Catch My Breath

by Wendy L. Wilson

  She spits out a giggle and swallows another shot before slamming the glass back down to the table.

  “No doubt, on account of how smooth you are,” she winks with a huge grin.

  I join in her laughter and pour us both another shot. Alyssa stares at the table in a blank expression and for a minute I wonder what she’s doing. Looking up to me in confusion, I snicker. Let’s make this fun.

  Glancing around, I spot the kitchen clock above the counter and tap at my wrist.

  “You’re running out of time. You better go or you’re going to have to drink,” I inform her, causing her mouth to drop open.

  “Wait. You never said there was a time limit. I’m thinking here,” she squeals, but I try my best to keep a straight face.

  “Ten more seconds,” I can barely hold back my laughter.

  “You can’t do that. That’s cheating. You made that up!”

  I make a loud buzzing sound and point my finger towards her. “That’s true. I did make it up. It’s my game and I already knew that.” I lean forward and steal a quick kiss, grinning from ear-to-ear with how riled up she got. Her feistiness dissolves as soon as my lips meet hers. Pulling away, I smile and whisper, “Your drink.”

  She shakes her head and complies with an amused roll of her eyes as I gear up for my next fact so that we can continue the game.

  “I never wanted to fall in love, ever … until the day I saw you.” Seeing Dad walk out on my mom when she needed him the most had a negative effect on my outlook on love, but when I saw her, it didn’t matter what the end result would be. I had to give it a shot.

  “I’ll gladly drink to that.” She gives me a warm, sincere smile with absolute love showing in her eyes as she slowly lifts the shot glass to her lips. Placing it gently to the table, she twirls it beneath her fingertips and quirks one eyebrow, telling me I’m in for another bombshell. “I can tie a cherry stem with my tongue.”

  I arch my eyebrows, my mouth immediately salivating with this new detail. That’s sexy as hell.

  “Like with no hands.”

  She shrugs with a small smile.

  “Show me,” I ask, desperately needing to see this.

  Casually she slides off her chair, stands and walks up to the bar where there is an array of half devoured party snacks. She sneaks a quick grin over her shoulder and I can’t help but slide my gaze down her body and take in her small waist, the way her dress sticks to the back of her thighs and the way her hips swing as she walks. Once at the bar, she pops the cherry in her mouth and strolls back my way.

  Half ready to fall out of the chair from the way she’s making me feel, and half because the alcohol is slowly winning the battle over my bodily functions, I steady myself as she grabs my hand and turns it palm up inside of hers. I stare hard at her lips, which every once in a while morphs into two. Watching in fascination, she slips the stem out of her mouth and places it in my hand. Squinting, I can barely make out a small knot in the center of the stem. I cock my head back and grin. Wow.

  “Ok … so, I’m not sure I can top that, but …” I look at her, trying to decide whether to go with shocking like I’ve had to escape for alone time with fantasies of my own or tell her something that will completely capture her heart and make her know just how much I love her. I go with the latter, already knowing I’ll have to drink for this. With my best seductive expression, trying to mock the same look she gave me, I lean forward, lick my lips and whisper, “I love you.”

  She shifts and wiggles in her seat, then throws her arms around me. Yes, party is over. No sooner than my arms snake around her waist, she pulls back, still giggling.

  “Drink. My turn.”

  I sigh as my mouth drops along with my eagerness, igniting a new eruption of laughter from her. She’s torturing me on purpose.

  “Oooo … I got a good one,” she clears her throat and wipes the smirk off her face. “I took three years of gymnastics when I was a kid and to this day, I can still put my leg behind my head.”

  The smirk returns to her face as my mouth drops open. This I have to see, but definitely not here.

  “Are we done with this party, yet?” My heart is going full throttle and I may very well implode if I don’t have her to myself soon.

  Crooking her index finger side-to-side in front of her, she swallows up all my hopes of escaping to the bedroom with her, in an instant.

  “Your turn.”

