Sanding With Subaru
"Are we done for the day yet? There's still plenty of time tomorrow."
"No."
You don't even look over at her as you respond, since she's working behind you and you don't have the energy to twist your body around all the way right now. Besides, you're focused on sanding your own board.
"Can't we at least take a break? Just a little one? Come on!"
You answer that one with a negative as well, but you sigh a little as you do. Honestly, you half agree with her. You've been at this for days and are starting to get really tired of it. It's hot out, the sun is bright, and you're so drenched in sweat you almost wonder if you could wring out your shirt. But your deck isn't going to refinish itself, so here you are. Subaru's increasingly frequent complaints aren't helping things either, as every time she mentions wanting to take a break it reminds you how much you wish you could do the same.
Your girlfriend's frustration is understandable. She took almost an entire week off work, excited to stay over at your place, go on a few dates, cook for each other, snuggle up on the couch watching superhero films together, all that fun stuff. Instead, you conscripted her into helping you refinish your backyard deck. Two days ago, when she first came over, you spent most of the afternoon removing all the outdoor furniture and other assorted odds-and-ends that had somehow accumulated on the deck over the years. The day after that was washing it, and man do you ever wish you had washed it more frequently since some of that dirt was seriously ground-in. You'd played around a little during that step, spraying each other with the hose, but Subaru seems to have forgotten THAT break already. Probably for the best, since proof that breaks are possible would just give her more ammunition to argue for another one.
You repeat yourself for what feels like the third or fourth time today. "I already told you. Sanding takes a while, then I need to apply the stain, and that needs to dry, and it can't rain during all of this or the whole thing gets messed up. It's rare to get this many completely dry days in a row around here and I don't want to miss my chance. I'm sorry. I really am. But sometimes luck just turns out that way. Besides, aren't you enjoying the fun outdoor bonding activities?"
"This doesn't count! It's not fun at all! I've just been staring at boards of wood for hours while I slowly melt into a puddle!"
Okay, even you knew that last attempt was a bit weak. You've known her for years and she's always been a bit of a tomboy, someone who enjoyed a lot of physical activity and didn't pass up the chance to play around outdoors. But playing around is very different from hard work under a blazing sun, and her preferred types of physical activity took place not on a deck but on a sports court, or in the bedroom. The apology earlier wasn't just to placate her either; you truly do feel bad about the way this all turned out. You're not forcing her to work alongside you or anything, but her other option is lounging around your house alone which is hardly any better.
A small noise from behind you jolts you out of your thoughts, but it only takes a moment for you to realize it was Subaru tossing aside her sanding block. It's followed up by a much deeper thud that you feel through the deck itself, and you're surprised enough that you turn around. Subaru's flopped herself out on the deck, lying on her back with her legs and arms splayed out and her head tilted towards you. It's your first time stopping and looking at her since you two started today, and you can't stop your gaze from lingering a little. She's got on a pair of loose shorts and a sports bra, which makes you a little jealous that the lightest male upper body clothing is an entire t-shirt. It doesn't seem to be helping her that much though, since she's just as soaked with sweat as you are. As your eyes trace over the rest of her body, they meet hers, and you realize she's been watching you check her out. She smirks. "Hmm? Looking at something? I thought you were super busy sanding!"
You quickly look away but it's too late. She's clearly pleased to have finally gotten your attention, and half-crawls half-rolls across the deck until she's lying on her stomach right across where you were working.
"You stopped, so that means we're done for now, right? And I'm not moving until you agree with me!"
Is she a child? She keeps repeating herself along these lines and all you can think of is when you see kids throwing a tantrum, holding onto their mom's leg since they're too tired to walk around any more. You've never seen a kid get away with it, and you definitely don't want to let Subaru get away with it either.
"Strange, I could have sworn I just sanded this spot, but there's some strange debris all of a sudden... I guess it needs extra sanding!" You say, putting on the best fake clueless voice you can muster. You do want her out of the way, but that doesn't mean you can't have a little fun with it. You press down lightly on her lower back with your left hand. You're not strong enough to hold her down with one hand, but the message to stay put is clear enough. With your other hand, you push up the hem of her shorts a little and lay your sanding block on the back of her upper thigh.
"Oh noooo! I'm going to get— AECKH!" The shriek of surprise she lets out is the sort of noise you imagine a duck might make if you punched it. She was playing along at first, but was clearly not expecting you to actually sand her. You'd never want to actually hurt her, so you weren't applying any downwards force and there's no way it was painful. Nevertheless, the spot you picked is sensitive, and her expression as she swats your hand out of the way and rolls onto her back is a combination of discomfort, surprise, and annoyance.
You immediately get a bit sheepish. "Sorry, I just... I don't know. I think I'm getting worn out from this too. I guess we can take a short break, I'm ahead of schedule thanks to your help anyways."
As if just hearing about the break gave her back a ton of energy, she starts shouting. "Yay! Break time! Break time! Break time!"
You scramble to get the conditions in quick, before things get out of control. "We're taking a break, but we're not going inside, got it? I don't want my couches covered in our sweat. Besides, if we start loafing around inside I know there's no chance either of us will want to come back out to finish the work."
