Chapter Text
1
I Need To Know
It started the same way most deliciously bad decisions begin: with tequila shots and Doja Cat.
“God,” She sighed, head hanging and shoulders bunched. Ben brushed aside her chestnut hair, baring her slender neck for his teeth. Her pussy clenched at that, and they both groaned on the next thrust.
Ben would blame Hux. He’d been running back and forth to the bar all night, keeping a steady stream of liquor flowing at the table. Ben would also blame Finn, the birthday boy, for dragging them to karaoke after work.
“Oh!” Her neck snapped back, throat arched and jaw slack as he hit her at the top of her channel, the head of his dick dragging sharply across her g-spot. “Oh, that…fuck—”
He noticed her first, drawn to the bright clap of her laughter and her little red dress. When the high-heeled cluster of ladies crowded into the karaoke bar, everyone giggling and shouting over each other, he’d watched her out of the corner of his eye, a strange cocktail of excitement and dread churning his stomach.
“Just like that, just – hah!” She shivered against him, one shaky hand reaching back to close over the top of his. He gripped her waist in a punishing hold, and it sent a dark and terrible thrill through him to think she might wake up tomorrow with bruises on her tan, freckled skin.
He squeezed harder.
She’d come with a bachelorette party. Her friend, Kaydel, had been the one to introduce the girls to their table, stumbling over with a massive margarita in one hand, the other flapping manically.
“Hi! I’m Kaydel, and I’m getting fucking married!”
Ben had tossed back another shot and braced himself for a nightmare.
But then she’d run over with a toothy grin and another chiming laugh, and the sound washed over Ben along with the liquor, warming him from the inside.
“I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed, her accent at once thick and delicate around the words, “We’re on our fifth pub, and I don’t even know how many margaritas she’s had—”
Ben stared into his shot glass, cheeks flaming and ears perked as Hux leaned across the table towards the girls. “Quite alright, ladies! On behalf of my mates, a big congratulations to the bride-to-be.”
“I’m gonna be a wife!” The blonde screamed, throwing her arms up and teetering into one of the tables. The woman in the red dress rolled her eyes, holding her friend upright with a toned arm wrapped around her waist. Another woman, equally petite with a sleek black bob, came up to the table.
“He-llo, boys. What brings you to Mos Eisley?”
And so began Ben’s descent into debauchery.
Her name was Rey. She was British, twenty-five, and relatively new to D.C., though she’d been living in the States since college. Conversation was tame at first, a round of indulgent small talk about their friends’ shenanigans and how Rey liked living in America. They avoided discussing work by some unspoken agreement, as if both understood this hour of the night was only good for forgetting what they did during the day.
After his fourth shot of Clase Azul, Ben felt his muscles loosen, his smiles coming more easily. He liked the rosy flush staining Rey’s cheeks, and the way it matched her dress. He told her as much, which made the color deepen, and something hot and hungry curled in his stomach at the lingering look she gave his mouth.
Then her friends dragged her out of her seat and towards the karaoke stage.
It started as a standard show of terrible songs and even more terrible singing. Rose (the one with the bob) eventually managed to convince Hux and Finn to join them, and Ben cried into his drink while Snap took videos of the men making utter fools of themselves in public. At one point, a blitzed Finn and Kaydel wrapped their arms around each other and sang a sloppy cover of “I Wanna Know What Love Is,” earning a round of applause from the entire bar.
Ben watched Rey the whole time.
She was small, slender yet strong, but something about her radiated life in a way that made her stand taller in his mind. Maybe it was her smile, which she seemed entirely incapable of containing, at least tonight. Maybe it was her laugh, which she shared freely to the point of excess. It kicked up Ben’s heartrate and did funny things to his hands. Made them twitch and clench, itching to grab her, feel her, see if she was as soft and smooth as she looked.
There came a point in the evening, when everyone was well past tipsy, where Rose ran offstage to grab a Ziplock bag full of little cards from her purse. She waved it high above her head like a prize and yelled, “Dare or dare!” before gathering the girls and dispersing the tiny slips of cardstock. Kaydel was too drunk to read hers and handed it to Finn where he still stood on the stage. Grabbing the mic, the bastard read the card aloud.
“Dare: Take a body shot off a stranger.”
That was how Snap ended up sprawled on the table, snorting profusely as Kaydel tried and failed to suck vodka from the hollow of his throat.
