by Hart, Rebel
Seize the chance, Clint. Like you just did with those resumes.
And as the thought crossed my mind, a grin slid across my cheeks.
17
Raelynn
“Hey! Allison!”
I waved her down as Michael popped up from his lounge chair. I slipped through the fence with my bathing suit on and my T-shirt hanging just past the middle of my thighs. Allison slid off her chair and came running for me. She slipped around in the water before crashing into me, holding her wide-brimmed hat to her head. I caught her and laughed as we stumbled together before ultimately crashing back into another chair.
And as Michael walked over, he pulled up chairs for all of us.
“Tell me everything,” Allison demanded. “All of it. How was orientation? How was campus? Did you meet any of your teachers?”
Michael chuckled. “Settle down, Suzie Q, with your tirade of questions. Let the girl breathe.”
Allison sat down next to Michael and the two of them threaded their hands together.
“Are you breathing now?” she asked.
I snickered. “Has anyone seen Clint? I went upstairs to find him, but he wasn’t there.”
Michael shrugged. “He said he had something to do before you got back from your orientation. But we haven’t seen him yet.”
Allison nodded. “He said he was going to join us around eleven or so.”
“Rae! Hey!”
I turned around at the sound of his voice. I got up from my chair and rushed for him. I jumped into his arms, smiling and laughing as his bare torso caught me. His legs were clad in a pair of board shorts, just aching to get wet.
He kissed my cheek and my heart exploded with happiness.
“Oh, I’m so glad to see you, Clint.”
He murmured. “I thought your day wasn’t done until three.”
I shrugged. “The tours were pretty pointless. So, after lunch, I decided to walk around campus before coming back.”
He squeezed me tight. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me, too.”
I committed how I felt to memory. The feel of his touch. The warmth of his skin. I tried erasing all those things the girls had said at lunch as he peppered my cheek with kisses. He set me down on my feet and I looked up into his eyes. Into the loving, tender, gracious eyes of the boy I loved. Clinton Clarke. The boy I’d once hated, but who was now in my corner. The boy who had my back, no matter what.
Those girls are wrong. I could never give him up.
“So how did orientation go? Was it as boring as you figured it would be?”
His question ripped me from my trance, and I found myself not wanting to talk about it. Instead, I took his hand and slowly walked us toward the pool. I slipped my shirt off, watching as his eyes danced down my body. I grinned as I took another step toward the edge. I held my arms out, ready to do a back dive off the side.
Before Michael crashed into me, sending me hurtling with him into the pool.
“Gotcha!”
I shrieked. “Michael!”
We fell into the water and I heard splashing all around me. I clamored for the surface, emerging with a massive smile on my face. Allison’s laughter followed her into the pool. I felt a pair of arms around me before Clint popped up. He smiled brightly with his face dripping wet, and I wrapped myself around him. My legs around his waist. My arms around his neck. Getting as close to him as I could before our foreheads fell together.
“You’re not avoiding my question, are you?” he asked.
I heard the worry in his voice. “I’m not. It was just--I mean, orientation. We toured one of the dorms. Ate food in the cafeteria.”
He chuckled. “Was it terrible?”
“Actually, it wasn’t half bad.”
“What about the dorms. As small as you figured?”
I shrugged. “Maybe not as small. I’m just glad there’s no communal hallway bathroom.”
“Wait, that’s a thing?”
I nodded slowly. “The dorm we toured had a bathroom that connected two rooms at a time. That’s it.”
“Well, thank fuck for that.”
I giggled and captured his lips with a kiss. But guilt still crawled around in my stomach. I wanted to be able to forget about it. I wanted to erase that damn lunch from my memory. Even as I kissed him, though, the conversation was still there. In the back of my head. Like a damn virus trying to infect me.
Just keep kissing him until it goes away.
