by Terry Towers
She placed a hand on his chest, refusing to enter the vehicle. “Just wait a second. I want to know a secret. Something he has on you. It can’t be any worse than some of the stupid crap you did when we were kids.”
“Don’t be so sure.” Reed thrust a hand into his hair. “Come on. It’s just stupid, embarrassing things really.” He motioned a second time for her to enter.
She leaned against the door, refusing to budge, a wide smile on her lips. She was enjoying his discomfort. “Secret first. Or maybe I should go find Corey…” She pushed off of the door and started to walk past him.
Grabbing her wrist, he stopped her in her tracks. “No. Wait. You win. Get in the car and I’ll share a secret.” He cocked a brow at her. “Happy?”
Spinning back around, she planted a kiss on his cheek and then slipped inside of the car. “Very.”
~*~*~*~
Chloe watched Reed through the windshield as he walked around the front of the car and slipped into the driver’s side.
“So, spill. A secret and not some silly nonsensical one. I want a juicy one.”
He slumped back into his head and sighed. “Fine. I dated a girl who was insanely religious and was a virgin, so I told her I was one too thinking she’d sleep with me quicker. I was 21, hadn’t been a virgin for a while.”
“Did she believe you?”
Reed chuckled, slipping the key into the ignition and starting the car. “Nope. She broke up with me. Apparently I was sent to her by God to tempt her.” He huffed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah.”
Her eyes narrowed at him. “So how old were you?”
He opened his mouth and snapped it shut. “Twenty.”
A roar of laughter exploded from her. “Bullshit.”
“What?”
“I know for a fact you fucked Andrea Lawson in the woods behind the high school when you were 16.”
Reed’s brow furrowed as he shut off the car. “How do you know that?”
“Are you kidding? Andrea has such a big mouth. Everyone in town knew that.”
“You were only 12, how did you find out?”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “I was 12, not stupid. Information trickles down.”
“Oh…” He leaned forward to turn the car back on and then stopped. “Alright, fair is fair. What about you?”
Her smile faded. “What about me what?” It was fun hearing him confess, but not so fun when the tables were turned.
“When was your first?”
Chloe looked down at the purse sitting in her lap and began to tinker with the golden chain strap.
“Have you?”
The intensity of his stare made her even more uncomfortable. She didn’t want him to think she was some inexperienced little girl. But if things were to progress, he’d know anyhow. “I’ve never actually. It’s not to say I haven’t experienced other stuff, but the actual… sex. Not so much.” She lifted her eyes to see him smiling, not a contradictory smile but one of reassurance.
“That’s good because being the ex-older-stepbrother I would feel the need to kick the ass of whoever took the virtue of my ex-young-stepsister.”
Their eyes locked a minute, then with a burst of laughter Chloe swatted him in the chest with her clutch. “You’re such an idiot. Just take me on this date you planned already.”
Joining in with her laughter he started the car and pulled out onto the road. Despite her questions he refused to tell her where he was taking her for their mystery date, but that was okay by her, they could be spending the evening in complete silence staring at a blank wall and she’d be perfectly all right with that. Just being with him was all she needed.
~*~*~*~
“You know how to salsa?” She gave him a skeptical look as they entered the club and peered down over the metal railing at the dance floor where close to a hundred couples were grinding against each other in time with the music.
“Nope.” Grabbing her hand he led her down the stairs.
“Then why are we here?”
He look down at her and shrugged. “It was an idea. Depending on how this works out it may or may not have been a good one.”
They stood on the sidelines for a song. Glancing up at Reed, Chloe grinned; he was watching the couples with intensity as if studying the moves. She suspected that might actually have been the case. Despite his antics, he was an overachiever.
“All right. We can do this,” he stated, pulling her onto the dance floor. Once they were dead in the center of the dance floor he twirled her around, pulled her back up against his front and into his arms just as the song switched over to a soft, sultry melody.
Leaning her head back against his shoulder, Chloe closed her eyes and allowed the music to flow through her. Her body moved with and against his. It didn’t take long for her to feel the emergence of an erection pressing at her bottom. His hands slid to her lower abdominals, pulling her bottom tight against him. Her arousal increased with each second that passed.
Chloe reached up behind her and slid her hand behind his neck as she turned her face to him. “Now I’m starting to understand why we’re here.”
Reed looked down at her and grinned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” But the amusement mixed with desire dancing in his blue eyes betrayed him.
She couldn’t help but smile back. “Liar.”
He slid his hand up her body to her chin and tilted her face up as he lowered his lips to hers. As their lips met, his hand on her stomach snaked its way under the waistband of her skirt, stopping just as he reached her mound. She moaned against his lips, wanting him to move lower and wanting him to stop at the same time. There were so many people around them, anyone could see, but none seemed to be paying them any attention. Each couple was enthralled in their own partner’s attention.
Reed’s lips left hers and his hand slipped back to her stomach when the song changed, this time a faster song. Chloe groaned inwardly; she didn’t want to leave the pleasure of his arms quite yet.
