Strings in Seattle - Pt. 01

Lexi had an amused look as her crooked grin spread across her face. "You telling me you want your soul back?"

I let out another dry laugh. "Nothing but at this point."

A customer came in then so Lexi got back up to serve him, chatting with him for a moment then as he asked for some directions and tips for places to check out in the city, clearly flirting with her before leaving again.

Lexi stayed behind the counter after he was gone, wiping down the espresso machine when he came back a moment later, giving her a piece of paper before rushing back out again.

She only glanced at it for a second before setting it aside and coming back over to where I was sitting, picking up her tea again as she sat down, avoiding eye contact with me then.

I couldn't help but laugh, leaning back in my seat. "What was all that about?"

She rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "Nothing, just a guy shooting his shot."

"He leave you his number?"

Lexi only nodded, setting her mug back down. "Happens all the time here."

"You should call him, he seemed nice enough." She gave me a strange look for a moment, dropping her gaze then. "He wasn't really my type."

She sat back up again after a moment, leaning back as she crossed her legs. "And anyways, I don't call them out of principle."

"Why's that?"

She took a sip of her tea before answering me, setting her mug down again. "Because I believe there's a time and place to make a move on a girl, asking her at her work, especially when it's a customer service job where she's being paid to be friendly, just isn't the place."

I gave her an amused look. "So are they supposed to come back around after you're off the clock or what?"

"Oh god no." Lexi gave me an incredulous look, scrunching her nose up for a second. "That's stalker vibes right there." She gave me a shrug then. "I think they just have to accept that I'm not the one or hope they run into me at a better time and place."

"Fair enough." I said, seeing her point.

I looked down to my watch, standing up then. "I have to get going."

She stayed sitting where she was, giving me a small wave goodbye as she watched me leave. "Until next time."

I didn't see her again the next days, getting stuck having to eat my lunch at the office as my boss went into panic mode, having delayed his own tasks for too long and leaving it up to the rest of us to save his ass. I had only been there for a month at that point and this already wasn't the first time he had pulled a stunt like that either. He stopped me when I was finally leaving Wednesday night, clapping a hand on my shoulder to stop me from walking as I passed him on the way out.

"Good work this week Daniel." He leaned closer to me. "Listen, we're going to need you to work late tomorrow night."

I wanted to argue, but knew I didn't really have much choice in the matter if I wanted to keep my job, still in my probation period, answering him hesitantly then. "Okay, what do you need me to do?"

He gave me a slimy smile, giving me another pat on the back. "Nothing dreary, just a dinner with some of our investors."

I felt like I wasn't really the right guy for this task, I barely even knew the names of half the people I worked with, still being the new guy in the office.

I could also tell there was point in saying anything as I looked at my boss, him already having made the decision for me.

It became very clear the next evening why I had been given the task of taking the investors to dinner as they turned out to be even worse than the people I worked with, already insulting our waiter several times within five minutes of us sitting down.

They were the kind of people that thought they no longer needed to be kind to people with the amount of money they had, especially people they considered beneath them.

The rest of the dinner was torture as I sat with them, chatting about current projects at the company, having spent the whole day memorizing everything, and trying to answer any questions they had.

Thankfully they didn't have many rather preferring to talk about themselves between complaints about everything else.

I was five minutes away from yelling at them by the time the dinner was over and I was escorting them out of the restaurant, wanting so badly to tell them how I thought they were the scum of the earth, living off of the hard work from the exact kind of people they looked down on so much.

Thankfully I managed to swallow it, saving my job for at least one more day as I said bye to them, being just as fake as they were in that moment.

I waved to them one last time as they got in their car, forcing a smile as I stepped back, finally making my break for the night then as I headed back inside, in real need of a drink after that shit show.

I went back to our table, checking our bill compared to what they had left in a tip and shaking my head then as I saw that they had only left ten dollars, reaching for my wallet then as I shook my head to myself.