I slipped my tongue into his mouth as he held me close. We bobbed along in the water, not a care in the world given to who might see us. I moaned down the back of his throat and clung to him as he danced on his tiptoes in the water. And as our teeth clattered together, I felt him chuckling.
He slowly eased away.
“Mmm, I think someone missed me.”
I giggled. “Maybe a bit.”
He kissed my forehead. “Let me come with you next time, then?”
“Maybe. Oh! Wait.”
Clint paused. “What?”
I grinned. “I heard about a frat party worth checking out tonight.”
Michael swam over. “Sorry, did I hear someone say something about a party?”
Allison held on to his back. “Will there be drinking?”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s college. Everyone drinks.”
She frowned. “Even though they aren’t allowed to?”
Clint laughed. “You’re too cute, Ally. You know that?”
I giggled. “Come on. It’ll be fun. A college party, welcoming the freshman to campus. It should be worth a stop-off, at least. Maybe after dinner? If it sucks, we can go get ice cream or something somewhere.”
Michael smiled. “Or come back and night swim.”
Clint pointed at him. “That code for skinny dipping? I’m all about skinny dipping.”
Allison grimaced. “Count me out.”
I nodded. “Me, too. You boys can have a sausage fest while you’re naked in the pool while Allison and I watch movies on television.”
“No, no, I meant out of the party.”
We all groaned at Allison’s words.
“Come on, live a little. Have some fun,” I said.
Clint nodded. “It’s really not going to be that bad. If someone offers you a drink, just say ‘no’ and they’ll leave you alone.”
Allison shook her head. “That’s not what I see on television. People keep asking until they wear you down.”
Michael laughed. “Sweetheart, no one is going to press their good alcohol onto someone who won’t enjoy it. Trust me.”
Clint sighed. “Ain’t that the fucking truth.”
I snorted. “Fine. If you don’t want to come, Allison, you can stay behind while we go have a good time.”
Michael nodded. “Yep. I’ll go with Clint and Rae.”
“Hey, I don’t want you to go alone, though. What if there are girls there?”
Clint grinned. “There will be. Might want to come and make sure your territory stays marked.”
Allison rolled her eyes. “Fine. Whatever. Okay. But I’m not drinking or doing any of the drugs.”
I snickered. “None of the drugs. Got it.”
Michael wiggled his eyebrows. “Anyone up for some pregaming before the party tonight?”
I paused. “What are we pregaming with?”
Clint nodded. “Yeah, we can’t drink at the bar here.”
Allison giggled. “Michael snuck some alcohol in his suitcase.”
My jaw dropped open. “You’ve been holding out on us!”
Clint gasped. “Mike. I’m hurt. We’re supposed to be besties, bro.”
He barked with laughter. “All right. Dinner in, then the pregaming shot happens at eight. Sound good?”
I paused. “Better make it nine. I’ve heard these parties don’t really get going until then.”
Michael nodded. “All right. Dinner in our rooms, pregame shot at nine, then we head out to this elusive party Rae heard
about on her new campus.”
We swam around in the pool before Clint eventually tugged me out. He stopped asking me about orientation--thank God--but I saw that look in his eye. He couldn't keep his hands off me in the pool. He couldn’t get away from Michael and Allison quickly enough. I barely snatched up my things as he pulled me toward the back entrance of the hotel. Ready to get into our room.
“I’ve been waiting for you to come home all day,” he murmured.
The second our hotel door closed behind us, his lips were against mine. His hands ripped my bathing suit off me as I fiddled with his trunks. His raging cock called to me. I felt my thighs warming. Oh, yes. Those girls at lunch were completely wrong.
No college man would ever make me feel the way Clint did.
“You looked smoking hot in that bathing suit.”
He wrapped his lips around my nipples before shoving me to the bed.
“Fucking hell, I couldn't stop thinking about you, gorgeous.”
I watched him stroke his cock as his wet bathing suit slipped to the floor.
“And now? You’re mine until nine,” he growled.
