The Claims Adjuster

I tore my hand away, and made my way to my bathroom. I took a cold shower, dressed for bed and decided to read before going to sleep. One of my guilty pleasures is reading cheesy romance novels. I know, right? I must have been more exhausted than I realized, because I soon drifted off to sleep...

I was standing in my kitchen, stirring a pan full of chocolate sauce, preparing it to drizzle over the chocolate Bundt cake that was cooling on the counter. All of a sudden, someone was standing behind me. A pair of strong hands gently grasped my hips. One held firm, as the other slowly trailed under my shirt, lightly grazing my belly. As those fingers began leisurely making small circles around my belly button, soft lips came into contact with my left ear.

"I have been waiting to taste you," a familiar voice whispered, "I want my slice of caramel cake." I shivered as the other hand slid under my shirt, to briefly join the first, before continuing up and cupping my right breast. Teeth nibbled at my earlobe, as fingers began to massage by breast through my bra. I whimpered as a wet, warm tongue trailed down my neck.

Without warning, I was whirled around so that I was facing the island. I held on for dear life, as my nipple became the center of attention. My knees almost buckled as those soft lips kissed behind ear. The left hand began inching its way down under my yoga pants, softly rubbing my mound over my panties. 'Yesss,' I hissed, my hips bucking involuntarily.

Before I could react, those hands spun me around, and I was once again entranced by warm, honey brown eyes. I was easily lifted and placed on the island. She grasped the hem of my pants, and slid them down my hips, taking my underwear with them. I lifted my butt up to help her, and soon, I was fully exposed from the waist down. Her hands gripped my thighs, as she pried them apart. I could feel my pussy leaking onto the granite countertop.

She slowly lowered herself between my legs, and I released a breath I didn't even know that I was holding. We locked eyes as she deeply inhaled my scent. A deep, primal noise erupted from the back of her throat. I nearly came at the sound. She leaned forward, and...

I was awakened by the sound of my phone ringing. 'Shit! Who the hell is it?' I grumbled, looking at the caller ID. It was my mother. 'Count on her to ruin the moment,' I laughed as I answered the phone.

Kendra

'She's hugging me,' I thought as we held each other in her entry way, 'And is she sniffing me? I need to let go now before I lose control, and take her right here on her door step.' "Goodnight," I said as I walked to my car. 'I can't believe she hugged me,' I was smiling so hard, my cheeks hurt. I could still feel her curves, and smell the coconut oil in her hair. I wished I could have held her longer.

I have no idea how I made it home, my mind was so consumed with smooth, caramel colored skin, and the smell of sugar. 'I have to come up with an excuse to see her again,' I thought while lying in bed that night. I wasn't too thrilled to be lying alone, but I figured the sooner I went to sleep, the sooner I could talk to her again. I drifted off to sleep, formulating ideas on how to spend more time with her.

The next week passed by, and was pretty uneventful. I was still racking my brain trying to think of an excuse to hang out with Liv, without coming off as a creep or too aggressive. The most frustrating part of it all was having to deal with Cherri. "Hey, Kenny," she walked in my office, "A few of us are going to White Ice for happy hour." White Ice was a local bar that my colleagues and I frequented. "Why don't you come with? I could use the company, Travis has been on my nerve all day," she invited me.

I really didn't want her getting any ideas about me being interested in her, and I impulsively wanted to turn down her offer. Then, images of Liv's face appeared in my head, and I realized this would be the perfect opportunity to see her again. "What time?" I asked Cherri. "We were going to leave around 5:00 p.m.," she replied. "I'll probably go, let me see how much I can get accomplished, and I'll let you know," I told her. "Great!" she beamed as she headed back to her desk. I quickly pulled out my phone, and texted Liv.

'Hey, how's your week going?' She responded a few minutes later.

'It's going well. The check came in, and I think I found my new shop,' she responded. Perfect, we now have a reason to meet up.

'I want to hear all about it. I'm going to happy hour at White Ice, want to join me?' I asked her.

'Sure, what time?'

'5 p.m.'

'Great, I'll see you then,' I smiled as I called out to Cherri, "Hey, I think I will to go with you guys."

White Ice was within walking distance, and we got there around 5:10 p.m. I quickly scanned the bar, and noticed that Liv hadn't arrived yet. The hostess led us to our usual corner, and we ordered a couple of pitchers to share. I sat on the end, and Cherri made sure she sat right next to me. She tried her hardest to engage me in conversation, touching me and giggling, but I kept my attention on the door.

