by Jacob Chance
“I think you’ll survive.” I turn to my side to face him, propping my head on my hand.
“I need a drink. I think I’m dehydrated now. You just drew out every drop of moisture in my body. Speaking of.” He hands me some tissues to clean myself. I giggle and his head rolls on the pillow until our eyes meet. His expression is suddenly serious. “That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever felt. I’m pretty sure I had an out of body experience. I’m still waiting to float down and return to my body. This is just an empty shell.” He raises an arm and it flops back on the bed. “See?”
I smile and shake my head at his silliness. “I’m glad you’re not disappointed.”
“Not disappointed? More like life altering. I’ll never be the same after you touched me.”
I laugh, “That sounds like a cheesy country song.”
“I don’t know about you, but I think I’m ready to sleep.”
“Of course you are. Typical guy,” I grumble playfully, but in actuality, I’m ready to snuggle in his arms for the rest of the night.
Moving over, I burrow into his chest and his arm settles around me. Tenderly, he presses his lips to my forehead.
“Can we talk about this tomorrow when I have a fully functioning brain again?”
“Absolutely. Night, Nolan.”
“Night.”
A freshly showered Nolan falls onto the bed beside me. “Go away. I’m not ready to leave this warm bed.”
“Come on. Jump in my shower really quick and I’ll take you to breakfast at Blue Sky Cafe. You’ll get your P.S.L. and all will be right with the world.” He strips the covers back and I squeal.
“You’re so mean.” I tuck my legs up, making a tight ball of my body.
“Mean? I just told you I wanted to take you to breakfast. You’re the mean one. Making me stare at your sexy legs while you lie there. You’re a tease.”
I open one eye, glaring at him. “You’re the one who uncovered me. You have no one to blame but yourself.” Sitting up, I scoot to the edge of the bed before standing. “Bathroom?”
He points at the door on the side wall. “There are towels and anything you need in there. I even have extra toothbrushes in the drawer. Help yourself.” He grins at me, his eyes roaming up to my tousled hair and back to my sleepy eyes as if he’s imagining he’s the reason for the mess I am. He’s definitely the reason for my reluctance to leave his bed. Only, I imagined waking up with him still there and spending most of the morning in his arms, not being dragged from sleep.
Silently, I stroll past him, raising my shirt over my head and letting it fall unheeded from my fingertips to the floor behind me.
He groans letting me know that his body’s reacting. His dick is probably twitching in his sweatpants and I’m tempted to spin around and see. But we’re not at that point yet. And until I know for certain what’s going on, we need to tread carefully. Or as carefully as making each other come can be considered.
I pause in front of the bathroom door, shaking my sleep shorts down my overly curvy hips and pushing them to the floor. Stepping free from the clothing, I don’t peer back at him as I enter the bathroom. I make sure the last view he has is of my ass.
“Fuck,” he groans as I push the door closed. Leaning my head against the wood, I smile. Nolan Archer is quickly becoming one of my favorite people and that’s saying something. I’m social and I like to have a good time with others, but I don’t get close to them. Except Eliza, and that’s only because she’s family.
“Why’s this called Blue Sky Cafe? Is it the color the outside is painted?” I love everything about this place.
“I can’t say for sure, but I’d imagine it’s got more to do with the area it’s located in. The sky seems lower, like if you reach up, you might be able to touch the fluffy clouds.”
I nod as I gobble down a bite of my delicious bacon and cheese omelet. “Good point,” I mumble before taking a sip of my latte, washing it all down. “If we had a place like this at school, I’d be broke. I’d be there all the time.”
“There are enough Dunks around Boston to keep us going.”
“Yeah, but this place has so much food on the menu. I could literally eat here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday and not get tired of the food.”
“From what I’ve experienced, the meals at school definitely need improving. I’m lucky I’m at the frat and don’t need to make use of the meal plan very often.”