One by one, everyone but Ben pulled a card. Hux performed a mock striptease for Rose while singing Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself” and Finn kissed one of the bartenders. Rey pulled a card, one brow arching sharply as she read, then looked up and met Ben’s gaze. A small, needy part of him hoped that she’d drawn another body shot card, but then she was making her way towards the DJ booth. Ben frowned, turning to Rose. She waggled her brows with a secretive smile.
Ben had never listened to Doja Cat’s music, though he’d heard the name before, so he could be forgiven for not being prepared. The song Rey put on seemed standard hip hop fare, and while he enjoyed seeing her atop the stage wearing that megawatt smile and a mischievous glint in her eyes, he resigned himself to a cute but ultimately familiar karaoke routine.
Then, the lyrics hit.
Wanna know what it's like
Baby, show me what it's like
I don't really got no type
I just wanna fuck all night—
Ben almost dropped his glass.
Rey seemed to transform with the song. The lighthearted smiles turned wicked, her gaze taking on an edge as it slid over him. Gone were the rosy blush and the nose crinkling in self-deprecation. Gone was the nervous laughter, the friend keeping everyone in line. Her voice was strong, blending with the original vocals, and Ben liked the way her accent spiked the words with feeling. Rey moved easily up and down the stage, each step a little more certain. Ben could feel the heel of her stilettos cutting into the floor like a knife at his throat.
I just been fantasizin'
And we got a lotta time
Baby, come throw the pipe
Gotta know what it's like—
“Yeah-yeah, oh-whoa-whoa!” Rose and Finn cried, “Baby, I need to know!”
Rey stepped down from the stage, and Ben was helpless not to follow her as she carried the cordless mic across the bar. The crowd was thin at this hour, but the liquor doubled everyone’s enthusiasm, and a chorus of whistles and claps broke out as Rey sashayed through the maze of tables.
What's your size?
Add, subtract, divide
Daddy don't throw no curves
Hold up, I'm goin' wide
Rey had hit the bar now. She spun around, one hand sliding down the counter to spread her wide. She leaned back, those high, perky tits arching forward as she brought the mic up in a dramatic flourish.
Forget dropping his glass—Ben was going to shatter the damn thing between his fingers.
Giving a little showgirl kick that blessed Ben with the briefest flash of black panties, Rey turned back to the bar and hoisted herself on top. The bartender’s brows shot skyward, but he merely huffed a surprised laugh and cleared the glasses in her way. Rey sauntered down the oak bar top, singing to the ceiling.
I just can't help but be sexual!
Tell me your schedule
I got a lotta new tricks for you
Baby, just sayin' I'm flexible
Rey paraded up and down, shimmying and dipping to the song, and Ben was dying. Finn was standing on top of a chair, fingers in his mouth on a piercing whistle, and Rose and Kaydel hadn’t stopped screaming since Rey had started. An elbow connected with Ben’s side, and he turned to meet Hux’s sparkling eyes. His friend’s smile was excessively smug, the tilt of his brow sharp and lascivious.
You're exciting, boy, come find me
Your eyes told me, "Girl, come ride me"
Fuck that feeling both us fighting
Could he try me? Mmm, most likely—
“Tryna see if you could handle this ass—”
God.
“Prolly give his ass a panic attack—”
Absolutely.
“Oh, wait, you a fan of the magic? Poof!” She slapped the juncture of her thighs, “Pussy like an Alakazam!”
“I heard from a friend of a friend—!” Kaydel screamed.
“—That that dick,” Rose cried, “Was a ten outta ten!”
Ben’s head spun along with the skirt of Rey’s dress as she twirled atop the bar. Coming to the end, she dropped to her hands and knees and pounded the top in time to the deep bass, and Ben could feel it in the pulse of his impossibly hard dick.
She threw her legs over the edge and hopped back onto the floor, teetering slightly in her heels. She giggled, a brief break in her character, and it might have been the sexiest moment yet. That rosy flush. That crinkling nose. The way her eyes flickered up beneath smudged lashes to lock with his.
“Spank me, slap me, choke me, bite me—” Rose and Kaydel swayed together, arms banded around each other’s necks.
“Uh, wait, I can take it!” Rey panted, faced scrunched in mock ecstasy, “Give a fuck 'bout what your wifey's sayin'!”
Ben couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. His eyes blew wide, then drooped comically as Rey stalked towards him like a lioness, slinking and certain and fucking unstoppable.