After about half an hour, Liv finally walked in. She was wearing a yellow blouse and jeggings. It may not have been exciting to others, but I could eat her alive. She completed her outfit with nude ballet flats. Cherri was saying something to me, but I couldn't even pretend to listen to her any longer. I got up, and walked over to Liv. She graced me with her brilliant smile. "Hey," I said as I hugged her. I assumed we were now on "hugging" terms. "Hey yourself," she replied as she hugged me back. "I'm happy you came, let's find a table," I said as I searched the room.

Once we were seated, the waitress came and took our drink orders. I ordered another beer, and she ordered a red velvet martini. "What?" she asked as I grinned at her. "You would order a drink that tastes like cake," I teased her. "Shut up," she blushed. It occurred to me that I loved seeing her turn bright red. 'Note to self: make her blush as often as possible,' I thought.

Our drinks arrived, and she began describing the new cake shop. I'll admit, I barely heard a word she said. I was too busy staring at the way her nose scrunched up as she talked, the way her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, and how she used her hands to emphasize her thoughts. I was jolted out of my trance by a hand landing on my shoulder.

"Hey Kenny, who's your friend?" Cherri asked, with a slightly hostile tone. I looked up at her, 'Is she serious?' I asked myself. "Hi, I'm Liv," she smiled as she extended her hand. Cherri just stared at the outstretched hand. Liv pulled her hand back, and shot me a questioning look. "Liv, this is Cherri, we work together. Cherri, this is my friend, Liv," I introduced them.

Cherri ignored her, "Kenny, when are you coming back to the table, I miss you," she whined as she draped herself across my shoulders. I could have smacked her at that moment. "I'm with my friend right now. Maybe later," I told her as removed her arms, "I'm sure Travis can keep you company in the meantime." She scowled at the both of us before returning to the group.

"Well, she seems uber friendly," Liv said sarcastically. "Sorry about that," I apologized. "In her mind, we're dating. She couldn't wait for me to break up with my ex," I explained. "And I'm getting in the way. Maybe I should go," Liv pretended to get up while feigning apology. "Very funny," I said as she laughed, "I'm actually glad you're here, you saved me from a night of that." "If looks could kill, I would be dead right now. You should see the way she is glaring at me," Liv said. "I don't even want to turn around," I replied.

"Then let's get out of here. Give her something to really be mad about," she suggested. "You know what will make it even better?" I said as we stood to leave. "What?" she asked. I grabbed her hand, and interlaced my fingers with hers. We turned and waved; Cherri looked murderous. As soon as we were out the door, we were laughing hysterically.

Olivia

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time, and I was happy that the person I was laughing with was Kenny. Her smile was so infectious. I hadn't even realized we were walking along the street, still holding hands. 'Why hasn't she let go of my hand yet?' I thought. 'Why haven't I let go of hers?' was the better question.

There was still plenty of sunlight left in the evening, and we ended up wandering over to the local park. "There's some food trucks over there, you want something to eat?" she asked me. I nodded. We stopped at the wood fire pizza truck, and ordered a couple of slices. We located a nearby bench, and settled down to eat. I stole glances of her while she ate, and images of my wet dream came back to me. My pussy instantly began to drool.

"Do I have sauce on my face?" she winked at me as she caught me staring. "No, sorry," I looked away as I felt my face grow hot. 'Damn, I need to be more careful. Wait, why would I need to be more careful? What I need to do is stop staring at her all together...' "Liv... Liv, where'd you go?" she waved her hand in front of my face. "I'm sorry, what?" I blushed again. She chuckled at me.

"You know, it's cute when you blush like that," she said. I met her eyes, this time they were a deep brown. I quickly looked away. "I'm inclined to believe you were making me do it on purpose," I replied. "And what if I am?" she husked. All of a sudden, she was sitting right next to me. I whipped my head around to look at her. 'When did she get all the way over here?!' my brain panicked. 'Is she leaning in?!' I asked myself.

I held my breath. Then, it happened. Soft, supple lips were pressed against mine, and I lost all train of thought. I softly whimpered as I melted into her mouth. Her tongue brushed my bottom lip, asking for entry. At that moment, my body finally caught up with my brain.

