by Erin Noelle
He strummed the guitar a few times, making sure it was in tune before he began. As soon as he played the opening chords, I hissed in a breath of air between my teeth as my heart plummeted into my stomach, realizing the song he was playing was indeed for me. I was frozen in place, my eyes still fixated on the amber liquid in the glass in front of me. My throat had a golf-ball-sized sob lodged in it, and my heart was at a dead standstill; every word he sang ripped deeper and deeper into my soul.
The entire bar was silent, watching him in awe, as he performed the song better than the original artist, his voice saturated with sadness and sorrow. As he whispered the last “And you let her go,” I finally pulled my gaze up to look at him. He was staring directly at me and then said in a low whisper the five words that cut me deeper than I ever thought possible. “I’m letting you go, angel.”
Seventeen
Beneath Your Beautiful—Labrinth (feat. Emeli Sandi)
It Won’t Stop—Sevyn Streeter (feat Chris Brown)
Ash
I should’ve gotten some kind of fucking award for sitting there listening to him sing to her. If it had been any other song other than one with him telling her goodbye, I probably would’ve gone all caveman and thrown Scarlett over my shoulder, hauling her ass out of there. It still killed me, because I knew he was upsetting her, but I also knew she just told him about our moving. I tried to put myself in his shoes, and I gave him his chance to say goodbye. I hoped he truly realized he had blown his shot with her, and now she was mine. I wasn’t ever letting her go.
As soon as the song was over, I put my hand on the small of her back and leaned into her ear, whispering, “Are you ready to go or do you want to stay?”
She didn’t say a word; she just hopped off her barstool, grabbed her purse, and began walking toward the exit. I said a blanket goodbye to the table and followed after her. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I finally caught up to her. Honestly, I expected tears and a pretty foul mood, but when I finally reached her waiting by the car, she seemed to be fine. I still proceeded with caution. I wasn’t sure if I should bring up anything or not. I went with not.
We got in the car, and she began talking about her performance and things she needed to work on. I of course told her I thought she was amazing, because well… I did. She then started talking about what classes she wanted to take in the fall at UC Berkeley. It made me happy she seemed excited about the upcoming move; I had this amazing feeling that everything was happening the way it was supposed to.
When we got back to her apartment, Scarlett took a quick shower while I prepared us both a grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of milk for a midnight snack. I had it waiting for her on a tray in bed when she got out. I loved seeing her eyes light up with joy at little things I did for her. That alone was payment enough for pampering her for the rest of our lives.
“Thank you so much! I was just thinking how hungry I was,” she said as she sat down and leaned over to give me a kiss.
“You’re more than welcome. I figured you would be. I noticed you didn’t eat much dinner earlier, and then the beer and those shots…”
“Ugh, yes. Please don’t remind me.” She picked up one of the warm cheesy triangles and took a big bite then chased it with a big gulp of the ice-cold milk. “Mmm… there is really nothing better. How can this not put someone in a good mood?”
Shrugging, I followed suit, devouring my sandwich in less than five minutes. “I don’t know,” I said as I wiped the crumbs off my mouth with a napkin. “That’s the ultimate comfort food. All it needed was a little bacon.”
She nodded as she popped the last bite in her mouth. “Yesss… bacon makes everything better.”
“Next time, I’ll make them with bacon.” I kissed the tip of her nose before taking the tray with the empty plates back to the kitchen.
It was my turn for a quick shower, which I did in record speed so I could join her in bed. She was sitting up watching House Hunters on HGTV when I slid under the covers next to her. I laughed softly at her obsession with that damn show. “Haven’t you seen this one before?” I teased her.
She crinkled her nose up at me. “No, I haven’t, smartass.” She turned her head back to the television. “And this is a good one. It’s the international version, and they are buying a house in Puerto Rico.”