“Ready?” Reed asked, taking her hand in his opposite one.
Chloe didn’t have a chance to respond before he gave her hand a tug, spinning her out and away from him and then pulling her back. Giggling, she did her best to keep up with him.
“I thought you said you didn’t know how to salsa.”
He winked and pulled her back into his arms. “I’m a quick learner.”
As the night wore on and Chloe’s feet began to hurt from dancing in her heels all night she found herself surprised at just how well he adapted. They certainly weren’t the best dancers, but they managed, mostly due to whatever dance god blessed Reed that night.
Chapter 4
“Are you sure I’m allowed to be here?” Chloe asked as Reed led her through the back door of his dorm building. It had been five days since they had their first date at the park and they’d had as many dates. Normally she didn’t care to be smothered by someone she was dating, a couple of dates a week was more than enough, but this was different. She couldn’t get enough of being with him and he didn’t hide the fact that he felt the same way.
He looked back at her and winked. “Nah, you’re not, it’s after hours, that’s why we’re sneaking in the back way.” The door closed silently behind them and they made their way up a flight of stairs to the second floor.
“It’s the weekend, won’t someone be up and about?”
“It’s a long weekend so most of the people are gone. Of the ones left, the college bar doesn’t close for another hour, most of the guys stay till the very end and many hook up so don’t make their way back until morning. Sometimes, depending on how wild of a weekend they had it may not be till Sunday night. Many will be hanging at the frat house across the street. Corey and I live here instead of the frat house because its quieter.”
They stopped at the door that led into the corridor of the second floor. Reed opened it and peered inside. “It’s clear, come on and be quiet.”
They rushed into the corridor and three doors down
and to the left was his room. He had the key out and inserted it as they reached the door, unlocking it and unceremoniously rushing her inside, closing and locking it behind them.
“What if I have to use the washroom?”
“Our room has a private washroom and shower. It’s tiny, but better than having to share with the rest of the floor.” He flicked the light on and the room, which contained two beds, two desks and two closets, lit up. “We also have a small kitchen.”
Chloe took the tour, which lasted less than a minute, grateful she and Abagail had decided to get an apartment off campus, instead of waiting for the sessions to start and living in the dorm. “Why are you in a dorm? Why not an apartment like Abagail and me?”
“I came here on a sports scholarship, which included housing in the dorm.” He shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea. Each year my scholarship is renewed and so I just never bothered to go off-campus. Less expense means I can spend more time studying and can manage off the money I make as a teaching aide.” He sat down on the bed, which she assumed to be his, and patted the empty area beside him.
She started toward him when she noticed an easel in the cover of the room holding a painting that was covered in a sheet and a palette of paint sitting on the wooden stool in front of it. “Is this yours?” She walked over to it and pulled the sheet off of the painting before he had a chance to respond. To her disappointment the canvas was blank.
“It’s mine.”
“That amazing, you’re still painting and sketching.” She spun around to face him. “Where’s your sketch book?” As soon as she asked, she noticed the book hanging on the back of the easel.
“Chloe. Ah…”
Not giving him a chance to protest she grabbed it from the peg, opened it and began flipping through it. He’d always been so secretive about his sketching when they were kids. She used to sneak into his room when she knew he was gone for the afternoon and wouldn’t be caught just to get a peek at what he was working on.
Walking across the room while scanning through the pictures, all beautifully drawn, she reached the last picture as she came to a stop before him and her mouth dropped open. When she looked up to catch his eyes she noticed his face had begun to flush.
“When did you do this?” She looked down at the picture of herself, from the shoulders up – although the Chloe in the picture was much sexier than she was in person, at least in her mind.
“When I got home the night of our park date. I couldn’t get to sleep so I started messing around. It’s nothing.” He reached for the book, but she snatched it away from him before he could grab it from her.
“I don’t think I’m quite as sexy as I’m pictured here though.” She wasn’t fishing for compliments – the fact he actually thought she was worth sketching was flattery enough – but genuinely felt that way. She could be convinced that she was cute, but sexy… not so much.
“You really don’t believe that?”
When she looked up she saw the frown on his face and shrugged. “I’m not the sexy one. That’s Abagail.”
He stood up and took the sketch pad from her as he slipped a hand to the back of her head and lowered his lips to hers. His kiss was soft, but there was a hint of restrained passion. She sighed against his lips, smiling as returned his kiss. As their kiss grew more passionate, she didn’t even notice he’d twirled her around so she was the one next to the bed, him standing before her.
“Then let me prove it to you.”
She crinkled her nose at him. “How?”
“Let me sketch you.”
She looked down at the pad. “You already did.”
He tossed the pad onto the end table next to the bed and began to undo the buttons of her blouse. Her heart began to thump in her chest as button after button came away and he pushed the blouse off of her shoulders and tossed it onto Corey’s bed.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
“Of course.” She didn’t even have to think about it.
“Then let me show you how stunning you are to me.”