Our waiter came over to me then, giving me a curious look as he saw me eyeing the bill. "Is there something wrong sir?" I shook my head and held out a 50 dollar bill out to him, giving him the standard 20% tip then as I replied. "Not with you, just those pricks." I gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry about all that."

He gave me a friendly grin, leaning forward as he spoke quietly. "I'm used to but I appreciate it."

He took the rest of his tip from the table then, walking away again and leaving the mess on the table for the busboy and me to go get a drink at the bar finally.

I started heading that way, moving through the table in the restaurant to get to the bar on the other side and stopped in my tracks when I spotted Lexi sitting on one of the bar stools, looking as seductive as ever with tight jeans and a halter top only held together by a thin string tied at her back, revealing more tattoos on her that she had.

I felt a wave of anger as I watched her sip her drink, chatting to some girl next to her. It was one thing to be drinking underage, but it was another to thing to go in a bar and have them illegally serve you.

I started storming over to her, ready to give her shit for not thinking of consequences, and stopped again when I was only a few feet from her, remembering then that she was old enough to be there.

I was about to walk away again, go grab a drink somewhere else instead, but she glanced over her shoulder right then, as her friend surely had pointed out the middle aged creep that was staring at her and smiled when she noticed it was me.

"Daniel, what are you doing here?"

I wanted to turn away, walk out of that restaurant but her smile had an irresistible effect on me, pulling me in then as I closed the distance between us and leaned on the bar next to her. "I was about to ask you the same thing."

She looked down then, picking up her drink and poking around at her ice with a straw. "It's kind of embarrassing but I took your horrible advice and called that guy back after all, we were supposed to be on a date here but he never showed up." She nodded to the woman behind her who was by now talking to some guy next to her. "I met Vanessa here in the bathroom earlier and she convinced me to stick around for a few drinks."

I was hit with several emotions then, joy that I had run into her after the week I had had, that same cravings to reach out to her, a yearning to pull her to me as I had already fantasized about so many times in the weeks before; irritation towards the asshole for standing up, and jealousy that she had called him after all.

Followed by a bigger wave of shame then.

The cravings were turning into a longing, a kind of desire I had never felt for anyone before, and I could no longer tell if it was the lure of something forbidden or a genuine lust for her.

And I was slowly reaching a point where I needed to find out for myself what it was exactly that I wanted.

"Well seems like you dodged a bullet, the guy was clearly an idiot if he didn't show up for you." I nodded down at her empty drink, my mouth taking a life of it's own then. "Can I buy you another one?"

Lexi smiled again, setting her empty glass down then. "I won't say no to that."

We stayed sitting for awhile, Lexi listening intently as I told her bout my wreck of a night before I eventually noticed the time and started to ge up. "Shit, I gotta get going, Rufus needs to be let out."

She started to get up with me, throwing the last of her drink back before giving me a cheeky smile. "Is it alright if I catch a ride with you?" She leaned closer to me, still smiling. "You know, save the planet and everything."

"Yeah, I was gonna grab a taxi." I answered numbly, taking a step back from her to try and put some distance between us before I lost complete control over myself.

I did the same once we were in the taxi, sitting as far away from her as I could, trying to ignore how the smell of her perfume wafted around in the small space, counting down the minutes until we were home and I could leave her at her doorstep where she belonged.

Things went differently once we got to her house and I looked over to my hand handing the taxi driver a wad of cash before reaching for the door handle, looking down to my feet then as they met the pavement and walked around the taxi, only then looking up to Lexi as she stood in front of me on the sidewalk and smiled at me. "Thanks for saving my night, it turned out to be pretty nice."

I shook my head at her. "It was just a drink and a conversation, no big deal." I was trying to convince myself more than her.

Lexi laughed then, taking a small step back. "This is usually the part of the night the guy makes a move on me, so I don't really know what the protocol is here."

I blinked at her, feeling all reason leave me then as I found myself giving into my temptation, taking a step closer to her so that we were only a few inches apart as I spoke in a low tone. "Do you want me to make a move?"