I pulled her into my lap so I could rub her back and shoulders while she finished watching the show. As I massaged her lower back, I leaned in to press my lips to the back of her neck. Her clean coconut scent was intoxicating, and I couldn’t help but kiss my way over to her earlobe, nibbling on it a bit. The slight moan that escaped her lips and the goose bumps that covered her skin gave me the green light to continue. I continued to kiss her neck as my hands moved from her back around to her belly, slipping underneath the hem of her shirt. My hands slowly crept up her ribcage until my thumb swept across the swell of her breast.
“Which house do you think they’re going to pick?” I asked in a breathy whisper against her ear.
She slightly arched her back, pressing her chest into my hands. “I think they’ll get house number two,” she mumbled.
I quickly had both nipples in between my thumbs and forefingers, tugging and twisting gently. “You think so? I think they may get house number three,” I said without even looking up at the television.
After several minutes of kissing every square inch of the back of her neck and caressing her boobs and nipples, I began to walk my fingers back down her belly until I was tracing the elastic edge of her panties. Groaning, I slid my fingers inside the waistband, softly running it back and forth along the soft flesh of her lower abdomen. Continuing to move my hands farther south, my fingertips quickly found her already damp folds. Gently parting her lips with my fingers, I began to lazily trace a circular pattern around her clit. She leaned her head back on to my shoulder, eyes closed, and lifted her hips into my touch. My cock was pressing into her back, and I growled when she arched and pushed her tight little ass up against it.
I shoved her panties to the side, gliding my fingers through the wet, sticky nectar and dragging it up to coat her swollen clit. I could see her bite down on her bottom lip as she began to squirm under my hand. Increasing the rhythm of my fingers, her whimpers turned into pleas, and I was unable to resist her cries any longer. I moved my hand down to her tight slit, first delving one finger and then another deep into her core. Slowly, I moved my fingers in and out of her, rubbing her inner walls with each thrust while pushing my thumb against her hardened nub. I could feel her clenching down on my hand as her orgasm drew near.
Not wanting her to come quite yet, I suddenly removed my hand from her panties. Her eyes shot open and she turned around to look at me, partially confused and even more frustrated. “Why did you do that?” she whined.
I leaned down, took her bottom lip in my mouth, and sucked on it gently. Mumbling against her mouth, I said, “Trust me.” I brought my fingers to her mouth, covered in her sweet juices, and tapped her lips to get her to open up. I could see the internal struggle in her face. Part of her wanted to; the mere thought turned her on. But she also felt like she shouldn’t want to taste herself on my hand. I looked at her straight in the eye, and again I said, “Trust me.”
She parted her lips and drew my fingers in her mouth, sucking them clean for me. When she had finished, my mouth crashed down on hers, getting my own taste of her sweetness from her mouth. I was intoxicated by the smell of her desire that hung heavy in the air, and the tiny little taste I had of her was only enough to initiate my hunger. I needed my mouth on her. I needed to show her she had made the right choice.
Scarlett
I wasn’t sure how we went from a back massage to a full-on sexual onslaught of my entire body, but I can’t say I minded much either. The night at the bar had been a total roller coaster. I went from being at the top of the world after performing to picking up the pieces of my heart on the floor after Mason did. I felt like a bottle of nerves that’d been sh
aken to the point of explosion. I needed something to make me forget about the real world; I needed a release.
After teasing me to the brink with his fingers, Ash slid out from behind me and propped me up against the pillow. I was in a trance, completely mesmerized by his movements, craving his next touch. He hovered over me as his mouth came crashing down on my lips, his tongue demanding entrance, and then slowly rolled against mine. Pulling his mouth from me, he began to kiss his way down my chin, my neck, and my chest, his wet lips leaving a trail of tingles over my skin. Hastily, he grabbed the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up and over my head, leaving my breasts completely exposed. I heard him growl as he immediately brought his mouth down on my chest, his tongue tracing the perimeter of the darkened skin, then his tongue darted out to flick over the pebbled nipple. His hand had a hold of the other boob, massaging it with his fingers and rolling my nipple under his thumb.