“How are you living at the frat as a freshman? I thought all first year students were required to live in the dorms?”
“Your dad did me a solid, I guess. Coach also had a hand in the situation working out the way it did. He claimed the bonding at the frat would help me be a more vital part of the team.”
“And did it make a difference?”
“I can’t say for sure. But I know it didn’t hurt any.”
“It’s funny how rules exist unless you’re a jock. Must be nice,” I huff, rolling my eyes.
“Don’t be a hater. I didn’t ask for special treatment.”
“You didn’t refuse it either, did you?”
“I wasn’t really given an option. I was told what I would be doing and I didn’t argue. Bucking the system from day one would only get me on your father’s bad side or on Coach’s. I wanted to make a solid impression from the start with both of them.”
“You made a solid impression last night,” I joke.
He barks out a laugh. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“Why not? Are we supposed to pretend it didn’t happen?”
“No. That’s not what I want. Do you?”
“Hell no. I think we should use each other for orgasms and when we get sick of each other we just stay friends.” What am I talking about? That’s not what I want. I want to date him and see what develops. It’s like there’s a disconnect between my brain and my mouth and I have no control over what comes out.
“Huh.”
“What’s huh mean? Is that huh an affirmative or negative one? Or maybe it’s an indifferent one?”
“None of those. I didn’t expect you to say what you did. You took me by surprise. But I guess I should be used to that by now. You have a habit of shocking me.”
“I took myself by surprise too,” I mutter under my breath. “So, what do you think? Be honest. I can take whatever you say.”
He pushes his empty plate to the side and leans forward, his arms on the table. “I’m always honest. What’s the point of lying? It only complicates situations. In fact my honesty is what got me in this auction mess in the first place. If I hadn’t told the guys I was a virgin, then they wouldn’t have organized this ridiculous event.”
“Who are you kidding? You’ll probably love it.”
He looks hurt by my callous reply. “If you think that then you don’t know me at all.”
Reaching across the table, I cover his hand with mine and gently squeeze. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to treat what you’re going through so lightly. And no, I don’t think you’re the type of guy who seeks attention. But maybe when you see the girls who are bidding you won’t mind as much as you think you will.”
“That’s doubtful. Let’s not talk about the auction anymore. It gets my blood boiling and I want to kick Clancy’s ass, but I know that’s not possible. Maybe I can at least kick Flynn’s.” He rubs the back of his neck. “All joking aside, it’s bad enough I’ll have to deal with it next month when I return to school. I don’t need it ruining our time together.”
“Have you thought about how by the time you go back to school the auction will be happening and you’ll be meeting the winner? It will be too late to do anything about it.”
“No one can force me to have sex. I’m six feet tall and weigh two-hundred twenty pounds. What’s she gonna do, hold me down and make me?”
No matter what his answers are, I don’t want to think about this anymore. I set my fork down.
“Are you full?”
“Yeah. I can’t
take another bite.”
“Grab your coffee and we’ll head out.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nolan
“I want one of the saucers,” Perri calls from outside the shed.
“Damn, I could live inside this shed. It’s huge.” Flynn eyes the space. “If I were you, I’d never want to go anywhere else. I’d stay here year-round.”
“You say that now, but if you had this all the time, you wouldn’t mind a change.”
“Maybe. I guess anything can get old after a while.”
“What are our options? I want something that will fly down the hill,” Clancy pushes his way past us in search of the perfect sled.
“We have old school and brand new stuff. Pick your poison.”
“Is this a toboggan?” Clancy asks in awe of the long, narrow sled.
“Yep. It’s my dad’s, but you’re welcome to use it. As old as it is, it’s in great shape. The wood is still solid.”
“I want to use the Flexible Flyer.” Flynn grabs the sled from the wall. “I bet this baby can go fast with those steel legs.”
“Check out this bad boy.” Darren walks over with a black plastic sled in his hand. “This one goes through curves well. You can make jumps with this sled. I’ve seen them online.”
