by Claire Adams
“Two tequilas coming right up!” the barman said.
We slammed the shots, and both laughed at each other's expressions as we downed the harsh-tasting liquid.
“What's next, guys?” asked the barman.
“I'll take a Bud, and for you Eryn?”
“I think I'll have a margarita,” she replied with a smile. “Sugar on the rim, not salt.”
The barman got us our orders and we headed over to a sofa where we drank them, trying to shout at each other and hold a conversation over the pounding music. We downed our drinks quickly, and I started feeling a buzz coming on from the booze.
“You want another?” I asked.
“What?”
“I said, do you want another drink?”
She chuckled and kissed me playfully. “Look at us here, having to shout at each other to communicate,” she said close to my ear.
“I know! So, another drink?” I asked.
“Yeah! But let's just make it a shot, and then go and dance, all right?”
“Sounds good!”
We went back to the VIP bar, where the same barman greeted us with a smile. “Two more tequila shots!” I said.
“Ah, you guys are getting into party mode now!” he said with a laugh, and then went off to pour our shots.
Eryn leaned over quickly and kissed me deeply and passionately as we waited. I squeezed her hand tightly in mine and stared into her beautiful eyes.
“I'm a lucky guy,” I remarked, “a really, really lucky guy.”
“And, I'm a lucky girl,” she replied.
The barman arrived with our shots, and we knocked them back. Now that the alcohol was doing its work in each of us, the tequila didn't taste nearly as intense as it had the first time.
No sooner than we’d put the shot glasses back on the bar, Eryn took my hands and began to lead me to the dance floor. “I think it's time to dance,” she said with a suggestive smile.
“I think that's a great idea,” I replied.
We found a spot on the crowded floor, and then a Latin-infused bit of pounding electronica came on. Eryn began winding her body and dancing with fluid, sexy moves. I'd had no idea she’d be such a talented dancer, and God, it was turning me on to see her moving with such sexual, erotic grace.
I moved in closer to her, feeling the beat pulsing through my body and moving myself against her. She swayed her hips and raised her arms above her head, closing her eyes as she got into the music and began slowly, tantalizingly crushing herself against my crotch.
I put my hands on her hips, softly and suggestively, and started grinding against her as well. I was getting hard, ridiculously hard, and I knew she could feel my hard-on pressing through my jeans against her.
“God, you're fucking hot,” I whispered in her ear as she snaked and writhed sexily with the energy of the music and the dance.
“I think we should go get a hotel room soon,” she whispered back. “Just a bit more dancing, but I want you...I want you bad.”
“I do, too,” I whispered, the fullness of my erection pressing almost painfully against her body. “Believe me, I do, too...”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Eryn
By the time we got onto the floor our hotel suite was on, we were already ripping each other's clothes off. We were both drunk – not smashed, but definitely beyond tipsy – and we were absolutely ravenous with desire for each other. We were making out with an almost frantic passion and pawing each other like crazy.
I ripped Wade's shirt up over his head, exposing his sculpted, powerful torso, which was slick with sweat from dancing. In turn, he reached behind me and unzipped my cocktail dress. I stepped out of it, leaving myself clad in nothing but a pair of red, lacy panties because I'd had to go braless for this dress to really work.
We hadn't even reached our room yet, and I was already almost naked – if anyone stepped out of their rooms, they'd catch a full glimpse of me showing pretty much everything.
Not that anyone was likely to, as it was almost three in the morning, but getting it on in public like this, while frightening, gave me a pretty intense thrill; maybe it was some sort of repressed exhibitionism, or maybe just the scare of potentially getting caught, but I was massively turned on by being pretty much naked in public.
Not wanting to be the only one in this situation, I unzipped Wade's jeans and ripped them open then pushed his boxer briefs down, allowing his sizeable member, already fully erect, to spring right out.
I curled my fingers around it and grinned, rubbing it provocatively as we continued making out and stumbled toward our door.
“Damn, look at us,” Wade said as our lips detached themselves from the hungry kiss. “We're almost doing it in public!”
I laughed. “It's quite the thrill, isn't it?”
“Still, I think we should go inside,” he replied with a chuckle. “It's fun, but I wouldn't want this night to end with both of us sitting in a police station on charges of public God knows what.”
“All right, all right,” I sighed, squeezing his manhood playfully and pressing my naked breasts against his chest.
He fumbled with the key card as I kept him distracted by stroking his cock softly. I could hear his rate of breathing quickening as I slowly and tantalizingly increased my pressure and speed.
Still, he managed to get the door open, and we both stumbled in.
He slammed it shut behind us before he immediately yanked my panties down, dropped to his knees, pushed my legs apart, and dove straight in with his tongue, devouring me with a ravenous and enthusiastic relish. His hungry eagerness immediately sent gushes of pleasure through me and I gasped and moaned and gripped fistfuls of his hair, forcing his face deeper into me.
“Mmm,” he groaned, his voice muffled.
He continued working his tongue with a vigorous, but steady rhythm. I drove my hips with a greedy force into him, bucking and grinding against the motion of his licking, greedy for an intense orgasm; having sex while drunk removed all inhibitions and restraint. I felt almost like a wild animal, liberated of all my human constraints.
