by Elias Taylor
“Could we maybe go back to yours?” Mel blurted out.
Her words were loud and abrupt, and Tripp smiled.
“Sure,” he said. “We could watch a movie, maybe have some wine.”
No, she wanted him to know. She wanted to say it here and now, before they got lost in the feeling of kissing each other, that she was prepared to go all the way tonight.
“Well, actually,” Mel said. “I’m ready.”
Tripp froze.
“Are you sure?” he asked in a low voice.
Mel nodded.
“I’ve been ready,” she said. “And I trust you and care about you.”
Tripp actually blushed when Mel said she cared about him. Calm and unflappable Tripp Charles – blushing due to her confession. She was still dazzled that she could have that effect on him.
They paid the bill and headed out towards his car. As soon as they were out on the sidewalk, Tripp gripped her waist and pulled her close to give her a long kiss.
“I’m sorry I made you wait,” Mel said.
“No,” Tripp said. “Don’t apologize.”
He cupped her cheek in her hands and placed a final kiss on her lips. They got into the car.
“Besides,” Tripp said. “I would wait for much longer for you.”
Mel wanted to scream her joy into the night.
Chapter Sixteen: Trust
Tripp did his best not to speed back to his apartment. He reminded himself that it would be a lot longer before he was able to hold Mel in his arms if he got pulled over for going over the limit.
Every cell in his body was yearning for her. Kissing her was great, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted all of her, but he hadn’t wanted to rush her. Besides, he had enjoyed getting to know her as more than just his sister’s friend.
The night on the beach, he hadn’t thought it was possible to want someone any more than that, but now he did. With every second he spent in Mel’s presence, he longed for her more, both physically and emotionally.
With one hand on the wheel, Tripp reached out with his other hand and grabbed her hand from where it rested on her leg. He squeezed it and relished her answering squeeze.
When they got back to his apartment, Mel settled onto the couch, and Tripp poured two glasses of red wine.
He settled down next to her, and Mel tucked her feet under herself and leaned her shoulder against his.
“Can you believe it was less than a month ago that you came onto me in your parent’s kitchen?” Mel said.
Tripp tipped his head back and laughed. Mel grinned up at him.
“I’m an idiot,” he said.
“No, no,” Mel said. “It was super sweet, even with the extreme drunkenness.”
“Even so, I would do it differently if I could get a do-over,” Tripp said.
“Different how?” Mel asked.
Tripp considered.
“I would do something that better represented how I felt,” Tripp said. “Something with fireworks or a live band or flowers. And I would have phrased it better. Something classier than I want to sneak you into my bed.”
Mel pursed her lips and quirked them to the side. She was gorgeous. Tripp often lost himself in examining all her subtle facial expressions.
“No, that would have been all wrong,” Mel said. “You were drunk, but honest.”
She set her wine down on the coffee table and squirmed closer to Tripp. She kissed him softly.
Tripp sucked in his breath as Mel sighed in contentment. She flicked his tongue into his mouth, and it was the sign he had been waiting for. He answered her heightened fervor by pushing her own lips apart.
He paused only to reach up and remove the clip from her hair so the red tresses spilled down over her shoulders. She held stock still, with her eyes gleaming out at him. He ran his fingers through a lock before kissing her again.
Mel wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. How could someone so much smaller have such power over him? Tripp leaned into her and pushed her back until she was laying on the couch and he was hovering above her.
Mel made a soft moaning sound as Tripp began to kiss along her neck. He had learned that she was extra sensitive in the spot just below her ear.
She had learned her own tricks too, and Tripp growled into her neck as she wrapped her legs around his hips and locked her thighs against him. She knew that got him hard, and Trip felt the answering tightening in his groin.
Mel grappled with his shirt until she had tugged it over his head. She then removed her own shirt to reveal a black lacy bra that Tripp wanted to tear off. He made himself slow down though and held himself over her. He soaked the sight of her in.
“What?” Mel asked.
“I just want this to be special,” Tripp said.
“It will be,” Mel said. “I know it will, I trust you.”
Tripp grinned wolfishly and nipped her lip.
“Are you sure?” he growled.
“Yes,” Mel gasped as she dug her hands into his shoulders.
Tripp moved his mouth from her face and down onto her chest. Through the thin fabric of her bra, he teased her nipples making Mel hum with pleasure.
He nudged the lace of her bra aside to reveal her hard pink nipple, standing erect. He captured it in his mouth and sucked with insistence. Mel ran her hands over his back.
“Tripp,” she said.
He felt her reach for his pants, and he stopped her.
“Let me do this slowly,” Tripp said. “I want to enjoy you, ok?”
Mel looked up at him and the trust in her eyes made Tripp want to sob. He didn’t deserve her. But he was going to do everything he could to treat her right.
Carefully, Tripp pushed his hand beneath her to unclasp her bra. He removed it, and the sight of her soft white breasts made his erection throb with desire. Her body was even more glorious than he had remembered. He would never get tired of looking at her.
He fluttered kisses down along her stomach and paused at her the button to her jeans. He unclasped it and slowly pulled the fabric away, lifting Mel’s hips with his hands.
