Pressed for Time by Twanza and Chele681

Official Description: Is it possible to fall in love in five minutes? “He showed me what he was reading and, accidentally, I think he may have shown me his soul” BxE AH
Word Count: 37,362

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Words cannot express how much I love this story. I can promise you one thing, though – you’ve never read anything like this.

Edward hates this job.

I was just back from another suck ass client meeting, and the email in front of me already indicated the changes that needed to be made for a presentation in the morning. I thought of the work that needed to get done between now and then. I could dive in now, work late, and maybe have a bit of the evening to myself. Or I could fuck off, give up the evening, probably most of the early morning, and get the work done later.

Times like these called for the creation of a personal mantra.

Please fire me.

He’s not what you would call “happy” in his marriage.

I followed Tanya blindly as she led me around by the nose. I went through the motions of what everyone expected of me, versus what I wanted to do, and achieved the perfect work/life balance. Both sucked. In balance.

Then one day, he goes into the sex toy shop, mentally daring himself to actually buy a toy for Tanya he could have otherwise found online, and he decides, on a whim built of boredom and complacency, to check out a peep show.

Hang with me here, folks, I told you you’d never read anything like this. Of course, who do we find behind the glass but dear Bella. She’s young and gothic, rocking the punk princess look with gobs of dark make-up and crazy clothing. But they make a connection. There’s something sexual between them, but it’s more than that that keeps Edward going back time after time and pouring his money into a few silent, fleeting moments with the mystery, mysterious girl. They read together. They communicate with gestures and looks. And yes, there are some…lascivious moments as well.

She’s the only thing that gives him any sense of happiness or hope in his ho-hum life.

She didn’t always strip, and sometimes we just read together, hanging out like we were in her living room. And she knew how to touch herself, not simply because it was required of our transaction, but because she fucking knew how I wanted to touch her. And that’s what it was. But one day, after a spectacularly bad week of presentations and criticisms, of listening to Tanya make mind-numbingly boring plans for our future, I went back to the shop, desperate to see her.

When she disappears from the shop, there is a tangible sense of loss you feel through Edward’s attitude. That is, until he and Tanya return home for Easter and discover that there is a new sign language interpreter at the church.

In a scandalous and desperate encounter, they finally have their moment, only to turn around and return to their charade, where Edward learns a surprising truth about Bella. But now their lives have woven together in a new way, and he is determined to seek her out…at nearly any cost.

The story is dark, and at many points, quite sad. But it’s laced with a unique brand of humor that only Twanza and Chele681 can pull off, and it turns into this weird, crazy, addictive journey for Edward to figure out what he truly wants in his life and weed through all the little bits and pieces that make up the young woman who intrigues him and has completely consumed his mind. It’s erotic, it’s heartbreaking, it’s hilarious, but most of all, it’s incredible to watch this unhappy man finally straighten his shit out and go after was he wants. They’re both weighed down by something heavy, but together, they find a sense of symbiosis and a way to suture their lives back into place.

This is most certainly not you’re average E/B story, but gawwwwwwd is it brilliantly written. Go now, my pets. Enjoy this smart, deep read. <3

First. I want to apologize for not having a guest reviewer for this amazing fic. It’s totally my fault and I mixed up the dates. But after reading Dulci’s awesome review, I realize you don’t need anyone else’s recommendation. Imma throw mine in anyway.

Though this is the first thing I’ve read by chele681 (I think), she’s a peach. And I love the way twanza writes–so much so that I’m always pouting and being whiney about her writing Jasperella when I’m an ExB girl. Imagine the elation I felt when I saw this.

Then I read it.

And I was shocked.

Like Dulci said, it’s unlike anything you’ve ever read. It’s hot, that’s for sure:

The stretch of her arm, the absolute lock she had on the glass, and the way she lowered her body was almost like ballet. I noticed little white scars on her arms, not needle punctures, more like tiny cuts that had long since healed. And when she stood back up, as slowly as she’d gone down, I saw another thin white scar on her throat. I swallowed, feeling tender and inflamed at the same time. She pressed her other hand up against the glass. I put my hand on her breast as she flattened against the transparent wall. I imagined her heat through the chill.

She never took off more than her top, and I would have tried to stop her if she had, but I put my other hand against her chest, the hard flat surface a welcome barrier. This was more intense than feeling her skin and both of us were aroused. Our bodies moved together, pressing and touching. I ran my hand up and down her thigh and she put her forehead against the glass, and though her mouth never touched it, her breath steamed the surface between us.

I ran my hand down the glass them from her chest down to her thigh, leaving a trail of moist fingerprints that evaporated almost as soon as they appeared. She pressed herself against the glass. I put my hand where, if I could have penetrated the barrier, it would have rested firmly between her legs, following her heat, encouraging it. I remembered that glass was the liquid form of sand, and I wanted the heat of her body to turn it molten so that I could slip inside.

She put her hand where I’d pressed my dick against the wall and her other hand against herself, stroking with her palm. I wanted to watch her come, though I didn’t want her to watch me come unless I was actually holding her. I felt so intensely erect. I wanted her to stop, but it became urgent. I needed her to finish.

God I needed her to come.

It’s so much more than that, though.

“When the baby comes you’re not going to be able to simply pick up and go whenever you want.”

“What the fuck? This is for work. You’re not even pregnant.”

“We’ve been married for three years,” she said, finally looking at me. “My sisters’ kids are going to be so much older than mine.”

“I didn’t know it was a competition.”

“If you bring in new business, you should get a piece of it. If the company doesn’t appreciate what you’re doing for them, you should take Mike’s account and -”

“Tanya, I just walked in the fucking door.”

“Victoria’s husband is already a VP and Heidi’s fiancé just made junior partner at -”

“Maybe you should marry Heidi’s fiancé. You have a much nicer ass and I’m pretty sure he’d be willing to be convinced. In fact…” I flipped open my phone again and scrolled to his name. “Here’s his number, I’m forwarding it to you.”

“You’re an asshole when you’re drunk.”

“You’re an asshole when you’re not drunk.”

I have no idea what’s going to happen. No idea what I think will happen. I just hope what I want to happen does. *grin* Definitely check out Pressed for Time. It’s a must read.