Fly No More

I wrote this scene as practice for writing sexual tension. This will very likely become the ending for one of my to-be-written manuscripts.

Ding dong.

A girl of fair hair and red attire stood at the door.

"Greetings, Nathan."

"You speak as if I'm a stranger," he said, cocking his head to one side.

"After today, you will be one to me," she replied, stepping inside.

Nathan's eyes widened.

"Are you here to say farewell?"

"Ah, finally able to figure something out without my help." Leah smiled proudly at him.

"But...why?"

"You know I can't stay with one man for more than a few months, Nathan. It's been a long enough time being with you and alas, I should move on."

"Don't feel like you need to. Think of the adventures we had, like that time in the bubble."

"That was an interesting kiss," she looked thoughtful, but snapped out of it. "However, I'm no stationary person. Variety is the spice of life."

"Speaking of spices, I ate some jalapeño peppers today," Nathan commented.

"Ooo, my favorite."

She stuck her tongue into his mouth and pulled it out a few seconds later.

"Mmmm, tasty."

He tried to kiss her, but Leah moved away too quickly.

"That's not an invitation to kiss me, though," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. It was nicely combed today, most definitely silky to the touch.

"One wouldn't hurt. I was trying to catch you off guard." Nathan sighed as if to garner some pity from her, but it was futile.

"Oh, I like guys who are full of surprises. But since the portal closed, I don’t think you’ll be able to provide me with that,” Leah stated, twirling her necklace around. It wasn’t the one he had given her.

“Leah, I know you’re a bird,” he said slowly, walking towards the living room. “But eventually, after wandering past countless trees and enjoying your freedom gliding on gusts of wind, you’ve got to choose one as the place to build your nest.”

Listening attentively, she didn’t notice how far into the room Nathan was leading her.

“If you keep flying for too long,” he added, “your wings will become battered by storms, chilled by snow, and on the ground you’ll stay forever.”

In one motion, he pressed her body against the wall. His eyes seemed to glow.

“Do you want that to happen?”

Speechlessly, Leah shook her head. Her heart trembled, knowing she was unable to fly away from this situation.

Did she really want to, though?

Busy contemplating Nathan’s words and her own thoughts, Leah allowed him to run his fingers through her hair and steal a kiss.

A memory freed itself from its bubble: the time when they went into a castle to escape from a group of malignant faes. Leah remembered his touch on her lips, drifting past her cheeks, down her arms. Now, it tingled in the same way.

Of course, at the time, she had blatantly refused to take off her clothes.

Leah remembered watching Nathan hack away at the snake-like vines with pricks comparable to a shark’s teeth. His muscles flexed as he worked, and it had taken her some time to realize she should be helping him. Fatigue was the reason she had given to Nathan for her hesitation.

She’d been through more with him than any other man, thanks to the magic portal. It was deactivated, but this didn’t mean their relationship had to end.

In present time, his lips brushed past Leah's ears, coaxing a tiny moan from her.

“Be my lover,” he whispered into one of them, his warm breaths caressing not just there, but her entire body. “Be the one at my side forever.”

She looked into at the distance, then back at Nathan, pondering.

Maybe it was time for her to set up a nest. Maybe this was the right tree.

Leah started to unzip her dress.

Author's Note

Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. An effective way to grow as a writer is to listen to those around you, after all.

Reviews

[Foster L]

Wow! That was really good, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the jalapeno peppers bit was pretty random, but felt you were able to develop both characters significantly in the short text. The fact that Nathan could leave Leah (who was obviously quite a strong, independent woman) speechless with such little effort shows that the two of them definitely have some history...
I could for sure see this as an ending.
I look forward to reading more of your pieces.