Falling In Between

by Devon Ashley

  Sophie was kind enough to leave her laptop behind for the weekend, so I was able to spend what down time I had from work Skyping with her and Robert. Once again, he gave me a hard time about not having a phone. And he cruelly followed it up by devouring homemade apple and pumpkin pies in front of me, accentuating every moan he could muster. After about the thirtieth moan, I told him to enjoy it cause he wasn’t gonna be moaning from anything I did to him anytime soon. Then I hit the ‘end call’ button before he could pick his jaw back up.

  So color me surprised when Robert came back from Thanksgiving with a freshly baked pie of each flavor for me. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! Of course, I completely ignored his question of whether I really wanted to waste the can of whipping cream on the pies.

  December finally rolled in, along with snowstorm after snowstorm, but that didn’t matter at night cause it always seemed to be bikini season in my dreams. Being warm and half naked kept things going hot and heavy with Chance – but don’t call me a slut just yet! Granted, I let him go all the way a lot, but even in my dreams, I just didn’t have the stamina to go at it more than twice a week. Not with Robert exhausting me with more passionate make out sessions these days. Seriously, it didn’t even matter that I kept my clothes on. That boy had learned all my hot spots and made me moan away every bit of energy I had left in the day.

  So it was a bit of a relief when I shortened our evenings that second week in December. I was the only one of the four of us scheduled to take the SATs the following Saturday and I needed to get in some last minute cramming each night. I also banned him from being horizontal with me that week. I thought a little breather would do that horn-dog some good cause his hands were getting a bit too frisky. And when he started coming at me more when we were vertical, I cut his lips off completely.

  I’m sorry, as much as I loved lip-locking, I had to freakin’ study! I was the only one here that absolutely relied on getting good scores so I could maybe get some scholarships just to go to college. And I didn’t wanna take these horrible exams twice!

  So when Friday night crept up, I figured my best point of action was to just stick with reviewing word definitions. If I hadn’t learned how to do a certain math problem by now, I wasn’t gonna get it by morning, and I just didn’t see the point of stressing myself out even more. Sophie came back from dinner and brought me a sandwich so I wouldn’t have to leave the room, and be possibly tempted to break my kissing rule with Robert. I thought a week off would do him some good but I was surprised at how antsy I was becoming without his touch. The moment I saw him after school that afternoon I just wanted to throw myself at him. So I bailed on everyone and hid out in my room all afternoon to study.

  Course I use the term study loosely.

  I couldn’t seem to focus on the vocabulary words long enough to memorize them. I kept picturing a certain someone doing a certain something he shouldn’t be doing. I cried out my annoyance and threw my study guide at the wall, which got Sophie to peek out from the bathroom.

  “Going that good, huh?”

  I groaned and whined, “I just can’t focus anymore.”

  “So stop already. It’s over. You take the test tomorrow. Just take a long, hot shower and go to bed.” She flipped the bathroom light off and crossed the room to grab her keys. She fussed with her hair once more, then bid me goodnight.

  About ten minutes later, I was still lying in bed, staring at the book on the floor. A knock came from the door and I had a pretty good idea who that would be. Sure enough, Robert was on the other side.

  “Hey,” he said. I sorta smiled but I didn’t move aside to let him in. “Can I hang out here for a bit?”

  Uh, yes, yes, YES!

  Ugh! Why did he have to ask? If only he had just pushed his way in and jumped me like that day I kissed him outside of class and gave him a hard-on all day, we’d already be on the bed by now smothering each other with our lips!

  Now responsible, boring Jenna was gonna win.

  I shook my head and replied, “No way. You know I have the SATs in the morning.”

  “Come on.” He actually whined, something I’ve rarely seen him do. “The commons are full.”

  “Why can’t you go to your room?”

  “Because, anytime Sophie shows up in a skirt, it’s as good as hanging a sock on the door.”

  I sucked on the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. I had assumed the skirts were for Jhett’s benefit – easy access – especially since it’s snowy white outside.

  But still…“Sorry love. No way.”

  He turned on the charm by singing his voice and bringing out the dimples. “Come on. I promise I’ll stay in the desk chair and be good.”

  “Uh-huh. For about five minutes, or however long it takes for you to devise a plan to get me on your lap.”

  He pretended to be shocked when the door shut on his face. He knocked again. One hand went straight to my hip as the other opened the door again, and I secretly wished he’d just run me over.

  His body weight was supported by the arm against the wall and he had a huge smile spread across his face. “You should really wear more skirts.”

  I was about to open my mouth to retort about how I didn’t wanna freeze my buns off, but I knew he’d immediately have something to say about warming them back up for me. I decided the best course of action was to just shut the door on him again, and lock it for added effect – but it was more for my benefit than his, cause I was one second away from bolting through it myself.

  That night I fell asleep quickly, and Chance was waiting for me in the bed we seemed to frequent a lot. Not quite sure whose it was, but it wasn’t mine and it was way too clean and gender neutral to be the room of a high school guy obsessed with sports and movies.

  His upper body was bare, and by the sinful expression he directed my way, I was pretty sure he lacked clothing underneath the sheets as well. Ohhhh, how incredibly lucky he was that I denied myself all the fun stuff this week. Otherwise, no way I would’ve taken a flying leap into that bed and let him rip my clothes off like that.

