Flying Free

by Abigail Davies

  Her hands wander down from my neck and onto my shoulders, holding on for dear life. Pushing against her, I run my tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entrance. She opens up and when our tongues meet, her moan makes me rock hard and I push against her even more, making it known what she’s doing to me.

  Pulling away suddenly, I take two steps back and shake my head. “I shouldn’t have-”

  “What?” she asks, her hands fluttering to her lips.

  “After everything you went through-” I look away, not able to look her in the eyes as images from that day flash through my mind. I really fucking wish they’d stop doing that.

  “Are you freaking kidding me?” My head snaps up at her tone and my eyes widen when I see the anger burning in her eyes. “Why did you do that?”

  “I-”

  “I’m not that person anymore, Corey.”

  She looks down at the floor and moves her feet in that nervous shuffle that she does and looks back up with tears in her eyes.

  “A-”

  “Is it so wrong to just want to be kissed? To want to be wanted?” She sniffs, wiping furiously at a tear that slips down her face.

  My mouth opens and closes like a fish and I desperately want to wrap her in my arms and not let go. I can’t bear to see her this upset so I step forward but she flinches and walks past me and out into the hallway.

  “Just go,” she hiccups holding her hands against her face.

  I turn to go, trying to respect her wishes but when I hear her gut wrenching sob, I spin back around and take three big steps, wrapping my arms around her and leaning my face on the top of her head, holding her tight.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” I say. “If you knew how much I wanted you, honestly, you’d probably run a hundred miles in the other direction.”

  She shakes her head and I pull back, cupping her face in my hands and rubbing the tears away with my thumbs. Bending my knees, I bring my face down to hers and smile softly.

  “I want you.” When she shakes her head again, I grit my teeth. “Baby, I want you so fuckin’ bad, it hurts.”

  She sniffs, her sobs starting to subside as she stares into my eyes. “Really?”

  “Really.” I smile, pressing my lips gently to hers. Her answering smile as I pull away lights up her whole face and it’s all I can do not to throw her over my shoulder and walk her into her bedroom.

  We both jump at the ringing of her cell and she steps back to pull it out of her pocket, frowning at the screen and then answering it with a soft, “hello.”

  I wait until she’s finished but when she pulls it away from her ear and ends the call without anything else said, I frown.

  “Wrong number,” she says when she sees the confusion on my face.

  Catching the time on her cell, I say. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Okay,” she whispers, looking unsure.

  “Pizza and a movie at mine tonight?” I ask, already thinking of when I’ll next be able to see her. “I’ll pick you up at seven?”

  “Erm... yeah, okay.” I bend down, placing one last kiss on her lips and turn, walking straight out of her apartment and not looking back because if I do, I’ll never be able to leave.

  I jog back to campus to my car and spot that slimy lecturer lurking around.

  I’d sat here and waited for Ava to finish her class for over an hour earlier. I hadn’t been able to get her lips out of my head for days and I finally decided to bite the bullet and ask her out.

  When he touched her, I couldn’t stop my reaction and I was half way to them before I even realized it. There was no stopping it and as soon as I touched her, my body buzzed with the same energy it had the other night.

  I’d pushed it aside for too long, telling myself that the connection we had when we first met was because of the situation we were in. I was stupid, it was never that, it was just her. The way she was, the way her eyes caught me in her web and wouldn’t let me go.

  Now though I couldn’t get the grin off my face, especially as I drove past him and winked.

  That will teach the fucker to touch her.

  Everybody seems to notice the smile on my face and the extra spring in my step over the next few days. I went to Corey’s for pizza and a movie on Monday night, full of nerves and excitement. I didn’t know what all this meant but it was feeling like the start of something really good.

  Corey isn’t like anyone else I’ve ever met. He makes me laugh and makes me feel at ease all the time and we have this weird connection where he seems to know what I’m thinking most of the time without me even having to say anything. He said that I have an open face.

  I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Corey says it’s good but I don’t want everyone to know what I’m thinking or feeling.

  I ended up falling asleep in the early hours of the morning after we had talked about everything and anything that first night. It reminded me of when I first moved into Elena’s and Trevor’s and we stayed up most of the night then too.

  I’ve never been able to talk to anyone the way I can talk to Corey, not even Jess.

  “You ready?” the girl I’m working with tonight asks, tapping her foot impatiently.

  I look down at my leftover papers, chewing my lip as I debate whether I should finish them or just leave. I never would have been able to leave unfinished work before but now as I sit here, I realize that it really doesn’t bother me that much so I shrug and push my chair back.

  It’ll still be there tomorrow and I’m the only one who never leaves unfinished work so for once, I’m going to do what everyone else does and leave it for someone else.

  “Yeah,” I say, walking to the main doors and locking up behind us. We both walk down the stairs in silence and that’s when I realize that I don’t even know her name.

  Just as I’m about to call out to her and ask, she pushes through the main doors and veers off through the quad, the darkening sky closing in fast.

  I smile when I see Corey leaning on the bonnet of his car, waiting for me, and my heart rate speeds up at the sight of him, butterflies taking flight in my stomach.

