Original Sin

“Yes, I got the tickets,” Sin rolled her eyes as she spoke into her cell phone, but she couldn’t help but smile. “I said I’d go and meet your family, and I am going to do just that. I don’t back out on promises. Even when they’re for horrible fucking ideas, like this one.”

“I didn’t think you would back out,” Eddie replied to Sin. “I just thought… well, that you’d back out.”

”That made no sense,” Sin chuckled as she walked into her apartment building. “But either way, I have the tickets. In ten days, you and I will be in the middle of hayfields and cow pastures with your family, and the townsfolk can chase me into a castle and burn it down in effigy to my evilness.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Eddie laughed. “Anyway, is it still okay if I come by after my study session tonight? It’s going to be pretty late.”

“I’ll be pissed if you don’t,” Sin grinned to herself as she took her mail out of the mailbox in the lobby. “I haven’t seen you in two days.”

“I wasn’t the one partying it up with models and magazine types for the last two nights,” Eddie reminded Sin. “I’ve been home, all alone, pitifully-”

“Playing with yourself?” Sin interjected teasingly. “Well, just so you know, that shoot was miserable for me, and I missed you a lot. I can’t wait for you to come over tonight.”

“I’m glad,” Eddie stopped joking, loving anytime that Sin was uncharacteristically sweet, like she had just been. “I’ll make sure I’m no later than eleven.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Sin promised. “See you then.”

Just as Sin flipped her cell phone closed, she turned the corner of the hallway towards her apartment and jumped a little to find herself face-to-face with Zip. “Fuck,” she exclaimed, dropping the mail she had just gathered.

“Sorry,” Zip dropped down to his knees to help her pick up the papers she had dropped. “I just stopped by to see if you were home. I didn’t mean to freak you out.” Rising and taking the mail Zip handed to her, Sin looked at him suspiciously, but said nothing. “So that was the guy?” Zip continued, motioning towards Sin’s phone. “I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything. I just couldn’t help but overhear you. So I guess you two are still going strong?”

Unsure if she was filling with annoyance or pity, Sin just nodded. “We are,” she finally said. “Almost two months now.”

”And you’re going to meet his family?” Zip followed Sin to her door as she pulled out her keys and began unlocking it.

Letting herself into the apartment, Sin motioned for Zip to follow her as she put the mail and her keys down on the end table. “Not that it’s any of your business,” she said pointedly, crossing her arms defensively across her chest. “But yes. We’re flying out to Ohio in a couple weeks.”

“Ohio?” Zip asked with such surprise, Sin might as well have said Mars. “You’re going out with a guy from Ohio?”

Grinding her teeth in irritation, Sin didn’t respond. Instead, she walked into the kitchen and straight for the fridge, pulling out two beers. She wasn’t surprised when she turned around and found Zip standing in the kitchen entranceway. Holding out a bottle to him, she then took a seat at the kitchen table. “Yes, I’m dating a guy from Ohio. Again, none of your fucking business.” Removing the cap, Sin took a sip of her beer. “So, what are you doing here, anyway? I thought, when you left, we had an understanding…”

“We do,” Zip tried to insist, sitting across from Sin. “I’m sorry; I was being a dick. I guess I was just surprised. Anyway, we got back from tour yesterday. I was over at a record store on Bleeker, and thought I might as well pop in while I was nearby, to see how you’re doing. Friends can do that, right?”

Looking at Zip warily, Sin tried to read him, but – as usual – his expression and body language gave absolutely nothing away. “Sure,” Sin said, her mistrust evident in her voice. “So, anyway, how did the rest of tour go?”

“Great,” Zip leaned back in the chair and gave Sin one of his usual cocky grins, making her feel more at ease. “The crowds were awesome, the reviews were mostly favorable, the venues didn’t suck for the most part, and the girls were just so-”

“I don’t need to hear it,” Sin laughed, suddenly feeling more comfortable. If Zip was joking about groupies, than maybe he really had just stopped by the apartment as a friend. “I know more about your sex life already than any one person should. I need no more stories, thanks.”

Grinning wickedly, Zip leaned forward. “Yes, and you also have firsthand experience, to boot,” his dark eyes danced, even more so when he noted a slight flush in Sin’s cheeks at his words. Laughing, he shook his head. “I’m just fucking with you. No, things were great, but it feels so good to be back. So how have you been? How’s work been going?”

