Page 10

A nthony

This is it. The day of my audition. My big chance.

I should have been thinking about my audition all day, practicing my routine, or recording myself to make sure that my timing and pacing is spot on.

Instead, I’ve been obsessing over Emerson all damn day.

I know that I messed up last night. I froze and didn’t respond to her but she had caught me off guard.

What did I want from her?

I’ve been thinking about that question all day. Emerson had stayed in a different guest room last night and it had felt so lonely to sleep alone after the last few nights of having Emerson pressed up against me or wrapped around me.

She was gone before I woke up the next day. I thought that she needed her space so I hadn’t texted her, but now I’m wondering if that was a mistake. I wish that she was here for my audition.

As if my thoughts have conjured her, the door opens and Emerson walks in hesitantly. She looks around the room, her eyes meeting mine and holding. She gives me a smile and a quick thumbs-up as the announcer takes the stage.

I keep my eyes on her as she finds a spot at the bar, next to Eden and Alexander, and takes a seat to watch the show.

There are three other comedians auditioning tonight with me and I’ve heard of all three before.

They’re good and my palms start to sweat as the first comedian’s name is called.

I nod at him as he passes and climbs up the stairs to the stage.

His set goes well but the crowd isn’t laughing too hard. Either they haven’t warmed up yet, or they’re going to be a tough one to get to react.

The second comedian is called and by the time he walks back offstage, he has the crowd in tears. My stomach tightens, sweat breaking out on my forehead as my name is finally called.

I force the nerves down as I climb up on stage, slipping into my Comedian Anthony persona as I grab the mic.

I launch into my set and when the first joke lands, I start to relax and have fun. I’ve always loved being on stage and as I set up the second punchline and spot Emerson laughing at the bar, I know that I’m going to nail this audition.

My fifteen-minute set flies by but I’m on fire. My pacing and timing are perfect. Each punchline lands and by the time I’m thanking them for watching, I see a few people wiping tears from their eyes.

The last comedian’s name is called and I sit back down to watch his set. He’s nervous and his set doesn’t go as well as mine or the guy who went before me.

I study my main competition but now that the audition is done, it’s too late to change anything. I’ll just have to hope that they liked my set more than his.

I head backstage after the last comedian’s set and we all face Ari, the club manager as she tells us that we all did a good job.

“Good job tonight. All of you. We’ll discuss it and let you know our decision tomorrow,” she says, clearly dismissing all of us.

We file out of her cramped office and back to the main room. I head straight for Emerson, wanting to see her face, wanting to go somewhere quiet and get lost in her.

She’s still at the bar and I head over to her. She jumps to her feet, a big grin on her face as I approach her.

“You did great!” she says and I grin, wrapping my arms around her waist and drawing her to me as my lips crash down on hers.

We’re wrapped around each other in an instant. The sounds of The Comedy Vault fade into the background as I get lost in Emerson.

How is it always like this with her?

She makes all of the static in my head quiet as soon as she’s near me. She made me forget about bombing and usually I’m in a funk for days after that happens.

She makes everything better.

“Where did Eden and Alexander go?” I ask.

“They left to head home.”

“That’s a great idea. Let’s get out of here,” I whisper against her lips and she nods, both of us breathless.

I drag her the three blocks back to Alexander’s apartment and as soon as we’re ensconced in the elevator, I have her pinned to the wall, my hips holding her in place as I claim her lips once again.

The ride up is over way too fast and I groan, backing out of the elevator and dragging Emerson with me as I go.

We bump into the entryway table and a doorway before we break apart and make a run for it up the stairs and down the hallway to our room.

We’re giggling like kids as I slam the bedroom door closed and reach for her.

She meets me halfway, her hands and mouth just as greedy for me as I am for her.

Emerson is pulling at my clothes before our lips even connect and I let go of her waist, helping her pull them all off. We work on hers together, shoving her jeans down and pulling her shirt over her head.

Her small, perky breasts are revealed, the cherry red nipples begging for my mouth already. I groan, unable to keep my hands and mouth off of them.

“Anthony,” Emerson moans, her head rolling back as her eyes fall to half-mast.

I roll her stiff nipples between my fingers, teasing the sweet peaks for another minute before I back Emerson up another step and push her down onto the bed.

“Spread those pretty thighs for me, baby,” I order her as I brace myself on my palms and capture one of her nipples in my mouth.