  “Hey,” I whisper as I get closer.

  “Hey, baby.” His deep voice sends shivers through me and I can’t help but appreciate how he looks. The way his jeans hug his thighs and taper down in just the right way so that they’re half way in and out of his boots. The worn t-shirt that he’s wearing looks fashionable to anyone else but I know that it’s old and soft, just the way he likes it.

  His short hair that he’s constantly running his hands through has this, ‘I just woke up’ look to it without him even meaning to.

  I walk straight to him and stand a couple of feet away. His hands snake out, gripping my waist and pulling me against him.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask, my smile widening.

  “Thought I’d meet my girl from work.” He shrugs, his dimple coming out as he stares into my eyes.

  “Your girl?” I ask, cocking my brow and smirking. “What’s she like?”

  “She’s amazing,” he answers with his own smirk. “And funny.”

  “Oh yeah?” I lean closer, our lips almost touching. “Tell me more.”

  “She’s perfect. Everything about her is perfect. Her body, her personality, but...”

  “But?” I whisper against his lips, feeling his breath fan against mine.

  “She can pick things up with her toes.” He whispers as his hands grip me harder. “It freaks me the hell out.”

  Throwing my head back, I laugh, the sound echoing through the empty campus.

  “I love when you laugh.” I swallow, looking back at him and shuffle nervously. It has me on edge when he looks at me like that, like he wants to say so much more but he’s afraid to.

  The wind starts to pick up as we stare at each other and I shiver. “Damn, I forgot my jacket.” I step back, about to go and get it when he reaches through the window of his car and pulls his out.

  “Here, wear this.�
�� I hand him my bag as I push my arms through the sleeves and breath in the scent that is all him in. Sandalwood and musk, I never want to take this thing off, I may even sleep in it.

  “I need to swing by the bar really quick but I thought we could get takeout and watch that new movie you were on about?”

  “Yeah,” I reply as he opens the passenger door for me. “That sounds great.”

  He winks as he shuts the door and I swear my heart skips a beat. It’s scary how much he affects me but it’s exciting at the same time.

  The ride to the bar is mostly silent but it’s that comfortable silence that we always seem to have when we’re together. I relax back in the seat as he runs inside, coming out a couple of minutes later.

  “What do you fancy? Pizza? Chinese? Ind-”

  “Chinese,” I interrupt him, my stomach growling at the thought of food.

  “Okay.” He chuckles, pulling back out onto the main road.

  Corey reaches for my hand as we walk to the takeout shop, his callouses rubbing against my palm. We wait for our food and then go to Corey’s apartment.

  Once we’ve eaten all that we can, we settle back on his couch, watching the movie. My eyes are wide as I watch it, completely engrossed.

  “Kay said that Eli wants to watch this,” Corey says after a violent scene.

  “Really?” I ask, not taking my eyes off the screen.

  “Yeah. No way will she let him watch this though.” He grimaces as the main character cuts his own hand off. “Jesus, are you enjoying this?” He picks up the remote but I dive at him, not wanting him to turn it off.

  He holds it above his head and I try to reach for it, climbing all over him while trying to see what’s happening at the same time. “Corey!”

  “Okay, Okay!” He pauses it and I look up at him, now just seeing where I am.

  “I... err...” I swallow, moving my leg to get off him. My chest is practically in his face and my legs are either side of his.

  “Don’t,” he whispers, holding my legs in place.

  I swallow, my chest rising and falling harder as his erection presses against me. His hands span wide on my back, his fingertips touching the skin on my stomach. I feel like I’m going to burst into flames.

  My fingers run along his biceps, tracing the curves of his muscles and I watch as goose bumps pucker on his skin.

  “Corey,” I whisper, moving closer.

  “Yeah, baby?” he whispers back, his eyes moving from mine and down to my lips.

  I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, squirming on his lap. “Ah, fuck.” He closes his eyes. “If only you knew what you did to me...”

  Chewing on my lip, I wait for him to open his eyes and when he does I almost gasp at the desire burning in them. There is no doubt in my mind that he wants me and damn, I really want him too.

  So instead of over thinking and analyzing things like I normally do, I lean forward and kiss him, my hands weaving through his short hair.

  He lets me control the pace and for that I’m grateful but at the same time I want him to take control.

  Corey shuffles forward, resting on the edge of the couch and stands. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I don’t move my lips from his as he carries me down the hall and into his bedroom.

  “I don’t-”

  “We won’t do anything you don’t want to do,” he says in answer to my unfinished sentence.

  I nod, trusting him completely. Once he’s placed me on the edge of his bed, he grabs his t-shirt at the back of his neck and pulls it off in one fluid movement, my breath catches in my throat as I see his chest; so ripped I could bounce a quarter off it.

  His eyes are hooded as he stands next to the bed and slowly lowers down on top of me. I feel the pads of his fingers run down my neck and across my chest, fluttering across my stomach and then gripping onto my hips.

  My hands wander, feeling the curves of each of his muscles, his back tenses as I run my nails across it lightly and he growls, diving for my lips.