Sin was grateful that her conversation with Zip was turning out to be easier than she had originally expected. They spent the next hour talking and laughing, catching each other up on their lives. They were having such a good time, they each consumed three beers in the short time they were speaking, only adding to the camaraderie. The only subject that now seemed to be conspicuously set aside was Sin’s relationship.

”So,” Zip leaned forward as their conversation began to wind down. “Now that you see I’m not quite the dickhead I used to be, does that mean I get to meet the new boyfriend anytime soon?”

“I have no intention of you spending any amount of time with Eddie,” Sin told Zip with a smirk, mentioning Eddie’s name for the first time. “But you have already met him.”

“Eddie from Idaho?”

“Ohio,” Sin rolled her eyes.

“I know an Eddie from Ohio?” Zip seemed to be wracking his brain. Suddenly, realization dawned on him. “Not that preppy kid that was friends with Lianna? You’re shitting me.”

“That’s exactly who he is,” Sin was suddenly defensive. “And he’s not just some preppy kid. He’s really smart and cool, and he treats me incredibly well.” Her last statement was pointed, to let Zip know that she was making clear that Eddie treated her incredibly well compared to how OTHER guys had treated her in the past.

“You guys are too different,” Zip said, a calm, impassive expression on his face. “I’m not denying he’s a nice guy, but you guys will never work. You don’t have anything in common.”

“Fuck you,” Sin felt her body suddenly surge with anger, and she rose from the table, hating that she felt herself sway slightly from the alcohol she had consumed. “You’ve met him, what, three, four times? You don’t know a fucking thing about Eddie. And now that I think about it, you barely know anything about me.”

Rising to face Sin, Zip kept his poker face on as he looked at her. “I know you,” he said in a smooth voice. “I know how wild and unbridled you are. Sure, this kid may make you feel good for a while, but it’s not going to last. You’re going to get bored, and you know it. I just hope for his sake you do it sooner than later, so he doesn’t get too attached.”

“Stop calling him a fucking kid,” Sin was seething at this point. “His name is Eddie, and he’s the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. He makes me happy.”

“For now,” Zip said, seemingly unaffected by Sin’s anger. “What about the future? Are you going to get married and move to Illinois or wherever the fuck he’s from and have babies and live in a little house and go to PTA meetings? Because that’s what he’s going to want.”

Sin was about to yell – once again – that Eddie was from Ohio, but she faltered when Zip took one big step towards her. From this proximity, Sin had to look up to glare at him, and hated that her heart was beating hard in her chest as she did. Her mind had suddenly blanked, and she said the only thing she could think of. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, I do,” Zip replied calmly with all the arrogance and cockiness Sin had grown accustomed to in the years she had known him. And though she would die before admitting it to anyone else, Sin knew that egotism was one of the things that had attracted her to Zip in the first place.

“You and I are perfect together,” Zip’s voice dropped an octave as he looked down into Sin’s eyes. “You and I – we make sense. We like the same things; we want the same things. You and he – you guys DON’T make sense. Can’t you see that?”

“That’s not true,” Sin denied.

“I want to kiss you,” Zip said simply.

“No fucking way,” Sin took a step back immediately, but Zip reached for her shoulders and looked into her face.

“If what you guys have is so real,” Zip raised his eyebrows, showing his skepticism. “Than one kiss isn’t going to affect that. Come on, if you can kiss me and then tell me that you feel the same chemistry with this kid- with Eddie as you do with me, than I’m gone. Done. Finito.”

Looking up into Zip’s intense stare, Sin felt her throat go dry. All the bits and pieces of what Zip had just said to her about her relationship with Eddie began flying through her head. What would happen to her and Eddie in the future? Could they ever meld what each person wanted out of life without one person having to give up more than the other? Would they be able to make it work?

Suddenly, though, a picture of Eddie came into Sin’s mind, and she immediately shook herself from Zip’s grip. “I have nothing to prove to you,” she glared at Zip. “I’m not going to kiss you, to betray Eddie, just to prove something to you. I don’t owe you anything. Besides, you’ll never understand what it means to truly care for someone, even if caring about them means life will be more complicated than the fucked up mess it already is.”