She lay before him, completely naked. She didn’t try to cover herself with her hands, and that made Tripp surge with happiness. He wanted her to be comfortable around him.
He placed a kiss right at the top of her thighs. Then he swiveled her body so that she was reclining on the couch with her pussy on the edge. He kneeled between her legs.
“Tripp, what – ?” Mel asked.
“Let me do this for you,” Tripp said. “Please.”
Mel nodded as he nudged her legs further apart. He gripped her hips tightly with his hands before moving his thumb down towards her clitoris. With one swipe he made her quiver and was able to feel how deliciously wet she was.
He teased her by flicking her sensitive spot and then pulling the pressure away. He wanted her to long for him with every fiber in her being, and he could tell by the way she gasped and closed her eyes that it was working.
Then Tripp lowered his head and thrust his tongue against her. Over and over, he licked her folds and clitoris until she was in a frenzy. She lost all fragments of any self-consciousness as she pressed herself into his mouth.
“Tripp,” Mel gasped. “Tripp, please.”
He wanted it to last long so he pulled back. He pushed his finger in place of his tongue to massage her while he fluttered kisses across the bottom of her stomach. She made a soft purring sound that made Tripp want to tear his own pants off and penetrate her right that moment. But he focused on her sopping wet flesh.
He started in with his tongue again, bringing Melup to a crest of pleasure. Her gasps turned to soft shrieks as her hips shuddered.
Tripp sucked and thrust with his tongue driving her closer and closer into a fierce climax.
He felt the moment that she totally drowned in pleasure. Her body shuddered beneath her hands, and she tipped her head back as she cried out his name.
She screamed in ecstasy as she came, a
nd Tripp made sure she could ride out every dizzying wave.
As she came back down from her heights he lifted his head and met her dazed eyes. She locked onto him and pulled him up towards her with a determination Tripp had never seen in her before.
Before he knew it, she had pulled him up to the couch and straddled his lap. She kissed him fervently as she pulled at his jeans.
“That was amazing,” she whispered. “I want you to feel just like that.”
Tripp pulled her bare chest against his and cupped her ass.
“Tell me what to do,” Mel said. “Please.”
“Take off my pants.”
Mel pulled herself off him and yanked at his pants and boxers until they were in a heap on the floor.
She stood in between his knees, and her eyes scanned his body. Not in a frightened way. In a possessive way. He belonged to her.
When her eyes landed on his rock hard flesh, she smiled.
“Touch me,” Tripp said.
Mel reached over and started to stroke him with her hands. She was so new to this, and he could tell she had never done it before, but she somehow managed to grip him in just the right way.
Still stroking his shaft, she leaned over him so that her nipples grazed his chest. Tripp dug his fingers into the soft white flesh of her hips.
“I want you inside me,” Mel whispered.
Tripp shuddered at her words and pulled her closer so that her knees rested on either side of him.
“Lower yourself onto me,” he said. “I’ll hold you, don’t worry.”
Mel placed her hands on his shoulder and squirmed closer. With a slow and agonizing motion, she eased herself lower and lower until her wet folds teased the tip of his erection.
Tripp closed his eyes and moaned.
Mel dipped even lower and he began to penetrate her. He felt the warmth of her core, and he lost control. He pulled her lower and savored her gasp of surprise as he thrust himself deep inside her.
“Mel,” he moaned. “Mel, you feel so good.”
She smiled and kissed him then. As their lips met, she began to rock her hips back and forth. She didn’t even know what she was doing to him. Tripp cried out and buried his face in her neck. Then he started to move her hips until she found a stronger rhythm.
He heard her soft mewls of pleasure, and Tripp moved his hand around to her front so he could play with her clitoris and lift her to higher heights.
He grinned as Mel’s eyes widened when he started to touch her just right in sync with the pressure of his erection within.
The frantic urge came over him, and he pulled Mel down onto him even harder. He cried out as he began to reach his peak.
Mel leaned into him and pressed her forehead against his so that they were eye-to-eye.
“I’m going to come again,” she whispered.
Tripp felt the familiar shudderings in her again, and the thought that he was bringing her to another peak sent him over the edge. He cried out as he hit his release, and pressed his fingers against her, bringing her over the cliff with him.
For long moments after, she stayed atop him, gazing into his eyes. Tripp pushed his fingers into her hair and held her face in his palms.
“Thank you,” he said. “For everything.”
Mel’s lips, swollen from his kisses, turned in a soft and satisfied smile.
She lifted herself off of him, and Tripp rearranged their limbs so that she could sit sideways in his lap and lay her head against his chest.
A fuzzy warmth descended over Tripp, making his limbs heavy. He ran a gentle hand down Mel’s bare back as she placed her own palm on his chest.
“Tripp?” she murmured.
“Yeah,” he said.
“I know it’s early,” she said. “But I feel really good about this.”
She lifted her head so she could look at him. Tripp smiled at her. He felt good about this too. More than good. It all felt so right.