“You can do flips and tricks with it too. This one is Donovan’s favorite.”
“I think we need to make some jumps. Anyone up for helping me?” Clancy looks at each of us with excitement.
“Hell yeah. Let’s do it. Nolan, do you have a bucket we can use to scoop up snow? It will be quicker than using a shovel.”
“There should be one in here somewhere. Help yourself to whatever you want.”
“Are you sure making a jump is a good idea?” Perri tries to be the voice of reason.
I rub her shoulder through her jacket. “Don’t worry. This is what guys are best at.”
“What’s that? Making things more dangerous than they already are?”
I nod. “That sums it up nicely.”
“I’m going to go sled and mind my own business. I can’t watch you guys break your necks.”
“Perri, you worry too much. You need to relax,” Flynn suggests.
She rolls her eyes. “I’ll be off having fun if anyone needs me. And I don’t mean to splint a broken leg. If that happens you’re on your own.”
Leaning over, I whisper, “You wouldn’t help me if I got hurt?”
She purses her lips and looks me over. “I might.” She plods through the snow, walking toward the edge of the hill and my eyes appreciate how good she makes a pair of ski pants look.
Clancy whacks me in the chest to get my attention. “Let’s do this.”
The guys find two painter’s buckets in the shed and we scoop snow into them as quickly as we can. Flynn carries one of the pails to the hill and dumps it out, before bringing it back over. He takes the second bucket and does the same. This time Darren carries the empty one back while Flynn forms a jump out of the mound of snow. Four more trips back and forth and the jump is done.
“Who wants to try it out first?” I ask.
“Flynn, you go, buddy. You did all the construction.”
“Yeah, good idea. We can see if you survive before we give it a shot,” Darren jokes.
Flynn claps his gloves together making a thwacking sound. “Let’s do this. I’m gonna use the black sled that’s meant for tricks. There’s no way that Flyer one will go over a jump.”
Darren hands the sled off to him and he gets situated on the seat.
Clancy walks up behind him. “You want a push, bro?”
Flynn grins. “Fuck yeah. Go for it.” Clancy bends down and runs two steps, shoving Flynn off.
“Whooo,” Flynn shouts as he sails over the jump. He lands with a teeth jarring slam, but the sled keeps going, sailing down the hill.
“That actually looks like fun,” Perri observes.
“How are you doing?” I question.
“Oh, so far so good. The snow is faster than it was the last time we went sledding.”
“The temperature’s been colder so that makes sense.”
“Okay, my turn.” Clancy jumps onto the toboggan and careens over the jump. He lands tipped to the side, but straightens out and flies down the rest of the hill.
Darren grabs one of the saucers and wordlessly takes off. We watch him spin around and hit the jump mid-turn. He lands with a shout of glee and spirals down the rest of the incline.
I bump Perri’s shoulder with my arm. “You want to go down with me? There’s a two person sled we can use.”
“Over the jump?”
“Sure.”
“Uhm, I don’t know.”
“Come on. Where’s your sense of adventure? You had it the other day.”
“I used it up.”
“No way. Let’s do it. You’ll be perfectly safe with me.”
“What if we crash?”
“There’s nothing for us to hit. Look, no trees around.”
I look into her brown eyes. The golden flecks stand out in the bright daylight, making her eyes shimmer like topaz. “Trust me?”
She nods, gifting me with a small smile. “I do.” Catching her hand, I lead her to the edge of the hill while I grab the sled we’ll be using.
I set the blue plastic down. “Do you want the front or back?”
“The back. I don’t want to see what’s coming. I’m going to hold onto you and hope for the best.”
I plop down into the sled and she sits behind me, her legs wrapped around my hips and her booted feet resting on my thighs.
“Are you sure this is meant for two people?” Her voice quivers nervously.
