The Whys of Us

tomorrow is the last chapter for this part! and then we move to part 7. :) :) :) (there are a total of 46 chapters!)

warning: sexual themes, use of the safeword, MILD degradation!

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Andy's senior year begins immediately with thesis.

She and Johann are partners, and Andy is relieved—Johann is a great friend, and she's not uncomfortable or shy around him, and they'll have fun (dying together) working on their thesis. Andy imagines that it won't be that bad. Truthfully, she's a little excited—a bit worried about the workload and the busy schedule, having to juggle school and Baked!, but excited, nonetheless.

Rhysand is a rising producer, with his name in newspapers and interviews, and he's working on an album again—the artist's, the one he worked a month for abroad. He's busy, and he has other tracks to work on for other musicians, and people are waiting for his next big project, but Andy can tell he loves his job. He loves creating and touching music—Andy just needs to remind herself of this. She's not second to Rhysand's work.

Rhysand makes time to visit her at school with a lollipop in his mouth during her lunch hours, just so he can see her for a little while because he knows he's going home late. Rhysand slips tissue papers in between her notebooks with unfinished but lovely lyrics on them, a note of have a good day in school, baby :). Rhysand still forces the milk into the refrigerator even though it doesn't fit (Jenner has had to change shirts multiple times, and he's pissed off), and he slow dances with Andy in the kitchen even though he's forced to, and Andy steps all over his slippers, but he's smiling and kissing her forehead and the pancakes in the stove burn.

On a particularly cold night, on his bed, Andy misses him. He's working late—he already told her this, assured her he'd eaten already, and that he'll come home as soon as he can, but there's a stir in her lower belly, and she can't wait anymore, so she takes a picture and sends it to him.

Rhysand calls her.

Andy, face heating, answers. "Hi."

"Feeling needy, sunshine?"

Andy bites her lip.

Rhysand hums. "Me fucking you last night wasn't enough?"

Andy closes her eyes in embarrassment but makes a sound of acknowledgement. Her skin feels like it's on fire. "Need you now," she mutters.

Rhysand groans, and then she hears him fumbling with his jeans, and then filthy words come out of his mouth and Andy touches her skin with her fingers, Rhysand's voice in her ear.

She loves Rhysand's voice. She'll never get tired of his voice, she wants it forever.

This is what's on her mind when the pleasure gets too much, and she hears Rhysand on the other end of the line, grunting and panting and saying her name, and Andy loves the fact that she's the only one who can hear him like this. Make him feel like this.

When he gets home, he presses Andy's face into the pillows, and he paints her body with his lips, sucking red on the lightness of her skin, and Andy goes to school with a scarf around her neck and soreness all over her limbs.

Andy visits MJ with a box of cheese tarts, and MJ rants to her about her work in her family's business, and then they make a plan to visit Sabina together this week. She sees a lot of her other friends, too—Kat, Piper and Sam, even Bash. Since last semester, he's kept his promise—friends, nothing more. He's not going to make a move again, and Andy is glad.

She's studying with Johann, beginning work on their thesis, when Erika calls her. It's not her shift for another hour, but her boss says they need the extra hands, and for someone to train the new guy coming in. Andy packs up her things, and Johann waves her away, says he'll message her instead.