My eyes shot open, and I jumped up from the bench. "I-I'm sorry," I stammered, "I-I don't know what I was thinking!" She looked up at me, her eyes burning a hole into me. "It's okay, no need to apologize," she stood and swiftly closed the gap between us, taking me by the hip and pulling me into her. 'Oh, God, she's leaning in again,' I thought. I pushed away at the very last moment.

"I'm sorry Kenny, but I'm not into women." She narrowed her eyes at me. "Really?" she asked, "Because the way you responded to me kissing you leads me to believe otherwise." "I know, and I'm sorry. I have no idea what came over me. I didn't mean to confuse you," I apologized. She paused, staring at me. "It's fine. We should go, it's getting late" she said shortly as she turned to leave. I rushed to catch up with her.

I felt like an idiot, 'Why did I let it go that far?' I mentally kicked myself. "Your car?" she asked flatly. "To the left," I answered quietly. We walked the rest of the way in silence, her hands stuffed in her pockets. I ached to reach out and hold one again at that moment. When we got to my car, she turned to leave, "Goodnight," she said. "Kenny, wait, please," I begged her. She stopped and turned toward me, stone faced.

"I hope this doesn't change our friendship. I really like spending time with you, and I don't want that to change," I said to her. "We're good," she replied, "I'll see you around." And she walked away. 'What the hell just happened?' I said as I got in my car. 'I shouldn't have let her kiss me. But her lips felt so good. Stop it Olivia! You're not attracted to women!' I yelled at myself as I started my car. Apparently, someone forget to send that message to my pussy, because my panties where thoroughly soaked.

I woke up the next morning, feeling like shit. I desperately wanted to reach out to Kenny, but I wasn't sure how, and if, she would respond. 'How could I fuck this up? She was so mad at me.' I thought as I laid in bed. I laid around for a couple of hours, and when I couldn't take it anymore, I grabbed my phone.

'Hey Kenny, how are you?' I hit send, and held my breath for a few moments. No reply. I checked the clock far too frequently, and eventually, an hour had passed. We had never taken that long to respond to each other. I tried again.

'Hey, is everything okay?' Another hour later, and still no answer. I was beginning to get worried.

'Kenny, please talk to me' Finally, an answer.

'Busy' Really? A one-word response. I know she's angry, but she could be a little more cordial.

I tried again, 'Okay, well can I call you soon?'

'Nope. I'll still be busy'

'Okay. Well, will you have time to call me later?'

'Probably not' Now I was starting to get pissed off. Who the fuck does she think she is?

'Fine. I'll talk to you later,' I sent her. She replied with, 'Yep.'

'Ass,' I thought to myself as I threw my phone on the bed. 'If she wants to be mad, she can stay mad. I don't have time for this shit. She has no right treat me like this. I never once told her that I was into women. And she caught me off guard with that kiss. If anything, I should be angry that she thought she could even kiss me!' I got up, showered, got dressed, and headed to the gym. I needed to let off some steam.

Kendra

'She really just tried to hit me with the I'm not attracted to women line. Really?!' I thought as I walked away from her. I was annoyed that I kissed her. I was annoyed that she kissed me back, then tried act like she didn't want to. But, more than anything, I was embarrassed. I've never felt like this about anyone so soon. I couldn't believe I let her get under my skin the way she did. I looked around, and realized I was standing outside of White Ice. 'Fuck it,' I thought as I re-entered the bar.

My colleagues were still there, working on their fourth round of pitchers. "Hey, Kenny's back!" Josh announced. The group cheered while turning to look at me. "Where'd you go?" Josh continued as I pulled up a chair. "She left with that fine redbone with the fat ass," Mike interjected. That was met with whistles and catcalls from the group. I smirked. "What can I say?" I responded, shrugging my shoulders. "Drinks on me," Mike announced as he waved the waitress over.

"'Bout time you came back. Cherri turned into a raging bitch after you left. Travis thought that was his chance to butter her up, but you know how that goes," Josh said. "We practically had a party when they finally decided to leave." We all laughed as the drinks arrived.

I woke up the next morning, slightly hung over. Normally, I would remedy this by having a greasy breakfast at my favorite diner, but I didn't feel much like leaving my house. Instead, I made coffee and settled on my couch to watch Netflix. I figured I would catch up on House of Cards. I was three episodes in when my phone buzzed, alerting me of a text message.