  I take yet another drink, the warmth of the vodka stinging my tongue and heating up my chest as it joins the colossal amount of liquor whirling in my stomach. Time to step up my game.

  “Someday, I’d like to have three kids; two girls and one boy.” It’s totally true and I’ve actually had dreams of Alyssa holding our first baby in her arms, her face lit with a beauty that is beyond any description.

  “But you never wanted to get married,” she points out.

  I crack up, not at all knowing where the outburst comes from, but my head is spinning so fast that everything seems either hilarious or manages to turn me on at this point.

  Holding my hand up, I stick a finger in the air to correct her.

  “Up until I met you, I didn’t want to.”

  She gasps, holding her breath for a second as she takes a drink without another word. I’m hoping her level of surprise will end in me hauling her to the bedroom, but then she throws out another fact about herself.

  “I told Mom all about our two weeks together at the lake.”

  A tiny groan slips out of my mouth as I squeeze my eyes shut from embarrassment and take a drink. That, I was not expecting. Images of me meeting her parents surface in my mind and I think back to how her mom hugged me for the first time, saying how she had heard so much about me. Oh God!

  “Wait, how much did you tell her and was this before I went home with you the first time?” I spit out with a lump in my throat as I pour more shots. Horniness and humor are not the only things I’m feeling now.

  “Ah ah … I thought there were no questions?” Now she’s just being ornery. Looking at her with my mouth half gaped open, this time I don’t give in to the rules of this game. Luckily, she caves in to my charm or at least my stunned helplessness.

  “Well, if you want the truth, maybe you should just take another shot or...” she giggles, “...maybe even two shots.”

  Oh shit! I bring the shot glass to my mouth and drink it down, swaying forward and widening my eyes partly from her confession as well as the alcohol.

  “If it makes you feel any better, the first time she met you she gave me a thumbs-up when she hugged you,” she goes on, bringing on a whole new level of mortification.

  I toss another back, knowing at this rate, I may not be able to stand in the next few minutes. I need something good that will make her ready to end this game. I look over at her, studying her for minute. My eyes go in and out of focus, but I see the hint of her beautiful smile on her face as she looks at me waiting, and one image comes to mind.

  “Ok, so …” Bringing this up isn’t the easiest, but I want her to know this regardless of the game. “You were the last thing I saw when I wrecked,” I pause, watching her face change to astonishment laced with longing and love. I go on as if it were yesterday, “I had an image of you in my mind. You were sitting in that old fishing boat out on the lake. It was the day we went fishing and the sun was shining down on you while you talked about your dad.”

  I can barely think, hardly sit upright, but one thing I can do is see that image plain as day and also how much it means to her. She confirms my thoughts by jumping out of her seat and smoothly sliding into my lap. The heat from her skin moves over my legs as I instinctively wrap my hands around her waist and hold her as tight as I can. Before I can add my last bit of information, her lips are on mine and I nearly say the hell with it all. I so want to take her to the bedroom right now. Sliding my hands up to cradle her face, I move my mouth in sync with hers until she pulls away. She stares back at me, so I move in for the kill with the last bit
of information that I never got around to telling her, but something that I am ready to share with her now.

  “Do you know that the day I got out of the hospital, my first trip was to my mom’s wishing well? I sat down on that bench and relived every single second of our two weeks together. So I guess both of our moms know everything.” My heart swells with love for her as I say the words.

  Her arms close in around my neck, steadying me then she says the words I’ve waited all night to hear.

  “Let’s go to my bedroom. I think it’s time to turn this into a party for two, don’t you?”

  Finally!

  She gets up first, giggling as she side-steps then regains her footing. I watch her, knowing it may be a losing battle for me to attempt to walk. Clearly reading my mind, she grabs my arm and places it over her shoulder, helping me to my feet. Halfway up, I feel a little silly and foolish for drinking so much.

  “I think I got it,” I say as we get to the living room.

  “You sure?” She looks over to me and I nod. “Ok, well, we might as well stay here tonight so I’m going to tell Abby that we are going to bed and make sure everyone stays out.”

