by Naomi Niles
I felt my eyes get wet. “You don’t care anymore.”
He pulled me into his arms. “Of course, I do. I don’t want you to get into trouble. Don’t make it worse. Just let me be.”
“But this isn’t fair, Dylan.”
“Life is not fair, sweetie. It isn’t. The sooner you learn that the better,” he said.
“I know, but you’ve been trying so hard and now you’re back here in the trailer. I worry about you here.”
He stroked my face. “Oh, Taylor. I’m fine. I can take care of myself.”
He kissed me, and I really didn’t want him to go to work. Helena beeped the horn. Dylan smiled. “We better go or we’ll both be late.”
I nodded, but I liked how I fit into his arms.”
He nudged me away. “Let’s go, Taylor.”
He climbed into the backseat. “Where am I taking you?” Helena asked.
I told her which gas station he worked for. She nodded. “I know it well.”
“Good because I can’t be late.”
She smiled. I turned in my seat to look at him.
“What?”
“I’m just glad to see you.”
“Taylor, we can’t keep doing this.”
“I know, but I’m going to look at you while I can. I’m going to figure this situation out.”
He reached up and squeezed my hand. “I think this is something that you can’t fix. I appreciate the effort, but you have to move on.”
“I refuse.”
He cocked his head. “You have no choice, honey. This is how life is, and you need to listen to your parents. I have to work to get money for food, and I won’t have a lot of time for you.”
“Are you breaking up with me?”
He took a deep breath. “It’s how it has to be, Taylor.”
I felt a lump form in my throat. “I’m not giving up on us, Dylan. We were meant to be together. I know it.”
He frowned. “I wish you would just let it go.”
“No, Dylan. I won’t.”
Helena dropped him off at the gas station. He kissed me through the window. My heart hurt as I watched him walk into the office.
“Help me, Helena. There has to be a solution.”
“Unless you can convince your parents that you are better off with Dylan than without, I don’t see this working. And, I don’t mean emotionally. I mean, like, you’re safer with Dylan.”
“Hm.”
Her statement got some creative juices flowing. I didn’t have the answer yet, but I would. I was determined. My parents would see Dylan for the good kid he was. They would see what I see in him and he’d be back in our house.
Chapter Thirty Three
Dylan
When I returned home from work a few days later, there was a box of mail waiting for me. I guess Mr. Dean had dropped it off. That was important; I needed to see if I had any acceptances. Even if I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to go, I wanted to know I could go to college.
I hadn’t sorted things out with financial aid, but I would. I had to figure out how to make this work. I wasn’t going to stay in this trailer forever.
My phone rang. The caller ID read Helena.
“Hi.”
“It’s Taylor.”
A smile lit my face. That girl could always make me smile. “Hey.”
“I haven’t gotten my phone back, but Helena and I are doing homework. I wanted to hear your voice.”
“Nice to hear your voice, too.”
“Are you doing homework?”
“No, I just got home from work. I need to shower and then get started.”
“Are you keeping your grades up?”
“I am,” I assured her.
“I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
Clearly, she wasn’t going to listen to me about not keeping in touch. Taylor had her own mind and she was going to be an amazing woman when she grew up. She was already pretty cool. I did miss her. We’d begun to spend so much time together, I was almost having withdrawal symptoms from not seeing her.
“You still in uniform?”
“I am.” I stood in my bedroom. “I’m going to put you on speaker so I can get out of these clothes. They smell like gasoline.”
“Yuck.”
“Tell me about it. This trailer now stinks.”
“Do you have a washer and dryer?”
“No. It’s a trip to the laundromat for me.”
“How do you get there?”
“I walk. It isn’t far.”
“Damn, Dylan. That sucks.”
Tell me about it. I was the one who had to do the walking. Tomorrow, I’d have to do it. I had the day off from the gas station and after school would be laundry time. At least I could bring the laptop and get some homework done since the laundromat had Wi-Fi.
“Yep, but it is what it is.”
“I’d be pissed.”
“I think you’re mad enough for both of us,” I said.
She laughed “I guess so.”
“I’d love to talk, sweetie, but I can’t stand how I smell and I can’t take the phone into the shower.”
“Wow. You should send me a pic of you in the shower.”
I laughed. “You’re using Helena’s phone. I’m not sending her a naked picture of me.”
“Good point.”
“I need to sort through the mail your dad dropped off,” I said.
I’d noticed come college envelopes in there. Maybe they were acceptances.
“One more minute, Dylan? Please. Helena has to go soon,” she said.
“Okay, but we both have homework.”
“Why are you so practical?”
“I’ve had to be, Taylor. I’d love to be frivolous, but I can’t be. Life is serious now.”
She sighed. I knew that she was never going to really understand what I was going through. I almost hoped she’d get bored with me, that way she’d move on and I would have to see or hear her.
It hurt. Truly, it hurt. Maybe I was in love with her. I didn’t know. I was eighteen and suddenly had to grow up and take care of myself. She didn’t have to.