Taking a step back, an atypical look of shock passed over Zip’s face. It was clear he had not expected this reaction. “Shit,” he suddenly looked surprisingly sad. “I guess you don’t get it. I guess you’re going to have to find out for yourself that this sort of arrangement never works.”

”How the fuck would you know?” Sin put her hands on her hips, suddenly feeling more in control of the situation. “You have never had a relationship that lasted longer than a day.”

“That’s not true,” Zip denied Sin’s statement. “You and I-”

“You and I fucked,” Sin cut Zip off. “End of story.”

The look of hurt that passed over Zip’s face took Sin by surprise, but she tried to hide that fact. Instead, she just watched as he shook his head. “If that’s what you think,” Zip looked at Sin. “After everything we’ve talked about since you got back to New York, than I guess I should get out of here.”

“I guess so,” Sin crossed her arms over her chest again, but knew her voice had gotten softer. It was just so strange to see Zip actually seem to be feeling something real, especially considering how he spent most of his time making sure his emotions were indecipherable to the outside world.

Shrugging, Zip looked at the floor. “Whatever you have going on with Eddie,” he concluded the conversation. “I just hope he cares as much about you as I do. Because, despite the fact that you deny it, I’m in love with you.” With that, he turned his back on Sin and walked out of the kitchen and out the apartment door.

Chewing on her bottom lip, Sin had tears of anger and confusion in her eyes. She was glad she hadn’t been dumb enough to let Zip kiss her, but after hearing him speak, she wasn’t so sure that he didn’t actually mean what he said about his feelings for her. More than that, though, he had reawakened a fear in Sin that she had felt many times since she and Eddie had gotten together.

Were they too different to make it?

-----

“Hey sexy,” Eddie leaned over the back of the couch and kissed Sin’s forehead gently.

Looking up from the television screen, Sin felt her heart flutter as she looked up into Eddie’s caring eyes. “Hey,” she smiled at him. “I was waiting for you.” What she didn’t mention was that the last few hours had been excruciating for her, as she had spent the entire time worrying about their future.

Moving around the couch, Eddie took a seat beside Sin. “God, it’s so strange,” he shook his head in amazement as he put his arm around her. “I can’t believe you were only gone for two days; I still missed you so much.”

Reaching up to touch Eddie’s face, Sin felt a wave of guilt pass through her body. How could she ever doubt anything about this man? Every time he looked at her, she felt like he was seeing something no one else had ever seen – something good, something beautiful, something he wanted by his side. “I missed you, too,” Sin replied softly, moving her face to his as her eyes closed.

As Eddie felt Sin’s lips capture his, he let himself fall into the moment. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he told Sin that he couldn’t believe she was gone for such a short period of time. Since they had gotten together, they hadn’t been apart more than twenty-fours until now. Realizing how much he adored being with her only made Eddie more aware of how deep his feelings for Sin were beginning to run.

Hating herself for letting Zip’s comments earlier get to her, Sin wanted to get lost in being close to Eddie. Never breaking their ever-intensifying kiss, she slid herself seamlessly into his lap. As she ran her hands eagerly over his chest, she was rewarded by Eddie’s hands descending beneath the hem of her t-shirt to feel the skin on her lower back. The feeling of his fingers tracing over her muscles sent a shiver down Sin’s spine.

Moving his hands across Sin’s back, Eddie felt desire growing throughout his body. Finally breaking their kiss, his mouth moved down across Sin’s jaw line and to her throat. As she let out a soft moan in response, Eddie released a contented sigh before paying great care to the delicate skin of her neck. As he did, he began to feel Sin unbuttoning the front of his shirt and finally sliding her hands over his bare chest.

Suddenly filled with a need to feel Sin’s skin against his, Eddie reached down and helped her pull her shirt over her head. As he reached back and unsnapped her bra, he looked up into her eyes. “You are so amazing,” he whispered to her, sliding his hands up to her shoulders and pushing the straps of black satin down the lengths of her arms.

Tossing her bra haphazardly to the side, Sin took Eddie’s face in her hands and studied the golden flecks in his eyes. “I was about to say the same thing to you,” she told him before closing her eyes and tilting her head to seize another kiss from Eddie’s lips, teasingly pressing her chest against his and then pulling back again.

Letting out a soft groan against her mouth as he felt Sin pull his lower lip seductively between her teeth, Eddie reached up with one hand and began knowingly kneading her breast. His hands whispered over the soft fullness before he allowed his fingers to tease over her hardening nipple. At the touch, Sin jumped slightly and pulled back from his mouth, giving Eddie the opportunity to lower his head and capture her other nipple between his lips.