My hand fell to his cheek, caressing the side of his face as my breathing became labored. A low fire started to burn deep in my belly, causing my legs to wrap around his hips, pressing up against his body. He looked up at me and laughed, “What house did they choose, butterfly?”
I grabbed the back of his head and pressed his face back in my chest and said, “I’m not sure. I think house number two.”
He muttered something against my skin that sounded like “I bet it was house number three,” but I wasn’t quite sure and really didn’t care. It was taking all the patience I had not to push his head straight down between my legs. The aching in my core was increasing rapidly; I needed to be touched there quickly.
As he began to move down my body again, I began to shake in anticipation. “Please… oh please,” I begged him to hurry.
He looked up with a smirk on his face and shook his head. “I said to trust me. I promise I will take care of you.”
He continued his shimmy downward, dipping his tongue in my belly button as he passed over it. Then, finally, he reached my panties. I felt his fingers hook on the sides of them one moment, and the next, I heard a rip and was completely naked in front of him. Without thought, my hips lifted off the bed toward his face, eager for his oral assault. He splayed one hand across my tummy, forcing me back on the bed, and then put his face just inches from my sweet spot. I felt his warm breath against my sensitive skin just before he began to lightly kiss my already soaked lips. Using his other hand to spread my folds, he leisurely licked up and down the delicate flesh, my body trembling underneath him. He moved his mouth up to my clit, where he had already teased me to no end with his fingers, and began sucking gently on it as his tongue swirled around it.
I grabbed at the sheets next to me, bunching them into tight balls in my palms as I tried desperately to control myself. When he moved his mouth down and plunged his tongue deep inside me, I couldn’t help but writhe under him. I turned my face toward the pillow, muffling out the moans that fell from my lips, as I unashamedly ground my pussy against his mouth and chin. Completely inebriated with lust, the room went dark as I shut my eyes and lost myself to the sensuality and passion he wreaked upon my body. As he alternated his mouth and fingers from my clit to my core, I began to unravel as the slow burn morphed into a white-hot inferno coursing through my veins. He pulled my clit into his mouth one last time, allowing his teeth to graze over it, just as he thrust his fingers inside me, curling them and pressing hard on my G-spot. I couldn’t hold on any longer; I fell off the cliff and allowed the ecstasy to consume my body. My back shot up off the bed, my walls began contracting around his fingers, and I screamed out, “Fuuuck!” so loud the neighbors surely heard. He continued to hold and kiss me as I came back to reality, my legs quivering and my body completely flushed.
I felt him crawl back up my body so his face was even with mine, even though my eyes were closed. “Open your eyes, butterfly,” he commanded softly. I obeyed his wish and opened my eyes, staring directly into his. He ran his fingertip lightly down the side of my face from my forehead to my chin as he murmured, “Watching you come is so fucking beautiful.”
His words sent a fluttering in my belly, and I desperately wanted to return the favor for him. I turned my face into his touch, taking his finger in my mouth as he had asked me to do earlier, and sucked my juices off of them. He watched my mouth as I cleaned his hand, and then pressed his forehead to mine with his eyes closed, groaning. “What am I going to do with you?”
I rolled our bodies so he was on his back and I was straddling his waist. “I don’t know,” I answered. “But I know what I’m going to do with you.” And just as he had begun, I started placing kisses on his mouth, then his chin, and down his neck, working my way down his body. Just before I took off his boxers off with my teeth, I looked up his body and said, “They definitely got house number two.”
Eighteen
Say Something—A Great Big World (feat Christina Aguilara)
Can’t Help Falling in Love—Ingrid Michaelson
Which Way Your Heart Will Go—Mason Jennings
Mason
If I thought the first night in my apartment was hard, the second night damn near killed me. After closing up the bar, Andi and I didn’t get home until nearly three in the morning. After a nice hot shower, I crawled into bed, hoping to fall fast asleep, but despite my body being completely exhausted, my brain refused to stop. I couldn’t stop thinking about Scarlett and everything that transpired over the evening. I was moving back to Austin, she was moving to California, and we were both moving forward with our lives, searching for our euphoria, just without each other.