I slid the notification to open the message, and was instantly aggravated to see it was from Liv. 'I'm not in the mood for this right now,' I thought as I set my phone down on the couch. She tried again an hour later. Nope. By the third message, I was beyond irritated. I decided to keep it short, letting her know that she wasn't going to get anything from me. I eventually got through to her. Somehow, I knew that I needed to talk out my frustrations, so I called Tanya, hoping she had the time to meet with me. She agreed.

I got to her house about an hour later. I sank into her couch, as she sat next to me with her legs folded underneath her. "Okay, so what's bothering you?" she asked me. I took a deep breath, "I kissed Liv." Her eyes nearly popped out of her head, "You what!?" she all but yelled at me. "When did you two even start hanging out? How long has this been going on? How the hell did I not know about this? Does she even like women?" she questioned me.

I rubbed my temples, "Please, stop yelling at me." "I'm sorry, it's just that that was the last thing I would have expected you to say. Alright, start from the beginning," she said. I told her everything. From the first time I laid eyes on Liv, to the tense text messages we had exchanged earlier that afternoon. "Am I wrong for being upset?" I asked her. She sat in thought for a few minutes.

"I've known Liv for about five years. She's only ever dated men, and hasn't even hinted at being curious. She's always been exceedingly sweet to everyone she meets, so I'm not sure she was flirting with you, although, I'm not denying it either. However, I've known you for over ten years, and you clearly feel something deep for her. You need to actually talk to her. Tell her how you feel about her, and listen to how she feels as well.

"You've always been sure of who you are, and this whole thing could be freaking her out. I would suggest waiting a few days before you talk to her, though. You both need time to cool down," she said. I stared at the floor, holding my head in my hands. She was right. And I hated it. It was so much easier to just shut Liv out. "You know I hate you, right?" I said to Tanya. "You love me, and you know it," she playfully shoved me.

"So what do I do if she really isn't into women?" I asked, "I can't just be friends with her Tanya." "I can't answer that for you," she said, "If that's the case though, she'll want to remain friends with you, that's just how she is." "There's no way I'd be able to be in her presence without wanting to touch her, or watch her talk without wanting to kiss her," I said as I leaned back to stare at the ceiling. "She's passionate, generous, funny, not to mention absolutely beautiful. And that body," I mused.

"Sheesh, you've got it bad this time," she replied. "Shit" I sighed.

Olivia

When I returned from the gym, I took a long, hot bubble bath. 'That's the last time I work out while angry,' I promised myself as I gingerly lowered my body into the sea of bubbles. My muscles were going to be mad at me in the morning. I allowed myself time to think while I soaked. After recalling my time spent with Kenny, I realized that my behavior could have come across as flirting. 'Damn it,' I thought, 'Always have to be so damn nice.'

As I thought more about it, I had to admit to myself that while my mind tried to deny my attraction to her, my body told a different story. It scared the living daylights out of me. 'Does this mean I'm attracted to women? I don't feel this way about any other woman, though,' I asked myself. I needed to talk to her. But first, I had to work some things out with myself.

The following Wednesday, I was at the bank doing a final review of the paperwork for the new cake shop when I received a text.

'Hey, do you have a moment to talk?' It was from Kenny. I was happy she was talking to me again, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to have this conversation. I excused myself and answered her.

'Sure, what's up?' She called me shortly after.

I took a deep breath and answered the phone, "Hello?" "Hey Liv, how are you?" she asked me. I hadn't realized how much I had missed her smooth voice. "I've been okay. How are you doing?" I replied. "I'm better, now that I hear your voice," she said. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. "Are you free later to talk?" she continued. "Yeah, I'm finishing up a meeting, and I should be home in about an hour," I told her. "Cool, I'll let you know when I'm on my way," she answered. "Okay, I'll see you later," I said as we ended to call.

I quickly signed the lease, concluding the meeting, and rushed home. I was restless, and didn't know what to do with myself until she arrived. I was pacing back and forth in my living room when she told me she was on her way. I felt my stomach turn. I continued pacing as I tried to determine what I wanted to say to her.

Suddenly, my doorbell rang. 'I don't think I can do this,' I began to panic. 'Just breathe,' I told myself as I opened the door. I froze as our eyes met. "Hey," she said. "Hey," I replied. We stared at each other for a moment. The corner of her mouth jerked upwards. "Can I come in?" she asked. "Yes, sorry," I moved aside. "Let's go in the kitchen," I suggested.