Lexi leaned back, getting a good look at my face then as a shy grin twitched at her lips. "Well, uh. I think so." She nodded her head as her gaze hardened, speaking with more certainty then. "Yes. I do."

My hand found it's way to the small of her back then, pulling her to me as I pressed my lips to hers, forgetting that we were in clear view of anyone in the neighborhood as I opened my mouth and ran my tongue along her bottom lip.

I didn't care if anyone saw us, all I could focus on was the feeling of her hands as they ran into my hair, the way she smelled, that sweet scent of musk and vanilla, and the way her tongue rolled with mine.

I didn't even notice us moving closer to her house until she pulled away from the kiss, turning to unlock the door before she pulled me into the house behind her and slammed the door shut.

I lifted her up, turning with her as she wrapped her legs around my waist and headed into nearby living room, dropping down on the sofa with her on top of me then.

There was no stopping me at that point, any moral or sense of rationality had been left outside. I reached for her halter top string, pulling on it as Lexi pressed her body to mine, grinding her hips as she kissed me.

I pulled away from the kiss as I tore her shirt off of her, kissing my way down her neck and collarbone then before finally settling on one of her breasts, flicking my tongue over her nipple as I felt her hand return to my hair.

I sat up again, turning and tossing her onto her back on the couch and turning my attention to her pants then, tugging them off surprisingly fast considering how tight they were on her.

I returned my mouth to her breast as I hooked a finger in her waistband, pulling them off of her then as I began kissing my way down her body, settling my mouth between her legs then.

I heard her moan as I ran my tongue over her opening, flicking it over her clit several times then as she spread her legs further and moaned again, louder this time.

I continued working my tongue over her clit, focusing on keeping the same rhythm as I pushed two fingers into her, stimulating her from the other side then.

I knew I was at the right spot as Lexi pulled her legs up, and placed a hand on my shoulder, slowly digging her nails into it as she dripped down my fingers and hand.

Everything about her was irresistible, her smile, her scent, the feeling of her hands on me, the taste of her on my lips. All I wanted to do was push my cock, already pressing against my pants, painfully almost at that point, into her and show her just how little I could resist her.

I started to reach my pants zipper, pulling it down as I continued finger fucking Lexi, making her moan again as she arched her back. "Fuck Daniel, you're going to make me cum."

And just like that I snapped back to attention, looking down to her as my name left her lips and quickly pulling my fingers out of her as I stood up, stumbling as I turned. I fell back another step as I tried to get my bearings, shaking my head at her helplessly. "I shouldn't be here."

I practically ran out of the living room then, leaving Lexi naked on her couch as I headed to her front door, pulling my zipper up before I tore the door open and left, not slowing down in the slightest as I ran the two blocks to my house.

Rufus was already by the door waiting for me when I ran into my house, torn between wanting to greet me and really needing to go outside.

I headed to my kitchen with him, holding the back door open for him then so he could go out into the backyard. "I'm sorry boy, I don't know what's gotten into me lately."

I stepped out after him, dropping my hands to my knees as I took a deep breath and looked over to Rufus. "I promise we'll go on a long walk in the morning."

We headed back inside once he was done with his business and up to my room where he promptly spread out on my bed, watching me then as I paced, cursing at myself.

What the hell is wrong with you?

She's not only your daughter's age, she's your daughters childhood friend.

Now you really fucked up.

I headed into the bathroom, turning the shower on then so the water could get hot as I tore my clothes off, only growing in my anger as I looked down at myself.

My hard on had barely gone down, in need of some desperate release at that point. I stepped into the shower and let out a groan as I reached for myself, a mix of shame and lust building up in me then.

I was trying hard to get the images of her out of my mind but she was all I could think about as I stroked myself, leaning on the tile wall in front of me with my other hand.

If I hadn't already had enough reasons to quit my job, knowing that I had to stay as far away from her as I could.

