Memoir in the Making: A May-December Romance (30 page)

Chapter Twenty-Five

The fifteenth had come faster than Ainsley anticipated. Finals were over and there was snow littering the ground up to her ankles. She'd had to trudge to the library to meet up with Adam. They had decided a project over the Christmas break would do themselves some good, and before they both returned home and didn't see each other for weeks, they wanted to plan it out. The library was the quietest place on campus on a normal day, but since winter break had started a few days before, it was dead silent inside.

No one was there. Adam and Ainsley set up their laptops on the table closest to the window on the second floor. Since no one was there, they had their pick of the good seats, and Adam hadn’t wasted his time picking his favorite spot. Ainsley had told him close to a week ago that Meredith was leaving the school. He hadn't quite believed her at first, but once she'd explained everything, he had been able to understand it all. Ainsley glanced up at him, feeling comfortable for the first time that semester. He was typing away furiously on his computer, and then Adam looked outside.

"Hey," he said.

"What?" she asked, looking up from her computer screen, not concerned about being quiet at all. "What?" she asked again when he didn't say anything.

Adam pointed outside the frosted window. Ainsley had to get up and walk around the table to see what he was taking about. She looked over his shoulder putting her hand on him to steady herself as she strained her neck to see outside.

"It's a damn shame," Adam said.

Ainsley agreed but there wasn't anything she could do about it. It sucked, but it probably was for the better—at least as far as she and Meredith were concerned. They could be together without fear looming over them. That wouldn't have been good for any long lasting relationship, and she certainly hoped it was a long lasting one.

"It is. But that's life." Ainsley watched as Meredith settled another box into her car, Sam running behind her with one more. She brushed the snow off her pants, and then laughed, probably at something Sam had said. Ainsley imagined she would be getting to know him a lot better over the next semester, and that the more she hung out with Meredith the more part of her life Sam would become.

They went back inside, probably to grab more boxes, and Ainsley went back to her chair. She said nothing to Adam as she touched the mouse pad on her computer to wake it back up. She didn't want to think about how sad it was because the sad part of it was she was happy. She was happy Meredith had chosen her and she didn't have to battle with an unseen entity anymore. They could simply be together like they wanted to be. Ainsley sighed and typed another sentence on her keyboard.

"Are you going to show this to her when we're done?" Adam asked.

Ainsley blushed. Red hit her cheeks and her throat constricted. If anything, she should show it to Meredith, but after she'd put it through rounds of edits. It wouldn't be easy to keep it from her, but at least she had a week at home before she was back. That would give her time to work through it.

"I don't think so," Ainsley whispered.

"Why not? She could give you some really good tips. Maybe she knows a publisher or two. I don't know how that works at all, but I'm sure she does. She's an English prof, or at least, used to be, so she would know."

"She might know," Ainsley said, biting her tongue. Meredith had a publisher, and one she was very satisfied with. Ainsley, on the other hand, didn't think her novel would quite fit in with the lines of Meredith's publisher. She didn't have two men humping in the bed or against the wall or whipping chains involved at all. She swallowed and shook her head. Ainsley asked, "Can we get back to it?"

"Yeah," he said. "Are you sure you don't want to make them men? It's more my style."

"Write your own then." Ainsley grinned at him.

"You know I can't do that. I don't do that thing—that's your thing. I'm bad at writing."

"You can't be that bad. I've edited your papers. Your commas are atrocious, but I think you'll get them main gist of it going."

"I don't know," Adam said, chewing on his thumbnail. "You just write it for me. I'll give you the ideas, and you write it."

"Not how this is going to work."

"Then I don't see the point."

"We can each write our own story. You write yours, and I write mine. I'll edit both, and maybe I'll do formatting and stick yours out there for free."

Adam sighed and put his hands flat on the tabletop. "You know I'm not finishing this thing, right?"

"I do," Ainsley said with a smirk. "But you're good company while you think you are."

Adam laughed and shook his head. It might have been one of the craziest ideas Ainsley had come up with, but she wanted to get it all down on paper. Meredith had been the one to show her how to write and how much she enjoyed creating. She knew it all along, but Meredith had given her the boost she needed. Her short memoir piece had been published the first of the month, and she'd already seen the benefits of having her work out there. Writing on the side seemed like a good idea and a good companion to teaching high school.