  I grip onto him, afraid that I’ll float away with all of the sensations that he’s causing.

  He doesn’t take it any further, we just make out. It’s nice, in fact it’s better than nice; it’s just what I need. He understands that I don’t want to take it any further yet.

  After a mammoth make out session, we roll onto our sides and stare at each other, something that we seem to do a lot.

  “I should probably go,” I whisper.

  “Stay,” he says, pulling me closer.

  If I stay will that change things? Will it be saying something that I’m unaware of? I’ve never done the whole dating thing and I have no clue what is and isn’t meant to happen.

  “You’re doing it again,” he says, lifting a brow. “Tell me.”

  “Tell you what?”

  “What’s going on in that head of yours.” He taps my head and runs his hand through my hair.

  “I just...” Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I look away, focusing on the empty wall. “I’ve never done this.” Waving my hand between us, I pull in a deep breath and look back at him. “I don’t even know what this is.”

  “This...” He cups my face in his hands and brings his face closer. “This is whatever you want it to be. All I know...” He pauses, kissing me softly and pulls back, searching my eyes. “Is that I can’t not be with you. You’re all I can think about, have been for years, and now that I’ve had a taste of those lips.” He kisses me again, moving his hand down to my waist and pulling me so close that I can feel every inch of his body. “And held you in my arms.” He shakes his head. “I don’t think I can ever go back. I want you, baby, I want you with every fiber of my being and if that means I have to wait, then I will. I’ll wait as long as you need me to.”

  His thumb strokes my face. “Nobody makes me feel the way you do.”

  I sniff, getting choked up with what he’s said. “I want you too.”

  He smiles, his dimple making another appearance. “What do you say? Me and you?” he asks, his chest rising and falling on a deep breath.

  “Yeah,” I whisper. “Me and you.”

  I never thought I’d be here.

  For so long I’d pushed it to the back of my mind, telling myself that it can never happen. That it isn’t right, that I shouldn’t want her. But there was still that voice that told me I should do it, to take the leap and see what happens.

  I’ve come to realize that we all have shit going on in our lives that we can use as an excuse; I go away a lot, I’m older than she is, she’s been through too much. I used every excuse I could while I was away.

  There was a luxury in that, I didn’t have to see her. But coming back and seeing her, only made my feelings that much stronger and getting to know her as the woman she’s grown up to be. It sealed my fate.

  There was no way I could walk away from her now. She held my heart in her hands and I was afraid that she would crush it at any second.

  But what is life if you don’t take chances?

  I put it all out there, laying it down for her and she could have easily told me she couldn’t do it. But when she said that it was me and her, I swear I could have jumped up and down on the bed like a five-year-old boy who had just got his first baseball mitt.

  Waking up next to her the last couple of mornings was pure bliss and I never wanted it to end, I want to wake up every morning next to her and watch as she opens her eyes and rolls towards me. It scares the shit out of me that I think like that but I try not to think too much into it, instead, I just watch as her lashes flutter against her cheeks and her lips pout.

  Fuck me, she’s so fucking cute.

  The buzzing of my cell has me jumping out of bed before it wakes her.

  “Yeah,” I say, breathless as I turn back to Ava, making sure she’s still asleep.

  “Corey?” Kay asks as I walk down the hallway and into the kitchen. “You okay? You sound out of breath.”

  Clearing my throat, I say, “Yeah, I was just getting ou
t the shower.” I start the coffee pot and lean against the counter, hoping that she doesn’t realize how absurd that sounds. “So... what’s up?”

  “I just wanted to know what time you’re coming down.”

  “Ah...” I grab a couple of cups and place them in front of the coffee pot and then open the fridge for the half and half. “We’ll be heading down this afternoon.”

  “We?” I almost drop my cell as she shouts it down the line. Shit, did I say we? Were we even going to tell people about us?

  Dammit, I need to talk to Ava.

  “Yeah, err... so we’ll be there this afternoon. Gotta go, sis, love ya!” I press the end call button and throw it onto the counter, the vibrating of a message making it move.

  I ignore it and let my head drop as I lean my hands on the counter, wondering if I may have just messed up big time.

  Ava hasn’t said anything about where we go from here in regards to telling people and I don’t want her to think that she has to tell anyone before she’s ready.

  I don’t have a problem with telling anyone, I know the brothers probably won’t be happy about it but they’ll just have to deal because I won’t be going anywhere as long as Ava still wants me.

  I’m here to stay. Figuratively.

  That reminds me, I don’t have long before I have to go away again.

  Fuck.

  “Corey?” her sweet voice calls from the hallway.

  “In here!” I call back. Turning, I pour us both a cup of coffee and wait for her to come in. My eyes saunter up her body, over her legs that are on display in her sleeping shorts and up to where my t-shirt rests precariously off one shoulder.

  Seeing her wearing my clothes makes me feel like a caveman, there’s something to be said for your woman wearing your clothes. She looks sexy as hell, and I have to stop myself from grabbing her and doing everything that I want to do to her, that I’ve been imagining.

  “Were you talking to someone?” she asks, moving forward and standing opposite me.