He was gripping and squeezing my ass firmly as he ate me out, and he grabbed both cheeks hard and pulled me almost forcefully into his face. His rhythm was so intense and the pressure so great that the sensation was almost unbearable, and I thought that if I'd been sober, it would have been more than I could take.
But, of course, I wasn't, so I felt the orgasm coming on quickly.
It exploded through my body with a gushing force. I cried out loudly and almost tore fistfuls of his hair out of his head as it hit, my body shivering and shuddering as wave after wave tore through every nerve ending.
But Wade didn't give me even a moment to recover; immediately, he stood up, his mouth and chin literally dripping wet, and he spun me around, slapping my ass hard as he did. I stumbled and almost fell, he spun me so forcefully, but I managed to get my hands on the edge of a table. I used it to support my weight as I leaned forward and spread my legs apart, exposing myself fully to him.
He stepped in behind me and began to feed his exquisite length and thickness into me, and I panted and shivered with pleasure at every inch that he pushed inside, stretching me out. As soon as he was all the way in, I almost collapsed forward onto the table, the pleasure of feeling so full was so intense.
He slipped his hands around me and grabbed a breast in each one, squeezing and fondling my stiff nipples as he began to move his hips, thrusting back and forth slowly and tantalizingly. He wasn't only doing a simple in and out motion, though; he was also moving it from side to side in an almost circular motion that accompanied his thrusts. It drove me totally wild – I'd never been penetrated like that before, and it felt absolutely amazing.
Soon, he was thrusting with even more force and power, and he was so hard that it felt as if I was going to be split in two; it was almost painful accommodating his size, but in an exquisitely pleasurable way.
He kept his hand on my left brea
st, squeezing and massaging and fondling my nipple, but with his right, he slipped down to my clit, which he began rubbing as he kept on thrusting powerfully in and out of me with his circular motion.
I could feel yet another amazing orgasm coming on, and I began to moan and cry out as my breathing became ever more rapid. Sweat was dripping off me, and I could hear the wetness of his sweat-drenched hips slapping against my ass with every forceful thrust. The pleasure became greater and greater, and I knew that the orgasm that was approaching was going to be massive.
“Keep going, keep going, Wade,” I gasped, my voice raw with lust.
He was now thrusting with an almost manic force, drilling away with frantic speed. I could feel my orgasm was about to be unleashed, and I began panting with a furious force – and then, finally, it happened: the orgasm exploded from deep within my core, sending shards of blissful shrapnel tearing through me, pulses of colorful lights and joyful explosions blasting behind my eyes and setting every nerve ending aflame with pure, unadulterated gratification.
I screamed out, yelling with pleasure until my throat felt raw. As I bucked and shuddered madly, I felt him deliver one final, extra deep and powerful thrust, and then he groaned loudly as he, too, unleashed his own orgasm. I felt the delightful sensation of him pulsating almost violently inside me with a force of pure pleasure.
We both stumbled toward the bed and collapsed into each other's arms in one tangled, sweaty mess, both panting and gasping and shivering from the craziness of the pleasure.
Then he whispered into my ear.
“I love you, Eryn. I really do. You're everything to me.”
I didn't hesitate with my reply for even a second. I already knew it was true.
“I love you, too, Wade. More than you could ever know.”
He hugged me tight, and I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed as hard as I could, never wanting to let him go.
*****
After breakfast in bed – and an altogether different kind of “breakfast in bed,” which left us both breathless and drenched with sweat, Wade and I showered and went out to buy some clothes. We walked hand in hand through the Miami streets, feeling great to be out in the open as a couple and not having to hide our relationship. We both knew, of course, that it was a fairytale, almost, and the thought that we'd have to go back to reality at the end of the day when we flew back to Tallahassee lingered constantly at the back of my mind.
Still, there was an agreement between us that we wouldn't speak about it, at least not until we were back. On this day, we were determined to live in the present.
We picked out a fresh outfit for Wade, which looked smoking hot on him, and which he changed into right away. He also picked up some swimming trunks. After having a light brunch, we headed out to one of the beaches and spent some time chatting and sunbathing on the white sand and swimming in the beautiful, blue water.
We finished at the beach in the middle of the afternoon and did some more strolling around before having a late, but very filling lunch at a Cajun restaurant. Our flight back to Tallahassee was in the early evening, so we did a little more sightseeing before heading to the airport.
All in all, it was a fantastic day, and we made the most of it. I couldn't speak for Wade, but for myself at least, I managed to keep the saddening thoughts of the future out of my head.
On the flight back, though, it was hard to keep up the illusion. Wade sat next to me on the airplane, holding my hand, but we didn't talk much. Behind his smile, I could see a deep sadness growing, a sadness that mirrored my own.
He dropped me off at my place and we had a long, lingering kiss before we said a quiet goodbye to each other. I got out of the car and watched him drive off, tears rolling down my cheeks.
It was time. I took out my phone and the card Wade had given me and dialed the number. A man with a gruff voice answered.