  After she slips away, I spot Bethany in the middle of the floor dancing between a couple of guys. She makes eye contact with me, winking before she looks away. What the hell. I really cannot stand her. Taking a page from her book, I disappear into Alyssa’s room, grab up a fuzzy scarf that is lying on her nightstand and tie it to the door knob. Not that this makes a difference to her intrusive ass, but maybe eventually she will get the point that she doesn’t stand a chance. Holding steady at the door, I wait for Alyssa to return, casually making eye contact with Bethany then down to the scarf. Shove that in her conniving ass face. I sway and grin as she curls up her lips, looking pissed.

  The minutes click by until Alyssa returns, and my mind gets hazier as the night treads on. My eyes are weighted down as if someone is slowly soldering them closed, my head is sunk into the pillow and Alyssa’s fragile petite naked body is molded to mine. My hand traces a pattern back and forth from her waist to her shoulder with a million goose bumps forming beneath my touch. I’m aware that my mouth is moving and I can even hear the quiet murmur of my voice, but I’m unable to muster up the brain power to figure out what is spilling from it. She moves away suddenly, barely unhitching our bodies, but I pull her in tighter. I don’t want her to move. I need her close.

  Opening my mouth, I try to relay to her how much I love her, but it sounds as if I’m underwater and I’m not even sure words are coming out. Her body suddenly slides against mine with her legs falling to each side of my waist. No sooner that her lips and tongue join mine, I am fully awake and aroused. All amounts of drowsiness and fogginess are pushed to the wayside, as I pull her flush against me.

  “I thought you were tired,” she breaths out as my mouth slides over the skin of her jaw like there is a candy coating over her body that I am determined to devour.

  “I’m not that tired,” I inform her as I alternate between quick breaths and tasting her skin.

  In one swift motion, I flip her over, a dizzy sensation bouncing through my head as I move further down her body with my tongue. My arms and mouth damn near feel numb, but as she whimpers, every fiber in my body catches fire and sends my heart into overdrive along with a rush of blood to my lower half.

  She breathes out a loud moan as I grind against her. “I need to put the scarf on the door.”

  “I already did,” I gasp out over her skin as I work my way back to her mouth, sliding my hands slowly over the curve of her waist across to her stomach and down until her whimpers slowly become pleasure-full cries the more my fingers move.

  Just listening to her breath speed up and watching her chest heave in and out beneath me has alarms screaming inside my head … Now … Now … Now.

  I can’t wait. Pulling my hand up to her waist, I slide it behind her as she arcs her back up and brings her body closer to me in an effort to have my lips back on hers; so I do. One shift and shock waves barrel through me as her mouth opens and her head slams back into the pillow. I watch her, enamored with every movement she makes, every moan, and with the way her eyebrows dip down as if it feels so good that it hurts.

  Her mouth remains open, letting out a sharp breathy whimper with each thrust, but I can no longer just watch. I capture her breaths with my lips, slipping my tongue into her mouth in a crushing kiss that makes me crave even more of her. Her breathing speeds up as I move faster and as she trails her hands to my hips, pulling me against her with an excitable force. I arch my back, dipping my head down to her chest and slowly running my tongue over her nipple. She trembles beneath me and lets out a loud moan but I don’t stop.

  Her body melts for a moment as I keep moving, a fiery sizzling burst of sensations gradually building within my core. It heightens and heightens making me squeeze my eyes shut and clasp the sheet beside her waist in my fist. Every inch of my body tenses as Alyssa wiggles against me, bringing on more sensations that I can barely handle before my body is quivering in delight and a loud groan ruptures from within me. My arms simultaneously give out as I crash on top of her with my face in her neck, breathing in strawberries and the salty scent of her sweat. My skin is aware of every movement, every single brush of her skin against mine as my tremors slow.

  I gently slide to her side, kissing her shoulder, and pulling her with me so that we can remain close the whole night. My eyes get heavier and all I can hear is steady puffs of air as my chest rises and falls along with Alyssa’s soft, subtle breaths. Gradually, my body slips as if I am falling into a blanket of darkness further and further with no end.