“It’s fine. Hold on tight.” Her arms wrap around me and I feel her against my back. Using my hands, I push us off. We speed down the hill, Perri screaming in my ear until we go over the jump. She goes silent except for a gasp of surprise, and her hands clutch my middle tighter. We land with a head jolting force and fly to the bottom. When we come to a stop Perri starts giggling uncontrollably.
“That was amazing. Can we do it again?”
Climbing out of the sled, I hold my hand out for her to take. I pull her to her feet and she throws her arms around me.
“Thank you for talking me into this. That was so exhilarating. My stomach felt like I was on an amusement park ride.”
“That’s why people do this stuff. That feeling is addicting. Watch out. I’ll make an adrenaline junkie out of you yet.”
“Damn, mine got burned.” Clancy holds up his blackened marshmallow on the long skewer.
“I’ll take it.” Flynn slides it free from the end and pops it into his mouth. He chews it up and swallows without grimacing. How he didn’t burn his mouth I’ll never know. “The blackened ones are my favorite,” he explains. “They have a little crunch to them.”
Sitting on the floor with my back against the couch, I watch as Perri places two graham crackers on a plate and centers a piece of chocolate on top of one. Kneeling in front of the fireplace, she holds her marshmallow over the flame and carefully turns the stick so it browns evenly. When she’s satisfied, she pulls the marshmallow free from the skewer and sets it on top of the chocolate. Once she adds the second graham cracker on top she smushes them together, so the marshmallow oozes out the sides. Her tongue slips out her berry colored lips to lick up the gooey substance and I instantly imagine her licking my cock. Shit. Now is not the time for a hard-on. I’m surrounded by my friends and I don’t want to make Perri uncomfortable either.
“Anyone need a beer?” I jump to my feet and head from the room before anyone answers.
Clancy calls out, “I’ll take one.” I raise my hand in a thumbs up high enough for him to see over my head and keep moving.
Once I’m in the kitchen, I brace my hands against the counter and take a deep breath, trying to calm my hormones. Jesus. Being around her this much is a test to my resolve.
“Are you okay?” Perri pads over to me on
sock covered feet. If she hadn’t spoken I wouldn’t know she was here.
I pivot around to face her and nod. “Yeah, I just needed some air. It was hot being near the fire.”
Her hands grip my upper arms. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?” The concern on her face has me confiding the truth to her.
“The only thing wrong is that I wanted to be alone with you so I could do this.” Gripping both sides of her head, I angle her face and take her lips. My tongue sweeps out seeking entrance to her sweet mouth. She complies with a soft moan and her fingers climb up, burying in my hair. Her nails scratch my scalp as her body rubs on me. I groan into her mouth and scoop my hands underneath her, spinning to place her on the counter. Sliding between her legs, I pull her to the edge so our pelvises can connect. My cock rubs the seam of her yoga pants until she pants into my mouth.
“Do you think I can make you come doing this?” I whisper hoarsely in her ear.
“God, yes. Don’t stop.” Her heels press into my ass, urging me closer. My hands hold her hips, keeping her still as I grind into her over and over. She gasps into my neck and her sharp teeth nip into my skin as she unravels.
I hold her close as she comes down from her release. She exhales little, warm puffs of air on my neck and I smile. She’s so adorable. Stepping back, I gaze down at her, taking in her pleasure flushed cheeks and glassy eyes. “You’re so fucking beautiful. It’s painful to look at you. But it’s the kind of pain I could get used to and crave.”
“Where’s my beer?” Clancy’s deep voice bellows, warning us of his approach. My eyes close and my nostrils flare. Why is someone always interrupting us?
Perri and I lie face to face in my bed. My fingertips trail up and down her back. “I’m going to miss you when you leave.”
“I’ll miss you too. Is it weird that I feel like you’re one of my best friends so soon?”
“Not at all. I feel the same.” That’s not really the whole truth, but she doesn’t need to know the depth of my feelings for her. What we have has been amazing so far. I’m not going to do anything to fuck it up.