“I’m really sorry. I haven’t figured out a solution to our problem, but Helena is helping me.”
I sat on the bed in my underwear, sorting through the mail. “How was your day?”
I didn’t want to hear about a non-existent solution to this problem. I’d done this to myself, and I had to man up and deal with the consequences.
“It was okay. Barbie quit cheerleading.”
“What was her reason?”
“She said it was because of her grades, but I think it is her new boyfriend.”
Guess she’d moved on from me, not that I was hurt or surprised. The girl had the attention span of a toddler. I’m sure I’d only been a blip on her radar, despite the stink she’d made.
“Yeah, us guys distract you.”
I opened a large envelope from Penn State. It said: “Congratulations.” I scanned the letter while Taylor chattered on. When she took a breath, I said, “I got into Penn State.”
“Nice, Dylan, congrats.”
I was pretty stoked. It was number one on my list. I just needed to know what kind of financial aid they were going to give me. That was the key. I clearly couldn’t afford college on my own. I’d probably have thousands of dollars of debt when I got out if I didn’t get grants.
A problem for another day. The next two envelopes were acceptances also. So far, I’d gotten into every college that I wanted to.
Now to pay for it.
I sighed. Taylor talked on as I said non-committal things at the right moment. Guess that was enough. I was suddenly very tired. I laid down on the bed, missing the comfortable one at the Dean house.
“You still there?” Taylor said.
“I am. I have to get into the shower and get my homework done before I fall asleep. I better go. Thank Helena for letting you use her phone.”
“She’s a good frien
d, I know.”
“Yes, she is, Taylor. Keep her close.”
“That sounded ominous.”
“No. It isn’t.”
We hung up finally about ten minutes later. I wanted to close my eyes for a moment, but I knew if I did, the next thing I knew, it would be morning and my homework would not be done. That would be bad.
Now that I had tasted the good life, I wanted it. I was determined to make myself better and to get out of this trailer. I was never going to be poor again.
College would do that for me and I had to finagle a way to pay for it. If it killed me, I would graduate and make something of myself.
I would have that big house.
Chapter Thirty Four
Taylor
Since I wasn’t grounded anymore, I told my mother that I was staying at Helena’s house. My girl was covering for me. I had no intention of being at her house, but she was a good friend.
No, I was heading to Dylan’s house. He was working, but I knew when he’d be home. I also knew where his spare key was. I had a surprise for my man.
Me.
The place smelled, but I’d probably get used to it. He was a guy and notoriously they weren’t as clean was women. At least, from my experience. Dylan’s room had always been messier than mine, but the trailer was not messy.
It just smelled of gasoline. Guess he couldn’t help that unless he undressed outside.
I knew which room was his bed and he’d made it that morning. I undressed and slid into the sheets. They smelled of Dylan and I was already turned on when he came in. He flicked on the light.
“Hi,” I said, trying to act like I surprised my lover all the time.
He put a hand on his chest. “Taylor, you scared me.”
“That wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for.”
He laughed. He stood there in his boxers and a t-shirt. If it was up to me, he wouldn’t be wearing them. But I suddenly felt shy. This didn’t seem as cool as it had in my head.
“Hi,” he said finally.
“Come on in. The covers are warm.”
“I need to shower first, Taylor. I smell like a gas station.”
“I’ll wait. I have all night.”
His eyebrows shot up. “All night?”
“My parents think that I’m at Helena’s,” I said.
He nodded and strode to the bathroom. The water turned on then he was back a few minutes later, a towel wrapped around his waist. Just when I thought he couldn’t look any sexier, he did.
He dropped the towel, then slid under the covers. His hair was damp and messy. I didn’t care. I wanted to be with Dylan again.
“You sure?” he said.
“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t sure,” I said.
He kissed me and my body was already on fire or him. When he stopped, he lifted up the covers to look at me. His smile said it all, which sent a thrill through me.
He nibbled at my neck as I ran my hands down his back. Then he took one of my breasts in his mouth. My fingers were jammed into his hair, my body writhing as he kissed down my stomach.
Where was he going? “Dylan?”
“Trust me.”
He ended up between my thighs.
“Spread your legs a little more.”
I did as he asked, not sure what was happening, but going with it. I did trust Dylan. He wouldn’t hurt me. He licked me down there. My butt would have come off the bed from the sensation, but his hands were holding me down.
Then another lick. His tongue flicked at me, and I didn’t know what to do with the sensations. I felt as if I were about to explode. A tension tightened in my gut. This was a far more intense feeling than when I took care of my own needs.
“God, Dylan.”
I could feel the vibrations of it up my body when he chuckled. His whiskers scraped my thighs, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. None of it was bad. I was happy there were no houses close because this wasn’t going to happen quietly.
I moaned as his tongue danced across my center. My back arched. I fisted the sheets in my hands. And then it let loose – my orgasm and a high keening noise. I don’t know how long it lasted, but when it stopped, I wanted to cry. I’d never felt so relieved in my life.