She opens her mouth, sucking in a breath as I roll my tongue over one sensitive point and then the other. By the time I’ve released her breasts, we’re both balancing on the edge. Her whole body is a rosy shade of pink and it has me ready to come already.

She reaches for me but I dodge her hands and lick a path between her breasts, over her stomach, and straight down to her delicious pussy.

Her hips rock against my mouth and I have to use my hands to pin her down to the bed. The bulge in my pants grows as my fingers inch higher and higher up her thighs. I can feel how hot and wet she is for me and I groan low in my throat as I slip my finger inside of her.

Emerson gasps, her body tensing as she sucks in a deep breath of air. She’s coming already, I realize and I grin.

“Desperate for me, huh?” I ask when she’s come back down to earth.

My tone is cocky but it can’t quite disguise the lust that I’m feeling.

“I need you,” she begs and I nod, grabbing a condom out of my wallet on the nightstand and rolling it on as I fall down over her.

I thrust inside of her in one movement, sheathing myself to the hilt.

“Jesus fucking—” I cut myself off, forgetting just how tight and perfect she feels wrapped around me.

I can’t resist taking one of her nipples into my mouth as we start to move together. I graze my teeth along the nub until it’s stiff against my tongue and roof of my mouth.

Emerson sighs, her breath blowing my hair back as her fingers grip my shoulders and she pulls me closer to her. I let her nipple go with a pop and look up into her eyes.

As our eyes meet, a thought slams into me.

I love her.

Fuck! I’m in love with Emerson.

How the fuck did that happen?

I don’t have time to answer that right now. Not when her pussy is doing its best to milk my cock.

“Anthony,” Emerson sighs and my cock hardens even more.

She’s wrapped around me, clinging to me in the perfect way. I need to get her off before I lose my nut.

It’s dark in my room but the lights of New York are providing enough light that I can see Emerson’s sweet face clearly. She’s lost in her pleasure, in us, and I think that I fall even more in love with her in that moment.

I’m a cocky asshole who doesn’t deserve for a girl like Emerson to even give me the time of day, but somehow, I’ve got her under me.

“Anthony,” Emerson sighs, her eyes filled with lust as I palm her tits, taking turns licking and teasing the stiff points.

“Spread those pretty thighs real wide for me, baby,” I tell her as I start to work my hips harder against hers.

She does as I ask, spreading her legs wide for me and giving me plenty of room to play with her. I reward her by grinding against her, rubbing the root of my cock over her clit with each pass and driving us both crazy.

“You’re so wet, baby,” I grit out and she moans, rocking against me perfectly.

“Anthony!” Emerson cries out as I work her higher and higher.

Her breath stutters as her eyes fall closed and she starts to shake. Her pussy is clamping down harder than ever around my fingers and I can tell that she’s close to coming.

“Anthony!” she shouts up to the ceiling a second later as she starts to cum.

I can feel her pussy clenching around my cock as I find my own peak and come with her.

Her pussy squeezes almost painfully around my dick as I wring the last of her orgasm from her.

I just barely catch myself before I fall on top of her and smother her with my weight.

She’s looking up at me with love drunk eyes and I kiss her, kneeing her legs apart so that I can kneel between her legs.

“Fuck, Emerson,” I say as I pull out of her and fall onto my back onto the mattress.

“I love you,” she whispers dreamily, her eyes still closed and her face flushed from her high.

My whole world is rocked by the words. I’m not even sure why. I was just thinking the same thing but it’s too much. Everything is so uncertain. Can I really trust my feelings here? I mean, I’ve only known Emerson for a few days.

The silence stretches between us as I talk myself out of being in love with her.

My body and attitude both grow cold and I reach for the blankets, pulling them over both of us. It’s still silent, the awkwardness spreading and filling the room as we both remain motionless.

Maybe that’s why it’s so jarring when Emerson throws the covers off of her, crawls out of bed and heads for the door.

I know that I should stop her. I should say something—anything—but I can’t. I can’t force any words out of my clogged throat.

Instead, I stare at the ceiling as the door closes behind her. The fantasy that I didn’t even know I had of us living in New York together, evaporates in my head and I know without a doubt that I just made the biggest mistake of my life.

Just let her calm down. You can talk to her tomorrow and explain how you feel. You can make things right.

As I close my eyes and pray for sleep to take me, I wonder if that will really be enough. Or if I just lost the best thing that ever happened to me.