  I have no idea how long I sleep when hands roam up my chest and around my neck, locking our bodies together again. I keep my eyes closed and enjoy the explosive currents coursing through me. At this point, I’m not even sure I’m awake, but I can hear Alyssa’s whimpers and I can smell her skin. My hands smooth over the rose petal softness of her thighs and I can feel her on me, moving slowly.

  Suddenly twisting my body, Alyssa is beneath me and she lets out another loud moan as I pull her so tight against me that I swear we are one body.

  “You feel so good,” I barely make out my own words. “I’m not going to stop.”

  And I don’t.

  I keep us sealed together, basking in the most incredible and overpowering feelings, yet as my heart verges on explosive, my mind remains hazy with my eyes welded shut. Am I dreaming?

  Time slips by in a storm of blurry images of Alyssa against me, beneath me and on top of me and every second I devour her, taste her and indulge in the warmth of our body’s closeness. I whisper things I’ve never said before to her all through the night, wanting her to know how she makes me feel and just as I begin to slip into the fogginess of sleep, the heat from her skin rouses me again.

  After what seems like a marathon, my heartbeat begins to slow and my breathing calms as I settle back into the softness of the mattress with her still clasped in my arms. I don’t think I’ve separated from her since I crawled into this bed. Stretching my eyebrows up, I struggle to open my eyes, to sober up and stay awake. I’ve never been this drunk.

  “I’ll be back...” I think I say; at least the vibrations of words move over my tongue.

  With a good deal of effort and with a heavy weight still tugging at my eyelids, my feet manage to find solid ground, yet my legs are rubbery and unstable. I brace my hand on a hard surface nearby and push up, my knees nearly buckling beneath me before I gain control. I got this.

  After the difficult task of using the restroom while turned on, plus being unable to clearly see anything within a six inch radius, I stumble back into the bedroom, bumping my shoulder on the door frame and my feet catching on something crunchy.

  “I’m so tired … I think I’m still drunk too,” I say aloud as my head spins and my legs shake.

  My shins finally hit the side of the mattress and I know I’ve made it back to bed.

/>   “Over here,” her sweet voice calls out from behind me. “You’re going to fall if you don’t open your eyes.”

  Forcing them open, I take in Bethany’s sloppy side of the room. I glance down and barely make out the shape of a soda cup hanging onto my foot. What the hell is up with cups always being on the damn floor? I snicker, shake the nasty cup from my foot and turn the other way.

  “You need to switch beds with her. Going back and forth between our apartments, I can’t keep this straight,” I mumble quietly, ready to lie back down.

  I slink down between the sheets and naturally pull her to me, the silky tender flesh of her breasts brushing over my chest and molding to me.

  “I keep having these wild dreams about you. Then I’ll feel you beside me and I can’t control myself. I’m not complaining about the dreams or waking up at all hours of the night with you, but don’t ever let me drink that much again.”

  As soon as the words are out of my mouth, sleep reaches out and tugs me under into complete darkness and silence, until a new dream interrupts my peaceful slumber.

  ALYSSA SUDDENLY STIRS BESIDE me and I want her more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. It's as if my heart will stop beating if I am not joined to her in some physical way. Her soft touch moves across my abs then two thighs slide to either side of my hips. I'm instantly turned on at the thought of being so close to her again.

  I move my hands to grip her waist and guide her, trying to will my exhausted eyes open. A slight moan fills my eardrums and has me wide awake in an instant. My eyes shoot open just as I hear a gasp over my shoulder. Bethany's naked body is straddling me and she looks just as shocked as I am. I waste no time shoving her off.

  "What the hell!" I yell before realizing the gasp from the doorway is Alyssa.

  I'm in utter shock. What the hell happened! How?! One minute I was dreaming of Alyssa on me and the next overly-obsessed Bethany is putting in motion her plan to destroy my life. Where the hell was Alyssa? I thought she was in bed with me. Instantly, my mind starts running through the entire night, panicked.