“And I’m just really glad I’m going to school in LA this fall so I’ll still be close to you,” Mel said. “I got off the waitlist for another school in New York that I was strongly considering but now I know LA is the right call.”
Tripp furrowed his brow. He was surprised but flattered that she was thinking long-term. He had thought they had a bit more time to just be together and not worry about the future. But here Mel was ready to commit.
A snake of fear wormed its way through his stomach. He had been trying not to think about the conference call with Wayne from last week. He hadn’t lied to Mel. Wayne was really interested, and setting up a business did take time. But he had left out the part where Wayne said it had to be New York. Tripp had questioned that, but Wayne was insistent. It was a perfect untapped market.
Tripp wasn’t so sure, and he was still holding out hope that Wayne might be swayed.
Tripp couldn’t talk about that now, not after the intimacy they had just shared. He leaned forward and kissed Mel. He poured all his devotion and care into the kiss so she would know how much she meant to him.
Mel grinned.
“I’m hungry again,” she said.
“Me too,” Tripp said. “Pizza?”
Mel nodded with enthusiasm.
Thirty minutes later, they were wrapped in blankets and snuggled up on the floor in front of the TV with a half-eaten pizza pie in front of them.
Tripp had succeeded in banishing all worries about Wayne and New York and the bike shop from his head. He wanted to focus on Mel right now. There will be time to discuss the future tomorrow. Or maybe the day after that. Or perhaps next week.
Was it wrong to just enjoy the present with her?
He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss against her ear.
“I’m gonna take a quick shower, ok?”
“Ok,” Mel said.
She gave him a smile so full of admiration and trust that Tripp couldn’t breathe for a second.
Then he stood up and headed for the bathroom.
Chapter Seventeen: One of Those Girls
When she heard the sound of the shower, Mel stood up and grabbed the pizza box. She carried it to the kitchen and started to clean up, the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders.
After she had disposed of the box and put the remaining slices of pizza in Tupperware, Mel poured herself another glass of wine. She padded across the room in her bare feet to the bookshelf in the corner. She had never had a chance to examine it close-up, but she saw there were a few photos pasted along one edge.
To her delight, they were pictures from when Tripp was young. Mel chuckled to herself as she saw one of Tripp and Christina before the first day of school. Judging by Christina’s shirt (bright periwinkle with white flowers), she was starting the second grade, which meant Tripp must have been about 11 in the photo.
Mel clapped her hand over her mouth in shocked glee. She had forgotten all about the awful bowl cut Mrs. Charles had given Tripp in the kitchen with a pair of scissors. Mel was definitely going to tease him about that when he was done showering.
Her eyes widened as she saw her own younger self in another photo. She and Christina were all dressed up for a school dance. Junior year of high school. That was the year Christina dyed strands of her dark hair pink in the bathroom.
Mel grimaced as she saw their ridiculous outfits. Mel had been all about the punk rock look that year. She had paired a green and black plaid mini-skirt with a leather camisole and chunky boots. Christina, meanwhile, was wearing a skin-tight violet number. The two girls could not have looked more different, but their arms were wrapped around each other’s neck.
In the photo, Tilly Charles stood with her arm around Christina, and Tripp was on the other side of Mel. He had clearly been dragged out of his room for the photo-op. He was wearing a funny little half-smile and giving the camera a sardonic look, as if to ask when this high school nonsense was gonna be done, he had better things to do.
Mel marveled at the gaping space between her and Tripp in the picture. He h
ad been so far removed from her world back then. She had still harbored her secret crush – and she could even recall feeling giddy at him seeing her all gussied up in her dance outfit – but it had seemed so far beyond the realm of reality. She couldn’t have imagined she would actually get with Tripp Charles.
She was glad they had waited though. Now was the right time, she felt it in her bones. She was so young in that picture. She barely knew who she was back then. Now she knew who she was and what she wanted, and she wanted to chase her dreams with Tripp at her side.
Going to the East Coast for school had been an option she only considered briefly. She had already committed to LA, and she got off the waitlist for the New York school recently. As she had started to date Tripp, the decision was made simple. She would go to LA as planned. They could still date, and they would take their relationship one day at a time, without the added pressure of distance.
She smiled to herself as she pictured weekend road trips to Northern California, or lazy afternoons lounging on the beach. They could even have fun planning out places to meet in between Lyndon and LA. They could go on long walks along the Santa Monica boardwalk.
He could stay with her for a few days at a time, even.
Warmth flooded Mel’s stomach as she imagined sleepovers. And more of what they had just done on the couch. She grinned. When did she become so lustful? Tripp brought it out in her, and she didn’t even mind. Not if sex with him could make her feel so good.
Mel reached out one tentative finger and touched her young sixteen-year-old face in the photo. She felt a surge of compassion for her younger self. If only she could go back in time and tell her former self how amazing things were going to be.
She wanted to tell the girl in the photo with the silly outfit that she would have to work hard, but she would pursue her dreams. She would set out on her own to try her skills in the real world. And Tripp – that distant and angsty older boy with the gorgeous face was someday going to look at her as if she were his savior.
There would be no point in sending such a message. Mel at sixteen would have never believed it.