Ainsley typed away, sure Meredith would approve—she just didn't want Meredith to see it until she had cleaned it up a bit or until she had actually finished writing it. What kind of writer would she be if she started a novel and never finished it? At least Meredith would have more flexible time to help her with her own writing instead of helping students at the university. Ainsley smirked and finished the next paragraph. Meredith would love it, she knew. But there would definitely be a period of adjustment before everything would seem normal again, and during that time, Ainsley vowed not to talk about her own endeavors. It would all be about Meredith and making sure she was steady in her own.

#

Meredith opened her front door to find Ainsley outside in the cold, her cheeks red from the bite of the wind. She smiled and pulled Ainsley inside by her mittened hand and placed a kiss on her lips. Meredith waited until Ainsley had her jacket and gloves off before wrapping her hands around Ainsley's waist and kissing her again.

Ainsley giggled and pushed Meredith away. "I came to help you unpack your office."

“Really?”

“Yes,” Ainsley answered. “I thought since I couldn’t help you pack it up the least I could do was unpack it for you.”

“I don’t want half of it except the books, and I need a new bookshelf for those, which I don’t have yet.”

“Oh,” Ainsley said, pouting. “I guess I can’t help you unpack then.”

“Not yet anyway. I was just working on a new novel, actually. I think I’m going to try and release six or seven a year. But I have a better idea.” Meredith stepped up close to Ainsley and slid her hand down Ainsley’s side, resting her fingers on Ainsley’s hip.

“And what is your better idea,” Ainsley whispered into Meredith’s ear.

Chuckling, Meredith kissed Ainsley’s chin and then her neck. “I think you know what my idea is. It’s a perfect way to celebrate.”

“It is.”

“I love you,” Meredith whispered.

“I love you, too,” Ainsley answered and kissed Meredith fully.

Meredith’s heart skipped a beat just before Ainsley walked her backward to the couch. Ainsley pushed her down onto it and then covered her body without a word. Ainsley was on top of her, a leg between her thighs as her mouth continued to move against hers.

Meredith gasped in a breath, her heart feeling like it was going to pound right through her chest. She felt completely relaxed and turned on at the same time. Ainsley brushed fingers down over her chest, scraping her thumbnail when she hit Meredith’s hardened nipple. Meredith groaned and arched her back, knowing it would tell Ainsley exactly what she wanted.

Ainsley did it again before moving her hand back up to guide their lips back together. Meredith lost herself in the kiss. When she opened her eyes again, her hips were bucking up and down against Ainsley’s leg, and she was far closer to the edge than she should have been.

Her breathing quickened, and her stomach tensed, a sure sign she was going to come soon. Meredith pulled away from Ainsley and took in a deep breath, gripping Ainsley’s side to steady her body.

“Oh God,” she said, her voice weak as she shuddered and closed her eyes. The friction of Ainsley’s jeans and her slacks were only making it worse. “Don’t stop.”

“Didn’t plan on it,” Ainsley said, kissing Meredith’s neck, her tongue dashing out to create patterns along Meredith’s skin.

Swallowing her groan, Meredith clenched her eyes shut and tensed, holding on for as long as she could. She had no idea where Ainsley learned the trick or why she was on edge so quickly, but she wanted to last longer. Breathing through her nose and screwing up her face, she dug her nails into Ainsley’s side and nodded.

“Whatever you’re doing—it’s really good.”

“Thanks, love,” Ainsley said and kissed her quickly on the lips.

The pressure increased, and Meredith about lost all the control she had left. She bit the side of her tongue, using the pain to focus and center herself as she continued to focus on whatever it was Ainsley was doing.

“Touch me,” Meredith whispered.

Ainsley moved her hand up inside of Meredith’s shirt and under her bra, cupping her breast. She scraped her nail over Meredith’s nipple and then rolled it between two fingers. Meredith wrapped one hand around Ainsley’s back and then grabbed her ass, squeezing hard. She couldn’t hold on any longer. Her body jerked forward, noise escaped from her lips and she clenched her eyes shut as she breathed through her orgasm.