“Hello, Charlie Jefferson here,” he said.
“Hi Charlie, it's Eryn Barnett. From the Florida State University women's volleyball team. My coach spoke to me about your offer from Stanford.”
His tone changed immediately when he realized it was me. “Ah, Miss Barnett! I've been hoping to hear from you! You played one hell of a game. You've got real talent, kid, serious talent. And, Stanford will help you to develop that talent and take it as far as it can possibly go. You ready to hear our offer?”
“I am,” I replied.
He explained the benefits to me, and as everyone had told me, I knew it was an offer I'd be stupid to refuse. I just had one question to ask him.
“When would you like me to make the move to Stanford?”
“How soon can you? I can arrange everything in a couple of days. I know it's sudden, Miss Barnett, but Stanford is really trying to put together a killer team this season. We've lost two games and our current crop of players just isn't cutting it. We need fresh talent right now.”
I was taken aback at how soon that was. “That soon? How long can I wait? I'm not sure if I can do it that soon.”
“Uh, well I'm afraid we can't hold this place open for too long, even for someone as talented as yourself. Like I said, just give me the go-ahead and I can make everything happen within a week. If that's fine, please, tell me, and I'll make the arrangements.
“I'm sorry, but like I said, this is urgent. I know it's a big decision to make, and I'm not giving you much time to make it.”
“Can I call you back tomorrow?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“All right, then. Have a good night, Mr. Jefferson.”
“You, too, Miss Barnett. It was a pleasure talking with you.”
I cut the call off and stared up at the night sky. It was all so overwhelming – but I also knew that drawing it out would only make it more painful. I took a deep breath, and then dialed his number again.
“Miss Barnett?” he said, sounding surprised as he answered the call.
“I'll take it,” I said. “I can leave in a week, if you can help me with that.”
It was almost as if I could hear him smile through the phone. “That's exactly what I was hoping to hear, Miss Barnett. Don't worry; I'll take care of everything.”
“Thanks. Have a good night.”
“You, too. I'll call you when everything has been arranged.”
I cut the call off, sat down on the curb, and started to cry.
*****
I'd called Wade soon after I'd called Mr. Jefferson that Sunday night. We'd spoken, we'd cried, but we'd both agreed not to see each other again – it would just make things too painful. We would always have the memory of that beautiful weekend in Miami, and that's how we wanted to remember each other.
Of course, that hadn't helped with the pain and sadness – even more so because I'd had to keep it concealed from my best friend, my sister, and my mom. And, of course, there was the grief I felt at leaving my mom behind, as well.
I was, of course, also feeling excited. How could I not be? This was going to be one of the greatest experiences and opportunities of my life. Still, at the moment, I was feeling more sadness than anything else.
But it was here; the moment had almost arrived. My flight was in two hours, and I'd packed. Some things I was leaving at my mom's place in storage, others I was taking with me. My bags were bursting, and Leena and I had moved out of our apartment.
Luckily, her dad, who was fairly wealthy, had agreed to cover the loss of the deposit from our landlord on account of our moving out so quickly and unexpectedly. I was going to meet her at the airport shortly, as we'd be flying together. At least I wasn't going there all alone; having my best friend make this journey with me was a small consolation.
“I can't believe you're about to leave,” my mom said with tears in her eyes. “But I'm so happy for you and so proud of you. This is going to be a real, life-changing opportunity for you. My little girl, off to one of the best colleges in the country! You've made me the proudest mom in the world.
“And since you'll be in
California, you'll be able to see Anne so much more often. And your nephew and niece – and the new one who's on the way!”
“I know, Mom,” I replied, “and I'm looking forward to seeing the kids. But I'm gonna miss you so much. I really am. Are you sure you'll be all right out here by yourself? I really think you should consider moving out there, too.”
“I will be fine. I raised you two all on my own, remember? Now, I just have myself to take care of – it's much easier! I'll miss you so much, though, my beautiful, talented daughter.”
“I'll miss you, too, Mom. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.”
A horn sounded outside in the street. “The taxi's here,” Mom said, her voice cracking a little. “Come on, don't keep him waiting.”
I hugged her tightly one last time and then, with tears in my eyes, I got my luggage and walked out. I gave my mom a last, teary look and waved goodbye, and then shut the door behind me, feeling as if my heart had been torn in two.
I made my way out to the taxi, took one last look at my home – the place where I'd grown up – and then climbed in.
“Airport, right?” the driver said as he loaded my luggage into the trunk.
“Yes, please.”
“Let's go then,” he said as he climbed into the driver's seat.
“Yes, let's go,” I sighed – and that was it. As he took off, I left my old life behind.
My phone buzzed in my bag. I took it out and saw that it was a message from Wade. My heart immediately began beating faster as I opened it.
Good luck at Stanford, beautiful. I know you've made the right choice. No matter what happens, you'll always be in my heart. I love you. Wade.
I'll never forget you either, Wade, I said in my reply. Never. I couldn’t bring myself to type out the word goodbye…even though I knew that’s exactly what that text was.
I put the phone back in my bag and quietly wept in the back seat.
Chapter Twenty-Six