Chapter Text
It’s 5:45 when her alarm rings, it’s only for a second as she’s been awake for at least ten minutes before it goes off. As she moves slowly off the bed she contemplates, like she does every morning, why she chose this ring tone to wake her up every day. It’s not particularly pleasant and she can’t imagine how much better it must have sounded in the daylight when she chose it.
Her morning routines are always the same, they have been for many years now. She takes advantage of the longer days in the summer, rising with the sun to start her life. Now, on this chilly November morning, her walk to the Pilates studio seems less desirable than it does in August, yet still she persists. With her pony tail tight, her hair still reaching the middle of her back even when held up so high, and her matching set from Lululemon, Therese Belivet is the picture perfect New York Girl.
She walks at a leisurely pace, listening to music and focusing on her breathing, the two miles to her class. She loves the peace of mind Pilates gives her. For one hour every morning she is able to step outside of herself and focus on her movement and take pause from all the thoughts that are constantly rummaging around in her head. Her schooling, her family, her future. She’s always been a list maker, an organized life planner, but even now when things seem to have so perfectly fallen into place, she feels an anxiety in her belly that she can’t quite explain and certainly cannot get rid of.
She sees a lot of the same people on her morning walks. Men in suits heading towards the subway, people walking their dogs, other girls walking to and from their various fitness classes, and it is never lost on her how lucky she is to be here in this moment, living this life. Her parents warned her against moving into the city five years ago, saying she was made to live close to nature. She’d miss her horses too much, the fresh air too much, them too much. But when Therese was accepted into NYU she was determined to prove them wrong. Having lost their battle and reassured by Therese that this is what she most wanted in life, her parents set her up in a loft close to Washington Square Park and the rest was meant to be history.
But a semester studying business had proven to be too much for Therese, and explaining to her parents that she couldn’t continue attending classes without clear direction of what she wanted of her life led her here. Organized, making lists, creating plans, and going nowhere.
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Two hours later, smoothie in hand, she made her way back to her apartment. There was always commotion in the streets of New York, but something about this particular morning seemed to aggravate her. There was commotion in front of her building. A tenant moving out, nothing unusual, but this particular tenant had been a source of irritation for Therese in the past, and even during her moving out, she was still finding ways to annoy her. The truck parked outside was hauling loads of furniture, making noise and getting everything dirty, and the face that greeted Therese when she opened the elevator was the nail in the coffin to seal her now ruined morning.
“Morning, neighbor!” said the woman, as Therese took her place in the elevator and pressed the button to the 10th floor. No other words were exchanged, but as the elevator closed, Therese let out an irritated sigh. Thank God she’s leaving, she thought to herself. When the elevator door opened on her floor, Therese stepped out and started rummaging through her small fanny pack for her key, not paying attention to where she was going, when she bumped into something unexpectedly.
A pair of grey blue eyes looked up at her from behind a curtain of tussled blonde hair, and it made her stomach lurch.
“Careful, kid, we’re moving here” said the woman with the grey blue eyes.
Therese took a step back, appearing annoyed, wearing a pinched look and pursed lips. “I’m not a kid.” she said coldly.
The woman stood up in front of her, towering over her a little, making Therese take another step back. “I’m sorry…” said the woman, “didn’t mean to offend. I’m helping a friend move, I’m sorry I got in your way.” Her voice was deep and cool, like an icy lake in the middle of winter.
“It’s okay,” said Therese, moving further down the hall way to stand in front of her own door. “Just keep it down, please, it’s still early.” She entered her apartment quietly and leaned against the closed door for a moment to catch her breath. She hadn’t been agitated before, but something about this encounter made her heart pound in her chest.
She moved into the kitchen to prepare her breakfast and morning coffee, skipping her usual shower for now. The lights in the bedroom were still off and when she set the food down to tap on the exposed shoulder peeking out from under the sheets, she heard Richard say “you’re here later than usual.”
“I took a longer route home today, and stopped for a smoothie. You should get up now,” she said, still caressing his shoulder, “you’re going to be late for class”
He turned over swiftly and pulled her into bed with him. “I’ve got a few more minutes”, he said, looking up at her in the dark of their bedroom. “I know what we can do in a few minutes” he added suggestively, pushing the sports bra over her small breasts and lifting his body up to take one of them in his mouth. “Salty” he said, continuing on.
“I haven’t showered” she answered cooly.
“You know I like you like that” he added, flipping her on her back and sliding down her shorts and underwear in one swoop.
“You’re going to be late” she said again, laying still but not resisting him. He didn’t care. He didn’t stop. He kissed her gently along her neck and jaw line, before moving down and pushing her bra off of her completely, tracing his tongue along her hip bones, her abdomen, and finally her sex. “You always taste so fucking good” he said to her, lingering there for a few minutes, drawing out gentle sighs from her lips. When he raised his body so that he could see her face, he lifted her right leg on to his hips and entered her with a soft grunt. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling him inside of her, but when she opened them up again all she could see were those grey blue eyes, blonde hair, and that face. That face. That face.