Summary: During a night out with friends, Ernest tells Daphne something that will change the course of their relationship.
January 2018
On the following day of Daphne’s ceremony, the word about her relationship with one of the most eligible suitors of England had already spread. Even though they avoided public displays of affection, as time passed by, anyone could see how much Mr. Sinclaire had changed since he grew closer to Lady Daphne Wang. They were often seen together strolling at parks, attending social events or hanging out by the lake near their families’ properties with their close friends. However, only a handful of people knew how the young and easygoing viscountess managed to win the heart of a man with such closed-off demeanor.
“Keep your eyes on the target, relax your shoulders,” Ernest put his hands on Daphne’s shoulders. “Take a deep breath and release it along with the arrow.”
Doing as instructed, Daphne released the arrow, hitting the red part of the target.
“You’re getting better.” He smiled.
“Thanks,” she beamed at him.
“You’re still not better than me, Wang,” Annabelle smirked and picked up her bow and arrow for her final shot and hit the target dead center. “You may have your beau’s assistance, but I’m still the best.”
“I want a rematch.” Daphne declared.
“Oh, it’s on!“ Annabelle enthused.
“Can we do something else?” Briar whined sitting down on the grass with her head on Edmund’s shoulder.
“Like what?” Daphne asked.
“Let’s go to the city. Have a dinner, dance… I want to dance,” Briar sighed, smiling at Edmund, who returned the gesture kissing her cheek.
“That’s not a bad idea. It’s been a while since we went out at night.” Daphne turned to Ernest. “What do you think?”
“As long as we don’t end up in some noisy nightclub, okay,” Ernest shrugged.
“If this is a couples thing, I’m out,” Annabelle stated.
“It isn’t. I swear, Ann. We’ll have dinner in the city and go to a bar. I heard The Castle has dancefloor for me and Eddie, outdoor tables for Ernest and games for all of us.”
“The Castle?” Annabelle arched an eyebrow.
“What? LGBTQ+ pubs have better music.” Briar replied. “And The Castle has rooms to rent for the night.”
“I knew it,” Annabelle pursed her lips.
Edmund looked away to hide his blushing cheeks while Ernest and Daphne chuckled.
“Come on, Ann. It’ll be fun.” Daphne insisted.
“Fine… Whatever.” Annabelle rolled eyes.
“See you all at eight?” Daphne asked.
Everyone nodded.
“Yay!” Briar chirped.
…
The five young friends clinked their beer mugs as broad smiles lightened up their faces. Despite Briar’s many protests, they took a table outdoors where a girls rock band played. Taking their seats, they chatted for a couple of minutes before Briar insisted on going inside again.
“Briar, if you want to go, just go. I’d rather stay here watching the show,” Annabelle replied.
“Yeah, sure…” Briar mumbled, earning an icy glare from Annabelle.
“Let’s go to the dancefloor, baby,” Edmund smiled.
“Really?” Briar asked.
He nodded.
“Yaaay!” She squealed and kissed his cheek several times. “Excuse me, you boring people, I’m going to the dancefloor with my date.”
Annabelle rolled eyes while Ernest gave his shoulders.
“Have fun you two,” Daphne cheered.
“I fully intend to,” Briar beamed as Edmund took her hand and they quickly walked inside the pub.
Daphne, Annabelle, and Ernest enjoyed the show singing along, talking and sipping the beer. By the time, the show ended, Briar and Edmund were nowhere to be found.
“Okay, so the horny dogs probably rented a room for themselves and it’s just the three of us now and I say we should play air hockey,” Annabelle demanded.
“I’m game,” Daphne said.
“I can’t play against both of you,” Ernest replied.
“Why not? Are you afraid to lose to a girl again, Sinclaire?” Annabelle taunted.
Ernest gave her a sideways glance. “Trying to undermine my vanity will get you nowhere, Parsons.”
Annabelle scowled. “Daph, your boyfriend is no fun.”
“You’re appealing to the wrong sin, Ann.” Daphne placed a hand on the back of his neck, her fingertips tracing a ghost touch on it. “Please come play with us. You can teach me how to play this game too,” she whispered in his ear.
Goosebumps slowly formed around the area she touched. “Don’t— don’t you know how to play it?”
“Rather terribly, but I do. You could help me improve my pool skills,” she purred, brushing her lips on his neck.
He gulped. “Fine. Let’s do it.”
Daphne winked to her friend.
“Good thing you’re here because I can’t use these methods with him,” Annabelle grinned, stood up and went to the playroom.
Ernest and Daphne followed. With one arm around her waist, he pulled her closer and whispered. “You’re such a vixen, Daphne.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking,” she said as a corner of her mouth quirked up.
“I will make you pay for it.”
“I’m counting on it,” she smiled slyly.
The three of them arrived at the playroom and chose an air hockey machine to play. On the first round, Daphne and Annabelle played while Ernest fetched drinks, then Annabelle played with Ernest.
“Okay, now you go fetch our drinks while we play,” Daphne suggested.