18
Clinton
When my lips fell against her wet skin, the animal inside me popped. I needed to claim her. Mark her. Take her as mine as quickly as possible. I bit into the meat of her breast. I felt Rae arch against me as moans left her lips. Her legs curled up, exposing that wet pussy for me as her curves dripped with water from the pool.
I quickly tossed her thighs over my shoulders.
“Clint. Clint, I--I-I-I--”
I panted between the valley of her breasts as my cock rubbed against her pussy folds.
I slicked myself with her, shuddering at how wet she was for me. Her legs clamped around my cheeks as I raised up, fisting my cock at its base. I watched as I pressed my tip against her entrance. Her body opened for me as her back arched. Her pussy swallowed me down. Inch by inch. Disappearing into her body as my balls pulled up.
I grunted as our hips fell together.
“Rae. So fucking perfect.”
“I love you. Take me, Clint. Please.”
I gripped her hips and pulled her closer to the edge of the bed. Then I folded her in half. With my hands pressed into the mattress, I snapped my hips against hers, rendering her helpless as she got pinned underneath me. Her jaw unhinged. Her body vibrated. I felt her walls already clamping down around me as I pounded into her. The bed slammed against the wall. Over and over again, with my thrusts. I didn’t care who heard, either. I didn’t care if Mike and Ally heard. If they were giggling, or making fun of us. I needed Rae. I needed her presence. Her warmth. Her body. I needed to be reminded of our connection. Of the reason I put in those damn resumes in the first place.
Because she, alone, was the only reason I’d ever pull away from my duties at home.
“I love you. I love you. Fucking hell, I love you, gorgeous.”
“Yes, Clint. Harder. Oh, fuck me harder. Yes, that’s it. Fuck!”
The sounds of wet skin slapping wet skin filled the room. I felt myself growing against her walls. Her nails raked down my arms, leaving behind red marks I’d wear with pride tonight. I captured her lips and folded her knees all the way to her fucking chest, feeling her tits bounce against me. I swiveled my hips and dug myself into her clit. And as our teeth clattered together, I felt her unraveling. I swallowed her moans as she fell off the edge.
Quivering around me and tempting my own fate.
“Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.”
I growled as I swallowed her desperate sounds.
“Oh, Clint. Yeah, baby.”
I rutted against her. Like a fucking beast. My hands found hers and I threaded our fingers together before pinning them above her head. I raked my curls against her clit. I felt her squeezing my cock. And as her pulsing pulled me over the edge, I felt myself filling her. Pump after pump. Thread after thread.
Until I fell against her, absolutely spent.
“I love you, Clint.”
The whispered words warmed my heart as I kissed the crook of her neck.
“I love you too, Rae. More than anything in this world.”
I stayed there, sheathed inside her body. I kissed down to her nipples, lapping at them softly as she trembled from the aftershocks of her orgasm. I expected my dick to dwindle, to shrivel up and fall right from between her legs. But it didn’t. I stayed hard as I pressed against her walls, her legs sliding from my body. Our eyes connected. Our souls intertwined. And as I slowly slid myself out, she gasped.
“Clint.”
I eased myself back in. Watching and reveling in how her eyes fluttered closed.
We had hours to burn before this pregame shot of ours. Before our night kicked off and the party consumed us.
And I knew just how to pass the time.
19
Raelynn
I sighed. “Maybe this wasn’t the best idea.”
Clint chuckled. “I think that’s the shots finally talking.”
Michael snickered. “Told you not to do three on an empty stomach.”
Allison giggled. “Hey. We know they had a good time. Gotta release those muscles somehow.”
I gawked. “Allison!”
She roared with laughter. “What? Michael and I are in the next room. We had to crank up the television to drown you two out.”
Clint rubbed my back. “Should’ve eaten something before those shots, gorgeous.”
I rolled my eyes. “And whose fault is that?”