  “Damn girl,” he cried when I rocked him so hard he slammed his head against the headboard. It must not have hurt too bad, or it was worth the pain, cause he didn’t stop me from doing it repeatedly.

  As fun and satisfying as the romp with Chance was, I was still really jittery when I woke up the next morning. It could’ve been nerves about taking the SATs, but I had a sneaking suspicion it probably had more to do with the hormones raging within me.

  Why was it my hormones always got me crazy high and doing wild things in my dreams, but were never satisfied by what I did in those dreams?!! It was so freakin’ frustrating!

  I was about ready to head down for an early breakfast when I wanted to try something to calm my nerves. I picked up Sophie’s phone, found Robert’s number and texted him to meet me downstairs in five. I had no doubt he’d woken up by now, and even if he fell back asleep, he wouldn’t be deep enough in to not hear the phone beep. Sure enough, it only took a minute for Sophie’s phone to beep back with a reply of ‘sure’.

  He was waiting for me in the empty common room, leaning against the far wall in a cotton t-shirt, flannel pants and what I guessed were slipper socks. He got a kick out of the way I rushed across the room and threw myself into his embrace and smothered him with my lips. You’d think pressing his sweet lips against mine would only rev me up more, but as I’d hoped, it calmed the nerves that were going crazy within. After a few minutes, I peeled my lips from his and buried my face in his neck, sighing contently.

  “I needed that. Otherwise, I was never gonna be able to concentrate this morning.”

  “You know, if you hadn’t cut me off completely this week, you wouldn’t be going through withdrawal right now.”

  “Hush up.” I gave him one more long kiss and when I pulled away again, I said, “Happy Birthday.”

  “Ahh. I figured you forgot since you were so obsessed with your test this week.”
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  “Course not. Although I do have to admit I’m still at a loss for what to get you.”

  “I have a pretty good idea of what you can give me.” When I threw him a contemptuous look, he added, “It’s not sex.”

  I kissed him once more, and this time when I broke it, I pulled away to walk backwards. “I promise I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

  His eyebrows twitched when he heard that and his face kept me amused all through the day. When I came back from that horrible examination, my eyes hurt and I had a headache but I felt lifted when I saw Robert waiting for me in an arm chair in the common room. I slid onto his lap and he wrapped his arm around me.

  “So how’d it go?”

  “Can I just say that I don’t care if two planes or trains or whatever take off from different locations at different times and travel at different speeds. I am not traffic control, so why the hell would I care what time they’d pass each other?”

  “That good, huh?”

  “No,” I semi-whined, “I did alright. At least I don’t think I’ll have to take them again.” I wanted to lean over and bury my head in his neck but I was up too high to not bend awkwardly.

  “So, you up for an early dinner?”

  “Yes!” I practically screamed. My stomach started complaining during the last hour of testing.

  “You willing to brave a trip to Rutland?”

  I warily glanced out the doors. I had to walk down sidewalks with six feet of snow piled up beside them. “Seriously?”

  “The roads are clear and it’s not supposed to snow again until Tuesday.”

  “Yeah, I guess. If you’re willing to drive it.”

  We ate at a small pizzeria that we liked and when we were done and just relaxing, he asked, “So are you ready to hear what I want for my birthday?”

  I did the math in my head already, since he mentioned this gift earlier that morning, and I knew we’d been dating for more than three months now. So I could only imagine what he was gonna try to slip into our routine now.

  I’m guessing I made a face cause he followed it up with the ever popular, “It’s not sex.”

  He reached into his wallet, pulled out some plastic card and slid it across the table to me. It was a room key to one of the nicer hotels in Rutland.

  “Not sex, huh?” I jested. I slid it back and he returned it to his wallet.

  “Alright, it’s my birthday so you have to at least hear me out.”

  I huffed but I couldn’t fight a smile from breaking. I used my eyes to say well?

  “Again, not asking you to go any further than we’ve already gone, but I want the rest of the weekend. Just you and me, in bed, without having to worry about Sophie and Jhett walking in, or a teacher catching us in the other’s room, or if the neighbors can hear you moan.”

  My mouth made an O. As if it were just my moans that were loud and uncontrollable.

  Man, that really entertained him.

  By the time my jaw relaxed again, I had enough time to picture all the things he could do to me in that private room. “Yeah, okay. But I wish you would’ve told me earlier so I could’ve packed a bag.”

  “Sophie already did it.”

  “Oh, God!” I whined, and I threw my head back against the booth.

  Laughing, he asked, “You worried about what she packed?”

  “More like if she packed anything at all.” Sophie would get a hoot out of forcing me into nudity or packing nothing but barely-there lingerie.

  When we got into the room my mouth kinda dropped again. This was way nicer than any hotel room I’d ever seen before: huge room, large flat screen TV, two separate sitting areas and a view of the nearby mountains. And of course, let’s not forget about the king size bed that looked all squishy from the fluffy feather duvet that covered it. Sweet!