Her breath growing short, Sin began pressing down against the hardness she felt growing in Eddie’s pants. As she did, Eddie released her breast from his hand and reached down for the button of Sin’s jeans. To his surprise, she immediately pulled back, and without even having to think, Eddie released her. “Are you okay?” he asked, pure concern in his eyes. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Sin shook her head, her cheeks tingeing slightly pink. “No, you did everything right. It’s just… it’s, um, that time of month.”

“Oh,” Eddie looked up at Sin, his eyes betraying some disappointment, but his expression making clear that it had nothing to do with his feelings for Sin. “I mean, that’s fine.”

A smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, Sin ran one hand through Eddie’s hair, making it stand in all directions – a look she found incredibly sexy on him. “Just because I don’t want to do anything while I have my period,” she smirked at Eddie, sliding off his lap and onto her knees on the floor in front of him. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to do anything for you.”

As Sin reached for the button on Eddie’s pants, he reached forward to touch her face. “You don’t have to do that,” he said sincerely. “I can wait until you’re, you know, done.”

Tilting her head, Sin smiled up at Eddie. “Do me a favor?” she asked him in a gentle voice.

“Anything,” Eddie promised blindly.

“Just shut the fuck up, and enjoy this.” With that, Sin pulled down the fly on Eddie’s pants and slid one hand below the waistband of his boxers, eliciting a surprised groan as he felt her fingers graze his erection. Chuckling softly, Sin looked up into Eddie’s appreciative expression again. “Here, let’s get these off you.”

Eddie put up no further argument as he raised his hips to allow Sin to pull his pants and boxers down his legs and off before she settled herself between his thighs. Nipping playfully at his inner thigh, Sin grinned up at Eddie when he jumped. Taking his length in her hand, she slowly began stroking him, watching his expression as it moved from desire to longing to pleasure, until finally he slid one hand loosely into Sin’s hair and closed his eyes.

With no other man had Sin ever enjoyed doing this quite as much. Maybe it was because Eddie never asked for it; maybe it was because he was always so attentive to her body; or maybe there was some other deeper, more intimate meaning that Sin hadn’t quite figured out yet. Whatever the reason, when Sin leaned forward and ran her tongue over the length of Eddie’s hardness from its head to its base, bringing forth a sigh from him, she was sure she was taking almost as much pleasure in this as he was.

Running her tongue over the tip of Eddie’s erection, Sin licked off a drop of pre-cum before lowering her head enough to take the head into her mouth. Swirling her tongue around in circles, she closed her eyes and reveled in listening as Eddie’s breathing began to intensify. Then slowly – torturously slowly – Sin finally began taking his full length into her mouth, making sure her tongue kept contact with the entirety of the underside of his erection as she took it in.

Biting on his lower lip, Eddie opened his eyes and looked down in time to see Sin take as much of him in as her mouth would allow before firming her lips around him and moving back up just as slowly. It was about the most erotic sight he had ever seen, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Moving back down, Sin began increasing her speed as she pulled Eddie into her mouth again, making sure to apply just the right amount of pressure and move her tongue in such a way that it caused him to let out a soft moan. She could feel his fingers in her hair, massaging her scalp but not pushing her down at all. She decided it was time to reward his patience.

“Oh, God,” Eddie whispered, still watching Sin as she began moving at a fairly fast pace, her mouth causing unequaled pleasure to move through his body. Her eyes were still closed, but one hand had reached up to gently take Eddie’s balls in her grip. Massaging them carefully, Sin finally opened her eyes to look up and see Eddie’s expression. His lids were half closed, but it was clear he was watching her. He was grinding his teeth, stopping every few moments only to let out a groan or struggle out a few broken words. After several minutes, Sin finally began to feel the muscles of his thighs tensing and his balls growing harder in her hands.

The ache was getting so intense, Eddie had to close his eyes again. He realized his hips were beginning to rock involuntarily in time to Sin’s movements, and suddenly he heard himself let out a shuttered cry of Sin’s name as shockwaves began in his balls, moved intensely over his hardness, and finally distribute through his body as he came into Sin’s mouth.