I sighed as I gazed up at the house. Freshman and other college members of all sorts and ages and races hung off the porch. Poured from the front door. In and out. Like a constant rotating shuffle of craziness. Music blared onto the porch. Bodies swayed to the beat. Red cups were hanging in the air, connected to bodies with hazy, alcohol-dimmed eyes.
“I don’t know about this,” I murmured.
Allison slipped her arm around mine. “Oh, come on. It’s all part of the experience, remember? And if we hate it, we can always leave. That’s what you told me.”
I nodded slowly. “Just didn’t think I’d be the one to bail.”
Clint kissed my temple. “And I’ll be here with you the entire time. You’ll be fine. I promise.”
Michael stood in front of me. “Yeah. You’ve got us this time around.”
They were my best friends. Clint was my comfort. My soft place to fall. So why didn’t I feel reassured by their words?
Why wasn’t I reassured by his kiss?
I drew in a deep breath and tightened my grip on Allison’s arm. I looked over at her and she gave me that innocent smile I’d come to love over the years. We were complete opposites who just happened to fit each other perfectly. Two lost pre-teens navigating the sea of middle school while trying our hardest not to get picked on. Me, with my ratty clothes and mangled hair and angry eyes. Her, with her perfectly-matched outfits and straight hair and soft smile. Two girls who never had a chance of meeting one another outside in the real world.
Somehow sitting next to one another in homeroom back in sixth grade.
“I love you, Allison,” I said.
She giggled. “That’s the alcohol talking.”
“No, I mean it. You’re my bestest friend in the whole world. I love you.”
“Bestest? What kind of word is that?”
I grinned. “The only word that fits right now. That’s what kind of word it is.”
“No more alcohol for you.”
I laughed. “Maybe just one more drink. Or two.”
Michael took Allison’s other hand. “You guys ready to go in?”
Clint placed his hand on the small of my back. “Ready when you are.”
And I found myself bristling at his touch.
We all walked inside where the music was thumping so loudly I couldn't hear myself think. People rushed around. Couples were making out in corners with their clothes half off. There was a strobe light somewhere, making it harder to see. And as
someone passed by me, they shoved a drink into my hand. Michael’s, too. Clint’s hand had one, and even Allison ended up with one before the darkened blur passed us by.
“No, thank you,” she said.
Allison set her drink on a table and abandoned it. I sniffed mine. There were hints of fruit punch and pineapple. A tantalizing combination. I sipped the drink as Allison snuggled tightly against me. It hit my tongue and my eyes widened. There was cinnamon in this, too. A heady combination that had me chugging the entire drink back.
“Okay, let’s slow down a bit,” Clint said.
He took the cup from me, but my lips followed it. I cast a glance up at him before Michael took Allison from my side. The two of them started dancing, with his hands sitting low on Allison’s hips. My eyebrows rose as a grin crossed my face. But then I felt someone’s hands on my shoulders.
“Wanna dance?”
I heard Clint’s voice in my ear and I looked up at him. He smiled down at me, but for some reason I wasn’t comforted by his presence. We moved with the beat for a little bit. He caught me as people shoved me around. Someone else came by and shoved a drink into my hand. And already, I smelled that fruit punch and cinnamon.
Before Clint tried taking my drink away.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
I looked up at him as I turned around.
“I’m taking your drink from you. You've had enough.”
I snickered. “Since when do you make that decision for me?”
He paused. “I’ve just never known you to drink.”
“Well, why don’t you get a drink and join me? It’s my college orientation. Let’s celebrate! Woo hoo!”
“Woo hoo!”
The entire room stopped to cheer with me and I burst into laughter. How cool was that? I swiveled my hips and tipped back the drink, swallowing it all down without once removing my mouth. We all got sucked into the party. Into the dancing and the laughter and the conglomerate cheers. Someone started tugging on my arm and I found myself by the counter with Allison while we snacked on chips. My best friend leaned against me as we watched the boys get roped into a game of beer pong.