different now,
I lie back on the bed in a haze when a loud buzz, an incoming call, brings me back to focus.
“You must have known I was thinking about you,” I say, answering quickly. “What are you doing?’
“I'm actually just getting out of the shower. How are you?”
“I'm good,” I say, noticing how my heart reacted to hearing his voice. “I just laid down in bed. I figure I'll stay a week with my mother since Shana has already gone back home, and I didn't really want to be alone in the dorm tonight.”
“That's nice. How is Della?” he asks.
“She’s trying. I guess. She didn't go to work today. Said she wasn't feeling well. My dad was actually here.”
“Oh yeah. How did that go?”
“Well, I missed him. He was driving away when I pulled up. But I think he’s been taking care of her. He left a note, ran her errands, and cooked her dinner. It’s so weird. I thought about calling but…”
“I understand,” he says.
Sighing, I push a hand down my face. “I may have to anyway. My mom needs help and he seems to know more about this than I do. The idea of calling him just makes me…” My words fall away into silence.
“I know. I had words with him myself.”
“You did?”
“I did. And they weren't pretty, but I don't want to go into that. Let's talk about you lying all alone in that bed.” I sigh, releasing a breath and closing my eyes as I settle.
“Damn, I wish you were here.”
“Trust me, baby, I wish I was there too.” I take a moment to absorb just how different this is, how our conversation is the same, but different. We've always checked on each other. We talk almost every day.
“Is this weird for you?” I blurt out. I've been wondering how he feels about it. I mean, I know how I feel. But I know a part of me is a little nervous to hear his thoughts. Like if he says it's weird, then that kind of lessens the magic or something.
“Hell, no,” he answers quickly. “It’s fucking amazing.”
“Yeah.” A smile rolls on my lips and relief washes over me.
“It feels good to finally…”
“Stop pretending?” I ask, finishing his sentence.
“Exactly,” he says
“Yeah, I was just thinking that.” We let our conversation grow silent again.
“You know, the best part will be not having to act like I'm not staring at you when you get out the pool, I’m actually looking forward to it.”
I laugh. The pool?
“Yeah,” he says. “It was the hardest part. Well, that and my rule to never get in bed with you.”
“You had a rule?”
“I did. I don't know if you noticed, but even when we would hang out in your room, I would always sit down on the edge of your bed. Or if you laid across my bed, I either set in the chair or—"
“On the floor,” we say at the same time.
“Yep. Damn. I never paid that any mind. I wonder what else I was missing.”
“Probably how I could never keep my hands off of you. No matter how hard I tried,” he says.
“Now that I did notice. Because every time you touched me it drove me crazy. I had to continually remind myself that you were my friend, and it was stupid for me to be feeling these things. “
He laughs. “Fucking insane. Thank God that bullshit is over.
“Yes.”
A small tingle grows in my belly as I imagine his eyes on me. As if he can sense my reaction, he continues. Now we can do more than just watch.
“I like that,” I say.
"What else would you like, Xia?" His voice is rich and deep with a weight I've never heard. It causes the tingles in my belly to grow stronger. I hesitate, allowing the foreign tone of this conversation to sink in. It feels like a release, like the thoughts I've had about him have a stage to play on.
"Your mouth on me," I say, my soft blanket molding around my frame. Jordan exhales, releasing a throaty groan.
"You don't know how bad I want that too. To taste you right now."
My body flashes as I urge the next few words from my lips. “How would you do it?" I say, pushing my nerves aside and letting my lust for him take over. My eyes drift closed and wait for his voice.
"I’d start slowly. Tasting your lips, sucking on them.” His breaths become deeper and melt into his voice. “Then I'd move