The last month with her had really been bittersweet. I had gotten to know her on such a personal level during her visits, and I loved her even more than I once did. That was why letting her go this time was so hard. I knew she would always be there for me if I ever needed anything and she would support me in everything, but I also knew that with her moving away, the distance between us would lead to us not talking as much and seeing each other even less.
Groaning, I rolled over for what seemed like the thousandth time that night, still unable to find dreamland. A soft knock at the door startled me. Knowing it had to be Andi and hoping nothing was wrong, I called out, “Come on in.”
The door slowly opened and she tiptoed in, looking adorable in her footed pajamas. She really was like a big kid. “I can’t sleep, and I heard you in here, so I thought maybe we could keep each other company.”
Smiling, I scooted over and patted the bed. “Jump in, kiddo. What’s on your mind? Why can’t you sleep?”
She quickly climbed up on the bed and sat cross-legged, looking at me. Shrugging her shoulders, she looked down at her leg and began picking invisible fuzz off of it. “I dunno. I’ve had insomnia since before I can remember. I get in my own head too much. What about you? Why are you awake?”
“Same. I’m too much in my head tonight—or this morning, I guess I should say.” I looked at the alarm clock that read 5:30 a.m.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” she asked.
I chuckled. “You can ask, but I can’t guarantee I’ll answer.”
“What’s the deal between you and Scarlett? I mean, I know I just met y’all and all, but it all seems kinda bizarre. She picked us up on Saturday, and I thought y’all were like best friends or something, but then I noticed she got a little weird when we were here at the apartment. And then tonight… I don’t even know where to start. She shows up with another guy, the two of y’all disappear out back for a while, you both go separate ways when you come back in, she sings, you sing, you look at her and tell her you’re letting her go, you break her heart, and then she leaves with the other guy.” I looked at her in astonishment. How in the world did she pick up on all that? “Did I miss anything? I think that just about summed it up.” She grinned, proud of herself. “Oh wait, and you both obviously know some really hot guy, ‘cause I saw you talking to him and he sat next to her at the table.
“Well, Miss Smarty Pants, I guess you don’t need me
to answer, since you’ve got it all figured out,” I retorted, flipping her hair playfully.
“No, I know what happened, but now I want to know why it happened.”
“Ugh…” I grumbled. “Okay, short story. Scarlett and I used to be together. We lived here together for a while. We had a huge misunderstanding and broke up; however, once we realized it was just a misunderstanding, it was too late. Words had been said, things had been done… it was just too much. But while I was in rehab, she started coming to visit, just as a good friend, and we’ve actually gotten even closer. She told me tonight she and her boyfriend, Ash, are moving to California in a few months.”
“But aren’t you moving away soon too?”
“Yes, but I’ll still come visit here. It’s only a couple hours driving, and seeing her a little was better than nothing. Now she’s gonna be on the other side of the country.”
“Ah, I see,” she said as she leaned over to give me a quick hug. “So you still love her?”
“There will never be a day I don’t,” I admitted.
“Then why’d you let her go? Why not fight for her?”
“I felt like it was the right thing to do. As much as it’s not what I really want to do, I know it’s time to move on.”
“I’ve never been in love, so I have no idea what that feels like, but I’m sure it sucks ass.”
Laughing hard at her choice of words, I agreed. “Yes, it pretty much sucks ass.”
“What? I think it’s a great description,” she huffed. “Now tell me about your cute friend.”
“Who? The guy you kept making googoo eyes at tonight?” I teased, happy to divert the conversation elsewhere.
She slapped my shoulder but was laughing as well. “I did not make googoo eyes at him. I was just admiring his overall hotness. Now what’s his name and why didn’t you introduce me?
“His name is Max, and I didn’t introduce you, because I had a weird feeling y’all already knew each other. I thought that was the reason for the eyes.”