If it weren't for the fact that she was only back in town temporarily I would have considered selling the house even, that's how hard I knew this was going to be.

~~~

The next day I was getting ready for work, already dreading the day ahead of me as I put my tie on, looking at Rufus as he watched me in the mirror then.

I stopped what I was doing and went into my living room, dropping down on my sofa as he quickly took the spot up next to me, resting his head on my lap. "Screw that place."

I didn't go to work that day, and the next day neither, but I at least gave them a call to let them know I would no longer be working with them.

It was at least some weight off of my shoulders, didn't mean I wasn't still tossing and turning at night though.

It was by the third night, as I was lying in bed, listening to the storm outside as it whipped through the neighborhood in a fury that you eventually get used to after living in Seattle for long enough that I decided I needed to talk to Lexi. What I had done was a pretty shitty thing, not just the giving into my urges part but also the way I had left her.

By the time I crawled out of bed the next morning and got ready to take Rufus for a walk I realized the storm the night before had been a little more vicious than what was common, tearing out several trees in the neighborhood and littering the streets with stray branches and the occasional lawn decoration or roof tile strewn within.

Even Rufus was looking around at everything as we walked, wondering what the hell happened the night before, it looked like a tornado had torn through the street.

I continued walking with him, taking in all the damage as I headed onto the block where Lexi's house was at, figuring she would be at work so the route was safe for then.

I stopped when her house came into sight and looked to the spot where a massive pine had once stood, now lying on part of the house after having torn a large chunk of it down as it fell.

Lexi was standing outside talking to some man from the fire department, looking understandably stressed as she pointed to her house and said something to him.

I froze as I tried to decide what I should do, this definitely wasn't the time to talk to her about things, but I also didn't want to walk away when she probably could use some support seeing as half of her house was missing.

Rufus made the decision for me, tugging forward after he had spotted her, always eager for some pets from a friendly face.

She saw us coming when we were just a few houses down, left alone then as the fireman returned to trying to get the tree off of her house with his colleagues, and squirming for a moment as if she wasn't sure what to do.

She seemed like she didn't know where to look even, swiveling her head away several times before glancing back at me, eventually heading to her mailbox to look in there.

"I really couldn't have chosen a worse time to come by, huh?" I asked rhetorically once I was next to her, Rufus eagerly greeting her with tail wags as he pressed his body into her legs.

Lexi let out a dry laugh as she bent down to Rufus, only glancing up at me for a second as she spoke then. "I'm surprised you didn't run away the second you saw me."

"I thought about it." I answered her honestly, continuing then as she kept her focus on giving Rufus scratches behind his ears. "We should probably talk about what happened though."

She nodded, still looking at my dog as she stood back up. "Yeah okay." She looked at me finally then. "Could we go back to yours though? I could really use a coffee right now."

"Yeah, okay." I answered, giving her a soft smile as I tried to swallow my nerves, having her alone in my house was risky, I knew that much.

We walked back to my house slowly, Rufus taking up the spot in between us then.

"How long you been up?" I asked Lexi as she let out a yawn, curious as to what point of the night the storm tore her out of bed.

"Since two." She lifted her arms, revealing several scratches on them then. "The tree fell right into my room, only missed me by a couple feet." She gave me a curious look. "Did the storm destroy your house too?"

I shook my head at her. "Not that I noticed so far, just some stray branches in the yard."

"Why aren't you at work then?"

"I quit." I answered her, not seeing the need in explaining since she knew how I felt about the place.

"Good for you."

We went into my kitchen when we got to my house, where Lexi yawned again as she sat down on one of the stools at my high top, watching me brew us some coffee then.

I cleared my throat as I turned to her, leaning against the counter as the coffee dripped behind me. I wasn't sure what to say, where to start.

"So uh-."

Lexi raised an eyebrow at me, a small grin twitching at her lips as she watched me stumble over my words.

"I think we can both say that I'm an asshole."

She nodded at me in agreement, not saying anything though as I rubbed a hand over my face, trying to find the right words.

"I don't know what came over me, I shouldn't have done that and I'm sorry."