“Don’t have too much fun without me.” Annabelle teased.
“I can’t make any promises,” Daphne replied taking the place on the table to start the game.
Each of them took their mallets and Daphne started shooting, but Ernest blocked every offense attack with ease. Her attempts to score a point grew more aggressive, but he was surprisingly calm.
“Why aren’t you attacking me?”
“I always bid my time, Daphne.”
“Why? So you win by tiring out your opponent?” She taunted, shooting the puck faster across the table.
“Because I always attack when my opponent least expects,” he replied, blocking her shoot, making a drift and striking. “Good trash talk though, my darling,” he winked.
Daphne narrowed her eyes and the game grew more intense. However, between offensive strikes and more trash talk, she couldn’t defeat her boyfriend. She frowned leaning on the table and Ernest encircled his arms around her waist.
“I didn’t know you’re good at this too.”
“The cottage by the sea that my family owns has a table like this. I spent many summer vacations playing with neighbors. But you’re a remarkable opponent, Daphne,” he explained, kissing her cheek.
“Thank you.” She turned around and tightened the embrace, burying her face on his chest. “Hey, isn’t it weird that Ann never returned with the drinks?”
“I wouldn’t be too worried about her.”
“Why not?”
“Because she is at the bar. She just never got our drinks or have plans to come back with them.”
Daphne turned around and spotted Annabelle sitting at a bar stool, talking to a woman. “Oh… That explains a lot.”
“Did you know she is…?”
“Very gay? Yeah. I just didn’t know that the bassist player of that girl band was into her,” she said, staring at her friendly shamelessly flirting with a stranger.
“Well, now that we’re all by ourselves,” he leaned in to whisper. “How about we leave this noisy pub and take a stroll at the park?”
She turned to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been waiting all night for this.”
A slow smile spread on his lips. They pulled away, held hands and left the bar to head towards the park nearby. The couple wandered through a quiet path leading to a pond and sat on the park bench. Daphne rested her head on his shoulder and smiled. “I’ve never been here before at night. It’s so peaceful… It feels like we’re the only ones in the city.”
“If only that was true,” Ernest murmured.
She sensed his sullen tone and glanced at him discreetly. He frowned, looking at the horizon, lost in his own thoughts.
“Ernest, are you alright?”
“Yes.”
“That wrinkle between your brows says otherwise.”
He shifted uneasy on his seat and took a deep breath before speaking. “I got an opportunity to take the insurance company to Cornodia.”
“Really? Oh my god, Ernest, that’s great!” She instinctively pulled him into a tight hug. “I know how much you’ve been working on it.”
“Thanks,” he replied with wry smile. “But in order to do that, the company has to send someone to Cordonia for a while. The board chose me.”
“You’re moving to Cordonia?” She pulled away, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to understand what he said.
“It’s just to get everything in order. Six months, at the most.”
“But what about your Masters degree? What about Ledford Park?”
“I got transferred to the University of Ducitora. I received the letter this morning. And my mother can take care of Ledford Park for me. Even when she’s ill, she runs it better than I ever did.”
“Wow…” Daphne blurted, lost in thought. “If this is what you want, that’s good.”
He cupped her cheek to look into her eyes.
“Congratulations, Ernest,” She forced herself to smile. “These are amazing news. And this is an opportunity that will do wonders for your family company and for your career. I’m happy for you.” She hugged him again, her smile fading as his arms pulled her closer, tighter. “I just need to know one thing,” she said pulling away.
“Ask me anything.”
“How long do you know about it? I mean, these negotiations take time and you’ve been planning this for years, but you must’ve gotten some sort confirmation at least a few weeks ago, right?”
He looked away.
“Ernest?” She raised an eyebrow.
“The deal was closed two months ago. I was chosen a couple of weeks later and I just had to wait for the Cordonian finance school letter.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” She stared at him confused. “Do you think I’d be against you moving to Cordonia? Do you think I am that selfish that I wouldn’t want you to be successful?”
His jaw clenched.
“Ernest, I want you to be happy and if it means moving to another country to expand your family business, so be it.”
He shook his head. “Happy? Do you think I’d be happy if I achieved any goal in my career at the expense of losing you? I’ve been postponing this conversation as much as I could because I didn’t want to come to this. You faking a smile to support me, me pretending to be strong for doing the right thing when it’s clear for me that I’m hurting you.”
Daphne placed her hand atop his. “Ernest, I’m okay. Really. It just caught me off guard.”
“But what does it mean for us?”
“I don’t know.”
They stayed in silence, watching night birds flying across the pond for a while. After several minutes, their phones buzzed. Annabelle was looking for them and Briar letting them know she and Edmund would stay in the city for the weekend. Still holding hands, they returned to the pub to pick up Annabelle and go home.
Ernest’s car rolled to a stop at the garage of Ledford Park. Daphne unbuckled her belt, but before she reached for the door handle so he could walk her back home, he took her hand in his, kissed it and held it close to his chest.
“Ernest, please…” She bit her lip, trying to stop her lips quivering.
