On Every Street by Karina Halle

both sorted out soon,” he said softly as he pulled my shirt back down. Then he leaned over and kissed me, nice and slow, before getting to his feet and pulling me up with him.
    Hand in hand we made our way back down the beach, back to the Crab Hut, back to Jose, back to his house, and eventually, to his bed.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    When I woke up the next morning, it took me a few moments to realize where I was. Nothing was familiar: the soft light coming in through the large windows, the whitewashed walls, the black satin bed sheets and matching down comforter. The dark-haired head between my legs.
    “What are you doing?” I asked groggily, leaning back on my elbows.
    Javier’s head lifted, a teasing smile on his face. My underwear were still on, but he seemed to be in the process of moving it to the side with his fingers.
    “Good morning .” He greeted me like nothing was out of the ordinary, like he wasn’t about to go down on me while I was asleep. This man certainly had balls, I had to give him that. Well, that and a lot of other things.
    After we returned to his house last night, I was insisting I should go home whi le he insisted that I stay overnight with him. He promised he wouldn’t try and take my virtue in my sleep, but it seemed he had no problem licking it out of me in the morning.
    He went back to work, his tongue lapping at me li ke a giant cat. He took his fingers and slowly inserted them until it pinched uncomfortably.
    “I’m just warming you up for later,” he said before diving back down.
    I moaned despite myself, lifting up my hips and widening my legs to give him more access. It felt just as good as the night before and I wasn’t in the mood to make him stop.
    “I have to work later,” I managed to say while his tongue flicked.
    “There’s always a later after later,” he mumbled into me.
    I couldn’t argue with that. He kept going until I was coming again, not as violently as the night before, but enough to make me grip the sheets between my hands, to make me call out his name, swearing; enough to make me blush when I realized how loud and uninhibited I was. I was going to have to get over that pretty fast because it seemed like Javier was just getting started with me. What was it going to be like to actually have sex with him? My imagination didn’t even stretch that far.
    He pulled away, wiping his mouth then licking his fingers. I was glowing too much to be put off by that. He was a kinky motherfucker, that’s for sure.
    I sighed and rested my head back on the soft pillow, so many new feelings fluttering all over me. I was lost in my thoughts, in the lingering sensations, when I felt his hand graze my legs. Graze my scars.
    I immediately stiffened, waiting in fear. In all the ecstasy, I had completely forgotten about my scars. It was a first for me, but now it was all crashing down, smothering me with disgust.
    “Are you going to tell me what happened?” he asked, his fingers lightly touching them.
    “Please don’t,” I pleaded, pinching my eyes shut. I felt him remove his hand and he settled down in the sheets. I could feel his eyes on my leg, and when I finally looked up, they weren’t staring at it. They were staring at me. Golden green sadness.
    The moment washed over us, sinking and permeating our thoughts. I waited for him to say something, anything. Then I realized he was waiting to hear a story. My story. Only I couldn’t tell him. Like my parents had made me do just after the accident, I had to tell him the lie I had known so well.
    “When I was little,” I began, remembering I was Eden, not Ellie, realizing that Ellie’s life was a lie anyway, “we didn’t have much money. My parents would let me play in the dump to scrounge around for toys. One time I picked up a bottle. I thought it looked pretty. I didn’t see any labels or anything. I accidently dropped it. It splashed up my leg…battery acid.”
    He didn’t say anything for quite some time, and I