reaching into his bag and tossing me a pair of boxer shorts.
I catch them and pull them on with a giggle.
“What?” he asks.
“I was just thinking about how I was always so jealous of the girls you were with, and how now that I’ve been with you, I know exactly how jealous I need to be.”
He smiles as he walks over. “If it makes you feel any better, every single one of them, I imagined they were you.”
I smile. “You did not.”
He nods. “Ask Beth. I fucked up and called her Felicity in bed one night. She kicked me out and we haven’t talked since.”
I laugh as I reach up and wrap my arms around him. “Our one night together is almost over,” I say, looking into his eyes.
I see them dash from mine, to the clock, and back. “Well, we better make the most of it then.” He picks me up against him and carries me back to the bed where we spend the rest of the night.
Eight
Carson
I wake in the morning with a smile on my face. I don’t open my eyes though, in fear of it all disappearing. I roll to my side and reach for her, but the bed is cold and empty. My eyes pop open and anger washes over me. I can’t believe she snuck out of here while I was asleep. I get up, pull on my basketball shorts, throw a coat on, and slip my feet into some flip-flops. I rush out of the house faster than anyone can stop me.
I walk across the snow and ice covers my feet, but I don’t even feel it as I walk up to her front door and open it. I let myself into her room and find her dead asleep in bed. I slam the door shut and she sits up.
“Carson, what the hell?” she asks, rubbing her eyes.
“You snuck out,” I say, simmering down now that I see her sleepy eyes.
“You fell asleep. We agreed on one night so I wanted to keep my word. What’s wrong with you?” She throws the blankets back and stands up. She’s still wearing my boxers, but the bra is gone. Now replaced with a white tank top that I can clearly see through.
My anger falls away and quickly changes to something else. Need. “Maybe I want more than one night. Maybe I want two.”
She smiles. “Okay,” she agrees.
“You’re not even going to fight with me?”
She seems taken aback. She always fights with me. Don’t give up now.
“Do you want me to fight with you?’
I nod. “That’s our thing. Me and you, I tell you one thing and you don’t like it and we fight.”
She nods. “Okay, we agreed on one night, Carson. Not two. Don’t get greedy.”
“Greedy? I’m greedy, little Ms. I’ve wanted you since I was seven. Now you got a piece and you’re done?”
She laughs and shakes her head at me. “Shut up, you idiot.” She presses her lips to mine and everything else is gone. I lay her back on the bed and pull the blankets up over both of us. Under the blanket, I push my shorts down her legs and push my basketball shorts over my hips. I’m hard and ready to go, just like every other argument with her. Sliding into her is easy, warm, and welcoming. Finally, connecting as one, I can think straight. I hold her tight against me as I let myself calm down, unmoving in any way. “What are you doing to me?” I whisper, finally pulling out to thrust back in.
I’ve always known right from wrong. I knew what I wanted, what I needed, and what I should avoid. All the answers to those questions are her. She’s right and oh so wrong for me. I wanted her. I needed her. And I should be avoiding her right now, but that’s not going to happen. I’ve had a taste of her and her sweetness is left on my tongue. There’s no way I’m forgetting last night. There’s no way I’m not fighting for more. Where she ends, I begin, and together, we’re one. There’s no going back now and that thought scares the shit out of me because I don’t know how we’ll end up. I’m no longer certain on my future.
I don’t know how, but we manage to pull away from one another. I put my flip-flops and coat back on and leave her house. Neither of us are ready for the day. We