Wanna know what it's like
Baby, show me what it's like
I don't really got no type
I just wanna fuck all night—
She was in front of him now, pushing aside the empty chair beside his. Ben swallowed, then swallowed again, as Rey threw one honey-skinned leg over his lap, her free hand finding the back of his chair. She lowered herself slowly—so fucking slowly—and his pulse hammered at the way her pupils dilated when she settled over the hard line of his dick. She gave a subtle roll, and he barely kept his head from falling off his shoulders.
Gotta know what it's like
Yeah-yeah, oh-whoa-whoa
Baby, I need to know, mmm
As the song closed, and the pub exploded in applause, Ben did his best not to thrust up into the heat of Rey’s lap. His brain was so thick with lust he belatedly registered her fingers finding his clenched fist at his side. It wasn’t until she unfurled them, placing the card in his palm, that he managed to tear his eyes from the pulse fluttering at her throat.
He looked down at the card, and time stood still.
Dare: Hook up with a stranger in the bathroom.
******
Ben had Rey against the wall before the bathroom door even closed.
“Fuck,” He cursed as Rey’s hands found the hair at his nape and pulled. She sighed into his kiss, slick tongue rolling over his in a firm, indulgent slide. His hands gripped the maddening curve of her ass, and he grunted his approval when she gave a little hop and instantly wrapped her legs around his waist.
“Mmm,” She whined as he pressed in, pinning her between himself and the wall. Her hands ran down his neck and along his shoulders, palms cupping the rounded caps fiercely. Ben shifted, and they both moaned when his cock dragged along the gusset of her lace thong.
“You looked so good,” He heard himself mumble against her lips, “Walking that stage in those damn heels—"
Rey flexed her legs, and Ben hissed at the tips of her stilettos digging sharply into his lower back. A vision of her stripped bare and bent over the counter in nothing but those damn heels liquified his already-foggy brain.
“Pants,” She whined, hands falling to his waist and fumbling with his belt, “You’re still wearing pants—"
Ben laughed, but it turned tight and guttural as Rey unclasped the belt, clipping his hipbone with the buckle in her haste to unzip him.
He palmed her ass, pulling her off the wall and spinning her towards the sink. Rey gave a little gasp when Ben dropped her onto the edge, hands finding the insides of her thighs and pushing them wide. He stepped between her legs, breaking the kiss only to look down at where she was unbuttoning his black slacks. Rey’s breath puffed at his neck as she dragged the zipper down.
They both watched her reach into his boxers and pulled him out.
Holy fuck.
Her hand was small, small even for her, and Ben shuddered at the way the tan, slender fingers looked wrapped around his cock. Rey gave an experimental pump, whispering “Big” as if to herself, and Ben nearly came right then. When Rey looked back up, her eyes were heavy with lust.
“I want...”
“You want – shit,” Ben’s eyes rolled closed as she brushed her thumb across the leaking tip. He swallowed thickly. “You want what?”
Rey looked back down at Ben’s dick pulsing in her hand, tongue swiping across her bottom lip.
“I want this inside of me.”
Ben groaned, forehead connecting with hers. Rey kept jacking him, each downward stroke getting slicker and slicker, and Ben could feel something restless pacing a narrow track behind his rib cage. A dark, feral part of him wanted to rip off her little red dress and devour her, run his tongue over every inch, put his goddamn teeth into it—
It was wholly unlike him, and that was part of the thrill.
Ben was a large man, prone to intimidate by design. Women called him broody, which Hux said was code for ‘hot asshole.’ But Ben wasn’t arrogant, just...quiet. Serious. Disposed to listening first and keeping to himself. He’d had a few girlfriends over the years, with the occasional fling sprinkled in between commitments, but Ben was no Casanova. For fuck’s sake, he worked at an academic publishing house. He had neither the time nor talent for womanizing.
But Rey.
Something about Rey.
Ben wanted to unleash himself on her.
“Please, Ben,” She tugged him forward—by the cock—and whined, “Please, just…”
“Say it again,” He all but begged.
“Inside. I want you inside of me.”
Ben needed no further invitation. He wrapped an arm around Rey’s waist, putting her back on the ground. But when she tilted her head up for a kiss, he merely bit the tip of her nose before turning her to face the mirror.
“Oh.”
Ben granted himself a moment to savor the picture they painted. Rey stood with her hands braced on the counter, her loose bronzed waves spilling over her shoulders and curling along her flushed collar. She was panting, cheeks the color of her dress, and she bit her lip with a little moan when Ben’s hands came down beside hers, arms caging her in. She was easily a head shorter than him, and he let himself take the opportunity to rest his chin atop her crown and simply stare.
At the way her chest heaved, perky tits quivering.