Dylan wiped his face on the sheet and slid back up my body, a grin on his face. “I love doing that.”
“You like it?”
“I could spend the day down there if there was a fridge.”
I laughed. “That was amazing.”
“Yeah, it was.”
I took his penis in my hand. He was hard and long, and I knew where I wanted him. But it was my turn.
“Roll over.”
He shifted onto his back. I saw a condom on his nightstand and snagged it. I opened it with my teeth while I sat on his thighs. I was still weak from my climax, but I was going to do this. I wanted to be on top. I wanted to be in control.
I rolled the condom onto him, then poised my body above his erection. “Ready?”
“Holy shit, Taylor. Yes.”
I laughed then slid myself onto him. Slowly. It was torture as I wanted to take him whole. He gritted his teeth, then grabbed my hips to push me on further. I laughed. He’d lost control.
I slid up and down his length, my body igniting again. All of a sudden, I was racing to the finish line. I knew the orgasm was close. He arched his body into mine. We met at every thrust until I was falling over the edge. Dylan thrust a few more times as my body had stopped being mine.
He let out a low growl as I slumped onto him. He rubbed my back, which was the only part of me that wasn’t numb. Our chests heaved.
He eventually nudged me. “I have to get the condom off before it leaks.”
I slid off of him. He went to the bathroom, then returned to snuggle up next to me.
“We really have all night?”
“All night, Dylan.”
“Damn. Glad I don’t work until later tomorrow. I’m going to need some sleep after this.”
“Right now?”
“No, not right now, but before I go to work. Right now, I only need a few minutes before we do it again.”
My body tingled with the thought.
Chapter Thirty Five
Dylan
I had dozed off. When I woke, Taylor was still there. The clock told me it was after midnight. This had been the best evening of my life. I had had no idea when I walked in from work that she’d be here.
Hopefully, this wouldn’t blow up in her face. I didn’t want her to get in any more trouble.
I could go another round, but I wanted to talk to her first. Her head rested on my shoulder. I didn’t want to move ever, but I did need to get some food since I hadn’t eaten when I go home.
“Hey, Taylor?”
“Mm?”
“I need food. You want some?”
“Let’s get pizza.”
I didn’t have the money for that. No take out for me for a long while.
As if reading my mind, she sat up and said, “I’ve got cash.”
I smiled. “Okay. If you’re paying.”
“I am.” She grabbed my phone off the nightstand. “I’m ordering, too.”
There she was – the most beautiful girl in school and she was naked in my bed, about to buy me pizza. How did I get this lucky? I tucked my hands behind my head, feeling like the biggest stud in school.
I knew I’d pleased her and now she was buying me food.
“What do you want?”
“Something with meat.”
“Okay.”
She ordered the pizza to be delivered. I told her the address. She hung up and dropped my phone on the nightstand, reaching across me to do it. Her breasts grazed my stomach. Oh, God. I was ready again.
She rested her chin on my chest, her eyes looking up at me. That meant her breasts were still against my stomach. What better place to be, other than between her legs. She tasted like honey to me.
I knew some guys who didn’t like that, but I certainl
y did.
As much as I wanted to have her again, we needed to talk about the future. Or maybe, I needed to talk about the future.
“What should we do? The pizza will be here in forty minutes,” she said.
“We should talk.”
Her pout was adorable. “Aw.”
I laughed. “We’ll do it again, Taylor, but I want to hear your plans and I want to tell you mine.”
She cocked her head. “I’ve applied to some schools for January enrollment. I haven’t heard back from any. After I graduate, I’m going to look for a full time job and work there until I go to school. Most of the schools are a few hours away.”
“What kind of job do you want to get?”
“In healthcare. Maybe working at the hospital. I might as well be in that environment,” she said.
I was proud that she’d thought it out. Her parents would like that she had a plan.
“I’ve been accepted to four places. I’m still waiting on hearing about financial aid for each. Then I’ll choose which one. I have to go to the one that gives me the most money.”
“Makes sense. Where are they all?”
“They are all a few hours away. We aren’t going to be able to be together. That’s the reality of our future.”
She frowned. “I know. And, I know you have to be the realist, but I still want to wish it would be different.”
I liked that she wasn’t giving up on me, on us, but I knew that it was going to get harder and harder to be together. I didn’t want her to feel daunted, but I had to remember our situation. Tonight was a fantasy, a lovely moment in time that I loved, but this wasn’t real. We weren’t playing house. We were in high school and her parents didn’t want us together. This wasn’t a teen movie, it was reality.
And my reality was different from hers. She’d always have a home to come to. I wasn’t sure what my future held in terms of my living arrangements. My uncle could decide to sell this place.
“I don’t want to think about any of that tonight.”
She slid up my body, arousing me, then kissed me on the lips. I could do the deed before the pizza guy was here, but I really needed food. Besides, my best work was done with patience and care. Taylor didn’t know any different since I had been her only lover, but still. I wasn’t going to shortchange the girl.