“Don’t give up on us.”
“How are we going to make this work?”
“We’ll figure it out. I have a month or so before I have to go there and I’ll return to see my mother, to see you. And you could visit me. We could see each other every two weeks.” He lifted her hand one more time to his lips, kissing it softly. “Can you do that for us?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
He gave her a weak smile and with his free hand, he brushed a strand of hair of her face. She closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his. His fingers tangled in her hair as he deepened the kiss, his tongue invading her mouth as he muffled her moans with kisses. Unwilling to let go of him, she straddled him, unbuckled his seatbelt and guided his mouth to hers again. His lips traveled down her jaw, her neck and collarbone.
She closed her eyes. She was flushed, her body was hot, craving his touch. “You don’t have to stop there,” she purred.
“What?” He pulled away.
“I want you, Ernest.”
“Daphne, if you want to do this just because I’m leaving–”
“It isn’t. I want to do this because I want you. All of you. The fact that you’re leaving makes it more urgent, but I’ve been wanting this for a long time.”
“Okay,” he gave her a quick kiss. “But we’re not doing it tonight.”
“What? Why?”
“I want your first time, our first time to be meaningful. And we can’t do this in my car, especially without protection.”
Daphne frowned. He was right. She should’ve known he wouldn’t want it like that. They’ve been dating for almost a year and he never made any sexual advances unless she initiated. “But darling, I want you so bad,” she uttered, nibbling his ear.
His eyes suddenly went dark, he pushed the backrest of his seat down and his hands kneaded her thighs. Daphne took off her jacket and blouse, threw them on her seat and leaning forward, kissing him passionately. She unbuttoned his shirt and kissed his neck and his chest while his hands pushed her skirt up and cupped her buttcheeks.
As she sat up and undid her bra, freeing her breasts. Ernest gazed at her half-naked body, his eyes burning with adoration and lust and his hands moved up to her waist and cupped her small yet perfectly round globes. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he praised. “You have no idea how much I longed to see you like this.”
“But is it all you want from me, Mr. Sinclaire?” She slowly ranked her nails on his bare chest, grinding his bulge. She hovered him, moving her hips back and forth and moaned as he sucked one of her breasts, teasing the other. “Ernest, please.”
“As much as I yearn to feel you right now, I can’t. But I have an alternate solution for us.”
“Oh?”
“Let’s travel this weekend. Just us. We’ll do whatever you want, stay until you say so. I’ll satisfy your every whim.”
Daphne beamed. The idea of going away with Ernest felt like a dream. He had always been busy with something and never made it to the trips she had with her friends. She hoped for so long to be intimate with him that it almost didn’t seem real he suggested it. “Tomorrow.”
“It’s settled then. We’ll leave after lunch.”
She dipped down and their lips met again in a fiery kiss, leaving both of them breathless.
“But I still want you now. Are you going to leave me wanting more?”
He chortled. “Perhaps, I should. I told you were going to pay for what you did at the bar.”
“Is it too late to be sorry?” She smiled sheepishly.
He shook his head with an unusual carefree grin.
“Please,” she batted her lashes.
“Okay,” he gave her a quick kiss. “There is something we can do tonight.”
“I’m all yours, my darling,” she purred.
His free hand roamed down, rubbing between her legs through the fabric of her underwear for a moment then pushed it aside. His fingers moved between her folds in circles, building up the pleasure inside her.
“You’re so wet! God, Daphne!” He groaned.
She panted, stifling her moans on the crook of his neck and pushing her hips to meet his hand. His digits worked faster on her and he slid one finger inside her. She threw her head back and gasped as he pumped in and out of her.
“Sit up,” he commanded, removing his finger from her pussy.
She did as instructed and licked her lips as he took the finger damp with her juices to his mouth, sucked them and inserted two fingers back into her. As he thrust into her, she ground on him again, panting.
“How does it feel, my darling?” He stared at her, her bouncing breasts, her hips moving on his hand, grazing on his bulge.
“Amazing…” she ran her fingers through her hair, pushing them away from her sweaty face.
“Everything you feel right now has nothing on how I’ll make you feel tomorrow,” he growled, bucking his hips as she moved faster.
“Oh my god!” She whimpered, arching her back, gripping his thighs.
He gaped at her mesmerized. It took him everything not to push down his trousers and bury himself inside her pussy. Still, it couldn’t be like this. Now that they were going to be in a long-distance relationship, he had to be sure she would never forget it.
“Oh!” She meowed.
His free hand grasped her hip, helping her move faster while her wall pulsated on his fingers. “Yes, come for me!” He grunted as she came on his hand calling his name.
She lied on his chest, catching her breath while one of his hands stroked her back, soothing her. “Ernest?”
He brushed her hair from her face and looked at her.
“I think I’m in love with your fingers,” she said with a cheeky grin.
He chuckled. “Then I guess I should tell you you’ll be in for a treat tomorrow.”
“I can hardly wait,” she sighed.
“You and me both.”
