ready to find out. I want to enjoy him a bit longer before I talk to him.

Let me just live in bliss for at least a few more days.

Knox and Lane both have great appearances during tonight’s All-Star Game. Knox pitches two innings, and Lane bats in two runs, leading the American League to beat the National League five to two. I know the plan is for them to fly back to NYC immediately after the game, so that’ll put them in the city sometime after two a.m. Because of that, I’m heading to Knox’s first thing in the morning.

But then I’m awakened around three a.m. to a loud knock at my door. What the hell? Who is pounding on my door in the middle of the night?

I pad across the room in nothing but the Huntington Devils shirt I snagged from Knox that first night I stayed in his penthouse. I have a baseball bat by the door that I grab, just in case. Normal people don’t bang on people’s doors overnight, so I need to be prepared.

With the baseball bat over my shoulder, I swing the door open… and find Knox drenched from head to toe from the rain outside. “Knox?” I say softly, setting the bat back down. “What are you doing here?”

He charges into my room, setting his bag down and closing the door behind him. “I couldn’t wait any longer to see you, Lo.”

Once he closes the distance between us, his mouth crashes into mine as he leads us backward across the small room and over to my bed. We fall down on top of it, Knox on top of me, as his hands gently caress the skin of my thighs. “I thought I wasn’t seeing you until morning,” I manage between frantic kisses.

“Too long,” he says. “I told you I missed you; I meant that. I wanted to see you now.”

Knox starts moving us up the bed, positioning my head on top of a pillow before he grabs his soaked T-shirt by the back of his collar and pulls it over his head. Once he’s shirtless, his lips find mine again.

Now fully awake, I throw myself into this. My hands run down his back and slide over the slick fabric of his athletic shorts to grip his ass and pull him in closer. And I’m not surprised at all to feel how hard he is when he presses his hips against my leg.

“Are you wearing anything under my shirt, Harlow?”

“No,” I admit. “There’s nothing under this.”

“Take it off then. I want to see you.”

His voice is husky and needy, so full of the desire that had him barge into my apartment in the middle of the night. He slips off his shorts and boxers as I pull the oversized T-shirt over my head, leaving us both bare.

Naked and ready, Knox settles between my legs, the head of his cock rubbing against the wetness pooling between them. He doesn’t say another word before he slowly slips himself inside, bottoming out and filling me so completely.

Every thrust of his hips now tells me how I’ll never be able to get enough.

Every kiss on my lips tells me how much I need him, and I need him like I need oxygen.

And every point of contact between our skin tells me how this will never be enough for me.

I want more, need more. I want all of Knox.

I don’t just want the parts he’s sharing with me now.

I want him wholly and fully.

I want him to fall for me just as I’ve fallen for him.

And I don’t want to talk to him about this because I’m scared of what he’ll say, but I need to do it anyway.

No matter what happens, I have to talk to him.

Soon .