  Robert handed me my bag and I closed myself off in the bathroom that was basically the same size as my entire dorm room. My chest purred when I admired the jet spa that was big enough for two. No way was I leaving this weekend without soaking in that for awhile!

  I tossed the bag on the counter and fearfully unzipped it. I didn’t quite know what to make of the contents at first. I pulled out four gallon-sized plastic bags. The first had spicy written on it, and inside I could tell it was some kind of skimpy black lacey thing. I tossed that aside – as if. A second bag said mild and seemed to have a satiny gown in it. Plain had a cotton tank and shorts tucked inside. The last bag said caliente, but there was nothing in it.

  Oh. Right. Nudity.

  Everything seemed to have tags, so I guess I knew what Sophie did that morning.

  I unzipped mild. Inside was a lavender satin slip with delicate black lace appliqués across the chest and along the bottom, and a pair of coordinating panties. I changed, brushed my teeth and unpinned my hair so it fell in loose brown waves over my shoulders.

  I took a deep, cleansing breath before I turned off the light and left the bathroom. The room was dim and Robert was already buried underneath the massive amounts of feathers. I slid into the silky sheets and snuggled into his chest.

  “I figured you’d choose that one.”

  “So you did look!”

  “Of course I looked. To be honest, I was impressed Sophie knew a few Spanish words. I didn’t take her to be fluent in more than the English language, and even that’s questionable at times.”

  “She’s not. Her Spanish doesn’t extend past picante labels and menu items at the taqueria.” He laughed and I locked onto his eyes to ask, “So which one did you want me to choose?”

  “The one you’d be comfortable in. However, I am grateful you’ve progressed past the plain bag.”

  “So not the spicy or caliente?”

  “Those are nice too, but I’d choose spicy over caliente any day.”

  I found that a little surprising. “Seriously?”

  He rubbed his chin absentmindedly. “Well, let’s put it this way. If you’re comfortable enough to wear what was in the spicy bag, then you’re comfortable enough to let me rip it off. So technically, I’d get spicy and caliente all in one sitting.”

  I playfully smacked him in the chest and snuggled back in again, breathing in the familiar yummy scent on his neck. Of course my slip came off eventually, but like he promised, he didn’t try to remove the bottoms. We mostly stayed in bed, except when room service came or when I left to soak in that glorious tub. He broke me down and convinced me to let him take it with me. Sophie had the foresight to pack my bikini but the moment I leaned myself back into his body, he untied my top and threw it across the bathroom. Apparently, wearing the top would be considered backpedaling.

  Whatever. I didn’t fight it now that it was out of reach.

  I’ll give him this. After making me spend the entire weekend topless, Robert had me completely comfortable in my own skin. By the end, it didn’t bother me to walk to and from the bathroom mostly naked. I didn’t even cross my arms to cover myself up anymore.

  So long modesty.

  That week was our last together until after Christmas break. We normally had two weeks off but Robert was leaving school a week early for an extended ski trip his family was taking to different parts of Europe.

  “So, about Christmas. Am I allowed to get you a phone?”

  “No.” Wow. I was super quick to say that. Sophie shook her head in amusement from the sofa next to us.

  He lowered the book he was reading to his lap. “Why not? Say I went out and got you jewelry. The price to cover a phone plan wouldn’t be any different.”

  “Cheaper, actually,” Sophie chimed in, though her eyes never left her phone.

  “Look, I haven’t received much in my lifetime, but what I do have, I have because I’ve earned it.”

  “I won’t have any scruples over you earning it.”

  Sophie burst into a fit of laughter. I had to really twist in the armchair we shared just to see that perfect poker face. Someone’s been studying up on his SAT words.

 
“You know, it amazes me how you can say that with a straight face.” He licked his lips and a small smile began to slowly form. “Besides, I think the tab you’ve already started is long enough.”

  Our lips were mere inches apart and I was really tempted to eliminate every single centimeter.

  “I’d be willing to pardon it all if you’d let me get you a phone.”

  “Take the deal, Jenna,” Sophie said, and I turned back to see her still clicking away on her keypad. “Just think of all the late night calls, texts and dirty pictures you’re missing out on.”

  Robert murmured his agreement in my ear. Luckily I was spared the details of any dirty pictures Sophie had been involved in when Jhett crash landed in the sofa next to her. He gave her a quick peck on the lips and they became immersed in a hushed conversation.

  Quietly, I turned and added, “And you can’t cover a phone plan for less than fifty bucks anyways.”

  “Yeah, let’s talk about this ridiculous limit you’ve set for us.”

  “I’m standing by it. I don’t need anything.”

  “Neither of us needs anything, Jenna. That’s not the point.”

  “I don’t want you buying me some ridiculously expensive gift when I can’t do the same. Is that so horrible to ask?”

  He threw his head back on the chair and stubbornly whined, “Fine. I’ll go to the store and get you something less than fifty bucks.” After rolling his head back and forth a few times, he sat back up, seemingly a little less annoyed with me. He sighed heavily and returned to his novel, but after about two minutes he huffed and waved it at me.

  “Don’t you have to read this for class too?”

  “Yes, but I’ve read it before.”

  “Where?”

  “I wasn’t forced to read it. I chose to read it last summer.”