Subaru's enthusiasm about the break deflates instantly. "Ugh, fine. This sweat really is gross though, I was looking forward to cleaning it off."
With Subaru still lying on her back in front of you, the two of you look over her body. Her hair is glistening with sweat, her sports bra is clearly slightly damp, you can see some drops on her belly... Really it would be easier to list the places that aren't covered in sweat. Because there aren't any.
A thought comes to your mind. A crazy thought. A slightly indecent thought. A thought born of being on your third day with your girlfriend staying over and yet being too busy and tired every day to do any proper couple things. "I can help you with that part, at least."
You don't bother explaining further, instead leaning forward and running your tongue in a few quick circles around her belly button before poking it in for a bit of direct licking as well. You're rewarded with another surprised Subaru noise, but this one is mixed with a giggle.
"Wait— that's— that tickles!"
You lift your head back up and shift your body so that you're on all fours hanging over her, face-to-face. You look directly into her eyes and ask her. "Does that mean you want me to stop?"
Her face goes red and she tries but fails to keep her expression neutral. She probably thinks she's acting all tough right now but you've known her long enough to tell that she's torn between wanting you to continue but not wanting to admit it. Well, you know what she'll pick in the end so the only reason you even needed to ask the question in the first place was to see her get embarrassed. She may be a tomboy, but she's still a girl, and you just love trying to squeeze these girly moments out of her.
"...... no"
You barely hear her answer, in part because it's said so quietly but in part because you waste no time. Before the word is even fully out of her mouth, you lean in again, this time running your tongue up her neck and leaving few kisses on her ear. She lets out a soft moan that hits your ear nearly point-blank and when you lightly blow on her ear in return you can feel her squirm a little beneath you. Ah, how you've missed this. If only she'd taken her time off work next week instead. You'd love to stick around and whisper in her ear some more but you did intend for only a short break, and there's still lots of sweat to clean off, so you can't linger.
Going back down her body, you start kissing around her shoulders and collarbone while you grab her nearer hand in your own, interlocking your fingers but more importantly raising her arm up above her head. She doesn't seem to realize your plan until you start licking down the inside of her upper arm.
"You can't lick there! That spot's ticklish too!" She manages regain control of herself long enough to put together some real words. You ignore her, of course. After all, you said you'd clean her sweat, so this is one place you definitely can't skip. Plus, you bet her reaction will be great. You give her armpit a single lick, and she stifles a giggle. You quickly lick it a bit more, and this time the giggle wins. You get your lips involved as well as your tongue, and she laughs. But as you continue, and then lean over to do the same on her other armpit, the laughter gradually gives way to whimpers and moans she's doing her best to muffle.
After you've had enough fun there, you move back to her body, licking up the sweat that had been pooling at her breasts. Her sports bra is covered in sweat too but you skip that; you've never licked the feel of licking cloth, especially when you could be spending that time licking Subaru instead. You're back down to her stomach, where you started, but last time you only did her belly button so this time you make sure to carefully do everything except her belly button. Again and again, you lick across her stomach towards it, only to curve aside or stop at the last second and then begin again somewhere else. You know she's too stubborn to directly ask you to lick there when that's the spot you started and and she nearly stopped you, so you amuse yourself by looking up at her slightly disappointed expression every time you stop.
It's so cute you can't help but tease her a little more. "I see you rubbing your legs together there. Are you trying to rub off the sweat? Don't worry, I'll get it for you."
You don't give her a chance to say the real reason, moving down to her legs and starting to slowly lick upwards from her ankle. First you do the outside of her left leg, then the outside of her right leg. Next you move to the inside of her right leg, then the inside of her left. Her panting is loud enough at this point that you can hear it even from down at the other end of her body. She's also squirming around and having a hard time staying still, so you have to use both hands just to hold her legs in place. As your tongue reaches the end of its last trip up her inner thigh and you move to pull away, you suddenly feel two hands grab the back of your head and hold you in place. No, they're not just holding you, they're actually pulling you inwards.
"Subaru." You say, but she doesn't stop. She doesn't say anything, either.
"Subaru!" You put more force into this one and it snaps her out of it for a moment.
"We're outdoors, Subaru!"
"I don't—"
"My yard doesn't have a tall fence! The neighbours could be watching!"
She somehow manages to blush even harder than she's already blushing. She starts talking but you can tell her mind has not caught up with her mouth yet. "Oh, I, um, we'll go inside then. Yeah. Then you can, uh, lick off the rest of, uh, my sweat..."
In her confused and flustered state her hands slip back down to her sides and you take the opportunity to pull away and get back up.
"Didn't I make it clear at the start of the break? We're not taking our break inside. Besides, I also said it would be a short break, so we should be getting back to work. We can continue this evening, after we finish all the sanding."
You pick your sanding block back up. Subaru still hasn't moved, so for now you'll have to work somewhere else for now. But just as you turn your back to get to work again, you see Subaru reaching for her own sanding block out of the corner of your eye.
Looks like all she needed was a little motivation.