She chewed at her lower lip as he unzipped the back of her skirt and let it fall to her feet, leaving her in her white lace bra and panties. “What if Corey comes home?”
“He sent me a text, he’s gone for the night,” Reed murmured as he lowered his head to the side of her neck and gently brushed his lips along the side of her neck. Chloe moaned softly, clutching to his biceps, and the desire flared up within her. “It’s just us.”
His hands slipped to her back and with a quick flick of the wrist undid the clasp and slowly slipped her bra straps down exposing her breasts. Reed took a step back, his eyes slowly lowering to her chest. “Your breasts are incredible.”
Her body trembled – a combination of desire and nervousness. “Th-thank you.”
A concerned look crossed his face. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. You’re so beautiful, I just want to sketch you. Just say the word and we stop, okay?”
Chloe nodded. “Okay.” She wanted to be bold, but she was trembling inside. She wanted to be that sexy woman he saw her as, even if she didn’t quite believe it herself. “I’m okay.”
Reed crouched before her and placed a kiss on her stomach as his thumbs hooked into the waistband of her panties and tugged them down. She stepped out of them and watched him open the nightside table drawer and place them inside. She suspected she wasn’t getting them back. When he kissed her mound she gasped and started to jump back, but he held her in place, moving back up her body and planting a string of kisses up the front of her body as he stood. By the time his lips claimed hers again, she was a bundle of nerves and need clinging tightly to him and tempted to undress him as he did her.
“Why do you get to keep your clothes, but I don’t?” she asked as he released her and took a step back, his eyes travelling with appreciation up and down her body.
“Because I don’t need to be naked to sketch you.”
“You’re sketching me nude?”
He chuckled, his eyes taking a devious gleam. “Why else do you think I undressed you?”
Chloe didn’t respond, but simply folded her arms over her chest, and raised a brow at him.
“And once I’m done you’ll see just how sexy you really are.” Grabbing the chair from the desk he sat down and grabbed his sketch book and charcoal pencil. “Lay down, however you feel comfortable.”
She was tempted to jump into bed and pull the covers up to her chin, but didn’t. She took a deep breath in and slowly released itc, gathering her courage. As she slipped onto the bed her eyes spotted the large bulge in his jeans as his thick erection pressed against the denim. The knowledge gave her the courage to refrain from hiding her body from him.
Propping her head up with one hand, she draped one leg over the other concealing her mound from his view, not to purposely hide from him, but for comfort’s sake, since she had no idea how long he expected her to lie in that position.
“You look perfect.”
Her blush turned a deeper rosy shade at the compliment. She felt so exposed, but as he began to frantically draw, scrutinizing every inch of her body her confidence grew until she could hold a conversation with him as easily as if they were clothed at a coffee shop.
“Do you always draw your girlfriends?” she teased as he began to put the finishing touches to the portrait.
He looked up from the drawing and smiled. “You’re the first.” His expression grew serious. “No one ever sees my work, not even Corey. That’s why I have the cover.”
“Why?” she asked, perplexed.
He shrugged. “It’s a personal thing. It’s meant for me, not for others.”
“But it’s beautiful. Why did you let me see it?”
He chuckled. “You didn’t give me a chance to stop you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Nah, it’s okay. If you hadn’t seen it then I wouldn’t have had an excuse to get you naked and stare at you for an hour.” He looked up long enough t
o give her a wink. “Besides, I know you used to sneak peeks of my drawings when we were kids.”
“How did –”
“I knew. You weren’t very good at covering your tracks.” He made a few more marks on the pad and finished. Setting down the pencil he flexed his hand and stood. “Ready to see it?”
She nodded and gave him a weak smile, praying that seeing herself exposed like that through his eyes wouldn’t be as embarrassing as she feared it would be.
~*~*~*~
It had been agony to sit and draw her for over an hour when he wanted her so damned bad. He was currently suffering from the worst case of blue balls he’d ever had in his life and didn’t anticipate relief tonight. He’d pushed her as far as he was willing to. Maybe if she hadn’t revealed she was a virgin, but that was a bit of a game changer; it made him want to take things much slower with her.
Yeah, getting her naked on your bed is definitely taking it slow, a voice in the back of his head mocked.
He watched her expression on bated breath. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass her, he wanted her to see how beautiful and sexy she was. From their conversations he suspected she felt that her looks paled in comparison to Abagail. While he had no idea what her friend looked like all grown up and barely remembered her from years ago, he didn’t want her thinking she was second best to anyone in any way. He hoped seeing herself how he saw her would accomplish what he set out to do.
“Well,” he prompted.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s beautiful.” She looked up at him, her eyes tearing up.
He smiled, catching her gaze. “It’s you. I just drew what I saw.”
Sitting up on the bed, she took the pad from him and placed it on the nightside table. “Thank you.” Her hands slid up his chest and her fingers laced behind his neck. “I don’t have words to describe how I feel right now.”
“As long as it’s good.”
If I touch her I don’t know if I’ll be able to control myself. Despite his fears, it was impossible not to slip his hands around her and pull her tighter to him.