12.

Three hours later, at around three in the morning, Richie was rocking back and forth in a chair on her front porch when Natalie pulled into her driveway. The figure on her porch scared her at first, but the lazy grin and wave that came from it made her realize who it was. She was surprised to see him there at all for obvious reasons, especially since he and Jon had both left abruptly after her performance.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, grabbing her purse and shutting the door behind her.
“Thought you needed me tonight,” Richie answered, not moving from his seat.
“Now what gave you a crazy idea like that?” she asked innocently as she climbed the steps to her porch one at a time.
“Well, darling, I’m pretty sure you told me…about couple dozen other people…a few hours ago.”
“Is that so?” she asked, still feigning and playing innocence. Richie grabbed her wrist and pulled her down so that she landed in his lap with a light giggle.
“You’re damn right,” he answered before he kissed her lips lightly.
“You know last time this happened…” Natalie began, pulling away from his mouth and moving to get up.
“This isn’t last time, baby,” Richie cut her off, keeping her in place and kissing her again. Natalie didn’t need further persuasion; she abandoned her argument promptly and returned his kiss eagerly. She pulled away a couple of minutes later only to suggest a little breathlessly that they go inside.

Richie loosened his hold on her long enough for her to climb out of his lap and dig around in her purse for her keys; her hands shook so badly that she could hardly get the door open. The second she managed it though, his hands were back on her hips and turning her around so she faced him. He kicked the door shut behind him and ravaged her mouth hungrily. They stumbled in the darkness, but Richie kept a firm hand on her lower back to steady her. Somehow they’d made it to the couch, where Richie eased her down and covered her body with his own. Natalie wrapped her arms around him, running her hands down the length of his back. He felt strong beneath her touch, and she buried her nails into him as his lips moved down to her neck. His breath was hot and lit her senses on fire, and she traded his back for his head when she brought her hands up to play through the hair atop it.

Much to her dismay, Richie left her neck and her body altogether. She turned her head and looked up at him expectantly, only to find him hovering above and blinking at her.
“What?” she asked, exasperated. Fool me once, she thought to herself.
“Just wanted to get a clear picture of what you looked like under me,” Richie quipped, flashing that smile again. Natalie rolled her eyes and smiled herself, looping her fingers around the chain that dangled from his neck and pulled him back down to her. Her little fingers worked quickly at the buttons on his shirt as they kissed, and she pushed it apart to let her hands explore his chest and stomach. She felt his muscles tense as her fingers trailed above his waistline, and she ran her fingers through the happy trail she’d found. Richie emitted a low, guttural groan and tore his mouth away from his.
“Jesus, Richie, what now?” she asked, her chest heaving and her cheeks flushed.
“Are you on—“ he breathed out, “Do you have?” He wasn’t making any sense, and Natalie’s eyes raced between his as she tried to string together what he was saying. It clicked, and she nodded quickly. “Pill. On it for years. Now shut the fuck up,” she ordered, and Richie obeyed. He pushed her shirt up over her chest and covered one breast with a hand. Natalie’s little hand came to cover his, holding it there as she kissed him. It wasn’t long until she was naked from the waist up, and Richie’s mouth had left her’s to go play down south. Her back arched and her fingers entwined in his hair again as his tongue repeatedly made her mind go numb. As his mouth covered her chest, he let one hand play up and down her stomach, sending shivers through her body at the tickling sensation.

He was surprised when she pushed him roughly off of her, sending him on his back on the other end of the couch. He raised up to question what she’d done, but Natalie was already crawling toward him. It was a magnificent, almost feral vision to see. Her hair was wild and hanging in her face, framing it in the shadows. Her eyes were holding his, and Richie saw something in them he hadn’t seen in a long time. She planted a trail of soft kisses on his stomach to his mouth, and Richie was so absorbed in her mouth that he didn’t even feel her little hands working on the buckle to his jeans. She left his mouth and tugged at the trousers, and Richie resituated himself to help her get them out of the way. In a horribly teasing manner, she ignored his lower body now and returned to his mouth with a coy smile. Richie’s hope – among other things – had gone up, but two can play that game. He wasted no time in getting her out of her jeans, and he ran his hands along her backside with pleasure. In one fluid movement, he had rolled over and dragged her beneath him again. He positioned himself between her legs and kissed at the inside of her thighs, causing Natalie to shudder at the feel of his stubble on her legs. She squirmed beneath his touch, and Richie knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He hooked two fingers under the waistband of her panties and pulled them down, and he felt Natalie’s entire body shaking as he did so.

It was then that it became real for her, what she was doing. She was suddenly shy, even scared. She’d not been with a man in years – as awful as it sounded to admit. Richie looked up her face long enough to realize that her tremblings were not in anticipation; he saw fear written on her face.

”Hey,” he whispered quietly, coming back up to her face. He let a hand play over her collarbone before he turned her to face him, as she’d dropped her head to the side and tried her best not to meet his eyes. “Hey,” he repeated.
“I’m sorry—“ she blurted out. Richie put one finger to her lips, hushing her.
“It’s okay,” he coaxed. “We don’t have to,” he forced out, however much he wanted to. Natalie’s breathing was heavy and rapid, and she thought she might explode from the thoughts racing through her mind. It felt like she was a virgin again, terrified and excited all at once. She shook her head quickly and kissed Richie roughly, letting him know that she’d given him her answer. It was an answer Richie greatly appreciated, as he hadn’t been keen on turning back now. Beneath his expert hands, her body relaxed and the trembling subsided. He repeatedly drove her to the edge, only to back away when he sensed she was too close. He wanted her to writhe; he wanted to drive her wild. He smiled to himself as she whimpered, thoroughly enjoying his little game. He allowed it to go on several more minutes before he finally gave her release, which sent her gasping and clutching at the sides of the couch. When the tension in her body had gone, Natalie repaid the favor to Richie tenfold. With him sitting properly on the couch, she positioned herself on her knees below him. She kept her eyes on his face as she took him in, and Richie held her gaze as long as he could before he closed his eyes and let his head fall back to rest on the sofa. Her hand and mouth worked together. It didn’t take Richie long, and he raised his head again long enough to nudge her shoulders away from him; Natalie ignored his warning, and took him in her mouth again.