At the way her brows pinched in want, in distress.
“Ben, I need—”
His hand dove under the skirt of her dress, fingers tickling up the back of her thigh. Ben smiled lazily at the way Rey’s skin pebbled in the mirror’s reflection.
“Soft,” He whispered into her hair, inhaling. She smelled like violet leaf and jasmine, a bright, sweet botanical blend that slithered through his nose and settled at the base of his skull. He’d never be able to get it out of his head, would catch the scent on the wind one day and remember this night. He was sure of it.
“Ben…”
His fingers found the edge of her thong and tugged sharply to the side. The pad of his middle finger pressed in and—
“Wet,” He all but choked, burying his face in her hair, “Jesus Christ, you’re soaked.”
Rey shoved back, practically sucking him inside of her on a needy whimper. She was so small, all snug and warm around him, and Ben had the fleeting thought that she might be too snug, might not be so wanton and hungry when it came time to take more than his finger. But within moments Rey was growling cutely and fumbling for the jar of condoms next to the soap dispenser.
“Now, Ben.”
He chuckled into the curve behind her ear, secretly delighted by her huffy demands. It felt good—felt fucking fantastic—to think she might be as out of her mind as he was. He gave her earlobe a little bite, then took the condom she held up for him.
Rey watched with hooded eyes as Ben tore the wrapper with his teeth and rolled the latex down his length. Her panties were still askew, held back by the flared lips of her cunt, and wasn’t that the most beautiful thing in the history of sex? To have a woman wriggling and writhing against him, her pussy so wet and swollen for his cock? It made Ben clumsy, made him grip her hip a shade too roughly as he lined himself up. But Rey seemed to like it—she hiccupped on a pitiful, pleading moan.
“Bloody hell, just do it already—”
Ben surged forward, burying himself to the hilt. He watched, mesmerized, as Rey’s jaw dropped on a perfect ‘O’ and her hazel eyes blew wide.
Fuck. Motherfucker. Fucking—
“Dammit, goddamn – ” Ben gnashed his teeth, chin dropping to his chest to watch his dick slide in and out. “Your pussy is…”
Divine.
Exquisite.
Hot and slick and so completely—
“What?” Rey gasped, head lolling on his next thrust, “My pussy is what?”
“Tight. You’re so goddamn tight I’m gonna lose it.”
Rey trembled bodily, meeting his next thrust with enough force that their skin slapped. It was a wicked sound, a sharp clap of flesh on flesh that left no doubt as to what this was.
A sweaty, dirty fuck between strangers.
“God,” She sighed, head hanging and shoulders bunched. Ben brushed aside her chestnut hair, baring her slender neck for his teeth. Her pussy clenched at that, and they both groaned on the next thrust.
“Oh!” Her neck snapped back, throat arched and jaw slack as he hit her at the top of her channel, the head of his dick dragging sharply across her g-spot. “Oh, that…fuck—"
Ben palmed her shoulder for leverage and gave a series of firm, steady thrusts. Rey met each one with tight pants, and Ben watched, completely mesmerized, as her face twisted in the mirror.
“Like that?” His voice was gravel, rumbling and foreign to his own ears.
“Just like that, just – hah!” She shivered against him, one shaky hand reaching back to close over the top of his. He gripped her waist in a punishing hold, and it sent a dark and terrible thrill through him to think she might wake up tomorrow with bruises on her tan, freckled skin.
He squeezed harder.
Rey dropped to her elbows, pushing back into him, and Ben wasn’t going to last. Not when her dress was bunched around her hips, peachy ass upturned and spread slightly. Some utterly unexpected urge seized him, and before he could think his thumb curled under the string of her thong. He yanked it up, scissoring the fabric between her cheeks, and Rey moaned so loud Ben was sure their friends could hear it. Which shouldn’t have pleased him, but did.
Rey’s cheek dropped to her forearm, mouth open over her wrist. She began a steady chant of his name, her cute accent curling reverently around the one syllable.
Ben.
Ben.
Ben.
Ben—
“Yes!” She cried, breathless and thankful, as he shoved the hand that wasn’t twisted in lace down the front of her thong, fingers fumbling for her clit. Ben cursed sharply at the feel of her, all sopping and puffy beneath his touch, and it only took a few arhythmic passes over that stiff, hot bundle of nerves before Rey’s eyes were flashing wide and she was coming all. Over. His. Cock.
“Beeeeeeeennnnnn,” She whined high and long, a plaintive, reedy sound that morphed into a low, relieved moan. It was that sound of utter gratitude that pushed Ben past his limits.