Making sure she took him as deeply as she could into her mouth as he began to come, Sin felt Eddie’s hot liquid covering her tongue in several short bursts. As they finally subsided and she began to feel the muscles of his thighs relax some, Sin carefully pulled back, finally releasing him from her mouth.

Trying to catch his breath, Eddie didn’t move as Sin rose from the floor and took a seat beside him on the couch. When he felt her curl up against his side, though, her head resting on his shoulder, he looked down at her satisfied expression. “Was that good?” Sin asked Eddie with a smirk.

“That was so much more than good,” Eddie said, his speech still broken as he reached for Sin’s face and slid some loose hairs behind her ear. “Seriously, you can tell me to shut the fuck up anytime you want to.”

Letting out a soft laugh, Sin pressed her cheek to Eddie’s chest. “I’m glad you enjoyed it,” she said honestly as she felt him begin running his hand tenderly over her bare back. “I actually like doing nice things for you sometimes, believe it or not.”

Sliding one finger under Sin’s chin, Eddie tilted her face up so he could look into her grey eyes. “You really are amazing,” he repeated his sentiment from earlier. “I mean that.”

Pressing her lips softly to Eddie’s for a moment, Sin pulled back and smiled at him. “That’s fine,” she told him. “But don’t go spreading that around. It could ruin my reputation as a bad-ass.”

----

After an hour of cuddling on the couch, Sin and Eddie finally turned in to bed. “I’m really excited about you coming to Ohio,” Eddie told her as he wrapped himself around Sin and pulled the covers over them. “I really want you to meet my parents.”

Ohio had been the one topic Sin had been careful to avoid since Eddie had arrived at the apartment, but there was no way to continue circumventing it now. “You’re sure this is a good idea?” she asked softly, her words almost lost as she buried her face into Eddie’s chest.

“Not again,” Eddie groaned good-naturedly. “For the millionth time, my parents are going to love you, Sin. And my little sister is probably going to get a major case of hero worship. It’ll be great.”

Biting her lip, Sin couldn’t help thinking about some of the things Zip had said to her earlier that afternoon. “So, do you,” Sin paused, trying to figure out how to word what she wanted to ask. “Do you, um, miss being there?”

“I miss my family,” Eddie replied immediately. “And I miss Meredith, and a few other friends. But do I miss living there? No.”

Sighing with contentment, Sin nodded against Eddie’s chest. “I was just wondering,” she told him.

”Of course,” Eddie added as an afterthought. “I am so glad I grew up there. I really think it is a terrific place for kids.”

Freezing slightly, Sin didn’t know how to respond. Did this mean Eddie wanted to go back to Ohio when he had kids? Hell, did Sin even want to have kids? If and when the situation ever occurred between her and Eddie, would he expect her to do all the things Zip had said Eddie would expect – small town, minivan, PTA?

“Well, I’m bushed,” Eddie whispered into Sin’s hair, kissing the top of her head softly. “I’m going to go to sleep.”

“Okay,” Sin said weakly. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, babe,” Eddie said contentedly. Within a minute, Sin felt his breathing begin to even off below her head, and she knew he had fallen asleep. Sin, however, couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. All she could do was worry that maybe Zip had been right about the fact that she and Eddie weren’t meant to be together in the long run.

-----

THANK YOU TO ALL THE READERS AND REVIEWERS. I KNOW IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I’VE WRITTEN, BUT REAL LIFE JUST SEEMS TO KEEP GETTING IN THE WAY! YOU ALL HAVE MY SINCEREST APOLOGIES. IN THE MEANTIME, I’D LIKE TO RESPOND TO A COUPLE REVIEWERS:

FOAMYFAN15010: SIN’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ALLIE WAS IN MY HEAD SINCE I STARTED THIS STORY, SO MAYBE THAT’S WHY YOU’RE NOT SURPRISED BY IT.

CARIAD: THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL LET YOU KNOW WHETHER YOU WERE RIGHT TO HAVE RESERVATIONS ABOUT THE VISIT TO OHIO.

THANKS ALSO TO IOTC247, CARIAD, WOLF, EBONI, MIZTIKAL_DRAGON, NISH, ADAEE, AND MISSHOLLIEMAE (WHO I THANK FOR LETTING ME KNOW YOU’RE STILL READING) FOR TAKING THE TIME TO REVIEW. IT MEANS A LOT!