She joined him on the couch again, nestled between his chest and arm, and let a hand play over his lower stomach and legs. Richie felt himself building up again already as he watched her little hands splay and span over his body. She moved to straddle him, keeping enough distance between their respective lower halves, and kissed him with wanton passion. It was enough for Richie that he scooped her up in his arms and carried her toward the hallway while she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed at his neck. His skin tasted of peppery sweat, and she thought she could make a meal out of that for the rest of her life.

“Which one?” he asked lowly, his voice husky.
“Left,” she answered quickly, still nipping and biting at his shoulder. Richie dropped her on the bed and joined her, and jerked as one little hand came to wrap around him again. She could tell he was ready, and she knew for a fact she was more than ready.
“C’mon, Richie,” she invited, looking up at him. Her voice was so soft and so pleading that Richie couldn’t deny it. He eased himself into her, feeling the warmth and tightness of her body as he did so. Natalie closed her eyes and her breathing stopped while she got used to the feel of him inside her. After a matter of seconds, they were moving together in unison.

An hour later, Richie collapsed against her, his body hot and slick to the touch. Natalie panted beneath him, draping one arm over his back and holding him to her. She couldn’t remember a night in her life like that before, which brought a laugh out of her mouth. Richie raised his head to look at her, “What’re you laughing about, down there?” he asked, propping himself up on an elbow.
“This,” she answered, pecking lightly at his lips.


The following morning, both Natalie and Richie were dead to the world. Richie lay asleep on his stomach, his face turned toward her’s as she lay curled next to him on her side. The sun was streaming in through the windows on either side of them, and Natalie’s cat had hopped onto the bed to paw around at their feet. A shrill ringing startled both Natalie and the cat, causing her eyes to flutter open and her body to stretch out on instinct. The body next to her shocked her, and for a moment Natalie couldn’t place who he was or how he’d come to be in her bed. But as last night’s (well, this morning’s) events settled back into her mind, she smiled secretively to herself. She looked at his face – so peaceful and so beautiful – and laughed at the way his lips were slightly parted. The ringing interrupted her thoughts again, and she got out of bed as lightly and quietly as she could.

She grabbed a shirt hanging on her bathroom doorknob and pulled it over her body as she tiptoed down the hallway. The ringing was insistent, incessant, but she couldn’t place it, and she didn’t want it waking the sleeping man in her room. Wandering into her living room, she could tell she was getting closer. She finally located the sound in Richie’s back pocket of the jeans they’d deposited on the floor earlier. She didn’t contemplate answering it, but carried it back to her bedroom with her.

She crawled back into bed next to him and put her face on the pillow next to his. “Richie,” she whispered, tapping his nose lightly. “Riiiichie,” she repeated. He groaned lowly, but he didn’t stir. She kissed his closed eyelids and took his face in her hands, “Rise and shine, boy. Someone’s trying to get a hold of you.”

The phone was ringing again, followed by beeps that she assumed meant voicemails. As her attempts at waking him failed, Natalie only chuckled to herself. He slept harder than a rock.

“C’mon, Rich. Wake up.” Her fingers danced across his chin; how she loved touching that dimple. She leaned in closely to plant a firm, longer kiss on his lips, and Richie began to respond slowly. His eyes didn’t open, but she felt him stirring as he began to return her kiss. An arm had come to pull her in closer, and Natalie laughed.

“Thought that might work. Wake up, sleepyhead.”

Richie’s eyes opened and a slow smile came over his features. “All right, all right. I’m awake, baby,” he groaned out with a stretch. She tossed his cell phone at his chest, where it rested and fell with the rise and fall of his breathing. “You take care of that, and I’m going to take a quick shower,” she said quickly, inching off the bed. She glanced back at him before she stepped into her bathroom, only to find that he, too, had been watching her.

Fifteen minutes later, Natalie emerged from the shower feeling about ten years younger. She towel dried her hair before she wrapped the towel around her body and stepped from her bathroom. She was surprised to find that Richie wasn’t in her bed where she’d left him, and she stuck her head out of the door so she could see into the living room. There was no sign of him there either. She walked down the hallway and looked around the house, wondering if he was playing a game on her. She noticed that his clothes were no longer in her floor, and her heart sank. She leaned against the wall a little sadly, mentally snapping at herself for thinking last night meant anything other than two lonely people who needed each other in that moment. She went back to her room and pulled on a pair of old jeans and a tank top, picking up the cat on her bed and carrying her back to the kitchen.

“At least I can count on you to lay around in my bed,” she teased a little sardonically. She let Daisy Boo down on the floor and grabbed a can of cat food from the cabinet. It was then that she noticed a piece of paper on her refrigerator, one that hadn’t been there before.

Natalie –

Emergency meeting, had to go. See you when I can.

- Richie