“Fuck, fuck, holy – ” Ben bared his teeth against her shoulder blade, practically folding over Rey as he came hot and hard inside of her. It was shockingly, unsettling good, and for a moment a tiny flare of panic lit the base of his spine.
Sex shouldn’t be this good.
Not the first time.
Not with a fucking stranger.
But then the dopamine hit, and Ben was helpless to do more than gasp against the thin strap of Rey’s red dress, hands running up her sides to palm her ribcage, just beneath the underside of her tits. They were both panting, ragged breaths harmonizing as Ben thrust lazily, drawing out the moment.
Perfect.
It was fucking—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Open up, man!” A garbled, drunken voice rang out beyond the door, “I’m about to piss my pants!”
Ben growled in the back of his throat, straightening. He opened his mouth to tell the rando on the other side to kick rocks, but Rey was already shifting beneath him. He hissed as his dick—still twitching, still surprisingly hard—slipped for her glorious heat. He looked down to catch the faintest dribble of her own cum sliding down the lips of her cunt. He had to resist the urge to catch it with his fingertip and massage it into her skin.
“Wow, that was – ” Rey huffed a little laugh, turning to Ben with brows raised and eyes wide. “Bravo, sir.”
Ben’s lips twitched upward as he tied off the condom and tossed it into the trash, bleary eyes mapping her face. Rey fixed her dress while Ben zipped himself back into his pants, and for a moment, they just stood there, staring. The silence that settled between them was unexpectedly comfortable, each taking their time to memorize the other, to snap a picture of this moment and frame it in their minds—
“Get a fucking room, assholes!”
Rey snickered, eyes flickering to the door before finding Ben’s again. “Well, this was fun.”
“Yeah, I—”
Ben stepped forward, but Rey was already turning towards the door. He watched, torn as to whether he should ask for her number, when Rey paused mid-stride and turned back to him.
“What—”
Her hand slid down her front, fingers finding the hem of her dress and diving under. At first, she appeared to simply be adjusting her underwear, but when she brought her hand back under the light Ben noticed the pearly drop of her cum glistening on her forefinger.
His eyes drooped as she stuck her finger in her mouth and sucked.
“Jesus—”
Rey smiled, all rumpled and freshly fucked, before grabbing the doorknob.
“Have a good night.”
Ben stood there for some time, ignoring the drunk college bro who clipped him with an angry shoulder on his way to the stall. He stared at the floor, stared at the sink, stared at the mirror, and battled the fog of liquor and post-sex endorphin rush.
He wanted to remember this night. When he was sitting at his desk, reading mediocre book proposals and fielding acquisition emails and scrolling mindlessly through his calendar in search of one fucking hour of free time. When he was lying on his couch in his Georgetown flat, staring at a black TV screen with a cup of tepid tea sitting on the coffee table, mocking him and his dumb little life.
He wanted to close his eyes and see her, head thrown back and jaw slack as he fed her kisses and gripping hands and his dick sliding in and out—
Ben shoved out of the bathroom and stumbled back into the bar. The girls were already gone.
It was better this way, he reasoned as the boys clapped his shoulder and gave him conspiratorial winks. It was better this way, he thought as they spilled out onto the midnight streets, the crisp fall air hitting his sweaty face. It was better this way, he assured himself as he shouldered his way into his apartment, toeing off his sneakers and dropping his jacket on the floor.
Better, he repeated, faceplanting on the extra-long, extra-deep sectional in his living room. A perfect night, forever burned into his brain. A perfect night with a perfect woman, brilliant and fleeting and wholly impossible to repeat.
I’ll never see her again, he mused, oddly comforted by the thought. It didn’t bother him the next morning, when he woke up with a splitting headache and a sore back, his mouth tasting like stale tequila and terrible choices. Not even when he went to shower and found his shoulders covered in thin little scratches, like he’d been clawed by a cat.
I’ll never see her again, and that’s for the best.
Because it was perfect, irreplicable. A once-in-a-lifetime encounter.
Ben spent the rest of his weekend catching up on chores and running in the park and playing poker with the boys. He saved his thoughts of Rey for the night, lying in his bed with his hand in his boxers and his head pleasantly empty. That’s where he would meet her, he thought. In the warm, dark crush of his midnight fantasies. That’s where they would stay—two strangers lost in the city, specters of a single, immaculate moment.
*****
And then Ben went to work on Monday and met Poe’s new editorial assistant.