Ainsley kissed her cheeks, her forehead, her neck, anywhere she could to help calm her down. Meredith focused on the soft flutter of lips as they slowed down along with her heart. Meredith dragged her hand up the back of Ainsley’s shirt and flipped her bra strap open. She pulled at Ainsley’s shirt until she could get a good handle on her breasts, massaging them while she kissed Ainsley’s already swollen lips.

Reaching up, Meredith took her glasses off and set them on the coffee table, and then pushed Ainsley until she was sitting up more. Meredith stripped off Ainsley’s shirt and bra, grinning when she saw Ainsley’s bare breasts in front of her. Taking one finger, Meredith circled Ainsley’s chest in a spiral until she got to the tip of her hard nipple.

Meredith laid her legs flat, Ainsley straddling her. She leaned forward and pressed her lips delicately to Ainsley’s breast, and then she swirled her tongue around before sucking Ainsley’s nipple between her lips. When she looked up and gazed into Ainsley’s dark-brown eyes, her heart thumped in her chest. Everything about the moment fit into place and it felt right. She was comfortable and in control of what was happening in her life once again, and even though it would be a struggle, she knew Ainsley would be by her side.

She couldn’t help but think over everything that had happened in one short semester. Everything was written in Ainsley's eyes, and she couldn't stop reading them. Their story, written upon each of their hearts, was what made the moment so beautiful. Meredith closed her eyes briefly and focused on Ainsley's body, wanting to write her own story upon Ainsley's skin. She backed away as much as she could and kissed down Ainsley's stomach until she hit the center of chest. When she couldn't move down any longer, Meredith moved back up.

Ainsley's hands were in her hair, and she felt the tug and pull with different spots she kissed. Ainsley was so much quieter than she was. Meredith really had to listen and focus in order to hear what Ainsley wanted. When the back of her shirt was tugged up, Meredith slid away and raised her hands. Ainsley pulled her blouse over her head and then smoothed Meredith's hair behind her shoulders again. Ainsley bent down and kissed Meredith's shoulder, her fingers slipping all over her newly revealed skin.

Meredith rocked her head back, sensations taking over her body again. Her core was still on fire from before, but she loved the confident feel on Ainsley against her. They each took their time, taking slow moments to rediscover what they already knew about each other. Meredith waited until Ainsley slowed down again and then took her turn.

She took off her own bra and let it fall to the ground below, pulling Ainsley closer so they could kiss again. She pecked Ainsley's lips lightly a few times before dashing out her tongue for a taste. God, she wanted to taste her again. Meredith moved her hand to Ainsley's thigh, squeezing the tight muscle before sliding it between Ainsley’s legs and rubbing gently. Ainsley groaned.

Meredith knew she had her right where she wanted her, but Meredith wanted more clothes to be off first. She wanted to have her mouth against Ainsley's heat like she had done many times before and wanted her taste to linger on her tongue even longer. "Sit back," Meredith said.

"What?"

"Sit back," she repeated.

Ainsley moved, and Meredith got up on her knees, unbuttoning Ainsley's jeans. Before she could do anything more, she stuck her hand between Ainsley's body and clothes and felt her heat for herself. Meredith sighed, kissing Ainsley quickly as she fluttered her fingers back and forth.

"Does that feel good?"

Ainsley nodded.

"Tell me," Meredith ordered, her voice taking on a sharp tone. She felt Ainsley's body jerk and tense, but the look in Ainsley's eyes told her something else, told her something was working.

"It feels good," Ainsley said, breathing out the last word. "Don't stop."

Meredith kissed her, rewarding the words she'd said. She increased her speed, flicking her fingers against Ainsley in a quick and rapid pattern. She took a deep breath, ducking her chin to suck Ainsley's breast again, swirling and pulling at her nipple. Meredith scraped her teeth lightly against the sensitive skin, hearing the catch in Ainsley's breath.

"Did you like that?"

"Yes," Ainsley ground out. "Do it again."

Meredith complied, liking this side of Ainsley. She wanted Ainsley to tell her exactly what to do, exactly what she liked. Ainsley in control turned her on more than she wanted to admit, and there was something about letting her former student take over that made her shiver. Meredith scraped her teeth again and again, feeling the jerk in Ainsley's body.